I’m going to refine my “London is the new Anchorage” meteorological meme. It’s hyperbolic, something I abhor. We don’t get the snows of Alaskan winters
I think we’ve now got the climate of somewhere about 500-1000km north of Vancouver. Somewhere like Haida Gwaii or Dawsons Landing or Whaletown
London: the Canadian Pacific sub-Arctic of the east
Not as catchy but closer to the truth. We now have a cold rainforest climate
This is just wrong, sorry. London has only 40% of the precipitation of Haida Gwell.
But we’re catching up, aren’t we?
*stares outside*
East coast of the UK is frankly rather pleasant. Even Edinburgh has less rain than Lisbon, Rome, Palermo, Geneva. It's the dark winters and cloudy skies that can cause issues, but then we get these glorious weeks in May and June.
Glasgow is grim though.
OTOH, 'cos of the rain, our island is gloriously verdant. Bill Bryson once said of Devon that you could be forgiven for thinking its chief industry was the manufacture of chlorophyll. And there is a moment when, after a week in Southern Europe when you've gradually become accustomed to the pale washed-out beige and the brightness, that your plane descends through the clouds above Kinder on its descent into Manchester Airport, and you're peering keenly out the window looking for familiar landmarks because your family know how much you love doing that and they always indulge this one, one time where your wants take precedence over those of your children who are in any case plugged into electronic devices and they let you have the window seat, and suddenly there is Tameside; sweet, unremarkable, uninteresting Tameside below you, startlingly close, and the force of the GREEN hits you almost bodily - and the urban form suddenly makes sense again, and everything is familiar, and there's the M60, that must be Bredbury, and look, there's the Pyramid, there's Edgeley Park, there's John Lewis at Cheadle (see? they're not interested; the window seat would have been wasted on them anyway), there's the Heald Green line and we're inches over Moss Nook and the world is green and subtle and British right to the horizon, and man, it's good to be home and as the tears slightly well with the hiraeth that you didn't know you had been feeling but has now been gloriously blown away, that you reflect - actually, there's a lot to be said for grey, damp and mild.
Beautifully put and so sadly untrue
I do genuinely enjoy arriving back to a dull grey mild day, and I wouldn't want it any less wet, because I do genuinely love the greenness of the UK and the west of it in particular. But I will quietly concede I wouldn't mind a bit more blue sky - just as much rain, but rather more concentrated. I'd also like a bit more snow in winter. Britain never looks better than when covered in snow.
I genuinely envy your ability to enjoy our weather
I sometimes wonder if my endless pro travel has spoiled me. ie I’ve been to so many lovely places with lovely climates it’s made me overly critical of British damp and grey, which isn’t THAT bad
But then I remember my first Mediterranean holiday aged about seven and how that warm consistent sun made me instantly happier, and how I felt - even aged seven - “my God, this is what weather is meant to be like, this is my kind of world” - so maybe I was born in the wrong climate and all my travels since have been at attempt to escape it
Quite a lot of people like our climate because they dislike heat. This is not a fashionable view, perhaps because it isn't possible to commercialise or advertise the concept of liking rather boring middling weather - outside temperature at say 16-21 C.
Yes. I once met a Middle Eastern prince in St James’ Park. Just got talking to this guy randomly. He said: “I cannot understand why the English complain about their weather. The weather here is absolutely lovely. I wish we had it.”
That’s because you met him in summer, when half the Middle East decamps to London.
They don’t know that London has three other seasons.
The advantage of London seasons is that they often occur on the same afternoon.
On one occasion, on the Tideway, I was in a double with a visitor to London. He expressed surprise that we went from nearly unrowable waves, wind etc to calm water and sunshine by travelling round a turn.
I pointed out this was completely normal and to enjoy it while he could. Waterspouts and excitable dragons undoubtedly awaited us round the following turn.
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The treasury is planning conjuring tricks to enable it to borrow billions more (without having paid anything of the current £2 trillion back since before 2008) for our grandchildren to add to their student debt.
The IFS today outlines various ways in which it will be done.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
Our nuclear prices are 4 - 6 times those of South Korea.
We could, however, still build ten tidal lagoon power statons in the next 10 years. They will still be producing power for 180 years.
If you really want to get it done, you should be lobbying Jenrick and Farage (as well as Starmer and Ed is crap I suppose).
This doesn't sound so promising, does it? On Labour's new housing plans
"the [new Labour] steer away from simplistic ideas of ‘beauty’, fostered by the previous government, at the very least allows us to think about housing as a necessary industrial process, instead of one of choice and taste."
Yeah, fuck choice and taste, and fuck beauty. Let's reduce housing to a" necessary industrial process"
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The UK is NYC in the 1970s, and NYC went bust
Private sector got such a hit during the pandemic. We need as large a private sector as possible in proportion to the size of the public sector - at the end of the day this pays for everything - and Labour is doing the opposite of what we need.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
Our nuclear prices are 4 - 6 times those of South Korea.
We could, however, still build ten tidal lagoon power statons in the next 10 years. They will still be producing power for 180 years.
I've wittered on before about the economic implications of the Hinckley Point break price for UK manufacturing. I accept the need for us to head for net zero but we must be alert to the economic implications of the path chosen. At the moment it seems a collateral consideration at best and the priority is maximising external investment by guaranteeing high returns for the investors. The economic implications of this are horrendous.
All the council by-elections looking piss poor for Labour. Now it's obviously normal for a Gov't to go backwards in mid-term (And we haven't reached those) council elections, but Starmer clearly wanted to get to mid term unpopularity early
Sir Keir is left with no choice but to console himself with a parliamentary majority of 174.
Boy oh boy I'm going to bookmark this and buy some massive popcorn to see your reaction come GE2029.
That's if you've got the bollocks to come on here on election night.
I'm at a loss as to the point of that quote - the odds of Labour having a majority anything like 174 in 2028 is about zero.
As the newly elected Labour MPs are finding out they are really social workers fixing things where people have fallen through the gaps because they have zero chance of becoming a minister due to the number of other MPs in the exact same position..
