Just had a bet on Oz to win 5-0 , 14-1 with Ladbrokes.
I reckon England are a bad session from the 2nd and 3rd wheel coming off.
That's a decent price. Tonight is so key to the series - if we save this Test we have a decent chance. If we lose it, we are surely done for?
It's not even a contest at the moment - England have won 1 session out of 6 days of cricket - they can't bowl em out and don't look like batting to save this test. England need a hero and nobody is stepping up to the plate.
That's a great price, Cook looked petrified and if they get knocked over in Perth the atmosphere in Melbourne will turn them to jelly
Oz 1.33 to win the series looking like free money too unfortunately.
Yes, Aus have clearly improved, but the English decline is really alarming. Swann looks a shadow of the world-beater of three/ four years ago.
Thatcher was a titan of British politics in the 20th century. Globally, though, she'd surely rank below the true greats with the likes of Kohl and Mitterand, beneath Gorbachev, who would be below Reagan and Deng.
Mitterand ?
You must be hung over.
I am, but in terms of ending the Cold War and the reintegration of central and eastern European countries into the mainstream his role was as great, if not greater.
Mitterand did diddly squat to help win the cold war ( France wasn't in NATOs integrated structure ). By the time the wall fell he was having to co-habit with a RPR Parliament and since he couldn't do much spent his time building monuments in Paris. I struggle to think of a single thing he did to reintegrate Europe in his last term.
Mitterrand was a very successful machine politician who started under the Vichy government and ended up a socialist. But beyond being an example of lean and hungry politics what really is his legacy ? A pyramid at the Louvre and he helped launch Le Pen's Front Nationale.
He did pretty much what Maggie did: lined up as a minor nuclear power behind the Americans. In terms of German unification his agreement was crucial at a point when Maggie was very wary. He was instrumental in developing the Frano-German alliance that dominated EU politics for 20+ years, and between 90 and 94 under his leadership France played a key role in the talks that saw the C&E states become EU member states.
Just nonsense. FM was simply a machine politician whose legacy didn't change much bar the architecture of Paris. Kohl delivered german unification, your own post shows MT's time in govt still defines UK politics. Mitterrand simply presided over a France on a slow path to decline.
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Thatcher was a titan of British politics in the 20th century. Globally, though, she'd surely rank below the true greats with the likes of Kohl and Mitterand, beneath Gorbachev, who would be below Reagan and Deng.
Mitterand ?
You must be hung over.
I am, but in terms of ending the Cold War and the reintegration of central and eastern European countries into the mainstream his role was as great, if not greater.
Mitterand did diddly squat to help win the cold war ( France wasn't in NATOs integrated structure ). By the time the wall fell he was having to co-habit with a RPR Parliament and since he couldn't do much spent his time building monuments in Paris. I struggle to think of a single thing he did to reintegrate Europe in his last term.
Mitterrand was a very successful machine politician who started under the Vichy government and ended up a socialist. But beyond being an example of lean and hungry politics what really is his legacy ? A pyramid at the Louvre and he helped launch Le Pen's Front Nationale.
He did pretty much what Maggie did: lined up as a minor nuclear power behind the Americans. In terms of German unification his agreement was crucial at a point when Maggie was very wary. He was instrumental in developing the Frano-German alliance that dominated EU politics for 20+ years, and between 90 and 94 under his leadership France played a key role in the talks that saw the C&E states become EU member states.
That's why there were US nuclear missiles based in France, US airbases in France, and why France was a major player in NATO.
Oh, hang on.
As I was saying ...
Tell me about your support for McBride again?
What support of McBride? I have always, consistently and unequivocally, described him as low life scum.
I think you need to have your memory checked. Twice in a week it has failed you about things you have written in the past.
You may remember the long after-thread conversation (or as you may put it, 'exchange') we had before McBride's book was released. Then, when the serialisation started, you said that you were going to apologise to me.
I'm still waiting, although I'm far from hopeful.
I said I owed you an apology over underplaying the role of Ed Balls in what McBride did. I assumed that in itself that would serve as such. However, for the absence of doubt I humbly apologise to you for underestimating the role that Balls played in McBride's toxicity. Now you can apologise to me for insinuating that I have ever defended McBride or his actions in any way.
Apology accepted.
That's not my memory of the conversation (or, I think, an earlier one). Still, if you're sure you've never supported McBride, then I apologise for saying you did.
Just checking in. Why are we comparing Mandela with Smuts? Very, very odd thread.
I don't think we are - all Mr Herdson was pointing out was that at either end of the century South Africa produced two remarkable men whose major life work was peace and reconciliation, and without either South Africa would more closely resemble the numerous basket cases that plague that benighted continent. Both were remarkable in their time - and as we are nearer Mandela his achievements stand all the more prominently. After we have left the stage, history will take a more dispassionate view - hence last night's argie bargie over whether it was Peter Hain demonstrating outside South Africa House, or Margaret Thatcher telling F W de Klerk that the game was up that contributed more to the ending of apartheid......
Comparing someone who fought and defeated an evil racist regime with one who helped establish a colour bar is odd to put it mildly. Only on PB...
Just checking in. Why are we comparing Mandela with Smuts? Very, very odd thread.
I don't think we are - all Mr Herdson was pointing out was that at either end of the century South Africa produced two remarkable men whose major life work was peace and reconciliation, and without either South Africa would more closely resemble the numerous basket cases that plague that benighted continent. Both were remarkable in their time - and as we are nearer Mandela his achievements stand all the more prominently. After we have left the stage, history will take a more dispassionate view - hence last night's argie bargie over whether it was Peter Hain demonstrating outside South Africa House, or Margaret Thatcher telling F W de Klerk that the game was up that contributed more to the ending of apartheid......
Comparing someone who fought and defeated an evil racist regime with one who helped establish a colour bar is odd to put it mildly. Only on PB...
On another note, if it had not been for Mandela's passing then the news would have been filled with stories about the storms. We look to have escaped, if only because of a little luck combined with lots of good work, both in forecasting and on the ground.
Perhaps it is time to express a little thanks to those people, from the forecasters to the councils who had evacuation plans, and to the fire, police and ambulance men and women who implemented them on the ground.
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Just had a bet on Oz to win 5-0 , 14-1 with Ladbrokes.
I reckon England are a bad session from the 2nd and 3rd wheel coming off.
That's a decent price. Tonight is so key to the series - if we save this Test we have a decent chance. If we lose it, we are surely done for?
It's not even a contest at the moment - England have won 1 session out of 6 days of cricket - they can't bowl em out and don't look like batting to save this test. England need a hero and nobody is stepping up to the plate.
