She's even more toastier than Amber Rudd on the afternoon of April 29th
The immediate worry for the bet is Grayling, but he's just implementing Gov't policy so its more an admission the Tories have failed with the railways if he's sacked. For that reason I think he stays.
The question is with we've got PMQs coming up which is when ministers are most vulnerable to getting sacked.
Can Jez do me a favour and absolutely hammer Mrs May on the liar McVey.
He'll mess it up. Probably lead on NHS and forget to ask about McVey once they get into an argument about whether Welsh NHS is a mess or not.
Somebody called it down thread.....accept it is “on the buses” edition of PMQs
She's even more toastier than Amber Rudd on the afternoon of April 29th
The immediate worry for the bet is Grayling, but he's just implementing Gov't policy so its more an admission the Tories have failed with the railways if he's sacked. For that reason I think he stays.
The question is with we've got PMQs coming up which is when ministers are most vulnerable to getting sacked.
Can Jez do me a favour and absolutely hammer Mrs May on the liar McVey.
He'll mess it up. Probably lead on NHS and forget to ask about McVey once they get into an argument about whether Welsh NHS is a mess or not.
Somebody called it down thread.....
I thought he would do NHS as it is 70 years this week iirc. But no, Jezza has gone for buses.
Oh I forgot today is the 242nd anniversary of the day the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland decided we'd much rather have India than America.
Theresa May has been better at PMQs these past couple of weeks (it says here -- I missed it). Still doubt my inference from the recent kneecapping of various ministers that there is a new spin team at Number Ten?
She's even more toastier than Amber Rudd on the afternoon of April 29th
The immediate worry for the bet is Grayling, but he's just implementing Gov't policy so its more an admission the Tories have failed with the railways if he's sacked. For that reason I think he stays.
The question is with we've got PMQs coming up which is when ministers are most vulnerable to getting sacked.
Can Jez do me a favour and absolutely hammer Mrs May on the liar McVey.
He'll mess it up. Probably lead on NHS Buses(!) and forget to ask about McVey once they get into an argument about whether Welsh NHS Bus is a mess or not.
Unless a government pledges to repeal the Brexit bill and the "EU/UK deal" bill then I don't see why not. Most of the heavy lifting won't be done by ministers anyway. Once we've got the outline of what the deal is and the implementation time frame agreed it will be mostly technical work that will be done by civil servants and industry.
They won't pledge anything; they will either fuck around with the arrangements because they think they know better or reverse them for ideological reasons.
The idea that an incoming Labour/Coalition of Shit government in 2022, whether helmed by Corbyn, Umunna or Danny Dyer, is going to quietly and diligently work to execute some 10 year tory Brexit plan is mental.
I don't see how Corbyn and his coalition of c**** would win in 2022 if the Brexit deal is seen as acceptable to enough leavers and remainers. If anything the campaign would be "don't let Jez and Nicola fuck it up".
Oh I forgot today is the 242nd anniversary of the day the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland decided we'd much rather have India than America.
She's even more toastier than Amber Rudd on the afternoon of April 29th
The immediate worry for the bet is Grayling, but he's just implementing Gov't policy so its more an admission the Tories have failed with the railways if he's sacked. For that reason I think he stays.
The question is with we've got PMQs coming up which is when ministers are most vulnerable to getting sacked.
Can Jez do me a favour and absolutely hammer Mrs May on the liar McVey.
He'll mess it up. Probably lead on NHS Buses(!) and forget to ask about McVey once they get into an argument about whether Welsh NHS Bus is a mess or not.
Why is Corbyn going on about buses when its a local government responsibility?
Because central government cuts to local authority funding have meant they've had to cut/remove bus subsidies? It's an austerity issue, basically, and austerity is a Westminster policy.
Not sure whether Corbyn is raising this to weaponise it as an issue in future Labour campaigning, or simply because he likes buses. He didn't deliver it in a particularly effective way, but it's a valid question.
Why is Corbyn going on about buses when its a local government responsibility?
Because central government cuts to local authority funding have meant they've had to cut/remove bus subsidies? It's an austerity issue, basically, and austerity is a Westminster policy.
Not sure whether Corbyn is raising this to weaponise it as an issue in future Labour campaigning, or simply because he likes buses. He didn't deliver it in a particularly effective way, but it's a valid question.
On that basis "everything" is a Westminster responsibility. Labour don't believe in devolution, only in top-down control. I doubt May had any briefing on buses, but next week will have tractor stats on 'buses in Wales' etc.
Rather off topic, my final fires update for the time being:
Situation on the main fires much improved: all the following peaked at between 50 and 70 hotspots on the Copernicus VIIRS infra-red system:
Saddleworth Moor down to a single hotspot, Otterburn Range down to 2, Winter Hill still shows 17, and a grey haze, but the number of hotspots has been reducing day by day.
