Final Electoral Commission stats show the Lib Dems spent *more* at the 2019 election than Labour. Lot of spending also by Brexit party. In contrast, the Greens are on a total shoestring.
Final Electoral Commission stats show the Lib Dems spent *more* at the 2019 election than Labour. Lot of spending also by Brexit party. In contrast, the Greens are on a total shoestring.
Water under the bridge for me. My Scottish Parliament votes went in last week. More significantly got my second AZ jag on Weds, and no negative reaction unlike the first one. Even more significantly my sister delving into ancestry sites has discovered that our parents' marriage was my father's second, totally unbeknown to us.
You got an Az Jag? Wow, are they giving those away as an incentive? That should persuade a few anti-vaxxers.
Prescott's not the only two jags around.
He wouldn't have put up with waiting three months for his second Jag
OT. Anyone hear Johnson at the climate conference yesterday.......
"This is not all about a green act ...of ...of ...of ...of bunny hugging or however you want to put it ...not that there's anything wrong with bunny hugging..."
Greta has a pretty acute form of Asperger's syndrome, by her own admission she only talks when she feels it is essential, and isn't exactly renowned for her sense of humour in person. Wit requires a complex grasp of social dynamics, self-reflection, timing and irony.
It's her social media team. She's a brand now.
I am not a fan of the publicity seeking Ms Thunberg, but it is not correct to suggest people with Asperberger's are not humorous or witty, it really depends on their focus.
But, for the acute form that Greta has - she's publicly known for impassioned or even angry delivery of a quasi-religious message - then I doubt it. .
Without wishing to be uber-PC, I am not sure everything that you and I dislike about her can be put down to her Aspergers. I think she is just a very annoying person who has been given an in toxifying amount of publicity at an age when she is unable to deal with it with humility.
I think that's a fair assessment.
She has always reminded me of a modern day Joan of Arc. Utterly committed in her beliefs to the point of, in my view, foolish fanaticism, but somehow I get the impression that there is great deal of manipulation of her going on in the background and not always to her, or our, benefit.
Yes, that's almost certain.
For one thing, the sheer volume of correspondence and media enquiries she gets from her profile will mean she has to have help with its management.
Interconnects across continents - made feasible by the extremely low price of the cheapest renewables at source (a recent deal is Saudi Arabia was done for supply at 1 US cent per kWh) - make intermittent renewables far less intermittent.
The key stat in that article is;
“Cable losses along the entire transmission line are estimated between 10 and 12%”
I wonder what the losses would be for a HVDC cable from Iceland? Tapping their geothermal would make a lot of sense.
The estimate used to be around 3.5% per 1000 km, I think - but it appears to have dropped to just a bit over 3%. I think there's a similar scheme in early development for Australia-Singapore.
OT. Anyone hear Johnson at the climate conference yesterday.......
"This is not all about a green act ...of ...of ...of ...of bunny hugging or however you want to put it ...not that there's anything wrong with bunny hugging..."
Greta has a pretty acute form of Asperger's syndrome, by her own admission she only talks when she feels it is essential, and isn't exactly renowned for her sense of humour in person. Wit requires a complex grasp of social dynamics, self-reflection, timing and irony.
It's her social media team. She's a brand now.
I am not a fan of the publicity seeking Ms Thunberg, but it is not correct to suggest people with Asperberger's are not humorous or witty, it really depends on their focus.
But, for the acute form that Greta has - she's publicly known for impassioned or even angry delivery of a quasi-religious message - then I doubt it. .
Without wishing to be uber-PC, I am not sure everything that you and I dislike about her can be put down to her Aspergers. I think she is just a very annoying person who has been given an in toxifying amount of publicity at an age when she is unable to deal with it with humility.
The thing I don't understand, is why I'm supposed to listen to her. She has no qualifications, yet (as I understand it) in her chosen field.
It's a bit like Angeline Jolie as a UN special Ambassador - publicising an issue, fine.
For actual knowledge/information I would be listening to Dr. Hoesung Lee etc.
Good morning everyone. How the English-dominated UK might break up is a slightly odd topic for St Georges Day. Scotland was, for years, the only country which joined the British Empire/Commonwealth voluntarily. Although I seem to recall money changed hands.
And I'm beginning to wonder whether the Coles trip to our family in Thailand later this/early next year might have to be postponed a bit longer. Even though we've both been vaccinated.
But, on the positive side, Mrs C and I are going out today for our first pub lunch of 2021.
Thailand is looking a bit iffy isn't it Mr Cole?
St George wasn't English. He was Greek and appropriated by the nutjob Crusaders.
On the subject of Saints, I do find it odd that the Anglican Church seems to recognise pre-reformation Catholic saints (though was St George Orthodox?) but has no mechanism to beatify new saints. Are there any post reformation Anglican Saints? If not, why not? Has the Church lost God's favour?
In the early days of the church Saints were more or less declared by local acclamation, i.e. anyone with a good enough reputation might be a Saint. Graudally it became regularised in the Western Church at least that only the Pope could declare a Saint. So after the Reformation, not having a Pope, the Anglican Church had no mechanism to declare a Saint. This didn't bother the protestant reformers much.
However, the rung below 'Beatus' (or 'Blessed') can be declared by the local diocesan bishop, and this is what has happened to King Charles the Martyr. I notice the rubric on the Book of Common Prayer calls his feast day as 'Blessed King Charles the Martyr' not Saint. A quick Google didn't throw up how exactly he was so raised, but I do remember reading an article explaining why he was a Beatus along the lines I've described. I don't think it's something that has happened often and I can't think of any others, maybe there are a few. Certainly other people are observed in the Calendar without titles, e.g. Cranmer, Wilberforce so effectively are the equivalent of saints in the old way without a capital S.
There are many Celtic saints whose sanctity is lost in the mists etc, and some of whom may in fact have been local pagan gods whose good deeds were appropriated by the early Church.
George of course was Middle Eastern and his veneration was indeed as a result of the Crusades. Prior to that the patron saint of England was a Suffolk lad, Edmund the Martyr, King of the Angles, from whom Bury St Edmunds derives its name.
And yes, Thailand is getting into Covid problems. My granddaughters there are now being home schooled, which causes difficulties for my son, as his wife's English isn't good enough to teach the youngest.
I can believe a formal one technically requires Westminster consent.
But one cannot reasonably be denied if parties who want one win, so it must happen when the nationalists, of all stripes, vote for one.
I think voting reform is a good idea, and even if people disagree, a major constitutional change to the Union would be the right time to consider a lot if things afresh, as so much will, regrettably, have changed.
But never give up. Potential inevitability is no reason to stop the fight.
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
OT. Anyone hear Johnson at the climate conference yesterday.......
"This is not all about a green act ...of ...of ...of ...of bunny hugging or however you want to put it ...not that there's anything wrong with bunny hugging..."
Greta has a pretty acute form of Asperger's syndrome, by her own admission she only talks when she feels it is essential, and isn't exactly renowned for her sense of humour in person. Wit requires a complex grasp of social dynamics, self-reflection, timing and irony.
It's her social media team. She's a brand now.
I am not a fan of the publicity seeking Ms Thunberg, but it is not correct to suggest people with Asperberger's are not humorous or witty, it really depends on their focus.
But, for the acute form that Greta has - she's publicly known for impassioned or even angry delivery of a quasi-religious message - then I doubt it. .
Without wishing to be uber-PC, I am not sure everything that you and I dislike about her can be put down to her Aspergers. I think she is just a very annoying person who has been given an in toxifying amount of publicity at an age when she is unable to deal with it with humility.
