For those with short memories… – politicalbetting.com
Comments
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I knew Zahawi was a bigger BoZo fanboi than Nads, but the interviews this morning are delusional.2
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So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.2 -
Hmmm…. The “Tony Blair was Brilliant” line lost its potency a long time ago.Heathener said:
I do think, if I may say, that you're letting your vitriolic anti-Labour stance cloud your judgement?StuartDickson said:
Starmer is going to “fix the economy” without improving international trade? This car crash might well be worse than the last one.Jonathan said:
Nah. He’s just not going to invest all his political capital in trying to reverse a done deal. There are more important issues like fixing the NHS and the economy. The SNP would be wise to drop the ideological baggage and focus on what matters.StuartDickson said:
Starmer is now committed to the British nationalist line. Proof once again that one should choose one’s bedfellows with care.Jonathan said:
English nationalists and Scottish nationalists. Two cheeks of the same arse. Brexit = Sindy. Both need to go.DecrepiterJohnL said:
SNP and Tories, surely? Vote SNP for a Conservative government. Scots voters need to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections.StuartDickson said:
Labour and the Tories: two faces of the same dud coin.Jonathan said:
The SNP are promising yet more upheaval. Labour are promising relatively stability and a path to recovery. I am not sure the Scots will vote for more Brexit style chaos. A split in the U.K. will make Brexit look like a picnic.StuartDickson said:‘The SNP will be rejoicing at Starmer's hard Brexit line‘
"MAKE Brexit Work” sounds like one of Boris Johnson's test slogans for the next General Election. In fact it is now Labour's headline policy following Sir Keir Starmer's remarkable conversion to the Brexit cause. He unveiled the new slogan in a speech to the Centre for European Reform.
It's an unexpected gift to Nicola Sturgeon, whose latest Indyref plan was getting heavy weather from sceptics in and out of the SNP. Suddenly she leads the only serious pro-European party in Scotland, apart from the Greens and the LibDems. Getting 50 per cent of the vote in the 2024 General Election looks easier now that the SNP is the obvious destination for the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU.
(The Herald €)
Starmer is playing smart politics at the moment: what he has said about Brexit (even if he doesn't believe it) was good red wall politicking.
Tony Blair did all this brilliantly in the run up to winning.
It tells me that Labour are hungry for power and they sense they are in with a real chance.
“Hungry for power”?!? Dearie, dearie me.
The words “Smart politics” and “Labour” don’t belong in the same sentence.0 -
William Hague tells Times Radio MPs are reading Boris Johnson his "last rites', saying: “I think it’s over. It’s reading the last rites - slowly, unfortunately… Boris still isn’t accepting that this really is over, but it is.”
https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/status/15445720790849044492 -
Certainly the media demanding he announces his attitude to the economy and taxes on their programmes are delusionalScott_xP said:I knew Zahawi was a bigger BoZo fanboi than Nads, but the interviews this morning are delusional.
However he is unlikely to have the time to produce a new budget0 -
There's always a chunk of ego there- if only at the level of "I should take charge to improve the country". That's true even of the dorky ones like EdM or Starmer.turbotubbs said:
Totally agree, but I suspect 90% of politicians, if not more, have actively sought power for their own ends, rather than to help others.Heathener said:Whilst seeking that Dumbledore quote I also came across this one:
“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”
Someone who always wanted to be king of the world should have been let nowhere near it.
But Boris is different, and far worse. For him, it is all about the big chair, and he jettisoned any ideas or beliefs he ever had to ease his path to the top. He really is the textbook example of pure desire for power making him unsuitable for it.
And all this is abnormal. One of the worst legacies Big Dog is leaving is the sense that everyone else is as bad as him. They really aren't.3 -
“The only time you see a minister, they are covering for some cock-up or lie by Johnson. They might tell themselves they run important departments, but they’re really just number five or six in the government’s all-consuming mission: clean-up” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/05/dominic-raab-boris-johnson-chris-pincher-scandal?CMP=share_btn_tw2
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Yet second hand cars are ridiculously pricy, and new cars have long delivery times. There is a lot of money about, just not very evenly distributed.RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.0 -
Interesting to see how markets and the BoE respond IF Nadhim Zahawi opens the chequebook on public sector pay and cuts taxes in the middle of an inflationary crisis.. https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/15445700443231887380
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A good illustration of how unoriginal Rowling was.Heathener said:Whilst seeking that Dumbledore quote I also came across this one:
“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”
Someone who always wanted to be king of the world should have been let nowhere near it.
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Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.4 -
As I keep pointing out, there is no UK trading zone. GB and NI are legally separate...StuartDickson said:British citizens in Northern Ireland may have to show their passports to get back into Britain
“Even Tony Blair, the last Labour leader ever to be elected, has said that the Protocol is not compatible with the Good Friday Agreement.
“Something has to go because it breaks article six in the acts of the union, it takes Northern Ireland out of that trading block inside the UK.
“It also calls into account any constitutional issues around the border and most of all, in amongst the common travel area where, when the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain were both together either inside or outside the EU, it made sense to have that common travel area.
“Now what we have is people that aren’t British, coming into Dublin, coming across a borderless island, getting on a ferry and going straight into Britain.
“So the workings out of that will be is, in a very short space of time, we will end up with British citizens in Northern Ireland having to show their passports to get back into Britain.”
(gbnews)
Breaking articles of the Acts of Union?! Ho ho. The fuckers have been doing that for centuries.0 -
Yes, and it's the Royal Navy - not the army.Dura_Ace said:
How old is that? The Sea Kings are long gone since 2018 with only two in private hands at Portland for Marineflieger training.StuartDickson said:
This Wallace?Morris_Dancer said:Good morning, everyone.
Just remarkable the cowardice and lack of judgement from almost all the Cabinet (a pass might be given to Wallace).
‘Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirms 10,000 troop cut to the size of the British Army’
It predates Ben Wallace's time by several years.0 -
While they continue to enable him, they effectively are.Stuartinromford said:
There's always a chunk of ego there- if only at the level of "I should take charge to improve the country". That's true even of the dorky ones like EdM or Starmer.turbotubbs said:
Totally agree, but I suspect 90% of politicians, if not more, have actively sought power for their own ends, rather than to help others.Heathener said:Whilst seeking that Dumbledore quote I also came across this one:
“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”
Someone who always wanted to be king of the world should have been let nowhere near it.
But Boris is different, and far worse. For him, it is all about the big chair, and he jettisoned any ideas or beliefs he ever had to ease his path to the top. He really is the textbook example of pure desire for power making him unsuitable for it.
And all this is abnormal. One of the worst legacies Big Dog is leaving is the sense that everyone else is as bad as him. They really aren't.
