As no one was willing to take a stab at French nuclear availability, I'll tell you.
61.7% in 2020.
Now, there were probably some Covid related issues in there. So I'll tell you what 2021 was: 67%.
A French nuclear power is typically only available to generate power on two-thirds of days. The availability of Hinkley Point C, which is based around the new EPR design, will be less than that - at least initially. It is probably reasonable to assume no more than 50% availability for the first couple of years.
The problem with wind is that turbines all go offline together (too little wind or stormy weather) in addition to individual outage for maintenance or mechanical failure.
Tidal lagoon power produces for 14 hours a day. 58% coverage
But one 3 hours tide up the coast would give 70% production coverage through 24 hours.
Four spread around the coasts could give 95.8% coverage through 24 hours.
Each day. Every day. For 120 years. Minimum. Zero carbon. Zero waste.......
Zero chance of a critical meltdown incident. A terrorist attack would be a hassle, but wouldn't entirely render the area uninhabitable. Predictable what the tide will be in 120 years. I could go on and on.
Lagoons are a third of the capital cost to build versus nuclear (and last at least twice as long - probably far longer).
Electricity at a 40-50% discount to the price for that generated by nuclear.
Virtually zero abandonment costs for tidal versus the current bill of up to £220 billion to abandon the UKs existing nuclear facilities.
Regeneration of coastal towns by creation of new leisure facilities at lagoons - versus each nuclear plant requiring a 24 hour armed police force
80,000 jobs and apprenticeships created in building a fleet of lagoons.....
I've often wondered about Tidal, and you are selling it well, I haven't checked the numbers, but what are the downsides/why has it not happened already? Environmental damage to the seabed?
Wetland and Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace have both come out in support of tidal barrages. There is some need for dredging, but other than that, really there aren't downsides.
The only downside is for a handful of civil servants who bet the farm on nuclear at £92.50 (and a £37 billion public/ consumer subsidy) - and would look prats if the true numbers come out.
Plus the nuclear industry sees tidal as an existential threat - build one tidal power station, and the economics of another nuclear plant would be just laughed at. No more £37 billions from the public teat....
If only they had put fuel shortages on the side of the bus ! We just need the powdered eggs and general rationing now to be able to re-live the glory years ! I feel a Vera Lynn song coming on ! The EU must be pissing themselves laughing , the last few weeks has done wonders for them. Just imagine another country stupid enough to go for a referendum . All the pro EU side have to do is show the cluster fuck in the UK.
Seems unlikely given that HGV driver shortages seem to be a problem all over the continent. The fuel shortages have only been caused by panic buying, with demands over 500% of normal levels. That would cause issues in any country, Brexit or not.
It’s Europe wide but is effecting the U.K. more because of the disproportionate amount of drivers who left last year . The supply chains are also different as EU hauliers have much more flexibility and don’t have to go through red tape on steroids.
As no one was willing to take a stab at French nuclear availability, I'll tell you.
61.7% in 2020.
Now, there were probably some Covid related issues in there. So I'll tell you what 2021 was: 67%.
A French nuclear power is typically only available to generate power on two-thirds of days. The availability of Hinkley Point C, which is based around the new EPR design, will be less than that - at least initially. It is probably reasonable to assume no more than 50% availability for the first couple of years.
The problem with wind is that turbines all go offline together (too little wind or stormy weather) in addition to individual outage for maintenance or mechanical failure.
Tidal lagoon power produces for 14 hours a day. 58% coverage
But one 3 hours tide up the coast would give 70% production coverage through 24 hours.
Four spread around the coasts could give 95.8% coverage through 24 hours.
Each day. Every day. For 120 years. Minimum. Zero carbon. Zero waste.......
Zero chance of a critical meltdown incident. A terrorist attack would be a hassle, but wouldn't entirely render the area uninhabitable. Predictable what the tide will be in 120 years. I could go on and on.
Lagoons are a third of the capital cost to build versus nuclear (and last at least twice as long - probably far longer).
Electricity at a 40-50% discount to the price for that generated by nuclear.
Virtually zero abandonment costs for tidal versus the current bill of up to £220 billion to abandon the UKs existing nuclear facilities.
Regeneration of coastal towns by creation of new leisure facilities at lagoons - versus each nuclear plant requiring a 24 hour armed police force
80,000 jobs and apprenticeships created in building a fleet of lagoons.....
I've often wondered about Tidal, and you are selling it well, I haven't checked the numbers, but what are the downsides/why has it not happened already? Environmental damage to the seabed?
MM will know more, but they are massive engineering projects: and the more power you want to generate, the larger the project and therefore the cost. There are also potential environmental issues as well, from fish spawning to birds.
There are also many different designs, from tidal lagoons to full-on barrages. In fact, many bird fans (Hi, MM!) like some tidal designs as they can create larger area of intertidal zones.