She's said herself she suffers from this and I'm using evidence of her own words and actions in public.
Of course, I can't "prove" that her social media team wrote the tweets for her approval but this is commonplace amongst high profile tweeters. Even Andrew Adonis has helpers doing some of his.
Someone having a media team is not quite the same thing as that person being controlled by dark and mysterious forces.
Yes, but I don't see why this is so contentious.
I'm just saying that on the balance of evidence before us I don't believe she drafts her witty tweets.
Final Electoral Commission stats show the Lib Dems spent *more* at the 2019 election than Labour. Lot of spending also by Brexit party. In contrast, the Greens are on a total shoestring.
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
Off-topic but a personal word of thanks to you @DavidL re your advice about the dispute I had. Looks as though it is all sorted.
I hear we live in a one party state these days. Can anyone tell me which fcuking one it is to make this voting lark easier?
Obviously the top one. Is this a trick question?
I like the offer that if you put your cross in there you could save £100 000 000 yearly. I wasn't aware my wife was spending that amount, but if we can save it just by putting an X in a box, why not?
LOL
I was always interested in the fact that Saddam Hussein's wife had come back from a shopping trip to Paris, just before the invasion of Kuwait....
"You spent *how* much in the Place Vendôme? I'll have to steal a whole country to pay for that...."
There are strong rumours that things are not happy chez Sturgeon .
We are not allowed to talk about Superinjunctions
Isn't the biggest problem with superinjunctions is that now everyone knows they exist, they can be falsely referred to in order to back up any rumour?
Now the lack of evidence for any farfetched charge against (say) Sturgeon or Boris or even OGH becomes evidence of a superinjunction to suppress the non-existent evidence, and then the presumed existence of the superinjunction becomes itself evidence of whatever the initial charge was.
What I don't understand is how OGH (or one of his Moderating elves) is supposed to know his guests are breaching a superinjunction if he is not supposed to know it exists in the first place. Seems to breach basic justice.
Whatever happened to the principle that justice must be seen to be done?
Is that an agreement or disagreement? I'm so confused by this superinjunction notion that I honestly can't work it out!
Also - if there is one under English law then what about Scotland? Or NI?
OT. Anyone hear Johnson at the climate conference yesterday.......
"This is not all about a green act ...of ...of ...of ...of bunny hugging or however you want to put it ...not that there's anything wrong with bunny hugging..."
Greta has a pretty acute form of Asperger's syndrome, by her own admission she only talks when she feels it is essential, and isn't exactly renowned for her sense of humour in person. Wit requires a complex grasp of social dynamics, self-reflection, timing and irony.
It's her social media team. She's a brand now.
I am not a fan of the publicity seeking Ms Thunberg, but it is not correct to suggest people with Asperberger's are not humorous or witty, it really depends on their focus.
But, for the acute form that Greta has - she's publicly known for impassioned or even angry delivery of a quasi-religious message - then I doubt it. .
Without wishing to be uber-PC, I am not sure everything that you and I dislike about her can be put down to her Aspergers. I think she is just a very annoying person who has been given an in toxifying amount of publicity at an age when she is unable to deal with it with humility.
The thing I don't understand, is why I'm supposed to listen to her. She has no qualifications, yet (as I understand it) in her chosen field.
It's a bit like Angeline Jolie as a UN special Ambassador - publicising an issue, fine.
For actual knowledge/information I would be listening to Dr. Hoesung Lee etc.
Indeed. Then again, someone once said "we have had enough of experts" (or words to that effect), and while it can be argued about what he actually meant on that, it is human nature that many people would rather listen to someone who has become a celeb or "influencer" than those that actually have training and experience in the subject.
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland, Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
Mr. Thompson, yeah, I like SG-1 a lot, and share your concerns regarding a new series being poor (as seems to happen with lots of modern takes on classic sci-fi). But we shall see.
What's this? I loved SG-1, it still holds up. The military must have agreed given the cameos from serving chief officers. Had not heard any news.
I'm more curious how the planned Foundation series will work. Original trilogy not exactly set up for year on year narrative with the same characters.
I hear we live in a one party state these days. Can anyone tell me which fcuking one it is to make this voting lark easier?
Obviously the top one. Is this a trick question?
I like the offer that if you put your cross in there you could save £100 000 000 yearly. I wasn't aware my wife was spending that amount, but if we can save it just by putting an X in a box, why not?
So you don't read your credit card bills either?
Actually £100m sounds extremely conservative, especially if you consider the economic damage the Scottish Parliament inflicts.
There are strong rumours that things are not happy chez Sturgeon .
We are not allowed to talk about Superinjunctions
Isn't the biggest problem with superinjunctions is that now everyone knows they exist, they can be falsely referred to in order to back up any rumour?
Now the lack of evidence for any farfetched charge against (say) Sturgeon or Boris or even OGH becomes evidence of a superinjunction to suppress the non-existent evidence, and then the presumed existence of the superinjunction becomes itself evidence of whatever the initial charge was.
What I don't understand is how OGH (or one of his Moderating elves) is supposed to know his guests are breaching a superinjunction if he is not supposed to know it exists in the first place. Seems to breach basic justice.
Whatever happened to the principle that justice must be seen to be done?
Is that an agreement or disagreement? I'm so confused by this superinjunction notion that I honestly can't work it out!
Also - if there is one under English law then what about Scotland? Or NI?
I'm agreeing with you.
I don't think superinjunctions should be legal. They're justice unseen.
Punish people for breaking injunctions, fair enough, but to have a shadowy cabal of rulings that can't be seen - I abhor that.
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland, Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
Final Electoral Commission stats show the Lib Dems spent *more* at the 2019 election than Labour. Lot of spending also by Brexit party. In contrast, the Greens are on a total shoestring.
Actually, more recently, "since a Scottish Minister got taken out for a free lunch and signed £500m of guarantees for Mr Gupta with no civil service involvement."
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland, Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
OT. Anyone hear Johnson at the climate conference yesterday.......
"This is not all about a green act ...of ...of ...of ...of bunny hugging or however you want to put it ...not that there's anything wrong with bunny hugging..."
Greta has a pretty acute form of Asperger's syndrome, by her own admission she only talks when she feels it is essential, and isn't exactly renowned for her sense of humour in person. Wit requires a complex grasp of social dynamics, self-reflection, timing and irony.
It's her social media team. She's a brand now.
I am not a fan of the publicity seeking Ms Thunberg, but it is not correct to suggest people with Asperberger's are not humorous or witty, it really depends on their focus.
But, for the acute form that Greta has - she's publicly known for impassioned or even angry delivery of a quasi-religious message - then I doubt it. .
Without wishing to be uber-PC, I am not sure everything that you and I dislike about her can be put down to her Aspergers. I think she is just a very annoying person who has been given an in toxifying amount of publicity at an age when she is unable to deal with it with humility.
The thing I don't understand, is why I'm supposed to listen to her. She has no qualifications, yet (as I understand it) in her chosen field.
It's a bit like Angeline Jolie as a UN special Ambassador - publicising an issue, fine.
For actual knowledge/information I would be listening to Dr. Hoesung Lee etc.
Indeed. Then again, someone once said "we have had enough of experts" (or words to that effect), and while it can be argued about what he actually meant on that, it is human nature that many people would rather listen to someone who has become a celeb or "influencer" than those that actually have training and experience in the subject.
What is sometime missed in that story was that Gove had had a briefing, not long before, by an expert on education.
Who said that any reform of education was wrong and that, simply, the budget should be vastly increased. When asked, couldn't say what the extra money would be used for, and refused to quantify the improvements that the extra money would bring.
