A police officer driving a van which followed two teenagers before they both died in an e-bike crash in Cardiff will not face criminal charges, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said. The CPS said there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.
Why is a Labour government allowing the top rate of income tax to only kick in at £50,271 a year? Surely it ought to be more like £40,000 (from a Labour point of view).
Why? They are just arbitrary numbers. 40k is just 1.7 times national minimum wage, 40 hours a week. Politicians shouldn't get wedded to nice round numbers forever.
I'd be in favour of something like starting tax band up to 2.5 NMW, with the highest rate starting at 4 or 5 NMW. Get rid of the cliff edges too.
Who thought it was a good idea to do a press conference in front of a live car production line where you have to shout over the noise and the horn beeping. And now Sky journalist trying to do the same.
INSANE market action right now. Market exploded higher on a headline attributed to Kevin Hassett. And now nobody can figure out where it came from and the markets are diving again.
An 8% surge and then a 3.5% plunge in a matter of seconds
INSANE market action right now. Market exploded higher on a headline attributed to Kevin Hassett. And now nobody can figure out where it came from and the markets are diving again.
An 8% surge and then a 3.5% plunge in a matter of seconds
I didn’t follow the news around what Trump said he was going to do regarding tariffs, but if it was known that he intended to hit every country with them, why didn’t the world and his wife short the companies that were likely to be affected, o as well as the FTSE etc?
I don't think even the pessimists expected anything quite as bananas as what Trump came up with. And the "I regard any trade deficit as a loss" is so batshit it makes any realistic negotiation with him impossible.
A 10% tariff across the board, for example, might have encouraged, over time, onshoring of production at the margin, and would have raised a shitload of tax, while provoking only a fraction of the current response. While a lot of people (including me) would have argued against it, it wouldn't have been regarded as utterly irrational.
As it is, we're dealing with a man who has completely lost what little sense he had.
(FWIW, I did actually predict that he might crater the world economy with tariffs, before the election. Which was labelled TDS by some.)
Oh indeed:
The real Trump Derangement Sydrome, it turns out, was thinking that he wouldn't act in a batshit crazy way.
We knew Trump was going to surprise on the downside the minute our Leon started wibbling on about precisely the opposite.
oh do fuck off, old bean
I invented the Trump polar bear/ice floe metaphor. Trump is - or was - the polar bear that had to be shot, first, before you dealt with the melting ice floe beneath you
And why? Precisely this. I have no problems with much of Trumpism, I positively applaud the anti Woke and destroy DEI stuff, it;s brilliant and needed. No, the reason I feared him was Tariffs. I said exactly that. “He is mad enough to do this, and it will be bad”
Trump’s decision to single-handedly hobble the world economy and immiserate tens of millions of Americans has presented his fellow Republicans with a stark choice. Do they continue to kiss his orange butt and slavishly nod along to every nonsensical whim of their idiot Golfer King as he leads them into a recession and almost certain electoral apocalypse? Or do they defy him, splitting the party and opening themselves to a primary challenge … and possible electoral apocalypse?
The good news is that some GOP senators and members of Congress are actually disturbed enough by the prospect of their voters starving in the street that they have taken steps to push back against this grotesquely self-destructive trade policy. The not so good news is that the pushback is hesitant and half-hearted — and the majority of the party remains ready to torture and impoverish their constituents for the greater glory of Trump.
The tariffs, and the quick slide into economic calamity, have sparked real resistance. They’ve also demonstrated just how craven and/or hypnotized the GOP has become, and the extent to which most Republicans would do anything — literally anything — rather than point out that the emperor is wearing a grotesque meat suit made of the skin of his constituents.
Republican dissent is a hopeful sign. The hard limits on it, though, given the magnitude of the crisis, are a bleak reminder of how we ended up in this nightmare to begin with. Any successful resistance is going to require a fair number of Republicans to abandon their orange idol. It’s good to see them starting to do that. But it’s undeniably grim that the fate of the nation rests to any degree at all on these, gutless, spineless, christofascist quislings.
Posting someone else's thoughts get no 'like' from me, but responding to the first point;
What electorial apocalypse? It's one man, one vote in Trumpland, and Trumps the man and he's got the vote.
I suppose Americans have to have a coping mechanism and pretending 2026 or 2028 are going to be free and fair is the only way forward at this point.
