My current accused is sitting in the dock in a suit he clearly bought when he was less fat and trainers. His text messages are also full of egregious grammatical errors and homophones. I’m not sure how much more evidence the jury need.
Looking forward to catching the speech later but why was King Charles wearing a suit?
Bit wet. If you're a monarch, do it properly.
That's the point.
Canada's attitude to the monarchy for a long time has seemed to be even more low key than in Australia, because they just barely talked about it I guess, perhaps they are just getting back into the habit and didn't have any good robes to hand.
The King and Canada will have worked out every detail with care. At the moment King and Canadian government have a huge stake in quiet boring continuation of that relationship and want to affirm it without drawing too much attention or appearing to be harking back to another and more imperial age. So neither full regalia nor jeans and trainers. Just right. KCIII and Carney are men of the moment and today will do no harm to either - nor to the interests of the UK.
I mean, jeans, trainers and a baseball cap would certainly have been different.
Could have an interesting half-orb baseball cap....
Respec’, my Lords, Ladies, and peeps of da Realm.
Today I is sittin’ on dis big ol’ golden chair to drop some realness 'bout what me gov’ment is gonna be chattin' 'bout dis year. Big tings is comin', and trust me, it ain’t just more corgis and cucumber sandwiches, ya get me?
If anybody's wondering why it's been such a wet and miserable day today after the long dry spring, I have the answer for you:
We broke ground this morning on our self-build project after months of design and planning.
Exciting... and daunting.
Good luck. Our extension ballooned in time and cost and I’m still emotionally scarred. I hope the new place works as you want it too! Good luck with the weather. It’s gutting after the spring we’ve had.
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
'Using the flag'? That's quite the accusation from the party of Sir Red White and Blue.
John Rentoul today. He ends the article by suggesting Labour should hammer Farage’s Thatcherite past, his support for the Truss budget and that Sir Keir should ask him when they debate what he thought of the coal mines closing
“Before Farage’s speech, the Labour Party line to take was that he is a privately educated stockbroker who should not be taken seriously. This is disastrously misjudged. No one cares what school he went to, or what his job was before politics – he was actually a metals trader in the City.
If Labour try to portray him as posh and out of touch, they will fail, because voters are more likely to see Starmer, with his knighthood, as a member of the establishment. If they make it about personality, they will fail.
That is why Farage said of Starmer, “This man doesn’t believe in anything.” Farage contrasted Starmer, who is in politics to “be something”, namely prime minister, with his own desire to “do something”, namely to “turn the country around”.
Many Labour supporters dislike Farage so much that they cannot see clearly how to fight him. They have no idea how effective his pitch is, and how unpopular Starmer is.”
Rentoul is right that Labour has the wrong approach to fighting Nigel Farage, but wrong that they should fight Reform at all. Reform's great rival is not Labour but the Conservatives, and Labour should sit back and enjoy the popcorn rather than help Kemi win the election.
On my gdp comment about why most people don't care....let me bring you to the company analogy
The company I work for increases profits by 5% most of the staff all get x% percent pay rises The company I work for increases profits by 10000% fancy a bet on most of the staff still only getting the same x%
Most people would take that bet....its the same with gdp for the nation. We assume we aren't getting a share because history has shown us we won't
Why aren't you a lefty given these views?
I am not a lefty purely because I am old enough to look around at all the left wing governments which resulted mostly in destitution, poverty and misery. Socialism is like curing a head cold with decapitation. People who think socialism is a good idea are pig ignorant arseholes that ignore the absolute failure of their ideology everytime it has been tried.
You have nowhere to go then other than being generally hacked off.
Raising the personal allowance to £20k would apparently "cost" in terms of missed tax receipts somewhere between £50 billion and £80 billion or 2-3 Chagos if you prefer in modern money.
Proponents will presumably take the Lafferite line all the extra money we will suddenly get via this tax "cut" will lead to consumption and economic growth which will, in terms of bringing in VAT and corporation tax receipts, somewhat offset the original "cost".
If I've got Starmernomics right this should be fine because the Seychelles will pay us that to reestablish colonial rule over them.
Shouldn't Starmernomics be that we get the opportunity to pay billions to the Seychelles in exchange for the Seychelles getting what they want?
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
'Using the flag'? That's quite the accusation from the party of Sir Red White and Blue.
John Rentoul today. He ends the article by suggesting Labour should hammer Farage’s Thatcherite past, his support for the Truss budget and that Sir Keir should ask him when they debate what he thought of the coal mines closing
“Before Farage’s speech, the Labour Party line to take was that he is a privately educated stockbroker who should not be taken seriously. This is disastrously misjudged. No one cares what school he went to, or what his job was before politics – he was actually a metals trader in the City.
If Labour try to portray him as posh and out of touch, they will fail, because voters are more likely to see Starmer, with his knighthood, as a member of the establishment. If they make it about personality, they will fail.
That is why Farage said of Starmer, “This man doesn’t believe in anything.” Farage contrasted Starmer, who is in politics to “be something”, namely prime minister, with his own desire to “do something”, namely to “turn the country around”.
Many Labour supporters dislike Farage so much that they cannot see clearly how to fight him. They have no idea how effective his pitch is, and how unpopular Starmer is.”
Rentoul is right that Labour has the wrong approach to fighting Nigel Farage, but wrong that they should fight Reform at all. Reform's great rival is not Labour but the Conservatives, and Labour should sit back and enjoy the popcorn rather than help Kemi win the election.
I fear hammering Farage for his Thatcherite past will be about as effective as hammering Cornyn for his IRA sympathising past.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
'Using the flag'? That's quite the accusation from the party of Sir Red White and Blue.
John Rentoul today. He ends the article by suggesting Labour should hammer Farage’s Thatcherite past, his support for the Truss budget and that Sir Keir should ask him when they debate what he thought of the coal mines closing
“Before Farage’s speech, the Labour Party line to take was that he is a privately educated stockbroker who should not be taken seriously. This is disastrously misjudged. No one cares what school he went to, or what his job was before politics – he was actually a metals trader in the City.
If Labour try to portray him as posh and out of touch, they will fail, because voters are more likely to see Starmer, with his knighthood, as a member of the establishment. If they make it about personality, they will fail.
That is why Farage said of Starmer, “This man doesn’t believe in anything.” Farage contrasted Starmer, who is in politics to “be something”, namely prime minister, with his own desire to “do something”, namely to “turn the country around”.
Many Labour supporters dislike Farage so much that they cannot see clearly how to fight him. They have no idea how effective his pitch is, and how unpopular Starmer is.”
Rentoul is right that Labour has the wrong approach to fighting Nigel Farage, but wrong that they should fight Reform at all. Reform's great rival is not Labour but the Conservatives, and Labour should sit back and enjoy the popcorn rather than help Kemi win the election.
I fear hammering Farage for his Thatcherite past will be about as effective as hammering Cornyn for his IRA sympathising past.
Well Corbyn did lose two consecutive General Elections.
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
The left simply do not learn
Same attitude that gave us Brexit
That attitude - the one you’re deploying there, really gets my goat.
Politicians of the right spend their every waking hour deriding anyone from the left, calling them traitors or enemies of the people (often with the help of tame newspapers), deluded, class warriors with a chip on their shoulder, out of touch etc etc etc. and they have absolutely zero time for liberal ideology.
But if a politician of the left doesn’t pay homage and arse kiss the latest populist blowhard (actually even when they do, as Starmer is trying now), they have an “attitude” and haven’t learned. Basically, anyone who doesn’t just fully agree with the Farage world view is accused of bad attitude.
That's not how politics works. It’s not the duty of non-right wingers to indulge the far right. If Labour members are finally showing a modicum of fightback rather than appeasement then it’s not before time.
Rather than triangulating I think the best way to fight someone like Farage is to set out your opposing viewpoint and have a genuine debate. Set out what you believe.
Starmers problem is that he doesn’t really believe in much more than what is politically expedient at any one time. It made him a relatively successful opposition politician, but the rules of the game have now changed.
There's some truth in that. But what if he were to manage to deliver some modest economic growth, along with a significant fall in immigration ?
He's not going to beat Farage in the realm of airy promises, so he'd better deliver.
Agree - visible delivery is the thing that might still rescue Lab.
But they may still fall foul of the same thing Biden did - deliver decent economic results but have noone really believe them because there is so much pain stored up within the system as a result of the rapid inflation of the past couple of years. Plus a hostile press on top of that.
(Yes I know Biden had other problems too, but still it was remarkable how little his economic successes got airtime).
