Trump’s reluctance to concede could hinder his party in the Georgia Runoffs – politicalbetting.com

Covid vaccine: Major new trial starts in UK

A major trial of a vaccine to protect against Covid-19 has launched in the UK - the third such trial in the country.

The jab - designed by the Belgian company Janssen - uses a genetically modified common cold virus to train the immune system.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-54951650

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

This is the most ominous of Trump’s election denying tweets so far.

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1328093294782509060?s=21

Betfair prices on the American election:-

Biden 1.07
Democrats 1.06
Biden PV 1.03
Biden PV 49-51.9% 1.04
Trump PV 46-48.9% 1.05
Trump ECV 210-239 1.08
Biden ECV 300-329 1.08
Biden ECV Hcap -48.5 1.04
Biden ECV Hcap -63.5 1.06
Trump ECV Hcap +81.5 1.01

AZ Dem 1.03
GA Dem 1.05
MI Dem 1.04
NV Dem 1.04
PA Dem 1.05
WI Dem 1.06

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

In good news to wake up to, four astronauts are on their way up to the space station, on the first official SpaceX mission.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=3VAq7SB8t0I

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

The easiest way to make motoring taxes "per mile" (like our auto insurance ) would be to abolish road tax / vehicle excise duty and increase fuel taxes slightly. It would be a boon to those who don't drive much, and a bane to those who live on the road.

Remember: winners are never happy, and loser complain incessantly, so hard to see the upside.

rcs1000 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

The easiest way to make motoring taxes "per mile" (like our auto insurance ) would be to abolish road tax / vehicle excise duty and increase fuel taxes slightly. It would be a boon to those who don't drive much, and a bane to those who live on the road.

Remember: winners are never happy, and loser complain incessantly, so hard to see the upside.

Agreed, but how does that fix the issue that they want everyone to stop buying fuel and run electric cars?

Sandpit said:

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

First, I wouldn't bet a penny on Lewis Hamilton. This is one occasion when I will let my heart dictate. He has the personality of a slug and to me he's an unpleasant character. Besides, I find F1 motor racing the most boring activity in which the human race partakes. I write that as someone who has endured standing at Stowe Corner.

Re. the markets, that's a non argument. 'It's settled when the results are final' are weasel-words, and you know it. Trump will go on whingeing until 2024 or the day he dies, whichever is the later. Perhaps Betfair will continue to use that as a shield to shirk their responsibilities. The result is now sorted beyond reasonable doubt.

And, incidentally, I'm referring to their Sportsbook market so it is their actions as bookmaker not broker to which I refer.

It's rubbish and unjustifiable.

Oh, and Spreadex settled the ECV market days ago.

No excuse for Betfair. None.

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it: when we move to electric cars a significant slice of existing tax on motoring is effectively being scrapped.

Mysticrose said:

Sandpit said:

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

First, I wouldn't bet a penny on Lewis Hamilton. This is one occasion when I will let my heart dictate. He has the personality of a slug and to me he's an unpleasant character. Besides, I find F1 motor racing the most boring activity in which the human race partakes. I write that as someone who has endured standing at Stowe Corner.

Re. the markets, that's a non argument. 'It's settled when the results are final' are weasel-words, and you know it. Trump will go on whingeing until 2024 or the day he dies, whichever is the later. Perhaps Betfair will continue to use that as a shield to shirk their responsibilities. The result is now sorted beyond reasonable doubt.

And, incidentally, I'm referring to their Sportsbook market so it is their actions as bookmaker not broker to which I refer.

It's rubbish and unjustifiable.

Ummm - if he dies before 2024, he will still go on whingeing?

Is he going for the zombie apocalypse as well?

IanB2 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it: when we move to electric cars a significant slice of existing tax on motoring is effectively being scrapped.

If they find ingenious new ways to tax electric cars, however, a significant slice of the incentive to switch disappears.

Re SPOTY, truthfully the winner should be either Jason Holder or the entire Windies team, because without their example to draw on there would have been no live sport anyway.

I’m mildly diverted that people expect integrity from Betfair.

It’s like expecting fidelity from Ryan Giggs. Touching but naive.

ydoethur said:

I’m mildly diverted that people expect integrity from Betfair.

It’s like expecting fidelity from Ryan Giggs. Touching but naive.

I agree but we should have the betting equivalent of Trustpilot. Mike is putting something together on this topic.

ydoethur said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

IanB2 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it: when we move to electric cars a significant slice of existing tax on motoring is effectively being scrapped.

If they find ingenious new ways to tax electric cars, however, a significant slice of the incentive to switch disappears.

