Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
One of the clever things Spain has done- by accident, probably- is screw up a fairly small part of their landmass. The touristy coasts are pretty terrible in many ways. But heck, they bring prosperity to places that were poor, and a week's contentment to those of us living in less blessed latitudes.
And a bit like intensive farming, they leave plenty of space incredibly unspoilt. It's a couple of decades since I took a bunch of students to do geology in the wilds around Leon. But wilds they certainly are. And the food was simple but yummy.
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
Our favourite hotel in Palma - so much so, we've stayed there four times:
It's beautiful: stunning simplicity, brilliant service and great breakfast. In the middle of Palma, but on a very quiet street. 20 minutes on a bus from the airport then a 5-minute walk.
That looks superb. Quite pricey and tiny pool tho
At the moment if you are canny you can get 4 star superior for about £70 a night. That’s what I am paying. For a luxe seafront hotel with two pools, an indoor pool, a spa, a beach, scuba, two restaurants. Insane
They are desperate for custom. I reckon occupancy is about 30%. In July
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Have you ever thought of doing some travel writing? You’re really rather good at it.
I am truly amazed at Tories on here supporting the subsidy to Nissan. It is as if they have become members of the Labour party of old.
I'm no libertarian. I support government provision of health and education as a fundamental right for all. I support Governments setting strategy and providing infrastructure for their stated aims (whether I agree with them or not). So if we have a green agenda we should put in place the infrastructure to support that. I support the idea of paying farmers to look after the countryside (and decades ago we supported them differently to be self sufficient in food when that was a different strategic aim).
However government, which are notoriously bad at making business decisions, bunging £100M to one company is madness. It screws with the market and it stifles new business, which have a hard enough time anyway competing with the big boys. What right has a government got to bugger around like this?
If you suggested to a Conservative that we should nationalise Nissan they would think you were mad. Why? Because they think competition is better than government controlled industry. But here they are messing around with competition. Aren't a whole lot of other companies now thinking where is my bung?
I'm sure they are. Its competition among companies to see if they can persuade government to give them one, or tax breaks or something else.
And perhaps conservatives want what you suggest, I dont know, but people aren't ideologically coherent, and I suspect most Conservatives just want results.
It's pretty well established I think that people, and thus parties, support or oppose the same thing depending on whose idea it is.
Which, unfortunately, takes us back to you-know-what.
One of the benefits of being in a large, lumbering, one might almost say sclerotic block is the ability to say to GlobalCorp "well, we'd love to bung you a pile of money, but we're just not allowed to".
Whereas a nimble, flexible nation might be asked to assume the position of... for example, a reluctant Turkish conscript. Because they can. What with all that nimble flexibility.
Remember Number Two's speech at the end of the first Austin Powers movie? The great powers are no longer the nations- they're the corporations.
They just paid market rate.
The example I gave last thread was $20m over 10 years to *preserve* 280 jobs.
That’s about $70k/£50k per job.
For 1,600 *new* jobs, £50k per job works out at £80m. I can believe new jobs are worth more than existing jobs plus there are another 4,500 jobs in the supply chain.
So the rumoured £100m doesn’t seem massively out of line
I am truly amazed at Tories on here supporting the subsidy to Nissan. It is as if they have become members of the Labour party of old.
I'm no libertarian. I support government provision of health and education as a fundamental right for all. I support Governments setting strategy and providing infrastructure for their stated aims (whether I agree with them or not). So if we have a green agenda we should put in place the infrastructure to support that. I support the idea of paying farmers to look after the countryside (and decades ago we supported them differently to be self sufficient in food when that was a different strategic aim).
However government, which are notoriously bad at making business decisions, bunging £100M to one company is madness. It screws with the market and it stifles new business, which have a hard enough time anyway competing with the big boys. What right has a government got to bugger around like this?
If you suggested to a Conservative that we should nationalise Nissan they would think you were mad. Why? Because they think competition is better than government controlled industry. But here they are messing around with competition. Aren't a whole lot of other companies now thinking where is my bung?
You're over a decade too late in complaining.
What do you think the trillion quid plus of government borrowing during the last decade has been used for ?
What's the difference between bunging Nissan to build a new factory and bunging oldies to spend on holidays and meals out ?
Hi Richard,
Not sure what you are referring to so don't know whether to agree or disagree.
But there is a difference between spending or taxing across the board and also doing stuff for strategic reasons compared to bunging individual companies.
I might not agree with the tax and spend decisions or the strategies of a particular Government, but I respect the Government for making those decisions. I can not respect the decision to give one commercial company £100m which gives it an advantage over its competitors. I particularly find ironic that it is a Conservative government that is doing so.
There is nothing unconservative about regional development policy. Nissan will not be getting cash - it will make a significant investment and create 1600 new jobs. In return it will pay lower taxes for a period of time. That’s a temporary cashflow benefit but it only partially offsets the cost of the investment
But it is not regional is it, it is just Nissan getting the breaks, so it is interfering in competition. If the breaks were available to all that would be ok. If they were breaks to all in a particular industry that would also be ok (although likely abused), but this is just a break for Nissan so messing with competition just like happens in a nationalisation.
In normal times, Labour holding Batley & Spen would be a non-event.
But I agree with those who say a Labour hold in these non-normal times would be a huge boost for Starmer. Overnight, his critics within the party would shut up (or be silenced, until at least the next crisis). And at the same time, the hint of an emerging narrative against the government in general and BJ in particular would gather steam. Although Tory MPs shouldn't worry if they don't win Batley & Spen, I suspect they would worry, as they were, until very recently, expecting to sail home. And Galloway would hopefully f*** off back to the gutter where he belongs.
That BJ tweet you've linked to is labelled as 'United Kingdom government official'. It's not appropriate for him to use this account for partisan tweets relating to a by-election. Pretty disgraceful, but not surprising.
It's his personal account - twitter have chosen to call it governmental - it's not the prime ministerial twitter account so your point is just bilge.
Twitter say it's not his personal account. At their page linked to from the words "United Kingdom government official", they write:
"How government accounts are defined
Our focus is on senior officials and entities that are the official voice of the nation state abroad, specifically accounts of key government officials, including foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders. Where accounts are used solely for personal use and do not play a role as a geopolitical or official Government communication channel, we will not label the account."
Germany’s vaccine committee recommended that everyone who received an AstraZeneca first dose switch to Pfizer or Moderna jabs for better protection against Covid. Studies show that the immune response is “clearly superior” when an AstraZeneca shot is combined with a second mRNA vaccine, compared with double AstraZeneca jabs, said the German public health vaccine committee.
It's likely to be true the other way around as well. i.e. mRNA vaccines followed by viral vector vaccines produces a better immune responses as well. It's all down to stimulating the immune system to recognise the virus with as many different types of vaccine as possible.
If we had the time we would trial all the different combinations to find the best options for different circumstances, such the as fastest immune response, strongest response, most enduring response, broadest response, etc. Then we would use the best combination for the right circumstances, fast for outbreaks, enduring for routine vaccination, strongest perhaps for the most vulnerable, and so on. Ideally they might even be selected based on an individual's medical history.
I think someone did share a story on here about some studies on this starting in the UK.
Is this market very similar to C&A except LAB not LD This time? Tories 1.54 Lab 2.66
Labour has now officially called it a night. We had 180 people on the phone bank today, and 600 helpers on the streets. Every house has been visited, and if they weren't in visited again, 5 times during the day - we've decided that the remainder are actually genuinely away or REALLY don't want to answer the door.
Bearing in mind that we were only calling people who said they'd vote Labour or were still undecided - the vast majority of Labour promises said they'd been to vote Labour (though 2 had gone Galloway), while the don't knows were evenly divided between won't vote, Labour or "not telling you".
We've done what we can, and one certainly can't say the activists haven't bothered. Is it enough? Yes, I think it may have been, just.
Well, SCOTUS has just basically invalidated the VRA.
I would pile on the GOP for midterms and next Pres election because that's it.
They have comprehensively rejected the argument that a voting restriction that demonstrably affects minorities more is not in and of itself a violation of Section 2 of the VRA.
That is what is known as a bullshit garbage partisan decision.
I make a precise and careful judgement You are sailing close to the wind He makes a bullshit garbage partisan decision
Oh thank god, I was worried when you hadn't rushed to the defence of blatant GOP bullshit within minutes. I thought something might have happened to you.