Still a couple of small 5 hotspot fires in Gwynedd and the Valleys, whilst Larkhill in Wiltshire (again a firing range and not so many miles from Amesbury) comes second place on the hotspot detector with 8.
Why is Corbyn going on about buses when its a local government responsibility?
Because central government cuts to local authority funding have meant they've had to cut/remove bus subsidies? It's an austerity issue, basically, and austerity is a Westminster policy.
Not sure whether Corbyn is raising this to weaponise it as an issue in future Labour campaigning, or simply because he likes buses. He didn't deliver it in a particularly effective way, but it's a valid question.
On that basis "everything" is a Westminster responsibility. Labour don't believe in devolution, only in top-down control. I doubt May had any briefing on buses, but next week will have tractor stats on 'buses in Wales' etc.
Bus subsidies are a relatively new things, brought in largely by the 1997 onwards labout government, with direct rural bus subsidies and the national concessionary fare programs. Te latter no makes up the biggest chunk of subsidy.
Can't believe the attitude to buses on here. Sounding like a Metropolitan elite echo chamber.
Buses are a vital part of our transport system. I use a bus every day in Aberdeen to go the 6 miles each way to my current client office. I get a week long ticket which coats me £12.50 and allows me travel anywhere in Aberdeen. Really good value for money and the buses are pretty packed as well.
Also, it looks like growth has picked up again, even against the background of a dysfunctional government and no direction for Brexit. My guess is we're looking at 0.3% Q1 final and 0.4% Q2 initial which will get revised to 0.5% final. Full year growth will come in at between 1.6% and 1.9% IMO. If the government negotiates a deal the minimises trade disruption and plots a long term exit from the Customs Union (as has been suggested) then I expect next year we will see growth jump.
As with Robert, I have always said Brexit is a journey. Ideally we will do it in stages, I have no qualms about staying in the Customs Union for 3-5 years and then a customs partnership for another 2-4 years until we're ready with the tech to deal with a customs border. If the EU is happy to sign up to that then I think it's a good result. What we can't have is an indefinite timescale of staying in the Customs Union, I don't think that helps anyone plan anything because a future government will eventually get voted in on the basis of "proper Brexit".
Ideally this is the journey Brexit -> Customs Union/EEA -> customs partnership/EEA/EFTA -> customs border with pre-clearance of key industries/EEA -> Bespoke deal which rolls everything into formal relationship with mutual recognition in key areas. Overall I'd say 10 years to get it done, unfortunately we're already two years behind schedule.
Not happening.
Far more likely is transition deal until 2021 then WTO terms for 7 years whether the Tories or Corbyn win in 2022 while we try and get a FTA with the EU then we return to the single market and customs union after Chuka Umunna wins the 2027 general election having had 7 years of no free movement as Blair should have taken from 2004 to 2011 had he imposed transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries
Oh I forgot today is the 242nd anniversary of the day the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland decided we'd much rather have India than America.
I believe King George IIIrd wanted both, greedy or not unfortunately the American colonists decided otherwise
Oh I forgot today is the 242nd anniversary of the day the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland decided we'd much rather have India than America.
It's not.
Nor is it the anniversary of the US deciding to commit to independence either.
Far more likely is transition deal until 2021 then WTO terms for 7 years whether the Tories or Corbyn win in 2022 while we try and get a FTA with the EU then we return to the single market and customs union after Chuka Umunna wins the 2027 general election having had 7 years of no free movement as Blair should have taken from 2004 to 2011 had he imposed transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries
Hang on, I thought you said a FTA was in the bag? About 10,000 times. What happened?
Corbyn is going big on buses in PMQs - and for once a debate on buses has nothing to do with Brexit.
Actually EU law has not made much impact on our bus and train services but our laws have massively influenced the EU. "though EU law has not created these arrangements above in Britain the current state of EU law consolidates this and deems the UK experience as one of best (or ‘near best’) practice" The Impact of European Union Competition Policy on Public Transport Policy and Provision in the UK
Oh I forgot today is the 242nd anniversary of the day the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland decided we'd much rather have India than America.
It's not.
Nor is it the anniversary of the US deciding to commit to independence either.
Can't believe the attitude to buses on here. Sounding like a Metropolitan elite echo chamber.
One day they may be too old and too unsafe to drive cars and might welcome those buses - assuming they still exist.
The government controls the funding and limits on council tax rises and mandates the free concessionary travel - so it is a national responsibility in effect.
Oh I forgot today is the 242nd anniversary of the day the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland decided we'd much rather have India than America.
It's not.
Nor is it the anniversary of the US deciding to commit to independence either.