As I said the other day, though... Tories are making the same errors Labour did back in the 2010s. Nobody loves the Tories/Labour, the public will welcome us back by 2015/29.... the 35% strategy will work. Sure people aren't fond of Ed/Jenrick but our brand is stronger than them.
The treasury is planning conjuring tricks to enable it to borrow billions more (without having paid anything of the current £2 trillion back since before 2008) for our grandchildren to add to their student debt.
The IFS today outlines various ways in which it will be done.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
Utter twaddle.
Of course it is utter twaddle that this is true, but politically the argument is being lost. Milliband will be the cause of the collapse of this government.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
Our nuclear prices are 4 - 6 times those of South Korea.
We could, however, still build ten tidal lagoon power statons in the next 10 years. They will still be producing power for 180 years.
I've wittered on before about the economic implications of the Hinckley Point break price for UK manufacturing. I accept the need for us to head for net zero but we must be alert to the economic implications of the path chosen. At the moment it seems a collateral consideration at best and the priority is maximising external investment by guaranteeing high returns for the investors. The economic implications of this are horrendous.
UK energy prices to industry are the highest in the world, 50% higher than Germany and France, and 4x those in the US.
Miliband’s strategy appears to be to cement those high prices in place, to enable his Net Zero Agenda.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
It doesn't really matter. Britain is set on a course for steep economic decline, and possible collapse, and it could arrive exceedingly quickly (cf Hemingway on bankruptcy)
In fact, Britain reminds me of a cartoon character running off a cliff, the legs are still whirring, for a while it has felt like we were still advancing: we had the momentum of Empire still behind us, the acquired wealth and nous, the global relations and ambitions..
... but in reality we are a hugely overpopulated archipelago off northern Europe with a shit climate and struggling industries and a terrible reliance on a ponzi scheme of ill-advised migration which makes everything worse and worse and now we look down and realise we are suspended in mid-air....
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
Is there massive support for the Cayman Island employees drafted into the Government?
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
"Eight female councillors in Dacorum have left the Liberal Democrat group after accusing the council leader of “failing to deal with allegations of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment”.
It means the Liberal Democrats have lost their majority on the borough council, which has now moved into no overall control.
The councillors, who included two cabinet members and will now sit as independents, announced they were leaving the group during a full council meeting yesterday (Wednesday, 25 September). They remain members of the Liberal Democrat party.
The report goes on to quote a statement from the eight women and give some of the background to the affair".
Extract from Lib Dem Voice.
Another example of power being a dangerous thing, but for all 8 to go looks like there is a real story here.
This doesn't sound so promising, does it? On Labour's new housing plans
"the [new Labour] steer away from simplistic ideas of ‘beauty’, fostered by the previous government, at the very least allows us to think about housing as a necessary industrial process, instead of one of choice and taste."
Yeah, fuck choice and taste, and fuck beauty. Let's reduce housing to a" necessary industrial process"
Each time I hear someone advocate Brutalism for other people to live in, I feel a strong desire to see Brutalism practiced upon them.
The advantage of living in the Brutalist house is that aren't the person looking at it from a window.
As a student, I lived on the 'wrong side of the* river' in Southampton, in a river-front house share. Which meant, on a Saturday morning, I'd get to have breakfast on the balcony and gaze across at the fancy houses and marina on the other side, while the people living there at twice the rent got to gaze across at the wrong side of the river, with a derelict factory and tired old terraced housing and me eating toast in a tatty old dressing gown
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The UK is NYC in the 1970s, and NYC went bust
Private sector got such a hit during the pandemic. We need as large a private sector as possible in proportion to the size of the public sector - at the end of the day this pays for everything - and Labour is doing the opposite of what we need.
As a leftie, I will admit to the seductive appeal of spending money that isn't really there. For example from 2010 until the pandemic I believed, and still believe, we should have used the opportunity afforded by historically low interest rates to borrow for investment as the rate of return on that investment would likely have been higher than the interest rate. We'd have a much stronger, more productive economy now if we did so. Austerity was criminally poor economic policy.
And right now, I still believe the way out of the dysfunction Leon refers to is to invest in public services.
But economic prosperity (or, more specifically, market sentiment about the UK economy) is a fickle thing. I wish it were not so, but it is. I genuinely can't see how the Labour party can be promising an end to austerity without committing itself to paying a lot more debt interest, at a lot higher rates than the last decade or so. And that seems a vicious circle.
The treasury is planning conjuring tricks to enable it to borrow billions more (without having paid anything of the current £2 trillion back since before 2008) for our grandchildren to add to their student debt.
The IFS today outlines various ways in which it will be done.
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The UK is NYC in the 1970s, and NYC went bust
Private sector got such a hit during the pandemic. We need as large a private sector as possible in proportion to the size of the public sector - at the end of the day this pays for everything - and Labour is doing the opposite of what we need.
As a leftie, I will admit to the seductive appeal of spending money that isn't really there. For example from 2010 until the pandemic I believed, and still believe, we should have used the opportunity afforded by historically low interest rates to borrow for investment as the rate of return on that investment would likely have been higher than the interest rate. We'd have a much stronger, more productive economy now if we did so. Austerity was criminally poor economic policy.
And right now, I still believe the way out of the dysfunction Leon refers to is to invest in public services.
But economic prosperity (or, more specifically, market sentiment about the UK economy) is a fickle thing. I wish it were not so, but it is. I genuinely can't see how the Labour party can be promising an end to austerity without committing itself to paying a lot more debt interest, at a lot higher rates than the last decade or so. And that seems a vicious circle.
Can anyone paint a more optimistic picture?
There is one ray of potential sunshine. The technology-that-must-not-be-mentioned (by me, at least)
Potential game-changer for the entire world. Might make all this debate irrelevant, and soon
LuckyGuy is just fantasising. No one will ever build another coal fire station in the UK.
Should there be need for one and greenwashing goes out of fashion then I imagine Drax could quickly switch back to coal rather than burning endangered ancient forests sustainable wood pellets
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
It doesn't really matter. Britain is set on a course for steep economic decline, and possible collapse, and it could arrive exceedingly quickly (cf Hemingway on bankruptcy)
In fact, Britain reminds me of a cartoon character running off a cliff, the legs are still whirring, for a while it has felt like we were still advancing: we had the momentum of Empire still behind us, the acquired wealth and nous, the global relations and ambitions..