The blue sky thread @viewcode linked to this morning was good on that. Democrats just assume good news wins them votes. It doesn’t, not if the mass media either ignore or critique it. They need to build a narrative that explains why this is good for everyone. Sunak’s government had very similar problems.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
Yep, I think that's the only serious play the Tories have - and there's a genuine opening for them there.
But, I still don't think they'll be able to resist (and maybe they can't resist) the gerontocracy.
Raising the personal allowance to £20k would apparently "cost" in terms of missed tax receipts somewhere between £50 billion and £80 billion or 2-3 Chagos if you prefer in modern money.
Proponents will presumably take the Lafferite line all the extra money we will suddenly get via this tax "cut" will lead to consumption and economic growth which will, in terms of bringing in VAT and corporation tax receipts, somewhat offset the original "cost".
Raising the personal allowance to £20k by the end of the next Parliament probably won't cost very much actually in real terms.
That's barely over a 5% compound annual growth in the allowance.
With a bit of inflation and growth, £20k in 2034 is not that much more than £12.5k in 2025.
Even 5% is a hell of a lot of money, but I don't think it makes sense to start in 2025.
It's still going to be 12.5k in 2028. If Labour increase it by say 2.5% in the final year, then Reform are looking at 9% increases to hit £20k by 2034.
And if Reform said it was going to be £20k BEFORE the end of the Parliament, then they're probably looking at having to do it in under 5 years, pushing that up to 10%+.
On my gdp comment about why most people don't care....let me bring you to the company analogy
The company I work for increases profits by 5% most of the staff all get x% percent pay rises The company I work for increases profits by 10000% fancy a bet on most of the staff still only getting the same x%
Most people would take that bet....its the same with gdp for the nation. We assume we aren't getting a share because history has shown us we won't
Why aren't you a lefty given these views?
I am not a lefty purely because I am old enough to look around at all the left wing governments which resulted mostly in destitution, poverty and misery. Socialism is like curing a head cold with decapitation. People who think socialism is a good idea are pig ignorant arseholes that ignore the absolute failure of their ideology everytime it has been tried.
You have nowhere to go then other than being generally hacked off.
I am slightly envious of those who can still persuade themselves to have any other viewpoint.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
Yep, I think that's the only serious play the Tories have - and there's a genuine opening for them there.
But, I still don't think they'll be able to resist (and maybe they can't resist) the gerontocracy.
It would be nice for another long term economic plan to finally balance the books and put the budget into surplus. The debt pile is growing unsustainably now.
On my gdp comment about why most people don't care....let me bring you to the company analogy
The company I work for increases profits by 5% most of the staff all get x% percent pay rises The company I work for increases profits by 10000% fancy a bet on most of the staff still only getting the same x%
Most people would take that bet....its the same with gdp for the nation. We assume we aren't getting a share because history has shown us we won't
Why aren't you a lefty given these views?
I am not a lefty purely because I am old enough to look around at all the left wing governments which resulted mostly in destitution, poverty and misery. Socialism is like curing a head cold with decapitation. People who think socialism is a good idea are pig ignorant arseholes that ignore the absolute failure of their ideology everytime it has been tried.
You have nowhere to go then other than being generally hacked off.
I have other places to go I will vote either green or reform depending in the next general. Don't care which, whoever is best placed to take a seat of a centrist arsehole party. Let the country burn it is the only way to rebuild. I don't think I am alone in that feeling
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
"The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility"
It's be easier for Harold Shipman to get back to a place of trusted doctor.
Looking forward to catching the speech later but why was King Charles wearing a suit?
Bit wet. If you're a monarch, do it properly.
That's the point.
Canada's attitude to the monarchy for a long time has seemed to be even more low key than in Australia, because they just barely talked about it I guess, perhaps they are just getting back into the habit and didn't have any good robes to hand.
The King and Canada will have worked out every detail with care. At the moment King and Canadian government have a huge stake in quiet boring continuation of that relationship and want to affirm it without drawing too much attention or appearing to be harking back to another and more imperial age. So neither full regalia nor jeans and trainers. Just right. KCIII and Carney are men of the moment and today will do no harm to either - nor to the interests of the UK.
I mean, jeans, trainers and a baseball cap would certainly have been different.
Could have an interesting half-orb baseball cap....
Respec’, my Lords, Ladies, and peeps of da Realm.
Today I is sittin’ on dis big ol’ golden chair to drop some realness 'bout what me gov’ment is gonna be chattin' 'bout dis year. Big tings is comin', and trust me, it ain’t just more corgis and cucumber sandwiches, ya get me?
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
"The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility"
It's be easier for Harold Shipman to get back to a place of trusted doctor.
Doesn't bode well for Labour then, given they are rated worse on the Economy than the Tories.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
Yep, I think that's the only serious play the Tories have - and there's a genuine opening for them there.
But, I still don't think they'll be able to resist (and maybe they can't resist) the gerontocracy.
It would be nice for another long term economic plan to finally balance the books and put the budget into surplus. The debt pile is growing unsustainably now.
At some point the tide of public opinion will turn against cocaine users. It is widely accepted in public life but getting a bad name for itself in connection with violence and road deaths. Also in today's news:-
ETA cocaine is now used by chefs and scaffolders but it might soon be that senior politicians handing out Class As or being pictured slumped in front of tables piled high with white powder are career-limiting.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
Yep, I think that's the only serious play the Tories have - and there's a genuine opening for them there.
But, I still don't think they'll be able to resist (and maybe they can't resist) the gerontocracy.
It would be nice for another long term economic plan to finally balance the books and put the budget into surplus. The debt pile is growing unsustainably now.
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
'Using the flag'? That's quite the accusation from the party of Sir Red White and Blue.
John Rentoul today. He ends the article by suggesting Labour should hammer Farage’s Thatcherite past, his support for the Truss budget and that Sir Keir should ask him when they debate what he thought of the coal mines closing
“Before Farage’s speech, the Labour Party line to take was that he is a privately educated stockbroker who should not be taken seriously. This is disastrously misjudged. No one cares what school he went to, or what his job was before politics – he was actually a metals trader in the City.
If Labour try to portray him as posh and out of touch, they will fail, because voters are more likely to see Starmer, with his knighthood, as a member of the establishment. If they make it about personality, they will fail.
That is why Farage said of Starmer, “This man doesn’t believe in anything.” Farage contrasted Starmer, who is in politics to “be something”, namely prime minister, with his own desire to “do something”, namely to “turn the country around”.
Many Labour supporters dislike Farage so much that they cannot see clearly how to fight him. They have no idea how effective his pitch is, and how unpopular Starmer is.”
Rentoul is right that Labour has the wrong approach to fighting Nigel Farage, but wrong that they should fight Reform at all. Reform's great rival is not Labour but the Conservatives, and Labour should sit back and enjoy the popcorn rather than help Kemi win the election.
Under FPTP Labour need the Tories to win back some voters from Reform and resplit the right, Reform at 30%+ at the moment means Farage PM with an overall majority
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
Okay - where shall we start? Defence, perhaps?
Seriously - I agree we need to get back to somewhere near balancing the books and borrowing to be used only for long-term capital infrastructure projects.
I don't believe the only way to achieve this is through spending cuts - this is where I part company with Conservatives. Spending cuts have a part to play but so do tax rises and as a rule of thumb I think we need to be looking at every £1 in spending cuts complimented by a £1 rise in taxes so to reach the £100 billion we'd need £50 bn of spending cuts and £50 bn of tax rises.
Raising the personal allowance to £20k would apparently "cost" in terms of missed tax receipts somewhere between £50 billion and £80 billion or 2-3 Chagos if you prefer in modern money.
Proponents will presumably take the Lafferite line all the extra money we will suddenly get via this tax "cut" will lead to consumption and economic growth which will, in terms of bringing in VAT and corporation tax receipts, somewhat offset the original "cost".
Raising the personal allowance to £20k by the end of the next Parliament probably won't cost very much actually in real terms.
That's barely over a 5% compound annual growth in the allowance.
With a bit of inflation and growth, £20k in 2034 is not that much more than £12.5k in 2025.
Even 5% is a hell of a lot of money, but I don't think it makes sense to start in 2025.
It's still going to be 12.5k in 2028. If Labour increase it by say 2.5% in the final year, then Reform are looking at 9% increases to hit £20k by 2034.
And if Reform said it was going to be £20k BEFORE the end of the Parliament, then they're probably looking at having to do it in under 5 years, pushing that up to 10%+.
5% in nominal terms is mostly written off in real terms.
I think it does make sense to take 2025 as a baseline as its today and our current baseline, so you're looking at real terms changes from today.
And this is a problem that politicians often have (and the media too) is they don't have a clue about economics or inflation.
