Well, thanks for the offer, but I was hoping to wrap things up either tomorrow or Wednesday (weather permitting), but I do live sufficiently close to repeat the section at any time!
I've done parts of the Regent Canal, near QMW and Mile End, between Kings Cross and Camden, and near the abandoned Lord's tube station.
For my fellow transport geeks (and it may help to have Google Maps open)!, the 1922 line of the A13 went along Commercial Road and East India Dock Road as it does today, then the A124 as far as Barking, then North Street/East Street/Ripple Road, then A123 as far as Lodge Avenue then the current A13, then A1306 between Dagenham and Rainham, then B1335, short section of A1306 at Wennington, then B1335 again as far as Aveley, the Mill Road, Aveley High Street, Stifford Road, back onto the B1335 then short section of B186 then Stifford Hill, Stifford High Road then Cuckoo Lane.
BUT Cuckoo Lane was bisected when the current A13 in Thurrock was built in the 1980s and is out of bounds to both traffic and pedestrians, so the nearby A1012 has to deputise to connect you from North Stifford north of the A13 to the Treacle Mine roundabout (near Grays) to the south of the new A13. The southern end of Cuckoo Lane is also fenced off but is visible from the current A1306 just west of Treacle Mine (which uses the 1922 route east of Cuckoo Lane). Incidentally, while the A1306 is indeed a previous incarnation of the A13, it only became A13 between Rainham and Cuckoo Lane when it first opened in 1924/1925, ie. a few years after the DoT list was published.
Then east of Treacle Mine, it's Lodge Lane as far as the A1013, then A1013 between eastern edge of Grays as far as western edge of Stanford-le-Hope, then London Road, King Street and Southend Road as far as the B1420, then B1420 as far as Five Bells south of Basildon, then B1464 as far as South Benfleet.
East of there we rejoin the current A13, and the only remaining bypassed bits are in central Southend (those sections of London Road and Southchurch Road bypassed by Queensway), and then near Thorpe Bay (Shoebury Road bypassed by Bournes Green Chase). There was also an eastern extension in 1922 which has been unclassified for many years, this being Campfield Road and Smith Street, the original line thus finishing very close to both Shoeburyness railway station and the sea!
Just because it seems simple, fair and logical to you doesnt mean it is simple, fair or logical! In effect you advocate two governments in a single Parliament and that seems very far from simple to me.
What right has there to be *any* governments in a Parliament? Parliament is a legislature.
@Plato "All_ we're going to hear about from Lab is the Cost of Living. Which is the right tack to take because for many people it has increased as their Living Standards have decreased. Osborne is a bit late to the game and EdM/Lab are right to attack on this front."
I am not sure that by next April when personal allowance is raised to £10k (now £9,440) how much this increased allowance has mitigated food and energy inflation. Somehow, I think not a lot and the over65 P.A. has been more or less frozen.
Of course GO could cut energy costs by eliminating the "Green Tax" - of course that would wind up Clegg and Co, but I do not see renewables being effective before 2050 and at the moment the energy companies are taking us all for a ride.
The last YouGov poll continued the very gradual trend of people thinking that their household finances will improve in 2014.
However the real problem for EDM to answer is what will he do about the huge baseload of people who are unemployed and unemployable (another inheritance from Labour) due to a huge lack of education and skillsets, and what will he do about those same people who could do the jobs that are being taken up by immigrants. My guess is a lot of waffle, all sorts of training and re-education that should have been done at school and no actual accountable plan.
If Ed is going to make to "the standard of living" a key feature of his policies up to the election, then he is going to have to commit to above-inflation wage increases for the public sector, otherwise it is meaningless.
Please explain why just the public sector?
Because that is the sector which the government has explicit control over.
Something to keep an eye out for: just off the A13 by Poplar Rec is Malam Gardens, a couple of small streets of traditional-looking housing, an oasis amongst the usual blocks of flats. ISTR they survived demolition in the 60's and 70's as they were owned by British Gas, who used them to house workers coming down to London to work. A friend of mine bought one when they were sold off in the 1980s. At the time, they apparently still had working gas street lights.
They always struck me as slightly incongruous for the East End. I could be wrong, but I don't think there's many of the sort left in that area.
Thus far 38% of respondents think that we’ll see Tory leads in the polls before the end of June next year, ie. before the campaign proper gets under way for the Scottish independence referendum. I'll bet a fair few Tories are praying that they are not in the lead before the voters mark their ballot papers.
The relationship is asymmetrical: you are governed from London, we are not governed from Edinburgh.
Indeed?
"In November 2003, the Government narrowly won a Commons vote on whether to introduce Foundation Hospitals in England. If the vote had been restricted to English MPs, whose voters were the only ones likely to be affected by the legislation, it would have been defeated. In fact, the legislation was rescued by 44 Scottish Labour MPs who backed the Government."
Q. Has the West Lothian question ever mattered in recent Commons votes?
A. Yes. In the case of both the establishing of foundation hospitals and agreeing student tuition fees - both controversial policies which do not affect Scotland - Scottish votes were decisive in getting the measures through. Had there been a vote on English MPs only, the government would have lost because of a rebellion on their own benches.
OK but doesn't really weaken my point because anyone sane whether Yes/Scottish/SNP or No/English/Lab or tory. wants the WLQ resolved whatever happens to independence.
Murali, you are appear to be an interested party, for the benefit of the rest of us, please could you explain your specific interest here. Many thanks.
Hi Financier - I am originally from Sri Lanka of Tamil descent. Even though I am British, my heritage and family links connect me back to Sri Lanka. I visited Sri Lanka for the first time in 30 years in April this year and even though things on the ground appear to have improved after the ending of the civil war, Tamils are still a subjugated people and their human rights systematically denied.
Most moderate Tamils are asking the international community to help in achieving a political settlement in Sri Lanka as well as investigate the war crimes committed at the end of the civil war in which 40-150k civiians were killed in an alledged genocide.
I was very disappointed with David Cameron's decision to atend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Colombo later this year. In my opinion, this is the seal of approval that the nationalistic Colombo Government is looking for. Thank God, the Queen has decided to stay away.
Apologies for mass linking but the following is for those who want more information...
A) an interesting Hard Talk episode looking into the the immediate aftermath of the civil war:
BetVictor (formerly Victor Chandler) have just shortened their price on Lab Most Seats, from 4/7 to 1/2. Best price on Lab Most Seats is 4/6 with Bet365.
There was a lot of work carried out by the Conservatives in an attempt to address the WLQ in the run up to the 2010 GE. But Coalition Government swiftly followed by an SNP majority in Holyrood surely means it was right to put it on a back burner until after the Indy Referendum that was inevitable going to follow is decided?
The failure of this government to address the West Lothian question by the simple, fair and logical expedient of preventing MPs from voting on any issue devolved in their own constituency is a mystery to me. Has there been some secret understanding with the Lib Dems about this?
Or have the tories decided that a UK government that could not set education or health policy for 85% of the UK population is just unworkable and that this is a price the majority have to bear? If I was English I would find it extremely annoying. They certainly will if Labour are the largest party and start using Scottish MPs to undo Gove's reforms.
I did note when last on the OBR that Chote has published a supplementary paper entitled "Budget deficit shrinks despite weak economy" with the following summary:
Public sector net borrowing has fallen much as expected over the past two years, despite much weaker GDP growth than we anticipated, according to our latest Forecast Evaluation Report. The resilience of cash spending and the labour market helped sustain tax revenues and limit welfare costs, while central and local government spent less on public services than was budgeted for.
I downloaded it but have not yet read the paper, but it does seem to be the paper David Smith is referring to obliquely in his phrase "as the OBR has noted".
I certainly have sympathy with him on trying to work out from the Public Finances Bulletin where the deficit reduction is coming from when we see cumulative revenues up at twice the rate of expenses and yet no change in the borrowing line. Moving surpluses into investment is one sensible measure being pursued by Osborne but it nowhere near accounts for the £9.1 bn cumulative year-to-date current account surplus. Gauke's claim that it is a rephasing of local government grants sounds plausible but there is little published where this can be verified.
I was always told that when accounting statements confuse and are at odds with expectations, look at the cash balances. And that is good advice on the public finances bulletin too:
In July 2013, central government net cash requirement (CGNCR) was £-8.8 billion (a surplus), which was £4.5 billion, or 108.2%, lower than in July 2012, when there was a CGNCR of £-4.2 billion (a surplus).
