David, Thanks and Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family , I will even offer you a drink next year in an independent Scotland, maybe then we will see a real Scottish Conservative party flourish and get shot of all the deadwood London placemen presently in place.
David, Thanks and Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family , I will even offer you a drink next year in an independent Scotland, maybe then we will see a real Scottish Conservative party flourish and get shot of all the deadwood London placemen presently in place.
£100-evens you won't!
:wee-timmy-in-memoriam-bet:
I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to accept his offer - the odds are a wee bittie worse than that. Remember Indy Day isn't till 24 March 2015, which is the year after next at the time of writing!
David, Thanks and Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family , I will even offer you a drink next year in an independent Scotland, maybe then we will see a real Scottish Conservative party flourish and get shot of all the deadwood London placemen presently in place.
£100-evens you won't!
:wee-timmy-in-memoriam-bet:
On the day of reckoning Malcolm will probably vote No , like most Scots.
David, Thanks and Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family , I will even offer you a drink next year in an independent Scotland, maybe then we will see a real Scottish Conservative party flourish and get shot of all the deadwood London placemen presently in place.
A very merry Xmas and Happy New Year to everyone - even the moderator who banned Tim and, as a result, made this site a lot less interesting (it is now in danger of becoming a place where tedious arguments between UKIP supporters and Tories dominate).
I have three Montescristo No 2s stored away, there is whisky, there is beer, there are a couple of bottles of very nice wine, there is meat, there is family, there is no work. I have made my peace with the cricket and the football. For the next week or so everything is sorted. Bliss.
Once again - joy and peace to one and all. I may pop in from time to time. When I do I will probably be a little oiled, so apologies in advance.
TIM IS NOT BANNED !
He was though and has not returned. I don't blame him, but it makes things a lot less interesting. Arguments among right wingers are rather tedious after a while.
BBB Magazine has an article about how much land is given over to golf courses - land for the rich, idle and privileged as some would say.
Well the area/county which has most of its land devoted to golf courses is: Merseyside at 2.82%. So now we may have a few different adjectives to describe Merseysiders.
Up here in civilisation (Scotland), golf is a sport for all. There are naturally plenty of elite courses, but there are many many more municipal courses. No class barriers on the fairway.
Also as a scouser... wot youze tryin to say like?
Urban myth No 1: Golf courses are for the rich, idle and privileged. Urban myth No 2: Golf courses are bad for the environment.
In this city, apart from a few public parks and a small strip of green belt by the canal, the only significant green space left is in the form of golf courses. About 75%+ of land on most inland golf courses is in the form of untreated rough grass or woodland, and you see more wildlife there than you'll ever meet in your back garden, let alone the monocultural agricultural prairies which we appear so keen to protect at all costs. If these courses didn't exist, the land would have been concreted over long ago, just like the rest of the city. In the case of my course, the majority of the membership consists of working class people and self-employed tradesmen aged 40+, many of whom took up golf when they became too old to play football. And about a quarter of members are women. The course is used mostly at weekends or in summer evenings after work, with those playing during the rest of the week being mainly retired people, who owe their continuing good health to the exercise and as a consequence save the NHS a fortune. There is one course here which courts a privileged membership and has membership fees to match, but the rest are just like mine.
A very merry Xmas and Happy New Year to everyone - even the moderator who banned Tim and, as a result, made this site a lot less interesting (it is now in danger of becoming a place where tedious arguments between UKIP supporters and Tories dominate).
I have three Montescristo No 2s stored away, there is whisky, there is beer, there are a couple of bottles of very nice wine, there is meat, there is family, there is no work. I have made my peace with the cricket and the football. For the next week or so everything is sorted. Bliss.
Once again - joy and peace to one and all. I may pop in from time to time. When I do I will probably be a little oiled, so apologies in advance.
TIM IS NOT BANNED !
He was though and has not returned. I don't blame him, but it makes things a lot less interesting. Arguments among right wingers are rather tedious after a while.
Tim's pet hates are Gideon Osborne and Luis Suarez. I think he just lost heart in the face of reality.
The Archsocialist and his predecessor, the Archdruid, are hardly politically neutral. You can't continually complain about evil welfare reform (which is apparently long overdue) and then expect the people you're attacking to be standing up for you.
A very merry Xmas and Happy New Year to everyone - even the moderator who banned Tim and, as a result, made this site a lot less interesting (it is now in danger of becoming a place where tedious arguments between UKIP supporters and Tories dominate).
I have three Montescristo No 2s stored away, there is whisky, there is beer, there are a couple of bottles of very nice wine, there is meat, there is family, there is no work. I have made my peace with the cricket and the football. For the next week or so everything is sorted. Bliss.
Once again - joy and peace to one and all. I may pop in from time to time. When I do I will probably be a little oiled, so apologies in advance.
TIM IS NOT BANNED !
He was though and has not returned. I don't blame him, but it makes things a lot less interesting. Arguments among right wingers are rather tedious after a while.
He was temporarily banned because 1. he apparently made a v tasteless remark about a pb-er dying 2. he mentioned Plato, thus breaking a rule explicitly imposed on him by the mods
The fact he hasn't returned is, perhaps, because he is worried that people will pick on him more personally as his persona has been further exposed - by me (though his identity was already known to many, and had been revealed years ago on pb)
If that is a problem for him - personal remarks - maybe he should have thought about that before he claimed a few months ago, that, despite being wealthy, I was forcing my daughter to live on benefits.
He dishes it out, liberally. So he got a serving in return? Pfft.
I'd be happy for him to return but, really, let's not pretend he was unfairly hounded off the site.
"I'd be happy for him to return but, really, let's not pretend he was unfairly hounded off the site"
Exactly.
The gap he leaves shows the paucity of talent on the left!
Basically, the Bletchley Park Trust is trying to find everyone who worked on code-breaking and so on to add them to a roll of honour.
So, if you know someone, or of someone, who should be on the list, do check and see if they're on (it's available online, the first link if you Google Bletchley Park roll of honour).
He was though and has not returned. I don't blame him, but it makes things a lot less interesting. Arguments among right wingers are rather tedious after a while.
He was temporarily banned because 1. he apparently made a v tasteless remark about a pb-er dying 2. he mentioned Plato, thus breaking a rule explicitly imposed on him by the mods
The fact he hasn't returned is, perhaps, because he is worried that people will pick on him more personally as his persona has been further exposed - by me (though his identity was already known to many, and had been revealed years ago on pb)
If that is a problem for him - personal remarks - maybe he should have thought about that before he claimed a few months ago, that, despite being wealthy, I was forcing my daughter to live on benefits.
He dishes it out, liberally. So he got a serving in return? Pfft.