Like if I recall correctly Ed Miliband made a big song and dance about pledging the minimum wage should go up to a certain figure in the next Parliament under Labour . . . then people pointed out that was not a real terms increase and Osborne brought it up to that figure within the current Parliament before the election.
Looking forward to catching the speech later but why was King Charles wearing a suit?
Bit wet. If you're a monarch, do it properly.
That's the point.
I don't know. The two previous Canadian Throne Speeches by the monarch were in 1957 and 1977. In both cases QEII was in tiara, sash, and full dress, and Phillip was in dress uniform.
Looking forward to catching the speech later but why was King Charles wearing a suit?
Bit wet. If you're a monarch, do it properly.
That's the point.
Canada's attitude to the monarchy for a long time has seemed to be even more low key than in Australia, because they just barely talked about it I guess, perhaps they are just getting back into the habit and didn't have any good robes to hand.
The King and Canada will have worked out every detail with care. At the moment King and Canadian government have a huge stake in quiet boring continuation of that relationship and want to affirm it without drawing too much attention or appearing to be harking back to another and more imperial age. So neither full regalia nor jeans and trainers. Just right. KCIII and Carney are men of the moment and today will do no harm to either - nor to the interests of the UK.
Exactly, the Commonwealth realms prefer a more informal monarchy than we do here, though the King and Queen still arrived at the Canadian Parliament by carriage
On my gdp comment about why most people don't care....let me bring you to the company analogy
The company I work for increases profits by 5% most of the staff all get x% percent pay rises The company I work for increases profits by 10000% fancy a bet on most of the staff still only getting the same x%
Most people would take that bet....its the same with gdp for the nation. We assume we aren't getting a share because history has shown us we won't
Why aren't you a lefty given these views?
I am not a lefty purely because I am old enough to look around at all the left wing governments which resulted mostly in destitution, poverty and misery. Socialism is like curing a head cold with decapitation. People who think socialism is a good idea are pig ignorant arseholes that ignore the absolute failure of their ideology everytime it has been tried.
You have nowhere to go then other than being generally hacked off.
I could live with that, so long as I don't need to get involved with Hugh Grant.
Raising the personal allowance to £20k would apparently "cost" in terms of missed tax receipts somewhere between £50 billion and £80 billion or 2-3 Chagos if you prefer in modern money.
Proponents will presumably take the Lafferite line all the extra money we will suddenly get via this tax "cut" will lead to consumption and economic growth which will, in terms of bringing in VAT and corporation tax receipts, somewhat offset the original "cost".
That would be £50-80bn per annum presumably (Income tax is £300bn per annum), so 20-30 Chagos (cost over 100 years) each year.
My current accused is sitting in the dock in a suit he clearly bought when he was less fat and trainers. His text messages are also full of egregious grammatical errors and homophones. I’m not sure how much more evidence the jury need.
Don't be too harsh on homophones, autocorrect is the bane of my existence.
Death penalty for people who misuse apostrophes or don't use them at all though.
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
The left simply do not learn
Same attitude that gave us Brexit
That attitude - the one you’re deploying there, really gets my goat.
Politicians of the right spend their every waking hour deriding anyone from the left, calling them traitors or enemies of the people (often with the help of tame newspapers), deluded, class warriors with a chip on their shoulder, out of touch etc etc etc. and they have absolutely zero time for liberal ideology.
But if a politician of the left doesn’t pay homage and arse kiss the latest populist blowhard (actually even when they do, as Starmer is trying now), they have an “attitude” and haven’t learned. Basically, anyone who doesn’t just fully agree with the Farage world view is accused of bad attitude.
That's not how politics works. It’s not the duty of non-right wingers to indulge the far right. If Labour members are finally showing a modicum of fightback rather than appeasement then it’s not before time.
Rather than triangulating I think the best way to fight someone like Farage is to set out your opposing viewpoint and have a genuine debate. Set out what you believe.
Starmers problem is that he doesn’t really believe in much more than what is politically expedient at any one time. It made him a relatively successful opposition politician, but the rules of the game have now changed.
There's some truth in that. But what if he were to manage to deliver some modest economic growth, along with a significant fall in immigration ?
He's not going to beat Farage in the realm of airy promises, so he'd better deliver.
Agree - visible delivery is the thing that might still rescue Lab.
But they may still fall foul of the same thing Biden did - deliver decent economic results but have noone really believe them because there is so much pain stored up within the system as a result of the rapid inflation of the past couple of years. Plus a hostile press on top of that.
(Yes I know Biden had other problems too, but still it was remarkable how little his economic successes got airtime).
The blue sky thread @viewcode linked to this morning was good on that. Democrats just assume good news wins them votes. It doesn’t, not if the mass media either ignore or critique it. They need to build a narrative that explains why this is good for everyone. Sunak’s government had very similar problems.
It could have been the Gerry Adams IRA until halfway through the first tweet:
The political theory behind IRA was roughly as follows: We have lost control of the information landscape and can no longer win rhetorical or purely political battles; however, if we make substantive policy progress that directly touches voters' lives, they will notice and reward us.
My current accused is sitting in the dock in a suit he clearly bought when he was less fat and trainers. His text messages are also full of egregious grammatical errors and homophones. I’m not sure how much more evidence the jury need.
Don't be too harsh on homophones, autocorrect is the bane of my existence.
Death penalty for people who misuse apostrophes or don't use them at all though.
It all kicked off at the MP’s’s annual Sausage’s and Sovereignty garden do, where Nigel’s’s grillin’ skill’s were eclipsed only by his fondness for stroking his own Cumberland’s. “Brexit mean’s Brexit’s!” he shouted, aggressively poking his banger’s with Theresa’s’s tongs, which she’d’s clearly left behind after last year’s’s Backstop and Brisket debacle. Jacob Rees-Mogg’s’s monocle fogged up as he tried nibbling on a Scotch egg that had clearly seen better Parliament’s. Meanwhile, Boris’s’s hair stood taller than his foreign policy’s, especially after a rogue bun’s brushed his’s backside mid-photo op.
Across the lawn, the Labour lad’s’s were getting into all kind’s of pickle’s. Keir Starmer’s’s pickle relish had dripped unceremoniously onto Angela Rayner’s’s “Power Bun’s,” causing a diplomatic incident that led to three whip’s being withdrawn and Diane Abbott’s’s calculator going mysteriously missing. “It’s’s just not cricket’s,” muttered Ed Miliband’s’s ghost, haunting the buffet table as he fondled a limp sausage roll. Meanwhile, a Lib Dem’s’s attempt to insert his’s mini quiche into the communal pie’s dish ended with four arrest’s, two resignation’s, and a new Minister for Pastry Affair’s’s.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
Okay - where shall we start? Defence, perhaps?
Seriously - I agree we need to get back to somewhere near balancing the books and borrowing to be used only for long-term capital infrastructure projects.
I don't believe the only way to achieve this is through spending cuts - this is where I part company with Conservatives. Spending cuts have a part to play but so do tax rises and as a rule of thumb I think we need to be looking at every £1 in spending cuts complimented by a £1 rise in taxes so to reach the £100 billion we'd need £50 bn of spending cuts and £50 bn of tax rises.
You hate to hear it but again and again, we need to cut a million people from state employment who sit around doing nothing all day. Force the state to be more productive and the people who are there for a free ride to sit at home or walk their dogs while collecting a salary and pension should be forced out.
Take a massive axe to the welfare state, completely remove "mental health" as a category that receives additional benefits, cut in work benefits, cut out of work benefits, means test the state pension and introduce NI on all income for people of all ages and a windfall tax on defined benefit pensions over £50k of 20%, making tax rates 20%, 60% above £50k and 65% above £125k and call it the fatcat tax.
It's time to take an axe to the welfare state, whether that's public sector employees sitting at home doing nothing or the unemployed sitting at home doing nothing or the "sick" sitting at home doing nothing. Too many people are completely unproductive and the rest of us just give them a free ride because the government is to gutless to do anything about it.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
For those interested in the actual IMF report it's here:
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
The IMF say that too much of our debt is owned by hedge funds, that is a very, very big flashing red light that we're heading for a debt crisis and the vultures are going to make billions in the process.
My current accused is sitting in the dock in a suit he clearly bought when he was less fat and trainers. His text messages are also full of egregious grammatical errors and homophones. I’m not sure how much more evidence the jury need.
Don't be too harsh on homophones, autocorrect is the bane of my existence.
Death penalty for people who misuse apostrophes or don't use them at all though.
You'll be heartened to know that the shop in Shaftesbury formerly known as "Bargain's" has now been renamed "Bargain s" following the judicious application of a splodge of paint by the owner's
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
The left simply do not learn
Same attitude that gave us Brexit
That attitude - the one you’re deploying there, really gets my goat.
