The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
when you are milking the public purse and doing a crap job, you should at least be able to show face and apologise. Anyone with any principles or morals would have been on the first flight home. A Waster of the first order.
The problem is the socio-political stance of the Environment Agency. The corporate position of the agency is that "environment" is it's prime duty. This means removing as much evidence of Man from the environment as possible - ignoring the fact that the entire UK landscape is man made, of course. So major flood control works or prevention of sea erosion is actually bad.
In such a mindset, the floods are Nature reclaiming the land and is just to be expected. Why panic about the expected.
Then they should save our money and not be paying huge sums to these useless parasites who only make matters worse and spend more time on holidays than they do productively.
You are being somewhat inconsistent Malcolm. If these people are completely useless the more time they spend on holiday the better!
Good morning all. I'd argue that Corbyn is even narrower than 'London'. He's Islington writ large. I hadn't appreciated how odd Islington was - someone mentioned some figures a few weeks ago, after fact checking they appear to be solid.
Islington has the lowest car ownership in London. One of the highest proportion of renters (68%) of which 44% are in social housing. It's not as diverse as some other parts of London (74% white - though a fifth of those are not British). I could go on.
There's nothing wrong with being different, it's just that Corbyn has swum in the Islington sea since 1983; that has to have coloured his world view.
Which is why Corbyn's best chance of winning is for the UK to become like London ie a majority are renters not home owners and rely on public transport, as people take longer to get on the housing ladder that is one thing which could help Corbyn a little
The Tories' Generation Rent problem is real but I don't think it will be in time to save Corbyn. By 2030 it may be decisive.
It may be that rather than trying to promote home ownership the Tories would do better simply to try to appeal more to those who rent.
The Tories won 47% of homeowners, Labour 23% and 42% of mortgage payers to Labour's 29% at the general election. However Labour almost tied the Tories amongst private renters 32% to 34% and trounced the Tories amongst social renters 45% to 20% so if the Tories fail to promote home ownership and try only to appeal to renters they will be sowing the seeds of their own demise https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted/
You could be making the classic research error using figures in that way....
Mr. HYUFD, better mountains and whisky in Scotland, though
If you work in London you can afford the best whisky and a comfortable pile in the Highlands!
Only the minority at the top of the ponzi scheme.
Certainly if you work in the City
Interesting comparisons for you. I live in a beautiful part of the country , near the sea , mountains , etc yet can be in Glasgow in under 30 mins , a good sized 4 bedroom detached modern house is about £200K, same as a rabbit hutch in London.
Yes, so if you live and work in London during the week and have a flat and are on a City wage you could then also buy a large property in Scotland you could go to at weekends or for short breaks
The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
I agree. If he had set up a management structure which meant that his agency could not work when he was on holiday he would deserve to be sacked.
It feeds the narrative though. There's been lots of similar stories over the years where key people had being conveniently on holiday when a predictable problem occurred, or were found to be 'wintering' in Barbados or Gstaad while 'working from home' and being paid large amounts of taxpayers' money.
Exactly , it is just highly paid sinecures for the chums. It only comes to light that they spend most of the year on beach/ ski slopes when we get a disaster like the flooding and they cannot be found.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
Personally I will overlook almost any vice, even residency in Islington, in someone who likes dogs. (To Godwin-proof this statement: except Hitler.)
Good morning all. I'd argue that Corbyn is even narrower than 'London'. He's Islington writ large. I hadn't appreciated how odd Islington was - someone mentioned some figures a few weeks ago, after fact checking they appear to be solid.
Islington has the lowest car ownership in London. One of the highest proportion of renters (68%) of which 44% are in social housing. It's not as diverse as some other parts of London (74% white - though a fifth of those are not British). I could go on.
There's nothing wrong with being different, it's just that Corbyn has swum in the Islington sea since 1983; that has to have coloured his world view.
Which is why Corbyn's best chance of winning is for the UK to become like London ie a majority are renters not home owners and rely on public transport, as people take longer to get on the housing ladder that is one thing which could help Corbyn a little
The Tories' Generation Rent problem is real but I don't think it will be in time to save Corbyn. By 2030 it may be decisive.
It may be that rather than trying to promote home ownership the Tories would do better simply to try to appeal more to those who rent.
The Tories won 47% of homeowners, Labour 23% and 42% of mortgage payers to Labour's 29% at the general election. However Labour almost tied the Tories amongst private renters 32% to 34% and trounced the Tories amongst social renters 45% to 20% so if the Tories fail to promote home ownership and try only to appeal to renters they will be sowing the seeds of their own demise https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted/
Yes, but those numbers aren't set in stone.
They pretty much are, there is a reason Tory leaders from Disraeli to Macmillan to Thatcher have tried to create more homeowners. If you have property you are more likely to vote Tory to preserve it, if you have few assets and less property you have less to lose if you vote Labour and more to gain from redistribution!
Trump leads by a very healthy margin, Rubio if anything slipping.
Only the Iowa Caucus can change things, and that's a straight Cruz/Trump race.
So I think 2.25 on Trump (PP/SkyBet) is clear value.
Cruz at 11 (PP - much shorter elsewhere) is a personal hedge, in case Trump implodes after losing Iowa (the poll Mike linked shows Cruz takes the lion's share). I don't really express a strong opinion on that, mind. (Combined = 1.87, greater than I think Trump should be ~1.72).
Following my post earlier PP have cut Trump to 2.1, although their Cruz odds are still 11 (max bet for me ~£20 though). Sky will still give you 2.25.
Yougov yesterday had Cruz as the clear second choice of Republican voters if Trump goes out, it looks like the base is ready to give the GOP establishment a good kicking, they are in Corbynista mode on the other side of the spectrum
I have taken a small nibble on Christie taking NH. Just a feeling he may surprise. However, my overall track record last year was abysmal. Hopefully 2016 will be better.
Good morning all. I'd argue that Corbyn is even narrower than 'London'. He's Islington writ large. I hadn't appreciated how odd Islington was - someone mentioned some figures a few weeks ago, after fact checking they appear to be solid.
Islington has the lowest car ownership in London. One of the highest proportion of renters (68%) of which 44% are in social housing. It's not as diverse as some other parts of London (74% white - though a fifth of those are not British). I could go on.
There's nothing wrong with being different, it's just that Corbyn has swum in the Islington sea since 1983; that has to have coloured his world view.
Which is why Corbyn's best chance of winning is for the UK to become like London ie a majority are renters not home owners and rely on public transport, as people take longer to get on the housing ladder that is one thing which could help Corbyn a little
The Tories' Generation Rent problem is real but I don't think it will be in time to save Corbyn. By 2030 it may be decisive.
It may be that rather than trying to promote home ownership the Tories would do better simply to try to appeal more to those who rent.
The Tories won 47% of homeowners, Labour 23% and 42% of mortgage payers to Labour's 29% at the general election. However Labour almost tied the Tories amongst private renters 32% to 34% and trounced the Tories amongst social renters 45% to 20% so if the Tories fail to promote home ownership and try only to appeal to renters they will be sowing the seeds of their own demise https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted/
You could be making the classic research error using figures in that way....
If Khan becomes Mayor of London he will be the second most powerful person in the country, he is not going to be able to do that job and leader of the opposition and I doubt he would want to, especially immediately post defeat. Even Boris served two terms, so Khan would unlikely be available about 2023/24 anyway
LOL, you must be barking if you think that. A PR roll for buffoons who fill their pockets and disappear afterwards.
Being Mayor of a global city like London is a major role, indeed there are more people who live in Greater London than the whole of Scotland!
Am I supposed to be impressed that people are packed like sardines in a concrete jungle.
No. But it is worth considering that the Mayor of London is a role that is comparable to being the President of a small(ish) country.
Nobody gives a tinkers cuss about the mayor of London other than themselves and their hangers on. Is it any wonder the country is in such a state given the sheeple running about thinking the Mayor of London is anything other than a figurehead lining their pockets.
Judging by international reactions, meetings etc.. the role is judged as being in the same rank as Mayor of New York.
View from up here is , who gives a ????, nobody interested , just another gold digger milking the system, and usually a buffoon to boot.
Well, that's the view in the rest of the world - China for example.
Yes the people who can make money off them will be interested for sure, the vultures are always there.
Good morning all. I'd argue that Corbyn is even narrower than 'London'. He's Islington writ large. I hadn't appreciated how odd Islington was - someone mentioned some figures a few weeks ago, after fact checking they appear to be solid.
Islington has the lowest car ownership in London. One of the highest proportion of renters (68%) of which 44% are in social housing. It's not as diverse as some other parts of London (74% white - though a fifth of those are not British). I could go on.
There's nothing wrong with being different, it's just that Corbyn has swum in the Islington sea since 1983; that has to have coloured his world view.
Which is why Corbyn's best chance of winning is for the UK to become like London ie a majority are renters not home owners and rely on public transport, as people take longer to get on the housing ladder that is one thing which could help Corbyn a little
The Tories' Generation Rent problem is real but I don't think it will be in time to save Corbyn. By 2030 it may be decisive.
It may be that rather than trying to promote home ownership the Tories would do better simply to try to appeal more to those who rent.
The Tories won 47% of homeowners, Labour 23% and 42% of mortgage payers to Labour's 29% at the general election. However Labour almost tied the Tories amongst private renters 32% to 34% and trounced the Tories amongst social renters 45% to 20% so if the Tories fail to promote home ownership and try only to appeal to renters they will be sowing the seeds of their own demise https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted/
You could be making the classic research error using figures in that way....
Why? They seem pretty accurate to me
You can 't say from just those figures if it is cause and effect or if it is the distribution i.e. is it that having to rent, makes you more likely to vote Labour, or it is that Labour voters are more likely to rent.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
Is it reasonable to infer that Ed's addiction to policies like the fuel escalator and the very low car ownership figures in Islington are linked? I think it is. Such policies address concerns about pollution in town but are very hostile to those of us who have to drive about to get to work.
A policy agenda for the Alastair Meeks of this world is somewhat unlikely to have sufficiently wide appeal in the country. Even for those of us who think horses are large smelly creatures who should really be taught not to crap everywhere.
If Khan becomes Mayor of London he will be the second most powerful person in the country, he is not going to be able to do that job and leader of the opposition and I doubt he would want to, especially immediately post defeat. Even Boris served two terms, so Khan would unlikely be available about 2023/24 anyway
LOL, you must be barking if you think that. A PR roll for buffoons who fill their pockets and disappear afterwards.
Being Mayor of a global city like London is a major role, indeed there are more people who live in Greater London than the whole of Scotland!
