Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Apparently Leicester is “leading the way” in “sustainable food and drink”
Don’t all rush at once
Why not? Very good covered market (PB Tories' favourite TV pundit comes from a market stall family), lots of culinary traditions from all over the world and allotment traditions, lots of farmland around. Bit short of sea, though, unless the canal qualifies, or you like pike.
I’m sure you’re right it’s more that the entire concept seems forlorn
Are there really people all over Britain wondering whether to have a holiday break in Leicester, who will be finally won over when they hear its food scene is “impressively sustainable”?
Actually, Leicester *is* a major tourist destination.
It's also the place where *your* industry was invented.
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Another symptom of declining Britain. Let's have a consultation on the best way to provide a worse public service, in this case Royal Mail.
Well, it's outdated, sexist and thoroughly unwoke.
I suggest as a start we rename it the Royal Intersex to more accurately reflect a modern, diverse nation.
Incidentally why is a private company allowed to call itself 'Royal'? Seeing noted Powellite Simon Heffer questioning the need for the privatisation of the Royal Mail and the splitting of it from the Post Office was eyebrow raising.
I think Trump is an abomination. However four more years of Biden seriously worries me as well. The US is displaying an alarming weakness on the global stage that is being exploited by Putin, Xi, the Ayatollahs and more. Given his age and deteriorating condition this is only likely to get worse.
Quite a lot of that is down to GOP obstruction in Congress, so you should be arguing for a big Democratic win in November ?
Not really. Biden's support for Ukraine has been half-hearted all the way through. As for Iran he stopped designating the Houthis as terrorists, unfroze Iranian assets and tried to revive the nuclear deal. He's emboldened them. They simply aren't being deterred from their malign actions.
But it's the general sense of tentativeness that I don't think we've seen from a US government before. A President who thinks his main enemies are in Washington would hardly be an improvement and so in a forced choice I would stick with Biden but it's not a choice that makes me sleep easier at night.
Yes, neither of them would be best, but it’s pretty clear now that both parties have made their octogenarian choice.
Europe needs to step up and deal with Russia, which at the moment means buying up as much military hardware as they can find and sending it to Ukraine. Speak to everyone who’s ever bought Western kit that might be useful and find out what they don’t need any more. Get those 155mm ammo factories open ASAP.
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
I think that's all they do in my road (unoffically) already
Nobody's writing to you, mate. Think about getting a penpal.
The prospect of struggling through Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays bereft of information about pizza delivery services is almost more than I can bear.
I would be in favour of stopping Monday deliveries. That’s the day we get most junk mail.
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Although the decline of General Gerasimov was generally treated as premature with all the substance of a twitter frenzy, am I right in thinking he has not been seen since?
Another symptom of declining Britain. Let's have a consultation on the best way to provide a worse public service, in this case Royal Mail.
Some guy was on the Today programme saying people could just collect their mail....not having anything else to do presumably.
That would save money. We could collect our mail from the person or organisation that was going to send it. I'm just popping up to Inverness to collect my Xmas card from Auntie Dora.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
If we’re not going to get next day deliveries, why pay the extra for a first class stamp?
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
How much of their readership is online ? And how many of the remainder would be bothered by getting it on a Friday rather than a Saturday ?
One thing I have learned from all my travels is this. The key to national happiness is not to be rich. Otherwise France or America (etc) would be the happiest places on earth, and they definitely are not
What you need for national happiness is for people to be getting richER, and with a sense this will continue. So they can be really quite poor, but if they assess that things are improving, they are happy
Cambodia is a good example of this. It’s a seriously poor country. GDP per capita is less than $2000
But they are - it seems to me, and I’ve been here a lot in the last 12 months - some of the happiest people anywhere. There is a national cheeriness. And then you notice that their economy grew 7% a year, for a solid decade, pre-pandemic
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
If we’re not going to get next day deliveries, why pay the extra for a first class stamp?
Why should it cost the same to post a letter one mile as to post it from Cornwall to the Shetland Isles?
One thing I have learned from all my travels is this. The key to national happiness is not to be rich. Otherwise France or America (etc) would be the happiest places on earth, and they definitely are not
What you need for national happiness is for people to be getting richER, and with a sense this will continue. So they can be really quite poor, but if they assess that things are improving, they are happy
Cambodia is a good example of this. It’s a seriously poor country. GDP per capita is less than $2000
But they are - it seems to me, and I’ve been here a lot in the last 12 months - some of the happiest people anywhere. There is a national cheeriness. And then you notice that their economy grew 7% a year, for a solid decade, pre-pandemic
The knives actually used in most attacks on people are kitchen knives of moderate length.
I don't believe anyone is unaware of that unpleasant factoid, and I understand you and Isam pulling Starmer up on his every idiocy, but even a stopped clock is correct twice a day.
Do we really want combat knives on the streets? If one life is saved, surely Starmer's hand-wringing was worth it.
Funny thing is, the government announced a ban on zombie knives just last year, so this may be an XL Bully-type problem of defining edge cases.
Another symptom of declining Britain. Let's have a consultation on the best way to provide a worse public service, in this case Royal Mail.
Some guy was on the Today programme saying people could just collect their mail....not having anything else to do presumably.
That would save money. We could collect our mail from the person or organisation that was going to send it. I'm just popping up to Inverness to collect my Xmas card from Auntie Dora.
The hard commercial benefit, yes, but something else too. It would foster more personal 'irl' contact with loved ones. So maybe an idea worth looking at. There's a touch of Big Society about it.
The knives actually used in most attacks on people are kitchen knives of moderate length.
I don't believe anyone is unaware of that unpleasant factoid, and I understand you and Isam pulling Starmer up on his every idiocy, but even a stopped clock is correct twice a day.
Do we really want combat knives on the streets? If one life is saved, surely Starmer's hand-wringing was worth it.
Funny thing is, the government announced a ban on zombie knives just last year, so this may be an XL Bully-type problem of defining edge cases.
