Setting the scene for next Thursday’s local elections – politicalbetting.com

williamglenn said:

There's a fun video of a Belgian parking in his garage which is only 6cm wider than the car. I doubt you could get a modern car that fits.

https://twitter.com/moylato/status/1387139670962843658

I did like this one.

Basically every map showing data on Europe.

FrancisUrquhart said:

kinabalu said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

ITV drops Viewpoint after allegations made against star https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56940444

Yes - glad I'd only invested in one episode.

What nonsense though. They won't broadcast it, but they will stream it....

I mean you either take a stance over as yet unproven allegations or you don't.

It's utter nonsense. I won't say the W word. Really pisses me off and and discourtesy to the other actors and actresses and the many others who produced the programme.

malcolmg said:

Alistair said:

A Nigerian qualifies for a UK state pension having worked in London for 30 years and has recently retired and moved to Edinburgh.

Scotland becomes independent.

Who pays his future pension liability?

Who pays if he then moves to New York?

You will have their heads spinning soon.

LOLs. Presumably, Scottish citizens, as UK citizens, currently pay a share of that Nigerian's pension. I presume they will continue to do so after independence.

[Ducks and takes cover]

THE nationalised shipyard company at the centre of Scotland's ferry building fiasco has made a £100m loss in its first four months of Scottish Government control.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19269200.state-run-ferry-fiasco-ferguson-marine-shipyard-firm-makes-100m-loss-four-months/

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

I have been known to throw the (pitch and putt) clubs in the boot of an Uber so I can have a few quiet pints afterwards.

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

Stocky said:

Anabobazina said:

TOPPING said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Stocky said:

Hartlepool: Labour Party now out to 2.7 with BF. Is this too big?

I've topped up a bit, but I've no confidence in calling this one.

Listening to a reporter on the ground, she expects turnout to be low. Which party will this favour?

Might favour Labour if their GOTV op is superior.

But you know my feelings here. This should be a Con win and I personally don't think Lab at 2.7 is value.

Shouldn't you be in your idyllic leafy pub where you can just waltz in to their rose garden and have a cold beer on Downshire Hill?

I'm back now. Nice little interlude though. Couple of chilled ones in the middle of the day doesn't hurt. Felt no need to augment with any oysters, oddly.

The only downside was it still wasn't at all "leafy".

But out of the way and quiet right. With a couple of tables. In Belsize Park.

Sounds like I might give it a go myself. Which pub is it?

I had assumed The Stag, although the garden there is quite sizeable IIRC?

Considering a family day trip to London on Sunday - not sure yet though as weather may not come right.

Any idea from you London chaps as to what to do/where to go? Shopping, no doubt, and we'd usually visit Borough Market but it's closed on Sundays. Spitalfields Market is open, is that a decent alternative?

Any other ideas. Or should we wait until 17 May when we can sit inside if it's a bit nippy?

Borough Market is open on a Sunday, surely?

Spitalfields is fun, but not as good foodwise

Camden is looking quite buzzy, I just past it. Kids love it. Has good food. But there's not much else to do around there, unlike Borough or Spitalfields - unless you love Georgian architecture, Victorian canals and Regency parks

Just wandering around the City can be fun, especially at the moment, as it wakes from its lockdown slumber. A very eerie feeling, worth experiencing

Camden (Town) can a bit sleazy though, don't you think? Or maybe that's me misinterpreting what I see.

No you're not. Camden Town is horrible.

malcolmg said:

eek said:

TimT said:

eek said:

TimT said:

eek said:

malcolmg said:

eek said:

malcolmg said:

eek said:

Philip_Thompson said:

RochdalePioneers said:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19270556.john-curtice-polls-show-snp-independence-support-slipping/

Professor JohnCurtice (for it is He) says that whilst SNP support is slipping, the Greens are romping along, so a majority of MSPs will support independence. Strap yourselves in - when HYUFD explodes as a result of Boris doing what he has endlessly said he won't do, it will be messy.

Although I support Scottish independence, I think the funniest result "for the bantz" would be SNP minority, majority with Greens, second referendum occurs, second referendum goes No.

That is actually my expected result - the issue needs to be laid to bed and the only way to do that is for the Scottish to see how much they are subsidised by the rest of the UK.

Which I know is something that MalcolmG is going to argue isn't the case but the reality is the oil has gone and Scotland has little else...

You really are ignorant of Scotland, it has far more natural resources than England.

Whatever - we are never going to agree

Exactly , you spouting about things you have absolutely NO clue about is extremely pointless.

Except for the fact you don't provide any evidence of anything that actually generates money.

Maybe not an entirely non-partisan source, but here is some data to start with:

https://www.businessforscotland.com/scotland-is-one-of-the-worlds-most-naturally-wealthy-nations/

Of course, some of the countries with the greatest natural resources wealth are not exactly paradigms of paradise. Russia, Congo ...

What tax revenue or profit comes from that. If it's just sat there being unutilised it's not worth anything.

The question was over whether Scotland is rich in natural resources. The answer is yes.

Now the benefit of having natural resources is an entirely different question. You have many examples of low natural resource countries doing very well, many examples of high natural resource doing badly, and a few high resource countries doing well. I don't see much of a correlation between natural resources per se and economic performance.

However, there is a correlation between share of national income from exploitation of natural resources and overall economic performance - a negative correlation between over-dependence economically on natural resources and economic performance.

https://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/6765/02iie6765.pdf

It wasn't.

I only mentioned oil as that in the last referendum was the answer as to where all the additional revenue Scotland needed would come from. And my question has always been whether Scotland can afford to go independent and with a budget deficit of 8% a year since 2011 it's got 2 options, to massively reduces government expenditure or find additional tax revenue.

Liar , I said it had lots of natural resources and you said it had nothing but whisky. You have been found out as an empty suit. You also have absolutely no clue what the budget or deficit would be like outside the UK, using the current UK mess is never going to be replicated. You guys cannot see reason and just spout crap because you cannot stand the thought that Scotland can survive on its own, bricking it that England has as much chance of failing on its own and not wishing it to be so.

I don’t think there’s any doubt Scotland can survive on its own. What I do think is that the journey to that point will be long, protracted, difficult and will ultimately require Scotland to make extremely tough decisions.

To deny that is to kid the rest of the population. Whether that is worth the emotional case for Indy that is for Scotland to decide

Sean_F said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

Stocky said:

Anabobazina said:

TOPPING said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Stocky said:

Hartlepool: Labour Party now out to 2.7 with BF. Is this too big?

I've topped up a bit, but I've no confidence in calling this one.

Listening to a reporter on the ground, she expects turnout to be low. Which party will this favour?

Might favour Labour if their GOTV op is superior.

But you know my feelings here. This should be a Con win and I personally don't think Lab at 2.7 is value.

