Personally I think the solution to the nation's housing problem is... less people.
But I might be in the minority on this. Dunno.
You are I'm afraid, I personally I think the solution to the nation's housing problem is... fewer people.
Britain was a world-leading country at the same time as having high rates of emigration.
You've not quite mastered the art of PB pedantry have you?
I quoted your post because I didn't want to quote the original post which was grammatically incorrect. I think that shows a high level of proficiency in PB pedantry.
I could swear he was saying nice things about that well known gay-rights champion, Vladimir Putin the other day......
Didn't you know that it's a requirement before joining the Illuminati that you have to be nice about Vlad?
"For the record I am disgusted by the actions of Vladimir Putin. He manipulated the constitution to keep himself in power, he implicitly endorses the killing of journalists, he supresses gays and is both flouting international law and threatening a European war over Ukraine. If I were asked today for my view, that is what I would say with the caveat that his style of leadership plays to an instinct in the Russian psyche that warms to ‘strong’ leadership and feels more confident with him in the Kremlin.
Salmond may have slipped when he tried for balance in his reported remarks to GQ but does anyone think Salmond is anti-gay – having just brought in gay marriage – that he supresses opposition, silences journalists or threatens war? This retrospective tirade sounds like the last one…what was it?…his hotel expenses. I suspect that people who haven’t even read what he said are baying for blood because ‘he’s siding with Putin’.
I am I suppose being an apologist for him since, on reading his remarks, it is clear to me what he was trying to impart but you have to try to find the real meaning first. And the truth as we know is that across our media there is virtually no one prepared to do that. However, when that bias extends to ignoring George Roberton’s call for Putin and Russia to be included in NATO in order to treat them as a friendly nation in a formal defence alliance, you have wonder why not. Robertson is going much further than Salmond’s off-the-cuff remarks and proposing sharing our national defence so much do we trust Putin.
Why is there no mention of the British approach to Putin to back their fight against Scottish independence? That too goes much further than Salmond by proposing a political alliance with Putin. Are neither of these points relevant?And in case you’ve forgotten, other leaders have been happy to endorse Vladimir more heartily than Salmond.
Tony Blair said he was ‘open and forward looking and a moderniser’. Obama says he did ‘extraordinary work’ for the Russian people. Sarkozy said he was a ‘courageous, determined man capable of accepting and understanding.’ And, sorry Vladimir, but here’s George Bush: ‘I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul, a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country…I wouldn’t have invited him to my ranch if I didn’t trust him.’"
This is what Hopi Sen said a couple of months ago, looking at how German has fared and isn't really a particuly rosy picture.
Second Generation rent controls: Solving a problem that doesn’t exist.
So, it’s quite possible to imagine that in producing a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist in the way they think it does, advocates of second generation rent controls could make rent increases sharper than they would otherwise be, absent a major increase in property supply, while making things worse for immigrants and the most mobile renters....
This isn’t to do with social housing, as Germany’s social rented sector is much smaller than the UKs (about a third of the size of ours), but that there is a much stronger presumption in favour of building generally. So if you want to make even very loose rent control work, you must have a huge loosening of supply, not just in the social rented sector, but generally.
The simple answer as we all know to this, build more houses. We can talk about cutting immigration, but that doesn't solve where we are now, and the reality of the situation is the only way to ensure lower prices is to increase supply. Same with power.
Cameron, Miliband, Brown they have all paid lip service to this, but again as pointed out in Hopi Sen article, the planning laws don't enable this in this country. In comparison,
"German model is that it is much easier to build in Germany than in the UK. Germany has consistently built more than we have."
We have a huge problem with the housing market in this country. For those like Sean Fear who think there is no problem in the rental market, you have to ask why is it that people are so desperate to buy even when that means taking on massive debts. Renting needs to be more attractive. I do believe our tenancy rights are pretty weak by international comparison. Whether EdM has got it right I don't know. But the hysterical 'Venezuela' reaction from Grant Shapps shows just where the Tories now are and will only further motivate those who want them out of power next year however possible.
The Tories should realise their tea party and media supporting brothers in the USA went apocalyptic on Obama in 2012 and it didn't do them any good.
Over the long term, taking out a mortgage and buying a property is almost always more financially attractive than renting. And, one buys because one is planning to settle in an area for a while.
Renting in the private sector (as opposed to the social rented sector) is generally recognised to be a much more short-term affair.
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
LOL you get ever more desperate Harry, he has just reiterated what he has always said and has never guaranteed a currency union. He said it was the preferred option and as anyone can use the pound then he can guarantee that. Desperate unionists in desperate times.
simply confirms your status as a second rate Mick Pork ....Who is himself a third-rate tim......
Speaking of Mick Pork (how his ears must be burning), it appears from a post on a site I'm not allowed to link to that he's currently blocked from posting here. It may of course be just yet another Vanilla glitch, but any clarification would be appreciated.
I'm sure there are even PB Tories who realise that they need some grit to enable them to produce their lustrous (if somewhat repetitive) pearls of wisdom.
I agree with that divvie we need a bit of grit to keep the indy action rolling.
"Annual house price growth reaches double-digits A spring surge in April pushed house prices up 11pc in a year, the first double-digit measure since 2010"
From the march of the manufacturers to the conga line of the estate agents in three easy years. I think we all know how this ends.
More idle journalism, Mr. Brooke.
The most reliable mainstream housing index is that from HM Registry as it is based on actual transaction values rather than asking price, moon phases, mortgage prices etc. Its problem is that it is (of necessity) less timely than the indices of the 'anticipators'.
Nationwide do however publish a useful index of real prices. Since 1975 real house prices have risen at an average or 'trend' rate of 2.7% per annum, although periods of rapid growth ten to follow corrective contractions.
The following graph from Nationwide's latest figures shows that current house prices have only just started to come off a low. Even with growth in nominal prices of 5%-10% over the past year (the lower figure being the more realistic), current real prices are still well below the trend line.
So no conga, Mr. Brooke. Maybe a celebratory tango when George gets house prices like other metrics of performance back on trend, A couple of years to wait though.
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
LOL you get ever more desperate Harry, he has just reiterated what he has always said and has never guaranteed a currency union. He said it was the preferred option and as anyone can use the pound then he can guarantee that. Desperate unionists in desperate times.
No no - you gnats told us it was "nailed on" - what has changed apart from reality dawning ?
Ukip drift to 7-2 3rd fav. for Newark by-election with Lads.Tories 4-7 from an early 4-5 and Labour coming in to 3-1 2nd fav..Clearly,Ladbrokes have taken the view that Farage bottling it was a shrewd calculation he,and Ukip, would lose.It was the sort of shrewd calculation any member of the political establishment would make. I still make the Tories' price big and the early election call with candidate in place should benefit them,as Mike said earlier.
simply confirms your status as a second rate Mick Pork ....Who is himself a third-rate tim......
