Being a xenophobic Brexit supporter, a man fought to hit me violently (7,2,3,5)
foaming at the mouth
Correct! (I know you don't need telling)
If it's a good clue (and it was) there's no doubt when you've got the right answer.
Here's one of my favourites... very easy too:
He upsets the classroom (12).
This is an old one of mine I still like-
Weather like ten short drum rolls (12)
Nice. Funnily enough we had some ripsnorting thunderstorms last week and were only thinking we hadn't seen any major ones over the past few years.
We had a big lightning storm on Saturday night, over exactly the same bit of sky that there was a huge army flare show from Netheravon a few nights before. We briefly thought it was some crazy stuff going on at Porton Down!
There's quite alot of lower middle class people in inner London still (c. 20% in the 2011 census). Unfortunately for the blues, they are either young, public sector or black/asian, or all three.
The Labour targets are interesting when compared to GE 2017. Labour comfortably outpolled the Conservatives in Wandsworth (by 17k) and Westminster (by 7k). So whether its the spatial spread of the vote (Cons winning with a minority of the vote as Labour has in the past in Croydon) or support for the two particular Councils it seems likely the cons will do better than last year.
Barnet is interesting because the cons outpolled labour in GE17 yet everyone was convinced it was a gimme for Labour, at least until the last month. Difficult to see what's changed (other than even worse mood music for labour) since last year. The confident claims appear to be based on the QMWL/YouGov outer London numbers but i'm not sure how representative Barnet is for that. Less black and asian, more Jewish.
One wonders whether Labour will pile up votes in its inner London strongholds, and in the outer London Boroughs that are getting poorer and more diverse - Enfield, Croydon etc. The change on 2014 in the yougov is basically Labour hoovering up Green/Third party votes - Cons remain static. Poor Labour vote efficiency could be a harbinger for GE22.
Labour loses overall control of Ashfield District Council
Get in
Labour's former council leader, councillor Chris Baron, and councillor Lee Anderson joined the Conservatives, councillor Glenys Maxwell joined the Ashfield Independents and councillor Tim Brown, Amanda Brown, Joanne Donnelly, Helen Hollis and Steve Carroll became independents.
Broxtowe borough included a chunk of Ashfield, and without pointing at anyone in particular, it always struck me that every party there was quite extraordinarily divided and took their politics extremely personally.
On-topic: Tories are finished in London. Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
London as a whole may vote Labour but of the wealthiest parts of London, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, the Tories may hold both while they may yet see off the LDs to hold Richmond Upon Thames too, the borough with the most graduates in London. Barking and Dagenham, which is hardly educated, liberal and sophisticated, is likely yet again to elect an all Labour council.
On-topic: Tories are finished in London. Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
London as a whole may vote Labour but of the wealthiest parts of London, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, the Tories may hold both while they may yet see off the LDs to hold Richmond Upon Thames too, the borough with the most graduates in London. Barking and Dagenham, which is hardly educated, liberal and sophisticated, is likely yet again to elect an all Labour council.
It's worth remembering that The London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames consists of two parliamentary constituencies: (most of) Richmond Park and Twickenham.
The bits of Richmond Park that aren't in the Borough are in Kingston, and are reliably Conservative.
Nevertheless, adding together the results of Richmond Park and Twickenham gives us a reasonable approximation of what a baseline performance is, and that comes out as:
Con LD Lab Oth Richmond Park 28,588 28,543 5,773 426 Twickenham 25,207 34,969 6,114 -
Total 53,795 63,512 11,887 426
My guess would be that this will be a LD gain, but I could be completely wrong.
Donald Trump deserves credit for ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea.
Although, of course, he's benefited from the North Korean nuclear programme having serious issues of late.
It was surely Xi rather than Trump who changed the game when China dropped its political and more importantly economic support for North Korea. As to issues, even if the nuclear programme is dead, it has achieved what was intended.
On-topic: Tories are finished in London. Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
London as a whole may vote Labour but of the wealthiest parts of London, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, the Tories may hold both while they may yet see off the LDs to hold Richmond Upon Thames too, the borough with the most graduates in London. Barking and Dagenham, which is hardly educated, liberal and sophisticated, is likely yet again to elect an all Labour council.
Barking and Dagenham won us the World Cup, providing the goal-scorers, captain and manager of the 1966 team. There is also a connection with Lord Monteagle who exposed the gunpowder plot. It is arguably, therefore, the most important borough in our political and sporting history.
On-topic: Tories are finished in London. Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
London as a whole may vote Labour but of the wealthiest parts of London, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, the Tories may hold both while they may yet see off the LDs to hold Richmond Upon Thames too, the borough with the most graduates in London. Barking and Dagenham, which is hardly educated, liberal and sophisticated, is likely yet again to elect an all Labour council.
Yes, the wealthiest parts of London lean Conservative and it is money not religion that explains why the richest parts of Barnet vote Tory and did so long before Jeremy Corbyn was elected to parliament. Most famously, Finchley gave us Margaret Thatcher.
Wow, a small step but a very symbolic one. I liked the message from Kim, I hope he means it sincerely. The footage of them both walking hand in hand was nice as well.
Credit to Trump if his actions helped make this happen. It will be something for his supporters to point to as a success, or at least that is what it looks like so it will give him credit in that way. I get the feeling that America is too partisan for credit or congratulations to stretch too far across the political divide whether deserved or not.
Donald Trump deserves credit for ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea.
Although, of course, he's benefited from the North Korean nuclear programme having serious issues of late.
It was surely Xi rather than Trump who changed the game when China dropped its political and more importantly economic support for North Korea. As to issues, even if the nuclear programme is dead, it has achieved what was intended.
You think China changed the game out of the goodness of its heart - or because Trump is in the White House?
Donald Trump deserves credit for ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea.
Although, of course, he's benefited from the North Korean nuclear programme having serious issues of late.
He deserves credit for ignoring the experts who advised him to follow the same old failed and failing policies, and to shake things up instead. In many areas of foreign policy, that has been needed for a while.
