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Things can only get better (Starmer hopes) – politicalbetting.com

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  • Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Absolutely agree.

    Well done to this government, one of the best things they have done.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792
    algarkirk said:

    algarkirk said:

    eek said:

    Sandpit said:

    Okay, so which shop is it that’s got their Easter eggs on sale before Christmas?

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868666786549490089

    Price tags are in £ so it’s a UK shop.

    Looks to be a petrol station Spar

    Also they are slacking I mentioned my first Crème Egg over a week ago
    M&S had gluten-free hot cross buns yesterday. (Although gluten-free Easter is on a different date because of the Council of Nicaea.)
    I suppose in the western church we really ought to eat our hot cross buns unleavened but not gluten free. BTW 20 April is Easter in both west and east in 2025.
    They should hold it on that weekend every year, instead of the ludicrous nonsense of moving it every year based on some ancient algorithm of the moon or tide or some random priest's circadian rhythms. It is completely mad that it moves, wasting time for businesses and other organisations rescheduling every bloody year.
    Fair point, but there is another side. In our own day we are more and more aware of the link between the natural world and ourselves, and the risk of losing it. Easter is an occasion where the movements of nature take priority over the convenience of people.

    It is fixed by two naturally occurring events: the spring equinox and the full moon, joined to two past events, Good Friday being a Friday at the time of the Passover and the empty tomb being seen on a Sunday.

    Change would gain something but also lose a little of our inheritance from antiquity.
    The spring equinox is on or around the same day each year – 21/22 March. I have no idea what you are talking about with an empty tomb but if this is a historical event as you imply, then presumably it occurred on a given day in history? So actually we are moving this holiday due to whims of the lunar calendar –– crackers.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,405
    viewcode said:

    Nigelb said:

    This is going to make management of the slim majority in the House just that bit more interesting.

    NEWS - INDIANA GOP REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ is expected to refuse committee assignments in the next Congress. She will also not caucus with Republicans — not attend meetings. But she will remain a Republican.

    I am also confused what she means. But she has told republicans this and leadership is aware.

    https://x.com/JakeSherman/status/1868786207167332506

    So she'll be an independent member who may or may not "caucus with" (ie vote with) Republicans. Isn't this grounds for having her expelled from the Republican Party?

    She'll almost certainly be primaried in the midterms
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,268

    eek said:

    MaxPB said:

    A lot of talk about how Labour boxed themselves in with the tax pledges, but looking at the results it seems that they probably needed to. Yes, the majority is big but it's based on winning just 33% of the vote. Not making those big tax pledges would have resulted far fewer Tory to Labour switchers and driven Tory no shows to the polling booth. We could have seen a 30-27 result in the end which wouldn't have even been a majority let alone the huge one they got.

    Labour's majority is built on sand and I think without those big tax pledges they would be in minority government or in a coalition with the Lib Dems.

    Labour would be better off in a coalition - instead they are going to have 100 MPs who discover they have no promotion to look forward to, are only going to be MPs for 5 years and will start sooner rather than later to create problems
    Starmer or the next Labour leader could follow Cameron's lead at the next GE and promise an in/out EU referendum.
    Starmer could renegotiate the Brexit agreement and then challenge people to vote for it or give up and rejoin, then be forced to resign when people reject his deal.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,934

    eek said:

    MaxPB said:

    A lot of talk about how Labour boxed themselves in with the tax pledges, but looking at the results it seems that they probably needed to. Yes, the majority is big but it's based on winning just 33% of the vote. Not making those big tax pledges would have resulted far fewer Tory to Labour switchers and driven Tory no shows to the polling booth. We could have seen a 30-27 result in the end which wouldn't have even been a majority let alone the huge one they got.

    Labour's majority is built on sand and I think without those big tax pledges they would be in minority government or in a coalition with the Lib Dems.

    Labour would be better off in a coalition - instead they are going to have 100 MPs who discover they have no promotion to look forward to, are only going to be MPs for 5 years and will start sooner rather than later to create problems
    Starmer or the next Labour leader could follow Cameron's lead at the next GE and promise an in/out EU referendum.
    WIll he set out the terms? Locked into the Euro too? What are the annual joining fees? Stuff like that...
  • LeonLeon Posts: 56,496
    TimS said:

    God it's dark today. Despite thinner cloud than yesterday, it's essentially the gloaming from dawn to dusk.

    I woke up at 10.30, looked outside, decided my very slight cold merited an entire day in bed
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792
    edited December 17

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 23,143

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    To be fair, I’m not sure he could afford to compensate them and it’s not really his fault…
    Of course HMG can afford it, many times over. We choose not to pay them and rightly so, because their case is very weak.
  • SandraMcSandraMc Posts: 701

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    To be fair, I’m not sure he could afford to compensate them and it’s not really his fault…
    The Pension Secretary is a woman -Liz Kendall.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,330
    Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Seems terribly confused about the Scotland Acts and what's devolved and what isn't, that's for sure.

    Unless he wants to claim credit for cancelling the WFA?

    *checks*

    Presumably not.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70452jj21ro
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,877

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    It's a measure of the civilised nature of Ashley's comments that I am unlikely to be flamed heavily for my suggestion that all EVs be hardware moderated to 8s 0-60 and 3s 0-30.

    And that people who need to hoon to get into a gap need to wait for a larger gap.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,213

    eek said:

    Taz said:

    TimS said:

    algarkirk said:

    algarkirk said:

    Question, WRT borrowing. UK plc is in debt to the tune of 2 trillion. The policy is that it is fine to 'borrow to invest', which in general is good. But is it good to do this when you already have borrowed so much, and don't seem to have a scheme for paying it back? If you don't have a plan for paying back what you already owe, how can you borrow more?

    It seem unlikely, barring some massive windfall a la Norway, that we intend to clear the national debt. We have run a national debt for centuries including when we were the richest country in the world. Lenders are obviously aware of this. Countries finances are not the same as household finances.
    Noted. And in good times it is fine to borrow more. But what is the rationale for borrowing more when we are already having to tighten our belts to pay the interest on the debt?

    This has not been communicated very well to the voters.
    The underlying thing is that when the economy is struggling the private sector is less likely to invest. Govts can borrow cheaper so the best time for government investment is actually in tough times not when we can afford it.

    I agree it is counter intuitive and not well explained.
    Counter cyclical investment might also benefit from lower labour and material costs.

    The current situation though is one of higher labour and material costs.

    So, despite the need for infrastructure investment, this has not been a good time for it economically.

    A shift from current consumption spending to infrastructure investment spending by government would be required.
    Yes we should be spending on infrastructure, largely new housing and the stuff that needs to go with it. And perfectly reasonable to borrow for that.
    But to justify the increased investment spending governments need to cut the consumption spending.

    And that's where they need to show some political courage.
    I disagree conceptually, they are separate things. The level of consumption spending and tax rates are a matter of choice and preference. Whether those stayed the same or changed I would still be in favour of borrowing to invest in housing and associated infrastructure.
    Now is a particularly auspicious time for government to invest, because:

    - The UK's creditworthiness relative to other major economies is quite solid, and the cost of debt is starting to fall / Sterling is getting a tad strong
    - The UK's economy lacks spare infrastructure capacity and has done for ages, so there is very little risk of this triggering an investment bust and surplus capacity
    - Other Western countries, with the exception of the US which is able to keep splurging because of its reserve currency, are not looking hugely investable at the moment. Japan is slowly picking itself up but France and Germany are in the doldrums, Italy remains difficult, Korea is politically volatile, China has surplus capacity, Saudi funds itself and Russia is off limits.
    - Business investment remains low so there's an argument for government to step in to take up some of the slack
    Thatcher created a housing crisis for generations by selling off Council Houses at disgusting low prices to buy votes.

    Anyone remember Dame Shirley Porter.

    Then exacerbated the damage Ten fold by not allowing Councils to rebuild with even meagre proceeds.

    State intervention NOW for the precise and logical reasons you state would be very welcome

    Country first
    Politics second.

    Not just new builds.