I presume the expert in question is now the head of OFSTED.
Basically Labour are stuck almost forever around 35%, that seems to be the floor for the time being, which is an improvement on 2019.
2017 repeat is within reach, 40% should be doable with the right strategy.
Based on voteshare - I know not always a great measure - Labour are actually in the last 16 years or so, historically reasonably popular. It's just that the Tories are even more popular.
This has taken an appalling amount of time and destroyed many lives. Unforgivable.
Did we have a thread on this Post Office scandal some time ago, possibly from @Cyclefree, or have I overdone the communion wine again?
It is an outrage. Staggering. A monumental miscarriage of justice that shames our system.
Yep I listened to the excellent series about the whole scandal on Radio 4 last year. There are some people high up in the system who I genuinely believe should be in jail for the way they have handled this. People who were completely innocent have died because of this scandal and many more have had their lives ruined.
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland, Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
"In the event of a United Ireland, I (and all the other members of the Dail) would like to ensure that the various cut-throats and scumbags in the NI Assembly don't turn up in Dublin"
Mr. Thompson, yeah, I like SG-1 a lot, and share your concerns regarding a new series being poor (as seems to happen with lots of modern takes on classic sci-fi). But we shall see.
What's this? I loved SG-1, it still holds up. The military must have agreed given the cameos from serving chief officers. Had not heard any news.
I'm more curious how the planned Foundation series will work. Original trilogy not exactly set up for year on year narrative with the same characters.
The United States Air Force loved the show so much they made Richard Dean Anderson an honorary Brigadier General.
I hear we live in a one party state these days. Can anyone tell me which fcuking one it is to make this voting lark easier?
Obviously the top one. Is this a trick question?
Does the Abolish party have history or was it cobbled together quickly in the last couple of weeks by Nicola Sturgeon a Salmond hater to keep Alba off the top of the list?
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland, Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
If they can get the legalities right that sounds like a very sensible solution for all sides. So I doubt it will ever happen
I know I quoted it fairly recently, but from "1066 and all that":
'Gladstone spent his declining years trying to guess the answer to the Irish question; unfortunately, whenever he was getting warm, the Irish secretly changed the question.’
Small note: for those of you who read any Sir Edric books, the character of Dog was partly based on Teal'c.
I would love to see this come to fruition, but don't have high hopes either that it will ever see the light of day, or that it will live up to the hype.
Stargate was a great movie and SG1 was one of the greatest Sci Fi series of all time, but the spin offs especially Universe were rather underwhelming.
Children of the Gods has to be in my opinion one of the best TV pilots of all time, not just in Sci Fi, but Universe was so bland I didn't make it through the first season and I can barely remember much of it.
They don't make many network prime time show pilots with full frontal nudity these days, it's true.
Atlantis was Ok, but I didn't get through Universe.
This has taken an appalling amount of time and destroyed many lives. Unforgivable.
Did we have a thread on this Post Office scandal some time ago, possibly from @Cyclefree, or have I overdone the communion wine again?
It is an outrage. Staggering. A monumental miscarriage of justice that shames our system.
Yep I listened to the excellent series about the whole scandal on Radio 4 last year. There are some people high up in the system who I genuinely believe should be in jail for the way they have handled this. People who were completely innocent have died because of this scandal and many more have had their lives ruined.
No one will be held accountable though.
What is interesting is the attitude.
Just as with Rotherham, the idea that there should be any sanction against permanent officials who made policy decisions is regarded as immoral.
"But x is a deeply knowledgeable career professional, and she has a right to move to a better job after completely failing in the last one.:
I hear we live in a one party state these days. Can anyone tell me which fcuking one it is to make this voting lark easier?
Obviously the top one. Is this a trick question?
Does the Abolish party have history or was it cobbled together quickly in the last couple of weeks by Nicola Sturgeon a Salmond hater to keep Alba off the top of the list?
I think that they have been around for a while. Don't trouble to scorers much.
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland, Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
If they can get the legalities right that sounds like a very sensible solution for all sides. So I doubt it will ever happen
I know I quoted it fairly recently, but from "1066 and all that":
'Gladstone spent his declining years trying to guess the answer to the Irish question; unfortunately, whenever he was getting warm, the Irish secretly changed the question.’
Oh I do have to go back and reread that book. I have forgotten everything about it except it made me laugh out load many times when I first read it.
One other point on electoral reform - I think some sort of PR system is vital for the future of the Union.
With some sort of PR, if the SNP receive roughly half the vote they will have roughly half the Scottish MPs - and so the other half of Scottish MPs will still have a chance of having their voice heard.
At present FPTP can deliver the overwhelming majority of MPs from Scotland to the SNP, and that makes it easier for them to create a Scotland versus Westminster narrative.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland, Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
If they can get the legalities right that sounds like a very sensible solution for all sides. So I doubt it will ever happen
I know I quoted it fairly recently, but from "1066 and all that":
'Gladstone spent his declining years trying to guess the answer to the Irish question; unfortunately, whenever he was getting warm, the Irish secretly changed the question.’
Oh I do have to go back and reread that book. I have forgotten everything about it except it made me laugh out load many times when I first read it.
Indeed. I think I should do a reread. That is one of my favourite quotes from it (as I am part Irish). My other favourite was (confess I just looked it up and cut and pasted):
'Henry II, however, exclaimed to some of his Knights one day, `Who will rid me of this Chesterton beast? ' Whereupon the Knights pursued Belloc and murdered him in the organ at Canterbury Cathedral. Belloc was therefore made a Saint and the Knights came to be called the Canterbury Pilgrims.'
Mr. Thompson, yeah, I like SG-1 a lot, and share your concerns regarding a new series being poor (as seems to happen with lots of modern takes on classic sci-fi). But we shall see.
What's this? I loved SG-1, it still holds up. The military must have agreed given the cameos from serving chief officers. Had not heard any news.
I'm more curious how the planned Foundation series will work. Original trilogy not exactly set up for year on year narrative with the same characters.
The United States Air Force loved the show so much they made Richard Dean Anderson an honorary Brigadier General.
It showed the US Airforce, alone among the armed forces, defending multiple galaxies, whilst its officers nobly fought off civilian agency and political interference, of course they loved it.
Basically Labour are stuck almost forever around 35%, that seems to be the floor for the time being, which is an improvement on 2019.
2017 repeat is within reach, 40% should be doable with the right strategy.
Based on voteshare - I know not always a great measure - Labour are actually in the last 16 years or so, historically reasonably popular. It's just that the Tories are even more popular.
Voteshare, my dear fellow, is one thing. Turnout, especially in local elections, quite another.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
I hear we live in a one party state these days. Can anyone tell me which fcuking one it is to make this voting lark easier?
Obviously the top one. Is this a trick question?
Does the Abolish party have history or was it cobbled together quickly in the last couple of weeks by Nicola Sturgeon a Salmond hater to keep Alba off the top of the list?
Aardvarks For Caledonia had their application declined by the Scottish Electoral Commission
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
It won't be cost free, that kind of monetary stimulus is going to have a huge effect on asset price inflation which will take at least five years to unwind. It's far from free as we have seen since 2008, QE has a real cost of pricing young people out of housing.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Mr. kle4, I heard it a little while ago and a trending Twitter topic with a similar name reminded me to check.
I quite liked the Universe idea but the darker take jarred somewhat with the general feel of Stargate. I like grim and gritty realism but it doesn't gel well, I think, with this particular franchise.