What do you think will happen in 2026 or 2028 to make the elections unfree and/unfair? Are you thinking concentration camps? Or just SS troops at all the polling stations?
I can believe that Trump will try to find a way to have more than 2 terms. It seems an odd limitation, and most people would happily have Obama run against Trump in 2028, but the idea that somehow the last free and fair election in the US has already happened strikes me as a little hysterical.
It is easy to imagine an increase in the fiddling of elections we've seen to date: gerrymandering, no polling stations in Dem areas, "cleaning" electoral rolls, legislators stepping in to "correct" election results, biased social media, etc. Then you move up to arresting political opponents, maybe sending them to El Salvador.
"Then you move up to arresting political opponents, maybe sending them to El Salvador" - any evidence of this? And we are not immune to the odd bit of tinkering in the UK, are we! Voter ID for one.
I think @bondegezou is outlining a possible path forward.
We've already seen - in North Carolina - a court toss out tens of thousands of ballots in a closely contested election.
The issue with the North Carolina election is that it was exceedingly close. The Democrat (Riggs) won by around 600 votes. If Riggs had won by hundreds of thousands of votes, then Griffen would have quietly conceded.
Also, it's worth noting that Gore was trying similar shenanigans with the Florida result in 2000, meaning he was trying to force selective recounts only in areas of the State where he thought he would gain votes. Meaning: the Democrats aren't exactly angels when it comes to trying to use courts to overturn election results...
No, Gore was just dumb. A statewide recount might well have seen him elected.
My point was that the North Carolina case cannot be used as evidence to prove that the "2026 and 2028 elections will unfree and/or unfair".
These types of shenanigans have a long history in the United States, and take place when elections are very close. And both the Democrats and the Republicans engage in these shenanigans.
Another example: in the 2024 Senate election in Pennsylvania, the Democrat Casey refused to concede even when it was obvious that he had lost. The matter went before the courts, which issued a ruling favourable to the Republican McCormick. The Democrat County Commissioner in Bucks County then said that she would defy the ruling because: "I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country ... People violate laws anytime they want. So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes." She was eventually told by the Pennsylvania Governor to comply with the ruling.
Now, if the 2026 and/or 2028 elections come down to a few hundred votes in one State, then definitely, we might see some attempt to "steal" the election. But, if in 2026, for example, the Democrats win 30 or 40 additional House Seats, then there is no chance that Trump or the Republicans will be able to overturn the election.
You are looking at the past and expecting the future to be the same. That is an ever less safe prediction. Trump is blowing through accepted norms on numerous fronts. We're seeing that right now in terms of trade policy, but it's not just in trade policy that his actions are unprecedented. He's ignoring court rulings left, right and centre. Those are still working their way through the courts, so we don't know what happens next, but there is a reasonable chance that Trump simply does not comply with rulings, unlike the Democrat County Commissioner in Bucks County.
Let us not forget his 2020/1 fake electors scheme and support for the storming of Congress. He has now gotten away with that and pardoned those who took part, including violent criminals. That's a level of "shenanigan" beyond anything the Democrats have done (well, in the last 60 years, at least).
The Democrats aren't saints and there is a long history of dodgy election practices in the US, but Trump goes beyond what we've seen before.
This is NOT SUSTAINABLE! The United States can't lose $1.9 trillion on trade...
The US doesn't lose $1.9 trillion on trade. The US gets products it wants that cost $1.9 trillion. That is how commerce works. Trump does not seem to understand this.
Others may know better, but there wasn’t much tariff on industrial goods before “liberation day”, so this is essentially an offer for the status quo ante.
I guess from Trump’s view that’s useless.
The problem is no European wants US cars at any price, they’re not built for European roads.
Other than Tesla, all other US cars are also absolutely shit. The chlorinated chicken of cars.
C8 Corvette (I'd have a ZR1 before any McLaren) and Cadillac Celestiq (Jaguar take note on how to move a brand upmarket with a BEV) are both fantastic.
There are also plenty of worthy if not particularly exciting VWs, Toyotas, BMWs, Hondas and Hyundais made in the USA.
INSANE market action right now. Market exploded higher on a headline attributed to Kevin Hassett. And now nobody can figure out where it came from and the markets are diving again.