    Please please lets reinvigorate our failing and broken High Streets and suburbs by moving empty suitable Commercial Properties in to decent affordable social housing.

    Optimise the services and utilities available.

    Buy up empty failing and closed old Holiday Parks and do the same thing

    Get Britain building

    Country first
    Politics second

    Also the Green Belt. There is a fair chunk of the Green Belt ripe for development that should be a no brainer. Not rolling green countryside, which is what people automatically assume the Green Belt is.

    Stuff like old car parks, old factories and the like. Been plenty of pics on twitter. Build on them and build up too.

    This is one area where I like what Labour are doing. Focussing on build build build. There are still problems holding up building such as Nutrient Neutrality demands.

    Just get on with building.
    Though there is the issue of the religious belief in commercial units on the ground floor of anything built near a high street.

    In Chiswick (high income, lots of footfall), we have units being built into new developments, while previous units have stood empty for years.
    Because Ground floor flats facing directly on to the pavement can’t be sold or rented for love nor money and drag down the value of the entire block of flats.

    It’s cheaper to have an empty shop than try to put a flat there
    Genuine question for the Land Value taxation-ers. Would a shop with a flat above it share the LVT equally?
    Depends on the scheme, and whether there's zoning built into the LVT model. Often you'd have one land value and then a multiplier-type calculation where the land is shared between different uses. But there is a strong argument from my perspective that this should be left to the market: there is a LVT on the land, that is charged to the freeholder(s), and how it's then divvied up is down to them.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 51,082

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,877
    edited December 17
    Easter Heggs 2025 on display in a shop in Jersey.

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868666786549490089

    Come one @Malmesbury (I think), sort it out !

    Plus:


    Liberty Jane Lester @libertylester 6h
    Can we talk about the real Easter shocker? It’s illegal to dance on Good Friday in Jersey, illegal.

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868930427354071331
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,213

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    My humble Renault Zoe is incredibly quick out of the blocks. It's just not very quick once the "out of the blocks" phase of driving has been completed.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,213
    MattW said:

    Easter Heggs 2025 on display in a shop in Jersey.

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868666786549490089

    Come one @Malmesbury (I think), sort it out !

    Plus:


    Liberty Jane Lester @libertylester 6h
    Can we talk about the real Easter shocker? It’s illegal to dance on Good Friday in Jersey, illegal.

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868930427354071331

    And some Swiss cantons
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,877

    British Government takes MOD Housing Stock back off Rachmanesque Guy Hands Terra Firma 36000 properties for £6bn

    Another unholy mess perpetrated by Major on 1996 and subject of Legal action after successive Tory Governments fecked it up still more.

    Win for Servicemen
    Win long term as will save MOD money

    For Country
    Not Party

    Not short term bollocks
    Long term planning

    You're not wrong.

    Defence Committee today - if MOD invest to improve a property, the asset value increase accrues to the private partner, and the rent charged goes up.

    Fucked up.

  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,330
    edited December 17
    Who's the cricketer chappie getting an apotheosis in the painting? And what club is he?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578
    Very well done to the government, I am genuinely surprised by this sensible and appropriate decision.

    Campaigners have reacted with fury to what it calls the government's "unjustified" rejection of compensation for women hit by changes to the state pension age.

    They say 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed of the rise in state pension age to bring them into line with men.

    Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologised for a 28-month delay in sending letters, but has rejected any kind of financial payouts.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czr36842nd6o
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,330

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,405
    MattW said:

    British Government takes MOD Housing Stock back off Rachmanesque Guy Hands Terra Firma 36000 properties for £6bn

    Another unholy mess perpetrated by Major on 1996 and subject of Legal action after successive Tory Governments fecked it up still more.

    Win for Servicemen
    Win long term as will save MOD money

    For Country
    Not Party

    Not short term bollocks
    Long term planning

    You're not wrong.

    Defence Committee today - if MOD invest to improve a property, the asset value increase accrues to the private partner, and the rent charged goes up.

    Fucked up.

    Who the fuck wrote that perverse contract out.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,141
    Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Well, I guess he's not the only one with flexible principles.

    Then: we want your vote.
    Now: we've got your vote.

    https://x.com/DaveDooganSNP/status/1869018016484298910
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,709
    Pulpstar said:

    MattW said:

    British Government takes MOD Housing Stock back off Rachmanesque Guy Hands Terra Firma 36000 properties for £6bn

    Another unholy mess perpetrated by Major on 1996 and subject of Legal action after successive Tory Governments fecked it up still more.

    Win for Servicemen
    Win long term as will save MOD money

    For Country
    Not Party

    Not short term bollocks
    Long term planning

    You're not wrong.

    Defence Committee today - if MOD invest to improve a property, the asset value increase accrues to the private partner, and the rent charged goes up.

    Fucked up.

    Who the fuck wrote that perverse contract out.
    Sir Humphrey Appleby?

    https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5v4ri7
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,141
    Carnyx said:

    Who's the cricketer chappie getting an apotheosis in the painting? And what club is he?
    The head Trumper himself.
    Perhaps Tong has a cricket club
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,877
    edited December 17

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    I think that's Nottingham Urban Area, which is a fairly bizarre methodology.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham_Urban_Area

    It includes places nearly 15 miles away.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578

    Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Well, I guess he's not the only one with flexible principles.

    Then: we want your vote.
    Now: we've got your vote.

    https://x.com/DaveDooganSNP/status/1869018016484298910
    Going to be a lot of those photo comparisons to spread around. Holyrood elections definitely more competitive than they looked like 8 months ago.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,895
    MaxPB said:

    A lot of talk about how Labour boxed themselves in with the tax pledges, but looking at the results it seems that they probably needed to. Yes, the majority is big but it's based on winning just 33% of the vote. Not making those big tax pledges would have resulted far fewer Tory to Labour switchers and driven Tory no shows to the polling booth. We could have seen a 30-27 result in the end which wouldn't have even been a majority let alone the huge one they got.

    Labour's majority is built on sand and I think without those big tax pledges they would be in minority government or in a coalition with the Lib Dems.

    Perhaps. It's possible that by being honest with the voters about the fiscal position and the necessity to increase taxes to spend more to fix things, that they then could have been bolder about their promises for spending.

    This might have inspired more confidence about them knowing what they were doing and being a change from the status quo. They might have won a larger majority, with a share of the vote nudging 40% on a higher turnout.

    I think Starmer's timidity is one of the reasons he underwhelmed in the election campaign, and is losing popularity now. It doesn't inspire confidence.

    Perhaps that means you're right, and the best campaign Starmer could have run was a timid one. I don't know. But I'd have liked to have seen the argument made and a proper debate happen.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,807
    edited December 17

    Pay growth jumps for first time in more than a year

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgkx36dpzmxo

    Since we’re doing Tory partisanship again, why don’t I balance things out a bit.

    Yes, this place has been a PB Tory group therapy session since the election. It really is becoming extremely dull. One would have hoped they’d have got the eff over it by now, but clearly not.

    Still, 20mph in Wales and cash-only parking meters or something.
    Oh ducks, not enough people being nice about this disastrous turd sandwich of a Government for your liking?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,895

    Pulpstar said:

    Taz said:

    A neat way of graphing the story;

    Worth saying a lot of Labour’s policy agenda is quite popular - Sewage Bill, GB Energy, Employment/renters rights, but apart from minimum wage increase they haven’t had same cut through as less popular policies: farmers IHT, winter fuel allowance, NICs, maybe that changes as policies become delivery.




    https://bsky.app/profile/luketryl.bsky.social/post/3ldh25kvzis2g

    That is really interesting but the one thing that really amazes me is the Reeves CV incident and the levels of awareness around it.

    I honestly thought it a nothing story that would appeal to the Political anoraks only.
    It wouldn't be an issue if she hadn't absolutely fucked it with the budget.
    What did she fuck with the budget exactly? I remember your predicting that she couldn't win because if she changed the borrowing rules to give herself headroom, the gilt markets would spiral out of control.