That's a great price, Cook looked petrified and if they get knocked over in Perth the atmosphere in Melbourne will turn them to jelly
I'v taken £15 of that and also shifted my book in the current test to:
Thatcher was a titan of British politics in the 20th century. Globally, though, she'd surely rank below the true greats with the likes of Kohl and Mitterand, beneath Gorbachev, who would be below Reagan and Deng.
Mitterand ?
You must be hung over.
I am, but in terms of ending the Cold War and the reintegration of central and eastern European countries into the mainstream his role was as great, if not greater.
Mitterand did diddly squat to help win the cold war ( France wasn't in NATOs integrated structure ). By the time the wall fell he was having to co-habit with a RPR Parliament and since he couldn't do much spent his time building monuments in Paris. I struggle to think of a single thing he did to reintegrate Europe in his last term.
Mitterrand was a very successful machine politician who started under the Vichy government and ended up a socialist. But beyond being an example of lean and hungry politics what really is his legacy ? A pyramid at the Louvre and he helped launch Le Pen's Front Nationale.
He did pretty much what Maggie did: lined up as a minor nuclear power behind the Americans. In terms of German unification his agreement was crucial at a point when Maggie was very wary. He was instrumental in developing the Frano-German alliance that dominated EU politics for 20+ years, and between 90 and 94 under his leadership France played a key role in the talks that saw the C&E states become EU member states.
That's why there were US nuclear missiles based in France, US airbases in France, and why France was a major player in NATO.
Oh, hang on.
As I was saying ...
Tell me about your support for McBride again?
What support of McBride? I have always, consistently and unequivocally, described him as low life scum.
I think you need to have your memory checked. Twice in a week it has failed you about things you have written in the past.
You may remember the long after-thread conversation (or as you may put it, 'exchange') we had before McBride's book was released. Then, when the serialisation started, you said that you were going to apologise to me.
I'm still waiting, although I'm far from hopeful.
I said I owed you an apology over underplaying the role of Ed Balls in what McBride did. I assumed that in itself that would serve as such. However, for the absence of doubt I humbly apologise to you for underestimating the role that Balls played in McBride's toxicity. Now you can apologise to me for insinuating that I have ever defended McBride or his actions in any way.
Apology accepted.
That's not my memory of the conversation (or, I think, an earlier one). Still, if you're sure you've never supported McBride, then I apologise for saying you did.
Thatcher was a titan of British politics in the 20th century. Globally, though, she'd surely rank below the true greats with the likes of Kohl and Mitterand, beneath Gorbachev, who would be below Reagan and Deng.
Mitterand ?
You must be hung over.
I am, but in terms of ending the Cold War and the reintegration of central and eastern European countries into the mainstream his role was as great, if not greater.
Mitterand did diddly squat to help win the cold war ( France wasn't in NATOs integrated structure ). By the time the wall fell he was having to co-habit with a RPR Parliament and since he couldn't do much spent his time building monuments in Paris. I struggle to think of a single thing he did to reintegrate Europe in his last term.
Mitterrand was a very successful machine politician who started under the Vichy government and ended up a socialist. But beyond being an example of lean and hungry politics what really is his legacy ? A pyramid at the Louvre and he helped launch Le Pen's Front Nationale.
He did pretty much what Maggie did: lined up as a minor nuclear power behind the Americans. In terms of German unification his agreement was crucial at a point when Maggie was very wary. He was instrumental in developing the Frano-German alliance that dominated EU politics for 20+ years, and between 90 and 94 under his leadership France played a key role in the talks that saw the C&E states become EU member states.
Just nonsense. FM was simply a machine politician whose legacy didn't change much bar the architecture of Paris. Kohl delivered german unification, your own post shows MT's time in govt still defines UK politics. Mitterrand simply presided over a France on a slow path to decline.
I disagree.
well I didn't expect anything else.
Will it ever rain in Warwickshire again? The land is drying out; drought approaches. I fear for the children.
Thanks Stuart. If this small sample did turn out to be an accurate predictor, Labour could lose seats in Scotland at the GE, whilst they are picking up a massive gain in support from the LD 2010 voters! Meanwhile most LDs are still expecting to keep the majority of their 11 Scottish MPs....
Just had a bet on Oz to win 5-0 , 14-1 with Ladbrokes.
I reckon England are a bad session from the 2nd and 3rd wheel coming off.
That's a decent price. Tonight is so key to the series - if we save this Test we have a decent chance. If we lose it, we are surely done for?
It's not even a contest at the moment - England have won 1 session out of 6 days of cricket - they can't bowl em out and don't look like batting to save this test. England need a hero and nobody is stepping up to the plate.
That's a great price, Cook looked petrified and if they get knocked over in Perth the atmosphere in Melbourne will turn them to jelly
I'v taken £15 of that and also shifted my book in the current test to:
Thatcher was a titan of British politics in the 20th century. Globally, though, she'd surely rank below the true greats with the likes of Kohl and Mitterand, beneath Gorbachev, who would be below Reagan and Deng.
Mitterand ?
You must be hung over.
I am, but in terms of ending the Cold War and the reintegration of central and eastern European countries into the mainstream his role was as great, if not greater.
Mitterand did diddly squat to help win the cold war ( France wasn't in NATOs integrated structure ). By the time the wall fell he was having to co-habit with a RPR Parliament and since he couldn't do much spent his time building monuments in Paris. I struggle to think of a single thing he did to reintegrate Europe in his last term.
Mitterrand was a very successful machine politician who started under the Vichy government and ended up a socialist. But beyond being an example of lean and hungry politics what really is his legacy ? A pyramid at the Louvre and he helped launch Le Pen's Front Nationale.
He did pretty much what Maggie did: lined up as a minor nuclear power behind the Americans. In terms of German unification his agreement was crucial at a point when Maggie was very wary. He was instrumental in developing the Frano-German alliance that dominated EU politics for 20+ years, and between 90 and 94 under his leadership France played a key role in the talks that saw the C&E states become EU member states.
Just nonsense. FM was simply a machine politician whose legacy didn't change much bar the architecture of Paris. Kohl delivered german unification, your own post shows MT's time in govt still defines UK politics. Mitterrand simply presided over a France on a slow path to decline.
I disagree.
well I didn't expect anything else.
Will it ever rain in Warwickshire again? The land is drying out; drought approaches. I fear for the children.
May I add that Ghandi was also partly a product of South Africa having worked there at a key stage in his life in nonviolent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer there.
