They're going to be driving effectively on (what for an F1 car is) ice
Dry road/street circuit μ = 0.7 to 0.8
Track μ = 1.0+ (except the fucking Nurburgring where the kerbs have more grip than the track)
There are also super high grip circuits like Autopolis and Brno which are μ>1.1
Low grip circuits (in my experience) are Laguna Seca (also has the most frightening turn in 7/8, you go into it at well over 100mph in a fast car and can't see the apex never mind the fucking exit) and Catalunya.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
Nope the HS2 money doesn't exist unless it is spent because it's capital investment where the money is "borrowed"
Cutting Day to Day Government by cutting Inheritance tax just reduces the money available to pay for day to day expenditure - say on road repairs, staff to quickly deal with asylum, staff to staff hospitals / courts / schools.
Perhaps if we grew the economy we could actually do both.
As for road repairs the glorious news is that £8 billion of the budget no longer being wasted on HS2 will be allocated to pot holes. Over 11 years.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
Cutting inheritance tax for rich families but nothing else in the middle of a cost of living crisis is about the most tin-eared thing anyone could do, so of course Sunak will do it.
He really is quite impressively bad at politics.
It's a fantastic smoke and mirrors policy.
Few will be aware that the exempt figure is already essentially £325,000 X 2 plus, plus, plus. So an exempt figure not far off £900,000 for most. Therefore around 95% of estates pay no IHT already.
However for the great unwashed they are panicking that with a threshold of £325,000 they will be charged IHT on mum and dad's £400,000 semi. Now the threshold has increased to half a million, panic over.
No net benefit is accrued by the hoi polloi, but in their minds they feel like they have dodged a bullet.
The alternate framing is that the government endorses fiscal drag for everything except IHT.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I will walk the streets of SE4 safe in the knowledge that your insatiable lust for speed has been tempered.
Reshuffle polling going about as well as F1 in Las Vegas?
I spoke to a pollster who last night reminded me about one of Sir John Curtice's golden rules, it takes about a week to 10 days for a news story to filter into the polls.
Hmm
If it’s not the reshuffle, what else do you think has caused this sudden and notable drop in Tory polling, right after the reshuffle? This is the fourth poll showing a plunge in Tory support, IIRC
Suella Braverman spouting her bollocks, you seem to forget 70% supported Sunak sacking her.
So by your logic in 7-10 days when the public realises with great joy that Rishi Sunak has appointed David “Brexit-loser” Cameron as unelected Foreign Secretary the Tories will regain all these new polling deficits and then add more support due to general public elation that the adults are back in charge? Is that your new prediction?
Nope, I expect David Cameron's return to have little long term impact on the polls.
Foreign Affairs rarely moves opinion polls.
OK I’m confused now
So your opinion is that the sudden drop in Tory support after the Great Reshuffle has nothing to do with the reshuffle, it’s because so many people were annoyed by a column Suella Braverman wrote in the Times about even-handed policing?
It’s cold and raining
Of course people are pissed off with the government
Cutting inheritance tax for rich families but nothing else in the middle of a cost of living crisis is about the most tin-eared thing anyone could do, so of course Sunak will do it.
He really is quite impressively bad at politics.
He is appalling. So is Hunt. I mean - appointing Cameron? Really??
I actually wonder if Sunak is worse than Truss
There was something exhilarating about Truss' awfulness, while Sunak's is drawn out over a relatively extended period. Another twelve months of Sunak is not a happy prospect, while Truss was all done in seven weeks, and the core Truss disaster period was about four weeks.
But I think Truss was so catastrophically bad that there's plenty depths of awfulness for Sunak to plumb before he can compare to Truss.
Mr. B, China may also never have a better opportunity for attacking Taiwan, but if it does so then (short of immediate victory) the ensuing chip shortage, as well we buggering the world generally, will not be fantastic for China either. Xi Jinping isn't going to be around forever, so the next five years or so might see war break out there.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
To be fair, they are very informative. My recollection is that quite a few people there were very ‘moody’ though. I enjoyed mine a lot more than I expected to.
And Good Morning to one and all. Very pleasant this morning here after a very November-ish day yesterday.
Reshuffle polling going about as well as F1 in Las Vegas?
I spoke to a pollster who last night reminded me about one of Sir John Curtice's golden rules, it takes about a week to 10 days for a news story to filter into the polls.
Hmm
If it’s not the reshuffle, what else do you think has caused this sudden and notable drop in Tory polling, right after the reshuffle? This is the fourth poll showing a plunge in Tory support, IIRC
Suella Braverman spouting her bollocks, you seem to forget 70% supported Sunak sacking her.
So by your logic in 7-10 days when the public realises with great joy that Rishi Sunak has appointed David “Brexit-loser” Cameron as unelected Foreign Secretary the Tories will regain all these new polling deficits and then add more support due to general public elation that the adults are back in charge? Is that your new prediction?
Nope, I expect David Cameron's return to have little long term impact on the polls.
Foreign Affairs rarely moves opinion polls.
OK I’m confused now
So your opinion is that the sudden drop in Tory support after the Great Reshuffle has nothing to do with the reshuffle, it’s because so many people were annoyed by a column Suella Braverman wrote in the Times about even-handed policing?