Projected costs are also all over the place: some in favour of the Severn Barrage (just one potential type) give a cost of £4 billion; others come up with costs between 14 and 25 billion.
All AIUI.
I'm willing to bet that the first large scale tidal power plant will be massively overbudget. And I'd be willing to bet that by number five, they'll get both costs down and predictability up.
I'd be willing to bet that it would be very close to budget. This will be private capital - and all the restraints that requires. Like North Sea oil production platforms, where you'd get kicked off as project operator if the costs overran by more than 10%.
Not everything goes overbudget like HS2. Or nuclear plants.....
Another straw in the wind from the French establishment:
Gérard Araud: “NATO is the most overvalued organization in the world : no forces of its own, limited budget, limited remit, fading relevance and looking for a raison d’etre. Can be summarized by “ensuring the US military presence in Europe”. What happens if the Americans are tiptoeing out?”
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
FPT Re Jimmy Saville. He groomed an entire nation's Establishment. Using him to have a pop at just the BBC is a bit reductive. Strangely. It was widely rumoured about amongst the younger generation. We knew not to go to his club in Manchester. Don't know anyone my age who thought him other than a total creep. But our elders and betters couldn't contain their gushing enthusiasm for the living saint amongst us. Any forensic dramatisation might expose the hypocrisy of an entire generation.
His fundamental weirdness was hidden in plain sight. You’d never go near a random who looked like that in the street, but because he was Jimmy Saville, somehow he was ok. I’d love to know the full truth of who new what about him. I know attitudes have changed, and for the better, but you’d have to think some who knew what he did wish they’d tried to do something back then.
Sex with young groupies was considered a bit of a perk in those days, in a way we would not tolerate now.
It should not have been 'tolerated' then. The Summer of Love and the swinging sixties have a great deal to answer for. It was often great for men; less so for women.
On a related note: how the heck is John Peel still revered?
Indeed, his marriage to an underage American has faded into history, alongside his Seventies slot "Schoolgirl of the week". That many of his groupies were young, and indeed underage is not something he has ever hidden, and while she was 15 he did actually marry her.
I think the difference is one of scale, but also of emphasis. Peel had a transparent excellence at spotting new musical trends that transcends his sexual misbehaviour. His evening show in the Eighties was a cornucopia of the brilliant and the avant garde alongside stuff like The Fall, which no matter how much I listen, I cannot get.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
Your vote to REMAIN was a centre-left vote.
It wasn't given the leader of the Remain campaign, Cameron, was leader of the Conservative Party at the time and plenty of working class Labour voters voted Leave
Though still only up to 12 weeks, not 24 like here
If you want to live in America nothing is stopping you but here abortion is a moral issue which means votes are personal and not whipped.
I would prefer 12 weeks to 24 like much of Europe. I did not say I would ban abortion outright (and of course outside of Texas the abortion laws are generally as liberal in the US as in the UK, in some liberal states even more so)
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
Another straw in the wind from the French establishment:
Gérard Araud: “NATO is the most overvalued organization in the world : no forces of its own, limited budget, limited remit, fading relevance and looking for a raison d’etre. Can be summarized by “ensuring the US military presence in Europe”. What happens if the Americans are tiptoeing out?”
Now that I'm sufficiently recovered from last night - London is bouncing. At least Camden is, I don't think it's fresher's week either because everyone looked sort of around 25-30 rather than of student age. We went to two bars and eventually a late night one with a dancefloor playing 90s grunge. Absolutely fucking packed. Queue at the bar was at least 3 people deep and the dancefloor was just rammed. Got offered coke and mandy at least three times as well so London's party drug dealers are definitely back in business as well.
The whole conversation about masks to stop spread just seems so irrelevant when places like this are open.
All in all the old normal is back, if you want to experience it. People are out there living the old normal and that is going to become more and more common over the next few months until there's just a few holdouts banging on about stopping the virus and tutting behind their masks at the rest of society.
Milton Keynes was heaving too. Well the Tesco fuel stop was..
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
Determined to make every graduate under the age of say 40 vote Labour, Johnson presses on:
Neil Henderson @hendopolis · 3m FINANCIAL TIMES: No10 plans to cut graduate salary threshold for paying back loans #TomorrowsPapersToday
So graduates will be hit by both the NI rise and this. And it will of course hurt those on lower incomes the most . Awful policy , my loathing of the Tories increases by the day .
As no one was willing to take a stab at French nuclear availability, I'll tell you.
61.7% in 2020.
Now, there were probably some Covid related issues in there. So I'll tell you what 2021 was: 67%.
A French nuclear power is typically only available to generate power on two-thirds of days. The availability of Hinkley Point C, which is based around the new EPR design, will be less than that - at least initially. It is probably reasonable to assume no more than 50% availability for the first couple of years.
The problem with wind is that turbines all go offline together (too little wind or stormy weather) in addition to individual outage for maintenance or mechanical failure.