Speaking of Mick Pork (how his ears must be burning), it appears from a post on a site I'm not allowed to link to that he's currently blocked from posting here. It may of course be just yet another Vanilla glitch, but any clarification would be appreciated.
I'm sure there are even PB Tories who realise that they need some grit to enable them to produce their lustrous (if somewhat repetitive) pearls of wisdom.
I agree with that divvie we need a bit of grit to keep the indy action rolling.
Alan. Winners can spot other winners, it is an admirable trait.
Old Eck certainly spotted a winner in Sir Fred Goodwin. It's a sixth sense in all true winners.
And 'Scolympians' - remember how that featured in every broadcast and news report?
We tend to remember the lies , how we were forced to pay for the Olympics and were supposed to benefit from them. How many people have benefitted from all that infrastrucure do you think , big fat ZERO.
@Antifrank - "It appears that Mr Bienkov has read only the Guardian before putting his piece together. In all other media outlets I've seen, the Conservative argument is fully articulated for the reader. "
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
LOL you get ever more desperate Harry, he has just reiterated what he has always said and has never guaranteed a currency union. He said it was the preferred option and as anyone can use the pound then he can guarantee that. Desperate unionists in desperate times.
No no - you gnats told us it was "nailed on" - what has changed apart from reality dawning ?
Personal opinion is that it will happen , but just as Rangers have a cats chance in hell of not going bankrupt again , England could cut off its nose to spite its face and say no. Very very small chance but a chance nevertheless.
@Antifrank - "It appears that Mr Bienkov has read only the Guardian before putting his piece together. In all other media outlets I've seen, the Conservative argument is fully articulated for the reader. "
I think he had read Schapps' Tweets.
I know that Michael Green is expert at gaining twitter followers, but I very much doubt that many casual members of the public are going to get their Conservative analysis of rent reforms from Grant Schapps's tweets.
That's scare-mongering. Other European countries have more regulated rental markets than in the UK and I don't see any evidence of what you suggest in a country like Germany.
Germany doesn't have a rapidly rising population, causing the demand for housing to outstrip supply.
I would have thought that was fairly obvious.
Had a look at the German/UK population graphs - astonishing stuff. Germany is a developed economic powerhouse, and I thought they had alot of Turkish migration. So why is our population chart trying to shoot off the scale whereas theres is levelish ?
The population of Germany actually fell last year (as did that of Japan).
The receive wisdom about countries with declining populations automatically being economic failures may need to be revisited.
simply confirms your status as a second rate Mick Pork ....Who is himself a third-rate tim......
Speaking of Mick Pork (how his ears must be burning), it appears from a post on a site I'm not allowed to link to that he's currently blocked from posting here. It may of course be just yet another Vanilla glitch, but any clarification would be appreciated.
I'm sure there are even PB Tories who realise that they need some grit to enable them to produce their lustrous (if somewhat repetitive) pearls of wisdom.
I agree with that divvie we need a bit of grit to keep the indy action rolling.
Alan. Winners can spot other winners, it is an admirable trait.
Old Eck certainly spotted a winner in Sir Fred Goodwin. It's a sixth sense in all true winners.
And 'Scolympians' - remember how that featured in every broadcast and news report?
We tend to remember the lies , how we were forced to pay for the Olympics and were supposed to benefit from them. How many people have benefitted from all that infrastrucure do you think , big fat ZERO.
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
LOL you get ever more desperate Harry, he has just reiterated what he has always said and has never guaranteed a currency union. He said it was the preferred option and as anyone can use the pound then he can guarantee that. Desperate unionists in desperate times.
No no - you gnats told us it was "nailed on" - what has changed apart from reality dawning ?
@Antifrank - "It appears that Mr Bienkov has read only the Guardian before putting his piece together. In all other media outlets I've seen, the Conservative argument is fully articulated for the reader. "
I think he had read Schapps' Tweets.
I know that Michael Green is expert at gaining twitter followers, but I very much doubt that many casual members of the public are going to get their Conservative analysis of rent reforms from Grant Schapps's tweets.
There's Venezuela and Vietnam in this Telegraph report:
The response from Grant Shapps, the Conservative Party chairman, is so hilariously over the top it reads like a parody. Not only is this “Venezuelan-style rent control” apparently, they have also included a quote from a former Vietnamese finance minister lamenting the effect of rent controls in Hanoi. Mr Miliband’s proposals fall short of the guarantees tenants have in almost any European country—which is a good thing.
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
he....has never guaranteed a currency union
You'll be telling us next that he hasn't guaranteed that Scotland would automatically be a member of the EU.....or that Royal Navy warships are guaranteed to be built there.....
That's scare-mongering. Other European countries have more regulated rental markets than in the UK and I don't see any evidence of what you suggest in a country like Germany.
Germany doesn't have a rapidly rising population, causing the demand for housing to outstrip supply.
I would have thought that was fairly obvious.
Had a look at the German/UK population graphs - astonishing stuff. Germany is a developed economic powerhouse, and I thought they had alot of Turkish migration. So why is our population chart trying to shoot off the scale whereas theres is levelish ?
The population of Germany actually fell last year (as did that of Japan).
The receive wisdom about countries with declining populations automatically being economic failures may need to be revisited.
The argument that is always made for population growth - need more working age people to support the pensioners.
Yet if we're trying to 'fight climate change' and the driver behind CO2 missions is basically people then isn't the inevitable consequence of having more and more people more and more 'climate change'. Actually climate change doesn't really bother me either way but it does seem rather a religion for Lib Dems who also tend to be most in favour of immigration...
Could someone square that circle for me ?
Isn't the whole working age immigrants for pensioners essentially just a giant human ponzi scheme at any rate too !
simply confirms your status as a second rate Mick Pork ....Who is himself a third-rate tim......
Speaking of Mick Pork (how his ears must be burning), it appears from a post on a site I'm not allowed to link to that he's currently blocked from posting here. It may of course be just yet another Vanilla glitch, but any clarification would be appreciated.
I'm sure there are even PB Tories who realise that they need some grit to enable them to produce their lustrous (if somewhat repetitive) pearls of wisdom.
I agree with that divvie we need a bit of grit to keep the indy action rolling.
Alan. Winners can spot other winners, it is an admirable trait.
Old Eck certainly spotted a winner in Sir Fred Goodwin. It's a sixth sense in all true winners.
And 'Scolympians' - remember how that featured in every broadcast and news report?
We tend to remember the lies , how we were forced to pay for the Olympics and were supposed to benefit from them. How many people have benefitted from all that infrastrucure do you think , big fat ZERO.
The costs of the massively successful London Olympics pale beside the British tax payer resources required to save Edinburgh's ruinous RBS and BoS. But you remain an ingrate.
That's scare-mongering. Other European countries have more regulated rental markets than in the UK and I don't see any evidence of what you suggest in a country like Germany.
