The workers united will never be defeated.....Sounds like the BBC will have to find 3 new hosts.
While the current three will move to Sky 1 at 8pm on Sundays no doubt...
Hammond has a broad BBC portfolio though; will he really chuck in all of that for one show?
I don't see that he would have to, Hammond probably has a contract separately for Top Gear with the production company rather than with the BBC directly.
I don't believe that is true. BBC bought out Bedder6 and both Hammond and May got big bumps in their salary in their last deal, but as I understood it, also included in that were these other BBC programs they have been making.
BBC paid a lot of money to basically get all of Top Gear inside the BBC, rather than having the Clarkson and Wilman ATM machine printing away outside of their full control.
The workers united will never be defeated.....Sounds like the BBC will have to find 3 new hosts.
While the current three will move to Sky 1 at 8pm on Sundays no doubt...
Hammond has a broad BBC portfolio though; will he really chuck in all of that for one show?
Actually most of the stuff Hammond did has come to an end, e.g Wipeout, and he has already worked for Sky and ITV. In recent years, it is actually James May who has a number of active series going with Man Lab and Things You Need To Know, but I think they have come to an end now to.
But definitely both of them have been "go to" guys for science type programs for the BBC. I think the question is do they really pay big money and do they enjoy making them? One thing you have to remember for those to, so far they only get a fraction of the kind of wages Clarkson gets for Top Gear and they don't own any stake in all the spin off stuff.
If I was them, I think I would probably take the opportunity to say to Clarkson, we will come with you to Sky, but we want a big chunk of everything.
I'm sure I've seen him do a lot of stuff recently re weather etc - my kids watch a lot of rubbish
I believe Hammond did one thing on weather yes. Other stuff, Repeats? He has done stuff, but the big things has finished e.g Wipeout.
Until the last deal, May and Hammond actually didn't earn much from Top Gear at all (in the world of telly), somewhere around £150-200k a year. Current deal is thought to be £500k a year for Top Gear and other projects (very nice), but when you stack that up against the money Clarkson makes and the Top Gear brand, they still get the small edge of a massive wedge.
I am sure Sky or ITV can find more than £500k a year for them if they wanted, especially if they can get them to do other stuff as well for the big bucks. However, that doesn't always work out as intended, cough cough Adrian Chiles...thank god he isn't doing the footy anymore !!!!
For a second you had me thinking Theresa May and Philip Hammond might be presenting Top Gear.
Was talking to a few of my old friends in tech, all of them very positive about the tax relief for the "Internet of Things". One of them said that the UK has between 5 and 7 start ups in the sector that have a lot of scope to become the next Nest and become billion dollar companies and this tax relief would help them stay solvent while they work on the technology rather than be bought up for peanuts by Americans.
For a second you had me thinking Theresa May and Philip Hammond might be presenting Top Gear.
Not sure what that would do to the ratings.
LOL....new sections would include....cars you can drive while wearing stupidly high heels and how to get an extra 2 mpg by driving sensibly and how to keep track of all this into an excel spreadsheet.
I see that NP is a blood orange juice fan. Good man. I acquired a blood orange plant recently - www.plants4presents.co.uk - and it is gorgeous with the flowers just starting. I'm looking forward to eating the oranges.
Apparently the "blood" aspect is caused by the presence of of anthocyanin, an antioxidant pigment which develops when there is a big difference between the daytime and nighttime temperatures. That's why they grow so successfully on the slopes of Mount Etna. And also why they are so good for you!
Interesting - I knew they were doing me good. Saw one shop where they'd wimped out on the name and were calling them "Deep red oranges". Wimps.
Was nice to meet you in the Albert Hall the other day, by the way - unlike the usual PB experience that Richard N describes of people being entirely different, you were just what I'd have expected: elegant, friendly and showing a gleam of slightly formidable intelligence. :-)
The workers united will never be defeated.....Sounds like the BBC will have to find 3 new hosts.
While the current three will move to Sky 1 at 8pm on Sundays no doubt...
Hammond has a broad BBC portfolio though; will he really chuck in all of that for one show?
Actually most of the stuff Hammond did has come to an end, e.g Wipeout, and he has already worked for Sky and ITV. In recent years, it is actually James May who has a number of active series going with Man Lab and Things You Need To Know, but I think they have come to an end now to.
