Rishi Sunak is the new Boris Johnson and that’s not a good thing – politicalbetting.com
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He could move to California and do an interview with Oprah about how racist Britain is.Northern_Al said:
I don't think Rishi will walk away.eek said:Interesting idea at https://unherd.com/newsroom/are-the-tories-ready-for-rishis-resignation/
What happens if instead of fighting a no confidence vote (or even before the letters are in) Rishi walks away
He'll take a helicopter.3 -
What kind of sentence could you expect? As the puma-bullier?DavidL said:
In Scots law it would not actually be rape because rape is the insertion of the male penis without consent. It would of course be bestiality. I don't recall a case with a puma. An Alsatian, on the other hand...LostPassword said:
The Puma isn't considered to be criminally responsible (but would probably be summarily destroyed regardless) but you would be considered to have committed the rape using the Puma as your means of doing so.Leon said:However, if you FORCE a puma to rape your wife, is that technically rape? The puma doesn’t WANT to rape your wife so there is no mens rea, your wife is only “raped” by the puma because you bullied the puma into doing the rape thing
Tricky. Perhaps @DavidL can enlighten us on the legal technicalities, he may have encountered a similar case in Dundee
Anyway. I'm suddenly very glad you're divorced.
Asking for a friend0 -
An exiled Chief Minister to go with the exiled Royal Prince. Just as well the US is an ally.williamglenn said:
He could move to California and do an interview with Oprah about how racist Britain is.Northern_Al said:
I don't think Rishi will walk away.eek said:Interesting idea at https://unherd.com/newsroom/are-the-tories-ready-for-rishis-resignation/
What happens if instead of fighting a no confidence vote (or even before the letters are in) Rishi walks away
He'll take a helicopter.0 -
Probably depend on the degree of distress of the victim but you would be starting at about 7 years and go up from there. If I recall the Alsatian case correctly the accused got 9 years.Leon said:
What kind of sentence could you expect? As the puma-bullier?DavidL said:
In Scots law it would not actually be rape because rape is the insertion of the male penis without consent. It would of course be bestiality. I don't recall a case with a puma. An Alsatian, on the other hand...LostPassword said:
The Puma isn't considered to be criminally responsible (but would probably be summarily destroyed regardless) but you would be considered to have committed the rape using the Puma as your means of doing so.Leon said:However, if you FORCE a puma to rape your wife, is that technically rape? The puma doesn’t WANT to rape your wife so there is no mens rea, your wife is only “raped” by the puma because you bullied the puma into doing the rape thing
Tricky. Perhaps @DavidL can enlighten us on the legal technicalities, he may have encountered a similar case in Dundee
Anyway. I'm suddenly very glad you're divorced.
Asking for a friend1 -
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:3 -
Just think of all those likes proffered over the past fortnight, their purveyors lost in the mists of time.Sunil_Prasannan said:NON-ANONYMOUS "LIKES" ARE BACK!
Sad.1 -
Perhaps the Tories are edging towards ditching Sunak and rolling the dice.
Anyone at big odds worthy of a quid? Someone who has charisma, could make a difference and scare Starmer.
Johnny Mercer?0 -
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.0 -
Ok. Got itDavidL said:
Probably depend on the degree of distress of the victim but you would be starting at about 7 years and go up from there. If I recall the Alsatian case correctly the accused got 9 years.Leon said:
What kind of sentence could you expect? As the puma-bullier?DavidL said:
In Scots law it would not actually be rape because rape is the insertion of the male penis without consent. It would of course be bestiality. I don't recall a case with a puma. An Alsatian, on the other hand...LostPassword said:
The Puma isn't considered to be criminally responsible (but would probably be summarily destroyed regardless) but you would be considered to have committed the rape using the Puma as your means of doing so.Leon said:However, if you FORCE a puma to rape your wife, is that technically rape? The puma doesn’t WANT to rape your wife so there is no mens rea, your wife is only “raped” by the puma because you bullied the puma into doing the rape thing
Tricky. Perhaps @DavidL can enlighten us on the legal technicalities, he may have encountered a similar case in Dundee
Anyway. I'm suddenly very glad you're divorced.
Asking for a friend
Changing my plans for the weekend now0 -
OR in the case of Liz Truss, a chained melody?kinabalu said:
I'd have thought so. Or at least what she guesses would be his behest even if he hasn't actually behested. Nadine Dorries has a Great Love for Boris. Such a love does not behave within rational parameters. It is wild. An unchained melody.williamglenn said:
The only slightly interesting question is whether she's stirring the pot at the behest of Boris.Northern_Al said:
I fear you've fallen into the trap of thinking that anything tweeted by Dorries is even worthy of a response. It isn't.david_herdson said:
Dorries living in her own world again.Truman said:Just seen this from Nadine Dorries.
Rumours are spreading that Rishi about to call a GE. Could be Westminster frenzy or maybe he’s going to jump before he’s pushed?
If he did jump, MPs would move against him before he reached the palace gates.
https://x.com/NadineDorries/status/1768254046488428706?s=20
If Sunak was going to be pushed, why wait? And calling an election you're going to get hammered in is an odd way of 'not being pushed', given that he would be pushed by both country and party.
Plus, she's completely wrong on the second point. If Sunak did call an election, MPs would rally to the flag; they wouldn't really have an option.1 -
It’s only graft if done in a vulgar style.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
This is why some people want political parties to be solely funded from tax money, on a per vote basis.0 -
Not so sad. Historical Likes have been de-anonymised.Anabobazina said:
Just think of all those likes proffered over the past fortnight, their purveyors lost in the mists of time.Sunil_Prasannan said:NON-ANONYMOUS "LIKES" ARE BACK!
Sad.2 -
No it wouldn't. In the case of B, that'd be about an 8.5% share, assuming a similar turnout across the two groups.Barnesian said:
The LibDem overall national share is meaningless in prediction terms.LostPassword said:Lord Ashcroft has published a poll. I missed it if it was shared here.
Fieldwork 7-11th March, changes with 8-12th Feb
CON 23% (-4)
LAB 45% (+2)
LDM 6% (-1)
GRN 8% (nc)
RFM 11% (+1)
A. If it were 6% in every seat they would get zero seats.
cf Greens and Reform
B. If it were 50% in 50 seats and 5% in the other 600, then the average would still be around 6% but they would get about 50 seats.
The reality is nearer B than A.
If the Lib Dems are on 50% in 50 seats then that alone is about 4% of the voters. They'd need to be on barely over 2% across the rest of the country to average 6% overall.
Of course, they wouldn't need to get 50% to win a seat: 40% will do in many cases. However, they will get 50%+ in quite a few because that's how the spread works. Likewise, there wouldn't be a cliff-edge where the LD share suddenly drops to deposit-losing level. There'll be near-misses and respectable results. All of which means that a 6% national share probably translates to 25 seats at most.0 -
Broken, sleazy, RACIST Tories on the slide!LostPassword said:Lord Ashcroft has published a poll. I missed it if it was shared here.
Fieldwork 7-11th March, changes with 8-12th Feb
CON 23% (-4)
LAB 45% (+2)
LDM 6% (-1)
GRN 8% (nc)
RFM 11% (+1)0 -
There is a story, almost certainly apocryphal, when a posh Edinburgh advocate asked a Glasgow woman if a similar event was a rare experience, only to get the reply, "well you might think it was rare but it did nothing for me at all."Leon said:
Ok. Got itDavidL said:
Probably depend on the degree of distress of the victim but you would be starting at about 7 years and go up from there. If I recall the Alsatian case correctly the accused got 9 years.Leon said:
What kind of sentence could you expect? As the puma-bullier?DavidL said:
In Scots law it would not actually be rape because rape is the insertion of the male penis without consent. It would of course be bestiality. I don't recall a case with a puma. An Alsatian, on the other hand...LostPassword said:
The Puma isn't considered to be criminally responsible (but would probably be summarily destroyed regardless) but you would be considered to have committed the rape using the Puma as your means of doing so.Leon said:However, if you FORCE a puma to rape your wife, is that technically rape? The puma doesn’t WANT to rape your wife so there is no mens rea, your wife is only “raped” by the puma because you bullied the puma into doing the rape thing
Tricky. Perhaps @DavidL can enlighten us on the legal technicalities, he may have encountered a similar case in Dundee
Anyway. I'm suddenly very glad you're divorced.
Asking for a friend
Changing my plans for the weekend now0 -
A much more likely scenario is that a couple of the frontrunners do a deal so that they can present themselves as a fait accompli, and take over without a contest. Mordaunt & Badenoch, say.Stocky said:Perhaps the Tories are edging towards ditching Sunak and rolling the dice.
Anyone at big odds worthy of a quid? Someone who has charisma, could make a difference and scare Starmer.
