Mr. Jessop, it's true that there's been a lot of rail problems in the south (I recall a prolonged period of one operator [Southern Rail?] being thoroughly atrocious). That doesn't change the fact that money to electrify northern rail lines is promised then goes missing, whereas Grayling can find £2bn for a Stonehenge tunnel that many fear will cause huge damage to a unique site.
Edited extra bit: decided a mild insult against Grayling was unseemly, so removed it.
@HYUFD - did you really live in Aberystwyth at any time? Because you're talking total nonsense.
My suspicion is that you spent a couple of semesters at the university, living solely in PJM with a load of other English interlopers, did your shopping at the Co-op on the Waun, and went into town about once a month. That doesn't give you the capacity to judge what feelings will be like in the town.
I lived there for seven years, four of them in a flat in Morfa Mawr and two in Gray's Inn Road, was choirmaster and organist of one of the local churches, sat on the board of a local charity and worked in several different bars as well as spending three years as a lecturer at the university.
Yes, there is a 'them and us' mentality. Often, people in Aber get bent out by Cardiff. But they will have wanted this. Aber is famously the greenest town in the UK, for many years it was the only town to have elected a Green MP, and there has always been a push to enhance energy efficiency and cleanliness.
Moreover, if they look at Cardiff with suspicion they look at London with hatred. When London clashes with Cardiff they will only want one winner.
Feel free to disagree based on your minimal knowledge of the town. Just be aware that you're completely wrong.
I did my Master's in Aberystwyth. I also campaigned in Abeyrstwuth and much of the surrounding area in Ceredigion and of course went to local pubs etc however your 'more Ceredigion than you' argumemt does not change the point.
This was a project solely for Swansea, North and Mid Wales would have been barely impacted at all and are largely indifferent to South Wales anyway
Point of order. Wasn't the "Green MP" mentioned in passing actually a one-off Plaid-Green alliance candidate?
I believe so, Ceredigion is either Liberal or Plaid normally
Mr. HYUFD, wasn't the asked-for energy price lower than the Chinese nuclear reactor using a model that hasn't worked anywhere so far and is massively delayed and over-budget in another country (France?) where they're trying it?
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
So far Leave advocates have fallen in behind xenophobic lies, attacked the judiciary, attacked the civil service, attacked the House of Lords, attacked the media, attacked any business leader who has expressed qualms about the progress of Brexit, attacked the governor of the Bank of England and attacked the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The idea that they are going to change course because Brexit might be profoundly damaging to British industry is for the birds. Their paramount concern is to give free rein to their bottomless irrational hatred of the EU. Nothing else matters.
Mr. P, on Truss: I saw the other day that she had quite a nice line about not approving of the EU's meme-banning idiotic proposal, as a meme herself. Not a huge deal, but did get her some credit, aligns with anti-EU sentiment, and is entirely sensible regarding a damned silly set of internet-buggering proposals.
Douglas Hogg made a rather good joke at the weekend - he warned parents with children to be careful not to fall into his moat (“they might not see it because it hasn’t been cleaned recently”)
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
So far Leave advocates have fallen in behind xenophobic lies, attacked the judiciary, attacked the civil service, attacked the House of Lords, attacked the media, attacked any business leader who has expressed qualms about the progress of Brexit, attacked the governor of the Bank of England and attacked the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The idea that they are going to change course because Brexit might be profoundly damaging to British industry is for the birds. Their paramount concern is to give free rein to their bottomless irrational hatred of the EU. Nothing else matters.
unspoofable
2028 and the four horsemen of the Apocalypse stalk Warwickshire, and you'll still be looking forward to the eventual fruits of the economic rebalancing after Brexit.
Mr. Charles, not bad. What annoys me is that now most moats have fences around them. Anyone who can't see a bloody great big ring of water deserves to get a bit soggy.
When NATO (I think it was) met in Cardiff Castle, they put up steel fences. Around the castle.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
The profitability of real estate has hurt manufacturing hugely I think. Real estate is something like 60% of bank lending now vs. 35-40% in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s...
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
So far Leave advocates have fallen in behind xenophobic lies, attacked the judiciary, attacked the civil service, attacked the House of Lords, attacked the media, attacked any business leader who has expressed qualms about the progress of Brexit, attacked the governor of the Bank of England and attacked the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The idea that they are going to change course because Brexit might be profoundly damaging to British industry is for the birds. Their paramount concern is to give free rein to their bottomless irrational hatred of the EU. Nothing else matters.
unspoofable
2028 and the four horsemen of the Apocalypse stalk Warwickshire, and you'll still be looking forward to the eventual fruits of the economic rebalancing after Brexit.
well wages are going up and so is industrial output we may even get some sensible infrastructure investment
once youre an Essex boy I look forward to you bewailing the state of rural life
Mr. Eagles, aye, and then he blamed the men he wasn't meeting for the rail woes. (As an aside, curious that the usual go-to phrase 'travel chaos' hasn't been used. Presumably journalists only use that for things they think are acute rather than chronic?).
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
The collapse in investment seems to be down to Brexit putting us out of alignment with the Europe wide trading system we are currently part of. This is down to political decisions to do it the way we are doing it. It is entirely possible to leave the EU but stay in most of the existing arrangements.
Not if you believe that the voters expect to see a more rational immigration system than the current approach.
Of course that’s a ridiculous political decision by the EU but that’s their choice.
In other news, I bet on Spain to top their group before the last match. I'll try to remember that bet next time I'm moaning about a bet unluckily not coming off.
Mr. HYUFD, I agree that Heathrow expansion is a good thing, and not just for its immediate area.
However, there was another recent case (wish I could remember the project, near certain it was transport) where money was splashed in the South at the exact time that the rail woes in the North were making the news.
I'd add that the lagoon could be a model for similar projects in future, providing us with stable, secure energy (which is also green) and decreasing the requirements from the National Grid.
I know you get a nosebleed if you think about the south, but you might want to recall that at the same time that there were rail woes in the North, there were perhaps worse rail woes on GTR. Which serves... the south..