But definitely both of them have been "go to" guys for science type programs for the BBC. I think the question is do they really pay big money and do they enjoy making them? One thing you have to remember for those to, so far they only get a fraction of the kind of wages Clarkson gets for Top Gear and they don't own any stake in all the spin off stuff.
If I was them, I think I would probably take the opportunity to say to Clarkson, we will come with you to Sky, but we want a big chunk of everything.
I'm sure I've seen him do a lot of stuff recently re weather etc - my kids watch a lot of rubbish
I believe Hammond did one thing on weather yes. Other stuff, Repeats? He has done stuff, but the big things has finished e.g Wipeout.
Until the last deal, May and Hammond actually didn't earn much from Top Gear at all (in the world of telly), somewhere around £150-200k a year. Current deal is thought to be £500k a year for Top Gear and other projects (very nice), but when you stack that up against the money Clarkson makes and the Top Gear brand, they still get the small edge of a massive wedge.
I am sure Sky or ITV can find more than £500k a year for them if they wanted, especially if they can get them to do other stuff as well for the big bucks. However, that doesn't always work out as intended, cough cough Adrian Chiles...thank god he isn't doing the footy anymore !!!!
Having seen the house prices around Shepherd's bush where James May lives not sure £150k is enough to live on there
For a second you had me thinking Theresa May and Philip Hammond might be presenting Top Gear.
Not sure what that would do to the ratings.
LOL....new sections would include....cars you can drive while wearing stupidly high heels and how to get an extra 2 mpg by driving sensibly and how to keep track of all this into an excel spreadsheet.
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
Really? Then why have German Indian and Japanese car companies invested here and why have Renault and PSA been running up massive losses and are nearly bankrupt? Why are they closing factories whilst we see billions of pounds of investment in the UK to boost production?
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
The trick is to make people who are only capable of doing low-productivity jobs unemployed instead so they don't drag down the average.
But it's worth noting that France with it's 35 hour working week has roughly the same GDP per capita as the UK. The right in the UK constantly bashes France for beig sclerotic etc but we've surrendered our rights and security in the workplace for almost no benefit whatsoever to ourselves. It has perhaps benefitted young unemloyed people from southern Europe who can take advantage of our flexible labour market. That won't be worth any votes in the general election though.
The Telegraph had an interesting take on the the productivity puzzle/jobs miracle. The endless supply of cheap labour helps businesses keep costs down and they don't feel the need to invest in better machinery, skills and so on. Hence productivity is stagnant. In France given the labour restrictions they've got no choice but to try and boost productivity.
Just because France officially has a 35 hour working week doesn't mean to say that the workers stick to it.
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
Really? Then why have German Indian and Japanese car companies invested here and why have Renault and PSA been running up massive losses and are nearly bankrupt? Why are they closing factories whilst we see billions of pounds of investment in the UK to boost production?
Having seen the house prices around Shepherd's bush where James May lives not sure £150k is enough to live on there
Depends which side of the A40 you're on. Shepherd's Bush is relatively affordable (by London standards), but Holland Park is a different matter altogether.
Was talking to a few of my old friends in tech, all of them very positive about the tax relief for the "Internet of Things". One of them said that the UK has between 5 and 7 start ups in the sector that have a lot of scope to become the next Nest and become billion dollar companies and this tax relief would help them stay solvent while they work on the technology rather than be bought up for peanuts by Americans.
Good luck with that. A lot of the IoT market is likely to consist of mega-deals between global players -- to cover (say) every car or every toaster by a particular maker. What is needed is for governments of both parties to get real and actually support British companies like the Americans and now Russians do: protectionism, sweetheart contracts and hidden subsidies.
For a second you had me thinking Theresa May and Philip Hammond might be presenting Top Gear.
Not sure what that would do to the ratings.
LOL....new sections would include....cars you can drive while wearing stupidly high heels and how to get an extra 2 mpg by driving sensibly and how to keep track of all this into an excel spreadsheet.
For a second you had me thinking Theresa May and Philip Hammond might be presenting Top Gear.
Not sure what that would do to the ratings.
LOL....new sections would include....cars you can drive while wearing stupidly high heels and how to get an extra 2 mpg by driving sensibly and how to keep track of all this into an excel spreadsheet.
Who would be The Stig?
Grant Shapps....he likes to work under a pseudonym.
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
The trick is to make people who are only capable of doing low-productivity jobs unemployed instead so they don't drag down the average.