Shouldn't you be in your idyllic leafy pub where you can just waltz in to their rose garden and have a cold beer on Downshire Hill?

I'm back now. Nice little interlude though. Couple of chilled ones in the middle of the day doesn't hurt. Felt no need to augment with any oysters, oddly.

The only downside was it still wasn't at all "leafy".

But out of the way and quiet right. With a couple of tables. In Belsize Park.

Sounds like I might give it a go myself. Which pub is it?

I had assumed The Stag, although the garden there is quite sizeable IIRC?

Considering a family day trip to London on Sunday - not sure yet though as weather may not come right.

Any idea from you London chaps as to what to do/where to go? Shopping, no doubt, and we'd usually visit Borough Market but it's closed on Sundays. Spitalfields Market is open, is that a decent alternative?

Any other ideas. Or should we wait until 17 May when we can sit inside if it's a bit nippy?

Borough Market is open on a Sunday, surely?

Spitalfields is fun, but not as good foodwise

Camden is looking quite buzzy, I just past it. Kids love it. Has good food. But there's not much else to do around there, unlike Borough or Spitalfields - unless you love Georgian architecture, Victorian canals and Regency parks

Just wandering around the City can be fun, especially at the moment, as it wakes from its lockdown slumber. A very eerie feeling, worth experiencing

Camden (Town) can a bit sleazy though, don't you think? Or maybe that's me misinterpreting what I see.

No you're not. Camden Town is horrible.

Parts of it are truly horrible. Yet a few hundred yards from the Tube it becomes exquisite - if you go in the right direction. Primrose Hill must be one of the most desirable places to live in Europe.

It has all of London's contradictions in one little corner

felix said:

eek said:

felix said:

Alistair said:

A Nigerian qualifies for a UK state pension having worked in London for 30 years and has recently retired and moved to Edinburgh.

Scotland becomes independent.

Who pays his future pension liability?

Who pays if he then moves to New York?

That would depend entirely on his status if he became a Scottish citizen it would be Scotland , etc, etc

I suspect it would be where he was tax resident...

No - I am tax resident in Spain but not a Spanish citizen - I retain my full UK pension.

Where people were Tax resident when contributions were made I suspect will be the deciding factor.

For people who were tax resident in Scotland their entire career that's simple enough, the Scottish state takes them.
For people who were tax resident in rUK their entire career that's simple enough too.

What's going to be awkward is the people who've been across the UK through their career. That's a mess that will need resolving I suspect.

Of course in 2014 the Scottish Government were unequivocal that Scotland would be paying Scottish Pensions - and making the point they already do and its already set up. So I'm guessing it could just continue via who pays what already?

Leon said:

Sean_F said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

Stocky said:

Anabobazina said:

TOPPING said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Stocky said:

Hartlepool: Labour Party now out to 2.7 with BF. Is this too big?

I've topped up a bit, but I've no confidence in calling this one.

Listening to a reporter on the ground, she expects turnout to be low. Which party will this favour?

Might favour Labour if their GOTV op is superior.

But you know my feelings here. This should be a Con win and I personally don't think Lab at 2.7 is value.

Shouldn't you be in your idyllic leafy pub where you can just waltz in to their rose garden and have a cold beer on Downshire Hill?

I'm back now. Nice little interlude though. Couple of chilled ones in the middle of the day doesn't hurt. Felt no need to augment with any oysters, oddly.

The only downside was it still wasn't at all "leafy".

But out of the way and quiet right. With a couple of tables. In Belsize Park.

Sounds like I might give it a go myself. Which pub is it?

I had assumed The Stag, although the garden there is quite sizeable IIRC?

Considering a family day trip to London on Sunday - not sure yet though as weather may not come right.

Any idea from you London chaps as to what to do/where to go? Shopping, no doubt, and we'd usually visit Borough Market but it's closed on Sundays. Spitalfields Market is open, is that a decent alternative?

Any other ideas. Or should we wait until 17 May when we can sit inside if it's a bit nippy?

Borough Market is open on a Sunday, surely?

Spitalfields is fun, but not as good foodwise

Camden is looking quite buzzy, I just past it. Kids love it. Has good food. But there's not much else to do around there, unlike Borough or Spitalfields - unless you love Georgian architecture, Victorian canals and Regency parks

Just wandering around the City can be fun, especially at the moment, as it wakes from its lockdown slumber. A very eerie feeling, worth experiencing

Camden (Town) can a bit sleazy though, don't you think? Or maybe that's me misinterpreting what I see.

No you're not. Camden Town is horrible.

Parts of it are truly horrible. Yet a few hundred yards from the Tube it becomes exquisite - if you go in the right direction. Primrose Hill must be one of the most desirable places to live in Europe.

It has all of London's contradictions in one little corner

Yes, it's grim around the tube station then rapidly improves at the lock and beyond.

TimT said:

HarryFreeman said:

eek said:

felix said:

Alistair said:

A Nigerian qualifies for a UK state pension having worked in London for 30 years and has recently retired and moved to Edinburgh.

Scotland becomes independent.

Who pays his future pension liability?

Who pays if he then moves to New York?

That would depend entirely on his status if he became a Scottish citizen it would be Scotland , etc, etc

I suspect it would be where he was tax resident...

If a Brit moved to Spain now - where would he pay tax and who would pay his pension ?

Answer might be Spain and the Uk. But not double Spain.

But Scottish independence and payment of pensions is not analogous to an individual pensioner moving from one tax jurisdiction to another. It will be about how to split jointly assumed liabilities. I presume it would be part of a detailed divorce negotiation.

Don't worry about such things - In Malcs world - rUK pays for everything forever.

Some more Caitlyn Jenner fun facts (via Politico.com) for punters to consider:

> Caitlyn Jenner did NOT vote in 2018 general when her opponent Gavin Newsom was elected Governor.

> Nor did Jenner vote in the 2016 general election, or in the previous gubernatorial recall election in 2003 that put Gov. Gray Davis out and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in.

> In fact, official voter records show that Jenner voted just 9 out of 26 CA statewide elections since 2000; all but two were in presidential-year general elections.

> "Meanwhile, Jenner's entrance into the race has given Newsom a new fundraising pitch, and his campaign said he collected $300,000 in the first 36 hours after her announcement. Newsom has played heavily on Jenner's reliance on Trump advisers, including Brad Parscale, who was for a time Trump's 2020 campaign manager."

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alistair said:

A Nigerian qualifies for a UK state pension having worked in London for 30 years and has recently retired and moved to Edinburgh.

Scotland becomes independent.

Who pays his future pension liability?

Who pays if he then moves to New York?

You know some of your fellow Nats, such as MalcolmG, have said if as part of the Scexit divorce deal Scotland doesn't get a fair deal in their eyes then an iScot are not taking on any liabilities, this is corollary of that.