Of course, I'd feel more comfortable if I felt Trump actually had a coherent plan behind his vigorous shaking of the tree ...
Councils are weird to me, they are little fiefdoms with very little oversight. However, they get little credit for anything good they do and all the blame when nothing works properly. I really couldn't imagine wanting to be a councillor, being an MP seems terrible but local government is so much worse.
You are right that it can be hard work and a thankless task at times. On the other hand, it is 'real' (all politics being ultimately local), and a good councillor - even an opposition backbencher - can get things done and make a visible difference to a locaiity, in a way that is generally difficult for an MP. National politicians, unless they get ministerial office, tend to be talking heads and can spend a lifetime talking away about stuff that they are never going to achieve, and the grunt work of being an MP is acting as a letterbox for tons of stuff over which you have next to no influence. And national politics attracts the wrong people for the wrong reasons in a way that is much less common in local government.
The flaws in British local government are:
- its lack of financial independence - its lack of constitutional security (no constitution means central government can re-organise or otherwise compel local government at political whim) - an electoral system that denies voters any real competition in many localities - Labour's so-called 'modernisation' reforms that thrust Westminster style adversarial cabinet politics onto organisations that were previously often more collegiate - stemming from all of the above, the quality of local politicians can be somewhat variable
This is sad in a historical context, since arguably independent local government had its origins in British history (with a nod to Scandinavia)
Donald Trump deserves credit for ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea.
Although, of course, he's benefited from the North Korean nuclear programme having serious issues of late.
It was surely Xi rather than Trump who changed the game when China dropped its political and more importantly economic support for North Korea. As to issues, even if the nuclear programme is dead, it has achieved what was intended.
You think China changed the game out of the goodness of its heart - or because Trump is in the White House?
China changed the game because of American economic pressure wholly unconnected with North Korea itself. Trump has always believed that China, not Russia, posed the greatest threat to American hegemony. There are decades-old interviews of him railing against China.
On-topic: Tories are finished in London. Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
Backward-looking? Your party spends its time wishing for some horrific mash-up of the 30s and the 70s....back to a time when women knew their place, with none of this crazy head-filled notion of being a Prime Minister....
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
I set up my council tax DD today and told the lady on the phone that I thought all councils should switch to unitary. It's truly eye watering up here, the same band in the village up the road in Doncaster MBC (Tickhill) is 1903 rather than 2347.
It’s a pleasant retirement with a nice bit of local status for some people.
That’s the problem.
I have always assumed that the opportunities for corruption were unparalleled.
Not if you're a councillor.
Such corruption as exists will be among planning officers.
Collision between councillors and officers is probably the worst that can happen. Or receiving a bribe for passing a planning application. But our local government is - considering the number of bodies and numbers of people involved - remarkably free of fraud cases; in this respect we do much better than other countries (partly due to lack of power, of course).
In 24 years I have been offered a free curry by an Indian restaurant that wanted an extension, which I declined, and a free bounty bar by a newsagent whose long-standing ability to sell newspapers outside the station to morning commuters I saved, which I accepted. That's it,
Donald Trump deserves credit for ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea.
Although, of course, he's benefited from the North Korean nuclear programme having serious issues of late.
It was surely Xi rather than Trump who changed the game when China dropped its political and more importantly economic support for North Korea. As to issues, even if the nuclear programme is dead, it has achieved what was intended.
You think China changed the game out of the goodness of its heart - or because Trump is in the White House?
China changed the game because of American economic pressure wholly unconnected with North Korea itself. Trump has always believed that China, not Russia, posed the greatest threat to American hegemony. There are decades-old interviews of him railing against China.
There is also the point that a useful, if irritating, buffer on its border developed a nuclear delivery system. China is big on stability, and fatboy’s nukes are a threat to that.
In addition, China is possibly more self confident, as it projects power in the region, about making local compromises which suit its interests. (The border with a potential rival - India - isn’t, and won’t be treated in the same way.)
Collision between councillors and officers is probably the worst that can happen. Or receiving a bribe for passing a planning application. But our local government is - considering the number of bodies and numbers of people involved - remarkably free of fraud cases; in this respect we do much better than other countries (partly due to lack of power, of course).
In 24 years I have been offered a free curry by an Indian restaurant that wanted an extension, which I declined, and a free bounty bar by a newsagent whose long-standing ability to sell newspapers outside the station to morning commuters I saved, which I accepted. That's it,
Did you yield to the dark (side) chocolate bounty bar or the more loathsome milk chocolate ?
Collision between councillors and officers is probably the worst that can happen. Or receiving a bribe for passing a planning application. But our local government is - considering the number of bodies and numbers of people involved - remarkably free of fraud cases; in this respect we do much better than other countries (partly due to lack of power, of course).
In 24 years I have been offered a free curry by an Indian restaurant that wanted an extension, which I declined, and a free bounty bar by a newsagent whose long-standing ability to sell newspapers outside the station to morning commuters I saved, which I accepted. That's it,
Did you yield to the dark (side) chocolate bounty bar or the more loathsome milk chocolate ?
Good to see the Home Office reverting to type as the poison chalice of government departments.
Its a fair point. May's ability to develop a Teflon like shield for 6 years in that pit of incompetence looks no less remarkable in hindsight, particularly when you consider the pressure they were under to deliver lower net immigration. Just occasionally, such as with the vans, she went too far but generally she kept them out of the limelight.
Of course such a super defensive posture, avoiding responsibility and decisions in equal measure, was never going to work as well in the top job.
Collision between councillors and officers is probably the worst that can happen. Or receiving a bribe for passing a planning application. But our local government is - considering the number of bodies and numbers of people involved - remarkably free of fraud cases; in this respect we do much better than other countries (partly due to lack of power, of course).
In 24 years I have been offered a free curry by an Indian restaurant that wanted an extension, which I declined, and a free bounty bar by a newsagent whose long-standing ability to sell newspapers outside the station to morning commuters I saved, which I accepted. That's it,
Did you yield to the dark (side) chocolate bounty bar or the more loathsome milk chocolate ?