But it's worth noting that France with it's 35 hour working week has roughly the same GDP per capita as the UK. The right in the UK constantly bashes France for beig sclerotic etc but we've surrendered our rights and security in the workplace for almost no benefit whatsoever to ourselves. It has perhaps benefitted young unemloyed people from southern Europe who can take advantage of our flexible labour market. That won't be worth any votes in the general election though.
The Telegraph had an interesting take on the the productivity puzzle/jobs miracle. The endless supply of cheap labour helps businesses keep costs down and they don't feel the need to invest in better machinery, skills and so on. Hence productivity is stagnant. In France given the labour restrictions they've got no choice but to try and boost productivity.
The downside is that rather more of the population, young people especially, are kept permanently unemployed in France than they are in the UK.
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
The trick is to make people who are only capable of doing low-productivity jobs unemployed instead so they don't drag down the average.
But it's worth noting that France with it's 35 hour working week has roughly the same GDP per capita as the UK. The right in the UK constantly bashes France for beig sclerotic etc but we've surrendered our rights and security in the workplace for almost no benefit whatsoever to ourselves. It has perhaps benefitted young unemloyed people from southern Europe who can take advantage of our flexible labour market. That won't be worth any votes in the general election though.
The Telegraph had an interesting take on the the productivity puzzle/jobs miracle. The endless supply of cheap labour helps businesses keep costs down and they don't feel the need to invest in better machinery, skills and so on. Hence productivity is stagnant. In France given the labour restrictions they've got no choice but to try and boost productivity.
Just because France officially has a 35 hour working week doesn't mean to say that the workers stick to it.
They don't.
At all.
If you've got a degree, you basically sign that rule away. Plus the transport/infrastructure is brutal should you want/need to work late or on weekends.
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
The trick is to make people who are only capable of doing low-productivity jobs unemployed instead so they don't drag down the average.
But it's worth noting that France with it's 35 hour working week has roughly the same GDP per capita as the UK. The right in the UK constantly bashes France for beig sclerotic etc but we've surrendered our rights and security in the workplace for almost no benefit whatsoever to ourselves. It has perhaps benefitted young unemloyed people from southern Europe who can take advantage of our flexible labour market. That won't be worth any votes in the general election though.
The Telegraph had an interesting take on the the productivity puzzle/jobs miracle. The endless supply of cheap labour helps businesses keep costs down and they don't feel the need to invest in better machinery, skills and so on. Hence productivity is stagnant. In France given the labour restrictions they've got no choice but to try and boost productivity.
The downside is that rather more of the population, young people especially, are kept permanently unemployed in France than they are in the UK.
Easily fixed. Just mandate that companies spend some small fraction of their profits paying people to dig and fill in holes all day. Soon France will be having its own productivity puzzle and jobs miracle.
The workers united will never be defeated.....Sounds like the BBC will have to find 3 new hosts.
While the current three will move to Sky 1 at 8pm on Sundays no doubt...
Hammond has a broad BBC portfolio though; will he really chuck in all of that for one show?
Actually most of the stuff Hammond did has come to an end, e.g Wipeout, and he has already worked for Sky and ITV. In recent years, it is actually James May who has a number of active series going with Man Lab and Things You Need To Know, but I think they have come to an end now to.
But definitely both of them have been "go to" guys for science type programs for the BBC. I think the question is do they really pay big money and do they enjoy making them? One thing you have to remember for those to, so far they only get a fraction of the kind of wages Clarkson gets for Top Gear and they don't own any stake in all the spin off stuff.
If I was them, I think I would probably take the opportunity to say to Clarkson, we will come with you to Sky, but we want a big chunk of everything.
I'm sure I've seen him do a lot of stuff recently re weather etc - my kids watch a lot of rubbish
I believe Hammond did one thing on weather yes. Other stuff, Repeats? He has done stuff, but the big things has finished e.g Wipeout.
Until the last deal, May and Hammond actually didn't earn much from Top Gear at all (in the world of telly), somewhere around £150-200k a year. Current deal is thought to be £500k a year for Top Gear and other projects (very nice), but when you stack that up against the money Clarkson makes and the Top Gear brand, they still get the small edge of a massive wedge.
I am sure Sky or ITV can find more than £500k a year for them if they wanted, especially if they can get them to do other stuff as well for the big bucks. However, that doesn't always work out as intended, cough cough Adrian Chiles...thank god he isn't doing the footy anymore !!!!