Doesn't matter how many times you try to kill off zombie knives, they just keep coming back
Perhaps if we give the Royal Mail a monopoly on delivering Zombie knives, that will give them enough business to maintain the universal post, every day....
I think Trump is an abomination. However four more years of Biden seriously worries me as well. The US is displaying an alarming weakness on the global stage that is being exploited by Putin, Xi, the Ayatollahs and more. Given his age and deteriorating condition this is only likely to get worse.
Quite a lot of that is down to GOP obstruction in Congress, so you should be arguing for a big Democratic win in November ?
Not really. Biden's support for Ukraine has been half-hearted all the way through. As for Iran he stopped designating the Houthis as terrorists, unfroze Iranian assets and tried to revive the nuclear deal. He's emboldened them. They simply aren't being deterred from their malign actions.
But it's the general sense of tentativeness that I don't think we've seen from a US government before. A President who thinks his main enemies are in Washington would hardly be an improvement and so in a forced choice I would stick with Biden but it's not a choice that makes me sleep easier at night.
Yes, neither of them would be best, but it’s pretty clear now that both parties have made their octogenarian choice.
Europe needs to step up and deal with Russia, which at the moment means buying up as much military hardware as they can find and sending it to Ukraine. Speak to everyone who’s ever bought Western kit that might be useful and find out what they don’t need any more. Get those 155mm ammo factories open ASAP.
Heard an interesting suggestion on the whole Ukraine arms thing.
1) The EU buys up surplus/old American equipment at disposal prices. 2) Ship it to Ukraine 3) The Republicans in Congress vote lots of money to their friends in the Arms Industrial Complex for replacements. 4) Sell it to the MAGA types as the "Europeans paying for America to arm against China".
Another symptom of declining Britain. Let's have a consultation on the best way to provide a worse public service, in this case Royal Mail.
Some guy was on the Today programme saying people could just collect their mail....not having anything else to do presumably.
That would save money. We could collect our mail from the person or organisation that was going to send it. I'm just popping up to Inverness to collect my Xmas card from Auntie Dora.
Presumably, if halving delivery days would save £650m then stopping all deliveries would save £1.3bn! Plus there may even be additional savings in roles that are not directly tied to number of deliveries...
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Another symptom of declining Britain. Let's have a consultation on the best way to provide a worse public service, in this case Royal Mail.
Some guy was on the Today programme saying people could just collect their mail....not having anything else to do presumably.
That would save money. We could collect our mail from the person or organisation that was going to send it. I'm just popping up to Inverness to collect my Xmas card from Auntie Dora.
Presumably, if halving delivery days would save £650m then stopping all deliveries would save £1.3bn! Plus there may even be additional savings in roles that are not directly tied to number of deliveries...
If we cancel deliveries on days they don't deliver, this will *make* money.
One thing I have learned from all my travels is this. The key to national happiness is not to be rich. Otherwise France or America (etc) would be the happiest places on earth, and they definitely are not
What you need for national happiness is for people to be getting richER, and with a sense this will continue. So they can be really quite poor, but if they assess that things are improving, they are happy
Cambodia is a good example of this. It’s a seriously poor country. GDP per capita is less than $2000
But they are - it seems to me, and I’ve been here a lot in the last 12 months - some of the happiest people anywhere. There is a national cheeriness. And then you notice that their economy grew 7% a year, for a solid decade, pre-pandemic
One thing I have learned from all my travels is this. The key to national happiness is not to be rich. Otherwise France or America (etc) would be the happiest places on earth, and they definitely are not
What you need for national happiness is for people to be getting richER, and with a sense this will continue. So they can be really quite poor, but if they assess that things are improving, they are happy
Cambodia is a good example of this. It’s a seriously poor country. GDP per capita is less than $2000
But they are - it seems to me, and I’ve been here a lot in the last 12 months - some of the happiest people anywhere. There is a national cheeriness. And then you notice that their economy grew 7% a year, for a solid decade, pre-pandemic
I think Trump is an abomination. However four more years of Biden seriously worries me as well. The US is displaying an alarming weakness on the global stage that is being exploited by Putin, Xi, the Ayatollahs and more. Given his age and deteriorating condition this is only likely to get worse.
Quite a lot of that is down to GOP obstruction in Congress, so you should be arguing for a big Democratic win in November ?
Not really. Biden's support for Ukraine has been half-hearted all the way through. As for Iran he stopped designating the Houthis as terrorists, unfroze Iranian assets and tried to revive the nuclear deal. He's emboldened them. They simply aren't being deterred from their malign actions.
But it's the general sense of tentativeness that I don't think we've seen from a US government before. A President who thinks his main enemies are in Washington would hardly be an improvement and so in a forced choice I would stick with Biden but it's not a choice that makes me sleep easier at night.
Yes, neither of them would be best, but it’s pretty clear now that both parties have made their octogenarian choice.
Europe needs to step up and deal with Russia, which at the moment means buying up as much military hardware as they can find and sending it to Ukraine. Speak to everyone who’s ever bought Western kit that might be useful and find out what they don’t need any more. Get those 155mm ammo factories open ASAP.
Heard an interesting suggestion on the whole Ukraine arms thing.
1) The EU buys up surplus/old American equipment at disposal prices. 2) Ship it to Ukraine 3) The Republicans in Congress vote lots of money to their friends in the Arms Industrial Complex for replacements. 4) Sell it to the MAGA types as the "Europeans paying for America to arm against China".
That works.
Yes there’s enough vested interests around, that all the US surplus kit is going to end up in Ukraine one way or the other.
I expect the rhetoric to be totally different, but the outcome to be remarkably similar as far as Ukraine is concerned.
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Apparently Leicester is “leading the way” in “sustainable food and drink”
Don’t all rush at once
Why not? Very good covered market (PB Tories' favourite TV pundit comes from a market stall family), lots of culinary traditions from all over the world and allotment traditions, lots of farmland around. Bit short of sea, though, unless the canal qualifies, or you like pike.