He's thinking of Tosspot Grayling willing to spend tens of billions on HS2, Crossrail 2 et al but not a few million on electrifying the Pennine Routes or adding the extra 2 platforms at Piccadilly that were promised.
The problem is that Network Rail have proved to be utterly unable to deliver such infrastructure projects. Whilst the DfT have to shoulder some of the blame, it is Network Rail's main responsibility.
As a good Conservative, I' sure you wouldn't be in favour of writing blank cheques for projects to a group that have repeatedly failed to deliver projects on time, on spec and on budget. And it's not just 'the north' that are affected by this.
And as an aside, the direct cause of Northern's woes was the failure of Network Rail to deliver infrastructure enhancements on time. Be careful what you wish for ...
Mr. Jessop, it's true that there's been a lot of rail problems in the south (I recall a prolonged period of one operator [Southern Rail?] being thoroughly atrocious). That doesn't change the fact that money to electrify northern rail lines is promised then goes missing, whereas Grayling can find £2bn for a Stonehenge tunnel that many fear will cause huge damage to a unique site.
Edited extra bit: decided a mild insult against Grayling was unseemly, so removed it.
Mr. Meeks, it's very easy to remember bad luck and forget the good. (That said, I've had almost universally bad luck this F1 season and not a single notable stroke of good luck. The 2016 Spanish Grand Prix seems a long time ago).
I've misjudged stuff too, of course, but almost every incident of luck has been ill. *sighs*
Edited extra bit: Mr. F, Homer Simpson impersonator?
Mr. Jessop, it's true that there's been a lot of rail problems in the south (I recall a prolonged period of one operator [Southern Rail?] being thoroughly atrocious). That doesn't change the fact that money to electrify northern rail lines is promised then goes missing, whereas Grayling can find £2bn for a Stonehenge tunnel that many fear will cause huge damage to a unique site.
Edited extra bit: decided a mild insult against Grayling was unseemly, so removed it.
Insults at Grayling are justified.
He was a disastrous Justice Secretary.
The sad thing is that when GTR and Northern's rail problems occurred, Labour spent a couple of weeks attacking the private companies (who in the case of Northern were mostly blameless). A little pressure then could have got Grayling's scalp - and there is plenty of reason for him to go over this.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
Blaming investors is very easy. There are some fantastic emerging companies with patient long term investors. The U.K. is rarely best placed for mature industries so it often sense to sell to those who value our IP higher
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
So far Leave advocates have fallen in behind xenophobic lies, attacked the judiciary, attacked the civil service, attacked the House of Lords, attacked the media, attacked any business leader who has expressed qualms about the progress of Brexit, attacked the governor of the Bank of England and attacked the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The idea that they are going to change course because Brexit might be profoundly damaging to British industry is for the birds. Their paramount concern is to give free rein to their bottomless irrational hatred of the EU. Nothing else matters.
unspoofable
Looks pretty accurate to me, which part do you disagree with?
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
The profitability of real estate has hurt manufacturing hugely I think. Real estate is something like 60% of bank lending now vs. 35-40% in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s...
I think so too. Real Estate distorts so much of our economy. We need to get back to normal interest rates above inflation by acouple of percent.
In other news, I bet on Spain to top their group before the last match. I'll try to remember that bet next time I'm moaning about a bet unluckily not coming off.
Uruguay are Fox jr 's tip. They have nine points and havent conceded a goal. At 30 on BFex they look value.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
Blaming investors is very easy. There are some fantastic emerging companies with patient long term investors. The U.K. is rarely best placed for mature industries so it often sense to sell to those who value our IP higher
Our patent base is significantly lower than all our major competitors’ because company managements do not invest in R&D.
In other news, I bet on Spain to top their group before the last match. I'll try to remember that bet next time I'm moaning about a bet unluckily not coming off.
Uruguay are Fox jr 's tip. They have nine points and havent conceded a goal. At 30 on BFex they look value.
Colombia’s performance against Poland was the best in the tournament so far.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
The profitability of real estate has hurt manufacturing hugely I think. Real estate is something like 60% of bank lending now vs. 35-40% in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s...
I think so too. Real Estate distorts so much of our economy. We need to get back to normal interest rates above inflation by acouple of percent.
To be fair she paraphrases much of what is posted by Leavers on here:
1) covers the cheerleading for every seedy populist in the EU, whether AfD, LePen or Italian crypto fascists.
2) is the old "German car manufacturers will force them to the table" chestnut.
The problem is that Leavers are so focussed on money, that they are blind to the value that the EU puts on solidarity and pan-Europeanism. They despise the latter and cannot comprehend that others feel differently.
In other news, I bet on Spain to top their group before the last match. I'll try to remember that bet next time I'm moaning about a bet unluckily not coming off.
Uruguay are Fox jr 's tip. They have nine points and havent conceded a goal. At 30 on BFex they look value.
Colombia’s performance against Poland was the best in the tournament so far.
Better than Croatia v Argentina? I know Argentina are poor, but so are Poland.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
So far Leave advocates have fallen in behind xenophobic lies, attacked the judiciary, attacked the civil service, attacked the House of Lords, attacked the media, attacked any business leader who has expressed qualms about the progress of Brexit, attacked the governor of the Bank of England and attacked the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The idea that they are going to change course because Brexit might be profoundly damaging to British industry is for the birds. Their paramount concern is to give free rein to their bottomless irrational hatred of the EU. Nothing else matters.
And have they made huge voluntary subventions to the most expressly foreigner-hating, immigrant-hating, jew-hating, muslim-hating regime the continent has seen since 1945 because, hey, you can't make a lifestyle statement without breaking eggs?
Unless you live in a squat at the end of the proposed runway I doubt anyone in the country cares less about it. Boris has made it slightly interesting by once again publically soiling himself.
I just heard an interview on the BBC where someone argued that the Tories needed him as next leader because he's 'exciting' (his biographer surprise surprise!) and Rachel Sylvester who thinks he's a twat and a back stabber who is now loathed by his fellow Tory MPs.
For me the only surprise was that the BBC could find someone to speak up for him.