Politicians of the right spend their every waking hour deriding anyone from the left, calling them traitors or enemies of the people (often with the help of tame newspapers), deluded, class warriors with a chip on their shoulder, out of touch etc etc etc. and they have absolutely zero time for liberal ideology.
But if a politician of the left doesn’t pay homage and arse kiss the latest populist blowhard (actually even when they do, as Starmer is trying now), they have an “attitude” and haven’t learned. Basically, anyone who doesn’t just fully agree with the Farage world view is accused of bad attitude.
That's not how politics works. It’s not the duty of non-right wingers to indulge the far right. If Labour members are finally showing a modicum of fightback rather than appeasement then it’s not before time.
I do not want to 'touch a nerve' but if those opposing Farage do not address why he is the one politician making the agenda then he will be PM just as we had Brexit and Trump
For clarification the last thing I want to see is PM Farage, and I still maintain it is unlikely but it is not impossible
I don’t believe you’d have felt the same about Conservatives needing to channel Corbynism after 2017, when he did significantly better than Farage is now doing. Or indeed that Boris needed to address why the Lib Dems were doing well in local elections over Brexit.
No, they went in hard, and ultimately it paid off handsomely.
Farage's speech today was a challenge to all the parties and the media are giving him lots of exposure
Maybe his frankness has something to do with it
When asked how he will pay for the accommodation for asylum seekers his answer was as you would expect
'There won't be any. Australia successfully stopped the problem and so will we'
Yes: magic money tree, magic geography warping machine, etc etc.
If a Labour politician attempted a policy agenda with the same assortment of fantasy, which even new convert Tim Montgomerie admits “doesn’t add up” (as indeed Corbyn’s lot tried in 2017 and 2019) they’d be laughed out of town by the entire media class.
It’s bloke down the pub stuff.
the Minge vase strategy
*nods sagely at all the minges*
Edit - too slow Big G. I saw your minge.
Hahahaha - Oh Bless You @Big_G_NorthWales - I understand why you edited it, it was very unintentionally coarse, but it's the best laugh I've had all week.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
For those interested in the actual IMF report it's here:
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
The IMF say that too much of our debt is owned by hedge funds, that is a very, very big flashing red light that we're heading for a debt crisis and the vultures are going to make billions in the process.
They don't say that in the report. They say: " Vulnerabilities have nonetheless risen, given increased supply and the reduction in demand by more patient investors, with hedge funds and non-residents playing a greater role, and the BoE reducing its holdings as part of QT."
Could you be over-interpreting to fit your biases?
Time will tell; one of us will be able to say "I told you so" in the next few years.
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
The left simply do not learn
Same attitude that gave us Brexit
That attitude - the one you’re deploying there, really gets my goat.
Politicians of the right spend their every waking hour deriding anyone from the left, calling them traitors or enemies of the people (often with the help of tame newspapers), deluded, class warriors with a chip on their shoulder, out of touch etc etc etc. and they have absolutely zero time for liberal ideology.
But if a politician of the left doesn’t pay homage and arse kiss the latest populist blowhard (actually even when they do, as Starmer is trying now), they have an “attitude” and haven’t learned. Basically, anyone who doesn’t just fully agree with the Farage world view is accused of bad attitude.
That's not how politics works. It’s not the duty of non-right wingers to indulge the far right. If Labour members are finally showing a modicum of fightback rather than appeasement then it’s not before time.
I do not want to 'touch a nerve' but if those opposing Farage do not address why he is the one politician making the agenda then he will be PM just as we had Brexit and Trump
For clarification the last thing I want to see is PM Farage, and I still maintain it is unlikely but it is not impossible
I don’t believe you’d have felt the same about Conservatives needing to channel Corbynism after 2017, when he did significantly better than Farage is now doing. Or indeed that Boris needed to address why the Lib Dems were doing well in local elections over Brexit.
No, they went in hard, and ultimately it paid off handsomely.
Farage's speech today was a challenge to all the parties and the media are giving him lots of exposure
Maybe his frankness has something to do with it
When asked how he will pay for the accommodation for asylum seekers his answer was as you would expect
'There won't be any. Australia successfully stopped the problem and so will we'
Yes: magic money tree, magic geography warping machine, etc etc.
If a Labour politician attempted a policy agenda with the same assortment of fantasy, which even new convert Tim Montgomerie admits “doesn’t add up” (as indeed Corbyn’s lot tried in 2017 and 2019) they’d be laughed out of town by the entire media class.
It’s bloke down the pub stuff.
the Minge vase strategy
*nods sagely at all the minges*
Edit - too slow Big G. I saw your minge.
Hahahaha - Oh Bless You @Big_G_NorthWales - I understand why you edited it, it was very unintentionally coarse, but it's the best laugh I've had all week.
It was funny. Has autocorrect developed a potty mouth?
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
It will be important to stay the course and reduce fiscal deficits as planned over the medium term.
I assume this report was written before the pair of U-turns on winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap?
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
@Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
There are even videos out there are of people driving through "Road Closed - Roadworks" signs on closed roads, then getting into a mess with the hole across the road half a mile further on.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
@Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
The left simply do not learn
Same attitude that gave us Brexit
That attitude - the one you’re deploying there, really gets my goat.
Politicians of the right spend their every waking hour deriding anyone from the left, calling them traitors or enemies of the people (often with the help of tame newspapers), deluded, class warriors with a chip on their shoulder, out of touch etc etc etc. and they have absolutely zero time for liberal ideology.
But if a politician of the left doesn’t pay homage and arse kiss the latest populist blowhard (actually even when they do, as Starmer is trying now), they have an “attitude” and haven’t learned. Basically, anyone who doesn’t just fully agree with the Farage world view is accused of bad attitude.
That's not how politics works. It’s not the duty of non-right wingers to indulge the far right. If Labour members are finally showing a modicum of fightback rather than appeasement then it’s not before time.
I do not want to 'touch a nerve' but if those opposing Farage do not address why he is the one politician making the agenda then he will be PM just as we had Brexit and Trump
For clarification the last thing I want to see is PM Farage, and I still maintain it is unlikely but it is not impossible
I don’t believe you’d have felt the same about Conservatives needing to channel Corbynism after 2017, when he did significantly better than Farage is now doing. Or indeed that Boris needed to address why the Lib Dems were doing well in local elections over Brexit.
No, they went in hard, and ultimately it paid off handsomely.
Farage's speech today was a challenge to all the parties and the media are giving him lots of exposure
Maybe his frankness has something to do with it
When asked how he will pay for the accommodation for asylum seekers his answer was as you would expect
'There won't be any. Australia successfully stopped the problem and so will we'
Yes: magic money tree, magic geography warping machine, etc etc.
If a Labour politician attempted a policy agenda with the same assortment of fantasy, which even new convert Tim Montgomerie admits “doesn’t add up” (as indeed Corbyn’s lot tried in 2017 and 2019) they’d be laughed out of town by the entire media class.
It’s bloke down the pub stuff.
the Minge vase strategy
*nods sagely at all the minges*
Edit - too slow Big G. I saw your minge.
Hahahaha - Oh Bless You @Big_G_NorthWales - I understand why you edited it, it was very unintentionally coarse, but it's the best laugh I've had all week.
It was funny. Has autocorrect developed a potty mouth?
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
It will be important to stay the course and reduce fiscal deficits as planned over the medium term.
I assume this report was written before the pair of U-turns on winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap?
I think that's a safe assumption, given the u-turns haven't happened yet. I think we have to see the scope of those u-turns, if that is what they turn out to be, and what the fiscal deficit position looks like as a result.
Brace yourself for a disappointment on the latter point - I suspect Reeves will ensure we continue to 'stay the course'.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Don't be silly. Anyone who has been anywhere near a marathon route knows that it's impossible to miss it.
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
It will be important to stay the course and reduce fiscal deficits as planned over the medium term.
I assume this report was written before the pair of U-turns on winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap?
I think that's a safe assumption, given the u-turns haven't happened yet. I think we have to see the scope of those u-turns, if that is what they turn out to be, and what the fiscal deficit position looks like as a result.
Brace yourself for a disappointment on the latter point - I suspect Reeves will ensure we continue to 'stay the course'.
A lot depends on how the markets react to flip flopping. He may yet have to ditch PIP changes too
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Don't be silly. Anyone who has been anywhere near a marathon route knows that it's impossible to miss it.