I'd be happy for him to return but, really, let's not pretend he was unfairly hounded off the site.
"I'd be happy for him to return but, really, let's not pretend he was unfairly hounded off the site"
Exactly.
The gap he leaves shows the paucity of talent on the left!
There are plenty of lefties on pb - I'd say more than there were a year ago. They just don't have tim's eerie relentlessness - he was on here 24/7 - and his occasionally very sharp (if abrasive) insights. The rightwingers on pb can hardly be blamed if the rest of the lefties are a bit boring, myopic or half-hearted.
And of course quite a few rightwingers have disappeared - they were either banned, or got bored - runnymede was one of the smartest observers. He is missed.
I am sure the site will survive. I did enjoy "Hugh". Whatever happened to him?
*cough*
Haha "Hugh"!!
Can't have been tim though, because he had a different email and ip address....
The site evolves through natural selection... there will inevitably be more Kippers as their membership grows, and fewer Labs, Lib Dems and Tories as theirs fall
Would be interesting, if a little difficult, to count the number of posters who identify with each party per day over the last three or four years, and see how closely the percentages mirror the VI polls.
There are plenty of lefties on pb - I'd say more than there were a year ago. They just don't have tim's eerie relentlessness - he was on here 24/7 - and his occasionally very sharp (if abrasive) insights. The rightwingers on pb can hardly be blamed if the rest of the lefties are a bit boring, myopic or half-hearted.
And of course quite a few rightwingers have disappeared - they were either banned, or got bored - runnymede was one of the smartest observers. He is missed.
I am sure the site will survive. I did enjoy "Hugh". Whatever happened to him?
*cough*
You'd be surprised how few people have actually been permanently banned from pb. HD2 was one, and there are a few others. But most people (including yourself on a couple of occasions) are just stopped from posting for 48 hours so. That has, in many cases, been enough to discourage people from coming back again.
A happy Christmas to all regular posters, and a prosperous New Year for all voters. On the cracker front I am led to believe that the new word of 2013 was 'twerk'. So here are two 'jokes' - 1. What does Miley Cyrus have for her Christmas dinner? Twerky. 2. Definition of twerk in God's own county "Where people go from Monday to Friday ( but not this week)."
There are plenty of lefties on pb - I'd say more than there were a year ago. They just don't have tim's eerie relentlessness - he was on here 24/7 - and his occasionally very sharp (if abrasive) insights. The rightwingers on pb can hardly be blamed if the rest of the lefties are a bit boring, myopic or half-hearted.
And of course quite a few rightwingers have disappeared - they were either banned, or got bored - runnymede was one of the smartest observers. He is missed.
I am sure the site will survive. I did enjoy "Hugh". Whatever happened to him?
*cough*
You'd be surprised how few people have actually been permanently banned from pb. HD2 was one, and there are a few others. But most people (including yourself on a couple of occasions) are just stopped from posting for 48 hours so. That has, in many cases, been enough to discourage people from coming back again.
You mean it's an addictive habit and going cold turkey is the only way?
There are plenty of lefties on pb - I'd say more than there were a year ago. They just don't have tim's eerie relentlessness - he was on here 24/7 - and his occasionally very sharp (if abrasive) insights. The rightwingers on pb can hardly be blamed if the rest of the lefties are a bit boring, myopic or half-hearted.
And of course quite a few rightwingers have disappeared - they were either banned, or got bored - runnymede was one of the smartest observers. He is missed.
I am sure the site will survive. I did enjoy "Hugh". Whatever happened to him?
*cough*
You'd be surprised how few people have actually been permanently banned from pb. HD2 was one, and there are a few others. But most people (including yourself on a couple of occasions) are just stopped from posting for 48 hours so. That has, in many cases, been enough to discourage people from coming back again.
Can't have been tim though, because he had a different email and ip address....
The site evolves through natural selection... there will inevitably be more Kippers as their membership grows, and fewer Labs, Lib Dems and Tories as theirs fall
Would be interesting, if a little difficult, to count the number of posters who identify with each party per day over the last three or four years, and see how closely the percentages mirror the VI polls.
Ummm, as the man who sees who everyone is, I can fairly confidently assert that tim and Hugh are not the same person. Of course, people can go to elaborate lengths to hide their identities if they like, but I doubt tim would go to the trouble of changing location, and finding an email address that had been around for a couple of years...
I think pb posting reflects enthusiasm of party supporters and members, rather than absolute vote share. So, if you go back a decade to the earliest days of this site, there was no doubt that Labour was in the ascendency, and there was a very New Labour poster, and there was NPMP, and there was snowflake. A few years later, and Labour was still winning elections (2005), but the Conservatives were in the ascendency on here. This was the time that test became a regular poster, for example.
For the 2010 election, there was hardly a lefty poster to be found. Tim was no so much primo inter pares, but often simply the lone voice of the New Labour left. Now, we have a fairly broad range, with UKIP's vocal support on here representative of the fact that its activist base is particularly enthused right now. (Although we have had someone previously very high up in the party posting under an assumed name.)
The Scots nats have always had a (very vocal) presence on here.
Intriguingly, the LibDems have rarely had much support on pb. In fact, I'd count more LibDem voters amongst the regulars on here than at any point in the site's existence. In the run up to 2010, other that OGH, I think there was maybe one other. (There were more a decade ago - anyone remember tabman or sbs?)
There are plenty of lefties on pb - I'd say more than there were a year ago. They just don't have tim's eerie relentlessness - he was on here 24/7 - and his occasionally very sharp (if abrasive) insights. The rightwingers on pb can hardly be blamed if the rest of the lefties are a bit boring, myopic or half-hearted.
And of course quite a few rightwingers have disappeared - they were either banned, or got bored - runnymede was one of the smartest observers. He is missed.
I am sure the site will survive. I did enjoy "Hugh". Whatever happened to him?
*cough*
You'd be surprised how few people have actually been permanently banned from pb. HD2 was one, and there are a few others. But most people (including yourself on a couple of occasions) are just stopped from posting for 48 hours so. That has, in many cases, been enough to discourage people from coming back again.
Why was HD2 banned Robert? I liked him
As a general rule, and without commenting on specifics, there are two ways to get permanently banned:
1. Post specific libellous allegations (and if they are about subjects where OGH has already received letters from Carter, Ruck then then the tolerance is particularly low). You get treble-word score for managing this when it is also about Operation Yewtree.
Can't have been tim though, because he had a different email and ip address....
The site evolves through natural selection... there will inevitably be more Kippers as their membership grows, and fewer Labs, Lib Dems and Tories as theirs fall
Would be interesting, if a little difficult, to count the number of posters who identify with each party per day over the last three or four years, and see how closely the percentages mirror the VI polls.