It’s cold and raining
Of course people are pissed off with the government
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
Excellent idea, non inflationaryband helps estates under £1 million where the deceased was divorced or not married and so does not benefit from the Osborne exemption for the main property.
A manifesto commitment to abolish IHT altogether would also help Tory turnout in the bluewall and reduce leakage to ReformUK.
Council tax is set by councils of course so the party in control locally would be accountable at the next local elections if it decided to increase it by 5%
Cutting inheritance tax for rich families but nothing else in the middle of a cost of living crisis is about the most tin-eared thing anyone could do, so of course Sunak will do it.
He really is quite impressively bad at politics.
It's a fantastic smoke and mirrors policy.
Few will be aware that the exempt figure is already essentially £325,000 X 2 plus, plus, plus. So an exempt figure not far off £900,000 for most. Therefore around 95% of estates pay no IHT already.
However for the great unwashed they are panicking that with a threshold of £325,000 they will be charged IHT on mum and dad's £400,000 semi. Now the threshold has increased to half a million, panic over.
No net benefit is accrued by the hoi polloi, but in their minds they feel like they have dodged a bullet.
The alternate framing is that the government endorses fiscal drag for everything except IHT.
Or in the case of savings interest and dividend income the govt endorses penalising it by increasing the tax on it by reducing the tax free allowance.
I know people can save into an ISA but the savings rates on these are generally poorer due to the extra compliance involved in managing them.
With dividends you can avoid this by putting into a SIPP or S&S ISA, but once again there are costs involved in running them too.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
Iran like the UK has unelected clergy in their parliament which is shi'ite if you ask me, the UK should stop acting like a theocracy.
That presumes that the Church of England, in the U.K., is a religious organisation.
Is ther me any evidence of that?
They claim a religious dispensation of conscience to disobey the state's own laws on marrying gay and lesbian couples.
Synod this week has voted to approve experimental services of blessing for homosexual couples married in English law
How will they judge the success or otherwise of this "experiment"? Number of church towers struck by thunderbolts sent by an angry deity?
I presume you carry out a randomised controlled trial. Take 100 homosexual couples. Randomise them to two separate groups. Half get a CoE blessing. The other half get a placebo blessing: presumably, it looks like a blessing, but the water is just normal water, not holy water, and maybe you use lorem ipsum for any bits in Latin.
Then follow the couples up for a period of time. At least a year surely? Primary outcome is whether they are still together. Secondary outcomes of quality of life and church attendance.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
To be fair, they are very informative. My recollection is that quite a few people there were very ‘moody’ though. I enjoyed mine a lot more than I expected to.
And Good Morning to one and all. Very pleasant this morning here after a very November-ish day yesterday.
Every Israeli attack on Iran strengthens the ruling regime. The presence of an outside threat is usually a great way to whip up some patriotic support for the country as is.
The Israelis are beyond caring
They are going to obliterate Gaza and possibly the West Bank. And maybe take on Hezbollah as well
That’s my reading of the Israeli mood: the wave of global anti Semitism is only hardening their position. Israel must be secured, it can never be menaced again, Israel must have defensible borders with nukes ready to go if anyone tries anything serious
It is quite scary. I guess the Israeli calculation is that they have nothing to lose and a lot to gain: and that, in the end, for all the hand wringing, none of the larger Arab/muslim nations will actually do anything
I’m not sure even the Americans can stop the Israelis at this point
If Israel went beyond destroying Hamas in Gaza to the West Bank it would lose the support of the international community and even the Biden administration
Nice to see Suella Braverman's strategy being called out for the fascist and unConservative bollocks it is.
Damian Green. lol
Is he wrong?
Your inner fascist is poking out
Parliament must be sovereign, in the end. If you consider that fascism then fuck knows how you’d cope with actual, you know, fascism
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
If you don't realise that politicians demanding that they be allowed to do what the hell they like regardless of the law, without any restraints on their power, without any ability of the citizen to hold them to account is precisely the road to tyranny, it is you being petulant and ignorant. Braverman's second demand in that Telegraph article is the most dangerous, unconservative and frankly astonishing thing for a lawyer and former A-G to say.
It is the frustrated wail of a toddler screaming "I want, I must get".
Sovereigns must be subject to the rule of law, in the end. That is what the Civil War was about. It is what much of British politics has been about since then. If the Tory party fails to understand this in order to placate the frustrations and ego of a second-rate lawyer turned third-rate politician with no competence, ability or achievements to her name then it deserves to be - and I hope will be - obliterated.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
To be fair, they are very informative. My recollection is that quite a few people there were very ‘moody’ though. I enjoyed mine a lot more than I expected to.
And Good Morning to one and all. Very pleasant this morning here after a very November-ish day yesterday.
Good morning to you too Sir.
Some of us woke up to an almighty thunderstorm this morning, although thankfully it’s now back to the usual warm and sunny.
Nice to see Suella Braverman's strategy being called out for the fascist and unConservative bollocks it is.
Damian Green. lol
Is he wrong?