I’m sure you’re right it’s more that the entire concept seems forlorn
Are there really people all over Britain wondering whether to have a holiday break in Leicester, who will be finally won over when they hear its food scene is “impressively sustainable”?
Actually, Leicester *is* a major tourist destination.
It's also the place where *your* industry was invented.
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
I think that's all they do in my road (unoffically) already
Nobody's writing to you, mate. Think about getting a penpal.
The prospect of struggling through Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays bereft of information about pizza delivery services is almost more than I can bear.
I would be in favour of stopping Monday deliveries. That’s the day we get most junk mail.
Fairly obviously, to make it work, half the population would be on a Mon-Wed-Fri cycle and the other half Tue-Thu-Sat. Otherwise staff would have to be put on a three-day week with super-long days and double length deliveries, and the length of the working day and hence delivery length is already a challenge.
In theory half your mail would arrive the same day as before, with half delayed by an extra day, except that the latter might include the odd letter that would have been delayed anyway. So, in principle, it should be somewhat more reliable.
On the Tories the BBC are setting the bar low for labelling someone a “Senior Tory MP” this morning. He is not senior in longevity, senior in age or senior in position but I guess it makes the story more exciting to report.
On the Republicans, if Haley has the money behind her, she should keep running to the end. Firstly if something happens to Trump legally or due to health before the end then by staying in she would likely be the Nominee.
Secondly if she is making Trump campaign it means he is spending money from his PACs and the more he has to spend on the Nomination race the less there is for the GE but also less to find its way to cover his legal costs and bolster his accounts.
On the Tories he is someone who backed the wrong horse in Liz Truss and is no doubt disappointed how his career in politics has gone since.
Now he is given the label of a trouble maker so the toast is well and truly burnt to a crisp. It’s a tough old game, politics.
If all this is true you have to ask why the Saudis are putting up with it? If Russia wants to side with Iran, why don't the Saudis start pumping oil and bring the price down? Maybe they are waiting for the moment Trump returns and the hated Biden has been seen off.
I think Trump is an abomination. However four more years of Biden seriously worries me as well. The US is displaying an alarming weakness on the global stage that is being exploited by Putin, Xi, the Ayatollahs and more. Given his age and deteriorating condition this is only likely to get worse.
Quite a lot of that is down to GOP obstruction in Congress, so you should be arguing for a big Democratic win in November ?
Not really. Biden's support for Ukraine has been half-hearted all the way through. As for Iran he stopped designating the Houthis as terrorists, unfroze Iranian assets and tried to revive the nuclear deal. He's emboldened them. They simply aren't being deterred from their malign actions.
But it's the general sense of tentativeness that I don't think we've seen from a US government before. A President who thinks his main enemies are in Washington would hardly be an improvement and so in a forced choice I would stick with Biden but it's not a choice that makes me sleep easier at night.
Yes, neither of them would be best, but it’s pretty clear now that both parties have made their octogenarian choice.
Europe needs to step up and deal with Russia, which at the moment means buying up as much military hardware as they can find and sending it to Ukraine. Speak to everyone who’s ever bought Western kit that might be useful and find out what they don’t need any more. Get those 155mm ammo factories open ASAP.
Heard an interesting suggestion on the whole Ukraine arms thing.
1) The EU buys up surplus/old American equipment at disposal prices. 2) Ship it to Ukraine 3) The Republicans in Congress vote lots of money to their friends in the Arms Industrial Complex for replacements. 4) Sell it to the MAGA types as the "Europeans paying for America to arm against China".
Well (4) will definitely work. MAGA types are easy to sell to.
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
One thing I have learned from all my travels is this. The key to national happiness is not to be rich. Otherwise France or America (etc) would be the happiest places on earth, and they definitely are not
What you need for national happiness is for people to be getting richER, and with a sense this will continue. So they can be really quite poor, but if they assess that things are improving, they are happy
Cambodia is a good example of this. It’s a seriously poor country. GDP per capita is less than $2000
But they are - it seems to me, and I’ve been here a lot in the last 12 months - some of the happiest people anywhere. There is a national cheeriness. And then you notice that their economy grew 7% a year, for a solid decade, pre-pandemic
It’s better to be in at the start of something good than in at the end of it.
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
If we’re not going to get next day deliveries, why pay the extra for a first class stamp?
Why should it cost the same to post a letter one mile as to post it from Cornwall to the Shetland Isles?
Public service. Eg you pay the same (nothing) for an NHS heart transplant as for a cast on a broken wrist.
On a more serious note I think that both France and Germany are suffering from an overly tight monetary stance by the ECB who were more worried about inflation than the BoE seemed to be. Economies in their position should really be cutting interest rates by now but the ECB has the rest of the EZ to think about (plus the usual Germanic obsession with inflation, natch).
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Or they will arrive a week late rather than a day late!
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
One thing I have learned from all my travels is this. The key to national happiness is not to be rich. Otherwise France or America (etc) would be the happiest places on earth, and they definitely are not
What you need for national happiness is for people to be getting richER, and with a sense this will continue. So they can be really quite poor, but if they assess that things are improving, they are happy
Cambodia is a good example of this. It’s a seriously poor country. GDP per capita is less than $2000
But they are - it seems to me, and I’ve been here a lot in the last 12 months - some of the happiest people anywhere. There is a national cheeriness. And then you notice that their economy grew 7% a year, for a solid decade, pre-pandemic
Happiness = reality > expectations
Unhappiness = reality < expectations
Except Leon's thesis is the opposite, and I agree with it. Your formulation is usually expressed as 'outcome' rather than reality, and I would agree with that too
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
If we’re not going to get next day deliveries, why pay the extra for a first class stamp?
Why should it cost the same to post a letter one mile as to post it from Cornwall to the Shetland Isles?
Public service. Eg you pay the same (nothing) for an NHS heart transplant as for a cast on a broken wrist.