... but in reality we are a hugely overpopulated archipelago off northern Europe with a shit climate and struggling industries and a terrible reliance on a ponzi scheme of ill-advised migration which makes everything worse and worse and now we look down and realise we are suspended in mid-air....
You're just a miserable declinist. Admittedly we're struggling with the political and economic aftermath of your ludicrous Brexit vote - which ended up driving you mad enough to vote Labour - but we'll sort ourselves out.
"Eight female councillors in Dacorum have left the Liberal Democrat group after accusing the council leader of “failing to deal with allegations of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment”.
It means the Liberal Democrats have lost their majority on the borough council, which has now moved into no overall control.
The councillors, who included two cabinet members and will now sit as independents, announced they were leaving the group during a full council meeting yesterday (Wednesday, 25 September). They remain members of the Liberal Democrat party.
The report goes on to quote a statement from the eight women and give some of the background to the affair".
Extract from Lib Dem Voice.
Another example of power being a dangerous thing, but for all 8 to go looks like there is a real story here.
Their complaint is against former council leader Ron Tindall, who has been accused of harassment and bullying. A fortnight ago, the council’s standards committee dismissed complaints against him. They are also complaining about Cllr England (who was deputy under Tindall and replaced him when Tindall stood down) not taking the complaints against Tindall seriously.
Is there any Giftgate revelation that could turn the StarmTroopers, or is not being as bad as the Tories' "billions for PPE fraud" the only relevant marker for them?
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
It doesn't really matter. Britain is set on a course for steep economic decline, and possible collapse, and it could arrive exceedingly quickly (cf Hemingway on bankruptcy)
In fact, Britain reminds me of a cartoon character running off a cliff, the legs are still whirring, for a while it has felt like we were still advancing: we had the momentum of Empire still behind us, the acquired wealth and nous, the global relations and ambitions..
... but in reality we are a hugely overpopulated archipelago off northern Europe with a shit climate and struggling industries and a terrible reliance on a ponzi scheme of ill-advised migration which makes everything worse and worse and now we look down and realise we are suspended in mid-air....
Now now. We are a compact nation, hugely naturally well resourced (look at our energy resources compared to France), hugely efficient compared to the US, with no extreme weather, and formidable cultural and linguistic advantages. We now have greater economical flexibility and less fiscal liabilities following Brexit. That's a great set of cards. We need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot with a 12 boar by ceasing to elect incompetent Britain-hating Governments.
I’m going to refine my “London is the new Anchorage” meteorological meme. It’s hyperbolic, something I abhor. We don’t get the snows of Alaskan winters
I think we’ve now got the climate of somewhere about 500-1000km north of Vancouver. Somewhere like Haida Gwaii or Dawsons Landing or Whaletown
London: the Canadian Pacific sub-Arctic of the east
Not as catchy but closer to the truth. We now have a cold rainforest climate
This is just wrong, sorry. London has only 40% of the precipitation of Haida Gwell.
But we’re catching up, aren’t we?
*stares outside*
East coast of the UK is frankly rather pleasant. Even Edinburgh has less rain than Lisbon, Rome, Palermo, Geneva. It's the dark winters and cloudy skies that can cause issues, but then we get these glorious weeks in May and June.
Glasgow is grim though.
OTOH, 'cos of the rain, our island is gloriously verdant. Bill Bryson once said of Devon that you could be forgiven for thinking its chief industry was the manufacture of chlorophyll. And there is a moment when, after a week in Southern Europe when you've gradually become accustomed to the pale washed-out beige and the brightness, that your plane descends through the clouds above Kinder on its descent into Manchester Airport, and you're peering keenly out the window looking for familiar landmarks because your family know how much you love doing that and they always indulge this one, one time where your wants take precedence over those of your children who are in any case plugged into electronic devices and they let you have the window seat, and suddenly there is Tameside; sweet, unremarkable, uninteresting Tameside below you, startlingly close, and the force of the GREEN hits you almost bodily - and the urban form suddenly makes sense again, and everything is familiar, and there's the M60, that must be Bredbury, and look, there's the Pyramid, there's Edgeley Park, there's John Lewis at Cheadle (see? they're not interested; the window seat would have been wasted on them anyway), there's the Heald Green line and we're inches over Moss Nook and the world is green and subtle and British right to the horizon, and man, it's good to be home and as the tears slightly well with the hiraeth that you didn't know you had been feeling but has now been gloriously blown away, that you reflect - actually, there's a lot to be said for grey, damp and mild.
Beautifully put and so sadly untrue
I do genuinely enjoy arriving back to a dull grey mild day, and I wouldn't want it any less wet, because I do genuinely love the greenness of the UK and the west of it in particular. But I will quietly concede I wouldn't mind a bit more blue sky - just as much rain, but rather more concentrated. I'd also like a bit more snow in winter. Britain never looks better than when covered in snow.
I genuinely envy your ability to enjoy our weather
I sometimes wonder if my endless pro travel has spoiled me. ie I’ve been to so many lovely places with lovely climates it’s made me overly critical of British damp and grey, which isn’t THAT bad
But then I remember my first Mediterranean holiday aged about seven and how that warm consistent sun made me instantly happier, and how I felt - even aged seven - “my God, this is what weather is meant to be like, this is my kind of world” - so maybe I was born in the wrong climate and all my travels since have been at attempt to escape it
Quite a lot of people like our climate because they dislike heat. This is not a fashionable view, perhaps because it isn't possible to commercialise or advertise the concept of liking rather boring middling weather - outside temperature at say 16-21 C.
Yes. I once met a Middle Eastern prince in St James’ Park. Just got talking to this guy randomly. He said: “I cannot understand why the English complain about their weather. The weather here is absolutely lovely. I wish we had it.”
That’s because you met him in summer, when half the Middle East decamps to London.
They don’t know that London has three other seasons.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
You mean overcast rather than cold. Cold doesn't matter for solar.
LuckyGuy is just fantasising. No one will ever build another coal fire station in the UK.
