Question, does that include Rubio winning no delegates from Texas due to the 20% threshold?
The majority of TX delegates are from CDs, with a 2:1 rule. The 20% threshold works almost in reverse there.
Unless someone wins >50% in a CD, in which case they win all three delegates, the delegates will split 2:1 between first and second; unless no-one wins >20% in the CD, in which case they split 1:1:1 among the top three.
Rubio would win a handful in TX on current polling, I think...
As a eurosceptic Tory I simply do not recognise your description of the man or the situation. I disagree with Cameron on this. It is not the end of the world and I will still be a Tory when it is over, when Cameron has retired and when Osborne is PM.
Surely the only way Osborne gets to Number 10 now is with a very big Remain win. And that is extremely unlikely.
I think we will look back on the Euro Referendum like we do the last two and say "Did we really think this would affect politics in any serious way?"
If Ozzie balances the books with a really significant finish to this parliament he will be able to point to the sunlit uplands and say let me take you there.
Indeed.
Imagine this though: Remain wins by about 7 points. Dave steps down at Christmas. Next autumn, we enter a 2008-style crash with George as PM. The public then has to decide whether to support a party who promised security through reform and delivered neither, (and Europe would need financial help), a pacifist party whose response is to nationalise the banks with printed money AGAIN, the Lib Dems who increasingly resemble a small charitable society, and a tired, one dimensional UKIP party embittered by their defeat and riven with recriminations.
We would probably end up with Boris as s Trump-like response
A 2008 style crash would require banks to be under capitalised and to have made a whole series of naff sub prime investments and be led by a bunch of barrow boy tossers taking advantage of inept supervisory regulation. Is that happening?
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
If I was a Eurosceptic voting on purely Eurosceptic grounds last person I'd want to be next Tory leader is Boris. I suspect if this came around again then if Boris were PM he'd be pro-Remain. He's only just pro-Leave when he's jockeying for position, if he had that position already he'd definitely "go native".
I'd always be careful about David Smith and especially when he doesn't give actual data.
The UK's exports of services increased from £146bn in 2006 to £220bn in 2014 - so more like a 50% increase. The UK's surplus in services though did double, from £43bn in 2006 to £89bn in 2014.
The UK's continual trade deficit isn't the fault of exporters, either of services or goods (which are higher than services exports and which have also increased during that period), but because the UK's debt fuelled overconsumption of imported consumer tat.
I would warn against assuming that the UK will continue to register trade surpluses in services - as you say the internet is increasingly dominating lives and there's no reason why services shouldn't be increasingly provided by countries with lower cost bases and lower regulation than the UK.
The growth of exports and imports in services is much more rapid than the growth in exports and imports of goods. This is very good news for UK plc which is very good at services and rather more mediocre at making things.
Looking ahead it seems likely that these trends will continue. So UK plc will prosper. Services are not so much about cost base as quality. The services provided by the City, in law, in insurance and in IT are a lot less vulnerable to cost pressures than the manufacture of widgets. This is also good for UK plc.
David Smith's piece wasn't about trade per se. It was about whether the UK had grown faster since it got access to the single market. And it has in comparison with both France and Germany. Part of the reason for that is the single market has gradually and slowly expanded from goods to services. This is very good for us. One of the issues that Leave really needs to address is whether that trend would continue if we are not at the table actually voting for it. If the answer is no then our comparative advantage in services will be of less significance going forward.
Of course I fully recognise and acknowledge that arguments like this will not shift a significant number of votes in the referendum. They are too complicated. But it is undoubtedly a feature of the cost benefit analysis that I for one am involved in for this. It is seriously complicated and finely balanced.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
Depends if you already have any points, if not then take the hit. I did the course and it is four hours of my life I will never get back, more boring than watching a Tony Pulis team play.
If you do take the course be wary of any strategically placed speed cameras nearby, I know someone who got done again on the way home from the course.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Isn't that a result that the fine for 3 points has recently gone up. I believe it used to be less.
It is a no-brainer - getting 3 points on your licence these days has a disproportionate effect on your insurance. Normally you DONT have to declare you've been on a speed awareness course - but one or two companies now ask.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
You don't have to declare points on insurance and car hire I think is the reason.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
Speaking as a centrist currently in the Conservative orbit I think Alastair is right about this.
Labour are so far from the centre as to be out of sight. The Conservatives have made a move towards the centre as expressed in Cameron's last conference speech. There has been some tangible work in government too - I think particularly of Gove's dismantling of Grayling's legacy at the MoJ. But if the same Grayling (or someone of his stamp) is the next Conservative leader, that's the end of the Conservative occupation of any part of the centre ground.
I expect to see more of the same in a couple of weeks when the pension benefits of the super rich will be curtailed to protect public spending from the consequences of disappointing growth.
"Super rich" = salaried people working very hard, in high-stress jobs, to build their careers and provide for their families who earn between £40k and £75k.
If Osborne steals my pension, I will hound him to his grave.
No super rich means people like a friend of mine who paid £100k into his pension fund from capital last year and saved £20k of tax that mugs like me has to pay.
Then that would be fine. But he won't save much money just targeting them.
I have no source of income other than my salary (which I work bloody hard for) and my pensions savings are entirely dependent upon my PAYE contributions of 5% employer and 5% employee (me) each month, and the tax relief I get on that.
Just 5%, Mr Royale. You ain't saving enough. Double that and add a bit, then you might be comfortable in retirement and able to maintain your standard of living.