For the period April 2013 to July 2013, CGNCR was £19.0 billion, which was £4.9 billion, or 20.4%, lower than in the same period the previous year, when there was a CGNCR of £23.8 billion.
When cash starts accumulating, and you are not a mafia organisation, then them notes speak louder than any inky mark in an accounts book.
The failure of this government to address the West Lothian question by the simple, fair and logical expedient of preventing MPs from voting on any issue devolved in their own constituency is a mystery to me. Has there been some secret understanding with the Lib Dems about this?
Or have the tories decided that a UK government that could not set education or health policy for 85% of the UK population is just unworkable and that this is a price the majority have to bear? If I was English I would find it extremely annoying. They certainly will if Labour are the largest party and start using Scottish MPs to undo Gove's reforms.
Isn't there a proposal (not sure whether it's an official policy) that if the Commons votes on something which is normally devolved, the English MPs can vote to veto it?
OK but doesn't really weaken my point because anyone sane whether Yes/Scottish/SNP or No/English/Lab or tory. wants the WLQ resolved whatever happens to independence.
"Anyone sane"?
Are you calling Alex Massie insane? He is generally considered to be a representative of an extremely rare species these days: a wise Scottish Tory.
'The answer to the West Lothian Question is to stop asking it'
... There is no pressing need to address this issue anyway. Not least since it is plainly an attempt by Conservative backbenchers to mess with the constitution for purely partisan advantage. This too will cause more trouble than it is worth.
Perhaps Michael Fabricant is intensely relaxed by the prospect of helping Alex Salmond but he might pause to reflect if that is what he really wishes to achieve.
o/t - Some of the first commentary I have noticed about the likelihood of a grand coalition in Ireland after the next GE (Paddy Power has a coalition between the former civil war rivals at 5/4). With SF presumably untouchable (even if everyone is happy to see a system which places them in permanent government in Northern Ireland) it's a tough ask for anything other than a grand coalition to have the numbers.
Murali, you are appear to be an interested party, for the benefit of the rest of us, please could you explain your specific interest here. Many thanks.
Hi Financier - I am originally from Sri Lanka of Tamil descent. Even though I am British, my heritage and family links connect me back to Sri Lanka. I visited Sri Lanka for the first time in 30 years in April this year and even though things on the ground appear to have improved after the ending of the civil war, Tamils are still a subjugated people and their human rights systematically denied.
Most moderate Tamils are asking the international community to help in achieving a political settlement in Sri Lanka as well as investigate the war crimes committed at the end of the civil war in which 40-150k civiians were killed in an alledged genocide.
I was very disappointed with David Cameron's decision to atend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Colombo later this year. In my opinion, this is the seal of approval that the nationalistic Colombo Government is looking for. Thank God, the Queen has decided to stay away.
Apologies for mass linking but the following is for those who want more information...
(snip)
For the record, MPs (except a few notable exceptions) from all sides have been supportive of the Sri Lankan Tamil cause and for that I am thankful.
The end of the war was terribly tragic and bloody. But it is important to remember the other side as well, and the Tamil terrorism that saw thousands die, mass executions of prisoners and children forced into soldiery:
@Plato "All_ we're going to hear about from Lab is the Cost of Living. Which is the right tack to take because for many people it has increased as their Living Standards have decreased. Osborne is a bit late to the game and EdM/Lab are right to attack on this front."
I am not sure that by next April when personal allowance is raised to £10k (now £9,440) how much this increased allowance has mitigated food and energy inflation. Somehow, I think not a lot and the over65 P.A. has been more or less frozen.
Of course GO could cut energy costs by eliminating the "Green Tax" - of course that would wind up Clegg and Co, but I do not see renewables being effective before 2050 and at the moment the energy companies are taking us all for a ride.
The last YouGov poll continued the very gradual trend of people thinking that their household finances will improve in 2014.
However the real problem for EDM to answer is what will he do about the huge baseload of people who are unemployed and unemployable (another inheritance from Labour) due to a huge lack of education and skillsets, and what will he do about those same people who could do the jobs that are being taken up by immigrants. My guess is a lot of waffle, all sorts of training and re-education that should have been done at school and no actual accountable plan.
If Ed is going to make to "the standard of living" a key feature of his policies up to the election, then he is going to have to commit to above-inflation wage increases for the public sector, otherwise it is meaningless.
Please explain why just the public sector?
Because that is the sector which the government has explicit control over.
So how would you fund the increased cost. Would employ fewer people, or reduce pension costs or.....?
English Heritage give grade II listing to Kesteven and Grantham Girls School.
LOL. My daughter is just starting second year at KGGS. I will have to warn her to stop carving her name into the woodwork or she might get done by English Heritage. :-)
I voted for a Tory polling lead before the end of 2013, there might possible be enough of a Conference boost to deliver one if all goes smoothly.
There was a tied poll as recently as mid July, and the Labour lead seems to have tightened slightly since then, with leads of 3% not uncommon. A Tory lead by the end of the year seems more likely than not.
OK but doesn't really weaken my point because anyone sane whether Yes/Scottish/SNP or No/English/Lab or tory. wants the WLQ resolved whatever happens to independence.
"Anyone sane"?
Are you calling Alex Massie insane? He is generally considered to be a representative of an extremely rare species these days: a wise Scottish Tory.
'The answer to the West Lothian Question is to stop asking it'
... There is no pressing need to address this issue anyway. Not least since it is plainly an attempt by Conservative backbenchers to mess with the constitution for purely partisan advantage. This too will cause more trouble than it is worth.
Perhaps Michael Fabricant is intensely relaxed by the prospect of helping Alex Salmond but he might pause to reflect if that is what he really wishes to achieve.
"When will we start seeing Tory leads?" What an odd thread. Is Mike on holiday again?
I think we'll see some polls with the Tories ahead between now and the election, but not consistently, so I don't really know what to vote for. Hey ho.
The end of the war was terribly tragic and bloody. But it is important to remember the other side as well, and the Tamil terrorism that saw thousands die, mass executions of prisoners and children forced into soldiery:
I think most Tamils (even though giving the tacit support to the Tigers during the war) would acknowledge that the LTTE actually hindered the Tamil cause.
They were brutal but highly tenacious. Eventually classic heavy artillery (supplied courtesy of China) and air power led to their defeat.
The end of the war was terribly tragic and bloody. But it is important to remember the other side as well, and the Tamil terrorism that saw thousands die, mass executions of prisoners and children forced into soldiery:
I think most Tamils (even though giving the tacit support to the Tigers during the war) would acknowledge that the LTTE actually hindered the Tamil cause.
They were brutal but highly tenacious. Eventually classic heavy artillery (supplied courtesy of China) and air power led to their defeat.
Well said. During my uni years I tended to veer towards the Tamil cause. In the late-1990s I turned towards the Sri Lankan government's side, if only because they seemed the lesser of two evils.
As usual in such conflicts, the innocent civilians suffered most.
It should also be noted that the LTTE's founders were Marxist-Leninists. Yet more deaths and sadness that can be placed at the doorstep of that corrupt ideology.
What do SNP MPs do on English-only issues in Parliament? Do they abstain?
Abstain except when it affects the Barnett block grant.
So why do you think Scotland is entitled to self-determination, but in England it shouldn't even be discussed? The SNP obviously thinks it would be wrong to vote on issues that don't concern them.
"David Cameron has spoken by phone to Russia's president in the wake of last week's suspected chemical attack in Syria.
The prime minister told Vladimir Putin there was "little doubt" a chemical weapons attack had been carried out by the Syrian regime, Downing Street said.
But Mr Putin told him they had no evidence that an attack had taken place or who was responsible, it said.
A decision on whether to recall Parliament will be made on Tuesday.
The suspected chemical attack took place on Wednesday near the Syrian capital Damascus, and reportedly killed more than 300 people."
What's the PB Tory view on whether Cameron should recall Parliament to discuss Syria?
No need, it's a prerogative matter, Parliament has no authority. He should visit fiery death upon Assad without explanation or warning. If MPs want to reconvene themselves to talk about it, it's up to them. Why does Parliament need to be told what to do by the Government?
In June 2010, at the time of Osborne’s June 2010 emergency budget, the OBR predicted £354bn of borrowing during the coalition’s first three years....