More energy from coal has a 5% approval rating in the UK. Gas is 7%.
Solar and tidal 74%. Onshore wind 59%. The big shame is Nuclear, down at 30%.
Yawn. I doubt coal gets a great press in Germany either, but they are still razing towns to the ground to build coal mines because they prefer it to having no economy. Eventually, even the more credulous people here will catch up.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I think we could probably come to a PB consensus on that point.
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The UK is NYC in the 1970s, and NYC went bust
Private sector got such a hit during the pandemic. We need as large a private sector as possible in proportion to the size of the public sector - at the end of the day this pays for everything - and Labour is doing the opposite of what we need.
As a leftie, I will admit to the seductive appeal of spending money that isn't really there. For example from 2010 until the pandemic I believed, and still believe, we should have used the opportunity afforded by historically low interest rates to borrow for investment as the rate of return on that investment would likely have been higher than the interest rate. We'd have a much stronger, more productive economy now if we did so. Austerity was criminally poor economic policy.
And right now, I still believe the way out of the dysfunction Leon refers to is to invest in public services.
But economic prosperity (or, more specifically, market sentiment about the UK economy) is a fickle thing. I wish it were not so, but it is. I genuinely can't see how the Labour party can be promising an end to austerity without committing itself to paying a lot more debt interest, at a lot higher rates than the last decade or so. And that seems a vicious circle.
Can anyone paint a more optimistic picture?
Austerity ended with May and Hammond and was a response to the financial crash of 2007/8. All Labour seem to know is how to spend in favour of the public sector (and it doesn't matter to them what stage of any cycle we are at).
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I think we could probably come to a PB consensus on that point.
Oh absolutely. But that still doesn't answer the question. What do we do now?
LuckyGuy is just fantasising. No one will ever build another coal fire station in the UK.
Should there be need for one and greenwashing goes out of fashion then I imagine Drax could quickly switch back to coal rather than burning endangered ancient forests sustainable wood pellets
There are also mothballed plans for a big clean coal station which could easily be dusted down.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
It doesn't really matter. Britain is set on a course for steep economic decline, and possible collapse, and it could arrive exceedingly quickly (cf Hemingway on bankruptcy)
In fact, Britain reminds me of a cartoon character running off a cliff, the legs are still whirring, for a while it has felt like we were still advancing: we had the momentum of Empire still behind us, the acquired wealth and nous, the global relations and ambitions..
... but in reality we are a hugely overpopulated archipelago off northern Europe with a shit climate and struggling industries and a terrible reliance on a ponzi scheme of ill-advised migration which makes everything worse and worse and now we look down and realise we are suspended in mid-air....
Now now. We are a compact nation, hugely naturally well resourced (look at our energy resources compared to France), hugely efficient compared to the US, with no extreme weather, and formidable cultural and linguistic advantages. We now have greater economical flexibility and less fiscal liabilities following Brexit. That's a great set of cards. We need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot with a 12 boar by ceasing to elect incompetent Britain-hating Governments.
I want to believe! I do! But...... eeeesh
So many warning signs are flashing red. Like Chernobyl two hours before it went Chernobyl
OK enuff. I shall hurl myself into some work. Later
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
Yes, that's correct. It's quite extraordinary how the Left, Miliband in particular, have been able to re-define reliance on fossil fuels as being literally unpatriotic. It's quite a turnaround. At one time it was the Right who thought they garnered political capital from the issue, presenting it as a kind of anti-socialistic battle. The other day I was speaking to a leading IT director from California. He was saying that politically his instincts were Republican, but these days he leant towards the Dems purely because of their environmental stance! The Left have won this battle. No doubt about it.
LuckyGuy is just fantasising. No one will ever build another coal fire station in the UK.
More energy from coal has a 5% approval rating in the UK. Gas is 7%.
Solar and tidal 74%. Onshore wind 59%. The big shame is Nuclear, down at 30%.
How much of that is because people don't believe the lights will go out?
The only reason the lights didn't go out for a lot of people during the Ukraine invasion was because the government spent £67 billion making up for our exposure to global fossil fuel markets.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
You mean overcast rather than cold. Cold doesn't matter for solar.
But in December it is only light for about 8 hours a day - less in Scotland.
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The UK is NYC in the 1970s, and NYC went bust
Private sector got such a hit during the pandemic. We need as large a private sector as possible in proportion to the size of the public sector - at the end of the day this pays for everything - and Labour is doing the opposite of what we need.
As a leftie, I will admit to the seductive appeal of spending money that isn't really there. For example from 2010 until the pandemic I believed, and still believe, we should have used the opportunity afforded by historically low interest rates to borrow for investment as the rate of return on that investment would likely have been higher than the interest rate. We'd have a much stronger, more productive economy now if we did so. Austerity was criminally poor economic policy.
And right now, I still believe the way out of the dysfunction Leon refers to is to invest in public services.
But economic prosperity (or, more specifically, market sentiment about the UK economy) is a fickle thing. I wish it were not so, but it is. I genuinely can't see how the Labour party can be promising an end to austerity without committing itself to paying a lot more debt interest, at a lot higher rates than the last decade or so. And that seems a vicious circle.
Can anyone paint a more optimistic picture?
There is one ray of potential sunshine. The technology-that-must-not-be-mentioned (by me, at least)
Potential game-changer for the entire world. Might make all this debate irrelevant, and soon
Mebbee. But it'll still be a competition for relative competitive advantage in this new tech.
That, or our economy will function but as a vassal state of China or whoever develops AI more successfully than us.
One example - AI is already having big positive impacts on learning maths in school. But its expensive for schools to buy-in. I'm sure we could buy a cheaper Chinese variant but won't that simply lead to us giving away all our data to Chinese servers (and data is, surely, the daffodils/gold/oil of our age).
LuckyGuy is just fantasising. No one will ever build another coal fire station in the UK.
More energy from coal has a 5% approval rating in the UK. Gas is 7%.
Solar and tidal 74%. Onshore wind 59%. The big shame is Nuclear, down at 30%.