Your inner fascist is poking out
Parliament must be sovereign, in the end. If you consider that fascism then fuck knows how you’d cope with actual, you know, fascism
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
Parliament is sovereign, and none of the kerfuffle alters that.
What you don't seem to fully comprehend is that legislating for something doesn't automatically override all laws which might affect it, unless the legislation makes that explicit.
And in this case that would involve setting aside large swathes of existing rights. That clearly doesn't bother you in respect of the few individuals who would be shipped off to Rwanda (shortly before the next government overturns the policy), but it sets a baleful precedent.
It's also the height of arrogance to claim that it's a point of principle when the policy is so unpopular - and can't even command the full support of a party which currently has less than a third of the electorate backing it, and which faces an election within the next year and a half.
Completely O/T but listening to Desert Island discs this morning they have the blind broadcaster (apologies for the reductive description) Peter White as the castaway.
Desert Island Discs seems to sometimes scrape the barrel with the guests and it’s a bit “meh, who cares about this person” but this guy is brilliant.
You very rarely hear such a joyful and naturally funny person being interviewed but to have someone who is so completely positive and humorous about his life as a blind person is uplifting. Absolutely no self pity and plenty of self-mockery. The sort of person who makes you think that whatever annoyance you are suffering it could be worse and best to face it with humour and positivity.
I've just finished 'A Day in the Life of Abed Salama' By Nathan Thrall.. A true story of an event which occurs in a single day in the West Bank. Slightly reminiscent of 'The Bridge of San Luis Ray' where it traces the lives of the people involved. It paints a brilliant picture of the politics of the area and the author being an American Jew who lives in Jerusalem is well qualied to see the full picture. It's also a very good read.
The locals aren’t impressed with what’s going on in Vegas this week, although there’s plenty of cheap hotels and tickets if you waited until the very last minute. Good luck getting a flight to anywhere within a day’s drive of the place though.
Every Israeli attack on Iran strengthens the ruling regime. The presence of an outside threat is usually a great way to whip up some patriotic support for the country as is.
The Israelis are beyond caring
They are going to obliterate Gaza and possibly the West Bank. And maybe take on Hezbollah as well
That’s my reading of the Israeli mood: the wave of global anti Semitism is only hardening their position. Israel must be secured, it can never be menaced again, Israel must have defensible borders with nukes ready to go if anyone tries anything serious
It is quite scary. I guess the Israeli calculation is that they have nothing to lose and a lot to gain: and that, in the end, for all the hand wringing, none of the larger Arab/muslim nations will actually do anything
I’m not sure even the Americans can stop the Israelis at this point
You have a point about the global politics driving the local thinking. Not only has Israel found itself with precious few friends on this one, Jews in every part of the world are getting abuse and worse.
Israel was created out the back of WWII, where someone tried to exterminate them all. A Jewish homeland, safe and secure for Jews is difficult to argue against. Thanks to how it was created, its neighbours and its own actions, Israel is neither safe nor secure.
But it could be. The peace route. Or the war route. They will consider that they have tried peace. That failed. War has been brought to them again. That nutjob Netanyahu is probably the worst leader they could have right now, but you can see how they could be leaning towards pushing for a comprehensive military victory.
There is a horror scenario. Israel sweeps the arabs out of the levant, just as the arabs and their fellow travellers marching in London and elsewhere chant about sweeping Palestine of the Jews. There would be international condemnation. Rightly. Israel would have to build a wall. And repel anyone threatening its new border.
There may be another factor for Israel and that is the natural gas factor. Netanyahu wants to turn Israel into a massive gas exporter and the exploration of the Leviathan field in Israeli waters offers the potential for Israel to become a major gas supplier to Europe.
However, what has not been explored yet - and which may offer fields of a similar size - are those in Lebanese waters. Get rid of Hezbollah in Lebanon and, with Syria in the state it is plus being a friend of Iran, it is not hard to imagine a situation where Lebanon becomes a client state of Israel. If gas is then found in their waters, that makes Israel a very powerful player.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
I think that it would be interesting to drill down into the Reform voters. It would appear that they typically voted Conservative in 2019 and supported Brexit, generally older and in the C2DE category and live outside London according to the YouGov data sheet.
However, are they recent converts to Conservative, are they previous Labour voters, are they typically non voters who turned out for Brexit, what are their policy preferences, is this a protest vote against all the other parties?
I think that it would be interesting to drill down into the Reform voters. It would appear that they typically voted Conservative in 2019 and supported Brexit, generally older and in the C2DE category and live outside London according to the YouGov data sheet.
However, are they recent converts to Conservative, are they previous Labour voters, are they typically non voters who turned out for Brexit, what are their policy preferences, is this a protest vote against all the other parties?
They are likely voters who voted UKIP in 2015, Conservative in 2017 and 2019
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
To be fair, they are very informative. My recollection is that quite a few people there were very ‘moody’ though. I enjoyed mine a lot more than I expected to.
And Good Morning to one and all. Very pleasant this morning here after a very November-ish day yesterday.
I see the self-purge of the loony left and the non-serious chancers is continuing in labour.