Ummm, as the man who sees who everyone is, I can fairly confidently assert that tim and Hugh are not the same person. Of course, people can go to elaborate lengths to hide their identities if they like, but I doubt tim would go to the trouble of changing location, and finding an email address that had been around for a couple of years...
I think pb posting reflects enthusiasm of party supporters and members, rather than absolute vote share. So, if you go back a decade to the earliest days of this site, there was no doubt that Labour was in the ascendency, and there was a very New Labour poster, and there was NPMP, and there was snowflake. A few years later, and Labour was still winning elections (2005), but the Conservatives were in the ascendency on here. This was the time that test became a regular poster, for example.
For the 2010 election, there was hardly a lefty poster to be found. Tim was no so much primo inter pares, but often simply the lone voice of the New Labour left. Now, we have a fairly broad range, with UKIP's vocal support on here representative of the fact that its activist base is particularly enthused right now. (Although we have had someone previously very high up in the party posting under an assumed name.)
The Scots nats have always had a (very vocal) presence on here.
Intriguingly, the LibDems have rarely had much support on pb. In fact, I'd count more LibDem voters amongst the regulars on here than at any point in the site's existence. In the run up to 2010, other that OGH, I think there was maybe one other. (There were more a decade ago - anyone remember tabman or sbs?)
Well I have been posting on the site as a Lib Dem , if not prolifically , since prior to the 2005 GE . I can recall exchanging pleasantries with Jack W when he was just a young whippersnapper .
Well I have been posting on the site as a Lib Dem , if not prolifically , since prior to the 2005 GE . I can recall exchanging pleasantries with Jack W when he was just a young whippersnapper .
You and Icarus were the ones I could recall in the run-up to 2010. Both of you are long-term posters.
Of late, though, there seem to be five or six posters who've all suggested they might be LibDems at heart.
Well I have been posting on the site as a Lib Dem , if not prolifically , since prior to the 2005 GE . I can recall exchanging pleasantries with Jack W when he was just a young whippersnapper .
You and Icarus were the ones I could recall in the run-up to 2010. Both of you are long-term posters.
Of late, though, there seem to be five or six posters who've all suggested they might be LibDems at heart.
I also suspect Edmund in Tokyo of being a secret LibDem.
Re SeanT "I would suggest that a pb thread is bound to have a tendency to be more rightwing than the rest of Britain, as the people with the insight and intelligence to comment tend to be middle class/well educated - i.e. somewhat more likely to be rightwing, or they tend to be those with lots of time and their hands and a bit of grumpy attitude - i.e. the retired, or self employed - who are also more likely to be rightwing.
I bet the average age of commenters on here is high - 40+. Likewise the income and education levels. Likewise the number of self employed and retired folk. All these factors will tilt the threads to the right.
And BTW this is true of ALL major internet forums. The threads on the Guardian are much further to the right than the bloggers and columnists above the line - much to the frustration and astonishment of the journalists, I've noticed. Ditto the Times, Telegraph, "
Very interesting comment. But re the Grauniad - the opposite is in fact the case with its Scottish news. The Graun is almost as right wing a newspaper as the DT when it comes to preserving the Union of 1707, and with sometimes shockingly slanted coverage. Its main Scottish correspondent isn't quite as personally obsessed with Mr Salmond as the one in the DT, but given that he is not the only person in the SNP, and the SNP is not the only pro-indy party (as well as those not of any party, like me) in the referendum, even a partial obsession is
Very odd also that the Graun should be so keen to do down the only democratically elected majority government in the UK in the form of the Scottish Gmt (possibly with the exception of Tynwald, but is Man in the UK in any legally formal sense?). And a government that is at least in the middle of the L-R spectrum, in contrast to Labour which is much closer to the Tories (as shown e.g. by Ms Lamont's denouncing policies such as free university tuition and bus passes for the elderly). The Graun heart bleeds for the likes of the islanders of Diego Garcia (and I don't blame it) but when it comes to Scotland ....! However, the Observer (in the person of Kevin McKenna) is far more balanced.
The Herald is much the same. The Scotsman comments site is just not interesting enough, like the newspaper itself. The BBC stopped allowing any comments in virtually all of their Scottish politics stories long ago, so it is outwith this realm of debate (but that is a very interesting decision for them to take, to put it mildly - usually the only ones with comments are from the UK politics segments).
Mr. 1000, isn't almost everyone in Japan a Lib Dem? I thought they'd won all but one election in the last 60 years.
Not many - they stay in power thanks to the electoral system and a divided opposition. They got 28% in the proportional section last time, which resulted in a landslide in the FPTP section. The election has been ruled unconstitutional because the disparity in rural and urban seats, which is about 500%, but nobody intends to actually do anything about it...
Can't have been tim though, because he had a different email and ip address....
The site evolves through natural selection... there will inevitably be more Kippers as their membership grows, and fewer Labs, Lib Dems and Tories as theirs fall
Would be interesting, if a little difficult, to count the number of posters who identify with each party per day over the last three or four years, and see how closely the percentages mirror the VI polls.
Ummm, as the man who sees who everyone is, I can fairly confidently assert that tim and Hugh are not the same person. Of course, people can go to elaborate lengths to hide their identities if they like, but I doubt tim would go to the trouble of changing location, and finding an email address that had been around for a couple of years...
I think pb posting reflects enthusiasm of party supporters and members, rather than absolute vote share. So, if you go back a decade to the earliest days of this site, there was no doubt that Labour was in the ascendency, and there was a very New Labour poster, and there was NPMP, and there was snowflake. A few years later, and Labour was still winning elections (2005), but the Conservatives were in the ascendency on here. This was the time that test became a regular poster, for example.
For the 2010 election, there was hardly a lefty poster to be found. Tim was no so much primo inter pares, but often simply the lone voice of the New Labour left. Now, we have a fairly broad range, with UKIP's vocal support on here representative of the fact that its activist base is particularly enthused right now. (Although we have had someone previously very high up in the party posting under an assumed name.)
The Scots nats have always had a (very vocal) presence on here.
Intriguingly, the LibDems have rarely had much support on pb. In fact, I'd count more LibDem voters amongst the regulars on here than at any point in the site's existence. In the run up to 2010, other that OGH, I think there was maybe one other. (There were more a decade ago - anyone remember tabman or sbs?)
Hmmm well maybe
I can say, as someone who attempts to make a living out of betting, that I have at least a dozen email addresses (EDIT inc the one I am using as isam I believe) in various "guises" and know of many tricks to pretend I am somewhere I am not... I am sure tim knows these tactics as well (he talked about using proxy servers (?) to get around Frances betfair ban)
Hugh's comment on David Camerons hair ("neither here nor there") just seemed so like a secret clue from someone who liked being clever clever...