Indeed. Heavy electric cars also wear out roads much faster than conventionally-powered cars do.

Any scheme that simply adds more costs to the motorist (ie doesn’t scrap VED or make petrol noticeably cheaper at the same time) will be nearly as popular as the Poll Tax in Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how Labour react to this proposal though. For all their love of environmentalism, the very last people to buy EVs are those who currently run an old banger that’s essential for them to get to a low-paid job

Do they? I thought electric cars were lighter overall due to the lack of an ICE? But I could easily be wrong as I know very little about it. It is one thing I had been wondering about.

The other thing we should all be aware of is that a significant chunk of our road network is now upwards of 60 years old, is carrying far more traffic at far greater weight than it was designed for and the concrete is crumbling. There’s going to have to be a huge renewal programme for things like bridges over the next 20 years and it ain’t gonna be cheap.

An EV is currently around 25% heavier than an equivalent petrol car. The batteries are the heavy bit, from memory a Tesla has about 700kg of them. They are getting slowly better in energy density, but manufacturers are using those advances to pack more into the space for extra range, rather than reducing the weight of the car.

Yes, there’s a lot of road renewal required, and while huge sections of the M1 and M6 have been done in recent years there’s an awful lot more that will need doing soon.

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

IanB2 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it: when we move to electric cars a significant slice of existing tax on motoring is effectively being scrapped.

If they find ingenious new ways to tax electric cars, however, a significant slice of the incentive to switch disappears.

Indeed. Heavy electric cars also wear out roads much faster than conventionally-powered cars do.

Any scheme that simply adds more costs to the motorist (ie doesn’t scrap VED or make petrol noticeably cheaper at the same time) will be nearly as popular as the Poll Tax in Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how Labour react to this proposal though. For all their love of environmentalism, the very last people to buy EVs are those who currently run an old banger that’s essential for them to get to a low-paid job

Do they? I thought electric cars were lighter overall due to the lack of an ICE? But I could easily be wrong as I know very little about it. It is one thing I had been wondering about.

The other thing we should all be aware of is that a significant chunk of our road network is now upwards of 60 years old, is carrying far more traffic at far greater weight than it was designed for and the concrete is crumbling. There’s going to have to be a huge renewal programme for things like bridges over the next 20 years and it ain’t gonna be cheap.

An EV is currently around 25% heavier than an equivalent petrol car. The batteries are the heavy bit, from memory a Tesla has about 700kg of them. They are getting slowly better in energy density, but manufacturers are using those advances to pack more into the space for extra range, rather than reducing the weight of the car.

OK, thanks.

That isn’t going to improve the road maintenance/renewal, as you originally noted. It will probably see the Severn Bridge closed to vehicle traffic, for a start.

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

IanB2 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it: when we move to electric cars a significant slice of existing tax on motoring is effectively being scrapped.

If they find ingenious new ways to tax electric cars, however, a significant slice of the incentive to switch disappears.

Indeed. Heavy electric cars also wear out roads much faster than conventionally-powered cars do.

Any scheme that simply adds more costs to the motorist (ie doesn’t scrap VED or make petrol noticeably cheaper at the same time) will be nearly as popular as the Poll Tax in Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how Labour react to this proposal though. For all their love of environmentalism, the very last people to buy EVs are those who currently run an old banger that’s essential for them to get to a low-paid job

Do they? I thought electric cars were lighter overall due to the lack of an ICE? But I could easily be wrong as I know very little about it. It is one thing I had been wondering about.

The other thing we should all be aware of is that a significant chunk of our road network is now upwards of 60 years old, is carrying far more traffic at far greater weight than it was designed for and the concrete is crumbling. There’s going to have to be a huge renewal programme for things like bridges over the next 20 years and it ain’t gonna be cheap.

An EV is currently around 25% heavier than an equivalent petrol car. The batteries are the heavy bit, from memory a Tesla has about 700kg of them. They are getting slowly better in energy density, but manufacturers are using those advances to pack more into the space for extra range, rather than reducing the weight of the car.

Yes, there’s a lot of road renewal required, and while huge sections of the M1 and M6 have been done in recent years there’s an awful lot more that will need doing soon.

Isn't the formula, if I recall correctly, a function of both weight and the area over which the weight is distributed?

If contact patches are 25% bigger on average, that would even it out, no?

(Of course, contact patches on vehicles like the i3 and the Prius are probably smaller.)

ydoethur said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

IanB2 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it: when we move to electric cars a significant slice of existing tax on motoring is effectively being scrapped.

If they find ingenious new ways to tax electric cars, however, a significant slice of the incentive to switch disappears.