Tidal lagoon power produces for 14 hours a day. 58% coverage
But one 3 hours tide up the coast would give 70% production coverage through 24 hours.
Four spread around the coasts could give 95.8% coverage through 24 hours.
Each day. Every day. For 120 years. Minimum. Zero carbon. Zero waste.......
Zero chance of a critical meltdown incident. A terrorist attack would be a hassle, but wouldn't entirely render the area uninhabitable. Predictable what the tide will be in 120 years. I could go on and on.
Lagoons are a third of the capital cost to build versus nuclear (and last at least twice as long - probably far longer).
Electricity at a 40-50% discount to the price for that generated by nuclear.
Virtually zero abandonment costs for tidal versus the current bill of up to £220 billion to abandon the UKs existing nuclear facilities.
Regeneration of coastal towns by creation of new leisure facilities at lagoons - versus each nuclear plant requiring a 24 hour armed police force
80,000 jobs and apprenticeships created in building a fleet of lagoons.....
Are you still involved with that proposal to build a tidal barrage in the Severn estuary?
A newly-elected member of the Bundetag from Bavaria (CSU) Dr. Geissler has "Tecumseh" as a middle name.
There MUST be a story behind THAT.
Named for General Sherman?
My guess is that Dr G was, like the General, named in honor of Tecumseh -THE great Native American leader.
Germany has long been known for affinity to the lore & legend of the American West, for example as chronicled in the novels of Karl May. Who counted among his fans both Albert Einstein and Adolf Hitler.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
Another straw in the wind from the French establishment:
Gérard Araud: “NATO is the most overvalued organization in the world : no forces of its own, limited budget, limited remit, fading relevance and looking for a raison d’etre. Can be summarized by “ensuring the US military presence in Europe”. What happens if the Americans are tiptoeing out?”
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Now that I'm sufficiently recovered from last night - London is bouncing. At least Camden is, I don't think it's fresher's week either because everyone looked sort of around 25-30 rather than of student age. We went to two bars and eventually a late night one with a dancefloor playing 90s grunge. Absolutely fucking packed. Queue at the bar was at least 3 people deep and the dancefloor was just rammed. Got offered coke and mandy at least three times as well so London's party drug dealers are definitely back in business as well.
The whole conversation about masks to stop spread just seems so irrelevant when places like this are open.
All in all the old normal is back, if you want to experience it. People are out there living the old normal and that is going to become more and more common over the next few months until there's just a few holdouts banging on about stopping the virus and tutting behind their masks at the rest of society.
Milton Keynes was heaving too. Well the Tesco fuel stop was..
Based on my conversations with friends and family and passing acquaintances in the last week or so I would say that as the school reopening has not led to a huge iSAGE-level surge, most peeps are sayings 'ok, great, that's it, this is over', 'I'm going full speed from now on'.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
Determined to make every graduate under the age of say 40 vote Labour, Johnson presses on:
Neil Henderson @hendopolis · 3m FINANCIAL TIMES: No10 plans to cut graduate salary threshold for paying back loans #TomorrowsPapersToday
So graduates will be hit by both the NI rise and this. And it will of course hurt those on lower incomes the most . Awful policy , my loathing of the Tories increases by the day .
Maybe wait for Rishi budget next month rather than believe newspaper stories
You may be in for quite a surprise , not least an adjustment on UC
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
You can choose one metric to compare two politicians on, and make one appear more left than the other. But taken across the piece, Biden is to the left of Boris, no question.
I’m definitely questioning that! You are wrong. It’s who you vote with on economics, tax and spend, nationalise privatise, welfare or cut welfare that really matters, and that puts Biden and most Dems much to the right of Boris.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
That is rubbish. Biden is far left of Boris on immigration or the culture wars for example or Brexit and the Irish Sea border.
Biden is also proposing to raise more taxes on the rich than Boris is and to spend more than any US President since LBJ.
The GOP are in the IDU with the Tories and the CDU/CSU, that does not mean they are ideologically identical but they are all the main conservative or centre right parties in their countries. As are other parties in the IDU like the Spanish PP, the Canadian Conservatives or the Australian Liberals and the NZ Nationals.
The Democrats sister parties are Labour and the SPD, hence Blair, Clinton and Schroder were so chummy.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
I never said he was near Corbyn or Rayner, but he is left of centre no matter what you may claim
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Though still only up to 12 weeks, not 24 like here
And the Swiss have voted heavily (64%) to accept gay marriage and adoption.
I spent the day in Brighton - general atmosphere at the conference not exuberant but relieved that a major confrontation had been averted. The standing ovation for Ruth Smeet (Jewish former Labour MP) was a good sign.
75% masks on the train and quite a few at the conference.
