The S Korean saga continues. This warrant was issued a week ago, and the CIO failed to enforce it.
Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) sent an official letter to the Police's National Office of Investigation this morning (January 6), intending to delegate the execution of the arrest warrant to the police. https://x.com/yejinjgim/status/1876050369996095670
Certainly we want more choice in education and that should include academies and free schools and ballots to open as well as close new grammar schools. However if academies are not performing then yes no reason they cannot be brought back under local authority control
The S Korean saga continues. This warrant was issued a week ago, and the CIO failed to enforce it.
Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) sent an official letter to the Police's National Office of Investigation this morning (January 6), intending to delegate the execution of the arrest warrant to the police. https://x.com/yejinjgim/status/1876050369996095670
A proper constitutional crisis. President v Parliament v Surpreme Court, all of whom are trying to crap on each other.
I think that Parliament probably wins in the end, but it might take a while longer yet.
Nice to see a picture of our next Prime Minister in the header.
Bridget or the dog?
If the pooch is anything like the Westie who lives down the road from us ... Walk is a stately progress out and back. Never, ever distracted by actually doing anything (other than the ritual No 1 and No 2 obvs). Totally sedate, will sniff your hand amiably but that's it. Would meet Y Doethur's specification admirably.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, finally someone ready to fight the rape gangs and grooming with his sexual choke holds and porn sites.
Is Inevitable West one of Musk’s sock puppet accounts?
Do we have any information on which political party he's planning to join, become an MP of, and then become leader of, all within the next 4 years? Or does he plan to set up his own political party?
I'm reluctant to weigh in on education as I don't have any experience of it beyond the 13 years I spent at school and the 8 years I spent at university. All I would say is that, despite the inadequacy of funding and the chaotic structure of state schooling, as a parent my experience has been almost universally extremely positive. Our children are thriving academically and in other ways, the teaching they receive is generally excellent, they have many wonderful opportunities to stretch themselves, they feel safe and happy, and their teachers are clearly committed and motivated. Our eldest is also having a great time at university and also appears to be benefitting from great teaching. So something must be going right!
Your experience is not untypical, and I think the header is unnecessarily gloomy. Ofsted may not be reliable (!), but currently around 90% of state primary schools and 82% of state secondary schools are judged good or outstanding. 2% of primaries and 5% of secondaries are judged inadequate - too high of course, but not incompatible with the view that the vast majority of state school education is decent or better. I'd gently suggest that if we had reliable, comparable data for private schools the picture would be little different.
As for Bridget Phillipson, giving her a bit of time to judge whether or not she turns out to be a good SoS would seem sensible.
The S Korean saga continues. This warrant was issued a week ago, and the CIO failed to enforce it.
Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) sent an official letter to the Police's National Office of Investigation this morning (January 6), intending to delegate the execution of the arrest warrant to the police. https://x.com/yejinjgim/status/1876050369996095670
A proper constitutional crisis. President v Parliament v Surpreme Court, all of whom are trying to crap on each other.
I think that Parliament probably wins in the end, but it might take a while longer yet.
The disturbing thing is that political polarisation has reached US levels. Unlike during the previous constititional crisis, conservative voters are backing Yoon, despite his blatant coup attempt.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, finally someone ready to fight the rape gangs and grooming with his sexual choke holds and porn sites.
Is Inevitable West one of Musk’s sock puppet accounts?
Do we have any information on which political party he's planning to join, become an MP of, and then become leader of, all within the next 4 years? Or does he plan to set up his own political party?
Good morning, everyone.
Andrew Tate and “Tommy” deserve each other. Perhaps they can compare notes on how the prison system works in different places?
A well informed header @ydoethur , however the sooner these appalling saps on resources, the Academy groups are shown the door the better.Several hundred thousand pounds salary per CEO, CFO and COO over and above each Head's salary, it's money for old rope. Don't pay them off give them the same Government redundancy package those losing their jobs at Homebase will receive.
There are an awful lot of academy trusts that have management setups which would make more sense if they were running more schools.
For a while, the ambition was that, somehow, by hook or by crook, all schools would end up as academies, so the potential was there.
That's definitely no longer the case, so that leaves a lot of spare management capacity. Even without the baby bust, there's a definite need for some natural wastage.
(But also, Academy CEO salaries are an example of the "I'm going to pay myself as much as I think I'm worth" model of salary negotiation.)
A politician would never follow advice of not putting things off alone (hence the full quote i suppose). Doing stuff comes with risks, and who wants that?
Of course in reality politicians typically come in 3 varieties - the do nothing people, terrified of cocking up further so just put a plaster on. The tinkerers that you identify like Gove, who do try a bit but usually on small problems (in fairness their boss may not agree to do big stuff). And then the ones who do do big things on big issues, but very badly due to unearned confidence in their abilities.
PB is cynical this morning!
How long since we had an MP who had noted success in turning an organisation around and running it successfully? Let alone a minister?
Farage!
*Part of my strategy to tempt the lefties back by discussing their amazing skills of their favourite political figure.
One of Farage's major problems is that he eventually seems to fall out with everyone he works with.
It just happened much quicker with Musk than usual.
I suspect that isn't Farage's fault. When positioned at that point on the political spectrum and without a far right group to your right you are going to attract a large number of certain people who are then going to come out with some extreme views that he has to distance himself from.
To his credit (yes I know), Farage has always been good at getting rid of people in his organisations who don’t know where to draw the line. Just as UKIP was infiltrated by a number of BNP-types, now Reform has to deal with a bunch of EDL-types.
He’ll be furious at Elon Musk for misunderstanding the differences between the Overton Window in the US and UK, going too far from a position of ignorance, and basically endorsing a man far to Farage’s right who’s currently in prison for contempt of court.
John Rentoul @JohnRentoul · 18s The Beatles’ first number one (“Please Please Me”, 1963) is closer to Victoria’s reign than to the present day
Please Please Me was not a number one in the Record Retailers chart that became the official UK singles chart, although it did reach the top of the NME and Melody Maker charts. So I wouldn't consider it their first number one (it isn't included in the "1" compilation, for instance). It is one of my favourite tunes though - even now it raises the hairs on the back of your neck, God knows what it must have sounded like in 1963!
It seems that the Learning and Work Institute dose not know the difference between skills and (over) education.
Previously from the Guardian:
Although most UK students find jobs not long after leaving university – with 61% of those who graduated in 2022 having gained full-time work 15 months later – many of them will find non-graduate work only: according to the Office for National Statistics, last year just 60.4% of graduates living in England aged 21-30 were in “high-skilled” work, while 26.4% of this group were in medium or low-skilled employment and 5.5% unemployed.
About half of the recent graduates who got in touch said they had taken non-graduate jobs in hospitality, retail, administration, call centres, supply teaching or in temporary positions on the minimum wage to keep afloat. Many said that jobs labelled as “entry level” positions usually require at least one, and often several, years of professional experience.
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
Rachel Thieves, as the kids have it. I try not to go all Bliar or Micro$oft or Bozo, but I did chuckle a little at that one.
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
The BoE is going to be between a rock and a hard place on rates this year.