In the event, the coalition borrowed a little more, £374bn, despite a big growth undershoot.
Those are very surprising figures. I had not realised how close we still were in borrowing terms to the original 2010 forecasts. I guess the key is how the next two years shape up in determining whether we stay close to the original plan or veer off course as predicted by the more recent OBR pronouncements.
What's the PB Tory view on whether Cameron should recall Parliament to discuss Syria?
What's your view?
He'll have to do it, if only to explain what his war aims are, I'm a Blairite interventionist but I don't understand what uppers William Hague has been on this week. In party terms the Polzeath Porpoise will have to protect his UKIP flank and let Parliament vent
ISTR that Cameron didn't recall parliament for the Libyan intervention, but that was a very different situation where time was of the essence.
That probably (although not certainly) does not apply to Syria. However any conversation in parliament should try to protect our assets: we can talk about vague aims, but that should not make the task at hand harder for our lads. Inform parliament of the strategy, but don't discuss tactics too deeply.
Y0kel's obviously the expert on this, but as the straw that broke the camel's back were the chemical attacks, I would probably concentrate in taking those out of the game. But it's probably way too late for that now. Assad's men and the rebels will probably be hiding as much of their stockpiles as possible.
I've little idea what we could do in Syria, aside from firing a few cruise missiles at them. It'd be interesting to know if any assets have been moved to Incirlik, Izmir and Batman.
What do SNP MPs do on English-only issues in Parliament? Do they abstain?
Abstain except when it affects the Barnett block grant.
So why do you think Scotland is entitled to self-determination, but in England it shouldn't even be discussed? The SNP obviously thinks it would be wrong to vote on issues that don't concern them.
Err, I (like most Scots I'd guess) am quite happy for England to discuss self-determination, and find the sight of SLAB MPs falling into line to enact England-only legislation pretty disgusting (as it was when English MPs forced legislation & policy onto Scotland). We're at the point of having a referendum after decades of work and pressure, against the concerted wishes of the Unionist parties. England has on the whole voted for these self-same parties, and it can't be said that there's a huge public movement in England seeking to find an alternative. Hopefully that will change.
I am sure that the Sinhalese govt is behaving ruthlessly in Sri Lanka, but civil wars are the most vicious of wars. The end of the war is positive, but now is the time to negotiate rather than let the Tigers poisonous philosophy to take hold again. The commonwealth conference may help with this.
The end of the war was terribly tragic and bloody. But it is important to remember the other side as well, and the Tamil terrorism that saw thousands die, mass executions of prisoners and children forced into soldiery:
I think most Tamils (even though giving the tacit support to the Tigers during the war) would acknowledge that the LTTE actually hindered the Tamil cause.
They were brutal but highly tenacious. Eventually classic heavy artillery (supplied courtesy of China) and air power led to their defeat.
Well said. During my uni years I tended to veer towards the Tamil cause. In the late-1990s I turned towards the Sri Lankan government's side, if only because they seemed the lesser of two evils.
As usual in such conflicts, the innocent civilians suffered most.
It should also be noted that the LTTE's founders were Marxist-Leninists. Yet more deaths and sadness that can be placed at the doorstep of that corrupt ideology.
@JohnLilburne We've seen quite enough military fiascos in recent years caused by the absurdly gung-ho (who curiously enough never seem keen to risk their own necks in the endeavours they jingoistically advocate) to require a proper explanation from our political leaders as to what they're trying to achieve.
There was a lot of work carried out by the Conservatives in an attempt to address the WLQ in the run up to the 2010 GE. But Coalition Government swiftly followed by an SNP majority in Holyrood surely means it was right to put it on a back burner until after the Indy Referendum that was inevitable going to follow is decided?
I don't understand why. If the Scots vote "No", then we will still be part of the United Kingdom and we will still be in the position where the Imperial government at Westminster uniquely tells England what to do but not the Scots, the Welsh and the Northern Irish. Whereas if the Scots vote "Yes", then we will still be part of the United Kingdom and we will still be in the position where the Imperial government at Westminster uniquely tells England what to do but not the the Welsh and the Northern Irish.
Of course no Westminster politician will willingly divorce England from the Westminster government as it will give them a lot less to do and their penises will get smaller as a result. Granted there are problems - an English government would hardly bring government closer to the people, and we don't want to be broken up into penny packets. But I am sure there are solutions. if you don't have a solution, why not start talking about it now? I would go for an England that was radically decentralised, with most functions devolved to cities and counties, and only a few strategic functions managed by the centre.
One fist step would have been to appoint a Deputy PM/First Secretary of State for England, and put all the England-only ministers under him, renamed to be (for example) the English Ministry of Education. Rather like Scotland used to have some administrative autonomy, but with ministers appointed by the Westminster government.
@JohnLilburne We've seen quite enough military fiascos in recent years caused by the absurdly gung-ho (who curiously enough never seem keen to risk their own necks in the endeavours they jingoistically advocate) to require a proper explanation from our political leaders as to what they're trying to achieve.
But if Cameron tells me what he's up to, he tells Assad. I'm happy to be briefed after the event.
Depends what info the British government is sitting on. I'd be surprised if we did (or noticeably did not) have testimony that the rebels were incapable of utilising a nerve agent like that.
In June 2010, at the time of Osborne’s June 2010 emergency budget, the OBR predicted £354bn of borrowing during the coalition’s first three years....
In the event, the coalition borrowed a little more, £374bn, despite a big growth undershoot.
Those are very surprising figures. I had not realised how close we still were in borrowing terms to the original 2010 forecasts. I guess the key is how the next two years shape up in determining whether we stay close to the original plan or veer off course as predicted by the more recent OBR pronouncements.
Iam guessing they din`t include the 35 billion pounds of QE interest money,Royal Mail sell-off and 4G auction money.It`s no good pretending that everything is going well when the government is still borrowing 117 billion pounds per year when Osborne predicted it will be zero by the end of next year!
Depends what info the British government is sitting on. I'd be surprised if we did (or noticeably did not) have testimony that the rebels were incapable of utilising a nerve agent like that.
The Aum Shinrikyo cult released Sarin on the Tokyo Underground railway in 1995.
In June 2010, at the time of Osborne’s June 2010 emergency budget, the OBR predicted £354bn of borrowing during the coalition’s first three years....
In the event, the coalition borrowed a little more, £374bn, despite a big growth undershoot.
Those are very surprising figures. I had not realised how close we still were in borrowing terms to the original 2010 forecasts. I guess the key is how the next two years shape up in determining whether we stay close to the original plan or veer off course as predicted by the more recent OBR pronouncements.
Iam guessing they din`t include the 35 billion pounds of QE interest money,Royal Mail sell-off and 4G auction money.It`s no good pretending that everything is going well when the government is still borrowing 117 billion pounds per year when Osborne predicted it will be zero by the end of next year!
.
Remember Darling was out by 140bn in just one year. All relative.
What's the PB Tory view on whether Cameron should recall Parliament to discuss Syria?
What's your view?
He'll have to do it, if only to explain what his war aims are, I'm a Blairite interventionist but I don't understand what uppers William Hague has been on this week. In party terms the Polzeath Porpoise will have to protect his UKIP flank and let Parliament vent
I have the vain hope that Parliament might vote to prevent him getting us involved but realise that is probably both politically naive and constitutionally impractical.
In June 2010, at the time of Osborne’s June 2010 emergency budget, the OBR predicted £354bn of borrowing during the coalition’s first three years....
In the event, the coalition borrowed a little more, £374bn, despite a big growth undershoot.
Those are very surprising figures. I had not realised how close we still were in borrowing terms to the original 2010 forecasts. I guess the key is how the next two years shape up in determining whether we stay close to the original plan or veer off course as predicted by the more recent OBR pronouncements.
Iam guessing they din`t include the 35 billion pounds of QE interest money,Royal Mail sell-off and 4G auction money.It`s no good pretending that everything is going well when the government is still borrowing 117 billion pounds per year when Osborne predicted it will be zero by the end of next year!
.
Remember Darling was out by 140bn in just one year. All relative.
Darling didn`t make borrowing his piece de resistance but Osborne did.He will be judged against the borrowing figures which he predicted will be into surplus in 2015.The July borrowing figures seem to indicate he`s going backwards despite all the sunshine fuelled retail boom.