    You were wrong.
    Anabobazina, pilot in charge of a plane spiralling towards a mountainside with all the cockpit lights flashing red. "What have I fucked with flying this plane exactly? We're still flying aren't we?"
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,895

    Just been on the A55 heading towards Conwy and the road signs say Port Closed

    This is not good news for Holyhead or Irish sea trade

    HGVs were conspicuous by their absence

    Holyhead port drone video shows damage that's halted ferry services to Ireland

    https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/holyhead-port-drone-video-shows-30604077#ICID=Android_DailyPostNewsApp_AppShare

    Seems that there's enough capacity at Fishguard and Rosslare. Maybe Holyhead won't reopen? Bad news for the M4, perhaps.

    Wasn't there an M4 upgrade project the Welsh government binned? Oops.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,972

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    There needs to be much more driver training and awareness.

    To be fair, the £100k Tesla that can have fun with McLarens and Porsches at the traffic lights isn’t being bought by anyone who doesn’t know what it is, but the lesser models are often much faster than the average driver might realise.

    It would make sense to limit full power to a kickdown mode, so that it’s not inadvertently activated by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. The average £40k Tesla Model 3 can line up against £120k supersaloon cars (M5, E63 etc) and aquaint themselves pretty well, which is where you get the problems.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,585
    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 22,378

    Pulpstar said:

    Taz said:

    A neat way of graphing the story;

    Worth saying a lot of Labour’s policy agenda is quite popular - Sewage Bill, GB Energy, Employment/renters rights, but apart from minimum wage increase they haven’t had same cut through as less popular policies: farmers IHT, winter fuel allowance, NICs, maybe that changes as policies become delivery.




    https://bsky.app/profile/luketryl.bsky.social/post/3ldh25kvzis2g

    That is really interesting but the one thing that really amazes me is the Reeves CV incident and the levels of awareness around it.

    I honestly thought it a nothing story that would appeal to the Political anoraks only.
    It wouldn't be an issue if she hadn't absolutely fucked it with the budget.
    What did she fuck with the budget exactly? I remember your predicting that she couldn't win because if she changed the borrowing rules to give herself headroom, the gilt markets would spiral out of control.

    You were wrong.
    Anabobazina, pilot in charge of a plane spiralling towards a mountainside with all the cockpit lights flashing red. "What have I fucked with flying this plane exactly? We're still flying aren't we?"
    Baby bird falling off cliff with cockpit noises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVEZSJt3dLo
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 23,143

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    Yes understand but surely given all the other safety put into modern cars we can establish some acceleration limit thresholds for 0-30 and 0-60 for cars to get licensed, and manufacturers can build that into the designs?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,709
    edited December 17

    Just been on the A55 heading towards Conwy and the road signs say Port Closed

    This is not good news for Holyhead or Irish sea trade

    HGVs were conspicuous by their absence

    Holyhead port drone video shows damage that's halted ferry services to Ireland

    https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/holyhead-port-drone-video-shows-30604077#ICID=Android_DailyPostNewsApp_AppShare

    Seems that there's enough capacity at Fishguard and Rosslare. Maybe Holyhead won't reopen? Bad news for the M4, perhaps.

    Wasn't there an M4 upgrade project the Welsh government binned? Oops.
    Very bad news for the A40 given there's major work on the tunnels at Monmouth this week as well, although I suppose the traffic could be diverted south around the M4.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,895

    algarkirk said:

    eek said:

    Sandpit said:

    Okay, so which shop is it that’s got their Easter eggs on sale before Christmas?

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868666786549490089

    Price tags are in £ so it’s a UK shop.

    Looks to be a petrol station Spar

    Also they are slacking I mentioned my first Crème Egg over a week ago
    M&S had gluten-free hot cross buns yesterday. (Although gluten-free Easter is on a different date because of the Council of Nicaea.)
    I suppose in the western church we really ought to eat our hot cross buns unleavened but not gluten free. BTW 20 April is Easter in both west and east in 2025.
    They should hold it on that weekend every year, instead of the ludicrous nonsense of moving it every year based on some ancient algorithm of the moon or tide or some random priest's circadian rhythms. It is completely mad that it moves, wasting time for businesses and other organisations rescheduling every bloody year.
    I agree that there are benefits to a fixed date for Easter, but a date earlier in the year would be better than April 20th. Easter is so late this year that Pancake Day is in March. Pancake Day should be in February.
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,760

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)


    This is bollocks. Power = torque x rpm. So at low wheel/rotor speeds EVs are not delivering anything close to "full power".

    They are not even delivering Max torque because the locked rotor torque (0 rpm) is less than peak torque. Also EVs torque limit output at low rpm to increase drivetrain reliability.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,141
    edited December 17
    kle4 said:

    Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Well, I guess he's not the only one with flexible principles.

    Then: we want your vote.
    Now: we've got your vote.

    https://x.com/DaveDooganSNP/status/1869018016484298910
    Going to be a lot of those photo comparisons to spread around. Holyrood elections definitely more competitive than they looked like 8 months ago.
    Lots and lots, most of SLab by the looks of it. They'll get round it by the time honoured method (cf Brexit) of pretending the WASPI thing doesn't and never has existed.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,972
    kle4 said:

    Very well done to the government, I am genuinely surprised by this sensible and appropriate decision.

    Campaigners have reacted with fury to what it calls the government's "unjustified" rejection of compensation for women hit by changes to the state pension age.

    They say 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed of the rise in state pension age to bring them into line with men.

    Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologised for a 28-month delay in sending letters, but has rejected any kind of financial payouts.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czr36842nd6o

    Yes, this is an excellent decision from the govt, impressed with how quickly since coming to office they have come up with a final position.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578

    kle4 said:

    Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Well, I guess he's not the only one with flexible principles.

    Then: we want your vote.
    Now: we've got your vote.

    https://x.com/DaveDooganSNP/status/1869018016484298910
    Going to be a lot of those photo comparisons to spread around. Holyrood elections definitely more competitive than they looked like 8 months ago.
    Lots and lots, most of SLab by the looks of it. They'll get round it by the time honoured method of pretending the WASPI thing doesn't and never has existed.
    I think this decision does lend credence to the idea things really were worse than Lab expected upon taking power, since the pre-election rhetoric was less vague than it could have been on this issue, so Slab and others really will have been taken by surprise by the choice made.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,213

    MaxPB said:

    A lot of talk about how Labour boxed themselves in with the tax pledges, but looking at the results it seems that they probably needed to. Yes, the majority is big but it's based on winning just 33% of the vote. Not making those big tax pledges would have resulted far fewer Tory to Labour switchers and driven Tory no shows to the polling booth. We could have seen a 30-27 result in the end which wouldn't have even been a majority let alone the huge one they got.

    Labour's majority is built on sand and I think without those big tax pledges they would be in minority government or in a coalition with the Lib Dems.

    Perhaps. It's possible that by being honest with the voters about the fiscal position and the necessity to increase taxes to spend more to fix things, that they then could have been bolder about their promises for spending.

    This might have inspired more confidence about them knowing what they were doing and being a change from the status quo. They might have won a larger majority, with a share of the vote nudging 40% on a higher turnout.

    I think Starmer's timidity is one of the reasons he underwhelmed in the election campaign, and is losing popularity now. It doesn't inspire confidence.

    Perhaps that means you're right, and the best campaign Starmer could have run was a timid one. I don't know. But I'd have liked to have seen the argument made and a proper debate happen.
    There's a version of events where the Labour majority would have been even bigger and it would have been wipeout time. If:

    - October 7th and the Gaza invasion hadn't happened, and/or the Greens came out in support of Israel
    - The Tories had a last minute scrambled attempt at replacing Sunak. Instead they remained pretty united in the final weeks
    - Sunak had waited until this Autumn for the election (and Starmer might now be basking in the immediate post-election honeymoon)

    I think Labour would have won even with tax rises in the manifesto, because everyone knew what was likely to happen. But it certainly would have given the Tories and the Tory press something to rally around during the campaign and would probably have drowned out all other stories.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,032

    MaxPB said:

    A lot of talk about how Labour boxed themselves in with the tax pledges, but looking at the results it seems that they probably needed to. Yes, the majority is big but it's based on winning just 33% of the vote. Not making those big tax pledges would have resulted far fewer Tory to Labour switchers and driven Tory no shows to the polling booth. We could have seen a 30-27 result in the end which wouldn't have even been a majority let alone the huge one they got.