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
A bit weird that firms of all sizes think the NI hike is damaging given that over half of firms will pay no or less NI under the changes.
Labour are much worse at the selling of their policies than the policies themselves.
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
Rachel Thieves, as the kids have it. I try not to go all Bliar or Micro$oft or Bozo, but I did chuckle a little at that one.
Yeah, I know what you mean. In a similar vein I always used to chuckle at $KY.
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
A bit weird that firms of all sizes think the NI hike is damaging given that over half of firms will pay no or less NI under the changes.
Labour are much worse at the selling of their policies than the policies themselves.
That certainly seems to be the case in this instance and many other instances. They also did themselves no favours by ruling out things prior to the election. Knee Jerk reacting to the daily press cycle. Why not the usual "no plans".
The whole WASPI Shambles was needless. They did the right thing but due to their prior support for the WASPI women came over poorly.
The whole WFA thing should have been in the budget and as part of a package.
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
A bit weird that firms of all sizes think the NI hike is damaging given that over half of firms will pay no or less NI under the changes.
Labour are much worse at the selling of their policies than the policies themselves.
If you depress wages. more people have to apply for in-work benefits, so the taxpayer pays. Increase wages or NLV then companies pay.
Those not able to run a business without staff on benefits, need to look at their business model.
Nice to see a picture of our next Prime Minister in the header.
Bridget or the dog?
If the pooch is anything like the Westie who lives down the road from us ... Walk is a stately progress out and back. Never, ever distracted by actually doing anything (other than the ritual No 1 and No 2 obvs). Totally sedate, will sniff your hand amiably but that's it. Would meet Y Doethur's specification admirably.
Our dog would be the exact opposite. He would be changing policy every 5 minutes. Every single person who meets him says he is the most hyper dog they have met. He just goes bonkers when meeting anyone (in a very friendly way). He also eats anything he can find and is very adept at stealing food. He loves going to the vet even though on a regular basis he is being induced to vomit and spins around the room bouncing off the walls. He is a Sproodle (Springer/Poodle cross).
Some of the things he has eaten or tried to eat are: 1.5kg block of cheese, 250g block of butter, tin foil that had had a cake in it (he pooed sparkling poo for several days), food still in the bag (that was a serious one), a whole bag of potatoes, a regular diet of dead deer (hairy poo) and trying to get a skull and spine off him was a challenge, my wallet, iphone, glasses, binoculars and numerous peoples dinners if they don't put their plate in a safe place when getting up from the table, bowls of peanuts and crisps, etc, etc. He costs a fortune calling the toxic helpline and vets bills and trying to get the food off him when he has it is pretty well impossible
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
A bit weird that firms of all sizes think the NI hike is damaging given that over half of firms will pay no or less NI under the changes.
Labour are much worse at the selling of their policies than the policies themselves.
No company buys goods or services from other companies. All companies operate in a state of complete autarchy from all others.
So companies not directly affected by the NI increase will see absolutely no effect on their business.
(Edit) Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP....
*If* you believe that, Musk has won.
I don't believe it. I haven't looked into it, but you would have to be quite a puppeteer to arrange things at such low levels, in so many places, over such a long period. My own view (having read a couple of the reports yonks ago), was that the decisions were made on an individual, and small group basis. Would decisions have got to the DPP's level?
Though having said that, Musk's statements are so wild that I'm not actually sure what he thinks Starmer did...
I'm not a fan of Starmer, but these attacks on him by Musk and Musk's deranged fanbois are probably going to help, not hinder, him.
Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP, he is going so over-the-top that it will hardly help justice.
I think Starmer was quite good when challenged on this today. I had my doubts he should address his record but he came across convincingly. It remains to be seen if it holds or if further attacks expose him on this, but for now I think he has neutralised the immediate danger (it helps him that Musk as you say is going over the top).
(Edit) Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP....
*If* you believe that, Musk has won.
I don't believe it. I haven't looked into it, but you would have to be quite a puppeteer to arrange things at such low levels, in so many places, over such a long period. My own view (having read a couple of the reports yonks ago), was that the decisions were made on an individual, and small group basis. Would decisions have got to the DPP's level?
Though having said that, Musk's statements are so wild that I'm not actually sure what he thinks Starmer did...
Remember that in the US prosecutors are elected politicians, and anything more serious than a charge of littering comes across their desk, with charges regularly brought or dropped for political reasons.
It featured in the recent election as Harris was once the DA in Los Angeles prosecuting drug users, and the DA in New York was elected on a platform that was little more than “Let me get Donald Trump”. It’s easy for an American to think that Starmer was personally making the call on every serious charge in England.
I'm reluctant to weigh in on education as I don't have any experience of it beyond the 13 years I spent at school and the 8 years I spent at university. All I would say is that, despite the inadequacy of funding and the chaotic structure of state schooling, as a parent my experience has been almost universally extremely positive. Our children are thriving academically and in other ways, the teaching they receive is generally excellent, they have many wonderful opportunities to stretch themselves, they feel safe and happy, and their teachers are clearly committed and motivated. Our eldest is also having a great time at university and also appears to be benefitting from great teaching. So something must be going right!
Your experience is not untypical, and I think the header is unnecessarily gloomy. Ofsted may not be reliable (!), but currently around 90% of state primary schools and 82% of state secondary schools are judged good or outstanding. 2% of primaries and 5% of secondaries are judged inadequate - too high of course, but not incompatible with the view that the vast majority of state school education is decent or better. I'd gently suggest that if we had reliable, comparable data for private schools the picture would be little different.
As for Bridget Phillipson, giving her a bit of time to judge whether or not she turns out to be a good SoS would seem sensible.
Yes, my impression is that education has generally gotten a lot better over the past 20 years whilst most other public services have declined. Our results have certainly gotten better. The header is far too gloomy on what is actually something of a success story for the UK.
(Edit) Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP....
*If* you believe that, Musk has won.
I don't believe it. I haven't looked into it, but you would have to be quite a puppeteer to arrange things at such low levels, in so many places, over such a long period. My own view (having read a couple of the reports yonks ago), was that the decisions were made on an individual, and small group basis. Would decisions have got to the DPP's level?
Though having said that, Musk's statements are so wild that I'm not actually sure what he thinks Starmer did...
Suggestion by Starmer that threats have been made on Phillips.
(Edit) Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP....
*If* you believe that, Musk has won.
I don't believe it. I haven't looked into it, but you would have to be quite a puppeteer to arrange things at such low levels, in so many places, over such a long period. My own view (having read a couple of the reports yonks ago), was that the decisions were made on an individual, and small group basis. Would decisions have got to the DPP's level?
Though having said that, Musk's statements are so wild that I'm not actually sure what he thinks Starmer did...
Remember that in the US prosecutors are elected politicians, and anything more serious than a charge of littering comes across their desk, with charges regularly brought or dropped for political reasons.
That's utterly irrelevant. The accusations that Musky Baby's throwing about like a toddler in a tantrum are so serious that you'd expect him to actually do a little research. After all, he is, allegedly, a genius.
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
A bit weird that firms of all sizes think the NI hike is damaging given that over half of firms will pay no or less NI under the changes.