Indeed. Heavy electric cars also wear out roads much faster than conventionally-powered cars do.

Any scheme that simply adds more costs to the motorist (ie doesn’t scrap VED or make petrol noticeably cheaper at the same time) will be nearly as popular as the Poll Tax in Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how Labour react to this proposal though. For all their love of environmentalism, the very last people to buy EVs are those who currently run an old banger that’s essential for them to get to a low-paid job

Do they? I thought electric cars were lighter overall due to the lack of an ICE? But I could easily be wrong as I know very little about it. It is one thing I had been wondering about.

The other thing we should all be aware of is that a significant chunk of our road network is now upwards of 60 years old, is carrying far more traffic at far greater weight than it was designed for and the concrete is crumbling. There’s going to have to be a huge renewal programme for things like bridges over the next 20 years and it ain’t gonna be cheap.

An EV is currently around 25% heavier than an equivalent petrol car. The batteries are the heavy bit, from memory a Tesla has about 700kg of them. They are getting slowly better in energy density, but manufacturers are using those advances to pack more into the space for extra range, rather than reducing the weight of the car.

OK, thanks.

That isn’t going to improve the road maintenance/renewal, as you originally noted. It will probably see the Severn Bridge closed to vehicle traffic, for a start.

Does it have much more than local traffic on it now, you have to take a positive decision to go down that road that road and not just stay on the M4 for the SSC?

Have they stopped talking about the Brynglas tunnels yet, and started digging? It’s nearly 25 years now, since the second bridge opened and shifted the bottleneck a few miles west.

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

IanB2 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it: when we move to electric cars a significant slice of existing tax on motoring is effectively being scrapped.

If they find ingenious new ways to tax electric cars, however, a significant slice of the incentive to switch disappears.

Indeed. Heavy electric cars also wear out roads much faster than conventionally-powered cars do.

Any scheme that simply adds more costs to the motorist (ie doesn’t scrap VED or make petrol noticeably cheaper at the same time) will be nearly as popular as the Poll Tax in Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how Labour react to this proposal though. For all their love of environmentalism, the very last people to buy EVs are those who currently run an old banger that’s essential for them to get to a low-paid job

Do they? I thought electric cars were lighter overall due to the lack of an ICE? But I could easily be wrong as I know very little about it. It is one thing I had been wondering about.

The other thing we should all be aware of is that a significant chunk of our road network is now upwards of 60 years old, is carrying far more traffic at far greater weight than it was designed for and the concrete is crumbling. There’s going to have to be a huge renewal programme for things like bridges over the next 20 years and it ain’t gonna be cheap.

An EV is currently around 25% heavier than an equivalent petrol car. The batteries are the heavy bit, from memory a Tesla has about 700kg of them. They are getting slowly better in energy density, but manufacturers are using those advances to pack more into the space for extra range, rather than reducing the weight of the car.

OK, thanks.

That isn’t going to improve the road maintenance/renewal, as you originally noted. It will probably see the Severn Bridge closed to vehicle traffic, for a start.

Does it have much more than local traffic on it now, you have to take a positive decision to go down that road that road and not just stay on the M4 for the SSC?

Have they stopped talking about the Brynglas tunnels yet, and started digging? It’s nearly 25 years now, since the second bridge opened and shifted the bottleneck a few miles west.

Nope:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48512697

It still carries a fair amount of traffic. Enough that closing it altogether wouldn’t help congestion in Bristol.

Sandpit said:

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the world snooker title (again).
Tyson Fury but he's not fought since his heavyweight title win in February so memories may have faded.

Two I've previously suggested are worth looking at are Marcus Rashford and Hollie Doyle.

Rashford is 3.65 to win but 2.32 to be in the top three, which is unusually generous. The question with Rashford is whether he is nominated. There are not many other footballers to choose from, though I leave to you to judge if HMG will lean on the BBC. I think the opposition to Rashford came from Gove and Cummings, so this may be less of a fear now the latter has departed.

The BBC will want some women on the shortlist and I think Hollie Doyle (she is a jockey) has the best claim here. She has just ridden more than 100 winners for the second season running and blah blah blah -- I'm not trying to convince a jury to vote for her. Racing is an ITV sport, though, if that still matters. She is 48 on Betfair and 40/1 with Hills.

not_on_fire said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

Why is it a silly idea? This obviously with an eye to the future and to electric cars. Seems reasonable that those who drive the most should pay more.

The devil is in the detail. The last such proposed scheme had every car with a government-mandated GPS, with a massive tracking database behind it, that charged up to £1.50 a mile at peak times.