The RUK will say well if you won't honour your debts then we won't honour our debts to you.

You boys really are thick and mendacious. I explicitly said , unlike your lie, that if Scotland took a share of the UK debts then it would be entitled to a share of the UK assets. You cannot have your cake and eat it.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alistair said:

A Nigerian qualifies for a UK state pension having worked in London for 30 years and has recently retired and moved to Edinburgh.

Scotland becomes independent.

Who pays his future pension liability?

Who pays if he then moves to New York?

You know some of your fellow Nats, such as MalcolmG, have said if as part of the Scexit divorce deal Scotland doesn't get a fair deal in their eyes then an iScot are not taking on any liabilities, this is corollary of that.

The RUK will say well if you won't honour your debts then we won't honour our debts to you.

I have to say that if the Scots won't take their share of UK liabilities I'd be entirely happy with us not paying their pensions.

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

"Golf, you have to have your own car."

Really? Way back when, as a cab driver in Baton Rouge, used to take Japanese sailors from their merchant ships back & forth to local (municipal) golf courses.

Also used to transport Norwegian sailors to & fro. NOT to golf courses, but in their case to a whorehouse just outside of town!

Leon said:

Sean_F said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

Stocky said:

Anabobazina said:

TOPPING said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Stocky said:

Hartlepool: Labour Party now out to 2.7 with BF. Is this too big?

I've topped up a bit, but I've no confidence in calling this one.

Listening to a reporter on the ground, she expects turnout to be low. Which party will this favour?

Might favour Labour if their GOTV op is superior.

But you know my feelings here. This should be a Con win and I personally don't think Lab at 2.7 is value.

Shouldn't you be in your idyllic leafy pub where you can just waltz in to their rose garden and have a cold beer on Downshire Hill?

I'm back now. Nice little interlude though. Couple of chilled ones in the middle of the day doesn't hurt. Felt no need to augment with any oysters, oddly.

The only downside was it still wasn't at all "leafy".

But out of the way and quiet right. With a couple of tables. In Belsize Park.

Sounds like I might give it a go myself. Which pub is it?

I had assumed The Stag, although the garden there is quite sizeable IIRC?

Considering a family day trip to London on Sunday - not sure yet though as weather may not come right.

Any idea from you London chaps as to what to do/where to go? Shopping, no doubt, and we'd usually visit Borough Market but it's closed on Sundays. Spitalfields Market is open, is that a decent alternative?

Any other ideas. Or should we wait until 17 May when we can sit inside if it's a bit nippy?

Borough Market is open on a Sunday, surely?

Spitalfields is fun, but not as good foodwise

Camden is looking quite buzzy, I just past it. Kids love it. Has good food. But there's not much else to do around there, unlike Borough or Spitalfields - unless you love Georgian architecture, Victorian canals and Regency parks

Just wandering around the City can be fun, especially at the moment, as it wakes from its lockdown slumber. A very eerie feeling, worth experiencing

Camden (Town) can a bit sleazy though, don't you think? Or maybe that's me misinterpreting what I see.

No you're not. Camden Town is horrible.

Parts of it are truly horrible. Yet a few hundred yards from the Tube it becomes exquisite - if you go in the right direction. Primrose Hill must be one of the most desirable places to live in Europe.

It has all of London's contradictions in one little corner

I don't think there are many parts of London where you are not 100yds from potential death.

Perhaps around Wilton Place, the Campdens, some parts of Chelsea.

Other hugely desirable areas you are as likely to get mugged as find a nice quiet and out of the way pub.

FrancisUrquhart said:

kinabalu said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

ITV drops Viewpoint after allegations made against star https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56940444

Yes - glad I'd only invested in one episode.

What nonsense though. They won't broadcast it, but they will stream it....

I mean you either take a stance over as yet unproven allegations or you don't.

I don't understand why anyone still watches broadcast in 2021 but that seems a reasonable compromise to me.

Broadcast they are choosing the schedule, they are saying "at this time we are showing this". If you've got the channel on then it will come on automatically at this time.

Streaming its a case of no choice made. They're saying "if you want to watch this, you can, if you don't then don't."

Northern_Al said:

TOPPING said:

Leon said:

TOPPING said:

Anabobazina said:

TOPPING said:

Anabobazina said:

TOPPING said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Stocky said:

Hartlepool: Labour Party now out to 2.7 with BF. Is this too big?

I've topped up a bit, but I've no confidence in calling this one.

Listening to a reporter on the ground, she expects turnout to be low. Which party will this favour?

Might favour Labour if their GOTV op is superior.

But you know my feelings here. This should be a Con win and I personally don't think Lab at 2.7 is value.

Shouldn't you be in your idyllic leafy pub where you can just waltz in to their rose garden and have a cold beer on Downshire Hill?

I'm back now. Nice little interlude though. Couple of chilled ones in the middle of the day doesn't hurt. Felt no need to augment with any oysters, oddly.

The only downside was it still wasn't at all "leafy".

But out of the way and quiet right. With a couple of tables. In Belsize Park.

Sounds like I might give it a go myself. Which pub is it?

I had assumed The Stag, although the garden there is quite sizeable IIRC?

Not particularly out of the way.

True. I can't then think what public house this is.

It's like the marginally less mundane follow up to The Girther Conspiracy.

Let's call it the The NW3 Mystery. It has all the hallmarks of another PB classic.

Echoes of Boris. Just tell us.

ALSO, didn't he say "in Hampstead"?

Now he says, "Belsize Park". Yes that is certainly *out of the way* in terms of Hampstead, since it is not actually in Hampstead

The mystery thickens

Don't remember the Hampstead bit. This was the exchange:

Kina: "I've had beers and coffees in a few places since April 12th and have not once had to give any personal details other than those on my debit card when I pay."

You: "In north London? Beers? Every pub was booked, around me, when I last looked. It’s one reason I bugged out for Cornwall. Has the sitch changed?"

The Kinmeister: "Mainly coffees/cafes tbf and the pub was out of the way and quiet."

Belsize Park came today I think.

A long shot. I used to drink in The Washington, England's Lane, just off Belsize Park. But I don't think it has any outside space. And it's quite large.

Don't think that's reopened yet. North London boozers seems to be a real PB area of expertise. Totally cross-dressed too. Reductive reactionaries and effete superwokies alike know their way around them. Great to see.

malcolmg said:

Razedabode said:

malcolmg said:

eek said:

TimT said:

eek said:

TimT said:

eek said:

malcolmg said:

eek said:

malcolmg said:

eek said:

Philip_Thompson said:

RochdalePioneers said:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19270556.john-curtice-polls-show-snp-independence-support-slipping/

Professor JohnCurtice (for it is He) says that whilst SNP support is slipping, the Greens are romping along, so a majority of MSPs will support independence. Strap yourselves in - when HYUFD explodes as a result of Boris doing what he has endlessly said he won't do, it will be messy.