Johnny Mercer?0 -
Was she a cougar?Leon said:
What kind of sentence could you expect? As the puma-bullier?DavidL said:
In Scots law it would not actually be rape because rape is the insertion of the male penis without consent. It would of course be bestiality. I don't recall a case with a puma. An Alsatian, on the other hand...LostPassword said:
The Puma isn't considered to be criminally responsible (but would probably be summarily destroyed regardless) but you would be considered to have committed the rape using the Puma as your means of doing so.Leon said:However, if you FORCE a puma to rape your wife, is that technically rape? The puma doesn’t WANT to rape your wife so there is no mens rea, your wife is only “raped” by the puma because you bullied the puma into doing the rape thing
Tricky. Perhaps @DavidL can enlighten us on the legal technicalities, he may have encountered a similar case in Dundee
Anyway. I'm suddenly very glad you're divorced.
Asking for a friend1 -
An issue might aeise if the suppliers are on a centrally approved shortlist, though. Worth checking if that is the case.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Also: many public organizations require contractors to conform to certain practices, e.g. no slavery (modern style), etc.1 -
And the galling thing (as somebody working, bloody hard I might add for the last 27 years), is that the juicy local government contracts spliced up between friends of the party, friends of the member or minister (or the landlord of the local watering hole for that matter), are charged at vast rates for shoddy work done with little attention to the people it is done (tenants for example). The cost to local authorities of the contracting system is gargantuan for the rubbish services delivered and the money, taxpayers money used enables contractors to make substantial profit for that poor service, casually signed by ministries.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:0 -
Year-on-year variance is not "changing climate" you hyperbolic buffoon, it is just weather which, as you may know, is rather variable in the UK.Leon said:
I just read your MetOffice link. So I’m not imagining it. The British climate is actually getting WORSETimS said:
“Than usual” being an important qualifier here.Carnyx said:
*notices how much of Scotland has been actually sunnier and drier than usual, pace Glaswegist abuse on PB*TimS said:
You’re not wrong, if you live in the South or Midlands.turbotubbs said:
I know its weather and not climate but my god we could do with some sunshine in the UK right now. Feels like its been grey and overcast for months.TimS said:
We are also getting hotter. And moderately sunnier, but from a low base. But slightly rainier though in more intense bursts.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
This page shows just how wet and cloudy it’s been this winter, despite (or indeed contributing to) the unusual warmth.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2024/february-2024-warm-and-wet-for-the-uk
Actual sunshine hours for Scotland 138.4, vs 153.3 for England. Both abject of course, though not as bad as Wales’ 122.7. Duller even than 20mph zone discourse.
lol
On the other hand I have only spent 2 days there since the end of December so I should perhaps not moan
And it is still nicer than northern Peru. Visit Britain should use that as a slogan
As it is, most of today was absolutely glorious in north London. Raining now, but such is the way of spring.
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Sadly a large slice of truth thereChris said:
But the political row is about a racist statement, not a rake-off. Perhaps the real moral of this issue is that the public hasn't cottoned on to the corruption, but is more interested in the things that excite interest on social media (which is probably no more than stating the obvious).anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:0 -
Accentuate the Positive ~ Johnny Mercer & The Pied PipersStocky said:Perhaps the Tories are edging towards ditching Sunak and rolling the dice.
Anyone at big odds worthy of a quid? Someone who has charisma, could make a difference and scare Starmer.
Johnny Mercer?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3jdbFOidds0 -
Some relief. Though no doubt few will retread those old boards.Alphabet_Soup said:
Not so sad. Historical Likes have been de-anonymised.Anabobazina said:
Just think of all those likes proffered over the past fortnight, their purveyors lost in the mists of time.Sunil_Prasannan said:NON-ANONYMOUS "LIKES" ARE BACK!
Sad.
Sob.0 -
Yes. Or if the product has to conform to a centrally-directed set of requirements which just happens to invalidate most of the competition.Carnyx said:
An issue might aeise if the suppliers are on a centrally approved shortlist, though. Worth checking if that is the case.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Also: many public organizations require contractors to conform to certain practices, e.g. no slavery (modern style), etc.
There are ways that malfeasance could still occur, but there's been no evidence presented for it, and the supposition of large central contracts in the earlier comment is, based on the Guardian's reporting, not correct.
I think we should be careful about making unfounded allegations.3 -
Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
0 -
Rishi should call an election to shut the plotters up.
"Who governs?"0 -
32C now; humidity 67%Donkeys said:
Keep us posted on how you feel as the day goes on.Leon said:It is now 10am and 31C and “feels like” 43C
It is deeply uncomfortable. It is also profoundly strange because I am 100 yards from the sea. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such intense heat right by the ocean. It should always be a cooling influence?
Fuck knows what it is like inland
Or maybe better, bottle it all up.
FFS!
Might possibly hit 42C along the coast. Unspeakable
https://x.com/ASKMeteo/status/1768277521223581916?s=200 -
I cannot believe it, I have bet on all his horses but given the form on this one I thought it was a no hoper, typical.MoonRabbit said:Another amazing finish 🐎
Handicapper won it, with unfancied kindly handicapped winner.1 -
On the subject of extremists - why don’t they wash?
I recall from my student days that a defining characteristic of nutters of left, right and religion was a personal hygiene problem.1 -
While we are on this do you have any evidence at all that any Minister was involved in the granting of those contracts by the NHS, or that public sector procurement policies were not complied with or that value for money was not in fact given?Chris said:
But the political row is about a racist statement, not a rake-off. Perhaps the real moral of this issue is that the public hasn't cottoned on to the corruption, but is more interested in the things that excite interest on social media (which is probably no more than stating the obvious).anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
The hypothesis that someone who is a supporter of the government + government contract = corruption is missing quite a few, important steps.2 -
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.1 -
Some years back I survived 40c+ in Northern Peru.Leon said:
32C now; humidity 67%Donkeys said:
Keep us posted on how you feel as the day goes on.Leon said:It is now 10am and 31C and “feels like” 43C
It is deeply uncomfortable. It is also profoundly strange because I am 100 yards from the sea. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such intense heat right by the ocean. It should always be a cooling influence?
Fuck knows what it is like inland
Or maybe better, bottle it all up.
FFS!
Might possibly hit 42C along the coast. Unspeakable
https://x.com/ASKMeteo/status/1768277521223581916?s=20
The army was conducting a long distance run in full kit along a highway. I remember thinking that they were going to lose some soldiers.0 -
Every Lidl helps, right enough.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
1 -
Many businesses aim for a 40% margin.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.0 -
16:50 🐎 They both lost!0
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If the Lib Dems score 6% in the actual election (which I don't believe for a minute, that would be below their 2015 score and indeed I think their worst in decades) then it could be a lot worse than 25 seats because the polling close to the election day would blindside voters and you could see tactical confusion in many LD targets.david_herdson said:
No it wouldn't. In the case of B, that'd be about an 8.5% share, assuming a similar turnout across the two groups.Barnesian said:
The LibDem overall national share is meaningless in prediction terms.LostPassword said:Lord Ashcroft has published a poll. I missed it if it was shared here.
Fieldwork 7-11th March, changes with 8-12th Feb
CON 23% (-4)
LAB 45% (+2)
LDM 6% (-1)
GRN 8% (nc)
RFM 11% (+1)
A. If it were 6% in every seat they would get zero seats.
cf Greens and Reform
B. If it were 50% in 50 seats and 5% in the other 600, then the average would still be around 6% but they would get about 50 seats.
The reality is nearer B than A.
If the Lib Dems are on 50% in 50 seats then that alone is about 4% of the voters. They'd need to be on barely over 2% across the rest of the country to average 6% overall.
Of course, they wouldn't need to get 50% to win a seat: 40% will do in many cases. However, they will get 50%+ in quite a few because that's how the spread works. Likewise, there wouldn't be a cliff-edge where the LD share suddenly drops to deposit-losing level. There'll be near-misses and respectable results. All of which means that a 6% national share probably translates to 25 seats at most.
The Ashcroft poll is out of kilter with others which put the party around 9%, lower than the 11-12% it was scoring for much of last year but more realistic. What I think will happen is that they will do very well in the May locals especially in their target areas where there are already many Lib Dem councillors, that will then give them a polling boost and come the election the final score will be around 11% but much more efficiently distributed than last time.
Key thing will be the Tory vote share. The lower they drop, the higher the Lib Dem seat count.0 -
Tough day of wide open racing. 😓malcolmg said:
I cannot believe it, I have bet on all his horses but given the form on this one I thought it was a no hoper, typical.MoonRabbit said:Another amazing finish 🐎
Handicapper won it, with unfancied kindly handicapped winner.
and some long races on soft/heavy, where the handicapper took some out the equation as it seems to me.0 -
It’s software - which means it has a very high initial development cost which is then recovered from subsequent sales.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.