I used to be next to one missed it all the time because as I said leaflet through the door...straight in the bin
In better news for Starmer he holds a 15% lead over Farage and an 11% lead over Badenoch and a 2% lead over Davey as best PM. Tory voters also split 28% for Starmer and 35% for Farage and 32% for Davey and 35% for Farage showing those Tory voters who remain really aren't big Reformers https://x.com/YouGov/status/1927299701008744781
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
It will be important to stay the course and reduce fiscal deficits as planned over the medium term.
I assume this report was written before the pair of U-turns on winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap?
I think that's a safe assumption, given the u-turns haven't happened yet. I think we have to see the scope of those u-turns, if that is what they turn out to be, and what the fiscal deficit position looks like as a result.
Brace yourself for a disappointment on the latter point - I suspect Reeves will ensure we continue to 'stay the course'.
The IMF paper is quite approving of what is being done, and even explicitly states that there is room to improve the position by raising various taxes - which to me is a far better option than a reductive orgy of neo-Thatcherism (ie without Thatcher's nuance):
The authorities’ fiscal strategy for the next five years appropriately supports growth while safeguarding fiscal sustainability. The new spending plans are credible and growth-friendly, taking account of pressures on public services and investment needs. They are expected to provide an economic boost over the medium term that outweighs the impact of higher taxation. As revenue is projected to increase, deficits are set to decline and stabilize net debt. ... staff recommends adhering to the current plans, and implementing additional revenue or expenditure measures as needed if shocks arise, to maintain compliance with the rules. ... Unless revenue is increased, for which there is scope, tough policy decisions on spending priorities and the role of the state in certain areas will be needed to better align the coverage of public services with available resources.
Starmer and Reeves need to hold the courage of their convictions, and to move us closer to the European norm from our current relatively low tax / low spend position.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
My current accused is sitting in the dock in a suit he clearly bought when he was less fat and trainers. His text messages are also full of egregious grammatical errors and homophones. I’m not sure how much more evidence the jury need.
Don't be too harsh on homophones, autocorrect is the bane of my existence.
Death penalty for people who misuse apostrophes or don't use them at all though.
Autocorrect frequently screws up my correct usage. Especially its/it's.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
I once bought a flat back in the 80's never again it was a living nightmare
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Two counterpoints to that, Pagan, if I may:
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
@Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
There are even videos out there are of people driving through "Road Closed - Roadworks" signs on closed roads, then getting into a mess with the hole across the road half a mile further on.
She's clearly not a runner... I have the tiniest, smallest smidgeon of sympathy for her if she genuinely was not aware. She also did try to do it slowly. It's not clear if she was just cutting across the course or about to drive along it. At the London marathon there are vast numbers of barriers along a lot of the course, but not all. It's also bloody obvious what's going on. The Plymouth half looks relatively big (a few thousand runners?) So I'm surprised that she did know. In Bath, which I'd expect to be similar, there are signs out warning about it for weeks.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
I once bought a flat back in the 80's never again it was a living nightmare
Is there anything in your life that is not negative? Based on the tone of your posts, I fear not. I really feel for you.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Two counterpoints to that, Pagan, if I may:
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
I wasn't claiming it was an excuse for driving into people. I was merely commenting that just because you shove a leaflet through someones door about road closures does not mean they know about them
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
It won't just be leaflets though. There will be official signs for diversions, posters, things in the local press, local TV.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
I once bought a flat back in the 80's never again it was a living nightmare
I own a leasehold flat. I also own 1/6 of the company that owns the freehold, along with the other flat owners. The arrangement seems to work quite well.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
I once bought a flat back in the 80's never again it was a living nightmare
Is there anything in your life that is not negative? Based on the tome of your posts, I fear not. I really feel for you.
Plenty in my life thats not negative, sorry leasehold is a nightmare....first place I bought...I was naive....thought had bought a place of our own....then realised the small print....you don't own it, you need our permission to do anything and we can charge you whatever maintenance fees we like
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Don't be silly. Anyone who has been anywhere near a marathon route knows that it's impossible to miss it.
I used to be next to one missed it all the time because as I said leaflet through the door...straight in the bin
Our local half marathon has signs on lampposts about a month in advance, and happens the same time every year. The usual self entitled twats manage to not take any notice.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
I once bought a flat back in the 80's never again it was a living nightmare
I own a leasehold flat. I also own 1/6 of the company that owns the freehold, along with the other flat owners. The arrangement seems to work quite well.
back when I bought that wasn't an option leaseholders had little rights
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
Absolutely agree with this although not so sure that drivers realise in the end. Last year the road by mother was flooded and drivers were warned not to drive through it as the waves caused could flood nearby houses. The amount of drivers who totally ignored this and drove through at the expense of other people's homes was sickening to watch.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Don't be silly. Anyone who has been anywhere near a marathon route knows that it's impossible to miss it.
I used to be next to one missed it all the time because as I said leaflet through the door...straight in the bin
Our local half marathon has signs on lampposts about a month in advance, and happens the same time every year. The usual self entitled twats manage to not take any notice.
We have signs put on lampposts here all the time....who bothers reading them they are mostly have you seen this cat/dog or support our eating noodles for charity....they are junk mail too
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
I once bought a flat back in the 80's never again it was a living nightmare
I own a leasehold flat. I also own 1/6 of the company that owns the freehold, along with the other flat owners. The arrangement seems to work quite well.
I can see how it might work. I owned 1/7th (yes, a strange number of flats in the block but hey ho).
Four flats were rented out and their landlords ranged from 'interested in the block and didn't want to upset the other lessees' to 'as commercial as they come - I'm not paying service charge, ground rent or anything unless threatened with forfeiture'.
But ultimately, I found non-resident lessees worse than resident lessees, but none of the other six truly understood leasehold or wanted to. And why would they? They'd bought a place to live in, not do annual fire safety courses, or file accounts at Companies House.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Two counterpoints to that, Pagan, if I may:
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
I wasn't claiming it was an excuse for driving into people. I was merely commenting that just because you shove a leaflet through someones door about road closures does not mean they know about them
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Don't be silly. Anyone who has been anywhere near a marathon route knows that it's impossible to miss it.
I used to be next to one missed it all the time because as I said leaflet through the door...straight in the bin
Our local half marathon has signs on lampposts about a month in advance, and happens the same time every year. The usual self entitled twats manage to not take any notice.
We have signs put on lampposts here all the time....who bothers reading them they are mostly have you seen this cat/dog or support our eating noodles for charity....they are junk mail too
You can't complain then. And if you're that unwilling to take notice of signage I'm not sure I want to share the roads with you in the first place.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
I once bought a flat back in the 80's never again it was a living nightmare
I own a leasehold flat. I also own 1/6 of the company that owns the freehold, along with the other flat owners. The arrangement seems to work quite well.
back when I bought that wasn't an option leaseholders had little rights
I admit it's a good arrangement.It's virtually shared freehold, but predates the introduction of that.
When I lived in Newcastle I had a Tyneside Flat lease. I had the ground floor flat, and leased it off upstairs, and vice-versa. So there are arrangements that work well.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Two counterpoints to that, Pagan, if I may:
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
I wasn't claiming it was an excuse for driving into people. I was merely commenting that just because you shove a leaflet through someones door about road closures does not mean they know about them
Yes - absolutely agree on that particular point.
We are increasingly bombarded by useless stuff where mail, signs on lampposts or social media. When its 99% irrelevant we learn to just ignore it and not bother reading it. Indeed I often throw unopened mail in the bin because even the stuff in an envelope is 99% junk mail
He’s doing it to cause Labour trouble. It’s not a genuinely thought out policy, it’s done so he can claim Labour are once again aping him. I don’t think abolition is all that popular, but he’s not going to be the one who makes the decision.
I would say however that, although this isn’t the moment, there is a risk to him that being too clever by half will end up costing him.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
‘Davidson attributes part of her trouble selling to the service charge she pays on her flat, which rose from around £3,000 a year to almost £4,000 after there was a water leak in her building, raising its insurance premiums.
Nonetheless, Davidson thinks negative attitudes towards leasehold properties are overblown.’
Well she would say that.
I’m starting to enjoy entitled middle class Telegraph rage bait. The working poor in the red tops struggling on benefits I can feel sorry for as I could have seen myself there but for the grace of God.
These middle class fuckers, get me the popcorn.
As someone who 'owned' [1] a leasehold flat from 2004 to 2012, the problems with leasehold flats are NOT overblown. Indeed, I would consider the problems with them to be so significant that I would never go near one again. Honestly, leasehold flats are probably the most overvalued pieces of 'property' around. I paid £90k for it in 2004. Being honest, it was probably worth only a fifth of that such were the problems I encountered over the next eight years.
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
Agree entirely re leasehold. Avoid at all costs.