Germany doesn't have a rapidly rising population, causing the demand for housing to outstrip supply.
I would have thought that was fairly obvious.
Had a look at the German/UK population graphs - astonishing stuff. Germany is a developed economic powerhouse, and I thought they had alot of Turkish migration. So why is our population chart trying to shoot off the scale whereas theres is levelish ?
The population of Germany actually fell last year (as did that of Japan).
The receive wisdom about countries with declining populations automatically being economic failures may need to be revisited.
Japan is actually in an economic mess - Germany... not sure - don't think they are though. Japan's population is falling a bit 'too far, too fast'. But there is a world of difference between a slowly increasing/flat population and what seems to be happening to ours.
That's scare-mongering. Other European countries have more regulated rental markets than in the UK and I don't see any evidence of what you suggest in a country like Germany.
Germany doesn't have a rapidly rising population, causing the demand for housing to outstrip supply.
I would have thought that was fairly obvious.
Had a look at the German/UK population graphs - astonishing stuff. Germany is a developed economic powerhouse, and I thought they had alot of Turkish migration. So why is our population chart trying to shoot off the scale whereas theres is levelish ?
The population of Germany actually fell last year (as did that of Japan).
The receive wisdom about countries with declining populations automatically being economic failures may need to be revisited.
Japan is actually in an economic mess - Germany... not sure - don't think they are though. Japan's population is falling a bit 'too far, too fast'. But there is a world of difference between a slowly increasing/flat population and what seems to be happening to ours.
I put Japan in as an aside, not part of the main point I was making.
simply confirms your status as a second rate Mick Pork ....Who is himself a third-rate tim......
Speaking of Mick Pork (how his ears must be burning), it appears from a post on a site I'm not allowed to link to that he's currently blocked from posting here. It may of course be just yet another Vanilla glitch, but any clarification would be appreciated.
I'm sure there are even PB Tories who realise that they need some grit to enable them to produce their lustrous (if somewhat repetitive) pearls of wisdom.
I agree with that divvie we need a bit of grit to keep the indy action rolling.
Alan. Winners can spot other winners, it is an admirable trait.
Old Eck certainly spotted a winner in Sir Fred Goodwin. It's a sixth sense in all true winners.
And 'Scolympians' - remember how that featured in every broadcast and news report?
We tend to remember the lies , how we were forced to pay for the Olympics and were supposed to benefit from them. How many people have benefitted from all that infrastrucure do you think , big fat ZERO.
Chris Hoy might disagree with you...
So we have paid for lots of sports infrastructure in England for him to be a millionaire and have a few medals. That is a big help for Scotland.
simply confirms your status as a second rate Mick Pork ....Who is himself a third-rate tim......
Speaking of Mick Pork (how his ears must be burning), it appears from a post on a site I'm not allowed to link to that he's currently blocked from posting here. It may of course be just yet another Vanilla glitch, but any clarification would be appreciated.
I'm sure there are even PB Tories who realise that they need some grit to enable them to produce their lustrous (if somewhat repetitive) pearls of wisdom.
I agree with that divvie we need a bit of grit to keep the indy action rolling.
Alan. Winners can spot other winners, it is an admirable trait.
Old Eck certainly spotted a winner in Sir Fred Goodwin. It's a sixth sense in all true winners.
And 'Scolympians' - remember how that featured in every broadcast and news report?
We tend to remember the lies , how we were forced to pay for the Olympics and were supposed to benefit from them. How many people have benefitted from all that infrastrucure do you think , big fat ZERO.
The costs of the massively successful London Olympics pale beside the British tax payer resources required to save Edinburgh's ruinous RBS and BoS. But you remain an ingrate.
You mean Nat West and Halifax, you seem confused Monica
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
LOL you get ever more desperate Harry, he has just reiterated what he has always said and has never guaranteed a currency union. He said it was the preferred option and as anyone can use the pound then he can guarantee that. Desperate unionists in desperate times.
No no - you gnats told us it was "nailed on" - what has changed apart from reality dawning ?
but just as Rangers .
The malcy poker tell of defeat
I don't see any reply Flash, you out of lies , and obviously impossible to try and tell me Rangers are safe
Generation Landlord.Tories March To Defend High Rents. "But even if we assume, that millions of British people are aware of the intricacies of Venezuelan housing policy, are we really meant to believe they will balk at the idea of living in a country where rents don't go up quite as much?"
What a terrible article. It's the whole Politico-style of reporting, that only thinks of politics as a "who's up, who's down" game that should be reported in a similar fashion to reality TV. This is how far too many politicians think - as made clear by Ed Miliband this morning - but what's sad is that increasing numbers of journalists now think the same way. The author of that column didn't mention once the pros and cons of the actual policy itself, and it's likely effect on this country. No wonder we are so badly governed. Idiots like Adam Bienkov just add to the bad system. What ever happened to holding politicians' ideas to actual scrutiny on their merits?
That really is nonsense Socrates. Politico is a site about politics, not policy or economics. And Bienkov makes a very good point. The Tories citing Venezuela and Marxism in response to EdM initiatives really does not cut the mustard; it's much better to concede he has identified a problem, but his solution is all wrong.
The very idea that politics is something separate from policy or economics is exactly what I'm driving at. The things are inextricably linked, and the media are doing us a huge disservice when they try to separate them. If a politician announces a policy, then we rely on the fourth estate to examine the policy and help the uninformed determine what are the effects of such a policy. Experts should be interviewed. Examples of what has happened elsewhere with similar policies should be included.
But increasingly journalists, as they have become more and more incompetent, don't bother with this any more. Because it actually requires both work, in doing the research, and detailed knowledge of the world, which they've never bothered to acquire. That you can learn more from a couple threads on PB about a topic than you can from a dozen articles from the average journalist covering the issue says it all.
I think I was called a troll and warned for saying this at the time
"people are disposed to mistake predicting troubles for causing troubles and even for desiring troubles: "If only," they love to think, "if only people wouldn't talk about it, it probably wouldn't happen." "
simply confirms your status as a second rate Mick Pork ....Who is himself a third-rate tim......
Speaking of Mick Pork (how his ears must be burning), it appears from a post on a site I'm not allowed to link to that he's currently blocked from posting here. It may of course be just yet another Vanilla glitch, but any clarification would be appreciated.
I'm sure there are even PB Tories who realise that they need some grit to enable them to produce their lustrous (if somewhat repetitive) pearls of wisdom.
I agree with that divvie we need a bit of grit to keep the indy action rolling.
Alan. Winners can spot other winners, it is an admirable trait.
Old Eck certainly spotted a winner in Sir Fred Goodwin. It's a sixth sense in all true winners.
And 'Scolympians' - remember how that featured in every broadcast and news report?
We tend to remember the lies , how we were forced to pay for the Olympics and were supposed to benefit from them. How many people have benefitted from all that infrastrucure do you think , big fat ZERO.