Starmer really is a lucky general at the moment.
Starmer is very frequently referred to as a 'lucky general' here and elsewhere. Does there come a point where commentators may conclude that there's actually quite a lot of skill involved and it isn't just down to luck?
I think that it would be interesting to drill down into the Reform voters. It would appear that they typically voted Conservative in 2019 and supported Brexit, generally older and in the C2DE category and live outside London according to the YouGov data sheet.
However, are they recent converts to Conservative, are they previous Labour voters, are they typically non voters who turned out for Brexit, what are their policy preferences, is this a protest vote against all the other parties?
I saw a (presumed - he had a Reform badge on his backpack) Reform voter yesterday, in Leeds. First sighting in the wild as it were. He was having a whinge about the state of the country, as demonstrated by a late running train, and pushed aside a young lad with a bike in a slightly rude way as he 'had a train to catch'.
I only saw the badge as he was leaving the train, otherwise I might have had a conversation about it (I let the lad with the bike off, so he was long gone).
He was older (late 50s/early 60s) and apparently lived outside London, but no idea on the other items.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
When YouGov had the Tories 21% in a poll under Truss, Labour were on 54%. It was the first poll to put the polling deficit over 30pp. If any single opinion poll could be said to have shattered a Prime Minister it was that one.
This time Labour are on 44%. It's quite the contrast.
YouGov 28-29 Sep 2022 14-15 Nov 2023 Change Con 21 21 0 Lab 54 44 -10 Lib Dem 7 10 +3 Green 6 8 +2 RefUK 4 10 +6 SNP 5 4 -1
When YouGov had the Tories 21% in a poll under Truss, Labour were on 54%. It was the first poll to put the polling deficit over 30pp. If any single opinion poll could be said to have shattered a Prime Minister it was that one.
This time Labour are on 44%. It's quite the contrast.
YouGov 28-29 Sep 2022 14-15 Nov 2023 Change
Con 21 21 0
Lab 54 44 -10
Lib Dem 7 10 +3
Green 6 8 +2
RefUK 4 10 +6
SNP 5 4 -1
44% is really the max that LAB can expect to obtain. Would be enough for a HUGE majority for Keir though.
I see the self-purge of the loony left and the non-serious chancers is continuing in labour.
Starmer really is a lucky general at the moment.
Starmer is very frequently referred to as a 'lucky general' here and elsewhere. Does there come a point where commentators may conclude that there's actually quite a lot of skill involved and it isn't just down to luck?
I would imagine if it comes out that he actually personally engineered Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine to smash the economy, which would have buggered any government, whilst also using mind control to ensure that his opposition had included the special and diverse talents of Boris and Liz and Rishi along with nuts like Suella amongst others then yes, he is very skilful and not remotely lucky.
LOL, Las Vegas has decided to close the grandstands and fan zones, with the practice session starting in 15m time. Suggestion of a union dispute or a lack of agreement on ‘overtime’ due to the delays.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
Surely she must be in the running for the Spectator's Person of the year. Ultra right-wing.....sacked several times for dishonesty....... A twang of racism (disguised as right-wingery).......A penchant for publicity seeking........A wardrobe full of High Vis jackets
LOL, Las Vegas has decided to close the grandstands and fan zones, with the practice session starting in 15m time. Suggestion of a union dispute or a lack of agreement on ‘overtime’ due to the delays.
Tens of millions of dollars in refunds incoming.
But but it's generating $1.7bn.......or something..
What a shit-show this race is. A crap (nearly) end to a crap season.
I think that it would be interesting to drill down into the Reform voters. It would appear that they typically voted Conservative in 2019 and supported Brexit, generally older and in the C2DE category and live outside London according to the YouGov data sheet.
However, are they recent converts to Conservative, are they previous Labour voters, are they typically non voters who turned out for Brexit, what are their policy preferences, is this a protest vote against all the other parties?
A lot of them defected from the Tory camp as soon as Sunak became leader. People can draw their own conclusions on what motivated that. I suspect there were a range of factors but I can't help thinking that some of them are probably a teeny bit racist.
Few will see the inheritance tax cut but pretty much everyone will feel the council tax increase.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is considering plans to halve the rate of inheritance tax and cut taxes for small businesses in his autumn statement.
The Treasury has been told by official forecasters that it has far more “fiscal headroom” because of rising tax revenues and falling borrowing costs.
It has also been reported that council tax will rise by up to £120 a year for the average house, because the Treasury will allow local authorities to increase their bills by up to 5 per cent a year.
Improved public finances mean that government has more than £20 billion of headroom at Wednesday’s autumn statement, compared with £6.5 billion at the time of March’s budget. While some of the headroom will be retained as a “cushion”, Hunt is considering an array of tax cuts amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs.
One option includes halving the rate of inheritance tax, which is charged at 40 per cent for estates worth more than £325,000 with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren.
The Treasury is considering plans to cut the rate to 30 per cent or 20 per cent, while it is also examining proposals to increase the thresholds for the tax. The Tories are considering a proposal to abolish inheritance tax for its election manifesto next year.
