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Beware the Bookie rules before betting on a GE2024 overall majority – politicalbetting.com

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  • Options
    bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 7,896

    Stocky said:

    algarkirk said:

    Selebian said:

    Nigelb said:

    kyf_100 said:

    viewcode said:

    viewcode said:

    PART THREE

    ...Now when the Johnson Administration in Britain came over to talk to Donald
    Trump's Administration about a trade deal and they found out what the
    conditions would be they walked away. And then the next government came in and did the same thing and walked away (or was it Teresa May?). Anyway there were two back-to-back and so the Brits right now are in this nether world where they kind of quietly admit to themselves that, in order to find a future that has some degree of economic functionality, they have to get into bed with their kids and accept all the demands and the hit to their economy will be real and the hit
    to their ego will be massive...


    ...But the alternatives (trying to build an alternate system or maybe going back to the EU) neither of those are long-term solutions that are very functional, so really what we're doing is going through the paces until the Brits admit the obvious, and when that happens Britain will lose the thing that it values the most: its freedom to act, its agency. It will become a subsidiary of the American system for Better or For Worse and while that will be horrible for the British mindset it is the best game in town from both an economic and a security point of view and in time I have no doubt that that is where the Brits will end up, so stiff upper lip...

    I'm not sure I share all this guy's analysis, but I do share his conclusion. The only real alternative to the UK being part of the EU is being much more closely aligned with the US, perhaps even as the 51st or 51st-53rd states.
    And that’s why the right pushed so hard for Brexit, and told their fantastical lies to make it happen. They would rather have a small state, low tax, highly unequal UK, with a crumbling public realm and services, rather than EU-style worker protections, environmental protections, etc, etc, etc.

    So they whipped up an immigration panic and promised unicorns for all to get just enough people to shoot themselves in the foot.
    The idea that EU regulation resulted in higher consumer prices - a shibboleth of Euroscepticism since the early 90s - turned out to be total junk as well.

    Witness food prices.
    And yet we still get squealing and whining that farmers may face competition from the likes of Australia and New Zealand.

    You can't have it both ways.

    Why isn't affordable Aussie and Kiwi good enough for us without any tariffs?
    The net impact so far is that prices are up (even net of the broader inflation issues), and choice is down.
    It’s possible, though I defer to Nick Palmer, that welfare standards are expected to decline too.
    I'd like to see any evidence whatsoever that prices are up in the UK compared to other countries net of broader inflation issues. Or that choice is down similarly.

    Food inflation has been seen across the globe, so I'm sceptical.

    There's nothing wrong with animal welfare in New Zealand etc, I'd be quite delighted to see non-tariff barriers that are falsely portrayed as "welfare" issues to be abolished.
    First of many results on Google.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/brexit-blame-third-britains-food-bill-rise-researchers-say-2023-05-25/
    Counter-example: https://www.euronews.com/business/2023/11/21/real-food-inflation-in-europe-which-countries-are-hit-the-hardest

    The UK has lower real food inflation than the Euro Area.
    Um: stupid question: what's real inflation?

    I know what prices are. Shoes used to cost £X
    I know what inflated prices are. Shoes now cost £2X
    I know what real prices are. Shoes in real terms cost £2X/(1+inflation rate)
    But I don't know what real inflation is.
    Can you give me an example?
    The real inflation that X as opposed to Y else now costs more than it would have in real currency.

    A prime example would be houses. House price inflation has outstripped inflation for decades, so houses now cost more in real terms than they would.

    While a counter-example of real deflation is often technology goods. If you would spend £1000 in 2000 on a computer, but could get one for about £300 today, in real terms that's declined in cost by much more than 70% because £1000 in 2000 money is more than £1000 today.
    Indeed. And we're all told inflation has been low for the past two decades, because the price of flatscreen tellys and fast fashion has cratered. Meanwhile, the cost of keeping a roof over your head has skyrocketed to the point where absolutely nobody feels any richer despite every home having a massive flatscreen telly. See also: energy prices, childcare prices, almost all the basics you actually need to live a half decent life, etc.
    Olive oil.
    Grated parmesan
    How about ungrated parmesan? Has inflation been for the grater good?
    Life is too short to grate your own parmesan
    That's like saying life is too short to not use instant coffee.
    Many of the gastroidiots on here think that.
    I've recently bought some rather nice coffee mugs from Loveramics.

    Sizes: flat white, cappuccino and latte.

    I have an excellent espresso machine - wouldn't touch instant now.

    I've acquired a taste for oat milk in coffee (50/50 with cows').
    Irrational pet hate - oat milk. Milk comes from mammals. Oat milk is not a milk, its a massively processed grain.
    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/spiders-nurse-young-with-milk-lactation-arachnids ?
  • Options
    OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,806
    Stocky said:

    Is 2.5 (bf) on Lab in Rochdale a good price? I was expecting odds-on.

    I think the candidate can withdraw. Anyway, too complicated now.
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,688
    a
    isam said:

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    Maybe it was a common complaint that the Overground was hard to use, I haven’t used it much in years, but when I did, before it was branded the overground, it didn’t seem that difficult. The Suffragette line was called the North London Line for instance, easy enough
    I seem to recall a report that the Overground was under utilised (in part) - that if more people were aware of the routing options, rather than just using the Underground, this would effectively increase the capacity of the system. And shorten journeys.
  • Options
    TazTaz Posts: 11,366
    viewcode said:

    Taz said:

    I'd propose

    • The Hartnell Line
    • The Cushing Line
    • The Troughton Line
    • The Pertwee Line
    • The Baker Line
    • The Davison Line
    Shouldn't that be
    • The Hartnell Line
    • The Troughton Line
    • The Pertwee Line
    • The Baker Line
    • The Davison Line
    • The McCoy Line
    Peter Cushing, second actor to play the role. Got to respect the films.
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,125

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,704
    .
    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    What's negative about the new names? Unless yhou think votes for women are bad, and you can't possibly mean that. Liberty is nice and historical, so are some of the others.
    “Windrush” recalls when Amber Rudd resigned over a scandal, “Sufragettes” recalls a load of protestors, “Lioness” is for a *women’s* football team, rather than the 1966 squad.

    I stand by my original comment that it’s deliberately antagonistic. Stick with “Elizabeth Line” and similar, that have no political connotations.
    Also, it will date very badly.

    All of those really reflect the contemporary politics of the last few years.
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,813
    ..

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    You could call them lines 1, 2, 3... like undergrounds in most cities.
  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791
    algarkirk said:

    83% of Labour voters think that Israel should stop the war and call an immediate ceasefire.

    ✅ Call a ceasefire: 83% (+6)
    ❌ Continue the war: 3% (-4)

    Despite this, Labour opposes a ceasefire.

    Via
    @YouGov
    , 12-13 Feb (+/- vs 16 Nov)

    Oddly, SFAICS, this survey asks whether Israel should call a ceasefire but not whether Hamas should.

    BTW 15% of 18-24 think the massacre of 1000 men women and children by Hamas in October was 'justified'.
    That last statistic is shocking.

    The reality is that a ceasefire could have been immediately facilitated early in the Israeli military action by Hamas (designated a terrorist organisation by everyone with a brain) could have released all hostages.

    They still have the hostages in spite of all the deaths. They do not care about ordinary Palestinians. They probably are pleased the more of them that die.
  • Options

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    That's familiarity, though. Same way that people of a certain age came to know that Granadaland was the north of England.

    And the nature of the Overground (most of which does trundle from one fairly anonymous bit of Landon to another) makes it trickier still.
  • Options
    StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 7,125
    FF43 said:

    ..

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    You could call them lines 1, 2, 3... like
    undergrounds in most cities.
    Hard to remember them

    And too utilitarian. It’s like wanting a republic just because

  • Options
    OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,806
    FF43 said:

    ..

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    You could call them lines 1, 2, 3... like undergrounds in most cities.
    Most cities! @FF43, I'll remind you that this is London!
  • Options
    Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 13,791

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    What's negative about the new names? Unless yhou think votes for women are bad, and you can't possibly mean that. Liberty is nice and historical, so are some of the others.
    “Windrush” recalls when Amber Rudd resigned over a scandal, “Sufragettes” recalls a load of protestors, “Lioness” is for a *women’s* football team, rather than the 1966 squad.