Irish PM Michael Martin says even if there ever was a United Ireland Dublin would retain the Northern Ireland Assembly for Northern Irish domestic policy and just take the lead on external matters with UK input too
"In the event of a United Ireland, I (and all the other members of the Dail) would like to ensure that the various cut-throats and scumbags in the NI Assembly don't turn up in Dublin"
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
It won't be cost free, that kind of monetary stimulus is going to have a huge effect on asset price inflation which will take at least five years to unwind. It's far from free as we have seen since 2008, QE has a real cost of pricing young people out of housing.
Asset inflation but no general inflation for goods, services or wages? How does that work exactly?
OT. Anyone hear Johnson at the climate conference yesterday.......
"This is not all about a green act ...of ...of ...of ...of bunny hugging or however you want to put it ...not that there's anything wrong with bunny hugging..."
Greta has a pretty acute form of Asperger's syndrome, by her own admission she only talks when she feels it is essential, and isn't exactly renowned for her sense of humour in person. Wit requires a complex grasp of social dynamics, self-reflection, timing and irony.
It's her social media team. She's a brand now.
I am not a fan of the publicity seeking Ms Thunberg, but it is not correct to suggest people with Asperberger's are not humorous or witty, it really depends on their focus.
But, for the acute form that Greta has - she's publicly known for impassioned or even angry delivery of a quasi-religious message - then I doubt it. .
Without wishing to be uber-PC, I am not sure everything that you and I dislike about her can be put down to her Aspergers. I think she is just a very annoying person who has been given an in toxifying amount of publicity at an age when she is unable to deal with it with humility.
I think that's a fair assessment.
She has always reminded me of a modern day Joan of Arc. Utterly committed in her beliefs to the point of, in my view, foolish fanaticism, but somehow I get the impression that there is great deal of manipulation of her going on in the background and not always to her, or our, benefit.
Indeed. I don't know why we have to be subjected to the committed beliefs of a 16 year old on any topic let alone one that is extremely complex with implications on society and economics way beyond her ability to understand or appreciate them.
That the media (I'm looking at you BBC) jumps on this bandwagon without investigating and highlighting what is obvious PR manipulation is yet another example of the desperately poor journalism we have to put up with these days.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
There may be a nationalist majority in May but that does not mean there will be an SNP majority, indeed on the Comres poll yesterday the SNP would win only 62 MSPs, not only short of the 65 they need for a Holyrood majority but even below the 63 they won in 2016 before Brexit. If that was to be the case there would clearly be no mandate at all for an indyref2 and the UK Tory government would correctly refuse such a legal indyref2. https://twitter.com/BallotBoxScot?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
Even if Sturgeon went ahead and held one anyway as there was still a Nationalist majority combining SNP, Green and Alba MSPs Boris and the UK government would correctly ignore the result and respect the 2014 once in a generation vote.
It is also a myth to say Scots want a vote immediately, Yougov has found in its latest Scottish poll this month for example that 54% of Scots oppose an indyref2 this year, 55% of Scots oppose an indyref2 next year and 49% of Scots oppose an indyref2 before 2023 to just 34% in favour. Scots do back an indyref2 in the next 5 years by 44% to 40% but that is only a slim margin and would take us past the next UK general election in 2024 when it could be a decision for a PM Starmer anyway. https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/gat47c3kha/TimesResults_Scotland_210420_W.pdf
If that were to be the case and Starmer then introduced PR so be it, I have no great love for FPTP and voted for AV in 2011 as Australia already has. Even if a future Labour government introduced full PR as Germany, New Zealand, Spain and Italy already have that would not bother me either. If the right of the Tories went to Reform UK and UKIP and the left of Labour went to the Greens and started a new Corbynite party as those minor parties would be more likely to win MPs under PR so be it. It would be more representative of votes cast. However it would actually make centrist governments and coalitions more likely as any government would need to win over 50% of the vote, the only one of our governments to do since the war was the 2010-2015 coalition government which won 59% in 2010 (36% for the Cameron Tories and 23% for Clegg's LDs) and that was a pretty competent government overall.
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
It won't be cost free, that kind of monetary stimulus is going to have a huge effect on asset price inflation which will take at least five years to unwind. It's far from free as we have seen since 2008, QE has a real cost of pricing young people out of housing.
Asset inflation but no general inflation for goods, services or wages? How does that work exactly?
Plus houses haven't wildly inflated, price/income ratios are no higher now than they were 14 years despite zero interest rates and hundreds of billions in QE.
I think QE has prevented Japanese style deflation (and a fall in house prices etc) rather than increased them.
One other point on electoral reform - I think some sort of PR system is vital for the future of the Union.
With some sort of PR, if the SNP receive roughly half the vote they will have roughly half the Scottish MPs - and so the other half of Scottish MPs will still have a chance of having their voice heard.
At present FPTP can deliver the overwhelming majority of MPs from Scotland to the SNP, and that makes it easier for them to create a Scotland versus Westminster narrative.
You could say the same applies equally to Manchester and Essex for example.
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
It won't be cost free, that kind of monetary stimulus is going to have a huge effect on asset price inflation which will take at least five years to unwind. It's far from free as we have seen since 2008, QE has a real cost of pricing young people out of housing.
Asset inflation but no general inflation for goods, services or wages? How does that work exactly?
Well it's not just asset price inflation, it will be all the others except pay rises as companies will try and hold wages down to save money. Again, this hurts young people the most as companies will just lower starting salaries.
OT. Anyone hear Johnson at the climate conference yesterday.......
"This is not all about a green act ...of ...of ...of ...of bunny hugging or however you want to put it ...not that there's anything wrong with bunny hugging..."
Greta has a pretty acute form of Asperger's syndrome, by her own admission she only talks when she feels it is essential, and isn't exactly renowned for her sense of humour in person. Wit requires a complex grasp of social dynamics, self-reflection, timing and irony.
It's her social media team. She's a brand now.
I am not a fan of the publicity seeking Ms Thunberg, but it is not correct to suggest people with Asperberger's are not humorous or witty, it really depends on their focus.
But, for the acute form that Greta has - she's publicly known for impassioned or even angry delivery of a quasi-religious message - then I doubt it. .
Without wishing to be uber-PC, I am not sure everything that you and I dislike about her can be put down to her Aspergers. I think she is just a very annoying person who has been given an in toxifying amount of publicity at an age when she is unable to deal with it with humility.
I think that's a fair assessment.
She has always reminded me of a modern day Joan of Arc. Utterly committed in her beliefs to the point of, in my view, foolish fanaticism, but somehow I get the impression that there is great deal of manipulation of her going on in the background and not always to her, or our, benefit.
Indeed. I don't know why we have to be subjected to the committed beliefs of a 16 year old on any topic let alone one that is extremely complex with implications on society and economics way beyond her ability to understand or appreciate them.
That the media (I'm looking at you BBC) jumps on this bandwagon without investigating and highlighting what is obvious PR manipulation is yet another example of the desperately poor journalism we have to put up with these days.
i find her really irritating, and I mean REALLY irritating. However, I also find Nigel Farage irritating, Vladimir Putin frightening and Alex Salmond utterly repulsive. Unfortunately the BBC still needs to report on all these people and is not responsible for their existence.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Thank god we are out. I mean, really, is this up for discussion anymore? Bunch of complete muppets (with due apologies to Kermit and Miss Piggy).
They do seem determined to make Brexit look positive by any means necessary.
They really could have just STFU and tried to change the conversation, but no keep highlighting their failures.
I sometimes think that the EU only worked when the UK was able to point out that they were being muppets and the Germans and Dutch would quietly back us up whilst letting us take all the flack for not being communitaire enough. They need to recalibrate how they are going to make rational decisions now.
On the positive side there will be more pharmaceutical investment in the UK as a result of this nonsense.