Yawn. I doubt coal gets a great press in Germany either, but they are still razing towns to the ground to build coal mines because they prefer it to having no economy. Eventually, even the more credulous people here will catch up.
The lack of coal plants doesn't bother me. There are gas power plants, and interconnects with Europe that can help there. What worries me is the lack of coal for the production of steel.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
Our nuclear prices are 4 - 6 times those of South Korea.
We could, however, still build ten tidal lagoon power statons in the next 10 years. They will still be producing power for 180 years.
I've wittered on before about the economic implications of the Hinckley Point break price for UK manufacturing. I accept the need for us to head for net zero but we must be alert to the economic implications of the path chosen. At the moment it seems a collateral consideration at best and the priority is maximising external investment by guaranteeing high returns for the investors. The economic implications of this are horrendous.
UK energy prices to industry are the highest in the world, 50% higher than Germany and France, and 4x those in the US.
Miliband’s strategy appears to be to cement those high prices in place, to enable his Net Zero Agenda.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
Yes, that's correct. It's quite extraordinary how the Left, Miliband in particular, have been able to re-define reliance on fossil fuels as being literally unpatriotic. It's quite a turnaround. At one time it was the Right who thought they garnered political capital from the issue, presenting it as a kind of anti-socialistic battle. The other day I was speaking to a leading IT director from California. He was saying that politically his instincts were Republican, but these days he leant towards the Dems purely because of their environmental stance! The Left have won this battle. No doubt about it.
They will only have won it if they deliver on it.
There is no sign - yet - of that delivery being a priority.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I don't think anyone on here would disagree with you about that last point.
But actually, I'm pretty confident we can manage without coal generation. We've already been doing so in effect for five years. And it's not really a useful backup as it takes so long to start up. I think we didn't actually *need* Ratcliffe but it was fired up as a precaution - and then used since it was online anyway even though it wasn't needed.
A much more worrying issue is, what do we do when our nuclear plants are finally decommissioned? And that day is not far away and I see no plan to replace that base.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I think we could probably come to a PB consensus on that point.
I've probably told this story before but I was briefly on secondment at the RSPB whilst the Severn barrage was being discussed. The chief executive at the time was dead against it because of the impact on bird populations in the mudflats.
It struck me then, and still does, as a piece of epic short-sightedness.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
Is there massive support for the Cayman Island employees drafted into the Government?
There's a Quadwotsit board member of some kind who now has a government job in some climate department since Quadwotsit donated millions to the Labour Party
Will Great British Energy be an effective subsidiary of Quadwotsit?
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
It doesn't really matter. Britain is set on a course for steep economic decline, and possible collapse, and it could arrive exceedingly quickly (cf Hemingway on bankruptcy)
In fact, Britain reminds me of a cartoon character running off a cliff, the legs are still whirring, for a while it has felt like we were still advancing: we had the momentum of Empire still behind us, the acquired wealth and nous, the global relations and ambitions..
... but in reality we are a hugely overpopulated archipelago off northern Europe with a shit climate and struggling industries and a terrible reliance on a ponzi scheme of ill-advised migration which makes everything worse and worse and now we look down and realise we are suspended in mid-air....
You're just a miserable declinist. Admittedly we're struggling with the political and economic aftermath of your ludicrous Brexit vote - which ended up driving you mad enough to vote Labour - but we'll sort ourselves out.
Not just Brexit, though that managed to be both a symptom of the decline and probably a further twist in the spiral.
The UK has been doing lots of spending on now and not much spending on stuff for the future for decades. Maybe Macmillan had a point with his family silver speech.
Context for Rachel Reeves’s investment drive: the UK has had the lowest investment in the G7 for 24 of the last 30 years.
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The UK is NYC in the 1970s, and NYC went bust
Britain has been heading in the wrong direction for quite a while, and successive governments have kicked the can down the road.
Eventually you run out of road.
The Truss Experience demonstrated that the end of the road is close enough to constrain government budgets, but is it so close that a government can't avoid crashing into it?
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
Our nuclear prices are 4 - 6 times those of South Korea.
We could, however, still build ten tidal lagoon power statons in the next 10 years. They will still be producing power for 180 years.
I've wittered on before about the economic implications of the Hinckley Point break price for UK manufacturing. I accept the need for us to head for net zero but we must be alert to the economic implications of the path chosen. At the moment it seems a collateral consideration at best and the priority is maximising external investment by guaranteeing high returns for the investors. The economic implications of this are horrendous.
UK energy prices to industry are the highest in the world, 50% higher than Germany and France, and 4x those in the US.
Miliband’s strategy appears to be to cement those high prices in place, to enable his Net Zero Agenda.
The man is frighteningly economically illiterate. A real and present danger to our prosperity.
His stuff on allowing more onshore wind for instance is correct. But the plan to get us 100% renewables by 2030 or whatever is unachievable and bonkers. There is no way on god's green earth we can be 100% renewable during a winter high at night. Energy policy seems to be either one thing or the other. The Tories were wrong to stop onshore wind, and Labour are wrong to stop all new north sea oil and gas licenses. The correct answer is to allow both.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I think we could probably come to a PB consensus on that point.
I've probably told this story before but I was briefly on secondment at the RSPB whilst the Severn barrage was being discussed. The chief executive at the time was dead against it because of the impact on bird populations in the mudflats.
It struck me then, and still does, as a piece of epic short-sightedness.
It's a genuine concern and shouldn't be dismissed, but in a broader CBA it's a minor issue. It would be a very small percentage of overall costs to turn the new lagoons into something valuable for wildlife, so that could be a mitigating condition.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
Our nuclear prices are 4 - 6 times those of South Korea.
We could, however, still build ten tidal lagoon power statons in the next 10 years. They will still be producing power for 180 years.
I've wittered on before about the economic implications of the Hinckley Point break price for UK manufacturing. I accept the need for us to head for net zero but we must be alert to the economic implications of the path chosen. At the moment it seems a collateral consideration at best and the priority is maximising external investment by guaranteeing high returns for the investors. The economic implications of this are horrendous.
UK energy prices to industry are the highest in the world, 50% higher than Germany and France, and 4x those in the US.