Labour are much worse at the selling of their policies than the policies themselves.
No company buys goods or services from other companies. All companies operate in a state of complete autarchy from all others.
So companies not directly affected by the NI increase will see absolutely no effect on their business.
Sure, but if you are a small business employing less than 10 people this change (generally) shouldn't be in your top 10 priorities. If you are Tesco employing a load of people on low pay, low hours contracts and have thinnish margins already then its a headache.
I'm reluctant to weigh in on education as I don't have any experience of it beyond the 13 years I spent at school and the 8 years I spent at university. All I would say is that, despite the inadequacy of funding and the chaotic structure of state schooling, as a parent my experience has been almost universally extremely positive. Our children are thriving academically and in other ways, the teaching they receive is generally excellent, they have many wonderful opportunities to stretch themselves, they feel safe and happy, and their teachers are clearly committed and motivated. Our eldest is also having a great time at university and also appears to be benefitting from great teaching. So something must be going right!
Your experience is not untypical, and I think the header is unnecessarily gloomy. Ofsted may not be reliable (!), but currently around 90% of state primary schools and 82% of state secondary schools are judged good or outstanding. 2% of primaries and 5% of secondaries are judged inadequate - too high of course, but not incompatible with the view that the vast majority of state school education is decent or better. I'd gently suggest that if we had reliable, comparable data for private schools the picture would be little different.
As for Bridget Phillipson, giving her a bit of time to judge whether or not she turns out to be a good SoS would seem sensible.
Yes, my impression is that education has generally gotten a lot better over the past 20 years whilst most other public services have declined. Our results have certainly gotten better. The header is far too gloomy on what is actually something of a success story for the UK.
We are definitely better at exam results but is that the right measure? Not for me, we teach the wrong things, but so does the rest of the world, education is set up for mid 20th century life still.
It seems that the Learning and Work Institute dose not know the difference between skills and (over) education.
Previously from the Guardian:
Although most UK students find jobs not long after leaving university – with 61% of those who graduated in 2022 having gained full-time work 15 months later – many of them will find non-graduate work only: according to the Office for National Statistics, last year just 60.4% of graduates living in England aged 21-30 were in “high-skilled” work, while 26.4% of this group were in medium or low-skilled employment and 5.5% unemployed.
About half of the recent graduates who got in touch said they had taken non-graduate jobs in hospitality, retail, administration, call centres, supply teaching or in temporary positions on the minimum wage to keep afloat. Many said that jobs labelled as “entry level” positions usually require at least one, and often several, years of professional experience.
I'm reluctant to weigh in on education as I don't have any experience of it beyond the 13 years I spent at school and the 8 years I spent at university. All I would say is that, despite the inadequacy of funding and the chaotic structure of state schooling, as a parent my experience has been almost universally extremely positive. Our children are thriving academically and in other ways, the teaching they receive is generally excellent, they have many wonderful opportunities to stretch themselves, they feel safe and happy, and their teachers are clearly committed and motivated. Our eldest is also having a great time at university and also appears to be benefitting from great teaching. So something must be going right!
Your experience is not untypical, and I think the header is unnecessarily gloomy. Ofsted may not be reliable (!), but currently around 90% of state primary schools and 82% of state secondary schools are judged good or outstanding. 2% of primaries and 5% of secondaries are judged inadequate - too high of course, but not incompatible with the view that the vast majority of state school education is decent or better. I'd gently suggest that if we had reliable, comparable data for private schools the picture would be little different.
As for Bridget Phillipson, giving her a bit of time to judge whether or not she turns out to be a good SoS would seem sensible.
Yes, my impression is that education has generally gotten a lot better over the past 20 years whilst most other public services have declined. Our results have certainly gotten better. The header is far too gloomy on what is actually something of a success story for the UK.
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
A bit weird that firms of all sizes think the NI hike is damaging given that over half of firms will pay no or less NI under the changes.
Labour are much worse at the selling of their policies than the policies themselves.
No company buys goods or services from other companies. All companies operate in a state of complete autarchy from all others.
So companies not directly affected by the NI increase will see absolutely no effect on their business.
Sure, but if you are a small business employing less than 10 people this change (generally) shouldn't be in your top 10 priorities. If you are Tesco employing a load of people on low pay, low hours contracts and have thinnish margins already then its a headache.
Should we really be feeling sorry for companies like Tesco who pay minimum wages, use zero hours contracts but pretend they are interested in anything other than their own profits? Small companies should be encouraged instead, by subsidising their training and development.
Looks like Trudeau will resign after nearly 10 years as Canadian PM.
Despite poor current polls it is easily forgotten Trudeau took over a Liberal Party that had won just 34 MPs in 2011 and 18% of the vote and had been replaced by the NDP as official opposition when he became party leader in 2013 and led them to a landslide victory in 2015 with 184 MPs and 39% of the vote and then defeated the Conservatives at 2 further general elections since in 2019 and 2021.
Like the Tories removing Boris or the Democrats removing Biden or the Canadian Tories replacing Mulroney with Kim Campbell I suspect the Liberals will find getting a new leader at the 11th hour does them no good in the long run and they still face a bad defeat. Indeed, by going now Trudeau like Boris and Biden and Mulroney can smugly look on the sidelines and say 'told you so' given like Boris and Biden he had won the previous election. Most probably the Liberals end up back where they started before Trudeau in third place https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-trudeau-expected-to-announce-resignation-before-national-caucus/
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
A bit weird that firms of all sizes think the NI hike is damaging given that over half of firms will pay no or less NI under the changes.
Labour are much worse at the selling of their policies than the policies themselves.
No company buys goods or services from other companies. All companies operate in a state of complete autarchy from all others.
So companies not directly affected by the NI increase will see absolutely no effect on their business.
Sure, but if you are a small business employing less than 10 people this change (generally) shouldn't be in your top 10 priorities. If you are Tesco employing a load of people on low pay, low hours contracts and have thinnish margins already then its a headache.
Should we really be feeling sorry for companies like Tesco who pay minimum wages, use zero hours contracts but pretend they are interested in anything other than their own profits? Small companies should be encouraged instead, by subsidising their training and development.
The question is why Labour have failed to make these points with any prominence. I'd guess public awareness of the impact of the increase in Employment allowance is sub 5% and probably still sub 20% amongst the owners of the small businesses impacted.
I'm not a fan of Starmer, but these attacks on him by Musk and Musk's deranged fanbois are probably going to help, not hinder, him.
Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP, he is going so over-the-top that it will hardly help justice.
I'm not so confident.
The pattern of political polarisation in recent years is that people who don't like Starmer - as a lot of people don't for various reasons - will tend to accept wild and unsubstantiated criticism as validation of their prior opinion.
You're more likely to be an outlier.
I'm sure that some of my reactions to stories about Tory ministers, 2010-2024, would fit that pattern, even though I tried to be fair and even-handed. And I reached a point with Corbyn where he passed a personal event horizon, and I flipped from giving him the benefit of the doubt to the polar opposite.
On which note, today is a perfect winter day. You just don't get this quality of light in lower latitudes.