Given that the DVLA will already sell your name and address to any cowboy parking firm who gives them a number place, who’s to say this wouldn’t turn into a police state fanatic’s wet dream? (and result in a huge uptick in car thefts by people not wanting to be tracked, for whatever nefarious reason).

Policymakers inevitably live and work in London or close to a station, and have never worked shifts in a low-paid job that required a car.

The person who would benefit the most from any such scheme, is the rich guy who has to decide which of the fleet he’s going to take that day - he currently pays thousands in road tax.

.

Sandpit said:

not_on_fire said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

Why is it a silly idea? This obviously with an eye to the future and to electric cars. Seems reasonable that those who drive the most should pay more.

The devil is in the detail. The last such proposed scheme had every car with a government-mandated GPS, with a massive tracking database behind it, that charged up to £1.50 a mile at peak times.

Given that the DVLA will already sell your name and address to any cowboy parking firm who gives them a number place, who’s to say this wouldn’t turn into a police state fanatic’s wet dream? (and result in a huge uptick in car thefts by people not wanting to be tracked, for whatever nefarious reason).

Policymakers inevitably live and work in London or close to a station, and have never worked shifts in a low-paid job that required a car.

The person who would benefit the most from any such scheme, is the rich guy who has to decide which of the fleet he’s going to take that day - he currently pays thousands in road tax.

On that last point -- road tax -- I gather from watching a YT car review a few hours ago that our road tax rates are a fraction of those charged in Europe, so that might be where the Treasury looks next.

Sandpit said:

not_on_fire said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

Why is it a silly idea? This obviously with an eye to the future and to electric cars. Seems reasonable that those who drive the most should pay more.

The devil is in the detail. The last such proposed scheme had every car with a government-mandated GPS, with a massive tracking database behind it, that charged up to £1.50 a mile at peak times.

Given that the DVLA will already sell your name and address to any cowboy parking firm who gives them a number place, who’s to say this wouldn’t turn into a police state fanatic’s wet dream? (and result in a huge uptick in car thefts by people not wanting to be tracked, for whatever nefarious reason).

Policymakers inevitably live and work in London or close to a station, and have never worked shifts in a low-paid job that required a car.

The person who would benefit the most from any such scheme, is the rich guy who has to decide which of the fleet he’s going to take that day - he currently pays thousands in road tax.

And would continue to do so. No-one is going to abolish road tax.

rcs1000 said:

Sandpit said:

rcs1000 said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

Sandpit said:

ydoethur said:

IanB2 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it: when we move to electric cars a significant slice of existing tax on motoring is effectively being scrapped.

If they find ingenious new ways to tax electric cars, however, a significant slice of the incentive to switch disappears.

Indeed. Heavy electric cars also wear out roads much faster than conventionally-powered cars do.

Any scheme that simply adds more costs to the motorist (ie doesn’t scrap VED or make petrol noticeably cheaper at the same time) will be nearly as popular as the Poll Tax in Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how Labour react to this proposal though. For all their love of environmentalism, the very last people to buy EVs are those who currently run an old banger that’s essential for them to get to a low-paid job

Do they? I thought electric cars were lighter overall due to the lack of an ICE? But I could easily be wrong as I know very little about it. It is one thing I had been wondering about.

The other thing we should all be aware of is that a significant chunk of our road network is now upwards of 60 years old, is carrying far more traffic at far greater weight than it was designed for and the concrete is crumbling. There’s going to have to be a huge renewal programme for things like bridges over the next 20 years and it ain’t gonna be cheap.

An EV is currently around 25% heavier than an equivalent petrol car. The batteries are the heavy bit, from memory a Tesla has about 700kg of them. They are getting slowly better in energy density, but manufacturers are using those advances to pack more into the space for extra range, rather than reducing the weight of the car.

Yes, there’s a lot of road renewal required, and while huge sections of the M1 and M6 have been done in recent years there’s an awful lot more that will need doing soon.

Isn't the formula, if I recall correctly, a function of both weight and the area over which the weight is distributed?

If contact patches are 25% bigger on average, that would even it out, no?

(Of course, contact patches on vehicles like the i3 and the Prius are probably smaller.)

Correct. Which makes the problem worse, as most EVs have skinnier tyres to reduce rolling resistance.

The shoes that do the most damage to a wooden floor are ladies’ stilettos.

I can assure you that the contact patches on my EV are absolutely enormous.

Didn’t you get a Taycan? That’s quite the exception!

Sandpit said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the world snooker title (again).
Tyson Fury but he's not fought since his heavyweight title win in February so memories may have faded.