    I stand by my original comment that it’s deliberately antagonistic. Stick with “Elizabeth Line” and similar, that have no political connotations.
    Also, it will date very badly.

    All of those really reflect the contemporary politics of the last few years.
    Yes, but nobody fecking cares. For most, the Jubilee Line is just a name, Circle is not a circle and the Northern Line also goes south. They are simple labels that go with colours.
  • Options
    AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 20,183
    isam said:

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    Maybe it was a common complaint that the Overground was hard to use, I haven’t used it much in years, but when I did, before it was branded the overground, it didn’t seem that difficult. The Suffragette line was called the North London Line for instance, easy enough
    The names are shit TBF, but the colour coding makes sense. They are six separate lines after all - no idea why anyone thought it was a good idea making them all orange in the first place TBH!
  • Options
    AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 20,183

    a

    isam said:

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    Maybe it was a common complaint that the Overground was hard to use, I haven’t used it much in years, but when I did, before it was branded the overground, it didn’t seem that difficult. The Suffragette line was called the North London Line for instance, easy enough
    I seem to recall a report that the Overground was under utilised (in part) - that if more people were aware of the routing options, rather than just using the Underground, this would effectively increase the capacity of the system. And shorten journeys.
    Yes, never underestimate public unawareness. There was a known phenomenon that house prices in Chingford went up when it first appeared on the tube map (when that line was effectively nationalised to TfL)
  • Options

    isam said:

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    Maybe it was a common complaint that the Overground was hard to use, I haven’t used it much in years, but when I did, before it was branded the overground, it didn’t seem that difficult. The Suffragette line was called the North London Line for instance, easy enough
    The names are shit TBF, but the colour coding makes sense. They are six separate lines after all - no idea why anyone thought it was a good idea making them all orange in the first place TBH!
    From London Reconnections;

    But I thought it was all going to be orange.”

    These were the words that ensured that the London Overground, which had launched in 2007, would stay a single colour – orange – on the Tube map. They were uttered by then-Mayor Boris Johnson in his office at City Hall.

    TfL’s original plan had been to give the lines more of an identity somehow as the Overground network grew. Perhaps not in name – not in the early stages when there were less sections directly under their concessionary control – but at least in terms of colour...


    https://www.londonreconnections.com/2024/the-big-split-overground-line-names/
  • Options
    DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 24,607
    edited February 15
    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    It may well be true given that new maps and station branding will be needed across the network, although it is likely some of that money will need to have been spent anyway.
  • Options
    CatManCatMan Posts: 2,809
    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    isam said:

    Chat GPT just helped me: Can you create for me five very woke names for railways?

    ChatGPT
    Sure, here are five "woke" names for railways:

    1. Unity Line
    2. Harmony Express
    3. Diversity Junction
    4. Inclusion Railway
    5. Equity Route

    In Rainham, Essex there was a notorious council estate called The Mardyke, and when it was knocked down, the streets that replaced it had names like that
    There are plenty of people who think precisely like this.
    We have a couple of Harry Potter inspired street names near us, as our part of the town was built at the height of the books' popularity. Later sections are named after airplanes and manufacturers, as they're nearer the old Bourn airfield. Vickers way, York Road, Spitfire Road, Fairey Close, Blackbird Road etc.

    Better names and themes than Khan's monstrosities...

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    The names are naff, but which are negative? They're all positive.
    What really annoys me is the changing of old names to sanitise them. There's such stuff as Titmouse and Gropecunt Lanes in Oxford, which I suppose needed i t, but the incomers mocing to Trotter Haugh in Edinburgh whined about it some years back. Yet Trotter wass an important local l andowner and a haugh a flat riverside piece of land. They wanted it changed but the street name is still there. Ignoran t folk - all they could think about was Del Boy & co.
    Sorry mods - please censor the text. Completely overlooked it in a compound word. Apologies.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scunthorpe_problem
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 41,028
    edited February 15
    Arron Banks going all Corbynite, and agreeing with what Sir Keir used to think

    Yes, maybe it’s more complicated than the Guardian’s headline, but British Gas profits increasing £72m to £751m whilst we are being told that unfortunately we have to pay higher bills seems like Gaslighting

    The shock of it, gas prices double, but then reduce but everybody continues to pay the higher rate. Meanwhile, British Gas make a fortune. Any monopoly business should be in public hands, water, gas, electricity etc

    https://x.com/arron_banks/status/1758135918173802990?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
  • Options
    Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 2,774

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    What's negative about the new names? Unless yhou think votes for women are bad, and you can't possibly mean that. Liberty is nice and historical, so are some of the others.
    “Windrush” recalls when Amber Rudd resigned over a scandal, “Sufragettes” recalls a load of protestors, “Lioness” is for a *women’s* football team, rather than the 1966 squad.

    I stand by my original comment that it’s deliberately antagonistic. Stick with “Elizabeth Line” and similar, that have no political connotations.
    Also, it will date very badly.

    All of those really reflect the contemporary politics of the last few years.
    Yes, but nobody fecking cares. For most, the Jubilee Line is just a name, Circle is not a circle and the Northern Line also goes south. They are simple labels that go with colours.
    The Jubilee Line was originally going to be called the Fleet Line, until it was changed in 1987 in a rush of monarchist enthusiasm.
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,813

    FF43 said:

    ..

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    You could call them lines 1, 2, 3... like
    undergrounds in most cities.
    Hard to remember them

    And too utilitarian. It’s like wanting a republic just because

    Very quick survey of underground railways elsewhere I only found Tokyo using names, I am sure there are others, but I find plenty using numbers, or letters in the case of New York. There's probably a reason for this. Maybe because of interchanges with other transport such as buses that also have numbers. Interchanging with other modes of transport doesn't seem to be a big thing for the Tube.
  • Options
    Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 2,774

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    If the Liberty Line doesn't go down Regent Street it will be completely useless.
  • Options
    SelebianSelebian Posts: 7,513
    edited February 15

    Selebian said:

    Nigelb said:

    kyf_100 said:

    viewcode said:

    viewcode said:

    PART THREE

    ...Now when the Johnson Administration in Britain came over to talk to Donald
    Trump's Administration about a trade deal and they found out what the
    conditions would be they walked away. And then the next government came in and did the same thing and walked away (or was it Teresa May?). Anyway there were two back-to-back and so the Brits right now are in this nether world where they kind of quietly admit to themselves that, in order to find a future that has some degree of economic functionality, they have to get into bed with their kids and accept all the demands and the hit to their economy will be real and the hit
    to their ego will be massive...


    ...But the alternatives (trying to build an alternate system or maybe going back to the EU) neither of those are long-term solutions that are very functional, so really what we're doing is going through the paces until the Brits admit the obvious, and when that happens Britain will lose the thing that it values the most: its freedom to act, its agency. It will become a subsidiary of the American system for Better or For Worse and while that will be horrible for the British mindset it is the best game in town from both an economic and a security point of view and in time I have no doubt that that is where the Brits will end up, so stiff upper lip...

    I'm not sure I share all this guy's analysis, but I do share his conclusion. The only real alternative to the UK being part of the EU is being much more closely aligned with the US, perhaps even as the 51st or 51st-53rd states.
    And that’s why the right pushed so hard for Brexit, and told their fantastical lies to make it happen. They would rather have a small state, low tax, highly unequal UK, with a crumbling public realm and services, rather than EU-style worker protections, environmental protections, etc, etc, etc.

    So they whipped up an immigration panic and promised unicorns for all to get just enough people to shoot themselves in the foot.
    The idea that EU regulation resulted in higher consumer prices - a shibboleth of Euroscepticism since the early 90s - turned out to be total junk as well.

    Witness food prices.
    And yet we still get squealing and whining that farmers may face competition from the likes of Australia and New Zealand.

    You can't have it both ways.

    Why isn't affordable Aussie and Kiwi good enough for us without any tariffs?
    The net impact so far is that prices are up (even net of the broader inflation issues), and choice is down.
    It’s possible, though I defer to Nick Palmer, that welfare standards are expected to decline too.
    I'd like to see any evidence whatsoever that prices are up in the UK compared to other countries net of broader inflation issues. Or that choice is down similarly.

    Food inflation has been seen across the globe, so I'm sceptical.