An 8% surge and then a 3.5% plunge in a matter of seconds
Celebrity Big Brother – Michael Fabricant is the rag at 40/1 with Bet365 but only 12/1 with Ladbrokes & Corals. Health warnings: no Betfair market and I've never watched the programme. The new series starts tonight.
Up against various TOWIE, Love Island alumni, soap actors, not to mention Mickey Rourke as the Couldn't Give a S**t Legend With a Chequered Life (™), he seems destined for the first out status.
Follow FTSE 250 - there is a company in the green!
It's called Ruffer Investment.
Its website says: "Ruffer Investment Company Limited has a simple but unusual aim – to generate consistent positive returns, however financial markets are performing."
I met Mr Ruffer once, and had a very interesting conversation with him. He’s an interesting, if unusual, guy, and I’ve had a decent holding in his trust since then. I too noticed it is the only thing going up today. He’s been expecting some sort of crash for some time, and holds a fair bit of gold.
He does a lot of philanthropy, as well, although sadly much of it is religious
It seems overwhelmingly to be heritage and social action (eg Church Urban Fund - which is an outstanding organisation). He was the one who provided the funds to keep the Zurbarán paintings in Durham some years - at the time these were the default brickbat in tabloid attacks on the Church of England. Plus:
Ruffer gave an estimated £160 million to the development of Bishop Auckland Town in 2020. In total he has given one third of his wealth to the development of the Town.
I'm sure that @Taz or @eek can explain more, but an investment like that would go a significant way towards mitigating 20 years of salami-slicing of a local authority.
I wish we had a few like that - traditionally working class towns in the Midlands and North suffer badly from a lack of anchor institutions for the local economy, and a few very rich people with consciences can help mitigate.
It’s lovely but the museums are very, very middle class so the locals don’t really like it.
The other problem is that Bishop Auckland is a pig to drive round so given the choice I’m more likely to head to Durham or the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle. Add on Beamish and there is a lot of local attractions where locals and tourists can spend time and money so Bishop Auckland has a very tough battle compared to other places
Food festival this coming weekend. That’s always fun and the park and ride helps too.
The town centre is still somewhat run down in Bishop, although it’s better than places like Stanley and Chester le Street.
If we’re in that direction we’d not think to spend a day there.
INSANE market action right now. Market exploded higher on a headline attributed to Kevin Hassett. And now nobody can figure out where it came from and the markets are diving again.
An 8% surge and then a 3.5% plunge in a matter of seconds
Ah, for the days when Bush Senior, when he was pushing so hard on reducing tariffs barriers that they actual got to start talking about farm subsidies.
US President Donald Trump says he is not considering a pause on new tariffs, to allow negotiations with other countries after being asked directly by a reporter in the White House.
Comments
NEW THREAD
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5rny9dq6vo
I'd be in favour of something like starting tax band up to 2.5 NMW, with the highest rate starting at 4 or 5 NMW. Get rid of the cliff edges too.
Jeez.
I invented the Trump polar bear/ice floe metaphor. Trump is - or was - the polar bear that had to be shot, first, before you dealt with the melting ice floe beneath you
And why? Precisely this. I have no problems with much of Trumpism, I positively applaud the anti Woke and destroy DEI stuff, it;s brilliant and needed. No, the reason I feared him was Tariffs. I said exactly that. “He is mad enough to do this, and it will be bad”
And he’s done it
Let us not forget his 2020/1 fake electors scheme and support for the storming of Congress. He has now gotten away with that and pardoned those who took part, including violent criminals. That's a level of "shenanigan" beyond anything the Democrats have done (well, in the last 60 years, at least).
The Democrats aren't saints and there is a long history of dodgy election practices in the US, but Trump goes beyond what we've seen before.
Approve 48% Disapprove 51%
Five days ago, the figures were
Approve 51% Disapprove 48%
Quite a swing. Reflected in winning party in 2028.
Republican out to 2.08. Still much more to go out I think.
There are also plenty of worthy if not particularly exciting VWs, Toyotas, BMWs, Hondas and Hyundais made in the USA.
And I haven't even mentioned Chesney Hawkes
The town centre is still somewhat run down in Bishop, although it’s better than places like Stanley and Chester le Street.
If we’re in that direction we’d not think to spend a day there.