Hunt is said to favour cutting inheritance tax rather than income tax because it would not have a big impact on inflation. It is also much cheaper to cut. Abolishing inheritance tax would cost about £7 billion a year, but cutting income tax by 2p in the pound would cost £13.7 billion a year.
How about pay off some of the debt rather than tax cuts for the wealthy?
The wealthy have paid more since the GFC as George Osborne said those with the broadest shoulders should take the burden, it is time we were rewarded.
Am really looking forward to defending this tax cut for the wealthiest 3.7% whilst benefits are cuts.
The optics are great.
Benefits are only being cut for those who refuse a job offer after 6 months out of work
Not quite, rumours that non pension benefits are to be frozen which is a cut when inflation is at 5%.
I assume the Gov't has anticipated the backlash and is prepared to see it through anyway ? Or they'll fold like a cheap suit when it all kicks off ?
A quick BOAFP exercise suggests to me that the proposed inheritance tax cut would be likely to be worth to me personally as much as I earn, net, in about 9 years. (I'm not some aristocrat, by the way; just something of a demographic anomaly: no brothers or sisters or cousins, so a bit of an inheritance bottleneck). It would be the biggest single impact on my wealth of anything government have ever done by a country mile. Yet I can't really muster any enthusiasm about it. Why not? Well, one, it is attached to a hopefully far-off event - nobody ever really thinks their hale and hearty parents will die, do they? And two, I can't in any way perceive the money I will inherit from my parents as mine. Best hope is that I will be able to grow it and hand it on to the kids.
I would feel far more enthusiastic about some sort of cut to the price of university education. At least one and possibly three of my kids have aspirations to go to university one day, so I'm on the hook for getting on for £90,000 of tuition fees in the next decade and a bit, plus whatever it costs to keep them alive during the experience. Not starting a whole generation out in eye watering amounts of debt strikes me as a better use of state largesse than taking less money which wasn't mine in the first place off me.
LOL, Las Vegas has decided to close the grandstands and fan zones, with the practice session starting in 15m time. Suggestion of a union dispute or a lack of agreement on ‘overtime’ due to the delays.
When YouGov had the Tories 21% in a poll under Truss, Labour were on 54%. It was the first poll to put the polling deficit over 30pp. If any single opinion poll could be said to have shattered a Prime Minister it was that one.
This time Labour are on 44%. It's quite the contrast.
YouGov 28-29 Sep 2022 14-15 Nov 2023 Change
Con 21 21 0
Lab 54 44 -10
Lib Dem 7 10 +3
Green 6 8 +2
RefUK 4 10 +6
SNP 5 4 -1
44% is really the max that LAB can expect to obtain. Would be enough for a HUGE majority for Keir though.
I see the self-purge of the loony left and the non-serious chancers is continuing in labour.
Starmer really is a lucky general at the moment.
Starmer is very frequently referred to as a 'lucky general' here and elsewhere. Does there come a point where commentators may conclude that there's actually quite a lot of skill involved and it isn't just down to luck?
He learns from his mistakes. Or those of others. Which is rarer than it should be. And a useful skill - in politics, as elsewhere.
Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
Nice to see Suella Braverman's strategy being called out for the fascist and unConservative bollocks it is.
Damian Green. lol
Is he wrong?
Your inner fascist is poking out
Parliament must be sovereign, in the end. If you consider that fascism then fuck knows how you’d cope with actual, you know, fascism
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
If you don't realise that politicians demanding that they be allowed to do what the hell they like regardless of the law, without any restraints on their power, without any ability of the citizen to hold them to account is precisely the road to tyranny, it is you being petulant and ignorant. Braverman's second demand in that Telegraph article is the most dangerous, unconservative and frankly astonishing thing for a lawyer and former A-G to say.
It is the frustrated wail of a toddler screaming "I want, I must get".
Sovereigns must be subject to the rule of law, in the end. That is what the Civil War was about. It is what much of British politics has been about since then. If the Tory party fails to understand this in order to placate the frustrations and ego of a second-rate lawyer turned third-rate politician with no competence, ability or achievements to her name then it deserves to be - and I hope will be - obliterated.
Oh give over. I'm not a toddler, I do understand the Separation of Powers. Executive, Judiciary. Legislature. I've read my Montesquieu (or at least the relevant bits in English)
However, the ability to protect a nation's borders and stop unwanted people coming in is fundamental to a government, it is the job of the elected Executive to decide this, the elected Legislature to enact this, and the apppointed Judiciary to police but not obstruct. Stopping the government protecting the borders via legal constraints is like the Supreme Court deciding an elected government and parliament does not have the power to declare war because the ECHR doesn't like it. Would you approve of that?
It seems to me we have a judiciary which is overly political, overly pro-active, and overly obeisant to endless international laws some of which it seems to conjure out of thin air
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters.
The current government learned all the wrong lessons from the Brexit debacle.
They won an 80 seat majority, not because they ran on a single issue of Get Brexit Done, but because the voters wanted politicians to stop dicking around.
Now the Tories are incessantly dicking around with Rwanda.
LOL, Las Vegas has decided to close the grandstands and fan zones, with the practice session starting in 15m time. Suggestion of a union dispute or a lack of agreement on ‘overtime’ due to the delays.