It is the 192nd anniversary of two of the signatories' (Jefferson & Adams) deaths
Can't believe the attitude to buses on here. Sounding like a Metropolitan elite echo chamber.
One day they may be too old and too unsafe to drive cars and might welcome those buses - assuming they still exist.
The government controls the funding and limits on council tax rises and mandates the free concessionary travel - so it is a national responsibility in effect.
The bus passes for oldies will be long gone by the time I'm retiring.
Far more likely is transition deal until 2021 then WTO terms for 7 years whether the Tories or Corbyn win in 2022 while we try and get a FTA with the EU then we return to the single market and customs union after Chuka Umunna wins the 2027 general election having had 7 years of no free movement as Blair should have taken from 2004 to 2011 had he imposed transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries
Hang on, I thought you said a FTA was in the bag? About 10,000 times. What happened?
EDIT: An FTA or a FTA?
Canada took 7 years to get a FTA with the EU so that would be 2028 from the end of the transition period in January 2021 and by then as I said a PM Umunna may have won the 2027 general election on a platform of rejoining the EEA and the Customs Union anyway
At the risk of spoiling my impeccable WC tipping record, I recommend backing Kylian Mbappe to win the Golden Ball @ 4/1 (Skybet, Betfred, Victor). He's already won the game of the tournament for France and the media are anointing him as successor to Messi & Ronaldo as the world's best player.
We need France to beat Uruguay for this to cop. Ideally Brazil as well, but I don't think that's too necessary since they haven't impressed much either collectively or individually. Yet!
Kane looks no value at all given he's (a) already likely to get an award, so the media won't feel the need to vote for him; and (b) scored 3 pens, a goal he knew nothing about, and two more from a combined 5 yards.
I think the media will be reluctant to pick anyone from the easy side of the draw, but Luka Modric @ 14/1 (WH) makes some appeal as a next-best selection.
Far more likely is transition deal until 2021 then WTO terms for 7 years whether the Tories or Corbyn win in 2022 while we try and get a FTA with the EU then we return to the single market and customs union after Chuka Umunna wins the 2027 general election having had 7 years of no free movement as Blair should have taken from 2004 to 2011 had he imposed transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries
Far more likely is transition deal until 2021 then WTO terms for 7 years whether the Tories or Corbyn win in 2022 while we try and get a FTA with the EU then we return to the single market and customs union after Chuka Umunna wins the 2027 general election having had 7 years of no free movement as Blair should have taken from 2004 to 2011 had he imposed transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries
Hang on, I thought you said a FTA was in the bag? About 10,000 times. What happened?
EDIT: An FTA or a FTA?
I think it's obvious that the current timetable in which to complete a free trade deal is unrealistic, a 7-10 year transition from full member to third country with a FTA (I think "a" is right) is the only way to get Brexit right and one which suits the UK and EU over the longer term without disrupting cross border trade and solving the Ireland issue in the near term as well as having a longer term solution.
Fare play for Corbyn standing up for bus users. The #FBPE lot on twitter seem apocolyptic about him going on it mind. I didn't realise the volume of bus journeys a year was so substantially higher than train use either - it certainly isn't an impression you'd get from twitter !! I suspect the group most put out by him leading on bus use are train users, who are desperately over-represented amongst journalists in particular.
Far more likely is transition deal until 2021 then WTO terms for 7 years whether the Tories or Corbyn win in 2022 while we try and get a FTA with the EU then we return to the single market and customs union after Chuka Umunna wins the 2027 general election having had 7 years of no free movement as Blair should have taken from 2004 to 2011 had he imposed transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries
Hang on, I thought you said a FTA was in the bag? About 10,000 times. What happened?
EDIT: An FTA or a FTA?
Canada took 7 years to get a FTA with the EU so that would be 2028 from the end of the transition period in January 2021 and by then as I said a PM Umunna may have won the 2027 general election on a platform of rejoining the EEA and the Customs Union anyway
All sounds perfectly credible except for the bit about Umunna ever becoming PM - that is too fastastical.
Croatia play Russia, yes? With the winner playing England or Sweden?
Yes. On the one hand I do not want Russia to win. On the other hand, a semi-final victory for England over Russia would be delicious.
Hope they have not been at it again in the Salisbury area. Two people admitted to Salisbury Hospital with unspecified poisoning, the terror police brought in and samples sent to Porton Down
Esther McVey has briefly addressed the Commons to respond to the highly unusual letter by the NAO saying the pensions secretary had misled parliament about what they said on universal credit. She makes a partial apology, but still disputes some of the NAO’s view.