Mr. 1000, isn't almost everyone in Japan a Lib Dem? I thought they'd won all but one election in the last 60 years.
Not many - they stay in power thanks to the electoral system and a divided opposition. They got 28% in the proportional section last time, which resulted in a landslide in the FPTP section. The election has been ruled unconstitutional because the disparity in rural and urban seats, which is about 500%, but nobody intends to actually do anything about it...
Haven't the Conservatives asked for an equalisation ? Oops. the Lib Dems in Japan are the Tories. Just like here.
Well I have been posting on the site as a Lib Dem , if not prolifically , since prior to the 2005 GE . I can recall exchanging pleasantries with Jack W when he was just a young whippersnapper .
You and Icarus were the ones I could recall in the run-up to 2010. Both of you are long-term posters.
Of late, though, there seem to be five or six posters who've all suggested they might be LibDems at heart.
I also suspect Edmund in Tokyo of being a secret LibDem.
My first choice would be Pirate but I voted for Evan Harris when I was in his constituency. Whether I went for Lib or Lab in a general election would mostly depend on the tactical situation, unless it was one of Labour's authoritarian wing like Blunkett in which I'd vote for whoever was best placed to get rid of them, including a moderately offensive Tory.
I think 2013 was UKIP's first real national effort to compete in the local elections.
"In early spring 2013, members of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) received a letter from William Legge, the 10th Earl of Dartmouth and one of the party’s MEP’s for the South West region. This letter amounted to a ‘call to arms’, a request for volunteers to come forward and stand as candidates (even, if only as ‘paper’ candidates) for the forthcoming county and unitary council elections. The appeal was so successful that when the nominations closed UKIP had come within a hairsbreadth of contesting more seats than the Liberal Democrats."
Mr. Tokyo, presumably the disparity is on population per constituency?
Also, how much does the Emperor get involved in politics? Is it basically the same as with our monarch?
Correct, the constituencies were drawn up after the war and aren't getting redrawn to reflect people moving to the cities. I suspect the Americans designed it to work that way - the Japanese system of government is basically an anti-Communist conspiracy.
The emperor (king really, dunno why people still call him emperor) stays out of politics.
Well I have been posting on the site as a Lib Dem , if not prolifically , since prior to the 2005 GE . I can recall exchanging pleasantries with Jack W when he was just a young whippersnapper .
Afternoon all
I've also been around since the very early days and enjoyed amany a robust debate with Sean Fear, Marcus Wood and Andy Cooke There are a few from the old days left but not many - SeanT used to be witty and erudite back then. There was a memorable BBQ at the National Liberal Club on the terrace - happy days.
I think the onset of the financial crisis changed the tone on here - politics became much more adversarial and partisan than it had been. The balance pre-2007 was pretty reasonable - more LDs and Conservatives than Labour but from 2007-08 onwards, the rightward shift began in earnest and if I'm being honest it could get quite intimidating on here if you dared to post either something anti-Conservative or pro-Labour.
You dont need Hugh's email or ip to know he isnt tim. His politics and style are completely different. If he isnt posting any more maybe he got sick of being accused of being tim by posters who dont seem able to let tim go? A good resolution might be to not accuse every new poster who isnt clearly Tory or UKIP of beng tim.
You dont need Hugh's email or ip to know he isnt tim. His politics and style are completely different. If he isnt posting any more maybe he got sick of being accused of being tim by posters who dont seem able to let tim go? A good resolution might be to not accuse every new poster who isnt clearly Tory or UKIP of beng tim.
Merry Xmas to all pbc-ers.
Haha I only "accused" one person... at least I didn't accuse him of being a BNP member!
Everything was better in the old days... sounds like a slogan for a political party!
And who can forget former squadron leader Ric, who was such a stalwart in the early days of the site.
The poster I most miss is Socrates, whom I used to cross swords with on a regular basis. We disagreed about almost everything, but he was always courteous and intelligent. Even if often completely wrong.
It was repeatedly and in the face of denials from the poster and site admin though. And the only other new lefty poster I recall since tim left was also accused of being tim. If and when tim does retur i imagine his identity will be pretty clear pretty quickly. In the meantime shrieking TIM!!! At every new leftwing poster isnt very welcoming.
The National Liberal Club do was my favourite pbc gathering. We dont see enough of Augustus Carp any more.
Merry Xmas to all pbc-ers.
Wow, I'd forgotten you were there, Neil. I remember debating with Martin Coxall and basking in wisdom from Cicero. The food was pretty good too as I remember.
I'm sure there were some Tories who thought they would melt as soon as they stepped onto the hallowed ground that was NLC - I only hoped they found the countenance of that ex-Tory, Gladstone, some comfort.
David Burge @iowahawkblog 21 Dec A ██████, a █████, and a ███████ walk into a bar. The ███████ says, "██████████████?" So the bartender says, "████████!" #coveringmybases
Once we did live in a free'r nation. Look what political correctness has done to us.
It was repeatedly and in the face of denials from the poster and site admin though. And the only other new lefty poster I recall since tim left was also accused of being tim. If and when tim does retur i imagine his identity will be pretty clear pretty quickly. In the meantime shrieking TIM!!! At every new leftwing poster isnt very welcoming.
And who can forget former squadron leader Ric, who was such a stalwart in the early days of the site.
The poster I most miss is Socrates, whom I used to cross swords with on a regular basis. We disagreed about almost everything, but he was always courteous and intelligent. Even if often completely wrong.
There are plenty of absent friends: oldnat, runnymede, Chris_g00, James Kelly, HD2, Yellow Submarine, Plato (sort of now absent), Socrates, Wage Slave, Martin Day, Martin Coxall, Andy Cooke, SallyC, the Northumberland Tory with an limitless knowledge of historical links between landownership, industry and politics - what was his name?, the former Saffer from Salisbury [?]...the list can go on and on.
But if they all returned at once PB would become as unreadable as it is in the run up to the General Election ... a thousand posts a thread and no time to follow any argument.
Still a seasonal toast to "absent friends". Perhaps OGH could consider a Pussy Riot type pardon for any on the above list that might still have the gates closed upon them.
I've lurked since about 2007 and then starting posting around 2010. Took me a while. But I read here every week day, and some weekends.
I think the threads lurched rightwards around the 2010 GE because most people - not necessarily because they were anti-Labour - wanted Gordon Brown gone.
I read the comment threads on no other political website. I read them here because of the balance, and because if threads to stray towards group-think there is always someone passionate and articulate enough to voice an opinion to the contrary.