I read somewhere that even the Biden administration realised that legally they couldn’t oppose this particular measure, or would like lose on the merits. The problem with a lot of these new laws is the reasons they are being introduced, but that doesn’t necessarily create a legal issue. Because there is no single electoral standard across the US. So when, for example, a lot of the Georgia legislation was criticised, the other side could point to eg. New York which is very limited in what it allows in its laws. The Supreme Court isn’t going to declare any particular measure unconstitutional if objectively the laws are reverting to a standard which was acceptable only a few years ago, and is consistent with laws elsewhere.
It's not about comparing one state to another. That's the smokescreen the GOP and GOP justices use to justify their voting restrictions. It is about changes to voting laws designed to target minorities.
The whole point of the laws is that they use "racially neutral language" to change the voting laws in ways that are overwhelmingly detrimental to minorities. As long as they don't leave a document trail saying "we are doing this to stop people with high melanin counts from voting" then GOP justices will nod it through (a few years ago North Carolina GOP fell foul of that when they commissioned research into what forms of early voting African Americans specifically used and then enacted laws to reduce those forms of early voting, that was enough to get the laws struck off).
The SCOTUS decision means only a self incriminating note will now get discriminatory voting laws struck off. The VRA is basically meaningless now.
No I understand that - which is why I emphasised it was the reasons that these restrictions are being introduced that is important. But, partisan judges or not, it is always going to be a hard slog to convince that voting rules in one state are unconstitutional/illegal when tougher rules exist elsewhere. And it has been suggested (not without justification) that some of the stuff being introduced, particularly around mail in voting, is responding to Trump, but could actually be to the detriment of some of the GOP traditional core vote.
In many ways, the really scary stuff is not about the voting rules per se, but the ancillary powers that state legislatures are awarding themselves to override electoral outcomes/certification.
Yes, the real bad stuff in the Georgia and Arizona laws is the replacement of election officials and stripping the secretary of state of election responsibility respectively.
Given some of the reports about Qanon adherent seems etc actively seeking to get themselves on some of these election boards, there are some unbelievable sh*tshows ahead. I’m reasonably confident that enough sensible Republicans are going to be repelled by what is going on that many of the restrictive voting measures won’t matter that much. After all a lot of it is just a reversal of the 2020 rules, and it’s not as if a motivated Democratic Party couldn’t win before then.
This ridiculous Arizona never ending “audit” is exhibit A - unless the Democrats manage to seriously do some damage in 2022 - particularly in finding a way to overcome the obstacles of the gerrymandered state legislatures - then I don’t think it unlikely that come 2024 there will be states which (at best) fail to nominate electors to the electoral college.
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
Our favourite hotel in Palma - so much so, we've stayed there four times:
It's beautiful: stunning simplicity, brilliant service and great breakfast. In the middle of Palma, but on a very quiet street. 20 minutes on a bus from the airport then a 5-minute walk.
That looks superb. Quite pricey and tiny pool tho
At the moment if you are canny you can get 4 star superior for about £70 a night. That’s what I am paying. For a luxe seafront hotel with two pools, an indoor pool, a spa, a beach, scuba, two restaurants. Insane
They are desperate for custom. I reckon occupancy is about 30%. In July
Tiny pool? Beautiful roof terrace with a small pool to cool off in, cocktails served by the side. It's an urban hotel; the rooms are wider than the street it's on. A lovely square with 4 bars and 4 restaurants is 100 yards away. You wouldn't expect a large pool in a Charlotte St. hotel, would you?
In normal times, Labour holding Batley & Spen would be a non-event.
But I agree with those who say a Labour hold in these non-normal times would be a huge boost for Starmer. Overnight, his critics within the party would shut up (or be silenced, until at least the next crisis). And at the same time, the hint of an emerging narrative against the government in general and BJ in particular would gather steam. Although Tory MPs shouldn't worry if they don't win Batley & Spen, I suspect they would worry, as they were, until very recently, expecting to sail home. And Galloway would hopefully f*** off back to the gutter where he belongs.
That BJ tweet you've linked to is labelled as 'United Kingdom government official'. It's not appropriate for him to use this account for partisan tweets relating to a by-election. Pretty disgraceful, but not surprising.
I think that’s Twitter’s addition to his personal Twitter account - it’s not the official UK account which is “UK Prime Minister @10DowningStreet”
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Is this market very similar to C&A except LAB not LD This time? Tories 1.54 Lab 2.66
Labour has now officially called it a night. We had 180 people on the phone bank today, and 600 helpers on the streets. Every house has been visited, and if they weren't in visited again, 5 times during the day - we've decided that the remainder are actually genuinely away or REALLY don't want to answer the door.
Bearing in mind that we were only calling people who said they'd vote Labour or were still undecided - the vast majority of Labour promises said they'd been to vote Labour (though 2 had gone Galloway), while the don't knows were evenly divided between won't vote, Labour or "not telling you".
We've done what we can, and one certainly can't say the activists haven't bothered. Is it enough? Yes, I think it may have been, just.
It looks as if the B and S election is working out for the Lib Dems. They wanted to stop the Conservatives from winning overall by not taking votes from Labour in Batley but taking votes from the Cons in Birstall and Birkenshaw and shoring up their vote in Cleckheaton. The last knock ups could be vital.
Is this market very similar to C&A except LAB not LD This time? Tories 1.54 Lab 2.66
Labour has now officially called it a night. We had 180 people on the phone bank today, and 600 helpers on the streets. Every house has been visited, and if they weren't in visited again, 5 times during the day - we've decided that the remainder are actually genuinely away or REALLY don't want to answer the door.
Bearing in mind that we were only calling people who said they'd vote Labour or were still undecided - the vast majority of Labour promises said they'd been to vote Labour (though 2 had gone Galloway), while the don't knows were evenly divided between won't vote, Labour or "not telling you".
We've done what we can, and one certainly can't say the activists haven't bothered. Is it enough? Yes, I think it may have been, just.
I hope you are right Nick
Will still be a surprise to me if we dont see a CON Gain though
I didnt see a LD Gain coming either though in C&A.
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
Our favourite hotel in Palma - so much so, we've stayed there four times:
It's beautiful: stunning simplicity, brilliant service and great breakfast. In the middle of Palma, but on a very quiet street. 20 minutes on a bus from the airport then a 5-minute walk.
That looks superb. Quite pricey and tiny pool tho
At the moment if you are canny you can get 4 star superior for about £70 a night. That’s what I am paying. For a luxe seafront hotel with two pools, an indoor pool, a spa, a beach, scuba, two restaurants. Insane
They are desperate for custom. I reckon occupancy is about 30%. In July
Tiny pool? Beautiful roof terrace with a small pool to cool off in, cocktails served by the side. It's an urban hotel; the rooms are wider than the street it's on. A lovely square with 4 bars and 4 restaurants is 100 yards away. You wouldn't expect a large pool in a Charlotte St. hotel, would you?
I wasn’t knocking it! I’ve come to trust booking.com - it’s really reliable if there are loads of reviews. 9.5 is exceptional. It must be amazing. Tho at the moment truly urban hotels are less appealing
I’m staying here at a 9.1 - tho I note that prices have just shot up. I guess a lot of Northern Europeans are now thinking ‘fuck it’
I am truly amazed at Tories on here supporting the subsidy to Nissan. It is as if they have become members of the Labour party of old.
I'm no libertarian. I support government provision of health and education as a fundamental right for all. I support Governments setting strategy and providing infrastructure for their stated aims (whether I agree with them or not). So if we have a green agenda we should put in place the infrastructure to support that. I support the idea of paying farmers to look after the countryside (and decades ago we supported them differently to be self sufficient in food when that was a different strategic aim).
However government, which are notoriously bad at making business decisions, bunging £100M to one company is madness. It screws with the market and it stifles new business, which have a hard enough time anyway competing with the big boys. What right has a government got to bugger around like this?
If you suggested to a Conservative that we should nationalise Nissan they would think you were mad. Why? Because they think competition is better than government controlled industry. But here they are messing around with competition. Aren't a whole lot of other companies now thinking where is my bung?
You're over a decade too late in complaining.
What do you think the trillion quid plus of government borrowing during the last decade has been used for ?
What's the difference between bunging Nissan to build a new factory and bunging oldies to spend on holidays and meals out ?
Hi Richard,
Not sure what you are referring to so don't know whether to agree or disagree.
But there is a difference between spending or taxing across the board and also doing stuff for strategic reasons compared to bunging individual companies.