Does tim have a twin? He can't have time for twittering too surely but this is strangely familiar. and the ID is pretty consistent too....
GOsborneGenius@GOsborneGenius6m @tnewtondunn@DAaronovitch the best Kinnock comparison. Kinnock put 3.6% on the Labour vote in 1992 Cameron put 3.7% on the Tory vote 2010
Some SNP supporters seem to be under the illusion that if they lose the Indy Referendum, then Westminster is somehow obligated to then swiftly devolve yet more powers to Holyrood as a consolation prize. But if Scotland votes NO, then I think that quite fairly that the top priority for Westminster should be to address the long neglected WLQ issue. Would be very surprised if it didn't feature in a Conservative manifesto, whether the Libdems or Labour deem it important enough for a mention is another matter.
There was a lot of work carried out by the Conservatives in an attempt to address the WLQ in the run up to the 2010 GE. But Coalition Government swiftly followed by an SNP majority in Holyrood surely means it was right to put it on a back burner until after the Indy Referendum that was inevitable going to follow is decided?
I don't understand why. If the Scots vote "No", then we will still be part of the United Kingdom and we will still be in the position where the Imperial government at Westminster uniquely tells England what to do but not the Scots, the Welsh and the Northern Irish. Whereas if the Scots vote "Yes", then we will still be part of the United Kingdom and we will still be in the position where the Imperial government at Westminster uniquely tells England what to do but not the the Welsh and the Northern Irish.
Of course no Westminster politician will willingly divorce England from the Westminster government as it will give them a lot less to do and their penises will get smaller as a result. Granted there are problems - an English government would hardly bring government closer to the people, and we don't want to be broken up into penny packets. But I am sure there are solutions. if you don't have a solution, why not start talking about it now? I would go for an England that was radically decentralised, with most functions devolved to cities and counties, and only a few strategic functions managed by the centre.
One fist step would have been to appoint a Deputy PM/First Secretary of State for England, and put all the England-only ministers under him, renamed to be (for example) the English Ministry of Education. Rather like Scotland used to have some administrative autonomy, but with ministers appointed by the Westminster government.
Bet you don't remember that reference in a month's time, Carl. Unless, of course, tim is intending to repeat it 20 times a day for the next four weeks. ....
What's the PB Tory view on whether Cameron should recall Parliament to discuss Syria?
No need, it's a prerogative matter, Parliament has no authority. He should visit fiery death upon Assad without explanation or warning. If MPs want to reconvene themselves to talk about it, it's up to them. Why does Parliament need to be told what to do by the Government?
I am sure it would never happen but for the sake of argument, what happens if a PM tries to go to war against the majority view in Parliament and their is then a vote of no confidence. Surely in that situation it is Parliament who has the final say no matter what the prerogative situation might be.
Does tim have a twin? He can't have time for twittering too surely but this is strangely familiar. and the ID is pretty consistent too....
GOsborneGenius@GOsborneGenius6m @tnewtondunn@DAaronovitch the best Kinnock comparison. Kinnock put 3.6% on the Labour vote in 1992 Cameron put 3.7% on the Tory vote 2010
Unfortunately for Kinnock, he lost both the popular vote and seat tally to the Tories in 1992!
Questions for President Obama — Before He Pulls the Trigger on Syria
In Washington, the eagerness to initiate military action in order to punish Assad is now palpable. Before ordering any such action, President Obama should answer several questions. He should share those answers with the American people, before not after pulling the trigger.
First, why does this particular heinous act rise to the level of justifying a military response? More specifically, why did a similarly heinous act by the Egyptian army elicit from Washington only the mildest response? Just weeks ago, Egyptian security forces slaughtered hundreds of Egyptians whose “crime” was to protest a military coup that overthrew a legitimately elected president. Why the double standard?
Second, once U.S. military action against Syria begins, when will it end? What is the political objective? Wrapping the Assad regime on the knuckles is unlikely to persuade it to change its ways. That regime is engaged in a fight for survival. So what exactly does the United States intend to achieve and how much is President Obama willing to spend in lives and treasure to get there? War is a risky business. Is the president willing to commit U.S. forces to what could well become another protracted and costly struggle?
Third, what is the legal basis for military action? Neither Russia nor China is likely to agree to an attack on Syria, so authorization by the U.N. Security Council won’t be forthcoming. Will Obama ask Congress for the authority to act? Or will he, as so many of his recent predecessors have done, employ some dodge to circumvent the Constitution? With what justification?
Depends what info the British government is sitting on. I'd be surprised if we did (or noticeably did not) have testimony that the rebels were incapable of utilising a nerve agent like that.
The Aum Shinrikyo cult released Sarin on the Tokyo Underground railway in 1995.
The internet is studiously silent as to what the recipe is, and it might be unwise to search too hard (hi there NSA!) but it says here it needs 4 readily available ingredients: Deadly Sarin 'easily available in UK' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2948900.stm
Darling didn`t make borrowing his piece de resistance but Osborne did.He will be judged against the borrowing figures which he predicted will be into surplus in 2015.The July borrowing figures seem to indicate he`s going backwards despite all the sunshine fuelled retail boom.
Borrowing and debt have been reduced as a proportion of GDP in every year under Cameron and Osborne just as they were increased every year under Brown and Darling. There is nothing in the July finance figures to suggest that the government is "going backwards" this financial year at all.
Here are the figures SMukesh
LONG RUN FISCAL INDICATORS: PERCENTAGE OF GDP
Fiscal PSCB PSNB PSNB PSND PSCB PSNB PSND Year ex ex ex all ex
Some scottish tory surgers are still utterly clueless that Cammie and Clegg aready instigated the McKay commission into the WLQ and Devolution with a view to legislation and that it affects far more than just scotland.
England-only MP votes needed for English legislation, commission says
Commons should restrict rights of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs to influence purely English legislation, ministers told
It's entirely up to Cammie and Clegg whether they want to enact the reforms recommended, or even be slightly harsher, but it's their decision and it's in their hands so if they don't act that would be their choice.
GDP = Gross Domestic Product PSCB = Public Sector Current Budget PSNB = Public Sector Net Borrowing PSND = Public Sector Net Debt "ex" = excluding financial interventions "ex all" = excluding financial interventions; Royal Mail Pension Assets & Liabilities; and, BoE Asset Purchase Facility transfers.
I would bloody hope so given that Darling and Brown nursed the economy from a massive world-wide recession and handed over a growing economy to Osborne.Nevertheless are you confident that the deficit would be wiped out by the end of 2014 as Osborne predicted?
The government had to borrow a few million instead of the predicted 2 billion surplus in July but am sure that for one reason or the other you would argue that is `VERY GOOD NEWS`
Sam Cam and Asma al-Assad are probably more interesting on Syria than their husbands, chinless Bashar, second rate optometrist, not interested in politics marries above himself, the same with Dave but he was chinless and in PR.
Depends what info the British government is sitting on. I'd be surprised if we did (or noticeably did not) have testimony that the rebels were incapable of utilising a nerve agent like that.
The Aum Shinrikyo cult released Sarin on the Tokyo Underground railway in 1995.
The internet is studiously silent as to what the recipe is, and it might be unwise to search too hard (hi there NSA!) but it says here it needs 4 readily available ingredients: Deadly Sarin 'easily available in UK' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2948900.stm
I would imagine that these kind of things are relatively easy to produce.
One of the deadliest natural substances known to man is produced by a very common garden plant Ricinus communis (Castor Oil plant)
Especially with Syria in such upheaval too, it doesn't seem impossible that the various Islamist fundamentalist anti-Assad groups would have access to it.
But who knows. We all become armchair generals when conflict looms.
I would bloody hope so given that Darling and Brown nursed the economy from a massive world-wide recession and handed over a growing economy to Osborne.Nevertheless are you confident that the deficit would be wiped out by the end of 2014 as Osborne predicted?
The government had to borrow a few million instead of the predicted 2 billion surplus in July but am sure that for one reason or the other you would argue that is `VERY GOOD NEWS`
Don't worry yourself with numbers, SMukesh.
Brown didn't need the excuse of a "massive world-wide recession" to increase borrowing.
He managed to do it when the sun was shining, when the skies were overcast, when there was a light drizzle and when the heavens opened.
He did it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and all night.
And here is the proof.