Alternatively, take up drinking, smoking and hard drugs when you hit 60. You'll be through your savings within five years of retirement, but - boy - will you have had a good time.
And, annuities are very good value if you do so.
Is it possible to take up excessive drinking, smoking, drug taking and multiple extreme sports immediately before you convert your pension fund into an annuity.
And then give them all up as soon as your annuity rate has been agreed ?
smoking usually needs to be for 10 years to properly qualify. extreme sports and drugs aren't captured in the enhanced quote forms..
moving to a glasgow postcode is however legitimate if rather desperate!!
I predict it will be free in a couple of years...free from clogging up the news stands that is....
How does The Mirror offering a free - or pennyworth cheap - alternative to er.. The Mirror help sales of ummm... The Mirror?
No idea. It is totally bonkers. All the other papers are trying to work out how to make digital work for them & the mirror thinks the shrinking dead tree market is prime for a new title.
It took General Motors over 50 years to work out that selling essentially the same car under 6 different brand names - Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac and GMC - to different market segments, each with its own advertising, branding and promotion, would bankrupt the company.
Competing with yourself in the marketplace is really really dumb.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
Have you heard of "totting", leading to a ban?
I'd sooner keep a blank sheet.
If you have a clean sheet already then possibly take the three points, you can always take the awareness course next time.
I took the awareness course years ago but that's because I was then already on 3 points and working in a company where for insurance reasons I needed six points or less not less than 12 points. I took the awareness course then even though it cost more and took a day so as not to be right on the limit.
Though since then I've never had another and now have a clean record again. Possibly a commendation to the awareness course, although likely more to do with getting a car that is very fuel inefficient if I speed.
'And the trends are such that services will exceed goods in a relatively short time. They are probably under recorded too. '
Yes, almost certainly.
Which also means the current account deficit is overstated. Something that changes in the stocks of overseas assets and liabilities also suggests. If the deficit had really been as bad as it appears to be, the UK net external asset position would probably be considerably worse.
Its probably one of the harder things for the ONS to calculate but the UK's international investment position has worsened significantly in recent years:
I predict it will be free in a couple of years...free from clogging up the news stands that is....
How does The Mirror offering a free - or pennyworth cheap - alternative to er.. The Mirror help sales of ummm... The Mirror?
No idea. It is totally bonkers. All the other papers are trying to work out how to make digital work for them & the mirror thinks the shrinking dead tree market is prime for a new title.
It took General Motors over 50 years to work out that selling essentially the same car under 6 different brand names - Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac and GMC - to different market segments, each with its own advertising, branding and promotion, would bankrupt the company.
Competing with yourself in the marketplace is really really dumb.
I have no idea who has made this decision but they are definitely a sandwich sort of a picnic & shouldn't be anywhere near running a business.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
You don't have to declare points on insurance and car hire I think is the reason.
The statement is ambiguous - You DO have to declare points if you've got them. The SAC means you don't get points.
Many consider that the LMA Manager of the Year award is a two horse race between the Leicester City Manager, Claudio Ranieri and his counterpart at Spurs, Mauricio Pochettino. The bookies on the other hand believe that Claudio is already home and hosed with Paddy Power offering odds of 1/3, compared with 5/1 for Mauricio. Certainly right now, with Leicester incredibly still heading the Premier League, their manager looks to be a deserved red hot favourite, but what if ??? After both sides won this weekend Spurs are just 2 points behind Leicester with something of a gap opening up behind them. Leicester have a very tough end to the season with their last three games being against Man Utd (away), Everton (home) and Chelsea (away) - it's possible to imagine then gaining just one or two points from these fixtures and thereby losing out to Spurs for the Premier League title at the final knockings. Being a London club manager might also assist Pochettino when it comes to the actual vote. So who will win? Very probably the genial Ranieri, but in terms of betting value, I can't help but think that a 15 times greater return from a wager on Pochettino is the way to go and I've had a modest fiver on him winning. DYOR.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Some people I know who went on those courses said it did make them change their driving behaviour. I guess unless they are completely cynical the organisers think the courses should have some effect. Otherwise, why are you running them?
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Some people I know who went on those courses said it did make them change their driving behaviour. I guess unless they are completely cynical the organisers think the courses should have some effect. Otherwise, why are you running them?
They make money out of them...it's a cracking little racket.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Some people I know who went on those courses said it did make them change their driving behaviour. I guess unless they are completely cynical the organisers think the courses should have some effect. Otherwise, why are you running them?
They make money out of them...it's a cracking little racket.
The government loses money by allowing them to be ran as an alternative to fine and points so why allow it unless they have a positive effect?
Many consider that the LMA Manager of the Year award is a two horse race between the Leicester City Manager, Claudio Ranieri and his counterpart at Spurs, Mauricio Pochettino. The bookies on the other hand believe that Claudio is already home and hosed with Paddy Power offering odds of 1/3, compared with 5/1 for Mauricio. Certainly right now, with Leicester incredibly still heading the Premier League, their manager looks to be a deserved red hot favourite, but what if ??? After both sides won this weekend Spurs are just 2 points behind Leicester with something of a gap opening up behind them. Leicester have a very tough end to the season with their last three games being against Man Utd (away), Everton (home) and Chelsea (away) - it's possible to imagine then gaining just one or two points from these fixtures and thereby losing out to Spurs for the Premier League title at the final knockings. Being a London club manager might also assist Pochettino when it comes to the actual vote. So who will win? Very probably the genial Ranieri, but in terms of betting value, I can't help but think that a 15 times greater return from a wager on Pochettino is the way to go and I've had a modest fiver on him winning. DYOR.