Am I supposed to be impressed that people are packed like sardines in a concrete jungle.
No. But it is worth considering that the Mayor of London is a role that is comparable to being the President of a small(ish) country.
Nobody gives a tinkers cuss about the mayor of London other than themselves and their hangers on. Is it any wonder the country is in such a state given the sheeple running about thinking the Mayor of London is anything other than a figurehead lining their pockets.
Judging by international reactions, meetings etc.. the role is judged as being in the same rank as Mayor of New York.
Indeed, Bloomberg, Schwarzanneger etc have all built close relationships with Boris
A billionaire and a thick as mince "actor", just about says it all , clowns and comic singers come to mind. Now we also have Cameron forcing parents to take "parenting" classes so they can decide who is fit to bring up their children, is he mentally deranged. Does the money rot these idiots brains.
Bloomberg was Mayor of New York and at the time he and Boris were Mayors of the two greatest cities on the planet
I know , but so what , a billionaire and a buffoon in charge of respective concrete jungles. I am not so easily impressed, having been there and seen both they are well well down my impressed list.
The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
when you are milking the public purse and doing a crap job, you should at least be able to show face and apologise. Anyone with any principles or morals would have been on the first flight home. A Waster of the first order.
The problem is the socio-political stance of the Environment Agency. The corporate position of the agency is that "environment" is it's prime duty. This means removing as much evidence of Man from the environment as possible - ignoring the fact that the entire UK landscape is man made, of course. So major flood control works or prevention of sea erosion is actually bad.
In such a mindset, the floods are Nature reclaiming the land and is just to be expected. Why panic about the expected.
Then they should save our money and not be paying huge sums to these useless parasites who only make matters worse and spend more time on holidays than they do productively.
You are being somewhat inconsistent Malcolm. If these people are completely useless the more time they spend on holiday the better!
David , I agree, my beef is that I should not be paying their holidays given how incompetent they are.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
If Khan becomes Mayor of London he will be the second most powerful person in the country, he is not going to be able to do that job and leader of the opposition and I doubt he would want to, especially immediately post defeat. Even Boris served two terms, so Khan would unlikely be available about 2023/24 anyway
LOL, you must be barking if you think that. A PR roll for buffoons who fill their pockets and disappear afterwards.
Being Mayor of a global city like London is a major role, indeed there are more people who live in Greater London than the whole of Scotland!
Am I supposed to be impressed that people are packed like sardines in a concrete jungle.
No. But it is worth considering that the Mayor of London is a role that is comparable to being the President of a small(ish) country.
Nobody gives a tinkers cuss about the mayor of London other than themselves and their hangers on. Is it any wonder the country is in such a state given the sheeple running about thinking the Mayor of London is anything other than a figurehead lining their pockets.
Judging by international reactions, meetings etc.. the role is judged as being in the same rank as Mayor of New York.
Indeed, Bloomberg, Schwarzanneger etc have all built close relationships with Boris
A billionaire and a thick as mince "actor", just about says it all , clowns and comic singers come to mind. Now we also have Cameron forcing parents to take "parenting" classes so they can decide who is fit to bring up their children, is he mentally deranged. Does the money rot these idiots brains.
Bloomberg was Mayor of New York and at the time he and Boris were Mayors of the two greatest cities on the planet
I know , but so what , a billionaire and a buffoon in charge of respective concrete jungles. I am not so easily impressed, having been there and seen both they are well well down my impressed list.
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
Is it reasonable to infer that Ed's addiction to policies like the fuel escalator and the very low car ownership figures in Islington are linked? I think it is. Such policies address concerns about pollution in town but are very hostile to those of us who have to drive about to get to work.
A policy agenda for the Alastair Meeks of this world is somewhat unlikely to have sufficiently wide appeal in the country. Even for those of us who think horses are large smelly creatures who should really be taught not to crap everywhere.
Very reasonable. I am dimly aware that the price of petrol has dipped below £1 a litre but since I don't own a car it's of theoretical interest only. Country dwellers should be made to pay for the externalities of their choices, but that's not vote-winning policy, I accept.
The stimulus to work on electric cars caused by such policies has to be hugely beneficial to us all though.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
Jason Bourne or Frank Spencer dangerous?
Frank Spencer.
I tried skiing once. I wish it had been filmed for posterity.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
when you are milking the public purse and doing a crap job, you should at least be able to show face and apologise. Anyone with any principles or morals would have been on the first flight home. A Waster of the first order.
Sorry, he was doing a crap job by being on holiday? Yes, I understand why from a PR perspective you should get the first flight home, but I don't think it actually makes any difference on the ground, and the media always hype hype it up to generate a story.
His job is flood defence / prevention, how crap is he doing do you think.
I thought his job was running the agency? With an unlimited budget, they could encase all our towns in giant walls to prevent any flooding. However, they have a limited resources, and have to make a judgement call as to where best to direct their resources. I'm guessing that they rely heavily on evidence provided by experts in the field, not some chairman pointing to a map saying "I want flood defences here, here, and here", with a giant stick.
The religious belief of the EA is that flood defenses are bad - the money is better spent in offices, rather than on engineers who track mud everywhere from their boots.
A friend who lives in Somerset enjoyed telling the EA idiots that at least they'd solved the badger issue where he lived......
If Khan becomes Mayor of London he will be the second most powerful person in the country, he is not going to be able to do that job and leader of the opposition and I doubt he would want to, especially immediately post defeat. Even Boris served two terms, so Khan would unlikely be available about 2023/24 anyway
LOL, you must be barking if you think that. A PR roll for buffoons who fill their pockets and disappear afterwards.
Being Mayor of a global city like London is a major role, indeed there are more people who live in Greater London than the whole of Scotland!
Am I supposed to be impressed that people are packed like sardines in a concrete jungle.
No. But it is worth considering that the Mayor of London is a role that is comparable to being the President of a small(ish) country.
Nobody gives a tinkers cuss about the mayor of London other than themselves and their hangers on. Is it any wonder the country is in such a state given the sheeple running about thinking the Mayor of London is anything other than a figurehead lining their pockets.
Judging by international reactions, meetings etc.. the role is judged as being in the same rank as Mayor of New York.
Indeed, Bloomberg, Schwarzanneger etc have all built close relationships with Boris
A billionaire and a thick as mince "actor", just about says it all , clowns and comic singers come to mind. Now we also have Cameron forcing parents to take "parenting" classes so they can decide who is fit to bring up their children, is he mentally deranged. Does the money rot these idiots brains.
Bloomberg was Mayor of New York and at the time he and Boris were Mayors of the two greatest cities on the planet
I know , but so what , a billionaire and a buffoon in charge of respective concrete jungles. I am not so easily impressed, having been there and seen both they are well well down my impressed list.
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
HYUFD, I can only give my personal view , I respect that you are impressed by the big cities and the Mayors etc, but for me it is not impressive at all.
Trump leads by a very healthy margin, Rubio if anything slipping.
Only the Iowa Caucus can change things, and that's a straight Cruz/Trump race.
So I think 2.25 on Trump (PP/SkyBet) is clear value.
Cruz at 11 (PP - much shorter elsewhere) is a personal hedge, in case Trump implodes after losing Iowa (the poll Mike linked shows Cruz takes the lion's share). I don't really express a strong opinion on that, mind. (Combined = 1.87, greater than I think Trump should be ~1.72).
Following my post earlier PP have cut Trump to 2.1, although their Cruz odds are still 11 (max bet for me ~£20 though). Sky will still give you 2.25.
Yougov yesterday had Cruz as the clear second choice of Republican voters if Trump goes out, it looks like the base is ready to give the GOP establishment a good kicking, they are in Corbynista mode on the other side of the spectrum
I have taken a small nibble on Christie taking NH. Just a feeling he may surprise. However, my overall track record last year was abysmal. Hopefully 2016 will be better.
He is worth an outside bet in NH but I can't see beyond Trump there
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
when you are milking the public purse and doing a crap job, you should at least be able to show face and apologise. Anyone with any principles or morals would have been on the first flight home. A Waster of the first order.
The problem is the socio-political stance of the Environment Agency. The corporate position of the agency is that "environment" is it's prime duty. This means removing as much evidence of Man from the environment as possible - ignoring the fact that the entire UK landscape is man made, of course. So major flood control works or prevention of sea erosion is actually bad.
In such a mindset, the floods are Nature reclaiming the land and is just to be expected. Why panic about the expected.
Then they should save our money and not be paying huge sums to these useless parasites who only make matters worse and spend more time on holidays than they do productively.
You are being somewhat inconsistent Malcolm. If these people are completely useless the more time they spend on holiday the better!
First off of course he is wrong about people always being on holiday. As with many subjects for many people it is just an invention to keep him happy. Second chairmen do not run these organisations or even set policy, the chief executive in this case was not on holiday but on hand. None of this rubbish takes account of whether the operation is being run properly or the right policies followed, but it presumably keeps small minds occupied.
Good morning all. I'd argue that Corbyn is even narrower than 'London'. He's Islington writ large. I hadn't appreciated how odd Islington was - someone mentioned some figures a few weeks ago, after fact checking they appear to be solid.
Islington has the lowest car ownership in London. One of the highest proportion of renters (68%) of which 44% are in social housing. It's not as diverse as some other parts of London (74% white - though a fifth of those are not British). I could go on.
There's nothing wrong with being different, it's just that Corbyn has swum in the Islington sea since 1983; that has to have coloured his world view.
Which is why Corbyn's best chance of winning is for the UK to become like London ie a majority are renters not home owners and rely on public transport, as people take longer to get on the housing ladder that is one thing which could help Corbyn a little
The Tories' Generation Rent problem is real but I don't think it will be in time to save Corbyn. By 2030 it may be decisive.
It may be that rather than trying to promote home ownership the Tories would do better simply to try to appeal more to those who rent.
The Tories won 47% of homeowners, Labour 23% and 42% of mortgage payers to Labour's 29% at the general election. However Labour almost tied the Tories amongst private renters 32% to 34% and trounced the Tories amongst social renters 45% to 20% so if the Tories fail to promote home ownership and try only to appeal to renters they will be sowing the seeds of their own demise https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted/
You could be making the classic research error using figures in that way....
Why? They seem pretty accurate to me
You can 't say from just those figures if it is cause and effect or if it is the distribution i.e. is it that having to rent, makes you more likely to vote Labour, or it is that Labour voters are more likely to rent.
It is a classic mistake in research.