I had a (washable) temporary rainbow tattoo on my cheek at Godalming Pride yesterday and it seemed churlish to wash it off right away, so left it on to the bemusement of former colleagues. A long-haired guy came up in the street and admired it - where could he get one? Don't think I've ever been envied by a hippie before - how cool.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
I never said he was near Corbyn or Rayner, but he is left of centre no matter what you may claim
He isn't. if he was he would be increasing immigration, increasing welfare spending, increasing income tax and IHT and very woke
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
I hope the rumours that Rishi is looking at inheritance tax are true
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
Why not remind us how things ended for him?
He left office after 12 years in 2007, the longest serving President post war after Mitterand and was given a state funeral when he died?
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
That is rubbish. Biden is far left of Boris on immigration or the culture wars for example or Brexit and the Irish Sea border.
Biden is also proposing to raise more taxes on the rich than Boris is and to spend more than any US President since LBJ.
The GOP are in the IDU with the Tories and the CDU/CSU, that does not mean they are ideologically identical but they are all the main conservative or centre right parties in their countries. As are other parties in the IDU like the Spanish PP, the Canadian Conservatives or the Australian Liberals and the NZ Nationals.
The Democrats sister parties are Labour and the SPD, hence Blair, Clinton and Schroder were so chummy.
Nonsense. To start with, the only yardstick here is economic. Your understanding of Conservative is shaky too. You calling Trump a conservative? You can explain the difference between right wing populism and conservatism?
The Conservatives are those practising fiscal conservatism, which Trump certainly didn’t.
well it was 70% a few hours ago, according to a twiter reposted on here so maybe by the morning they will all be full again
It's surprising there aren't more reliable stats on this. If the oil companies are going to prioritise (see earlier tweet about competition regulation), they will need to know where to send it.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
I hope the rumours that Rishi is looking at inheritance tax are true
If they are he can kiss goodbye to any chance of any hope of being Tory leader and PM, there would be a revolution amongst Tory MPs and grassroots and we would lose our poll lead.
As May discovered in 2017 threatening to take peoples' inheritance is electoral suicide.
As Osborne discovered in 2007 however IHT cut proposals are extremely popular
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
social issues are not the defining factor, economics is. Kate Hoey sitting with Labour a perfect example.
Just seen that Kwasi is set to approve the RR mini-nuke reactors.
I wonder if any of them will ever actually get built.
Interesting.
Indeed. It's a decision that's comes 8 years too late because Dave and George decided to get in bed with China.
I do wonder what the subsidies for this will look like and what share of the liability the state will take on. RR isn't in any kind of financial position to take on all of the liability of a civilian nuclear programme.
It doesn't require the eye-watering up-front investment in a single site, or a tiny handful of sites, though. It can be done in a much more incremental way, and the technology is pretty well established.
Which is why it's an interesting (and good) decision. I'm not massively in favour of nuclear power as it is being done with a massive and unreliable EPR with a very high subsidised strike price.
This could potentially be done with a much lower initial subsidy and once they've got it figured out incremental costs could be very low indeed. One of my colleagues compared it to a submarine programme (the top of the week), the first one will be expensive, late and people will slate it because it won't be what was promised. The ones that come after will be cheaper, faster and will bring improvements to the original that they couldn't figure out.
Agree 100%.
Nuclear tends to have rather less uptime than you like, with plants being taken off line for unscheduled maintenance rather more frequently than people might think.
(PBers - give me your guess for EDF's French nuclear availability in 2020. That is, of 100 hours of theoretical uptime, how many hours were power stations actually able to generate power. For context, a modern CCGT has more than 99% availability.)
Concentrated nuclear - i.e. one massive site - is therefore a really bad idea, because what if your 3GW nuclear plant happens comes off line at the same time the wind isn't blowing?
Distributed small scale plants don't have this problem. Down for unscheduled maintenance? Well, that's 50-100MW off-line. In the general scheme of things, that's nothing.
I think something like 75 hours for the French nuclear plants. A fair few of them are getting quite old I think, so they would have managed ~85 hours earlier in their lifespan.
You're a bit high, it's usually in the mid to high 60s.
But you are absolutely right that it used to be quite a bit better, as nuclear plants tend to go through three distinct stages:
The first couple of years, when there are lots of kinks to work out, and when you probably only get 50% availability.
And then a kind of magnificent maturity when you get 80-85%, and which hopefully lasts a decade or more.
Then a steady increase in problems and issues as things get old and worn out.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
Engels rode with the Cheshire Hunt.
He did not support inherited wealth nor the monarchy nor religion and as a Marxist globalist was pro open door immigration
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
I never said he was near Corbyn or Rayner, but he is left of centre no matter what you may claim
He isn't. if he was he would be increasing immigration, increasing welfare spending, increasing income tax and IHT and very woke
Visa quotas increasing immigration, pension and benefits rises in April of approximately 3.4%, NI increases and rumours of inheritance tax changes rather contradicts your view
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
Engels rode with the Cheshire Hunt.
He did not support inherited wealth nor the monarchy nor religion and as a Marxist globalist was pro open door immigration
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
That is rubbish. Biden is far left of Boris on immigration or the culture wars for example or Brexit and the Irish Sea border.