I might not agree with the tax and spend decisions or the strategies of a particular Government, but I respect the Government for making those decisions. I can not respect the decision to give one commercial company £100m which gives it an advantage over its competitors. I particularly find ironic that it is a Conservative government that is doing so.
There is nothing unconservative about regional development policy. Nissan will not be getting cash - it will make a significant investment and create 1600 new jobs. In return it will pay lower taxes for a period of time. That’s a temporary cashflow benefit but it only partially offsets the cost of the investment
But it is not regional is it, it is just Nissan getting the breaks, so it is interfering in competition. If the breaks were available to all that would be ok. If they were breaks to all in a particular industry that would also be ok (although likely abused), but this is just a break for Nissan so messing with competition just like happens in a nationalisation.
It's only Nissan at the moment because they are the first of the rumoured (over) 7 battery manifacturers who are currently looking at building factories in the UK
The guess the issue with assessing a lot of by-elections these days is postal voting. For all we know the Conservatives could have had it in the bag 2 weeks ago.
It looks as if the B and S election is working out for the Lib Dems. They wanted to stop the Conservatives from winning overall by not taking votes from Labour in Batley but taking votes from the Cons in Birstall and Birkenshaw and shoring up their vote in Cleckheaton. The last knock ups could be vital.
See, I hadn’t factored this strategy in. It could make the difference.
My prediction this morning was
Con, 43 Lab, 41 Glw, 8 Oth, 8
But if Con are losing one or two off the top to the LDs...
It looks as if the B and S election is working out for the Lib Dems. They wanted to stop the Conservatives from winning overall by not taking votes from Labour in Batley but taking votes from the Cons in Birstall and Birkenshaw and shoring up their vote in Cleckheaton. The last knock ups could be vital.
See, I hadn’t factored this strategy in. It could make the difference.
My prediction this morning was
Con, 43 Lab, 41 Glw, 8 Oth, 8
But if Con are losing one or two off the top to the LDs...
If people are pealing off to the Libdems they might as well be staying at home. I don’t see why it makes a difference.
I am truly amazed at Tories on here supporting the subsidy to Nissan. It is as if they have become members of the Labour party of old.
I'm no libertarian. I support government provision of health and education as a fundamental right for all. I support Governments setting strategy and providing infrastructure for their stated aims (whether I agree with them or not). So if we have a green agenda we should put in place the infrastructure to support that. I support the idea of paying farmers to look after the countryside (and decades ago we supported them differently to be self sufficient in food when that was a different strategic aim).
However government, which are notoriously bad at making business decisions, bunging £100M to one company is madness. It screws with the market and it stifles new business, which have a hard enough time anyway competing with the big boys. What right has a government got to bugger around like this?
If you suggested to a Conservative that we should nationalise Nissan they would think you were mad. Why? Because they think competition is better than government controlled industry. But here they are messing around with competition. Aren't a whole lot of other companies now thinking where is my bung?
You're over a decade too late in complaining.
What do you think the trillion quid plus of government borrowing during the last decade has been used for ?
What's the difference between bunging Nissan to build a new factory and bunging oldies to spend on holidays and meals out ?
Hi Richard,
Not sure what you are referring to so don't know whether to agree or disagree.
But there is a difference between spending or taxing across the board and also doing stuff for strategic reasons compared to bunging individual companies.
I might not agree with the tax and spend decisions or the strategies of a particular Government, but I respect the Government for making those decisions. I can not respect the decision to give one commercial company £100m which gives it an advantage over its competitors. I particularly find ironic that it is a Conservative government that is doing so.
There is nothing unconservative about regional development policy. Nissan will not be getting cash - it will make a significant investment and create 1600 new jobs. In return it will pay lower taxes for a period of time. That’s a temporary cashflow benefit but it only partially offsets the cost of the investment
But it is not regional is it, it is just Nissan getting the breaks, so it is interfering in competition. If the breaks were available to all that would be ok. If they were breaks to all in a particular industry that would also be ok (although likely abused), but this is just a break for Nissan so messing with competition just like happens in a nationalisation.
The news has talked about 5-7 other deals in the pipeline including Tesla in Somerset and Vauxhall in Ellesmere. It’s about ensuring we get a share of a strategic new industry
Given Galloway’s presence, and the fact there’s no Brexity party standing, if Labour were to win that would be an amazing result. I still don’t see how they pull it off. https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/1410661628543123464
Labour have done well on expectations management that's for sure.
Labour holding their own seat, in a by-election 11 years into a Tory led government, should be something they can take for granted not "an amazing result".
It looks as if the B and S election is working out for the Lib Dems. They wanted to stop the Conservatives from winning overall by not taking votes from Labour in Batley but taking votes from the Cons in Birstall and Birkenshaw and shoring up their vote in Cleckheaton. The last knock ups could be vital.
See, I hadn’t factored this strategy in. It could make the difference.
My prediction this morning was
Con, 43 Lab, 41 Glw, 8 Oth, 8
But if Con are losing one or two off the top to the LDs...
If people are pealing off to the Libdems they might as well be staying at home. I don’t see why it makes a difference.
It looks as if the B and S election is working out for the Lib Dems. They wanted to stop the Conservatives from winning overall by not taking votes from Labour in Batley but taking votes from the Cons in Birstall and Birkenshaw and shoring up their vote in Cleckheaton. The last knock ups could be vital.
See, I hadn’t factored this strategy in. It could make the difference.
My prediction this morning was
Con, 43 Lab, 41 Glw, 8 Oth, 8
But if Con are losing one or two off the top to the LDs...
If people are pealing off to the Libdems they might as well be staying at home. I don’t see why it makes a difference.
Send a message.
Yes but my point is they weren’t voting anyway. All the Libdem activity would be doing was encouraging them to make an effort to cast a vote, and make them feel a bit better about doing their duty.
I am truly amazed at Tories on here supporting the subsidy to Nissan. It is as if they have become members of the Labour party of old.
I'm no libertarian. I support government provision of health and education as a fundamental right for all. I support Governments setting strategy and providing infrastructure for their stated aims (whether I agree with them or not). So if we have a green agenda we should put in place the infrastructure to support that. I support the idea of paying farmers to look after the countryside (and decades ago we supported them differently to be self sufficient in food when that was a different strategic aim).
However government, which are notoriously bad at making business decisions, bunging £100M to one company is madness. It screws with the market and it stifles new business, which have a hard enough time anyway competing with the big boys. What right has a government got to bugger around like this?
If you suggested to a Conservative that we should nationalise Nissan they would think you were mad. Why? Because they think competition is better than government controlled industry. But here they are messing around with competition. Aren't a whole lot of other companies now thinking where is my bung?
You're over a decade too late in complaining.
What do you think the trillion quid plus of government borrowing during the last decade has been used for ?
What's the difference between bunging Nissan to build a new factory and bunging oldies to spend on holidays and meals out ?
Hi Richard,
Not sure what you are referring to so don't know whether to agree or disagree.
But there is a difference between spending or taxing across the board and also doing stuff for strategic reasons compared to bunging individual companies.
I might not agree with the tax and spend decisions or the strategies of a particular Government, but I respect the Government for making those decisions. I can not respect the decision to give one commercial company £100m which gives it an advantage over its competitors. I particularly find ironic that it is a Conservative government that is doing so.
There is nothing unconservative about regional development policy. Nissan will not be getting cash - it will make a significant investment and create 1600 new jobs. In return it will pay lower taxes for a period of time. That’s a temporary cashflow benefit but it only partially offsets the cost of the investment
But it is not regional is it, it is just Nissan getting the breaks, so it is interfering in competition. If the breaks were available to all that would be ok. If they were breaks to all in a particular industry that would also be ok (although likely abused), but this is just a break for Nissan so messing with competition just like happens in a nationalisation.
The news has talked about 5-7 other deals in the pipeline including Tesla in Somerset and Vauxhall in Ellesmere. It’s about ensuring we get a share of a strategic new industry
Macron came to power promising billions for AI in France. How did that go?
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Problem is I’ve been all over Majorca. I know it really well, professionally. And I’ve found that EVERYWHERE is pretty crowded in mid-high season. Everyone knows about Deia, everyone has heard of Graves, it’s depressing
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Problem is I’ve been all over Majorca. I know it really well, professionally. And I’ve found that EVERYWHERE is pretty crowded in mid-high season. Everyone knows about Deia, everyone has heard of Graves, it’s depressing
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Problem is I’ve been all over Majorca. I know it really well, professionally. And I’ve found that EVERYWHERE is pretty crowded in mid-high season. Everyone knows about Deia, everyone has heard of Graves, it’s depressing
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Problem is I’ve been all over Majorca. I know it really well, professionally. And I’ve found that EVERYWHERE is pretty crowded in mid-high season. Everyone knows about Deia, everyone has heard of Graves, it’s depressing
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Problem is I’ve been all over Majorca. I know it really well, professionally. And I’ve found that EVERYWHERE is pretty crowded in mid-high season. Everyone knows about Deia, everyone has heard of Graves, it’s depressing
Until this summer
Big buyers of flint dildos, are they?