I also enjoy the spats and still get amused at the inability of certain posters (on the left and the right) to view their side through anything other than rose-tinted glasses. Even some of the best posters here are prejudiced by their reflexive support for their party.
I also find it amusing when posters take their ball home and sulk when threads are not reflecting their bias. And then spring back into fully-fledged posting when their side is on top. That is as much a pointer to how the political winds are blowing as any opinion piece I could choose to read at any leading newspaper.
Hi everyone. Just to wish a good christmas for everyone here. Cheers.
Hi 'Me', The animal welfare group that i work for has got heavily involved in Brazilian lobbying (the Sao Paulo assembly has passed a bill ending cosmetic animal testing in the province that we hope the governor will sign), so I'm trying to brush up my knowledge of the bewildering variety of Brazilian parties. It makes British politics look very sober.
No reason we shouldn't have another National Liberal Club do - they rent out rooms, I'm pretty sure. Or if I get back in 2015, we might do a Parliamentary one. I was a bit shy of that in 1997-2010 (MP hosts Political Gamblers - the story writes itself), but I suspect I'll be less bothered about What People Might Think this time round if it works out.
There have never been that many regular posters here - maybe 30-40? - so it's hard to detect political currents. My impression is that the ones who are undetached to any party (SeanT, antifrank, EiT) have most fun, followed by those who are generally supportive of someone but not too aggressive about it (Sean Fear, Morris Dancer, Neil, maybe me, lots of others too). The rah-rah cheerleader trolls tend to get bored with the lack of provoked response and drift off after a while. Compouter1, Richard N and MikeK show how partisanship can be done with style and good humour, though.
Went out with 6 mates in Hornchurch last night to watch the football, all of whom said they were voting UKIP at the next election, so that's seven more than 2010 (if they bothered to vote then, I voted Labour myself)
Tim wasn't hounded out and i am sure he will be back at some stage. My point was more that without a few leftish posters on here, the site gets immensely tedious as what remains is UKIPers and Tories slugging it out. As much as I like to see right wingers arguing with each other, there is only so much passionate debate about Cameron being a closet lefty or there not being enough austerity that someone who is not right wing can stand.
Basically, the Bletchley Park Trust is trying to find everyone who worked on code-breaking and so on to add them to a roll of honour.
So, if you know someone, or of someone, who should be on the list, do check and see if they're on (it's available online, the first link if you Google Bletchley Park roll of honour).
My old Physics professor, Herbert French, was stationed at Bletchley Park and I've just looked him up on the list. Brought back some wonderful memories of our off-topic chats - thanks Mr Dancer.
BBB Magazine has an article about how much land is given over to golf courses - land for the rich, idle and privileged as some would say.
Well the area/county which has most of its land devoted to golf courses is: Merseyside at 2.82%. So now we may have a few different adjectives to describe Merseysiders.
Up here in civilisation (Scotland), golf is a sport for all. There are naturally plenty of elite courses, but there are many many more municipal courses. No class barriers on the fairway.
David Burge @iowahawkblog 21 Dec A ██████, a █████, and a ███████ walk into a bar. The ███████ says, "██████████████?" So the bartender says, "████████!" #coveringmybases
Once we did live in a free'r nation. Look what political correctness has done to us.
Tim wasn't hounded out and i am sure he will be back at some stage. My point was more that without a few leftish posters on here, the site gets immensely tedious as what remains is UKIPers and Tories slugging it out. As much as I like to see right wingers arguing with each other, there is only so much passionate debate about Cameron being a closet lefty or there not being enough austerity that someone who is not right wing can stand.
I've been ducking in and out recently due to various pressures of work and life.
But I don't remember any debates, passionate or otherwise, about Cameron being a closet lefty or there not being enough austerity. Perhaps you have been frequenting politicaltakingmyballhomewithme.com?
Looking for a game to ghill out with over the holiday that doesn't involve too much manual dexterity (i.e. not a real-time shooter etc.) - as a guide, I enjoy Endless Space, Civilisation and DragonAge. I was having a look at this political one:
A very merry Xmas and Happy New Year to everyone - even the moderator who banned Tim and, as a result, made this site a lot less interesting (it is now in danger of becoming a place where tedious arguments between UKIP supporters and Tories dominate).
I have three Montescristo No 2s stored away, there is whisky, there is beer, there are a couple of bottles of very nice wine, there is meat, there is family, there is no work. I have made my peace with the cricket and the football. For the next week or so everything is sorted. Bliss.
Once again - joy and peace to one and all. I may pop in from time to time. When I do I will probably be a little oiled, so apologies in advance.
TIM IS NOT BANNED !
He was though and has not returned. I don't blame him, but it makes things a lot less interesting. Arguments among right wingers are rather tedious after a while.
Tim starting arguments with all and sundry was "interesting"????
I've also been around since the very early days and enjoyed amany a robust debate with Sean Fear, Marcus Wood and Andy Cooke There are a few from the old days left but not many - SeanT used to be witty and erudite back then. There was a memorable BBQ at the National Liberal Club on the terrace - happy days.
I think the onset of the financial crisis changed the tone on here - politics became much more adversarial and partisan than it had been. The balance pre-2007 was pretty reasonable - more LDs and Conservatives than Labour but from 2007-08 onwards, the rightward shift began in earnest and if I'm being honest it could get quite intimidating on here if you dared to post either something anti-Conservative or pro-Labour.
This echoes my memory. I posted a bit under a name I've forgotten back in the day and it was very much as Stodge describes. I'd add Matthew Huntbach to the names of those who it's a shame they have left. There has never been a strong Labour input (why?) but the site seems more dominated by right wing posters now than I remember back then.
On the issue of Tim, I hope he comes back. He does sometimes overstep the mark but he is a genuine counter to the groupthink that sometimes infests the site. He can be a pain in the ass but he can also be very funny. If it's true that he was expelled for an allusion to Plato, then that's rubbish, because I saw that post and it did not mention her by name. It was also amusing. And on the subject of Plato, she was more than capable of giving as good as she got, and Judging by her relative absence I can only assume her license to shill must have run out.
Bah Humbug! And a very happy Christmas to you all......
David Burge @iowahawkblog 21 Dec A ██████, a █████, and a ███████ walk into a bar. The ███████ says, "██████████████?" So the bartender says, "████████!" #coveringmybases
Once we did live in a free'r nation. Look what political correctness has done to us.
Stopped us needlessly insulting other people?
You may think so. I consider it an enroachment on personal freedom. Be that as it may; happy Xmas to all, but be careful of who's listening.