Public Sector Net Borrowing as a % of GDP from 2002 to 2010:
David Cameron told MPs must vote before launching strikes on Syria
David Cameron is under mounting pressure to recall Parliament before authorising military action against Syria after more than 80 Conservative MPs called for a say over deeper British involvement in the conflict.
Labour formally called on the Prime Minister to make his case to MPs and provide clear legal justification before any missile assaults are launched on Assad regime targets inside Syria.
Senior Liberal Democrat and Tory figures also renewed their demands for a Commons vote this week, if a strike is being planned before Parliament returns from the summer break next Monday.
In 2006, while in opposition, Mr Cameron used a major speech to say there must be curbs on a Prime Minister’s power to go to war and that MPs should be given the final say over military action.
I would bloody hope so given that Darling and Brown nursed the economy from a massive world-wide recession and handed over a growing economy to Osborne.Nevertheless are you confident that the deficit would be wiped out by the end of 2014 as Osborne predicted?
The government had to borrow a few million instead of the predicted 2 billion surplus in July but am sure that for one reason or the other you would argue that is `VERY GOOD NEWS`
Don't worry yourself with numbers, SMukesh.
Brown didn't need the excuse of a "massive world-wide recession" to increase borrowing.
He managed to do it when the sun was shining, when the skies were overcast, when there was a light drizzle and when the heavens opened.
He did it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and all night.
And here is the proof.
Public Sector Net Borrowing as a % of GDP from 2002 to 2010:
Conservative MEP candidate: "...over the next year we all need to get out there and convince the British people that we really mean it when we say we are going to have an In/Out referendum. The amount of conversations I have had with Eurosceptic voters on the doorsteps who simply do not believe us when we say we are going to be having a referendum is significant"
I would bloody hope so given that Darling and Brown nursed the economy from a massive world-wide recession and handed over a growing economy to Osborne.Nevertheless are you confident that the deficit would be wiped out by the end of 2014 as Osborne predicted?
The government had to borrow a few million instead of the predicted 2 billion surplus in July but am sure that for one reason or the other you would argue that is `VERY GOOD NEWS`
Don't worry yourself with numbers, SMukesh.
Brown didn't need the excuse of a "massive world-wide recession" to increase borrowing.
He managed to do it when the sun was shining, when the skies were overcast, when there was a light drizzle and when the heavens opened.
He did it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and all night.
And here is the proof.
Public Sector Net Borrowing as a % of GDP from 2002 to 2010:
Very bad news, SMukesh, all because of a very bad boy.
The numbers indicate that borrowing rose after the recession.Never mind Brown,he`s been and gone.
Your boy has lost sight of his supposed target set in 2010 and seems to change his target every year.It would be interesting to see what the deficit is in Autumn 2014 when it was supposed to have been cut back to zero.
I would bloody hope so given that Darling and Brown nursed the economy from a massive world-wide recession and handed over a growing economy to Osborne.Nevertheless are you confident that the deficit would be wiped out by the end of 2014 as Osborne predicted?
The government had to borrow a few million instead of the predicted 2 billion surplus in July but am sure that for one reason or the other you would argue that is `VERY GOOD NEWS`
Don't worry yourself with numbers, SMukesh.
Brown didn't need the excuse of a "massive world-wide recession" to increase borrowing.
He managed to do it when the sun was shining, when the skies were overcast, when there was a light drizzle and when the heavens opened.
He did it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and all night.
And here is the proof.
Public Sector Net Borrowing as a % of GDP from 2002 to 2010:
This is all getting rather silly - even Gove is now kicking EdM in the Guardian = as ever with over weaning killer flattery.
"Ed Miliband is a weaker Labour leader than Neil Kinnock after failing to face down trade union leaders who were instrumental in his victory over his brother in 2010, Michael Gove will say on Tuesday.
In one of the Tories' harshest attacks on Miliband, the education secretary will contrast the Labour leader's "uncertain, irresolute, weak" leadership with Kinnock's facing down the Militant tendency, the group that embarked on classic Trotskyite "entryist" tactics into the Labour party in the 1980s.
Gove will say: "The contrast with Neil Kinnock – who originally faced down the Militant Tendency over entryism is striking – and not at all flattering to Ed Miliband. While Kinnock moved bravely and remorselessly to eradicate Militant's influence, and Militant-sponsored MPs, from Labour, Miliband has done nothing to stop the takeover of his own party.
"The sad truth is that, charming, intelligent, eloquent, thoughtful, generous and chivalrous as Ed Miliband may be, in this critical test of leadership he has been uncertain, irresolute, weak. To the question [of] who governs Labour, his answer would appear to be, increasingly: the unions." http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/26/gove-attack-miliband-trade-unions?CMP=twt_gu
I would bloody hope so given that Darling and Brown nursed the economy from a massive world-wide recession and handed over a growing economy to Osborne.Nevertheless are you confident that the deficit would be wiped out by the end of 2014 as Osborne predicted?
The government had to borrow a few million instead of the predicted 2 billion surplus in July but am sure that for one reason or the other you would argue that is `VERY GOOD NEWS`
Don't worry yourself with numbers, SMukesh.
Brown didn't need the excuse of a "massive world-wide recession" to increase borrowing.
He managed to do it when the sun was shining, when the skies were overcast, when there was a light drizzle and when the heavens opened.
He did it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and all night.
And here is the proof.
Public Sector Net Borrowing as a % of GDP from 2002 to 2010:
Very bad news, SMukesh, all because of a very bad boy.
Your figures are bullshit, you charlatan.
Don't complain to me, Carl. Write a letter to Sir Andrew Dilnot, Chairmain of the UK Statistics Authority. He is responsible for oversight of the Office for National Statistics who produced the statistics I quoted.
When you do write, I suggest you mark on the envelope in capital letters using a thick red felt pen "NOT FROM RACHEL REEVES".
Otherwise Sir Alan may think you are stalking him and your letter will end up unopened in his elegantly tooled leatherex waste paper bin.
Amnesty International has been calling for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court since early 2011.
The grave violations of international law in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria are a direct consequence of the international community’s paralysis and delay in effectively condemning these crimes, and referring the situation to the world’s criminal court of last resort.
The numbers indicate that borrowing rose after the recession.Never mind Brown,he`s been and gone.
No they don't. They indicate that borrowing as a % of GDP rose by a fifth between 2002 and 2007 at a time when we should have been seeing improving public finances. Brown was a disaster as a chancellor and no amount of attempted rewriting of history by the Left can change that.
@JohnLilburne We've seen quite enough military fiascos in recent years caused by the absurdly gung-ho (who curiously enough never seem keen to risk their own necks in the endeavours they jingoistically advocate)...
I am sure it would never happen but for the sake of argument, what happens if a PM tries to go to war against the majority view in Parliament and their is then a vote of no confidence. Surely in that situation it is Parliament who has the final say no matter what the prerogative situation might be.
Yes. That was one of the dilemmas over Iraq. Blair didn't want to go to war without a Parliamentary mandate (and would have resigned if it had been rejected - an interesting alternative history) but if he went to Parliament too early he'd have been accused of warmongering before all negotiations had failed. So he waited until there was a huge Allied army on the Iraqi border, at which point telling the British Army to turn around and walk away while Saddam chortled would have been very difficult. There isn't really a good moment to do it, also bearing in mind the need for some tactical surprise if any troops are at risk - probably the best is to ask for authoity to go to war if a specified red line is crossed.
The numbers indicate that borrowing rose after the recession.Never mind Brown,he`s been and gone.
No they don't. They indicate that borrowing as a % of GDP rose by a fifth between 2002 and 2007 at a time when we should have been seeing improving public finances. Brown was a disaster as a chancellor and no amount of attempted rewriting of history by the Left can change that.
So borrowing rose from 29% to 35 % from the years 2002-2007 when there was huge investment in our schools and hospitals and that`s supposed to show Brown was a disaster.Get a sense of proportion mate!
So borrowing rose from 29% to 35 % from the years 2002-2007 when there was huge investment in our schools and hospitals and that`s supposed to show Brown was a disaster.Get a sense of proportion mate!
You forgot the important bit: borrowing rose from 29% to 35 % from the years 2002-2007, a period which saw the biggest boom in tax revenues in the UK since time immemorial, as a result of a worldwide boom in our most important, but somewhat volatile, industry.