The Balearics were home to a mysterious lithic civilisation. It’s probably in their DNA
In normal times, Labour holding Batley & Spen would be a non-event.
But I agree with those who say a Labour hold in these non-normal times would be a huge boost for Starmer. Overnight, his critics within the party would shut up (or be silenced, until at least the next crisis). And at the same time, the hint of an emerging narrative against the government in general and BJ in particular would gather steam. Although Tory MPs shouldn't worry if they don't win Batley & Spen, I suspect they would worry, as they were, until very recently, expecting to sail home. And Galloway would hopefully f*** off back to the gutter where he belongs.
That BJ tweet you've linked to is labelled as 'United Kingdom government official'. It's not appropriate for him to use this account for partisan tweets relating to a by-election. Pretty disgraceful, but not surprising.
It's his personal account - twitter have chosen to call it governmental - it's not the prime ministerial twitter account so your point is just bilge.
Twitter say it's not his personal account. At their page linked to from the words "United Kingdom government official", they write:
"How government accounts are defined
Our focus is on senior officials and entities that are the official voice of the nation state abroad, specifically accounts of key government officials, including foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders. Where accounts are used solely for personal use and do not play a role as a geopolitical or official Government communication channel, we will not label the account."
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Problem is I’ve been all over Majorca. I know it really well, professionally. And I’ve found that EVERYWHERE is pretty crowded in mid-high season. Everyone knows about Deia, everyone has heard of Graves, it’s depressing
Until this summer
Big buyers of flint dildos, are they?
The Balearics were home to a mysterious lithic civilisation. It’s probably in their DNA
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
I was in Magalluf during the 1990 World Cup. The name BCM rings a bell.
Away from the drinking and beach, we toured the island one day. Some of the scenery is beautiful and a world away from the beach resorts.
And I can still remember how to say 'I love you' in Norwegian.
Everyone should come to the Mediterranean right this minute
It’s a unique, once-in-a-century chance to see the perfect sea that dazzled Picasso in Antibes, Dali in Cadaques, Matisse in Nice, Sappho in Lesbos, and Virgil everywhere
It is hushed, and beautiful, and deserted. The waves are unruffled. The beaches untroubled. A few holiday makers laugh, then the dazzling sun washes them away, and the sublime summer silence returns
Amazing
Where in Majorca are you staying? About three years ago we stayed in a fabulous place in the SW of the island: Castell Son Claret. We did a guided walk to a remote beach near Sant Elm followed by a visit to a vineyard. Fabulous. Love Palma too. I'm very jealous.
We are off to Menorca in two weeks. Fingers crossed.
In illetes, an upmarket seafront suburb of palma about 5km southwest
I’ve always liked palma but I’ve sneered at Majorca in general. Because of the mass tourism. Seeing it without crowds is remarkable
Menorca is gorgeous. Check out the nature reserves and the clifftop walks
I don't know Majorca well, though have been there 7 or 8 times. (6 or 7 of those visits were alcohol-fuelled bird-pestering visits to Magalluf. I didn't see daylight much.)
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Problem is I’ve been all over Majorca. I know it really well, professionally. And I’ve found that EVERYWHERE is pretty crowded in mid-high season. Everyone knows about Deia, everyone has heard of Graves, it’s depressing
Until this summer
Big buyers of flint dildos, are they?
Well, how do you relax on an exotic holiday?
Give your vacation a spark.
If you are getting sparks off your dildoes, I suspect there's a Health and Safety scandal brewing.
Betfair was referred a while ago and looking just now on the darker blue conservatives are on 1.39 labour on 3.50
Can someone explain how this translates as I do not have a clue
Life Pro Tip;
Take the reciprocal of the odds to convert into percentages
Eg 1/1.39 = 0.719
71.9%
1/3.5 = 0.286
28.6%
Thank you for explaining the percentages
Seems a high percentage on a conservative win
Yes - still favourites, but has come down from 86% yesterday. People tend to nibble at the margin, so if they think Labour has a chance, they take the most favourable rate and it moves the % from 73% to 72%, etc. you won't get a dramatic crossover until there's more hard info.
I think the current odds probably fairly reflect a neutral view, but I'm glad I got something on Labour when they were at 14%, and if I had to guess I'd say it should now be a toss-up.
In normal times, Labour holding Batley & Spen would be a non-event.
But I agree with those who say a Labour hold in these non-normal times would be a huge boost for Starmer. Overnight, his critics within the party would shut up (or be silenced, until at least the next crisis). And at the same time, the hint of an emerging narrative against the government in general and BJ in particular would gather steam. Although Tory MPs shouldn't worry if they don't win Batley & Spen, I suspect they would worry, as they were, until very recently, expecting to sail home. And Galloway would hopefully f*** off back to the gutter where he belongs.
That BJ tweet you've linked to is labelled as 'United Kingdom government official'. It's not appropriate for him to use this account for partisan tweets relating to a by-election. Pretty disgraceful, but not surprising.
It's his personal account - twitter have chosen to call it governmental - it's not the prime ministerial twitter account so your point is just bilge.
Twitter say it's not his personal account. At their page linked to from the words "United Kingdom government official", they write:
"How government accounts are defined
Our focus is on senior officials and entities that are the official voice of the nation state abroad, specifically accounts of key government officials, including foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders. Where accounts are used solely for personal use and do not play a role as a geopolitical or official Government communication channel, we will not label the account."
That doesn't seem very definitive to me. There clearly is an official UK PM account which is not the same as his personal account. What that definition seems to say is not that when they label something it is not a personal account, but that if official communications appear to be issued on an account they label it accordingly.
So the issue would seem to be that it is a personal account, and twitter are not saying it is not, but that he issues a lot of official communications on it so it is de facto an official account. But that is their policy, not his.
In which case perhaps it is appropriate for him to make personal and partisan comments on that account, and he shouldn't be making official communications on it, so the complaints have it backwards.
I am truly amazed at Tories on here supporting the subsidy to Nissan. It is as if they have become members of the Labour party of old.
I'm no libertarian. I support government provision of health and education as a fundamental right for all. I support Governments setting strategy and providing infrastructure for their stated aims (whether I agree with them or not). So if we have a green agenda we should put in place the infrastructure to support that. I support the idea of paying farmers to look after the countryside (and decades ago we supported them differently to be self sufficient in food when that was a different strategic aim).
However government, which are notoriously bad at making business decisions, bunging £100M to one company is madness. It screws with the market and it stifles new business, which have a hard enough time anyway competing with the big boys. What right has a government got to bugger around like this?
If you suggested to a Conservative that we should nationalise Nissan they would think you were mad. Why? Because they think competition is better than government controlled industry. But here they are messing around with competition. Aren't a whole lot of other companies now thinking where is my bung?
You're over a decade too late in complaining.
What do you think the trillion quid plus of government borrowing during the last decade has been used for ?
What's the difference between bunging Nissan to build a new factory and bunging oldies to spend on holidays and meals out ?
Hi Richard,
Not sure what you are referring to so don't know whether to agree or disagree.
But there is a difference between spending or taxing across the board and also doing stuff for strategic reasons compared to bunging individual companies.
I might not agree with the tax and spend decisions or the strategies of a particular Government, but I respect the Government for making those decisions. I can not respect the decision to give one commercial company £100m which gives it an advantage over its competitors. I particularly find ironic that it is a Conservative government that is doing so.
Do you know that Nissan got a bung from the Thatcher government for setting up in Sunderland in the 1980s ?
There have always been various ways to financially persuade different companies to invest indifferent places and I doubt any country has followed a purist strategy of non-intervention.
The only variables are how much bunging goes on, how it is done and how successful it it.
OK with you now and I completely agree with what you are saying and yes it isn't new. Still don't like it and it annoys me more when Tories do it. At least with Labour (particularly of old) they really believed they could run industry better so they were ideologically sound, but wrong. However the Tories have a habit of talking about freeing up industry and then meddling incessantly.
It depends what's being done to be honest.