(Edit) Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP....
*If* you believe that, Musk has won.
I don't believe it. I haven't looked into it, but you would have to be quite a puppeteer to arrange things at such low levels, in so many places, over such a long period. My own view (having read a couple of the reports yonks ago), was that the decisions were made on an individual, and small group basis. Would decisions have got to the DPP's level?
Though having said that, Musk's statements are so wild that I'm not actually sure what he thinks Starmer did...
Suggestion by Starmer that threats have been made on Phillips.
She has already said she is resigned to death threats for the rest of her life and a man was jailed for threatening the most awful violence at her.
Nice to see a picture of our next Prime Minister in the header.
Bridget or the dog?
If the pooch is anything like the Westie who lives down the road from us ... Walk is a stately progress out and back. Never, ever distracted by actually doing anything (other than the ritual No 1 and No 2 obvs). Totally sedate, will sniff your hand amiably but that's it. Would meet Y Doethur's specification admirably.
Our dog would be the exact opposite. He would be changing policy every 5 minutes. Every single person who meets him says he is the most hyper dog they have met. He just goes bonkers when meeting anyone (in a very friendly way). He also eats anything he can find and is very adept at stealing food. He loves going to the vet even though on a regular basis he is being induced to vomit and spins around the room bouncing off the walls. He is a Sproodle (Springer/Poodle cross).
Some of the things he has eaten or tried to eat are: 1.5kg block of cheese, 250g block of butter, tin foil that had had a cake in it (he pooed sparkling poo for several days), food still in the bag (that was a serious one), a whole bag of potatoes, a regular diet of dead deer (hairy poo) and trying to get a skull and spine off him was a challenge, my wallet, iphone, glasses, binoculars and numerous peoples dinners if they don't put their plate in a safe place when getting up from the table, bowls of peanuts and crisps, etc, etc. He costs a fortune calling the toxic helpline and vets bills and trying to get the food off him when he has it is pretty well impossible
I've said it before and I'll say it again: dogs are idiots.
On reflection, cats are idiots too. But in a much more low-key way. Cats are BETTER idiots.
A politician would never follow advice of not putting things off alone (hence the full quote i suppose). Doing stuff comes with risks, and who wants that?
Of course in reality politicians typically come in 3 varieties - the do nothing people, terrified of cocking up further so just put a plaster on. The tinkerers that you identify like Gove, who do try a bit but usually on small problems (in fairness their boss may not agree to do big stuff). And then the ones who do do big things on big issues, but very badly due to unearned confidence in their abilities.
PB is cynical this morning!
How long since we had an MP who had noted success in turning an organisation around and running it successfully? Let alone a minister?
Farage!
*Part of my strategy to tempt the lefties back by discussing their amazing skills of their favourite political figure.
One of Farage's major problems is that he eventually seems to fall out with everyone he works with.
It just happened much quicker with Musk than usual.
I suspect that isn't Farage's fault. When positioned at that point on the political spectrum and without a far right group to your right you are going to attract a large number of certain people who are then going to come out with some extreme views that he has to distance himself from.
To his credit (yes I know), Farage has always been good at getting rid of people in his organisations who don’t know where to draw the line. Just as UKIP was infiltrated by a number of BNP-types, now Reform has to deal with a bunch of EDL-types.
He’ll be furious at Elon Musk for misunderstanding the differences between the Overton Window in the US and UK, going too far from a position of ignorance, and basically endorsing a man far to Farage’s right who’s currently in prison for contempt of court.
It's also complete nonsense. Farage met Musk once. We were then regaled by PB-shrewdies with tales of how Musk 'held a formal role within Reform' and was calling all the shots. It now turns out that he has no formal role, and doesn't call any shots, but apparently the fact that he's gone sour on Farage is evidence of the latter 'falling out with everyone he works with'. Or perhaps you were just spouting bollocks all along, and now you're adding more bollocks on top.
'More than half of companies are planning to raise prices in the next three months as they face a "pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes", according to one of the UK's largest business groups.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its survey of nearly 5,000 firms suggested confidence had "slumped", falling to its lowest level for two years.
Nearly two-thirds told the BCC they were worried about taxes following the Budget, which announced a rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) paid by firms from April.' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j10420e2jo
OK, here goes. For the economic data, I'm going with "No Change": ... 7. Number of seats won by the AfD in the May 2025 German Federal Election. 88 (See what I did there?) ...
He'd have been the effective PM if Corbyn had won.
Would he have won as the front man? Not sure.
Would he have won? Not sure, but with his smart silvery hair, dark suits, and fluent conversational delivery, he was a hell of a lot more credible than the forage-capped Corbyn. He coulda been a contender.
And his diagnosis, quoted above, is pretty spot on.
I remember speaking to a city gent at the time of the Corbyn surge who was far more worried about McDonnell than Magic Grandpa. McD was actually interested in the mechanics of how the UK worked while JC was, really, just a demo-man concerned mostly with the injustices meted out to Venezuela etc.
Nice to see a picture of our next Prime Minister in the header.
Bridget or the dog?
If the pooch is anything like the Westie who lives down the road from us ... Walk is a stately progress out and back. Never, ever distracted by actually doing anything (other than the ritual No 1 and No 2 obvs). Totally sedate, will sniff your hand amiably but that's it. Would meet Y Doethur's specification admirably.
Our dog would be the exact opposite. He would be changing policy every 5 minutes. Every single person who meets him says he is the most hyper dog they have met. He just goes bonkers when meeting anyone (in a very friendly way). He also eats anything he can find and is very adept at stealing food. He loves going to the vet even though on a regular basis he is being induced to vomit and spins around the room bouncing off the walls. He is a Sproodle (Springer/Poodle cross).
Some of the things he has eaten or tried to eat are: 1.5kg block of cheese, 250g block of butter, tin foil that had had a cake in it (he pooed sparkling poo for several days), food still in the bag (that was a serious one), a whole bag of potatoes, a regular diet of dead deer (hairy poo) and trying to get a skull and spine off him was a challenge, my wallet, iphone, glasses, binoculars and numerous peoples dinners if they don't put their plate in a safe place when getting up from the table, bowls of peanuts and crisps, etc, etc. He costs a fortune calling the toxic helpline and vets bills and trying to get the food off him when he has it is pretty well impossible
This may be more information than you require (and is second hand, never having tried it) but I am told that if you want to get a dog to loose hold its grip on anything (whether food or limb), you should poke a finger up its bum.
'More than half of companies are planning to raise prices in the next three months as they face a "pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes", according to one of the UK's largest business groups.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its survey of nearly 5,000 firms suggested confidence had "slumped", falling to its lowest level for two years.
Nearly two-thirds told the BCC they were worried about taxes following the Budget, which announced a rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) paid by firms from April.' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j10420e2jo
Do they mention which are the right taxes to impose instead? We are currently borrowing to meet day to day expenditure, something the BCC knows is not a great long term plan when everyone is suggesting ways of spening more taxpayers money.
A politician would never follow advice of not putting things off alone (hence the full quote i suppose). Doing stuff comes with risks, and who wants that?