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The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.5 -
I admit I have a cynical view of politicians, and a similar one for self-proclaimed 'activists'. Since I've grown old, my political views seem to be alligning more with the great mass of the British public. Those with little interest in politics for its own sake.
Gradually, Starmer is growing on me. Prepared to concede on some aspects to gain power. Much more a Wilson than a Corbyn. Bojo is merely in favour of number one. Lack of scruples, combined with chronic laziness subjugated to selfishness isn't a good look.
The Tories need a completely new look. An ethnic or a woman. Liz Truss - no - too much like a posh Thatcher without the drive. Starmer looks steady, and that might do it. No loons like Corbyn. Unexciting, undramatic, but in the right place at the right time.1 -
He was committed to a Corbynite manifesto a couple of years ago. He is even more blatantly dishonest than Boris Johnson, which takes some doing.StuartDickson said:
Starmer is now committed to the British nationalist line. Proof once again that one should choose one’s bedfellows with care.Jonathan said:
English nationalists and Scottish nationalists. Two cheeks of the same arse. Brexit = Sindy. Both need to go.DecrepiterJohnL said:
SNP and Tories, surely? Vote SNP for a Conservative government. Scots voters need to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections.StuartDickson said:
Labour and the Tories: two faces of the same dud coin.Jonathan said:
The SNP are promising yet more upheaval. Labour are promising relatively stability and a path to recovery. I am not sure the Scots will vote for more Brexit style chaos. A split in the U.K. will make Brexit look like a picnic.StuartDickson said:‘The SNP will be rejoicing at Starmer's hard Brexit line‘
"MAKE Brexit Work” sounds like one of Boris Johnson's test slogans for the next General Election. In fact it is now Labour's headline policy following Sir Keir Starmer's remarkable conversion to the Brexit cause. He unveiled the new slogan in a speech to the Centre for European Reform.
It's an unexpected gift to Nicola Sturgeon, whose latest Indyref plan was getting heavy weather from sceptics in and out of the SNP. Suddenly she leads the only serious pro-European party in Scotland, apart from the Greens and the LibDems. Getting 50 per cent of the vote in the 2024 General Election looks easier now that the SNP is the obvious destination for the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU.
(The Herald €)1 -
The problem is that quote is bullsh*t. An average person wields power very poorly over situations they are not adequately prepared for. For every thousand Average Joes going into battle, only one will end up being a go-forwards hero. At best, most will be mediocre.Heathener said:Whilst seeking that Dumbledore quote I also came across this one:
“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”
Someone who always wanted to be king of the world should have been let nowhere near it.
Most will ignore the mantle and let some other bu**er pick it up.
And to be prepared, you need to show some desire for whatever that power is. If we were to take 650 people off the streets and make them MPs for four years, how many would sink? How many would swim? ow many would make good decisions? I'd argue *fewer* than we get from people choosing to stand for election - because they have a desire for that position, that power, and most will be at least partially prepared for it.
In addition, most people put in a position of power that they do not want will say they cannot be @rsed and do the job poorly.
And the same goes for management, politics and everything else.5 -
There is no 60% in the country who want it to be addressed as a matter of urgency.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Unless perhaps the country is France, and you're not moving beyond Paris.
Try speaking to people outside your own bubble. Whether you think that Brexit was right or wrong, revisiting it is the last thing most normal people want.5 -
I doubt he will go before recess in 3 weeks, which means conference season at the earliest.DavidL said:What last night seems to have shown is that even after 2 major cabinet resignations the vast serried ranks of Ministers have once again stuck with the PM. There have been a few extremely trivial resignations as PPS or trade representative etc but ideas that this would lead to 40-50 more resignations and the collapse of the Johnson regime seems wide of the mark. In a party where the PM had lost support generally we should have been getting to the point some posts were difficult to fill. Instead the sea has swept over Sunak and Javid and it is as it was before.
This is grim news for both the country and the Conservative party. What is it going to take? More than this apparently.
The 1922 haven't changed their rules yet and I still doubt we're at 180 MPs yet.0 -
I never made it past Harry Potter 4, and that would have been a better book at half the length.StuartDickson said:
A good illustration of how unoriginal Rowling was.Heathener said:Whilst seeking that Dumbledore quote I also came across this one:
“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”
Someone who always wanted to be king of the world should have been let nowhere near it.
The early books are good examples of story telling, with a fast pace of action and good twists in the tale. Then it all got rather self indulgent.0 -
The interesting poll on Starmer's policy is that 79% of conservatives approve but only 30% of labour doRoger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.0 -
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.0 -
Yes he could because he'd need the monarch's permission for dissolution and an early GE now would violate all three of the Lascelles principles.stjohn said:What do we think would happen if Boris announces a GE to take place as soon as possible? Could and would he be wrested from power by his own party before that happens or not?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascelles_Principles0 -
A friend works in private banking for a bank that has an illustrious name. Perhaps “used to have an illustrious name”…RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.
It seems that they got lax about vetting the customers they allowed to join. And lending them money afterwards
He describes large numbers of people who owned 5% of some very nice, completely unproductive assets and a fistful of credits cards drawn to the max.
One of his jobs was to force such people to sell the unproductive assets and get the money for the bank back. Quite simply he was reducing peoples lifestyles by an order of magnitude.
His guesstimate was that about 70% of the “rich” people you see, out and about, are fake.
OT: toast still stuck in the toaster. Things will not change until there is proper vetting of new MPs. And, in a world of professional politicians who know nothing but Parliament, systematic professional training and development.1 -
Fair point.Fishing said:
He was committed to a Corbynite manifesto a couple of years ago. He is even more blatantly dishonest than Boris Johnson, which takes some doing.StuartDickson said:
Starmer is now committed to the British nationalist line. Proof once again that one should choose one’s bedfellows with care.Jonathan said:
English nationalists and Scottish nationalists. Two cheeks of the same arse. Brexit = Sindy. Both need to go.DecrepiterJohnL said:
SNP and Tories, surely? Vote SNP for a Conservative government. Scots voters need to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections.StuartDickson said:
Labour and the Tories: two faces of the same dud coin.Jonathan said:
The SNP are promising yet more upheaval. Labour are promising relatively stability and a path to recovery. I am not sure the Scots will vote for more Brexit style chaos. A split in the U.K. will make Brexit look like a picnic.StuartDickson said:‘The SNP will be rejoicing at Starmer's hard Brexit line‘
"MAKE Brexit Work” sounds like one of Boris Johnson's test slogans for the next General Election. In fact it is now Labour's headline policy following Sir Keir Starmer's remarkable conversion to the Brexit cause. He unveiled the new slogan in a speech to the Centre for European Reform.
It's an unexpected gift to Nicola Sturgeon, whose latest Indyref plan was getting heavy weather from sceptics in and out of the SNP. Suddenly she leads the only serious pro-European party in Scotland, apart from the Greens and the LibDems. Getting 50 per cent of the vote in the 2024 General Election looks easier now that the SNP is the obvious destination for the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU.