In chocolate as in English, plain is best.
Moore is less :
It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world, but for a bounty bounty ?
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
Hampshire county actually runs the services that actually matter and cost lots like social care and children's services. Most districts do very little bar collecting rubbish and running leisure centres - it's easy to charge so little when you deliver so little.
I don't think two tiers of local authorities make sense . The whole lot should be converted into unitary councils.
We had the 2 tier system in Scotland for a considerable time after reorganisation. It was never efficient and has now been abolished. If Councils are not making decisions on things that actually matter they really shouldn't exist. In local government there should be education, housing, roads, social services and bins.
On-topic: Tories are finished in London. Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
London as a whole may vote Labour but of the wealthiest parts of London, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, the Tories may hold both while they may yet see off the LDs to hold Richmond Upon Thames too, the borough with the most graduates in London. Barking and Dagenham, which is hardly educated, liberal and sophisticated, is likely yet again to elect an all Labour council.
It's worth remembering that The London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames consists of two parliamentary constituencies: (most of) Richmond Park and Twickenham.
The bits of Richmond Park that aren't in the Borough are in Kingston, and are reliably Conservative.
Nevertheless, adding together the results of Richmond Park and Twickenham gives us a reasonable approximation of what a baseline performance is, and that comes out as:
Con LD Lab Oth Richmond Park 28,588 28,543 5,773 426 Twickenham 25,207 34,969 6,114 -
Total 53,795 63,512 11,887 426
My guess would be that this will be a LD gain, but I could be completely wrong.
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
Hampshire county actually runs the services that actually matter and cost lots like social care and children's services. Most districts do very little bar collecting rubbish and running leisure centres - it's easy to charge so little when you deliver so little.
I don't think two tiers of local authorities make sense . The whole lot should be converted into unitary councils.
We had the 2 tier system in Scotland for a considerable time after reorganisation. It was never efficient and has now been abolished. If Councils are not making decisions on things that actually matter they really shouldn't exist. In local government there should be education, housing, roads, social services and bins.
Locally we have a three tier system; County, District and Parish. No-one on the ground is sure whcih is responsible for what, but the Parish is the most responsive, if only as a signpost!
So Q1 figures today. I am getting to the point I will welcome any positive number at all. Consumption has been weak, the terrible weather in February and March seem to have had a real impact and the steam coming out of the EZ recovery hasn't helped. I would guess maybe 0.2%?
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
Hampshire county actually runs the services that actually matter and cost lots like social care and children's services. Most districts do very little bar collecting rubbish and running leisure centres - it's easy to charge so little when you deliver so little.
I don't think two tiers of local authorities make sense . The whole lot should be converted into unitary councils.
We had the 2 tier system in Scotland for a considerable time after reorganisation. It was never efficient and has now been abolished. If Councils are not making decisions on things that actually matter they really shouldn't exist. In local government there should be education, housing, roads, social services and bins.
Locally we have a three tier system; County, District and Parish. No-one on the ground is sure whcih is responsible for what, but the Parish is the most responsive, if only as a signpost!
That's just ridiculous. No doubt 3 personnel departments, 3 finance departments, etc. Crazy.
Interesting development yesterday. The UK ratified the Unified Patent Court agreement. This means that for the first time in our history, non-UK courts will have jurisdiction over deciding patent validity and infringement in the UK. In practice, this means that a court in Germany hearing a case in German could decide in favour of a German patent holder against a British defendant and issue an injunction preventing the British company selling or distributing the infringing product in the UK. This has never been possible before and represents a significant transfer of sovereignty away from the UK. Ironically, the only thing holding implementation of the system up now is a challenge in the German Constitutional Court. If that fails, it's all systems go. Possibly by the end of this year.
Betty Boothroyd thinks we should be able to bet on the next Speaker sooner rather than later because Speakers should resign mid-term not at the end of a parliament.
Interesting development yesterday. The UK ratified the Unified Patent Court agreement. This means that for the first time in our history, non-UK courts will have jurisdiction over deciding patent validity and infringement in the UK. In practice, this means that a court in Germany hearing a case in German could decide in favour of a German patent holder against a British defendant and issue an injunction preventing the British company selling or distributing the infringing product in the UK. This has never been possible before and represents a significant transfer of sovereignty away from the UK. Ironically, the only thing holding implementation of the system up now is a challenge in the German Constitutional Court. If that fails, it's all systems go. Possibly by the end of this year.
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
Hampshire county actually runs the services that actually matter and cost lots like social care and children's services. Most districts do very little bar collecting rubbish and running leisure centres - it's easy to charge so little when you deliver so little.
I don't think two tiers of local authorities make sense . The whole lot should be converted into unitary councils.
We had the 2 tier system in Scotland for a considerable time after reorganisation. It was never efficient and has now been abolished. If Councils are not making decisions on things that actually matter they really shouldn't exist. In local government there should be education, housing, roads, social services and bins.
Locally we have a three tier system; County, District and Parish. No-one on the ground is sure whcih is responsible for what, but the Parish is the most responsive, if only as a signpost!
That's just ridiculous. No doubt 3 personnel departments, 3 finance departments, etc. Crazy.
No quite as bad as that. Parish only has a part-timne clerk, a very part-time finance officer and a full-time all-purpose handyman, groundsman, roadsweeeper etc.
Interesting development yesterday. The UK ratified the Unified Patent Court agreement. This means that for the first time in our history, non-UK courts will have jurisdiction over deciding patent validity and infringement in the UK. In practice, this means that a court in Germany hearing a case in German could decide in favour of a German patent holder against a British defendant and issue an injunction preventing the British company selling or distributing the infringing product in the UK. This has never been possible before and represents a significant transfer of sovereignty away from the UK. Ironically, the only thing holding implementation of the system up now is a challenge in the German Constitutional Court. If that fails, it's all systems go. Possibly by the end of this year.