Of course in reality politicians typically come in 3 varieties - the do nothing people, terrified of cocking up further so just put a plaster on. The tinkerers that you identify like Gove, who do try a bit but usually on small problems (in fairness their boss may not agree to do big stuff). And then the ones who do do big things on big issues, but very badly due to unearned confidence in their abilities.
PB is cynical this morning!
How long since we had an MP who had noted success in turning an organisation around and running it successfully? Let alone a minister?
Farage!
*Part of my strategy to tempt the lefties back by discussing their amazing skills of their favourite political figure.
One of Farage's major problems is that he eventually seems to fall out with everyone he works with.
It just happened much quicker with Musk than usual.
True, that is very much his M.O. but in this case I think it is understandable given Musk continues to support Robinson and has said Farage needs to be replaced.
Also, Musk doesn't exactly have a tip-top record on the "maintaining long-term working relationships" front.
Doesn't he? Gwynne Shotwell's been running SpaceX for him for at least two decades, and AIUI there are a fair few senior Tesla people who have been there for yonks.
Though the way he treated his secretary was awful, and perhaps the start of his descent into madness.
This is my pet theory of the week... Musk is possibly suffering some sort of mental illness. I hope he gets appropriate treatment.
I'm not a fan of Starmer, but these attacks on him by Musk and Musk's deranged fanbois are probably going to help, not hinder, him.
Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP, he is going so over-the-top that it will hardly help justice.
(Edit)
It remains to be seen if it holds or if further attacks expose him on this, but for now I think he has neutralised the immediate danger ...
You are hinting that Musk has a point.
I am saying that he looked to manage the political fallout quite well today. Politics is about perception, at least in large part. I am not close enough to the issue to opine about Starmer’s actions as DPP or what have you, and I will freely admit that.
I am not however putting tremendous weight on what Elon Musk says, given he seems to now be implying we should be invaded and the King should dissolve parliament.
I'm not a fan of Starmer, but these attacks on him by Musk and Musk's deranged fanbois are probably going to help, not hinder, him.
Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP, he is going so over-the-top that it will hardly help justice.
I'm not so confident.
The pattern of political polarisation in recent years is that people who don't like Starmer - as a lot of people don't for various reasons - will tend to accept wild and unsubstantiated criticism as validation of their prior opinion.
You're more likely to be an outlier.
I'm sure that some of my reactions to stories about Tory ministers, 2010-2024, would fit that pattern, even though I tried to be fair and even-handed. And I reached a point with Corbyn where he passed a personal event horizon, and I flipped from giving him the benefit of the doubt to the polar opposite.
On which note, today is a perfect winter day. You just don't get this quality of light in lower latitudes.
Fair enough.
Although I'd like to make clear: when I say I'm not a fan of Starmer, I don't hate him, or even particularly dislike him. I just think he's made a poor PM so far, and in fact that he lacks some attributes that successful PMs must have.
It's sort-of like my views of Boris: where I quite liked him as a person and character, but thought he'd make a terrible PM.
"Trying is the first step towards failure" "If something's hard to do, it's not worth doing" "You tried your best, and failed miserably. The lesson is, never try"
Three quotes from the great philosopher Homer (the other one), which I think are appropriate here
I'm not a fan of Starmer, but these attacks on him by Musk and Musk's deranged fanbois are probably going to help, not hinder, him.
Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP, he is going so over-the-top that it will hardly help justice.
I'm not so confident.
The pattern of political polarisation in recent years is that people who don't like Starmer - as a lot of people don't for various reasons - will tend to accept wild and unsubstantiated criticism as validation of their prior opinion.
You're more likely to be an outlier.
I'm sure that some of my reactions to stories about Tory ministers, 2010-2024, would fit that pattern, even though I tried to be fair and even-handed. And I reached a point with Corbyn where he passed a personal event horizon, and I flipped from giving him the benefit of the doubt to the polar opposite.
On which note, today is a perfect winter day. You just don't get this quality of light in lower latitudes.
But perhaps those of us who are engaged - even those of us who do our best not to be gut-instinct tribal in our reactions - are more likely to jump on a story because it's what we like to do? Perhaps the less-involved might have a greater weight of scepticism towards internet rumours, and/or a greater tendency to see politicians as just people who are trying? I dunno, really.
With you on northerly latitudes however. It's mainly cloudy where I am today but I love those perfect clear winter's days (like last Thursday, in the NW) more than anything. The sun never really gets much above 15 degrees above the horizon, so all day is lit like a sunset. It's double good when there's a frost so the light sparkles off the land too.
'More than half of companies are planning to raise prices in the next three months as they face a "pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes", according to one of the UK's largest business groups.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its survey of nearly 5,000 firms suggested confidence had "slumped", falling to its lowest level for two years.
Nearly two-thirds told the BCC they were worried about taxes following the Budget, which announced a rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) paid by firms from April.' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j10420e2jo
No, Burnham might have won but McDonnell wouldn't although some of his ideas were sensible
I saw McDonnell speak in Shipley in the run up to the 2019 election. He came across very well, and I agreed with just about everything he had to say.
At the end of his speech, he summarised: "We call it Socialism." So do I.
Is he able to give instances of how it, socialism, is working reasonably well in a country of comparable size to us? By 'reasonably well' perhaps as well as our version of social democracy or a little bit better.
Nice to see a picture of our next Prime Minister in the header.
Bridget or the dog?
If the pooch is anything like the Westie who lives down the road from us ... Walk is a stately progress out and back. Never, ever distracted by actually doing anything (other than the ritual No 1 and No 2 obvs). Totally sedate, will sniff your hand amiably but that's it. Would meet Y Doethur's specification admirably.
Our dog would be the exact opposite. He would be changing policy every 5 minutes. Every single person who meets him says he is the most hyper dog they have met. He just goes bonkers when meeting anyone (in a very friendly way). He also eats anything he can find and is very adept at stealing food. He loves going to the vet even though on a regular basis he is being induced to vomit and spins around the room bouncing off the walls. He is a Sproodle (Springer/Poodle cross).
Some of the things he has eaten or tried to eat are: 1.5kg block of cheese, 250g block of butter, tin foil that had had a cake in it (he pooed sparkling poo for several days), food still in the bag (that was a serious one), a whole bag of potatoes, a regular diet of dead deer (hairy poo) and trying to get a skull and spine off him was a challenge, my wallet, iphone, glasses, binoculars and numerous peoples dinners if they don't put their plate in a safe place when getting up from the table, bowls of peanuts and crisps, etc, etc. He costs a fortune calling the toxic helpline and vets bills and trying to get the food off him when he has it is pretty well impossible
This may be more information than you require (and is second hand, never having tried it) but I am told that if you want to get a dog to loose hold its grip on anything (whether food or limb), you should poke a finger up its bum.
This might be better than the vet's bill. Maybe.
KJH probably already has to keep some rubber gloves beside the faecal bags in his Barbour pocket, from his comments, so why not?
'US President Joe Biden has announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of America's coastline, weeks before Donald Trump takes office.