If you're just writing a blank cheque to keep a failing site open that's absolutely awful.
If its a case of "if you want to invest hundreds of millions we'll have a conversation" and that applies equally to all then there's some common sense in that, just from a sense of realism. Especially if its tax relief, or facilitation of locally needed infrastructure investment, or similar going on and not just a bung.
On topic, it would be interesting to compare the leadership approval ratings now to before the last election.
Overall the leadership approval ratings now tend to show Boris have a better approval share than he did before the last election, not a worse one.
It's a long time since you've said Johnson in one of your posts. It seems to be always Boris now. Boris this, Boris that. Boris Boris Boris.
Disappointing to see.
Because its his name, just like Keir's name is Keir.
And to be perfectly frank you being childish over this makes it more appealling not less to refer to Keir and Boris by their names and not their surnames.
Betfair was referred a while ago and looking just now on the darker blue conservatives are on 1.39 labour on 3.50
Can someone explain how this translates as I do not have a clue
Life Pro Tip;
Take the reciprocal of the odds to convert into percentages
Eg 1/1.39 = 0.719
71.9%
1/3.5 = 0.286
28.6%
Thank you for explaining the percentages
Seems a high percentage on a conservative win
Yes - still favourites, but has come down from 86% yesterday. People tend to nibble at the margin, so if they think Labour has a chance, they take the most favourable rate and it moves the % from 73% to 72%, etc. you won't get a dramatic crossover until there's more hard info.
I think the current odds probably fairly reflect a neutral view, but I'm glad I got something on Labour when they were at 14%, and if I had to guess I'd say it should now be a toss-up.
I know we are not politically aligned but I have great respect for you Nick and fully support all you do for animal welfare
I am truly amazed at Tories on here supporting the subsidy to Nissan. It is as if they have become members of the Labour party of old.
I'm no libertarian. I support government provision of health and education as a fundamental right for all. I support Governments setting strategy and providing infrastructure for their stated aims (whether I agree with them or not). So if we have a green agenda we should put in place the infrastructure to support that. I support the idea of paying farmers to look after the countryside (and decades ago we supported them differently to be self sufficient in food when that was a different strategic aim).
However government, which are notoriously bad at making business decisions, bunging £100M to one company is madness. It screws with the market and it stifles new business, which have a hard enough time anyway competing with the big boys. What right has a government got to bugger around like this?
If you suggested to a Conservative that we should nationalise Nissan they would think you were mad. Why? Because they think competition is better than government controlled industry. But here they are messing around with competition. Aren't a whole lot of other companies now thinking where is my bung?
On topic, it would be interesting to compare the leadership approval ratings now to before the last election.
Overall the leadership approval ratings now tend to show Boris have a better approval share than he did before the last election, not a worse one.
It's a long time since you've said Johnson in one of your posts. It seems to be always Boris now. Boris this, Boris that. Boris Boris Boris.
Disappointing to see.
Because its his name, just like Keir's name is Keir.
And to be perfectly frank you being childish over this makes it more appealling not less to refer to Keir and Boris by their names and not their surnames.
On Saturday we attended a 'Home and Garden' event in North Yorkshire. The sales stalls were in open fronted marquees, but close together, and no real social distancing observed.
Anyway, on Monday evening Wor Lass developed a sore throat and headache. Sore throat still there the next day, so she look a lateral flow test - negative. Symptoms were never severe and now easing, but after well over a year of being disease free she definitely copped for something when we were out.
On Saturday we attended a 'Home and Garden' event in North Yorkshire. The sales stalls were in open fronted marquees, but close together, and no real social distancing observed.
Anyway, on Monday evening Wor Lass developed a sore throat and headache. Sore throat still there the next day, so she look a lateral flow test - negative. Symptoms were never severe and now easing, but after well over a year of being disease free she definitely copped for something when we were out.
With COVID you don't really go from being infected to displaying symptoms in 2 days. it normally takes at least ~5 days.
That's part of the big problem, it was was you got infected, you had symptoms the next day or two, it would be a hell of a lot easier to contain.
The egg heads are saying though winter could be worse than usual for non-covid illnesses because people haven't been infected with colds and flus.
Having now had to look at Boris' account and the various things on there, I noted one of the campaign videos. Maybe I don't watch enough such things, but it seemed weird that there was one where Boris is stood next to the candidate, talking him naturally, but the other chap doesn't say a word in the entire thing. Given much of the video is campaigning montage material, why not just have Boris to camera and voice over talking about how great the candidate is? I get when its pictures of the PM with a candidate, but it just seemed strange that it wasn't like 'I urge you to vote for our great candidate' 'Thank you Boris, I will do my bet for whatever the name of this constituency is'.
On Saturday we attended a 'Home and Garden' event in North Yorkshire. The sales stalls were in open fronted marquees, but close together, and no real social distancing observed.
Anyway, on Monday evening Wor Lass developed a sore throat and headache. Sore throat still there the next day, so she look a lateral flow test - negative. Symptoms were never severe and now easing, but after well over a year of being disease free she definitely copped for something when we were out.
With COVID you don't really go from being infected to displaying symptoms in 2 days. it normally takes ~5 days.
Not sure that's entirely correct. iirc it is like a bell curve with the peak for symptom appearance at 4-5 days.
In Wor Lass case though sounds like a summer cold. Maybe try another LFT though?
I know we are not politically aligned but I have great respect for you Nick and fully support all you do for animal welfare
You're very kind. And I'll gladly say that the Tories in Defra are proving excellent for animal welfare - on sentience, live exports and possibly cages, they're doing all the right things. Similarly, the Polish right-wing Agriculture Commissioner has delivered a proposal to end the use of cages on farms throughout the EU, and the European Parliament has backed it across party from left to moderate right, so they deserve credit too.
The Department of Trade and Liz Truss, on the other hand, are risking all the above (and the future of livestock farming in Britain) by opening up to low-welfare imports on a zero tariff. Whichever way one looks at it, it's really not very consistent.
I know we are not politically aligned but I have great respect for you Nick and fully support all you do for animal welfare
You're very kind. And I'll gladly say that the Tories in Defra are proving excellent for animal welfare - on sentience, live exports and possibly cages, they're doing all the right things. Similarly, the Polish right-wing Agriculture Commissioner has delivered a proposal to end the use of cages on farms throughout the EU, and the European Parliament has backed it across party from left to moderate right, so they deserve credit too.
The Department of Trade and Liz Truss, on the other hand, are risking all the above (and the future of livestock farming in Britain) by opening up to low-welfare imports on a zero tariff. Whichever way one looks at it, it's really not very consistent.
Disappointed in Liz Truss as animal welfare is a big thing in our family and please keep up your excellent work
A witty exchange over in the maths corner of twitter:
Oliver Johnson @BristOliver · 2h See, I can do optimistic when I put my mind to it.
It's going to mess up the application I put in for a slot on IndieSAGE though.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h You should be fine. Just tell them at the interview that in your view the country reached herd immunity last December & that, because of that, everyone in England will die on either Wednesday or Thursday next week. (It's hard to be more precise than that, cos modelling you know.)
On Saturday we attended a 'Home and Garden' event in North Yorkshire. The sales stalls were in open fronted marquees, but close together, and no real social distancing observed.
Anyway, on Monday evening Wor Lass developed a sore throat and headache. Sore throat still there the next day, so she look a lateral flow test - negative. Symptoms were never severe and now easing, but after well over a year of being disease free she definitely copped for something when we were out.
With COVID you don't really go from being infected to displaying symptoms in 2 days. it normally takes ~5 days.
Not sure that's entirely correct. iirc it is like a bell curve with the peak for symptom appearance at 4-5 days.
In Wor Lass case though sounds like a summer cold. Maybe try another LFT though?
I might be wrong that i thought average was even longer than 5 days, but there was a minimum and it was more than a day or two (although there will be the odd one).
I am truly amazed at Tories on here supporting the subsidy to Nissan. It is as if they have become members of the Labour party of old.
I'm no libertarian. I support government provision of health and education as a fundamental right for all. I support Governments setting strategy and providing infrastructure for their stated aims (whether I agree with them or not). So if we have a green agenda we should put in place the infrastructure to support that. I support the idea of paying farmers to look after the countryside (and decades ago we supported them differently to be self sufficient in food when that was a different strategic aim).
However government, which are notoriously bad at making business decisions, bunging £100M to one company is madness. It screws with the market and it stifles new business, which have a hard enough time anyway competing with the big boys. What right has a government got to bugger around like this?