Interesting development yesterday. The UK ratified the Unified Patent Court agreement. This means that for the first time in our history, non-UK courts will have jurisdiction over deciding patent validity and infringement in the UK. In practice, this means that a court in Germany hearing a case in German could decide in favour of a German patent holder against a British defendant and issue an injunction preventing the British company selling or distributing the infringing product in the UK. This has never been possible before and represents a significant transfer of sovereignty away from the UK. Ironically, the only thing holding implementation of the system up now is a challenge in the German Constitutional Court. If that fails, it's all systems go. Possibly by the end of this year.
Within hours of Dr Kelly’s body being found, the Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer, had set up an official inquiry with miraculous speed. Falconer was an old friend and former flatmate of Tony Blair, who at that moment was in the air between Washington and Tokyo.
The legal effect of the decision to ask a senior judge — the elderly Establishment figure of Lord Hutton — to chair an inquiry into Dr Kelly’s death was to stop the inquest in its tracks.
But, as Goslett points out, neither Hutton nor his leading counsel James Dingemans QC had any experience of a coroner’s duties. And whereas in an inquest evidence is taken on oath, it wasn’t in the Hutton Inquiry.
It beggars belief that a proper inquest was never held in this case. I'm generally not one to believe conspiracy theories, but the handling of this case does make one wonder.
Within hours of Dr Kelly’s body being found, the Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer, had set up an official inquiry with miraculous speed. Falconer was an old friend and former flatmate of Tony Blair, who at that moment was in the air between Washington and Tokyo.
The legal effect of the decision to ask a senior judge — the elderly Establishment figure of Lord Hutton — to chair an inquiry into Dr Kelly’s death was to stop the inquest in its tracks.
But, as Goslett points out, neither Hutton nor his leading counsel James Dingemans QC had any experience of a coroner’s duties. And whereas in an inquest evidence is taken on oath, it wasn’t in the Hutton Inquiry.
It beggars belief that a proper inquest was never held in this case. I'm generally not one to believe conspiracy theories, but the handling of this case does make one wonder.
Quite. It was all very odd. Might well get hold of the book!
Donald Trump deserves credit for ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea.
Although, of course, he's benefited from the North Korean nuclear programme having serious issues of late.
He deserves credit for ignoring the experts who advised him to follow the same old failed and failing policies, and to shake things up instead. In many areas of foreign policy, that has been needed for a while.
Of course, I'd feel more comfortable if I felt Trump actually had a coherent plan behind his vigorous shaking of the tree ...
I think it's largely presentational. Kim Jong-un wants two things. A working set of nuclear weapons that people believe he will be happy to use, so no-one dreams of invading his country or trying to get rid of him. Nuclear weapons under his control also make him less reliant on his army for protection. Secondly Kim wants sanctions removed so he can sort out North Korea's economy. Donald Trump will give him what he wants, if he makes any difference at all. The opposite of ratcheting up the pressure, except rhetorically.
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
Hampshire county actually runs the services that actually matter and cost lots like social care and children's services. Most districts do very little bar collecting rubbish and running leisure centres - it's easy to charge so little when you deliver so little.
I don't think two tiers of local authorities make sense . The whole lot should be converted into unitary councils.
We had the 2 tier system in Scotland for a considerable time after reorganisation. It was never efficient and has now been abolished. If Councils are not making decisions on things that actually matter they really shouldn't exist. In local government there should be education, housing, roads, social services and bins.
Locally we have a three tier system; County, District and Parish. No-one on the ground is sure whcih is responsible for what, but the Parish is the most responsive, if only as a signpost!
That's just ridiculous. No doubt 3 personnel departments, 3 finance departments, etc. Crazy.
Parts of Cambridgeshire have FOUR levels of local government - parish, district, county, regional mayoral:
So Q1 figures today. I am getting to the point I will welcome any positive number at all. Consumption has been weak, the terrible weather in February and March seem to have had a real impact and the steam coming out of the EZ recovery hasn't helped. I would guess maybe 0.2%?
So Q1 figures today. I am getting to the point I will welcome any positive number at all. Consumption has been weak, the terrible weather in February and March seem to have had a real impact and the steam coming out of the EZ recovery hasn't helped. I would guess maybe 0.2%?
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
Hampshire county actually runs the services that actually matter and cost lots like social care and children's services. Most districts do very little bar collecting rubbish and running leisure centres - it's easy to charge so little when you deliver so little.
I don't think two tiers of local authorities make sense . The whole lot should be converted into unitary councils.
We had the 2 tier system in Scotland for a considerable time after reorganisation. It was never efficient and has now been abolished. If Councils are not making decisions on things that actually matter they really shouldn't exist. In local government there should be education, housing, roads, social services and bins.
Locally we have a three tier system; County, District and Parish. No-one on the ground is sure whcih is responsible for what, but the Parish is the most responsive, if only as a signpost!
That's just ridiculous. No doubt 3 personnel departments, 3 finance departments, etc. Crazy.
Parts of Cambridgeshire have FOUR levels of local government - parish, district, county, regional mayoral:
So Q1 figures today. I am getting to the point I will welcome any positive number at all. Consumption has been weak, the terrible weather in February and March seem to have had a real impact and the steam coming out of the EZ recovery hasn't helped. I would guess maybe 0.2%?
So Q1 figures today. I am getting to the point I will welcome any positive number at all. Consumption has been weak, the terrible weather in February and March seem to have had a real impact and the steam coming out of the EZ recovery hasn't helped. I would guess maybe 0.2%?
There does seem to have been a marked slowdown in new construction sites in 2018 compared to last year from what I see.
Doesn’t look like that round here; building sites....estates, not just one or two houses.....all round Chelmsford and Colchester.
Construction lends itself to subjective views and local variations so we're both likely right.
Very true. Subjective view!. Went up to Ely the other day, though, and there seemed to be plenty going on around Cambridge. Of course what the casual observer doesn’t see is how much work is actually being done, and how many houses completed.
Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
A disturbing and pertinent question.
Do you have a answer as to why over 50% of them seem to be about to?
I've been stunned in the past few days with MPs commenting on Brexit who have said that their constituents did not vote to make themselves poorer. What a nonsense - John McDonnell has openly admitted he wants A run on the pound and people have voted Labour.