To be fair she paraphrases much of what is posted by Leavers on here:
1) covers the cheerleading for every seedy populist in the EU, whether AfD, LePen or Italian crypto fascists.
2) is the old "German car manufacturers will force them to the table" chestnut.
The problem is that Leavers are so focussed on money, that they are blind to the value that the EU puts on solidarity and pan-Europeanism. They despise the latter and cannot comprehend that others feel differently.
The irony of Leavers parroting their mantra "it's a price worth paying...sovereignty is more important than money" the whole time and then being amazed when it appears the EU might feel the same way is, well, extraordinary.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
So far Leave advocates have fallen in behind xenophobic lies, attacked the judiciary, attacked the civil service, attacked the House of Lords, attacked the media, attacked any business leader who has expressed qualms about the progress of Brexit, attacked the governor of the Bank of England and attacked the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The idea that they are going to change course because Brexit might be profoundly damaging to British industry is for the birds. Their paramount concern is to give free rein to their bottomless irrational hatred of the EU. Nothing else matters.
And have they made huge voluntary subventions to the most expressly foreigner-hating, immigrant-hating, jew-hating, muslim-hating regime the continent has seen since 1945 because, hey, you can't make a lifestyle statement without breaking eggs?
Who has made a subvention to whom? Or are you using it in the same sense as that you would make a subvention to Tescos when you buy a pint of milk there?
To be fair she paraphrases much of what is posted by Leavers on here:
1) covers the cheerleading for every seedy populist in the EU, whether AfD, LePen or Italian crypto fascists.
2) is the old "German car manufacturers will force them to the table" chestnut.
The problem is that Leavers are so focussed on money, that they are blind to the value that the EU puts on solidarity and pan-Europeanism. They despise the latter and cannot comprehend that others feel differently.
Once you've categorised the Andrew Neil-ites and the David Davis-ites, the only ones left over are those who advocate The Road Brexit.
To be fair she paraphrases much of what is posted by Leavers on here:
1) covers the cheerleading for every seedy populist in the EU, whether AfD, LePen or Italian crypto fascists.
2) is the old "German car manufacturers will force them to the table" chestnut.
The problem is that Leavers are so focussed on money, that they are blind to the value that the EU puts on solidarity and pan-Europeanism. They despise the latter and cannot comprehend that others feel differently.
You describe Leavers’ failure to understand pan-European solidarity - and on this you are right.
But equally Remainers I think are equally poor at understanding Leavers’ sense of nationhood and their feeling that their nation is a home and not just part of a greater territory to be inhabited by anyone who wants to be there regardless of the wishes of the homeowner.
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for electric trains.
Hinckley C, the Swansea Lagoons and other renewable technologies will only be able to provide a very small percentage of the power required to power all those new travel technologies, plus the homes, buildings and industries that will need to come into being to support them.
Do we really want windmills all over our green and pleasant land, fields of solar panels rather than filled with cows, sheep or crops.
Please do not mention Fusion or some other mythical technologies, unless there is some kind of unexpected amazing wonder breakthrough of the kind we have been promised for the past 50 years we will be stuffed..
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
Blaming investors is very easy. There are some fantastic emerging companies with patient long term investors. The U.K. is rarely best placed for mature industries so it often sense to sell to those who value our IP higher
Our patent base is significantly lower than all our major competitors’ because company managements do not invest in R&D.
Miss Cyclefree, indeed, and that also works as a British/EU divide, a chasm in understanding which doesn't make these negotiations easier and led to membership being uncomfortable.
British politicians triangulating the matter didn't help, and Brown's decision to ignore the manifesto pledge for a referendum and sign Lisbon was, perhaps, the worst example of this.
To be fair she paraphrases much of what is posted by Leavers on here:
1) covers the cheerleading for every seedy populist in the EU, whether AfD, LePen or Italian crypto fascists.
2) is the old "German car manufacturers will force them to the table" chestnut.
The problem is that Leavers are so focussed on money, that they are blind to the value that the EU puts on solidarity and pan-Europeanism. They despise the latter and cannot comprehend that others feel differently.
The irony of Leavers parroting their mantra "it's a price worth paying...sovereignty is more important than money" the whole time and then being amazed when it appears the EU might feel the same way is, well, extraordinary.
In one of the greatest ironies in human history I think the EU have decided that when it comes to Brexit 'No deal is better than a bad deal'
The irony of Leavers parroting their mantra "it's a price worth paying...sovereignty is more important than money" the whole time and then being amazed when it appears the EU might feel the same way is, well, extraordinary.
A barrage is not necessarily fully green in CO2 terms, in the fact it uses oodles of concrete in construction - but then almost all construction requires hydraulic cement.
Although it looks as though they'll probably use pozzolanic (Roman) concrete.
Twice as strong and four times as water resistant as standard concrete.. sounds ideal for making massive undersea concrete balloons. They should chat with the Stensea chaps.
Mr. Flashman (deceased), serious questions raised by this, though, as gender can be a factor in risk for insurance purposes.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
Blaming investors is very easy. There are some fantastic emerging companies with patient long term investors. The U.K. is rarely best placed for mature industries so it often sense to sell to those who value our IP higher
It's easy to 'blame' investors because, sadly, it is true. (And note, I am not blaming them fully; as I say above there are other causes as well.)
There are indeed some fantastic emerging companies with patient long-term investors. Yet there are also fantastic emerging companies that find it incredibly difficult to find investors that are willing to think anything more than a few years ahead.
Also, the terms demanded by the 'patient long-term investors' are sometimes rather sh*t. And they're also rather overkeen on 'sexy' industries and not necessarily on ones that will pay off.
The UK is brilliant at research and development in so many areas of science and technology. Yet we have a poor record at converting that R&D to world-beating products. IME lack of investment is a major reason for this.
Mr. Flashman (deceased), serious questions raised by this, though, as gender can be a factor in risk for insurance purposes.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
The case is really more about the right of married transsexuals not to be required to end their marriage before being formally recognised as being of their new gender rather than about pension rights.
The number of transsexuals is such that possible cost isn't really worth worrying about.