Although I support Scottish independence, I think the funniest result "for the bantz" would be SNP minority, majority with Greens, second referendum occurs, second referendum goes No.

That is actually my expected result - the issue needs to be laid to bed and the only way to do that is for the Scottish to see how much they are subsidised by the rest of the UK.

Which I know is something that MalcolmG is going to argue isn't the case but the reality is the oil has gone and Scotland has little else...

You really are ignorant of Scotland, it has far more natural resources than England.

Whatever - we are never going to agree

Exactly , you spouting about things you have absolutely NO clue about is extremely pointless.

Except for the fact you don't provide any evidence of anything that actually generates money.

Maybe not an entirely non-partisan source, but here is some data to start with:

https://www.businessforscotland.com/scotland-is-one-of-the-worlds-most-naturally-wealthy-nations/

Of course, some of the countries with the greatest natural resources wealth are not exactly paradigms of paradise. Russia, Congo ...

What tax revenue or profit comes from that. If it's just sat there being unutilised it's not worth anything.

The question was over whether Scotland is rich in natural resources. The answer is yes.

Now the benefit of having natural resources is an entirely different question. You have many examples of low natural resource countries doing very well, many examples of high natural resource doing badly, and a few high resource countries doing well. I don't see much of a correlation between natural resources per se and economic performance.

However, there is a correlation between share of national income from exploitation of natural resources and overall economic performance - a negative correlation between over-dependence economically on natural resources and economic performance.

https://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/6765/02iie6765.pdf

It wasn't.

I only mentioned oil as that in the last referendum was the answer as to where all the additional revenue Scotland needed would come from. And my question has always been whether Scotland can afford to go independent and with a budget deficit of 8% a year since 2011 it's got 2 options, to massively reduces government expenditure or find additional tax revenue.

Liar , I said it had lots of natural resources and you said it had nothing but whisky. You have been found out as an empty suit. You also have absolutely no clue what the budget or deficit would be like outside the UK, using the current UK mess is never going to be replicated. You guys cannot see reason and just spout crap because you cannot stand the thought that Scotland can survive on its own, bricking it that England has as much chance of failing on its own and not wishing it to be so.

I don’t think there’s any doubt Scotland can survive on its own. What I do think is that the journey to that point will be long, protracted, difficult and will ultimately require Scotland to make extremely tough decisions.

To deny that is to kid the rest of the population. Whether that is worth the emotional case for Indy that is for Scotland to decide

I think England will struggle for years as well but the hysteria , hypebole and downright lies by some people
on here are astonishing. They just open their mouths and let their bellies rumble, pure conjecture built on ignorance. It may be tough it may not, but for sure the budget and policies will be very different from that imposed by London. Maybe for the better maybe not, I for one think it would be for the better, perhaps because I have money and am unlikely to be affected. It cannot be an advantage to have someone else deciding how your money is spent , they have no care for your interests.

I agree with you and its why I think you'd be better off independent.

But its only honest to say that you're not just getting your own money now, you're getting transfers too.

However I still think Scotland will be better off independent even if it loses out on the transfers. The comparison really ought to be with Ireland - the Irish don't get any Barnett consequentials but they're better off than the Scots are. Because they've got a state ran for themselves to their own interests.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why an independent Scotland can't be every bit as successful as an independent Ireland is. Even if that means cutting the purse strings.

TOPPING said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

TOPPING said:

Anabobazina said:

TOPPING said:

Anabobazina said:

TOPPING said:

kinabalu said:

Leon said:

kinabalu said:

Stocky said:

Hartlepool: Labour Party now out to 2.7 with BF. Is this too big?

I've topped up a bit, but I've no confidence in calling this one.

Listening to a reporter on the ground, she expects turnout to be low. Which party will this favour?

Might favour Labour if their GOTV op is superior.

But you know my feelings here. This should be a Con win and I personally don't think Lab at 2.7 is value.

Shouldn't you be in your idyllic leafy pub where you can just waltz in to their rose garden and have a cold beer on Downshire Hill?

I'm back now. Nice little interlude though. Couple of chilled ones in the middle of the day doesn't hurt. Felt no need to augment with any oysters, oddly.

The only downside was it still wasn't at all "leafy".

But out of the way and quiet right. With a couple of tables. In Belsize Park.

Sounds like I might give it a go myself. Which pub is it?

I had assumed The Stag, although the garden there is quite sizeable IIRC?

Not particularly out of the way.

True. I can't then think what public house this is.

It's like the marginally less mundane follow up to The Girther Conspiracy.

Let's call it the The NW3 Mystery. It has all the hallmarks of another PB classic.

Echoes of Boris. Just tell us.

ALSO, didn't he say "in Hampstead"?

Now he says, "Belsize Park". Yes that is certainly *out of the way* in terms of Hampstead, since it is not actually in Hampstead

The mystery thickens

There is no "now he says" about it.

I never said "in Hampstead". Or "leafy". The place is just a nice little bar, not some xanadu or platform 7 and a half that only "special ones" can find.

People trying to impute invention and shiftiness to what is purely straightforward reportage.

So what is it then?

Mods!

glw said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alistair said:

A Nigerian qualifies for a UK state pension having worked in London for 30 years and has recently retired and moved to Edinburgh.

Scotland becomes independent.

Who pays his future pension liability?

Who pays if he then moves to New York?

You know some of your fellow Nats, such as MalcolmG, have said if as part of the Scexit divorce deal Scotland doesn't get a fair deal in their eyes then an iScot are not taking on any liabilities, this is corollary of that.

The RUK will say well if you won't honour your debts then we won't honour our debts to you.

I have to say that if the Scots won't take their share of UK liabilities I'd be entirely happy with us not paying their pensions.

Back in 2014 Osborne and Carney assured the markets that if Scotland voted for independence no matter what RUK would honour the UK's debts, I'd expect the same at the time of the next Indyref to reassure the markets, so this threat from the Nats would be an empty threat.

Back in 2014 Osborne was too nice to point out the direct consequences of that to an IScot, I suspect this time a Chancellor won't be so nice.

williamglenn said:

Striking map.

I know - Portugal have done really well...

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

I have been known to throw the (pitch and putt) clubs in the boot of an Uber so I can have a few quiet pints afterwards.

Yes, that can work for a casual game. And I've done it. But if you're playing a lot - and especially at a smart club - you need to be arriving in your own car and controlling your environment and your prep. It's part of the ritual.

Anabobazina said:

Gallowgate said:

I'm eyeing up the new Yaris hybrid for when my ancient Fiesta finally dies. It looks pretty nifty with the F1-esque nose.