Agree the difference in price is ludicrous and Totteham still have a chance of landing the Europa League as well. But be aware if Leicester need to win at Chelsea in the last game then they will, Ranieri is still lived there while Spurs are the opposite.
I think Leicester will be out if it by then though.
I'd always be careful about David Smith and especially when he doesn't give actual data.
The UK's exports of services increased from £146bn in 2006 to £220bn in 2014 - so more like a 50% increase. The UK's surplus in services though did double, from £43bn in 2006 to £89bn in 2014.
The UK's continual trade deficit isn't the fault of exporters, either of services or goods (which are higher than services exports and which have also increased during that period), but because the UK's debt fuelled overconsumption of imported consumer tat.
I would warn against assuming that the UK will continue to register trade surpluses in services - as you say the internet is increasingly dominating lives and there's no reason why services shouldn't be increasingly provided by countries with lower cost bases and lower regulation than the UK.
The growth of exports and imports in services is much more rapid than the growth in exports and imports of goods. This is very good news for UK plc which is very good at services and rather more mediocre at making things.
That depends upon whether you are talking in money terms or percentage terms.
Between 2006 and 2014 the increases from largest to smallest in money terms were:
And as I said beware assuming that the UK will always be able to increase its services exports - there will be some UK service exporters who go the way of the British motorbike industry. Who, when, why and how many are what we don't know yet.
That would be Trump's first senetorial endorsement, but it's been forecasted since before Iowa.
Meh. Boring.
Where are the American politicians who're going to endorse Brexit?
Putin has. What more do you want?
Source?
What's the point of remaining part of a "club" who's currency we don't even use?
Because the club is about more than just currency. Getting the Single Market to include services is an on-going struggle that has had some rewards that helps the UK and which we can't continue to do if we leave.
I'd always be careful about David Smith and especially when he doesn't give actual data.
The UK's exports of services increased from £146bn in 2006 to £220bn in 2014 - so more like a 50% increase. The UK's surplus in services though did double, from £43bn in 2006 to £89bn in 2014.
The UK's continual trade deficit isn't the fault of exporters, either of services or goods (which are higher than services exports and which have also increased during that period), but because the UK's debt fuelled overconsumption of imported consumer tat.
I would warn against assuming that the UK will continue to register trade surpluses in services - as you say the internet is increasingly dominating lives and there's no reason why services shouldn't be increasingly provided by countries with lower cost bases and lower regulation than the UK.
The growth of exports and imports in services is much more rapid than the growth in exports and imports of goods. This is very good news for UK plc which is very good at services and rather more mediocre at making things.
That depends upon whether you are talking in money terms or percentage terms.
Between 2006 and 2014 the increases from largest to smallest in money terms were:
And as I said beware assuming that the UK will always be able to increase its services exports - there will be some UK service exporters who go the way of the British motorbike industry. Who, when, why and how many are what we don't know yet.
So what? They'll be replaced with something else most likely more productive just as has happened for many centuries now.
I'm effectively betting on Clinton and Trump right now. Now that HRC has got one of her aides seemingly to take the rap for her e-mails, she makes me a hell of alot less nervous as a front runner than the Donald.
I'd always be careful about David Smith and especially when he doesn't give actual data.
The UK's exports of services increased from £146bn in 2006 to £220bn in 2014 - so more like a 50% increase. The UK's surplus in services though did double, from £43bn in 2006 to £89bn in 2014.
The UK's continual trade deficit isn't the fault of exporters, either of services or goods (which are higher than services exports and which have also increased during that period), but because the UK's debt fuelled overconsumption of imported consumer tat.
I would warn against assuming that the UK will continue to register trade surpluses in services - as you say the internet is increasingly dominating lives and there's no reason why services shouldn't be increasingly provided by countries with lower cost bases and lower regulation than the UK.
The growth of exports and imports in services is much more rapid than the growth in exports and imports of goods. This is very good news for UK plc which is very good at services and rather more mediocre at making things.
That depends upon whether you are talking in money terms or percentage terms.
Between 2006 and 2014 the increases from largest to smallest in money terms were:
And as I said beware assuming that the UK will always be able to increase its services exports - there will be some UK service exporters who go the way of the British motorbike industry. Who, when, why and how many are what we don't know yet.
So what? They'll be replaced with something else most likely more productive just as has happened for many centuries now.
Something will replace them - whether that something will be enough to replace them is another question.
The UK has no fundamental right to be one of the most affluent countries in the world.
I'd always be careful about David Smith and especially when he doesn't give actual data.
The UK's exports of services increased from £146bn in 2006 to £220bn in 2014 - so more like a 50% increase. The UK's surplus in services though did double, from £43bn in 2006 to £89bn in 2014.
The UK's continual trade deficit isn't the fault of exporters, either of services or goods (which are higher than services exports and which have also increased during that period), but because the UK's debt fuelled overconsumption of imported consumer tat.
I would warn against assuming that the UK will continue to register trade surpluses in services - as you say the internet is increasingly dominating lives and there's no reason why services shouldn't be increasingly provided by countries with lower cost bases and lower regulation than the UK.
The growth of exports and imports in services is much more rapid than the growth in exports and imports of goods. This is very good news for UK plc which is very good at services and rather more mediocre at making things.
That depends upon whether you are talking in money terms or percentage terms.