    There's nothing wrong with animal welfare in New Zealand etc, I'd be quite delighted to see non-tariff barriers that are falsely portrayed as "welfare" issues to be abolished.
    First of many results on Google.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/brexit-blame-third-britains-food-bill-rise-researchers-say-2023-05-25/
    Counter-example: https://www.euronews.com/business/2023/11/21/real-food-inflation-in-europe-which-countries-are-hit-the-hardest

    The UK has lower real food inflation than the Euro Area.
    Um: stupid question: what's real inflation?

    I know what prices are. Shoes used to cost £X
    I know what inflated prices are. Shoes now cost £2X
    I know what real prices are. Shoes in real terms cost £2X/(1+inflation rate)
    But I don't know what real inflation is.
    Can you give me an example?
    The real inflation that X as opposed to Y else now costs more than it would have in real currency.

    A prime example would be houses. House price inflation has outstripped inflation for decades, so houses now cost more in real terms than they would.

    While a counter-example of real deflation is often technology goods. If you would spend £1000 in 2000 on a computer, but could get one for about £300 today, in real terms that's declined in cost by much more than 70% because £1000 in 2000 money is more than £1000 today.
    Indeed. And we're all told inflation has been low for the past two decades, because the price of flatscreen tellys and fast fashion has cratered. Meanwhile, the cost of keeping a roof over your head has skyrocketed to the point where absolutely nobody feels any richer despite every home having a massive flatscreen telly. See also: energy prices, childcare prices, almost all the basics you actually need to live a half decent life, etc.
    Olive oil.
    Grated parmesan
    How about ungrated parmesan? Has inflation been for the grater good?
    Life is too short to grate your own parmesan
    No, no. It's a genius play on words, you see. Ungrated parmesan is a grater good, as it requires a grater, unlike grated parmesan, which is a non-grater good. So the question compares the inflation of the grater good versus the non-grater good. While also being a pun on 'greater good'. It's a whole smorgasbord of wit, right there.

    Sometimes I think I'm wasted here :disappointed: On the other hand, all the best jokes need explaining, don't they? Don't they?! :cry:
  • Options
    Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,329
    edited February 15
    Naming a railway line after the Lionesses is a bit previous in my view. When they have a disastrous tournament, as sporting teams invariably do, it'll give a weapon of mockery to their gleeful detractors. (The sporting Anglophobes still bang on about the Ashes MBEs to this day.)
  • Options
    MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,666
    “Keir Starmer and Labour have put this country into Recession! People have looked at the polls, and fearing a socialist government is coming have stopped investing knowing they won’t get their money back.” - MoonRabbits mum
  • Options
    mwadamsmwadams Posts: 3,155

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    If the Liberty Line doesn't go down Regent Street it will be completely useless.
    It should run from Merton (where the fabric printing works was) to Regent's Street.
  • Options
    boulayboulay Posts: 4,020
    Sandpit said:

    Stocky said:

    algarkirk said:

    Selebian said:

    Nigelb said:

    kyf_100 said:

    viewcode said:

    viewcode said:

    PART THREE

    ...Now when the Johnson Administration in Britain came over to talk to Donald
    Trump's Administration about a trade deal and they found out what the
    conditions would be they walked away. And then the next government came in and did the same thing and walked away (or was it Teresa May?). Anyway there were two back-to-back and so the Brits right now are in this nether world where they kind of quietly admit to themselves that, in order to find a future that has some degree of economic functionality, they have to get into bed with their kids and accept all the demands and the hit to their economy will be real and the hit
    to their ego will be massive...


    ...But the alternatives (trying to build an alternate system or maybe going back to the EU) neither of those are long-term solutions that are very functional, so really what we're doing is going through the paces until the Brits admit the obvious, and when that happens Britain will lose the thing that it values the most: its freedom to act, its agency. It will become a subsidiary of the American system for Better or For Worse and while that will be horrible for the British mindset it is the best game in town from both an economic and a security point of view and in time I have no doubt that that is where the Brits will end up, so stiff upper lip...

    I'm not sure I share all this guy's analysis, but I do share his conclusion. The only real alternative to the UK being part of the EU is being much more closely aligned with the US, perhaps even as the 51st or 51st-53rd states.
    And that’s why the right pushed so hard for Brexit, and told their fantastical lies to make it happen. They would rather have a small state, low tax, highly unequal UK, with a crumbling public realm and services, rather than EU-style worker protections, environmental protections, etc, etc, etc.

    So they whipped up an immigration panic and promised unicorns for all to get just enough people to shoot themselves in the foot.
    The idea that EU regulation resulted in higher consumer prices - a shibboleth of Euroscepticism since the early 90s - turned out to be total junk as well.

    Witness food prices.
    And yet we still get squealing and whining that farmers may face competition from the likes of Australia and New Zealand.

    You can't have it both ways.

    Why isn't affordable Aussie and Kiwi good enough for us without any tariffs?
    The net impact so far is that prices are up (even net of the broader inflation issues), and choice is down.
    It’s possible, though I defer to Nick Palmer, that welfare standards are expected to decline too.
    I'd like to see any evidence whatsoever that prices are up in the UK compared to other countries net of broader inflation issues. Or that choice is down similarly.

    Food inflation has been seen across the globe, so I'm sceptical.

    There's nothing wrong with animal welfare in New Zealand etc, I'd be quite delighted to see non-tariff barriers that are falsely portrayed as "welfare" issues to be abolished.
    First of many results on Google.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/brexit-blame-third-britains-food-bill-rise-researchers-say-2023-05-25/
    Counter-example: https://www.euronews.com/business/2023/11/21/real-food-inflation-in-europe-which-countries-are-hit-the-hardest

    The UK has lower real food inflation than the Euro Area.
    Um: stupid question: what's real inflation?

    I know what prices are. Shoes used to cost £X
    I know what inflated prices are. Shoes now cost £2X
    I know what real prices are. Shoes in real terms cost £2X/(1+inflation rate)
    But I don't know what real inflation is.
    Can you give me an example?
    The real inflation that X as opposed to Y else now costs more than it would have in real currency.

    A prime example would be houses. House price inflation has outstripped inflation for decades, so houses now cost more in real terms than they would.

    While a counter-example of real deflation is often technology goods. If you would spend £1000 in 2000 on a computer, but could get one for about £300 today, in real terms that's declined in cost by much more than 70% because £1000 in 2000 money is more than £1000 today.
    Indeed. And we're all told inflation has been low for the past two decades, because the price of flatscreen tellys and fast fashion has cratered. Meanwhile, the cost of keeping a roof over your head has skyrocketed to the point where absolutely nobody feels any richer despite every home having a massive flatscreen telly. See also: energy prices, childcare prices, almost all the basics you actually need to live a half decent life, etc.
    Olive oil.
    Grated parmesan
    How about ungrated parmesan? Has inflation been for the grater good?
    Life is too short to grate your own parmesan
    That's like saying life is too short to not use instant coffee.
    Many of the gastroidiots on here think that.
    I've recently bought some rather nice coffee mugs from Loveramics.

    Sizes: flat white, cappuccino and latte.

    I have an excellent espresso machine - wouldn't touch instant now.

    I've acquired a taste for oat milk in coffee (50/50 with cows').
    Irrational pet hate - oat milk. Milk comes from mammals. Oat milk is not a milk, its a massively processed grain.
    In many countries “milk” is a protected term, and there’s been lots of arguments about it. Same with “meat”.
    Talking of protected terms, the other day there was a report on the world service about Chinese Whiskey/Whisky production and how the big drinks brands were really building up production in China and it was killing some very strong Chinese Whisky/ey. They were talking to someone who ran “Maison de Whiskey” which was one of the big drinks company’s specialist whisky/ey chains - like us opening “House of Champagne” around the world but a different issue.

    My point is I don’t know why Whiskey and Whisky aren’t protected produce names as Champagne is. Surely it should have been done and is it too late to make this so?
  • Options
    boulayboulay Posts: 4,020

    Naming a railway line after the Lionesses is a bit previous in my view. When they have a disastrous tournament, as sporting teams invariably do, it'll give a weapon of mockery to their gleeful detractors. (The sporting Anglophobes still bang on about the Ashes MBEs to this day.)