Of course you can as if you are renting it means you are more likely to not have sufficient funds to purchase a property which means your money goes less far, you have fewer assets and therefore are more likely to vote Labour for things like Mansion Taxes to penalise the wealthy and redistribute some of their wealth to you and less likely to vote Tory for an inheritance tax cut and so on as you are less likely to benefit from it
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
Always a chance of a rogue one though, being up on a horse is scary unless you are using american saddle and have something real to hang onto. They are big beasts and stubborn as well.
The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
I agree. If he had set up a management structure which meant that his agency could not work when he was on holiday he would deserve to be sacked.
It feeds the narrative though. There's been lots of similar stories over the years where key people had being conveniently on holiday when a predictable problem occurred, or were found to be 'wintering' in Barbados or Gstaad while 'working from home' and being paid large amounts of taxpayers' money.
Exactly , it is just highly paid sinecures for the chums. It only comes to light that they spend most of the year on beach/ ski slopes when we get a disaster like the flooding and they cannot be found.
We don't agree on too much but I'm with you on this. There's too many people at the top of the public sector being fed large amounts of cash who appear invisible when the sh!t hits the fan yet have a lifestyle of the ultra-wealthy.
This chairman will argue that his role is advisory and strategic, that he was being paid for only two days a week (which in practice means answering emails and a few meetings and conference calls), which is all well and good. But rightly or wrongly the general public affected by floods see someone paid a lot of money who not only isn't around, but his lifestyle means he'll never be affected by floods!
An enterprising journalist might want to go digging as to if he spends fewer than 90 days a year in the UK, what are his other sources of income and how exactly do the British government pay him. Then do the same with a few more quango chiefs. As was alluded to downthread with the CCRC guy, there's an opportunity for the govt to have a real clearout of the quangos and their senior management.
The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
when you are milking the public purse and doing a crap job, you should at least be able to show face and apologise. Anyone with any principles or morals would have been on the first flight home. A Waster of the first order.
The problem is the socio-political stance of the Environment Agency. The corporate position of the agency is that "environment" is it's prime duty. This means removing as much evidence of Man from the environment as possible - ignoring the fact that the entire UK landscape is man made, of course. So major flood control works or prevention of sea erosion is actually bad.
In such a mindset, the floods are Nature reclaiming the land and is just to be expected. Why panic about the expected.
Then they should save our money and not be paying huge sums to these useless parasites who only make matters worse and spend more time on holidays than they do productively.
You are being somewhat inconsistent Malcolm. If these people are completely useless the more time they spend on holiday the better!
First off of course he is wrong about people always being on holiday. As with many subjects for many people it is just an invention to keep him happy. Second chairmen do not run these organisations or even set policy, the chief executive in this case was not on holiday but on hand. None of this rubbish takes account of whether the operation is being run properly or the right policies followed, but it presumably keeps small minds occupied.
Way too sensible and not a little dull I'm afraid. Where's the humour in that?
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
Some years ago I was riding when a somewhat demented individual attacked us. As far I could tell he seemed to think everyone on a horse was a fox hunter. He got behind my horse and lashed at it with a stick - I presume he was trying to make it bolt. The horse I was riding was a bit of psycho. He just kicked the guy - right off the ground. Fortunately it was a rib cage hit - I genuinely thought for second he was deader...
Good morning all. I'd argue that Corbyn is even narrower than 'London'. He's Islington writ large. I hadn't appreciated how odd Islington was - someone mentioned some figures a few weeks ago, after fact checking they appear to be solid.
Islington has the lowest car ownership in London. One of the highest proportion of renters (68%) of which 44% are in social housing. It's not as diverse as some other parts of London (74% white - though a fifth of those are not British). I could go on.
There's nothing wrong with being different, it's just that Corbyn has swum in the Islington sea since 1983; that has to have coloured his world view.
Which is why Corbyn's best chance of winning is for the UK to become like London ie a majority are renters not home owners and rely on public transport, as people take longer to get on the housing ladder that is one thing which could help Corbyn a little
The Tories' Generation Rent problem is real but I don't think it will be in time to save Corbyn. By 2030 it may be decisive.
It may be that rather than trying to promote home ownership the Tories would do better simply to try to appeal more to those who rent.
The Tories won 47% of homeowners, Labour 23% and 42% of mortgage payers to Labour's 29% at the general election. However Labour almost tied the Tories amongst private renters 32% to 34% and trounced the Tories amongst social renters 45% to 20% so if the Tories fail to promote home ownership and try only to appeal to renters they will be sowing the seeds of their own demise https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted/
You could be making the classic research error using figures in that way....
Why? They seem pretty accurate to me
You can 't say from just those figures if it is cause and effect or if it is the distribution i.e. is it that having to rent, makes you more likely to vote Labour, or it is that Labour voters are more likely to rent.
It is a classic mistake in research.
Of course you can as if you rent you are more likely to be unable to afford to get on the housing ladder as your income does not go so far making you more likely to vote Labour for Mansion Taxes etc to punish the rich and redistribute some of their wealth to you and less likely to vote Tory for an inheritance tax cut and so on as you are less likely to benefit from it
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
Is it reasonable to infer that Ed's addiction to policies like the fuel escalator and the very low car ownership figures in Islington are linked? I think it is. Such policies address concerns about pollution in town but are very hostile to those of us who have to drive about to get to work.
A policy agenda for the Alastair Meeks of this world is somewhat unlikely to have sufficiently wide appeal in the country. Even for those of us who think horses are large smelly creatures who should really be taught not to crap everywhere.
Very reasonable. I am dimly aware that the price of petrol has dipped below £1 a litre but since I don't own a car it's of theoretical interest only. Country dwellers should be made to pay for the externalities of their choices, but that's not vote-winning policy, I accept.
The stimulus to work on electric cars caused by such policies has to be hugely beneficial to us all though.
Once you factor in (1) making the batteries (2) generating the power and (3) the lack of efficiency in transmitting the said power, you're usually better off with petrol in green terms. However, if you live by a road it would make a difference to the air quality.
However, the range still isn't adequate. I once had to commute 100 miles each way from Gloucester to Aberystwyth, 40 miles each way from Gloucester to Caldicot, and 91 miles each way from Gloucester to Bracknell, all for temporary jobs of one sort or another. Unless there are free (or at least extremely cheap) charge points at each end, that immediately rules out electric cars. In fact, commuting using a diesel car was about a third of the cost of doing it any other way, not to mention a great deal quicker and easier.
I am now as green as possible and cycle in to work.
I learned to ride as a kid, on a monster chestnut called Dallas. Yes, that long ago. He'd an unnerving habit of breaking into a canter when I wasn't paying attention.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
Always a chance of a rogue one though, being up on a horse is scary unless you are using american saddle and have something real to hang onto. They are big beasts and stubborn as well.
The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
when you are milking the public purse and doing a crap job, you should at least be able to show face and apologise. Anyone with any principles or morals would have been on the first flight home. A Waster of the first order.
The problem is the socio-political stance of the Environment Agency. The corporate position of the agency is that "environment" is it's prime duty. This means removing as much evidence of Man from the environment as possible - ignoring the fact that the entire UK landscape is man made, of course. So major flood control works or prevention of sea erosion is actually bad.
In such a mindset, the floods are Nature reclaiming the land and is just to be expected. Why panic about the expected.
Then they should save our money and not be paying huge sums to these useless parasites who only make matters worse and spend more time on holidays than they do productively.
You are being somewhat inconsistent Malcolm. If these people are completely useless the more time they spend on holiday the better!
First off of course he is wrong about people always being on holiday. As with many subjects for many people it is just an invention to keep him happy. Second chairmen do not run these organisations or even set policy, the chief executive in this case was not on holiday but on hand. None of this rubbish takes account of whether the operation is being run properly or the right policies followed, but it presumably keeps small minds occupied.
We can assume you are a bloodsucking parasite of great intellect then. You posting from Barbados whilst your minions back in your "public" service group f*** up their roles. If you had the same brain again you would be dangerous you pompous halfwitted ars*wipe.
Trump leads by a very healthy margin, Rubio if anything slipping.
Only the Iowa Caucus can change things, and that's a straight Cruz/Trump race.
So I think 2.25 on Trump (PP/SkyBet) is clear value.
Cruz at 11 (PP - much shorter elsewhere) is a personal hedge, in case Trump implodes after losing Iowa (the poll Mike linked shows Cruz takes the lion's share). I don't really express a strong opinion on that, mind. (Combined = 1.87, greater than I think Trump should be ~1.72).
Following my post earlier PP have cut Trump to 2.1, although their Cruz odds are still 11 (max bet for me ~£20 though). Sky will still give you 2.25.
Yougov yesterday had Cruz as the clear second choice of Republican voters if Trump goes out, it looks like the base is ready to give the GOP establishment a good kicking, they are in Corbynista mode on the other side of the spectrum
I have taken a small nibble on Christie taking NH. Just a feeling he may surprise. However, my overall track record last year was abysmal. Hopefully 2016 will be better.
He is worth an outside bet in NH but I can't see beyond Trump there
We will see. At last the Trump factor is to be tested with a real electorate rather than polls.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
Some years ago I was riding when a somewhat demented individual attacked us. As far I could tell he seemed to think everyone on a horse was a fox hunter. He got behind my horse and lashed at it with a stick - I presume he was trying to make it bolt. The horse I was riding was a bit of psycho. He just kicked the guy - right off the ground. Fortunately it was a rib cage hit - I genuinely thought for second he was deader...
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
Not sure about the word "fortunately". If you randomly attack a horse and it kills you I would call that instant karma.
The Environment Agency misled the public by claiming that the wife of its chairman was from Barbados, when she is in fact from another Caribbean island, it has been claimed.
Not the only porkie pie they told...turning into a bit of a habit.
What difference would it have made if he came back early? I don't understand why the media get so riled up in situations like these, isn't it exactly what deputies are for, to assume your duties when you are unavailable? I doubt anyone would have been questioning the deputy's competence if the chairman was in hospital undergoing major surgery, for instance.
I agree. If he had set up a management structure which meant that his agency could not work when he was on holiday he would deserve to be sacked.
It feeds the narrative though. There's been lots of similar stories over the years where key people had being conveniently on holiday when a predictable problem occurred, or were found to be 'wintering' in Barbados or Gstaad while 'working from home' and being paid large amounts of taxpayers' money.
Exactly , it is just highly paid sinecures for the chums. It only comes to light that they spend most of the year on beach/ ski slopes when we get a disaster like the flooding and they cannot be found.
We don't agree on too much but I'm with you on this. There's too many people at the top of the public sector being fed large amounts of cash who appear invisible when the sh!t hits the fan yet have a lifestyle of the ultra-wealthy.