Thatcher was a titan of British politics in the 20th century. Globally, though, she'd surely rank below the true greats with the likes of Kohl and Mitterand, beneath Gorbachev, who would be below Reagan and Deng.
Mitterand ?
You must be hung over.
I am, but in terms of ending the Cold War and the reintegration of central and eastern European countries into the mainstream his role was as great, if not greater.
Mitterand did diddly squat to help win the cold war ( France wasn't in NATOs integrated structure ). By the time the wall fell he was having to co-habit with a RPR Parliament and since he couldn't do much spent his time building monuments in Paris. I struggle to think of a single thing he did to reintegrate Europe in his last term.
Mitterrand was a very successful machine politician who started under the Vichy government and ended up a socialist. But beyond being an example of lean and hungry politics what really is his legacy ? A pyramid at the Louvre and he helped launch Le Pen's Front Nationale.
He did pretty much what Maggie did: lined up as a minor nuclear power behind the Americans. In terms of German unification his agreement was crucial at a point when Maggie was very wary. He was instrumental in developing the Frano-German alliance that dominated EU politics for 20+ years, and between 90 and 94 under his leadership France played a key role in the talks that saw the C&E states become EU member states.
Just nonsense. FM was simply a machine politician whose legacy didn't change much bar the architecture of Paris. Kohl delivered german unification, your own post shows MT's time in govt still defines UK politics. Mitterrand simply presided over a France on a slow path to decline.
I disagree.
well I didn't expect anything else.
Will it ever rain in Warwickshire again? The land is drying out; drought approaches. I fear for the children.
Yes. No it isn't. Yours are all grown up.
Not my daughter. Not quite. And what of their children? And what of all the children?
"In captivity, his name motivated a movement; in office, it symbolised unity"
One can take the unity thing too far sometimes.
Everyone makes mistakes, and one of Mandela's largest will have been not to split the ANC. The test of any democracy is that there is a peaceful transition of power following a fair election. This is why one could not consider Russia or Zimbabwe to be democracies, despite the fact that they hold elections.
South Africa has yet to be put to that test and any democrat should be worried if one party wins more than 60% of the vote at four successive elections, which inevitably means that political differences are settled by intra-party mechanisms, rather than national elections.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
No we disagree, she was anything but , a nasty Tory of the first order. Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
As an observation about the recovery there is IMHO a large amount of under recorded economic activity going on in the new self employed and SMEs. New business formation albeit not necessarily LTDs or LLPs is at a remarkable level. The corporate world is no longer viewed as the main option for many. This is all anecdotal amongst my peers and contacts but it would help explain the disconnect between having a massive growth in private sector workers whilst seeing an apparenrt flatlining/decline in productivity. Basically the ways of measuring output are not keeping up with the real world. We may even have revisions to the economic activity in 2011 and 2012 that find we actually were a growing economy. We seem to be going back to becoming a nation of entrepreneurs when we once were labelled as "shopkeepers" by one chap.
I thought it was bad when the Queen Mum passed on at a very ripe old age, but the hagiographies and wall to wall cover of Mandela is astonishingly OTT.
I glanced at the Mail's website and there's acres of it. The Times is largely the same, the DT isn't quite so much but still...
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
I have read that Bad Bob is pretty much reliant on SA for things such as transport and utilities and they could wind up his premiership tomorrow if they wanted to.
I thought it was bad when the Queen Mum passed on at a very ripe old age, but the hagiographies and wall to wall cover of Mandela is astonishingly OTT. I glanced at the Mail's website and there's acres of it. The Times is largely the same, the DT isn't quite so much but still...
OK enough of this sentimental lamenting. Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
It was another day to listen to Radio 4 extra when walking the dog this morning.
I thought it was bad when the Queen Mum passed on at a very ripe old age, but the hagiographies and wall to wall cover of Mandela is astonishingly OTT.
I glanced at the Mail's website and there's acres of it. The Times is largely the same, the DT isn't quite so much but still...
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
I'm sure the BBC can stretch it out until Xmas - live coverage of the funeral preperations, the funeral, the tweets - I for one will be watching it all...
As an observation about the recovery there is IMHO a large amount of under recorded economic activity going on in the new self employed and SMEs.
Would love to think this was true - I know there's been some criticism of self-employment allegedly being used to massage the unemployment figures, as it makes people on benefits eligible for more generous tax credits, even if they don't have a business with a future.
If it turns out that there is a lot of growth activity among the self-employed it will eventually show up in the income tax figures - do HMRC/Treasury/ONS provide a breakdown of tax paid by PAYE/self-employment, or does one have to guess by looking at the total figures for the big self-assessment payment months? (January and August by memory).
I would think that early next year there would be some hard data from the 2012-2013 tax year on self-assessment following the end of January deadline for self-assessment, so we will hopefully be able to see whether your anecdote is indicative of a general trend in the economy.
ALP - I'm sure you can rustle up a yellow box on this...
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
As an observation about the recovery there is IMHO a large amount of under recorded economic activity going on in the new self employed and SMEs.
.... If it turns out that there is a lot of growth activity among the self-employed it will eventually show up in the income tax figures - ......... I would think that early next year there would be some hard data from the 2012-2013 tax year on self-assessment following the end of January deadline for self-assessment, so we will hopefully be able to see whether your anecdote is indicative of a general trend in the economy......
FYI HMRC are currently having a large campaign into any "health care" self employed/SME people to ensure they maximise the taxes paid. Cash transactions are notorious for avoiding tax.
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
No we disagree, she was anything but , a nasty Tory of the first order. Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
They can indeed. As was proved by Labour both before and after Thatcher who were responsible for a far greater decline in manufacturing in the UK than she was. Incidently, Labour before Thatcher also shut down more mines.
I glanced at the Mail's website and there's acres of it.
It'll be interesting to see how long the Mandela-in lasts. The Mail is very quick to move underwhelming news down the agenda and put stuff that's attracting attention to the top.
OT Dan Hannan asks a good question about Cameron's recent China Trip.
"WHAT IS THE POINT OF A TRADE DELEGATION WHEN YOU CAN’T SIGN A TRADE AGREEMENT?
It’s nice to see David Cameron in China. Indeed, it would be a dereliction of his responsibility not to visit that vast and complex country. China grew at 6.6 per cent last year while the eurozone shrank. The world is tipping: its economic centre of gravity is running east across the Russian steppes at 90 miles a day. This need not be bad news for the West: a rising giant lifts others, with or without meaning to.
Yet the United Kingdom cannot sign a commercial accord with China. Nor, for that matter, with any other country. We surrendered that power on 1 January 1973, the day we joined the EEC. So, like Marco Polo, our politicians go to Cathay to gawp and marvel and write in awe of the wonders they have seen, but have no power to conclude economic treaties.
