Cracking bit of spin from The Heil, way down the article is a "oh, we forgot to mention Tory Mark Reckless from the same committee as Vaz was also there, we won't even write about it in the article but show him in a picture, but shhhhh, we will keep it quiet".
Just goes to show; they are all the same! Join UKIP. Vote UKIP
But this question, which I first asked here in 2007:
We're competing against peoples who are as intelligent and educated as we are and who are prepared to work harder for less money and under fewer restrictions than we do so how do we maintain our far higher living standards ?
has still not received an answer.
I think I have answered that question several times: clearly, by concentrated effort in areas where we have a world-class competitive advantage, most notably the City (which is not just banks, of course).
A small example, I know, but the business we run could not have been started in China. That's a huge competitive advantage!
Had the Police as first footers at the front door at 12.25 this morning, with a drunk reveller in their car, who had claimed he lived in the house. Reassured the policeman that I wasn't expecting guests.
Did Southam Observer enjoy his haunch of venison. I'm sure he would have loved to have followed Norman Tebbit's recipe.
The venison was superb, as were the wine and whisky. Today is proving to be a bit of an ordeal though!
"The archbishop said people accused the Church of being political when it spoke about heating bills or insecurity in families, but he insisted that such issues were not so much a matter of politics as fulfilling the commandment to love your neighbour. "
I wonder what the reasoning behind tax breaks for religion is, given (I think) it was written that that which is Caesar's should be given unto Caesar (ie pay your taxes). Not so much a go at the Church, but more Scientology and the idiots who have decided religions can be self-defined. Allowing self-definition of a nebulous nature which grants oneself a tax break is just nuts.
Two aspects: partly the huge amount of general charity work they do / the "social benefits" of a cultural organisation explains the overall tax benefits and, secondly, the heritage aspects of their works explains the Listed Places of Worship scheme and other elements
Bold claim by Steve Richards. There will be no Tory Lib Dem coalition after 2015 whatever the result. He takes the view that Cameron won't be able to offer the Lib Dems much and anyway, if he fails to win in 2015 there will be several backbenchers ready to strike against him. Would be a fascinating spectacle and would probably astonish the rest of the world.
I like the comparison between Blair and Clegg. Sums up two men who are not compared to each other enough. Like Blair with Bush, Clegg doesn't really care who he is round the table with so long as he thinks he's making a difference and it can satisfy his ego.
The issue of equdistance isn't discussed enough. Clegg is apparently equidistant from the other two parties, but surely this can only be political convenience not conviction? Would he still be equidistant if David Miliband were leading Labour? Presumably. Being equidistant simply means having no fixed political abode and just moving with the fashion. I can't believe the false nobility Clegg gives to such a thing.
Glad you liked it - I've had a peek at CinemaSins but there's so many to pick from that I'll give myself a hernia at laughing first.
Could you send me the linky to your Bane of Souls book? I'm spending a lot of time nerding on another board and they like fantasy stuff but mainly horror. I think I may be able to drum up a bit of interest in your work. Lots of them write as a hobby.
You may also like World War Z Honest Trailer - I pulled a muscle.
A small example, I know, but the business we run could not have been started in China. That's a huge competitive advantage!
Yes, and the challenge is to find more such cases where the UK can do well despite the fact that there are increasing numbers of bright, motivated and well-educated people competing with us. Financial services, capital raising, legal services, patents, insurance, shipbroking (broadly, the City) represent one important and inter-related set of skills which are not easy to replicate elsewhere. Other might include TV and music, or some specialised manufacturing (but not general metal bashing), and very probably areas we haven't thought of yet.
Miss Plato, World War Z is a great one (saw that a while ago). I liked the recent Die Hard video (the Honest Action one), and the Pacific Rim/After Earth trailers.
A small example, I know, but the business we run could not have been started in China. That's a huge competitive advantage!