This chairman will argue that his role is advisory and strategic, that he was being paid for only two days a week (which in practice means answering emails and a few meetings and conference calls), which is all well and good. But rightly or wrongly the general public affected by floods see someone paid a lot of money who not only isn't around, but his lifestyle means he'll never be affected by floods!
An enterprising journalist might want to go digging as to if he spends fewer than 90 days a year in the UK, what are his other sources of income and how exactly do the British government pay him. Then do the same with a few more quango chiefs. As was alluded to downthread with the CCRC guy, there's an opportunity for the govt to have a real clearout of the quangos and their senior management.
Sandpit , As I said earlier , there is no appetite to get rid of these people as they want these sinecures to be available when it is their turn to look for a cushy number.
About that focus group showing 7 out of 27 republicans thinking voting for Hillary, there was a poll a week ago I think that showed Hillary getting 14% of republicans and Trump getting 20% of Democrats, so that looks consistent. So if Trump becomes the nominee I would a expect a partial re-alignment in american politics, depending of course which states those who switch allegiance come from.
It's very Corbyn like, having an outsider taking over the party leads to great pains among the old guard who used to run it.
The religious belief of the EA is that flood defenses are bad - the money is better spent in offices, rather than on engineers who track mud everywhere from their boots.
A friend who lives in Somerset enjoyed telling the EA idiots that at least they'd solved the badger issue where he lived......
To be fair they did a very good job in protecting the western approach to Nottingham. We had a squabble about the route but the final outcome was by general consent good and has survived the recent rains without any trouble. I generally found the EA pretty responsive on all sorts of issues, but I was dealing with the local engineers rather than national bodies.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
.....
A policy agenda for the Alastair Meeks of this world is somewhat unlikely to have sufficiently wide appeal in the country. Even for those of us who think horses are large smelly creatures who should really be taught not to crap everywhere.
Very reasonable. I am dimly aware that the price of petrol has dipped below £1 a litre but since I don't own a car it's of theoretical interest only. Country dwellers should be made to pay for the externalities of their choices, but that's not vote-winning policy, I accept.
The stimulus to work on electric cars caused by such policies has to be hugely beneficial to us all though.
Once you factor in (1) making the batteries (2) generating the power and (3) the lack of efficiency in transmitting the said power, you're usually better off with petrol in green terms. However, if you live by a road it would make a difference to the air quality.
However, the range still isn't adequate. I once had to commute 100 miles each way from Gloucester to Aberystwyth, 40 miles each way from Gloucester to Caldicot, and 91 miles each way from Gloucester to Bracknell, all for temporary jobs of one sort or another. Unless there are free (or at least extremely cheap) charge points at each end, that immediately rules out electric cars. In fact, commuting using a diesel car was about a third of the cost of doing it any other way, not to mention a great deal quicker and easier.
I am now as green as possible and cycle in to work.
250 mile range is on the market now - for a price.
alot of big super markets are offering free charging. A friend of a friend regularly drives his Leaf about 90 miles to London, plugs in at the local supermarket, stays the day and drives back in the early evening....
Of course you can as if you rent you are more likely to be unable to afford to get on the housing ladder as your income does not go so far making you more likely to vote Labour for Mansion Taxes etc to punish the rich and redistribute some of their wealth to you and less likely to vote Tory for an inheritance tax cut and so on as you are less likely to benefit from it
No. That is your interpretation. The data doesn't tell you that. I think your hypothesis has some merit, but you can't make that conclusion with that certainty based upon that polling alone. Also, even if your hypothesis was correct, would the effect be immediate, would we see it in 4 years or is it a generational thing.
As I say, a classic error that you see all the time, even in peer reviewed research.
Trump leads by a very healthy margin, Rubio if anything slipping.
Only the Iowa Caucus can change things, and that's a straight Cruz/Trump race.
So I think 2.25 on Trump (PP/SkyBet) is clear value.
Cruz at 11 (PP - much shorter elsewhere) is a personal hedge, in case Trump implodes after losing Iowa (the poll Mike linked shows Cruz takes the lion's share). I don't really express a strong opinion on that, mind. (Combined = 1.87, greater than I think Trump should be ~1.72).
Following my post earlier PP have cut Trump to 2.1, although their Cruz odds are still 11 (max bet for me ~£20 though). Sky will still give you 2.25.
Yougov yesterday had Cruz as the clear second choice of Republican voters if Trump goes out, it looks like the base is ready to give the GOP establishment a good kicking, they are in Corbynista mode on the other side of the spectrum
I have taken a small nibble on Christie taking NH. Just a feeling he may surprise. However, my overall track record last year was abysmal. Hopefully 2016 will be better.
He is worth an outside bet in NH but I can't see beyond Trump there
We will see. At last the Trump factor is to be tested with a real electorate rather than polls.
Yes, exactly. We'll see if Trump's support actually materialises on the day. If it does, we can rule out that as a doubt.
I learned to ride as a kid, on a monster chestnut called Dallas. Yes, that long ago. He'd an unnerving habit of breaking into a canter when I wasn't paying attention.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
Always a chance of a rogue one though, being up on a horse is scary unless you are using american saddle and have something real to hang onto. They are big beasts and stubborn as well.
My daughter has had a horse most of her life , apart from when we were abroad, and they are scary. I prefer to see them from behind the rails with a betting ticket in my hand.
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
I think it is fair to say that as the Mayor has fairly limited tax raising powers and no authority to make laws, his powers are on paper at least rather less than those of Sturgeon or even Carwyn Jones, although they might be comparable to Arlene Foster.
The prestige, on the other hand, is massive, and the opportunity to bend the ear of various senior politicians on London's behalf via informal networks and socialising far greater than the opportunities in Cardiff, Edinburgh or Stormont.
A big hitter could make London into a big office and a springboard to a national role. Johnson, however, hasn't quite managed it and bluntly it's difficult to see Khan succeeding where Johnson failed.
If Khan becomes Mayor of London he will be the second most powerful person in the country, he is not going to be able to do that job and leader of the opposition and I doubt he would want to, especially immediately post defeat. Even Boris served two terms, so Khan would unlikely be available about 2023/24 anyway
LOL, you must be barking if you think that. A PR roll for buffoons who fill their pockets and disappear afterwards.
Being Mayor of a global city like London is a major role, indeed there are more people who live in Greater London than the whole of Scotland!
Am I supposed to be impressed that people are packed like sardines in a concrete jungle.
No. But it is worth considering that the Mayor of London is a role that is comparable to being the President of a small(ish) country.
Nobody gives a tinkers cuss about the mayor of London other than themselves and their hangers on. Is it any wonder the country is in such a state given the sheeple running about thinking the Mayor of London is anything other than a figurehead lining their pockets.
Judging by international reactions, meetings etc.. the role is judged as being in the same rank as Mayor of New York.
Indeed, Bloomberg, Schwarzanneger etc have all built close relationships with Boris
A billionaire and a thick as mince "actor", just about says it all , clowns and comic singers come to mind. Now we also have Cameron forcing parents to take "parenting" classes so they can decide who is fit to bring up their children, is he mentally deranged. Does the money rot these idiots brains.
Bloomberg was Mayor of New York and at the time he and Boris were Mayors of the two greatest cities on the planet
I know , but so what , a billionaire and a buffoon in charge of respective concrete jungles. I am not s
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
HYUFD, I can only give my personal view , I respect that you are impressed by the big cities and the Mayors etc, but for me it is not impressive at all.
I learned to ride as a kid, on a monster chestnut called Dallas. Yes, that long ago. He'd an unnerving habit of breaking into a canter when I wasn't paying attention.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
Always a chance of a rogue one though, being up on a horse is scary unless you are using american saddle and have something real to hang onto. They are big beasts and stubborn as well.
If you are riding out from a stables, they are going to give you the most boring plodder they posses. The chances of anything interesting happening are basically zero. If they do, stick your hands under the front of the saddle, pull down and wait for the gyrations to stop.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
Is it reasonable to infer that Ed's addiction to policies like the fuel escalator and the very low car ownership figures in Islington are linked? I think it is. Such policies address concerns about pollution in town but are very hostile to those of us who have to drive about to get to work.
A policy agenda for the Alastair Meeks of this world is somewhat unlikely to have sufficiently wide appeal in the country. Even for those of us who think horses are large smelly creatures who should really be taught not to crap everywhere.
Very reasonable. I am dimly aware that the price of petrol has dipped below £1 a litre but since I don't own a car it's of theoretical interest only. Country dwellers should be made to pay for the externalities of their choices, but that's not vote-winning policy, I accept.
The stimulus to work on electric cars caused by such policies has to be hugely beneficial to us all though.
I once had to commute 100 miles each way from Gloucester to Aberystwyth,
That's a bonkers commute! It may be only 100 miles but it's nearer three hours than two, even on a good day, there being almost no dual-carriageway west of about Hereford!
Trump leads by a very healthy margin, Rubio if anything slipping.
Only the Iowa Caucus can change things, and that's a straight Cruz/Trump race.
So I think 2.25 on Trump (PP/SkyBet) is clear value.
Cruz at 11 (PP - much shorter elsewhere) is a personal hedge, in case Trump implodes after losing Iowa (the poll Mike linked shows Cruz takes the lion's share). I don't really express a strong opinion on that, mind. (Combined = 1.87, greater than I think Trump should be ~1.72).
Following my post earlier PP have cut Trump to 2.1, although their Cruz odds are still 11 (max bet for me ~£20 though). Sky will still give you 2.25.
Yougov yesterday had Cruz as the clear second choice of Republican voters if Trump goes out, it looks like the base is ready to give the GOP establishment a good kicking, they are in Corbynista mode on the other side of the spectrum
I have taken a small nibble on Christie taking NH. Just a feeling he may surprise. However, my overall track record last year was abysmal. Hopefully 2016 will be better.
He is worth an outside bet in NH but I can't see beyond Trump there
We will see. At last the Trump factor is to be tested with a real electorate rather than polls.
Indeed but his biggest rival seems to be Cruz not a moderate
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
Some years ago I was riding when a somewhat demented individual attacked us. As far I could tell he seemed to think everyone on a horse was a fox hunter. He got behind my horse and lashed at it with a stick - I presume he was trying to make it bolt. The horse I was riding was a bit of psycho. He just kicked the guy - right off the ground. Fortunately it was a rib cage hit - I genuinely thought for second he was deader...
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
Not sure about the word "fortunately". If you randomly attack a horse and it kills you I would call that instant karma.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
Some years ago I was riding when a somewhat demented individual attacked us. As far I could tell he seemed to think everyone on a horse was a fox hunter. He got behind my horse and lashed at it with a stick - I presume he was trying to make it bolt. The horse I was riding was a bit of psycho. He just kicked the guy - right off the ground. Fortunately it was a rib cage hit - I genuinely thought for second he was deader...