Two I've previously suggested are worth looking at are Marcus Rashford and Hollie Doyle.

Rashford is 3.65 to win but 2.32 to be in the top three, which is unusually generous. The question with Rashford is whether he is nominated. There are not many other footballers to choose from, though I leave to you to judge if HMG will lean on the BBC. I think the opposition to Rashford came from Gove and Cummings, so this may be less of a fear now the latter has departed.

The BBC will want some women on the shortlist and I think Hollie Doyle (she is a jockey) has the best claim here. She has just ridden more than 100 winners for the second season running and blah blah blah -- I'm not trying to convince a jury to vote for her. Racing is an ITV sport, though, if that still matters. She is 48 on Betfair and 40/1 with Hills.

Good call on O’Sullivan, a BBC sport too. Yes, I’d forgotten about Fury, February was indeed an awful long time ago!!

I can’t see a Rashford nomination making it past Tim Davie: it would be making the whole event political the week before Christmas, and give huge ammunition to those opposed to the BBC. I can see them giving him the Gary Linekar Woke award or something similar, or have him collect something on behalf of all sportsmen protesting racism this year.

That is an important point about Rashford and politics but I think is less of a factor than you suggest. First, because Dominic Cummings has left, and I think it was he who objected to feeding the wee'uns; it is reminiscent of his and Gove's rejection of Jamie Oliver back when they ran Education. Second, surely a special award would seem more politically controversial than one on which the public votes.

But I do think that uncertainty is why Rashford's top three price is so generous. Rashford is 2.32 to place: both Fury and O'Sullivan are odds-on to place despite being several times Rashford's win price.

Sandpit said:

Didn’t you get a Taycan? That’s quite the exception!

Taycan tyre sizes are slightly smaller than a Panamera. 245/40, 285/40 vs 265/40,295 40

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the world snooker title (again).
Tyson Fury but he's not fought since his heavyweight title win in February so memories may have faded.

Two I've previously suggested are worth looking at are Marcus Rashford and Hollie Doyle.

Rashford is 3.65 to win but 2.32 to be in the top three, which is unusually generous. The question with Rashford is whether he is nominated. There are not many other footballers to choose from, though I leave to you to judge if HMG will lean on the BBC. I think the opposition to Rashford came from Gove and Cummings, so this may be less of a fear now the latter has departed.

The BBC will want some women on the shortlist and I think Hollie Doyle (she is a jockey) has the best claim here. She has just ridden more than 100 winners for the second season running and blah blah blah -- I'm not trying to convince a jury to vote for her. Racing is an ITV sport, though, if that still matters. She is 48 on Betfair and 40/1 with Hills.

Good call on O’Sullivan, a BBC sport too. Yes, I’d forgotten about Fury, February was indeed an awful long time ago!!

I can’t see a Rashford nomination making it past Tim Davie: it would be making the whole event political the week before Christmas, and give huge ammunition to those opposed to the BBC. I can see them giving him the Gary Linekar Woke award or something similar, or have him collect something on behalf of all sportsmen protesting racism this year.

That is an important point about Rashford and politics but I think is less of a factor than you suggest. First, because Dominic Cummings has left, and I think it was he who objected to feeding the wee'uns; it is reminiscent of his and Gove's rejection of Jamie Oliver back when they ran Education. Second, surely a special award would seem more politically controversial than one on which the public votes.

But I do think that uncertainty is why Rashford's top three price is so generous. Rashford is 2.32 to place: both Fury and O'Sullivan are odds-on to place despite being several times Rashford's win price.

The special award would allow them to take time to mention sportspeople using their profile for good etc, without taking away from the main award which is supposed to be for sporting achievement.

So we’ve got a flat race between three horses and a car, that the car will win if it’s allowed to compete.

I’m betting on Hamilton for now, or rather topping up small bets from earlier in the year, then waiting for the nominations.

noneoftheabove said:

rcs1000 said:

Sandpit said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Tories go with this idea and they will be sub 30 in the polls in no time....and Dishy Rishi be about as popular as £15 PPV premier league games.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8951969/Rishi-Sunak-considers-plan-charge-motorists-mile-drive-Britains-roads.html

That’s the silliest of silly ideas, that has been abandoned once before as unworkable and hugely unpopular.

Any scheme would need to be clearly revenue neutral, and require existing taxes on motoring to be scrapped rather than built on - and no massive spyware or tracking databases.

Maybe, after the pandemic effects susbside, a Conservative chancellor might start taking a very hard look at what the government is spending, rather than simply how to raise more money in taxes.