    Labour's majority is built on sand and I think without those big tax pledges they would be in minority government or in a coalition with the Lib Dems.

    Perhaps. It's possible that by being honest with the voters about the fiscal position and the necessity to increase taxes to spend more to fix things, that they then could have been bolder about their promises for spending.

    This might have inspired more confidence about them knowing what they were doing and being a change from the status quo. They might have won a larger majority, with a share of the vote nudging 40% on a higher turnout.

    I think Starmer's timidity is one of the reasons he underwhelmed in the election campaign, and is losing popularity now. It doesn't inspire confidence.

    Perhaps that means you're right, and the best campaign Starmer could have run was a timid one. I don't know. But I'd have liked to have seen the argument made and a proper debate happen.
    I doubt it, if one party was pledging to not increase income tax and the other one was then there's only one direction where the votes go. It would become Labour's tax bombshell and the whole campaign becomes a relentless assault on which taxes Labour will raise and by how much and adverts showing "Labour will increase your tax by £3000" etc...

    I actually think that in the counterfactual the Tories could have eked out a tiny vote share lead and been only just behind in seats, that's how damaging a tax raising campaign would have been. A very large majority of working people already think taxes are too high, a relentless campaign on it would have submerged Labour IMO.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578

    algarkirk said:

    eek said:

    Sandpit said:

    Okay, so which shop is it that’s got their Easter eggs on sale before Christmas?

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868666786549490089

    Price tags are in £ so it’s a UK shop.

    Looks to be a petrol station Spar

    Also they are slacking I mentioned my first Crème Egg over a week ago
    M&S had gluten-free hot cross buns yesterday. (Although gluten-free Easter is on a different date because of the Council of Nicaea.)
    I suppose in the western church we really ought to eat our hot cross buns unleavened but not gluten free. BTW 20 April is Easter in both west and east in 2025.
    They should hold it on that weekend every year, instead of the ludicrous nonsense of moving it every year based on some ancient algorithm of the moon or tide or some random priest's circadian rhythms. It is completely mad that it moves, wasting time for businesses and other organisations rescheduling every bloody year.
    I agree that there are benefits to a fixed date for Easter, but a date earlier in the year would be better than April 20th. Easter is so late this year that Pancake Day is in March. Pancake Day should be in February.
    Well, the Easter Act 1928 was never enforced but apparently set Easter as being between 9 April and 15 April every year.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792
    edited December 17
    MattW said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    I think that's Nottingham Urban Area, which is a fairly bizarre methodology.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham_Urban_Area

    It includes places nearly 15 miles away.
    Why is it bizarre? It's the Greater Nottingham area. Maybe the odd edge case settlement is 14 miles away, most of it is nothing like far away. And so what?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham_Urban_Area

  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,895

    algarkirk said:

    algarkirk said:

    eek said:

    Sandpit said:

    Okay, so which shop is it that’s got their Easter eggs on sale before Christmas?

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868666786549490089

    Price tags are in £ so it’s a UK shop.

    Looks to be a petrol station Spar

    Also they are slacking I mentioned my first Crème Egg over a week ago
    M&S had gluten-free hot cross buns yesterday. (Although gluten-free Easter is on a different date because of the Council of Nicaea.)
    I suppose in the western church we really ought to eat our hot cross buns unleavened but not gluten free. BTW 20 April is Easter in both west and east in 2025.
    They should hold it on that weekend every year, instead of the ludicrous nonsense of moving it every year based on some ancient algorithm of the moon or tide or some random priest's circadian rhythms. It is completely mad that it moves, wasting time for businesses and other organisations rescheduling every bloody year.
    Fair point, but there is another side. In our own day we are more and more aware of the link between the natural world and ourselves, and the risk of losing it. Easter is an occasion where the movements of nature take priority over the convenience of people.

    It is fixed by two naturally occurring events: the spring equinox and the full moon, joined to two past events, Good Friday being a Friday at the time of the Passover and the empty tomb being seen on a Sunday.

    Change would gain something but also lose a little of our inheritance from antiquity.
    The spring equinox is on or around the same day each year – 21/22 March. I have no idea what you are talking about with an empty tomb but if this is a historical event as you imply, then presumably it occurred on a given day in history? So actually we are moving this holiday due to whims of the lunar calendar –– crackers.
    Lunisolar calendars are a bit erratic, yes.

    Guess when the Easter Rising is commemorated?
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,760

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    Yes understand but surely given all the other safety put into modern cars we can establish some acceleration limit thresholds for 0-30 and 0-60 for cars to get licensed, and manufacturers can build that into the designs?
    They definitely could and it would be possible to implement it entirely in software. However, it would be very unpopular, hinder EV adoption and ultimately there are only a tiny minority who are trying to rip sub 10s quarters regularly.

  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,172
    viewcode said:

    Nigelb said:

    This is going to make management of the slim majority in the House just that bit more interesting.

    NEWS - INDIANA GOP REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ is expected to refuse committee assignments in the next Congress. She will also not caucus with Republicans — not attend meetings. But she will remain a Republican.

    I am also confused what she means. But she has told republicans this and leadership is aware.

    https://x.com/JakeSherman/status/1868786207167332506

    So she'll be an independent member who may or may not "caucus with" (ie vote with) Republicans. Isn't this grounds for having her expelled from the Republican Party?

    Not when you have so slim a majority.
    See, also, the years of crap from Mnachin that the Democrats put up with - because to was, on balance, just about worth it in a 50/50 Senate.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792

    algarkirk said:

    eek said:

    Sandpit said:

    Okay, so which shop is it that’s got their Easter eggs on sale before Christmas?

    https://x.com/libertylester/status/1868666786549490089

    Price tags are in £ so it’s a UK shop.

    Looks to be a petrol station Spar

    Also they are slacking I mentioned my first Crème Egg over a week ago
    M&S had gluten-free hot cross buns yesterday. (Although gluten-free Easter is on a different date because of the Council of Nicaea.)
    I suppose in the western church we really ought to eat our hot cross buns unleavened but not gluten free. BTW 20 April is Easter in both west and east in 2025.
    They should hold it on that weekend every year, instead of the ludicrous nonsense of moving it every year based on some ancient algorithm of the moon or tide or some random priest's circadian rhythms. It is completely mad that it moves, wasting time for businesses and other organisations rescheduling every bloody year.
    I agree that there are benefits to a fixed date for Easter, but a date earlier in the year would be better than April 20th. Easter is so late this year that Pancake Day is in March. Pancake Day should be in February.
    Why should it? Who gives a toss*?

    In any case it's not the date so much that I'm arguing about, it's the moronic shifting of it. First or second weekend in April would be fine too.


    (*Yes, I know, I know)
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,172
    Pulpstar said:

    viewcode said:

    Nigelb said:

    This is going to make management of the slim majority in the House just that bit more interesting.

    NEWS - INDIANA GOP REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ is expected to refuse committee assignments in the next Congress. She will also not caucus with Republicans — not attend meetings. But she will remain a Republican.

    I am also confused what she means. But she has told republicans this and leadership is aware.

    https://x.com/JakeSherman/status/1868786207167332506

    So she'll be an independent member who may or may not "caucus with" (ie vote with) Republicans. Isn't this grounds for having her expelled from the Republican Party?

    She'll almost certainly be primaried in the midterms
    They'll quite likely lose their majority in the midterms.
  • DoctorGDoctorG Posts: 53

    Just been on the A55 heading towards Conwy and the road signs say Port Closed

    This is not good news for Holyhead or Irish sea trade

    HGVs were conspicuous by their absence

    Holyhead port drone video shows damage that's halted ferry services to Ireland

    https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/holyhead-port-drone-video-shows-30604077#ICID=Android_DailyPostNewsApp_AppShare

    It's been shut since storm Darragh, a lot of traffic now heading north and travelling through Cairnryan/Liverpool.