I'd like to compliment this site on its reasoned arguments. Even the Remainers make good points.
It's especially marked when I read the comments on a scientific story in the Guardian website where they seem to concentrate on bombast rather than facts. It gets a little worrying, and a good example the intersex debate over the unfortunate South African woman who can run faster than the others.
She may well have AIS (I've inside no information), but if so, it means she has a genetic fault in her androgen receptor which is likely to be partial and not total Despite XY chromosomes and higher levels of testosterone than normal females, the usefulness of the androgen is undetermined. A problem for the IOC but for some it seems an excuse to use politics to work it out and apportion blame.
Mr. Nemtynakht, particularly amusing claim after Osborne claimed we'd all be thousands worse off every year.
(If he hadn't overdone the doom-mongering, Remain would've won. It's astounding, still, how bad the campaign was. Easy to forget Leave was bloody awful too).
So Q1 figures today. I am getting to the point I will welcome any positive number at all. Consumption has been weak, the terrible weather in February and March seem to have had a real impact and the steam coming out of the EZ recovery hasn't helped. I would guess maybe 0.2%?
There does seem to have been a marked slowdown in new construction sites in 2018 compared to last year from what I see.
Doesn’t look like that round here; building sites....estates, not just one or two houses.....all round Chelmsford and Colchester.
Construction lends itself to subjective views and local variations so we're both likely right.
Very true. Subjective view!. Went up to Ely the other day, though, and there seemed to be plenty going on around Cambridge. Of course what the casual observer doesn’t see is how much work is actually being done, and how many houses completed.
Plenty more expected to come online as well; the old Waterbeach barracks site, plus Cambourne West near me. Loves Farm 2 at St Neots has got the go-ahead as well, and there may well be a third phase to that.
I walked through Wellingborough last week, and there's a massive housing development going on around there, with the site looking more like roadworks than a housing estate. http://stantoncross.co.uk/
One thing to note: developers in this area really wanted to build offices; I went around the Cambridge Science Park yesterday and there were a fair few empty office buildings about, as there are in the whole area. I reckon developers have been building the wrong things...
What do you think about the North East Party Manifesto? We've tried to give it a more professional look and feel than previous years. Policy content is similar. Zero budget obviously.
So Q1 figures today. I am getting to the point I will welcome any positive number at all. Consumption has been weak, the terrible weather in February and March seem to have had a real impact and the steam coming out of the EZ recovery hasn't helped. I would guess maybe 0.2%?
There does seem to have been a marked slowdown in new construction sites in 2018 compared to last year from what I see.
Doesn’t look like that round here; building sites....estates, not just one or two houses.....all round Chelmsford and Colchester.
Construction lends itself to subjective views and local variations so we're both likely right.
Very true. Subjective view!. Went up to Ely the other day, though, and there seemed to be plenty going on around Cambridge. Of course what the casual observer doesn’t see is how much work is actually being done, and how many houses completed.
There are also variations that lead to number of starts. I think weather would be a big hindrance, as houses will only be started if those in progress are being bought and if you cannot get onto sites, or see things properly because of the snow then that would hold things back. There will also be other factors such as building out sites, and getting on site. More resources required to start and end for comparatively less output. Also sometimes a house builder will hold up output for cash flow, I.e. A large section 106 payment could be triggered at a certain number of builds and the company may want to report that in a particular financial period.
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
Hampshire county actually runs the services that actually matter and cost lots like social care and children's services. Most districts do very little bar collecting rubbish and running leisure centres - it's easy to charge so little when you deliver so little.
I don't think two tiers of local authorities make sense . The whole lot should be converted into unitary councils.
We had the 2 tier system in Scotland for a considerable time after reorganisation. It was never efficient and has now been abolished. If Councils are not making decisions on things that actually matter they really shouldn't exist. In local government there should be education, housing, roads, social services and bins.
Locally we have a three tier system; County, District and Parish. No-one on the ground is sure whcih is responsible for what, but the Parish is the most responsive, if only as a signpost!
That's just ridiculous. No doubt 3 personnel departments, 3 finance departments, etc. Crazy.
Parts of Cambridgeshire have FOUR levels of local government - parish, district, county, regional mayoral:
Mark Drakeford is the early favourite but is also seen as Jeremy Corbyn/Momentum candidate which will not play well with the softer left. And although he is a Welsh speaker he has previously expressed some strong anti-Welsh comments. Justifiably favourite.
Vaughan Gething is supposedley Carwyn's favourite..and while being a BAME candidate may play well with Labours London leadership it will not play so well in Wales. Unlikely to succeed.
Ken Skates is the only north Wales candidate but has little backing outside of the north - especially after his backing of the Iron Ring fiasco. Not a Welsh speaker. Unlikely to succeed.
Elunded Morgan could emerge as the unifying candidate - if she can get enough votes to get on the ballot in the first place - and provinding she drops her Baroness title. The value bet in my opinion.
The bigest winners from this election should be Plaid or Conservatives but their current disorganisation means they are likely to miss a few open goals.
The Wandsworth/Westminster model of very low council tax whilst emptying the bins efficiently
I'd say this is what 90% of the country wants to be perfectly honest. That and the roads to be kept in good nick.
East Hampshire District Council is also very, very good, and looking to eliminate council tax entirely.
Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council makes up the bulk of the bill, and those that run it are soaking wet and in the hands of the officials.
Hampshire county actually runs the services that actually matter and cost lots like social care and children's services. Most districts do very little bar collecting rubbish and running leisure centres - it's easy to charge so little when you deliver so little.
I don't think two tiers of local authorities make sense . The whole lot should be converted into unitary councils.
We had the 2 tier system in Scotland for a considerable time after reorganisation. It was never efficient and has now been abolished. If Councils are not making decisions on things that actually matter they really shouldn't exist. In local government there should be education, housing, roads, social services and bins.
Locally we have a three tier system; County, District and Parish. No-one on the ground is sure whcih is responsible for what, but the Parish is the most responsive, if only as a signpost!