Tens of millions of dollars in refunds incoming.
But but it's generating $1.7bn.......or something..
What a shit-show this race is. A crap (nearly) end to a crap season.
Verstappen's had the most dominant season of all time hasn't he ? Even more so than Vettel '13 I think.
Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
I don't disagree with any of this. But I'd also add that while stop the boats is a priority for voters, the Conservatives evidently aren't stopping the boats. They've ramped up the importance of one issue that they either have no intention of doing anything about or are terrible at doing so. People who want the boats stopped are increasingly bemused about why the Conservatives aren't doing so.
Nice to see Suella Braverman's strategy being called out for the fascist and unConservative bollocks it is.
Damian Green. lol
Is he wrong?
Your inner fascist is poking out
Parliament must be sovereign, in the end. If you consider that fascism then fuck knows how you’d cope with actual, you know, fascism
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
If you don't realise that politicians demanding that they be allowed to do what the hell they like regardless of the law, without any restraints on their power, without any ability of the citizen to hold them to account is precisely the road to tyranny, it is you being petulant and ignorant. Braverman's second demand in that Telegraph article is the most dangerous, unconservative and frankly astonishing thing for a lawyer and former A-G to say.
It is the frustrated wail of a toddler screaming "I want, I must get".
Sovereigns must be subject to the rule of law, in the end. That is what the Civil War was about. It is what much of British politics has been about since then. If the Tory party fails to understand this in order to placate the frustrations and ego of a second-rate lawyer turned third-rate politician with no competence, ability or achievements to her name then it deserves to be - and I hope will be - obliterated.
Oh give over. I'm not a toddler, I do understand the Separation of Powers. Executive, Judiciary. Legislature. I've read my Montesquieu (or at least the relevant bits in English)
However, the ability to protect a nation's borders and stop unwanted people coming in is fundamental to a government, it is the job of the elected Executive to decide this, the elected Legislature to enact this, and the apppointed Judiciary to police but not obstruct. Stopping the government protecting the borders via legal constraints is like the Supreme Court deciding an elected government and parliament does not have the power to declare war because the ECHR doesn't like it. Would you approve of that?
It seems to me we have a judiciary which is overly political, overly pro-active, and overly obeisant to endless international laws some of which it seems to conjure out of thin air
Even if you were right (and you are not) the glaring flaw in this cunning plan is that completely destroying the rule of law in this Country will not now, or ever, STOP THE BOATS
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
I don't disagree with any of this. But I'd also add that while stop the boats is a priority for voters, the Conservatives evidently aren't stopping the boats. They've ramped up the importance of one issue that they either have no intention of doing anything about or are terrible at doing so. People who want the boats stopped are increasingly bemused about why the Conservatives aren't doing so.
Of course: I should have added that the fact that the obsession isn't really delivering the outcomes desired makes it even worse in the eyes of voters.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters.
The current government learned all the wrong lessons from the Brexit debacle.
They won an 80 seat majority, not because they ran on a single issue of Get Brexit Done, but because the voters wanted politicians to stop dicking around.
Now the Tories are incessantly dicking around with Rwanda.
They should STFU
They’re becoming utterly obsessed with seeing flights take off . It’s becoming unhinged . And it’s clear that this will turn into a scorched earth policy where no agreement or institution will be allowed to stand in their way .
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph for certain classes of vehicle...
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
No, a road four lanes wide but without a physical central reservation, has a national speed limit of 60mph.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters.
The current government learned all the wrong lessons from the Brexit debacle.
They won an 80 seat majority, not because they ran on a single issue of Get Brexit Done, but because the voters wanted politicians to stop dicking around.
Now the Tories are incessantly dicking around with Rwanda.
They should STFU
They’re becoming utterly obsessed with seeing flights take off . It’s becoming unhinged . And it’s clear that this will turn into a scorched earth policy where no agreement or institution will be allowed to stand in their way .
And still the boats will come...
And let us assume for a moment they do in fact manage to ship some unfortunate souls off to Rwanda.
It only takes one of them to make their way desperately back to Calais for the whole scheme to unravel
Cutting inheritance tax for rich families but nothing else in the middle of a cost of living crisis is about the most tin-eared thing anyone could do, so of course Sunak will do it.
He really is quite impressively bad at politics.
He is appalling. So is Hunt. I mean - appointing Cameron? Really??
I actually wonder if Sunak is worse than Truss
There was something exhilarating about Truss' awfulness, while Sunak's is drawn out over a relatively extended period. Another twelve months of Sunak is not a happy prospect, while Truss was all done in seven weeks, and the core Truss disaster period was about four weeks.
But I think Truss was so catastrophically bad that there's plenty depths of awfulness for Sunak to plumb before he can compare to Truss.
Truss went ugly early. Sunak is still wandering around the floor, trying out failed line after failed line ("IHT cut? You like IHT cut, yeah? I know about AI! I'm special! Pleeeze...") and will go home alone at the end of the night clutching his briefcase, sobbing quietly to not wake his Mum.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
No, a road four lanes wide but without a physical central reservation, has a national speed limit of 60mph.