    Doesn't sound like they'll get the repairs done before Christmas
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,330

    Carnyx said:

    Who's the cricketer chappie getting an apotheosis in the painting? And what club is he?
    The head Trumper himself.
    Perhaps Tong has a cricket club
    I did wonder a little bit but couldn't believe it. Far more likely to be camanachd if that were the logic.

    What on earth is that trying to convey? Elephant polo?
  • MightyAlexMightyAlex Posts: 1,690
    Pulpstar said:

    MattW said:

    British Government takes MOD Housing Stock back off Rachmanesque Guy Hands Terra Firma 36000 properties for £6bn

    Another unholy mess perpetrated by Major on 1996 and subject of Legal action after successive Tory Governments fecked it up still more.

    Win for Servicemen
    Win long term as will save MOD money

    For Country
    Not Party

    Not short term bollocks
    Long term planning

    You're not wrong.

    Defence Committee today - if MOD invest to improve a property, the asset value increase accrues to the private partner, and the rent charged goes up.

    Fucked up.

    Who the fuck wrote that perverse contract out.
    Portillo's legacy.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792

    Pulpstar said:

    Taz said:

    A neat way of graphing the story;

    Worth saying a lot of Labour’s policy agenda is quite popular - Sewage Bill, GB Energy, Employment/renters rights, but apart from minimum wage increase they haven’t had same cut through as less popular policies: farmers IHT, winter fuel allowance, NICs, maybe that changes as policies become delivery.




    https://bsky.app/profile/luketryl.bsky.social/post/3ldh25kvzis2g

    That is really interesting but the one thing that really amazes me is the Reeves CV incident and the levels of awareness around it.

    I honestly thought it a nothing story that would appeal to the Political anoraks only.
    It wouldn't be an issue if she hadn't absolutely fucked it with the budget.
    What did she fuck with the budget exactly? I remember your predicting that she couldn't win because if she changed the borrowing rules to give herself headroom, the gilt markets would spiral out of control.

    You were wrong.
    Anabobazina, pilot in charge of a plane spiralling towards a mountainside with all the cockpit lights flashing red. "What have I fucked with flying this plane exactly? We're still flying aren't we?"
    Not really. Next.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,268
    edited December 17
    Quite inflammatory language from a US senator who says the healthcare system is killing thousands and “doesn’t give a shit about people”.

    https://x.com/chrismurphyct/status/1868406841325007036
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 23,143
    Dura_Ace said:

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    Yes understand but surely given all the other safety put into modern cars we can establish some acceleration limit thresholds for 0-30 and 0-60 for cars to get licensed, and manufacturers can build that into the designs?
    They definitely could and it would be possible to implement it entirely in software. However, it would be very unpopular, hinder EV adoption and ultimately there are only a tiny minority who are trying to rip sub 10s quarters regularly.

    The car relentlessly beeping for driving at 1mph over the speed limit is pretty unpopular too but they still make the manufacturers install it.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,172
    Leon said:

    TimS said:

    God it's dark today. Despite thinner cloud than yesterday, it's essentially the gloaming from dawn to dusk.

    I woke up at 10.30, looked outside, decided my very slight cold merited an entire day in bed
    I prescribe complete rest, including a break from browsing the interwebs.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792
    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    The "they have their own identity" thing is massively overegged. Do you think people from Wimbledon or Ealing are Londoners?
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,330
    I noticed this also in the Northwelsh news linky from BigG - something to gladden @CorrectHorseBattery : a mast being demolished with planning permission and all. (Wartime relic, important then, apparently.)

    https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/welsh-landmark-played-vital-role-30599713?int_source=nba
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578

    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    The "they have their own identity" thing is massively overegged. Do you think people from Wimbledon or Ealing are Londoners?
    That's always overegged. Especially as the other common trope is that most areas do not have enough unique identity thesedays.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,141
    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Well, I guess he's not the only one with flexible principles.

    Then: we want your vote.
    Now: we've got your vote.

    https://x.com/DaveDooganSNP/status/1869018016484298910
    Going to be a lot of those photo comparisons to spread around. Holyrood elections definitely more competitive than they looked like 8 months ago.
    Lots and lots, most of SLab by the looks of it. They'll get round it by the time honoured method of pretending the WASPI thing doesn't and never has existed.
    I think this decision does lend credence to the idea things really were worse than Lab expected upon taking power, since the pre-election rhetoric was less vague than it could have been on this issue, so Slab and others really will have been taken by surprise by the choice made.
    Perhaps now the more gormless among their ranks may learn to keep their traps shut before making promises, though I'm not betting on it. Not Anas obvs, he's beyond help.

    'Anas Sarwar has said there will be no austerity under a Labour government as he fended off accusations from the SNP during an ill-tempered BBC Scotland leaders’ debate.

    The first minister and SNP leader John Swinney repeatedly claimed on Tuesday evening that “independent experts said there would be £18bn of cuts after this election whether the Conservatives or Labour party form the government”. The audience loudly applauded Sarwar when he countered: “Read my lips: no austerity under Labour.”'

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/11/read-my-lips-no-austerity-under-labour-sarwar-tells-scottish-leaders-debate
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578

    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Well, I guess he's not the only one with flexible principles.

    Then: we want your vote.
    Now: we've got your vote.

    https://x.com/DaveDooganSNP/status/1869018016484298910
    Going to be a lot of those photo comparisons to spread around. Holyrood elections definitely more competitive than they looked like 8 months ago.
    Lots and lots, most of SLab by the looks of it. They'll get round it by the time honoured method of pretending the WASPI thing doesn't and never has existed.
    I think this decision does lend credence to the idea things really were worse than Lab expected upon taking power, since the pre-election rhetoric was less vague than it could have been on this issue, so Slab and others really will have been taken by surprise by the choice made.
    Perhaps now the more gormless among their ranks may learn to keep their traps shut before making promises, though I'm not betting on it. Not Anas obvs, he's beyond help.

    'Anas Sarwar has said there will be no austerity under a Labour government as he fended off accusations from the SNP during an ill-tempered BBC Scotland leaders’ debate.

    The first minister and SNP leader John Swinney repeatedly claimed on Tuesday evening that “independent experts said there would be £18bn of cuts after this election whether the Conservatives or Labour party form the government”. The audience loudly applauded Sarwar when he countered: “Read my lips: no austerity under Labour.”'

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/11/read-my-lips-no-austerity-under-labour-sarwar-tells-scottish-leaders-debate
    No one should have believed that, but it's still wrong to have pushed it.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,330
    edited December 17

    kle4 said:

    kle4 said:

    Taz said:

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    Anas must resign.
    Though I suppose if you squint at this tweet in a certain light, Anas meant that the WASPI women getting fuck all is the justice they deserve.

    Anas Sarwar
    @AnasSarwar
    Under my leadership, WASPI women will finally receive the justice they deserve. Read more here: http://anassarwar.scot/news/justice-for-waspi-women/
    10:13 am · 14 Oct 2017

    https://x.com/davidbirkettsnp/status/1869006606949925235
    Why should he resign ?

    They have received the justice they deserve.
    Well, I guess he's not the only one with flexible principles.

    Then: we want your vote.
    Now: we've got your vote.

    https://x.com/DaveDooganSNP/status/1869018016484298910
    Going to be a lot of those photo comparisons to spread around. Holyrood elections definitely more competitive than they looked like 8 months ago.
    Lots and lots, most of SLab by the looks of it. They'll get round it by the time honoured method of pretending the WASPI thing doesn't and never has existed.
    I think this decision does lend credence to the idea things really were worse than Lab expected upon taking power, since the pre-election rhetoric was less vague than it could have been on this issue, so Slab and others really will have been taken by surprise by the choice made.
    Perhaps now the more gormless among their ranks may learn to keep their traps shut before making promises, though I'm not betting on it. Not Anas obvs, he's beyond help.

    'Anas Sarwar has said there will be no austerity under a Labour government as he fended off accusations from the SNP during an ill-tempered BBC Scotland leaders’ debate.