That's just ridiculous. No doubt 3 personnel departments, 3 finance departments, etc. Crazy.
No quite as bad as that. Parish only has a part-timne clerk, a very part-time finance officer and a full-time all-purpose handyman, groundsman, roadsweeeper etc.
Parish and Town Councils are still almost exactly as they are portrayed in Dad's Army in Walmington on Sea with the Town Mayor and 1 Town Clerk
Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
A disturbing and pertinent question.
Do you have a answer as to why over 50% of them seem to be about to?
I've been stunned in the past few days with MPs commenting on Brexit who have said that their constituents did not vote to make themselves poorer. What a nonsense - John McDonnell has openly admitted he wants A run on the pound and people have voted Labour.
Mr. Nemtynakht, particularly amusing claim after Osborne claimed we'd all be thousands worse off every year.
(If he hadn't overdone the doom-mongering, Remain would've won. It's astounding, still, how bad the campaign was. Easy to forget Leave was bloody awful too).
That's the thing I don't get about the whining about the result. It's already patently obvious that the so called experts couldn't see past their own biases. I think it was commented on here at the time that the terms of reference for the treasury reporting were created so as to lead to them reporting very bad figures which inevitably have been proved wrong. TBH at the time I bought it and voted remain as I didn't think it was a risk worth taking, by then again those who don't have equity in a house of pension would probably think the opposite - what have we got to lose. These are now those that Corbyn needs to lock in because there are a large number of them who politicians and the media ignore as they are to busy talking yo people like themselves in Westminster and on twitter.
Interesting development yesterday. The UK ratified the Unified Patent Court agreement. This means that for the first time in our history, non-UK courts will have jurisdiction over deciding patent validity and infringement in the UK. In practice, this means that a court in Germany hearing a case in German could decide in favour of a German patent holder against a British defendant and issue an injunction preventing the British company selling or distributing the infringing product in the UK. This has never been possible before and represents a significant transfer of sovereignty away from the UK. Ironically, the only thing holding implementation of the system up now is a challenge in the German Constitutional Court. If that fails, it's all systems go. Possibly by the end of this year.
On-topic: Tories are finished in London. Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
London as a whole may vote Labour but of the wealthiest parts of London, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, the Tories may hold both while they may yet see off the LDs to hold Richmond Upon Thames too, the borough with the most graduates in London. Barking and Dagenham, which is hardly educated, liberal and sophisticated, is likely yet again to elect an all Labour council.
Barking and Dagenham won us the World Cup, providing the goal-scorers, captain and manager of the 1966 team. There is also a connection with Lord Monteagle who exposed the gunpowder plot. It is arguably, therefore, the most important borough in our political and sporting history.
I will take your word for It and I have nothing against Barking and Dagenham but I expect even the leader of Barking Council would find it a stretch to call it 'educated, liberal and sophisticated'
Upward pressure on wages for sturdy British yeomen, rather than cheap foreign labour.
Everything sacrificed on the altar of immigration. Added bonus that by keeping NHS wages low and workloads high, British doctors and nurses are encouraged to leave thus reducing further net migration.
Interesting development yesterday. The UK ratified the Unified Patent Court agreement. This means that for the first time in our history, non-UK courts will have jurisdiction over deciding patent validity and infringement in the UK. In practice, this means that a court in Germany hearing a case in German could decide in favour of a German patent holder against a British defendant and issue an injunction preventing the British company selling or distributing the infringing product in the UK. This has never been possible before and represents a significant transfer of sovereignty away from the UK. Ironically, the only thing holding implementation of the system up now is a challenge in the German Constitutional Court. If that fails, it's all systems go. Possibly by the end of this year.
Thats odd:
The UPC Agreement is open to accession by any Member State of the European Union. The Agreement is not open to states outside of the European Union. Up to date, all European Union Member States except Spain and Poland have signed the Agreement.
Mr. Nemtynakht, particularly amusing claim after Osborne claimed we'd all be thousands worse off every year.
(If he hadn't overdone the doom-mongering, Remain would've won. It's astounding, still, how bad the campaign was. Easy to forget Leave was bloody awful too).
Wasn't it Osborne's cunning wheeze to target LD seats in 2015 and gave Cameron his majority to call the referendum? He should take a bow.
On-topic: Tories are finished in London. Why would an educated, liberal and sophisticated electorate vote for a staid, old and backward looking party?
London as a whole may vote Labour but of the wealthiest parts of London, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, the Tories may hold both while they may yet see off the LDs to hold Richmond Upon Thames too, the borough with the most graduates in London. Barking and Dagenham, which is hardly educated, liberal and sophisticated, is likely yet again to elect an all Labour council.
Yes, the wealthiest parts of London lean Conservative and it is money not religion that explains why the richest parts of Barnet vote Tory and did so long before Jeremy Corbyn was elected to parliament. Most famously, Finchley gave us Margaret Thatcher.
True but the Jewish community does have an above average national imcome
Upward pressure on wages for sturdy British yeomen, rather than cheap foreign labour.
Everything sacrificed on the altar of immigration. Added bonus that by keeping NHS wages low and workloads high, British doctors and nurses are encouraged to leave thus reducing further net migration.
A big pay rise has only recently been announced for nurses of 6.5% over the next three years
Mr. Penddu, interesting post. What odds on Morgan?
Mr. NorthWales, indeed.
Mr. Uprising, not a NE voter (Yorkshire) but got to say that regional assemblies are something I'm vehemently against. We have a comparable party (used to be called Yorkshire First, I forget the new name). For what it's worth, I'm not sure how many people actually check manifesto sites (even of major parties). Suspect your biggest problem will be that we're undergoing a significant change with (probably) leaving the EU, so there'll be a very limited appetite for another constitutional shift at this time.
More broadly, the reason I oppose regional assemblies is because they can never be the equal of Holyrood so you'll just carve England into feeble regions that lack the same power as the Scottish Parliament, unless you're proposing to absolutely shatter England by having different rates of income tax in Newcastle and Leeds.