Biden is also proposing to raise more taxes on the rich than Boris is and to spend more than any US President since LBJ.
The GOP are in the IDU with the Tories and the CDU/CSU, that does not mean they are ideologically identical but they are all the main conservative or centre right parties in their countries. As are other parties in the IDU like the Spanish PP, the Canadian Conservatives or the Australian Liberals and the NZ Nationals.
The Democrats sister parties are Labour and the SPD, hence Blair, Clinton and Schroder were so chummy.
Nonsense. To start with, the only yardstick here is economic. Your understanding of Conservative is shaky too. You calling Trump a conservative? You can explain the difference between right wing populism and conservatism?
The Conservatives are those practising fiscal conservatism, which Trump certainly didn’t.
Trump is a conservative yes, he is a populist one but still a conservative, conservatives here have often supported tariffs as he did.
Fiscal conservatism was practised by the Liberal Party in the 19th and postwar 20th century as much as the Conservatives
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
Engels rode with the Cheshire Hunt.
He did not support inherited wealth nor the monarchy nor religion and as a Marxist globalist was pro open door immigration
He benefited from inherited wealth though.
Yes well like many socialists it was do as I say not I do and once they benefited from a public school or grammar school education and inherited wealth they are happy to pull up the drawbridge for others
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
I hope the rumours that Rishi is looking at inheritance tax are true
If they are he can kiss goodbye to any chance of any hope of being Tory leader and PM, there would be a revolution amongst Tory MPs and grassroots and we would lose our poll lead.
As May discovered in 2017 threatening to take peoples' inheritance is electoral suicide.
As Osborne discovered in 2007 however IHT cut proposals are extremely popular
Another nonsense post to be rowed back on when it happens
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
That is rubbish. Biden is far left of Boris on immigration or the culture wars for example or Brexit and the Irish Sea border.
Biden is also proposing to raise more taxes on the rich than Boris is and to spend more than any US President since LBJ.
The GOP are in the IDU with the Tories and the CDU/CSU, that does not mean they are ideologically identical but they are all the main conservative or centre right parties in their countries. As are other parties in the IDU like the Spanish PP, the Canadian Conservatives or the Australian Liberals and the NZ Nationals.
The Democrats sister parties are Labour and the SPD, hence Blair, Clinton and Schroder were so chummy.
I think you're sort of on the right track here, but it's futile bringing up Blair, Clinton and Schroder like nothing has changed in the last 15-20 years.
Biden, Starmer and Scholz are ideologically not that much different either
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
You can choose one metric to compare two politicians on, and make one appear more left than the other. But taken across the piece, Biden is to the left of Boris, no question.
I’m definitely questioning that! You are wrong. It’s who you vote with on economics, tax and spend, nationalise privatise, welfare or cut welfare that really matters, and that puts Biden and most Dems much to the right of Boris.
Who you vote with is entirely irrelevant, what you vote for is what counts. Look down this nice summary. Much of what's in there falls into the first two categories: 1. Yes, I could imagine Boris doing that. 2. No, that's probably too left wing for Boris. 3. No, that's probably too right wing for Boris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Joe_Biden#Tax
Thanks I had a look. I stand by what I said. UK and US in different place as nations. The US more right wing, more capitalist. They don’t have a left right split in politics like we have, two right of centre parties in relation to capitalism and socialism GOP and Dem voting actually come from the Civil War.
Boris Downing Street is to the left economically to Biden’s White House.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
I never said he was near Corbyn or Rayner, but he is left of centre no matter what you may claim
He isn't. if he was he would be increasing immigration, increasing welfare spending, increasing income tax and IHT and very woke
Visa quotas increasing immigration, pension and benefits rises in Apri, of approximately 3.4%, NI increases and rumours of inheritance tax changes rather contradicts your view
A points system to replace EU free movement, triple lock ended and pensions frozen, NI raised to avoid income tax and IHT rises and most nations fund healthcare through insurance anyway
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
I hope the rumours that Rishi is looking at inheritance tax are true
If they are he can kiss goodbye to any chance of any hope of being Tory leader and PM, there would be a revolution amongst Tory MPs and grassroots and we would lose our poll lead.
As May discovered in 2017 threatening to take peoples' inheritance is electoral suicide.
As Osborne discovered in 2007 however IHT cut proposals are extremely popular
Another nonsense post to be rowed back on when it happens
And I think what polling on this we have the general population back on on this Big G.
However, where HY might be right, an important section of Tory support may be in the oppose column?
Just seen that Kwasi is set to approve the RR mini-nuke reactors.
I wonder if any of them will ever actually get built.
I think they're based on the PWR3 design that RR did for the Dreadnought class submarines.
(And yes, I know that a chunk of the design of PWR3 is American.)
Which is interesting because that's a highly enriched uranium reactor. The safety implications of that in a civilian nuclear programme will be extremely negative.