    The first minister and SNP leader John Swinney repeatedly claimed on Tuesday evening that “independent experts said there would be £18bn of cuts after this election whether the Conservatives or Labour party form the government”. The audience loudly applauded Sarwar when he countered: “Read my lips: no austerity under Labour.”'

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/11/read-my-lips-no-austerity-under-labour-sarwar-tells-scottish-leaders-debate
    I'm old enough to remember when Slab actually won a by-election (Westminster variety) [edit] partly by promising to abolish the 2-bairn limit.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 13,213

    Dura_Ace said:

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    Yes understand but surely given all the other safety put into modern cars we can establish some acceleration limit thresholds for 0-30 and 0-60 for cars to get licensed, and manufacturers can build that into the designs?
    They definitely could and it would be possible to implement it entirely in software. However, it would be very unpopular, hinder EV adoption and ultimately there are only a tiny minority who are trying to rip sub 10s quarters regularly.

    The car relentlessly beeping for driving at 1mph over the speed limit is pretty unpopular too but they still make the manufacturers install it.
    The problem with those driver assistance gizmos at the moment is that we're in this transitional state between automation and manual driving. We get the nagging but still have to shoulder the responsibility of actually being in charge of the car.
  • Dura_Ace said:

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    Yes understand but surely given all the other safety put into modern cars we can establish some acceleration limit thresholds for 0-30 and 0-60 for cars to get licensed, and manufacturers can build that into the designs?
    They definitely could and it would be possible to implement it entirely in software. However, it would be very unpopular, hinder EV adoption and ultimately there are only a tiny minority who are trying to rip sub 10s quarters regularly.

    In the Leaf you can activate snail mode by pressing the ECO button, if you really want to.
  • Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 14,465
    edited December 17
    @TSE

    Been watching Paula Vennells' Solicitor putting the case for at at the close of the PO Inquiry. She couldn't have looked more uncomfortable if she had been representing Satan.

    I guess this is something you briefs have to learn to deal with...or does it come naturally?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 51,082
    edited December 17
    Dura_Ace said:

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    Yes understand but surely given all the other safety put into modern cars we can establish some acceleration limit thresholds for 0-30 and 0-60 for cars to get licensed, and manufacturers can build that into the designs?
    They definitely could and it would be possible to implement it entirely in software. However, it would be very unpopular, hinder EV adoption and ultimately there are only a tiny minority who are trying to rip sub 10s quarters regularly.

    They do limit acceleration to an extent. On the original Tesla Roadster, it proved very hard to design a gear train that could survive such massive torque from zero.

    Insurance costs are probably the limiting issue, at the moment.

    The EV delivery van drivers seem to love launching - that and using the weight of the battery, low down, to help corner very, very sharply, while accelerating
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792
    edited December 17
    kle4 said:

    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    The "they have their own identity" thing is massively overegged. Do you think people from Wimbledon or Ealing are Londoners?
    That's always overegged. Especially as the other common trope is that most areas do not have enough unique identity thesedays.
    The simple truth is that they are Londoners and will mostly say they are from London when meeting people. They might specify which part of London, just as someone from Gateshead often says they are from Newcastle when they are on holiday but might then specify which bit if/when asked.

    And councils are about sensible urban planning not spurious parochial claims.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,172

    Carnyx said:

    Who's the cricketer chappie getting an apotheosis in the painting? And what club is he?
    The head Trumper himself...
    Say thirty Hail Marys*, and repent your disgraceful besmirchment of the memory of the great Victor Trumper.

    *Full of Grace.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 43,330
    DoctorG said:

    Just been on the A55 heading towards Conwy and the road signs say Port Closed

    This is not good news for Holyhead or Irish sea trade

    HGVs were conspicuous by their absence

    Holyhead port drone video shows damage that's halted ferry services to Ireland

    https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/holyhead-port-drone-video-shows-30604077#ICID=Android_DailyPostNewsApp_AppShare

    It's been shut since storm Darragh, a lot of traffic now heading north and travelling through Cairnryan/Liverpool.

    Doesn't sound like they'll get the repairs done before Christmas
    Still less so, now there's a weather warning for the Welsh coast (and some of NI and S Scotland).
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,405
    edited December 17


    Here's where I'd boundary Notts city council.

    I think you need a hard stop at the M1, and the most marginal settlement to my mind should be Hucknall. Generally the boundary needs to stop at the Trent to the south, though I'd head past it for contiguous built up areas beyond (& yes golf courses are built up areas). It certainly doesn't go 15 miles away but it definitely DOES include Beeston 1000%.
  • @TSE

    Been watching Paula Vennells' Solicitor putting the case for at at the close of the PO Inquiry. She couldn't have looked more uncomfortable if she had been representing Satan.

    I guess this is something you briefs have to learn to deal with...or does it come naturally?

    You learn you cannot polish a turd but that you can add glitter to it.

    Semantics are your friend.

    I remember spinning for a client and my argument was that ‘they are so good hearted that they couldn’t conceive that some people are bad people out there as they assumed everybody was as nice as them’ when they didn’t ask some questions about some blatant fraud going on under their watch.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,172
    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Who's the cricketer chappie getting an apotheosis in the painting? And what club is he?
    The head Trumper himself.
    Perhaps Tong has a cricket club
    I did wonder a little bit but couldn't believe it. Far more likely to be camanachd if that were the logic.

    What on earth is that trying to convey? Elephant polo?
    Painted by a sycophant*, and it's a tennis sweater.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Visionary

    *After Holbein's Anne of Cleeves.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,268

    Quite inflammatory language from a US senator who says the healthcare system is killing thousands and “doesn’t give a shit about people”.

    https://x.com/chrismurphyct/status/1868406841325007036

    Whereas Trump condemns the 'sickness' of people supporting Luigi:

    https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/us-news/donald-trump-rips-public-fawning-of-accused-ceo-killer-luigi-mangione-as-a-sickness-people-seem-to-admire-him/
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,760

    Dura_Ace said:

    MattW said:

    Today's short from Ashley Neal.

    A near collision where he suggests both drivers do not realise how quickly their electric vehicles can accelerate.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_8SsEUggk

    There’s a whole YouTube genre dedicated to people stamping on the accelerator in EVs and discovering what a flat torque curve from zero means.
    Can't the manufacturers speed limit them?
    Speed isn’t the problem.

    It’s acceleration. A Tesla P100D can do 0-60 in 2 and 1/4 seconds. Further, the acceleration from 0 to 30 is even more ferocious than that implies - electric cars have full power from zero (pretty much)

    Even quite down market EVs can accelerate very hard. The EV van drivers have discovered how much fun they can have…

    It’s why electric cars suddenly came in. Buy a saloon car that can wipe out super cars at the lights…

    Yes understand but surely given all the other safety put into modern cars we can establish some acceleration limit thresholds for 0-30 and 0-60 for cars to get licensed, and manufacturers can build that into the designs?
    They definitely could and it would be possible to implement it entirely in software. However, it would be very unpopular, hinder EV adoption and ultimately there are only a tiny minority who are trying to rip sub 10s quarters regularly.

    In the Leaf you can activate snail mode by pressing the ECO button, if you really want to.
    Our iX has Eco Pro mode which I theorise limits current draw in the BMS to improve range and reduce performance. I put a Dragy on ours and it did 0-120mph in 16s which makes it brisk but no more. It's not that fast off the line coz it's a porker. It'll also only pull 0.8g lateral acceleration.



  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792
    Pulpstar said:



    Here's where I'd boundary Notts city council.

    I think you need a hard stop at the M1, and the most marginal settlement to my mind should be Hucknall. Generally the boundary needs to stop at the Trent to the south, though I'd head past it for contiguous built up areas beyond (& yes golf courses are built up areas). It certainly doesn't go 15 miles away but it definitely DOES include Beeston 1000%.