Looks like equality of gender has come in just in the nick of time for pensions.
The ruling seems pretty simple to me. UK government was requiring a marriage annulment before granting the gender reassignment. ECJ says no need for the marriage annulment
Mr. Meeks, that did seem odd given same sex marriage is also legal.
Mr. Pulpstar, although, if we're assigning pension age based on longevity then women should have to retire later. One has the tiniest suspicion this will not be in any manifesto at the next election, though...
Mr. Flashman (deceased), serious questions raised by this, though, as gender can be a factor in risk for insurance purposes.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
The case is really more about the right of married transsexuals not to be required to end their marriage before being formally recognised as being of their new gender rather than about pension rights.
The number of transsexuals is such that possible cost isn't really worth worrying about.
Could/Should annuity providers change the 'rate' paid to transsexuals ? That would benefit F-> M and disadvantage M -> F
In other news, I bet on Spain to top their group before the last match. I'll try to remember that bet next time I'm moaning about a bet unluckily not coming off.
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for electric trains.
Hinckley C, the Swansea Lagoons and other renewable technologies will only be able to provide a very small percentage of the power required to power all those new travel technologies, plus the homes, buildings and industries that will need to come into being to support them.
Do we really want windmills all over our green and pleasant land, fields of solar panels rather than filled with cows, sheep or crops.
Please do not mention Fusion or some other mythical technologies, unless there is some kind of unexpected amazing wonder breakthrough of the kind we have been promised for the past 50 years we will be stuffed..
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
If we are going to go full-on with renewables then we also require huge investment in energy storage to kick in when it is cold, dark and the air is still. Otherwise we still need to build loads of gas-fired plants that sit there doing bugger all most of the time.
If we want dispatchable green energy then either renewables plus storage or thermal plant with CO2 capture is the solution.
Saying that renewables are cheaper is false if you don't include the cost of storage or back-up generation.
In other news, I bet on Spain to top their group before the last match. I'll try to remember that bet next time I'm moaning about a bet unluckily not coming off.
How much does a VAR team costs to buy?
Given that those antics affected who Russia got to play, I don't think money could buy them. Novichok might.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
The profitability of real estate has hurt manufacturing hugely I think. Real estate is something like 60% of bank lending now vs. 35-40% in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s...
I think so too. Real Estate distorts so much of our economy. We need to get back to normal interest rates above inflation by acouple of percent.
You need specific policy interventions to make Real Estate a less attractive investment compared to other business investment. Simply raise interest rates and you make finance more expensive for all types of investment.
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for electric trains.
Hinckley C, the Swansea Lagoons and other renewable technologies will only be able to provide a very small percentage of the power required to power all those new travel technologies, plus the homes, buildings and industries that will need to come into being to support them.
Do we really want windmills all over our green and pleasant land, fields of solar panels rather than filled with cows, sheep or crops.
Please do not mention Fusion or some other mythical technologies, unless there is some kind of unexpected amazing wonder breakthrough of the kind we have been promised for the past 50 years we will be stuffed..
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
The UK also has a very high tidal range and a lot of coast. The tidal range in the Severn Estuary is the second highest in the world.
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for electric trains.
Hinckley C, the Swansea Lagoons and other renewable technologies will only be able to provide a very small percentage of the power required to power all those new travel technologies, plus the homes, buildings and industries that will need to come into being to support them.
Do we really want windmills all over our green and pleasant land, fields of solar panels rather than filled with cows, sheep or crops.
Please do not mention Fusion or some other mythical technologies, unless there is some kind of unexpected amazing wonder breakthrough of the kind we have been promised for the past 50 years we will be stuffed..
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
If we are going to go full-on with renewables then we also require huge investment in energy storage to kick in when it is cold, dark and the air is still. Otherwise we still need to build loads of gas-fired plants that sit there doing bugger all most of the time.
If we want dispatchable green energy then either renewables plus storage or thermal plant with CO2 capture is the solution.
Saying that renewables are cheaper is false if you don't include the cost of storage or back-up generation.
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for electric trains.
Hinckley C, the Swansea Lagoons and other renewable technologies will only be able to provide a very small percentage of the power required to power all those new travel technologies, plus the homes, buildings and industries that will need to come into being to support them.
Do we really want windmills all over our green and pleasant land, fields of solar panels rather than filled with cows, sheep or crops.
Please do not mention Fusion or some other mythical technologies, unless there is some kind of unexpected amazing wonder breakthrough of the kind we have been promised for the past 50 years we will be stuffed..
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
If we are going to go full-on with renewables then we also require huge investment in energy storage to kick in when it is cold, dark and the air is still. Otherwise we still need to build loads of gas-fired plants that sit there doing bugger all most of the time.
If we want dispatchable green energy then either renewables plus storage or thermal plant with CO2 capture is the solution.
Saying that renewables are cheaper is false if you don't include the cost of storage or back-up generation.
CO2 capture is dead and buried (pun intended).
No it isn't. It is the only technology option to achieve deep levels of decarbonisation of industries such as cement and iron & steel, and if we choose to decarbonise heat by switching the gas network to hydrogen, then the hydrogen will have to come from fossil fuel gasification / reforming with CO2 capture.
If we are going to have to implement the technology anyway, then applying it to power generation to share the CO2 transport and storage infrastructure makes sense.
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for electric trains.
Hinckley C, the Swansea Lagoons and other renewable technologies will only be able to provide a very small percentage of the power required to power all those new travel technologies, plus the homes, buildings and industries that will need to come into being to support them.
Do we really want windmills all over our green and pleasant land, fields of solar panels rather than filled with cows, sheep or crops.
Please do not mention Fusion or some other mythical technologies, unless there is some kind of unexpected amazing wonder breakthrough of the kind we have been promised for the past 50 years we will be stuffed..
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
If we are going to go full-on with renewables then we also require huge investment in energy storage to kick in when it is cold, dark and the air is still. Otherwise we still need to build loads of gas-fired plants that sit there doing bugger all most of the time.
If we want dispatchable green energy then either renewables plus storage or thermal plant with CO2 capture is the solution.