OT. Anyone hear Johnson at the climate conference yesterday.......
"This is not all about a green act ...of ...of ...of ...of bunny hugging or however you want to put it ...not that there's anything wrong with bunny hugging..."
Greta has a pretty acute form of Asperger's syndrome, by her own admission she only talks when she feels it is essential, and isn't exactly renowned for her sense of humour in person. Wit requires a complex grasp of social dynamics, self-reflection, timing and irony.
It's her social media team. She's a brand now.
I am not a fan of the publicity seeking Ms Thunberg, but it is not correct to suggest people with Asperberger's are not humorous or witty, it really depends on their focus.
But, for the acute form that Greta has - she's publicly known for impassioned or even angry delivery of a quasi-religious message - then I doubt it. .
Without wishing to be uber-PC, I am not sure everything that you and I dislike about her can be put down to her Aspergers. I think she is just a very annoying person who has been given an in toxifying amount of publicity at an age when she is unable to deal with it with humility.
I think that's a fair assessment.
She has always reminded me of a modern day Joan of Arc. Utterly committed in her beliefs to the point of, in my view, foolish fanaticism, but somehow I get the impression that there is great deal of manipulation of her going on in the background and not always to her, or our, benefit.
Indeed. I don't know why we have to be subjected to the committed beliefs of a 16 year old on any topic let alone one that is extremely complex with implications on society and economics way beyond her ability to understand or appreciate them.
That the media (I'm looking at you BBC) jumps on this bandwagon without investigating and highlighting what is obvious PR manipulation is yet another example of the desperately poor journalism we have to put up with these days.
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
It won't be cost free, that kind of monetary stimulus is going to have a huge effect on asset price inflation which will take at least five years to unwind. It's far from free as we have seen since 2008, QE has a real cost of pricing young people out of housing.
Asset inflation but no general inflation for goods, services or wages? How does that work exactly?
Plus houses haven't wildly inflated, price/income ratios are no higher now than they were 14 years despite zero interest rates and hundreds of billions in QE.
I think QE has prevented Japanese style deflation (and a fall in house prices etc) rather than increased them.
Eldest Granddaughter and her boyfriend, who are trying to buy a house in Leeds would somewhat disagree with one the first point. Wildly inflated... not yet, time will tell. Inflated. Definitely.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Mr. Thompson, yeah, I like SG-1 a lot, and share your concerns regarding a new series being poor (as seems to happen with lots of modern takes on classic sci-fi). But we shall see.
What's this? I loved SG-1, it still holds up. The military must have agreed given the cameos from serving chief officers. Had not heard any news.
I'm more curious how the planned Foundation series will work. Original trilogy not exactly set up for year on year narrative with the same characters.
The United States Air Force loved the show so much they made Richard Dean Anderson an honorary Brigadier General.
It showed the US Airforce, alone among the armed forces, defending multiple galaxies, whilst its officers nobly fought off civilian agency and political interference, of course they loved it.
What about the real enemies, the US Army and Navy?
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
It won't be cost free, that kind of monetary stimulus is going to have a huge effect on asset price inflation which will take at least five years to unwind. It's far from free as we have seen since 2008, QE has a real cost of pricing young people out of housing.
Asset inflation but no general inflation for goods, services or wages? How does that work exactly?
Plus houses haven't wildly inflated, price/income ratios are no higher now than they were 14 years despite zero interest rates and hundreds of billions in QE.
I think QE has prevented Japanese style deflation (and a fall in house prices etc) rather than increased them.
Eldest Granddaughter and her boyfriend, who are trying to buy a house in Leeds would somewhat disagree with one the first point. Wildly inflated... not yet, time will tell. Inflated. Definitely.
The thing is the price/income ratio of the housing market inflated 1997-2007 pre-QE, not post-QE.
Its strange. If zero interest rates and QE were triggering inflation then prices should be considerably higher but they're not.
The only rational explanation to me is that there are counteracting deflationary forces. The alternative is that economics as we know it is broken.
One other point on electoral reform - I think some sort of PR system is vital for the future of the Union.
With some sort of PR, if the SNP receive roughly half the vote they will have roughly half the Scottish MPs - and so the other half of Scottish MPs will still have a chance of having their voice heard.
At present FPTP can deliver the overwhelming majority of MPs from Scotland to the SNP, and that makes it easier for them to create a Scotland versus Westminster narrative.
The SNP are well aware of that. They've been calling for Westminster voting reform for many years.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
There may be a nationalist majority in May but that does not mean there will be an SNP majority, indeed on the Comres poll yesterday the SNP would win only 62 MSPs, not only short of the 65 they need for a Holyrood majority but even below the 63 they won in 2016 before Brexit. If that was to be the case there would clearly be no mandate at all for an indyref2 and the UK Tory government would correctly refuse such a legal indyref2. https://twitter.com/BallotBoxScot?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
Even if Sturgeon went ahead and held one anyway as there was still a Nationalist majority combining SNP, Green and Alba MSPs Boris and the UK government would correctly ignore the result and respect the 2014 once in a generation vote.
It is also a myth to say Scots want a vote immediately, Yougov has found in its latest Scottish poll this month for example that 54% of Scots oppose an indyref2 this year, 55% of Scots oppose an indyref2 next year and 49% of Scots oppose an indyref2 before 2023 to just 34% in favour. Scots do back an indyref2 in the next 5 years by 44% to 40% but that is only a slim margin and would take us past the next UK general election in 2024 when it could be a decision for a PM Starmer anyway. https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/gat47c3kha/TimesResults_Scotland_210420_W.pdf
If that were to be the case and Starmer then introduced PR so be it, I have no great love for FPTP and voted for AV in 2011 as Australia already has. Even if a future Labour government introduced full PR as Germany, New Zealand, Spain and Italy already have that would not bother me either. If the right of the Tories went to Reform UK and UKIP and the left of Labour went to the Greens and started a new Corbynite party as those minor parties would be more likely to win MPs under PR so be it. It would be more representative of votes cast. However it would actually make centrist governments and coalitions more likely as any government would need to win over 50% of the vote, the only one of our governments to do since the war was the 2010-2015 coalition government which won 59% in 2010 (36% for the Cameron Tories and 23% for Clegg's LDs) and that was a pretty competent government overall.
An interestingly more nuanced take.
Yes but unfortunately it is not the way that a representative democracy works. If people vote for the SNP, Alba or the little green helpers they are voting for a world of pain for Scotland at the time that the leaders of these parties choose. The electorate no longer have control of the process. The only way to stop this damage is to ensure that those so committed do not have a majority.
Interestingly, this morning I got a leaflet from the SNP saying the referendum would happen "when the Covid emergency was over". Clearly the argument that this is the last thing Scotland needs right now has been causing concern in the focus groups. But people really need to think about what is at stake here before they cast their votes.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Thank god we are out. I mean, really, is this up for discussion anymore? Bunch of complete muppets (with due apologies to Kermit and Miss Piggy).
They do seem determined to make Brexit look positive by any means necessary.
They really could have just STFU and tried to change the conversation, but no keep highlighting their failures.
I sometimes think that the EU only worked when the UK was able to point out that they were being muppets and the Germans and Dutch would quietly back us up whilst letting us take all the flack for not being communitaire enough. They need to recalibrate how they are going to make rational decisions now.
On the positive side there will be more pharmaceutical investment in the UK as a result of this nonsense.