David Burge @iowahawkblog 21 Dec A ██████, a █████, and a ███████ walk into a bar. The ███████ says, "██████████████?" So the bartender says, "████████!" #coveringmybases
Once we did live in a free'r nation. Look what political correctness has done to us.
Stopped us needlessly insulting other people?
You may think so. I consider it an enroachment on personal freedom. Be that as it may; happy Xmas to all, but be careful of who's listening.
A week or so before the Autumn Statement I counselled PBers to play close attention to changes made by the Chancellor to the Debt Management Office's (DMO's) Financing Remit for the 2013-2014 financial year.
The Financing Remit sets out the actual amount the government instructs the DMO to borrow from the markets by issuing Treasury Bills, Gilts and (indirectly) National Savings Bonds. Each year the amount to be borrowed and the mix of short, medium, long term borrowing is set by the government at the time of the Budget, It is then revised up to twice a year.
The first revision is in April when the ONS and OBR calculate the actual outcomes of the Central Government Net Cash Requirement and Public Sector Net Cash Requirement for the prior financial year. This tends to lead to a reconciliation type small adjustment.
The second revision follows the Autumn Statement (now generally in early December) and tends to be more substantial as the CG and PS net cash requirements for two thirds of the current financial year are now known.
So now to big news.
In the Autumn Statement, Osborne amended the DMO remit to reduce actual borrowing in the last three months of the year by a staggering amount of £15.5 billion. Net of gilt redemptions (rolling over existing borrowing as it becomes due for repayment), this reduces the Net Financing requirement for this financial year from £117 billion as instructed to the DMO in the March budget to a £101.5 billion post Autumn Statement.
The £15.5 billion reduction in actual borrowing will be/is made up of a £2 billion reduction in gilt issuance (medium to long borrowing) and a £13.5 billion reduction in the issuance of Treasury Bills (short term, less than a year, borrowing). The reduction in Treasury Bills issuance will lower the stock of short term funds held on behalf of the government at year end from £70 billion to £56.5 billion.
In addition, £3.5 billion net issuance of National Savings bonds (medium term), unplanned (at the time of the budget), will combine with the falls in bills and gilts issuance, to reduce the OBR's forecast net financing requirement of the government this year to £99 billion: a net £12 billion improvement since the OBR's March EFO.
A Christmas Present to use all from Santa Giorgio Odysseo. May we all thank him profusely.
As for the site evolving over the years, it amazes me that when I started on pb, I was an impoverished unknown "literary novelist", stuck in a (centrally located) slum, with an income not that far above minimum wage, just a few years out of a crippling heroin addiction, with all the attendant problems.
Ah, the good old days. Miss 'em.
Just for interest, if it's not a painful subject, how did you escape from heroin addiction, and do you have any general advice, in case I'm ever asked? Are some agencies/advice services better than others, is methadone the path out? Do you think the Swiss sytem of legalising heroin under GP supervision for addicts is a good idea (because it steers addicts away from criminals and gives an easy contact if they want to try to give it up)?
A seasonal political touch: from the files of the McCarthy era, speculation that "It's a Wonderful Life" was a Communist plot to discredit decent, hard-working bankers:
I've lurked since about 2007 and then starting posting around 2010. Took me a while. But I read here every week day, and some weekends.
I think the threads lurched rightwards around the 2010 GE because most people - not necessarily because they were anti-Labour - wanted Gordon Brown gone.
Tin-foil hat time: I think there was also, in the run-up to 2010, some Conservative Party astroturfing on here. It was notable for instance, that every Wednesday, posters would agree unanimously that David Cameron had scored a famous victory at PMQs, regardless of whether he'd won on points or walked straight onto the Prime Minister's big, clunking fist and was horizontal on the canvas.
David Burge @iowahawkblog 21 Dec A ██████, a █████, and a ███████ walk into a bar. The ███████ says, "██████████████?" So the bartender says, "████████!" #coveringmybases
Once we did live in a free'r nation. Look what political correctness has done to us.
Stopped us needlessly insulting other people?
You may think so. I consider it an enroachment on personal freedom. Be that as it may; happy Xmas to all, but be careful of who's listening.
The way the "joke" was phrase it appeared that the blanks would have been references to individuals race, colour or creed.
Personally I tend to judge people by their individual characteristics rather than assigning group characteristics to them.
edit: I am assuming "enroachment" was a typo, but that, at least, raised a smile ;-)
Many thanks to Mike for hosting this site,it must be hard to find 2 or 3 threads/day,so Happy Chrimbo(Do I sound like a scouser),and keep up the good work in the new year. Thanks must also go to the guest contributors who write some extremely well researched thread topics,you know who you are. I only drop in every few days,I enjoy the range of views,not just political,but climate change,financial,etc,ok I suppose these are political. Anyway,time for a beer,and new year wishes. Personally my wish is for good health,after my body decided to go on strike this year,however I am very happy with the NHS treatment I have received,and planning for ever more ventures. Happy Chrimbo all.
Comments
:wee-timmy-in-memoriam-bet:
Guido Fawkes @GuidoFawkes 3m
Quote of the Day: Is from the unpublished independent report into Mike Hancock… http://guyfawk.es/1eCeCj6
The comments below are the best bit.
Herman Van Rompuy @euHvR 12m
I wish you all a Merry Christmas with my best wishes for the year to come: http://ow.ly/s0HAi .
Urban myth No 2: Golf courses are bad for the environment.
In this city, apart from a few public parks and a small strip of green belt by the canal, the only significant green space left is in the form of golf courses. About 75%+ of land on most inland golf courses is in the form of untreated rough grass or woodland, and you see more wildlife there than you'll ever meet in your back garden, let alone the monocultural agricultural prairies which we appear so keen to protect at all costs. If these courses didn't exist, the land would have been concreted over long ago, just like the rest of the city. In the case of my course, the majority of the membership consists of working class people and self-employed tradesmen aged 40+, many of whom took up golf when they became too old to play football. And about a quarter of members are women. The course is used mostly at weekends or in summer evenings after work, with those playing during the rest of the week being mainly retired people, who owe their continuing good health to the exercise and as a consequence save the NHS a fortune. There is one course here which courts a privileged membership and has membership fees to match, but the rest are just like mine.
Happy birthday Ed, and may your period in opposition lengthen.
The Archsocialist and his predecessor, the Archdruid, are hardly politically neutral. You can't continually complain about evil welfare reform (which is apparently long overdue) and then expect the people you're attacking to be standing up for you.
Exactly.
The gap he leaves shows the paucity of talent on the left!
Basically, the Bletchley Park Trust is trying to find everyone who worked on code-breaking and so on to add them to a roll of honour.