If you suggested to a Conservative that we should nationalise Nissan they would think you were mad. Why? Because they think competition is better than government controlled industry. But here they are messing around with competition. Aren't a whole lot of other companies now thinking where is my bung?
You're over a decade too late in complaining.
What do you think the trillion quid plus of government borrowing during the last decade has been used for ?
What's the difference between bunging Nissan to build a new factory and bunging oldies to spend on holidays and meals out ?
Hi Richard,
Not sure what you are referring to so don't know whether to agree or disagree.
But there is a difference between spending or taxing across the board and also doing stuff for strategic reasons compared to bunging individual companies.
I might not agree with the tax and spend decisions or the strategies of a particular Government, but I respect the Government for making those decisions. I can not respect the decision to give one commercial company £100m which gives it an advantage over its competitors. I particularly find ironic that it is a Conservative government that is doing so.
There is nothing unconservative about regional development policy. Nissan will not be getting cash - it will make a significant investment and create 1600 new jobs. In return it will pay lower taxes for a period of time. That’s a temporary cashflow benefit but it only partially offsets the cost of the investment
But it is not regional is it, it is just Nissan getting the breaks, so it is interfering in competition. If the breaks were available to all that would be ok. If they were breaks to all in a particular industry that would also be ok (although likely abused), but this is just a break for Nissan so messing with competition just like happens in a nationalisation.
The news has talked about 5-7 other deals in the pipeline including Tesla in Somerset and Vauxhall in Ellesmere. It’s about ensuring we get a share of a strategic new industry
On Saturday we attended a 'Home and Garden' event in North Yorkshire. The sales stalls were in open fronted marquees, but close together, and no real social distancing observed.
Anyway, on Monday evening Wor Lass developed a sore throat and headache. Sore throat still there the next day, so she look a lateral flow test - negative. Symptoms were never severe and now easing, but after well over a year of being disease free she definitely copped for something when we were out.
With COVID you don't really go from being infected to displaying symptoms in 2 days. it normally takes ~5 days.
Not sure that's entirely correct. iirc it is like a bell curve with the peak for symptom appearance at 4-5 days.
In Wor Lass case though sounds like a summer cold. Maybe try another LFT though?
On Saturday we attended a 'Home and Garden' event in North Yorkshire. The sales stalls were in open fronted marquees, but close together, and no real social distancing observed.
Anyway, on Monday evening Wor Lass developed a sore throat and headache. Sore throat still there the next day, so she look a lateral flow test - negative. Symptoms were never severe and now easing, but after well over a year of being disease free she definitely copped for something when we were out.
On topic, it would be interesting to compare the leadership approval ratings now to before the last election.
Overall the leadership approval ratings now tend to show Boris have a better approval share than he did before the last election, not a worse one.
It's a long time since you've said Johnson in one of your posts. It seems to be always Boris now. Boris this, Boris that. Boris Boris Boris.
Disappointing to see.
Because its his name, just like Keir's name is Keir.
And to be perfectly frank you being childish over this makes it more appealling not less to refer to Keir and Boris by their names and not their surnames.
I know we are not politically aligned but I have great respect for you Nick and fully support all you do for animal welfare
You're very kind. And I'll gladly say that the Tories in Defra are proving excellent for animal welfare - on sentience, live exports and possibly cages, they're doing all the right things. Similarly, the Polish right-wing Agriculture Commissioner has delivered a proposal to end the use of cages on farms throughout the EU, and the European Parliament has backed it across party from left to moderate right, so they deserve credit too.
The Department of Trade and Liz Truss, on the other hand, are risking all the above (and the future of livestock farming in Britain) by opening up to low-welfare imports on a zero tariff. Whichever way one looks at it, it's really not very consistent.
The same was true of previous governments that allowed free trade with farmers in Romania, who had appalling animal rights standards.
Blue Origin (the space company owned by everyone's favourite Thunderbirds supervillain, Jeff Bezos), is to take Wally Funk up on a suborbital flight. Partially righting a wrong, nearly sixty years on.
(If you don't know who Wally Funk is, she (along with 12 others, including Jennie Cobb) is a woman who passed the physical tests to be a Mercury astronaut, but was disallowed due to politics.
I know we are not politically aligned but I have great respect for you Nick and fully support all you do for animal welfare
You're very kind. And I'll gladly say that the Tories in Defra are proving excellent for animal welfare - on sentience, live exports and possibly cages, they're doing all the right things. Similarly, the Polish right-wing Agriculture Commissioner has delivered a proposal to end the use of cages on farms throughout the EU, and the European Parliament has backed it across party from left to moderate right, so they deserve credit too.
The Department of Trade and Liz Truss, on the other hand, are risking all the above (and the future of livestock farming in Britain) by opening up to low-welfare imports on a zero tariff. Whichever way one looks at it, it's really not very consistent.
The same was true of previous governments that allowed free trade with farmers in Romania, who had appalling animal rights standards.
Or Denmark and Holland, who both kept pigs in cages long after they were officially banned in the EU.
On Saturday we attended a 'Home and Garden' event in North Yorkshire. The sales stalls were in open fronted marquees, but close together, and no real social distancing observed.
Anyway, on Monday evening Wor Lass developed a sore throat and headache. Sore throat still there the next day, so she look a lateral flow test - negative. Symptoms were never severe and now easing, but after well over a year of being disease free she definitely copped for something when we were out.
Other communicable illnesses are available...
Indeed yes. Even on a 'Covid secure' environment.
We are both double jabbed so are now in a different mindset about what we are happy to do.
I know we are not politically aligned but I have great respect for you Nick and fully support all you do for animal welfare
You're very kind. And I'll gladly say that the Tories in Defra are proving excellent for animal welfare - on sentience, live exports and possibly cages, they're doing all the right things. Similarly, the Polish right-wing Agriculture Commissioner has delivered a proposal to end the use of cages on farms throughout the EU, and the European Parliament has backed it across party from left to moderate right, so they deserve credit too.
The Department of Trade and Liz Truss, on the other hand, are risking all the above (and the future of livestock farming in Britain) by opening up to low-welfare imports on a zero tariff. Whichever way one looks at it, it's really not very consistent.
The same was true of previous governments that allowed free trade with farmers in Romania, who had appalling animal rights standards.
Or Denmark and Holland, who both kept pigs in cages long after they were officially banned in the EU.
? Cages (aka farrowing crates) are not banned in the EU or Britain at the moment - indeed they are the norm. Sweden and Switzerland have banned them. Germany has taken the lead in planning to phase them out, and it looks as though the EU will follow. Britain may well do so too, but haven't yet.
@Leon and a few others recently have been talking about how much food in England has improved over the years, which is true in restaurants and elsewhere across the country.
What's interesting is just how much its even improved in places like supermarkets. Not sure if its common elsewhere, but today went to ASDA and next to the takeaway pizza making section at the back they've now got a fresh sushi section. Supermarket sushi has never been the best, but we got the sushi tonight for dinner that you would have thought was from somewhere like Yo! Sushi - not ASDA. The prices were a lot more expensive to match too, but considering there was someone there making the sushi and it was all fresh and you could tell that, that seems fair enough to be honest.
I wonder if this is already common elsewhere, or is being rolled out in many places? Was first time I'd seen it. I wonder what's next too now. Definitely a notch up from a salad bar and a pizza bar alone at the supermarket.
Blue Origin (the space company owned by everyone's favourite Thunderbirds supervillain, Jeff Bezos), is to take Wally Funk up on a suborbital flight. Partially righting a wrong, nearly sixty years on.
(If you don't know who Wally Funk is, she (along with 12 others, including Jennie Cobb) is a woman who passed the physical tests to be a Mercury astronaut, but was disallowed due to politics.
Why hasn't @stodge regaled us with news of the Moldova General Election this Sunday?
The latest poll (changes from last election):
Action & Solidarity Party: 51% (+24) Electoral Bloc of Communists & Socialists: 31% (-4.5) Electoral Bloc Renato Ursatii: 5% (+2) Party of Change: 5% (-3.5) Others: 8% (-18)
The big losers among the Others are the Democratic Party of Moldova who polled 24% last time but are now polling 1% so a bit of a fall.
The opposition Action & Solidarity Party looks set for a landslide win in the 101-seat Parliament. They are a centre-right pro-European party (we used to have one of those I think). The ruling Communist & Socialist bloc will lose some seats but will be the clear opposition and it may be only those two groups will have seats in the new Parliament but we'll see.