Now he may be making a lot of profit but the price has to be competitive with other offerings else people would change the software1 -
The problem with something like this is product lock-in, which then means the vendor can charge what they like. See also Microsoft Office.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.1 -
For the moment!LostPassword said:
An exiled Chief Minister to go with the exiled Royal Prince. Just as well the US is an ally.williamglenn said:
He could move to California and do an interview with Oprah about how racist Britain is.Northern_Al said:
I don't think Rishi will walk away.eek said:Interesting idea at https://unherd.com/newsroom/are-the-tories-ready-for-rishis-resignation/
What happens if instead of fighting a no confidence vote (or even before the letters are in) Rishi walks away
He'll take a helicopter.0 -
Read the link. British winters are getting rainier, which means even greyerAnabobazina said:
Year-on-year variance is not "changing climate" you hyperbolic buffoon, it is just weather which, as you may know, is rather variable in the UK.Leon said:
I just read your MetOffice link. So I’m not imagining it. The British climate is actually getting WORSETimS said:
“Than usual” being an important qualifier here.Carnyx said:
*notices how much of Scotland has been actually sunnier and drier than usual, pace Glaswegist abuse on PB*TimS said:
You’re not wrong, if you live in the South or Midlands.turbotubbs said:
I know its weather and not climate but my god we could do with some sunshine in the UK right now. Feels like its been grey and overcast for months.TimS said:
We are also getting hotter. And moderately sunnier, but from a low base. But slightly rainier though in more intense bursts.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
This page shows just how wet and cloudy it’s been this winter, despite (or indeed contributing to) the unusual warmth.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2024/february-2024-warm-and-wet-for-the-uk
Actual sunshine hours for Scotland 138.4, vs 153.3 for England. Both abject of course, though not as bad as Wales’ 122.7. Duller even than 20mph zone discourse.
lol
On the other hand I have only spent 2 days there since the end of December so I should perhaps not moan
And it is still nicer than northern Peru. Visit Britain should use that as a slogan
As it is, most of today was absolutely glorious in north London. Raining now, but such is the way of spring.
However, I am bored of dumping on my own country. Britain is in a rough place, and it needs dramatically new directions (which Starmer won't provide), but we have been in dire straits before. I hope and faintly believe we will somehow pull through
Or, as is highly plausible, AI will make politics and economics all irrelevant, anyway
0 -
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
1 -
What's with the demo? Does Lidl clean out their middle aisle every Friday afternoon and send the contents over to the IDF?DavidL said:
Every Lidl helps, right enough.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
0 -
It's a bit of a puzzler, yes.RochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
2 -
Welcome back to identified 'likes'! 👍3
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My personal record is 45C in the Danakil Depression, EthiopiaMalmesbury said:
Some years back I survived 40c+ in Northern Peru.Leon said:
32C now; humidity 67%Donkeys said:
Keep us posted on how you feel as the day goes on.Leon said:It is now 10am and 31C and “feels like” 43C
It is deeply uncomfortable. It is also profoundly strange because I am 100 yards from the sea. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such intense heat right by the ocean. It should always be a cooling influence?
Fuck knows what it is like inland
Or maybe better, bottle it all up.
FFS!
Might possibly hit 42C along the coast. Unspeakable
https://x.com/ASKMeteo/status/1768277521223581916?s=20
The army was conducting a long distance run in full kit along a highway. I remember thinking that they were going to lose some soldiers.
Utterly horrific. I remember arriving in a mud hut village under the Erte Ale volcano where it was still 40C at 6pm, as the sun went down
People actually LIVED there - and with no electricity that I could see. So no aircon and no electric fans?0 -
You think that there is a rational explanation for this?TOPPING said:
What's with the demo? Does Lidl clean out their middle aisle every Friday afternoon and send the contents over to the IDF?DavidL said:
Every Lidl helps, right enough.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
1 -
Shhhh... its quite handy if they have been touching or near explosives.Malmesbury said:On the subject of extremists - why don’t they wash?
I recall from my student days that a defining characteristic of nutters of left, right and religion was a personal hygiene problem.0 -
Even an irrational explanation would be better then the complete blank I'm currently drawing.DavidL said:
You think that there is a rational explanation for this?TOPPING said:
What's with the demo? Does Lidl clean out their middle aisle every Friday afternoon and send the contents over to the IDF?DavidL said:
Every Lidl helps, right enough.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
0 -
Yeah no sorry that was my bad.DavidL said:
You think that there is a rational explanation for this?TOPPING said:
What's with the demo? Does Lidl clean out their middle aisle every Friday afternoon and send the contents over to the IDF?DavidL said:
Every Lidl helps, right enough.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
1 -
It's actually been getting wetter but sunnier in winter, as predicted in the models. We've had a few record breaking sunny winters in recent years. And extremely sunny springs (relatively) which have been a nightmare for people with vineyards susceptible to late frosts.Leon said:
Read the link. British winters are getting rainier, which means even greyerAnabobazina said:
Year-on-year variance is not "changing climate" you hyperbolic buffoon, it is just weather which, as you may know, is rather variable in the UK.Leon said:
I just read your MetOffice link. So I’m not imagining it. The British climate is actually getting WORSETimS said:
“Than usual” being an important qualifier here.Carnyx said:
*notices how much of Scotland has been actually sunnier and drier than usual, pace Glaswegist abuse on PB*TimS said:
You’re not wrong, if you live in the South or Midlands.turbotubbs said:
I know its weather and not climate but my god we could do with some sunshine in the UK right now. Feels like its been grey and overcast for months.TimS said:
We are also getting hotter. And moderately sunnier, but from a low base. But slightly rainier though in more intense bursts.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
This page shows just how wet and cloudy it’s been this winter, despite (or indeed contributing to) the unusual warmth.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2024/february-2024-warm-and-wet-for-the-uk
Actual sunshine hours for Scotland 138.4, vs 153.3 for England. Both abject of course, though not as bad as Wales’ 122.7. Duller even than 20mph zone discourse.
lol
On the other hand I have only spent 2 days there since the end of December so I should perhaps not moan
And it is still nicer than northern Peru. Visit Britain should use that as a slogan
As it is, most of today was absolutely glorious in north London. Raining now, but such is the way of spring.
However, I am bored of dumping on my own country. Britain is in a rough place, and it needs dramatically new directions (which Starmer won't provide), but we have been in dire straits before. I hope and faintly believe we will somehow pull through
Or, as is highly plausible, AI will make politics and economics all irrelevant, anyway
The trouble is the UK baseline is so horrendous that it would take many decades of this trend to give us sunshine totals even remotely as decent as much of the rest of the world.1 -
True. But we are talking circa 50% margin. Which makes you question value for money, competition in that market, and what are the barriers to entry. In addition to the effectiveness of the “buyers” to negotiate a price. Plus I always find it a bit distasteful when folk providing to the public sector walk away with too much gold.Malmesbury said:
Many businesses aim for a 40% margin.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.0 -
And welcome back to the May election rumours too 👍🏻londonpubman said:Welcome back to identified 'likes'! 👍
3 -
Most people in the world live somewhere like that. It's Median Street, Planet Earth, 2024.Leon said:
Imagine living on that street in the second photo. Wake up, put your head out of the door, hang yourselfrcs1000 said:
Very Quantum of Solace.Leon said:
I took this photo on a beach in deserty northern Peru as it seemed to summarise the whole placeTruman said:
One of the worst drives of my life was in the desert north of lima stuck with a mad driver driving like a maniac on a narrow road and swerving at the last minute to avoid oncoming traffic. And yes its bleak and the locals are miserable.Leon said:
Indeed. Lima manages to be climatically way more miserable than anywhere in the UK, which is quite a feat given its location. It always annoys me when I read history books or guide books that reference Lima and don’t mention this fairly notable afflictionTruman said:
I agree. Our winters are getting warmer but wetter and more miserable and our summers warmer but cloudier. Still one of the most dismal climates for its latitude in the world is Lima which despite being in the Tropics manages to be under constant grey 8 months of the year.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
Why the fuck did the Spanish build their capital there? The incans very sensibly chose sunny and refreshing Cusco
Possibly the worst “place” I have ever been - in terms of climate meeting geography - is the desert north of Lima. The Sechura. It’s a dismal grey sand desert, strewn with trash, and cursed with that same cruel and depressing climate - chilly grey cloud like Glasgow but without the chirpy locals
Also shit food and a history of urgent child sacrifice
However the little colonial towns do have a certain charm, under those sparkling blue skies
Most people have never stayed in a hotel, owned a car, held a year's income in a bank account, etc.
Yet suicide is more frequent in the USA and Canada than it is in Latin America.
And the curious thing: that's with "Latin America" defined as Hispanophone and Lusophone America. There is a single country in South America that tops USA and Canada for self-topping: Guyana.0 -
The Guardian report seems to suggest that Hester saw an opportunity to digitise patient records around a decade ago, and built a business on the back of that. Which is fair enough.LostPassword said:
Yes. Or if the product has to conform to a centrally-directed set of requirements which just happens to invalidate most of the competition.Carnyx said:
An issue might arise if the suppliers are on a centrally approved shortlist, though. Worth checking if that is the case.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Also: many public organizations require contractors to conform to certain practices, e.g. no slavery (modern style), etc.
There are ways that malfeasance could still occur, but there's been no evidence presented for it, and the supposition of large central contracts in the earlier comment is, based on the Guardian's reporting, not correct.
I think we should be careful about making unfounded allegations.
And once entrenched, such systems are quite hard to change to an alternate provider.
Nonetheless, the spectacle of the sole shareholder of a company enjoying 50% net profit margins, which gets all of its revenues from the state, donating very large sums of money to the party in power, is not an edifying one.
I'd suggest that the problem lies more in allowing such large donations from individuals to political parties. But it's not the easiest of areas for reform.
There's also the problem of government, in all its various forms, being piss poor at negotiating commercial contracts.
2 -
Another day, another political fail from Rishi Sunak. Can he please hire some decent advisors?0
-
IndeedTimS said:
It's actually been getting wetter but sunnier in winter, as predicted in the models. We've had a few record breaking sunny winters in recent years. And extremely sunny springs (relatively) which have been a nightmare for people with vineyards susceptible to late frosts.Leon said:
Read the link. British winters are getting rainier, which means even greyerAnabobazina said:
Year-on-year variance is not "changing climate" you hyperbolic buffoon, it is just weather which, as you may know, is rather variable in the UK.Leon said:
I just read your MetOffice link. So I’m not imagining it. The British climate is actually getting WORSETimS said:
“Than usual” being an important qualifier here.Carnyx said:
*notices how much of Scotland has been actually sunnier and drier than usual, pace Glaswegist abuse on PB*TimS said:
You’re not wrong, if you live in the South or Midlands.turbotubbs said:
I know its weather and not climate but my god we could do with some sunshine in the UK right now. Feels like its been grey and overcast for months.TimS said:
We are also getting hotter. And moderately sunnier, but from a low base. But slightly rainier though in more intense bursts.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
This page shows just how wet and cloudy it’s been this winter, despite (or indeed contributing to) the unusual warmth.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2024/february-2024-warm-and-wet-for-the-uk
Actual sunshine hours for Scotland 138.4, vs 153.3 for England. Both abject of course, though not as bad as Wales’ 122.7. Duller even than 20mph zone discourse.
lol
On the other hand I have only spent 2 days there since the end of December so I should perhaps not moan
And it is still nicer than northern Peru. Visit Britain should use that as a slogan
As it is, most of today was absolutely glorious in north London. Raining now, but such is the way of spring.
However, I am bored of dumping on my own country. Britain is in a rough place, and it needs dramatically new directions (which Starmer won't provide), but we have been in dire straits before. I hope and faintly believe we will somehow pull through
Or, as is highly plausible, AI will make politics and economics all irrelevant, anyway
The trouble is the UK baseline is so horrendous that it would take many decades of this trend to give us sunshine totals even remotely as decent as much of the rest of the world.
If you look at sunshine totals around the world, the British Isles (Ireland included) are quite exceptional outliers. In a bad way
eg
annual sunshine hours in Nuuk, Greenland: 1400
annual sunshine hours in Glasgow, Scotland: 1200
Glasgow is drearier than GREENLAND, and about the same as Lima (1230), which, as we have noted, has one of the most depressing climates on earth. Britain as a whole gets about the same sun as the Aleutian islands
As someone who craves sunshine I give hourly thanks that my job allows me to seek it out, away from the UK0 -
It's easy enough to find out the answer to that question.RochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
0 -
Have you ever tried to engage with them?RochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
1 -
Have you seen this review of Zone of Interest? Solidified a few of my half finished thoughts on the film which is always helpful.Roger said:The credits on the 'likes' have come back.
Shame.
We were half way to getting rid of the Mark Anthonys
Glazer seems to have annoyed quit a range of people..
https://x.com/hering_david/status/1764646648527962309?s=46&t=fJymV-V84rexmlQMLXHHJQ0 -
Still not too late for 2 May electionBatteryCorrectHorse said:Another day, another political fail from Rishi Sunak. Can he please hire some decent advisors?
1 -
"Upwards of 40 people are now said to work inside the Downing Street warren on communications and media."BatteryCorrectHorse said:Another day, another political fail from Rishi Sunak. Can he please hire some decent advisors?
Guardian
1 -
But Greenland gets about 20-24 hours of sunlight per day in the summer, which isn't much use - indeed, is depressing in its own way. And, of course, close to zero for months in the winter, whether it's cloudy or clear.Leon said:
IndeedTimS said:
It's actually been getting wetter but sunnier in winter, as predicted in the models. We've had a few record breaking sunny winters in recent years. And extremely sunny springs (relatively) which have been a nightmare for people with vineyards susceptible to late frosts.Leon said:
Read the link. British winters are getting rainier, which means even greyerAnabobazina said:
Year-on-year variance is not "changing climate" you hyperbolic buffoon, it is just weather which, as you may know, is rather variable in the UK.Leon said:
I just read your MetOffice link. So I’m not imagining it. The British climate is actually getting WORSETimS said:
“Than usual” being an important qualifier here.Carnyx said:
*notices how much of Scotland has been actually sunnier and drier than usual, pace Glaswegist abuse on PB*TimS said:
You’re not wrong, if you live in the South or Midlands.turbotubbs said:
I know its weather and not climate but my god we could do with some sunshine in the UK right now. Feels like its been grey and overcast for months.TimS said:
We are also getting hotter. And moderately sunnier, but from a low base. But slightly rainier though in more intense bursts.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
This page shows just how wet and cloudy it’s been this winter, despite (or indeed contributing to) the unusual warmth.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2024/february-2024-warm-and-wet-for-the-uk
Actual sunshine hours for Scotland 138.4, vs 153.3 for England. Both abject of course, though not as bad as Wales’ 122.7. Duller even than 20mph zone discourse.
lol
On the other hand I have only spent 2 days there since the end of December so I should perhaps not moan
And it is still nicer than northern Peru. Visit Britain should use that as a slogan
As it is, most of today was absolutely glorious in north London. Raining now, but such is the way of spring.
However, I am bored of dumping on my own country. Britain is in a rough place, and it needs dramatically new directions (which Starmer won't provide), but we have been in dire straits before. I hope and faintly believe we will somehow pull through
Or, as is highly plausible, AI will make politics and economics all irrelevant, anyway
The trouble is the UK baseline is so horrendous that it would take many decades of this trend to give us sunshine totals even remotely as decent as much of the rest of the world.
If you look at sunshine totals around the world, the British Isles (Ireland included) are quite exceptional outliers. In a bad way
eg
annual sunshine hours in Nuuk, Greenland: 1400
annual sunshine hours in Glasgow, Scotland: 1200
Glasgow is drearier than GREENLAND, and about the same as Lima (1230), which, as we have noted, has one of the most depressing climates on earth. Britain as a whole gets about the same sun as the Aleutian islands
As someone who craves sunshine I give hourly thanks that my job allows me to seek it out, away from the UK1 -
It’s software - which means it has a very high initial development cost which is then recovered fromJim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.
The barrier for entry into the market are three foldJim_the_Lurker said:
True. But we are talking circa 50% margin. Which makes you question value for money, competition in that market, and what are the barriers to entry. In addition to the effectiveness of the “buyers” to negotiate a price. Plus I always find it a bit distasteful when folk providing to the public sector walk away with too much gold.Malmesbury said:
Many businesses aim for a 40% margin.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.
1) you need a product that is as good or better than TPPs
2) you need to sell that to the GP practices which won’t be cheap
3) you have the cost of getting the data out of the old system into the new one.
All of that means setting up is hard work3 -
There should be a ceiling on donations from one individual.Nigelb said:
The Guardian report seems to suggest that Hester saw an opportunity to digitise patient records around a decade ago, and built a business on the back of that. Which is fair enough.LostPassword said:
Yes. Or if the product has to conform to a centrally-directed set of requirements which just happens to invalidate most of the competition.Carnyx said:
An issue might arise if the suppliers are on a centrally approved shortlist, though. Worth checking if that is the case.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Also: many public organizations require contractors to conform to certain practices, e.g. no slavery (modern style), etc.
There are ways that malfeasance could still occur, but there's been no evidence presented for it, and the supposition of large central contracts in the earlier comment is, based on the Guardian's reporting, not correct.
I think we should be careful about making unfounded allegations.
And once entrenched, such systems are quite hard to change to an alternate provider.
Nonetheless, the spectacle of the sole shareholder of a company enjoying 50% net profit margins, which gets all of its revenues from the state, donating very large sums of money to the party in power, is not an edifying one.
I'd suggest that the problem lies more in allowing such large donations from individuals to political parties. But it's not the easiest of areas for reform.
There's also the problem of government, in all its various forms, being piss poor at negotiating commercial contracts.
0 -
As someone who constantly travels the world, I can (happily) reassure you that most people do NOT live on a street similar to that street in the 2nd photo: ie on a dirt road, in a concrete shack, in a shitty town in the middle of an awful foggy desert. Northern Peru, as we have established, is unusually hideousDonkeys said:
Most people in the world live somewhere like that. It's Median Street, Planet Earth, 2024.Leon said:
Imagine living on that street in the second photo. Wake up, put your head out of the door, hang yourselfrcs1000 said:
Very Quantum of Solace.Leon said:
I took this photo on a beach in deserty northern Peru as it seemed to summarise the whole placeTruman said:
One of the worst drives of my life was in the desert north of lima stuck with a mad driver driving like a maniac on a narrow road and swerving at the last minute to avoid oncoming traffic. And yes its bleak and the locals are miserable.Leon said:
Indeed. Lima manages to be climatically way more miserable than anywhere in the UK, which is quite a feat given its location. It always annoys me when I read history books or guide books that reference Lima and don’t mention this fairly notable afflictionTruman said:
I agree. Our winters are getting warmer but wetter and more miserable and our summers warmer but cloudier. Still one of the most dismal climates for its latitude in the world is Lima which despite being in the Tropics manages to be under constant grey 8 months of the year.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
Why the fuck did the Spanish build their capital there? The incans very sensibly chose sunny and refreshing Cusco
Possibly the worst “place” I have ever been - in terms of climate meeting geography - is the desert north of Lima. The Sechura. It’s a dismal grey sand desert, strewn with trash, and cursed with that same cruel and depressing climate - chilly grey cloud like Glasgow but without the chirpy locals
Also shit food and a history of urgent child sacrifice
However the little colonial towns do have a certain charm, under those sparkling blue skies
Most people have never stayed in a hotel, owned a car, held a year's income in a bank account, etc.
Yet suicide is more frequent in the USA and Canada than it is in Latin America.
And the curious thing: that's with "Latin America" defined as Hispanophone and Lusophone America. There is a single country in South America that tops USA and Canada for self-topping: Guyana.
The global median person probably lives in a concrete apartment in a large city in India or China. Not beautiful, but not terrible0 -
bigjohnowls said:
Have you ever tried to engage with them?RochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
Says it all, I think.1 -
Agreed.rottenborough said:
There should be a ceiling on donations from one individual.Nigelb said:
The Guardian report seems to suggest that Hester saw an opportunity to digitise patient records around a decade ago, and built a business on the back of that. Which is fair enough.LostPassword said:
Yes. Or if the product has to conform to a centrally-directed set of requirements which just happens to invalidate most of the competition.Carnyx said:
An issue might arise if the suppliers are on a centrally approved shortlist, though. Worth checking if that is the case.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Also: many public organizations require contractors to conform to certain practices, e.g. no slavery (modern style), etc.
There are ways that malfeasance could still occur, but there's been no evidence presented for it, and the supposition of large central contracts in the earlier comment is, based on the Guardian's reporting, not correct.
I think we should be careful about making unfounded allegations.
And once entrenched, such systems are quite hard to change to an alternate provider.
Nonetheless, the spectacle of the sole shareholder of a company enjoying 50% net profit margins, which gets all of its revenues from the state, donating very large sums of money to the party in power, is not an edifying one.
I'd suggest that the problem lies more in allowing such large donations from individuals to political parties. But it's not the easiest of areas for reform.
There's also the problem of government, in all its various forms, being piss poor at negotiating commercial contracts.
But it's not me you have to persuade.0 -
Going along and asking "What the fuck are you 'ere for, then?" or "D'you think they're secretly making Israeli warplanes behind the baked beans shelves?" might not be the best way of finding out, though.bigjohnowls said:
Have you ever tried to engage with them?RochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
Ten seconds' arduous work finding out about Lidl and the Schwarz Group might be helpful.0 -
About that peace negotiation...
Former 🇷🇺 President Medvedev, the head of Russia’s ruling party, outlines Moscow’s “peace plan:” unconditional surrender of Ukraine, its dissolution as a subject of international law, reparations to Russia, full absorption into the Russian Federation.
https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/17682660699557808560 -
Hurrah!!londonpubman said:Welcome back to identified 'likes'! 👍
0 -
At this stage, possibly not.BatteryCorrectHorse said:Another day, another political fail from Rishi Sunak. Can he please hire some decent advisors?
If you were a good advisor, would you want "Advisor to Rishi Sunak, March 2024 - December 2024" on your CV?0 -
Well, yeah, I used Greenland to illustrate sunshine hours, not claiming it is a desirable place to live. Though, in all honesty, if I was given the stark choice of living in Wick or Ilulissat I'm not sure which I would select. It would perhaps be Wick, but only cause it is easier to escape Wick and go somewhere nicer (which kinda defeats the point)david_herdson said:
But Greenland gets about 20-24 hours of sunlight per day in the summer, which isn't much use - indeed, is depressing in its own way. And, of course, close to zero for months in the winter, whether it's cloudy or clear.Leon said:
IndeedTimS said:
It's actually been getting wetter but sunnier in winter, as predicted in the models. We've had a few record breaking sunny winters in recent years. And extremely sunny springs (relatively) which have been a nightmare for people with vineyards susceptible to late frosts.Leon said:
Read the link. British winters are getting rainier, which means even greyerAnabobazina said:
Year-on-year variance is not "changing climate" you hyperbolic buffoon, it is just weather which, as you may know, is rather variable in the UK.Leon said:
I just read your MetOffice link. So I’m not imagining it. The British climate is actually getting WORSETimS said:
“Than usual” being an important qualifier here.Carnyx said:
*notices how much of Scotland has been actually sunnier and drier than usual, pace Glaswegist abuse on PB*TimS said:
You’re not wrong, if you live in the South or Midlands.turbotubbs said:
I know its weather and not climate but my god we could do with some sunshine in the UK right now. Feels like its been grey and overcast for months.TimS said:
We are also getting hotter. And moderately sunnier, but from a low base. But slightly rainier though in more intense bursts.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
This page shows just how wet and cloudy it’s been this winter, despite (or indeed contributing to) the unusual warmth.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2024/february-2024-warm-and-wet-for-the-uk
Actual sunshine hours for Scotland 138.4, vs 153.3 for England. Both abject of course, though not as bad as Wales’ 122.7. Duller even than 20mph zone discourse.
lol
On the other hand I have only spent 2 days there since the end of December so I should perhaps not moan
And it is still nicer than northern Peru. Visit Britain should use that as a slogan
As it is, most of today was absolutely glorious in north London. Raining now, but such is the way of spring.
However, I am bored of dumping on my own country. Britain is in a rough place, and it needs dramatically new directions (which Starmer won't provide), but we have been in dire straits before. I hope and faintly believe we will somehow pull through
Or, as is highly plausible, AI will make politics and economics all irrelevant, anyway
The trouble is the UK baseline is so horrendous that it would take many decades of this trend to give us sunshine totals even remotely as decent as much of the rest of the world.
If you look at sunshine totals around the world, the British Isles (Ireland included) are quite exceptional outliers. In a bad way
eg
annual sunshine hours in Nuuk, Greenland: 1400
annual sunshine hours in Glasgow, Scotland: 1200
Glasgow is drearier than GREENLAND, and about the same as Lima (1230), which, as we have noted, has one of the most depressing climates on earth. Britain as a whole gets about the same sun as the Aleutian islands
As someone who craves sunshine I give hourly thanks that my job allows me to seek it out, away from the UK
If I was told "you have to live there and stay there all the time" I'd probably go for Ilulissat0 -
I did a bit of Googling and found this:RochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/11/358880/supermarket-in-france-mislabels-israeli-products-as-moroccan-to-dodge-boycott
0 -
Oh lord. That’s aimed at the idea of that odious prat, not you. He’s also likely to lose his seat under the new boundary changes (86% Labour chance according to electoral calculus).Stocky said:Perhaps the Tories are edging towards ditching Sunak and rolling the dice.
Anyone at big odds worthy of a quid? Someone who has charisma, could make a difference and scare Starmer.
Johnny Mercer?
As a Labour voter this next time, there is one, and only one, person I fear at the helm of the tory party. And it’s not because I think Labour wouldn’t still win but because he would get some people to vote for the tories that no-one else can. Boris is also a born liar and thoroughly dishonest, which makes him dangerous to fight against.
Thankfully he doesn’t want the job back for now.0 -
Maybe I wasn’t enough of a nuttet!Malmesbury said:On the subject of extremists - why don’t they wash?
I recall from my student days that a defining characteristic of nutters of left, right and religion was a personal hygiene problem.0 -
The overwhelming majority of Indian trains are terrible, though. Happily, my first train ride in India for twenty years was on the surprisingly clean and efficient Kochi Metro in December 2022.Leon said:
As someone who constantly travels the world, I can (happily) reassure you that most people do NOT live on a street similar to that street in the 2nd photo: ie on a dirt road, in a concrete shack, in a shitty town in the middle of an awful foggy desert. Northern Peru, as we have established, is unusually hideousDonkeys said:
Most people in the world live somewhere like that. It's Median Street, Planet Earth, 2024.Leon said:
Imagine living on that street in the second photo. Wake up, put your head out of the door, hang yourselfrcs1000 said:
Very Quantum of Solace.Leon said:
I took this photo on a beach in deserty northern Peru as it seemed to summarise the whole placeTruman said:
One of the worst drives of my life was in the desert north of lima stuck with a mad driver driving like a maniac on a narrow road and swerving at the last minute to avoid oncoming traffic. And yes its bleak and the locals are miserable.Leon said:
Indeed. Lima manages to be climatically way more miserable than anywhere in the UK, which is quite a feat given its location. It always annoys me when I read history books or guide books that reference Lima and don’t mention this fairly notable afflictionTruman said:
I agree. Our winters are getting warmer but wetter and more miserable and our summers warmer but cloudier. Still one of the most dismal climates for its latitude in the world is Lima which despite being in the Tropics manages to be under constant grey 8 months of the year.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
Why the fuck did the Spanish build their capital there? The incans very sensibly chose sunny and refreshing Cusco
Possibly the worst “place” I have ever been - in terms of climate meeting geography - is the desert north of Lima. The Sechura. It’s a dismal grey sand desert, strewn with trash, and cursed with that same cruel and depressing climate - chilly grey cloud like Glasgow but without the chirpy locals
Also shit food and a history of urgent child sacrifice
However the little colonial towns do have a certain charm, under those sparkling blue skies
Most people have never stayed in a hotel, owned a car, held a year's income in a bank account, etc.
Yet suicide is more frequent in the USA and Canada than it is in Latin America.
And the curious thing: that's with "Latin America" defined as Hispanophone and Lusophone America. There is a single country in South America that tops USA and Canada for self-topping: Guyana.
The global median person probably lives in a concrete apartment in a large city in India or China. Not beautiful, but not terrible0 -
Sam Freedman
@Samfr
·
1h
The campaign when we get there is going to make Theresa May in 2017 look like JFK.
https://twitter.com/Samfr1 -
GPs are a slightly tricky market to sell into, because of the blurry lines of authority between PCT/CCGs (or whatever they're called this week), the individual practices, and the central GP IT Futures system.eek said:
It’s software - which means it has a very high initial development cost which is then recovered from subsequent sales.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.
Now he may be making a lot of profit but the price has to be competitive with other offerings else people would change the software
That means that it's usually only either specialist providers or big consultancies who bother, so you'd expect margins to be higher than they might otherwise be in a more open market.
No evidence of wrongdoing in that, of course. It would be a different matter it could be shown that they were getting preferential access to GP IT Futures or something, and I'm sure people are already busy digging for any sort of evidence that might point in that direction...1 -
Personally am semi-superannuated enough to recall the late US Senator William Proxmire (D-Wisconsin) whose main political trademark, was refusing (in his final statewide races for reelection) to accept ANY campaign contributions, and spent less than $200 of his own money in campaign expenditures.Nigelb said:
Agreed.rottenborough said:
There should be a ceiling on donations from one individual.Nigelb said:
The Guardian report seems to suggest that Hester saw an opportunity to digitise patient records around a decade ago, and built a business on the back of that. Which is fair enough.LostPassword said:
Yes. Or if the product has to conform to a centrally-directed set of requirements which just happens to invalidate most of the competition.Carnyx said:
An issue might arise if the suppliers are on a centrally approved shortlist, though. Worth checking if that is the case.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Also: many public organizations require contractors to conform to certain practices, e.g. no slavery (modern style), etc.
There are ways that malfeasance could still occur, but there's been no evidence presented for it, and the supposition of large central contracts in the earlier comment is, based on the Guardian's reporting, not correct.
I think we should be careful about making unfounded allegations.
And once entrenched, such systems are quite hard to change to an alternate provider.
Nonetheless, the spectacle of the sole shareholder of a company enjoying 50% net profit margins, which gets all of its revenues from the state, donating very large sums of money to the party in power, is not an edifying one.
I'd suggest that the problem lies more in allowing such large donations from individuals to political parties. But it's not the easiest of areas for reform.
There's also the problem of government, in all its various forms, being piss poor at negotiating commercial contracts.
But it's not me you have to persuade.
AND from his wiki page:
Proxmire was noted for issuing his Golden Fleece Award, which was presented monthly between 1975 and 1988 to focus media attention on projects that he viewed as self-serving and wasteful of taxpayer dollars. Winners of the Golden Fleece Award included governmental organizations like the United States Department of Defense, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service.
The first Golden Fleece Award was awarded in 1975 to the National Science Foundation for funding an $84,000 study on why people fall in love. Other Golden Fleece awards over the years were awarded to the Justice Department for conducting a study on why prisoners wanted to get out of jail, the National Institute of Mental Health to study a Peruvian brothel ("The researchers said they made repeated visits in the interests of accuracy," reported The New York Times), and the Federal Aviation Administration for studying "the physical measurements of 432 airline stewardesses, paying special attention to the 'length of the buttocks.'"
SSI - Worth noting that Proxmire was as relentless - and amusing - a budget hawk during both Republican AND Democratic administrations.0 -
Well, in 2019, the LibDems increased their number of votes from 2.4m to 3.7m - that's a jump of more than 50%. And their number of seats fell.Chris said:
Given that the Lib Dem share of the vote in that poll is about half of what it was in 2019, when the Lib Dems won just 11 seats, perhaps you need to provide some evidence to back up your clain.Barnesian said:
The LibDem overall national share is meaningless in prediction terms.LostPassword said:Lord Ashcroft has published a poll. I missed it if it was shared here.
Fieldwork 7-11th March, changes with 8-12th Feb
CON 23% (-4)
LAB 45% (+2)
LDM 6% (-1)
GRN 8% (nc)
RFM 11% (+1)
A. If it were 6% in every seat they would get zero seats.
cf Greens and Reform
B. If it were 50% in 50 seats and 5% in the other 600, then the average would still be around 6% but they would get about 50 seats.
The reality is nearer B than A.
By contrast, in 2017, the LibDems lost both votes and vote share, yet increased their seats by 50%.
Go back to 1997 for the biggest example of this: the LDs dropped almost a million votes, and yet more than doubled their number of seats.
In Scotland, this has been taken to extremes. In terms of vote share, the LibDems were fourth by a long way, getting less than 10% of the vote. Despite getting half the number of votes as Labour, they got 4x as many seats.
The LibDem vote today is much more "spiky" than other parties. They will lose a lot of deposits in the next General Election, but because (a) the Conservative vote share is so far down, and (b) they have managed to establish themselves as the challenger in many seats, then they will likely make substantial gains.
(FWIW, I don't believe they'll get 6%. I think they'll get 10-13%, probably around 12%.)1 -
Seems abundantly fair. I don't see why Zelenksky doesn't jump at this chance.Nigelb said:About that peace negotiation...
Former 🇷🇺 President Medvedev, the head of Russia’s ruling party, outlines Moscow’s “peace plan:” unconditional surrender of Ukraine, its dissolution as a subject of international law, reparations to Russia, full absorption into the Russian Federation.
https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/17682660699557808562 -
Indeed: the gap between that median person's life and the average PBers has never been smaller, such has been the positives of globalisation. Said person won't live in fear of being unable to eat, they'll own a smartphone, and they'll eat the same kind of street food that is rhapsodised over by Clerkenwell hipsters.Leon said:
As someone who constantly travels the world, I can (happily) reassure you that most people do NOT live on a street similar to that street in the 2nd photo: ie on a dirt road, in a concrete shack, in a shitty town in the middle of an awful foggy desert. Northern Peru, as we have established, is unusually hideousDonkeys said:
Most people in the world live somewhere like that. It's Median Street, Planet Earth, 2024.Leon said:
Imagine living on that street in the second photo. Wake up, put your head out of the door, hang yourselfrcs1000 said:
Very Quantum of Solace.Leon said:
I took this photo on a beach in deserty northern Peru as it seemed to summarise the whole placeTruman said:
One of the worst drives of my life was in the desert north of lima stuck with a mad driver driving like a maniac on a narrow road and swerving at the last minute to avoid oncoming traffic. And yes its bleak and the locals are miserable.Leon said:
Indeed. Lima manages to be climatically way more miserable than anywhere in the UK, which is quite a feat given its location. It always annoys me when I read history books or guide books that reference Lima and don’t mention this fairly notable afflictionTruman said:
I agree. Our winters are getting warmer but wetter and more miserable and our summers warmer but cloudier. Still one of the most dismal climates for its latitude in the world is Lima which despite being in the Tropics manages to be under constant grey 8 months of the year.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
Why the fuck did the Spanish build their capital there? The incans very sensibly chose sunny and refreshing Cusco
Possibly the worst “place” I have ever been - in terms of climate meeting geography - is the desert north of Lima. The Sechura. It’s a dismal grey sand desert, strewn with trash, and cursed with that same cruel and depressing climate - chilly grey cloud like Glasgow but without the chirpy locals
Also shit food and a history of urgent child sacrifice
However the little colonial towns do have a certain charm, under those sparkling blue skies
Most people have never stayed in a hotel, owned a car, held a year's income in a bank account, etc.
Yet suicide is more frequent in the USA and Canada than it is in Latin America.
And the curious thing: that's with "Latin America" defined as Hispanophone and Lusophone America. There is a single country in South America that tops USA and Canada for self-topping: Guyana.
The global median person probably lives in a concrete apartment in a large city in India or China. Not beautiful, but not terrible2 -
Rishi really is awful under scrutiny. He’s about 100x worse than Gordon Brown or Theresa May.rottenborough said:
Sam Freedman
@Samfr
·
1h
The campaign when we get there is going to make Theresa May in 2017 look like JFK.
https://twitter.com/Samfr
I can’t think of a worse leader in my lifetime when put under pressure by journalists. Anyone?3 -
The TPP sitn stinks. Massive corruption. They get the bonanza umbrella rights, and sluice large amounts into the Governing party. Something straight out of the worst excesses of communism.AlsoLei said:
GPs are a slightly tricky market to sell into, because of the blurry lines of authority between PCT/CCGs (or whatever they're called this week), the individual practices, and the central GP IT Futures system.eek said:
It’s software - which means it has a very high initial development cost which is then recovered from subsequent sales.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.
Now he may be making a lot of profit but the price has to be competitive with other offerings else people would change the software
That means that it's usually only either specialist providers or big consultancies who bother, so you'd expect margins to be higher than they might otherwise be in a more open market.
No evidence of wrongdoing in that, of course. It would be a different matter it could be shown that they were getting preferential access to GP IT Futures or something, and I'm sure people are already busy digging for any sort of evidence that might point in that direction...
TPP is one giant umbrella, which GP surgeries opt into so it’s not fair to state that it’s a series of mini contracts.
I’ve complained both to my GP surgery and TPP themselves. Not that it will do any good.0 -
.
Just to hang some numbers on that, the median personal income worldwide is now almost $10k. Rural Peru, median incomes are probably going to be in the $3k a year range.Leon said:
As someone who constantly travels the world, I can (happily) reassure you that most people do NOT live on a street similar to that street in the 2nd photo: ie on a dirt road, in a concrete shack, in a shitty town in the middle of an awful foggy desert. Northern Peru, as we have established, is unusually hideousDonkeys said:
Most people in the world live somewhere like that. It's Median Street, Planet Earth, 2024.Leon said:
Imagine living on that street in the second photo. Wake up, put your head out of the door, hang yourselfrcs1000 said:
Very Quantum of Solace.Leon said:
I took this photo on a beach in deserty northern Peru as it seemed to summarise the whole placeTruman said:
One of the worst drives of my life was in the desert north of lima stuck with a mad driver driving like a maniac on a narrow road and swerving at the last minute to avoid oncoming traffic. And yes its bleak and the locals are miserable.Leon said:
Indeed. Lima manages to be climatically way more miserable than anywhere in the UK, which is quite a feat given its location. It always annoys me when I read history books or guide books that reference Lima and don’t mention this fairly notable afflictionTruman said:
I agree. Our winters are getting warmer but wetter and more miserable and our summers warmer but cloudier. Still one of the most dismal climates for its latitude in the world is Lima which despite being in the Tropics manages to be under constant grey 8 months of the year.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
Why the fuck did the Spanish build their capital there? The incans very sensibly chose sunny and refreshing Cusco
Possibly the worst “place” I have ever been - in terms of climate meeting geography - is the desert north of Lima. The Sechura. It’s a dismal grey sand desert, strewn with trash, and cursed with that same cruel and depressing climate - chilly grey cloud like Glasgow but without the chirpy locals
Also shit food and a history of urgent child sacrifice
However the little colonial towns do have a certain charm, under those sparkling blue skies
Most people have never stayed in a hotel, owned a car, held a year's income in a bank account, etc.
Yet suicide is more frequent in the USA and Canada than it is in Latin America.
And the curious thing: that's with "Latin America" defined as Hispanophone and Lusophone America. There is a single country in South America that tops USA and Canada for self-topping: Guyana.
The global median person probably lives in a concrete apartment in a large city in India or China. Not beautiful, but not terrible
Edit to add: I'm probably a bit high with my estimate for rural Peru. The CEIC has monthly median personal income in Lima as $550, so I'd be staggered if that kind of town was more than $150/month.2 -
Yes, exactly. Global average income is now about $10,000 a yearrcs1000 said:
Indeed: the gap between that median person's life and the average PBers has never been smaller, such has been the positives of globalisation. Said person won't live in fear of being unable to eat, they'll own a smartphone, and they'll eat the same kind of street food that is rhapsodised over by Clerkenwell hipsters.Leon said:
As someone who constantly travels the world, I can (happily) reassure you that most people do NOT live on a street similar to that street in the 2nd photo: ie on a dirt road, in a concrete shack, in a shitty town in the middle of an awful foggy desert. Northern Peru, as we have established, is unusually hideousDonkeys said:
Most people in the world live somewhere like that. It's Median Street, Planet Earth, 2024.Leon said:
Imagine living on that street in the second photo. Wake up, put your head out of the door, hang yourselfrcs1000 said:
Very Quantum of Solace.Leon said:
I took this photo on a beach in deserty northern Peru as it seemed to summarise the whole placeTruman said:
One of the worst drives of my life was in the desert north of lima stuck with a mad driver driving like a maniac on a narrow road and swerving at the last minute to avoid oncoming traffic. And yes its bleak and the locals are miserable.Leon said:
Indeed. Lima manages to be climatically way more miserable than anywhere in the UK, which is quite a feat given its location. It always annoys me when I read history books or guide books that reference Lima and don’t mention this fairly notable afflictionTruman said:
I agree. Our winters are getting warmer but wetter and more miserable and our summers warmer but cloudier. Still one of the most dismal climates for its latitude in the world is Lima which despite being in the Tropics manages to be under constant grey 8 months of the year.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
Why the fuck did the Spanish build their capital there? The incans very sensibly chose sunny and refreshing Cusco
Possibly the worst “place” I have ever been - in terms of climate meeting geography - is the desert north of Lima. The Sechura. It’s a dismal grey sand desert, strewn with trash, and cursed with that same cruel and depressing climate - chilly grey cloud like Glasgow but without the chirpy locals
Also shit food and a history of urgent child sacrifice
However the little colonial towns do have a certain charm, under those sparkling blue skies
Most people have never stayed in a hotel, owned a car, held a year's income in a bank account, etc.
Yet suicide is more frequent in the USA and Canada than it is in Latin America.
And the curious thing: that's with "Latin America" defined as Hispanophone and Lusophone America. There is a single country in South America that tops USA and Canada for self-topping: Guyana.
The global median person probably lives in a concrete apartment in a large city in India or China. Not beautiful, but not terrible
Not a vast amount, but certainly enough to get you a decent apartment, a smartphone, a fridge, a TV, probably a vehicle of some kind
The road outside will be paved, you will obviously have electricity and water, and some kind of healthcare. Your kids will go to school, you will occasionally eat out, you'll have the odd holiday, and so forth
There are still pockets of desperate poverty, and people living on dirt roads in concrete shacks in the shittiest parts of Peru, but they are not the average, not any more, Praise Be!0 -
Unlikely, because nobody else in modern times has arrived in the top job so inexperienced and so untested.Heathener said:
Rishi really is awful under scrutiny. He’s about 100x worse than Gordon Brown or Theresa May.rottenborough said:
Sam Freedman
@Samfr
·
1h
The campaign when we get there is going to make Theresa May in 2017 look like JFK.
https://twitter.com/Samfr
I can’t think of a worse leader in my lifetime when put under pressure by journalists. Anyone?0 -
Exactly my first thought.RochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
0 -
The Ashcroft and YouGov polls are very similar in the Lab/LD/Green vs Con/Ref. One is 59-34, the other 60-34 - dish it either way it's a swing of between 12.5% and 13% from December 2019.
The YouGov England sub sample is Labour 45%, Conservative 21%, Reform 15%, LD 10%, Green 7%.
The swing from Conservative to Labour is an eyewatering 19.5% while the swing from Conservative to Liberal Democrat is 12%.0 -
I like plenty of rain. Water is life. I'd much rather live in a place with a bit too much than a lot too little. And when the sun does come out after a wet and dismal winter, just think of the shining green. We are very, very lucky to live where we do.4
-
“Two thirds of Britons (67%) believe it is likely that Israel has committed war crimes during their attack on Gaza since October. Just 10% think this is unlikely.” -
@YouGov polling.
PB seems less convinced unless it's just the vocal ones.