    Looks about right to me. I'd chuck in Ilkeston too for sure. TBH your map is not far from the official Greater Nottingham Urban Area as defined by the ONS (although they include some settlements to the NW - e.g. Heanor – I think)
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,895
    edited December 17

    kle4 said:

    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    The "they have their own identity" thing is massively overegged. Do you think people from Wimbledon or Ealing are Londoners?
    That's always overegged. Especially as the other common trope is that most areas do not have enough unique identity thesedays.
    The simple truth is that they are Londoners and will mostly say they are from London when meeting people. They might specify which part of London, just as someone from Gateshead often says they are from Newcastle when they are on holiday but might then specify which bit if/when asked.

    And councils are about sensible urban planning not spurious parochial claims.
    As a Londoner, my assumption was that Londoners would tell non-Londoners they were from London, but if talking to another Londoner, they'd specify the district.

    But I had a London immigrant tell me that I was wrong, and proper Londoners always told people what part of London they were from. As if a Cork man is likely to know the difference between Clapham and West Norwood.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,172
    Trump having another normal day.

    Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5043821-donald-trump-des-moines-register-ann-selzer-lawsuit/

    Chances are, the second administration will be a clusterfuck.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,268
    Nigelb said:

    Trump having another normal day.

    Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5043821-donald-trump-des-moines-register-ann-selzer-lawsuit/

    Chances are, the second administration will be a clusterfuck.

    Ann Selzer did joke in the past that it would cost a lot of money to get her to rig a poll because she'd have to retire afterwards.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,172

    kle4 said:

    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    The "they have their own identity" thing is massively overegged. Do you think people from Wimbledon or Ealing are Londoners?
    That's always overegged. Especially as the other common trope is that most areas do not have enough unique identity thesedays.
    The simple truth is that they are Londoners and will mostly say they are from London when meeting people. They might specify which part of London, just as someone from Gateshead often says they are from Newcastle when they are on holiday but might then specify which bit if/when asked.

    And councils are about sensible urban planning not spurious parochial claims.
    As a Londoner, my assumption was that Londoners would tell non-Londoners they were from London, but if talking to another Londoner, they'd specify the district.

    But I had a London immigrant tell me that I was wrong, and proper Londoners always told people what part of London they were from. As if a Cork man is likely to know the difference between Clapham and West Norwood.
    Has anyone ever asked the man on the West Norwood omnibus ?
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792

    kle4 said:

    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    The "they have their own identity" thing is massively overegged. Do you think people from Wimbledon or Ealing are Londoners?
    That's always overegged. Especially as the other common trope is that most areas do not have enough unique identity thesedays.
    The simple truth is that they are Londoners and will mostly say they are from London when meeting people. They might specify which part of London, just as someone from Gateshead often says they are from Newcastle when they are on holiday but might then specify which bit if/when asked.

    And councils are about sensible urban planning not spurious parochial claims.
    As a Londoner, my assumption was that Londoners would tell non-Londoners they were from London, but if talking to another Londoner, they'd specify the district.

    But I had a London immigrant tell me that I was wrong, and proper Londoners always told people what part of London they were from. As if a Cork man is likely to know the difference between Clapham and West Norwood.
    Indeed so. I think that is spot on.

    Meanwhile, if we are drawing maps for policy makers who apparently read this thread (?), the new Newcastle Super Council should look something like this IMO.


  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578

    @TSE

    Been watching Paula Vennells' Solicitor putting the case for at at the close of the PO Inquiry. She couldn't have looked more uncomfortable if she had been representing Satan.

    I guess this is something you briefs have to learn to deal with...or does it come naturally?

    You learn you cannot polish a turd but that you can add glitter to it.

    Semantics are your friend.

    I remember spinning for a client and my argument was that ‘they are so good hearted that they couldn’t conceive that some people are bad people out there as they assumed everybody was as nice as them’ when they didn’t ask some questions about some blatant fraud going on under their watch.
    Well, it is at least a slight variant on the classic "I'm too stupid to be criminal" defence, with a better chance of still falling upwards into some well paying gig from well connected mates.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578
    Nigelb said:

    Trump having another normal day.

    Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5043821-donald-trump-des-moines-register-ann-selzer-lawsuit/

    Chances are, the second administration will be a clusterfuck.

    A man consumed by grudges both large and petty.

    He should have a lot of people commit crimes on his behalf too - I know he's immune from most crimes anyway as President, but he might as well make use of the absurd pardon powers Presidents have as well.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,897
    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    I used to live in Heaton, in between Byker and Walker, and I don't remember anyone claiming that any of those areas were anything other than Newcastle. North Shields, Tynemouth and Whitley Bay maybe, but the inland suburbs to the east of the town centre no. Gateshead though certainly persisted in the fiction that it wasn't part of Newcastle, a fine example of the kind of boneheaded parochialism at which the north of England excels.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,268
    kle4 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Trump having another normal day.

    Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5043821-donald-trump-des-moines-register-ann-selzer-lawsuit/

    Chances are, the second administration will be a clusterfuck.

    A man consumed by grudges both large and petty.

    He should have a lot of people commit crimes on his behalf too - I know he's immune from most crimes anyway as President, but he might as well make use of the absurd pardon powers Presidents have as well.
    Number of pardons issued by recent presidents:

    Joe Biden - 8027
    Donald Trump - 237
    Barack Obama - 1927
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 72,172
    Tanker number three is foundering.
    https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1869027507011518807
  • eekeek Posts: 28,585
    edited December 17

    kle4 said:

    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    The "they have their own identity" thing is massively overegged. Do you think people from Wimbledon or Ealing are Londoners?
    That's always overegged. Especially as the other common trope is that most areas do not have enough unique identity thesedays.
    The simple truth is that they are Londoners and will mostly say they are from London when meeting people. They might specify which part of London, just as someone from Gateshead often says they are from Newcastle when they are on holiday but might then specify which bit if/when asked.

    And councils are about sensible urban planning not spurious parochial claims.
    As a Londoner, my assumption was that Londoners would tell non-Londoners they were from London, but if talking to another Londoner, they'd specify the district.

    But I had a London immigrant tell me that I was wrong, and proper Londoners always told people what part of London they were from. As if a Cork man is likely to know the difference between Clapham and West Norwood.
    Indeed so. I think that is spot on.

    Meanwhile, if we are drawing maps for policy makers who apparently read this thread (?), the new Newcastle Super Council should look something like this IMO.


    What super council - the mayoral area is Northumbria down to Newton Aycliffe and the unitary authorities are all a reasonable size anyway

    And you’ve basically just merged all of the Tyne and Wear unitary councils into a single council excluding Sunderland
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,578

    kle4 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Trump having another normal day.

    Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5043821-donald-trump-des-moines-register-ann-selzer-lawsuit/

    Chances are, the second administration will be a clusterfuck.

    A man consumed by grudges both large and petty.

    He should have a lot of people commit crimes on his behalf too - I know he's immune from most crimes anyway as President, but he might as well make use of the absurd pardon powers Presidents have as well.
    Number of pardons issued by recent presidents:

    Joe Biden - 8027
    Donald Trump - 237
    Barack Obama - 1927
    Quite so - he underutilised it, Biden has shown the way in particular given the pardon to his son.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,268
    Nigelb said:
    The capitalisation of Massive Storm made me think it was a new type of missile.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 51,082
    kle4 said:

    @TSE

    Been watching Paula Vennells' Solicitor putting the case for at at the close of the PO Inquiry. She couldn't have looked more uncomfortable if she had been representing Satan.

    I guess this is something you briefs have to learn to deal with...or does it come naturally?

    You learn you cannot polish a turd but that you can add glitter to it.

    Semantics are your friend.

    I remember spinning for a client and my argument was that ‘they are so good hearted that they couldn’t conceive that some people are bad people out there as they assumed everybody was as nice as them’ when they didn’t ask some questions about some blatant fraud going on under their watch.
    Well, it is at least a slight variant on the classic "I'm too stupid to be criminal" defence, with a better chance of still falling upwards into some well paying gig from well connected mates.
    The “I’m too nice to spot crime” thing is screaming at the top of your voice that you are “A Team Player” and a “Safe Pair of Hands”.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,972
    Nigelb said:
    These are 50-year-old river tankers that were condemned more than a decade ago, and shouldn’t have been near open water even when they were new.