I rented one of those for a trip to France years ago. I couldn't believe how efficient it was – IIRC I only spent about €35 on fuel for ten days of buzzing about. Extraordinary.

Hybrids come into their own on local trips and back roads; on a long motorway trip the advantage is much smaller. The mpg on a hybrid for urban or rural driving is greater than on the motorway, which is the opposite way round to an ICE car.

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

"Golf, you have to have your own car."

Really? Way back when, as a cab driver in Baton Rouge, used to take Japanese sailors from their merchant ships back & forth to local (municipal) golf courses.

Also used to transport Norwegian sailors to & fro. NOT to golf courses, but in their case to a whorehouse just outside of town!

That sounds like an interesting but stressful job. Did it send you a bit "Bickle"?

Philip_Thompson said:

malcolmg said:

Razedabode said:

malcolmg said:

eek said:

TimT said:

eek said:

TimT said:

eek said:

malcolmg said:

eek said:

malcolmg said:

eek said:

Philip_Thompson said:

RochdalePioneers said:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19270556.john-curtice-polls-show-snp-independence-support-slipping/

Professor JohnCurtice (for it is He) says that whilst SNP support is slipping, the Greens are romping along, so a majority of MSPs will support independence. Strap yourselves in - when HYUFD explodes as a result of Boris doing what he has endlessly said he won't do, it will be messy.

Although I support Scottish independence, I think the funniest result "for the bantz" would be SNP minority, majority with Greens, second referendum occurs, second referendum goes No.

That is actually my expected result - the issue needs to be laid to bed and the only way to do that is for the Scottish to see how much they are subsidised by the rest of the UK.

Which I know is something that MalcolmG is going to argue isn't the case but the reality is the oil has gone and Scotland has little else...

You really are ignorant of Scotland, it has far more natural resources than England.

Whatever - we are never going to agree

Exactly , you spouting about things you have absolutely NO clue about is extremely pointless.

Except for the fact you don't provide any evidence of anything that actually generates money.

Maybe not an entirely non-partisan source, but here is some data to start with:

https://www.businessforscotland.com/scotland-is-one-of-the-worlds-most-naturally-wealthy-nations/

Of course, some of the countries with the greatest natural resources wealth are not exactly paradigms of paradise. Russia, Congo ...

What tax revenue or profit comes from that. If it's just sat there being unutilised it's not worth anything.

The question was over whether Scotland is rich in natural resources. The answer is yes.

Now the benefit of having natural resources is an entirely different question. You have many examples of low natural resource countries doing very well, many examples of high natural resource doing badly, and a few high resource countries doing well. I don't see much of a correlation between natural resources per se and economic performance.

However, there is a correlation between share of national income from exploitation of natural resources and overall economic performance - a negative correlation between over-dependence economically on natural resources and economic performance.

https://www.piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/6765/02iie6765.pdf

It wasn't.

I only mentioned oil as that in the last referendum was the answer as to where all the additional revenue Scotland needed would come from. And my question has always been whether Scotland can afford to go independent and with a budget deficit of 8% a year since 2011 it's got 2 options, to massively reduces government expenditure or find additional tax revenue.

Liar , I said it had lots of natural resources and you said it had nothing but whisky. You have been found out as an empty suit. You also have absolutely no clue what the budget or deficit would be like outside the UK, using the current UK mess is never going to be replicated. You guys cannot see reason and just spout crap because you cannot stand the thought that Scotland can survive on its own, bricking it that England has as much chance of failing on its own and not wishing it to be so.

I don’t think there’s any doubt Scotland can survive on its own. What I do think is that the journey to that point will be long, protracted, difficult and will ultimately require Scotland to make extremely tough decisions.

To deny that is to kid the rest of the population. Whether that is worth the emotional case for Indy that is for Scotland to decide

I think England will struggle for years as well but the hysteria , hypebole and downright lies by some people
on here are astonishing. They just open their mouths and let their bellies rumble, pure conjecture built on ignorance. It may be tough it may not, but for sure the budget and policies will be very different from that imposed by London. Maybe for the better maybe not, I for one think it would be for the better, perhaps because I have money and am unlikely to be affected. It cannot be an advantage to have someone else deciding how your money is spent , they have no care for your interests.

I agree with you and its why I think you'd be better off independent.

But its only honest to say that you're not just getting your own money now, you're getting transfers too.

However I still think Scotland will be better off independent even if it loses out on the transfers. The comparison really ought to be with Ireland - the Irish don't get any Barnett consequentials but they're better off than the Scots are. Because they've got a state ran for themselves to their own interests.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why an independent Scotland can't be every bit as successful as an independent Ireland is. Even if that means cutting the purse strings.

Agree, but it took a while to get to that state. Wasn't helped by WWII, of course.

NorthofStoke said:

I'd be pretty certain that if Scotland becomes independent that every UK citizen will become either an rUK or a Scottish citizen. Most will be simply allocated the new citizenship but some may well have a choice (e.g. born in England living in Scotland and vice versa). The relevant state will pay pensions of citizens independent of residence. If you are English in Scotland you may lose the right to vote (and vice versa) unless there is some agreement on this. Dual citizenship will no doubt be something that can be applied for but that doesn't confer or change pension rights as far as I know.

I really wish an independent Scotland the very best of luck. Happy to help too. Somebody put me down for a food parcel.

Gallowgate said:

I'm eyeing up the new Yaris hybrid for when my ancient Fiesta finally dies. It looks pretty nifty with the F1-esque nose.

I'm hoping my Peugeot is good for another 100k.

kinabalu said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

"Golf, you have to have your own car."

Really? Way back when, as a cab driver in Baton Rouge, used to take Japanese sailors from their merchant ships back & forth to local (municipal) golf courses.

Also used to transport Norwegian sailors to & fro. NOT to golf courses, but in their case to a whorehouse just outside of town!

That sounds like an interesting but stressful job. Did it send you a bit "Bickle"?

Yes to the first bit. As to your question, please translate?

Slackbladder said:

https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1388146101685981189

It's clear that Starmer is just not doing good enough.

People know who Boris is, and they love him or hate him.

The more people see of Starmer, the more they dislike.

The detailed report is interestingly nuanced. They say that Johnson is widely disbelieved, even by Conservatives, and relatively few say they "don't know" or aren't following the story. They go on:

"Might it simply be the fact that the public are aware of the stories, think that the Prime Minister has done wrong, but ultimately it does not deviate from their expectations about him or about politics in general?

Looking at data on trust in politics and in Boris Johnson, this rather sombre theory may well hold some weight. Only around one fifth to one quarter of the public in any given survey report that they trust politicians, and the figure tends to be even lower for trust in government. Our latest data suggests that only 28% of people trust Members of Parliament to tell the truth.