Saying that renewables are cheaper is false if you don't include the cost of storage or back-up generation.
CO2 capture is dead and buried (pun intended).
No it isn't. It is the only technology option to achieve deep levels of decarbonisation of industries such as cement and iron & steel, and if we choose to decarbonise heat by switching the gas network to hydrogen, then the hydrogen will have to come from fossil fuel gasification / reforming with CO2 capture.
If we are going to have to implement the technology anyway, then applying it to power generation to share the CO2 transport and storage infrastructure makes sense.
"If we are going to have to implement the technology anyway"
We have already spent a fortune on it, and there are no working plants, and none in the near future. There are good reasons for this sad state of affairs ...
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for electric trains.
Hinckley C, the Swansea Lagoons and other renewable technologies will only be able to provide a very small percentage of the power required to power all those new travel technologies, plus the homes, buildings and industries that will need to come into being to support them.
Do we really want windmills all over our green and pleasant land, fields of solar panels rather than filled with cows, sheep or crops.
Please do not mention Fusion or some other mythical technologies, unless there is some kind of unexpected amazing wonder breakthrough of the kind we have been promised for the past 50 years we will be stuffed..
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
If we are going to go full-on with renewables then we also require huge investment in energy storage to kick in when it is cold, dark and the air is still. Otherwise we still need to build loads of gas-fired plants that sit there doing bugger all most of the time.
If we want dispatchable green energy then either renewables plus storage or thermal plant with CO2 capture is the solution.
Saying that renewables are cheaper is false if you don't include the cost of storage or back-up generation.
CO2 capture is dead and buried (pun intended).
And totally unnecessary. A few more ppm of a trace gas may help crops go faster but it isn't a trigger for Armageddon.
Mr. Flashman (deceased), serious questions raised by this, though, as gender can be a factor in risk for insurance purposes.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
The case is really more about the right of married transsexuals not to be required to end their marriage before being formally recognised as being of their new gender rather than about pension rights.
The number of transsexuals is such that possible cost isn't really worth worrying about.
So is all gender based legislation now worthless ?
What a juvenile waste of time - by the MP, the journo and the OP.
I'll mark you down as not caring about wasted government spending then.
Yes when we examine the money wasted on the LHR decision over the last 30 years , a Labour MP playing Where's Wally will be a key part of the financial equation...
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
Blaming investors is very easy. There are some fantastic emerging companies with patient long term investors. The U.K. is rarely best placed for mature industries so it often sense to sell to those who value our IP higher
Our patent base is significantly lower than all our major competitors’ because company managements do not invest in R&D.
Can one patent computer games?
The games would probably be covered by copyright and trademark protection. You can get patents on computer implemented inventions, though.
“There is not an issue of general distrust towards the UK. That’s not the issue, but the EU is a rules-based system. Why is that? It’s because 28 member states do not trust each other spontaneously; they trust each other because they work on the basis of agreed common rules with common enforcement, common supervision and under a European court that will make sure they all apply the same rules in the same manner. They trust each other because there are remedies available. If you don’t have these remedies, you’re a third country.”
People have often scratched their heads at the complexity of the EU but maybe it's really very simple. Why do we have such difficulty understanding this?
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
If we are going to go full-on with renewables then we also require huge investment in energy storage to kick in when it is cold, dark and the air is still. Otherwise we still need to build loads of gas-fired plants that sit there doing bugger all most of the time.
If we want dispatchable green energy then either renewables plus storage or thermal plant with CO2 capture is the solution.
Saying that renewables are cheaper is false if you don't include the cost of storage or back-up generation.
CO2 capture is dead and buried (pun intended).
No it isn't. It is the only technology option to achieve deep levels of decarbonisation of industries such as cement and iron & steel, and if we choose to decarbonise heat by switching the gas network to hydrogen, then the hydrogen will have to come from fossil fuel gasification / reforming with CO2 capture.
If we are going to have to implement the technology anyway, then applying it to power generation to share the CO2 transport and storage infrastructure makes sense.
"If we are going to have to implement the technology anyway"
We have already spent a fortune on it, and there are no working plants, and none in the near future. There are good reasons for this sad state of affairs ...
The reasons are that successive 'competitions' have been poorly set out, poorly run and subject to political expediency to cancel rather than proceed. It isn't just our government that has buggered this up. Look at the EU's NER300 programme for an example of a total shambles.
One point about all these electric planes, cars and what have you, that I question, is where is all this electricity going to come from?
Last year the SNP shouted out that renewables were powering Scotland's homes for all of a couple of weeks in the year. Sounds fine until you realise that the power to homes is only 40% of all the power required, the other 60% is required for business and industry, including for
Ps: In mentioning the SNP, I would say that any government would be only too happy to spin the news given half a chance. Just the SNP seems to be able to do spin better than all those e***n windmills.
Yes, we should have loads more wind and solar. Only a teeny tiny fraction of Britain is built on, we can easily have loads more renewables installed.
If we are going to go full-on with renewables then we also require huge investment in energy storage to kick in when it is cold, dark and the air is still. Otherwise we still need to build loads of gas-fired plants that sit there doing bugger all most of the time.
If we want dispatchable green energy then either renewables plus storage or thermal plant with CO2 capture is the solution.
Saying that renewables are cheaper is false if you don't include the cost of storage or back-up generation.
CO2 capture is dead and buried (pun intended).
No it isn't. It is the only technology option to achieve deep levels of decarbonisation of industries such as cement and iron & steel, and if we choose to decarbonise heat by switching the gas network to hydrogen, then the hydrogen will have to come from fossil fuel gasification / reforming with CO2 capture.
If we are going to have to implement the technology anyway, then applying it to power generation to share the CO2 transport and storage infrastructure makes sense.
"If we are going to have to implement the technology anyway"
We have already spent a fortune on it, and there are no working plants, and none in the near future. There are good reasons for this sad state of affairs ...
The reasons are that successive 'competitions' have been poorly set out, poorly run and subject to political expediency to cancel rather than proceed. It isn't just our government that has buggered this up. Look at the EU's NER300 programme for an example of a total shambles.