I think Trump is an abomination. However four more years of Biden seriously worries me as well. The US is displaying an alarming weakness on the global stage that is being exploited by Putin, Xi, the Ayatollahs and more. Given his age and deteriorating condition this is only likely to get worse.
Quite a lot of that is down to GOP obstruction in Congress, so you should be arguing for a big Democratic win in November ?
Not really. Biden's support for Ukraine has been half-hearted all the way through. As for Iran he stopped designating the Houthis as terrorists, unfroze Iranian assets and tried to revive the nuclear deal. He's emboldened them. They simply aren't being deterred from their malign actions.
But it's the general sense of tentativeness that I don't think we've seen from a US government before. A President who thinks his main enemies are in Washington would hardly be an improvement and so in a forced choice I would stick with Biden but it's not a choice that makes me sleep easier at night.
Yes, neither of them would be best, but it’s pretty clear now that both parties have made their octogenarian choice.
Europe needs to step up and deal with Russia, which at the moment means buying up as much military hardware as they can find and sending it to Ukraine. Speak to everyone who’s ever bought Western kit that might be useful and find out what they don’t need any more. Get those 155mm ammo factories open ASAP.
Heard an interesting suggestion on the whole Ukraine arms thing.
1) The EU buys up surplus/old American equipment at disposal prices. 2) Ship it to Ukraine 3) The Republicans in Congress vote lots of money to their friends in the Arms Industrial Complex for replacements. 4) Sell it to the MAGA types as the "Europeans paying for America to arm against China".
Well (4) will definitely work. MAGA types are easy to sell to.
The Trumpet is the easiest to sell to. Just make him believe it is his idea.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Or they will arrive a week late rather than a day late!
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
I’m not really a techie but did we not start using something called email? And social media?
I am struggling to remember when I last physically posted a letter. Sent some Christmas cards but not even half of what I used to.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
If we’re not going to get next day deliveries, why pay the extra for a first class stamp?
Why should it cost the same to post a letter one mile as to post it from Cornwall to the Shetland Isles?
Public service. Eg you pay the same (nothing) for an NHS heart transplant as for a cast on a broken wrist.
You could also argue it on marginal cost grounds, as almost all of the transport costs are fixed. Therefore the marginal cost of your letter to the business isn't hugely different wherever it is going.
You might also be surprised how far a letter going just a mile actually travels, given the hub-and-spoke model that Royal Mail has used for several decades. The days when local mail was separated out after posting (always a haphazard process given that the sifting was done by eye and hand) are long gone. Further, sorting now relies on big machines, and to make this economic they need to collect the mail in over a wide area into relatively few locations. Not totally dissimilar to the NHS centralising hospital services to make expensive scanners and the like economic.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Or they will arrive a week late rather than a day late!
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
I’m not really a techie but did we not start using something called email? And social media?
I am struggling to remember when I last physically posted a letter. Sent some Christmas cards but not even half of what I used to.
Gov't & related (NHS, DVLA etc) is the one entity(s) that still seems to use the post - appointment letters, fines and so forth.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Or they will arrive a week late rather than a day late!
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
True, although the usual declining industry problems of greedy unions (at one point, Royal Mail accounted for 60% of the days lost to strikes in the UK), incompetent management (remember the Consignia rebrand?) and counter-productive, short-termist government policy were also there in abundance.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Or they will arrive a week late rather than a day late!
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
I’m not really a techie but did we not start using something called email? And social media?
I am struggling to remember when I last physically posted a letter. Sent some Christmas cards but not even half of what I used to.
Gov't & related (NHS, DVLA etc) is the one entity(s) that still seems to use the post - appointment letters, fines and so forth.
Edit: The courts !
Where I’m living there’s never really been a postal service, more like business have a PO Box and someone goes to collect it. So they’ve moved everything online quickly over the past few years, to the point where they’re now sending out traffic fines by SMS!
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Or they will arrive a week late rather than a day late!
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
I’m not really a techie but did we not start using something called email? And social media?
I am struggling to remember when I last physically posted a letter. Sent some Christmas cards but not even half of what I used to.
Are you on email? You have to be these days. A lot of the young people are claiming it's the future, you know.
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Either Ukrainian POWs or missiles on board, depending on who you believe...
Looks like a load shift or overweight aircraft - or it could be simply just another horrendously-unserviceable IL-76 that they dragged out of Siberian boneyard, that some poor buggers got told to fly.
One of the longer videos shows a suspicious grey cloud in the sky on about the line the plane was taking.
If the plane wasn't carrying Ukrainian POWs, I wouldn't put it past the Russians to take 65 POWs and just kill them. Bastards.
(I assume both sides know roughly how many POWs each side has.)
Anyone know why France's economy is in such bad shape ?
Having ended 2023 deep inside contraction territory, France’s economy began the new year with another marked month-on month reduction in private sector business activity. In fact, the downturn worsened in January as faster falls in output at both service providers and manufacturers led to the steepest overall rate of decline since last September. A ninth successive month of weakening demand was a major factor behind January’s contraction, placing the onus firmly on backlogs as the means to boost activity. Indeed, outstanding work volumes declined, as did employment and business confidence.
The headline HCOB Flash France Composite PMI Output Index remained below the critical 50.0 threshold that separates growth from decline in January for an eighth month in a row, stretching the downturn seen in the eurozone’s second-largest economy that began in mid-2023. At 44.2, the headline index was down from 44.8 in December, its lowest for four months and indicative of a steep contraction in business activity.
Quite a contrast compared to the UK:
The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index registered 52.5 in January, up from 52.1 in December and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the strongest rate of output growth since June 2023. The index has picked up in each month since hitting an eight-month low last September (48.5)
Either Ukrainian POWs or missiles on board, depending on who you believe...
My instinct is the plane was probably carrying POWs but was caused by General Neg Upkeep rather than anything Ukranian. Might be wrong but I doubt Ukraine would target their own POWs.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
If we’re not going to get next day deliveries, why pay the extra for a first class stamp?
Why should it cost the same to post a letter one mile as to post it from Cornwall to the Shetland Isles?