Further, the majority of the British public think that Boris Johnson is untrustworthy. Our latest polling on this question revealed that 52% of the population said Johnson was not to be trusted, versus 30% who trusted him (net -22). These figures compare badly to Keir Starmer, of whom 26% say is untrustworthy versus 35% who view him as trustworthy (net +9).

So, why is vote intention not moving in the face of repeated negative news stories about the country’s Prime Minister? The answer could be as simple as the public expect nothing better. While there is certainly an amount of party-political framing going on, and a fair degree of uncertainty about what has actually happened, we already know that voters do not have very positive views about politics and politicians, and stories such as those dominating the news cycle this week do nothing to challenge that.

If the crisis deepens for Johnson and he finds himself facing potential charges and prosecution, this may well tip the balance. For now, however, the stories are certainly sticking in the minds of the public, but don’t appear to be changing them."

TimT said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

Seattle Times - How to reach the ‘fence sitters’? Men lag behind women on COVID vaccination in Washington state

Men in Washington state — who represent 53% of deaths from the coronavirus — are at the same time receiving far less than their share of life-protecting vaccines.

It’s a trend vexing researchers studying COVID-19, physicians treating it and public health officials leading the charge against the disease.

Of those fully vaccinated as of April 19, 57.1% were women. Men, meanwhile, were at 42.2%, with gender going unreported or reported as “other” in the remainder of data shared by the Washington Department of Health. Washington’s vaccine gender gap mirrors the nationwide trend.

Addendum - according to ST, gap between women versus men receiving vaccination is greatest in Western WA, which in political terms is much more Democratic than Eastern WA.

And east of the Cascades, the gap is widest in the less Republican counties.

Is that because GOP women are not getting the vaccine also? (As opposed to more Dem women getting the vaccine in other areas)

Suspect that may be the case.

Anecdote alert: yesterday happened to run into a friend, who told me that her husband has been vaccinated but she has not, because she's "still thinking about it".

Not sure why the hesitancy in her case. FYI she's a Native American in excellent physical shape; she drives a truck for Seattle Public Libraries and his all the time hauling tons of books on and off her truck.

I tried my humble best to gently persuade her that getting jabbed is a VERY good thing to do.

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

"Golf, you have to have your own car."

Really? Way back when, as a cab driver in Baton Rouge, used to take Japanese sailors from their merchant ships back & forth to local (municipal) golf courses.

Also used to transport Norwegian sailors to & fro. NOT to golf courses, but in their case to a whorehouse just outside of town!

That sounds like an interesting but stressful job. Did it send you a bit "Bickle"?

Yes to the first bit. As to your question, please translate?

Ah sorry. I meant De Niro in Taxi Driver. The iconic "Travis Bickle" character.

MaxPB said:

Alistair said:

MaxPB said:

Alistair said:

Philip_Thompson said:

malcolmg said:

Alistair said:

felix said:

malcolmg said:

Razedabode said:

eek said:

Philip_Thompson said:

RochdalePioneers said:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19270556.john-curtice-polls-show-snp-independence-support-slipping/

Professor JohnCurtice (for it is He) says that whilst SNP support is slipping, the Greens are romping along, so a majority of MSPs will support independence. Strap yourselves in - when HYUFD explodes as a result of Boris doing what he has endlessly said he won't do, it will be messy.

Although I support Scottish independence, I think the funniest result "for the bantz" would be SNP minority, majority with Greens, second referendum occurs, second referendum goes No.

That is actually my expected result - the issue needs to be laid to bed and the only way to do that is for the Scottish to see how much they are subsidised by the rest of the UK.

Which I know is something that MalcolmG is going to argue isn't the case but the reality is the oil has gone and Scotland has little else...

Don’t forget as well, rUK will be paying Scottish pensions in the event of indy

More garbage, Scotland will pay its own pensions like normal countries, England will pay the debts it owes for the money people paid into their pension scam scheme or perhaps welch on their commitments.

There are no such 'debts' owed by England other than to english people. The OAP doesn't work that way. Current Scots would pay Scottish pensions , etc

The UK government guarantees to pay a state pension to anyone, UK citizen or not, that has made sufficient qualifying contributions.

The clown just talks through his posterior. They are so ignorant due to their bigotry that they cannot even rationalise that if you have paid someone for a pension they cannot just dump you, pathetic.

Except they're not dumping you, if you vote for independence then you're voting to dump them. Since pensions are PAYG, in the future Scottish taxes and Scottish pensions would be the responsibility of the Scottish state.

Otherwise are you expecting to still be paying taxes to Westminster in the future?

The British state currently, right this second, pays non-uk citizens who are not resident in the UK a British state pension.

That's because the law says that anyone who has qualified for a state pension gets a state pension.

These are people who are currently no contributing a single penny of tax to the UK exchequer.

Now, non-residents do not get the annual _increases_ to the state pension - they get the pension at the level it was first awarded to them but that is the setup.

Law? Which law? I mean this is really basic. Scotland would be outside of the UK for jurisdictional purposes. There's simply no way that and independent Scotland could count on the UK treasury for anything at all.

The one's covering state pension eligibility? Based on how many years of qualifying NICs you have made?

I mean this is really basic.

Literally anyone in the world who has made sufficient NICs gets a UK state pen sion if they want one.

Under what jurisdiction? UK law will no longer apply.

So upon Scottish independence all British laws are rendered void?

This is an exciting frontier of lawlessness we approach.

kinabalu said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

"Golf, you have to have your own car."

Really? Way back when, as a cab driver in Baton Rouge, used to take Japanese sailors from their merchant ships back & forth to local (municipal) golf courses.

Also used to transport Norwegian sailors to & fro. NOT to golf courses, but in their case to a whorehouse just outside of town!

That sounds like an interesting but stressful job. Did it send you a bit "Bickle"?

Yes to the first bit. As to your question, please translate?

Ah sorry. I meant De Niro in Taxi Driver. The iconic "Travis Bickle" character.

Thanks, really should have picked up on that.

Was a bit stressful at times, but not THAT bad! One of the worst parts, was that the air conditioning in the cabs only worked when you had a paying fare. Which was a bit of a hardship in south Louisiana in the summertime! Knew every bit of shade where you could park a car in the whole damn town.

The stark difference between Norway and Finland, and Sweden is profound.

rcs1000 said:

Nigel_Foremain said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

I have a large hybrid from a well known German manufacturer. The only thing to really commend it is that it is warm when you get into it in the winter in the morning. Other than that I think the hybrid aspect of it is a bit pointless. It will only go about 15 miles on a full charge. The quoted MPG is ludicrous. I am thinking about going the whole hog and getting a fully electric at some point though

If you have a five to seven mile commute every day, then that 15 mile range is awesome. It means that you basically never have to fill up your petrol tank, except when you take long trips - and because electricity is dramatically cheaper than petrol, you save money too.