McVey concedes that she was mistaken in claiming the NAO had asked for the rollout of UC to be speeded up, and that she wanted “to apologise to the house for inadvertently misleading you”. But she declined to say sorry for saying the NAO had failed to take into account changes to UC in its report on the issue, saying: “I still maintain this is the case.”
Far more likely is transition deal until 2021 then WTO terms for 7 years whether the Tories or Corbyn win in 2022 while we try and get a FTA with the EU then we return to the single market and customs union after Chuka Umunna wins the 2027 general election having had 7 years of no free movement as Blair should have taken from 2004 to 2011 had he imposed transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries
Hang on, I thought you said a FTA was in the bag? About 10,000 times. What happened?
EDIT: An FTA or a FTA?
I think it's obvious that the current timetable in which to complete a free trade deal is unrealistic, a 7-10 year transition from full member to third country with a FTA (I think "a" is right) is the only way to get Brexit right and one which suits the UK and EU over the longer term without disrupting cross border trade and solving the Ireland issue in the near term as well as having a longer term solution.
It's obvious to most people - but not to our Bexit Secretary:
Comments
They are used by peasants and failures in life.
He is simply hopeless
https://order-order.com/2018/07/04/electoral-commission-ignored-evidence-that-would-have-disproved-central-claims/
Not sure whether Corbyn is raising this to weaponise it as an issue in future Labour campaigning, or simply because he likes buses. He didn't deliver it in a particularly effective way, but it's a valid question.
https://twitter.com/riotbadger/status/1014397869346971649
https://twitter.com/faisalislam/status/1014469464723779585
@EuropeElects
19h19 hours ago
Sweden: Sweden Democrats to shift from populist EFDD to conservative ECR group in European Parliament. #svpol #Sweden #Sverigedemokraterna #EP2019"
Situation on the main fires much improved: all the following peaked at between 50 and 70 hotspots on the Copernicus VIIRS infra-red system:
Saddleworth Moor down to a single hotspot, Otterburn Range down to 2, Winter Hill still shows 17, and a grey haze, but the number of hotspots has been reducing day by day.
Still a couple of small 5 hotspot fires in Gwynedd and the Valleys, whilst Larkhill in Wiltshire (again a firing range and not so many miles from Amesbury) comes second place on the hotspot detector with 8.
So thats an extra 80mins a day, probably longer if delays and things don't match up....no thanks.
Sounding like a Metropolitan elite echo chamber.
So, yes buses a good thing to ask about. But today? When he had so many other open goals available.
Temporary loss of senses. I blame the heat.
Far more likely is transition deal until 2021 then WTO terms for 7 years whether the Tories or Corbyn win in 2022 while we try and get a FTA with the EU then we return to the single market and customs union after Chuka Umunna wins the 2027 general election having had 7 years of no free movement as Blair should have taken from 2004 to 2011 had he imposed transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries
Nor is it the anniversary of the US deciding to commit to independence either.
EDIT: An FTA or a FTA?
"though EU law has not created
these arrangements above in Britain the current state of EU law consolidates this and deems the
UK experience as one of best (or ‘near best’) practice"
The Impact of European Union Competition
Policy on Public Transport Policy and
Provision in the UK
(And update it to 235th anniversary)
The government controls the funding and limits on council tax rises and mandates the free concessionary travel - so it is a national responsibility in effect.
https://twitter.com/GdnPolitics/status/1014477442621194241
Running away from Michael Crick has always worked out brilliantly for every politician that has tried it.
We need France to beat Uruguay for this to cop. Ideally Brazil as well, but I don't think that's too necessary since they haven't impressed much either collectively or individually. Yet!
Kane looks no value at all given he's (a) already likely to get an award, so the media won't feel the need to vote for him; and (b) scored 3 pens, a goal he knew nothing about, and two more from a combined 5 yards.
I think the media will be reluctant to pick anyone from the easy side of the draw, but Luka Modric @ 14/1 (WH) makes some appeal as a next-best selection.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/alan-shearer-caught-camera-letting-12850976
Sounds like Mrs Urquhart throughout the game last night.
I suspect the group most put out by him leading on bus use are train users, who are desperately over-represented amongst journalists in particular.
Esther McVey has briefly addressed the Commons to respond to the highly unusual letter by the NAO saying the pensions secretary had misled parliament about what they said on universal credit. She makes a partial apology, but still disputes some of the NAO’s view.
McVey concedes that she was mistaken in claiming the NAO had asked for the rollout of UC to be speeded up, and that she wanted “to apologise to the house for inadvertently misleading you”. But she declined to say sorry for saying the NAO had failed to take into account changes to UC in its report on the issue, saying: “I still maintain this is the case.”
https://openeurope.org.uk/daily-shakeup/uk-can-finalise-trade-treaty-with-eu-before-brexit-says-david-davis/