The current political crisis followed the clear election of Maia Sandu of Action & Solidarity to the Presidency last November. The pro-Russian Communist & Socialist Government quit a day before she was sworn in but they are able to block any Prime Ministerial appointment. Sandu went to the Constitutional Court, got Parliament dissolved and it looks very likely Moldova will shift away from Russia towards Europe and the West.
On topic, it would be interesting to compare the leadership approval ratings now to before the last election.
Overall the leadership approval ratings now tend to show Boris have a better approval share than he did before the last election, not a worse one.
It's a long time since you've said Johnson in one of your posts. It seems to be always Boris now. Boris this, Boris that. Boris Boris Boris.
Disappointing to see.
Because its his name, just like Keir's name is Keir.
And to be perfectly frank you being childish over this makes it more appealling not less to refer to Keir and Boris by their names and not their surnames.
His name is Alex.
Boris is the name of his persona.
That's how it started, perhaps, but if Boris was called Boris at school, surely that makes it his name, even if his parents wished differently?
Is it not getting a bit silly now? You have a runny nose - get a covid test? You have a headache - get a covid test?
Yep. I don't really get the point. Given that the most notable (and dangerous) symptoms of Covid is... that you have no symptoms!
Once you get to the point where every symptom under the sun is associated with Covid and justifies "getting a test" then it's effectively no different in effect than telling everyone to get tested daily. With the latter obviously making more sense from a scientific viewpoint, but for the average person the small problem of the downside of producing a positive test.
I'm sure also at some point (whether it is still thought to be the case) there were arguments put forward that by the time the symptoms started to show, a lot of the infectiousess had passed.
Why hasn't @stodge regaled us with news of the Moldova General Election this Sunday?
The latest poll (changes from last election):
Action & Solidarity Party: 51% (+24) Electoral Bloc of Communists & Socialists: 31% (-4.5) Electoral Bloc Renato Ursatii: 5% (+2) Party of Change: 5% (-3.5) Others: 8% (-18)
The big losers among the Others are the Democratic Party of Moldova who polled 24% last time but are now polling 1% so a bit of a fall.
The opposition Action & Solidarity Party looks set for a landslide win in the 101-seat Parliament. They are a centre-right pro-European party (we used to have one of those I think). The ruling Communist & Socialist bloc will lose some seats but will be the clear opposition and it may be only those two groups will have seats in the new Parliament but we'll see.
The current political crisis followed the clear election of Maia Sandu of Action & Solidarity to the Presidency last November. The pro-Russian Communist & Socialist Government quit a day before she was sworn in but they are able to block any Prime Ministerial appointment. Sandu went to the Constitutional Court, got Parliament dissolved and it looks very likely Moldova will shift away from Russia towards Europe and the West.
What do you do to go from 24% to 1% (and yet somehow still exist)? Mandatory puppy kicking policy?
Blue Origin (the space company owned by everyone's favourite Thunderbirds supervillain, Jeff Bezos), is to take Wally Funk up on a suborbital flight. Partially righting a wrong, nearly sixty years on.
(If you don't know who Wally Funk is, she (along with 12 others, including Jennie Cobb) is a woman who passed the physical tests to be a Mercury astronaut, but was disallowed due to politics.
@Leon and a few others recently have been talking about how much food in England has improved over the years, which is true in restaurants and elsewhere across the country.
What's interesting is just how much its even improved in places like supermarkets. Not sure if its common elsewhere, but today went to ASDA and next to the takeaway pizza making section at the back they've now got a fresh sushi section. Supermarket sushi has never been the best, but we got the sushi tonight for dinner that you would have thought was from somewhere like Yo! Sushi - not ASDA. The prices were a lot more expensive to match too, but considering there was someone there making the sushi and it was all fresh and you could tell that, that seems fair enough to be honest.
I wonder if this is already common elsewhere, or is being rolled out in many places? Was first time I'd seen it. I wonder what's next too now. Definitely a notch up from a salad bar and a pizza bar alone at the supermarket.
On topic, it would be interesting to compare the leadership approval ratings now to before the last election.
Overall the leadership approval ratings now tend to show Boris have a better approval share than he did before the last election, not a worse one.
It's a long time since you've said Johnson in one of your posts. It seems to be always Boris now. Boris this, Boris that. Boris Boris Boris.
Disappointing to see.
Because its his name, just like Keir's name is Keir.
And to be perfectly frank you being childish over this makes it more appealling not less to refer to Keir and Boris by their names and not their surnames.
His name is Alex.
Boris is the name of his persona.
Yes and James was his name, Gordon was just his persona too I suppose?
This is just silly. Plenty of people go by their middle name as their name. Whatever name people want to go by, that's their name. Its not self-ID, its just respect.
A senior Labour source says this week has been “quite a contrast” for the party’s campaign in Batley. He is now “quietly confident” of a Labour victory.
On topic, it would be interesting to compare the leadership approval ratings now to before the last election.
Overall the leadership approval ratings now tend to show Boris have a better approval share than he did before the last election, not a worse one.
It's a long time since you've said Johnson in one of your posts. It seems to be always Boris now. Boris this, Boris that. Boris Boris Boris.
Disappointing to see.
Because its his name, just like Keir's name is Keir.
And to be perfectly frank you being childish over this makes it more appealling not less to refer to Keir and Boris by their names and not their surnames.
His name is Alex.
Boris is the name of his persona.
Yes and James was his name, Gordon was just his persona too I suppose?
This is just silly. Plenty of people go by their middle name as their name. Whatever name people want to go by, that's their name. Its not self-ID, its just respect.
Boris is a bit more powerful a persona than Gordon, in fairness.
But it is a bit childish. All frontline politicians have personas, just like I have a work persona, or people have a telephone voice. Not everyone relies so much on their persona (most aren't able to) is all.
A senior Labour source says this week has been “quite a contrast” for the party’s campaign in Batley. He is now “quietly confident” of a Labour victory.
A senior Labour source says this week has been “quite a contrast” for the party’s campaign in Batley. He is now “quietly confident” of a Labour victory.
@Leon and a few others recently have been talking about how much food in England has improved over the years, which is true in restaurants and elsewhere across the country.
What's interesting is just how much its even improved in places like supermarkets. Not sure if its common elsewhere, but today went to ASDA and next to the takeaway pizza making section at the back they've now got a fresh sushi section. Supermarket sushi has never been the best, but we got the sushi tonight for dinner that you would have thought was from somewhere like Yo! Sushi - not ASDA. The prices were a lot more expensive to match too, but considering there was someone there making the sushi and it was all fresh and you could tell that, that seems fair enough to be honest.
I wonder if this is already common elsewhere, or is being rolled out in many places? Was first time I'd seen it. I wonder what's next too now. Definitely a notch up from a salad bar and a pizza bar alone at the supermarket.
Is it not getting a bit silly now? You have a runny nose - get a covid test? You have a headache - get a covid test?
Seems very sensible, with LFT kits widely available for free. What's the problem?
Once every symptom under the sun becomes a potential indicator of Covid triggering encouragement to take a test then you might as well get tested with no symptoms. Which of course is official Govt policy/advice (so many LFTs have they to get rid of, under fear of being censored by the NAO for wasting £billions) so adding extra symptoms to the long list makes little difference.
People don't get tested because they don't think they might have Covid. They don't get tested because they fear the consequences of a positive test.
Comments
And a bit like intensive farming, they leave plenty of space incredibly unspoilt. It's a couple of decades since I took a bunch of students to do geology in the wilds around Leon. But wilds they certainly are. And the food was simple but yummy.
At the moment if you are canny you can get 4 star superior for about £70 a night. That’s what I am paying. For a luxe seafront hotel with two pools, an indoor pool, a spa, a beach, scuba, two restaurants. Insane
They are desperate for custom. I reckon occupancy is about 30%. In July
The example I gave last thread was $20m over 10 years to *preserve* 280 jobs.
That’s about $70k/£50k per job.
For 1,600 *new* jobs, £50k per job works out at £80m. I can believe new jobs are worth more than existing jobs plus there are another 4,500 jobs in the supply chain.
So the rumoured £100m doesn’t seem massively out of line
25/6/21 - Actual reported (so far) = 14. Graph says 11.
26/6/21 - Actual reported (so far) = 11. Graph says 9.
27/6/21 - Actual reported (so far) = 13. Graph says 10.
28/6/21 - Actual reported (so far) = 10. Graph says 8.
29/6/21 - Actual reported (so far) = 10. Graph says 4.