Public service. Eg you pay the same (nothing) for an NHS heart transplant as for a cast on a broken wrist.
Fair enough. Should a business get the same deal?
No, that's different. But you do get these kind of halfway houses (energy, water, the mail, the buses, the trains, basic banking services) where what ought to be a utility is being run almost purely for profit in the private sector. It's then a tricky balance you have to strike (and we often seem to struggle with it).
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Or they will arrive a week late rather than a day late!
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
I’m not really a techie but did we not start using something called email? And social media?
I am struggling to remember when I last physically posted a letter. Sent some Christmas cards but not even half of what I used to.
Letter volumes have been declining for many years; they've halved in the last ten years, and are still heading downwards. Mostly due to technology, as you say, and much less so, because of rising prices. 80% of mail is sent by large organisations like councils, the NHS, banks, and the big advertising firms nowadays. Nevertheless, surveys continue to suggest that direct mail gets taken more notice of, and is therefore a cost effective method of advertising (particularly when properly targeted) than every other form of advertising. Helicopter advertising on TV, radio, bus shelters and the like is easily ignored, and while online advertising targeting is becoming more sophisticated, so are the measures many people take to avoid seeing it at all.
Interestingly, package and parcel volumes have also declined over the last two years, but this is assumed to be a temporary 'correction' after the explosion in online shopping during the pandemic.
My theory is that the pound shop Admiral Horthy thought that Hungary would be able to seize Ruthenia from a partitioned Ukraine.
And has been sulking because that didn't happen.
Wouldn't surprise me. Also, rather obvious shades of Poland being split between Germany and Russia in 1939...
I'm trying to imagine what Horthy would have made of Orban
Arrow Cross supporters disrupted a performance at the Budapest opera house -
"two or three men were on the floor and Horthy had another by the throat, slapping his face and shouting what I learned afterward was: "So you would betray your country, would you?...."
1/n: There are some academic papers that are so brilliantly and so accessibly written and so universal in scope that they transcend disciplines and stand as timeless testaments to both great thinking and great writing. Here's a short personal selection: https://twitter.com/curiouswavefn/status/1749647212811084061
Another symptom of declining Britain. Let's have a consultation on the best way to provide a worse public service, in this case Royal Mail.
Since the only things I get through the post seem to be junk mail, tax bills and traffic fines I'd be happy if they stopped delivering altogether.
Kind of why RM is in a bit of a death spiral having failed to invest properly since privatisation - with the money going out as dividends that should have been invested in making it competitive with the non-Amazon delivery firms.
If you can't provide a regular and reliable service, people and firms stop using you for anything useful that needs to reach someone urgently or promptly. So your revenue decreases and you provide a worse service. Three or five days a week would just worsen that problem.
Another legacy of the many failures of the Tory Party over the past 14 years.
As doing 6 days a week delivery of a declining and loss making letters business is not profitable for a private business as Royal Mail now is, if the government want that to remain part of the USO then taxpayers have to subsidise it.
Only the growing parcels market makes a profit for RM otherwise
Probably true but a some of that low-hanging fruit has already been picked. For instance, just last week I had an outpatients procedure and was given a choice of two hospitals, and a further choice of whether to discuss the results by phone or in person.
Another symptom of declining Britain. Let's have a consultation on the best way to provide a worse public service, in this case Royal Mail.
Since the only things I get through the post seem to be junk mail, tax bills and traffic fines I'd be happy if they stopped delivering altogether.
Kind of why RM is in a bit of a death spiral having failed to invest properly since privatisation - with the money going out as dividends that should have been invested in making it competitive with the non-Amazon delivery firms.
If you can't provide a regular and reliable service, people and firms stop using you for anything useful that needs to reach someone urgently or promptly. So your revenue decreases and you provide a worse service. Three or five days a week would just worsen that problem.
Another legacy of the many failures of the Tory Party over the past 14 years.
The Ofcom options are informed by the experience in other European countries. Most have moved to a five-day model, with little impact on service or popularity, and in Scandinavia alternate-day models appear to work - again, despite opposition prior, once implemented they don't appear to have caused any significant concerns. Denmark moved to a one-day-per-week delivery of regular (non-urgent) mail, and this has led to a significant collapse in volumes.
Sign of the times! Last week a student nurse looked surreptitiously at her phone to tell the time, despite wearing the traditional nurse's fob watch on her right breast.
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
I do not buy people saying they favour Trump because Biden is such a grim or scary proposition. The guy is knocking on, sure, and his health would be a standing concern in a 2nd term, but in his 1st term he's been an able competent president who has sought to govern by consensus. No way does he represent something so terrible as to drive someone into supporting Donald Trump. It's a crock of shit when anyone says that. They are lying.
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
Another symptom of declining Britain. Let's have a consultation on the best way to provide a worse public service, in this case Royal Mail.
Since the only things I get through the post seem to be junk mail, tax bills and traffic fines I'd be happy if they stopped delivering altogether.
Kind of why RM is in a bit of a death spiral having failed to invest properly since privatisation - with the money going out as dividends that should have been invested in making it competitive with the non-Amazon delivery firms.
If you can't provide a regular and reliable service, people and firms stop using you for anything useful that needs to reach someone urgently or promptly. So your revenue decreases and you provide a worse service. Three or five days a week would just worsen that problem.
Another legacy of the many failures of the Tory Party over the past 14 years.
Three days a week would obviously be a regular service, especially if they can make it more reliable. And would add little if anything to delivery times as we all know that first class mail isn't delivered next working day
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
I do not buy people saying they favour Trump because Biden is such a grim or scary proposition. The guy is knocking on, sure, and his health would be a standing concern in a 2nd term, but in his 1st term he's been an able competent president who has sought to govern by consensus. No way does he represent something so terrible as to drive someone into supporting Donald Trump. It's a crock of shit when anyone says that. They are lying.
They're not lying so much as disappearing down the American right wing rabbit hole. 30p Lee probably really does fear Joe Biden confiscating his guns.