Yes, and the challenge is to find more such cases where the UK can do well despite the fact that there are increasing numbers of bright, motivated and well-educated people competing with us. Financial services, capital raising, legal services, patents, insurance, shipbroking (broadly, the City) represent one important and inter-related set of skills which are not easy to replicate elsewhere. Other might include TV and music, or some specialised manufacturing (but not general metal bashing), and very probably areas we haven't thought of yet.
Too many of our companies fail to make the investments - in R&D, in marketing, in IP procurement and protection, in cutting edge plant and machinery etc - needed to be successful abroad.
That said, I also think that a few of the more pessimistic posters on here underplay the pressures there are in many developing countries with regards to both wages and welfare. China is certainly not exempt, neither is Korea; look, too, at recent events in both Brazil and Turkey. There are many more motivated, well-educated people to compete with than in the past, but the idea that they are happy to settle for lower salaries and standards of living just to beat us is fanciful. They are not.
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
Yes, and the challenge is to find more such cases where the UK can do well despite the fact that there are increasing numbers of bright, motivated and well-educated people competing with us. Financial services, capital raising, legal services, patents, insurance, shipbroking (broadly, the City) represent one important and inter-related set of skills which are not easy to replicate elsewhere. Other might include TV and music, or some specialised manufacturing (but not general metal bashing), and very probably areas we haven't thought of yet.
Translation services - we should demand longer EU documents, you know it makes sense for our balance of payments.
More seriously, education. I saw somewhere that the GDP share of exports going on this (primarily student fees) is huge (forgotten the exact number) and growing. British universities still have considerable global cachet and one gets fluent English thrown in, without the political flavour attached to studying in the US, which is still not universally welcome.
I think another_richard is absolutely right about the biggest fly in the UK recovery ointment: our continued trade inbalance. Even including financial services, invisibles, and tourism, we still import much more than we export every month. And every month, that hole is plugged by our government and companies borrowing from abroad, and (to a lesser extent) by the sale of UK property to wealthy foreigners.
We can either change our policies to try and encourage a more balanced economy, or at some point we will be forced by foreigners not being so keen to buy our debt to change abruptly and painfully (like, say, the Irish or the Spanish were between 2009 and 2013).
It is worth pointing out once again that the biggest problem with our trade imbalance is the EU. The one area where supposedly a free market and freedom of movement is supposed to help us and it actually drags us down. We have only had a trade surplus with the countries of the EU once since we joined and that was in the mid 80s.
By contrast our trade in goods and services with the rest of the world has regularly been in surplus for much of the last 4 decades.
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
We will be worrying too much about North korea nuking us and rumpUK not retaliating to care about wasting money on willy waving.
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
We will be worrying too much about North korea nuking us and rumpUK not retaliating to care about wasting money on willy waving.
Maybe they already have and nobody has noticed or cared?
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
We will be worrying too much about North korea nuking us and rumpUK not retaliating to care about wasting money on willy waving.
Maybe they already have and nobody has noticed or cared?
Ho Ho Ho for someone who lives on a rock with monkeys that is very rich. Hope Spain get their rock back this year as well, or at least make life miserable for the invaders.
Mr. G, as someone who believes in the rights of the Scots to determine their own future you ought to extend that same principle to the people of Gibraltar.
Mr. Eagles, I think Stargate: Continuum's on at the same time on Pick. I'll watch that, then see Sherlock on the iPlayer.
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
We will be worrying too much about North korea nuking us and rumpUK not retaliating to care about wasting money on willy waving.
Maybe they already have and nobody has noticed or cared?
Ho Ho Ho for someone who lives on a rock with monkeys that is very rich. Hope Spain get their rock back this year as well, or at least make life miserable for the invaders.
I was referring to the polling evidence we've seen on here that very few people in the UK will notice or care if Scotland becomes independent.
If you choose to take it as a personal comment then that's up to you but it wasn't intended that way.