The costs of the massively successful London Olympics pale beside the British tax payer resources required to save Edinburgh's ruinous RBS and BoS. But you remain an ingrate.
You mean Nat West and Halifax, you seem confused Monica
From Salmond's immortal " Celtic Lion " speech; " we Scots are lucky enough to have the one of the best brands in the world - a global recognition and affection for our culture that money cannot buy. Take financial services. With RBS and HBOS - two of the world's biggest banks - Scotland has global leaders today, tomorrow and for the long-term."
Talking about Japan and impact of rent controls, I heard an interesting radio piece about why Japanese house prices haven't risen for many many years.
Yes we know the Japanese population is in decline, so not the sort of pressure on the market that has kept the UK prices high, but actually according to the radio piece (Freakonomics podcast) the real reason is that the average lifespan of a Japanese house is just over 30 years.
The culture have become that you build your house, you live in it and when you sell it the next person comes along and knocks it down and rebuilds. Thus, there is no incentive with upkeep or improvements and effectively the price paid is not for the house but for the land. Furthermore, it is incredibly wasteful both in time, money and resources.
One of the abiding thoughts on PB is "immigration " and what must be done to curb it.
I have an elderly parent going through the medical hell while nearing the end of an active and full life.
This has been an eye opening experience and has lead me to consider options for myself when my time comes. Hopefully I will be writing in this site for many years to come, but I do not consider being stuck in a hospital bed with numerous tubes in many orifices, some not natural, listening to the radio or to the sounds of the ward, having my sanitary pads changed by nurses chatting about ward politics or latest boyfriends all while waiting for my time on earth to end, to be the most pleasant of ways to go.
Without immigration into the UK, the hospitals and care homes, even now, would not be able to work as, let's be honest here, there are not enough UK citizens willing, able and qualified to do the work.
This situation is only going to get worse as with an ageing population, with the majority of UK citizens being over the age of 60 will continue until 2050 approx. before stabilisation occurs.
In other words, if you are 60 now, there is a good chance that at least one of your parents is still alive and needing care and that possibly by the time you are 85, your children will be looking after you or paying for your care. Because the state won't be able to afford to do so unless there are a lot more people prepared to pay a lot more in taxes.
The costs for a reasonable care home for a single person presently is in the range of £1000 to £2000 per week, and after the recent publicity, aren't you having some thoughts about how you would like to be treated at the last. If not, you should, bloody quick!
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
LOL you get ever more desperate Harry, he has just reiterated what he has always said and has never guaranteed a currency union. He said it was the preferred option and as anyone can use the pound then he can guarantee that. Desperate unionists in desperate times.
No no - you gnats told us it was "nailed on" - what has changed apart from reality dawning ?
but just as Rangers .
The malcy poker tell of defeat
I don't see any reply Flash, you out of lies , and obviously impossible to try and tell me Rangers are safe
One of the abiding thoughts on PB is "immigration " and what must be done to curb it.
I have an elderly parent going through the medical hell while nearing the end of an active and full life.
This has been an eye opening experience and has lead me to consider options for myself when my time comes. Hopefully I will be writing in this site for many years to come, but I do not consider being stuck in a hospital bed with numerous tubes in many orifices, some not natural, listening to the radio or to the sounds of the ward, having my sanitary pads changed by nurses chatting about ward politics or latest boyfriends all while waiting for my time on earth to end, to be the most pleasant of ways to go.
Without immigration into the UK, the hospitals and care homes, even now, would not be able to work as, let's be honest here, there are not enough UK citizens willing, able and qualified to do the work.
This situation is only going to get worse as with an ageing population, with the majority of UK citizens being over the age of 60 will continue until 2050 approx. before stabilisation occurs.
In other words, if you are 60 now, there is a good chance that at least one of your parents is still alive and needing care and that possibly by the time you are 85, your children will be looking after you or paying for your care. Because the state won't be able to afford to do so unless there are a lot more people prepared to pay a lot more in taxes.
The costs for a reasonable care home for a single person presently is in the range of £1000 to £2000 per week, and after the recent publicity, aren't you having some thoughts about how you would like to be treated at the last. If not, you should, bloody quick!
I understand what you are saying, but...
Why not advertise globally for suitable people to fill the positions that need to be filled? Requiring immigrants to fill job vacancies doesn't mean we need open door immigration from the EU or anywhere else.
Sensible, managed immigration is what is needed for services and social cohesion to be maintained
We are not aware of a case relating to a sitting MP which has involved such a sustained and pervasive breach of the House's rules on registration, declaration and paid advocacy.
They also seem to have not been very pleased by his comments about Keith Vaz and several other MPs!
One of the abiding thoughts on PB is "immigration " and what must be done to curb it.
I have an elderly parent going through the medical hell while nearing the end of an active and full life.
This has been an eye opening experience and has lead me to consider options for myself when my time comes. Hopefully I will be writing in this site for many years to come, but I do not consider being stuck in a hospital bed with numerous tubes in many orifices, some not natural, listening to the radio or to the sounds of the ward, having my sanitary pads changed by nurses chatting about ward politics or latest boyfriends all while waiting for my time on earth to end, to be the most pleasant of ways to go.
Without immigration into the UK, the hospitals and care homes, even now, would not be able to work as, let's be honest here, there are not enough UK citizens willing, able and qualified to do the work.
This situation is only going to get worse as with an ageing population, with the majority of UK citizens being over the age of 60 will continue until 2050 approx. before stabilisation occurs.
In other words, if you are 60 now, there is a good chance that at least one of your parents is still alive and needing care and that possibly by the time you are 85, your children will be looking after you or paying for your care. Because the state won't be able to afford to do so unless there are a lot more people prepared to pay a lot more in taxes.
The costs for a reasonable care home for a single person presently is in the range of £1000 to £2000 per week, and after the recent publicity, aren't you having some thoughts about how you would like to be treated at the last. If not, you should, bloody quick!
So you're effectively signing up for the Ponzi scheme of immigration...
I stand by my views. The writer of that blog hugely underestimates the deterrent effect of the reforms on those whose decision to rent out is marginal.
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
LOL you get ever more desperate Harry, he has just reiterated what he has always said and has never guaranteed a currency union. He said it was the preferred option and as anyone can use the pound then he can guarantee that. Desperate unionists in desperate times.
No no - you gnats told us it was "nailed on" - what has changed apart from reality dawning ?
but just as Rangers .
The malcy poker tell of defeat
I don't see any reply Flash, you out of lies , and obviously impossible to try and tell me Rangers are safe
I've followed the Rangers money trail:
Seems they earnt £22 mil from an IPO a couple of years ago and have basically burnt through the cash pile which will run out near the start of next season.
"Overall, a figure of £20m is a very successful fund-raise for an IPO of a business that was bought for less than £6m only some six months ago," said Neil Patey, of the accountants Ernst and Young.