We own a flat recently vacated by the in-laws which we bought for them to retire into and want to sell. Yet it's now impossible to sell without a lease extension the terms of which would leave the freeholder fleecing off most of the capital gain since I bought the flat, on top of what they've already fleeced us for in service charges.
Hanging on for now, hoping that the court challenge being brought by freeholders to the 2024 law reducing the inflated cost of lease extensions fails, so the law can come into effect. The irony is that the court challenge is being brought by freeholders under the pretext of defending their feudal property rights supposedly enshrined into the Human Rights Act. 5 million leaseholders are holding their breath, but since it will go all the way to the Supreme Court no doubt it will take years to resolve.
Labour attacks on Farage are getting more shrill. They're clearly shittng themselves
Anything specific?
A particularly grumpy Mike Tapp said 'Nigel Farage is just another rich bloke who is masquerading as a working class hero, and using the flag to act as a patriot when we all know he is not.' An even grumpier Torsten Bell the pensions plonker was mouthing off earlier too.
It's the anger not the words 'How DARE you support him, he's a right shit' styley
The left simply do not learn
Same attitude that gave us Brexit
That attitude - the one you’re deploying there, really gets my goat.
Politicians of the right spend their every waking hour deriding anyone from the left, calling them traitors or enemies of the people (often with the help of tame newspapers), deluded, class warriors with a chip on their shoulder, out of touch etc etc etc. and they have absolutely zero time for liberal ideology.
But if a politician of the left doesn’t pay homage and arse kiss the latest populist blowhard (actually even when they do, as Starmer is trying now), they have an “attitude” and haven’t learned. Basically, anyone who doesn’t just fully agree with the Farage world view is accused of bad attitude.
That's not how politics works. It’s not the duty of non-right wingers to indulge the far right. If Labour members are finally showing a modicum of fightback rather than appeasement then it’s not before time.
I do not want to 'touch a nerve' but if those opposing Farage do not address why he is the one politician making the agenda then he will be PM just as we had Brexit and Trump
For clarification the last thing I want to see is PM Farage, and I still maintain it is unlikely but it is not impossible
I don’t believe you’d have felt the same about Conservatives needing to channel Corbynism after 2017, when he did significantly better than Farage is now doing. Or indeed that Boris needed to address why the Lib Dems were doing well in local elections over Brexit.
No, they went in hard, and ultimately it paid off handsomely.
Farage's speech today was a challenge to all the parties and the media are giving him lots of exposure
Maybe his frankness has something to do with it
When asked how he will pay for the accommodation for asylum seekers his answer was as you would expect
'There won't be any. Australia successfully stopped the problem and so will we'
Yes: magic money tree, magic geography warping machine, etc etc.
If a Labour politician attempted a policy agenda with the same assortment of fantasy, which even new convert Tim Montgomerie admits “doesn’t add up” (as indeed Corbyn’s lot tried in 2017 and 2019) they’d be laughed out of town by the entire media class.
It’s bloke down the pub stuff.
the Minge vase strategy
*nods sagely at all the minges*
Edit - too slow Big G. I saw your minge.
Hahahaha - Oh Bless You @Big_G_NorthWales - I understand why you edited it, it was very unintentionally coarse, but it's the best laugh I've had all week.
It was funny. Has autocorrect developed a potty mouth?
In one of my workplaces, the Microsoft Word autocorrected the word 'wellies' to 'willies'. To this day I don't know why. It is a retailer, and the excited email from the Creative Director about our new range of designer willies was quite something.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Two counterpoints to that, Pagan, if I may:
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
I wasn't claiming it was an excuse for driving into people. I was merely commenting that just because you shove a leaflet through someones door about road closures does not mean they know about them
Yes - absolutely agree on that particular point.
We are increasingly bombarded by useless stuff where mail, signs on lampposts or social media. When its 99% irrelevant we learn to just ignore it and not bother reading it. Indeed I often throw unopened mail in the bin because even the stuff in an envelope is 99% junk mail
I'm reminded of the joke about the flood and the believer who says 'God will save me' whenever anyone tries to help him. He turns down the bloke in the canoe, the helicopter and the rnli and then ends up drowning. Arriving at Heaven he confronts God 'I was drowning and believed that you would save me! What happened?' God replies 'Didnt you see the canoe, helicopter and the RNLI?'
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
It will be important to stay the course and reduce fiscal deficits as planned over the medium term.
I assume this report was written before the pair of U-turns on winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap?
I think that's a safe assumption, given the u-turns haven't happened yet. I think we have to see the scope of those u-turns, if that is what they turn out to be, and what the fiscal deficit position looks like as a result.
Brace yourself for a disappointment on the latter point - I suspect Reeves will ensure we continue to 'stay the course'.
The IMF paper is quite approving of what is being done, and even explicitly states that there is room to improve the position by raising various taxes - which to me is a far better option than a reductive orgy of neo-Thatcherism (ie without Thatcher's nuance):
The authorities’ fiscal strategy for the next five years appropriately supports growth while safeguarding fiscal sustainability. The new spending plans are credible and growth-friendly, taking account of pressures on public services and investment needs. They are expected to provide an economic boost over the medium term that outweighs the impact of higher taxation. As revenue is projected to increase, deficits are set to decline and stabilize net debt. ... staff recommends adhering to the current plans, and implementing additional revenue or expenditure measures as needed if shocks arise, to maintain compliance with the rules. ... Unless revenue is increased, for which there is scope, tough policy decisions on spending priorities and the role of the state in certain areas will be needed to better align the coverage of public services with available resources.
Starmer and Reeves need to hold the courage of their convictions, and to move us closer to the European norm from our current relatively low tax / low spend position.
Your last sentence is what both intrigues and concerns me. It's where I think the UK will end up, but I'm concerned that we will end up with a tax bill and government spending like the Nordics but without any of the accompanying quality of life, dynamic private sector or balanced budgets.
A high spend/high tax regime must not mean largesse.
On topic (I know!) surprised that Gretchen Whitmer is not in the list of possible contenders.
she's probably blown it with Dem base by standing next to Trump in the Oval Office the other week. There was also a speech after Trump at a military base.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Two counterpoints to that, Pagan, if I may:
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
I wasn't claiming it was an excuse for driving into people. I was merely commenting that just because you shove a leaflet through someones door about road closures does not mean they know about them
Yes - absolutely agree on that particular point.
We are increasingly bombarded by useless stuff where mail, signs on lampposts or social media. When its 99% irrelevant we learn to just ignore it and not bother reading it. Indeed I often throw unopened mail in the bin because even the stuff in an envelope is 99% junk mail
I'm reminded of the joke about the flood and the believer who says 'God will save me' whenever anyone tries to help him. He turns down the bloke in the canoe, the helicopter and the rnli and then ends up drowning. Arriving at Heaven he confronts God 'I was drowning and believed that you would save me! What happened?' God replies 'Didnt you see the canoe, helicopter and the RNLI?'
Your argument then is I should waste a lot of time reading irrelevant shit just in case sorry they can fuck off. If I read every piece of mail that has come through my door in the last 12 months I would have probably spent 24+ hours of my life doing it.....absolutely none of it was relevant.
Something I need to know, find a better way to communicate
On an early driving lesson I came around a corner and found myself drove slowly betwixt two groups of about a hundred school children waving union jacks and cheered. They were waiting for the Queen, and were practicing on passing cars.
On an early driving lesson I came around a corner and found myself drove slowly betwixt two groups of about a hundred school children waving union jacks and cheered. They were waiting for the Queen, and were practicing on passing cars.
Massive explosion at Shandong Youdao Chemical plant in Gaomi city. At least 5 dead, 19 injured, 6 missing. The factory manufactured Chlorpyrifos, neurotoxic organophosphate insecticide that acts as a nerve agent. https://x.com/igorsushko/status/1927370983708475769
We're heading for a debt crisis and a bailout. The government must reverse course on spending and cut £100bn from the current budget. Rachel Reeves is going to not only bankrupt the nation, she's going hand the country over to Nige.
The Tories need to prepare for this and get to a place where they're the only mainstream party that stands for fiscal responsibility. Get rid of Kemi and the party elders need to ask Jeremy Hunt to be leader and preach fiscal restraint, outline what the Tories would do to cut spending and stop living beyond our means. It's going to be very unpopular for two years but in the run up to the election where borrowing is out of control, bond yields in junk territory and rumours of an IMF bailout they immediately become the responsible choice.
They need to do this now and claim back the mantle of being the responsible party that stands for living within our means and cutting the size of the state.
There's a lot of work to do but Labour and Reform will take this country to it's first ever external default event and the road to Argentina.
I initially assumed you were quoting or summarising either the Times article or the IMF report. But I can't find anything in either to support your assertion.