0 -
This isn’t his fault but the accent and his tone don’t help. He doesn’t even sound like he gives a toss.Stuartinromford said:
Unlikely, because nobody else in modern times has arrived in the top job so inexperienced and so untested.Heathener said:
Rishi really is awful under scrutiny. He’s about 100x worse than Gordon Brown or Theresa May.rottenborough said:
Sam Freedman
@Samfr
·
1h
The campaign when we get there is going to make Theresa May in 2017 look like JFK.
https://twitter.com/Samfr
I can’t think of a worse leader in my lifetime when put under pressure by journalists. Anyone?0 -
Sounds about rightrcs1000 said:.
Just to hang some numbers on that, the median personal income worldwide is now almost $10k. Rural Peru, median incomes are probably going to be in the $3k a year range.Leon said:
As someone who constantly travels the world, I can (happily) reassure you that most people do NOT live on a street similar to that street in the 2nd photo: ie on a dirt road, in a concrete shack, in a shitty town in the middle of an awful foggy desert. Northern Peru, as we have established, is unusually hideousDonkeys said:
Most people in the world live somewhere like that. It's Median Street, Planet Earth, 2024.Leon said:
Imagine living on that street in the second photo. Wake up, put your head out of the door, hang yourselfrcs1000 said:
Very Quantum of Solace.Leon said:
I took this photo on a beach in deserty northern Peru as it seemed to summarise the whole placeTruman said:
One of the worst drives of my life was in the desert north of lima stuck with a mad driver driving like a maniac on a narrow road and swerving at the last minute to avoid oncoming traffic. And yes its bleak and the locals are miserable.Leon said:
Indeed. Lima manages to be climatically way more miserable than anywhere in the UK, which is quite a feat given its location. It always annoys me when I read history books or guide books that reference Lima and don’t mention this fairly notable afflictionTruman said:
I agree. Our winters are getting warmer but wetter and more miserable and our summers warmer but cloudier. Still one of the most dismal climates for its latitude in the world is Lima which despite being in the Tropics manages to be under constant grey 8 months of the year.Leon said:So my take on climate change is this: everywhere in the world is going to get hotter and hotter… apart from the UK which will, uniquely, contrive to get greyer and rainier and even more dismal
Oh well. At least it should discourage the boat people
Why the fuck did the Spanish build their capital there? The incans very sensibly chose sunny and refreshing Cusco
Possibly the worst “place” I have ever been - in terms of climate meeting geography - is the desert north of Lima. The Sechura. It’s a dismal grey sand desert, strewn with trash, and cursed with that same cruel and depressing climate - chilly grey cloud like Glasgow but without the chirpy locals
Also shit food and a history of urgent child sacrifice
However the little colonial towns do have a certain charm, under those sparkling blue skies
Most people have never stayed in a hotel, owned a car, held a year's income in a bank account, etc.
Yet suicide is more frequent in the USA and Canada than it is in Latin America.
And the curious thing: that's with "Latin America" defined as Hispanophone and Lusophone America. There is a single country in South America that tops USA and Canada for self-topping: Guyana.
The global median person probably lives in a concrete apartment in a large city in India or China. Not beautiful, but not terrible
Edit to add: I'm probably a bit high with my estimate for rural Peru. The CEIC has monthly median personal income in Lima as $550, so I'd be staggered if that kind of town was more than $150/month.
Subjectively speaking, the reason I TOOK that photo was because it was so dismally grim. The dirt road, the awful housing, the ugly weather, the utter desperation of it all, lost in a frigid desert
This was back in about 2012, but even then, that town stood out as being horrible. Nearly all towns in Peru have paved roads, for a start. Dirt roads are rare
So that street was and is not average for Peru and nor is it average for the world, and I have seen much of the world
Colombia is poor ($7k per capita) but I have yet to see a dirt road in a town0 -
Absolute bampots, country is well and truly F**kedRochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
1 -
ICB (Integrated Care Board) is the current name for the organisations formerly known as CCGs.AlsoLei said:
GPs are a slightly tricky market to sell into, because of the blurry lines of authority between PCT/CCGs (or whatever they're called this week), the individual practices, and the central GP IT Futures system.eek said:
It’s software - which means it has a very high initial development cost which is then recovered from subsequent sales.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.
Now he may be making a lot of profit but the price has to be competitive with other offerings else people would change the software
That means that it's usually only either specialist providers or big consultancies who bother, so you'd expect margins to be higher than they might otherwise be in a more open market.
No evidence of wrongdoing in that, of course. It would be a different matter it could be shown that they were getting preferential access to GP IT Futures or something, and I'm sure people are already busy digging for any sort of evidence that might point in that direction...
I have no input into primary care IT, but there is usually a connectivity and compatibility requirement set higher up in the tree than the individual GP practice.
If you ever wonder how we have more money going in and less coming out then look no further than contracts like these.
1 -
Time they read the riot act , got the dogs and rammed these halfwits off the street with a few clatters and teh arse out of their breeks to remind them not to do it againDonkeys said:
Going along and asking "What the fuck are you 'ere for, then?" or "D'you think they're secretly making Israeli warplanes behind the baked beans shelves?" might not be the best way of finding out, though.bigjohnowls said:
Have you ever tried to engage with them?RochdalePioneers said:
What the fuck does Lidl have to do with Palestine? I do not understand these people.Sunil_Prasannan said:Brand new Lidl store opened this morning in Ilford North, next door to the B & Q along the A12. A few Pro-Palestine protesters in attendance (with even fewer police to keep an eye on them) around 11 am. But they were gone by lunch time.
Ten seconds' arduous work finding out about Lidl and the Schwarz Group might be helpful.0 -
This is their main product for GPs: https://buyingcatalogue.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue-solutions/10052-002 - looks like a competitor for EMIS, which I know a bit more about... (EMIS is probably the market leader but there are also competitors such as Vision, so it's not like TPP have a monopoly)Heathener said:
The TPP sitn stinks. Massive corruption. They get the bonanza umbrella rights, and sluice large amounts into the Governing party. Something straight out of the worst excesses of communism.AlsoLei said:
GPs are a slightly tricky market to sell into, because of the blurry lines of authority between PCT/CCGs (or whatever they're called this week), the individual practices, and the central GP IT Futures system.eek said:
It’s software - which means it has a very high initial development cost which is then recovered from subsequent sales.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Fair enough - although I wasn’t alleging graft my observation was more about how it would be reported were it happening elsewhere.LostPassword said:
My understanding is that there are lots of small contracts, with individual GP practices, so this is actually quite unlikely to be a process with which ministers could interfere much.Jim_the_Lurker said:
If this was a third world country It would get reported as graft. A large public sector contracts, large profits, followed by gracious donation to the boss class.MoonRabbit said:
18th Century Britannia? Nah. This is Soviet Union gangsterism.anothernick said:
Yes, and this illustrates why another PM would not help the Tories. It is quite incredible that the PM apparently sees nothing wrong with accepting money and even free helicopter ride from someone who has done so well out of contracts awarded by the public sector. There really has been nothing like this in British politics since the 18th century - government has become an exercise in ripping off the public for the personal enrichment of those on the inside track. And the public has rumbled them and is about to take revenge.Jim_the_Lurker said:
Hester made page one of private eye this week. His company has a profit margin of circa 50% and most (if not all) of its revenue is from the NHS. Funnily enough he has enough cash to punt to the party of Government.Donkeys said:
Very different to the PPE situation.
Mind he’s clearly doing good business given the reported margins, and the money is, ultimately, public money. So it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask whether the GP practices are getting value for money.
Now he may be making a lot of profit but the price has to be competitive with other offerings else people would change the software
That means that it's usually only either specialist providers or big consultancies who bother, so you'd expect margins to be higher than they might otherwise be in a more open market.
No evidence of wrongdoing in that, of course. It would be a different matter it could be shown that they were getting preferential access to GP IT Futures or something, and I'm sure people are already busy digging for any sort of evidence that might point in that direction...
TPP is one giant umbrella, which GP surgeries opt into so it’s not fair to state that it’s a series of mini contracts.
I’ve complained both to my GP surgery and TPP themselves. Not that it will do any good.
It's under GP IT Futures, so there should be a fairly comprehensive paper trail of their dealings with DHSC if there's any hint of dodgy goings-on. Looks like Jolyon has had a dig into them, but doesn't seem to have found much: https://goodlawproject.org/government-gives-tory-donor-137m-in-hidden-payments/
I'd be wary of chasing too far down rabbit holes in search of easily-disproven corruption. The racism is more than enough to condemn Hester, and the Tories for taking his cash.0 -
Actually you’re rightSouthamObserver said:I like plenty of rain. Water is life. I'd much rather live in a place with a bit too much than a lot too little. And when the sun does come out after a wet and dismal winter, just think of the shining green. We are very, very lucky to live where we do.
I’m going to stop moaning about the British weather and get back to the office. After all, it’s just weather. I will cope!
0 -
Elon Musk is the Rishi Sunak of spaceflight
0
This discussion has been closed.