And previously we saw Tory Govts sit and watch after chemical weapon attacks against the Kurds, genocide in Rwanda and Hurd-Rifkind facilitated the Balkans slaughter . Pendulum swings doesn't it
Not really the pendulum swinging, since this government isn't in the least gung-ho. Hague is the most grown-up Foreign Secretary since, let's see, Lord Carrington maybe?
Depends what info the British government is sitting on. I'd be surprised if we did (or noticeably did not) have testimony that the rebels were incapable of utilising a nerve agent like that.
Both sides were implicated in it's use long before now.
For those who think the US has gone from zero to bombing campaigns in just 5 days, it simply isn't like that. An extract of a post on the night of 21st August by me under the Headline 'Timing is Everything'
'In Jordan the US appears to have let some of its chosen insurgents across the border. What 18 months ago was a US presence for observation & training is now a much more fortified command/control presence with an HQ that could take a heavy missile attack.
Jordanian & US contractor trained insurgents have been sent in before but this time it looks as if they have had substantial training and are being fully directed by the US & Jordanians. Expanded company formations have appeared, funded by the generous Saudis. Their effect in the Syria-Israel Golan border area has anecdotally been dramatic in what already was a warm zone, but no firm verification as yet. Perhaps significantly a number of Druze, strong in the area are amongst those forces. Other insurgents are still in Jordan. The established plan is to seize a zone in the South & establish a bridgehead leading to Damascus. A few thousand good, equipped fighters teaming up with local insurgents can tilt a provincial balance.
What next for the US? Signs of an increased activity, yes, but the US has hokey cokeyed before and a recent grey market request for 10s of thousands of Kalashnikov magazines by US sources might be co-incidental. There are stories that Team Obama is, again, coming to a decision point on what to do. Everything is in place if they want to press a button. If.
Today's incident in Damascus may just provide a useful cover, or push something that can't be avoided.'
@JohnLilburne We've seen quite enough military fiascos in recent years caused by the absurdly gung-ho (who curiously enough never seem keen to risk their own necks in the endeavours they jingoistically advocate) to require a proper explanation from our political leaders as to what they're trying to achieve.
Not under this government.
And previously we saw Tory Govts sit and watch after chemical weapon attacks against the Kurds, genocide in Rwanda and Hurd-Rifkind facilitated the Balkans slaughter . Pendulum swings doesn't it
There is no intention by Obama or Cameron to intervene in Syria in the same way Blair intervened in Iraq.
All the noise this week is a continuation of diplomacy using the threat of other means.
It all depends on Putin. If his bluff can be called without launching a single missile then the primary target will have been hit.
If it needs a small bang to get Putin moving then I am sure Obama will oblige.
My guess is Putin will blink first, if for no other reason than to avoid Russian anti-missile defence systems being put to the test and found wanting.
The numbers indicate that borrowing rose after the recession.Never mind Brown,he`s been and gone.
No they don't. They indicate that borrowing as a % of GDP rose by a fifth between 2002 and 2007 at a time when we should have been seeing improving public finances. Brown was a disaster as a chancellor and no amount of attempted rewriting of history by the Left can change that.
In 2002 borrowing was around 2% of GDP. In 2007 it was around 2% of GDP.
In 2007 debt was around 40% of GDP, lower than it was when Labour came to power in 1997.
So borrowing rose from 29% to 35 % from the years 2002-2007 when there was huge investment in our schools and hospitals and that`s supposed to show Brown was a disaster.Get a sense of proportion mate!
You forgot the important bit: borrowing rose from 29% to 35 % from the years 2002-2007
@JohnLilburne We've seen quite enough military fiascos in recent years caused by the absurdly gung-ho (who curiously enough never seem keen to risk their own necks in the endeavours they jingoistically advocate) to require a proper explanation from our political leaders as to what they're trying to achieve.
Not under this government.
And previously we saw Tory Govts sit and watch after chemical weapon attacks against the Kurds, genocide in Rwanda and Hurd-Rifkind facilitated the Balkans slaughter . Pendulum swings doesn't it
There is no intention by Obama or Cameron to intervene in Syria in the same way Blair intervened in Iraq.
All the noise this week is a continuation of diplomacy using the threat of other means.
It all depends on Putin. If his bluff can be called without launching a single missile then the primary target will have been hit.
If it needs a small bang to get Putin moving then I am sure Obama will oblige.
My guess is Putin will blink first, if for no other reason than to avoid Russian anti-missile defence systems being put to the test and found wanting.
This is correct, the US will be willing to pull direct action (indirect may be different) and the rhetoric from Washington is doubly designed to make the case but also scare the living crap out of Assad. I posted the other night that I had no confirmation from anywhere but it was possible that the US had set down a number of demands to the Syrian government directly to avoid a strike.
Doesn't anyone find it interesting that the US Secretary of State calls up the Syrian Foreign Minister on the blower when they haven't bothered such direct one-to-one contact in ages and its all been done via intermediaries?
Amazing what you can do when the opportunity presents itself.
The numbers indicate that borrowing rose after the recession.Never mind Brown,he`s been and gone.
No they don't. They indicate that borrowing as a % of GDP rose by a fifth between 2002 and 2007 at a time when we should have been seeing improving public finances. Brown was a disaster as a chancellor and no amount of attempted rewriting of history by the Left can change that.
So borrowing rose from 29% to 35 % from the years 2002-2007 when there was huge investment in our schools and hospitals and that`s supposed to show Brown was a disaster.Get a sense of proportion mate!
OK, SMukesh, while your mate El Gord was busy borrowing money to build schools and hospitals, please can you explain how he came to allow the UK banking sector to approve 2,571,458 mortgage loans in 2002?
Let me remind you that this amount is 350% of the annual rate of loan approvals currently being made this year in Osborne's stimulated mortgage lending market.
And it may well be ... just a little ... a smidgen ... connected to the root cause of the "global" financial crash in 2007-2009.
The numbers indicate that borrowing rose after the recession.Never mind Brown,he`s been and gone.
No they don't. They indicate that borrowing as a % of GDP rose by a fifth between 2002 and 2007 at a time when we should have been seeing improving public finances. Brown was a disaster as a chancellor and no amount of attempted rewriting of history by the Left can change that.
So borrowing rose from 29% to 35 % from the years 2002-2007 when there was huge investment in our schools and hospitals and that`s supposed to show Brown was a disaster.Get a sense of proportion mate!
OK, SMukesh, while your mate El Gord was busy borrowing money to build schools and hospitals, please can you explain how he came to allow the UK banking sector to approve 2,571,458 mortgage loans in 2002?
Let me remind you that this amount is 350% of the annual rate of loan approvals currently being made this year in Osborne's stimulated mortgage lending market.
And it may well be ... just a little ... a smidgen ... connected to the root cause of the "global" financial crash in 2007-2009.
Hospitals and schools, my Michael foot!
As I said,Brown`s been and gone and there`s no value in repeating these arguments to and fro.
But your man`s in charge and not doing too well on borrowing and the deficit and come Autumn 2014,he`ll have failed by a proverbial mile.
Depends what info the British government is sitting on. I'd be surprised if we did (or noticeably did not) have testimony that the rebels were incapable of utilising a nerve agent like that.
Both sides were implicated in it's use long before now.
The numbers indicate that borrowing rose after the recession.Never mind Brown,he`s been and gone.
No they don't. They indicate that borrowing as a % of GDP rose by a fifth between 2002 and 2007 at a time when we should have been seeing improving public finances. Brown was a disaster as a chancellor and no amount of attempted rewriting of history by the Left can change that.
So borrowing rose from 29% to 35 % from the years 2002-2007 when there was huge investment in our schools and hospitals and that`s supposed to show Brown was a disaster.Get a sense of proportion mate!
OK, SMukesh, while your mate El Gord was busy borrowing money to build schools and hospitals, please can you explain how he came to allow the UK banking sector to approve 2,571,458 mortgage loans in 2002?
Let me remind you that this amount is 350% of the annual rate of loan approvals currently being made this year in Osborne's stimulated mortgage lending market.
And it may well be ... just a little ... a smidgen ... connected to the root cause of the "global" financial crash in 2007-2009.
Hospitals and schools, my Michael foot!
As you know, it was completely unconnected. Britain and America have separate mortgage markets. And earlier you seem to have mixed up debt and deficit figures: are you perhaps the Prime Minister?
Comments
Well, thanks for the offer, but I was hoping to wrap things up either tomorrow or Wednesday (weather permitting), but I do live sufficiently close to repeat the section at any time!