So if they are correct, then the RR SMR would use low-enriched uranium.
Show me a Tory MP that wants a RollsRoyce mini-nuke in their constituency.
You don't need to distribute them widely, the national grid still exists. The point of these is that they are manufactured on a production line (sort of) and then shipped to a location. One imagines you'd put 10-15 of these in a single location, probably those places where nuclear power plants already exist, given the infrastructure also already exists there.
Well stuff that. I am in the 3Okm blast zone of Hinckley Point and a similar distance from @MarqueeMark 's Swansea Bay Barrage. I know which one I want In my back yard. The one with no potential for mushroom clouds.
I grew up near to the AWRE and was always strangely comforted that I’d be wiped out on the first strike rather than suffer some long lingering death…
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
That is rubbish. Biden is far left of Boris on immigration or the culture wars for example or Brexit and the Irish Sea border.
Biden is also proposing to raise more taxes on the rich than Boris is and to spend more than any US President since LBJ.
The GOP are in the IDU with the Tories and the CDU/CSU, that does not mean they are ideologically identical but they are all the main conservative or centre right parties in their countries. As are other parties in the IDU like the Spanish PP, the Canadian Conservatives or the Australian Liberals and the NZ Nationals.
The Democrats sister parties are Labour and the SPD, hence Blair, Clinton and Schroder were so chummy.
The Democrats are NOT members of The Progressive Alliance OR the Socialist International.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
You can choose one metric to compare two politicians on, and make one appear more left than the other. But taken across the piece, Biden is to the left of Boris, no question.
I’m definitely questioning that! You are wrong. It’s who you vote with on economics, tax and spend, nationalise privatise, welfare or cut welfare that really matters, and that puts Biden and most Dems much to the right of Boris.
Who you vote with is entirely irrelevant, what you vote for is what counts. Look down this nice summary. Much of what's in there falls into the first two categories: 1. Yes, I could imagine Boris doing that. 2. No, that's probably too left wing for Boris. 3. No, that's probably too right wing for Boris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Joe_Biden#Tax
Thanks I had a look. I stand by what I said. UK and US in different place as nations. The US more right wing, more capitalist. They don’t have a left right split in politics like we have, two right of centre parties in relation to capitalism and socialism GOP and Dem voting actually come from the Civil War.
Boris Downing Street is to the left economically to Biden’s White House.
No it isn't, Biden is left of Boris. Though you could equally make the argument that the Nordic countries conservative parties are sometimes left of the UK Labour Party, certainly New Labour let alone the Tories.
The US is the most rightwing nation in the western world on most issues (apart from maybe Switzerland) so obviously its politics are more rightwing. I would accept Boris is left of Trump however he is not left of Biden and certainly not left of Sanders.
When we had Thatcher as PM though she was so rightwing in UK terms she was even right of the GOP president in her final term, Bush Snr. Indeed in the 1992 presidential election my parents had some friends who stayed with NH Republicans and they said they wished they had Thatcher as President not Bush. She was certainly closer to Reagan
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
Social issues not even etched on the yardstick. Kate Hoey went hunting, but was rightly in the Labour Party for how she voted on economic questions.
Social issues are the yardstick which makes you a conservative as well as support for inheritance, being economically Thatcherite could make you a classical liberal as much as a conservative
Engels rode with the Cheshire Hunt.
Also disapproved of Karl Marx's mistress, for being "too common"
It always amuses me to see Engels' name on a blue plaque in Primrose Hill, on a house which must be worth £3-5m now
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
He is still the leader of the main Conservative Party in the UK and his cut to UC and ending of free movement from the EU for example are hardly centre left actions.
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
Time for for Rishi to ameliorate the UC cut but he is left of centre and some distance from the right of the party
He is not left of centre, he is centrist on economics, populist on culture and social issues, he is miles away from Rayner and Corbyn.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
I never said he was near Corbyn or Rayner, but he is left of centre no matter what you may claim
He isn't. if he was he would be increasing immigration, increasing welfare spending, increasing income tax and IHT and very woke
Visa quotas increasing immigration, pension and benefits rises in Apri, of approximately 3.4%, NI increases and rumours of inheritance tax changes rather contradicts your view
A points system to replace EU free movement, triple lock ended and pensions frozen, NI raised to avoid income tax and IHT rises and most nations fund healthcare through insurance anyway
Pensions are not frozen, they rise by cpi in April if above 2.5% and current forecast is 3.4%
NI rise is not connected to the rumoured rise in IHT and is nowhere near enough for social care
And I have no idea what you are talking about most fund health care through insurance, a privileged few maybe
22.52 score - looks pretty firm now - SPD 26, CDU 24.5, Greens 13.9, FDP 11.5, AfD 11.5, Linke 5.0 (probably just safe but the main remaining uncertainty). That makes Red-Green-Red mathrmatically impossible, so SPD-Green-FDP still the most likely.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
That is rubbish. Biden is far left of Boris on immigration or the culture wars for example or Brexit and the Irish Sea border.