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
I do not buy people saying they favour Trump because Biden is such a grim or scary proposition. The guy is knocking on, sure, and his health would be a standing concern in a 2nd term, but in his 1st term he's been an able competent president who has sought to govern by consensus. No way does he represent something so terrible as to drive someone into supporting Donald Trump. It's a crock of shit when anyone says that. They are lying.
On my last road trip I was surprised at the depth of hatred for 'Washington' once you got away from the big cities. To the extent that people would tell you (quite passionately) not to go there because it was such a horrible place. Like it or not, Trump and the alt-right have been more successful in tapping into this disaffection than the Dems who, despite their policy agenda being more favourable for poorer working Americans, are seen as exemplifying much about their politics that many ordinary Americans dislike. Biden's a nicer guy, for sure, but he's also a Washington insider through and through.
Sign of the times! Last week a student nurse looked surreptitiously at her phone to tell the time, despite wearing the traditional nurse's fob watch on her right breast.
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
I do not buy people saying they favour Trump because Biden is such a grim or scary proposition. The guy is knocking on, sure, and his health would be a standing concern in a 2nd term, but in his 1st term he's been an able competent president who has sought to govern by consensus. No way does he represent something so terrible as to drive someone into supporting Donald Trump. It's a crock of shit when anyone says that. They are lying.
On my last road trip I was surprised at the depth of hatred for 'Washington' once you got away from the big cities. To the extent that people would tell you (quite passionately) not to go there because it was such a horrible place. Like it or not, Trump and the alt-right have been more successful in tapping into this disaffection than the Dems who, despite their policy agenda being more favourable for poorer working Americans, are seen as exemplifying much about their politics that many ordinary Americans dislike. Biden's a nicer guy, for sure, but he's also a Washington insider through and through.
Have they 'tapped into dissatisfaction' with Washington - or have they simply succeeded in making it a scapegoat for the general problems of life ?
One thing I have learned from all my travels is this. The key to national happiness is not to be rich. Otherwise France or America (etc) would be the happiest places on earth, and they definitely are not
What you need for national happiness is for people to be getting richER, and with a sense this will continue. So they can be really quite poor, but if they assess that things are improving, they are happy
Cambodia is a good example of this. It’s a seriously poor country. GDP per capita is less than $2000
But they are - it seems to me, and I’ve been here a lot in the last 12 months - some of the happiest people anywhere. There is a national cheeriness. And then you notice that their economy grew 7% a year, for a solid decade, pre-pandemic
There has been research on happiness, although I can't remember where it is. Broadly speaking the secret is safety, stability and gently rising standards of living. People are reasonably simple: eat, f**k, s**t, sleep, give birth, raise family, get old and sick, die - and their requirements are simple and predictable: safety to meet and breed, stability to plan, gently rising standards of living enables one to cope when plans fall short. It's one of the reasons why I'm so unkeen on growth as a target: it doesn't necessarily provide happiness.
I'm very split on David Cameron: the austerity program was a disaster and Brexit is good or bad depending on taste. But one of the good things he did was to order that happiness be measured, and the ONS's personal well-being ratings, part of the Measures of National Well-Being, can be accessed online, for example here and here.
TL:DR: we're getting unhappier and have been for several years now.
If you can't provide a regular and reliable service, people and firms stop using you for anything useful that needs to reach someone urgently or promptly. So your revenue decreases and you provide a worse service. Three or five days a week would just worsen that problem.
It's hard to see how Royal Mail get out of this death spiral. The letters business is dying, but RM now needs massive investment to offer a level of parcel service their competitors have had for years.
The customer experience they offer is wretched; my big personal bug-bear is redelivery and collection. If I'm not in RM will not leave a package on the doorstep, even though I live in a sleepy village where nothing ever gets nicked. The package goes back to the delivery office in another town, which is officially open 8am-10am but is often closed anyway. Redelivery can't be booked for next day, only the day after.
I actively avoid ordering anything that's delivered by RM unless there's no other option. Professionally, I still use them but only because every package I ship is small enough to go through a letterbox. That will change later this year and there's zero chance RM will be getting my large package business.
Either Ukrainian POWs or missiles on board, depending on who you believe...
My instinct is the plane was probably carrying POWs but was caused by General Neg Upkeep rather than anything Ukranian. Might be wrong but I doubt Ukraine would target their own POWs.
I just don't see Russia giving PoWs air transport, either to make PoWs comfortable or because of the risk to their planes flying over somewhere like Belgorod within easy range of Ua air defences.
How is that different to what I already get? Often don't get deliveries. Its like back in the day when the 2nd post got canned. I had never had a 2nd post.
Editor of Spectator has been warning about effect on weekly news mags of no delivery over weekend.
He presumably knows his business, but I think he's making an error here.
The problem, which has been going on for some time, is that magazine delivery is highly unreliable, so they don't arrive on the scheduled day. That frustrates readers and they tend to blame the magazine.
It's perfectly possible that reducing frequency would improve reliability (not necessarily, but both are features that cost money the Royal Mail simply doesn't have).
Ah yes, see your point! If deliveries are cut back to one day a week, then magazines will reliably arrive on that day.
Or they will arrive a week late rather than a day late!
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
I’m not really a techie but did we not start using something called email? And social media?
I am struggling to remember when I last physically posted a letter. Sent some Christmas cards but not even half of what I used to.
Letter volumes have been declining for many years; they've halved in the last ten years, and are still heading downwards. Mostly due to technology, as you say, and much less so, because of rising prices. 80% of mail is sent by large organisations like councils, the NHS, banks, and the big advertising firms nowadays. Nevertheless, surveys continue to suggest that direct mail gets taken more notice of, and is therefore a cost effective method of advertising (particularly when properly targeted) than every other form of advertising. Helicopter advertising on TV, radio, bus shelters and the like is easily ignored, and while online advertising targeting is becoming more sophisticated, so are the measures many people take to avoid seeing it at all.