I've done parts of the Regent Canal, near QMW and Mile End, between Kings Cross and Camden, and near the abandoned Lord's tube station.
For my fellow transport geeks (and it may help to have Google Maps open)!, the 1922 line of the A13 went along Commercial Road and East India Dock Road as it does today, then the A124 as far as Barking, then North Street/East Street/Ripple Road, then A123 as far as Lodge Avenue then the current A13, then A1306 between Dagenham and Rainham, then B1335, short section of A1306 at Wennington, then B1335 again as far as Aveley, the Mill Road, Aveley High Street, Stifford Road, back onto the B1335 then short section of B186 then Stifford Hill, Stifford High Road then Cuckoo Lane.
BUT Cuckoo Lane was bisected when the current A13 in Thurrock was built in the 1980s and is out of bounds to both traffic and pedestrians, so the nearby A1012 has to deputise to connect you from North Stifford north of the A13 to the Treacle Mine roundabout (near Grays) to the south of the new A13. The southern end of Cuckoo Lane is also fenced off but is visible from the current A1306 just west of Treacle Mine (which uses the 1922 route east of Cuckoo Lane). Incidentally, while the A1306 is indeed a previous incarnation of the A13, it only became A13 between Rainham and Cuckoo Lane when it first opened in 1924/1925, ie. a few years after the DoT list was published.
Then east of Treacle Mine, it's Lodge Lane as far as the A1013, then A1013 between eastern edge of Grays as far as western edge of Stanford-le-Hope, then London Road, King Street and Southend Road as far as the B1420, then B1420 as far as Five Bells south of Basildon, then B1464 as far as South Benfleet.
East of there we rejoin the current A13, and the only remaining bypassed bits are in central Southend (those sections of London Road and Southchurch Road bypassed by Queensway), and then near Thorpe Bay (Shoebury Road bypassed by Bournes Green Chase). There was also an eastern extension in 1922 which has been unclassified for many years, this being Campfield Road and Smith Street, the original line thus finishing very close to both Shoeburyness railway station and the sea!
Just discovered that actors Edward Fox and James Fox are two separate people
Hahahahahaha! There's a clue in the name
They always struck me as slightly incongruous for the East End. I could be wrong, but I don't think there's many of the sort left in that area.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46481#s9
Most moderate Tamils are asking the international community to help in achieving a political settlement in Sri Lanka as well as investigate the war crimes committed at the end of the civil war in which 40-150k civiians were killed in an alledged genocide.
I was very disappointed with David Cameron's decision to atend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Colombo later this year. In my opinion, this is the seal of approval that the nationalistic Colombo Government is looking for. Thank God, the Queen has decided to stay away.
Apologies for mass linking but the following is for those who want more information...
A) an interesting Hard Talk episode looking into the the immediate aftermath of the civil war:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-M7Rgcykyg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9V02b8X6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bqgVDfEDvs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzRZVbUxVqE
For the record, MPs (except a few notable exceptions) from all sides have been supportive of the Sri Lankan Tamil cause and for that I am thankful.
David Smith article and deficits
Thanks for that David.
I did note when last on the OBR that Chote has published a supplementary paper entitled "Budget deficit shrinks despite weak economy" with the following summary:
Public sector net borrowing has fallen much as expected over the past two years, despite much weaker GDP growth than we anticipated, according to our latest Forecast Evaluation Report. The resilience of cash spending and the labour market helped sustain tax revenues and limit welfare costs, while central and local government spent less on public services than was budgeted for.
I downloaded it but have not yet read the paper, but it does seem to be the paper David Smith is referring to obliquely in his phrase "as the OBR has noted".
I certainly have sympathy with him on trying to work out from the Public Finances Bulletin where the deficit reduction is coming from when we see cumulative revenues up at twice the rate of expenses and yet no change in the borrowing line. Moving surpluses into investment is one sensible measure being pursued by Osborne but it nowhere near accounts for the £9.1 bn cumulative year-to-date current account surplus. Gauke's claim that it is a rephasing of local government grants sounds plausible but there is little published where this can be verified.
I was always told that when accounting statements confuse and are at odds with expectations, look at the cash balances. And that is good advice on the public finances bulletin too:
In July 2013, central government net cash requirement (CGNCR) was £-8.8 billion (a surplus), which was £4.5 billion, or 108.2%, lower than in July 2012, when there was a CGNCR of £-4.2 billion (a surplus).
For the period April 2013 to July 2013, CGNCR was £19.0 billion, which was £4.9 billion, or 20.4%, lower than in the same period the previous year, when there was a CGNCR of £23.8 billion.
When cash starts accumulating, and you are not a mafia organisation, then them notes speak louder than any inky mark in an accounts book.
Are you calling Alex Massie insane? He is generally considered to be a representative of an extremely rare species these days: a wise Scottish Tory.
'The answer to the West Lothian Question is to stop asking it' http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/alex-massie/2013/08/than-answer-to-the-west-lothian-question-is-to-stop-asking-it/
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fg-td-says-talk-of-ff-merger-is-premature-1.1506143
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam
The LTTE were exceptionally nasty bu**ers that made the IRA and UVF seem almost homely.
That does not excuse ongoing mistreatment of the Tamils by the Sri Lankan government.
From my own point of view, I was fascinated that the Tamils had their own air force:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Tigers
LOL. My daughter is just starting second year at KGGS. I will have to warn her to stop carving her name into the woodwork or she might get done by English Heritage. :-)
Are you calling Alex Massie insane? He is generally considered to be a representative of an extremely rare species these days: a wise Scottish Tory.
'The answer to the West Lothian Question is to stop asking it' http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/alex-massie/2013/08/than-answer-to-the-west-lothian-question-is-to-stop-asking-it/
Well that quote from Massie seems to prove he is a fair distance from being sane.
What do SNP MPs do on English-only issues in Parliament? Do they abstain?
I think we'll see some polls with the Tories ahead between now and the election, but not consistently, so I don't really know what to vote for. Hey ho.
They were brutal but highly tenacious. Eventually classic heavy artillery (supplied courtesy of China) and air power led to their defeat.
'kin lol!
Meet Ed Kinnock/Neil Miliband. Why have the Tories mocked this up? Find out in tomorrow's Sun #SunPlus. pic.twitter.com/SSJkrPljKD
Putin is the target.
Or at least the tactics are get Putin, get Assad.
Now you know why even Kerry is talking tough.
As usual in such conflicts, the innocent civilians suffered most.
It should also be noted that the LTTE's founders were Marxist-Leninists. Yet more deaths and sadness that can be placed at the doorstep of that corrupt ideology.
Mr. Loony, to be fair having different names doesn't make one something several somethings (cf Constantinople/Byzantium/Istanbul/Mikligard).
"David Cameron has spoken by phone to Russia's president in the wake of last week's suspected chemical attack in Syria.
The prime minister told Vladimir Putin there was "little doubt" a chemical weapons attack had been carried out by the Syrian regime, Downing Street said.
But Mr Putin told him they had no evidence that an attack had taken place or who was responsible, it said.
A decision on whether to recall Parliament will be made on Tuesday.
The suspected chemical attack took place on Wednesday near the Syrian capital Damascus, and reportedly killed more than 300 people."
Those are very surprising figures. I had not realised how close we still were in borrowing terms to the original 2010 forecasts. I guess the key is how the next two years shape up in determining whether we stay close to the original plan or veer off course as predicted by the more recent OBR pronouncements.
That probably (although not certainly) does not apply to Syria. However any conversation in parliament should try to protect our assets: we can talk about vague aims, but that should not make the task at hand harder for our lads. Inform parliament of the strategy, but don't discuss tactics too deeply.
Y0kel's obviously the expert on this, but as the straw that broke the camel's back were the chemical attacks, I would probably concentrate in taking those out of the game. But it's probably way too late for that now. Assad's men and the rebels will probably be hiding as much of their stockpiles as possible.
I've little idea what we could do in Syria, aside from firing a few cruise missiles at them. It'd be interesting to know if any assets have been moved to Incirlik, Izmir and Batman.