    They missed a trick by not combining celebrating London as a global music hub with an icon of feminism and women in Music, Madonna. They could have referenced her peak image, when she was looking her best, and called it the Cones Hot Line.
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,704

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    What's negative about the new names? Unless yhou think votes for women are bad, and you can't possibly mean that. Liberty is nice and historical, so are some of the others.
    “Windrush” recalls when Amber Rudd resigned over a scandal, “Sufragettes” recalls a load of protestors, “Lioness” is for a *women’s* football team, rather than the 1966 squad.

    I stand by my original comment that it’s deliberately antagonistic. Stick with “Elizabeth Line” and similar, that have no political connotations.
    Also, it will date very badly.

    All of those really reflect the contemporary politics of the last few years.
    Yes, but nobody fecking cares. For most, the Jubilee Line is just a name, Circle is not the circle Northern Line also goes south. They are simple labels that go with colours.
    Perhaps, you'd have to be pretty obsessive to get properly worked up by a tube line name, but, if you listen to general feedback from BBC radio a few people sort of sighed at it - nice idea but it'd be better if they did something for the communities rather than just ticked the box, some thought the names gimmicky, others confusing, some liked the fact names were there but weren't really sure they were relevant.

    I think they're facile, banal and very Sadiq Khan - and his massive ego - and I hope a few of them will be renamed in years to come.
  • Options
    AlsoLeiAlsoLei Posts: 696

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    It may well be true given that new maps and station branding will be needed across the network, although it is likely some of that money will need to have been spent anyway.
    In response to a 2013 FoI request, TFL estimated the cost of renaming a single tube station serving 3 lines as being £1.95 million. The largest single component was 'In station signage replacement', estimated at £500k

    This change affects 6 lines, covering 112 stations. £6.3m sounds quite realistic to me, especially considering inflation since then.

    https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/cost-changing-station-signage
  • Options
    How about some new fucking trains on the Central Line, TfL?
  • Options

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    What's negative about the new names? Unless yhou think votes for women are bad, and you can't possibly mean that. Liberty is nice and historical, so are some of the others.
    “Windrush” recalls when Amber Rudd resigned over a scandal, “Sufragettes” recalls a load of protestors, “Lioness” is for a *women’s* football team, rather than the 1966 squad.

    I stand by my original comment that it’s deliberately antagonistic. Stick with “Elizabeth Line” and similar, that have no political connotations.
    Also, it will date very badly.

    All of those really reflect the contemporary politics of the last few years.
    Yes, but nobody fecking cares. For most, the Jubilee Line is just a name, Circle is not a circle and the Northern Line also goes south. They are simple labels that go with colours.
    The Jubilee Line was originally going to be called the Fleet Line, until it was changed in 1987 in a rush of monarchist enthusiasm.
    1977, in fact!
  • Options
    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,536
    edited February 15

    a

    isam said:

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    Maybe it was a common complaint that the Overground was hard to use, I haven’t used it much in years, but when I did, before it was branded the overground, it didn’t seem that difficult. The Suffragette line was called the North London Line for instance, easy enough
    I seem to recall a report that the Overground was under utilised (in part) - that if more people were aware of the routing options, rather than just using the Underground, this would effectively increase the capacity of the system. And shorten journeys.
    Nowadays it’s very heavily used, such that delays or cancellations can lead to serious overcrowding.

    The days of the old North London Line, when a few intrepid adventurers used to pitch up at Stratford with their sleeping bags, eye masks, ear plugs, emergency rations and change of underwear, ready to endure the long, slow journey across north London and hope to reach the distant oasis of Richmond before their supplies ran out, or else be fleeced by a platform hawker selling local food from the platform at Willesden Junction, are a distant memory for those of us who once successfully completed that journey-of-a-lifetime.
  • Options
    AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 20,183
    isam said:

    Arron Banks going all Corbynite, and agreeing with what Sir Keir used to think

    Yes, maybe it’s more complicated than the Guardian’s headline, but British Gas profits increasing £72m to £751m whilst we are being told that unfortunately we have to pay higher bills seems like Gaslighting

    The shock of it, gas prices double, but then reduce but everybody continues to pay the higher rate. Meanwhile, British Gas make a fortune. Any monopoly business should be in public hands, water, gas, electricity etc

    https://x.com/arron_banks/status/1758135918173802990?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Fair play to him. Not Corbynite to think that. Many centrists and indeed rightwingers also think that!
  • Options
    Any reports from PBers on the spot?
  • Options
    AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 20,183

    “Keir Starmer and Labour have put this country into Recession! People have looked at the polls, and fearing a socialist government is coming have stopped investing knowing they won’t get their money back.” - MoonRabbits mum

    Lolz. Well done on your Greengate call by the way: a poll yesterday shows you got that right despite the flames from many on here.

    Kudos.
  • Options
    LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 15,505
    edited February 15

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    Yes. I posted on the earlier thread that I thought there were a few aspects of the names chosen that makes them poor from a usability point of view - but that doesn't affect the cost, unless someone decides to rename them with better names later on.
  • Options
    Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 2,774

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    What's negative about the new names? Unless yhou think votes for women are bad, and you can't possibly mean that. Liberty is nice and historical, so are some of the others.
    “Windrush” recalls when Amber Rudd resigned over a scandal, “Sufragettes” recalls a load of protestors, “Lioness” is for a *women’s* football team, rather than the 1966 squad.

    I stand by my original comment that it’s deliberately antagonistic. Stick with “Elizabeth Line” and similar, that have no political connotations.
    Also, it will date very badly.

    All of those really reflect the contemporary politics of the last few years.
    Yes, but nobody fecking cares. For most, the Jubilee Line is just a name, Circle is not a circle and the Northern Line also goes south. They are simple labels that go with colours.
    The Jubilee Line was originally going to be called the Fleet Line, until it was changed in 1987 in a rush of monarchist enthusiasm.
    1977, in fact!
    Oops. Arithmetic not my strong suit.
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,909

    “Keir Starmer and Labour have put this country into Recession! People have looked at the polls, and fearing a socialist government is coming have stopped investing knowing they won’t get their money back.” - MoonRabbits mum

    Oh dear even I dont blame SKS for that!
  • Options
    state_go_awaystate_go_away Posts: 5,422
    Cyclefree said:

    Really sorry to hear Mike's news. Wishing him and his family all the very best.

    yes I will be praying for Mike this evening
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,160

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    The issue is that the names don’t have an easy way to remember them.

    I know the circle line isn’t circular and the metropolitan line goes to Amersham, while the Northern Line heads south… but you kind of know where they are.

    I couldn’t say where the Liberty Line or the Lioness Line are going.

    But my favourite was always the TfL dream of the Chelsea-Hackney tube (aka the Burglar’s Line)
    Errr:

    Doesn't the Northern Line run North too. Or don't Colindale or High Barnet or Edgware count?
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,976
    Omnium said:

    Stocky said:

    Is 2.5 (bf) on Lab in Rochdale a good price? I was expecting odds-on.

    I think the candidate can withdraw. Anyway, too complicated now.
    He’s surely still nominated as the Labour candidate, even if his party has disowned him?
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,160
    By the way, being in California, I've completely missed this whole "rename the lines" lark. What's going on?
  • Options
    RunDeepRunDeep Posts: 77
    If we wanted to raise money for an appropriate charity - as per @Malmesbury's suggestion - we could arrange a social event, with a fiendishly difficult politics quiz / raffle etc. A way of meeting up as well as raising money and if Mike were able/willing to attend, that would also be nice.

    An idea, anyway.
  • Options
    LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 15,505
    rcs1000 said:

    When I was younger, I worked as a dishwasher in an Indian restaurant. They were super secretive about everything, but particularly their bread.

    I even had to sign a Naan Disclosure Agreement.

    That's a joke worthy of Marty in the Morning.
  • Options
    viewcodeviewcode Posts: 19,079

    How about some new fucking trains on the Central Line, TfL?

    ആണയിടുന്നത് നിർത്തൂ!
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 41,028
    edited February 15

    isam said:

    Arron Banks going all Corbynite, and agreeing with what Sir Keir used to think

    Yes, maybe it’s more complicated than the Guardian’s headline, but British Gas profits increasing £72m to £751m whilst we are being told that unfortunately we have to pay higher bills seems like Gaslighting

    The shock of it, gas prices double, but then reduce but everybody continues to pay the higher rate. Meanwhile, British Gas make a fortune. Any monopoly business should be in public hands, water, gas, electricity etc

    https://x.com/arron_banks/status/1758135918173802990?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    Fair play to him. Not Corbynite to think that. Many centrists and indeed rightwingers also think that!
    I agree, yes. I agreed with quite a lot of what Corbyn proposed really, most people agree with a broad range of politicians, esp if they aren’t told which colour rosette they wear
  • Options
    viewcodeviewcode Posts: 19,079

    “Keir Starmer and Labour have put this country into Recession! People have looked at the polls, and fearing a socialist government is coming have stopped investing knowing they won’t get their money back.” - MoonRabbits mum

    In which case the solution is simples. Vote in the Labour Govt, then all the investors will pile back in due to the certainty of a returning Cons govt in 2029!
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,039
    rcs1000 said:

    By the way, being in California, I've completely missed this whole "rename the lines" lark. What's going on?

    Our rightwingers are furious about woke railway lines. Names like Liberty, Lioness, and Windrush.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/15/london-overground-new-names-and-colours-for-six-lines-revealed

  • Options
    state_go_awaystate_go_away Posts: 5,422

    Naming a railway line after the Lionesses is a bit previous in my view. When they have a disastrous tournament, as sporting teams invariably do, it'll give a weapon of mockery to their gleeful detractors. (The sporting Anglophobes still bang on about the Ashes MBEs to this day.)

    naming transport lines after sporting teams is a bit chav imho
  • Options
    RunDeepRunDeep Posts: 77

    algarkirk said:

    83% of Labour voters think that Israel should stop the war and call an immediate ceasefire.

    ✅ Call a ceasefire: 83% (+6)
    ❌ Continue the war: 3% (-4)

    Despite this, Labour opposes a ceasefire.

    Via
    @YouGov
    , 12-13 Feb (+/- vs 16 Nov)

    Oddly, SFAICS, this survey asks whether Israel should call a ceasefire but not whether Hamas should.

    BTW 15% of 18-24 think the massacre of 1000 men women and children by Hamas in October was 'justified'.
    That last statistic is shocking.

    The reality is that a ceasefire could have been immediately facilitated early in the Israeli military action by Hamas (designated a terrorist organisation by everyone with a brain) could have released all hostages.

    They still have the hostages in spite of all the deaths. They do not care about ordinary Palestinians. They probably are pleased the more of them that die.
    Why isn't the recent ICJ decision referenced? The one which called on Hamas to immediately release all the remaining hostages - as well as asking Israel to refrain from doing various bad things. Indeed, why haven't any of the recent protests in London by pro-Palestinians demanded that Hamas abide by the ICJ's demands? Curious.
  • Options
    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,039

    Naming a railway line after the Lionesses is a bit previous in my view. When they have a disastrous tournament, as sporting teams invariably do, it'll give a weapon of mockery to their gleeful detractors. (The sporting Anglophobes still bang on about the Ashes MBEs to this day.)

    naming transport lines after sporting teams is a bit chav imho
    Well, it keeps the patriots happy. Not as if they have modern equivalents of Waterloo. And naming KX for Boudicca's victory on the site is a bit iffy given what her lot did to London - not to mention the patrician Roman oligarchic ethos of the Brit upper classes at the relevasnt time.
  • Options
    viewcodeviewcode Posts: 19,079

    ...a socialist government...

    Please don't be fooled into thinking there will be any form of socialism involved. It's more sort of a slightly less insane middle-class version of the Conservatives, with added sanctimony.

    Horribly, this will be an improvement.

  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 27,052
    Whoops. The RefUK candidate for Wellingborough has been campaigning today in Irthlingborough, which is not part of the constituency. It's in the neighbouring Corby seat.

    https://twitter.com/PrufrockUK/status/1758122175259615616
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,734
    Carnyx said:

    isam said:

    Chat GPT just helped me: Can you create for me five very woke names for railways?

    ChatGPT
    Sure, here are five "woke" names for railways:

    1. Unity Line
    2. Harmony Express
    3. Diversity Junction
    4. Inclusion Railway
    5. Equity Route

    In Rainham, Essex there was a notorious council estate called The Mardyke, and when it was knocked down, the streets that replaced it had names like that
    There are plenty of people who think precisely like this.
    We have a couple of Harry Potter inspired street names near us, as our part of the town was built at the height of the books' popularity. Later sections are named after airplanes and manufacturers, as they're nearer the old Bourn airfield. Vickers way, York Road, Spitfire Road, Fairey Close, Blackbird Road etc.

    Better names and themes than Khan's monstrosities...

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    The names are naff, but which are negative? They're all positive.
    What really annoys me is the changing of old names to sanitise them. There's such stuff as Titmouse and Gropecunt Lanes in Oxford, which I suppose needed i t, but the incomers mocing to Trotter Haugh in Edinburgh whined about it some years back. Yet Trotter wass an important local l andowner and a haugh a flat riverside piece of land. They wanted it changed but the street name is still there. Ignoran t folk - all they could think about was Del Boy & co.
    Portsmouth used to have Rat Lane, but it was changed to Norway Road.
  • Options

    Carnyx said:

    isam said:

    Chat GPT just helped me: Can you create for me five very woke names for railways?

    ChatGPT
    Sure, here are five "woke" names for railways:

    1. Unity Line
    2. Harmony Express
    3. Diversity Junction
    4. Inclusion Railway
    5. Equity Route

    In Rainham, Essex there was a notorious council estate called The Mardyke, and when it was knocked down, the streets that replaced it had names like that
    There are plenty of people who think precisely like this.
    We have a couple of Harry Potter inspired street names near us, as our part of the town was built at the height of the books' popularity. Later sections are named after airplanes and manufacturers, as they're nearer the old Bourn airfield. Vickers way, York Road, Spitfire Road, Fairey Close, Blackbird Road etc.

    Better names and themes than Khan's monstrosities...

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    The names are naff, but which are negative? They're all positive.
    What really annoys me is the changing of old names to sanitise them. There's such stuff as Titmouse and Gropecunt Lanes in Oxford, which I suppose needed i t, but the incomers mocing to Trotter Haugh in Edinburgh whined about it some years back. Yet Trotter wass an important local l andowner and a haugh a flat riverside piece of land. They wanted it changed but the street name is still there. Ignoran t folk - all they could think about was Del Boy & co.
    Portsmouth used to have Rat Lane, but it was changed to Norway Road.
    Sheffield/Rotherham has Deadman's Hole Lane.

    https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/history/how-deadmans-hole-lane-name-23567045
  • Options
    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,213
    algarkirk said:

    83% of Labour voters think that Israel should stop the war and call an immediate ceasefire.

    ✅ Call a ceasefire: 83% (+6)
    ❌ Continue the war: 3% (-4)

    Despite this, Labour opposes a ceasefire.

    Via
    @YouGov
    , 12-13 Feb (+/- vs 16 Nov)

    Oddly, SFAICS, this survey asks whether Israel should call a ceasefire but not whether Hamas should.

    BTW 15% of 18-24 think the massacre of 1000 men women and children by Hamas in October was 'justified'.
    Blimey. I'm surprised that a polling company would ask such a question, but it's revealing.
  • Options
    state_go_awaystate_go_away Posts: 5,422

    Carnyx said:

    isam said:

    Chat GPT just helped me: Can you create for me five very woke names for railways?

    ChatGPT
    Sure, here are five "woke" names for railways:

    1. Unity Line
    2. Harmony Express
    3. Diversity Junction
    4. Inclusion Railway
    5. Equity Route

    In Rainham, Essex there was a notorious council estate called The Mardyke, and when it was knocked down, the streets that replaced it had names like that
    There are plenty of people who think precisely like this.
    We have a couple of Harry Potter inspired street names near us, as our part of the town was built at the height of the books' popularity. Later sections are named after airplanes and manufacturers, as they're nearer the old Bourn airfield. Vickers way, York Road, Spitfire Road, Fairey Close, Blackbird Road etc.

    Better names and themes than Khan's monstrosities...

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    The names are naff, but which are negative? They're all positive.
    What really annoys me is the changing of old names to sanitise them. There's such stuff as Titmouse and Gropecunt Lanes in Oxford, which I suppose needed i t, but the incomers mocing to Trotter Haugh in Edinburgh whined about it some years back. Yet Trotter wass an important local l andowner and a haugh a flat riverside piece of land. They wanted it changed but the street name is still there. Ignoran t folk - all they could think about was Del Boy & co.
    Portsmouth used to have Rat Lane, but it was changed to Norway Road.
    Sanitary Lane in Manchester was renamed post war Anita Street (ie remove the s, r and y) to make it sound less like a dump
  • Options
    TazTaz Posts: 11,366

    How about some new fucking trains on the Central Line, TfL?

    Give them to Alstom Derby to keep the factory alive.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,482
    edited February 15
    Jonathan said:

    Khan missed a trick. He should have renamed the overground line out Euston HS2.

    Don't give the DfT ideas.
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,813

    Naming a railway line after the Lionesses is a bit previous in my view. When they have a disastrous tournament, as sporting teams invariably do, it'll give a weapon of mockery to their gleeful detractors. (The sporting Anglophobes still bang on about the Ashes MBEs to this day.)

    naming transport lines after sporting teams is a bit chav imho
    It's also maybe a bit patronising. Let's find a token women's sports team, ah yes, Lionesses. Well done, girls!
  • Options
    boulayboulay Posts: 4,020

    Carnyx said:

    isam said:

    Chat GPT just helped me: Can you create for me five very woke names for railways?

    ChatGPT
    Sure, here are five "woke" names for railways:

    1. Unity Line
    2. Harmony Express
    3. Diversity Junction
    4. Inclusion Railway
    5. Equity Route

    In Rainham, Essex there was a notorious council estate called The Mardyke, and when it was knocked down, the streets that replaced it had names like that
    There are plenty of people who think precisely like this.
    We have a couple of Harry Potter inspired street names near us, as our part of the town was built at the height of the books' popularity. Later sections are named after airplanes and manufacturers, as they're nearer the old Bourn airfield. Vickers way, York Road, Spitfire Road, Fairey Close, Blackbird Road etc.

    Better names and themes than Khan's monstrosities...

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    The names are naff, but which are negative? They're all positive.
    What really annoys me is the changing of old names to sanitise them. There's such stuff as Titmouse and Gropecunt Lanes in Oxford, which I suppose needed i t, but the incomers mocing to Trotter Haugh in Edinburgh whined about it some years back. Yet Trotter wass an important local l andowner and a haugh a flat riverside piece of land. They wanted it changed but the street name is still there. Ignoran t folk - all they could think about was Del Boy & co.
    Portsmouth used to have Rat Lane, but it was changed to Norway Road.
    The Brown Rat’s scientific name is Rattus norvegicus.
  • Options
    state_go_awaystate_go_away Posts: 5,422
    Andy_JS said:

    Whoops. The RefUK candidate for Wellingborough has been campaigning today in Irthlingborough, which is not part of the constituency. It's in the neighbouring Corby seat.

    https://twitter.com/PrufrockUK/status/1758122175259615616

    thinks Wellingborough is in the bag so using his time for expansion
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,482
    boulay said:

    Carnyx said:

    isam said:

    Chat GPT just helped me: Can you create for me five very woke names for railways?

    ChatGPT
    Sure, here are five "woke" names for railways:

    1. Unity Line
    2. Harmony Express
    3. Diversity Junction
    4. Inclusion Railway
    5. Equity Route

    In Rainham, Essex there was a notorious council estate called The Mardyke, and when it was knocked down, the streets that replaced it had names like that
    There are plenty of people who think precisely like this.
    We have a couple of Harry Potter inspired street names near us, as our part of the town was built at the height of the books' popularity. Later sections are named after airplanes and manufacturers, as they're nearer the old Bourn airfield. Vickers way, York Road, Spitfire Road, Fairey Close, Blackbird Road etc.

    Better names and themes than Khan's monstrosities...

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    The names are naff, but which are negative? They're all positive.
    What really annoys me is the changing of old names to sanitise them. There's such stuff as Titmouse and Gropecunt Lanes in Oxford, which I suppose needed i t, but the incomers mocing to Trotter Haugh in Edinburgh whined about it some years back. Yet Trotter wass an important local l andowner and a haugh a flat riverside piece of land. They wanted it changed but the street name is still there. Ignoran t folk - all they could think about was Del Boy & co.
    Portsmouth used to have Rat Lane, but it was changed to Norway Road.
    The Brown Rat’s scientific name is Rattus norvegicus.
    Cue jokes from TSE about Rattus Gallicus...
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,482
    rcs1000 said:

    By the way, being in California, I've completely missed this whole "rename the lines" lark. What's going on?

    Basically, Khan has launched a PB competition to see if we can come up with an even shittier set of names for the OverGround network than he has.

    So far, despite some decent efforts, we've all failed miserably.
  • Options
    MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,666
    viewcode said:

    ...a socialist government...

    Please don't be fooled into thinking there will be any form of socialism involved. It's more sort of a slightly less insane middle-class version of the Conservatives, with added sanctimony.

    Horribly, this will be an improvement.

    I didn’t say she convinced me 😉
  • Options
    boulayboulay Posts: 4,020
    ydoethur said:

    rcs1000 said:

    By the way, being in California, I've completely missed this whole "rename the lines" lark. What's going on?

    Basically, Khan has launched a PB competition to see if we can come up with an even shittier set of names for the OverGround network than he has.

    So far, despite some decent efforts, we've all failed miserably.
    If only we had Andrew Tate as Mayor, we could have had

    The chat up Line

    The pick up Line

    Crossed the Line

    Prison chow Line
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,482
    boulay said:

    ydoethur said:

    rcs1000 said:

    By the way, being in California, I've completely missed this whole "rename the lines" lark. What's going on?

    Basically, Khan has launched a PB competition to see if we can come up with an even shittier set of names for the OverGround network than he has.

    So far, despite some decent efforts, we've all failed miserably.
    If only we had Andrew Tate as Mayor, we could have had

    The chat up Line

    The pick up Line

    Crossed the Line

    Prison chow Line
    They should all be named after aspects of Corbynism:

    The Jam Line

    The allotment line

    The Manhole Cover Line

    The May Line

    The Salisbury Line

    The Wreath Line.
  • Options
    Smarkets have updated their market.

    We've just added a rules update to that market regarding a possible January 2025 election



    https://twitter.com/smarkets/status/1758142233960697891/photo/1
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,482
    OK, so PB Brains Trust:

    I have a domain name for the business website.

    I have been thinking of adding email to it.

    Two questions:

    1) Is it worth it?

    2) Should I use Wordpress' in house system or is there a better one I could go for?

    Any advice gratefully received.
  • Options
    ydoethur said:

    boulay said:

    ydoethur said:

    rcs1000 said:

    By the way, being in California, I've completely missed this whole "rename the lines" lark. What's going on?

    Basically, Khan has launched a PB competition to see if we can come up with an even shittier set of names for the OverGround network than he has.

    So far, despite some decent efforts, we've all failed miserably.
    If only we had Andrew Tate as Mayor, we could have had

    The chat up Line

    The pick up Line

    Crossed the Line

    Prison chow Line
    They should all be named after aspects of Corbynism:

    The Jam Line

    The allotment line

    The Manhole Cover Line

    The May Line

    The Salisbury Line

    The Wreath Line.
    Khan missed a trick, he could have got companies to sponsors the line.

    The Coke Line would have been great.
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,688
    ydoethur said:

    OK, so PB Brains Trust:

    I have a domain name for the business website.

    I have been thinking of adding email to it.

    Two questions:

    1) Is it worth it?

    2) Should I use Wordpress' in house system or is there a better one I could go for?

    Any advice gratefully received.

    How are you going to do the email? Via Google?
  • Options
    boulayboulay Posts: 4,020

    ydoethur said:

    boulay said:

    ydoethur said:

    rcs1000 said:

    By the way, being in California, I've completely missed this whole "rename the lines" lark. What's going on?

    Basically, Khan has launched a PB competition to see if we can come up with an even shittier set of names for the OverGround network than he has.

    So far, despite some decent efforts, we've all failed miserably.
    If only we had Andrew Tate as Mayor, we could have had

    The chat up Line

    The pick up Line

    Crossed the Line

    Prison chow Line
    They should all be named after aspects of Corbynism:

    The Jam Line

    The allotment line

    The Manhole Cover Line

    The May Line

    The Salisbury Line

    The Wreath Line.
    Khan missed a trick, he could have got companies to sponsors the line.

    The Coke Line would have been great.
    Would have been funnier if Banque National de Paris had won an auction for a line.
  • Options
    noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,879

    How about some new fucking trains on the Central Line, TfL?

    All for it, but would that comply with public indecency laws?
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,482

    ydoethur said:

    OK, so PB Brains Trust:

    I have a domain name for the business website.

    I have been thinking of adding email to it.

    Two questions:

    1) Is it worth it?

    2) Should I use Wordpress' in house system or is there a better one I could go for?

    Any advice gratefully received.

    How are you going to do the email? Via Google?
    That's one of the things I hadn't yet decided. Wordpress offer their in-house or a Google Workspace option. The latter is more expensive. At the moment I'm using an Outlook email.
  • Options
    MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,666

    “Keir Starmer and Labour have put this country into Recession! People have looked at the polls, and fearing a socialist government is coming have stopped investing knowing they won’t get their money back.” - MoonRabbits mum

    Oh dear even I dont blame SKS for that!
    Can I have you as my mother?
  • Options
    MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,666
    RunDeep said:

    If we wanted to raise money for an appropriate charity - as per @Malmesbury's suggestion - we could arrange a social event, with a fiendishly difficult politics quiz / raffle etc. A way of meeting up as well as raising money and if Mike were able/willing to attend, that would also be nice.

    An idea, anyway.

    Bike Ride seems PB relevant?

    PB book of recipes probably already exists in the posts?
  • Options
    Just three per cent of voters believe Sir Keir Starmer has successfully tackled antisemitism within Labour, a new poll for The Times suggests today.

    The YouGov survey found that almost a quarter of voters (23 per cent) think Starmer has “failed to tackle” antisemitism in the party after being forced to suspend two Labour candidates over the issue this week.

    A further 26 per cent of voters said he had made “progress” although there was still work to do.

    However, the poll found that despite a week of damaging headlines about how Starmer dealt with antisemitic views expressed by Labour’s candidate in Rochdale, more voters believe he handled the affair well rather than badly.

    Among those currently intending to vote Labour, Starmer is rated better, with 44 per cent saying he handled the issue well, against 17 per cent saying badly...

    ..In total 29 per cent say Starmer handled the Rochdale allegations well against 27 per cent who were dissatisfied and 45 per cent who did not know.

    Labour’s poll lead has narrowed a little in the wake of the affair, although not by enough to be certain whether the Rochdale affair has cost the party support.

    Overall Labour has dropped two points since last week’s poll while the Tories have risen three points. YouGov found Labour was on 44 per cent support — 20 points ahead of the Tories on 24 per cent.

    However, in a sign that doubts remain about Labour and their leader only 29 per cent of people believe his has made Labour more fit for government compared with 38 per cent who say he has made no difference. Thirteen per cent — including 9 per cent who say they intend to vote for the party — think he has made Labour less fit for government.

    Starmer’s own personal ratings remain poor for a party so far ahead, with 46 per cent saying he is doing badly as Labour leader, against 34 per cent doing well. However, these are largely unchanged from January suggesting that the Rochdale scandal has so far had limited impact.

    In a sign that voter inattention may be helping Labour, only 9 per cent of voters say they have heard a lot about the party’s problems in Rochdale. A further 32 per cent have heard a fair amount about the issue, but 59 per cent say they have heard not much or nothing at all about it.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/poll-labour-antisemitism-keir-starmer-rochdale-by-election-pfgkgbhws
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    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,813
    edited February 15
    ydoethur said:

    OK, so PB Brains Trust:

    I have a domain name for the business website.

    I have been thinking of adding email to it.

    Two questions:

    1) Is it worth it?

    2) Should I use Wordpress' in house system or is there a better one I could go for?

    Any advice gratefully received.

    Whoever's hosting your Wordpress setup on your web domain should normally provide email on the same domain. You can manage the email accounts through something like CPanel, which is provided by your hosting company.
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    MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,666

    “Keir Starmer and Labour have put this country into Recession! People have looked at the polls, and fearing a socialist government is coming have stopped investing knowing they won’t get their money back.” - MoonRabbits mum

    Lolz. Well done on your Greengate call by the way: a poll yesterday shows you got that right despite the flames from many on here.

    Kudos.
    The one where Labour -5 before Aligate? 😱
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    OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,806
    Sandpit said:

    Omnium said:

    Stocky said:

    Is 2.5 (bf) on Lab in Rochdale a good price? I was expecting odds-on.

    I think the candidate can withdraw. Anyway, too complicated now.
    He’s surely still nominated as the Labour candidate, even if his party has disowned him?
    Yeah but if he ceases to participate. It all becomes a bit technical, and as such I've flattened my position.
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    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,213
    I'd have gone for:

    Blue Star (Romford to Upminster)
    Orient (Gospel Oak to Barking)
    British India (Euston to Watford)
    Belgian Marine (Liverpool Street to Enfield)
    Holland-Afrika (Highbury to Clapham/Crystal Palace)
    Brocklebank (Stratford to Richmond/Clapham)
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    MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,666

    Smarkets have updated their market.

    We've just added a rules update to that market regarding a possible January 2025 election



    https://twitter.com/smarkets/status/1758142233960697891/photo/1

    It was funny to read posts, and headers, telling us with technical recession news today, means it defo can’t be a May General Election. 😏

    It’s the other way around actually, as you are now conceding bad news as campaign backdrop will decide the election date, called when there is less bad news as backdrop - that’s exactly how I have been asking you to consider it for months!
    My argument for May is founded on the understanding the worse backdrop for election is backloaded into the second half of the year, June onwards. Today’s announcement changes nothing in this regard. In fact, now we know what the high interest rate “inflation medicine” is doing, how long does it take for the medicine to work out system - how much and how quickly must rates be cut for growth to return?

    So, Picture this.
    todays bad news on recession + more near zero or negative growth in some or all of the 2024 quarters announced before polling day
    AND on top of that ADD
    Expected surge in illegal channel crossings during summer and autumn
    Damning interim covid report publication before GE
    Ongoing mortgage crisis as key voters switch to higher mortgage bills
    Credibility and morale shattering set of locals in May (kills a June election)
    Opposition fun with “squatting” and “frit” narrative, analysis shows clinging on cost John Major votes
    Giving voters even more time and evidence to realise things ain’t getting better
    Another disaster “fag end conference” for Tories before election while conceding opponents a conference to launch their campaign from

    The bad vibe from today - how many months in a row can Hunt tell us “the economy has turned a corner” - PLUS all this extra?

    It’s May 2nd. Nailed on.
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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,962

    a

    isam said:

    isam said:

    The rebranding of the London Overground is reported to have cost £6.3m. Is this true? If so it seems ludicrous really. Same goes for any Tory rebranding that costs a lot of public money, before we get too deep into whataboutery. Governments and councils always plead poverty, but find the money for stuff that no one really cares about

    There are a lot of signs that will need changing.

    Leaving side the specific names chosen, having distinct identities for the separate lines should make using the network easier, so it's probably worth the expense.
    Maybe it was a common complaint that the Overground was hard to use, I haven’t used it much in years, but when I did, before it was branded the overground, it didn’t seem that difficult. The Suffragette line was called the North London Line for instance, easy enough
    I seem to recall a report that the Overground was under utilised (in part) - that if more people were aware of the routing options, rather than just using the Underground, this would effectively increase the capacity of the system. And shorten journeys.
    Yes, never underestimate public unawareness. There was a known phenomenon that house prices in Chingford went up when it first appeared on the tube map (when that line was effectively nationalised to TfL)
    That wasn't just the Chingford strangler, Norman Tebbit, then ?
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    Just three per cent of voters believe Sir Keir Starmer has successfully tackled antisemitism within Labour, a new poll for The Times suggests today.

    The YouGov survey found that almost a quarter of voters (23 per cent) think Starmer has “failed to tackle” antisemitism in the party after being forced to suspend two Labour candidates over the issue this week.