The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon and Washington and a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska..Biden is taking the action under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which allows presidents to withdraw areas from mineral leasing and drilling.' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg6dg30vq0o
A politician would never follow advice of not putting things off alone (hence the full quote i suppose). Doing stuff comes with risks, and who wants that?
Of course in reality politicians typically come in 3 varieties - the do nothing people, terrified of cocking up further so just put a plaster on. The tinkerers that you identify like Gove, who do try a bit but usually on small problems (in fairness their boss may not agree to do big stuff). And then the ones who do do big things on big issues, but very badly due to unearned confidence in their abilities.
PB is cynical this morning!
How long since we had an MP who had noted success in turning an organisation around and running it successfully? Let alone a minister?
Farage!
*Part of my strategy to tempt the lefties back by discussing their amazing skills of their favourite political figure.
One of Farage's major problems is that he eventually seems to fall out with everyone he works with.
It just happened much quicker with Musk than usual.
True, that is very much his M.O. but in this case I think it is understandable given Musk continues to support Robinson and has said Farage needs to be replaced.
Also, Musk doesn't exactly have a tip-top record on the "maintaining long-term working relationships" front.
Doesn't he? Gwynne Shotwell's been running SpaceX for him for at least two decades, and AIUI there are a fair few senior Tesla people who have been there for yonks.
Though the way he treated his secretary was awful, and perhaps the start of his descent into madness.
This is my pet theory of the week... Musk is possibly suffering some sort of mental illness. I hope he gets appropriate treatment.
The problem is it sounds as though he's always been a shit, if you listen to some of the people who knew him in the early Internet days and before. Now he's a shit with money, power, and millions of fanbois to amplify the dribblings that come out of his mouth.
A politician would never follow advice of not putting things off alone (hence the full quote i suppose). Doing stuff comes with risks, and who wants that?
Of course in reality politicians typically come in 3 varieties - the do nothing people, terrified of cocking up further so just put a plaster on. The tinkerers that you identify like Gove, who do try a bit but usually on small problems (in fairness their boss may not agree to do big stuff). And then the ones who do do big things on big issues, but very badly due to unearned confidence in their abilities.
PB is cynical this morning!
How long since we had an MP who had noted success in turning an organisation around and running it successfully? Let alone a minister?
Farage!
*Part of my strategy to tempt the lefties back by discussing their amazing skills of their favourite political figure.
One of Farage's major problems is that he eventually seems to fall out with everyone he works with.
It just happened much quicker with Musk than usual.
True, that is very much his M.O. but in this case I think it is understandable given Musk continues to support Robinson and has said Farage needs to be replaced.
Also, Musk doesn't exactly have a tip-top record on the "maintaining long-term working relationships" front.
Doesn't he? Gwynne Shotwell's been running SpaceX for him for at least two decades, and AIUI there are a fair few senior Tesla people who have been there for yonks.
Though the way he treated his secretary was awful, and perhaps the start of his descent into madness.
This is my pet theory of the week... Musk is possibly suffering some sort of mental illness. I hope he gets appropriate treatment.
It's like Horse said the other day - he's just gone full Twitter. Seen it happen to various slebs (and probably millions of others) - Lawrence Fox, Gary Lineker, Carol Vorderman - they state a forceful but not wildly mad opinion, get high on the likes and retweets and the echo chamber and just become madder and madder versions of themselves.
Nice to see a picture of our next Prime Minister in the header.
Bridget or the dog?
If the pooch is anything like the Westie who lives down the road from us ... Walk is a stately progress out and back. Never, ever distracted by actually doing anything (other than the ritual No 1 and No 2 obvs). Totally sedate, will sniff your hand amiably but that's it. Would meet Y Doethur's specification admirably.
Our dog would be the exact opposite. He would be changing policy every 5 minutes. Every single person who meets him says he is the most hyper dog they have met. He just goes bonkers when meeting anyone (in a very friendly way). He also eats anything he can find and is very adept at stealing food. He loves going to the vet even though on a regular basis he is being induced to vomit and spins around the room bouncing off the walls. He is a Sproodle (Springer/Poodle cross).
Some of the things he has eaten or tried to eat are: 1.5kg block of cheese, 250g block of butter, tin foil that had had a cake in it (he pooed sparkling poo for several days), food still in the bag (that was a serious one), a whole bag of potatoes, a regular diet of dead deer (hairy poo) and trying to get a skull and spine off him was a challenge, my wallet, iphone, glasses, binoculars and numerous peoples dinners if they don't put their plate in a safe place when getting up from the table, bowls of peanuts and crisps, etc, etc. He costs a fortune calling the toxic helpline and vets bills and trying to get the food off him when he has it is pretty well impossible
I've said it before and I'll say it again: dogs are idiots.
On reflection, cats are idiots too. But in a much more low-key way. Cats are BETTER idiots.
Yet they carry more political weight than children, I reckon.
For example, there might be a permanent end to Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh because of the impact of fireworks on canine mental health, and there are lobby groups trying to eliminate dog-free play parks.
I also think some elements of access rights/countryside code are weighted far too much in favour of dogs. I was walking in the Lakes and every farmer had put up signs describing how many lambs had been killed/injured, some with graphic imagery. Still had spaniels firing off all over the place.
(Edit) Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP....
*If* you believe that, Musk has won.
I don't believe it. I haven't looked into it, but you would have to be quite a puppeteer to arrange things at such low levels, in so many places, over such a long period. My own view (having read a couple of the reports yonks ago), was that the decisions were made on an individual, and small group basis. Would decisions have got to the DPP's level?
Though having said that, Musk's statements are so wild that I'm not actually sure what he thinks Starmer did...
Suggestion by Starmer that threats have been made on Phillips.
She has already said she is resigned to death threats for the rest of her life and a man was jailed for threatening the most awful violence at her.
How does he know it is down to Musk ?
It's hard to see Musk as having helped the situation.
A politician would never follow advice of not putting things off alone (hence the full quote i suppose). Doing stuff comes with risks, and who wants that?
Of course in reality politicians typically come in 3 varieties - the do nothing people, terrified of cocking up further so just put a plaster on. The tinkerers that you identify like Gove, who do try a bit but usually on small problems (in fairness their boss may not agree to do big stuff). And then the ones who do do big things on big issues, but very badly due to unearned confidence in their abilities.
PB is cynical this morning!
How long since we had an MP who had noted success in turning an organisation around and running it successfully? Let alone a minister?
Farage!
*Part of my strategy to tempt the lefties back by discussing their amazing skills of their favourite political figure.
One of Farage's major problems is that he eventually seems to fall out with everyone he works with.
It just happened much quicker with Musk than usual.
I suspect that isn't Farage's fault. When positioned at that point on the political spectrum and without a far right group to your right you are going to attract a large number of certain people who are then going to come out with some extreme views that he has to distance himself from.
To his credit (yes I know), Farage has always been good at getting rid of people in his organisations who don’t know where to draw the line. Just as UKIP was infiltrated by a number of BNP-types, now Reform has to deal with a bunch of EDL-types.
He’ll be furious at Elon Musk for misunderstanding the differences between the Overton Window in the US and UK, going too far from a position of ignorance, and basically endorsing a man far to Farage’s right who’s currently in prison for contempt of court.