Biden is also proposing to raise more taxes on the rich than Boris is and to spend more than any US President since LBJ.
The GOP are in the IDU with the Tories and the CDU/CSU, that does not mean they are ideologically identical but they are all the main conservative or centre right parties in their countries. As are other parties in the IDU like the Spanish PP, the Canadian Conservatives or the Australian Liberals and the NZ Nationals.
The Democrats sister parties are Labour and the SPD, hence Blair, Clinton and Schroder were so chummy.
The Democrats are NOT members of The Progressive Alliance OR the Socialist International.
Nor is Macron's En Marche or the Canadian Liberals, does not make them conservative parties either.
You are also wrong on the Progressive Alliance, the Democrats are in that Alliance with UK Labour
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
You can choose one metric to compare two politicians on, and make one appear more left than the other. But taken across the piece, Biden is to the left of Boris, no question.
I’m definitely questioning that! You are wrong. It’s who you vote with on economics, tax and spend, nationalise privatise, welfare or cut welfare that really matters, and that puts Biden and most Dems much to the right of Boris.
Who you vote with is entirely irrelevant, what you vote for is what counts. Look down this nice summary. Much of what's in there falls into the first two categories: 1. Yes, I could imagine Boris doing that. 2. No, that's probably too left wing for Boris. 3. No, that's probably too right wing for Boris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Joe_Biden#Tax
Thanks I had a look. I stand by what I said. UK and US in different place as nations. The US more right wing, more capitalist. They don’t have a left right split in politics like we have, two right of centre parties in relation to capitalism and socialism GOP and Dem voting actually come from the Civil War.
Boris Downing Street is to the left economically to Biden’s White House.
No it isn't, Biden is left of Boris. Though you could equally make the argument that the Nordic countries conservative parties are sometimes left of the UK Labour Party, certainly New Labour let alone the Tories.
The US is the most rightwing nation in the western world on most issues (apart from maybe Switzerland) so obviously its politics are more rightwing. I would accept Boris is left of Trump however he is not left of Biden and certainly not left of Sanders.
When we had Thatcher as PM though she was so rightwing in UK terms she was even right of the GOP president in her final term, Bush Snr
Would you call New Labour centre left or centre? They were without doubt centre right on the economic yardstick.
Holy cow: Berliners have voted for this law to seize at 'well below market rates' over 200k properties from corporate landlords. The ballot is non-binding and the law may well be unconstitutional, but a dramatic moment nonetheless.
Per betfair SPD have won. Thanks to @NickPalmer for the tip when it was 1.3.
If true then Boris will indeed be the only conservative leader left in the G7 apart from Japan (if you count the LDP as conservative which is debatable given their name).
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
I am not sure if you have noticed, but Boris has moved noticeably to the left so there is only Japan left then
I said that earlier, but HY and others disagreed with me. HY said some rubbish about its not an international yardstick, but yardstick for each nation. Which is rubbish and it means US Dems are ‘left’ on basis they are to the left of GOP.
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
You can choose one metric to compare two politicians on, and make one appear more left than the other. But taken across the piece, Biden is to the left of Boris, no question.
I’m definitely questioning that! You are wrong. It’s who you vote with on economics, tax and spend, nationalise privatise, welfare or cut welfare that really matters, and that puts Biden and most Dems much to the right of Boris.
Who you vote with is entirely irrelevant, what you vote for is what counts. Look down this nice summary. Much of what's in there falls into the first two categories: 1. Yes, I could imagine Boris doing that. 2. No, that's probably too left wing for Boris. 3. No, that's probably too right wing for Boris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Joe_Biden#Tax
Thanks I had a look. I stand by what I said. UK and US in different place as nations. The US more right wing, more capitalist. They don’t have a left right split in politics like we have, two right of centre parties in relation to capitalism and socialism GOP and Dem voting actually come from the Civil War.
Boris Downing Street is to the left economically to Biden’s White House.
Appreciate what you're saying about America being generally to the right of Britain, but I think the overlap is stronger than you seem to. In any case, we'll agree to disagree. From a voting point of view, I wouldn't go for either unless forced to by circumstance (that is, I would have voted anti-Trump), so I don't really have any stake in this.
In any discussion of the American tax system, the huge loopholes/rebates are often forgotten. In part this is why they have had some apparently high rates historically - one part of the political system would raise tax rates to get more money in and (often the same part!) would increase the er... opt outs.
The UK system is not wonderful perhaps, but is much much better.
I suggest that Boris Johnson’s political positions are designed to ensure Boris Johnson’s personal advantage. The fact that he is a member of the Conservative Party is because his social circle was, not because of any loyalty to whatever principles the Conservative Party may have.
Comments
The only downside is for a handful of civil servants who bet the farm on nuclear at £92.50 (and a £37 billion public/ consumer subsidy) - and would look prats if the true numbers come out.