I think another_richard is absolutely right about the biggest fly in the UK recovery ointment: our continued trade inbalance. Even including financial services, invisibles, and tourism, we still import much more than we export every month. And every month, that hole is plugged by our government and companies borrowing from abroad, and (to a lesser extent) by the sale of UK property to wealthy foreigners.
We can either change our policies to try and encourage a more balanced economy, or at some point we will be forced by foreigners not being so keen to buy our debt to change abruptly and painfully (like, say, the Irish or the Spanish were between 2009 and 2013).
It is worth pointing out once again that the biggest problem with our trade imbalance is the EU. The one area where supposedly a free market and freedom of movement is supposed to help us and it actually drags us down. We have only had a trade surplus with the countries of the EU once since we joined and that was in the mid 80s.
By contrast our trade in goods and services with the rest of the world has regularly been in surplus for much of the last 4 decades.
EU membership is bad for our trade balance.
It's true that the EU market has been poor for us recently. But leaving the EU not would improve the EU market for us. But overall for many reasons BOO.
Mr. G, as someone who believes in the rights of the Scots to determine their own future you ought to extend that same principle to the people of Gibraltar.
Mr. Eagles, I think Stargate: Continuum's on at the same time on Pick. I'll watch that, then see Sherlock on the iPlayer.
And *that*, Mr Dancer, is exactly the reason why I support Scottish independence. I've said on here before that I strongly believe in small genuinely constituted countries based around people with culture, language, history etc in common rather than artificial constructs - which correspondingly fuels my dislike of the EU.
Mr. G, as someone who believes in the rights of the Scots to determine their own future you ought to extend that same principle to the people of Gibraltar.
Mr. Eagles, I think Stargate: Continuum's on at the same time on Pick. I'll watch that, then see Sherlock on the iPlayer.
Continuum is a good watch. Holder of the Guinness world record for the farthest north film shoot.
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
We will be worrying too much about North korea nuking us and rumpUK not retaliating to care about wasting money on willy waving.
Maybe they already have and nobody has noticed or cared?
Ho Ho Ho for someone who lives on a rock with monkeys that is very rich. Hope Spain get their rock back this year as well, or at least make life miserable for the invaders.
I was referring to the polling evidence we've seen on here that very few people in the UK will notice or care if Scotland becomes independent.
If you choose to take it as a personal comment then that's up to you but it wasn't intended that way.
I will apologise for misunderstanding your comment then Geoff.
Mr. G, as someone who believes in the rights of the Scots to determine their own future you ought to extend that same principle to the people of Gibraltar.
Mr. Eagles, I think Stargate: Continuum's on at the same time on Pick. I'll watch that, then see Sherlock on the iPlayer.
And *that*, Mr Dancer, is exactly the reason why I support Scottish independence. I've said on here before that I strongly believe in small genuinely constituted countries based around people with culture, language, history etc in common rather than artificial constructs - which correspondingly fuels my dislike of the EU.
Pity the Tories were not so particular given their plotting with right wing spaniards
Ho Ho Ho for someone who lives on a rock with monkeys that is very rich. Hope Spain get their rock back this year as well, or at least make life miserable for the invaders.
So you do not like the Dutch now...?
Ooh! ...a rock with monkeys.... Planet-Earth (and the answer is 42)....
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
We will be worrying too much about North korea nuking us and rumpUK not retaliating to care about wasting money on willy waving.
Maybe they already have and nobody has noticed or cared?
Ho Ho Ho for someone who lives on a rock with monkeys that is very rich. Hope Spain get their rock back this year as well, or at least make life miserable for the invaders.
I was referring to the polling evidence we've seen on here that very few people in the UK will notice or care if Scotland becomes independent.
If you choose to take it as a personal comment then that's up to you but it wasn't intended that way.
Polls ar every debatable. One thing for sure BT have no ground support , their meetings when they have them are very sparsely supported , they censor almost 50% of remarks on forums, they have nothing to contribute but lies. It is not looking great for them believe me.
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
We will be worrying too much about North korea nuking us and rumpUK not retaliating to care about wasting money on willy waving.