It's also complete nonsense. Farage met Musk once. We were then regaled by PB-shrewdies with tales of how Musk 'held a formal role within Reform' and was calling all the shots. It now turns out that he has no formal role, and doesn't call any shots, but apparently the fact that he's gone sour on Farage is evidence of the latter 'falling out with everyone he works with'. Or perhaps you were just spouting bollocks all along, and now you're adding more bollocks on top.
Between the two of them, Reform-related storylines are dominating the media day after day, despite their just five MPs and wider irrelevance. Which is achievement in itself.
Anyhow, it's good to see that PB is having a balanced and civilised discussion this morning, after the ranting and bigotry on display yesterday evening. I took one look in and disappeared, last night; add me to the list of those who will likely drift away if the forum can't find a way to deal with the obvious problem we have.
OK, here goes. For the economic data, I'm going with "No Change": ... 7. Number of seats won by the AfD in the May 2025 German Federal Election. 88 (See what I did there?) ...
Nice to see a picture of our next Prime Minister in the header.
Bridget or the dog?
If the pooch is anything like the Westie who lives down the road from us ... Walk is a stately progress out and back. Never, ever distracted by actually doing anything (other than the ritual No 1 and No 2 obvs). Totally sedate, will sniff your hand amiably but that's it. Would meet Y Doethur's specification admirably.
Our dog would be the exact opposite. He would be changing policy every 5 minutes. Every single person who meets him says he is the most hyper dog they have met. He just goes bonkers when meeting anyone (in a very friendly way). He also eats anything he can find and is very adept at stealing food. He loves going to the vet even though on a regular basis he is being induced to vomit and spins around the room bouncing off the walls. He is a Sproodle (Springer/Poodle cross).
Some of the things he has eaten or tried to eat are: 1.5kg block of cheese, 250g block of butter, tin foil that had had a cake in it (he pooed sparkling poo for several days), food still in the bag (that was a serious one), a whole bag of potatoes, a regular diet of dead deer (hairy poo) and trying to get a skull and spine off him was a challenge, my wallet, iphone, glasses, binoculars and numerous peoples dinners if they don't put their plate in a safe place when getting up from the table, bowls of peanuts and crisps, etc, etc. He costs a fortune calling the toxic helpline and vets bills and trying to get the food off him when he has it is pretty well impossible
I've said it before and I'll say it again: dogs are idiots.
On reflection, cats are idiots too. But in a much more low-key way. Cats are BETTER idiots.
Last night, two of us, sitting watching telly. Cat comes in. She sees a lap she can sit on. Jumps on to that lap.
But, oh, look, there's another lap she could sit on. So, jumps on to that lap.
But maybe the first lap was better? Jumps back to first lap.
But that second lap, could give it another chance... Jumps back to second lap.
(Edit) Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP....
*If* you believe that, Musk has won.
I don't believe it. I haven't looked into it, but you would have to be quite a puppeteer to arrange things at such low levels, in so many places, over such a long period. My own view (having read a couple of the reports yonks ago), was that the decisions were made on an individual, and small group basis. Would decisions have got to the DPP's level?
Though having said that, Musk's statements are so wild that I'm not actually sure what he thinks Starmer did...
Suggestion by Starmer that threats have been made on Phillips.
She has already said she is resigned to death threats for the rest of her life and a man was jailed for threatening the most awful violence at her.
How does he know it is down to Musk ?
It's hard to see Musk as having helped the situation.
Agreed but by the same token you cannot blame Musk for abuse aimed at a politician who gets it regularly.
What would be interesting would be to see if it has increased markedly and if any comes from the US.
Comments
This warrant was issued a week ago, and the CIO failed to enforce it.
Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) sent an official letter to the Police's National Office of Investigation this morning (January 6), intending to delegate the execution of the arrest warrant to the police.
https://x.com/yejinjgim/status/1876050369996095670
I think that Parliament probably wins in the end, but it might take a while longer yet.
https://x.com/guyelster/status/1875958609626178005
Good morning, everyone.
As for Bridget Phillipson, giving her a bit of time to judge whether or not she turns out to be a good SoS would seem sensible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxW-8uONXhI
It's well worth watching in full, but his winner of the wooden spoon (country that had had the worst year) was the Syrian regime. The best? Guyana.
For a while, the ambition was that, somehow, by hook or by crook, all schools would end up as academies, so the potential was there.
That's definitely no longer the case, so that leaves a lot of spare management capacity. Even without the baby bust, there's a definite need for some natural wastage.
(But also, Academy CEO salaries are an example of the "I'm going to pay myself as much as I think I'm worth" model of salary negotiation.)
Learning and Work Institute says 71% of Londoners and 65% of adults in Scotland will have degree by 2035, compared with 29% in East Yorkshire
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jan/06/warning-of-skills-chasm-amid-huge-uk-regional-divide-in-qualifications
But what about the rest of Reform UK? There have been tensions within the party previously over how to respond to Tommy Robinson and other policy areas over how hardline to be. Isn't that why Ben Habib got kicked out of the co-deputy leader role? See https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/nov/01/splits-in-reform-uk-as-senior-figures-defend-tommy-robinson-supporters So, does Farage have an iron grip over the party or will the hardliners try to depose him?
For some reason Musk seems determined to head decisively in the opposite direction.
John Rentoul
@JohnRentoul
·
18s
The Beatles’ first number one (“Please Please Me”, 1963) is closer to Victoria’s reign than to the present day
Lewis Goodall @lewisgoodall.com
·
12m
Musk now polling on whether the US should invade Britain.
Time for my idea to merge all post 18 training and education into degrees.
“Arrest everyone in my address book”
Tommy, or Farage?
There's only enough oxygen for one Sun King to blaze and it wont be him.
It seems that the Learning and Work Institute dose not know the difference between skills and (over) education.
Although most UK students find jobs not long after leaving university – with 61% of those who graduated in 2022 having gained full-time work 15 months later – many of them will find non-graduate work only: according to the Office for National Statistics, last year just 60.4% of graduates living in England aged 21-30 were in “high-skilled” work, while 26.4% of this group were in medium or low-skilled employment and 5.5% unemployed.
About half of the recent graduates who got in touch said they had taken non-graduate jobs in hospitality, retail, administration, call centres, supply teaching or in temporary positions on the minimum wage to keep afloat. Many said that jobs labelled as “entry level” positions usually require at least one, and often several, years of professional experience.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/aug/29/uk-graduates-struggle-job-market#:~:text=Although most UK students find,in England aged 21-30
By 2035 how many traditional graduate jobs will AI and globalisation have replaced ?
So much for Trump not being a war monger.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-cultural-property/article/distorting-history-in-the-restitution-debate-dan-hickss-the-brutish-museums-and-fact-and-fiction-in-benin-historiography/A4FB2790941499DCA15795835A8737DA#
Starmer avoided answer
Firms to increase prices due to rising costs and taxes
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/firms-to-increase-prices-amid-pressure-cooker-of-rising-costs-and-taxes/ar-AA1x1O1d?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=29b16f01dbde449a9eac5d036b047884&ei=16
More than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April, according to research, which found business confidence has slumped since the Budget.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% of them expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll in the second half of 2024.