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
Not sure about the word "fortunately". If you randomly attack a horse and it kills you I would call that instant karma.
If it had been on the head it might have knocked some sense into him.
About that focus group showing 7 out of 27 republicans thinking voting for Hillary, there was a poll a week ago I think that showed Hillary getting 14% of republicans and Trump getting 20% of Democrats, so that looks consistent. So if Trump becomes the nominee I would a expect a partial re-alignment in american politics, depending of course which states those who switch allegiance come from.
It's very Corbyn like, having an outsider taking over the party leads to great pains among the old guard who used to run it.
I think there may be a little movement but the general pattern to be the same, Trump sweeps the South, Hillary the Coasts, the Mid West and the West decide the election.
The GOP establishment also looks likely to find out what the Labour establishment has been hit by as you say. Bloomberg not running is a small boost for Hillary, at least based on your earlier posts on the topic. Mind you I don't think there was ever space for 3 New Yorkers in the race, if the Democrats pick Sanders rather than Hillary Bloomberg might reconsider as some former Hillary voters pay prefer him to Bernie
Do we expect Cameron to remain an MP after he steps down post 2020?
I don't.
Not at all, and if he goes before then I wouldn't be surprised to see him step down as an MP immediately as well. Still, maybe it would be a good idea to stay on - Osborne (in some scenario where he's managed to win) could make him Foreign Secretary.
250 mile range is on the market now - for a price.
alot of big super markets are offering free charging. A friend of a friend regularly drives his Leaf about 90 miles to London, plugs in at the local supermarket, stays the day and drives back in the early evening....
Interesting. I don't think many do round here, but then of course there aren't so many electric cars round here. That would have made it viable if I could have afforded the car (which I probably couldn't).
The irony is of course that an electric car in Aberystwyth is probably about the greenest form of transport going given all their electricity is generated by hydropower!
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
I think it is fair to say that as the Mayor has fairly limited tax raising powers and no authority to make laws, his powers are on paper at least rather less than those of Sturgeon or even Carwyn Jones, although they might be comparable to Arlene Foster.
The prestige, on the other hand, is massive, and the opportunity to bend the ear of various senior politicians on London's behalf via informal networks and socialising far greater than the opportunities in Cardiff, Edinburgh or Stormont.
A big hitter could make London into a big office and a springboard to a national role. Johnson, however, hasn't quite managed it and bluntly it's difficult to see Khan succeeding where Johnson failed.
From a London perspective, even if a view from afar, I have yet to see evidence that they do anything well other than self publicity. No sense of any improvement for the ordinary public.
The Labour MP Simon Danczuk charged £5,000 for an interview with a national newspaper in which he discussed intimate text messages he had sent to a teenage girl.
Why can't this MP resign on the BBC FFS
Bye-election coming up? LD gain?
The place now looks to be safe as houses for Lab, notwithstanding historic Liberal ties.
That's a bonkers commute! It may be only 100 miles but it's nearer three hours than two, even on a good day, there being almost no dual-carriageway west of about Hereford!
There was no dual carriageway west of the Severn. I think Hereford must be the largest town in Britain not to have a dual carriageway running to it (the nearest is the M50, about 10-15 miles away).
It was indeed a hell of a commute. The worst one was when we had that very cold snap and three feet of snow. My car's temperature gauge kept registering -10 in Radnor Forest. Fortunately nobody else was on the road for some reason.
My record, door to door, was two hours. Usually it was about 2.40.
I learned to ride as a kid, on a monster chestnut called Dallas. Yes, that long ago. He'd an unnerving habit of breaking into a canter when I wasn't paying attention.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
Always a chance of a rogue one though, being up on a horse is scary unless you are using american saddle and have something real to hang onto. They are big beasts and stubborn as well.
If you are riding out from a stables, they are going to give you the most boring plodder they posses. The chances of anything interesting happening are basically zero. If they do, stick your hands under the front of the saddle, pull down and wait for the gyrations to stop.
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
I think it is fair to say that as the Mayor has fairly limited tax raising powers and no authority to make laws, his powers are on paper at least rather less than those of Sturgeon or even Carwyn Jones, although they might be comparable to Arlene Foster.
The prestige, on the other hand, is massive, and the opportunity to bend the ear of various senior politicians on London's behalf via informal networks and socialising far greater than the opportunities in Cardiff, Edinburgh or Stormont.
A big hitter could make London into a big office and a springboard to a national role. Johnson, however, hasn't quite managed it and bluntly it's difficult to see Khan succeeding where Johnson failed.
To be fair to Boris, there were those who thought at best he would be an inept clown that would make London a laughing stock, through those who thought he would make it a viciously right-wing place where diversity would banished, down to those who fully expected him to supervise London sliding into the Thames.
Given that half the world's population seem to want to get here by hook or by crook, it seems he has kept London's international reputation at the very highest level. Can you ask much more of the Mayor? Either of his likely successors are going to seem quite drab by comparison.
MG You work for a Vulture company and seem happy to take the bucks..a man of principle obviously..well done
I work hard for my money and pay lots in taxes , and yes I do have principles. In your interpretation any company that seeks to make money is a vulture , hence my reply. I earn every penny I make many times over.
I think that the EU referendum will be at least the equivalent of a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Cameron and that, if he were to lose, he would inevitably resign. The consequences for the Conservative Party would be horrendous and are the only conceivable scenario where a Corbyn led Labour Party could get close to gaining power.
My suspicion is that as this becomes obvious and the implications sink in the majority of Tories will follow Cameron's lead, however unhappily. This is one of the reasons I think Remain will win. There is undoubtedly a minority for which this is The Issue on which they will vote regardless of the consequences but not nearly enough. The polling suggests that the views endlessly repeated on this site are highly atypical and that the vast majority of the party thinks Cameron is doing a good or very good job. Ending his Premiership and risking the inmates taking over the Asylum will weigh very heavily with these people.
I think that the overwhelming view now is that Corbyn is a loser. That's the case regardless how the EU referendum goes.
That's a bonkers commute! It may be only 100 miles but it's nearer three hours than two, even on a good day, there being almost no dual-carriageway west of about Hereford!
There was no dual carriageway west of the Severn. I think Hereford must be the largest town in Britain not to have a dual carriageway running to it (the nearest is the M50, about 10-15 miles away).
It was indeed a hell of a commute. The worst one was when we had that very cold snap and three feet of snow. My car's temperature gauge kept registering -10 in Radnor Forest. Fortunately nobody else was on the road for some reason.
My record, door to door, was two hours. Usually it was about 2.40.
I regularly took country routes until Gloucester driving back to Kent when I lived in Hereford and when driving to Aberystwyth although there is a main road to Leominster
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
Some years ago I was riding when a somewhat demented individual attacked us. As far I could tell he seemed to think everyone on a horse was a fox hunter. He got behind my horse and lashed at it with a stick - I presume he was trying to make it bolt. The horse I was riding was a bit of psycho. He just kicked the guy - right off the ground. Fortunately it was a rib cage hit - I genuinely thought for second he was deader...
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
Not sure about the word "fortunately". If you randomly attack a horse and it kills you I would call that instant karma.
If it had been on the head it might have knocked some sense into him.
Death as a penalty for one seconds stupidity seems excessive. After all, death for planned murder is considered excessive. I guess I must be a liberal lefty or something.
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
I think it is fair to say that as the Mayor has fairly limited tax raising powers and no authority to make laws, his powers are on paper at least rather less than those of Sturgeon or even Carwyn Jones, although they might be comparable to Arlene Foster.
The prestige, on the other hand, is massive, and the opportunity to bend the ear of various senior politicians on London's behalf via informal networks and socialising far greater than the opportunities in Cardiff, Edinburgh or Stormont.
A big hitter could make London into a big office and a springboard to a national role. Johnson, however, hasn't quite managed it and bluntly it's difficult to see Khan succeeding where Johnson failed.
Indeed it is a prestigious role. While London is an Alpha World City, Edinburgh is only a D city ie at the lower tier of cities with evidence of world city formation, alongside Glasgow. Beautiful though Edinburgh is London clearly is the only UK city in the global top tier http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html
Bristol's Mayor rolls out charging points, limited use. I'm also sure that the had quietly sold his electric car not long after he received a ticket for speeding last February.
The roll out of infrastructure begs questions about who pays, should it be the operators or entrepreneurs in the private sector prepared to take the risk rather than local and central government who are in effect forcing tax payers to fund the lifestyle choices of some poseurs.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
Some years ago I was riding when a somewhat demented individual attacked us. As far I could tell he seemed to think everyone on a horse was a fox hunter. He got behind my horse and lashed at it with a stick - I presume he was trying to make it bolt. The horse I was riding was a bit of psycho. He just kicked the guy - right off the ground. Fortunately it was a rib cage hit - I genuinely thought for second he was deader...
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
Not sure about the word "fortunately". If you randomly attack a horse and it kills you I would call that instant karma.
If it had been on the head it might have knocked some sense into him.
Death as a penalty for one seconds stupidity seems excessive. After all, death for planned murder is considered excessive. I guess I must be a liberal lefty or something.
Does not mean death, I saw 24 hour A%E recently and a 3 year old kicked in the face by a horse survived and had no lasting injuries. Looked a real mess at the time and looked bad for a bit but was very surprising. Bad enough if one just stands on your foot never mind kicking you.
That's a bonkers commute! It may be only 100 miles but it's nearer three hours than two, even on a good day, there being almost no dual-carriageway west of about Hereford!
There was no dual carriageway west of the Severn. I think Hereford must be the largest town in Britain not to have a dual carriageway running to it (the nearest is the M50, about 10-15 miles away).
It was indeed a hell of a commute. The worst one was when we had that very cold snap and three feet of snow. My car's temperature gauge kept registering -10 in Radnor Forest. Fortunately nobody else was on the road for some reason.
My record, door to door, was two hours. Usually it was about 2.40.
I really wouldn't want to do that very often. I was at uni in Aber in the late '90s, my parents living not too far from Bracknell. It doesn't look too far on the map but was a good 4 hours every time. Usually up the M4 and either up the coast road from Swansea or up to Abergavenny and cross country from there. I believe that the Gloucester route is now more popular as they've sorted out the A417/419 from Swindon, with only the Air Balloon roundabout causing a queue.
That's a bonkers commute! It may be only 100 miles but it's nearer three hours than two, even on a good day, there being almost no dual-carriageway west of about Hereford!