The easiest way to make motoring taxes "per mile" (like our auto insurance ) would be to abolish road tax / vehicle excise duty and increase fuel taxes slightly. It would be a boon to those who don't drive much, and a bane to those who live on the road.

Remember: winners are never happy, and loser complain incessantly, so hard to see the upside.

What do you think about adding the mandated third party insurance to fuel duty and removing the legal requirement for car insurance?

Guess it would be bad for your new business but from a policy point of view it would:

make compliance automatic so no more uninsured drivers and related societal costs and govt subsidies for them
reduce the generational wealth gap and increase employment mobility for the young
reduce red tape giving both cost savings at govt level and save time for drivers
possibly good for the environment, by making the price per mile more tangible and transparent

In Japan they bundle the mandatory third-party insurance with the MOT, although that doesn't really reduce red tape since most people also buy additional optional insurance.

https://twitter.com/aljwhite/status/1328241483691020290

MikeSmithson said:

Sandpit said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the world snooker title (again).
Tyson Fury but he's not fought since his heavyweight title win in February so memories may have faded.

Two I've previously suggested are worth looking at are Marcus Rashford and Hollie Doyle.

Rashford is 3.65 to win but 2.32 to be in the top three, which is unusually generous. The question with Rashford is whether he is nominated. There are not many other footballers to choose from, though I leave to you to judge if HMG will lean on the BBC. I think the opposition to Rashford came from Gove and Cummings, so this may be less of a fear now the latter has departed.

The BBC will want some women on the shortlist and I think Hollie Doyle (she is a jockey) has the best claim here. She has just ridden more than 100 winners for the second season running and blah blah blah -- I'm not trying to convince a jury to vote for her. Racing is an ITV sport, though, if that still matters. She is 48 on Betfair and 40/1 with Hills.

Good call on O’Sullivan, a BBC sport too. Yes, I’d forgotten about Fury, February was indeed an awful long time ago!!

I can’t see a Rashford nomination making it past Tim Davie: it would be making the whole event political the week before Christmas, and give huge ammunition to those opposed to the BBC. I can see them giving him the Gary Linekar Woke award or something similar, or have him collect something on behalf of all sportsmen protesting racism this year.

That is an important point about Rashford and politics but I think is less of a factor than you suggest. First, because Dominic Cummings has left, and I think it was he who objected to feeding the wee'uns; it is reminiscent of his and Gove's rejection of Jamie Oliver back when they ran Education. Second, surely a special award would seem more politically controversial than one on which the public votes.

But I do think that uncertainty is why Rashford's top three price is so generous. Rashford is 2.32 to place: both Fury and O'Sullivan are odds-on to place despite being several times Rashford's win price.

The special award would allow them to take time to mention sportspeople using their profile for good etc, without taking away from the main award which is supposed to be for sporting achievement.

So we’ve got a flat race between three horses and a car, that the car will win if it’s allowed to compete.

I’m betting on Hamilton for now, or rather topping up small bets from earlier in the year, then waiting for the nominations.

But is driving a car a sport? I don't see it

Isn't the difference between a sport and a game is that you can be killed in sport but not in a game.

It may be in a car but F1 is definitely a sport if risk to life is part of the definition.

MikeSmithson said:

Sandpit said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the world snooker title (again).
Tyson Fury but he's not fought since his heavyweight title win in February so memories may have faded.

Two I've previously suggested are worth looking at are Marcus Rashford and Hollie Doyle.

Rashford is 3.65 to win but 2.32 to be in the top three, which is unusually generous. The question with Rashford is whether he is nominated. There are not many other footballers to choose from, though I leave to you to judge if HMG will lean on the BBC. I think the opposition to Rashford came from Gove and Cummings, so this may be less of a fear now the latter has departed.

The BBC will want some women on the shortlist and I think Hollie Doyle (she is a jockey) has the best claim here. She has just ridden more than 100 winners for the second season running and blah blah blah -- I'm not trying to convince a jury to vote for her. Racing is an ITV sport, though, if that still matters. She is 48 on Betfair and 40/1 with Hills.

Good call on O’Sullivan, a BBC sport too. Yes, I’d forgotten about Fury, February was indeed an awful long time ago!!

I can’t see a Rashford nomination making it past Tim Davie: it would be making the whole event political the week before Christmas, and give huge ammunition to those opposed to the BBC. I can see them giving him the Gary Linekar Woke award or something similar, or have him collect something on behalf of all sportsmen protesting racism this year.

That is an important point about Rashford and politics but I think is less of a factor than you suggest. First, because Dominic Cummings has left, and I think it was he who objected to feeding the wee'uns; it is reminiscent of his and Gove's rejection of Jamie Oliver back when they ran Education. Second, surely a special award would seem more politically controversial than one on which the public votes.