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
It will be important to stay the course and reduce fiscal deficits as planned over the medium term.
I assume this report was written before the pair of U-turns on winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap?
I think that's a safe assumption, given the u-turns haven't happened yet. I think we have to see the scope of those u-turns, if that is what they turn out to be, and what the fiscal deficit position looks like as a result.
Brace yourself for a disappointment on the latter point - I suspect Reeves will ensure we continue to 'stay the course'.
The IMF paper is quite approving of what is being done, and even explicitly states that there is room to improve the position by raising various taxes - which to me is a far better option than a reductive orgy of neo-Thatcherism (ie without Thatcher's nuance):
The authorities’ fiscal strategy for the next five years appropriately supports growth while safeguarding fiscal sustainability. The new spending plans are credible and growth-friendly, taking account of pressures on public services and investment needs. They are expected to provide an economic boost over the medium term that outweighs the impact of higher taxation. As revenue is projected to increase, deficits are set to decline and stabilize net debt. ... staff recommends adhering to the current plans, and implementing additional revenue or expenditure measures as needed if shocks arise, to maintain compliance with the rules. ... Unless revenue is increased, for which there is scope, tough policy decisions on spending priorities and the role of the state in certain areas will be needed to better align the coverage of public services with available resources.
Starmer and Reeves need to hold the courage of their convictions, and to move us closer to the European norm from our current relatively low tax / low spend position.
Your last sentence is what both intrigues and concerns me. It's where I think the UK will end up, but I'm concerned that we will end up with a tax bill and government spending like the Nordics but without any of the accompanying quality of life, dynamic private sector or balanced budgets.
A high spend/high tax regime must not mean largesse.
Is largesse for McKinsey, Capita, etc still allowed though? That's where I picture most of the money going.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
That 2016 "valuation" looks highball to me. But it's true that London property prices are well off their peak. A good thing on balance, I'd say, although it will cause genuine problems for some people.
On an early driving lesson I came around a corner and found myself drove slowly betwixt two groups of about a hundred school children waving union jacks and cheered. They were waiting for the Queen, and were practicing on passing cars.
Bit un-nerving though.
This has just dredged up a memory. Must have been about the time I was doing early driving lessons. My father was in the police and involved with the protection of Diana on a visit. I just remember him saying she was a complete cow.
"She bought her two-bedroom leasehold flat in West Hampstead, in a converted synagogue, in 2004 for £350,000. By 2016, the flat had been given a valuation of £800,000, so Davidson assumed that she was well on her way to making a healthy profit.
But after putting her property on the market for £725,000 last year – the amount an estate agent told her it was worth – she was unable to secure a sale."
Diddums.
That 2016 "valuation" looks highball to me. But it's true that London property prices are well off their peak. A good thing on balance, I'd say, although it will cause genuine problems for some people.
Well tough for those who see a property as an asset class and not a place to live.
The woman in this article is still well ahead on what she paid in 2004. Her expectation is above what the property is worth.
To be fair with the outrageous charges on leasehold flats and cladding issues, I would expect she has quite a lot further to drop, even if it is saleable
Well quite. It doesn’t mention how long the lease is either.
Is 4 grand a year service charge a lot these days for London.
When I had a flat in Brum I was paying around £1,000 a year but I left in 2000.
I pay £4K+ a year on my flat. I think it's worth it.
What do you get for that ?
Is it capped or can it rise by any amount each year ?
I guess the answer to my question depends on what you get for it.
Freehold in Scotland, no parasites bleeding you dry.
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Two counterpoints to that, Pagan, if I may:
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
I wasn't claiming it was an excuse for driving into people. I was merely commenting that just because you shove a leaflet through someones door about road closures does not mean they know about them
Yes - absolutely agree on that particular point.
We are increasingly bombarded by useless stuff where mail, signs on lampposts or social media. When its 99% irrelevant we learn to just ignore it and not bother reading it. Indeed I often throw unopened mail in the bin because even the stuff in an envelope is 99% junk mail
I'm reminded of the joke about the flood and the believer who says 'God will save me' whenever anyone tries to help him. He turns down the bloke in the canoe, the helicopter and the rnli and then ends up drowning. Arriving at Heaven he confronts God 'I was drowning and believed that you would save me! What happened?' God replies 'Didnt you see the canoe, helicopter and the RNLI?'
Your argument then is I should waste a lot of time reading irrelevant shit just in case sorry they can fuck off. If I read every piece of mail that has come through my door in the last 12 months I would have probably spent 24+ hours of my life doing it.....absolutely none of it was relevant.
Something I need to know, find a better way to communicate
Pagan2 tragically shot by crossbow maniac.
"I was only trying to deliver a leaflet for the SDP"
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
I think the "drivers routinely ignore road closures with no action is taken against them" is a critical insight. And when no action is taken, it is just assumed that it is OK to ignore the law, and that then becomes an assumed entitlement, and anyone questioning it gets such a driver very, very angry and then the absolutely focus is on self-justification.
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
I don't think the Plymouth incident is unusual. In the events I've done there have been times where drivers have ignored the signage, but it usually ends safely when they realise there is a good reason for the closure. We even had people parked halfway across the road during the Edinburgh Marathon a few years ago, despite thousands of posters and leaflets letting people know not to.
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
You are ignoring the fact most people who get a leaflet through the letter box usually consign it to the bin without reading it because 99% of leaflets through the door are marketing shite
Two counterpoints to that, Pagan, if I may:
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
I wasn't claiming it was an excuse for driving into people. I was merely commenting that just because you shove a leaflet through someones door about road closures does not mean they know about them
Yes - absolutely agree on that particular point.
We are increasingly bombarded by useless stuff where mail, signs on lampposts or social media. When its 99% irrelevant we learn to just ignore it and not bother reading it. Indeed I often throw unopened mail in the bin because even the stuff in an envelope is 99% junk mail
I'm reminded of the joke about the flood and the believer who says 'God will save me' whenever anyone tries to help him. He turns down the bloke in the canoe, the helicopter and the rnli and then ends up drowning. Arriving at Heaven he confronts God 'I was drowning and believed that you would save me! What happened?' God replies 'Didnt you see the canoe, helicopter and the RNLI?'
Your argument then is I should waste a lot of time reading irrelevant shit just in case sorry they can fuck off. If I read every piece of mail that has come through my door in the last 12 months I would have probably spent 24+ hours of my life doing it.....absolutely none of it was relevant.
Something I need to know, find a better way to communicate
What would you prefer (a) personal visit from the race organizer or (b) air raid style siren for 5 minutes followed by loud hailer announcement?
When they let an ambulance through how did they fail to stop a car following it through? Yet another police failure
Presumably he was on its bumper and they didn't want to get run over. Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
radio said he was drugged up so not such a surprise
On an early driving lesson I came around a corner and found myself drove slowly betwixt two groups of about a hundred school children waving union jacks and cheered. They were waiting for the Queen, and were practicing on passing cars.
Comments
Drivers routinely ignore road closures for events and no action is taken against them, perhaps the police will treat it more seriously in future (then the CPS/courts can let them off later). It still wouldn't have resulted in any incident if he hadn't tipped over into violent road rage, though the likelihood of a driver who tailgates an emergency vehicle through a roadblock erupting into road rage is clearly high.
(IRA=Inflation Reduction Act, not Irish Republican Army)
But, I still don't think they'll be able to resist (and maybe they can't resist) the gerontocracy.
It's still going to be 12.5k in 2028. If Labour increase it by say 2.5% in the final year, then Reform are looking at 9% increases to hit £20k by 2034.
And if Reform said it was going to be £20k BEFORE the end of the Parliament, then they're probably looking at having to do it in under 5 years, pushing that up to 10%+.
It's be easier for Harold Shipman to get back to a place of trusted doctor.
I is a roadman innit.
Rasclart.
VP Vance has a convincing lead on the GOP side, the latest poll has him on 48% to 18% for Trump jr and 9% for DeSantis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2028_United_States_presidential_election#Opinion_polling
Driver who ‘took 20 lines of cocaine’ before killing three-year-old girl in Manchester jailed
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2025-05-27/driver-who-recklessly-drove-after-cocaine-binge-killing-young-girl-jailed
ETA cocaine is now used by chefs and scaffolders but it might soon be that senior politicians handing out Class As or being pictured slumped in front of tables piled high with white powder are career-limiting.
Seriously - I agree we need to get back to somewhere near balancing the books and borrowing to be used only for long-term capital infrastructure projects.