Compared to electric, on long trips, you don't have to worry about range anxiety.

And those plug-in hybrids feel a bit more "nippy" than a regular ICE because they can use petrol and electricty when accelerating.

Don't get me wrong the technology is amazing. However, if I compare it with the same model diesel version Chelsea tractor, it is very expensive.

Alistair said:

felix said:

Alistair said:

A Nigerian qualifies for a UK state pension having worked in London for 30 years and has recently retired and moved to Edinburgh.

Scotland becomes independent.

Who pays his future pension liability?

Who pays if he then moves to New York?

That would depend entirely on his status if he became a Scottish citizen it would be Scotland , etc, etc

No, he's a Nigerian. Who is eligible for and receives a UK state pension due to his years of qualifying NIC payments. He is neither a Scottish nor British citizen.

Who pays his UK state pension?

As I said earlier, this is an obligation jointly assumed by all current UK citizens. The provenance going forward of jointly assumed obligations will no doubt be part of the complex divorce negotiations. It is naive to assume that all such jointly assumed obligations will be left entirely to rUK.

Alistair said:

felix said:

Alistair said:

A Nigerian qualifies for a UK state pension having worked in London for 30 years and has recently retired and moved to Edinburgh.

Scotland becomes independent.

Who pays his future pension liability?

Who pays if he then moves to New York?

That would depend entirely on his status if he became a Scottish citizen it would be Scotland , etc, etc

No, he's a Nigerian. Who is eligible for and receives a UK state pension due to his years of qualifying NIC payments. He is neither a Scottish nor British citizen.

Who pays his UK state pension?

As far as I know that depends upon where you've been paying your NICs too.

In Scotland it is the centre in Motherwell and Dundee that processes them and they're the ones that an independent Scotland planned to continue doing so in 2013. https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/3000/https://www.gov.scot/resource/0043/00434502.pdf - page 41.

Andy_JS said:

The main lesson I take from the last 15 months is that risk and probability need to be taught in schools, because most people don't seem to have a clue about either of them.

My main argument to my vac-hesitant friend, was that the odds of a bad outcome from vaccination are MUCH MUCH less than odds of getting COVID without a jab.

And that WITH vaccination the odds of getting it are VERY low, and ditto with the odds of getting seriously sick or becoming contagious IF you do come down with the crud anyway.

kinabalu said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

"Golf, you have to have your own car."

Really? Way back when, as a cab driver in Baton Rouge, used to take Japanese sailors from their merchant ships back & forth to local (municipal) golf courses.

Also used to transport Norwegian sailors to & fro. NOT to golf courses, but in their case to a whorehouse just outside of town!

That sounds like an interesting but stressful job. Did it send you a bit "Bickle"?

Yes to the first bit. As to your question, please translate?

Ah sorry. I meant De Niro in Taxi Driver. The iconic "Travis Bickle" character.

Great film - De Niro at his best surely?

MaxPB said:

Alistair said:

MaxPB said:

Alistair said:

MaxPB said:

Alistair said:

Philip_Thompson said:

malcolmg said:

Alistair said:

felix said:

malcolmg said:

Razedabode said:

eek said:

Philip_Thompson said:

RochdalePioneers said:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19270556.john-curtice-polls-show-snp-independence-support-slipping/

Professor JohnCurtice (for it is He) says that whilst SNP support is slipping, the Greens are romping along, so a majority of MSPs will support independence. Strap yourselves in - when HYUFD explodes as a result of Boris doing what he has endlessly said he won't do, it will be messy.

Although I support Scottish independence, I think the funniest result "for the bantz" would be SNP minority, majority with Greens, second referendum occurs, second referendum goes No.

That is actually my expected result - the issue needs to be laid to bed and the only way to do that is for the Scottish to see how much they are subsidised by the rest of the UK.

Which I know is something that MalcolmG is going to argue isn't the case but the reality is the oil has gone and Scotland has little else...

Don’t forget as well, rUK will be paying Scottish pensions in the event of indy

More garbage, Scotland will pay its own pensions like normal countries, England will pay the debts it owes for the money people paid into their pension scam scheme or perhaps welch on their commitments.

There are no such 'debts' owed by England other than to english people. The OAP doesn't work that way. Current Scots would pay Scottish pensions , etc

The UK government guarantees to pay a state pension to anyone, UK citizen or not, that has made sufficient qualifying contributions.

The clown just talks through his posterior. They are so ignorant due to their bigotry that they cannot even rationalise that if you have paid someone for a pension they cannot just dump you, pathetic.

Except they're not dumping you, if you vote for independence then you're voting to dump them. Since pensions are PAYG, in the future Scottish taxes and Scottish pensions would be the responsibility of the Scottish state.

Otherwise are you expecting to still be paying taxes to Westminster in the future?

The British state currently, right this second, pays non-uk citizens who are not resident in the UK a British state pension.

That's because the law says that anyone who has qualified for a state pension gets a state pension.

These are people who are currently no contributing a single penny of tax to the UK exchequer.

Now, non-residents do not get the annual _increases_ to the state pension - they get the pension at the level it was first awarded to them but that is the setup.

Law? Which law? I mean this is really basic. Scotland would be outside of the UK for jurisdictional purposes. There's simply no way that and independent Scotland could count on the UK treasury for anything at all.

The one's covering state pension eligibility? Based on how many years of qualifying NICs you have made?

I mean this is really basic.

Literally anyone in the world who has made sufficient NICs gets a UK state pen sion if they want one.

Under what jurisdiction? UK law will no longer apply.

So upon Scottish independence all British laws are rendered void?

This is an exciting frontier of lawlessness we approach.

In Scotland, yes. You wouldn't be in the UK any more. It's the whole point of independence.

Cool, so we've established the UK government would still pay state pensions to Scottish people then as directed by the law.

Bonza.

It's the obligatory boxing pic for Starmer !

https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1388164258878435328
https://twitter.com/ftbl_connor/status/1340687461777850369
https://twitter.com/SportsPoliticos/status/1198635056429981696

Alistair said:

MaxPB said:

Alistair said:

MaxPB said:

Alistair said:

MaxPB said:

Alistair said:

Philip_Thompson said:

malcolmg said:

Alistair said:

felix said:

malcolmg said:

Razedabode said:

eek said:

Philip_Thompson said:

RochdalePioneers said:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19270556.john-curtice-polls-show-snp-independence-support-slipping/

Professor JohnCurtice (for it is He) says that whilst SNP support is slipping, the Greens are romping along, so a majority of MSPs will support independence. Strap yourselves in - when HYUFD explodes as a result of Boris doing what he has endlessly said he won't do, it will be messy.