Hmmm, a sweeping statement that is almost certainly (sadly) wrong. No CEO of a pharma company will likely make a decision based on this regarding investment. They might say so for leverage, but it would be way down their list of priorities. CEOs of pharma companies make decisions on rational shareholder value propositions, not nationalistic sabre rattling. If there is any truth in what you say, then it would need to counterbalance the massive disbenefit to UK based pharma that Brexit has given.
Anyway, it was nice to discuss Scottish matters, rather than the EU for once, interspersed with occasional silliness and concern for Malcolmg's aeronautical sexual predilections/ fantasies. Before we go down the EU/Brexit rabbit hole I must say adieu, and have a good weekend.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Thank god we are out. I mean, really, is this up for discussion anymore? Bunch of complete muppets (with due apologies to Kermit and Miss Piggy).
By the same token I'd imagine our ex partners are delighted to see the back of us.
If this site is anything to judge by our ill will and competitiveness towards the EU is an embarrassment.
That you think "competitiveness" is a bad thing sums up everything that is broken about the European Union and its ardent supporters.
Should we compete on how many deaths the other team has?
In a way, yes.
We should compete to be the best version of ourselves we can be - and strive to learn from each other on how to improve things.
What that shows is the UK was hit hard twice, once at the beginning when not much was known, and once by the evolution of Kent Covid - but within a year of the pandemic starting there were now no excess deaths in this country which sadly isn't the case in other countries.
Competition doesn't mean we want others to fail. Hopefully other nations can learn from the UK's success and catch up with us in eliminating ongoing deaths like we have done. Don't you agree with that?
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Thank god we are out. I mean, really, is this up for discussion anymore? Bunch of complete muppets (with due apologies to Kermit and Miss Piggy).
They do seem determined to make Brexit look positive by any means necessary.
They really could have just STFU and tried to change the conversation, but no keep highlighting their failures.
I sometimes think that the EU only worked when the UK was able to point out that they were being muppets and the Germans and Dutch would quietly back us up whilst letting us take all the flack for not being communitaire enough. They need to recalibrate how they are going to make rational decisions now.
On the positive side there will be more pharmaceutical investment in the UK as a result of this nonsense.
Hmmm, a sweeping statement that is almost certainly (sadly) wrong. No CEO of a pharma company will likely make a decision based on this regarding investment. They might say so for leverage, but it would be way down their list of priorities. CEOs of pharma companies make decisions on rational shareholder value propositions, not nationalistic sabre rattling. If there is any truth in what you say, then it would need to counterbalance the massive disbenefit to UK based pharma that Brexit has given.
Anyway, it was nice to discuss Scottish matters, rather than the EU for once, interspersed with occasional silliness and concern for Malcolmg's aeronautical sexual predilections/ fantasies. Before we go down the EU/Brexit rabbit hole I must say adieu, and have a good weekend.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Thank god we are out. I mean, really, is this up for discussion anymore? Bunch of complete muppets (with due apologies to Kermit and Miss Piggy).
They do seem determined to make Brexit look positive by any means necessary.
They really could have just STFU and tried to change the conversation, but no keep highlighting their failures.
I sometimes think that the EU only worked when the UK was able to point out that they were being muppets and the Germans and Dutch would quietly back us up whilst letting us take all the flack for not being communitaire enough. They need to recalibrate how they are going to make rational decisions now.
On the positive side there will be more pharmaceutical investment in the UK as a result of this nonsense.
Hmmm, a sweeping statement that is almost certainly (sadly) wrong. No CEO of a pharma company will likely make a decision based on this regarding investment. They might say so for leverage, but it would be way down their list of priorities. CEOs of pharma companies make decisions on rational shareholder value propositions, not nationalistic sabre rattling. If there is any truth in what you say, then it would need to counterbalance the massive disbenefit to UK based pharma that Brexit has given.
Anyway, it was nice to discuss Scottish matters, rather than the EU for once, interspersed with occasional silliness and concern for Malcolmg's aeronautical sexual predilections/ fantasies. Before we go down the EU/Brexit rabbit hole I must say adieu, and have a good weekend.
You say that but the past twelve months have already seen immense investment (a lot of it government sponsored to be fair) in the pharmaceutical industry in this nation.
We are going to come out of this pandemic with a much bigger pharma industry than we went into it with.
Which is one thing which makes this such an unusual recession. There have been billions invested in some sectors during the recession.
To be fair much of this is due to choices the government have made to sponsor investment, instead of Brexit per se but taking back control and having governments we elect make choices that suit us was the point of Brexit. So its a bit circular.
Mr. Thompson, yeah, I like SG-1 a lot, and share your concerns regarding a new series being poor (as seems to happen with lots of modern takes on classic sci-fi). But we shall see.
What's this? I loved SG-1, it still holds up. The military must have agreed given the cameos from serving chief officers. Had not heard any news.
I'm more curious how the planned Foundation series will work. Original trilogy not exactly set up for year on year narrative with the same characters.
The United States Air Force loved the show so much they made Richard Dean Anderson an honorary Brigadier General.
It showed the US Airforce, alone among the armed forces, defending multiple galaxies, whilst its officers nobly fought off civilian agency and political interference, of course they loved it.
What about the real enemies, the US Army and Navy?
Good afternoon everyone, and thank you Philip for a thought provoking article.
This is a very difficult election for Nicola Sturgeon. If she wins an overall majority, she has no excuse not to call for a referendum. Despite the bluster, I think Boris Johnson would have no alternative other than to grant one. He won’t want to be seen as a democracy denier. If Yes win an Indyref, the reason for the SNP’s existence disappears. If she loses, she will gave to resign, and the SNP will be severely weakened for many years.
It is in Sturgeon’s interest, therefore, not to have a referendum. The scenario that would most suit her, and enable her to continue with her social engineering policies, would be to fall very slightly short of an overall majority, and to govern with the support of the Greens, either in a coalition or a confidence and supply deal. SNP and Green policies are very similar. However, this will be difficult to pull off. If she is too successful, she will have an overall majority. If she is not successful enough, she will be weakened, and will be leading a lame duck government.
Alba has thrown a major spanner in the works for her. Independence supporters now have another party to vote for. I think they will gain 3 or 4 seats and hold her feet to the fire. There will also be a fightback within the SNP from the currently marginalised activists who have been denied a say in policy since 2018, unless she fights for a referendum.
Can she pull it off? I think not. The SNP have fought a lacklustre campaign, only helped by the media, especially the BBC, hardly mentioning Alba. Ofcom are today investigating the lack of BBC coverage of Alba. I suspect that many SNP supporters will just stay at home, and even more will vote Green, Alba or Labour on the list. I expect Labour to be the second biggest party, and therefore, the official opposition. This would also suit Sturgeon, as it would reduce the emphasis on Independence in Holyrood.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
Mr. Thompson, yeah, I like SG-1 a lot, and share your concerns regarding a new series being poor (as seems to happen with lots of modern takes on classic sci-fi). But we shall see.
What's this? I loved SG-1, it still holds up. The military must have agreed given the cameos from serving chief officers. Had not heard any news.
I'm more curious how the planned Foundation series will work. Original trilogy not exactly set up for year on year narrative with the same characters.
The United States Air Force loved the show so much they made Richard Dean Anderson an honorary Brigadier General.
It showed the US Airforce, alone among the armed forces, defending multiple galaxies, whilst its officers nobly fought off civilian agency and political interference, of course they loved it.
What about the real enemies, the US Army and Navy?
Treated as they deserved - ignored.
When you think about it besides the sci-fi antagonists like the Goa'uld the human antagonists were "civilian oversight" groups, politicians etc - especially politicians who want to cut the Air Force budget. Senator Kinsey was a great antagonist to love to hate.
Almost like the whole series was a puff piece for the USAF.