Between 2006 and 2014 the increases from largest to smallest in money terms were:
And as I said beware assuming that the UK will always be able to increase its services exports - there will be some UK service exporters who go the way of the British motorbike industry. Who, when, why and how many are what we don't know yet.
So what? They'll be replaced with something else most likely more productive just as has happened for many centuries now.
Why, because the citizens of our rainy haven have a God-given right to be richer than Indians or Chinese who actually do things? Your complacency is astounding.
Out of interest just done some googling in relation to.if you have to tell your insurance company about them. Apparently you really have to check the small print carefully. Some ask upfront, some don't but it is in the small print. And if it is either it will affect your premium costs. So just because the meerkat doesn't ask it doesn't mean returned searches are valid so to say.
I predict it will be free in a couple of years...free from clogging up the news stands that is....
How does The Mirror offering a free - or pennyworth cheap - alternative to er.. The Mirror help sales of ummm... The Mirror?
No idea. It is totally bonkers. All the other papers are trying to work out how to make digital work for them & the mirror thinks the shrinking dead tree market is prime for a new title.
It took General Motors over 50 years to work out that selling essentially the same car under 6 different brand names - Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac and GMC - to different market segments, each with its own advertising, branding and promotion, would bankrupt the company.
Competing with yourself in the marketplace is really really dumb.
I do take your point but on the other hand VW are doing the same thing successfully - VW Audi Skoda Seat Lamborghini Bugatti. PSA make Puegots Citroens and now DSs. FIAT/Chrysler/Jeep are doing the same thing too.
The costs of employing labour crippled General Motors. If has farmed out its healthcare costs to the unions I think as well as closing shedloads of factories .
' Chris Noon, a partner at Hymans Robertson, told the Observer: “Within the private sector, it’s the low paid – those earning less than around £15,000 – that will be hit hardest. Gordon Brown made changes to the way the low paid accrue state pension, which resulted in employees with earnings below around £15,000 accruing relatively large amounts.
“Under the new rules, this population will be significantly affected. For example, for someone earning around £15,000 with a working life of 20 years, they will be looking at a drop of around £1,200 per annum. If that same person worked for 50 years they will be looking at £2,500 less per annum in state pension than they would have been entitled to under the old system.”
He added: “With tax credits we’re seeing around three million people lose out, with a £4bn saving for the Treasury. With state pension changes, we’re seeing 20 million people lose, with an £8bn saving for the government.
“This is a much bigger issue affecting larger swaths of the population – and again, it impacts the lower paid. The only difference is tax credits affect individual’s incomes here and now, whereas state pension changes will hit them in the future.” '
So we're told that the low paid are going to have their pensions hit and that the 40% taxpayers are going to have their pensions hit and that those who take the 25% tax free are going to have their pensions hit.
That's either a real lot of expectations management or we're going to have a very unpopular budget for anyone under 50.
Speaking as a centrist currently in the Conservative orbit I think Alastair is right about this.
Labour are so far from the centre as to be out of sight. The Conservatives have made a move towards the centre as expressed in Cameron's last conference speech. There has been some tangible work in government too - I think particularly of Gove's dismantling of Grayling's legacy at the MoJ. But if the same Grayling (or someone of his stamp) is the next Conservative leader, that's the end of the Conservative occupation of any part of the centre ground.
I expect to see more of the same in a couple of weeks when the pension benefits of the super rich will be curtailed to protect public spending from the consequences of disappointing growth.
"Super rich" = salaried people working very hard, in high-stress jobs, to build their careers and provide for their families who earn between £40k and £75k.
If Osborne steals my pension, I will hound him to his grave.
No super rich means people like a friend of mine who paid £100k into his pension fund from capital last year and saved £20k of tax that mugs like me has to pay.
Then that would be fine. But he won't save much money just targeting them.
I have no source of income other than my salary (which I work bloody hard for) and my pensions savings are entirely dependent upon my PAYE contributions of 5% employer and 5% employee (me) each month, and the tax relief I get on that.
Just 5%, Mr Royale. You ain't saving enough. Double that and add a bit, then you might be comfortable in retirement and able to maintain your standard of living.
Alternatively, take up drinking, smoking and hard drugs when you hit 60. You'll be through your savings within five years of retirement, but - boy - will you have had a good time.
And, annuities are very good value if you do so.
Is it possible to take up excessive drinking, smoking, drug taking and multiple extreme sports immediately before you convert your pension fund into an annuity.
And then give them all up as soon as your annuity rate has been agreed ?
smoking usually needs to be for 10 years to properly qualify. extreme sports and drugs aren't captured in the enhanced quote forms..
moving to a glasgow postcode is however legitimate if rather desperate!!
I'd always be careful about David Smith and especially when he doesn't give actual data.
The UK's exports of services increased from £146bn in 2006 to £220bn in 2014 - so more like a 50% increase. The UK's surplus in services though did double, from £43bn in 2006 to £89bn in 2014.
The UK's continual trade deficit isn't the fault of exporters, either of services or goods (which are higher than services exports and which have also increased during that period), but because the UK's debt fuelled overconsumption of imported consumer tat.
I would warn against assuming that the UK will continue to register trade surpluses in services - as you say the internet is increasingly dominating lives and there's no reason why services shouldn't be increasingly provided by countries with lower cost bases and lower regulation than the UK.
The growth of exports and imports in services is much more rapid than the growth in exports and imports of goods. This is very good news for UK plc which is very good at services and rather more mediocre at making things.