But I do think that uncertainty is why Rashford's top three price is so generous. Rashford is 2.32 to place: both Fury and O'Sullivan are odds-on to place despite being several times Rashford's win price.

The special award would allow them to take time to mention sportspeople using their profile for good etc, without taking away from the main award which is supposed to be for sporting achievement.

So we’ve got a flat race between three horses and a car, that the car will win if it’s allowed to compete.

I’m betting on Hamilton for now, or rather topping up small bets from earlier in the year, then waiting for the nominations.

But is driving a car a sport? I don't see it

Today's Guardian describes Hamilton's record-breaking achievement as an "enormity" so they evidently agree with you.

eek said:

MikeSmithson said:

Sandpit said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

Sandpit said:

Mysticrose said:

I think this is a very good point by Mike and a great tip with SMarkets.

I'm on Ossoff at 2/1 with Betfair Sportsbook.

Speaking of Betfair, they are still not settling up on Biden 300-329 ECVs. I think this is really poor and I have complained. What with this and the kind of shenanigans that Mike highlights I am not impressed with them right now.

Saying the same thing every morning won’t make Betfair settle early. Remember they’re a broker not a bookmaker, it’s not their money they’ll be paying out. It’ll be settled when the results are final.

When they do finally pay out, put everything of Lewis Hamilton for the Sports Personality award, he’s 1.85 on Betfair at the moment, but who else has any significant sporting achievements this year?

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the world snooker title (again).
Tyson Fury but he's not fought since his heavyweight title win in February so memories may have faded.

Two I've previously suggested are worth looking at are Marcus Rashford and Hollie Doyle.

Rashford is 3.65 to win but 2.32 to be in the top three, which is unusually generous. The question with Rashford is whether he is nominated. There are not many other footballers to choose from, though I leave to you to judge if HMG will lean on the BBC. I think the opposition to Rashford came from Gove and Cummings, so this may be less of a fear now the latter has departed.

The BBC will want some women on the shortlist and I think Hollie Doyle (she is a jockey) has the best claim here. She has just ridden more than 100 winners for the second season running and blah blah blah -- I'm not trying to convince a jury to vote for her. Racing is an ITV sport, though, if that still matters. She is 48 on Betfair and 40/1 with Hills.

Good call on O’Sullivan, a BBC sport too. Yes, I’d forgotten about Fury, February was indeed an awful long time ago!!

I can’t see a Rashford nomination making it past Tim Davie: it would be making the whole event political the week before Christmas, and give huge ammunition to those opposed to the BBC. I can see them giving him the Gary Linekar Woke award or something similar, or have him collect something on behalf of all sportsmen protesting racism this year.

That is an important point about Rashford and politics but I think is less of a factor than you suggest. First, because Dominic Cummings has left, and I think it was he who objected to feeding the wee'uns; it is reminiscent of his and Gove's rejection of Jamie Oliver back when they ran Education. Second, surely a special award would seem more politically controversial than one on which the public votes.

But I do think that uncertainty is why Rashford's top three price is so generous. Rashford is 2.32 to place: both Fury and O'Sullivan are odds-on to place despite being several times Rashford's win price.

The special award would allow them to take time to mention sportspeople using their profile for good etc, without taking away from the main award which is supposed to be for sporting achievement.

So we’ve got a flat race between three horses and a car, that the car will win if it’s allowed to compete.

I’m betting on Hamilton for now, or rather topping up small bets from earlier in the year, then waiting for the nominations.

But is driving a car a sport? I don't see it

Isn't the difference between a sport and a game is that you can be killed in sport but not in a game.

It may be in a car but F1 is definitely a sport if risk to life is part of the definition.

I was at a dinner party a couple of years ago and expressed my view about motor racing not being a sport. I didn't know at the time that the guy sitting next to me was the chairman of Silverstone

F1 drivers are very much athletes, even if you don't consider their discipline to be a sport. Jody Scheckter won the 1981 series of world superstars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstars#World_Superstars

And Jenson Button was (is?) a very competitive triathlete.

Chris said:

Sandpit said:

Bill Maher, on why the Democrats need to get over themselves, why 10m more people voted Trump than in 2016, why they lost seats in the House - and why Twitter isn’t America.

https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1327478205733687297

Indeed. To listen to Joe Biden you'd almost imagine he'd been elected president.

And that the Dems had a net gain of seats in the House since 2016.

Trump is going to get under Romney's vote share again isn't he?