Upward pressure on wages for sturdy British yeomen, rather than cheap foreign labour.
Everything sacrificed on the altar of immigration. Added bonus that by keeping NHS wages low and workloads high, British doctors and nurses are encouraged to leave thus reducing further net migration.
A big pay rise has only recently been announced for nurses of 6.5% over the next three years
Personally, I think Rudd has shown strength of character by taking the bullet, rather than blaming her predecessor. Much like when she took the debate to bail out May last year. I have an even lower opinion of May though, and I would not expect Rudd to get back the same loyalty in return.
Personally, I think Rudd has shown strength of character by taking the bullet, rather than blaming her predecessor. Much like when she took the debate to bail out May last year. I have an even lower opinion of May though, and I would not expect Rudd to get back the same loyalty in return.
Upward pressure on wages for sturdy British yeomen, rather than cheap foreign labour.
Everything sacrificed on the altar of immigration. Added bonus that by keeping NHS wages low and workloads high, British doctors and nurses are encouraged to leave thus reducing further net migration.
A big pay rise has only recently been announced for nurses of 6.5% over the next three years
Upward pressure on wages for sturdy British yeomen, rather than cheap foreign labour.
Everything sacrificed on the altar of immigration. Added bonus that by keeping NHS wages low and workloads high, British doctors and nurses are encouraged to leave thus reducing further net migration.
A big pay rise has only recently been announced for nurses of 6.5% over the next three years
Amazing video of the joint tree planting ceremony on the North - South Korean border.
Obama got a peace prize for nothing
Trump should get one for his efforts over Korea - this would not have happened without Trump
(And I think he is an utter disaster but credit where it is due)
I don't think this has anything to do with Trump. A brutal but entirely rational dictator has got what he wants in terms of nuclear weapons looks to lock in his advantage by normalizing relations to help his economy.
Mr. Penddu, interesting post. What odds on Morgan?
Mr. NorthWales, indeed.
Mr. Uprising, not a NE voter (Yorkshire) but got to say that regional assemblies are something I'm vehemently against. We have a comparable party (used to be called Yorkshire First, I forget the new name). For what it's worth, I'm not sure how many people actually check manifesto sites (even of major parties). Suspect your biggest problem will be that we're undergoing a significant change with (probably) leaving the EU, so there'll be a very limited appetite for another constitutional shift at this time.
More broadly, the reason I oppose regional assemblies is because they can never be the equal of Holyrood so you'll just carve England into feeble regions that lack the same power as the Scottish Parliament, unless you're proposing to absolutely shatter England by having different rates of income tax in Newcastle and Leeds.
Thanks for your reply. We've discussed this before, I think.
We are already experiencing constitutional change here, albeit piecemeal, with metro mayors in Teesside and North of the Tyne; but with little power, additional bureaucracy and no referendum. Even if we were to only achieve a London type arrangement, that would be a massive step forward.
You're probably right that few people will look at the document; I think we are the most electorally successful English party nobody has heard of yet! So the main task is getting name recognition at this point.
Personally, I think Rudd has shown strength of character by taking the bullet, rather than blaming her predecessor. Much like when she took the debate to bail out May last year. I have an even lower opinion of May though, and I would not expect Rudd to get back the same loyalty in return.
He asks a fair question but the answer is a very unattractve one. These two politicians reflect 52% of the country and it's no less shameful to the 52%
Comments
Weather like ten short drum rolls (12)
Ask Eastern European countries or Valenzuela about the peace and prosperity of socialism / marxism
There's quite alot of lower middle class people in inner London still (c. 20% in the 2011 census). Unfortunately for the blues, they are either young, public sector or black/asian, or all three.
The Labour targets are interesting when compared to GE 2017. Labour comfortably outpolled the Conservatives in Wandsworth (by 17k) and Westminster (by 7k). So whether its the spatial spread of the vote (Cons winning with a minority of the vote as Labour has in the past in Croydon) or support for the two particular Councils it seems likely the cons will do better than last year.
Barnet is interesting because the cons outpolled labour in GE17 yet everyone was convinced it was a gimme for Labour, at least until the last month. Difficult to see what's changed (other than even worse mood music for labour) since last year. The confident claims appear to be based on the QMWL/YouGov outer London numbers but i'm not sure how representative Barnet is for that. Less black and asian, more Jewish.
One wonders whether Labour will pile up votes in its inner London strongholds, and in the outer London Boroughs that are getting poorer and more diverse - Enfield, Croydon etc. The change on 2014 in the yougov is basically Labour hoovering up Green/Third party votes - Cons remain static. Poor Labour vote efficiency could be a harbinger for GE22.
The bits of Richmond Park that aren't in the Borough are in Kingston, and are reliably Conservative.
Nevertheless, adding together the results of Richmond Park and Twickenham gives us a reasonable approximation of what a baseline performance is, and that comes out as: My guess would be that this will be a LD gain, but I could be completely wrong.
https://twitter.com/SamCoatesTimes/status/989572792172630016
Although, of course, he's benefited from the North Korean nuclear programme having serious issues of late.
Credit to Trump if his actions helped make this happen. It will be something for his supporters to point to as a success, or at least that is what it looks like so it will give him credit in that way. I get the feeling that America is too partisan for credit or congratulations to stretch too far across the political divide whether deserved or not.
Of course, I'd feel more comfortable if I felt Trump actually had a coherent plan behind his vigorous shaking of the tree ...
The flaws in British local government are:
- its lack of financial independence
- its lack of constitutional security (no constitution means central government can re-organise or otherwise compel local government at political whim)
- an electoral system that denies voters any real competition in many localities
- Labour's so-called 'modernisation' reforms that thrust Westminster style adversarial cabinet politics onto organisations that were previously often more collegiate
- stemming from all of the above, the quality of local politicians can be somewhat variable
This is sad in a historical context, since arguably independent local government had its origins in British history (with a nod to Scandinavia)
In 24 years I have been offered a free curry by an Indian restaurant that wanted an extension, which I declined, and a free bounty bar by a newsagent whose long-standing ability to sell newspapers outside the station to morning commuters I saved, which I accepted. That's it,
Amazing scenes in Bedford as OGH sweeps through the cleared streets en route to Smithson Towers to publish the new thread ....