We're at the point of having a referendum after decades of work and pressure, against the concerted wishes of the Unionist parties. England has on the whole voted for these self-same parties, and it can't be said that there's a huge public movement in England seeking to find an alternative. Hopefully that will change.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104391493
I am sure that the Sinhalese govt is behaving ruthlessly in Sri Lanka, but civil wars are the most vicious of wars. The end of the war is positive, but now is the time to negotiate rather than let the Tigers poisonous philosophy to take hold again. The commonwealth conference may help with this.
Of course no Westminster politician will willingly divorce England from the Westminster government as it will give them a lot less to do and their penises will get smaller as a result. Granted there are problems - an English government would hardly bring government closer to the people, and we don't want to be broken up into penny packets. But I am sure there are solutions. if you don't have a solution, why not start talking about it now? I would go for an England that was radically decentralised, with most functions devolved to cities and counties, and only a few strategic functions managed by the centre.
One fist step would have been to appoint a Deputy PM/First Secretary of State for England, and put all the England-only ministers under him, renamed to be (for example) the English Ministry of Education. Rather like Scotland used to have some administrative autonomy, but with ministers appointed by the Westminster government.
.
GOsborneGenius@GOsborneGenius6m
@tnewtondunn @DAaronovitch the best Kinnock comparison.
Kinnock put 3.6% on the Labour vote in 1992
Cameron put 3.7% on the Tory vote 2010
Darling didn`t make borrowing his piece de resistance but Osborne did.He will be judged against the borrowing figures which he predicted will be into surplus in 2015.The July borrowing figures seem to indicate he`s going backwards despite all the sunshine fuelled retail boom.
Borrowing and debt have been reduced as a proportion of GDP in every year under Cameron and Osborne just as they were increased every year under Brown and Darling. There is nothing in the July finance figures to suggest that the government is "going backwards" this financial year at all.
Here are the figures SMukesh
The government had to borrow a few million instead of the predicted 2 billion surplus in July but am sure that for one reason or the other you would argue that is `VERY GOOD NEWS`
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Jul-01/178928-britain-considered-knighthood-for-syrias-assad-in-2002-report.ashx#axzz2d6xHZiiU
The crisis in Syria makes the Daily Express front page tomorrow.
Only kidding. It's Diana and the weather. pic.twitter.com/0OTVjyQKwq
One of the deadliest natural substances known to man is produced by a very common garden plant Ricinus communis (Castor Oil plant)
Especially with Syria in such upheaval too, it doesn't seem impossible that the various Islamist fundamentalist anti-Assad groups would have access to it.
But who knows. We all become armchair generals when conflict looms.
Brown didn't need the excuse of a "massive world-wide recession" to increase borrowing.
He managed to do it when the sun was shining, when the skies were overcast, when there was a light drizzle and when the heavens opened.
He did it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and all night.
And here is the proof.
Public Sector Net Borrowing as a % of GDP from 2002 to 2010: Very bad news, SMukesh, all because of a very bad boy.
"...over the next year we all need to get out there and convince the British people that we really mean it when we say we are going to have an In/Out referendum. The amount of conversations I have had with Eurosceptic voters on the doorsteps who simply do not believe us when we say we are going to be having a referendum is significant"
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2013/08/tom-hunt.html
...
I would bloody hope so given that Darling and Brown nursed the economy from a massive world-wide recession and handed over a growing economy to Osborne.Nevertheless are you confident that the deficit would be wiped out by the end of 2014 as Osborne predicted?
The government had to borrow a few million instead of the predicted 2 billion surplus in July but am sure that for one reason or the other you would argue that is `VERY GOOD NEWS`
Don't worry yourself with numbers, SMukesh.
Brown didn't need the excuse of a "massive world-wide recession" to increase borrowing.
He managed to do it when the sun was shining, when the skies were overcast, when there was a light drizzle and when the heavens opened.
He did it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and all night.
And here is the proof.
Public Sector Net Borrowing as a % of GDP from 2002 to 2010: Very bad news, SMukesh, all because of a very bad boy.
The numbers indicate that borrowing rose after the recession.Never mind Brown,he`s been and gone.
Your boy has lost sight of his supposed target set in 2010 and seems to change his target every year.It would be interesting to see what the deficit is in Autumn 2014 when it was supposed to have been cut back to zero.
"Ed Miliband is a weaker Labour leader than Neil Kinnock after failing to face down trade union leaders who were instrumental in his victory over his brother in 2010, Michael Gove will say on Tuesday.
In one of the Tories' harshest attacks on Miliband, the education secretary will contrast the Labour leader's "uncertain, irresolute, weak" leadership with Kinnock's facing down the Militant tendency, the group that embarked on classic Trotskyite "entryist" tactics into the Labour party in the 1980s.
Gove will say: "The contrast with Neil Kinnock – who originally faced down the Militant Tendency over entryism is striking – and not at all flattering to Ed Miliband. While Kinnock moved bravely and remorselessly to eradicate Militant's influence, and Militant-sponsored MPs, from Labour, Miliband has done nothing to stop the takeover of his own party.
"The sad truth is that, charming, intelligent, eloquent, thoughtful, generous and chivalrous as Ed Miliband may be, in this critical test of leadership he has been uncertain, irresolute, weak. To the question [of] who governs Labour, his answer would appear to be, increasingly: the unions." http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/26/gove-attack-miliband-trade-unions?CMP=twt_gu
When you do write, I suggest you mark on the envelope in capital letters using a thick red felt pen "NOT FROM RACHEL REEVES".
Otherwise Sir Alan may think you are stalking him and your letter will end up unopened in his elegantly tooled leatherex waste paper bin.
Would anyone from the Labour front bench care to tell us what they’ll say when they are consulted over #syria? Anyone at all?"
https://twitter.com/DAaronovitch
http://www.redcarpetcinema.co.uk/
For those who think the US has gone from zero to bombing campaigns in just 5 days, it simply isn't like that. An extract of a post on the night of 21st August by me under the Headline 'Timing is Everything'
'In Jordan the US appears to have let some of its chosen insurgents across the border. What 18 months ago was a US presence for observation & training is now a much more fortified command/control presence with an HQ that could take a heavy missile attack.
Jordanian & US contractor trained insurgents have been sent in before but this time it looks as if they have had substantial training and are being fully directed by the US & Jordanians. Expanded company formations have appeared, funded by the generous Saudis. Their effect in the Syria-Israel Golan border area has anecdotally been dramatic in what already was a warm zone, but no firm verification as yet. Perhaps significantly a number of Druze, strong in the area are amongst those forces. Other insurgents are still in Jordan. The established plan is to seize a zone in the South & establish a bridgehead leading to Damascus. A few thousand good, equipped fighters teaming up with local insurgents can tilt a provincial balance.
What next for the US? Signs of an increased activity, yes, but the US has hokey cokeyed before and a recent grey market request for 10s of thousands of Kalashnikov magazines by US sources might be co-incidental. There are stories that Team Obama is, again, coming to a decision point on what to do. Everything is in place if they want to press a button. If.
Today's incident in Damascus may just provide a useful cover, or push something that can't be avoided.'
All the noise this week is a continuation of diplomacy using the threat of other means.
It all depends on Putin. If his bluff can be called without launching a single missile then the primary target will have been hit.
If it needs a small bang to get Putin moving then I am sure Obama will oblige.
My guess is Putin will blink first, if for no other reason than to avoid Russian anti-missile defence systems being put to the test and found wanting.
In 2007 debt was around 40% of GDP, lower than it was when Labour came to power in 1997.
Yawn.
http://www.reading-forum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=7878#p82254
Doesn't anyone find it interesting that the US Secretary of State calls up the Syrian Foreign Minister on the blower when they haven't bothered such direct one-to-one contact in ages and its all been done via intermediaries?
Amazing what you can do when the opportunity presents itself.
Let me remind you that this amount is 350% of the annual rate of loan approvals currently being made this year in Osborne's stimulated mortgage lending market.
And it may well be ... just a little ... a smidgen ... connected to the root cause of the "global" financial crash in 2007-2009.
Hospitals and schools, my Michael foot!
But your man`s in charge and not doing too well on borrowing and the deficit and come Autumn 2014,he`ll have failed by a proverbial mile.
And Turkey confiscated sarin from Syrian Al Nusra (linked to Al Qaeda) fighters in May.
http://rt.com/news/sarin-gas-turkey-al-nusra-021/
"TIMES: Blair joins clamour for attack on Syria #TomorrowsPapersToday #BBCPapers"
pic.twitter.com/UU8zRU0ZIG