Sounds about right. Most people on telly don't earn as much as people think, from what I am told. A few years ago, a friend of a friend starred on Eastenders -- she was paid less than the Prime Minister.
For a second you had me thinking Theresa May and Philip Hammond might be presenting Top Gear.
Not sure what that would do to the ratings.
LOL....new sections would include....cars you can drive while wearing stupidly high heels and how to get an extra 2 mpg by driving sensibly and how to keep track of all this into an excel spreadsheet.
Who would be The Stig?
Grant Shapps....he likes to work under a pseudonym.
Sounds about right. Most people on telly don't earn as much as people think, from what I am told. A few years ago, a friend of a friend starred on Eastenders -- she was paid less than the Prime Minister.
Like musicians, the big money is in owning the format / rights. Loads of pop stars don't earn anywhere near what you think they do, because they neither wrote the song nor own the rights to it. The person / company that owns the rights to the tunes makes the big bucks.
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
Really? Then why have German Indian and Japanese car companies invested here and why have Renault and PSA been running up massive losses and are nearly bankrupt? Why are they closing factories whilst we see billions of pounds of investment in the UK to boost production?
Last thing on Clarkson...apparently Chris Evans has said on R2 that he has heard everything is going to be ok...Has the BBC blinked? Did Clarkson actually do what has been claimed?
Evans was hinting it should all be revealed shortly.
Last thing on Clarkson...apparently Chris Evans has said on R2 that he has heard everything is going to be ok...Has the BBC blinked? Did Clarkson actually do what has been claimed?
Evans was hinting it should all be revealed shortly.
It's almost as if the whole thing has been manufactured to create a media firestorm for publicity and extra revenue generation reasons. Almost. Shirley Knott?
The 45p rate shows the Tories value people who get on. The 50p rate shows Labour are determined that we're all in it together. Tories claim that the lower rate actually brings in more tax, Labour are financing their plans on the extra money it brings in.
Neither can show any scientific proof, but both want their version to be true, Therefore it is true.
Politics of the schoolyard.
I don't believe for a moment that the top rate of tax will be 50p. If Labour get in I think it will likely be higher because the mansion tax and the bankers' bonus taxes will not bring in the revenues Labour have forecast. And/or, possibly, the mansion tax will be imposed on houses worth considerably less than £2 million.
True, but only if they are more stupid that we suspect. 50% top rate of tax probably caused a nett loss of tax, at best it was tax neutral, but more likely a loss since it was there for too short a time for people to start moving their affairs abroad wholesale, and people still had allowances to carry forward. If they put it up to say 60% it would definitely yield less, and almost certainly push some high net-worth entrepreneurial types overseas.
If I wasn't so emotionally tied to this green and pleasant land, I'd emigrate for 5-10 years.
As it is I'll just hunker down and take each day as it comes.
I did, unfortunately I am almost certainly coming back this year because of my children's education. Although depending on how bad a Miliband government seems to be screwing up the UK education system, I might move away again in a year or two
b) The Tories are trying to deny there have been massive spending cuts this parliament despite the gutting of funding to real things that people use, and
2015 Total Public Spending = £731bn 2010 Total Public Spending = £673bn
Positively hacking it away. The rate of increase has been reduced, no real cuts have been made.
It's the gift that keeps on giving on the doorstep. Never mind the massive cuts to front line services that you have seen with your own two eyes. Never mind the obr yesterday saying the squeeze in the next parliament will be far bigger than the cuts seen so far. Never mind that you're struggling to make ends meet and your school can't afford to hire teachers and police patrols have been cut as your chief constable has had his budget decimated or that your council has more than half it's funding taken away your library and sure start centre both closed and your hospital has declared a capacity cricis due to lack of money.
Because statistically none of these things happened! Yes, that'll work to win voters to the conservatives, call people liars and idiots....
Labourdrones are programmed to claim that about every Conservative administration ever. If they reduce Labour waste they're accused of "massive cuts" and if they don't they're accused of missing their targets (which Labour ought rationally to applaud).
It's just a Labour football chant from a whoop of yobbish moral pygmies.
Medium-sized construction firms should export internationally to build stronger domestic businesses, UK Trade and Investment chief executive Dominic Jermey has told Construction News.