There was no dual carriageway west of the Severn. I think Hereford must be the largest town in Britain not to have a dual carriageway running to it (the nearest is the M50, about 10-15 miles away).
It was indeed a hell of a commute. The worst one was when we had that very cold snap and three feet of snow. My car's temperature gauge kept registering -10 in Radnor Forest. Fortunately nobody else was on the road for some reason.
My record, door to door, was two hours. Usually it was about 2.40.
I regularly took country routes until Gloucester driving back to Kent when I lived in Hereford and when driving to Aberystwyth although there is a main road to Leominster
There are two 'galloping grounds' on that commute - one is the stretch from Preston Cross just outside Dymock as far as Yarkhill on the Leominster road, and one is the stretch from Kington to Rhayader. It is possible to drive at 60 all the way on those stretches if they are quiet (although you have to reduce speed going through the villages, of course). That sort of makes up for the unbearably tedious stretches from Llangurig to Aberystwyth and in and around Leominster where it goes very slowly so you can admire the scenery.
Bristol's Mayor rolls out charging points, limited use. I'm also sure that the had quietly sold his electric car not long after he received a ticket for speeding last February.
The roll out of infrastructure begs questions about who pays, should it be the operators or entrepreneurs in the private sector prepared to take the risk rather than local and central government who are in effect forcing tax payers to fund the lifestyle choices of some poseurs.
Kind of chicken and egg, but surely in big schemes like this Government should encourage uptake and help it succeed.
Islington has the lowest car ownership in London. One of the highest proportion of renters (68%) of which 44% are in social housing. It's not as diverse as some other parts of London (74%)
I live in a new block of flats above a shop on the Holloway Road - pleasant place and very convenient. But to get planning permission, the builders had to promise Islington Council that they would never ask for residents' parking. As a result, it's literally impossible to base a car near my home. I expect others are in a similar position.
It's a bit irritating, but is it bonkers? I'm not sure. The public transport in the area is fantastic - I have four bus routes within a minute's walk with big bus lanes and two Tube stations within 10 minutes. Traffic is heavy because it's a commuter route (Holloway Road). On the whole I don't need a car, and if we all had cars the only effect would be that buses and cars alike would get even more jammed up.
Incidentally, the main threat to Labour in the area has been the Greens, and before that the LibDems. The option of kissing a Tory as per the T-shirt slogan rarely arises. So you're right that it's a bit of a microculture. That said, it'd be a mistake to think it's unique to have high renting %s and limited car ownership - it's an extreme form of an increasingly common London lifestyle.
Of course you can as if you rent you are more likely to be unable to afford to get on the housing ladder as your income does not go so far making you more likely to vote Labour for Mansion Taxes etc to punish the rich and redistribute some of their wealth to you and less likely to vote Tory for an inheritance tax cut and so on as you are less likely to benefit from it
No. That is your interpretation. The data doesn't tell you that. I think your hypothesis has some merit, but you can't make that conclusion with that certainty based upon that polling alone. Also, even if your hypothesis was correct, would the effect be immediate, would we see it in 4 years or is it a generational thing.
As I say, a classic error that you see all the time, even in peer reviewed research.
No, it does tell me that ie renters are far more likely to vote Labour than property owners. Until you show me contrary evidence that conclusion stands and for the reasons I set out. It may take a decade or two to show up but the number of renters has already increased by almost 10% over a decade and the number of home owners declined in the same proportion so that is one thing which could help Labour
That's a bonkers commute! It may be only 100 miles but it's nearer three hours than two, even on a good day, there being almost no dual-carriageway west of about Hereford!
There was no dual carriageway west of the Severn. I think Hereford must be the largest town in Britain not to have a dual carriageway running to it (the nearest is the M50, about 10-15 miles away).
It was indeed a hell of a commute. The worst one was when we had that very cold snap and three feet of snow. My car's temperature gauge kept registering -10 in Radnor Forest. Fortunately nobody else was on the road for some reason.
My record, door to door, was two hours. Usually it was about 2.40.
I really wouldn't want to do that very often. I was at uni in Aber in the late '90s, my parents living not too far from Bracknell. It doesn't look too far on the map but was a good 4 hours every time. Usually up the M4 and either up the coast road from Swansea or up to Abergavenny and cross country from there. I believe that the Gloucester route is now more popular as they've sorted out the A417/419 from Swindon, with only the Air Balloon roundabout causing a queue.
My sister was at Aber at the same time! She studied international relations
Do we expect Cameron to remain an MP after he steps down post 2020?
I don't.
Not at all, and if he goes before then I wouldn't be surprised to see him step down as an MP immediately as well. Still, maybe it would be a good idea to stay on - Osborne (in some scenario where he's managed to win) could make him Foreign Secretary.
The hidden part of Cameron's renegotiation with Brussels is that his price for keeping the UK in the EU is that he immediately replaces Juncker as President of the Commission.
London's mayors have had a direct practical impact on transport policy. I don't think we'd have the congestion charge without a directly elected mayor, possibly not Boris-bikes either.
MG As usual you make the wrong assumptions..You are the one who is always referring to so called Vulture companies..and pour scorn upon them.. yet you happily work for one..I personally don't give a shit how the companies I work for make their money as long as they pay my exorbitant invoices on time..and keep on employing lots of people.
'Another quango chief needing a large slap with Mr Dancer's enormo-haddock.'
Now the tories have a majority they can perhaps work harder against labour's vast placeman army that makes initiatives such as this and the witch hunt of our soldiers.
Another one with his head up his orifice, what about their army of placemen and hangers on. neither want to upset the applecart as they are just cheeks of the same money grubbing arse.
Out of interest, Malcolm, do you think that the boundary between England and Scotland is in the right place (it was a good deal further south in times gone by)?
Innocent , no beef either way. I suspect that some parts just south of the border would also like to be out of the clutches of London control though. Neither Scotland or Northern England will ever prosper whilst London sucks the life blood out of them and stunts their growth and initiative. In days gone by they did try to share things , have some autonomy but London under the current effete elite is just sucking the rest dry.
I'd agree with that. However, the notion (not explicitly stated and perhaps not what you meant), that some parts of northern England would rather be in Scotland is as fanciful as the idea put forward by some last year that the Borders would opt to stay in the UK had Scotland voted Yes. For all the resentment at London, England is England.
David, I specifically never mentioned them being part of Scotland but believe they could do better on their own and linked with an independent Scotland. Unless there is a full federal system , they will continue to decline and become holiday spots for southern retirees.
I partially agree. That, and rebalancing the current lopsided devolution arrangements are two reasons why I favour a federal solution for the UK. Morris Dancer, of course, believes I should be shot out of a space trebuchet or something for such thoughts.
Of course you can as if you rent you are more likely to be unable to afford to get on the housing ladder as your income does not go so far making you more likely to vote Labour for Mansion Taxes etc to punish the rich and redistribute some of their wealth to you and less likely to vote Tory for an inheritance tax cut and so on as you are less likely to benefit from it
No. That is your interpretation. The data doesn't tell you that. I think your hypothesis has some merit, but you can't make that conclusion with that certainty based upon that polling alone. Also, even if your hypothesis was correct, would the effect be immediate, would we see it in 4 years or is it a generational thing.
As I say, a classic error that you see all the time, even in peer reviewed research.
No, it does tell me that ie renters are far more likely to vote Labour than property owners. Until you show me contrary evidence that conclusion stands and for the reasons I set out. It may take a decade or two to show up but the number of renters has already increased by almost 10% over a decade and the number of home owners declined in the same proportion so that is one thing which could help Labour
Again, no you have to prove your hypothesis. As I say, renter more like to vote Labour, or Labour voter more likely to be a rent. We don't know from simply looking at those polling numbers and I would suggest the reality is rather complex interactions.
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
Some years ago I was riding when a somewhat demented individual attacked us. As far I could tell he seemed to think everyone on a horse was a fox hunter. He got behind my horse and lashed at it with a stick - I presume he was trying to make it bolt. The horse I was riding was a bit of psycho. He just kicked the guy - right off the ground. Fortunately it was a rib cage hit - I genuinely thought for second he was deader...
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
Not sure about the word "fortunately". If you randomly attack a horse and it kills you I would call that instant karma.
If it had been on the head it might have knocked some sense into him.
Death as a penalty for one seconds stupidity seems excessive. After all, death for planned murder is considered excessive. I guess I must be a liberal lefty or something.
Does not mean death, I saw 24 hour A%E recently and a 3 year old kicked in the face by a horse survived and had no lasting injuries. Looked a real mess at the time and looked bad for a bit but was very surprising. Bad enough if one just stands on your foot never mind kicking you.
Of course you can as if you rent you are more likely to be unable to afford to get on the housing ladder as your income does not go so far making you more likely to vote Labour for Mansion Taxes etc to punish the rich and redistribute some of their wealth to you and less likely to vote Tory for an inheritance tax cut and so on as you are less likely to benefit from it
No. That is your interpretation. The data doesn't tell you that. I think your hypothesis has some merit, but you can't make that conclusion with that certainty based upon that polling alone. Also, even if your hypothesis was correct, would the effect be immediate, would we see it in 4 years or is it a generational thing.
As I say, a classic error that you see all the time, even in peer reviewed research.
No, it does tell me that ie renters are far more likely to vote Labour than property owners. Until you show me contrary evidence that conclusion stands and for the reasons I set out. It may take a decade or two to show up but the number of renters has already increased by almost 10% over a decade and the number of home owners declined in the same proportion so that is one thing which could help Labour
Again, no you have to prove your hypothesis. As I say, renter more like to vote Labour, or Labour voter more likely to be a rent. We don't know from simply looking at those polling numbers and I would suggest the reality is rather complex.
I have proved my hypothesis with figures from the last election, you have given no figures at all to contradict them so until you do the point that renters are more likely to vote Labour stands. If you gave most renters enough money to buy a large house of course they would buy it not rent and then be more likely to vote Tory to conserve the value in their property, tax it less and pass its value to their children, very few voters are ideological renters because it matches their Labour principles!
Of course you can as if you rent you are more likely to be unable to afford to get on the housing ladder as your income does not go so far making you more likely to vote Labour for Mansion Taxes etc to punish the rich and redistribute some of their wealth to you and less likely to vote Tory for an inheritance tax cut and so on as you are less likely to benefit from it
No. That is your interpretation. The data doesn't tell you that. I think your hypothesis has some merit, but you can't make that conclusion with that certainty based upon that polling alone. Also, even if your hypothesis was correct, would the effect be immediate, would we see it in 4 years or is it a generational thing.
As I say, a classic error that you see all the time, even in peer reviewed research.