Maybe they already have and nobody has noticed or cared?
Ho Ho Ho for someone who lives on a rock with monkeys that is very rich. Hope Spain get their rock back this year as well, or at least make life miserable for the invaders.
I was referring to the polling evidence we've seen on here that very few people in the UK will notice or care if Scotland becomes independent.
If you choose to take it as a personal comment then that's up to you but it wasn't intended that way.
I will apologise for misunderstanding your comment then Geoff.
Cheers, and I can now see why you read it that way. Making an obscure reference to week-old polling is playing with fire:)
Ho Ho Ho for someone who lives on a rock with monkeys that is very rich. Hope Spain get their rock back this year as well, or at least make life miserable for the invaders.
So you do not like the Dutch now...?
Ooh! ...a rock with monkeys.... Planet-Earth (and the answer is 42)....
Mr. G, as someone who believes in the rights of the Scots to determine their own future you ought to extend that same principle to the people of Gibraltar.
Mr. Eagles, I think Stargate: Continuum's on at the same time on Pick. I'll watch that, then see Sherlock on the iPlayer.
And *that*, Mr Dancer, is exactly the reason why I support Scottish independence. I've said on here before that I strongly believe in small genuinely constituted countries based around people with culture, language, history etc in common rather than artificial constructs - which correspondingly fuels my dislike of the EU.
Exactly my attitude as well. I want Scotland to be a successful independent neighbour with whom we have close links of mutual respect and friendship. I want the same for and with the rest of Europe.
It is clear that unfortunately whatever the result there are going to be some very unhappy PB members on here towards the end of the year. I hope people will remember that whichever side wins the losers will have been acting from genuinely held beliefs about what is the best for the future of their country and will act accordingly and with magnanimity.
I think another_richard is absolutely right about the biggest fly in the UK recovery ointment: our continued trade inbalance. Even including financial services, invisibles, and tourism, we still import much more than we export every month. And every month, that hole is plugged by our government and companies borrowing from abroad, and (to a lesser extent) by the sale of UK property to wealthy foreigners.
We can either change our policies to try and encourage a more balanced economy, or at some point we will be forced by foreigners not being so keen to buy our debt to change abruptly and painfully (like, say, the Irish or the Spanish were between 2009 and 2013).
It is worth pointing out once again that the biggest problem with our trade imbalance is the EU. The one area where supposedly a free market and freedom of movement is supposed to help us and it actually drags us down. We have only had a trade surplus with the countries of the EU once since we joined and that was in the mid 80s.
By contrast our trade in goods and services with the rest of the world has regularly been in surplus for much of the last 4 decades.
EU membership is bad for our trade balance.
It's true that the EU market has been poor for us recently. But leaving the EU not would improve the EU market for us. But overall for many reasons BOO.
Unfortunately the EU has always be poor for us as far as balance of trade goes. It is another of those great myths that have been promulgated by the pro-EU fanatics over the years.
I assume(and I may be wrong) you thought this was a bad poll for Labour, hence, the shaking of the roost. However, from another site from yesterday, the following......
"Interesting poll that.
Constituency seats:
SNP 40% Lab 32% Con 15% Lib 5% Other 8%
List seats:
SNP 40% Lab 31% Con 14% Lib 5% Green 5% Other 5%
When you thump that lot in the Scotland Votes site, we get:
SNP 58 (-11) Lab 43 (+6) Con 19 (+4) Lib 5 (n/c) Green 3 (+1) Ind. 1 (n/c)"
If Stuart Dickinson can clarify the figures.
Not as bad a poll for Labour as it first looks.
Happy New Year all by the way.
What was it exactly you wanted me to clarify?
You may not be aware that I posted the following yesterday morning, and several other posters including David Herdson discussed:
Poll alert.