Ah, say Euro-enthusiasts, but that’s precisely why we need the EU. Alone, they assure us, in their patronising manner, we would be little more than supplicants; but as part of a 28-member bloc, we can look the Chinaman in the eye.
Oh really? Tell that to the Swiss who, a few months ago, signed their own FTA with Beijing. The Chinese were evidently happy to deal with a country of 8 million people, perhaps because Switzerland did not carry the EU’s protectionist hang-ups into the talks. Indeed, the only other European state with which the Chinese have signed a commercial treaty is also outside the EU: Iceland. That’s right, Iceland, whose population is half of one per cent of ours. Britain, left to its free-trading instincts, would surely have signed an FTA with China years ago – probably including financial services, where there are colossal opportunities.
Whenever the PM goes to an emerging leviathan – Brazil, say, or India – he gives fine speeches, backed by statistics, about how the prosperity of the developing world will spill over into the UK. Yet he knows that there is little he can do to effect this happy outcome. Britain, unlike Bolivia or Botswana or Bangladesh, cannot negotiate trade deals. Because we are the only member state which conducts the majority of its trade outside the EU, this disadvantages us more than the other 27.
At this point, some cleverdick usually jumps up to say that Germany sells more to China than we do. Yes: Germany is benefiting from an artificially cheap exchange rate as a result of the euro crisis, and good luck to it. But though I delight in Germany’s good fortune, it has no bearing on whether Britain should be free to negotiate its own FTAs.
We are a merchant people, a race of explorers and settlers, a maritime nation. The revolution in communications has made our geographical proximity to Europe less relevant than ever. As I never tire of pointing out, every continent on the planet is now growing economically except Europe. The prime minister knows it. It is only a matter of time before he follows the logic of his own speeches."
I glanced at the Mail's website and there's acres of it.
It'll be interesting to see how long the Mandela-in lasts. The Mail is very quick to move underwhelming news down the agenda and put stuff that's attracting attention to the top.
The BBC News webpage is interesting for this.
The 'Most shared' section is filled with Mandela.
The 'Most read' section is led by the floods, then by a Westie and Rottweiler who have had puppies, then the flood, then reader's designs for a new Union Jack, and finally Mandela.
I'm not sure if we can make any conclusions about the great British public from this ...
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
When I was last shopping for extra large condoms, the shop assistant mentioned that the weather hasn't been too flash and she was worried about her washing getting dry
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
Ill informed dimwit.
That from the site turnip , and that is an insult to a turnip.
OT Dan Hannan asks a good question about Cameron's recent China Trip.
"WHAT IS THE POINT OF A TRADE DELEGATION WHEN YOU CAN’T SIGN A TRADE AGREEMENT?
It’s nice to see David Cameron in China. Indeed, it would be a dereliction of his responsibility not to visit that vast and complex country. China grew at 6.6 per cent last year while the eurozone shrank. The world is tipping: its economic centre of gravity is running east across the Russian steppes at 90 miles a day. This need not be bad news for the West: a rising giant lifts others, with or without meaning to.
Yet the United Kingdom cannot sign a commercial accord with China. Nor, for that matter, with any other country. We surrendered that power on 1 January 1973, the day we joined the EEC. So, like Marco Polo, our politicians go to Cathay to gawp and marvel and write in awe of the wonders they have seen, but have no power to conclude economic treaties.
Ah, say Euro-enthusiasts, but that’s precisely why we need the EU. Alone, they assure us, in their patronising manner, we would be little more than supplicants; but as part of a 28-member bloc, we can look the Chinaman in the eye.
Oh really? Tell that to the Swiss who, a few months ago, signed their own FTA with Beijing. The Chinese were evidently happy to deal with a country of 8 million people, perhaps because Switzerland did not carry the EU’s protectionist hang-ups into the talks. Indeed, the only other European state with which the Chinese have signed a commercial treaty is also outside the EU: Iceland. That’s right, Iceland, whose population is half of one per cent of ours. Britain, left to its free-trading instincts, would surely have signed an FTA with China years ago – probably including financial services, where there are colossal opportunities.
Whenever the PM goes to an emerging leviathan – Brazil, say, or India – he gives fine speeches, backed by statistics, about how the prosperity of the developing world will spill over into the UK. Yet he knows that there is little he can do to effect this happy outcome. Britain, unlike Bolivia or Botswana or Bangladesh, cannot negotiate trade deals. Because we are the only member state which conducts the majority of its trade outside the EU, this disadvantages us more than the other 27.
At this point, some cleverdick usually jumps up to say that Germany sells more to China than we do. Yes: Germany is benefiting from an artificially cheap exchange rate as a result of the euro crisis, and good luck to it. But though I delight in Germany’s good fortune, it has no bearing on whether Britain should be free to negotiate its own FTAs.
We are a merchant people, a race of explorers and settlers, a maritime nation. The revolution in communications has made our geographical proximity to Europe less relevant than ever. As I never tire of pointing out, every continent on the planet is now growing economically except Europe. The prime minister knows it. It is only a matter of time before he follows the logic of his own speeches."
Dan Hannan in frothing mode. Trade agreement or not we can still trade. Minded to send back the copy of his book which my wife bought me.
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
Ill informed dimwit.
That from the site turnip , and that is an insult to a turnip.
Tell me. Would an independent Scotland grant full autonomy to the Shetlands?
Incidentally, if anyone else is also still unable to see the latest article on the front page of the site, it's quicker to click December 2013 on the site archives.
OT Dan Hannan asks a good question about Cameron's recent China Trip.
"WHAT IS THE POINT OF A TRADE DELEGATION WHEN YOU CAN’T SIGN A TRADE AGREEMENT?
It’s nice to see David Cameron in China. Indeed, it would be a dereliction of his responsibility not to visit that vast and complex country. China grew at 6.6 per cent last year while the eurozone shrank. The world is tipping: its economic centre of gravity is running east across the Russian steppes at 90 miles a day. This need not be bad news for the West: a rising giant lifts others, with or without meaning to.
Yet the United Kingdom cannot sign a commercial accord with China. Nor, for that matter, with any other country. We surrendered that power on 1 January 1973, the day we joined the EEC. So, like Marco Polo, our politicians go to Cathay to gawp and marvel and write in awe of the wonders they have seen, but have no power to conclude economic treaties.
Ah, say Euro-enthusiasts, but that’s precisely why we need the EU. Alone, they assure us, in their patronising manner, we would be little more than supplicants; but as part of a 28-member bloc, we can look the Chinaman in the eye.