Perhaps everyone's buggering it up because it's actually a dead-end that no-one can get to work reliably outside of very rare edge cases?
“There is not an issue of general distrust towards the UK. That’s not the issue, but the EU is a rules-based system. Why is that? It’s because 28 member states do not trust each other spontaneously; they trust each other because they work on the basis of agreed common rules with common enforcement, common supervision and under a European court that will make sure they all apply the same rules in the same manner. They trust each other because there are remedies available. If you don’t have these remedies, you’re a third country.”
People have often scratched their heads at the complexity of the EU but maybe it's really very simple. Why do we have such difficulty understanding this?
A rules based system that let Greece into Eurozone, that let Germany and France break the fiscal rules for 5+ years? That rules based system.
Mr. Flashman (deceased), serious questions raised by this, though, as gender can be a factor in risk for insurance purposes.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
The case is really more about the right of married transsexuals not to be required to end their marriage before being formally recognised as being of their new gender rather than about pension rights.
The number of transsexuals is such that possible cost isn't really worth worrying about.
If you can self-identify, then you might have expected that to have boosted a lot, unless you define what makes a woman a woman, or a man a man.
People have often scratched their heads at the complexity of the EU but maybe it's really very simple. Why do we have such difficulty understanding this?
Because they so often ignore or pervert the rules or allow certain member states to get away with doing so with no consequence...
Mr. Flashman (deceased), serious questions raised by this, though, as gender can be a factor in risk for insurance purposes.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
The case is really more about the right of married transsexuals not to be required to end their marriage before being formally recognised as being of their new gender rather than about pension rights.
The number of transsexuals is such that possible cost isn't really worth worrying about.
So is all gender based legislation now worthless ?
I'll put you down as one of the ones having difficulty reading.
This then is the state of British politics. A Labour party which has fallen to anti-capitalists and a Conservative party, infected by a strain of economic denialism and with a core — though not yet a majority — who place little store in business-friendly policies. For the first time in 40 years business cannot be sure that either major party cares about its interests. The nation must hope that global businesses making investment decisions and hearing of Mr Johnson’s remark do not plump for the obvious reply.
This then is the state of British politics. A Labour party which has fallen to anti-capitalists and a Conservative party, infected by a strain of economic denialism and with a core — though not yet a majority — who place little store in business-friendly policies. For the first time in 40 years business cannot be sure that either major party cares about its interests. The nation must hope that global businesses making investment decisions and hearing of Mr Johnson’s remark do not plump for the obvious reply.
Mr. Flashman (deceased), serious questions raised by this, though, as gender can be a factor in risk for insurance purposes.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
The case is really more about the right of married transsexuals not to be required to end their marriage before being formally recognised as being of their new gender rather than about pension rights.
The number of transsexuals is such that possible cost isn't really worth worrying about.
If you can self-identify, then you might have expected that to have boosted a lot, unless you define what makes a woman a woman, or a man a man.
If it boiled down to a tick box on a form....
So what's to stop men ticking a box to get their pension early from now until the ages are equalised ?
The law should apply to your sex at birth. End of - would stop all this nonsense.
Or you don't have laws that differentiate between sexes - choose your poison.
“There is not an issue of general distrust towards the UK. That’s not the issue, but the EU is a rules-based system. Why is that? It’s because 28 member states do not trust each other spontaneously; they trust each other because they work on the basis of agreed common rules with common enforcement, common supervision and under a European court that will make sure they all apply the same rules in the same manner. They trust each other because there are remedies available. If you don’t have these remedies, you’re a third country.”
People have often scratched their heads at the complexity of the EU but maybe it's really very simple. Why do we have such difficulty understanding this?
A rules based system that let Greece into Eurozone, that let Germany and France break the fiscal rules for 5+ years? That rules based system.
The rules may be bent but only in favour of integration. Why don't we just accept this and stop trying to be the tennis player who won't abide by the club membership rules but expects most of its perks.
Mr. Flashman (deceased), serious questions raised by this, though, as gender can be a factor in risk for insurance purposes.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
The case is really more about the right of married transsexuals not to be required to end their marriage before being formally recognised as being of their new gender rather than about pension rights.
The number of transsexuals is such that possible cost isn't really worth worrying about.
If you can self-identify, then you might have expected that to have boosted a lot, unless you define what makes a woman a woman, or a man a man.
If it boiled down to a tick box on a form....
So what's to stop men ticking a box to get their pension early from now until the ages are equalised ?
The law should apply to your sex at birth. End of - would stop all this nonsense.
Or you don't have laws that differentiate between sexes - choose your poison.
Well we're moving to the second one. So it's a bit of a moot point, but trans rights are a reasonable cause. It's just negoiating from point A to point B.
“There is not an issue of general distrust towards the UK. That’s not the issue, but the EU is a rules-based system. Why is that? It’s because 28 member states do not trust each other spontaneously; they trust each other because they work on the basis of agreed common rules with common enforcement, common supervision and under a European court that will make sure they all apply the same rules in the same manner. They trust each other because there are remedies available. If you don’t have these remedies, you’re a third country.”
People have often scratched their heads at the complexity of the EU but maybe it's really very simple. Why do we have such difficulty understanding this?
A rules based system that let Greece into Eurozone, that let Germany and France break the fiscal rules for 5+ years? That rules based system.
The rules may be bent but only in favour of integration. Why don't we just accept this and stop trying to be the tennis player who won't abide by the club membership rules but expects most of its perks.
A tennis club where some members pay to join and others get paid to join ?
“There is not an issue of general distrust towards the UK. That’s not the issue, but the EU is a rules-based system. Why is that? It’s because 28 member states do not trust each other spontaneously; they trust each other because they work on the basis of agreed common rules with common enforcement, common supervision and under a European court that will make sure they all apply the same rules in the same manner. They trust each other because there are remedies available. If you don’t have these remedies, you’re a third country.”
People have often scratched their heads at the complexity of the EU but maybe it's really very simple. Why do we have such difficulty understanding this?
A rules based system that let Greece into Eurozone, that let Germany and France break the fiscal rules for 5+ years? That rules based system.