Interestingly, package and parcel volumes have also declined over the last two years, but this is assumed to be a temporary 'correction' after the explosion in online shopping during the pandemic.
Parcel delivery always seems an absolute bargain to me. For £3.50 I can get 1kg of crap to anywhere in the country. An extra quid if I need a signature at the other end.
University of York posts £24m deficit (£14m operating deficit) after 16% drop in international student numbers, also blaming England’s “unsustainable funding model”
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
I do not buy people saying they favour Trump because Biden is such a grim or scary proposition. The guy is knocking on, sure, and his health would be a standing concern in a 2nd term, but in his 1st term he's been an able competent president who has sought to govern by consensus. No way does he represent something so terrible as to drive someone into supporting Donald Trump. It's a crock of shit when anyone says that. They are lying.
On my last road trip I was surprised at the depth of hatred for 'Washington' once you got away from the big cities. To the extent that people would tell you (quite passionately) not to go there because it was such a horrible place. Like it or not, Trump and the alt-right have been more successful in tapping into this disaffection than the Dems who, despite their policy agenda being more favourable for poorer working Americans, are seen as exemplifying much about their politics that many ordinary Americans dislike. Biden's a nicer guy, for sure, but he's also a Washington insider through and through.
Have they 'tapped into dissatisfaction' with Washington - or have they simply succeeded in making it a scapegoat for the general problems of life ?
Just as UK politicians spent forty years blaming the evil EUrocrats for policies they had backed but didn’t want to take responsibility for, I suspect it’s very tempting in the US for a local politician to try and push blame the for local problems onto those out of touch Washington know-it-alls.
The former eventually rebounded badly on all of us in the form of the shitty Brexit we ended with (regardless of what might have been). I imagine the same is true in the US - the local polity may eventually discover that kicking out the Federal government doesn’t actually end up helping them very much, if at all. Not that this will stop them blaming the Federal government for everything that goes wrong anyway.
University of York posts £24m deficit (£14m operating deficit) after 16% drop in international student numbers, also blaming England’s “unsustainable funding model”
Basically our university finance system has reached the end of the road
There are issues (the student fees not rising as costs have, for instance). Unis have utility bills too.
However whenever I see a big deficit I like to dig a bit deeper. A few years ago Leeds got into trouble, around the time that they built some stupendous new buildings. Other Unis have had unwise financial activity - at one point Bristol (I think) were borrowing money and then lending it out, but got screwed when the loan rates changed. They even asked staff to voluntarily take some unpaid leave (which was rejected).
Our Uni has put a 'chill' (note - definitely not a freeze) on recruitment. Basically you have to make a really watertight case. I suspect retiring staff will be a lot harder to replace for a while.
Comments
Manufacturing PMI
UK 47.3
EuroZone 46.6
Germany 45.4
France 43.0
Services PMI
UK 53.8
EuroZone 48.4
Germany 47.6
France 45.0
In the last year Jupiter Macron has presided over:
Two state visits having to be cancelled because law and order has broken down in France.
The collapse of France's position in its former colonies in west and central Africa.
A failing economy.
Has this been France's worst year since 1940 ?
It's also the place where *your* industry was invented.
https://www.storyofleicester.info/city-stories/thomas-cooks-leicester/
And 68-69 was definitely suboptimal.
However I agree Macronisme as a concept is in grave trouble. Le Pen right now must be favourite to win in 2027
Europe needs to step up and deal with Russia, which at the moment means buying up as much military hardware as they can find and sending it to Ukraine. Speak to everyone who’s ever bought Western kit that might be useful and find out what they don’t need any more. Get those 155mm ammo factories open ASAP.
But at least they were part of the 'thirty glorious years' of economic expansion and modernisation.
France is currently undergoing economic failure, societal failure and international failure.
The big cities are definitely edgier tho. Immigration is becoming a disaster for France, hence Le Pen I presume
He being Russia's chief of the General staff.
I'm just popping up to Inverness to collect my Xmas card from Auntie Dora.
And how many of the remainder would be bothered by getting it on a Friday rather than a Saturday ?
What you need for national happiness is for people to be getting richER, and with a sense this will continue. So they can be really quite poor, but if they assess that things are improving, they are happy
Cambodia is a good example of this. It’s a seriously poor country. GDP per capita is less than $2000
But they are - it seems to me, and I’ve been here a lot in the last 12 months - some of the happiest people anywhere. There is a national cheeriness. And then you notice that their economy grew 7% a year, for a solid decade, pre-pandemic
1) The EU buys up surplus/old American equipment at disposal prices.
2) Ship it to Ukraine
3) The Republicans in Congress vote lots of money to their friends in the Arms Industrial Complex for replacements.
4) Sell it to the MAGA types as the "Europeans paying for America to arm against China".
Turkey’s parliament approves Sweden’s NATO membership, lifting a key hurdle
https://apnews.com/article/turkey-sweden-nato-kurdish-militants-quran-ff81aa2d36160428d766579963f97fce
Unhappiness = reality < expectations
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/20/newsid_3728000/3728225.stm
And it was true
Yes there’s enough vested interests around, that all the US surplus kit is going to end up in Ukraine one way or the other.
I expect the rhetoric to be totally different, but the outcome to be remarkably similar as far as Ukraine is concerned.
And go around those same districts by a different route and see poverty and squalor.
(Except on here...)
You should get a job as AP style commissar.
#pedanticbetting.com
In theory half your mail would arrive the same day as before, with half delayed by an extra day, except that the latter might include the odd letter that would have been delayed anyway. So, in principle, it should be somewhat more reliable.
Now he is given the label of a trouble maker so the toast is well and truly burnt to a crisp. It’s a tough old game, politics.
If all this is true you have to ask why the Saudis are putting up with it? If Russia wants to side with Iran, why don't the Saudis start pumping oil and bring the price down? Maybe they are waiting for the moment Trump returns and the hated Biden has been seen off.
And has been sulking because that didn't happen.