That depends upon whether you are talking in money terms or percentage terms.
Between 2006 and 2014 the increases from largest to smallest in money terms were:
And as I said beware assuming that the UK will always be able to increase its services exports - there will be some UK service exporters who go the way of the British motorbike industry. Who, when, why and how many are what we don't know yet.
So what? They'll be replaced with something else most likely more productive just as has happened for many centuries now.
Why, because the citizens of our rainy haven have a God-given right to be richer than Indians or Chinese who actually do things? Your complacency is astounding.
No because we aren't Luddites and have developed technology and education.
Genuinely surprised that Devon is "median". They clearly haven't been talking to those I have been talking to....
Having lived in Devon, I met plenty of folk who would happily had their own towns independence from being in the same county as Torquay let alone the eu.
' Chris Noon, a partner at Hymans Robertson, told the Observer: “Within the private sector, it’s the low paid – those earning less than around £15,000 – that will be hit hardest. Gordon Brown made changes to the way the low paid accrue state pension, which resulted in employees with earnings below around £15,000 accruing relatively large amounts.
snip
That's either a real lot of expectations management or we're going to have a very unpopular budget for anyone under 50.
One of the regular comments has been about a pensions blackhole about billions of hidden pensions debt. I do not hold terribly with that, but the questions to be asked are (assuming reports true) are current arrangements affordable? Are they fair? Is it simply 'a raid'? Is it more correcting a mess left by Brown?
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
Totally disagree, I'm proud of my ultra clean driving licence, plus this helps to keep my motor insurance premiums at acceptable levels.
There's also the small matter of how much time you would then save - *cough* were you unfortunate enough to collect 12 points. Not that difficult these days with thousands of speed cameras around, many of which I seem to recall were supposed to be removed or at least rendered inactive. I don't see much sign of that happening.
Brexit would negatively affect lives of millions, official UK report says
Cabinet Office says UK would spend years renegotiating trade and other agreements with EU and non-EU countries
Car manufacturing, farming, financial services and the lives of millions of Britons living in Europe will all be affected as the UK takes 10 years to extricate itself from the EU, an official report says.
The government’s first official analysis into how Brexit would unfold in practice says a decade of uncertainty would hit “financial markets, investment and the value of the pound”. It also warns that the rights of 2 million British expats to work and access pensions and healthcare in EU countries may no longer be guaranteed.
Written by civil servants in the Cabinet Office, and seen first by the Guardian, the document says that it would not be feasible to leave the EU within the two-year time frame stipulated by existing treaties. “A vote to leave the EU would be the start, not the end, of a process. It could lead to up to a decade or more of uncertainty,” they concluded.
The 10 years cited in the report includes the time it would take for Britain to exit the EU, to set up a new trade and related agreements as well as negotiate fresh trade deals with the US and other countries elsewhere. The document says they would only be completed at the end of a three-stageprocess that will be triggered in June if Britain votes to leave the EU.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Would take the fine and points everyday. Surely your time is more valuable than 15 quid?
Totally disagree, I'm proud of my ultra clean driving licence, plus this helps to keep my motor insurance premiums at acceptable levels.
There's also the small matter of how much time you would then save - *cough* were you unfortunate enough to collect 12 points. Not that difficult these days with thousands of speed cameras around, many of which I seem to recall were supposed to be removed or at least rendered inactive. I don't see much sign of that happening.
The insurance premium hike for the next 5 years is worse than the fine.
I am shocked I tell you, shocked that. The cabinet office backing Remain have produced a report that says leave would be terrible, and have leaked it to the Guardian who back Remain, which will then become the days top story on the BBC / Sky.
So while eurosceptic ministers aren't being allowed to read EU documents from their departments, taxpayer funding is being used to pump out reports for Remain.
What a tilted playing field this whole referendum is. Cameron and Osborne are going down and down in my estimation of them.
Brexit would negatively affect lives of millions, official UK report says
Cabinet Office says UK would spend years renegotiating trade and other agreements with EU and non-EU countries
Car manufacturing, farming, financial services and the lives of millions of Britons living in Europe will all be affected as the UK takes 10 years to extricate itself from the EU, an official report says.
The government’s first official analysis into how Brexit would unfold in practice says a decade of uncertainty would hit “financial markets, investment and the value of the pound”. It also warns that the rights of 2 million British expats to work and access pensions and healthcare in EU countries may no longer be guaranteed.
Written by civil servants in the Cabinet Office, and seen first by the Guardian, the document says that it would not be feasible to leave the EU within the two-year time frame stipulated by existing treaties. “A vote to leave the EU would be the start, not the end, of a process. It could lead to up to a decade or more of uncertainty,” they concluded.
The 10 years cited in the report includes the time it would take for Britain to exit the EU, to set up a new trade and related agreements as well as negotiate fresh trade deals with the US and other countries elsewhere. The document says they would only be completed at the end of a three-stageprocess that will be triggered in June if Britain votes to leave the EU.
Portugal took no time at all to negotiate the handover of Macau. How did they do it? They took the Hong Kong agreement, and used cut and paste.
Not saying that is how a post-Brexit UK should redo its trade agreements, but it is ridiculous - nay, an insult to the public's intelligence - to insinuate that anything but criminal negligence and incompetence would require ten years.
That cabinet office reports shows how unobjective it is by arguing we would lose structural funds to poorer regions by leaving. Given most of our contribution to the structural funds is spent in Eastern Europe, we would have a lot more for poorer UK regions if we opted out.