The rules may be bent but only in favour of integration. Why don't we just accept this and stop trying to be the tennis player who won't abide by the club membership rules but expects most of its perks.
We did, in June 2016. It's the remainers who won't accept it.
“There is not an issue of general distrust towards the UK. That’s not the issue, but the EU is a rules-based system. Why is that? It’s because 28 member states do not trust each other spontaneously; they trust each other because they work on the basis of agreed common rules with common enforcement, common supervision and under a European court that will make sure they all apply the same rules in the same manner. They trust each other because there are remedies available. If you don’t have these remedies, you’re a third country.”
People have often scratched their heads at the complexity of the EU but maybe it's really very simple. Why do we have such difficulty understanding this?
A rules based system that let Greece into Eurozone, that let Germany and France break the fiscal rules for 5+ years? That rules based system.
The rules may be bent but only in favour of integration. Why don't we just accept this and stop trying to be the tennis player who won't abide by the club membership rules but expects most of its perks.
A tennis club where some members pay to join and others get paid to join ?
In a way, yeah. If you don't like it walk away and accept no deal.
Those motor industry investment figures are bad enough on their own, but they are just one example from across manufacturing. We really need to stop digging the Brexit hole and work out how we get out of it.
crocodile tears
where were the scream as Blair destroyed manufacturing ?
the same people yelling today are the ones who dismissed everything as Brirish Leyland 10 years ago and said let it go.
What stupid rubbish. I decried the reduction in manufacturing throughout that time, even if I didn't have any easy answers. And I decry this as well.
oh good weve got one convert
Don't be a silly sausage,. My views on this sort of thing are pretty much the same as they have been for a couple of decades.
And it's an interesting choice of words: 'convert'. Brexit really is a religion for some, which is why otherwise intelligent people on both sides seem to lose all sense when it comes to it.
chortle
convert has nothing to do with Brexit it's got to do with country having a robust manufacturing base and not having a political class which destroys it through neglect.
You see, I don't see the 'political class' as being the cause of manufacturings woes.
In first place I'd pace banking and investors, who want short-term results and fail to invest in the long term. This has been a real killer. In second place I'd put owners and management, who can be far too conservative when it comes to new ideas and investment, often because of the first factor. In third place I'd put employees and the unions, who can sometimes act directly against their medium- and long-term interests.
Politics and politicians would come far down the list. But it's an easy to use them as a hate figure and miss the real issues.
Blaming investors is very easy. There are some fantastic emerging companies with patient long term investors. The U.K. is rarely best placed for mature industries so it often sense to sell to those who value our IP higher
Our patent base is significantly lower than all our major competitors’ because company managements do not invest in R&D.
Can one patent computer games?
The games would probably be covered by copyright and trademark protection. You can get patents on computer implemented inventions, though.
Mr. Urquhart, there are a couple of interesting legal cases going through. The first relates to PUBG's chaps suing Fortnite's chaps, and the second to Bethesda suing Warner Brothers. You can't copyright things like a genre or gameplay approach, but things like in-game assets and source code are protected, it seems.
Although Checkpoint is a wry, comedic look at gaming news, the reporting on said litigation stories is actually rather informative:
Mr. Urquhart, there are a couple of interesting legal cases going through. The first relates to PUBG's chaps suing Fortnite's chaps, and the second to Bethesda suing Warner Brothers. You can't copyright things like a genre or gameplay approach, but things like in-game assets and source code are protected, it seems.
Although Checkpoint is a wry, comedic look at gaming news, the reporting on said litigation stories is actually rather informative:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJERaSrPhw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhXDCijt4-I
From what I read, the PubG one against Fortnite seems ludicrous.
Mr. Urquhart, that may be because what you read was indeed ludicrous, but also doesn't bear much relation to reality.
It seems that there's been a lot of reporting that PUBG are claiming legal ownership of the battle royale format. However, that seems not to be the case. Six minutes of the first (12 minutes) video is dedicated to explaining why this isn't the case. It sounds far more reasonable.
This then is the state of British politics. A Labour party which has fallen to anti-capitalists and a Conservative party, infected by a strain of economic denialism and with a core — though not yet a majority — who place little store in business-friendly policies. For the first time in 40 years business cannot be sure that either major party cares about its interests. The nation must hope that global businesses making investment decisions and hearing of Mr Johnson’s remark do not plump for the obvious reply.
I get the inadequacies of our politicians but I am rather tired of the invoking of the name of 'business' all the time. And what exactly can be described as business friendly policies? The only universals that might make some sense would be tax cuts and anti-union laws. What the government should focus on is boosting economic performance. Many businesses then ought to succeed but others will fail and be replaced. I thought that was the idea? Or do people just want a cosy club?
Mr. Urquhart, that may be because what you read was indeed ludicrous, but also doesn't bear much relation to reality.
It seems that there's been a lot of reporting that PUBG are claiming legal ownership of the battle royale format. However, that seems not to be the case. Six minutes of the first (12 minutes) video is dedicated to explaining why this isn't the case. It sounds far more reasonable.
PUBG are just pissed that they have been overshawdowed by Forenite. They were a huge thing when they were the only one around, and just look like yesterdays news now.
(I actually do prefer to play PubG, as I'm not a 12 year old boy).
Comments
He was a disastrous Justice Secretary.
When NATO (I think it was) met in Cardiff Castle, they put up steel fences. Around the castle.
There's going to be a Northern Uprising soon if he doesn't pull out his finger.
I reckon you can put Bolton West and Blackpool North & Cleveleys as a nailed on Labour gains at the next election thanks to Grayling.
once youre an Essex boy I look forward to you bewailing the state of rural life
Of course that’s a ridiculous political decision by the EU but that’s their choice.
As a good Conservative, I' sure you wouldn't be in favour of writing blank cheques for projects to a group that have repeatedly failed to deliver projects on time, on spec and on budget. And it's not just 'the north' that are affected by this.
And as an aside, the direct cause of Northern's woes was the failure of Network Rail to deliver infrastructure enhancements on time. Be careful what you wish for ...