Lee Anderson says he ‘should have voted’ for Rwanda Bill – and he wants his old job back
Former deputy Tory chairman insists there is ‘no chance’ of Rishi Sunak being deposed before election and Conservative MPs should back him
Lee Anderson has said he should have voted for the Rwanda Bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory chairman if asked by Rishi Sunak.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the outspoken MP said he should have been “brave” and sided with the Government instead of abstaining in last week’s crunch vote on the latest iteration of the migrant deportation plan.
He also said there is “no chance” of Mr Sunak being deposed before the next election and revealed he would back Donald Trump “by default” if he lived in the US, as he could never vote for Joe Biden.
Mr Anderson resigned as deputy party chairman on Jan 16 in order to support amendments aimed at toughening up Mr Sunak’s proposals to get Rwanda flights off the ground, before refusing to back the Bill itself.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/24/lee-anderson-rwanda-bill-deputy-chairman-job-rishi-sunak/
You're exaggerating the point for effect. But, yes, there is a trade-off between reliability and frequency. Both have costs associated with them, so it isn't absurd to think a less frequent service COULD be a more reliable one.
You'd need to reflect that in regulation to prevent Royal Mail simply pocketing the savings. But Royal Mail aren't wrong to say that the model has been broken and it's unreasonable to pretend that there is no credible route to anything other than huge losses with their current obligations and price point.
There's a lot of nonsense talked this here and elsewhere. It's not actually some kind of story about the sad decline of a once great nation - it's just that the massive decline in volumes everywhere in the world means it used to be possible to cover the costs of frequent deliveries even with low stamp prices, and now it isn't.
I am struggling to remember when I last physically posted a letter. Sent some Christmas cards but not even half of what I used to.
You might also be surprised how far a letter going just a mile actually travels, given the hub-and-spoke model that Royal Mail has used for several decades. The days when local mail was separated out after posting (always a haphazard process given that the sifting was done by eye and hand) are long gone. Further, sorting now relies on big machines, and to make this economic they need to collect the mail in over a wide area into relatively few locations. Not totally dissimilar to the NHS centralising hospital services to make expensive scanners and the like economic.
Edit: The courts !
In 1984 - four decades ago - it was 49. Now it is 71. An incredible surge; no wonder they are chipper
And for truly macabre comparison, Khmer life expectancy during the Khmer Rouge went down to 12
Yes. 12
If the plane wasn't carrying Ukrainian POWs, I wouldn't put it past the Russians to take 65 POWs and just kill them. Bastards.
(I assume both sides know roughly how many POWs each side has.)
Might be wrong but I doubt Ukraine would target their own POWs.
Interestingly, package and parcel volumes have also declined over the last two years, but this is assumed to be a temporary 'correction' after the explosion in online shopping during the pandemic.
Arrow Cross supporters disrupted a performance at the Budapest opera house -
"two or three men were on the floor and Horthy had another by the throat, slapping his face and shouting what I learned afterward was: "So you would betray your country, would you?...."
Horthy was 71 at the time.
https://twitter.com/curiouswavefn/status/1749647212811084061
Western medicine (and lifestyle changes) have performed wonders.
Reform beckons ?
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/nhs-money-wasting-a-cultural-problem-labour-says/ar-BB1h7Fc3?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=bab15acdfd474028a7d1c1eaac6078ec&ei=27
If you can't provide a regular and reliable service, people and firms stop using you for anything useful that needs to reach someone urgently or promptly. So your revenue decreases and you provide a worse service. Three or five days a week would just worsen that problem.
Another legacy of the many failures of the Tory Party over the past 14 years.
https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2013/09/08/voters-are-as-opposed-to-royal-mail-privatisation-as-they-are-to-british-missile-attacks-on-syria/#vanilla-comments
I wonder if 12 is a world record - whether any country since, say, the Black Death has suffered so low a life expectancy
Rwanda perhaps? Poland in WW2?
Only the growing parcels market makes a profit for RM otherwise
Young'uns increasingly cannot read analogue clocks.
https://twitter.com/P2Jeff/status/1749114975547752898
I'm very split on David Cameron: the austerity program was a disaster and Brexit is good or bad depending on taste. But one of the good things he did was to order that happiness be measured, and the ONS's personal well-being ratings, part of the Measures of National Well-Being, can be accessed online, for example here and here.
TL:DR: we're getting unhappier and have been for several years now.
The customer experience they offer is wretched; my big personal bug-bear is redelivery and collection. If I'm not in RM will not leave a package on the doorstep, even though I live in a sleepy village where nothing ever gets nicked. The package goes back to the delivery office in another town, which is officially open 8am-10am but is often closed anyway. Redelivery can't be booked for next day, only the day after.
I actively avoid ordering anything that's delivered by RM unless there's no other option. Professionally, I still use them but only because every package I ship is small enough to go through a letterbox. That will change later this year and there's zero chance RM will be getting my large package business.
University of York posts £24m deficit (£14m operating deficit) after 16% drop in international student numbers, also blaming England’s “unsustainable funding model”
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/york-posts-ps24-million-deficit-amid-unsustainable-funding-model
Basically our university finance system has reached the end of the road
The former eventually rebounded badly on all of us in the form of the shitty Brexit we ended with (regardless of what might have been). I imagine the same is true in the US - the local polity may eventually discover that kicking out the Federal government doesn’t actually end up helping them very much, if at all. Not that this will stop them blaming the Federal government for everything that goes wrong anyway.
However whenever I see a big deficit I like to dig a bit deeper. A few years ago Leeds got into trouble, around the time that they built some stupendous new buildings. Other Unis have had unwise financial activity - at one point Bristol (I think) were borrowing money and then lending it out, but got screwed when the loan rates changed. They even asked staff to voluntarily take some unpaid leave (which was rejected).
Our Uni has put a 'chill' (note - definitely not a freeze) on recruitment. Basically you have to make a really watertight case. I suspect retiring staff will be a lot harder to replace for a while.