Yes - I suspect all 3 to win with Farage the least likely and Salmond the most. I don't like Clegg very much but he serves it just about for doing the right thing over the Coalition.
I'd be delighted if Salmond lost
You will be sadly disappointed
Don't turnips read anything other than the last line this early in the morning?
Yes , you said you would be delighted , I said you would be disappointed , ie it will not happen while your ar** points downwards. Why would you be delighted if Salmond lost , why did you pick him in particular , why not the other two , wonder if I can guess why.
I also said he was most likely to win - you forgot that bit. Not hard to guess why I'd like him to lose - can't stand him. I'd be marginally happier if Farage lost and overall wouldn't shed too many tears over Clegg - but I'd hate to see Labour/SNP win anywhere. Now if you read it all ever so carefully you might guess my political leanings
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
(tbh, slightly surprised, as the Sun usually likes to back a winner, and today who that will be is far from clear - and the balance of probabilities not the Sun's choice...)
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
Must be a misunderstanding, mistweet, mistype or something.
The "wings" symbol seems to obsess these oddballs. I wonder why?
Had a look at his twitter feed - I wonder if he will close access soon. Very unpleasant tweet, it may lead to trouble with Police Scotland, think before you tweet is the lesson.
(tbh, slightly surprised, as the Sun usually likes to back a winner, and today who that will be is far from clear - and the balance of probabilities not the Sun's choice...)
Just read the Rod Liddle article on 'political paedos'; it's surprisingly good - a model of combative popular journalism in fact.
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
b) The Tories are trying to deny there have been massive spending cuts this parliament despite the gutting of funding to real things that people use, and
2015 Total Public Spending = £731bn 2010 Total Public Spending = £673bn
Positively hacking it away. The rate of increase has been reduced, no real cuts have been made.
It's the gift that keeps on giving on the doorstep. Never mind the massive cuts to front line services that you have seen with your own two eyes. Never mind the obr yesterday saying the squeeze in the next parliament will be far bigger than the cuts seen so far. Never mind that you're struggling to make ends meet and your school can't afford to hire teachers and police patrols have been cut as your chief constable has had his budget decimated or that your council has more than half it's funding taken away your library and sure start centre both closed and your hospital has declared a capacity cricis due to lack of money.
Because statistically none of these things happened! Yes, that'll work to win voters to the conservatives, call people liars and idiots....
Labourdrones are programmed to claim that about every Conservative administration ever. If they reduce Labour waste they're accused of "massive cuts" and if they don't they're accused of missing their targets (which Labour ought rationally to applaud).
It's just a Labour football chant from a whoop of yobbish moral pygmies.
Superb.
I have always thought how thoroughly moral it is to pass judgement on other people - especially those you do not know. Perhaps the solution to the Labour voter immorality problem is to castrate all Labour voting men and sterilise all Labour voting women. That should solve things over a few decades.
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
b) The Tories are trying to deny there have been massive spending cuts this parliament despite the gutting of funding to real things that people use, and
2015 Total Public Spending = £731bn 2010 Total Public Spending = £673bn
Positively hacking it away. The rate of increase has been reduced, no real cuts have been made.
It's the gift that keeps on giving on the doorstep. Never mind the massive cuts to front line services that you have seen with your own two eyes. Never mind the obr yesterday saying the squeeze in the next parliament will be far bigger than the cuts seen so far. Never mind that you're struggling to make ends meet and your school can't afford to hire teachers and police patrols have been cut as your chief constable has had his budget decimated or that your council has more than half it's funding taken away your library and sure start centre both closed and your hospital has declared a capacity cricis due to lack of money.
Because statistically none of these things happened! Yes, that'll work to win voters to the conservatives, call people liars and idiots....
Labourdrones are programmed to claim that about every Conservative administration ever. If they reduce Labour waste they're accused of "massive cuts" and if they don't they're accused of missing their targets (which Labour ought rationally to applaud).
It's just a Labour football chant from a whoop of yobbish moral pygmies.
Superb.
I have always thought how thoroughly moral it is to pass judgement on other people - especially those you do not know. Perhaps the solution to the Labour voter immorality problem is to castrate all Labour voting men and sterilise all Labour voting women. That should solve things over a few decades.
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
The trick is to make people who are only capable of doing low-productivity jobs unemployed instead so they don't drag down the average.