No, it does tell me that ie renters are far more likely to vote Labour than property owners. Until you show me contrary evidence that conclusion stands and for the reasons I set out. It may take a decade or two to show up but the number of renters has already increased by almost 10% over a decade and the number of home owners declined in the same proportion so that is one thing which could help Labour
Again, no you have to prove your hypothesis. As I say, renter more like to vote Labour, or Labour voter more likely to be a rent. We don't know from simply looking at those polling numbers and I would suggest the reality is rather complex.
I have proved my hypothesis with figures from the last election, you have given no figures at all to contradict them so until you do the point that renters are more likely to vote Labour stands
No you haven't proved anything. I have to go out now, but as I have said repeatedly you are making a classical research error. And I say that as somebody who thinks there is probably some validity to your hypothesis.
That's a bonkers commute! It may be only 100 miles but it's nearer three hours than two, even on a good day, there being almost no dual-carriageway west of about Hereford!
There was no dual carriageway west of the Severn. I think Hereford must be the largest town in Britain not to have a dual carriageway running to it (the nearest is the M50, about 10-15 miles away).
It was indeed a hell of a commute. The worst one was when we had that very cold snap and three feet of snow. My car's temperature gauge kept registering -10 in Radnor Forest. Fortunately nobody else was on the road for some reason.
My record, door to door, was two hours. Usually it was about 2.40.
I really wouldn't want to do that very often. I was at uni in Aber in the late '90s, my parents living not too far from Bracknell. It doesn't look too far on the map but was a good 4 hours every time. Usually up the M4 and either up the coast road from Swansea or up to Abergavenny and cross country from there. I believe that the Gloucester route is now more popular as they've sorted out the A417/419 from Swindon, with only the Air Balloon roundabout causing a queue.
My sister was at Aber at the same time! She studied international relations
Cool! I was Economics '96-'99 - when I wasn't on a rag trip or propping up the Union bar!
I think that the EU referendum will be at least the equivalent of a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Cameron and that, if he were to lose, he would inevitably resign. The consequences for the Conservative Party would be horrendous and are the only conceivable scenario where a Corbyn led Labour Party could get close to gaining power.
My suspicion is that as this becomes obvious and the implications sink in the majority of Tories will follow Cameron's lead, however unhappily. This is one of the reasons I think Remain will win. There is undoubtedly a minority for which this is The Issue on which they will vote regardless of the consequences but not nearly enough. The polling suggests that the views endlessly repeated on this site are highly atypical and that the vast majority of the party thinks Cameron is doing a good or very good job. Ending his Premiership and risking the inmates taking over the Asylum will weigh very heavily with these people.
I think that the overwhelming view now is that Corbyn is a loser. That's the case regardless how the EU referendum goes.
Sunday Times reports moves afoot to put up Dugher as potential leader with others looking at Kier Starmer. Jarvis was on manoeuvers in the Guardian yesterday. All anonymous briefing so far. Put on face of it someone might be persuaded to be the stalking horse after May's meltdown, or, as one person puts it, we need a "suicide bomber" (a bad choice of metaphor).
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
I think it is fair to say that as the Mayor has fairly limited tax raising powers and no authority to make laws, his powers are on paper at least rather less than those of Sturgeon or even Carwyn Jones, although they might be comparable to Arlene Foster.
The prestige, on the other hand, is massive, and the opportunity to bend the ear of various senior politicians on London's behalf via informal networks and socialising far greater than the opportunities in Cardiff, Edinburgh or Stormont.
A big hitter could make London into a big office and a springboard to a national role. Johnson, however, hasn't quite managed it and bluntly it's difficult to see Khan succeeding where Johnson failed.
Indeed it is a prestigious role. While London is an Alpha World City, Edinburgh is only a D city ie at the lower tier of cities with evidence of world city formation, alongside Glasgow. Beautiful though Edinburgh is London clearly is the only UK city in the global top tier http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html
That is entirely a problem with how the UK is managed and the complete failure of successive UK governments to offer anything other than "more London". The vast majority of countries round the world of any significance, show absolutely none of the single city bias that the UK has.
Of course you can as if you rent you are more likely to be unable to afford to get on the housing ladder as your income does not go so far making you more likely to vote Labour for Mansion Taxes etc to punish the rich and redistribute some of their wealth to you and less likely to vote Tory for an inheritance tax cut and so on as you are less likely to benefit from it
No. That is your interpretation. The data doesn't tell you that. I think your hypothesis has some merit, but you can't make that conclusion with that certainty based upon that polling alone. Also, even if your hypothesis was correct, would the effect be immediate, would we see it in 4 years or is it a generational thing.
As I say, a classic error that you see all the time, even in peer reviewed research.
No, it does tell me that ie renters are far more likely to vote Labour than property owners. Until you show me contrary evidence that conclusion stands and for the reasons I set out. It may take a decade or two to show up but the number of renters has already increased by almost 10% over a decade and the number of home owners declined in the same proportion so that is one thing which could help Labour
Again, no you have to prove your hypothesis. As I say, renter more like to vote Labour, or Labour voter more likely to be a rent. We don't know from simply looking at those polling numbers and I would suggest the reality is rather complex.
I have proved my hypothesis with figures from the last election, you have given no figures at all to contradict them so until you do the point that renters are more likely to vote Labour stands
No you haven't proved anything. I have to go out now, but as I have said repeatedly you are making a classical research error. And I say that as somebody who thinks there is probably some validity to your hypothesis.
No, you are just quibbling for the sake of quibbling with no facts to back it up. There is a reason Tory leaders from Disraeli to Thatcher wanted a 'property owning democracy' not a 'renting democracy' that is because property owners want to pay lower taxes on their property and rent owners want higher taxes on property owners which can be redistributed to them, thus they are more likely to vote Labour!
That's a bonkers commute! It may be only 100 miles but it's nearer three hours than two, even on a good day, there being almost no dual-carriageway west of about Hereford!
There was no dual carriageway west of the Severn. I think Hereford must be the largest town in Britain not to have a dual carriageway running to it (the nearest is the M50, about 10-15 miles away).
It was indeed a hell of a commute. The worst one was when we had that very cold snap and three feet of snow. My car's temperature gauge kept registering -10 in Radnor Forest. Fortunately nobody else was on the road for some reason.
My record, door to door, was two hours. Usually it was about 2.40.
I regularly took country routes until Gloucester driving back to Kent when I lived in Hereford and when driving to Aberystwyth although there is a main road to Leominster
There are two 'galloping grounds' on that commute - one is the stretch from Preston Cross just outside Dymock as far as Yarkhill on the Leominster road, and one is the stretch from Kington to Rhayader. It is possible to drive at 60 all the way on those stretches if they are quiet (although you have to reduce speed going through the villages, of course). That sort of makes up for the unbearably tedious stretches from Llangurig to Aberystwyth and in and around Leominster where it goes very slowly so you can admire the scenery.
Indeed though I very much enjoyed the scenic route to Aber
I think that the EU referendum will be at least the equivalent of a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Cameron and that, if he were to lose, he would inevitably resign. The consequences for the Conservative Party would be horrendous and are the only conceivable scenario where a Corbyn led Labour Party could get close to gaining power.
My suspicion is that as this becomes obvious and the implications sink in the majority of Tories will follow Cameron's lead, however unhappily. This is one of the reasons I think Remain will win. There is undoubtedly a minority for which this is The Issue on which they will vote regardless of the consequences but not nearly enough. The polling suggests that the views endlessly repeated on this site are highly atypical and that the vast majority of the party thinks Cameron is doing a good or very good job. Ending his Premiership and risking the inmates taking over the Asylum will weigh very heavily with these people.
I think that the overwhelming view now is that Corbyn is a loser. That's the case regardless how the EU referendum goes.
Sunday Times reports moves afoot to put up Dugher as potential leader with others looking at Kier Starmer. Jarvis was on manoeuvers in the Guardian yesterday. All anonymous briefing so far. Put on face of it someone might be persuaded to be the stalking horse after May's meltdown, or, as one person puts it, we need a "suicide bomber" (a bad choice of metaphor).
It's always easiest to do nothing. My view is that, barring absolute catastrophe for Labour in local elections, Corbyn is likely to lead them to defeat in 2020, with the party losing another dozen or so seats.
I think that the EU referendum will be at least the equivalent of a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Cameron and that, if he were to lose, he would inevitably resign. The consequences for the Conservative Party would be horrendous and are the only conceivable scenario where a Corbyn led Labour Party could get close to gaining power.
My suspicion is that as this becomes obvious and the implications sink in the majority of Tories will follow Cameron's lead, however unhappily. This is one of the reasons I think Remain will win. There is undoubtedly a minority for which this is The Issue on which they will vote regardless of the consequences but not nearly enough. The polling suggests that the views endlessly repeated on this site are highly atypical and that the vast majority of the party thinks Cameron is doing a good or very good job. Ending his Premiership and risking the inmates taking over the Asylum will weigh very heavily with these people.
I think that the overwhelming view now is that Corbyn is a loser. That's the case regardless how the EU referendum goes.
Sunday Times reports moves afoot to put up Dugher as potential leader with others looking at Kier Starmer. Jarvis was on manoeuvers in the Guardian yesterday. All anonymous briefing so far. Put on face of it someone might be persuaded to be the stalking horse after May's meltdown, or, as one person puts it, we need a "suicide bomber" (a bad choice of metaphor).
It's always easiest to do nothing. My view is that, barring absolute catastrophe for Labour in local elections, Corbyn is likely to lead them to defeat in 2020, with the party losing another dozen or so seats.
A by-election loss to UKIP would also topple Corbyn too in my view
'Another quango chief needing a large slap with Mr Dancer's enormo-haddock.'
Now the tories have a majority they can perhaps work harder against labour's vast placeman army that makes initiatives such as this and the witch hunt of our soldiers.
Another one with his head up his orifice, what about their army of placemen and hangers on. neither want to upset the applecart as they are just cheeks of the same money grubbing arse.
Out of interest, Malcolm, do you think that the boundary between England and Scotland is in the right place (it was a good deal further south in times gone by)?
Innocent , no beef either way. I suspect that some parts just south of the border would also like to be out of the clutches of London control though. Neither Scotland or Northern England will ever prosper whilst London sucks the life blood out of them and stunts their growth and initiative. In days gone by they did try to share things , have some autonomy but London under the current effete elite is just sucking the rest dry.
I'd agree with that. However, the notion (not explicitly stated and perhaps not what you meant), that some parts of northern England would rather be in Scotland is as fanciful as the idea put forward by some last year that the Borders would opt to stay in the UK had Scotland voted Yes. For all the resentment at London, England is England.