Busy morning, but just wanted to comment on the public sector finance data, it looks a lot better than what the OBR predicted and the collapse in tax receipts will probably bounce back extremely strongly this year while the virus spending will be virtually eliminated by the end of July as the need for people to be on furlough and other support schemes are reduced and actually eliminated by September.
As a wild guess, I'd say we're due a £80bn uplift in job related tax receipts this year as income tax, self assessment, NI and other job related taxes recover strongly and in terms of income support schemes we spent £78bn in the previous year, this should be close to around £15-20bn this year. Just in job terms the deficit will go down by around £130-140bn. The other thing to note is that industry support schemes will also wind down from September and tax take from businesses will begin to accrue again from then as they shake off the rust of lockdown. I'd estimate that this will be worth around £30bn saved in support schemes and around £50bn gained in VAT, rates, corporation tax and other smaller taxes on business/spending. That's another £80bn swing in the deficit.
Adding in all of the other smaller gains elsewhere in the economy and general uplift I think we're probably going to end the next year with a deficit under £100bn and the following year under £60bn. Compared to our trends before the virus that puts total virus borrowing at £400bn, almost all of which has been monetised by the BoE already.
The predictions of economic doom are hugely overdone IMO, at least for this country and the US.
I still find the idea that monetising £400bn of debt is some magical, cost free Get out of Jail Free card very hard to come to terms with. I just can't believe it is going to be that simple.
Off-topic but a personal word of thanks to you @DavidL re your advice about the dispute I had. Looks as though it is all sorted.
Do they announce the list vote in a constituency at the time the constituency declares, or is the first indication of list votes we get when regions start declaring as a whole?
Maybe Labour are going to outflank the tories on flagshagging. Skip straight over the butcher's apron and go right to the hard stuff: the flag of the Genoese navy.
Good afternoon everyone, and thank you Philip for a thought provoking article.
This is a very difficult election for Nicola Sturgeon. If she wins an overall majority, she has no excuse not to call for a referendum. Despite the bluster, I think Boris Johnson would have no alternative other than to grant one. He won’t want to be seen as a democracy denier. If Yes win an Indyref, the reason for the SNP’s existence disappears. If she loses, she will gave to resign, and the SNP will be severely weakened for many years.
It is in Sturgeon’s interest, therefore, not to have a referendum. The scenario that would most suit her, and enable her to continue with her social engineering policies, would be to fall very slightly short of an overall majority, and to govern with the support of the Greens, either in a coalition or a confidence and supply deal. SNP and Green policies are very similar. However, this will be difficult to pull off. If she is too successful, she will have an overall majority. If she is not successful enough, she will be weakened, and will be leading a lame duck government.
Alba has thrown a major spanner in the works for her. Independence supporters now have another party to vote for. I think they will gain 3 or 4 seats and hold her feet to the fire. There will also be a fightback within the SNP from the currently marginalised activists who have been denied a say in policy since 2018, unless she fights for a referendum.
Can she pull it off? I think not. The SNP have fought a lacklustre campaign, only helped by the media, especially the BBC, hardly mentioning Alba. Ofcom are today investigating the lack of BBC coverage of Alba. I suspect that many SNP supporters will just stay at home, and even more will vote Green, Alba or Labour on the list. I expect Labour to be the second biggest party, and therefore, the official opposition. This would also suit Sturgeon, as it would reduce the emphasis on Independence in Holyrood.
So Sturgeon has a problem - the parties wanting a referendum are going to have over 50% of the seats and that puts her in an impossible situation especially when you look at the unicorn futures we saw MalcolmG and other pro independence voters imagine.
Sturgeon is going to have to find a very good excuse to delay things if that is her desire...
Good afternoon everyone, and thank you Philip for a thought provoking article.
This is a very difficult election for Nicola Sturgeon. If she wins an overall majority, she has no excuse not to call for a referendum. Despite the bluster, I think Boris Johnson would have no alternative other than to grant one. He won’t want to be seen as a democracy denier. If Yes win an Indyref, the reason for the SNP’s existence disappears. If she loses, she will gave to resign, and the SNP will be severely weakened for many years.
It is in Sturgeon’s interest, therefore, not to have a referendum. The scenario that would most suit her, and enable her to continue with her social engineering policies, would be to fall very slightly short of an overall majority, and to govern with the support of the Greens, either in a coalition or a confidence and supply deal. SNP and Green policies are very similar. However, this will be difficult to pull off. If she is too successful, she will have an overall majority. If she is not successful enough, she will be weakened, and will be leading a lame duck government.
Alba has thrown a major spanner in the works for her. Independence supporters now have another party to vote for. I think they will gain 3 or 4 seats and hold her feet to the fire. There will also be a fightback within the SNP from the currently marginalised activists who have been denied a say in policy since 2018, unless she fights for a referendum.
Can she pull it off? I think not. The SNP have fought a lacklustre campaign, only helped by the media, especially the BBC, hardly mentioning Alba. Ofcom are today investigating the lack of BBC coverage of Alba. I suspect that many SNP supporters will just stay at home, and even more will vote Green, Alba or Labour on the list. I expect Labour to be the second biggest party, and therefore, the official opposition. This would also suit Sturgeon, as it would reduce the emphasis on Independence in Holyrood.
Interesting times ahead!
Latest Comres has the SNP on 62 seats so she would fall short of the 65 she needs for an overall majority as would suit her and with 7 Greens remain in government but the SNP would be down one on the 63 seats they won in 2016 which could also weaken her. https://twitter.com/BallotBoxScot/status/1385315103625515016?s=20
Yougov gives the SNP 68 seats and a narrow overall majority so it will be close either way
Comments
https://twitter.com/peterwalker99/status/1385538273028804610?s=20
That has to be the worst value since [blank]
For one thing, the sheer volume of correspondence and media enquiries she gets from her profile will mean she has to have help with its management.
I think there's a similar scheme in early development for Australia-Singapore.
It's a bit like Angeline Jolie as a UN special Ambassador - publicising an issue, fine.
For actual knowledge/information I would be listening to Dr. Hoesung Lee etc.
George of course was Middle Eastern and his veneration was indeed as a result of the Crusades. Prior to that the patron saint of England was a Suffolk lad, Edmund the Martyr, King of the Angles, from whom Bury St Edmunds derives its name.
And yes, Thailand is getting into Covid problems. My granddaughters there are now being home schooled, which causes difficulties for my son, as his wife's English isn't good enough to teach the youngest.
I can believe a formal one technically requires Westminster consent.
But one cannot reasonably be denied if parties who want one win, so it must happen when the nationalists, of all stripes, vote for one.
I think voting reform is a good idea, and even if people disagree, a major constitutional change to the Union would be the right time to consider a lot if things afresh, as so much will, regrettably, have changed.
But never give up. Potential inevitability is no reason to stop the fight.
I'm just saying that on the balance of evidence before us I don't believe she drafts her witty tweets.
She may well approve them.
I was always interested in the fact that Saddam Hussein's wife had come back from a shopping trip to Paris, just before the invasion of Kuwait....
"You spent *how* much in the Place Vendôme? I'll have to steal a whole country to pay for that...."
Also - if there is one under English law then what about Scotland? Or NI?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-56845676
I'm more curious how the planned Foundation series will work. Original trilogy not exactly set up for year on year narrative with the same characters.
Actually £100m sounds extremely conservative, especially if you consider the economic damage the Scottish Parliament inflicts.
I don't think superinjunctions should be legal. They're justice unseen.
Punish people for breaking injunctions, fair enough, but to have a shadowy cabal of rulings that can't be seen - I abhor that.