Oh really? Tell that to the Swiss who, a few months ago, signed their own FTA with Beijing. The Chinese were evidently happy to deal with a country of 8 million people, perhaps because Switzerland did not carry the EU’s protectionist hang-ups into the talks. Indeed, the only other European state with which the Chinese have signed a commercial treaty is also outside the EU: Iceland. That’s right, Iceland, whose population is half of one per cent of ours. Britain, left to its free-trading instincts, would surely have signed an FTA with China years ago – probably including financial services, where there are colossal opportunities.
Whenever the PM goes to an emerging leviathan – Brazil, say, or India – he gives fine speeches, backed by statistics, about how the prosperity of the developing world will spill over into the UK. Yet he knows that there is little he can do to effect this happy outcome. Britain, unlike Bolivia or Botswana or Bangladesh, cannot negotiate trade deals. Because we are the only member state which conducts the majority of its trade outside the EU, this disadvantages us more than the other 27.
At this point, some cleverdick usually jumps up to say that Germany sells more to China than we do. Yes: Germany is benefiting from an artificially cheap exchange rate as a result of the euro crisis, and good luck to it. But though I delight in Germany’s good fortune, it has no bearing on whether Britain should be free to negotiate its own FTAs.
We are a merchant people, a race of explorers and settlers, a maritime nation. The revolution in communications has made our geographical proximity to Europe less relevant than ever. As I never tire of pointing out, every continent on the planet is now growing economically except Europe. The prime minister knows it. It is only a matter of time before he follows the logic of his own speeches."
Dan Hannan in frothing mode. Trade agreement or not we can still trade. Minded to send back the copy of his book which my wife bought me.
Not so. There are significant restrictions on our trade with China as a result of our membership of the EU and their inability to organise a p*ss up in a brewery.
The EU in its role as a protectionist bloc holds us back massively as far as world trade is concerned whilst at the same time generating a huge trade deficit between ourselves and the rest of Europe.
As far as trade is concerned membership of the EU is all negative.
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
Ill informed dimwit.
That from the site turnip , and that is an insult to a turnip.
Tell me. Would an independent Scotland grant full autonomy to the Shetlands?
It would certainly give them the opportunity to vote on whether they wanted full autonomy. Have yet to ever hear of anybody suggesting that anyone wants it mind you, and given the location, size of population etc it would seem odd that they would want to. Not much oil in the 12 miles of water they would get in the event they went it alone so would seem strange but in the end would be their decision.
The irony of Osbornes declaration of economic triumph (part IV) being blown off the news by the storm and Mandelas death is of course that it should've been on Wednesday. It was delayed so Dave could have an extra days photo shoot in China when the Communist leadership told him he could.
Not even Vince or Blanchflower could predict Mr Mandela was going to bow out yesterday..
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
Ill informed dimwit.
That from the site turnip , and that is an insult to a turnip.
Tell me. Would an independent Scotland grant full autonomy to the Shetlands?
It would certainly give them the opportunity to vote on whether they wanted full autonomy. Have yet to ever here of anybody suggesting that anyone wants it mind you, and given the location, size of population etc it would seem odd that they would want to. Not much oil in the 12 miles of water they would get in the event they went it alone so would seem strange but in the end would be their decision.
Whilst I agree with you that the Islands probably wouldn't want it, the 12 miles of water argument is just rubbish. The area of the North Sea and the Atlantic that the Shetlands would be entitled to under the standard international agreements would encompass a significant number of the current oil fields and the majority of the new developments (one clue being the fact that they are in an area known as West of Shetlands.)
Most of the UK Atlantic Frontier fields would fall within Shetland's water's.
But as I say I agree this is an extremely unlikely prospect.
I glanced at the Mail's website and there's acres of it.
It'll be interesting to see how long the Mandela-in lasts. The Mail is very quick to move underwhelming news down the agenda and put stuff that's attracting attention to the top.
The BBC News webpage is interesting for this.
The 'Most shared' section is filled with Mandela.
The 'Most read' section is led by the floods, then by a Westie and Rottweiler who have had puppies, then the flood, then reader's designs for a new Union Jack, and finally Mandela.
I'm not sure if we can make any conclusions about the great British public from this ...
You can conclude that most people want to be *seen* to care about Mandela, they want their sadness notified - it's a bit like the obligatory mourning for Diana.
However in reality, most people don't really give much of a toss. Very nice old man died faraway, that's a shame, ooh look it's Masterchef final tonight.
F1: Pirelli are running a private test later this month. 17-19, I think. Some reckon they'll go for harder tyres, to try and cut down on the problems of wheelspin due to higher torque levels. Also, the new regulations may see reliability fall off a cliff, so the teams don't need to worry about tyres exploding everytime they touch a white line.
O/T An update on the Wealden Open Primary last night.
The format was that each of the four candidates was given a half-hour slot, very efficiently moderated by Rob Hayward. The moderator asked the same three questions of each (only the first question was known to the candidates in advance): Why Wealden and why should we choose you? What would you do if a company announced plans for fracking in two Wealden villages? What are your comments on the Autumn Statement? Then members of the audience could ask questions – there was quite a wide range, some local, some national (immigration, Europe and the NHS featured several times), some about the candidate personally. The room was packed out – I’d estimate about 400 people, probably predominantly Conservatives (but then, this is Wealden!), but with a majority of non-party members, as well as a number of LibDem and UKIP supporters, and, it was rumoured, the Labour PPC.
Tony Caldeira spoke first. He seemed a little nervous to start with, but once he got into his stride he came across very well. I thought the best part of his pitch was his passionate response to a question about what had made someone of his background a Conservative (he’s a successful businessman brought up in a single-parent family on Council estates in Liverpool). My overall impression was that he has a lot of potential but is still a little inexperienced at this level (he was the only one of the four who hasn’t previously been a parliamentary candidate).
Ed Argar was on next. He has plenty of political experience, and gave the most fluent and polished performance of the four, covering both national and local issues with aplomb. He would have been the safest choice, has local links, and was clearly a strong contender.
Helen Whately got the fourth slot. She put considerable emphasis on her experience with the NHS and in business, as well as her local links, and on her volunteer work, and she had a good story to tell about her political organisational skills and her 2010 campaign in Kingston and Surbiton. Somehow, though, she didn’t quite inspire the audience.