But it's worth noting that France with it's 35 hour working week has roughly the same GDP per capita as the UK. The right in the UK constantly bashes France for beig sclerotic etc but we've surrendered our rights and security in the workplace for almost no benefit whatsoever to ourselves. It has perhaps benefitted young unemloyed people from southern Europe who can take advantage of our flexible labour market. That won't be worth any votes in the general election though.
The Telegraph had an interesting take on the the productivity puzzle/jobs miracle. The endless supply of cheap labour helps businesses keep costs down and they don't feel the need to invest in better machinery, skills and so on. Hence productivity is stagnant. In France given the labour restrictions they've got no choice but to try and boost productivity.
France's GDP per capita is lower than the UK's and the gap is increasing. Investment banks project our economy to be far larger than France's in the coming decades. In addition, it's unemployment is over 10% while ours is below 6%. I do not believe the example of France is a good one for the 35 hour week. Your comments on productivity make a lot of sense though.
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
Must be a misunderstanding, mistweet, mistype or something.
The "wings" symbol seems to obsess these oddballs. I wonder why?
Aint called the Yestapo for nothing.
You cannot like the SNP do encourage the hysteria and then absolve themselves from the results. UKIP are the same. The logo is mindless and clearly has encouraged a mindless reaction.
There was an article in the Economist last week pointing out that French Workers could take every Friday off and they'd be as productive on a 4 day week as British workers are on 5.
The trick is to make people who are only capable of doing low-productivity jobs unemployed instead so they don't drag down the average.
But it's worth noting that France with it's 35 hour working week has roughly the same GDP per capita as the UK. The right in the UK constantly bashes France for beig sclerotic etc but we've surrendered our rights and security in the workplace for almost no benefit whatsoever to ourselves. It has perhaps benefitted young unemloyed people from southern Europe who can take advantage of our flexible labour market. That won't be worth any votes in the general election though.
The Telegraph had an interesting take on the the productivity puzzle/jobs miracle. The endless supply of cheap labour helps businesses keep costs down and they don't feel the need to invest in better machinery, skills and so on. Hence productivity is stagnant. In France given the labour restrictions they've got no choice but to try and boost productivity.
France's GDP per capita is lower than the UK's and the gap is increasing. Investment banks project our economy to be far larger than France's in the coming decades. In addition, it's unemployment is over 10% while ours is below 6%. I do not believe the example of France is a good one for the 35 hour week. Your comments on productivity make a lot of sense though.
A bold statement that France's GDP per capita is lower than the UK but not clearly true . IMF figures from 2013 in International dollars give France 39.813 and UK 36.208 tho I concede that other sources give differing results .
(tbh, slightly surprised, as the Sun usually likes to back a winner, and today who that will be is far from clear - and the balance of probabilities not the Sun's choice...)
Apart from some of the support for survelliance powers for Mi5/Mi6 if the government actually delivered that Sunifesto, I'd be delighted.
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
ELBOW fans may be interested to note that across all seven polls so far this week, Labour have had a mini-revival, they are 0.8% ahead (was 0.0% ahead week-ending 15th March).
Must be a misunderstanding, mistweet, mistype or something.
The "wings" symbol seems to obsess these oddballs. I wonder why?
Aint called the Yestapo for nothing.
You cannot like the SNP do encourage the hysteria and then absolve themselves from the results. UKIP are the same. The logo is mindless and clearly has encouraged a mindless reaction.
Thank God Aidan Burley turned out not to be a racist, when the matter was independently investigated by his own party. Phew.
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
I would read the whole FT article although I doubt it would change my conclusion given the quote you provided but the link no longer seems to work if it ever did and WOW the intellectual pygmies at the Sun have finally cottoned onto the fact that Labour are a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites whose double standards know no bounds.
Its only taken them 18 years! Pity they didn't treat Blair with the same contempt all those years ago when they were advising their readers to vote Labour. We then might not have ended up with this sad apology for a Tory party we have now .....
ELBOW fans may be interested to note that across all seven polls so far this week, Labour have had a mini-revival, they are 0.8% ahead (was 0.0% ahead week-ending 15th March).
Will you be doing any projections off the back of your ELBOW ?
I see that the Greens have moved to 1.4-1.8 on the spreads for me. I couldn't resist and I've sold at 1.4. The par result for the Greens must still be one seat and there remains a significant chance that they might not get any at all.