Panelbase/Scottish National Party Sample size: 1,012 adults in Scotland Fieldwork: 13-20 December (+/- change from 30 Aug - 5 Sep Panelbase/Sunday Times)
Yes, and the challenge is to find more such cases where the UK can do well despite the fact that there are increasing numbers of bright, motivated and well-educated people competing with us.
It sounds good in theory but in practice I have serious doubts about our ability to upsize profitable but niche industries.
Its possible to maintain quality at a small level of output and its possible to increase ouput but with a lower average level of quality.
Its a lot harder to increase output but maintain quality, or indeed increasing quality on a continual basis which is what is effectively required in the world today.
The university sector is an example of this - creating more, but lower quality, universities has succeeded only in damaging the reputation of a British university degree as a whole.
I also have doubts as to how high quality our acclaimed expertise is - in 2007 we would have been told that British bankers were the best in the world. We have discovered a different truth since.
In any case how much need is there for the best City type services ? I didn't need the world's best solicitor when I had a will drawn up, does the average business need the best City services or would an Indian based equivalent be able to provide all that was needed at a fraction of the price. Though to think of it the City type services which have been used where I work have been anything but world leading - mediocre, arrogant and overpriced would be better descriptions.
Then there's the problem of an unbalanced workforce and its effect on society. Even if the top 10% of the workforce, whether in services or manufacturing, are highly creative, value adding and profitable are the remaining 90% to work in low skilled services industries or for the government or live off welfare ? Sounds like an unsustainable society in which the 90% would feel ever more resentment about the success of the top 10% and vote ever more taxes upon them - we are already seeing this. And what happens if the top 10% (or the industries they work in) decide instead to move to countries which have higher living standards or lower taxes or better weather ?
So, in summary, I'd say that RN's concept of being the best in areas X, Y and Z is too flawed.
We need to find ways in which wealth creation can be achieved at all levels of the socioeconomic scale both for economic security and for the cohesion of society.
And before anyone says better education is the answer it isn't. A large majority of people do not have the intrinsic intelligence or skills set needed for them to produce 'world class' output.
Andrew Green: " If Romanians and Bulgarians do arrive at 50,000 a year (our central estimate), and if net migration from elsewhere in the EU continues at its current rate of about 100,000 a year, there will be definite tension between control of our borders and continued membership of the EU. That could get interesting."
I hope many more Europeans choose England as their home in the future. It's the greatest compliment. Japan should be a demographic lesson, as France is a political lesson, to us in what to avoid.
So, in summary, I'd say that RN's concept of being the best in areas X, Y and Z is too flawed.
And the best evidence that the "concentrated effort in areas where we have a world-class competitive advantage, most notably the City" strategy wont work is that its the strategy the government has pursued since 2000, perhaps 1997.
Namely concentrate on the City being a world leader and have the billions so earnt redistributed as the government sees fit.
A trillion quid of extra government debt, a trillion quid of extra household debt and socioeconomic mobility in reverse has been the result.
The Bible is an allegory: No-one seriously believes the world is just over 5000-year old. This "thread" epitomises the wishes of the "challenged" (wherein they mark a dot and voila)....
A middle-aged bird that is immune to Wee-Fr'Eck's charm arrives in England. Not quite an RBS-type achievement: This was one of Gormless McBruin's better buys...!
We will be worrying too much about North korea nuking us and rumpUK not retaliating to care about wasting money on willy waving.
Not to mention the fact that it replaces the Nimrod electronic recce variant which was reportedly much better (not the AEW, just to clarify) before the MoD made a hash of it all. The maritime recce, antisub and rescue cover from the Nimrods is bitterly missed up here in Scotland.
Even if I have had a glass of the new/reactivated Tobermory distillery's single malt - quite strong, finish of oak and bitter chocolate the box says and it's not far off. Pretty sui generis but it is from Mull.
Mr. G, as someone who believes in the rights of the Scots to determine their own future you ought to extend that same principle to the people of Gibraltar.
Mr. Eagles, I think Stargate: Continuum's on at the same time on Pick. I'll watch that, then see Sherlock on the iPlayer.