This might have been because she followed Nus Ghani, whose performance on the night was passionate, witty, and very engaging. Born in Kashmir and with a most unusual CV, she didn’t seem on paper an obvious choice for Wealden. Of the four, she made the most direct sales pitch to the audience. She is a natural communicator of great charm, and will be a real asset to the party in getting its message across; she answered some difficult questions clearly, sensitively, and without obfuscation. It was easy to envisage that she would do very well on Question Time or Any Questions.
Any of the four would have made a good MP for Wealden, but in my view Nus Ghani was the one who shone. Clearly many others agreed with me: on the second round, after Tony Caldeira had been eliminated, she got over 50% of the votes and was declared the winner.
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
Ill informed dimwit.
That from the site turnip , and that is an insult to a turnip.
Tell me. Would an independent Scotland grant full autonomy to the Shetlands?
Not much oil in the 12 miles of water they would get in the event they went it alone so would seem strange but in the end would be their decision.
Following that line of thought, there's not much oil in the 12 miles off Scotlands coastline.
In the (sadly) unlikely event of Independence, shall I assume that the fields outside of that zone would be held by the EU along with all the fisheries, as a part of any membership deal?
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
Ill informed dimwit.
That from the site turnip , and that is an insult to a turnip.
Tell me. Would an independent Scotland grant full autonomy to the Shetlands?
Not much oil in the 12 miles of water they would get in the event they went it alone so would seem strange but in the end would be their decision.
Following that line of thought, there's not much oil in the 12 miles off Scotlands coastline.
I'm assuming the fields outside of that would be EU, along with all the fisheries.
Nope. The EU currently has no control over Oil and gas reserves. Ownership is determined by international agreement and makes use of median lines between countries' coastlines.
Edited: For details see the Convention on the Continental Shelf which deals with all these issues.
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
Ill informed dimwit.
That from the site turnip , and that is an insult to a turnip.
Tell me. Would an independent Scotland grant full autonomy to the Shetlands?
Not much oil in the 12 miles of water they would get in the event they went it alone so would seem strange but in the end would be their decision.
Following that line of thought, there's not much oil in the 12 miles off Scotlands coastline.
I'm assuming the fields outside of that would be EU, along with all the fisheries.
Nope. The EU currently has no control over Oil and gas reserves. Ownership is determined by international agreement and makes use of median lines between countries' coastlines.
So, the Shetlanders would be entitled to more, as you said down thread.
Funny, but not surprising, to see malcolmg treating them differently to how he expects Scotland to be dealt with.
So some of the right-wing loons are not happy with the coverage of the death of Nelson Mandela. Ahhhh....
Well, I got news, this is the top story probably till the end of the month and quite rightly so. Continue to bury your petty little heads in the sand and the rest of us will tell you when this is over.
RIP Madiba - you were an inspiration to me and many in my generation.
2.16 Sale of student loan book – Following the successful sale of the remainder of the Mortgage Style student loan book, the government has appointed financial advisers to prepare 84 Autumn Statement 2013 for sale of the pre-Browne Income Contingent Repayment student loan book. The book will be disposed of in a number of tranches, with a first sale intended to occur by the end of financial year 2015-16. Over a 5 year period, the sale is expected to generate between £10 billion and £15 billion in sale revenues, with a central estimate of around £12 billion. Borrowers’ loan terms will be fixed prior to a sale. The interest rate charged will remain at the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or base rate plus 1%, whichever is lower.
"The interest rate charged will remain at the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or base rate plus 1%, whichever is lower."
How set in stone is that "remain at the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or base rate plus 1%, whichever is lower." ?
Is an 'Autumn statement' a more 'promisable' document than a manifesto per se ?
Affects me personally - Should I be worried ? (Owe £10k btw)
It would be intersting to see a split of the prospective Scottish / English reserves in the N.Sea. The northern sector (Scotland) is more oil and more in decline vs central/southern sector (England) whih is more gas.
(Unrelated but I note that the article on Shell's new 'world's largest ship' is above Mandela on the DT site most viewed list)
When I last met Mandela at his home, he was still fearful that South Africa would follow the way of other African newly-independent states without his stabilising hand. He tried to impress on his successors and his people that change had to be slow and orderly in order to obtain a better life for all and he was very fearful of a descent into a Zimbabwe situation.
Can we just agree Thatcher was truly exceptional - Britain's greatest peacetime minister, perhaps the finest of the world's modern politicians, and leave it at that. This is surely common ground and the endless accolades/partisan bickering are becoming a little tedious.
Absolutely anybody can shut down industry , impoverish people and give it all to their rich chums.
Ill informed dimwit.
That from the site turnip , and that is an insult to a turnip.
Tell me. Would an independent Scotland grant full autonomy to the Shetlands?
Not much oil in the 12 miles of water they would get in the event they went it alone so would seem strange but in the end would be their decision.
Following that line of thought, there's not much oil in the 12 miles off Scotlands coastline.
I'm assuming the fields outside of that would be EU, along with all the fisheries.
Nope. The EU currently has no control over Oil and gas reserves. Ownership is determined by international agreement and makes use of median lines between countries' coastlines.
So, the Shetlanders would be entitled to more, as you said down thread.
Funny, but not surprising, to see malcolmg treating them differently to how he expects Scotland to be dealt with.
Yep they would be entitled to everything up to the median lines with neighbouring countries. This would include many of the largest fields on the UK continental shelf as well as the main areas of new exploration.
On The Times site - bar his obit - none of their other coverage appears in the Most Read or Most Commented lists. I was joking with the Times Diary Ed and he said it's all the advance notice they had ready to drop into 25 pages of instant coverage!
Hopefully this will allow us to move onto another story - nothing can match Michael Jackson is still dead Day 43 or the coverage of his Dr's trial - that was enough to make me chew the furniture.
I glanced at the Mail's website and there's acres of it.
It'll be interesting to see how long the Mandela-in lasts. The Mail is very quick to move underwhelming news down the agenda and put stuff that's attracting attention to the top.
A day of reflection for some and less so for others it would seem. I recognise Nelson Mandela's passing and am happy to acknowledge him as an example of humanity. As to where he resides in some form of pantheon of greatness, well, that's about as subjective as it gets.
Other thoughts - as someone else remarked, a remarkable night weather-eise in many parts of northern Europe as the storm called Bodil by the Danes and Xaver by the Poles wreaked havoc. Glad to see that for the vast majority, preparation and good warning systems have achieved a positive outcome.
Thought on matters Caledonian - an interesting piece in the Standard by Anthony Hilton pointing out that the Irish Republic continued to use the Pound after its separation from the United Kingdom. The current debate seems predicated on worse-case scenarios and a hostile parting but if the Scottish people do vote for independence I suspect more conciliatory tones will be forthcoming.