That report isn't proper analysis. Its a propaganda piece and it demans civil service that they have allowed themselves to be politicised in this way.
Spain, the country that offers visa's to Chinese for a modest investment (at one point it was as low as 160k euro), would stop Brits moving. I somehow doubt it. And I am sure Portugal would happily have them instead.
"In November 2012 the Spanish government announced plans to offer residency to those spending €160,000 or more on a residential property in Spain. The purchase threshold has now been increased to €500,000. Under a similar scheme Portugal has seen Chinese buyers flocking to buy property and according to one Portuguese real estate agent they have seen Chinese buyers generate €25 million in just two and a half months that would otherwise not have existed.
Residency in Spain will also be granted for spouses and children of the non-EU citizens investing €500,000,"
Lord Mervyn King examines the Eurozone (Economics for Dipsticks):
It is evident, as it has been for a very long while, that the only way forward for Greece is to default on (or be forgiven) a substantial proportion of its debt burden and to devalue its currency so that exports and the substitution of domestic products for imports can compensate for the depressing effects of the fiscal contraction imposed to date.
The inevitability of restructuring Greek debt means that taxpayers in Germany and elsewhere will have to absorb substantial losses. It was more than a little depressing to see the countries of the euro area haggling over how much to lend to Greece so that it would be able to pay them back some of the earlier loans. Such a circular flow of payments made little difference to the health, or lack of it, of the Greek economy. It is particularly unfortunate that Germany seemed to have forgotten its own history.
.... Germany faces a terrible choice. Should it support the weaker brethren in the euro area at great and unending cost to its taxpayers, or should it call a halt to the project of monetary union across the whole of Europe? The attempt to find a middle course is not working. One day, German voters may rebel against the losses imposed on them by the need to support their weaker brethren, and undoubtedly the easiest way to divide the euro area would be for Germany itself to exit.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
1 mph too high. 68 and you would have walked...
Is that true? I thought that was an urban legend.
+10% + 2mph is the charging threshold, recommended by ACPO. At 68 it'd be a coin-toss.
It's many years ago, but I was done for 77 on the M11. I was driving a black car. I strongly suspect that I was "7 points" for bored coppers playing "snooker"....
That cabinet office reports shows how unobjective it is by arguing we would lose structural funds to poorer regions by leaving. Given most of our contribution to the structural funds is spent in Eastern Europe, we would have a lot more for poorer UK regions if we opted out.
That report isn't proper analysis. Its a propaganda piece and it demans civil service that they have allowed themselves to be politicised in this way.
It is pretty shocking that civil servants are openly working for one side and the government are also open about it, while also restricting access to the "opposition" who are also in government.
Spain, the country that offers visa's to Chinese for a modest investment (at one point it was as low as 160k euro), would stop Brits moving. I somehow doubt it. And I am sure Portugal would happily have them instead.
"In November 2012 the Spanish government announced plans to offer residency to those spending €160,000 or more on a residential property in Spain. The purchase threshold has now been increased to €500,000. Under a similar scheme Portugal has seen Chinese buyers flocking to buy property and according to one Portuguese real estate agent they have seen Chinese buyers generate €25 million in just two and a half months that would otherwise not have existed.
Residency in Spain will also be granted for spouses and children of the non-EU citizens investing €500,000,"
At one point it may have been €160k but that is moot, it isn't anymore.
Yes it allows it for those willing to spend €500k on property but do you think all Brits who go there spend €500k on property? That is approximately £400k, I suspect most emigres spend less than that on property, that is one point of emigrating there, it is cheaper.
Spain, the country that offers visa's to Chinese for a modest investment (at one point it was as low as 160k euro), would stop Brits moving. I somehow doubt it. And I am sure Portugal would happily have them instead.
"In November 2012 the Spanish government announced plans to offer residency to those spending €160,000 or more on a residential property in Spain. The purchase threshold has now been increased to €500,000. Under a similar scheme Portugal has seen Chinese buyers flocking to buy property and according to one Portuguese real estate agent they have seen Chinese buyers generate €25 million in just two and a half months that would otherwise not have existed.
Residency in Spain will also be granted for spouses and children of the non-EU citizens investing €500,000,"
At one point it may have been €160k but that is moot, it isn't anymore.
Yes it allows it for those willing to spend €500k on property but do you think all Brits who go there spend €500k on property? That is approximately £400k, I suspect most emigres spend less than that on property, that is one point of emigrating there, it is cheaper.
This is for Chinese. I highly doubt the Spanish who has boat loads of empty apartments in towns that serve no purpose other than holidays / retirement are going to cut off Brits from buying them.
I think where the deal would be worse is healthcare. They are already picking up big bills for dealing with UK ex-pats getting old and sick. I would imagine they would demand UK citizens take out private health care.
Completely off topic. Got zapped for speeding last month, doing 69 in a 60 I have had to book myself onto a 'speed awareness course' today which costs £85. The alternative is 3 points and a fine of £100. Seems a bit odd to me that the cost of not taking the points is less than the cost of taking them.
Some people I know who went on those courses said it did make them change their driving behaviour. I guess unless they are completely cynical the organisers think the courses should have some effect. Otherwise, why are you running them?
I remember Iain Dale saying that they had that effect on him. Mine isn't until the 5th April. I shall report back to PBers my findings.