(The Herald €)
I’ve campaigned against George Galloway when he was Labour MP for Kelvin. Nobody needs to tell me about blatant Labour dishonesty. I’ve witnessed it first hand.1 -
That's ambitious.Scott_xP said:We expect 1922 committee to confirm the process for electing its new executive today.
Working proposition is they hold elections next Weds, with rebels on 1922 hoping for an immediate change in the rules and a second vote of confidence before summer recess.
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/15445650089563791360 -
I remarked Zahawi was looking pretty chipper at yesterday's otherwise funereal cabinet meeting. Had he already had conversations with Boris ?
Bagging the Chancellorship was a major
move. He'd otherwise have had fairly little chance of the leadership in the forthcoming election, and while supporting the liar carries its downside, he vaults into the big beast league - and potentially becomes the leading 'loyalist'.1 -
Bridgen has just said if the cabinet are not to act then the 1922 rules will be changed and they will throw him outCasino_Royale said:
I doubt he will go before recess in 3 weeks, which means conference season at the earliest.DavidL said:What last night seems to have shown is that even after 2 major cabinet resignations the vast serried ranks of Ministers have once again stuck with the PM. There have been a few extremely trivial resignations as PPS or trade representative etc but ideas that this would lead to 40-50 more resignations and the collapse of the Johnson regime seems wide of the mark. In a party where the PM had lost support generally we should have been getting to the point some posts were difficult to fill. Instead the sea has swept over Sunak and Javid and it is as it was before.
This is grim news for both the country and the Conservative party. What is it going to take? More than this apparently.
The 1922 haven't changed their rules yet and I still doubt we're at 180 MPs yet.0 -
Labour needs the next election to be about the economy and catastrophic public services, not an ideological battle for Brexit returning red wall voters to the Tories.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
I expect there will be a time one day to reset our relationship with the EU. Some things have to come first.7 -
The second Lascelles Principle no longer exists. Whether the third is met or not would be a matter of some dispute.Casino_Royale said:
Yes he could because he'd need the monarch's permission for dissolution and an early GE now would violate all three of the Lascelles principles.stjohn said:What do we think would happen if Boris announces a GE to take place as soon as possible? Could and would he be wrested from power by his own party before that happens or not?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascelles_Principles
In reality its a moot point anyway, because it would be completely insane political suicide for the Tories to call an election now, Boris would lose his own seat and Labour would I expect end up with an overall majority. In the event that Boris were to call an election Starmer wouldn't believe his own luck and would immediately be in front of the cameras saying that it is right for the country to decide a change of government. The media would immediately be on an election footing. There's not a chance of this happening, its just utterly mad.2 -
Bollocks. Read the NI protocol:RochdalePioneers said:
As I keep pointing out, there is no UK trading zone. GB and NI are legally separate...StuartDickson said:British citizens in Northern Ireland may have to show their passports to get back into Britain
“Even Tony Blair, the last Labour leader ever to be elected, has said that the Protocol is not compatible with the Good Friday Agreement.
“Something has to go because it breaks article six in the acts of the union, it takes Northern Ireland out of that trading block inside the UK.
“It also calls into account any constitutional issues around the border and most of all, in amongst the common travel area where, when the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain were both together either inside or outside the EU, it made sense to have that common travel area.
“Now what we have is people that aren’t British, coming into Dublin, coming across a borderless island, getting on a ferry and going straight into Britain.
“So the workings out of that will be is, in a very short space of time, we will end up with British citizens in Northern Ireland having to show their passports to get back into Britain.”
(gbnews)
Breaking articles of the Acts of Union?! Ho ho. The fuckers have been doing that for centuries.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/840230/Revised_Protocol_to_the_Withdrawal_Agreement.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiR1L2o1-P4AhWFWcAKHZocCTgQFnoECE8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2PEfDS5hvRUrUTUD1PcTrw
It makes clear that NI is part of UK customs territory.
2 -
Once again, I'll only believe that collection of slimy invertebrates are finally going to dump him when it happens and not before.Scott_xP said:William Hague tells Times Radio MPs are reading Boris Johnson his "last rites', saying: “I think it’s over. It’s reading the last rites - slowly, unfortunately… Boris still isn’t accepting that this really is over, but it is.”
https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/status/15445720790849044490 -
The timeframe is key.Nigelb said:I remarked Zahawi was looking pretty chipper at yesterday's otherwise funereal cabinet meeting. Had he already had conversations with Boris ?
Bagging the Chancellorship was a major
move. He'd otherwise have had fairly little chance of the leadership in the forthcoming election, and while supporting the liar carries its downside, he vaults into the big beast league - and potentially becomes the leading 'loyalist'.
If BoZo goes quickly, then he campaigns on the loyalist ticket.
If he is in the job long enough to tank the economy to try and shore up BoZo, it matters not...1 -
Given the Chris Pincher scandal, it's worth noting that the new Chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, never fully explained why he attended the mens-only "Presidents Club" dinner where dozens of women say they were sexually assaulted and harassed by the guests.
https://mobile.twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1544448292481794053
Worth noting in the context of his sticking with the morally bankrupt PM.1 -
Their problem being that so many of the economic woes can be linked to our exit from the EEA and CU...Jonathan said:
Labour needs the next election to be about the economy and catastrophic public services, not an ideological battle for Brexit returning red wall voters to the Tories.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
I expect there will be a time one day to reset our relationship with the EU. Some things have to come first.2 -
No less dishonest than the many Tory cabinet members continuing to tell us Johnson is the man for the job.Fishing said:
He was committed to a Corbynite manifesto a couple of years ago. He is even more blatantly dishonest than Boris Johnson, which takes some doing.StuartDickson said:
Starmer is now committed to the British nationalist line. Proof once again that one should choose one’s bedfellows with care.Jonathan said:
English nationalists and Scottish nationalists. Two cheeks of the same arse. Brexit = Sindy. Both need to go.DecrepiterJohnL said:
SNP and Tories, surely? Vote SNP for a Conservative government. Scots voters need to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections.StuartDickson said:
Labour and the Tories: two faces of the same dud coin.Jonathan said:
The SNP are promising yet more upheaval. Labour are promising relatively stability and a path to recovery. I am not sure the Scots will vote for more Brexit style chaos. A split in the U.K. will make Brexit look like a picnic.StuartDickson said:‘The SNP will be rejoicing at Starmer's hard Brexit line‘
"MAKE Brexit Work” sounds like one of Boris Johnson's test slogans for the next General Election. In fact it is now Labour's headline policy following Sir Keir Starmer's remarkable conversion to the Brexit cause. He unveiled the new slogan in a speech to the Centre for European Reform.
It's an unexpected gift to Nicola Sturgeon, whose latest Indyref plan was getting heavy weather from sceptics in and out of the SNP. Suddenly she leads the only serious pro-European party in Scotland, apart from the Greens and the LibDems. Getting 50 per cent of the vote in the 2024 General Election looks easier now that the SNP is the obvious destination for the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU.
(The Herald €)0 -
The slippery eel Zahawi is on Radio 4 in five minutes. That should be a keeper!
'The good news is I got a promotion...."2 -
Given that you are going to oppose parties in London simply because they are English why should we listen to you in this. You just don't like England or the English. Fair enough.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
Brexiteers cannot be defeated. They have won. The EU and EFTA will not allow any return of England to the EU or SM. Any application would be vetoed - not least by Scotland if it is a member by then in order to stymie the ambitions of its geopolitical enemy. Starmer is just accepting reality.1 -
FPT:
@williamglenn just catching up after taking myself to bed. I appreciate the reply and the link, thanks.williamglenn said:
For example, schools have been put under pressure to abandon "merit-based, race-blind admissions exams" in favour of quotas.maxh said:@williamglenn asserts that meritocracy is the enemy, dismissing the idea that CRT could be aiming for meritocracy, but without evidence.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/02/purge-asian-american-students-thomas-jefferson-has-begun/0 -
I think Rejoin is the wrong policy for the next GE. People do not want that psychodrama to dominate the next election. It would have been possible though to come up with a policy more explicitly a rapprochement with the EU to reduce trade barriers and red tape, with convergence rather than divergence in mind.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
Not only a better policy, but also a more plausible one, and one with widespread support from both Remainers and Leavers.0 -
So why do I need an export license and complete customs paperwork to ship stuff from GB to NI?Casino_Royale said:
Bollocks. Read the NI protocol:RochdalePioneers said:
As I keep pointing out, there is no UK trading zone. GB and NI are legally separate...StuartDickson said:British citizens in Northern Ireland may have to show their passports to get back into Britain
“Even Tony Blair, the last Labour leader ever to be elected, has said that the Protocol is not compatible with the Good Friday Agreement.
“Something has to go because it breaks article six in the acts of the union, it takes Northern Ireland out of that trading block inside the UK.
“It also calls into account any constitutional issues around the border and most of all, in amongst the common travel area where, when the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain were both together either inside or outside the EU, it made sense to have that common travel area.
“Now what we have is people that aren’t British, coming into Dublin, coming across a borderless island, getting on a ferry and going straight into Britain.
“So the workings out of that will be is, in a very short space of time, we will end up with British citizens in Northern Ireland having to show their passports to get back into Britain.”
(gbnews)
Breaking articles of the Acts of Union?! Ho ho. The fuckers have been doing that for centuries.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/840230/Revised_Protocol_to_the_Withdrawal_Agreement.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiR1L2o1-P4AhWFWcAKHZocCTgQFnoECE8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2PEfDS5hvRUrUTUD1PcTrw
It makes clear that NI is part of UK customs territory.
The whole furore about the protocol from the Unionist perspective is explicitly because there is no UK customs zone. Whatever the government document claims. On the ground, in reality, as a matter of practical fact there are two zones.1 -
Good to have another Chancellor with a practical understanding of tax avoidance.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Fraser/status/1544427929916133381
UK’s new chancellor of the exchequer Nadhim Zahawi used company in tax haven to buy his Warwickshire constituency home...0 -
Spot on.Jonathan said:
Labour needs the next election to be about the economy and catastrophic public services, not an ideological battle for Brexit returning red wall voters to the Tories.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
I expect there will be a time one day to reset our
relationship with the EU. Some things have to come first.
1 -
But it's not ideological. It's the reason the economy is tanking and it's becoming more widely understood by the day. It is a mighty USP that is being thrown away.Jonathan said:
Labour needs the next election to be about the economy and catastrophic public services, not an ideological battle for Brexit returning red wall voters to the Tories.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
I expect there will be a time one day to reset our relationship with the EU. Some things have to come first.5 -
Especially as a new @theipaper @BMGResearch poll gives Labour a 10 point lead today. 42% to 32%.
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/labour-10-point-lead-keir-starmer-boris-johnson-approval-17255790 -
Is he going to confirm that he supports his government's policy which would have had him deported to Rwanda for life?Roger said:The slippery eel Zahawi is on Radio 4 in five minutes. That should be a keeper!
'The good news is I got a promotion...."1 -
I expect if the problems persist, one day the argument will be, we tried to make the current Brexit settlement work but to succeed we need access to the SM. There will be a referendum or GE and the change will come. Right now I sense no pubic appetite for a new round of Brexit wars.RochdalePioneers said:
Their problem being that so many of the economic woes can be linked to our exit from the EEA and CU...Jonathan said:
Labour needs the next election to be about the economy and catastrophic public services, not an ideological battle for Brexit returning red wall voters to the Tories.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
I expect there will be a time one day to reset our relationship with the EU. Some things have to come first.0 -
Finally, a Chancellor who understands the cost of heating stables crisis. https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak/status/1544422009911885830Nigelb said:Good to have another Chancellor with a practical understanding of tax avoidance.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Fraser/status/1544427929916133381
UK’s new chancellor of the exchequer Nadhim Zahawi used company in tax haven to buy his Warwickshire constituency home...0 -
Cars with good residuals (so some but by no means all BMWs) are relatively cheaper to lease. Unless the OEM underwrites the value of an otherwise rapidly depreciating car. Like McLaren. LOL.RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.1 -
But the former Labour voters who voted for Bozo the clown don't particular care about the overall economy they care about themselves.Roger said:
But it's not ideological. It's the reason the economy is tanking and it's becoming more widely understood by the day. It is a mighty USP that is being thrown away.Jonathan said:
Labour needs the next election to be about the economy and catastrophic public services, not an ideological battle for Brexit returning red wall voters to the Tories.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
I expect there will be a time one day to reset our relationship with the EU. Some things have to come first.
And in their world Brexit is a success because they now earn more than they used to.
Which means that if you want those people to vote for you you either need to spend time changing their minds and that isn't possible - so best to offer them what they want this time around and slowly change the story so come 2029 they don't mind a softening in Brexit.1 -
Anyone know how accurate this is ?
https://mobile.twitter.com/raymondopolis/status/1544440058672951296
Turkey found 694Mt of rare earths—that's 6x the size of all other global reserves and _15x_ the reserves of China, which currently dominates the market. Enough for >1,000 years at current demand. What happens now??0 -
If that's the case then you could say it's a short term advantage. Labour voters have no where else to go. That would be true if other things were equal but they aren't Labour need a big tent.Big_G_NorthWales said:
The interesting poll on Starmer's policy is that 79% of conservatives approve but only 30% of labour doRoger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.1 -
It's bizarre. Living well within your means is a much happier state to be in.Malmesbury said:
A friend works in private banking for a bank that has an illustrious name. Perhaps “used to have an illustrious name”…RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.
It seems that they got lax about vetting the customers they allowed to join. And lending them money afterwards
He describes large numbers of people who owned 5% of some very nice, completely unproductive assets and a fistful of credits cards drawn to the max.
One of his jobs was to force such people to sell the unproductive assets and get the money for the bank back. Quite simply he was reducing peoples lifestyles by an order of magnitude.
His guesstimate was that about 70% of the “rich” people you see, out and about, are fake.
OT: toast still stuck in the toaster. Things will not change until there is proper vetting of new MPs. And, in a world of professional politicians who know nothing but Parliament, systematic professional training and development.3 -
Not sure that statement stands up to reality. We haven't seen a wholesale shooting up of wages. Just a wholesale shooting up of prices.eek said:
But the former Labour voters who voted for Bozo the clown don't particular care about the overall economy they care about themselves.Roger said:
But it's not ideological. It's the reason the economy is tanking and it's becoming more widely understood by the day. It is a mighty USP that is being thrown away.Jonathan said:
Labour needs the next election to be about the economy and catastrophic public services, not an ideological battle for Brexit returning red wall voters to the Tories.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
I expect there will be a time one day to reset our relationship with the EU. Some things have to come first.
And in their world Brexit is a success because they now earn more than they used to.
Which means that if you want those people to vote for you you either need to spend time changing their minds and that isn't possible - so best to offer them what they want this time around and slowly change the story so come 2029 they don't mind a softening in Brexit.1 -
Indeed. Europe is not a priority for the bulk of the electorate. Besides anything else, if it were then the Scottish Government's attempts to use it to move the dial on secession might actually have had some useful effect over the last six years.Jonathan said:
Labour needs the next election to be about the economy and catastrophic public services, not an ideological battle for Brexit returning red wall voters to the Tories.StuartDickson said:
Labour cannot appease Brexiteers. They must be confronted and defeated.Jonathan said:
The person who will be most delighted if the chaos of the Brexit wars resumes is Boris.Roger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.
Starmer surrendered yesterday: he is not fit for purpose. Labourites better pray that Durham police do their work for them.
I expect there will be a time one day to reset our relationship with the EU. Some things have to come first.0 -
I believe Starmer's Brexit policy U-turn to be folly, nonetheless your post is blatantly untrue.Fishing said:
He was committed to a Corbynite manifesto a couple of years ago. He is even more blatantly dishonest than Boris Johnson, which takes some doing.StuartDickson said:
Starmer is now committed to the British nationalist line. Proof once again that one should choose one’s bedfellows with care.Jonathan said:
English nationalists and Scottish nationalists. Two cheeks of the same arse. Brexit = Sindy. Both need to go.DecrepiterJohnL said:
SNP and Tories, surely? Vote SNP for a Conservative government. Scots voters need to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections.StuartDickson said:
Labour and the Tories: two faces of the same dud coin.Jonathan said:
The SNP are promising yet more upheaval. Labour are promising relatively stability and a path to recovery. I am not sure the Scots will vote for more Brexit style chaos. A split in the U.K. will make Brexit look like a picnic.StuartDickson said:‘The SNP will be rejoicing at Starmer's hard Brexit line‘
"MAKE Brexit Work” sounds like one of Boris Johnson's test slogans for the next General Election. In fact it is now Labour's headline policy following Sir Keir Starmer's remarkable conversion to the Brexit cause. He unveiled the new slogan in a speech to the Centre for European Reform.
It's an unexpected gift to Nicola Sturgeon, whose latest Indyref plan was getting heavy weather from sceptics in and out of the SNP. Suddenly she leads the only serious pro-European party in Scotland, apart from the Greens and the LibDems. Getting 50 per cent of the vote in the 2024 General Election looks easier now that the SNP is the obvious destination for the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU.
(The Herald €)0 -
NEW: the resignations have started again.
Laura Trott, a rising star of the 2019 Tory intake, has quit has PPS to the Department for Transport:
"Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost. "
https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/15445796619712962612 -
I don’t want to alarm you but a corrupt & discredited leader’s determination to cling on to power at any cost at all is often the backdrop to terrible things. And, as we saw in America just 18 months ago, to some very near misses.
https://twitter.com/mrjamesob/status/15445774165421834250 -
It's confirmed on the Turkish Government website (posted that as I can't access the Turkish original)Nigelb said:Anyone know how accurate this is ?
https://mobile.twitter.com/raymondopolis/status/1544440058672951296
Turkey found 694Mt of rare earths—that's 6x the size of all other global reserves and _15x_ the reserves of China, which currently dominates the market. Enough for >1,000 years at current demand. What happens now??
https://enerji-gov-tr.translate.goog/haber-detay?id=20996&_x_tr_sl=tr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
600tonnes of lithium a year at a glance0 -
At least he can Implement the 9% pay rise for teachers that he was pleading the Treasury for last week.Scott_xP said:
Finally, a Chancellor who understands the cost of heating stables crisis. https://twitter.com/skynewsbreak/status/1544422009911885830Nigelb said:Good to have another Chancellor with a practical understanding of tax avoidance.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Fraser/status/1544427929916133381
UK’s new chancellor of the exchequer Nadhim Zahawi used company in tax haven to buy his Warwickshire constituency home...
https://twitter.com/patrick_hurley/status/1544427291266240513?t=4-HC26iwGuz39_oKGi1T0w&s=19
One interesting snippet in Sunaks resignation letter was the mention of a joint speech on the economy. I suspect that is being rapidly rewritten as number 1 priority by Zaharwi.0 -
I'd treat it with a healthy dose of scepticism. It appears to be a press release from a government agency, and Turley is in need of good financial news atm. And then there's the fact that most 'rare earths' are not actually rare: the problem is in the difficulty in extraction.Nigelb said:Anyone know how accurate this is ?
https://mobile.twitter.com/raymondopolis/status/1544440058672951296
Turkey found 694Mt of rare earths—that's 6x the size of all other global reserves and _15x_ the reserves of China, which currently dominates the market. Enough for >1,000 years at current demand. What happens now??
I have no doubt that they have discovered massive deposits of rare earths. There's a long, long way from that to extracting them in meaningful quantities, and even further to profit.2 -
Rare Earths are not really very rare.Nigelb said:Anyone know how accurate this is ?
https://mobile.twitter.com/raymondopolis/status/1544440058672951296
Turkey found 694Mt of rare earths—that's 6x the size of all other global reserves and _15x_ the reserves of China, which currently dominates the market. Enough for >1,000 years at current demand. What happens now??2 -
Morning all.Mexicanpete said:
I believe Starmer's Brexit policy U-turn to be folly, nonetheless your post is blatantly untrue.Fishing said:
He was committed to a Corbynite manifesto a couple of years ago. He is even more blatantly dishonest than Boris Johnson, which takes some doing.StuartDickson said:
Starmer is now committed to the British nationalist line. Proof once again that one should choose one’s bedfellows with care.Jonathan said:
English nationalists and Scottish nationalists. Two cheeks of the same arse. Brexit = Sindy. Both need to go.DecrepiterJohnL said:
SNP and Tories, surely? Vote SNP for a Conservative government. Scots voters need to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections.StuartDickson said:
Labour and the Tories: two faces of the same dud coin.Jonathan said:
The SNP are promising yet more upheaval. Labour are promising relatively stability and a path to recovery. I am not sure the Scots will vote for more Brexit style chaos. A split in the U.K. will make Brexit look like a picnic.StuartDickson said:‘The SNP will be rejoicing at Starmer's hard Brexit line‘
"MAKE Brexit Work” sounds like one of Boris Johnson's test slogans for the next General Election. In fact it is now Labour's headline policy following Sir Keir Starmer's remarkable conversion to the Brexit cause. He unveiled the new slogan in a speech to the Centre for European Reform.
It's an unexpected gift to Nicola Sturgeon, whose latest Indyref plan was getting heavy weather from sceptics in and out of the SNP. Suddenly she leads the only serious pro-European party in Scotland, apart from the Greens and the LibDems. Getting 50 per cent of the vote in the 2024 General Election looks easier now that the SNP is the obvious destination for the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU.
(The Herald €)
On this mini thread I'm having trouble deciding which post is 'blatantly untrue', or is it all of them?
*innocent face*
0 -
Living within your means is much more affordable and typically allows a better lifestyle in the longer term too - but the problem is too many people will prefer the short term over the longer term.OnlyLivingBoy said:
It's bizarre. Living well within your means is a much happier state to be in.Malmesbury said:
A friend works in private banking for a bank that has an illustrious name. Perhaps “used to have an illustrious name”…RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.
It seems that they got lax about vetting the customers they allowed to join. And lending them money afterwards
He describes large numbers of people who owned 5% of some very nice, completely unproductive assets and a fistful of credits cards drawn to the max.
One of his jobs was to force such people to sell the unproductive assets and get the money for the bank back. Quite simply he was reducing peoples lifestyles by an order of magnitude.
His guesstimate was that about 70% of the “rich” people you see, out and about, are fake.
OT: toast still stuck in the toaster. Things will not change until there is proper vetting of new MPs. And, in a world of professional politicians who know nothing but Parliament, systematic professional training and development.0 -
Yes, but Blair also stuck to much of it, squandering his chance to enact more radical changes during his first term when he had maximum political capital. Hasn't he accepted that this was one of his biggest misjudgements? (Obviously he has never accepted the biggest misjudgement, which came later)Heathener said:
I do think, if I may say, that you're letting your vitriolic anti-Labour stance cloud your judgement?StuartDickson said:
Starmer is going to “fix the economy” without improving international trade? This car crash might well be worse than the last one.Jonathan said:
Nah. He’s just not going to invest all his political capital in trying to reverse a done deal. There are more important issues like fixing the NHS and the economy. The SNP would be wise to drop the ideological baggage and focus on what matters.StuartDickson said:
Starmer is now committed to the British nationalist line. Proof once again that one should choose one’s bedfellows with care.Jonathan said:
English nationalists and Scottish nationalists. Two cheeks of the same arse. Brexit = Sindy. Both need to go.DecrepiterJohnL said:
SNP and Tories, surely? Vote SNP for a Conservative government. Scots voters need to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections.StuartDickson said:
Labour and the Tories: two faces of the same dud coin.Jonathan said:
The SNP are promising yet more upheaval. Labour are promising relatively stability and a path to recovery. I am not sure the Scots will vote for more Brexit style chaos. A split in the U.K. will make Brexit look like a picnic.StuartDickson said:‘The SNP will be rejoicing at Starmer's hard Brexit line‘
"MAKE Brexit Work” sounds like one of Boris Johnson's test slogans for the next General Election. In fact it is now Labour's headline policy following Sir Keir Starmer's remarkable conversion to the Brexit cause. He unveiled the new slogan in a speech to the Centre for European Reform.
It's an unexpected gift to Nicola Sturgeon, whose latest Indyref plan was getting heavy weather from sceptics in and out of the SNP. Suddenly she leads the only serious pro-European party in Scotland, apart from the Greens and the LibDems. Getting 50 per cent of the vote in the 2024 General Election looks easier now that the SNP is the obvious destination for the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU.
(The Herald €)
Starmer is playing smart politics at the moment: what he has said about Brexit (even if he doesn't believe it) was good red wall politicking.
Tony Blair did all this brilliantly in the run up to winning.
It tells me that Labour are hungry for power and they sense they are in with a real chance.1 -
Not an argument they will care about...Scott_xP said:
But it's worth lesseek said:And in their world Brexit is a success because they now earn more than they used to.
The reality is that the SNP win seats by screaming Freedom / Independence every 5 minutes. Given the option Bozo would be screaming Brexit every chance he got (and that would swing a fair few voters).
You simply want to remove the entire conversation from any election campaign to focus on my winnable items.2 -
People living stress free, happy lives on middling incomes don't attract hordes of Instagram followers. Professional wankers posing in front of Ferraris do. Consumer capitalism and social media both promote the joys of empty, meaningless acquisition to great effect. A lot of people exist only to accumulate stuff.OnlyLivingBoy said:
It's bizarre. Living well within your means is a much happier state to be in.Malmesbury said:
A friend works in private banking for a bank that has an illustrious name. Perhaps “used to have an illustrious name”…RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.
It seems that they got lax about vetting the customers they allowed to join. And lending them money afterwards
He describes large numbers of people who owned 5% of some very nice, completely unproductive assets and a fistful of credits cards drawn to the max.
One of his jobs was to force such people to sell the unproductive assets and get the money for the bank back. Quite simply he was reducing peoples lifestyles by an order of magnitude.
His guesstimate was that about 70% of the “rich” people you see, out and about, are fake.
OT: toast still stuck in the toaster. Things will not change until there is proper vetting of new MPs. And, in a world of professional politicians who know nothing but Parliament, systematic professional training and development.0 -
Nick Robinson just gets better. His 8.05 slot isn't to be missed
Zahawi is being skewered and it is well deserved.
What a creep.......1 -
DALL-E 2 MORNING UPDATE
DALL-E is now getting scarily, scarily good at faces. Despite the fact that faces have only been “permitted” for a week or two
That person does not exist. Yet the only tiny clue is some blurring at the hairline/temple
Conclusions: the potential for porn deep fakes is troubling. You’re still not allowed to use “real” faces - but inevitably that prohibition will fail. You’ll be able to depict anyone doing anything with 100% accuracy
Also: photography as “art” is finished. Dead. DALL-E does this for free in seconds, 24/7
Also: what happens when DALL-E is allowed to do moving images? Films? TV? With AI voice generation that will open up amazing possibilities for movies made with entirely fake “people” - who don’t need to be paid
0 -
That's partly why no one has any money - they are playing "keeping up with the Jones" running a brand new BMW on a PCP deal they can hardly afford, rather than owning a 10 year old Fiesta outright...swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.1 -
Yes, if it weren't for the minor detail that most people need a car, there is money to be made buying cars at the end of the three-year PCP and immediately selling them on.Foxy said:
Yet second hand cars are ridiculously pricy, and new cars have long delivery times. There is a lot of money about, just not very evenly distributed.RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.0 -
Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid, Alex Chalk represent 3 v different Tory traditions - Boris Johnson has now lost every wing of the party - he can no longer govern - speaking on @GMB at 820
https://twitter.com/RoryStewartUK/status/15445809773343866901 -
If rare earths are that abundant in Turkey it suggests they might be found, in similar plenitude, in multiple places across the worldNigelb said:Anyone know how accurate this is ?
https://mobile.twitter.com/raymondopolis/status/1544440058672951296
Turkey found 694Mt of rare earths—that's 6x the size of all other global reserves and _15x_ the reserves of China, which currently dominates the market. Enough for >1,000 years at current demand. What happens now??
So I’d say this is good news1 -
I actually used the fact that I don’t especially enjoy being the boss, as a reason for me being good at it, at an interview not long ago. Which rather startled the interviewers. Who then gave me the thumbs up….turbotubbs said:
Totally agree, but I suspect 90% of politicians, if not more, have actively sought power for their own ends, rather than to help others.Heathener said:Whilst seeking that Dumbledore quote I also came across this one:
“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”
Someone who always wanted to be king of the world should have been let nowhere near it.4 -
Another cabinet source said: “We limp on.” Must have missed that on the election posters.
Analysis by @rowenamason https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/05/boris-johnsons-limps-on-for-now-but-for-how-much-longer?utm_term=62c521e4161d500051905d9adc1d7af2&utm_campaign=FirstEdition&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=firstedition_email0 -
Without decent pay settlements not too far behind inflation there will be strikes everywhere by the autumn. People need to be able to pay those bills.Scott_xP said:
Yes, and further increase inflation.Foxy said:At least he can Implement the 9% pay rise for teachers that he was pleading the Treasury for last week.
Genius.
I note the Red Funnel voted to strike yesterday, over pay. Fortunately my trip next week is unaffected.1 -
Good morning everyone; rather cloudy here this morning but still quite pleasant.
What rather surprise me about last night's events was the speed at which new ministers came into post. Does suggest that our Prime Minister has more support among the cabinet that we might of expected, particularly given the circumstances!
Or, further and better thoughts! There are some people who will do anything for preferment!0 -
It hangs on whether Coffey or some other relatively senior ministers come to the right decision today.Scott_xP said:NEW: the resignations have started again.
Laura Trott, a rising star of the 2019 Tory intake, has quit has PPS to the Department for Transport:
"Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost. "
https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/15445796619712962610 -
Zahawi didnt do well, he is out of his depth (and it wasnt on the economy themes), it wont have reassured many at all. 1922 will have heard it no doubtRoger said:Nick Robinson just gets better. His 8.05 slot isn't to be missed
Zahawi is being skewered and it is well deserved.
What a creep.......0 -
They are quite rare, but you have to grasp the size of the planet which is 6,400,000,000,000,000 MtFoxy said:
Rare Earths are not really very rare.Nigelb said:Anyone know how accurate this is ?
https://mobile.twitter.com/raymondopolis/status/1544440058672951296
Turkey found 694Mt of rare earths—that's 6x the size of all other global reserves and _15x_ the reserves of China, which currently dominates the market. Enough for >1,000 years at current demand. What happens now??0 -
Lib dems say helloRoger said:
If that's the case then you could say it's a short term advantage. Labour voters have no where else to go. That would be true if other things were equal but they aren't Labour need a big tent.Big_G_NorthWales said:
The interesting poll on Starmer's policy is that 79% of conservatives approve but only 30% of labour doRoger said:
Labour's problem is that so far they have only one policy which is to maintain the draconian Brexit but fix the Norhern Ireland protocol.pigeon said:
That's why the best outcome to the next election is one that leaves Labour as weak as possible, without the bloody Tories actually winning it again.StuartDickson said:
I think the Conservatives need a period in opposition. About a century will do.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Dickson, and that terrible decision is with him as Defence Secretary. You think a Nadine Dorries or similar would be better for Defence?
PR Mr Starmer. PR.
If Labour is miles short of a majority, doubts its ability ever to win one again, has a large and potentially resurgent Conservative Opposition breathing down its neck, and ends up reliant on both the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, then they might be persuaded to yield.
The likelihood of Labour abandoning FPTP if it wins outright is nil.
As perhaps only twenty people in the country understand the Northern Ireland protocol and even less care it's not going to have them queuing round the blocks at polling stations.
Meanwhile the door is open to anyone who wants to attract the now 60% in these islands who want the whole madcap scheme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In short. Is Starmer's Labour party fit for purpose? I don't think so. Does Starmer understand this politics business? I don't think so. The first rule of politics is to find policies that voters want and the first rule of selling those policies is remember the first rule of copywriting. People don't want a drill they want a hole.0 -
Any Cabinet minister who wants a future career will need to abandon ship now
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/05/even-boris-johnson-cannot-survive-dramatic-cabinet-resignations/
0 -
I think it’s pretty clear now that the rebels have the numbers to get rid of the clown . Given only 32 MPs needed to vote the other way last time .
The problem is that kicking the can down the road to the autumn allows more time for him to recover and get his lapdog Zahawi to put operation save Johnson into full throttle .
There’s also the Starmer situation re Durham police . Very hard to read how that plays out if he does get a FPN .
Will the media attention on that give the clown more breathing space or will his resignation if he does get fined make life even more uncomfortable .
I think the rebels need to act in the next two weeks and need to change the 1922 rules and move to another vote before recess.0 -
Mr. Leon, there are already, separately, computer voice 'actors' being developed. Voice actors have been hired, not told the detail, and been pissed to find their recorded voices were used to help develop the tech that may well put them out of work.
At the moment, the voices are passable but not as good as human voice actors.0 -
I thought she was staying?IanB2 said:
It hangs on whether Coffey or some other relatively senior ministers come to the right decision today.Scott_xP said:NEW: the resignations have started again.
Laura Trott, a rising star of the 2019 Tory intake, has quit has PPS to the Department for Transport:
"Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost. "
https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/15445796619712962610 -
It has been a not yet enacted project of mine to go around taking photos of thoroughly normal perhaps council two-up two-downs with brand spanking new Range Rover Velars parked in front of them.RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.1 -
Zahawi is so far out of his depth it's embarrassing. He is the perfect Johnson Chancellor.1
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The Flintstones as real people
It’s weird how DALL-E hasn’t *quite* mastered eyes and noses - yet. I suspect this is a lagging glitch from its former constraint - don’t use faces1 -
You mean Labour needs Scots voters to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections? Not that voters ‘need’ to do anything, as all parties find out sooner or later.DecrepiterJohnL said:
SNP and Tories, surely? Vote SNP for a Conservative government. Scots voters need to think separately about Westminster and Holyrood elections.StuartDickson said:
Labour and the Tories: two faces of the same dud coin.Jonathan said:
The SNP are promising yet more upheaval. Labour are promising relatively stability and a path to recovery. I am not sure the Scots will vote for more Brexit style chaos. A split in the U.K. will make Brexit look like a picnic.StuartDickson said:‘The SNP will be rejoicing at Starmer's hard Brexit line‘
"MAKE Brexit Work” sounds like one of Boris Johnson's test slogans for the next General Election. In fact it is now Labour's headline policy following Sir Keir Starmer's remarkable conversion to the Brexit cause. He unveiled the new slogan in a speech to the Centre for European Reform.
It's an unexpected gift to Nicola Sturgeon, whose latest Indyref plan was getting heavy weather from sceptics in and out of the SNP. Suddenly she leads the only serious pro-European party in Scotland, apart from the Greens and the LibDems. Getting 50 per cent of the vote in the 2024 General Election looks easier now that the SNP is the obvious destination for the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU.
(The Herald €)0 -
IIRC we have 45 F35b, nowFoxy said:
The carriers look the wrong way round too.Dura_Ace said:
How old is that? The Sea Kings are long gone since 2018 with only two in private hands at Portland for Marineflieger training.StuartDickson said:
This Wallace?Morris_Dancer said:Good morning, everyone.
Just remarkable the cowardice and lack of judgement from almost all the Cabinet (a pass might be given to Wallace).
‘Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirms 10,000 troop cut to the size of the British Army’0 -
If Laura Trott has abandoned Boris, the wheels are really coming off his Premiership.Scott_xP said:NEW: the resignations have started again.
Laura Trott, a rising star of the 2019 Tory intake, has quit has PPS to the Department for Transport:
"Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost. "
https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/15445796619712962614 -
Besides which, I'm four square behind the unions on the topic of inflation. It's a supply side problem caused, crudely speaking, by the lunacy of the Chinese and the Russians. Making workers take hefty pay cuts in an effort to suppress it is just going to make ordinary people poorer without doing anything to suppress prices.Foxy said:
Without decent pay settlements not too far behind inflation there will be strikes everywhere by the autumn. People need to be able to pay those bills.Scott_xP said:
Yes, and further increase inflation.Foxy said:At least he can Implement the 9% pay rise for teachers that he was pleading the Treasury for last week.
Genius.
I note the Red Funnel voted to strike yesterday, over pay. Fortunately my trip next week is unaffected.0 -
There is a caravan park near me where the cars outside are Range Rovers and MercedesTOPPING said:It has been a not yet enacted project of mine to go around taking photos of thoroughly normal perhaps council two-up two-downs with brand spanking new Range Rover Velars parked in front of them.
0 -
I can't believe she has stayed. Incredible. Reputation being shredded by the hour.IanB2 said:
It hangs on whether Coffey or some other relatively senior ministers come to the right decision today.Scott_xP said:NEW: the resignations have started again.
Laura Trott, a rising star of the 2019 Tory intake, has quit has PPS to the Department for Transport:
"Trust in politics is - and must always be - of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost. "
https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1544579661971296261
4 -
I don't believe the Lloyds numbers to be representative of the overall picture - it looks like current account and immediate reserve savings, and overdone conclusions. What Which used to call 'emergency money'.OnlyLivingBoy said:
It's bizarre. Living well within your means is a much happier state to be in.Malmesbury said:
A friend works in private banking for a bank that has an illustrious name. Perhaps “used to have an illustrious name”…RochdalePioneers said:
So many "costly" cars are on cheap PCP deals issued when manufacturers could actually build cars and needed to hit a sales target.swing_voter said:
driving around the M60 not so long ago I was struck by the sheer number of costly cars.... BMWs, VWs other top spec brands.... not sure how it sits with the above.pigeon said:When it comes to it, MPs of whatever party, no matter how high-minded they can be when it’s their opponents in trouble, will overlook pretty much anything if they can justify it in pursuit of a higher cause (usually their job) and the polls have not turned against them. And, in truth, it’s only the last issue which really matters to them. Pincher’s groping hands, Boris’s parties and his repeated lies would be mere footnotes if the Tories were still consistently ahead in the polls.
And Johnson would already be gone if the Tories were 20% adrift of Labour rather than averaging more like 6-7%. Small wonder if Mr & Mrs Average end up regarding politics and its practitioners as entirely devoid of ethics and principle. The evidence against them is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, in other news, most of the British population is now living hand-to-mouth, or something very close to it:
Most Lloyds Bank customers have less than £500 of savings in their accounts, its chief executive said.
The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62057301
Frankly, the more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. The customer base of Lloyds must be broadly representative of the general population. I might've guessed that about a third of us had nothing or next to nothing in the bank, but four-fifths?!?! Anybody in this position who finds themselves out of a job, or with unexpected bills to settle, is immediately going to have to resort to debt - if they've not already maxed out their capacity to do so. Those of working age who end up unemployed, or having to take a new job with a substantial cut in income, will be staring almost immediately down the barrel of heat or eat dilemmas or being slung out onto the street.
Essentially, a finding like this implies that most of the country - especially all those still paying rent or a mortgage - is now part of the precariat. Any significant spike in unemployment and a lot of these people will be sunk.
It seems that they got lax about vetting the customers they allowed to join. And lending them money afterwards
He describes large numbers of people who owned 5% of some very nice, completely unproductive assets and a fistful of credits cards drawn to the max.
One of his jobs was to force such people to sell the unproductive assets and get the money for the bank back. Quite simply he was reducing peoples lifestyles by an order of magnitude.
His guesstimate was that about 70% of the “rich” people you see, out and about, are fake.
OT: toast still stuck in the toaster. Things will not change until there is proper vetting of new MPs. And, in a world of professional politicians who know nothing but Parliament, systematic professional training and development.
For example, 10 million people save into Personal Pensions, around 13 million into ISAs in the most recent year I can see.
The 80% figure as an overall number is misleading imo.
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Oh dear Zahawi. Oh dear.0