And *that*, Mr Dancer, is exactly the reason why I support Scottish independence. I've said on here before that I strongly believe in small genuinely constituted countries based around people with culture, language, history etc in common rather than artificial constructs - which correspondingly fuels my dislike of the EU.
Given the negotiations and delegations being sent between the Tories and the Partido Popular re Scotland/Catalunya, I'd be very worried if I lived on the aforesaid rock with the Barbary macaques!!
Had the Police as first footers at the front door at 12.25 this morning, with a drunk reveller in their car, who had claimed he lived in the house. Reassured the policeman that I wasn't expecting guests.
Did Southam Observer enjoy his haunch of venison. I'm sure he would have loved to have followed Norman Tebbit's recipe.
That's the second time today that I've read the term "first-foot". I've never heard of such a thing before. I gather that it's a weird bumpkiny activity that happens in the weird North and Scotland, but obviously not in normal places down south here in normal Croydon.
Miss Plato, World War Z is a great one (saw that a while ago). I liked the recent Die Hard video (the Honest Action one), and the Pacific Rim/After Earth trailers.
Comments
In SF for a day in a couple of weeks if you are around.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-coalition-will-stay-the-course-but-they-wont-be-getting-the-band-back-together-after-2015-9030701.html
I like the comparison between Blair and Clegg. Sums up two men who are not compared to each other enough. Like Blair with Bush, Clegg doesn't really care who he is round the table with so long as he thinks he's making a difference and it can satisfy his ego.
The issue of equdistance isn't discussed enough. Clegg is apparently equidistant from the other two parties, but surely this can only be political convenience not conviction? Would he still be equidistant if David Miliband were leading Labour? Presumably. Being equidistant simply means having no fixed political abode and just moving with the fashion. I can't believe the false nobility Clegg gives to such a thing.
Could you send me the linky to your Bane of Souls book? I'm spending a lot of time nerding on another board and they like fantasy stuff but mainly horror. I think I may be able to drum up a bit of interest in your work. Lots of them write as a hobby.
You may also like World War Z Honest Trailer - I pulled a muscle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2cS5Fv5xIQ
Amazon links ok?
US: http://www.amazon.com/Bane-of-Souls-ebook/dp/B008C2KV48
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bane-of-Souls-ebook/dp/B008C2KV48/
Thanks, I do appreciate it. For all the rise of tech, word-of-mouth remains crucial for driving interest/sales.
That said, I also think that a few of the more pessimistic posters on here underplay the pressures there are in many developing countries with regards to both wages and welfare. China is certainly not exempt, neither is Korea; look, too, at recent events in both Brazil and Turkey. There are many more motivated, well-educated people to compete with than in the past, but the idea that they are happy to settle for lower salaries and standards of living just to beat us is fanciful. They are not.
http://world.time.com/2013/11/01/the-welfare-state-isnt-dead-it-simply-moved-to-asia/
More seriously, education. I saw somewhere that the GDP share of exports going on this (primarily student fees) is huge (forgotten the exact number) and growing. British universities still have considerable global cachet and one gets fluent English thrown in, without the political flavour attached to studying in the US, which is still not universally welcome.
By contrast our trade in goods and services with the rest of the world has regularly been in surplus for much of the last 4 decades.
EU membership is bad for our trade balance.
So for all my Scottish friends, the 1986 calendars are the ones you can take out of the cupboard and use again.
Step forward Ian Chappell.
Piers Morgan @piersmorgan 4h
Just met Ian Chappell for 1st time. 'Hi, Mr Chappell, I'm Piers Morgan,' I said. 'Nah mate, you're a dickhead,' he replied. Meeting over!
BBC1 at 9pm.
Mr. Eagles, I think Stargate: Continuum's on at the same time on Pick. I'll watch that, then see Sherlock on the iPlayer.
If you choose to take it as a personal comment then that's up to you but it wasn't intended that way.