"The valuation is very strong given the current position of Rangers compared to Celtic in terms of immediate revenue potential and given the relatively weak financial position of Scottish football as a whole. In the event that Rangers were to find themselves in a league outside of Scotland [European league, English Premiership], there could be a significant upside to the IPO valuation, but it is difficult to envisage a material upside to this valuation within the current Scottish set-up.
'institutions oversubscribed.'
Given the (very) long odds of Rangers leaving Scottish football in the next few years (Doubt the English pyramid wants them, and Celtic would certainly be ahead in the queue) what the hell were these institutions thinking ?!
This rent thing, has anyone got a link to the actual proposed policy? From what I have read so far I don't think capping rent increases over a three year period is a big deal and it certainly doesn't appear to be a return to the disastrous rent controls of the 60s and 70s. What I want to find out, and where I think the danger might actually lay, is this business of three year tenancies.Is such a term going to be mandatory? If not what exceptions will be allowed?
Suppose I have sold my house but the house I want to buy is not ready and I need somewhere to live for a few months. Will a landlord be permitted to rent me a flat for say 6 months? Another scenario, I have been given an overseas posting that will last for two years, will I be able to rent my house for that term? If not where the heck am I supposed to live when I get back, I won't be able to move back into my house and I won't be able to rent a flat.
Alternatively, if it will be permissible for a landlord and tenant to come to a mutually agreeable term, what is the point of the damned policy in the first place?
@Socrates - Adam Bienkov is not "The Media". He is one journalist pursuing an angle. And writing to a word count. The idea that there is not plenty of analysis available of EdM's policies or anyone else's is absurd; as is the idea that once upon a time the newspapers were full of detailed, disinterested articles about policy. We have much more information and analysis now than we ever have before. The issue might be that people choose not to access it. But that is not "The Media's" fault. It is ours.
I stand by my views. The writer of that blog hugely underestimates the deterrent effect of the reforms on those whose decision to rent out is marginal.
Lloyds has pretty much recovered then. Impaired the whole of the HBOS failures and now they are pretty profitable. Lovely to see the shares up to 79p today as well (I bought in at 29p back in 2012). The sooner Lloyds is completely returned to the private sector the better. Hoping for a 10% sale next time with a public offering also. I would also like to see the board get moving with share buybacks to push the price up. There are too many LLOY shares in circulation.
Shame about RBS. It's just such a failure. One wonders what the Lloyds management would have done with it, the way they cut the losses at HBOS would have been good to see at RBS. Lets hope they can get Citizens sold and fix their balance sheet.
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
LOL you get ever more desperate Harry, he has just reiterated what he has always said and has never guaranteed a currency union. He said it was the preferred option and as anyone can use the pound then he can guarantee that. Desperate unionists in desperate times.
No no - you gnats told us it was "nailed on" - what has changed apart from reality dawning ?
but just as Rangers .
The malcy poker tell of defeat
I don't see any reply Flash, you out of lies , and obviously impossible to try and tell me Rangers are safe
I've followed the Rangers money trail:
Seems they earnt £22 mil from an IPO a couple of years ago and have basically burnt through the cash pile which will run out near the start of next season.
"Overall, a figure of £20m is a very successful fund-raise for an IPO of a business that was bought for less than £6m only some six months ago," said Neil Patey, of the accountants Ernst and Young.
"The valuation is very strong given the current position of Rangers compared to Celtic in terms of immediate revenue potential and given the relatively weak financial position of Scottish football as a whole. In the event that Rangers were to find themselves in a league outside of Scotland [European league, English Premiership], there could be a significant upside to the IPO valuation, but it is difficult to envisage a material upside to this valuation within the current Scottish set-up.
'institutions oversubscribed.'
Given the (very) long odds of Rangers leaving Scottish football in the next few years (Doubt the English pyramid wants them, and Celtic would certainly be ahead in the queue) what the hell were these institutions thinking ?!
They have burnt almost £70M in 18 months , most of which has gon ein fees , huge directors salaries and bonuses etc. They are in the lower Scottish divisions , and have players wage bill of £18M when the top SPL sides ( excl Celtic ) have wage bills circa £4M or much less. They can only sell season tickets for cash as they cannot get anyone to accept via debit or credit cards. They have been plagued by vultures since the orginal bankruptcy and look ever more likely to go down again unless they can raise £30M plus this year.
"That you can learn more from a couple threads on PB about a topic than you can from a dozen articles from the average journalist covering the issue says it all."
A rather true snippet there, Mr. Socrates. Rather too much news in supposedly quality newspapers is no more than slightly reworded press releases with a normally vapid quote from some government department, which doesn't actually address the issue, at the end. Have you also noticed the lack of by-lines on foreign news items these days. I fear that this trend is set to continue and is due to the economics of the newspaper industry, they cannot afford to pay for decent journalists to go out and actually get at the facts, much easier and cheaper to reprint press releases and throw in some celebrity news. And, of course, when it comes to politics we still have the disgraceful and corrupt lobby system.
The Daily Telegraph currently costs £1.20, I wonder if they pushed the price up to £2.00 and used the extra income to pay decent journalists to do the job the old fashioned way whether they would not only increase readership but make more money.
Meanwhile, this site provides an excellent source of news and comment.
As I have already tried to explain to you once today, this policy is NOT designed to increase supply. Labour has other policies designed to do that. You can argue the toss about whether those other policies will do that (I'm sure you will say that they won't) but this is not the goal of this policy.
I have no idea why this concept is so hard for you to grasp.
Must be one of those rare occasions that PB Tories weren't wrong ...
but just as Rangers .
The malcy poker tell of defeat
I don't see any reply Flash, you out of lies , and obviously impossible to try and tell me Rangers are safe
I've followed the Rangers money trail:
Seems they earnt £22 mil from an IPO a couple of years ago and have basically burnt through the cash pile which will run out near the start of next season.
"Overall, a figure of £20m is a very successful fund-raise for an IPO of a business that was bought for less than £6m only some six months ago," said Neil Patey, of the accountants Ernst and Young.
"The valuation is very strong given the current position of Rangers compared to Celtic in terms of immediate revenue potential and given the relatively weak financial position of Scottish football as a whole. In the event that Rangers were to find themselves in a league outside of Scotland [European league, English Premiership], there could be a significant upside to the IPO valuation, but it is difficult to envisage a material upside to this valuation within the current Scottish set-up.
'institutions oversubscribed.'
Given the (very) long odds of Rangers leaving Scottish football in the next few years (Doubt the English pyramid wants them, and Celtic would certainly be ahead in the queue) what the hell were these institutions thinking ?!
pulp - difficult to have a conversation about Scotland's most successful team (world record of 54 titles) with a neutral as there aren't many about - but if I can surmise the crooked tale:
a) We had a vainglorious owner whos metal business got into trouble b) He sold to a crook who didn't pay the bills c) The administrator "found" a dapper chap who spun a tale to investors d) The IPO money has gone walkies and there is nothing left e) The fans are thoroughly cheesed off and care not what happens other than the current owners Foxtrot Oscar. f) all against the backdrop of HMRC claiming millions but they lost the case.
Basically a tale of greed by the suits who have limited interest in sport and even less in the wishes of the average fan. See Leeds, Portsmouth etc...
As I have already tried to explain to you once today, this policy is NOT designed to increase supply. Labour has other policies designed to do that. You can argue the toss about whether those other policies will do that (I'm sure you will say that they won't) but this is not the goal of this policy.
I have no idea why this concept is so hard for you to grasp.
This policy is designed to reduce supply. I have no idea why this concept is so hard for you to grasp.
As I have already tried to explain to you once today, this policy is NOT designed to increase supply. Labour has other policies designed to do that. You can argue the toss about whether those other policies will do that (I'm sure you will say that they won't) but this is not the goal of this policy.
I have no idea why this concept is so hard for you to grasp.
This policy is designed to reduce supply. I have no idea why this concept is so hard for you to grasp.
No it isn't. You *say* it will reduce supply. There is a very big difference. Labour has also pledged to build 200,000 new homes. You can say that this won't happen too, if you like.
The uncharitable might describe it as "headline grabbing policy which won't change much and might cause some damage......"
Thank you, Ms Vance. As I read that press release I am more and more struck by the seemingly obvious fact that nobody seems to have thought through this proposed policy. I note this:
"There would also be provision for new tenants like students or business people on temporary contracts to request shorter-term tenancies subject to the landlord’s agreement."
So, the tenant can request a short term lease but the landlord can't request a short term tenant, even though, as per my example of the person going abroad for two years, might have a genuine reason for doing so. I can see where that one is going to go, the system will be fiddled and the law broken by both parties by agreement. A law that is going to be broken by otherwise honest people is bad law and should not be enacted.
As I have already tried to explain to you once today, this policy is NOT designed to increase supply. Labour has other policies designed to do that. You can argue the toss about whether those other policies will do that (I'm sure you will say that they won't) but this is not the goal of this policy.
I have no idea why this concept is so hard for you to grasp.
This policy is designed to reduce supply. I have no idea why this concept is so hard for you to grasp.
No it isn't. You *say* it will reduce supply. There is a very big difference. Labour has also pledged to build 200,000 new homes. You can say that this won't happen too, if you like.
You can pledge lots of things. What have they proposed to actually do to achieve it?
@Socrates - Adam Bienkov is not "The Media". He is one journalist pursuing an angle. And writing to a word count. The idea that there is not plenty of analysis available of EdM's policies or anyone else's is absurd; as is the idea that once upon a time the newspapers were full of detailed, disinterested articles about policy. We have much more information and analysis now than we ever have before. The issue might be that people choose not to access it. But that is not "The Media's" fault. It is ours.
Obviously no single journalist constitutes the entire media. But he's a pretty classic case of the negative side to it. I don't see what sort of journalist worth his salt would spend his limited word count on silly gimmicks like this rather than the merits of the policy.
The uncharitable might describe it as "headline grabbing policy which won't change much and might cause some damage......"
Thank you, Ms Vance. As I read that press release I am more and more struck by the seemingly obvious fact that nobody seems to have thought through this proposed policy. I note this:
"There would also be provision for new tenants like students or business people on temporary contracts to request shorter-term tenancies subject to the landlord’s agreement."
So, the tenant can request a short term lease but the landlord can't request a short term tenant, even though, as per my example of the person going abroad for two years, might have a genuine reason for doing so. I can see where that one is going to go, the system will be fiddled and the law broken by both parties by agreement. A law that is going to be broken by otherwise honest people is bad law and should not be enacted.
It's a policy conjured up by dimwits, who thought they were being really clever; a consequence of never having worked in the real world.
I suspect a number of the 'bright sparks' who devised this mess, post here, such is the screeching support from certain quarters for such an ill conceived idea.
Hugely unlikely that Labour could reach 42% in the London locals. They weren't even able to reach that vote share in 1994. In fact, I don't think they've managed such a vote share since 1974.
The Conservative vote share in the locals will be boosted by the fact that UKIP are only fielding c.460 candidates in London. UKIP voters will give their spare votes disproportionately to Conservative council candidates.
The European vote shares would produce a result of Lab 33%, UKIP 26%, Con 21% if they were repeated across the country.
"Private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 1.0% in the 12 months to March 2014, unchanged from a 1.0% increase in the 12 months to February 2014"
This is based on actual home rentals and the same sample is maintained over the series so it should give a good approximation of what a long term renter is paying.
As the Economist explains
"The Labour leader today has promised that under his government, a new law will ensure that by default, new tenancies will be three years in length. Letting agents will be banned from charging extra fees. During those three years, rent increases will be limited, presumably to inflation or something near it."
Since the current rental index shows rents rising by less than inflation, the likely outcome is that Labour's new policy will actually see a greater rate of rental inflation, as landlords will now have a target to aim for.
For those interested, the Vice President of the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Maurice Kay, has this morning refused Pressbof's application for permission to appeal against the Divisional Court's (Richards LJ & Sales J) refusal of permission to apply for judicial review of the government's decision to refuse to approve the newspapers' draft Royal Charter. This morning's decision is final.
On the other hand, Pressbof's application for permission to apply for judicial review of the Privy Council's decision to approve HMG's Royal Charter on the press is still to be heard and determined.
The Economist Blog is not the Law of the Medes and Persians
I prefer it as source of analysis to the PB Tories.
For my sins.
Then you need to be very careful. I used to subscribe to the Economist and then one week it did an article on a subject in which I was extremely knowledgeable. The content of that article was so inaccurate as to be laughable. Furthermore, if its author had just made some small enquiries (read a couple of papers or made a couple of phone calls, maybe, just really basic research) they would have found out very quickly how wrong they were. I cancelled my subscription that same day because if they were that wrong about one thing how could I trust them on things I knew little about.
This site has more subject experts (e.g. Neil on Pensions, Charles on the City and Mr. Jessop on software engineering) and more aggregated knowledge than the economist could ever dream of. You'll need to forget your tribalism to benefit though.
Comments
Second Generation rent controls: Solving a problem that doesn’t exist.
So, it’s quite possible to imagine that in producing a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist in the way they think it does, advocates of second generation rent controls could make rent increases sharper than they would otherwise be, absent a major increase in property supply, while making things worse for immigrants and the most mobile renters....
This isn’t to do with social housing, as Germany’s social rented sector is much smaller than the UKs (about a third of the size of ours), but that there is a much stronger presumption in favour of building generally. So if you want to make even very loose rent control work, you must have a huge loosening of supply, not just in the social rented sector, but generally.
http://hopisen.com/2014/second-generation-rent-controls-solving-a-problem-that-doesnt-exist/
The simple answer as we all know to this, build more houses. We can talk about cutting immigration, but that doesn't solve where we are now, and the reality of the situation is the only way to ensure lower prices is to increase supply. Same with power.
Cameron, Miliband, Brown they have all paid lip service to this, but again as pointed out in Hopi Sen article, the planning laws don't enable this in this country. In comparison,
"German model is that it is much easier to build in Germany than in the UK. Germany has consistently built more than we have."
Renting in the private sector (as opposed to the social rented sector) is generally recognised to be a much more short-term affair.
The most reliable mainstream housing index is that from HM Registry as it is based on actual transaction values rather than asking price, moon phases, mortgage prices etc. Its problem is that it is (of necessity) less timely than the indices of the 'anticipators'.
Nationwide do however publish a useful index of real prices. Since 1975 real house prices have risen at an average or 'trend' rate of 2.7% per annum, although periods of rapid growth ten to follow corrective contractions.
The following graph from Nationwide's latest figures shows that current house prices have only just started to come off a low. Even with growth in nominal prices of 5%-10% over the past year (the lower figure being the more realistic), current real prices are still well below the trend line.
http://s15.postimg.org/4vdovguzv/Nationwide_Real_House_Prices.jpg
So no conga, Mr. Brooke. Maybe a celebratory tango when George gets house prices like other metrics of performance back on trend, A couple of years to wait though.
I still make the Tories' price big and the early election call with candidate in place should benefit them,as Mike said earlier.
I think he had read Schapps' Tweets.
The receive wisdom about countries with declining populations automatically being economic failures may need to be revisited.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/buy-to-let/10799998/Labour-to-cap-landlords-rent-on-buy-to-let-homes.html
Just Venezuela in this from Channel 4:
http://www.channel4.com/news/labour-miliband-generation-rent-tenants-election-campaign
And this from the Economist:
The response from Grant Shapps, the Conservative Party chairman, is so hilariously over the top it reads like a parody. Not only is this “Venezuelan-style rent control” apparently, they have also included a quote from a former Vietnamese finance minister lamenting the effect of rent controls in Hanoi. Mr Miliband’s proposals fall short of the guarantees tenants have in almost any European country—which is a good thing.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2014/05/rent-reform
The whole Economist article is worth a read.
http://www.elections.org.nz/events/electorate-boundary-review
;-)
Yet if we're trying to 'fight climate change' and the driver behind CO2 missions is basically people then isn't the inevitable consequence of having more and more people more and more 'climate change'. Actually climate change doesn't really bother me either way but it does seem rather a religion for Lib Dems who also tend to be most in favour of immigration...
Could someone square that circle for me ?
Isn't the whole working age immigrants for pensioners essentially just a giant human ponzi scheme at any rate too !
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/uproar-as-eu-bans-indian-mango-imports-from-uk-9309990.html
Farage to been seen having a pint in a curry house, espousing the benefits of the curry house sector to UK economy?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27238201
http://labourlist.org/2014/05/miliband-launches-10-point-cost-of-living-contract/
Or as one of the less charitable observers on Twitter comments 'Hardworking slogans verblessly generic'......
But increasingly journalists, as they have become more and more incompetent, don't bother with this any more. Because it actually requires both work, in doing the research, and detailed knowledge of the world, which they've never bothered to acquire. That you can learn more from a couple threads on PB about a topic than you can from a dozen articles from the average journalist covering the issue says it all.
If crossover fails to happen tonight, a number of forecasts will go bust:
Rod Crosby (forecast number 1, the next one was May 31)
Stark Dawning
Fitalass has until 5 May.
"people are disposed to mistake predicting troubles for causing troubles and even for desiring troubles: "If only," they love to think, "if only people wouldn't talk about it, it probably wouldn't happen." "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/10800169/Peaches-Geldof-killed-by-heroin-overdose.html
" we Scots are lucky enough to have the one of the best brands in the world - a global recognition and affection for our culture that money cannot buy. Take financial services. With RBS and HBOS - two of the world's biggest banks - Scotland has global leaders today, tomorrow and for the long-term."
Is he wrong on everything?
Yes we know the Japanese population is in decline, so not the sort of pressure on the market that has kept the UK prices high, but actually according to the radio piece (Freakonomics podcast) the real reason is that the average lifespan of a Japanese house is just over 30 years.
The culture have become that you build your house, you live in it and when you sell it the next person comes along and knocks it down and rebuilds. Thus, there is no incentive with upkeep or improvements and effectively the price paid is not for the house but for the land. Furthermore, it is incredibly wasteful both in time, money and resources.
I have an elderly parent going through the medical hell while nearing the end of an active and full life.
This has been an eye opening experience and has lead me to consider options for myself when my time comes. Hopefully I will be writing in this site for many years to come, but I do not consider being stuck in a hospital bed with numerous tubes in many orifices, some not natural, listening to the radio or to the sounds of the ward, having my sanitary pads changed by nurses chatting about ward politics or latest boyfriends all while waiting for my time on earth to end, to be the most pleasant of ways to go.
Without immigration into the UK, the hospitals and care homes, even now, would not be able to work as, let's be honest here, there are not enough UK citizens willing, able and qualified to do the work.
This situation is only going to get worse as with an ageing population, with the majority of UK citizens being over the age of 60 will continue until 2050 approx. before stabilisation occurs.
In other words, if you are 60 now, there is a good chance that at least one of your parents is still alive and needing care and that possibly by the time you are 85, your children will be looking after you or paying for your care. Because the state won't be able to afford to do so unless there are a lot more people prepared to pay a lot more in taxes.
The costs for a reasonable care home for a single person presently is in the range of £1000 to £2000 per week, and after the recent publicity, aren't you having some thoughts about how you would like to be treated at the last. If not, you should, bloody quick!
I think the traditional internet response is LOL.
LOL http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2014/05/rent-reform
Why not advertise globally for suitable people to fill the positions that need to be filled? Requiring immigrants to fill job vacancies doesn't mean we need open door immigration from the EU or anywhere else.
Sensible, managed immigration is what is needed for services and social cohesion to be maintained
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2014/may/01/nick-clegg-hosts-his-call-clegg-phone-in-politics-live-blog
We are not aware of a case relating to a sitting MP which has involved such a sustained and pervasive breach of the House's rules on registration, declaration and paid advocacy.
They also seem to have not been very pleased by his comments about Keith Vaz and several other MPs!
It's a shame. It's the poor who will suffer.
Seems they earnt £22 mil from an IPO a couple of years ago and have basically burnt through the cash pile which will run out near the start of next season.
"Overall, a figure of £20m is a very successful fund-raise for an IPO of a business that was bought for less than £6m only some six months ago," said Neil Patey, of the accountants Ernst and Young.
"The valuation is very strong given the current position of Rangers compared to Celtic in terms of immediate revenue potential and given the relatively weak financial position of Scottish football as a whole. In the event that Rangers were to find themselves in a league outside of Scotland [European league, English Premiership], there could be a significant upside to the IPO valuation, but it is difficult to envisage a material upside to this valuation within the current Scottish set-up.
'institutions oversubscribed.'
Given the (very) long odds of Rangers leaving Scottish football in the next few years (Doubt the English pyramid wants them, and Celtic would certainly be ahead in the queue) what the hell were these institutions thinking ?!
Suppose I have sold my house but the house I want to buy is not ready and I need somewhere to live for a few months. Will a landlord be permitted to rent me a flat for say 6 months? Another scenario, I have been given an overseas posting that will last for two years, will I be able to rent my house for that term? If not where the heck am I supposed to live when I get back, I won't be able to move back into my house and I won't be able to rent a flat.
Alternatively, if it will be permissible for a landlord and tenant to come to a mutually agreeable term, what is the point of the damned policy in the first place?
"All that said, Ed Miliband's new rent rules won't fix tenants' woes. Unless there is new supply, rents will still increase plenty"
'This is v good by @hopisen - kind of convinces me I've been a little too generous to Labour's rent policy: http://hopisen.com/2014/second-generation-rent-controls-solving-a-problem-that-doesnt-exist/ …"
http://order-order.com/2014/05/01/rics-deny-labour-claim-they-are-helping-with-rent-caps-policy-rent-caps-were-not-part-of-our-recommendations/
Shame about RBS. It's just such a failure. One wonders what the Lloyds management would have done with it, the way they cut the losses at HBOS would have been good to see at RBS. Lets hope they can get Citizens sold and fix their balance sheet.
As ever, its neither as 'good' (BTL loophole, for starters) or 'bad' (its 'second generation rent control', not 'first') as its made out to be.
Best analysis I've read of the 'problem':
http://hopisen.com/2014/second-generation-rent-controls-solving-a-problem-that-doesnt-exist/
The uncharitable might describe it as "headline grabbing policy which won't change much and might cause some damage......"
http://www.channel4.com/news/hamilton-distances-ukip-from-eccentric-donor-video
A rather true snippet there, Mr. Socrates. Rather too much news in supposedly quality newspapers is no more than slightly reworded press releases with a normally vapid quote from some government department, which doesn't actually address the issue, at the end. Have you also noticed the lack of by-lines on foreign news items these days. I fear that this trend is set to continue and is due to the economics of the newspaper industry, they cannot afford to pay for decent journalists to go out and actually get at the facts, much easier and cheaper to reprint press releases and throw in some celebrity news. And, of course, when it comes to politics we still have the disgraceful and corrupt lobby system.
The Daily Telegraph currently costs £1.20, I wonder if they pushed the price up to £2.00 and used the extra income to pay decent journalists to do the job the old fashioned way whether they would not only increase readership but make more money.
Meanwhile, this site provides an excellent source of news and comment.
Looking forward to Brian Coleman's result in Barnet?
We have a ‘Channel 5’ – any good?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27240335
I have no idea why this concept is so hard for you to grasp.
"Paul Waugh @paulwaugh ·38 mins
Salmond's spin doctor threatens legal action over *a cartoon*? Cripes. pic.twitter.com/aeKSN2ZBkS (ht @PrivateEyeNews, @torcuil)"
And on May 22nd you will also be voting for Labour councillors and Labour local authorities who will make the cost-of-living crisis their priority.
http://labourlist.org/2014/05/miliband-launches-10-point-cost-of-living-contract/
How have Labour authorities fared on council tax?
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/304950/PU1649_Convergence_programme_2013-14.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/307375/PU1633_National_Reform_Programme_2014.pdf
This covers the 2013-2014 report on its Maastrict convergence criteria and its medium term strategic economic reform to meet the European 2020 goals.
For my sins.
a) We had a vainglorious owner whos metal business got into trouble
b) He sold to a crook who didn't pay the bills
c) The administrator "found" a dapper chap who spun a tale to investors
d) The IPO money has gone walkies and there is nothing left
e) The fans are thoroughly cheesed off and care not what happens other than the current owners Foxtrot Oscar.
f) all against the backdrop of HMRC claiming millions but they lost the case.
Basically a tale of greed by the suits who have limited interest in sport and even less in the wishes of the average fan. See Leeds, Portsmouth etc...
LOOOOOOOOOOOOL
I don't think I'm the one struggling here.......
Next week: "Labour have no policies".
It really is hilarious.
One for Josias Jessop.
The slow death of purposeless walking
http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2012/mar/11/journalist-safety-vladimir-putin
http://survation.com/new-survation-london-residents-poll-voting-intention-for-local-and-european-elections-and-boris-johnson/
http://survation.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/London-Poll-Report.pdf
"There would also be provision for new tenants like students or business people on temporary contracts to request shorter-term tenancies subject to the landlord’s agreement."
So, the tenant can request a short term lease but the landlord can't request a short term tenant, even though, as per my example of the person going abroad for two years, might have a genuine reason for doing so. I can see where that one is going to go, the system will be fiddled and the law broken by both parties by agreement. A law that is going to be broken by otherwise honest people is bad law and should not be enacted.
Don't think it ended that well did it?
I suspect a number of the 'bright sparks' who devised this mess, post here, such is the screeching support from certain quarters for such an ill conceived idea.
The Conservative vote share in the locals will be boosted by the fact that UKIP are only fielding c.460 candidates in London. UKIP voters will give their spare votes disproportionately to Conservative council candidates.
The European vote shares would produce a result of Lab 33%, UKIP 26%, Con 21% if they were repeated across the country.
"Private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 1.0% in the 12 months to March 2014, unchanged from a 1.0% increase in the 12 months to February 2014"
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/hpi/index-of-private-housing-rental-prices/january-to-march-2014-results/index.html
This is based on actual home rentals and the same sample is maintained over the series so it should give a good approximation of what a long term renter is paying.
As the Economist explains
"The Labour leader today has promised that under his government, a new law will ensure that by default, new tenancies will be three years in length. Letting agents will be banned from charging extra fees. During those three years, rent increases will be limited, presumably to inflation or something near it."
Since the current rental index shows rents rising by less than inflation, the likely outcome is that Labour's new policy will actually see a greater rate of rental inflation, as landlords will now have a target to aim for.
I want to go for a walk, but work needs to be done.
It's been too long.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Beach_(TV_series)
On the other hand, Pressbof's application for permission to apply for judicial review of the Privy Council's decision to approve HMG's Royal Charter on the press is still to be heard and determined.
This site has more subject experts (e.g. Neil on Pensions, Charles on the City and Mr. Jessop on software engineering) and more aggregated knowledge than the economist could ever dream of. You'll need to forget your tribalism to benefit though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Jungle