That's not a dual carriageway though. Known in the business as an S4. (Single carriageway, 4 lanes).
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
I think 4 lanes without a central reservation is 60. But the course is 4 hours. The last hour and a half was purgatory. But it's incredible how much most of us on it didn't know. That's just one example. Don't start me on road markings!
The other day I mentioned how Roger Waters was being branded an anti semite in Germany because he wore a Nazi style outfit during a performance, which had been part of the story of The Wall since 1979 (during a nervous breakdown, the protagonist has delusions of becoming a fascist dictator )
Just found out last night that Sir Keir, as well as Michael Gove, wrote a letter trying to get Roger Waters concerts cancelled for it in Manchester!
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 38m Pretty clear pattern in the post reshuffle polls.
===
I guess slashing IHT and cutting welfare will have to be the last roll of the dice for Sunak.
Also increasing council tax. Cutting the grants to councils while allowing councils to raise more revenue through raising the cap at which they can increase council tax by. People are not daft. They are aware that increases in council tax are in part due to central govt cutting the money it sends to councils while putting more demands on them.
Just another means of burdening the taxpayer with yet more tax.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
To be fair, they are very informative. My recollection is that quite a few people there were very ‘moody’ though. I enjoyed mine a lot more than I expected to.
And Good Morning to one and all. Very pleasant this morning here after a very November-ish day yesterday.
Having been done for 27 mph in a 20 (that was new, and sandwiched between 60, 40, 30, and another 30 in less than 1 mile) I was very grumpy. In some ways the Drake's all encompassing 20 in urban zones is the way ahead (but more slowly...)
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
No, a road four lanes wide but without a physical central reservation, has a national speed limit of 60mph.
That's not a dual carriageway though. Known in the business as an S4. (Single carriageway, 4 lanes).
Comments
Track μ = 1.0+ (except the fucking Nurburgring where the kerbs have more grip than the track)
There are also super high grip circuits like Autopolis and Brno which are μ>1.1
Low grip circuits (in my experience) are Laguna Seca (also has the most frightening turn in 7/8, you go into it at well over 100mph in a fast car and can't see the apex never mind the fucking exit) and Catalunya.
As for road repairs the glorious news is that £8 billion of the budget no longer being wasted on HS2 will be allocated to pot holes. Over 11 years.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
Of course people are pissed off with the government
It was valued at ~$50 trillion.
That was the top.
Chinese house prices now continue to fall despite authorities' attempts to stabilize the market.
Is China in a balance sheet recession?
https://twitter.com/MacroAlf/status/1725058349123645837
Interesting thread.
If China doesn't resort to a large fiscal stimulus (which has its own risks), it seems pretty likely.
But I think Truss was so catastrophically bad that there's plenty depths of awfulness for Sunak to plumb before he can compare to Truss.
I enjoyed mine a lot more than I expected to.
And Good Morning to one and all. Very pleasant this morning here after a very November-ish day yesterday.
"Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran - Wikipedia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Pahlavi,_Crown_Prince_of_Iran
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
A manifesto commitment to abolish IHT altogether would also help Tory turnout in the bluewall and reduce leakage to ReformUK.
Council tax is set by councils of course so the party in control locally would be accountable at the next local elections if it decided to increase it by 5%
I know people can save into an ISA but the savings rates on these are generally poorer due to the extra compliance involved in managing them.
With dividends you can avoid this by putting into a SIPP or S&S ISA, but once again there are costs involved in running them too.
Still IHT for the wealthy is the priority.
Then follow the couples up for a period of time. At least a year surely? Primary outcome is whether they are still together. Secondary outcomes of quality of life and church attendance.
I’ll be campaigning for the Tories in the Glasgow seats.
First post reshuffle poll not to have ReformUK on 10%+ either, albeit still on 8%
It is the frustrated wail of a toddler screaming "I want, I must get".
Sovereigns must be subject to the rule of law, in the end. That is what the Civil War was about. It is what much of British politics has been about since then. If the Tory party fails to understand this in order to placate the frustrations and ego of a second-rate lawyer turned third-rate politician with no competence, ability or achievements to her name then it deserves to be - and I hope will be - obliterated.
Some of us woke up to an almighty thunderstorm this morning, although thankfully it’s now back to the usual warm and sunny.
@DPJHodges
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38m
Pretty clear pattern in the post reshuffle polls.
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I guess slashing IHT and cutting welfare will have to be the last roll of the dice for Sunak.
https://youtu.be/ZmInkxbvlCs?si=GcQ62c-QG5VE9IXo
What you don't seem to fully comprehend is that legislating for something doesn't automatically override all laws which might affect it, unless the legislation makes that explicit.
And in this case that would involve setting aside large swathes of existing rights. That clearly doesn't bother you in respect of the few individuals who would be shipped off to Rwanda (shortly before the next government overturns the policy), but it sets a baleful precedent.
It's also the height of arrogance to claim that it's a point of principle when the policy is so unpopular - and can't even command the full support of a party which currently has less than a third of the electorate backing it, and which faces an election within the next year and a half.