Miliband’s strategy appears to be to cement those high prices in place, to enable his Net Zero Agenda.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I don't think anyone on here would disagree with you about that last point.
But actually, I'm pretty confident we can manage without coal generation. We've already been doing so in effect for five years. And it's not really a useful backup as it takes so long to start up. I think we didn't actually *need* Ratcliffe but it was fired up as a precaution - and then used since it was online anyway even though it wasn't needed.
A much more worrying issue is, what do we do when our nuclear plants are finally decommissioned? And that day is not far away and I see no plan to replace that base.
It's worse than that - we are moving the nation's fleet of vehicles over from ICE to a requirement for electricity to charge them.
By 2035.
I recently read that someone was poo-pooing that timetable. Because it will require two nuclear power station-sized sources of that electricity. Which will be far from being built. The experience of Hinkley C shows this to be true. But by 2035, there won't be ICE vehicles left to buy.
Maybe I should buy horse futures. It's that - or walk.
Is there any Giftgate revelation that could turn the StarmTroopers, or is not being as bad as the Tories' "billions for PPE fraud" the only relevant marker for them?
No, because people on both sides seem to see this like their football team to be supported right or wrong, good or bad with the important rival despised and every failure on their part celebrated like a goal for your own team.
What we need is far more of the population who want and try to help governments of any persuasion do well for the sake of UK plc. That doesn't mean the blues don't still favour their colour and policy mix or that the reds don't remain more focused on helping the less well off (well, excluding pensioners, apparently). I want this government to succeed for the same reasons I wanted the previous government to succeed. We all live with the consequences. The divisions in our society are damaging all of us.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
Our nuclear prices are 4 - 6 times those of South Korea.
We could, however, still build ten tidal lagoon power statons in the next 10 years. They will still be producing power for 180 years.
Apparently everything in Britain - from rails to trams to houses to power stations - to domestic heating - must cost 5 times what it costs everywhere else, meaning we will get poorer and poorer as we can't afford it, and all the rich people therefore flee the chilly, darkening nightmare
We need a revolutionary government to break us out of this deathly doom loop. Starmer's Labour is certainly not that
Britain is death by due process.
It's very very hard to get approval and consent to build anything and then there's a huge amount of regulation and compliance in how it's done.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I don't think anyone on here would disagree with you about that last point.
But actually, I'm pretty confident we can manage without coal generation. We've already been doing so in effect for five years. And it's not really a useful backup as it takes so long to start up. I think we didn't actually *need* Ratcliffe but it was fired up as a precaution - and then used since it was online anyway even though it wasn't needed.
A much more worrying issue is, what do we do when our nuclear plants are finally decommissioned? And that day is not far away and I see no plan to replace that base.
It's worse than that - we are moving the nation's fleet of vehicles over from ICE to a requirement for electricity to charge them.
By 2035.
I recently read that someone was poo-pooing that timetable. Because it will require two nuclear power station-sized sources of that electricity. Which will be far from being built. The experience of Hinkley C shows this to be true. But by 2035, there won't be ICE vehicles left to buy.
Maybe I should buy horse futures. It's that - or walk.
(I know, I know - we'll have to cycle instead...)
The problem with cycling is that cycling fuel (Greggs pastries) has suffered much high inflation than unleaded or electricity.
I disagree with them completely and am glad they were prosecuted but really not sure a custodial sentence is appropriate.
Perhaps they could have been put in the stocks for a couple of hours?
My object all sublime I shall achieve in time — To let the punishment fit the crime — The punishment fit the crime; And make each prisoner pent Unwillingly represent A source of innocent merriment! Of innocent merriment!
All prosy dull society sinners, Who chatter and bleat and bore, Are sent to hear sermons From mystical Germans Who preach from ten till four.* The amateur tenor, whose vocal villainies All desire to shirk, Shall, during off-hours, Exhibit his powers To Madame Tussaud's waxwork.
*Today, we'd make them listen to @Leon talking about AI on a loop.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I think we could probably come to a PB consensus on that point.
I've probably told this story before but I was briefly on secondment at the RSPB whilst the Severn barrage was being discussed. The chief executive at the time was dead against it because of the impact on bird populations in the mudflats.
It struck me then, and still does, as a piece of epic short-sightedness.
The country is a nest of well-organised and well-funded special interest groups.
'Voters who ditched the Conservatives for Reform UK at the last election may be the most difficult for the Tories to win back, a new poll suggests.
A Savanta survey conducted in the run-up to Conservative party conference in Birmingham this weekend shows people who backed Nigel Farage's party on 4 July are significantly more likely to say people like them will be most difficult for the Conservatives to win back over.
Sixty two per cent of respondents who voted Reform at the General Election say Tory-to-Reform switchers will be the hardest for the Conservatives to persuade to return, according to polling shared exclusively with PoliticsHome.
I disagree with them completely and am glad they were prosecuted but really not sure a custodial sentence is appropriate.
What is the number of times that a person has to be arrested and convicted before you'd support a jail sentence? She's a prolific offender and eventually has to serve a decent period of time behind bars. It's what she wants and it's what she gets.
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
The Mili-phobia from the Right is entirely the wrong take on energy, both politically and in reality.
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
Just makes the fall more precipitous when the implications are laid out. See the green's recent fortunes in Germany.
Are the German Greens doing particularly badly? They are part of a completely dysfunctional and historically unpopular coalition government at the federal level. They have (according to current polling averages) lost 25% of their support since the 2021 election. Their coalition partners the SPD have lost 40% of their vote and the FDP have lost over 60% of their vote. In a way they are doing least badly of the governing parties.
I begin to fear that @MaxPB's gloomiest predictions are correct. Britain might actually run out of credit under Starmer, or require some IMF intervention. It's like an airplane cockpit and all the dials are heading into the danger zone: flickering into the red
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The UK is NYC in the 1970s, and NYC went bust
Britain has been heading in the wrong direction for quite a while, and successive governments have kicked the can down the road.
Eventually you run out of road.
The Truss Experience demonstrated that the end of the road is close enough to constrain government budgets, but is it so close that a government can't avoid crashing into it?