I've misjudged stuff too, of course, but almost every incident of luck has been ill. *sighs*
Edited extra bit: Mr. F, Homer Simpson impersonator?
1) covers the cheerleading for every seedy populist in the EU, whether AfD, LePen or Italian crypto fascists.
2) is the old "German car manufacturers will force them to the table" chestnut.
The problem is that Leavers are so focussed on money, that they are blind to the value that the EU puts on solidarity and pan-Europeanism. They despise the latter and cannot comprehend that others feel differently.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/london-voted-most-attractive-city-work-uk-brexit-us-canada-a8414536.html?amp
https://twitter.com/JosephineCumbo/status/1011518838121385984
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/donald-tusk-makes-quip-about-englands-61-victory-over-panama-as-he-arrives-at-downing-street-for-a3871561.html?amp
The 'Twin Peaks' creator says it's because the president 'disrupted' the political system"
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/david-lynch-trump-twin-peaks-greatest-presidents-room-to-dream-a8416486.html
I just heard an interview on the BBC where someone argued that the Tories needed him as next leader because he's 'exciting' (his biographer surprise surprise!) and Rachel Sylvester who thinks he's a twat and a back stabber who is now loathed by his fellow Tory MPs.
For me the only surprise was that the BBC could find someone to speak up for him.
But equally Remainers I think are equally poor at understanding Leavers’ sense of nationhood and their feeling that their nation is a home and not just part of a greater territory to be inhabited by anyone who wants to be there regardless of the wishes of the homeowner.
1997 £9.247bn
1998 £9.165bn
1999 £8.763bn
2000 £8.730bn
2001 £7.797bn
2002 £6.809bn
2003 £6.139bn
2004 £5.989bn
2005 £6.678bn
2006 £6.728bn
2007 £6.927bn
2008 £7.836bn
2009 £6.902bn
2010 £6.838bn
2011 £7.854bn
2012 £8.729bn
2013 £8.630bn
2014 £10.286bn
2015 £10.540bn
2016 £9.946bn
2017 £11.225bn
From page 4 of the spreadsheet on this link:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/datasets/businessinvestmentbyindustryandasset
For 2018Q1 it is £2.722bn, which is the highest Q1 figure on record.
British politicians triangulating the matter didn't help, and Brown's decision to ignore the manifesto pledge for a referendum and sign Lisbon was, perhaps, the worst example of this.
Seems women's rights will be set back by newly formed women.
I seem to recall the EU making a similar stupid judgement on car insurance, and annuities (men live shorter lives so got higher annual payouts).
Pretending the genders are collectively identical when they're clearly not is nuts.
Edited extra bit: just on the specific case: pension ages are being equalised, so, going forward, this sort of thing shouldn't really arise again. The general point, though, will probably have more, different, cases.
There are indeed some fantastic emerging companies with patient long-term investors. Yet there are also fantastic emerging companies that find it incredibly difficult to find investors that are willing to think anything more than a few years ahead.
Also, the terms demanded by the 'patient long-term investors' are sometimes rather sh*t. And they're also rather overkeen on 'sexy' industries and not necessarily on ones that will pay off.
The UK is brilliant at research and development in so many areas of science and technology. Yet we have a poor record at converting that R&D to world-beating products. IME lack of investment is a major reason for this.
The number of transsexuals is such that possible cost isn't really worth worrying about.
Mr. Pulpstar, although, if we're assigning pension age based on longevity then women should have to retire later. One has the tiniest suspicion this will not be in any manifesto at the next election, though...
That would benefit F-> M and disadvantage M -> F
It's this sort of thing that keeps the Green Party alive.
Shame on those 110.
If we want dispatchable green energy then either renewables plus storage or thermal plant with CO2 capture is the solution.
Saying that renewables are cheaper is false if you don't include the cost of storage or back-up generation.
If we are going to have to implement the technology anyway, then applying it to power generation to share the CO2 transport and storage infrastructure makes sense.
We have already spent a fortune on it, and there are no working plants, and none in the near future. There are good reasons for this sad state of affairs ...
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-latest-news-eu-talks-brussels-uk-theresa-may-a8416076.html
“There is not an issue of general distrust towards the UK. That’s not the issue, but the EU is a rules-based system. Why is that? It’s because 28 member states do not trust each other spontaneously; they trust each other because they work on the basis of agreed common rules with common enforcement, common supervision and under a European court that will make sure they all apply the same rules in the same manner. They trust each other because there are remedies available. If you don’t have these remedies, you’re a third country.”
People have often scratched their heads at the complexity of the EU but maybe it's really very simple. Why do we have such difficulty understanding this?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-44612842
I was walking at Guyhirn on Friday, and later on in the day caught the Norwich to Peterborough bus that runs through it.
It makes such reports a little more real ...
I hope everyone is okay.
If it boiled down to a tick box on a form....
This then is the state of British politics. A Labour party which has fallen to anti-capitalists and a Conservative party, infected by a strain of economic denialism and with a core — though not yet a majority — who place little store in business-friendly policies.
For the first time in 40 years business cannot be sure that either major party cares about its interests. The nation must hope that global businesses making investment decisions and hearing of Mr Johnson’s remark do not plump for the obvious reply.
https://www.ft.com/content/8075e68c-7857-11e8-8e67-1e1a0846c475?segmentId=778a3b31-0eac-c57a-a529-d296f5da8125
The law should apply to your sex at birth. End of - would stop all this nonsense.
Or you don't have laws that differentiate between sexes - choose your poison.
Although Checkpoint is a wry, comedic look at gaming news, the reporting on said litigation stories is actually rather informative:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJERaSrPhw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhXDCijt4-I
https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak/status/1011541398015954944
It seems that there's been a lot of reporting that PUBG are claiming legal ownership of the battle royale format. However, that seems not to be the case. Six minutes of the first (12 minutes) video is dedicated to explaining why this isn't the case. It sounds far more reasonable.
http://www.zacgoldsmith.com/zacs-speech-on-heathrow/
(I actually do prefer to play PubG, as I'm not a 12 year old boy).