Although I support Scottish independence, I think the funniest result "for the bantz" would be SNP minority, majority with Greens, second referendum occurs, second referendum goes No.

That is actually my expected result - the issue needs to be laid to bed and the only way to do that is for the Scottish to see how much they are subsidised by the rest of the UK.

Which I know is something that MalcolmG is going to argue isn't the case but the reality is the oil has gone and Scotland has little else...

Don’t forget as well, rUK will be paying Scottish pensions in the event of indy

More garbage, Scotland will pay its own pensions like normal countries, England will pay the debts it owes for the money people paid into their pension scam scheme or perhaps welch on their commitments.

There are no such 'debts' owed by England other than to english people. The OAP doesn't work that way. Current Scots would pay Scottish pensions , etc

The UK government guarantees to pay a state pension to anyone, UK citizen or not, that has made sufficient qualifying contributions.

The clown just talks through his posterior. They are so ignorant due to their bigotry that they cannot even rationalise that if you have paid someone for a pension they cannot just dump you, pathetic.

Except they're not dumping you, if you vote for independence then you're voting to dump them. Since pensions are PAYG, in the future Scottish taxes and Scottish pensions would be the responsibility of the Scottish state.

Otherwise are you expecting to still be paying taxes to Westminster in the future?

The British state currently, right this second, pays non-uk citizens who are not resident in the UK a British state pension.

That's because the law says that anyone who has qualified for a state pension gets a state pension.

These are people who are currently no contributing a single penny of tax to the UK exchequer.

Now, non-residents do not get the annual _increases_ to the state pension - they get the pension at the level it was first awarded to them but that is the setup.

Law? Which law? I mean this is really basic. Scotland would be outside of the UK for jurisdictional purposes. There's simply no way that and independent Scotland could count on the UK treasury for anything at all.

The one's covering state pension eligibility? Based on how many years of qualifying NICs you have made?

I mean this is really basic.

Literally anyone in the world who has made sufficient NICs gets a UK state pen sion if they want one.

Under what jurisdiction? UK law will no longer apply.

So upon Scottish independence all British laws are rendered void?

This is an exciting frontier of lawlessness we approach.

In Scotland, yes. You wouldn't be in the UK any more. It's the whole point of independence.

Cool, so we've established the UK government would still pay state pensions to Scottish people then as directed by the law.

Bonza.

No? You can lie to yourself about what independence entails if you want. Maybe it helps you sleep at night. The facts are that the UK government isn't going to be paying out for Scotland once it becomes independent. Pensions are part of that responsibility of being independent. If you don't like it maybe you've wasted the last 20 years of your life campaigning for it.

Gallowgate said:

The stark difference between Norway and Finland, and Sweden is profound.

What about Albania? Seems to be going almost as well as we are.

Pulpstar said:

It's the obligatory boxing pic for Starmer !

https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1388164258878435328
https://twitter.com/ftbl_connor/status/1340687461777850369
https://twitter.com/SportsPoliticos/status/1198635056429981696

Starmer is really quite good (as Labour types go). His advisors and PR team seem really quite poor.

Quite ridiculously in this instance he doesn't look his normal (and quite reasonable) 'totally embarrassed'.

Nigel_Foremain said:

rcs1000 said:

Nigel_Foremain said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

I have a large hybrid from a well known German manufacturer. The only thing to really commend it is that it is warm when you get into it in the winter in the morning. Other than that I think the hybrid aspect of it is a bit pointless. It will only go about 15 miles on a full charge. The quoted MPG is ludicrous. I am thinking about going the whole hog and getting a fully electric at some point though

If you have a five to seven mile commute every day, then that 15 mile range is awesome. It means that you basically never have to fill up your petrol tank, except when you take long trips - and because electricity is dramatically cheaper than petrol, you save money too.

Compared to electric, on long trips, you don't have to worry about range anxiety.

And those plug-in hybrids feel a bit more "nippy" than a regular ICE because they can use petrol and electricty when accelerating.

Don't get me wrong the technology is amazing. However, if I compare it with the same model diesel version Chelsea tractor, it is very expensive.

If you do 240 commute days of 15 miles, that's roughly 4,000 miles a year. At 30 mpg, that's 133 gallons or roughly £750. Less the cost of electricity, that's £600 of savings a year.

Now, you also have road tax savings, etc. So shall we say £900 of savings over the year?

So the price gap really has to be £2,500 or less to make economic sense - and that's for people who commute every day.

Stocky said:

kinabalu said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

SeaShantyIrish2 said:

kinabalu said:

Anabobazina said:

kinabalu said:

Dura_Ace said:

TOPPING said:

Gardenwalker said:

Jonathan said:

Gardenwalker said:

Perhaps PB motorists can give me advice.

The last car I owned was a 1967 Triumph Herald convertible. That was back in Auckland, when I was a student.

Fast forward twenty odd years.

I live in London Zone 2, with a driveway. I have two small kids. I would like a car for the wife to commute in, and for country trips on the weekend.

I am not suffering a mid-life crisis and do not need a Ferrari. But I also hate cheap plasticky cars.

What kind of car should I get?
And, do I buy or lease?

budget?

I am not a car person; largely I regard them as frustrating opex rather than sensible capex.

So, I am reasonable well off I suppose, but begrudge the cost I am likely to need to spend.

Does that help?

Seconded on a BMW X series (5 is the biggest, 3 is a smaller 5 and 1 is the SUV of the Touring). Or touring if you prefer closer to the ground and traditional rear wheel drive.

But we are all skating on thin ice here once Dura comes on and spells out exactly what it is you actually do need.

X7 is the largest BMW SUV. This discussion is like watching me try to opine on wine or coffee.

What do you make of hybrids?

I'm asking for a mate who because of the ULEZ expansion will have to kiss goodbye to his beloved old Merc.

New clean diesels are Ulez exempt – you don't need to buy a hybrid should you prefer an ICE.

Yes, I'll probably get another (and final) ICE. Only true compelling reason I need a car is golf. Otherwise I could just do hire and uber and train/bus. Golf, you have to have your own car.

"Golf, you have to have your own car."

Really? Way back when, as a cab driver in Baton Rouge, used to take Japanese sailors from their merchant ships back & forth to local (municipal) golf courses.

Also used to transport Norwegian sailors to & fro. NOT to golf courses, but in their case to a whorehouse just outside of town!

That sounds like an interesting but stressful job. Did it send you a bit "Bickle"?

Yes to the first bit. As to your question, please translate?

Ah sorry. I meant De Niro in Taxi Driver. The iconic "Travis Bickle" character.

Great film - De Niro at his best surely?

My personal favorite De Niro performance is in "Analyze This"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp_0ChLUn3s

Pulpstar said:

It's the obligatory boxing pic for Starmer !

Hmm...