David, I specifically never mentioned them being part of Scotland but believe they could do better on their own and linked with an independent Scotland. Unless there is a full federal system , they will continue to decline and become holiday spots for southern retirees.
I partially agree. That, and rebalancing the current lopsided devolution arrangements are two reasons why I favour a federal solution for the UK. Morris Dancer, of course, believes I should be shot out of a space trebuchet or something for such thoughts.
More local government? Don't make me laugh. Just because malc talks out of his arse is no reason for everyone else to. How is Sunderland for an example in 'decline' ? It makes more cars than Italy. Derby is happily turning out Toyota's. Newcastle is the proud home of HMRC isn't it? Etc etc. Malc talks crap because it suits his purpose to talk crap. We do not have to believe him. We already have the beginnings of a northern powerhouse and of course HS2 to link us all, except of course the nutjobs have to have something to squeal about.
Well regardless of your personal view and your view of the individuals in question, the only two Alpha++ cities in the world according to the Globalisation and World Cities Research network and most studies are London and New York https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
I think it is fair to say that as the Mayor has fairly limited tax raising powers and no authority to make laws, his powers are on paper at least rather less than those of Sturgeon or even Carwyn Jones, although they might be comparable to Arlene Foster.
The prestige, on the other hand, is massive, and the opportunity to bend the ear of various senior politicians on London's behalf via informal networks and socialising far greater than the opportunities in Cardiff, Edinburgh or Stormont.
A big hitter could make London into a big office and a springboard to a national role. Johnson, however, hasn't quite managed it and bluntly it's difficult to see Khan succeeding where Johnson failed.
Indeed it is a prestigious role. While London is an Alpha World City, Edinburgh is only a D city ie at the lower tier of cities with evidence of world city formation, alongside Glasgow. Beautiful though Edinburgh is London clearly is the only UK city in the global top tier http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html
That is entirely a problem with how the UK is managed and the complete failure of successive UK governments to offer anything other than "more London". The vast majority of countries round the world of any significance, show absolutely none of the single city bias that the UK has.
Even the US has only three Alpha World Cities, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Japan has Tokyo, France Paris, Italy Milan, Germany Frankfurt and China Hong Kong no other country in the world (bar Singapore, a city state so a separate case) has even one Alpha World City so we are lucky to have one! http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. ...... about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
.......
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
Not sure about the word "fortunately". If you randomly attack a horse and it kills you I would call that instant karma.
If it had been on the head it might have knocked some sense into him.
Death as a penalty for one seconds stupidity seems excessive. After all, death for planned murder is considered excessive. I guess I must be a liberal lefty or something.
Does not mean death, I saw 24 hour A%E recently and a 3 year old kicked in the face by a horse survived and had no lasting injuries. Looked a real mess at the time and looked bad for a bit but was very surprising. Bad enough if one just stands on your foot never mind kicking you.
A full on face kick is very often lethal - if you are standing close, the impact is much, much less, though. Hence the old riding stable trick of you walk down the side of the horse, put a hand on the top of the tail and walk round - this tells the horse where you are, and if it does kick, it can't get enough "run up" to really hit you.
I'll bet the 3 year old wasn't 3-4 feet from the horse, and it was a pony. The guy I saw kicked was standing something like 6 foot back. The horse's leg was practically straight.....
I'm detecting a very worrying growth in Islingtonphobia. There are many hardworking Islingtonians like me who are horrified by public preconceptions about us.
Do you at least have a place in the country and ride to hounds at weekends?
A place in a different country. I've never sat on the back of a horse, still less with hounds. I quite like dogs though. Does that count?
I sincerely recommend going for a hack when you are out of town. Moseying along at a walking pace on a horse - you see the countryside from a different perspective.
I'm dangerous enough on foot.
If you go on a hack, you will be in a group. Your horse will follow the horse in front, unless you are quite a good rider. It will ignore pretty much anything you try to do....
The similarities with residents of Islington seem to get greater all the time!
Some years ago I was riding when a somewhat demented individual attacked us. As far I could tell he seemed to think everyone on a horse was a fox hunter. He got behind my horse and lashed at it with a stick - I presume he was trying to make it bolt. The horse I was riding was a bit of psycho. He just kicked the guy - right off the ground. Fortunately it was a rib cage hit - I genuinely thought for second he was deader...
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
Not sure about the word "fortunately". If you randomly attack a horse and it kills you I would call that instant karma.
If it had been on the head it might have knocked some sense into him.
Death as a penalty for one seconds stupidity seems excessive. After all, death for planned murder is considered excessive. I guess I must be a liberal lefty or something.
In this case, it would not be death as a penalty, but death as proof of Darwinism.
Comments
I have taken a small nibble on Christie taking NH. Just a feeling he may surprise. However, my overall track record last year was abysmal. Hopefully 2016 will be better.
It is a classic mistake in research.
A policy agenda for the Alastair Meeks of this world is somewhat unlikely to have sufficiently wide appeal in the country. Even for those of us who think horses are large smelly creatures who should really be taught not to crap everywhere.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
The stimulus to work on electric cars caused by such policies has to be hugely beneficial to us all though.
I don't.
I tried skiing once. I wish it had been filmed for posterity.
A friend who lives in Somerset enjoyed telling the EA idiots that at least they'd solved the badger issue where he lived......
EDIT GGs are smelly in a lovely earthy way. You can’t casually pat one without smelling like a stable.
Second chairmen do not run these organisations or even set policy, the chief executive in this case was not on holiday but on hand.
None of this rubbish takes account of whether the operation is being run properly or the right policies followed, but it presumably keeps small minds occupied.
This chairman will argue that his role is advisory and strategic, that he was being paid for only two days a week (which in practice means answering emails and a few meetings and conference calls), which is all well and good. But rightly or wrongly the general public affected by floods see someone paid a lot of money who not only isn't around, but his lifestyle means he'll never be affected by floods!
An enterprising journalist might want to go digging as to if he spends fewer than 90 days a year in the UK, what are his other sources of income and how exactly do the British government pay him. Then do the same with a few more quango chiefs. As was alluded to downthread with the CCRC guy, there's an opportunity for the govt to have a real clearout of the quangos and their senior management.
Total Islingtonite lefty - speech, mannerisms.
However, the range still isn't adequate. I once had to commute 100 miles each way from Gloucester to Aberystwyth, 40 miles each way from Gloucester to Caldicot, and 91 miles each way from Gloucester to Bracknell, all for temporary jobs of one sort or another. Unless there are free (or at least extremely cheap) charge points at each end, that immediately rules out electric cars. In fact, commuting using a diesel car was about a third of the cost of doing it any other way, not to mention a great deal quicker and easier.
I am now as green as possible and cycle in to work.
I was so small, I used jockey sized saddle et al.
About that focus group showing 7 out of 27 republicans thinking voting for Hillary, there was a poll a week ago I think that showed Hillary getting 14% of republicans and Trump getting 20% of Democrats, so that looks consistent.
So if Trump becomes the nominee I would a expect a partial re-alignment in american politics, depending of course which states those who switch allegiance come from.
It's very Corbyn like, having an outsider taking over the party leads to great pains among the old guard who used to run it.
A note about Bloomberg, he wanted to run so he conducted a poll last month, the results were bad so he decided to declare that he's not running.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/us/politics/for-republicans-mounting-fears-of-lasting-split.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
alot of big super markets are offering free charging. A friend of a friend regularly drives his Leaf about 90 miles to London, plugs in at the local supermarket, stays the day and drives back in the early evening....
As I say, a classic error that you see all the time, even in peer reviewed research.
The prestige, on the other hand, is massive, and the opportunity to bend the ear of various senior politicians on London's behalf via informal networks and socialising far greater than the opportunities in Cardiff, Edinburgh or Stormont.
A big hitter could make London into a big office and a springboard to a national role. Johnson, however, hasn't quite managed it and bluntly it's difficult to see Khan succeeding where Johnson failed.
The GOP establishment also looks likely to find out what the Labour establishment has been hit by as you say. Bloomberg not running is a small boost for Hillary, at least based on your earlier posts on the topic. Mind you I don't think there was ever space for 3 New Yorkers in the race, if the Democrats pick Sanders rather than Hillary Bloomberg might reconsider as some former Hillary voters pay prefer him to Bernie
The irony is of course that an electric car in Aberystwyth is probably about the greenest form of transport going given all their electricity is generated by hydropower!
What? There are none. Funny as f*ck.
It was indeed a hell of a commute. The worst one was when we had that very cold snap and three feet of snow. My car's temperature gauge kept registering -10 in Radnor Forest. Fortunately nobody else was on the road for some reason.
My record, door to door, was two hours. Usually it was about 2.40.
Given that half the world's population seem to want to get here by hook or by crook, it seems he has kept London's international reputation at the very highest level. Can you ask much more of the Mayor? Either of his likely successors are going to seem quite drab by comparison.
I earn every penny I make many times over.
PS , I don't take taxpayers money like some.
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-23353996
George Ferguson wins a mention for Greenwash award in Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs for his troubles.
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=rotten_boroughs&issue=1409
The roll out of infrastructure begs questions about who pays, should it be the operators or entrepreneurs in the private sector prepared to take the risk rather than local and central government who are in effect forcing tax payers to fund the lifestyle choices of some poseurs.
It's a bit irritating, but is it bonkers? I'm not sure. The public transport in the area is fantastic - I have four bus routes within a minute's walk with big bus lanes and two Tube stations within 10 minutes. Traffic is heavy because it's a commuter route (Holloway Road). On the whole I don't need a car, and if we all had cars the only effect would be that buses and cars alike would get even more jammed up.
Incidentally, the main threat to Labour in the area has been the Greens, and before that the LibDems. The option of kissing a Tory as per the T-shirt slogan rarely arises. So you're right that it's a bit of a microculture. That said, it'd be a mistake to think it's unique to have high renting %s and limited car ownership - it's an extreme form of an increasingly common London lifestyle.
Maybe.
Mine have been sweeties in the main if a trifle barging.
http://www.smmt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/UK-EV-registrations-Dec_15.jpg
How is Sunderland for an example in 'decline' ? It makes more cars than Italy. Derby is happily turning out Toyota's. Newcastle is the proud home of HMRC isn't it? Etc etc. Malc talks crap because it suits his purpose to talk crap. We do not have to believe him.
We already have the beginnings of a northern powerhouse and of course HS2 to link us all, except of course the nutjobs have to have something to squeal about.
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html
I'll bet the 3 year old wasn't 3-4 feet from the horse, and it was a pony. The guy I saw kicked was standing something like 6 foot back. The horse's leg was practically straight.....