Comments
https://en.m.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tipu_Sultan
Why aren't the Golden Raspberry Awards, which are such fun, not televised, and instead we get the garish boring Oscars ?
http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/02/28/fantastic-four-fifty-shades-of-grey-tie-for-worst-movie-at-razzies
Goodnight.
Unless someone wins >50% in a CD, in which case they win all three delegates,
the delegates will split 2:1 between first and second;
unless no-one wins >20% in the CD, in which case they split 1:1:1 among the top three.
Rubio would win a handful in TX on current polling, I think...
Is that happening?
92% in a day-and-a half.
Not bad going...
Looking ahead it seems likely that these trends will continue. So UK plc will prosper. Services are not so much about cost base as quality. The services provided by the City, in law, in insurance and in IT are a lot less vulnerable to cost pressures than the manufacture of widgets. This is also good for UK plc.
David Smith's piece wasn't about trade per se. It was about whether the UK had grown faster since it got access to the single market. And it has in comparison with both France and Germany. Part of the reason for that is the single market has gradually and slowly expanded from goods to services. This is very good for us. One of the issues that Leave really needs to address is whether that trend would continue if we are not at the table actually voting for it. If the answer is no then our comparative advantage in services will be of less significance going forward.
Of course I fully recognise and acknowledge that arguments like this will not shift a significant number of votes in the referendum. They are too complicated. But it is undoubtedly a feature of the cost benefit analysis that I for one am involved in for this. It is seriously complicated and finely balanced.
If you do take the course be wary of any strategically placed speed cameras nearby, I know someone who got done again on the way home from the course.
I'd sooner keep a blank sheet.
https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/704061191300243456
That would be Trump's first senetorial endorsement, but it's been forecasted since before Iowa.
moving to a glasgow postcode is however legitimate if rather desperate!!
Competing with yourself in the marketplace is really really dumb.
I took the awareness course years ago but that's because I was then already on 3 points and working in a company where for insurance reasons I needed six points or less not less than 12 points. I took the awareness course then even though it cost more and took a day so as not to be right on the limit.
Though since then I've never had another and now have a clean record again. Possibly a commendation to the awareness course, although likely more to do with getting a car that is very fuel inefficient if I speed.
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_426348.pdf
Where are the American politicians who're going to endorse Brexit?
https://www.politicshome.com/economy-and-work/articles/story/20-million-people-‘-lose-out’-under-pension-reform
Many consider that the LMA Manager of the Year award is a two horse race between the Leicester City Manager, Claudio Ranieri and his counterpart at Spurs, Mauricio Pochettino. The bookies on the other hand believe that Claudio is already home and hosed with Paddy Power offering odds of 1/3, compared with 5/1 for Mauricio.
Certainly right now, with Leicester incredibly still heading the Premier League, their manager looks to be a deserved red hot favourite, but what if ???
After both sides won this weekend Spurs are just 2 points behind Leicester with something of a gap opening up behind them.
Leicester have a very tough end to the season with their last three games being against Man Utd (away), Everton (home) and Chelsea (away) - it's possible to imagine then gaining just one or two points from these fixtures and thereby losing out to Spurs for the Premier League title at the final knockings. Being a London club manager might also assist Pochettino when it comes to the actual vote.
So who will win? Very probably the genial Ranieri, but in terms of betting value, I can't help but think that a 15 times greater return from a wager on Pochettino is the way to go and I've had a modest fiver on him winning.
DYOR.
What's the point of remaining part of a "club" who's currency we don't even use?
I think Leicester will be out if it by then though.
Between 2006 and 2014 the increases from largest to smallest in money terms were:
Imports Goods
Exports Services
Exports Goods
Import Services
And as I said beware assuming that the UK will always be able to increase its services exports - there will be some UK service exporters who go the way of the British motorbike industry. Who, when, why and how many are what we don't know yet.
https://twitter.com/standardnews/status/704047100775047168
he needs to prevent a Rubio counter-attack
The UK has no fundamental right to be one of the most affluent countries in the world.
(There's my profound comment of the day.)
Warning: lots of very low sample sizes being used:
http://yougov.co.uk/yougov-8545/?preview=1&draft=1&language=en
English cities, relatively europhile, but English new towns rather eurosceptic. Most Shires lean eurosceptic.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3306120/Fury-speed-camera-racket-s-revealed-police-pocket-54MILLION-year-blackmailing-drivers-attend-speed-awareness-courses.html
And, err, all of Scotland.
https://twitter.com/Annie__McGuire/status/703983302349365250?s=09
The costs of employing labour crippled General Motors. If has farmed out its healthcare costs to the unions I think as well as closing shedloads of factories .
“Under the new rules, this population will be significantly affected. For example, for someone earning around £15,000 with a working life of 20 years, they will be looking at a drop of around £1,200 per annum. If that same person worked for 50 years they will be looking at £2,500 less per annum in state pension than they would have been entitled to under the old system.”
He added: “With tax credits we’re seeing around three million people lose out, with a £4bn saving for the Treasury. With state pension changes, we’re seeing 20 million people lose, with an £8bn saving for the government.
“This is a much bigger issue affecting larger swaths of the population – and again, it impacts the lower paid. The only difference is tax credits affect individual’s incomes here and now, whereas state pension changes will hit them in the future.” '
So we're told that the low paid are going to have their pensions hit and that the 40% taxpayers are going to have their pensions hit and that those who take the 25% tax free are going to have their pensions hit.
That's either a real lot of expectations management or we're going to have a very unpopular budget for anyone under 50.