"How government accounts are defined
Our focus is on senior officials and entities that are the official voice of the nation state abroad, specifically accounts of key government officials, including foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders. Where accounts are used solely for personal use and do not play a role as a geopolitical or official Government communication channel, we will not label the account."
But Gloucestershire are falling apart against Somerset and Essex are crushing Glamorgan.
Bearing in mind that we were only calling people who said they'd vote Labour or were still undecided - the vast majority of Labour promises said they'd been to vote Labour (though 2 had gone Galloway), while the don't knows were evenly divided between won't vote, Labour or "not telling you".
We've done what we can, and one certainly can't say the activists haven't bothered. Is it enough? Yes, I think it may have been, just.
This ridiculous Arizona never ending “audit” is exhibit A - unless the Democrats manage to seriously do some damage in 2022 - particularly in finding a way to overcome the obstacles of the gerrymandered state legislatures - then I don’t think it unlikely that come 2024 there will be states which (at best) fail to nominate electors to the electoral college.
The one sensible time I've been to the island was as referred to above with my wife. You should go to the Tramuntana mountains and dig out some little tapas bars in the remoteness. Given my prior experience I was astonished how beautiful the island is. I asked you for advice the other day because I didn't know Menorca at all.
I have a photo of me in mid-twenties leaning against a small palm tree outside BCM - a large nightclub in Magalluf. When I returned to the island with my wife we took an identical photo is same spot with me thirty years older. The palm tree is still there - it has tripled in height.
Will still be a surprise to me if we dont see a CON Gain though
I didnt see a LD Gain coming either though in C&A.
I’m staying here at a 9.1 - tho I note that prices have just shot up. I guess a lot of Northern Europeans are now thinking ‘fuck it’
http://www.booking.com/Share-wbeybT
It could make the difference.
My prediction this morning was
Con, 43
Lab, 41
Glw, 8
Oth, 8
But if Con are losing one or two off the top to the LDs...
Can someone explain how this translates as I do not have a clue
Until this summer
https://youtu.be/QBcLVDAjadI
Take the reciprocal of the odds to convert into percentages
Eg 1/1.39 = 0.719
71.9%
1/3.5 = 0.286
28.6%
Give your vacation a spark.
Seems a high percentage on a conservative win
https://www.descobreixmenorca.com/en/megalithic-menorca/
Away from the drinking and beach, we toured the island one day. Some of the scenery is beautiful and a world away from the beach resorts.
And I can still remember how to say 'I love you' in Norwegian.
I think the current odds probably fairly reflect a neutral view, but I'm glad I got something on Labour when they were at 14%, and if I had to guess I'd say it should now be a toss-up.
So the issue would seem to be that it is a personal account, and twitter are not saying it is not, but that he issues a lot of official communications on it so it is de facto an official account. But that is their policy, not his.
In which case perhaps it is appropriate for him to make personal and partisan comments on that account, and he shouldn't be making official communications on it, so the complaints have it backwards.
If you're just writing a blank cheque to keep a failing site open that's absolutely awful.
If its a case of "if you want to invest hundreds of millions we'll have a conversation" and that applies equally to all then there's some common sense in that, just from a sense of realism. Especially if its tax relief, or facilitation of locally needed infrastructure investment, or similar going on and not just a bung.
And to be perfectly frank you being childish over this makes it more appealling not less to refer to Keir and Boris by their names and not their surnames.
Mrs Thatcher provided a significant package of incentives to Nissan in 1984.
https://buy.motorious.com/articles/features/308942/margaret-thatcher-nissan-sunderland
They got a square mile plus of land at agricultural prices, for one.
On Saturday we attended a 'Home and Garden' event in North Yorkshire. The sales stalls were in open fronted marquees, but close together, and no real social distancing observed.
Anyway, on Monday evening Wor Lass developed a sore throat and headache. Sore throat still there the next day, so she look a lateral flow test - negative. Symptoms were never severe and now easing, but after well over a year of being disease free she definitely copped for something when we were out.
That's part of the big problem, it was was you got infected, you had symptoms the next day or two, it would be a hell of a lot easier to contain.
The egg heads are saying though winter could be worse than usual for non-covid illnesses because people haven't been infected with colds and flus.
In Wor Lass case though sounds like a summer cold. Maybe try another LFT though?
The Department of Trade and Liz Truss, on the other hand, are risking all the above (and the future of livestock farming in Britain) by opening up to low-welfare imports on a zero tariff. Whichever way one looks at it, it's really not very consistent.
https://twitter.com/i/events/1410549368478896128
He texts: “I don’t think we are as far ahead as the bookmakers are suggesting, but if I had to stick my neck out.... I’d say we’ll take it by 1500 votes.”
https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/status/1410691963867877376
Oliver Johnson
@BristOliver
·
2h
See, I can do optimistic when I put my mind to it.
It's going to mess up the application I put in for a slot on IndieSAGE though.
Andrew Lilico
@andrew_lilico
·
1h
You should be fine. Just tell them at the interview that in your view the country reached herd immunity last December & that, because of that, everyone in England will die on either Wednesday or Thursday next week. (It's hard to be more precise than that, cos modelling you know.)
Boris is the name of his persona.
Not enough bored housewives in their nightwear answering the door?
Blue Origin (the space company owned by everyone's favourite Thunderbirds supervillain, Jeff Bezos), is to take Wally Funk up on a suborbital flight. Partially righting a wrong, nearly sixty years on.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57686654
(If you don't know who Wally Funk is, she (along with 12 others, including Jennie Cobb) is a woman who passed the physical tests to be a Mercury astronaut, but was disallowed due to politics.
Go Wally!
(If you want more info, here's a good podcast presented by her. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p041b3yg)
We are both double jabbed so are now in a different mindset about what we are happy to do.
Is it not getting a bit silly now? You have a runny nose - get a covid test? You have a headache - get a covid test?
What's interesting is just how much its even improved in places like supermarkets. Not sure if its common elsewhere, but today went to ASDA and next to the takeaway pizza making section at the back they've now got a fresh sushi section. Supermarket sushi has never been the best, but we got the sushi tonight for dinner that you would have thought was from somewhere like Yo! Sushi - not ASDA. The prices were a lot more expensive to match too, but considering there was someone there making the sushi and it was all fresh and you could tell that, that seems fair enough to be honest.
I wonder if this is already common elsewhere, or is being rolled out in many places? Was first time I'd seen it. I wonder what's next too now. Definitely a notch up from a salad bar and a pizza bar alone at the supermarket.
Why hasn't @stodge regaled us with news of the Moldova General Election this Sunday?
The latest poll (changes from last election):
Action & Solidarity Party: 51% (+24)
Electoral Bloc of Communists & Socialists: 31% (-4.5)
Electoral Bloc Renato Ursatii: 5% (+2)
Party of Change: 5% (-3.5)
Others: 8% (-18)
The big losers among the Others are the Democratic Party of Moldova who polled 24% last time but are now polling 1% so a bit of a fall.
The opposition Action & Solidarity Party looks set for a landslide win in the 101-seat Parliament. They are a centre-right pro-European party (we used to have one of those I think). The ruling Communist & Socialist bloc will lose some seats but will be the clear opposition and it may be only those two groups will have seats in the new Parliament but we'll see.
The current political crisis followed the clear election of Maia Sandu of Action & Solidarity to the Presidency last November. The pro-Russian Communist & Socialist Government quit a day before she was sworn in but they are able to block any Prime Ministerial appointment. Sandu went to the Constitutional Court, got Parliament dissolved and it looks very likely Moldova will shift away from Russia towards Europe and the West.
BBC News - Global tax overhaul backed by 130 countries
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57573380
Once you get to the point where every symptom under the sun is associated with Covid and justifies "getting a test" then it's effectively no different in effect than telling everyone to get tested daily. With the latter obviously making more sense from a scientific viewpoint, but for the average person the small problem of the downside of producing a positive test.
I'm sure also at some point (whether it is still thought to be the case) there were arguments put forward that by the time the symptoms started to show, a lot of the infectiousess had passed.
This is just silly. Plenty of people go by their middle name as their name. Whatever name people want to go by, that's their name. Its not self-ID, its just respect.
“There is a silent vote against Galloway,” he adds.
https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/status/1410697399899672586
But it is a bit childish. All frontline politicians have personas, just like I have a work persona, or people have a telephone voice. Not everyone relies so much on their persona (most aren't able to) is all.
People don't get tested because they don't think they might have Covid. They don't get tested because they fear the consequences of a positive test.