On topic. To my mind, one of the Titans of the c.20 is Vaclav Havel. He really played a key role in the peaceful transition away from Communism.
Hear, hear! His belief that one should live "as if" one were a free man is very inspiring.
It seems to me that in Western European we are rather ignorant about the significant intellectual currents which developed in Eastern Europe under Communism and enabled people to survive. Part of that was because too many of our own intellectuals were too busy either praising Communism or tiring a blind eye to or otherwise excusing its horrors. It's one of the West's failings.
And. Part was simply us turning our back on part of our own shared history and culture and civilization. It's one reason why I dislike the focus on Bulgarians and Romanians as if they were some sort of horde of uncivilized barbarians. There are plenty of groups here who better fit that description and without whom we might be better off but fellow Europeans are not such people.
I note the flash poll below and how the people below in that poll have rated the Autumn statement. I know the usual caveats of small sub-sample and one poll, however, it re-enforces my belief that the papers sway on the voters is receding very quickly. The number of certain papers and Sky News fawning over the Autumn Statement should have lead to a resounding positive, however, thanks I think mainly to the internet, people are more than ever making their own mind up of how it will effect them. Certain papers and Sky News might be telling them how fantastic everything is, however, people are trusting their own views and circumstances. The days of "The Sun what won it" are over.
Comments
That's not my memory of the conversation (or, I think, an earlier one). Still, if you're sure you've never supported McBride, then I apologise for saying you did.
Perhaps it is time to express a little thanks to those people, from the forecasters to the councils who had evacuation plans, and to the fire, police and ambulance men and women who implemented them on the ground.
Most don't get paid a massive amount ...
Aus +25
Eng -20.49
Draw 0.00
My book for this test (units)
Oz 2
Eng 0
Draw 0
(Edit: it was year 7, so 11 year olds, so perhaps slightly understandable. But it was a school in Handsworth).
"As I was saying to Helmut Schmidt at Davos last weekend..."
May I add that Ghandi was also partly a product of South Africa having worked there at a key stage in his life in nonviolent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer there.
Everyone makes mistakes, and one of Mandela's largest will have been not to split the ANC. The test of any democracy is that there is a peaceful transition of power following a fair election. This is why one could not consider Russia or Zimbabwe to be democracies, despite the fact that they hold elections.
South Africa has yet to be put to that test and any democrat should be worried if one party wins more than 60% of the vote at four successive elections, which inevitably means that political differences are settled by intra-party mechanisms, rather than national elections.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100249157/i-have-seen-the-labour-future-and-it-doesnt-work-its-called-wales/
I think you were abroad during October(?), so you obviously missed the almost Warwickshire shaped area of >200% rainfall anomaly during that month.
I glanced at the Mail's website and there's acres of it. The Times is largely the same, the DT isn't quite so much but still...
I have read that Bad Bob is pretty much reliant on SA for things such as transport and utilities and they could wind up his premiership tomorrow if they wanted to.
But they don't.
If it turns out that there is a lot of growth activity among the self-employed it will eventually show up in the income tax figures - do HMRC/Treasury/ONS provide a breakdown of tax paid by PAYE/self-employment, or does one have to guess by looking at the total figures for the big self-assessment payment months? (January and August by memory).
I would think that early next year there would be some hard data from the 2012-2013 tax year on self-assessment following the end of January deadline for self-assessment, so we will hopefully be able to see whether your anecdote is indicative of a general trend in the economy.
ALP - I'm sure you can rustle up a yellow box on this...
At last the conservatives are cottoning on to Labour's dirty little secrets in the principality.
Its way beyond time.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/normantebbit/100249357/george-osbornes-autumn-statement-was-painful-to-watch-especially-for-ed-balls/
It'll be interesting to see how long the Mandela-in lasts. The Mail is very quick to move underwhelming news down the agenda and put stuff that's attracting attention to the top.
"WHAT IS THE POINT OF A TRADE DELEGATION WHEN YOU CAN’T SIGN A TRADE AGREEMENT?
It’s nice to see David Cameron in China. Indeed, it would be a dereliction of his responsibility not to visit that vast and complex country. China grew at 6.6 per cent last year while the eurozone shrank. The world is tipping: its economic centre of gravity is running east across the Russian steppes at 90 miles a day. This need not be bad news for the West: a rising giant lifts others, with or without meaning to.
Yet the United Kingdom cannot sign a commercial accord with China. Nor, for that matter, with any other country. We surrendered that power on 1 January 1973, the day we joined the EEC. So, like Marco Polo, our politicians go to Cathay to gawp and marvel and write in awe of the wonders they have seen, but have no power to conclude economic treaties.
Ah, say Euro-enthusiasts, but that’s precisely why we need the EU. Alone, they assure us, in their patronising manner, we would be little more than supplicants; but as part of a 28-member bloc, we can look the Chinaman in the eye.
Oh really? Tell that to the Swiss who, a few months ago, signed their own FTA with Beijing. The Chinese were evidently happy to deal with a country of 8 million people, perhaps because Switzerland did not carry the EU’s protectionist hang-ups into the talks. Indeed, the only other European state with which the Chinese have signed a commercial treaty is also outside the EU: Iceland. That’s right, Iceland, whose population is half of one per cent of ours. Britain, left to its free-trading instincts, would surely have signed an FTA with China years ago – probably including financial services, where there are colossal opportunities.
Whenever the PM goes to an emerging leviathan – Brazil, say, or India – he gives fine speeches, backed by statistics, about how the prosperity of the developing world will spill over into the UK. Yet he knows that there is little he can do to effect this happy outcome. Britain, unlike Bolivia or Botswana or Bangladesh, cannot negotiate trade deals. Because we are the only member state which conducts the majority of its trade outside the EU, this disadvantages us more than the other 27.
At this point, some cleverdick usually jumps up to say that Germany sells more to China than we do. Yes: Germany is benefiting from an artificially cheap exchange rate as a result of the euro crisis, and good luck to it. But though I delight in Germany’s good fortune, it has no bearing on whether Britain should be free to negotiate its own FTAs.
We are a merchant people, a race of explorers and settlers, a maritime nation. The revolution in communications has made our geographical proximity to Europe less relevant than ever. As I never tire of pointing out, every continent on the planet is now growing economically except Europe. The prime minister knows it. It is only a matter of time before he follows the logic of his own speeches."
Did the 'green crap' get cut in the budget btw ?
Did anyone actually notice ?
Will the Gov't get any credit at all !?
Quite how a Prime Minister can 'shut down' a private enterprise is beyond me.