    A further 26 per cent of voters said he had made “progress” although there was still work to do.

    However, the poll found that despite a week of damaging headlines about how Starmer dealt with antisemitic views expressed by Labour’s candidate in Rochdale, more voters believe he handled the affair well rather than badly.

    Among those currently intending to vote Labour, Starmer is rated better, with 44 per cent saying he handled the issue well, against 17 per cent saying badly...

    ..In total 29 per cent say Starmer handled the Rochdale allegations well against 27 per cent who were dissatisfied and 45 per cent who did not know.

    Labour’s poll lead has narrowed a little in the wake of the affair, although not by enough to be certain whether the Rochdale affair has cost the party support.

    Overall Labour has dropped two points since last week’s poll while the Tories have risen three points. YouGov found Labour was on 44 per cent support — 20 points ahead of the Tories on 24 per cent.

    However, in a sign that doubts remain about Labour and their leader only 29 per cent of people believe his has made Labour more fit for government compared with 38 per cent who say he has made no difference. Thirteen per cent — including 9 per cent who say they intend to vote for the party — think he has made Labour less fit for government.

    Starmer’s own personal ratings remain poor for a party so far ahead, with 46 per cent saying he is doing badly as Labour leader, against 34 per cent doing well. However, these are largely unchanged from January suggesting that the Rochdale scandal has so far had limited impact.

    In a sign that voter inattention may be helping Labour, only 9 per cent of voters say they have heard a lot about the party’s problems in Rochdale. A further 32 per cent have heard a fair amount about the issue, but 59 per cent say they have heard not much or nothing at all about it.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/poll-labour-antisemitism-keir-starmer-rochdale-by-election-pfgkgbhws

    Small earthquake in Rochdale, not many dead.
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    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,397
    tlg86 said:

    algarkirk said:

    83% of Labour voters think that Israel should stop the war and call an immediate ceasefire.

    ✅ Call a ceasefire: 83% (+6)
    ❌ Continue the war: 3% (-4)

    Despite this, Labour opposes a ceasefire.

    Via
    @YouGov
    , 12-13 Feb (+/- vs 16 Nov)

    Oddly, SFAICS, this survey asks whether Israel should call a ceasefire but not whether Hamas should.

    BTW 15% of 18-24 think the massacre of 1000 men women and children by Hamas in October was 'justified'.
    Blimey. I'm surprised that a polling company would ask such a question, but it's revealing.
    Yes, me too. I find the question rather crass.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,615
    @MikeSmithson was sad to read the previous thread just now.

    I have long held the firm belief that no medical condition is irreversible, and that medical disorders are not 'a natural part of ageing', though of course some conditions tend to be found more in the elderly because of wear and tear.

    In Germany they prescribe Ginko Biloba and Ginseng as a starting point for folk with dementia, and other supplements, helpful foods, therapies etc. can be reccommended following a more detailed diagnosis, which hopefully your doctor has given you. The NHS is all too prone to putting people on the scrap heap.

    However you decide to tackle things going forward, I wish you a long, happy, fruitful life and I believe that's absolutely possible. Continued thanks for hosting the dysfunctional family that is PB.

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    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,152
    tlg86 said:

    I'd have gone for:

    Blue Star (Romford to Upminster)
    Orient (Gospel Oak to Barking)
    British India (Euston to Watford)
    Belgian Marine (Liverpool Street to Enfield)
    Holland-Afrika (Highbury to Clapham/Crystal Palace)
    Brocklebank (Stratford to Richmond/Clapham)

    Brocklebank Line is currently sadly unrestored:
    https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/35025-brocklebank-line/

    But British India Line can work on the mainline:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_Merchant_Navy_Class_35018_British_India_Line

    Belgian Marine Line was scrapped. Unsure about the others. ;)
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    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,761
    Just seen the previous thread header.

    Best wishes Mike. Stay strong.
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    kinabalukinabalu Posts: 39,397
    On the lines, I don't like Lioness or Suffragette but I do like Windrush. Neutral on the others.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,704
    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    By the way, being in California, I've completely missed this whole "rename the lines" lark. What's going on?

    Our rightwingers are furious about woke railway lines. Names like Liberty, Lioness, and Windrush.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/15/london-overground-new-names-and-colours-for-six-lines-revealed

    Read the thread again.

    You'll see even some of our liberal and leftwing posters have questioned a few of them.
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    TazTaz Posts: 11,366
    Am I the only one who is not that fussed either way about the names of the new train lines ?
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    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,813
    edited February 15
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    OK, so PB Brains Trust:

    I have a domain name for the business website.

    I have been thinking of adding email to it.

    Two questions:

    1) Is it worth it?

    2) Should I use Wordpress' in house system or is there a better one I could go for?

    Any advice gratefully received.

    How are you going to do the email? Via Google?
    That's one of the things I hadn't yet decided. Wordpress offer their in-house or a Google Workspace option. The latter is more expensive. At the moment I'm using an Outlook email.
    I think Google Workspace/Gsuite would be more if you are planning an internal company email system where you need to manage employee accounts. My relatively limited experience is that it incurs an admin overhead so you probably want to satisfy yourself that you are getting the benefit of the extra features. There's nothing stopping you adding it later.

    Workspace links into other Google apps so you may have a reason to use it if you have a company Google drive or do stuff in YouTube.
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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,962

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Carnyx said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    kyf_100 said:

    FPT point of order it's the Lioness line not the Lionesses line.

    Which is slightly (but not much) better.

    Unless you're trying to pronounce it after a skinful. Come to think of it "I'm just jumping on a Suffragette" is probably going to get some traction amongst the lairy friday night out crowd.

    All in all the names have a vague "if Dave Spart ran a competition for the under 8s to name the lines, then miraculously picked the worst names out of a hat" feel to them.
    The London plan comes across as typical Sadiq being Sadiq, and looking for the sort of names that will offend people who don’t like him, further cementing societal division.

    If you’re going to give out random names then auction them off. Loads of cities, including mine, do this, the big money is for the destination and interchange stations, or companies buying the station nearest their own business.
    I don’t think Khan goes out of his way to cause division.
    I just think he’s a bit of a twit. His instincts are just off. Kind of a leftist Sunak.
    Perhaps, but, as someone who does disgreee with him on almost everything, it comes across as needlessly antagonistic. There’s plenty of London history that can be seen as positive for the city, rather than dwelling on negative history.
    What's negative about the new names? Unless yhou think votes for women are bad, and you can't possibly mean that. Liberty is nice and historical, so are some of the others.
    “Windrush” recalls when Amber Rudd resigned over a scandal, “Sufragettes” recalls a load of protestors, “Lioness” is for a *women’s* football team, rather than the 1966 squad.

    I stand by my original comment that it’s deliberately antagonistic. Stick with “Elizabeth Line” and similar, that have no political connotations.
    Also, it will date very badly.

    All of those really reflect the contemporary politics of the last few years.
    Yes, but nobody fecking cares. For most, the Jubilee Line is just a name, Circle is not a circle and the Northern Line also goes south. They are simple labels that go with colours.
    The Jubilee Line was originally going to be called the Fleet Line, until it was changed in 1987 in a rush of monarchist enthusiasm.
    As the Fleet was back in the day an open sewer, a felicitous change.
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    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,213

    tlg86 said:

    I'd have gone for:

    Blue Star (Romford to Upminster)
    Orient (Gospel Oak to Barking)
    British India (Euston to Watford)
    Belgian Marine (Liverpool Street to Enfield)
    Holland-Afrika (Highbury to Clapham/Crystal Palace)
    Brocklebank (Stratford to Richmond/Clapham)

    Brocklebank Line is currently sadly unrestored:
    https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/35025-brocklebank-line/

    But British India Line can work on the mainline:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_Merchant_Navy_Class_35018_British_India_Line

    Belgian Marine Line was scrapped. Unsure about the others. ;)
    I had the pleasure of an excellent run behind 35018 to Weymouth a couple of years ago.
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    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 40,039
    Taz said:

    Am I the only one who is not that fussed either way about the names of the new train lines ?

    No; it's very much for the locals.

    We do have lines named after Walter Scott novels (Ivanhoe) or cycles of them (Waverley), so why not?
This discussion has been closed.