Sandpit said:

Stocky said:

Sandpit said:

Bill Maher, on why the Democrats need to get over themselves, why 10m more people voted Trump than in 2016, why they lost seats in the House - and why Twitter isn’t America.

https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1327478205733687297

Very good. Thanks for posting. If I had a vote I`d struggle to vote Dem at the moment - unless it was to unseat a giant orange turd like Trump. That pretty much sums up the 2020 election.

Maher has been saying the same thing about ‘cancel culture’ and freedom of speech for years now, he’s a staunch Democrat but sees them talking to themselves and appealing to a small but vocal minority on Twitter.

Comedians in general have been good on this stuff, see also Dave Chapelle. They were among the first people to realise the power of Trump, as they toured the small towns of the country and saw a very different world to that in NY and CA.

The analysis of what just happened says that people voted for not-Trump, but didn’t vote positively for Democrats elsewhere.

Maher appears to be doing his own little bit of cancelling when he ridicules the term Latinx.
While it's true that its use in Hispanic communities is relatively rare, it's a term of self-identification for some.
https://www.history.com/news/hispanic-latino-latinx-chicano-background

I take the view that you call people what they want to be called. No doubt the Democrats will come round to that in time.
It's a principle that seems quite antipathetic to Trump's version of Republicanism.

Why don't Downing Street take the novel step of insisting people wear masks in no10? And set an example in public by wearing them in Press conferences and the like? What's the point about being able to express astonishment of the cavalier attitude of the White House, when we're no better here whatsoever INCLUDING our supposed 'expert' chief scientists and medical officers? At least in the White House they have 'quickie' testing programmes.

All the evidence has been around for months and months that when in indoor spaces it is not sufficient to simply stay 2 metres apart from everyone. Masks and good ventilation and not spending too long in the same place are also crucial.

And then we get pictures of Johnson having meetings with casual contacts where they don't even do the 2m thing.

It's almost as if they've made no serious investigations/not taken on board research into how the virus actually spreads, or how it's most likely to spread.

It's no wonder we are still stuck with the implementing the crude blunt instruments of blanket lockdowns, which only keep certain activities open on the basis of need and not on the basis of risk.

In the latest Brexit triumph, it looks like the government is on course to do huge damage to the fishing industry.
https://twitter.com/bbcmartynoates/status/1327958985614495744?s=21

Scott_xP said:

https://twitter.com/thetimes/status/1328245752368422912

Not if Sunak is in Downing Street he wont be.

https://twitter.com/aljwhite/status/1328239945459380226

https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1328258097551462400

Sandpit said:

Bill Maher, on why the Democrats need to get over themselves, why 10m more people voted Trump than in 2016, why they lost seats in the House - and why Twitter isn’t America.

https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1327478205733687297

Brilliant.

https://twitter.com/estwebber/status/1328258968125386753

SouthamObserver said:

In the latest Brexit triumph, it looks like the government is on course to do huge damage to the fishing industry.
https://twitter.com/bbcmartynoates/status/1327958985614495744?s=21

Wow who could have predicted this?

rottenborough said:

https://twitter.com/aljwhite/status/1328239945459380226

They're just not serious people. In good times, that is an impediment to effective government. In a crisis like now, it is catastrophic.

alex_ said:

Why don't Downing Street take the novel step of insisting people wear masks in no10? And set an example in public by wearing them in Press conferences and the like? What's the point about being able to express astonishment of the cavalier attitude of the White House, when we're no better here whatsoever INCLUDING our supposed 'expert' chief scientists and medical officers? At least in the White House they have 'quickie' testing programmes.

All the evidence has been around for months and months that when in indoor spaces it is not sufficient to simply stay 2 metres apart from everyone. Masks and good ventilation and not spending too long in the same place are also crucial.

And then we get pictures of Johnson having meetings with casual contacts where they don't even do the 2m thing.

It's almost as if they've made no serious investigations/not taken on board research into how the virus actually spreads, or how it's most likely to spread.

It's no wonder we are still stuck with the implementing the crude blunt instruments of blanket lockdowns, which only keep certain activities open on the basis of need and not on the basis of risk.

Probably all good points, but speaking from personal experience, he’d still be told to self-isolate. My contact occurred with both of us wearing visors in a research lab. Naturally I avoided getting the bug, but I’m still isolating (last day today). The precautions don’t seem to count in the self isolation rules.

OnlyLivingBoy said:

rottenborough said:

https://twitter.com/aljwhite/status/1328239945459380226

They're just not serious people. In good times, that is an impediment to effective government. In a crisis like now, it is catastrophic.

Boris is "bursting with antibodies", which is very reassuring.