Plus the nuclear industry sees tidal as an existential threat - build one tidal power station, and the economics of another nuclear plant would be just laughed at. No more £37 billions from the public teat....
Neil Henderson
@hendopolis
·
3m
FINANCIAL TIMES: No10 plans to cut graduate salary threshold for paying back loans #TomorrowsPapersToday
Sorry, I can't stop myself.
There MUST be a story behind THAT.
Not everything goes overbudget like HS2. Or nuclear plants.....
Gérard Araud: “NATO is the most overvalued organization in the world : no forces of its own, limited budget, limited remit, fading relevance and looking for a raison d’etre. Can be summarized by “ensuring the US military presence in Europe”. What happens if the Americans are tiptoeing out?”
https://twitter.com/gerardaraud/status/1442193482949537795
The last time there was only 1 conservative in the G7 was Chirac from 1998-2000, again an equally charismatic figure like Boris able to defy the western tide to the centre left
Paedophilia is “sexual misbehaviour”
His ability to spot good music transcends it?
FFS
Though yes he has positioned himself generally in the relative centre ground
You are absolutely right Big G, Boris is nationalising, Biden will never consider, that is the sort of thing the yardstick is measured on.
A disclaimer may be required
Germany has long been known for affinity to the lore & legend of the American West, for example as chronicled in the novels of Karl May. Who counted among his fans both Albert Einstein and Adolf Hitler.
He is not a pure Thatcherite but then most Tory PMs aren't
You may be in for quite a surprise , not least an adjustment on UC
Biden is also proposing to raise more taxes on the rich than Boris is and to spend more than any US President since LBJ.
The GOP are in the IDU with the Tories and the CDU/CSU, that does not mean they are ideologically identical but they are all the main conservative or centre right parties in their countries. As are other parties in the IDU like the Spanish PP, the Canadian Conservatives or the Australian Liberals and the NZ Nationals.
The Democrats sister parties are Labour and the SPD, hence Blair, Clinton and Schroder were so chummy.
I spent the day in Brighton - general atmosphere at the conference not exuberant but relieved that a major confrontation had been averted. The standing ovation for Ruth Smeet (Jewish former Labour MP) was a good sign.
75% masks on the train and quite a few at the conference.
I had a (washable) temporary rainbow tattoo on my cheek at Godalming Pride yesterday and it seemed churlish to wash it off right away, so left it on to the bemusement of former colleagues. A long-haired guy came up in the street and admired it - where could he get one? Don't think I've ever been envied by a hippie before - how cool.
Sad
The Conservatives are those practising fiscal conservatism, which Trump certainly didn’t.
And Shapp's attempt at deflection was embarrassing
As May discovered in 2017 threatening to take peoples' inheritance is electoral suicide.
As Osborne discovered in 2007 however IHT cut proposals are extremely popular
Judging by the name, surely it should be going for the Green!
PS - smoke 'em I've you've got 'em . . .
Fiscal conservatism was practised by the Liberal Party in the 19th and postwar 20th century as much as the Conservatives
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.176694234
Boris Downing Street is to the left economically to Biden’s White House.
Moeen Ali retires from Test cricket.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/england-news-moeen-ali-to-announce-retirement-from-test-cricket-1277221
However, where HY might be right, an important section of Tory support may be in the oppose column?
The US is the most rightwing nation in the western world on most issues (apart from maybe Switzerland) so obviously its politics are more rightwing. I would accept Boris is left of Trump however he is not left of Biden and certainly not left of Sanders.
When we had Thatcher as PM though she was so rightwing in UK terms she was even right of the GOP president in her final term, Bush Snr. Indeed in the 1992 presidential election my parents had some friends who stayed with NH Republicans and they said they wished they had Thatcher as President not Bush. She was certainly closer to Reagan
It always amuses me to see Engels' name on a blue plaque in Primrose Hill, on a house which must be worth £3-5m now
You just know he would have *enjoyed* the money
NI rise is not connected to the rumoured rise in IHT and is nowhere near enough for social care
And I have no idea what you are talking about most fund health care through insurance, a privileged few maybe
I cannot believe you write such nonsense
https://www.election.de/cgi-bin/showres_btw21.pl
Zeit und Scholz will tell. But clearly there's still some kick left in the old lady in red!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/300414808/sir-john-key-we-need-to-break-free-of-the-hermit-kingdom-and-stop-ruling-by-fear-on-covid19
"UK suspends competition law to boost fuel supplies"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58701620
But wait... I thought competition was the solution to everything?
You are also wrong on the Progressive Alliance, the Democrats are in that Alliance with UK Labour
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Alliance
As I've said before on here, I think once we get into an actual UK election campaign it will be closer than the polls currently say.
https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-faces-expropriation-vote-what-happens-if-the-people-say-yes/a-59070328
The UK system is not wonderful perhaps, but is much much better.