In addition, China is possibly more self confident, as it projects power in the region, about making local compromises which suit its interests. (The border with a potential rival - India - isn’t, and won’t be treated in the same way.)
Of course it could all still fall apart.
Of course such a super defensive posture, avoiding responsibility and decisions in equal measure, was never going to work as well in the top job.
It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world, but for a bounty bounty ?
Do you have a answer as to why over 50% of them seem to be about to?
Housing is the latest indicator: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43914834
For once poor construction figures may actually be true.
https://news.sky.com/story/baroness-boothroyd-says-john-bercow-should-step-down-as-speaker-11348000
F1: Azerbaijan practice begins today. Would not be surprised if we saw one or two crashes.
Mr. Observer, that appears rather daft.
Within hours of Dr Kelly’s body being found, the Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer, had set up an official inquiry with miraculous speed. Falconer was an old friend and former flatmate of Tony Blair, who at that moment was in the air between Washington and Tokyo.
The legal effect of the decision to ask a senior judge — the elderly Establishment figure of Lord Hutton — to chair an inquiry into Dr Kelly’s death was to stop the inquest in its tracks.
But, as Goslett points out, neither Hutton nor his leading counsel James Dingemans QC had any experience of a coroner’s duties. And whereas in an inquest evidence is taken on oath, it wasn’t in the Hutton Inquiry.
It beggars belief that a proper inquest was never held in this case. I'm generally not one to believe conspiracy theories, but the handling of this case does make one wonder.
http://www.ramseytowncouncil.gov.uk/
http://www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/
https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/
http://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/about-us/mayor/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43898969
Upward pressure on wages for sturdy British yeomen, rather than cheap foreign labour.
Meanwhile the number of unskilled EU workers is uncapped.
A nice protection scheme for the upper middle classes.
Of course what the casual observer doesn’t see is how much work is actually being done, and how many houses completed.
It's especially marked when I read the comments on a scientific story in the Guardian website where they seem to concentrate on bombast rather than facts. It gets a little worrying, and a good example the intersex debate over the unfortunate South African woman who can run faster than the others.
She may well have AIS (I've inside no information), but if so, it means she has a genetic fault in her androgen receptor which is likely to be partial and not total Despite XY chromosomes and higher levels of testosterone than normal females, the usefulness of the androgen is undetermined. A problem for the IOC but for some it seems an excuse to use politics to work it out and apportion blame.
Sigh.
The Daily Mail with added ignorance.
(If he hadn't overdone the doom-mongering, Remain would've won. It's astounding, still, how bad the campaign was. Easy to forget Leave was bloody awful too).
I walked through Wellingborough last week, and there's a massive housing development going on around there, with the site looking more like roadworks than a housing estate.
http://stantoncross.co.uk/
One thing to note: developers in this area really wanted to build offices; I went around the Cambridge Science Park yesterday and there were a fair few empty office buildings about, as there are in the whole area. I reckon developers have been building the wrong things...
What do you think about the North East Party Manifesto?
We've tried to give it a more professional look and feel than previous years. Policy content is similar.
Zero budget obviously.
Http://www.thenortheastparty.com/our_vision/
Its always easier for politicians to create more jobs for politicians than to get rid of them
Welsh Labour have a difficult decision ahead....
Mark Drakeford is the early favourite but is also seen as Jeremy Corbyn/Momentum candidate which will not play well with the softer left. And although he is a Welsh speaker he has previously expressed some strong anti-Welsh comments. Justifiably favourite.
Vaughan Gething is supposedley Carwyn's favourite..and while being a BAME candidate may play well with Labours London leadership it will not play so well in Wales. Unlikely to succeed.
Ken Skates is the only north Wales candidate but has little backing outside of the north - especially after his backing of the Iron Ring fiasco. Not a Welsh speaker. Unlikely to succeed.
Elunded Morgan could emerge as the unifying candidate - if she can get enough votes to get on the ballot in the first place - and provinding she drops her Baroness title. The value bet in my opinion.
The bigest winners from this election should be Plaid or Conservatives but their current disorganisation means they are likely to miss a few open goals.
Obama got a peace prize for nothing
Trump should get one for his efforts over Korea - this would not have happened without Trump
(And I think he is an utter disaster but credit where it is due)
Added bonus that by keeping NHS wages low and workloads high, British doctors and nurses are encouraged to leave thus reducing further net migration.
The UPC Agreement is open to accession by any Member State of the European Union. The Agreement is not open to states outside of the European Union. Up to date, all European Union Member States except Spain and Poland have signed the Agreement.
https://www.unified-patent-court.org
What was the point?
He should take a bow.
Mr. NorthWales, indeed.
Mr. Uprising, not a NE voter (Yorkshire) but got to say that regional assemblies are something I'm vehemently against. We have a comparable party (used to be called Yorkshire First, I forget the new name). For what it's worth, I'm not sure how many people actually check manifesto sites (even of major parties). Suspect your biggest problem will be that we're undergoing a significant change with (probably) leaving the EU, so there'll be a very limited appetite for another constitutional shift at this time.
More broadly, the reason I oppose regional assemblies is because they can never be the equal of Holyrood so you'll just carve England into feeble regions that lack the same power as the Scottish Parliament, unless you're proposing to absolutely shatter England by having different rates of income tax in Newcastle and Leeds.
Meanwhile a nurse in Australia can earn 50% more with a nurse to patient ratio of 1:4 not 1:8.
https://nursingnotes.co.uk/comparing-nursing-australia-nursing-uk/
We are already experiencing constitutional change here, albeit piecemeal, with metro mayors in Teesside and North of the Tyne; but with little power, additional bureaucracy and no referendum. Even if we were to only achieve a London type arrangement, that would be a massive step forward.
You're probably right that few people will look at the document; I think we are the most electorally successful English party nobody has heard of yet! So the main task is getting name recognition at this point.