Coal mines? Labour shut down more.
The 'Most shared' section is filled with Mandela.
The 'Most read' section is led by the floods, then by a Westie and Rottweiler who have had puppies, then the flood, then reader's designs for a new Union Jack, and finally Mandela.
I'm not sure if we can make any conclusions about the great British public from this ...
Come GE time if the Tories aren't going large on this they deserve what they will get.
The EU in its role as a protectionist bloc holds us back massively as far as world trade is concerned whilst at the same time generating a huge trade deficit between ourselves and the rest of Europe.
As far as trade is concerned membership of the EU is all negative.
Needs to be chucked out ASAP methinks.
With the economy on the move again, immigration/ECHR/EU (and I know they are very different issues) is set to become a bigger issue in 2014.
Most of the UK Atlantic Frontier fields would fall within Shetland's water's.
But as I say I agree this is an extremely unlikely prospect.
"There is now no senior Ukip politician implacably opposed to a deal with the Conservative Party"
Is that how much Scotland's entitled to?
The format was that each of the four candidates was given a half-hour slot, very efficiently moderated by Rob Hayward. The moderator asked the same three questions of each (only the first question was known to the candidates in advance): Why Wealden and why should we choose you? What would you do if a company announced plans for fracking in two Wealden villages? What are your comments on the Autumn Statement? Then members of the audience could ask questions – there was quite a wide range, some local, some national (immigration, Europe and the NHS featured several times), some about the candidate personally. The room was packed out – I’d estimate about 400 people, probably predominantly Conservatives (but then, this is Wealden!), but with a majority of non-party members, as well as a number of LibDem and UKIP supporters, and, it was rumoured, the Labour PPC.
Tony Caldeira spoke first. He seemed a little nervous to start with, but once he got into his stride he came across very well. I thought the best part of his pitch was his passionate response to a question about what had made someone of his background a Conservative (he’s a successful businessman brought up in a single-parent family on Council estates in Liverpool). My overall impression was that he has a lot of potential but is still a little inexperienced at this level (he was the only one of the four who hasn’t previously been a parliamentary candidate).
Ed Argar was on next. He has plenty of political experience, and gave the most fluent and polished performance of the four, covering both national and local issues with aplomb. He would have been the safest choice, has local links, and was clearly a strong contender.
Helen Whately got the fourth slot. She put considerable emphasis on her experience with the NHS and in business, as well as her local links, and on her volunteer work, and she had a good story to tell about her political organisational skills and her 2010 campaign in Kingston and Surbiton. Somehow, though, she didn’t quite inspire the audience.
This might have been because she followed Nus Ghani, whose performance on the night was passionate, witty, and very engaging. Born in Kashmir and with a most unusual CV, she didn’t seem on paper an obvious choice for Wealden. Of the four, she made the most direct sales pitch to the audience. She is a natural communicator of great charm, and will be a real asset to the party in getting its message across; she answered some difficult questions clearly, sensitively, and without obfuscation. It was easy to envisage that she would do very well on Question Time or Any Questions.
Any of the four would have made a good MP for Wealden, but in my view Nus Ghani was the one who shone. Clearly many others agreed with me: on the second round, after Tony Caldeira had been eliminated, she got over 50% of the votes and was declared the winner.
In the (sadly) unlikely event of Independence, shall I assume that the fields outside of that zone would be held by the EU along with all the fisheries, as a part of any membership deal?
Edited: For details see the Convention on the Continental Shelf which deals with all these issues.
Funny, but not surprising, to see malcolmg treating them differently to how he expects Scotland to be dealt with.
Well, I got news, this is the top story probably till the end of the month and quite rightly so. Continue to bury your petty little heads in the sand and the rest of us will tell you when this is over.
RIP Madiba - you were an inspiration to me and many in my generation.
I would in all honestly like to know how Mandela has inspired you.
2.16 Sale of student loan book – Following the successful sale of the remainder of the
Mortgage Style student loan book, the government has appointed financial advisers to prepare 84 Autumn Statement 2013
for sale of the pre-Browne Income Contingent Repayment student loan book. The book will be
disposed of in a number of tranches, with a first sale intended to occur by the end of financial
year 2015-16. Over a 5 year period, the sale is expected to generate between £10 billion and
£15 billion in sale revenues, with a central estimate of around £12 billion. Borrowers’ loan terms
will be fixed prior to a sale. The interest rate charged will remain at the Retail Prices Index (RPI)
or base rate plus 1%, whichever is lower.
"The interest rate charged will remain at the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or base rate plus 1%, whichever is lower."
How set in stone is that "remain at the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or base rate plus 1%, whichever is lower." ?
Is an 'Autumn statement' a more 'promisable' document than a manifesto per se ?
Affects me personally - Should I be worried ? (Owe £10k btw)
Do you seriously expect that to occupy the full attention of the media for the two weeks up to Christmas and beyond?
(Unrelated but I note that the article on Shell's new 'world's largest ship' is above Mandela on the DT site most viewed list)
http://goo.gl/5cG59a
Hopefully this will allow us to move onto another story - nothing can match Michael Jackson is still dead Day 43 or the coverage of his Dr's trial - that was enough to make me chew the furniture.
A day of reflection for some and less so for others it would seem. I recognise Nelson Mandela's passing and am happy to acknowledge him as an example of humanity. As to where he resides in some form of pantheon of greatness, well, that's about as subjective as it gets.
Other thoughts - as someone else remarked, a remarkable night weather-eise in many parts of northern Europe as the storm called Bodil by the Danes and Xaver by the Poles wreaked havoc. Glad to see that for the vast majority, preparation and good warning systems have achieved a positive outcome.
Thought on matters Caledonian - an interesting piece in the Standard by Anthony Hilton pointing out that the Irish Republic continued to use the Pound after its separation from the United Kingdom. The current debate seems predicated on worse-case scenarios and a hostile parting but if the Scottish people do vote for independence I suspect more conciliatory tones will be forthcoming.
It seems to me that in Western European we are rather ignorant about the significant intellectual currents which developed in Eastern Europe under Communism and enabled people to survive. Part of that was because too many of our own intellectuals were too busy either praising Communism or tiring a blind eye to or otherwise excusing its horrors. It's one of the West's failings.
And. Part was simply us turning our back on part of our own shared history and culture and civilization. It's one reason why I dislike the focus on Bulgarians and Romanians as if they were some sort of horde of uncivilized barbarians. There are plenty of groups here who better fit that description and without whom we might be better off but fellow Europeans are not such people.
This can only be a negative for a certain party.