Actually, more recently, "since a Scottish Minister got taken out for a free lunch and signed £500m of guarantees for Mr Gupta with no civil service involvement."
Who said that any reform of education was wrong and that, simply, the budget should be vastly increased. When asked, couldn't say what the extra money would be used for, and refused to quantify the improvements that the extra money would bring.
I presume the expert in question is now the head of OFSTED.
2017 repeat is within reach, 40% should be doable with the right strategy.
Based on voteshare - I know not always a great measure - Labour are actually in the last 16 years or so, historically reasonably popular. It's just that the Tories are even more popular.
No one will be held accountable though.
Envy of the world.
https://www.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2000588556/
'Gladstone spent his declining years trying to guess the answer to the Irish question; unfortunately, whenever he was getting warm, the Irish secretly changed the question.’
Atlantis was Ok, but I didn't get through Universe.
Just as with Rotherham, the idea that there should be any sanction against permanent officials who made policy decisions is regarded as immoral.
"But x is a deeply knowledgeable career professional, and she has a right to move to a better job after completely failing in the last one.:
With some sort of PR, if the SNP receive roughly half the vote they will have roughly half the Scottish MPs - and so the other half of Scottish MPs will still have a chance of having their voice heard.
At present FPTP can deliver the overwhelming majority of MPs from Scotland to the SNP, and that makes it easier for them to create a Scotland versus Westminster narrative.
Almost every EU country has backed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery delays, paving the way for the Commission to start legal proceedings as soon as Friday, according to two EU diplomats.
Five to six of the bigger countries had aired reservations about a lawsuit when EU ambassadors met earlier this week, first warning there's little the EU can do if AstraZeneca fails to deliver more doses, then arguing that legal action could further worsen AstraZeneca's already-tarnished image.
But one by one, concerned countries fell in line: France backed the lawsuit on Thursday night, followed by Germany Friday morning, according to at least two diplomats. Hungary backed the lawsuit as well as of Friday morning, according to another diplomat.
https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-france-back-commissions-astrazeneca-lawsuit-diplomats/
'Henry II, however, exclaimed to some of his Knights one day, `Who will rid me of this Chesterton beast? ' Whereupon the Knights pursued Belloc and murdered him in the organ at Canterbury Cathedral. Belloc was therefore made a Saint and the Knights came to be called the Canterbury Pilgrims.'
They really could have just STFU and tried to change the conversation, but no keep highlighting their failures.
I quite liked the Universe idea but the darker take jarred somewhat with the general feel of Stargate. I like grim and gritty realism but it doesn't gel well, I think, with this particular franchise.
That the media (I'm looking at you BBC) jumps on this bandwagon without investigating and highlighting what is obvious PR manipulation is yet another example of the desperately poor journalism we have to put up with these days.
Oxford Malaria vaccine proves highly effective in Burkina Faso trial
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/23/oxford-malaria-vaccine-proves-highly-effective-in-burkina-faso-trial
https://coffeeordie.com/ukraine-war-fighting-for-us/
I think QE has prevented Japanese style deflation (and a fall in house prices etc) rather than increased them.
Moves up to a 73 day gap
On the positive side there will be more pharmaceutical investment in the UK as a result of this nonsense.
Under intense pressure in the Hartlepool by-election, this is their latest leaflet, posted through doors yesterday.. (the wrong day.)
https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1385550875737870338?s=20
If this site is anything to judge by our ill will and competitiveness towards the EU is an embarrassment.
that is obviously incompatible with anybody in the SNP saying they want an independent Scotland to join the EU
which makes her statement a straightforward lie, surely?
https://twitter.com/kevverage/status/1385551389775077385?s=20
Its strange. If zero interest rates and QE were triggering inflation then prices should be considerably higher but they're not.
The only rational explanation to me is that there are counteracting deflationary forces. The alternative is that economics as we know it is broken.
https://twitter.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1385549317222641672?s=20
Interestingly, this morning I got a leaflet from the SNP saying the referendum would happen "when the Covid emergency was over". Clearly the argument that this is the last thing Scotland needs right now has been causing concern in the focus groups. But people really need to think about what is at stake here before they cast their votes.
Anyway, it was nice to discuss Scottish matters, rather than the EU for once, interspersed with occasional silliness and concern for Malcolmg's aeronautical sexual predilections/ fantasies. Before we go down the EU/Brexit rabbit hole I must say adieu, and have a good weekend.
We should compete to be the best version of ourselves we can be - and strive to learn from each other on how to improve things.
What that shows is the UK was hit hard twice, once at the beginning when not much was known, and once by the evolution of Kent Covid - but within a year of the pandemic starting there were now no excess deaths in this country which sadly isn't the case in other countries.
Competition doesn't mean we want others to fail. Hopefully other nations can learn from the UK's success and catch up with us in eliminating ongoing deaths like we have done. Don't you agree with that?
We are going to come out of this pandemic with a much bigger pharma industry than we went into it with.
Which is one thing which makes this such an unusual recession. There have been billions invested in some sectors during the recession.
To be fair much of this is due to choices the government have made to sponsor investment, instead of Brexit per se but taking back control and having governments we elect make choices that suit us was the point of Brexit. So its a bit circular.
This is a very difficult election for Nicola Sturgeon. If she wins an overall majority, she has no excuse not to call for a referendum. Despite the bluster, I think Boris Johnson would have no alternative other than to grant one. He won’t want to be seen as a democracy denier. If Yes win an Indyref, the reason for the SNP’s existence disappears. If she loses, she will gave to resign, and the SNP will be severely weakened for many years.
It is in Sturgeon’s interest, therefore, not to have a referendum. The scenario that would most suit her, and enable her to continue with her social engineering policies, would be to fall very slightly short of an overall majority, and to govern with the support of the Greens, either in a coalition or a confidence and supply deal. SNP and Green policies are very similar. However, this will be difficult to pull off. If she is too successful, she will have an overall majority. If she is not successful enough, she will be weakened, and will be leading a lame duck government.
Alba has thrown a major spanner in the works for her. Independence supporters now have another party to vote for. I think they will gain 3 or 4 seats and hold her feet to the fire. There will also be a fightback within the SNP from the currently marginalised activists who have been denied a say in policy since 2018, unless she fights for a referendum.
Can she pull it off? I think not. The SNP have fought a lacklustre campaign, only helped by the media, especially the BBC, hardly mentioning Alba. Ofcom are today investigating the lack of BBC coverage of Alba. I suspect that many SNP supporters will just stay at home, and even more will vote Green, Alba or Labour on the list. I expect Labour to be the second biggest party, and therefore, the official opposition. This would also suit Sturgeon, as it would reduce the emphasis on Independence in Holyrood.
Interesting times ahead!
Almost like the whole series was a puff piece for the USAF.
How the Bundersliga became a one club league.
https://youtu.be/YB9cpKlBVKQ
The Lazio miracle: How Rome got it right on vaccinations
Italian region copied successful schemes in the UK, US and Israel.
https://www.politico.eu/article/the-lazio-miracle-how-rome-got-it-right-on-vaccinations/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1619166245
So Sturgeon has a problem - the parties wanting a referendum are going to have over 50% of the seats and that puts her in an impossible situation especially when you look at the unicorn futures we saw MalcolmG and other pro independence voters imagine.
Sturgeon is going to have to find a very good excuse to delay things if that is her desire...
https://twitter.com/BallotBoxScot/status/1385315103625515016?s=20
Yougov gives the SNP 68 seats and a narrow overall majority so it will be close either way
https://twitter.com/BallotBoxScot/status/1385198824948486146?s=20