Available with William Hill
Ooh! ...a rock with monkeys.... Planet-Earth (and the answer is 42)....
Quite glad Pick's been showing All Of Stargate. Quite near the end now, though. Just Continuum and a couple of weeks of Atlantis to go, I think.
Time to put Geoff Boycotts house on Man Utd sadly...
I haven't taken a gamble over a period that long since my endowment policy...
It is clear that unfortunately whatever the result there are going to be some very unhappy PB members on here towards the end of the year. I hope people will remember that whichever side wins the losers will have been acting from genuinely held beliefs about what is the best for the future of their country and will act accordingly and with magnanimity.
You may not be aware that I posted the following yesterday morning, and several other posters including David Herdson discussed:
Poll alert.
Panelbase/Scottish National Party
Sample size: 1,012 adults in Scotland
Fieldwork: 13-20 December
(+/- change from 30 Aug - 5 Sep Panelbase/Sunday Times)
Scottish Parliament constituency vote
SNP: 40% (-5)
Labour: 32% (n/c)
Conservative: 15% (+3)
Lib Dem: 5% (n/c)
Other: 8% (+2)
Scottish Parliament regional list vote
SNP: 40% (-6)
Labour: 31% (+3)
Conservative: 14% (+2)
Lib Dem: 5% (+1)
Green: 5% (-1)
Other: 5% (+1)
http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2013/dec/final-poll-2013-shows-substantial-snp-lead
BetVictor - Scottish GE 2016 - Most seats
SNP 4/6
Lab 5/4
oth 150/1
Its possible to maintain quality at a small level of output and its possible to increase ouput but with a lower average level of quality.
Its a lot harder to increase output but maintain quality, or indeed increasing quality on a continual basis which is what is effectively required in the world today.
The university sector is an example of this - creating more, but lower quality, universities has succeeded only in damaging the reputation of a British university degree as a whole.
I also have doubts as to how high quality our acclaimed expertise is - in 2007 we would have been told that British bankers were the best in the world. We have discovered a different truth since.
In any case how much need is there for the best City type services ? I didn't need the world's best solicitor when I had a will drawn up, does the average business need the best City services or would an Indian based equivalent be able to provide all that was needed at a fraction of the price. Though to think of it the City type services which have been used where I work have been anything but world leading - mediocre, arrogant and overpriced would be better descriptions.
Then there's the problem of an unbalanced workforce and its effect on society. Even if the top 10% of the workforce, whether in services or manufacturing, are highly creative, value adding and profitable are the remaining 90% to work in low skilled services industries or for the government or live off welfare ? Sounds like an unsustainable society in which the 90% would feel ever more resentment about the success of the top 10% and vote ever more taxes upon them - we are already seeing this. And what happens if the top 10% (or the industries they work in) decide instead to move to countries which have higher living standards or lower taxes or better weather ?
So, in summary, I'd say that RN's concept of being the best in areas X, Y and Z is too flawed.
We need to find ways in which wealth creation can be achieved at all levels of the socioeconomic scale both for economic security and for the cohesion of society.
And before anyone says better education is the answer it isn't. A large majority of people do not have the intrinsic intelligence or skills set needed for them to produce 'world class' output.
" If Romanians and Bulgarians do arrive at 50,000 a year (our central estimate), and if net migration from elsewhere in the EU continues at its current rate of about 100,000 a year, there will be definite tension between control of our borders and continued membership of the EU. That could get interesting."
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/01/romanian-and-bulgarian-migration-what-next/
Japan should be a demographic lesson, as France is a political lesson, to us in what to avoid.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25566868
Namely concentrate on the City being a world leader and have the billions so earnt redistributed as the government sees fit.
A trillion quid of extra government debt, a trillion quid of extra household debt and socioeconomic mobility in reverse has been the result.
Even if I have had a glass of the new/reactivated Tobermory distillery's single malt - quite strong, finish of oak and bitter chocolate the box says and it's not far off. Pretty sui generis but it is from Mull.