Yet we now apparently have Labour about the 're-write the fiscal rules' so they can spend more.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I don't think anyone on here would disagree with you about that last point.
But actually, I'm pretty confident we can manage without coal generation. We've already been doing so in effect for five years. And it's not really a useful backup as it takes so long to start up. I think we didn't actually *need* Ratcliffe but it was fired up as a precaution - and then used since it was online anyway even though it wasn't needed.
A much more worrying issue is, what do we do when our nuclear plants are finally decommissioned? And that day is not far away and I see no plan to replace that base.
It's worse than that - we are moving the nation's fleet of vehicles over from ICE to a requirement for electricity to charge them.
By 2035.
I recently read that someone was poo-pooing that timetable. Because it will require two nuclear power station-sized sources of that electricity. Which will be far from being built. The experience of Hinkley C shows this to be true. But by 2035, there won't be ICE vehicles left to buy.
Maybe I should buy horse futures. It's that - or walk.
(I know, I know - we'll have to cycle instead...)
The problem with cycling is that cycling fuel (Greggs pastries) has suffered much high inflation than unleaded or electricity.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
Hmm. But a serious question. What happens in December or January if we get a cold, calm couple of weeks? Do we still have enough non wind/solar capacity to keep the system running?
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
I think we could probably come to a PB consensus on that point.
Oh absolutely. But that still doesn't answer the question. What do we do now?
I don't want to be Old Mister Gloomy-gusset, but this is also quite depressing, and absolutely crucial:
"Yesterday's data dump from the Government also showed we have the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA. On a par with Germany, but ~80% above the IEA median, 3.5X Korea and 2.8X USA. Prices like these are an existential threat to the economy. (1/2)"
Britain is deliberately setting itelf on a path of absolute economic decline. We cannot compete when we cripple outselves like this. Labour will helplessly preside over a stagnant economy (or actually make it worse thanks to Ed Miliband), so they will get booted out in 2029 and we will probably get Farage as PM
Our nuclear prices are 4 - 6 times those of South Korea.
We could, however, still build ten tidal lagoon power statons in the next 10 years. They will still be producing power for 180 years.
Apparently everything in Britain - from rails to trams to houses to power stations - to domestic heating - must cost 5 times what it costs everywhere else, meaning we will get poorer and poorer as we can't afford it, and all the rich people therefore flee the chilly, darkening nightmare
We need a revolutionary government to break us out of this deathly doom loop. Starmer's Labour is certainly not that
Britain is death by due process.
It's very very hard to get approval and consent to build anything and then there's a huge amount of regulation and compliance in how it's done.
Now he's on exactly the same numbers as 538, but his model is much noisier/faster moving - which I suppose gets more publicity but makes him look a bit silly imho
Comments
On one occasion, on the Tideway, I was in a double with a visitor to London. He expressed surprise that we went from nearly unrowable waves, wind etc to calm water and sunshine by travelling round a turn.
I pointed out this was completely normal and to enjoy it while he could. Waterspouts and excitable dragons undoubtedly awaited us round the following turn.
If this keeps up for three more days, it's possible coal electricity production has already ended.
That also depends of course on whether they need to burn off the last stocks of coal.
https://x.com/OutsideCricket/status/1839344407553958167
Put it another way, the dysfunction of Britain on all levels means we will get poorer and poorer, which in turn means we will have to tax more and more; finally that means the rest of the rich will leave
The UK is NYC in the 1970s, and NYC went bust
The IFS today outlines various ways in which it will be done.
https://ifs.org.uk/articles/fiscal-rules-and-investment-upcoming-budget
(The current fiscal rule is based on bogus conjuring tricks already).
Ukraine was a big wake up call to people in the UK. People now link fossil fuels to exposure to global arseholery, and renewables to energy security and good vibes.
The polling supports this - massive support for renewables, including a large majority of Reform voters! GB Energy is Labour's most popular policy. This is Miliband's department.
The BBC Scotland phone in when Ukraine kicked off was a succession of people who were apoplectic that their "100% renewable tariff" was going up in line with gas prices. People associate oil and gas with high costs, not renewables.
And her prime lasted far beyond her forties.
Liz Truss premiership timeline:
1 - subsidise energy so that pensioners don't freeze
2 - cut taxes
Keir Starmer premiership timeline:
1 - cut WFA and freeze pensioners
2 - increase spending
https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/50249-how-do-britons-feel-about-expanding-renewable-energy
Miliband’s strategy appears to be to cement those high prices in place, to enable his Net Zero Agenda.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/09/26/britain-burdened-most-expensive-electricity-prices-in-world/
In fact, Britain reminds me of a cartoon character running off a cliff, the legs are still whirring, for a while it has felt like we were still advancing: we had the momentum of Empire still behind us, the acquired wealth and nous, the global relations and ambitions..
... but in reality we are a hugely overpopulated archipelago off northern Europe with a shit climate and struggling industries and a terrible reliance on a ponzi scheme of ill-advised migration which makes everything worse and worse and now we look down and realise we are suspended in mid-air....
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/27/just-stop-oil-van-gogh-painting-jail/
It means the Liberal Democrats have lost their majority on the borough council, which has now moved into no overall control.
The councillors, who included two cabinet members and will now sit as independents, announced they were leaving the group during a full council meeting yesterday (Wednesday, 25 September). They remain members of the Liberal Democrat party.
The report goes on to quote a statement from the eight women and give some of the background to the affair".
Extract from Lib Dem Voice.
Another example of power being a dangerous thing, but for all 8 to go looks like there is a real story here.
*well, one of the two rivers
No one will ever build another coal fire station in the UK.
And right now, I still believe the way out of the dysfunction Leon refers to is to invest in public services.
But economic prosperity (or, more specifically, market sentiment about the UK economy) is a fickle thing. I wish it were not so, but it is. I genuinely can't see how the Labour party can be promising an end to austerity without committing itself to paying a lot more debt interest, at a lot higher rates than the last decade or so. And that seems a vicious circle.
Can anyone paint a more optimistic picture?
3 (Starmer) - dramatic rise in Conservative polling?
Not yet seen in the field though...