The research, by trade group the British Chambers of Commerce, comes after Labour announced an increase in taxes related to employing people in the October Budget.
Firms of all shapes and sizes are telling us the national insurance hike is particularly damaging. Businesses are already cutting back on investment and say they will have to put up prices in the coming months
Who'd be a politician?
Even *if* Musk has a point about Starmer's involvement in the cases as DPP, he is going so over-the-top that it will hardly help justice.
Labour are much worse at the selling of their policies than the policies themselves.
The whole WASPI Shambles was needless. They did the right thing but due to their prior support for the WASPI women came over poorly.
The whole WFA thing should have been in the budget and as part of a package.
It is just naive politics.
Those not able to run a business without staff on benefits, need to look at their business model.
Some of the things he has eaten or tried to eat are: 1.5kg block of cheese, 250g block of butter, tin foil that had had a cake in it (he pooed sparkling poo for several days), food still in the bag (that was a serious one), a whole bag of potatoes, a regular diet of dead deer (hairy poo) and trying to get a skull and spine off him was a challenge, my wallet, iphone, glasses, binoculars and numerous peoples dinners if they don't put their plate in a safe place when getting up from the table, bowls of peanuts and crisps, etc, etc. He costs a fortune calling the toxic helpline and vets bills and trying to get the food off him when he has it is pretty well impossible
So companies not directly affected by the NI increase will see absolutely no effect on their business.
Though having said that, Musk's statements are so wild that I'm not actually sure what he thinks Starmer did...
It featured in the recent election as Harris was once the DA in Los Angeles prosecuting drug users, and the DA in New York was elected on a platform that was little more than “Let me get Donald Trump”. It’s easy for an American to think that Starmer was personally making the call on every serious charge in England.
"...People will be patient as they fully realise how broken Britain is, but the foundations of credible and radical change will have to be seen to be being laid early in the life of the incoming Labour government. People will need to see how there is a real strategy to restore the value of wages and incomes held back for so long under the Tories, how investment in our public services is taking place and how reform doesn’t mean more privatisation, and how the grotesque levels of inequality in our society are being reduced.
If Labour fails to set out early on a path of radical change to secure the all-round wellbeing and security of our people, then inevitably disillusionment will set in. The risk then is the potential for a significant shift in our politics to the right, with the return of a Conservative party, completely shorn of any traditional one nation Tories and under the dominance of the populist right both within the party and beyond.
A brief survey of what has happened recently in Europe demonstrates the trend of a rising right.
What is needed is for all progressives not to concede before, but to confront the arguments of the far right before they get a greater grip. What is needed is for Labour to embrace – not run from – the discussion of a progressive realism. It must set out a policy programme that matches the scale of the problems it will inherit from the Conservatives...".
If JMD had been leader in 2017, he'd've won
It’s about coming up with counter solutions.
Would he have won as the front man? Not sure.
Despite poor current polls it is easily forgotten Trudeau took over a Liberal Party that had won just 34 MPs in 2011 and 18% of the vote and had been replaced by the NDP as official opposition when he became party leader in 2013 and led them to a landslide victory in 2015 with 184 MPs and 39% of the vote and then defeated the Conservatives at 2 further general elections since in 2019 and 2021.
Like the Tories removing Boris or the Democrats removing Biden or the Canadian Tories replacing Mulroney with Kim Campbell I suspect the Liberals will find getting a new leader at the 11th hour does them no good in the long run and they still face a bad defeat. Indeed, by going now Trudeau like Boris and Biden and Mulroney can smugly look on the sidelines and say 'told you so' given like Boris and Biden he had won the previous election. Most probably the Liberals end up back where they started before Trudeau in third place
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-trudeau-expected-to-announce-resignation-before-national-caucus/
At the end of his speech, he summarised: "We call it Socialism." So do I.
The pattern of political polarisation in recent years is that people who don't like Starmer - as a lot of people don't for various reasons - will tend to accept wild and unsubstantiated criticism as validation of their prior opinion.
You're more likely to be an outlier.
I'm sure that some of my reactions to stories about Tory ministers, 2010-2024, would fit that pattern, even though I tried to be fair and even-handed. And I reached a point with Corbyn where he passed a personal event horizon, and I flipped from giving him the benefit of the doubt to the polar opposite.
On which note, today is a perfect winter day. You just don't get this quality of light in lower latitudes.
How does he know it is down to Musk ?
On reflection, cats are idiots too. But in a much more low-key way. Cats are BETTER idiots.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its survey of nearly 5,000 firms suggested confidence had "slumped", falling to its lowest level for two years.
Nearly two-thirds told the BCC they were worried about taxes following the Budget, which announced a rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) paid by firms from April.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j10420e2jo
And his diagnosis, quoted above, is pretty spot on.
I remember speaking to a city gent at the time of the Corbyn surge who was far more worried about McDonnell than Magic Grandpa. McD was actually interested in the mechanics of how the UK worked while JC was, really, just a demo-man concerned mostly with the injustices meted out to Venezuela etc.
This might be better than the vet's bill. Maybe.
I am not however putting tremendous weight on what Elon Musk says, given he seems to now be implying we should be invaded and the King should dissolve parliament.
Although I'd like to make clear: when I say I'm not a fan of Starmer, I don't hate him, or even particularly dislike him. I just think he's made a poor PM so far, and in fact that he lacks some attributes that successful PMs must have.
It's sort-of like my views of Boris: where I quite liked him as a person and character, but thought he'd make a terrible PM.
"If something's hard to do, it's not worth doing"
"You tried your best, and failed miserably. The lesson is, never try"
Three quotes from the great philosopher Homer (the other one), which I think are appropriate here
With you on northerly latitudes however. It's mainly cloudy where I am today but I love those perfect clear winter's days (like last Thursday, in the NW) more than anything. The sun never really gets much above 15 degrees above the horizon, so all day is lit like a sunset. It's double good when there's a frost so the light sparkles off the land too.
The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon and Washington and a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska..Biden is taking the action under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which allows presidents to withdraw areas from mineral leasing and drilling.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg6dg30vq0o
For example, there might be a permanent end to Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh because of the impact of fireworks on canine mental health, and there are lobby groups trying to eliminate dog-free play parks.
I also think some elements of access rights/countryside code are weighted far too much in favour of dogs. I was walking in the Lakes and every farmer had put up signs describing how many lambs had been killed/injured, some with graphic imagery. Still had spaniels firing off all over the place.
Anyhow, it's good to see that PB is having a balanced and civilised discussion this morning, after the ranting and bigotry on display yesterday evening. I took one look in and disappeared, last night; add me to the list of those who will likely drift away if the forum can't find a way to deal with the obvious problem we have.
I thought apt for AfD.
But, oh, look, there's another lap she could sit on. So, jumps on to that lap.
But maybe the first lap was better? Jumps back to first lap.
But that second lap, could give it another chance... Jumps back to second lap.
This continued for several minutes.
What would be interesting would be to see if it has increased markedly and if any comes from the US.