So, if you know someone, or of someone, who should be on the list, do check and see if they're on (it's available online, the first link if you Google Bletchley Park roll of honour).
Can't have been tim though, because he had a different email and ip address....
The site evolves through natural selection... there will inevitably be more Kippers as their membership grows, and fewer Labs, Lib Dems and Tories as theirs fall
Would be interesting, if a little difficult, to count the number of posters who identify with each party per day over the last three or four years, and see how closely the percentages mirror the VI polls.
I think pb posting reflects enthusiasm of party supporters and members, rather than absolute vote share. So, if you go back a decade to the earliest days of this site, there was no doubt that Labour was in the ascendency, and there was a very New Labour poster, and there was NPMP, and there was snowflake. A few years later, and Labour was still winning elections (2005), but the Conservatives were in the ascendency on here. This was the time that test became a regular poster, for example.
For the 2010 election, there was hardly a lefty poster to be found. Tim was no so much primo inter pares, but often simply the lone voice of the New Labour left. Now, we have a fairly broad range, with UKIP's vocal support on here representative of the fact that its activist base is particularly enthused right now. (Although we have had someone previously very high up in the party posting under an assumed name.)
The Scots nats have always had a (very vocal) presence on here.
Intriguingly, the LibDems have rarely had much support on pb. In fact, I'd count more LibDem voters amongst the regulars on here than at any point in the site's existence. In the run up to 2010, other that OGH, I think there was maybe one other. (There were more a decade ago - anyone remember tabman or sbs?)
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/22058/9041851/2013-quiz-of-the-year-the-questions
Quite good questions, some easy, some tricky. I got 27 or 28 (one of my answers is, I feel, correct but not quite what's written down).
1. Post specific libellous allegations (and if they are about subjects where OGH has already received letters from Carter, Ruck then then the tolerance is particularly low). You get treble-word score for managing this when it is also about Operation Yewtree.
2. Personally insult OGH, unless you are SeanT.
Of late, though, there seem to be five or six posters who've all suggested they might be LibDems at heart.
Re SeanT "I would suggest that a pb thread is bound to have a tendency to be more rightwing than the rest of Britain, as the people with the insight and intelligence to comment tend to be middle class/well educated - i.e. somewhat more likely to be rightwing, or they tend to be those with lots of time and their hands and a bit of grumpy attitude - i.e. the retired, or self employed - who are also more likely to be rightwing.
I bet the average age of commenters on here is high - 40+. Likewise the income and education levels. Likewise the number of self employed and retired folk. All these factors will tilt the threads to the right.
And BTW this is true of ALL major internet forums. The threads on the Guardian are much further to the right than the bloggers and columnists above the line - much to the frustration and astonishment of the journalists, I've noticed. Ditto the Times, Telegraph, "
Very interesting comment. But re the Grauniad - the opposite is in fact the case with its Scottish news. The Graun is almost as right wing a newspaper as the DT when it comes to preserving the Union of 1707, and with sometimes shockingly slanted coverage. Its main Scottish correspondent isn't quite as personally obsessed with Mr Salmond as the one in the DT, but given that he is not the only person in the SNP, and the SNP is not the only pro-indy party (as well as those not of any party, like me) in the referendum, even a partial obsession is
Very odd also that the Graun should be so keen to do down the only democratically elected majority government in the UK in the form of the Scottish Gmt (possibly with the exception of Tynwald, but is Man in the UK in any legally formal sense?). And a government that is at least in the middle of the L-R spectrum, in contrast to Labour which is much closer to the Tories (as shown e.g. by Ms Lamont's denouncing policies such as free university tuition and bus passes for the elderly). The Graun heart bleeds for the likes of the islanders of Diego Garcia (and I don't blame it) but when it comes to Scotland ....! However, the Observer (in the person of Kevin McKenna) is far more balanced.
The Herald is much the same. The Scotsman comments site is just not interesting enough, like the newspaper itself. The BBC stopped allowing any comments in virtually all of their Scottish politics stories long ago, so it is outwith this realm of debate (but that is a very interesting decision for them to take, to put it mildly - usually the only ones with comments are from the UK politics segments).
I can say, as someone who attempts to make a living out of betting, that I have at least a dozen email addresses (EDIT inc the one I am using as isam I believe) in various "guises" and know of many tricks to pretend I am somewhere I am not... I am sure tim knows these tactics as well (he talked about using proxy servers (?) to get around Frances betfair ban)
Hugh's comment on David Camerons hair ("neither here nor there") just seemed so like a secret clue from someone who liked being clever clever...
But maybe I am wrong, it happens ever such a lot!
Also, how much does the Emperor get involved in politics? Is it basically the same as with our monarch?
The House of Commons library says UKIP won 9 seats, but doesn't give a vote share. "Others" got 13%.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/briefing-papers/RP12-27/local-elections-2012
I think 2013 was UKIP's first real national effort to compete in the local elections.
"In early spring 2013, members of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) received a letter from William Legge, the 10th Earl of Dartmouth and one of the party’s MEP’s for the South West region. This letter amounted to a ‘call to arms’, a request for volunteers to come forward and stand as candidates (even, if only as ‘paper’ candidates) for the forthcoming county and unitary council elections. The appeal was so successful that when the nominations closed UKIP had come within a hairsbreadth of contesting more seats than the Liberal Democrats."
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/events/epop2013/docs/UKIP candidates and policy positions in 2013 council elections.pdf
The emperor (king really, dunno why people still call him emperor) stays out of politics.
I've also been around since the very early days and enjoyed amany a robust debate with Sean Fear, Marcus Wood and Andy Cooke There are a few from the old days left but not many - SeanT used to be witty and erudite back then. There was a memorable BBQ at the National Liberal Club on the terrace - happy days.
I think the onset of the financial crisis changed the tone on here - politics became much more adversarial and partisan than it had been. The balance pre-2007 was pretty reasonable - more LDs and Conservatives than Labour but from 2007-08 onwards, the rightward shift began in earnest and if I'm being honest it could get quite intimidating on here if you dared to post either something anti-Conservative or pro-Labour.
The National Liberal Club do was my favourite pbc gathering. We dont see enough of Augustus Carp any more.
@isam
You dont need Hugh's email or ip to know he isnt tim. His politics and style are completely different. If he isnt posting any more maybe he got sick of being accused of being tim by posters who dont seem able to let tim go? A good resolution might be to not accuse every new poster who isnt clearly Tory or UKIP of beng tim.
Merry Xmas to all pbc-ers.
Everything was better in the old days... sounds like a slogan for a political party!