Potential game-changer for the entire world. Might make all this debate irrelevant, and soon
Admittedly we're struggling with the political and economic aftermath of your ludicrous Brexit vote - which ended up driving you mad enough to vote Labour - but we'll sort ourselves out.
Their complaint is against former council leader Ron Tindall, who has been accused of harassment and bullying. A fortnight ago, the council’s standards committee dismissed complaints against him. They are also complaining about Cllr England (who was deputy under Tindall and replaced him when Tindall stood down) not taking the complaints against Tindall seriously.
Solar and tidal 74%. Onshore wind 59%. The big shame is Nuclear, down at 30%.
As I recall we still needed Radcliffe last winter when demand was outstripping other supply. What happens this winter if there is a repeat?
And a follow up - where is the tidal we should have been building for the last 2 decades?
So many warning signs are flashing red. Like Chernobyl two hours before it went Chernobyl
OK enuff. I shall hurl myself into some work. Later
That's why public opinion has turned like this.
https://youtu.be/Wx-V2buLp5s?feature=shared
That, or our economy will function but as a vassal state of China or whoever develops AI more successfully than us.
One example - AI is already having big positive impacts on learning maths in school. But its expensive for schools to buy-in. I'm sure we could buy a cheaper Chinese variant but won't that simply lead to us giving away all our data to Chinese servers (and data is, surely, the daffodils/gold/oil of our age).
There is no sign - yet - of that delivery being a priority.
But actually, I'm pretty confident we can manage without coal generation. We've already been doing so in effect for five years. And it's not really a useful backup as it takes so long to start up. I think we didn't actually *need* Ratcliffe but it was fired up as a precaution - and then used since it was online anyway even though it wasn't needed.
A much more worrying issue is, what do we do when our nuclear plants are finally decommissioned? And that day is not far away and I see no plan to replace that base.
It struck me then, and still does, as a piece of epic short-sightedness.
Will Great British Energy be an effective subsidiary of Quadwotsit?
Quadwotsit has a Cayman Islands subsidiary
The UK has been doing lots of spending on now and not much spending on stuff for the future for decades. Maybe Macmillan had a point with his family silver speech.
Context for Rachel Reeves’s investment drive: the UK has had the lowest investment in the G7 for 24 of the last 30 years.
https://bsky.app/profile/georgeeaton.bsky.social/post/3l554b6jvgn2r
Because, for decades, that's what we've wanted.
Eventually you run out of road.
The Truss Experience demonstrated that the end of the road is close enough to constrain government budgets, but is it so close that a government can't avoid crashing into it?
Energy policy seems to be either one thing or the other. The Tories were wrong to stop onshore wind, and Labour are wrong to stop all new north sea oil and gas licenses. The correct answer is to allow both.
It's a bit like HS2 in that respect.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly7zy3d3exo
Which perhaps proves your point...
By 2035.
I recently read that someone was poo-pooing that timetable. Because it will require two nuclear power station-sized sources of that electricity. Which will be far from being built. The experience of Hinkley C shows this to be true. But by 2035, there won't be ICE vehicles left to buy.
Maybe I should buy horse futures. It's that - or walk.
(I know, I know - we'll have to cycle instead...)
What we need is far more of the population who want and try to help governments of any persuasion do well for the sake of UK plc. That doesn't mean the blues don't still favour their colour and policy mix or that the reds don't remain more focused on helping the less well off (well, excluding pensioners, apparently). I want this government to succeed for the same reasons I wanted the previous government to succeed. We all live with the consequences. The divisions in our society are damaging all of us.
It's very very hard to get approval and consent to build anything and then there's a huge amount of regulation and compliance in how it's done.
Whole thing needs reviewing.
This is a serious energy security concern imo.
My object all sublime
I shall achieve in time —
To let the punishment fit the crime —
The punishment fit the crime;
And make each prisoner pent
Unwillingly represent
A source of innocent merriment!
Of innocent merriment!
All prosy dull society sinners,
Who chatter and bleat and bore,
Are sent to hear sermons
From mystical Germans
Who preach from ten till four.*
The amateur tenor, whose vocal villainies
All desire to shirk,
Shall, during off-hours,
Exhibit his powers
To Madame Tussaud's waxwork.
*Today, we'd make them listen to @Leon talking about AI on a loop.
🚨 New Nate Silver Model - win probability
🔵 Harris 58%
🔴 Trump 42%
https://x.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1839664551177892285
A Savanta survey conducted in the run-up to Conservative party conference in Birmingham this weekend shows people who backed Nigel Farage's party on 4 July are significantly more likely to say people like them will be most difficult for the Conservatives to win back over.
Sixty two per cent of respondents who voted Reform at the General Election say Tory-to-Reform switchers will be the hardest for the Conservatives to persuade to return, according to polling shared exclusively with PoliticsHome.
While that statistic may seem unsurprising, the equivalent figures for people who voted Labour and Lib Dem on 4 July are much lower at 33 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.'
https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/reform-voters-hardest-for-tories-to-win-back-new-poll-suggests
I bet the backing would be far higher, were it cheaper.
Left excerpt:
Harris economic policies not detailed enough
Right excerpt, next day:
Harris's proposals too complex. Trump's "policies" are shorter, punchier, & easier to grasp
https://x.com/susanbordson/status/1839498871224869182
Good afternoon, everybody.
1) tidal ponds
2) small modular nukes
3) ?
Find out which is best. Then order all of them.
And I have to remind myself that is in fact nowhere near Leicester.
https://youtu.be/6rKAMuMYaPM?si=RemQS8yzCNAFYkOP
·
2h
#New General election poll - Arizona
🔴 Trump 48% (+6)
🔵 Harris 42%
Suffolk #B - 500 LV - 9/24
https://x.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1839631181718978883
#New General election poll - Minnesota
🔵 Harris 50% (+6)
🔴 Trump 44%
Last poll (8/25) - 🔵 Harris +5
Survey USA #A+ - 646 LV - 9/26
https://x.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1839638721731194923
#New General election poll - New York
🔵 Harris 54% (+14)
🔴 Trump 40%
Emerson #B - 1000 LV - 9/25
https://x.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1839644011000127902