I do not hold terribly with that, but the questions to be asked are (assuming reports true) are current arrangements affordable? Are they fair? Is it simply 'a raid'? Is it more correcting a mess left by Brown?
There's also the small matter of how much time you would then save - *cough* were you unfortunate enough to collect 12 points. Not that difficult these days with thousands of speed cameras around, many of which I seem to recall were supposed to be removed or at least rendered inactive. I don't see much sign of that happening.
It is clear every day until.the vote we are going to have same essential story that is just a spin on this theme. 100 ways of saying the same thing.
Actually it's today's Observer, they recycled the story:
https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/704065217416843269
Cabinet Office says UK would spend years renegotiating trade and other agreements with EU and non-EU countries
Car manufacturing, farming, financial services and the lives of millions of Britons living in Europe will all be affected as the UK takes 10 years to extricate itself from the EU, an official report says.
The government’s first official analysis into how Brexit would unfold in practice says a decade of uncertainty would hit “financial markets, investment and the value of the pound”. It also warns that the rights of 2 million British expats to work and access pensions and healthcare in EU countries may no longer be guaranteed.
Written by civil servants in the Cabinet Office, and seen first by the Guardian, the document says that it would not be feasible to leave the EU within the two-year time frame stipulated by existing treaties. “A vote to leave the EU would be the start, not the end, of a process. It could lead to up to a decade or more of uncertainty,” they concluded.
The 10 years cited in the report includes the time it would take for Britain to exit the EU, to set up a new trade and related agreements as well as negotiate fresh trade deals with the US and other countries elsewhere. The document says they would only be completed at the end of a three-stageprocess that will be triggered in June if Britain votes to leave the EU.
http://gu.com/p/4h5nk?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/28/brexit-would-affect-lives-of-millions-official-uk-report-says?CMP=share_btn_tw
Only Murdoch knows what they are planning, Trump should find any good excuse not to appear.
Goodnight.
http://thesilentmajorityhasrisen.com/index.php/2016/02/27/trump-rally-madison-al-4pm-cst-2-2816/
Probably 20,000 in reality
He's going to keep the space program going.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/28/how-brexit-would-impact-the-us-what-the-experts-say/
FWIW, the first two more closely reflect my own views.
It's alright. It's the Guardina.
No one will read it.
What a tilted playing field this whole referendum is. Cameron and Osborne are going down and down in my estimation of them.
Sessions out.
The crowd is loving it !
Not saying that is how a post-Brexit UK should redo its trade agreements, but it is ridiculous - nay, an insult to the public's intelligence - to insinuate that anything but criminal negligence and incompetence would require ten years.
But you stop after reading that, don't you?
Douglas Carswell MP @DouglasCarswell
Douglas Carswell MP Retweeted Telegraph News
Project Fear becomes Project BS?
Telegraph News @TelegraphNews
David Lidington: Britons forced to stop living in France and Spain if Brexit http://tgr.ph/MJArQV
That report isn't proper analysis. Its a propaganda piece and it demans civil service that they have allowed themselves to be politicised in this way.
"In November 2012 the Spanish government announced plans to offer residency to those spending €160,000 or more on a residential property in Spain. The purchase threshold has now been increased to €500,000. Under a similar scheme Portugal has seen Chinese buyers flocking to buy property and according to one Portuguese real estate agent they have seen Chinese buyers generate €25 million in just two and a half months that would otherwise not have existed.
Residency in Spain will also be granted for spouses and children of the non-EU citizens investing €500,000,"
http://www.marbellaforless.com/residency-spain-golden-visa/
It is evident, as it has been for a very long while, that the only way forward for Greece is to default on (or be forgiven) a substantial proportion of its debt burden and to devalue its currency so that exports and the substitution of domestic products for imports can compensate for the depressing effects of the fiscal contraction imposed to date.
The inevitability of restructuring Greek debt means that taxpayers in Germany and elsewhere will have to absorb substantial losses. It was more than a little depressing to see the countries of the euro area haggling over how much to lend to Greece so that it would be able to pay them back some of the earlier loans. Such a circular flow of payments made little difference to the health, or lack of it, of the Greek economy. It is particularly unfortunate that Germany seemed to have forgotten its own history.
....
Germany faces a terrible choice. Should it support the weaker brethren in the euro area at great and unending cost to its taxpayers, or should it call a halt to the project of monetary union across the whole of Europe? The attempt to find a middle course is not working. One day, German voters may rebel against the losses imposed on them by the need to support their weaker brethren, and undoubtedly the easiest way to divide the euro area would be for Germany itself to exit.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/02/28/lord-mervyn-king-forgive-them-their-debts-is-not-the-answer/
What sort of organisation gets itself into such a long "no through road" and decides to keep going?cul-de-sac and decides to keep going?
Yes it allows it for those willing to spend €500k on property but do you think all Brits who go there spend €500k on property? That is approximately £400k, I suspect most emigres spend less than that on property, that is one point of emigrating there, it is cheaper.
Bangers were let off in the Tuileries underground station close to the Louvre Museum, to give the impression of gunfire.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3468410/Terror-hoax-Paris-Metro-gang-young-women-let-bangers-distract-attention-stole-passengers.html
Well it's not surprising. The laughable nature of some of the arguments on the other hand is a little surprising.
There is no attempt to construct a credible, technical case - it's all ridiculous scare stories.
I think where the deal would be worse is healthcare. They are already picking up big bills for dealing with UK ex-pats getting old and sick. I would imagine they would demand UK citizens take out private health care.