Happy Christmas
The poster I most miss is Socrates, whom I used to cross swords with on a regular basis. We disagreed about almost everything, but he was always courteous and intelligent. Even if often completely wrong.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/us/politics/upstart-groups-challenge-rove-for-gop-cash.html?hp=&_r=0
I'm sure there were some Tories who thought they would melt as soon as they stepped onto the hallowed ground that was NLC - I only hoped they found the countenance of that ex-Tory, Gladstone, some comfort.
David Burge @iowahawkblog 21 Dec
A ██████, a █████, and a ███████ walk into a bar. The ███████ says, "██████████████?" So the bartender says, "████████!"
#coveringmybases
Once we did live in a free'r nation. Look what political correctness has done to us.
Hi Hugh...
But if they all returned at once PB would become as unreadable as it is in the run up to the General Election ... a thousand posts a thread and no time to follow any argument.
Still a seasonal toast to "absent friends". Perhaps OGH could consider a Pussy Riot type pardon for any on the above list that might still have the gates closed upon them.
I think the threads lurched rightwards around the 2010 GE because most people - not necessarily because they were anti-Labour - wanted Gordon Brown gone.
I read the comment threads on no other political website. I read them here because of the balance, and because if threads to stray towards group-think there is always someone passionate and articulate enough to voice an opinion to the contrary.
I also enjoy the spats and still get amused at the inability of certain posters (on the left and the right) to view their side through anything other than rose-tinted glasses. Even some of the best posters here are prejudiced by their reflexive support for their party.
I also find it amusing when posters take their ball home and sulk when threads are not reflecting their bias. And then spring back into fully-fledged posting when their side is on top. That is as much a pointer to how the political winds are blowing as any opinion piece I could choose to read at any leading newspaper.
No reason we shouldn't have another National Liberal Club do - they rent out rooms, I'm pretty sure. Or if I get back in 2015, we might do a Parliamentary one. I was a bit shy of that in 1997-2010 (MP hosts Political Gamblers - the story writes itself), but I suspect I'll be less bothered about What People Might Think this time round if it works out.
There have never been that many regular posters here - maybe 30-40? - so it's hard to detect political currents. My impression is that the ones who are undetached to any party (SeanT, antifrank, EiT) have most fun, followed by those who are generally supportive of someone but not too aggressive about it (Sean Fear, Morris Dancer, Neil, maybe me, lots of others too). The rah-rah cheerleader trolls tend to get bored with the lack of provoked response and drift off after a while. Compouter1, Richard N and MikeK show how partisanship can be done with style and good humour, though.
A fantastically worthy cause.
But I don't remember any debates, passionate or otherwise, about Cameron being a closet lefty or there not being enough austerity. Perhaps you have been frequenting politicaltakingmyballhomewithme.com?
http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/09/18/democracy-3-hands-on-losing-elections-with-land-mines-in-a-complex-politics-sim/
though it sounds a bit too easy. Has anyone tried it?
He has had many suspensions - all well deserved
On the issue of Tim, I hope he comes back. He does sometimes overstep the mark but he is a genuine counter to the groupthink that sometimes infests the site. He can be a pain in the ass but he can also be very funny. If it's true that he was expelled for an allusion to Plato, then that's rubbish, because I saw that post and it did not mention her by name. It was also amusing. And on the subject of Plato, she was more than capable of giving as good as she got, and Judging by her relative absence I can only assume her license to shill must have run out.
Bah Humbug! And a very happy Christmas to you all......
Be that as it may; happy Xmas to all, but be careful of who's listening.
The Financing Remit sets out the actual amount the government instructs the DMO to borrow from the markets by issuing Treasury Bills, Gilts and (indirectly) National Savings Bonds. Each year the amount to be borrowed and the mix of short, medium, long term borrowing is set by the government at the time of the Budget, It is then revised up to twice a year.
The first revision is in April when the ONS and OBR calculate the actual outcomes of the Central Government Net Cash Requirement and Public Sector Net Cash Requirement for the prior financial year. This tends to lead to a reconciliation type small adjustment.
The second revision follows the Autumn Statement (now generally in early December) and tends to be more substantial as the CG and PS net cash requirements for two thirds of the current financial year are now known.
So now to big news.
In the Autumn Statement, Osborne amended the DMO remit to reduce actual borrowing in the last three months of the year by a staggering amount of £15.5 billion. Net of gilt redemptions (rolling over existing borrowing as it becomes due for repayment), this reduces the Net Financing requirement for this financial year from £117 billion as instructed to the DMO in the March budget to a £101.5 billion post Autumn Statement.
The £15.5 billion reduction in actual borrowing will be/is made up of a £2 billion reduction in gilt issuance (medium to long borrowing) and a £13.5 billion reduction in the issuance of Treasury Bills (short term, less than a year, borrowing). The reduction in Treasury Bills issuance will lower the stock of short term funds held on behalf of the government at year end from £70 billion to £56.5 billion.
In addition, £3.5 billion net issuance of National Savings bonds (medium term), unplanned (at the time of the budget), will combine with the falls in bills and gilts issuance, to reduce the OBR's forecast net financing requirement of the government this year to £99 billion: a net £12 billion improvement since the OBR's March EFO.
A Christmas Present to use all from Santa Giorgio Odysseo. May we all thank him profusely.
And don't miss Midsomer tonight. What is better than watching people getting killed in a rural village on Christmas Eve?!
http://www.thebritishtraveler.com/featured_stories/more/1774/south_oxfordshire_pubs_midsomer_murders/
A blood stained trail, if ever there was one. Did you spill my pint.
http://bsdly.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-uk-porn-filter-blocks-kids-access.html
http://media.aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/FBI_COMPIC7b_This_Is_A_Wonderful_Life_p62of102-620x791.jpg
What falls from a tree and is dangerous?
Missile-toe!
And to think I de-lurked for this??
A happy Christmas to everyone on PB on all sides of the spectrum. 2014 will be interesting for us all! Enjoy the break.
I guess little politics to talk about till Lord Ashcroft`s poll in the new year.
Personally I tend to judge people by their individual characteristics rather than assigning group characteristics to them.
edit: I am assuming "enroachment" was a typo, but that, at least, raised a smile ;-)
Happy Christmas.
Thanks must also go to the guest contributors who write some extremely well researched thread topics,you know who you are.
I only drop in every few days,I enjoy the range of views,not just political,but climate change,financial,etc,ok I suppose these are political.
Anyway,time for a beer,and new year wishes. Personally my wish is for good health,after my body decided to go on strike this year,however I am very happy with the NHS treatment I have received,and planning for ever more ventures.
Happy Chrimbo all.
Welcome back.
You've joined the Tories?
Au contraire. Tories have been joining me.
http://www.businessforscotland.co.uk/introducing-wealthy-nation/