    What a shame.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792

    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    I used to live in Heaton, in between Byker and Walker, and I don't remember anyone claiming that any of those areas were anything other than Newcastle. North Shields, Tynemouth and Whitley Bay maybe, but the inland suburbs to the east of the town centre no. Gateshead though certainly persisted in the fiction that it wasn't part of Newcastle, a fine example of the kind of boneheaded parochialism at which the north of England excels.
    :D

    LOL – post of the day.

    Perfectly put.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,709

    kle4 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Trump having another normal day.

    Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5043821-donald-trump-des-moines-register-ann-selzer-lawsuit/

    Chances are, the second administration will be a clusterfuck.

    A man consumed by grudges both large and petty.

    He should have a lot of people commit crimes on his behalf too - I know he's immune from most crimes anyway as President, but he might as well make use of the absurd pardon powers Presidents have as well.
    Number of pardons issued by recent presidents:

    Joe Biden - 8027
    Donald Trump - 237
    Barack Obama - 1927
    Perhaps he hadn't decided on the scale of fees?
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,877
    edited December 17

    MattW said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    I think that's Nottingham Urban Area, which is a fairly bizarre methodology.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham_Urban_Area

    It includes places nearly 15 miles away.
    Why is it bizarre? It's the Greater Nottingham area. Maybe the odd edge case settlement is 14 miles away, most of it is nothing like far away. And so what?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham_Urban_Area

    Old Denby, for example, is not the "Greater Nottingham Area". Nor is Heanor. Nor is Ripley.

    Drawing it out that far is beyond absurd.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,709
    Nigelb said:

    Trump having another normal day.

    Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5043821-donald-trump-des-moines-register-ann-selzer-lawsuit/

    Chances are, the second administration will be a clusterfuck.

    That's a ridiculous comment.

    As if it's a mere chance rather than a stone certainty.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,792
    edited December 17
    eek said:

    kle4 said:

    eek said:

    Carnyx said:

    MattW said:

    Good to see local government (potentially) being sorted out. It’s an abject mess in most places. Two-tier councils are pointless, and cities like Nottingham and Manchester have ludicrously tight boundaries that make no geographical sense and should have been expanded decades ago.

    JFDI.

    That scraping noise is the West Bridgford Maquis sharpening the inherited Victorinox Oyster Shuckers they have left over from 1972...
    The official 'City of Nottingham' is a geographical nonsense. Its borders should be expanded to encapsulate the likes of Bridgford, Gedling even Long Eaton, Ilkeston etc which are technically in Derbyshire but part of Greater Nottingham. Should have been done decades ago.

    Similar situation in Manchester and Newcastle – where parts of what is effectively the city centre are in another council area.

    JFDI.
    Bollocks to that. Gateshead is, and always will be, in County Durham.

    Not part of Newcastle, or in any way associated with that minor county on the other side of the river.
    Wrong. It's not been in County Durham for 50 years. Only contrary old-timers think that. Gateshead quayside is part and parcel of Newcastle city centre. Merge them, along with North and South Tyneside, which are equally nonsensical constructs. Should have happened decades ago.
    If you called it Tyneside or Tynebank or something you would probably get away with it, not if you called it Greater Newcastle or South Northumberland
    It can be called Newcastle & Tyneside, if only to satisfy a miserable handful of parochial contrary old-timers. I have family from Gateshead. Everywhere they go, they (quite reasonably) say they are from Newcastle.

    Presumably people like Sandy still insist Brixton is in Surrey and Tottenham is in Hertfordshire?
    In Nottingham case voters in wards in Broxtowe/Bridgford who are in financially functioning district councils whose 2nd tier is the County will be transferred to a bankrupt city under these plans.

    Madness.

    Their services will be woeful compared to where they now live. Libraries shut, bin collections moved to once a month and all the rest.

    Nope. Those residents are part and parcel of a functioning city – they should pay their way towards it, not reside in a make-believe tax haven outside its bonkers official boundaries.
    Good luck selling that message to the voters...
    Sounds like they plan not to hold elections so we can't make our views known at ballot box.

    This lot seem absolutely determined to make the way clear for Farage and Reform.
    When you've lost them, voters are very patient when waiting to tell parties they have lost their confidence. It was clear they wanted the Tories out. Sunak waiting a further six months would likeliest have just pissed off more of them. However long you play it, there is no happy outcome. Maybe too soon to say that of Starmer, but the signs aren't good.
    Nottingham's population is 768,638, according to the ONS.

    Yet Nottingham City Council's population is only 323,632.

    So only 42% of the city's population is captured by the council area –– that is clearly insane and should have been fixed decades ago.

    P.S. It's not just Nottingham that has this problem – similar issues exist in Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester etc.
    Glasgow too.
    I’m not sure about Newcastle. Going East from Newcastle you go Byker, Walker, Wallsend and then North Shields, Tynemouth / Whitley Bay all of which have their own (none Newcastle) identity.

    Going North it’s Newcastle until Ponteland, going south it’s immediately Gateshead.

    And going West it’s Newcastle all the way to open countryside
    The "they have their own identity" thing is massively overegged. Do you think people from Wimbledon or Ealing are Londoners?
    That's always overegged. Especially as the other common trope is that most areas do not have enough unique identity thesedays.
    The simple truth is that they are Londoners and will mostly say they are from London when meeting people. They might specify which part of London, just as someone from Gateshead often says they are from Newcastle when they are on holiday but might then specify which bit if/when asked.

    And councils are about sensible urban planning not spurious parochial claims.
    As a Londoner, my assumption was that Londoners would tell non-Londoners they were from London, but if talking to another Londoner, they'd specify the district.

    But I had a London immigrant tell me that I was wrong, and proper Londoners always told people what part of London they were from. As if a Cork man is likely to know the difference between Clapham and West Norwood.
    Indeed so. I think that is spot on.

    Meanwhile, if we are drawing maps for policy makers who apparently read this thread (?), the new Newcastle Super Council should look something like this IMO.


    What super council - the mayoral area is Northumbria down to Newton Aycliffe and the unitary authorities are all a reasonable size anyway

    And you’ve basically just merged all of the Tyne and Wear unitary councils into a single council excluding Sunderland
    Yes, I'd have a Greater Newcastle council and a Greater Sunderland one. Just two – that would be sensible geographically and from an economies of scale perspective.

    The white paper advocates for unitaries of at least 500,000 people AIUI – so many (all?) existing Tyneside councils would presumably be abolished or merged to reach that threshold?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 63,114
    kle4 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Trump having another normal day.

    Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster
    https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5043821-donald-trump-des-moines-register-ann-selzer-lawsuit/

    Chances are, the second administration will be a clusterfuck.

    A man consumed by grudges both large and petty.

    He should have a lot of people commit crimes on his behalf too - I know he's immune from most crimes anyway as President, but he might as well make use of the absurd pardon powers Presidents have as well.
    I reckon the intention from Trump 2.0 team is to scare pollsters out of the business.

    It is will so much easier to 'fix' 2028 election if there is no polling indicating he is losing.

  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,972

    @TSE

    Been watching Paula Vennells' Solicitor putting the case for at at the close of the PO Inquiry. She couldn't have looked more uncomfortable if she had been representing Satan.

    I guess this is something you briefs have to learn to deal with...or does it come naturally?

    You learn you cannot polish a turd but that you can add glitter to it.

    Semantics are your friend.

    I remember spinning for a client and my argument was that ‘they are so good hearted that they couldn’t conceive that some people are bad people out there as they assumed everybody was as nice as them’ when they didn’t ask some questions about some blatant fraud going on under their watch.
    Of course you can polish a turd, did you never watch Mythbusters?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ9fy1qSFI
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,443

    SandraMc said:

    WASPI women told not being compensated by Pension Secretary.

    To be fair, I’m not sure he could afford to compensate them and it’s not really his fault…
    Of course HMG can afford it, many times over. We choose not to pay them and rightly so, because their case is very weak.
    I was making a grammar Nazi comment…

    “Not being compensated by the Pensions Secretary”.

    Great, who are they being compensated by?

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