On the effect of the cuts, I was at a Bus Passenger Advisory Panel meeting in Essex recently. Until relatively recently, apparently, the County had a database of planned road closures which it could, and did, communicate to bus operators. That central advice has now been scrapped, as a cost saving measure, and the bus operators present were saying, in response to passenger rep complaints that “they just didn’t know” when service disruption might occur. There were other similar issues, none big in themselves, but enough to leave the passenger reps somewhat dismayed.
"passenger reps"? Who voted for them, or are they just a self-appointed set of retiree windbags? Screw them and screw their complaining about pothole schedules. First world problems at the most tedious level.
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
I would read the whole FT article although I doubt it would change my conclusion given the quote you provided but the link no longer seems t vote Labour. We then might not have ended up with this sad apology for a Tory party we have now .....
As a postscript I wold point out that I doubt very much
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference fo Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
After five years in power, New Labour dominates the political landscape. But is the party really on course? Labour activist Janan Ganesh presents an alternative view.
I see that the Greens have moved to 1.4-1.8 on the spreads for me. I couldn't resist and I've sold at 1.4. The par result for the Greens must still be one seat and there remains a significant chance that they might not get any at all.
Greens were on 5.7% in ELBOW for w/e 15th March, lowest level since before Xmas.
ELBOW fans may be interested to note that across all seven polls so far this week, Labour have had a mini-revival, they are 0.8% ahead (was 0.0% ahead week-ending 15th March).
Will you be doing any projections off the back of your ELBOW ?
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
I see that NP is a blood orange juice fan. Good man. I acquired a blood orange plant recently - www.plants4presents.co.uk - and it is gorgeous with the flowers just starting. I'm looking forward to eating the oranges.
Apparently the "blood" aspect is caused by the presence of of anthocyanin, an antioxidant pigment which develops when there is a big difference between the daytime and nighttime temperatures. That's why they grow so successfully on the slopes of Mount Etna. And also why they are so good for you!
Interesting - I knew they were doing me good. Saw one shop where they'd wimped out on the name and were calling them "Deep red oranges". Wimps.
Was nice to meet you in the Albert Hall the other day, by the way - unlike the usual PB experience that Richard N describes of people being entirely different, you were just what I'd have expected: elegant, friendly and showing a gleam of slightly formidable intelligence. :-)
On the effect of the cuts, I was at a Bus Passenger Advisory Panel meeting in Essex recently. Until relatively recently, apparently, the County had a database of planned road closures which it could, and did, communicate to bus operators. That central advice has now been scrapped, as a cost saving measure, and the bus operators present were saying, in response to passenger rep complaints that “they just didn’t know” when service disruption might occur. There were other similar issues, none big in themselves, but enough to leave the passenger reps somewhat dismayed.
"passenger reps"? Who voted for them, or are they just a self-appointed set of retiree windbags? Screw them and screw their complaining about pothole schedules. First world problems at the most tedious level.
Quality of life. Bus service has got worse under this government (even if it is not the bus companies' fault). Conclusion: vote for the other lot.
Him having 2 or 3 kitchens or whatever, is nonsense. It is the pious screaming and shouting that gets me. Phone hacking with NOTW, outrageous, with the Mirror....tumbleweed....tax avoidance...disgraceful....well unless I do it or a major donor or two....spun photo ops....way below me, I am a serious politician, listen to my message and my policies, not that I look and act a bit weird...BBC come in, lets do a nice soft soap segment, what you want me in my Kitchenette, sure..
“Average household incomes have just about regained their pre-recession levels. They are finally rising and probably will be higher in 2015 than they were in 2010, and possibly higher than their 2009 peak.”
Looks like IFS is giving Osborne some cover...Although, obviously by implication pointing out that Osborne measure is nonsense, but so is Labour's £1600 claim which they repeat endlessly despite being debunked (but nobody picks them up on it).
Comments
What are the Lib Dems thinking ?
Are they thinking ?
Questioning Labour's 'hidden tax rises' and whether Ed keeps them in his hidden kitchen
BBC paid a lot of money to basically get all of Top Gear inside the BBC, rather than having the Clarkson and Wilman ATM machine printing away outside of their full control.
Not sure what that would do to the ratings.