Desert Island Discs seems to sometimes scrape the barrel with the guests and it’s a bit “meh, who cares about this person” but this guy is brilliant.
You very rarely hear such a joyful and naturally funny person being interviewed but to have someone who is so completely positive and humorous about his life as a blind person is uplifting. Absolutely no self pity and plenty of self-mockery. The sort of person who makes you think that whatever annoyance you are suffering it could be worse and best to face it with humour and positivity.
Here endeth my woke Thought for the day.
PS. The Financial Times book of the year (odd!)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77920745-a-day-in-the-life-of-abed-salama
Findoutnow (compared 31 Oct) C-4, L+1, R+2
Peoplepolling (23 Oct) C-2, L-, R+2
YouGov (8 Nov) C-2, L-3, R+2
Techne (9 Nov) C-3, L-, R+1
Look at the relevant polling company swing, not the difference between polling companies.
Isn't that what you are always accusing others of eg re Nick Griffith and Rotherham? So why are you doing it?
https://themessenger.com/sports/night-in-an-18-hotel-room-las-vegas-grand-prix
However, what has not been explored yet - and which may offer fields of a similar size - are those in Lebanese waters. Get rid of Hezbollah in Lebanon and, with Syria in the state it is plus being a friend of Iran, it is not hard to imagine a situation where Lebanon becomes a client state of Israel. If gas is then found in their waters, that makes Israel a very powerful player.
So IHT cut it is, which also has the advantage of being both affordable, non-inflationary and quite popular.
Starmer really is a lucky general at the moment.
However, are they recent converts to Conservative, are they previous Labour voters, are they typically non voters who turned out for Brexit, what are their policy preferences, is this a protest vote against all the other parties?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67446101
She needs a stylist.
Doesn't surprise me.
I only saw the badge as he was leaving the train, otherwise I might have had a conversation about it (I let the lad with the bike off, so he was long gone).
He was older (late 50s/early 60s) and apparently lived outside London, but no idea on the other items.
This time Labour are on 44%. It's quite the contrast.
YouGov 28-29 Sep 2022 14-15 Nov 2023 Change
Con 21 21 0
Lab 54 44 -10
Lib Dem 7 10 +3
Green 6 8 +2
RefUK 4 10 +6
SNP 5 4 -1
Tens of millions of dollars in refunds incoming.
What a shit-show this race is. A crap (nearly) end to a crap season.
Got to say I was concerned about tyre and brake temperatures. Less so manholes and overtime.
Well, one, it is attached to a hopefully far-off event - nobody ever really thinks their hale and hearty parents will die, do they?
And two, I can't in any way perceive the money I will inherit from my parents as mine. Best hope is that I will be able to grow it and hand it on to the kids.
I would feel far more enthusiastic about some sort of cut to the price of university education. At least one and possibly three of my kids have aspirations to go to university one day, so I'm on the hook for getting on for £90,000 of tuition fees in the next decade and a bit, plus whatever it costs to keep them alive during the experience. Not starting a whole generation out in eye watering amounts of debt strikes me as a better use of state largesse than taking less money which wasn't mine in the first place off me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6VSJfpU5Hg
I hope no one uses politically incorrect language like Martin Brundle did that day...
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
However, the ability to protect a nation's borders and stop unwanted people coming in is fundamental to a government, it is the job of the elected Executive to decide this, the elected Legislature to enact this, and the apppointed Judiciary to police but not obstruct. Stopping the government protecting the borders via legal constraints is like the Supreme Court deciding an elected government and parliament does not have the power to declare war because the ECHR doesn't like it. Would you approve of that?
It seems to me we have a judiciary which is overly political, overly pro-active, and overly obeisant to endless international laws some of which it seems to conjure out of thin air
Braverman is right. Overrule the judges
Edit: Nope, another 15m delay.
Edit2: Nope, 30m delay now.
They won an 80 seat majority, not because they ran on a single issue of Get Brexit Done, but because the voters wanted politicians to stop dicking around.
Now the Tories are incessantly dicking around with Rwanda.
They should STFU
And let us assume for a moment they do in fact manage to ship some unfortunate souls off to Rwanda.
It only takes one of them to make their way desperately back to Calais for the whole scheme to unravel
The sun has finally come out in my villa
Do I have a swim in my private pool? Or in the sea?
However I’m open to being persuaded: private pool
This is important and we need to decide
So in the middle of a couple of wars, a migrant flare up and economic staightjackets Lisa Nandy decides attacking JK Rowling is her priority.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/11/16/lisa-nandy-jk-rowling-trans-transgender-bodily-parts-debate/
Just found out last night that Sir Keir, as well as Michael Gove, wrote a letter trying to get Roger Waters concerts cancelled for it in Manchester!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12170501/Michael-Gove-Sir-Keir-Starmer-condemn-Pink-Floyds-Roger-Waters-alleged-anti-Semitic-views.html
Seems Waters has been on Starmer’s case since 2020
https://dorseteye.com/roger-waters-my-letter-in-response-to-keir-starmers-labour-party-capitulating-to-the-zionists/
Just another means of burdening the taxpayer with yet more tax.
https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits