Making An Offer They Cannot Refuse? – politicalbetting.com
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It was interesting to see Michael Gove in full partisan mood yesterday venting about Birmingham and his obvious glee at sending commissioners in to run the city.
I'm told Medway may be the next council to issue a section 114 notice as it faces bankruptcy.
Medway is a Labour run council - well it is now, in May Labour won control after 20 years of Conservative administration.
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Cobblers.Luckyguy1983 said:
He looks like an utter joke from everywhere.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
However, the heat he's taking today from absolute morons raising hell because he's doing something that's actually falling in line with what the EU is doing (usually enough to generate seal clapping from the same people) makes the perpetrators look ridiculous, not Sunak.
Last week: a solemn pledge to BMW that we are sticking to 2030. BMW invest.
This week: we are binning 2030. Please invest in Britain, you can trust us not to completely change the regulatory landscape.
We have become a laughing stock. It isn't about whether we are aligned to the EU or not, its about whether we are consistent or not.
Had Boris launched his Brexit deal and we had actually stuck to it, that would be one thing. A load of cost but a stable framework which industry can then find ways to make work.
Instead we launch the deal, make business incur lots of cost, then scrap the deal. And the same here with net zero - yet another example of UK policy being a moveable feast. You can't invest serious money in a small market that is constantly redrawing what the rules are.0 -
Gove doesn't seem to have noticed that at the time of the equal pay case Brum was a Con/LD run council.stodge said:It was interesting to see Michael Gove in full partisan mood yesterday venting about Birmingham and his obvious glee at sending commissioners in to run the city.
I'm told Medway may be the next council to issue a section 114 notice as it faces bankruptcy.
Medway is a Labour run council - well it is now, in May Labour won control after 20 years of Conservative administration.1 -
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Again - why must this announcement happen now when Tory conference is in two weeks? What's the urgency? Especially when it annoys members of his cabinet, some of his own backbenchers and lots of people in industry? This should be part of a conference speech, surely, not a hurried together press conference at no notice?1
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Is that the strongest criticism of Sunak? That he made a statement about dogs?Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
It's a back handed compliment if thats the worst that can be thrown at him.0 -
Where's my saucepan.NerysHughes said:Good Job NHS Doctors aren't greedy
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-668619600 -
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
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Every new build house should have to have installed proper ground-source heatpump, solar cells on the roof, battery storage and a car charging point. Given the price of houses already it won't make much difference to the selling price.Malmesbury said:
The issue with boilers, that you are ignoring, is that a drop in replacement for boilers doesn't exist.RochdalePioneers said:
Pagan - people *already are* shelling out for these things. They have a boiler which is knackered and has to be replaced. The measures are to drive the industry to make them as efficient as possible, and to develop greener alternatives.Pagan2 said:
My comment wasn't aimed at net zero however and no idea why you thought it was. My comment was directed at people here who think its easy for most to just go out and afford to shell out a few thousand here for a car, or a heat pump, or insulation because "it will save money in the long term". Yes it will however you need the disposable spare cash to make the payments on top of your living costs for it to be viableSouthamObserver said:
That's not my theory. It's how people do largely buy their cars. And those who cannot get HP or cannot afford it, do without. That is a cost of living issue that high interest rates exacerbate, but it has nothing to do with net zero.Pagan2 said:
I am working on a crappy laptop the last firm I worked for let me keep when they laid me off. It enables web browsing but that is about it. I am stuck with it for then 8 to 10 months probably assuming nothing more urgent breaks while I am trying to build up my savings enough. Your theory that everyone can just go out and go yeah I will put that 12k car on hp doesn't hold water for a huge number of people.SouthamObserver said:
So what are you going to do? Not have a computer or get one?Pagan2 said:
Indeed I had the misfortune of my pc breaking completely last week, I earn a chunk more than average wage yet i am wondering where I am going to find 2k to replace the damn thing and get off the crappy laptop I dug out of storage. With my outgoings such as rent, council tax, water, power etc I can't really afford to take out a bank loan for it so "just get a 12k car" is totally out of reach even with borrowing for itTOPPING said:
Ah yes. You can get it on the never never. Because interest rates are now at an historic low. It's free money.SouthamObserver said:
People who live in the real world know that you do not need £12,000 of capital in your back pocket to purchase a car being sold for £12,000.TOPPING said:
How stupid the right are. How stupid you are, that said, for not realising that you need capital to start with to be able to save all that money you identify. Spend £10,000 now and the payback time will be what, five years? Seven years? Fantastic investment.RochdalePioneers said:
None of these policies will ever see the light of day. The car manufacturers have already told Sunak that they aren't reversing course - indeed expect a harsh reaction from BMW whose investment announcement last week was predicated on Sunak not doing what he now appears to be doing.TOPPING said:Well done Rishi on pushing back those measures, they were always unattainable and performative and it was clear as day that this was the case.
As interestingly, where does Lab go with it. Vote for us to pay thousands more for boilers, house insulation, and cars.
This is at the intersection of saving the planet and saving for a new Playstation and I'm pretty sure I know which will win.
And the rest? Cost comes down as volumes go up. The idea that home insulation is a cost demonstrates just how stupid the right are. It is an investment - spend money then save more money.
We don't have enough power generating capacity. Have become reliant on import of electricity and gas and refined fuels. And have suffered the economic consequences of this.
What we should do is invest in green tech (is cavity wall insulation "tech"?) - create a load of jobs, drive new investment, make and export more. And thus wean ourselves off imports.
Instead, the suggestion is that we sit cold in our uninsulated houses burning gas we can't afford which goes straight into the atmosphere as we rock gently chanting "we can't afford the green crap"
Because you have £10,000 burning a hole in your back pocket right now. Because you can't for some strange reason given that you are on the "left" that people don't have £12k for a new (to them) second hand Renault Zoe, or £10k to insulate their homes.
People could bulk buy any commodity straight off the containership for thousands of pounds and save hundreds but they might not have the thousands of pounds to start with. Which you fail to realise.
As I said, when it comes to real world experiences PB is not the best place to come.
Have I got that right?
Edit: plus credit scores, existing outstanding obligations, plus...plus...
Another example of PB thinking it all so very simple.
No-one will be forced to buy an EV car in 2030. Some may want to, others will have to. For the latter, there may have to be very tough choices to make. But that is as it has always been.
Yes of course there are a lot of people struggling thanks to the Tories. Many millions of them. A lot live in rented accommodation - and the proposed uturn utterly shafts them by letting the landlord leave them in expensive to heat homes. Others find themselves short on cash but with kids and a broken boiler. You'll be amazed to find that faced with your kids freezing over the winter people find the cash.
There is this lunatic suggestion that there is an arbitrary date where *everyone* has to buy a new boiler or whatever. This is nonsense - they get replaced as they break down.
Hydrogen means serious pipe rework. Which in turn means tearing open floors and walls.
Heat Pumps the same - unless you go for a super shoddy job that will barely work.
Due to the religion of Not Building Houses, the incidence of costs will fall entirely on the renters. So mandating new boilers will simply raise rents.
I am in favour of reducing emissions to zero. But lying to ourselves about the costs and issues is just stupid. Caroline Lucas was on the BBC last night selling the bullshit that all of this won't actually cost money.
Yes, it will cost money. And it needs to be done.0 -
Yes. Did that run to the early Model 3s in the UK, or is it still the preserve of S and Y?Malmesbury said:
Hence the value of Teslas that have the free-supercharging-for-life deal.Sandpit said:
The answer is a very ‘it depends’.FrankBooth said:I notice no-one has answered my question on the cost of energy for EV cars versus petrol cars. I genuinely don't know the answer so I'd appreciate a response.
EVs are more expensive to purchase, cheaper to service, but the biggest variable is the cost of the electricity - if you can charge at home overnight it’s great, but if you have to use the fast chargers on motorways it’s very expensive.
To add to my earlier comment, by far the biggest incentive to buy an EV is if you run it as a company car, as the BIK income tax difference can easily run to several thousand quid a year.0 -
Funnily enough they covered it on R4 this morning and he didn’t go “full partisan” at all, not even mentioning the party that was running Birmingham until his Labour opposite number had replied in a “partisan mood”. Have a listen to it. They laugh about how he avoided partisanship and then when Labour went partisan he took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves for a partisan fight.stodge said:It was interesting to see Michael Gove in full partisan mood yesterday venting about Birmingham and his obvious glee at sending commissioners in to run the city.
I'm told Medway may be the next council to issue a section 114 notice as it faces bankruptcy.
Medway is a Labour run council - well it is now, in May Labour won control after 20 years of Conservative administration.0 -
Indeed. The Lizaster destroyed her own credibility by tanking the money markets There may be similar to come with Rishi over cars.Big_G_NorthWales said:
That is before todayScott_xP said:@ElectionMapsUK
Rishi Sunak's approval rating has reached an all time low of -30.0%.
Approve: 25.4% (-2.8)
Disapprove: 55.4% (+6.2)
Changes w/ 20th Aug.
http://electionmaps.uk/polling
As a betting site who is betting he will go even lower or maybe recover some of his rating
For all of the wailing and gnashing by the right on here this morning, what has happened is very simple.
Last week the government pledged to the car industry that it was sticking to 2030. This week the same ministers are no longer sticking to 2030.
If you are foreign industry - and lets be honest almost all industry is these days - why on earth would you bother investing in the UK when the regulatory and political framework is written in crayon?
Ford's boss has already posted his utter disgust. Lets watch for BMW and others doing the same. If they do, then Mrs Brady may get to do one more leadership contest before he retires.0 -
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I'm a major advocate of EVs being the future, however I am curious where on earth you're getting a good nearly new EV for £12k from? Even setting aside the fact that £12k is a considerable sum, I'm simply not seeing that anywhere.TimS said:
Regular reminder a good nearly new EV will set you back all of £12k, everyone will still be able to buy secondhand ICEs in 2030 and onwards, and even if they buy a new car in 2031 it can be a plug in hybrid which is basically an ICE with a little battery.TOPPING said:
tyvmGIN1138 said:
Good morning. Nice post!TOPPING said:
Nah. It's them being sensible. 2030 was always ridiculous. No charging points, cars too expensive, range issues. The reaction to the ULEZ swap your £7k at the time govt-approved diesel for £2k cash scheme always pointed to this decision.Pro_Rata said:Net zero:
Braverman framing it in terms of bankrupting the country is uncomfortably strident framing, that hints at further watering down if it politically suits them. One could almost say disgusting. Par for the Braverman course.
Why drop all these things 7 years out, and extend by 5. Seems arbitrary. Try your damnedest to get there, there is space for
pragmatism in delivery, but backslide less and a little closer to the time and on minimal elements. Thus, political culture war timing.
Imagine if May had said Brexit was too hard at the outset and had managed to get the EU had agreed a 7 year timeframe for A50 talks. You know that may have had a seed of truth, but politically.... imagine. A bit more of the Brexit get on with it spirit for net zero please (but not Boris style).
If net zero opportunities there are too be, then this is managed declinist.
All in all, pragmatism is all well and good, but yuck.
People were nervous that with boilers and cars they would somehow soon be facing a bill of several thousand pounds to stay where they are, lifestyle-wise. Those who are rich would have shrugged it off and gone on marches (or flown over from LA to go on marches) while those struggling would have struggled.
I don't think PB is a good demographic to opine on the "rat fuck Tories" who don't want to spend £40k on an EV.
Even our lefties have oodles of cash and embody the term champagne socialism.
This is the kind of misplaced noblesse oblige increasingly beloved of Tories who believe they have suddenly become at one with some imagined common man.
Meanwhile British industry gets flicked the vs, again.
I'm in the market for an EV and would like to buy one within the next 12 months preferably and have been tracking prices for the last two years but I'm simply not seeing anything like that, unless you mean cars for individuals like Smart cars which don't work for families.
I'm driving a 2010 Kia Ceed and any electric equivalent I'm seeing is going for close to £40k new and about £25-30k nearly new. Petrol though is in the range of what you're saying for nearly new, which is the problem.
Downgrading, the cheapest affordable electric that might suit a family I'm finding is from MG at about £27k new and about £17-18k nearly new. Its a smaller car, but could suit me now we no longer have prams, it wouldn't suit people who need space for 2 prams etc though.
Where are you finding family sized cars available £12k? I'm simply not seeing it, but if you are that would be great as its much more affordable than what I'm finding.
Within a few years hopefully the price of a new EV will match the price of a new ICE vehicle, then a few years after that the price of a used EV should match the price of a used ICE. Then the ICE will be well and truly dead and buried. But we're not there yet, as far as I can see - its achievable, but not yet.2 -
You are aware that it was leaked by people who disapprove and was not intended to be announced now?148grss said:Again - why must this announcement happen now when Tory conference is in two weeks? What's the urgency? Especially when it annoys members of his cabinet, some of his own backbenchers and lots of people in industry? This should be part of a conference speech, surely, not a hurried together press conference at no notice?
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That’ll get the Red Wall voters switching back to the Tories.NerysHughes said:The UK closed for business?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-668416020 -
Like many things, it’s what I refer to as a second quintile problem.FrankBooth said:
Aren't Brits well known for paying on credit?Gardenwalker said:The mingeing on here about the cost of getting a replacement laptop or a replacement car is precisely the attitude that prevails in Treasury and the country at large.
It’s why Britain increasingly “can’t have nice things”.
The second quintile household by income, is working hourly, sometimes in ‘gig’ work, sometimes for little more than minimum wage, is spending most of their income on the very basics of rent and utilities, has little in the way of savings, and can’t get much in the way of credit. They also have almost no politicians talking to them, or interested in them.0 -
But why not the typical "we don't comment on leaks" line? Why an emergency cabinet meeting? If this was just a reaction to a leak... does it deserve all this attention that even Sunak is giving it?boulay said:
You are aware that it was leaked by people who disapprove and was not intended to be announced now?148grss said:Again - why must this announcement happen now when Tory conference is in two weeks? What's the urgency? Especially when it annoys members of his cabinet, some of his own backbenchers and lots of people in industry? This should be part of a conference speech, surely, not a hurried together press conference at no notice?
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A relative ended up getting a Model X. The cost via his company was less than a Mini, per month.Sandpit said:
Yes. Did that run to the early Model 3s in the UK, or is it still the preserve of S and Y?Malmesbury said:
Hence the value of Teslas that have the free-supercharging-for-life deal.Sandpit said:
The answer is a very ‘it depends’.FrankBooth said:I notice no-one has answered my question on the cost of energy for EV cars versus petrol cars. I genuinely don't know the answer so I'd appreciate a response.
EVs are more expensive to purchase, cheaper to service, but the biggest variable is the cost of the electricity - if you can charge at home overnight it’s great, but if you have to use the fast chargers on motorways it’s very expensive.
To add to my earlier comment, by far the biggest incentive to buy an EV is if you run it as a company car, as the BIK income tax difference can easily run to several thousand quid a year.1 -
Cos Liz Truss said is yesterday, and she is speaking before Richi at conference.148grss said:Again - why must this announcement happen now when Tory conference is in two weeks? What's the urgency? Especially when it annoys members of his cabinet, some of his own backbenchers and lots of people in industry? This should be part of a conference speech, surely, not a hurried together press conference at no notice?
As Labour are pointing out, he is desperate not to be beaten by her, again.0 -
@PippaCrerar
NEW: Boris Johnson says that "business must have certainty" about the UK's net zero commitments.
Former PM warns Rishi Sunak "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".0 -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-64756774TheScreamingEagles said:
That’ll get the Red Wall voters switching back to the Tories.NerysHughes said:The UK closed for business?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-668416020 -
We will find out at the next GE. If Wales votes overwhelmingly Conservative in opposition to 20mph, then I'll apologise to BigG and admit my mistake.Selebian said:
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
Otherwise, Wales can look forward to 10mph limits, as they have in Europe and are considering for some key streets in Edinburgh.1 -
No, it’s not the strongest criticism of Sunak.eristdoof said:
Is that the strongest criticism of Sunak? That he made a statement about dogs?Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
It's a back handed compliment if thats the worst that can be thrown at him.
But it’s of a piece.0 -
I don’t support scrapping Net Zero; I think it's too much of a hot potato politically, but there are, and have always been, a vast amount of different ways to try to get there, and the Governments job is to find those that are least damaging, as well as ensure carbon accounting is accurate so that we aren't just offshoring work and potentially adding to emissions in the process.RochdalePioneers said:
Cobblers.Luckyguy1983 said:
He looks like an utter joke from everywhere.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
However, the heat he's taking today from absolute morons raising hell because he's doing something that's actually falling in line with what the EU is doing (usually enough to generate seal clapping from the same people) makes the perpetrators look ridiculous, not Sunak.
Last week: a solemn pledge to BMW that we are sticking to 2030. BMW invest.
This week: we are binning 2030. Please invest in Britain, you can trust us not to completely change the regulatory landscape.
We have become a laughing stock. It isn't about whether we are aligned to the EU or not, its about whether we are consistent or not.
Had Boris launched his Brexit deal and we had actually stuck to it, that would be one thing. A load of cost but a stable framework which industry can then find ways to make work.
Instead we launch the deal, make business incur lots of cost, then scrap the deal. And the same here with net zero - yet another example of UK policy being a moveable feast. You can't invest serious money in a small market that is constantly redrawing what the rules are.
One cannot automatically assume that Government policy will take a specific direction on the basis of a broad target like Net Zero.1 -
@BestForBritain
Stellantis now joining the pile on.
This policy is poorly thought out and a betrayal of all stakeholders. On top of which, its rolling out has been comically mismanaged. Which means that Sunak has managed to be simultaneously both Johnsonian and Trussian. ~AA0 -
There was one on twitter, a Clive Peedell, who got ratioed to hell for it. It was most amusing to see.NerysHughes said:Good Job NHS Doctors aren't greedy
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-668619600 -
Yes, it was totally nuts. A friend traded a Golf GTi for a Porsche Taycan, same price Lease+BIK.Malmesbury said:
A relative ended up getting a Model X. The cost via his company was less than a Mini, per month.Sandpit said:
Yes. Did that run to the early Model 3s in the UK, or is it still the preserve of S and Y?Malmesbury said:
Hence the value of Teslas that have the free-supercharging-for-life deal.Sandpit said:
The answer is a very ‘it depends’.FrankBooth said:I notice no-one has answered my question on the cost of energy for EV cars versus petrol cars. I genuinely don't know the answer so I'd appreciate a response.
EVs are more expensive to purchase, cheaper to service, but the biggest variable is the cost of the electricity - if you can charge at home overnight it’s great, but if you have to use the fast chargers on motorways it’s very expensive.
To add to my earlier comment, by far the biggest incentive to buy an EV is if you run it as a company car, as the BIK income tax difference can easily run to several thousand quid a year.
The government are obviously hoping to get back in VAT what they lose in income tax.0 -
Sunderland though.Taz said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-64756774TheScreamingEagles said:
That’ll get the Red Wall voters switching back to the Tories.NerysHughes said:The UK closed for business?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66841602
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There are powers that can be used. What the Board did should be investigated as a potential fraud. Helen Rose's actions should be investigated as possible perjury or conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Those with the powers are unwilling to take action. Or too incompetent.Peter_the_Punter said:On a practical level, Ms Cyclefree, what should we do?
This is a political forum, so our natural inclination would be to use the ballot box to express our views, but this scandal goes way beyond politics. It was perpetrated by ordinary people, doing ordinary jobs, and doing it badly and with a shameless disregard for the consequences. So what do we do?
Take the bonus for the CEO, for example. This is an abuse. Yet it must have been approved. Are we powerless to act against those who approved it? Is there nothing that can be done to bring to task the worthless individual who accepted it?
The Post Office Scandal is the worst UK scandal I have ever witnessed in my lifetime, and I have witnessed many. How might the ordinary citizen indicate that this is simply beyond the pale?
2 Fujitsu employers were referred by the DPP to the Met for investigation in 2020. Here we are in 2023 & presumably the Met is still looking for the crayon with which to write the questionnaire they're going to send out.
- Badenoch should be kicking the shit out of the Post Office Board.
- The government should be telling Fujitsu it will get no government contracts until it pays out compensation.
- The same should happen with the law firms & management consultants involved in the prosecutions/fucked up disclosure and compensation schemes.
- No ex Fujitsu employees at a senior level should get any sort of government role. So that's Keegan's husband, for starters, kicked out of his Cabinet Office sinecure.
And so on.
As for the likes of you & me: well I write these articles & send them to everyone I can think of to raise awareness. The first one I wrote was shared amongst the Treasury's legal department. I recently met Mark Jenkinson MP (not my MP) at the Cockermouth agricultural show & told him how furious I felt about this issue. He was reasonably well informed & listened. I expect quite a lot of MPs do know about this issue & are doing their best.
But there is - and has been for a long time - a reluctance to require high standards of conduct in public life & an even greater reluctance to expect or demand consequences for misbehaviour. The state now seems to me to be a malign force which does not care two hoots for the people it is meant serve. No-one seems willing to change this. The Post Office is only one very egregious example. Look at Windrush, Grenfell, the blood contamination scandal, child abuse scandals, the government's refusal to implement in full IICSA's recommendations, the endless police abuses, the Malkinson case, the NHS cases etc.
We write reports but do nothing with them. We turn our faces away from the victims until they die or disappear. We patronise them if they speak up & use them for short-term political advantage. We come up with glib empty promises of change & apologies which may as well have been written by AI for all the value they bring.
So I don't know what else to do really. I write because it is all I can do. If a politician asks me what I think - as Simon Fell MP recently did - I tell him that those in charge have a gigantic fuck you approach to voters & are not doing anything about those many entities with a similar approach - eg water companies. I offered my professional assistance to him re the APPG on Whistleblowing because I really know about this stuff.
So I mainly feel quiet despair & fury about the country's direction. It does not have to be like this.7 -
Perhaps you are joking but 284,000 signatures is extraordinary for something that only affects Wales. Are non-residents piling in? One thing to bear in mind is that issues that effect motorists can be politically explosive. Remember the 2000 fuel protests and the anger over possible road pricing in the past?Selebian said:
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
I haven't made my mind up on the issue as I'm not a driver and I still don't fully understand how it will all work. I'll be keen to hear peoples' reactions.0 -
You are spectacularly missing the point.boulay said:
So a leader of a nuclear power shouldn’t be making statements when there is a spate of attacks and death from something that is dangerous, should be banned, is far from what the original rules and customs existed for.Gardenwalker said:
Not really.williamglenn said:
That sounds like an old-fashioned cultural cringe on your part.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
Don’t you think it’s just BIZARRE that a the PM of a nuclear powered country should release a special announcement on a dog ban? It absolutely trivialises him.
It says a lot, both about the UK’s absurdly over-centralised governance, and indeed a kind of death of sane comms policy in an age of social media.
(NB, I agree with the ban itself).
I’m guessing Biden will not make any pronouncements about gun ownership in the US after the next spate of shootings - he should just leave it to whichever minister is responsible?
Or Macron will keep quiet about any newsworthy problem in France where the media are baying for action?
I’m also guessing that the media will stop asking leaders what they think or what they are going to do about situations as it would trivialise the leaders having to opine on anything.
First, in an ideal world, this would be an issue for individual councils, not central government.
Second, this is a second-order issue which should have been fronted by the Environment or Local Government Secretary or whatever.
Rishi of course hopes to curry some short-term favour for publicly addressing the issue, but it comes at the cost of more sustainable gravitas and credibility.
And it doesn’t seem to have done anything for his cratering popularity anyway.
0 -
@148grss Feel free to ignore me but in my experience, this type of negative attitude in your 30s will ruin your life. I've got quite a few friends who think like this and a decade or so on they have just been left behind, they don't own property, don't get married/have long term relationships, no kids etc. They are going nowhere. By contrast I know people in their early 30's who already have children and own property despite having low wages (below minimum wage) and no parental support. I know lots of people in my own industry who are earning over £80k by their late 20's/early 30's, so same age as you. Also people who have just stuck at something and worked hard for 6/7 years, earning respectably, getting promotions, owning their own house etc. There is nearly always a way. It isn't particularly fair, like life itself, but beyond a point it just looks like a case of winners v losers.148grss said:
If you're in your early 30s, like myself, or younger - what do we really have to hope for? Why do I do my 9-5? Why should I care about saving a pension?TimS said:Here are the proposals:
"NEW: I’ve seen the agenda for today’s Cabinet
RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE
-“Delay the off-gas-grid fossil fuel ban until 2035 and relax the requirement from 100% to 80% of households”
-“Relax the gas boiler phase-out target in 2035”
-“no new energy efficiency regulations on homes”
-“Increase the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant by 50% to £7500”
-“Announce the the requirement for all vehicles to have significant zero emission capability in the period 2030-35 is to be removed”
Bonfire of green measures…"
https://x.com/lewis_goodall/status/1704446221820018822?s=20
I can't save to buy a house, I can't afford a family, I don't believe I will see my pension because either the pension age will be so high or the economy will collapse in such a way my pension will be pointless, and the country and world will see environmental ravages annually that used to be once in a lifetime.
Why should my generation and those younger then us participate in a society that seems so gung ho in destroying any future for us?
0 -
Why metal cups? They carry them around for this purpose?Leon said:
I don’t deny I am quite repelled by the public drunkenness. Sad old men with weird leering faces just swilling wine out of metal cups under trees. UghAlistairM said:
Maybe someone from the Spectator will be along shortly to observe and write an article about how French railways are the most disappointing in the world? No doubt highlighting the winos gathering outside the stations.Leon said:I can report that Rodez station is quite run down, the trains are rattly and somewhat battered, the station bar is shuttered and derelict, and there are ageing men publicly drinking red wine out of metal cups under trees: right outside. Quite a spectacle
This is far from the gleaming functional France most people see on their holidays. I can’t wait to escape
Call me an old prude but it’s not attractive. Happily I am now on the train to Toulouse. Let’s hope things improve. I don’t want that to be my last image of La Belle France0 -
BigG is now confused.Scott_xP said:@PippaCrerar
NEW: Boris Johnson says that "business must have certainty" about the UK's net zero commitments.
Former PM warns Rishi Sunak "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".
Rishi says no, Boris says yes.
What to do?
Has Keir had a curry lately?
0 -
The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.2 -
Deleted.0
-
Fings can only get betterScott_xP said:@ElectionMapsUK
Rishi Sunak's approval rating has reached an all time low of -30.0%.
Approve: 25.4% (-2.8)
Disapprove: 55.4% (+6.2)
Changes w/ 20th Aug.
http://electionmaps.uk/polling
0 -
@DPJHodgesGardenwalker said:
BigG is now confused.Scott_xP said:@PippaCrerar
NEW: Boris Johnson says that "business must have certainty" about the UK's net zero commitments.
Former PM warns Rishi Sunak "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".
Rishi says no, Boris says yes.
What to do?
Has Keir had a curry lately?
The previous Tory Prime Minister but one is currently attacking the current Tory Prime Minister after he dramatically u-turned and moved to adopt the policy advocated on Monday by the previous Tory Prime Minister. Why not just give Keir Starmer the keys to No.10 now...0 -
It’s also completely untrue that Sunak’s dog statement invoked chortles of bewildered derision on US social mediaeristdoof said:
Is that the strongest criticism of Sunak? That he made a statement about dogs?Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
It's a back handed compliment if thats the worst that can be thrown at him.
I know because I followed the debate. It actually kicked off a serious discussion as to whether these and similar dogs should be banned in the USA (I never knew Americans had such vivid opinions on this: but they really do)
If anything it was a case of a British prime minister leading an argument in the whole anglophone world. It may (or may not) be a trivial argument but was not the subject of scornful puzzlement0 -
I don't think it will come to thatEabhal said:
We will find out at the next GE. If Wales votes overwhelmingly Conservative in opposition to 20mph, then I'll apologise to BigG and admit my mistake.Selebian said:
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
Otherwise, Wales can look forward to 10mph limits, as they have in Europe and are considering for some key streets in Edinburgh.
A petition in Wales closing on 300,000 signatures is unprecedented and I expect the Welsh government and LA's to sensibly address the concerns and eliminate the worst examples of the implementation
I am not in favour of abolishing it, nor do I expect it is likely. but some common sense is needed to placate the real anger which seems to be the topic of most everyone at present0 -
.
Why the heck should this be an issue for individual councils? What is legal or illegal is a matter for central government, quite rightly.Gardenwalker said:
You are spectacularly missing the point.boulay said:
So a leader of a nuclear power shouldn’t be making statements when there is a spate of attacks and death from something that is dangerous, should be banned, is far from what the original rules and customs existed for.Gardenwalker said:
Not really.williamglenn said:
That sounds like an old-fashioned cultural cringe on your part.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
Don’t you think it’s just BIZARRE that a the PM of a nuclear powered country should release a special announcement on a dog ban? It absolutely trivialises him.
It says a lot, both about the UK’s absurdly over-centralised governance, and indeed a kind of death of sane comms policy in an age of social media.
(NB, I agree with the ban itself).
I’m guessing Biden will not make any pronouncements about gun ownership in the US after the next spate of shootings - he should just leave it to whichever minister is responsible?
Or Macron will keep quiet about any newsworthy problem in France where the media are baying for action?
I’m also guessing that the media will stop asking leaders what they think or what they are going to do about situations as it would trivialise the leaders having to opine on anything.
First, in an ideal world, this would be an issue for individual councils, not central government.
Second, this is a second-order issue which should have been fronted by the Environment or Local Government Secretary or whatever.
Rishi of course hopes to curry some short-term favour for publicly addressing the issue, but it comes at the cost of more sustainable gravitas and credibility.
And it doesn’t seem to have done anything for his cratering popularity anyway.
There was a fatal attack near a school IIRC? The Prime Minister speaking about that is entirely reasonable, the fact it was about dogs is just because the UK doesn't have fatal school shootings so this is our level of outrage. Regardless of party politics, that's a good thing.
The next time there's a fatal shooting in or outside a school, I wonder if you'll express the same level of criticism of Biden that this should be a matter for Councils, not the President?
Sunak has a lot to be criticised for, and I will join in quite frequently and vote against him and his party, but to criticise him for speaking on what is quite literally a newsworthy matter of life or death? That's just petty and diminishes legitimate criticisms.0 -
@DPJHodges
Some Tory MPs are now panicking Rishi Sunak is set to call a snap election. (He isn't). Which is another example of how well today's announcement is being managed...0 -
@KevinASchofield
When Boris “fuck business” Johnson is giving you lessons on listening to business, you’re in a bit of bother.0 -
What is particularly odd about this whole thing is that most Boris supporters will support what Sunak wants to do whereas most of those who backed Sunak probably agree with Boris on this. What a mess.Scott_xP said:
@DPJHodgesGardenwalker said:
BigG is now confused.Scott_xP said:@PippaCrerar
NEW: Boris Johnson says that "business must have certainty" about the UK's net zero commitments.
Former PM warns Rishi Sunak "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".
Rishi says no, Boris says yes.
What to do?
Has Keir had a curry lately?
The previous Tory Prime Minister but one is currently attacking the current Tory Prime Minister after he dramatically u-turned and moved to adopt the policy advocated on Monday by the previous Tory Prime Minister. Why not just give Keir Starmer the keys to No.10 now...1 -
I do not listen to anything Johnson has to sayGardenwalker said:
BigG is now confused.Scott_xP said:@PippaCrerar
NEW: Boris Johnson says that "business must have certainty" about the UK's net zero commitments.
Former PM warns Rishi Sunak "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".
Rishi says no, Boris says yes.
What to do?
Has Keir had a curry lately?0 -
Doesn’t matterFoxy said:
Gove doesn't seem to have noticed that at the time of the equal pay case Brum was a Con/LD run council.stodge said:It was interesting to see Michael Gove in full partisan mood yesterday venting about Birmingham and his obvious glee at sending commissioners in to run the city.
I'm told Medway may be the next council to issue a section 114 notice as it faces bankruptcy.
Medway is a Labour run council - well it is now, in May Labour won control after 20 years of Conservative administration.
95% of people won’t look beyond “Labour council goes bankrupt”
It may be dirty but it’s factual even if it is lying by omission0 -
I'm quite looking forward to the election now. Sunak campaiging is going to be on a par with May's efforts.Scott_xP said:@DPJHodges
Some Tory MPs are now panicking Rishi Sunak is set to call a snap election. (He isn't). Which is another example of how well today's announcement is being managed...1 -
Accusations on May 2nd 2015 of sexual bullying by Russell Brand
JamesO’Brien’s response to it the next day
0 -
Why does this spring to mind?Scott_xP said:@ElectionMapsUK
Rishi Sunak's approval rating has reached an all time low of -30.0%.
Approve: 25.4% (-2.8)
Disapprove: 55.4% (+6.2)
Changes w/ 20th Aug.
http://electionmaps.uk/polling
0 -
The BIG problem for Richi in that scenario is that nobody backed him...AlistairM said:
What is particularly odd about this whole thing is that most Boris supporters will support what Sunak wants to do whereas most of those who backed Sunak probably agree with Boris on this. What a mess.Scott_xP said:
@DPJHodgesGardenwalker said:
BigG is now confused.Scott_xP said:@PippaCrerar
NEW: Boris Johnson says that "business must have certainty" about the UK's net zero commitments.
Former PM warns Rishi Sunak "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".
Rishi says no, Boris says yes.
What to do?
Has Keir had a curry lately?
The previous Tory Prime Minister but one is currently attacking the current Tory Prime Minister after he dramatically u-turned and moved to adopt the policy advocated on Monday by the previous Tory Prime Minister. Why not just give Keir Starmer the keys to No.10 now...
He lost to Liz Truss, who lost to a lettuce.
He has no mandate.0 -
Starmer has 'moral authority' to be UK PM says President Macron after the 2 met in Paris
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/09/19/emmanuel-macron-keir-starmer-moral-authority-prime-minister/1 -
10k signatories fess up to being from England. I'd assume more are signing it with a Welsh postcode while outwith the country. Probably some bots too (for all petitions, not just this one).FrankBooth said:
Perhaps you are joking but 284,000 signatures is extraordinary for something that only affects Wales. Are non-residents piling in? One thing to bear in mind is that issues that effect motorists can be politically explosive. Remember the 2000 fuel protests and the anger over possible road pricing in the past?Selebian said:
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
I haven't made my mind up on the issue as I'm not a driver and I still don't fully understand how it will all work. I'll be keen to hear peoples' reactions.
But yes, it's an easy thing to get people fired up about, driving. Closing in on 10% of the population is pretty spectacular. But how will people feel in a year, once they've experienced the reality a bit more? I don't know. The Welsh Government had better make sure they (correctly) pin any ridiculous 20mph limit stretches on the local councils.1 -
Where is this idea that caring about the environment is for the very well off? Is it the most important thing for the poorest families, of course not, because they have to deal with the issues directly in front of them. But they still care. Hell, I don't make the median UK income of £33k and I care.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.
We also do not have to let the cost of these measures fall on the poorest - we could (and should) have the same policies with government funding and progressive redistributive taxation. It's just that the Tories and Labour choose not to do that.0 -
Rishi Sunak is like an accumulation of our last few Prime Ministers combined into one.glw said:
I'm quite looking forward to the election now. Sunak campaiging is going to be on a par with May's efforts.Scott_xP said:@DPJHodges
Some Tory MPs are now panicking Rishi Sunak is set to call a snap election. (He isn't). Which is another example of how well today's announcement is being managed...
He has the poll ratings of Liz Truss.
The integrity and consistency of Boris Johnson.
The communication skills of Theresa May.
The negotiating skills of David Cameron when he was negotiating reforms to our EU membership.
The economics of Gordon Brown.
Will leave behind a legacy as popular as Tony Blair in Iraq.
All we're waiting to see is if he has John Major 1997 election results now.4 -
I see why Welsh drivers are droning on the speed restrictions.
4 -
The problem is that due to a lack of FreeDumb, we have fallen massively behind the US in the field of mass deaths in schools. This restricts the issues that a UK PM can solemnly intone on.BartholomewRoberts said:.
Why the heck should this be an issue for individual councils? What is legal or illegal is a matter for central government, quite rightly.Gardenwalker said:
You are spectacularly missing the point.boulay said:
So a leader of a nuclear power shouldn’t be making statements when there is a spate of attacks and death from something that is dangerous, should be banned, is far from what the original rules and customs existed for.Gardenwalker said:
Not really.williamglenn said:
That sounds like an old-fashioned cultural cringe on your part.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
Don’t you think it’s just BIZARRE that a the PM of a nuclear powered country should release a special announcement on a dog ban? It absolutely trivialises him.
It says a lot, both about the UK’s absurdly over-centralised governance, and indeed a kind of death of sane comms policy in an age of social media.
(NB, I agree with the ban itself).
I’m guessing Biden will not make any pronouncements about gun ownership in the US after the next spate of shootings - he should just leave it to whichever minister is responsible?
Or Macron will keep quiet about any newsworthy problem in France where the media are baying for action?
I’m also guessing that the media will stop asking leaders what they think or what they are going to do about situations as it would trivialise the leaders having to opine on anything.
First, in an ideal world, this would be an issue for individual councils, not central government.
Second, this is a second-order issue which should have been fronted by the Environment or Local Government Secretary or whatever.
Rishi of course hopes to curry some short-term favour for publicly addressing the issue, but it comes at the cost of more sustainable gravitas and credibility.
And it doesn’t seem to have done anything for his cratering popularity anyway.
There was a fatal attack near a school IIRC? The Prime Minister speaking about that is entirely reasonable, the fact it was about dogs is just because the UK doesn't have fatal school shootings so this is our level of outrage. Regardless of party politics, that's a good thing.
The next time there's a fatal shooting in or outside a school, I wonder if you'll express the same level of criticism of Biden that this should be a matter for Councils, not the President?
Sunak has a lot to be criticised for, and I will join in quite frequently and vote against him and his party, but to criticise him for speaking on what is quite literally a newsworthy matter of life or death? That's just petty and diminishes legitimate criticisms.
A Dynamic Britai would get Accuracy International to rise to the challenge of arming every fuckwit and sociopath with pseudo military weapons. Perhaps we need the EM-2 to be resurrected? It's in an Imperial measurement calibre....1 -
Only one person had a mandate, but the Tory MPs thought they’d do better without himScott_xP said:
The BIG problem for Richi in that scenario is that nobody backed him...AlistairM said:
What is particularly odd about this whole thing is that most Boris supporters will support what Sunak wants to do whereas most of those who backed Sunak probably agree with Boris on this. What a mess.Scott_xP said:
@DPJHodgesGardenwalker said:
BigG is now confused.Scott_xP said:@PippaCrerar
NEW: Boris Johnson says that "business must have certainty" about the UK's net zero commitments.
Former PM warns Rishi Sunak "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".
Rishi says no, Boris says yes.
What to do?
Has Keir had a curry lately?
The previous Tory Prime Minister but one is currently attacking the current Tory Prime Minister after he dramatically u-turned and moved to adopt the policy advocated on Monday by the previous Tory Prime Minister. Why not just give Keir Starmer the keys to No.10 now...
He lost to Liz Truss, who lost to a lettuce.
He has no mandate.
2010 20 seats short of a majority
2015 12 seat majority
2017 6 seats short
2019 80 seat majority
2023/4/5 ….
0 -
Damn well wish he was…. Best thing he could do for the country right nowScott_xP said:@DPJHodges
Some Tory MPs are now panicking Rishi Sunak is set to call a snap election. (He isn't). Which is another example of how well today's announcement is being managed...3 -
Only rich metropolitans care about the future of the planet comes from the same total lack of knowledge about the real world that sees Lee Anderson as the authentic voice of the English working class.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.
1 -
The funny thing is I'm not entirely sure I agree with Sunak delaying the ban on ICE and certainly not if he lied to business leaders about it but I assume there must be a reason for it. There are a lot of practicalities involved.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.0 -
The sooner we can be rid of these incompetents the better.numbertwelve said:
Damn well wish he was…. Best thing he could do for the country right nowScott_xP said:@DPJHodges
Some Tory MPs are now panicking Rishi Sunak is set to call a snap election. (He isn't). Which is another example of how well today's announcement is being managed...1 -
2 minutes of giggles whilst we enjoy all this blue on blue action:
https://twitter.com/Warburtons/status/17043647982243105412 -
It won't last a yearSelebian said:
10k signatories fess up to being from England. I'd assume more are signing it with a Welsh postcode while outwith the country. Probably some bots too (for all petitions, not just this one).FrankBooth said:
Perhaps you are joking but 284,000 signatures is extraordinary for something that only affects Wales. Are non-residents piling in? One thing to bear in mind is that issues that effect motorists can be politically explosive. Remember the 2000 fuel protests and the anger over possible road pricing in the past?Selebian said:
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
I haven't made my mind up on the issue as I'm not a driver and I still don't fully understand how it will all work. I'll be keen to hear peoples' reactions.
I
But yes, it's an easy thing to get people fired up about, driving. Closing in on 10% of the population is pretty spectacular. But how will people feel in a year, once they've experienced the reality a bit more? I don't know. The Welsh Government had better make sure they (correctly) pin any ridiculous 20mph limit stretches on the local councils.
The outcry is across the Welsh media, social media, and spoken about by neighbours and friends and work colleagues
As I have said changes will be made but right now Drakeford and the Welsh government is being held responsible not the LAs
Maybe a lesson to Starmer not to go there in England0 -
No Tory poll leads since 6th December 2021. I wonder who was in charge back then...isam said:
Only one person had a mandate, but the Tory MPs thought they’d do better without himScott_xP said:
The BIG problem for Richi in that scenario is that nobody backed him...AlistairM said:
What is particularly odd about this whole thing is that most Boris supporters will support what Sunak wants to do whereas most of those who backed Sunak probably agree with Boris on this. What a mess.Scott_xP said:
@DPJHodgesGardenwalker said:
BigG is now confused.Scott_xP said:@PippaCrerar
NEW: Boris Johnson says that "business must have certainty" about the UK's net zero commitments.
Former PM warns Rishi Sunak "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".
Rishi says no, Boris says yes.
What to do?
Has Keir had a curry lately?
The previous Tory Prime Minister but one is currently attacking the current Tory Prime Minister after he dramatically u-turned and moved to adopt the policy advocated on Monday by the previous Tory Prime Minister. Why not just give Keir Starmer the keys to No.10 now...
He lost to Liz Truss, who lost to a lettuce.
He has no mandate.
2010 20 seats short of a majority
2015 12 seat majority
2017 6 seats short
2019 80 seat majority
2023/4/5 ….0 -
As for @148grss who does not know anything about this scandal, you should. If it can happen to subpostmasters, it can happen to any of us.
There is a very good BBC podcast by Nick Willis, who has followed this from the start. It can be found here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09jstz2.
He has also written an excellent book on it and has a website dedicated to this story - https://www.postofficescandal.uk/.
My own modest offering can be found here - https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/05/08/the-cheque-is-in-the-post/ and here - https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/07/18/a-missed-opportunity/.
The one thing to note is that 600 people were convicted of crimes which did not happen on the basis of flawed accounting evidence from a system used by the Post Office and which they knew was flawed but covered up. The Post Office lied - to defendants, to the courts - and kept on lying. People went to prison, lost homes, businesses. Some committed suicide. Eventually some convictions were overturned and it is now accepted that the Post Office and Fujitsu, suppliers of the crap system, are in the wrong but they have suffered no adverse consequences and the subpostmasters are fighting to get justice and compensation, through an interminable inquiry being obstructed, frankly, by the incompetence and very likely worse of the Post Office.
And those in charge - the Ministers - are being feeble about holding those responsible to account.
That's about it.
It pretty much sums up much of public life in this country these days. I may come across as a Moaning Minnie about it all. In reality I am furious. A scythe should be taken to so many of those in charge.3 -
If it is aligning with the EU - later (2035), but complete ban on ICE - I wouldn't be surprised.FrankBooth said:
The funny thing is I'm not entirely sure I agree with Sunak delaying the ban on ICE and certainly not if he lied to business leaders about it but I assume there must be a reason for it. There are a lot of practicalities involved.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.
There would be considerable pressure for the UK to harmonise with the European car market.0 -
When was the last time you were driving so slow a girl threw up in your window?TheScreamingEagles said:I see why Welsh drivers are droning on the speed restrictions.
0 -
It's the poor that will suffer most in the climate crisis. Not least when the climate refugees start to arrive in big numbers.SouthamObserver said:
Only rich metropolitans care about the future of the planet comes from the same total lack of knowledge about the real world that sees Lee Anderson as the authentic voice of the English working class.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.
1 -
Put the 600 in charge of the Post Office. The results would be enjoyable, I think/Cyclefree said:As for @148grss who does not know anything about this scandal, you should. If it can happen to subpostmasters, it can happen to any of us.
There is a very good BBC podcast by Nick Willis, who has followed this from the start. It can be found here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09jstz2.
He has also written an excellent book on it and has a website dedicated to this story - https://www.postofficescandal.uk/.
My own modest offering can be found here - https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/05/08/the-cheque-is-in-the-post/ and here - https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/07/18/a-missed-opportunity/.
The one thing to note is that 600 people were convicted of crimes which did not happen on the basis of flawed accounting evidence from a system used by the Post Office and which they knew was flawed but covered up. The Post Office lied - to defendants, to the courts - and kept on lying. People went to prison, lost homes, businesses. Some committed suicide. Eventually some convictions were overturned and it is now accepted that the Post Office and Fujitsu, suppliers of the crap system, are in the wrong but they have suffered no adverse consequences and the subpostmasters are fighting to get justice and compensation, through an interminable inquiry being obstructed, frankly, by the incompetence and very likely worse of the Post Office.
And those in charge - the Ministers - are being feeble about holding those responsible to account.
That's about it.
It pretty much sums up much of public life in this country these days. I may come across as a Moaning Minnie about it all. In reality I am furious. A scythe should be taken to so many of those in charge.1 -
And yes, I was joking about the 10k being all Con voters. Trying to highlight how ridiculous I saw Big G's comment about the 10k and size of majority. Without knowing voting patterns of signatories, you can't judge whether it's bad for the Lab candidate. The vast majority of the 10k could be people who did not vote Labour.Selebian said:
10k signatories fess up to being from England. I'd assume more are signing it with a Welsh postcode while outwith the country. Probably some bots too (for all petitions, not just this one).FrankBooth said:
Perhaps you are joking but 284,000 signatures is extraordinary for something that only affects Wales. Are non-residents piling in? One thing to bear in mind is that issues that effect motorists can be politically explosive. Remember the 2000 fuel protests and the anger over possible road pricing in the past?Selebian said:
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
I haven't made my mind up on the issue as I'm not a driver and I still don't fully understand how it will all work. I'll be keen to hear peoples' reactions.
But yes, it's an easy thing to get people fired up about, driving. Closing in on 10% of the population is pretty spectacular. But how will people feel in a year, once they've experienced the reality a bit more? I don't know. The Welsh Government had better make sure they (correctly) pin any ridiculous 20mph limit stretches on the local councils.0 -
-
Quite. High time we had a new set of incompetents.Phil said:
The sooner we can be rid of these incompetents the better.numbertwelve said:
Damn well wish he was…. Best thing he could do for the country right nowScott_xP said:@DPJHodges
Some Tory MPs are now panicking Rishi Sunak is set to call a snap election. (He isn't). Which is another example of how well today's announcement is being managed...4 -
@wesstreeting
Rishi Sunak is making Liz Truss look competent and Boris Johnson look principled.
Extraordinary.3 -
7.62mm *is* an imperial calibre ... and so is 5.56mm (the old 0.22").Malmesbury said:
The problem is that due to a lack of FreeDumb, we have fallen massively behind the US in the field of mass deaths in schools. This restricts the issues that a UK PM can solemnly intone on.BartholomewRoberts said:.
Why the heck should this be an issue for individual councils? What is legal or illegal is a matter for central government, quite rightly.Gardenwalker said:
You are spectacularly missing the point.boulay said:
So a leader of a nuclear power shouldn’t be making statements when there is a spate of attacks and death from something that is dangerous, should be banned, is far from what the original rules and customs existed for.Gardenwalker said:
Not really.williamglenn said:
That sounds like an old-fashioned cultural cringe on your part.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
Don’t you think it’s just BIZARRE that a the PM of a nuclear powered country should release a special announcement on a dog ban? It absolutely trivialises him.
It says a lot, both about the UK’s absurdly over-centralised governance, and indeed a kind of death of sane comms policy in an age of social media.
(NB, I agree with the ban itself).
I’m guessing Biden will not make any pronouncements about gun ownership in the US after the next spate of shootings - he should just leave it to whichever minister is responsible?
Or Macron will keep quiet about any newsworthy problem in France where the media are baying for action?
I’m also guessing that the media will stop asking leaders what they think or what they are going to do about situations as it would trivialise the leaders having to opine on anything.
First, in an ideal world, this would be an issue for individual councils, not central government.
Second, this is a second-order issue which should have been fronted by the Environment or Local Government Secretary or whatever.
Rishi of course hopes to curry some short-term favour for publicly addressing the issue, but it comes at the cost of more sustainable gravitas and credibility.
And it doesn’t seem to have done anything for his cratering popularity anyway.
There was a fatal attack near a school IIRC? The Prime Minister speaking about that is entirely reasonable, the fact it was about dogs is just because the UK doesn't have fatal school shootings so this is our level of outrage. Regardless of party politics, that's a good thing.
The next time there's a fatal shooting in or outside a school, I wonder if you'll express the same level of criticism of Biden that this should be a matter for Councils, not the President?
Sunak has a lot to be criticised for, and I will join in quite frequently and vote against him and his party, but to criticise him for speaking on what is quite literally a newsworthy matter of life or death? That's just petty and diminishes legitimate criticisms.
A Dynamic Britai would get Accuracy International to rise to the challenge of arming every fuckwit and sociopath with pseudo military weapons. Perhaps we need the EM-2 to be resurrected? It's in an Imperial measurement calibre....0 -
It may be worth adding that in 30 years time all the jobs and homes and social positions currently occupied by people in their 50s and 60s will in turn be occupied by people currently in their 20s and 30s. The rich old folk are not going to stick around forever. There will be vacancies.darkage said:
@148grss Feel free to ignore me but in my experience, this type of negative attitude in your 30s will ruin your life. I've got quite a few friends who think like this and a decade or so on they have just been left behind, they don't own property, don't get married/have long term relationships, no kids etc. They are going nowhere. By contrast I know people in their early 30's who already have children and own property despite having low wages (below minimum wage) and no parental support. I know lots of people in my own industry who are earning over £80k by their late 20's/early 30's, so same age as you. Also people who have just stuck at something and worked hard for 6/7 years, earning respectably, getting promotions, owning their own house etc. There is nearly always a way. It isn't particularly fair, like life itself, but beyond a point it just looks like a case of winners v losers.148grss said:
If you're in your early 30s, like myself, or younger - what do we really have to hope for? Why do I do my 9-5? Why should I care about saving a pension?TimS said:Here are the proposals:
"NEW: I’ve seen the agenda for today’s Cabinet
RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE
-“Delay the off-gas-grid fossil fuel ban until 2035 and relax the requirement from 100% to 80% of households”
-“Relax the gas boiler phase-out target in 2035”
-“no new energy efficiency regulations on homes”
-“Increase the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant by 50% to £7500”
-“Announce the the requirement for all vehicles to have significant zero emission capability in the period 2030-35 is to be removed”
Bonfire of green measures…"
https://x.com/lewis_goodall/status/1704446221820018822?s=20
I can't save to buy a house, I can't afford a family, I don't believe I will see my pension because either the pension age will be so high or the economy will collapse in such a way my pension will be pointless, and the country and world will see environmental ravages annually that used to be once in a lifetime.
Why should my generation and those younger then us participate in a society that seems so gung ho in destroying any future for us?0 -
Since Sunak became PM inflation has fallen, the economy has grown, the Windsor Framework removed barriers to goods going between the UK and NI and the Tories poll rating has risen from the level Truss left it.BartholomewRoberts said:
Rishi Sunak is like an accumulation of our last few Prime Ministers combined into one.glw said:
I'm quite looking forward to the election now. Sunak campaiging is going to be on a par with May's efforts.Scott_xP said:@DPJHodges
Some Tory MPs are now panicking Rishi Sunak is set to call a snap election. (He isn't). Which is another example of how well today's announcement is being managed...
He has the poll ratings of Liz Truss.
The integrity and consistency of Boris Johnson.
The communication skills of Theresa May.
The negotiating skills of David Cameron when he was negotiating reforms to our EU membership.
The economics of Gordon Brown.
Will leave behind a legacy as popular as Tony Blair in Iraq.
All we're waiting to see is if he has John Major 1997 election results now.
Yes Sunak is unlikely to go down as a great PM but history may judge him better in retrospect. Major also now generally is at or near the top of our living PMs in polls despite his 1997 defeat too given the sound legacy he left on the economy and NI and after his Gulf War win.
As for Blair Iraq may not be perfect but it is better than it was under Saddam0 -
Many things were supposed to shake the Drake and yet we still await his political wakeBig_G_NorthWales said:
It won't last a yearSelebian said:
10k signatories fess up to being from England. I'd assume more are signing it with a Welsh postcode while outwith the country. Probably some bots too (for all petitions, not just this one).FrankBooth said:
Perhaps you are joking but 284,000 signatures is extraordinary for something that only affects Wales. Are non-residents piling in? One thing to bear in mind is that issues that effect motorists can be politically explosive. Remember the 2000 fuel protests and the anger over possible road pricing in the past?Selebian said:
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
I haven't made my mind up on the issue as I'm not a driver and I still don't fully understand how it will all work. I'll be keen to hear peoples' reactions.
I
But yes, it's an easy thing to get people fired up about, driving. Closing in on 10% of the population is pretty spectacular. But how will people feel in a year, once they've experienced the reality a bit more? I don't know. The Welsh Government had better make sure they (correctly) pin any ridiculous 20mph limit stretches on the local councils.
The outcry is across the Welsh media, social media, and spoken about by neighbours and friends and work colleagues
As I have said changes will be made but right now Drakeford and the Welsh government is being held responsible not the LAs
Maybe a lesson to Starmer not to go there in England
(Seriously though - wasn't the Welsh covid shopping overreach supposed to do for him, among other things? We'll see. I'm no particular Drake fan, but I'm not convinced. Will be interesting though and important for the rest of the UK)0 -
What ban?Gardenwalker said:
Not really.williamglenn said:
That sounds like an old-fashioned cultural cringe on your part.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
Don’t you think it’s just BIZARRE that a the PM of a nuclear powered country should release a special announcement on a dog ban? It absolutely trivialises him.
It says a lot, both about the UK’s absurdly over-centralised governance, and indeed a kind of death of sane comms policy in an age of social media.
(NB, I agree with the ban itself).1 -
He is retiring anywaySelebian said:
Many things were supposed to shake the Drake and yet we still await his political wakeBig_G_NorthWales said:
It won't last a yearSelebian said:
10k signatories fess up to being from England. I'd assume more are signing it with a Welsh postcode while outwith the country. Probably some bots too (for all petitions, not just this one).FrankBooth said:
Perhaps you are joking but 284,000 signatures is extraordinary for something that only affects Wales. Are non-residents piling in? One thing to bear in mind is that issues that effect motorists can be politically explosive. Remember the 2000 fuel protests and the anger over possible road pricing in the past?Selebian said:
And only ~2/3 of the votes for the second placed Conservative. Could all be Con voters signing. Could be that 1/3 of Con voters support the 20mph policy and will shake for the Drake next time?Big_G_NorthWales said:Updating the petition in Wales it is now in excess of 284,000
Large signatures in labour held areas
In Jane Hutts constituency (Vale of Glamorgan) over 10,000 have signed which is 3 times her Senedd majority
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245548
I haven't made my mind up on the issue as I'm not a driver and I still don't fully understand how it will all work. I'll be keen to hear peoples' reactions.
I
But yes, it's an easy thing to get people fired up about, driving. Closing in on 10% of the population is pretty spectacular. But how will people feel in a year, once they've experienced the reality a bit more? I don't know. The Welsh Government had better make sure they (correctly) pin any ridiculous 20mph limit stretches on the local councils.
The outcry is across the Welsh media, social media, and spoken about by neighbours and friends and work colleagues
As I have said changes will be made but right now Drakeford and the Welsh government is being held responsible not the LAs
Maybe a lesson to Starmer not to go there in England
(Seriously though - wasn't the Welsh covid shopping overreach supposed to do for him, among other things? We'll see. I'm no particular Drake fan, but I'm not convinced. Will be interesting though and important for the rest of the UK)0 -
You are a huge asset to the site. Your views on all this constitute an important voice and perspective.148grss said:
Where is this idea that caring about the environment is for the very well off? Is it the most important thing for the poorest families, of course not, because they have to deal with the issues directly in front of them. But they still care. Hell, I don't make the median UK income of £33k and I care.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.
We also do not have to let the cost of these measures fall on the poorest - we could (and should) have the same policies with government funding and progressive redistributive taxation. It's just that the Tories and Labour choose not to do that.
But in the real world you are so far out there in your admittedly admirable idealism that it's not really worth trying to understand what you think in terms of detailed solutions, about any particular issue.0 -
When you say complete ban on ICE - you mean you wouldn't be able to drive ICE after 2035?Malmesbury said:
If it is aligning with the EU - later (2035), but complete ban on ICE - I wouldn't be surprised.FrankBooth said:
The funny thing is I'm not entirely sure I agree with Sunak delaying the ban on ICE and certainly not if he lied to business leaders about it but I assume there must be a reason for it. There are a lot of practicalities involved.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.
There would be considerable pressure for the UK to harmonise with the European car market.0 -
Isn’t it you missing the point? We don’t live in this “ideal world” where it’s an issue for councils, in the real world it’s an issue for central government.Gardenwalker said:
You are spectacularly missing the point.boulay said:
So a leader of a nuclear power shouldn’t be making statements when there is a spate of attacks and death from something that is dangerous, should be banned, is far from what the original rules and customs existed for.Gardenwalker said:
Not really.williamglenn said:
That sounds like an old-fashioned cultural cringe on your part.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
Don’t you think it’s just BIZARRE that a the PM of a nuclear powered country should release a special announcement on a dog ban? It absolutely trivialises him.
It says a lot, both about the UK’s absurdly over-centralised governance, and indeed a kind of death of sane comms policy in an age of social media.
(NB, I agree with the ban itself).
I’m guessing Biden will not make any pronouncements about gun ownership in the US after the next spate of shootings - he should just leave it to whichever minister is responsible?
Or Macron will keep quiet about any newsworthy problem in France where the media are baying for action?
I’m also guessing that the media will stop asking leaders what they think or what they are going to do about situations as it would trivialise the leaders having to opine on anything.
First, in an ideal world, this would be an issue for individual councils, not central government.
Second, this is a second-order issue which should have been fronted by the Environment or Local Government Secretary or whatever.
Rishi of course hopes to curry some short-term favour for publicly addressing the issue, but it comes at the cost of more sustainable gravitas and credibility.
And it doesn’t seem to have done anything for his cratering popularity anyway.
There had also been weeks of coverage demanding action on Bully XLs and wondering if/when they would be banned.
The man who might be the next leader of this nuclear power was also calling for the ban:
https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/xl-bully-ban-keir-starmer-b2412705.html
Perhaps you can make a list of what are first order issues so the the leader of any nuclear power knows what they should speak about and then second order and so on. I am absolutely certain from being on PB, yet alone following a range of newspapers and media outlets that everyone will entirely agree, without any personal preferences or priority differences,what are first and second orders - we might just get to that ideal world.0 -
.280 hasn't, officially, been contaminated with Metric.Carnyx said:
7.62mm *is* an imperial calibre ... and so is 5.56mm (the old 0.22").Malmesbury said:
The problem is that due to a lack of FreeDumb, we have fallen massively behind the US in the field of mass deaths in schools. This restricts the issues that a UK PM can solemnly intone on.BartholomewRoberts said:.
Why the heck should this be an issue for individual councils? What is legal or illegal is a matter for central government, quite rightly.Gardenwalker said:
You are spectacularly missing the point.boulay said:
So a leader of a nuclear power shouldn’t be making statements when there is a spate of attacks and death from something that is dangerous, should be banned, is far from what the original rules and customs existed for.Gardenwalker said:
Not really.williamglenn said:
That sounds like an old-fashioned cultural cringe on your part.Gardenwalker said:
Rishi looks like an utter joke from here.glw said:
Those of us who thought anyone would be better than Truss are getting a tad worried that we may be proved wrong.Scott_xP said:@ShehabKhan
Sources in the car industry utterly furious with the government - senior figure tells me they received personal reassurances from govt ministers that everything was on track just LAST WEEK - no mention of this delay at that point
“The UK is closed for business,” they say
Last week US Twitter was wondering why the British Prime Minister was making a substance-free announcement about dogs - the sort of thing you’d expect here from the mayor of a middle-sized town.
Don’t you think it’s just BIZARRE that a the PM of a nuclear powered country should release a special announcement on a dog ban? It absolutely trivialises him.
It says a lot, both about the UK’s absurdly over-centralised governance, and indeed a kind of death of sane comms policy in an age of social media.
(NB, I agree with the ban itself).
I’m guessing Biden will not make any pronouncements about gun ownership in the US after the next spate of shootings - he should just leave it to whichever minister is responsible?
Or Macron will keep quiet about any newsworthy problem in France where the media are baying for action?
I’m also guessing that the media will stop asking leaders what they think or what they are going to do about situations as it would trivialise the leaders having to opine on anything.
First, in an ideal world, this would be an issue for individual councils, not central government.
Second, this is a second-order issue which should have been fronted by the Environment or Local Government Secretary or whatever.
Rishi of course hopes to curry some short-term favour for publicly addressing the issue, but it comes at the cost of more sustainable gravitas and credibility.
And it doesn’t seem to have done anything for his cratering popularity anyway.
There was a fatal attack near a school IIRC? The Prime Minister speaking about that is entirely reasonable, the fact it was about dogs is just because the UK doesn't have fatal school shootings so this is our level of outrage. Regardless of party politics, that's a good thing.
The next time there's a fatal shooting in or outside a school, I wonder if you'll express the same level of criticism of Biden that this should be a matter for Councils, not the President?
Sunak has a lot to be criticised for, and I will join in quite frequently and vote against him and his party, but to criticise him for speaking on what is quite literally a newsworthy matter of life or death? That's just petty and diminishes legitimate criticisms.
A Dynamic Britai would get Accuracy International to rise to the challenge of arming every fuckwit and sociopath with pseudo military weapons. Perhaps we need the EM-2 to be resurrected? It's in an Imperial measurement calibre....
Interestingly, some of the reason for not resurrecting the EM-2 have gone away.
The British Army needs a new gun. Being able to chamber something bigger than 5.56 is seen as a good idea. It's construction - carved out of chucks of steel, rather than stamped, is actually very amenable to modern mass production techniques.1 -
@standardnews
Rishi Sunak is engulfed in a raging Tory eco-war over proposals to water down measures to combat climate change https://bit.ly/3PNAazz
@DPJHodges
Reminder that the rate of inflation fell today. A good news story, and one perfectly aligned with Rishi Sunak's 5 pledges...1 -
@RJPartington
Former Siemens UK CEO Juergen Maier is, to say the least, livid about net zero changes:
"It’s just chaos, isn’t it? It beggars belief... I'm honestly angry.
"Everybody [industry] is now sitting and wobbling and wondering. And I tell you what, they won't be investing in the UK"
@REWearmouth
Leaving businesses thinking it's "chaos" with Rishi Sunak is not exactly an ideal position for the Prime Minister0 -
"Since 1970, implementation of the Clean Air Act and technological advances from American innovators have dramatically improved air quality in the U.S. Since that time, the combined emissions of criteria and precursor pollutants have dropped by 78%. Cleaner air provides important public health benefits, and we commend our state, local, and industry partners for helping further long-term improvement in our air quality."
https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2021/#welcome
During that same time, the population of the US grew by more than 100 million: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
And the US GDP grew even faster: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/gdp-gross-domestic-product.1 -
The shocking revelation that Green lobbyists and interest groups are not overly impressed with the measures expected from the govt. Top journalism, this.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/pathetic-what-scientists-and-green-groups-think-of-uk-s-net-zero-u-turn/ar-AA1h02KG?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=8e75f0db77504843a495991bb36c0667&ei=91 -
Credit where it is due, the Mail doesn't often do funny headlines.0
-
Fascinating politics and difficult to read the outcome
Of course it will be the electorate who decide next May or October0 -
They already are. It’s the irony of a government that bangs on about stopping the boats but doesn’t engage intellectually as to why they are coming.Foxy said:
It's the poor that will suffer most in the climate crisis. Not least when the climate refugees start to arrive in big numbers.SouthamObserver said:
Only rich metropolitans care about the future of the planet comes from the same total lack of knowledge about the real world that sees Lee Anderson as the authentic voice of the English working class.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.
A significant proportion of those on the borderline between refugee and economic migrant have left parts of the Sahel and Middle East suffering from crippling drought and crop failures. Indeed that was one of the primary triggers for the Syrian uprising in 2011.0 -
As opposed to similar complaints about Mr Johnson or Ms Truss? So much for a safer pair of hands, then.Scott_xP said:@RJPartington
Former Siemens UK CEO Juergen Maier is, to say the least, livid about net zero changes:
"It’s just chaos, isn’t it? It beggars belief... I'm honestly angry.
"Everybody [industry] is now sitting and wobbling and wondering. And I tell you what, they won't be investing in the UK"
@REWearmouth
Leaving businesses thinking it's "chaos" with Rishi Sunak is not exactly an ideal position for the Prime Minister0 -
Is it incompetence, or lack of principle that leads to Wes Streeting tweeting this, and leaving it up uncorrectedScott_xP said:@wesstreeting
Rishi Sunak is making Liz Truss look competent and Boris Johnson look principled.
Extraordinary.
0 -
Offshore wind farms are a growing industry round here. Flooding along this coast is also an issue. Care for the environment really matters to an area dependant on tourism.
The idea that Red Wall voters don't care about climate issues is so much baloney.
Sunak is just useless.9 -
No, ban on all new production of ICE cars, unlike the UK 2030 deadline which still allows hybrids.FrankBooth said:
When you say complete ban on ICE - you mean you wouldn't be able to drive ICE after 2035?Malmesbury said:
If it is aligning with the EU - later (2035), but complete ban on ICE - I wouldn't be surprised.FrankBooth said:
The funny thing is I'm not entirely sure I agree with Sunak delaying the ban on ICE and certainly not if he lied to business leaders about it but I assume there must be a reason for it. There are a lot of practicalities involved.TOPPING said:The funny thing is that a large number of PB-ers and Boris have exactly the same views on this and for the same reasons.
Very well off, performative concern about the planet, lecturing those around them, with precisely no clue about how the real world works or the people living in it.
Nothing in either case to do with the planet.
There would be considerable pressure for the UK to harmonise with the European car market.2 -
Ooh, good to know that https://www.postofficescandal.uk/ is a reputable site. They’ve been following the inquiry with a lot of detail, but also a fair amount of opinion.Cyclefree said:As for @148grss who does not know anything about this scandal, you should. If it can happen to subpostmasters, it can happen to any of us.
There is a very good BBC podcast by Nick Willis, who has followed this from the start. It can be found here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09jstz2.
He has also written an excellent book on it and has a website dedicated to this story - https://www.postofficescandal.uk/.
My own modest offering can be found here - https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/05/08/the-cheque-is-in-the-post/ and here - https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/07/18/a-missed-opportunity/.
The one thing to note is that 600 people were convicted of crimes which did not happen on the basis of flawed accounting evidence from a system used by the Post Office and which they knew was flawed but covered up. The Post Office lied - to defendants, to the courts - and kept on lying. People went to prison, lost homes, businesses. Some committed suicide. Eventually some convictions were overturned and it is now accepted that the Post Office and Fujitsu, suppliers of the crap system, are in the wrong but they have suffered no adverse consequences and the subpostmasters are fighting to get justice and compensation, through an interminable inquiry being obstructed, frankly, by the incompetence and very likely worse of the Post Office.
And those in charge - the Ministers - are being feeble about holding those responsible to account.
That's about it.
It pretty much sums up much of public life in this country these days. I may come across as a Moaning Minnie about it all. In reality I am furious. A scythe should be taken to so many of those in charge.
Agree with all of your points, as I usually do. IT professionals, lawyers, accountants, and PO senior management, all need to end up in prison for this, and with serious amounts of compensation paid to those affected (and sadly in many cases, to their descendants)
It’s possibly the biggest scandal this century, more so than MPs expenses.1 -
Hey, that's my local MP!isam said:
Is it incompetence, or lack of principle that leads to Wes Streeting tweeting this, and leaving it up uncorrectedScott_xP said:@wesstreeting
Rishi Sunak is making Liz Truss look competent and Boris Johnson look principled.
Extraordinary.0 -
I know I should be more concerned by the policy, etc, but I'm fixated by this idea of a government holding an emergency cabinet meeting to make a change to its own policy, that has been government policy for more than three years and relates to deadlines more than six years in the future.AlistairM said:This announcement by Sunak is a complete waste of time. He is struggling to find something, anything, that might change the narrative. He may persuade a few people to switch their votes but it will not make a difference. At the next GE the Tories will lose, Labour will take power and go back to the old plans. All it does is reveal Sunak's desperation.
What part of this is an emergency that cannot wait until the next scheduled cabinet meeting?
Leave aside all the questions about the change in policy. This alone is ridiculous. This is a pathetic absurdity. Do they really think that they will impress people with an emergency cabinet meeting?
It's childish in the extreme. They deserve to be laughed at every time they show their faces for such a stunt.4