Was nice to meet you in the Albert Hall the other day, by the way - unlike the usual PB experience that Richard N describes of people being entirely different, you were just what I'd have expected: elegant, friendly and showing a gleam of slightly formidable intelligence. :-)
Having seen the house prices around Shepherd's bush where James May lives not sure £150k is enough to live on there
Depends which side of the A40 you're on. Shepherd's Bush is relatively affordable (by London standards), but Holland Park is a different matter altogether.
Clegg looks confused, bewildered and still in denial.
At all.
If you've got a degree, you basically sign that rule away. Plus the transport/infrastructure is brutal should you want/need to work late or on weekends.
19/03/2015 12:38
The Kippers are riled. Never has the truth of vox populi vox dei been more dubitable.
Evans was hinting it should all be revealed shortly.
http://order-order.com/2015/03/19/green-media-spokesman-does-a-bennett/
Might get my vote then....not sure they mean the BBC somehow though...doesn't appear they know themselves.
@SunNation: EXCLUSIVE: All The Things In The Budget That Ed Balls Would Reverse. http://t.co/vuA4dsUiix #SunNation http://t.co/RnE0u6CZd8
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-31965631
Must be a misunderstanding, mistweet, mistype or something.
It's just a Labour football chant from a whoop of yobbish moral pygmies.
http://www.cnplus.co.uk/8679979.article?WT.tsrc=email&WT.mc_id=Newsletter16
https://twitter.com/jananganesh
All you country folk, have a deco......
UKIP Tonbridge @UKIPTonbridge 3m3 minutes ago
#UKIP Leader @Nigel_Farage writes for Countryside Alliance on his vision for the countryside http://www.countryside-alliance.org/ca/join-us-members-benefits-and-offers/nigel-farage-of-ukip-writes-for-us …
For most Britons, the election is still background noise. At some point, they will give it their fullest attention. When they do, their preference for Mr Cameron over Mr Miliband, and Tory economics over the Labour kind, could finally sway them.
If it is not enough, the Tories can console themselves that no snazzy policy, or rousing vision or great giveaway, would have been enough either. Fundamentals must be left to do their glacial work.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4a1c0274-cd6a-11e4-9144-00144feab7de.html
http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/politics/unelected_labour_candidate_sarah_sackman_signs_off_letter_as_mp_1_4000389
http://www.sunnation.co.uk/category/opinion/
(tbh, slightly surprised, as the Sun usually likes to back a winner, and today who that will be is far from clear - and the balance of probabilities not the Sun's choice...)
I have always thought how thoroughly moral it is to pass judgement on other people - especially those you do not know. Perhaps the solution to the Labour voter immorality problem is to castrate all Labour voting men and sterilise all Labour voting women. That should solve things over a few decades.
The logo is mindless and clearly has encouraged a mindless reaction.
IMF figures from 2013 in International dollars give
France 39.813 and UK 36.208 tho I concede that other sources give differing results .
Neither good for Labour mind, but BBC comments seem to indicate the Conservative vote holding up rather better than the Mail ones...
But since you prefer your analysis in broad brush strokes & primary colours:
surely the first class war ever waged by a Labour millionaire with a dual-kitchened mansion.
http://www.sunnation.co.uk/why-voters-now-have-a-clear-choice-between-facts-and-scary-fairy-tales
Its only taken them 18 years! Pity they didn't treat Blair with the same contempt all those years ago when they were advising their readers to vote Labour. We then might not have ended up with this sad apology for a Tory party we have now .....
http://www.sunnation.co.uk/games/release/twe/
Screw them and screw their complaining about pothole schedules. First world problems at the most tedious level.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/may/01/comment.fiveyearsoflabour
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CAd-H_2UgAIa35_.png
Him having 2 or 3 kitchens or whatever, is nonsense. It is the pious screaming and shouting that gets me. Phone hacking with NOTW, outrageous, with the Mirror....tumbleweed....tax avoidance...disgraceful....well unless I do it or a major donor or two....spun photo ops....way below me, I am a serious politician, listen to my message and my policies, not that I look and act a bit weird...BBC come in, lets do a nice soft soap segment, what you want me in my Kitchenette, sure..
“Average household incomes have just about regained their pre-recession levels. They are finally rising and probably will be higher in 2015 than they were in 2010, and possibly higher than their 2009 peak.”
Looks like IFS is giving Osborne some cover...Although, obviously by implication pointing out that Osborne measure is nonsense, but so is Labour's £1600 claim which they repeat endlessly despite being debunked (but nobody picks them up on it).