I don't believe the only way to achieve this is through spending cuts - this is where I part company with Conservatives. Spending cuts have a part to play but so do tax rises and as a rule of thumb I think we need to be looking at every £1 in spending cuts complimented by a £1 rise in taxes so to reach the £100 billion we'd need £50 bn of spending cuts and £50 bn of tax rises.
https://news.sky.com/video/i-wish-i-never-met-epstein-uk-ambassador-to-the-us-13375564
I think it does make sense to take 2025 as a baseline as its today and our current baseline, so you're looking at real terms changes from today.
And this is a problem that politicians often have (and the media too) is they don't have a clue about economics or inflation.
Like if I recall correctly Ed Miliband made a big song and dance about pledging the minimum wage should go up to a certain figure in the next Parliament under Labour . . . then people pointed out that was not a real terms increase and Osborne brought it up to that figure within the current Parliament before the election.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa2etoIqDKM
Albeit, briefly, the venue is a bit of a pain to get to, so I will wear trainer until I get to the venue then switch to my Louis Vuitton loafers.
Death penalty for people who misuse apostrophes or don't use them at all though.
The political theory behind IRA was roughly as follows: We have lost control of the information landscape and can no longer win rhetorical or purely political battles; however, if we make substantive policy progress that directly touches voters' lives, they will notice and reward us.
Across the lawn, the Labour lad’s’s were getting into all kind’s of pickle’s. Keir Starmer’s’s pickle relish had dripped unceremoniously onto Angela Rayner’s’s “Power Bun’s,” causing a diplomatic incident that led to three whip’s being withdrawn and Diane Abbott’s’s calculator going mysteriously missing. “It’s’s just not cricket’s,” muttered Ed Miliband’s’s ghost, haunting the buffet table as he fondled a limp sausage roll. Meanwhile, a Lib Dem’s’s attempt to insert his’s mini quiche into the communal pie’s dish ended with four arrest’s, two resignation’s, and a new Minister for Pastry Affair’s’s.
Take a massive axe to the welfare state, completely remove "mental health" as a category that receives additional benefits, cut in work benefits, cut out of work benefits, means test the state pension and introduce NI on all income for people of all ages and a windfall tax on defined benefit pensions over £50k of 20%, making tax rates 20%, 60% above £50k and 65% above £125k and call it the fatcat tax.
It's time to take an axe to the welfare state, whether that's public sector employees sitting at home doing nothing or the unemployed sitting at home doing nothing or the "sick" sitting at home doing nothing. Too many people are completely unproductive and the rest of us just give them a free ride because the government is to gutless to do anything about it.
For those interested in the actual IMF report it's here: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/05/27/cs-uk-aiv-2025
The Concluding Statement is as follows:
- An economic recovery is underway. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2025 and will gain momentum next year, although weak productivity continues to weigh on medium-term growth prospects.
- The authorities’ fiscal plans strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability. It will be important to stay the course and deliver the planned deficit reduction over the next five years to stabilize net debt and reduce vulnerability to gilt market pressures. Further refinements of the fiscal framework could help minimize the frequency of fiscal policy changes. In the longer term, the UK will face difficult choices to align spending with available resources, given ageing-related expenditure pressures.
- The Bank of England (BoE) should continue to ease monetary policy gradually, while remaining flexible in light of elevated uncertainty. Calibrating the monetary policy stance has become more complex, given the recent pickup in inflation, still fragile growth, and higher long-term interest rates.
-The authorities’ Growth Mission focuses on the right areas to lift productivity. Given the breadth of the agenda, prioritizing and sequencing of structural reforms, along with clear communication, will be key to success.
Nothing about 'heading for a bailout' as far as I can see.
paintbrush.
Could you be over-interpreting to fit your biases?
Time will tell; one of us will be able to say "I told you so" in the next few years.
I assume this report was written before the pair of U-turns on winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap?
When people in my circles stop questioning such entitlement eg by knocking on the door of a house because the pavement is entirely blocked with a motor, it is usually because in the past they have been heavily abused or threatened with violence.
One of the strangest ones was when a wheelchair using friend came out of a shop in York to find that the pavement BOTH sides had been blocked by cafe tables placed on it. The cafe owners both sides proceeded to give her lectures about why they were entitled to completely block the pavement, rather than think about the impact of their actions.
@Eabhal mentioned the woman driving her car past a "road closed" sign into the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2018. The idea that she was putting people in danger did not even occur, because she HAD to get somewhere and was yelling excuses out of the car window. As far as I can see she was just let off completely, with not even a careless driving ticket.
Here's the video of the 2018 Plymouth incident, with her "it was a stupid thing to do, BUT ...." justification. BUT I can ignore the rules, because I'm more important than public safety.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-44228164
There are even videos out there are of people driving through "Road Closed - Roadworks" signs on closed roads, then getting into a mess with the hole across the road half a mile further on.
People ignore the law because they realise its never going to be enforced. It brings the law into disrepute
"Main character syndrome" is what the kids call it.
(I think JohnLilburne has also experienced it. JosiasJessop does lots of events too,).
Strongly suggests that LLMs are nowhere near and not in the road to AGI.
Brace yourself for a disappointment on the latter point - I suspect Reeves will ensure we continue to 'stay the course'.
Huge opposition in comments on BBC website article - with over 5,000 comments posted. That's a lot by even BBC website standards.
BBC comments are often pretty pro Farage - but the opposition to this today is very vociferous.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yx062pvlvo
https://x.com/YouGov/status/1927299701008744781
The authorities’ fiscal strategy for the next five years appropriately supports growth while safeguarding fiscal sustainability. The new spending plans are credible and growth-friendly, taking account of pressures on public services and investment needs. They are expected to provide an economic boost over the medium term that outweighs the impact of higher taxation. As revenue is projected to increase, deficits are set to decline and stabilize net debt.
...
staff recommends adhering to the current plans, and implementing additional revenue or expenditure measures as needed if shocks arise, to maintain compliance with the rules.
...
Unless revenue is increased, for which there is scope, tough policy decisions on spending priorities and the role of the state in certain areas will be needed to better align the coverage of public services with available resources.
Starmer and Reeves need to hold the courage of their convictions, and to move us closer to the European norm from our current relatively low tax / low spend position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7rZ1cP0mjw
[1] You never own leasehold. The clue is in the name. Not even a 999 year lease.
1 - Driving into a crowd is something that no careful and competent (the expected standard) driver should *ever* do. I'd suggest it's a basic rule, as to drive into a crowd, especially a running crowd, is a deliberate decision to place human beings at risk of injury. You just stop and wait, or get out and ask someone for help.
It doesn't need a leaflet, or a policeman, or anything - just the most basic road sense.
2 - If you look at the video she drove through the coned off end of the sideroad, and past a sign in the middle of the junction.
I don't think I have used my photo today, so here you go:
At the London marathon there are vast numbers of barriers along a lot of the course, but not all. It's also bloody obvious what's going on. The Plymouth half looks relatively big (a few thousand runners?) So I'm surprised that she did know. In Bath, which I'd expect to be similar, there are signs out warning about it for weeks.
Four flats were rented out and their landlords ranged from 'interested in the block and didn't want to upset the other lessees' to 'as commercial as they come - I'm not paying service charge, ground rent or anything unless threatened with forfeiture'.
But ultimately, I found non-resident lessees worse than resident lessees, but none of the other six truly understood leasehold or wanted to. And why would they? They'd bought a place to live in, not do annual fire safety courses, or file accounts at Companies House.
When I lived in Newcastle I had a Tyneside Flat lease. I had the ground floor flat, and leased it off upstairs, and vice-versa. So there are arrangements that work well.
I would say however that, although this isn’t the moment, there is a risk to him that being too clever by half will end up costing him.
We own a flat recently vacated by the in-laws which we bought for them to retire into and want to sell. Yet it's now impossible to sell without a lease extension the terms of which would leave the freeholder fleecing off most of the capital gain since I bought the flat, on top of what they've already fleeced us for in service charges.
Hanging on for now, hoping that the court challenge being brought by freeholders to the 2024 law reducing the inflated cost of lease extensions fails, so the law can come into effect. The irony is that the court challenge is being brought by freeholders under the pretext of defending their feudal property rights supposedly enshrined into the Human Rights Act. 5 million leaseholders are holding their breath, but since it will go all the way to the Supreme Court no doubt it will take years to resolve.
https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/05/27/trump-security-secretary-noem-endorses-polish-conservative-presidential-candidate-at-cpac-poland/
A high spend/high tax regime must not mean largesse.
Something I need to know, find a better way to communicate
Bit un-nerving though.
The factory manufactured Chlorpyrifos, neurotoxic organophosphate insecticide that acts as a nerve agent.
https://x.com/igorsushko/status/1927370983708475769
Anyway - as you were.
"I was only trying to deliver a leaflet for the SDP"