Categories
Reeves, nearly as bad as Covid and Truss & Kwarteng but Lab still continue to lead on the economy
Reeves, nearly as bad as Covid and Truss & Kwarteng but Lab still continue to lead on the economy – politicalbetting.com
The précis of the findings is the pubic think Starmer & Reeves are, economically, nearly as bad the pandemic and the Truss/Kwarteng experience yet Labour are still the most trusted to manage the economy but that score is 23% which is like being the most beautiful turkey at the farm in the run up to Christmas.
1
Comments
🐐 🐐 🐐 🐐 🐐 🐐 🐐 🐐
The reason is that there is a bipartisan consensus on maintaining very tight control of the borders.
The previous conservative government instituted a policy that anyone trying to illegally enter Australia by boat would never be allowed to set foot in Australia, even if that person had a legitimate claim to asylum. Any asylum-seeker boats detected trying to enter Australian waters are forcibly towed back to the port of departure. If that is not possible, then the asylum seekers are sent to remote detention centres located on islands far away from the Australian mainland. If they cannot later be sent back to their country of origin, then they remain permanently in offshore detention. Some asylum seekers have been in detention for more then 10 years.
The current Labor government has continued to enforce this draconian policy.
This doesn't mean that the country isn't welcoming to migrants. Australia has a relatively generous skilled migration & work visa program. But there are almost no anti-immigrant feelings because nearly all the immigrants are educated, speak English well and fit-in easily into Australian culture.
The problem in the UK isn't that there are too many immigrant doctors or accountants. The problem is that people continue to cross the Channel by boat seeking asylum. They keep doing this because a lot of them are successful in getting a chance to stay. This leads to a perception by the voting public that the liberal establishment is unable and unwilling to control the borders, and in turn leads to an increase in support for far-right parties.
The liberal establishment in the UK (and Europe) needs to decide if allowing asylum-seekers to cross borders in an uncontrolled fashion is worth putting liberal democracy at risk.
F1: I'll listen to a VOD of a live commentary later, but just glancing at the report seems like an error from Norris, good late move by Piastri, and composure by Hamilton (plus sufficient pace) are the main aspects of the sprint.
The Left is currently disappointing.
Time for a benevolent dictator who actually knows how to deliver.
TSE, your time is now...
I can't think of any other driver who has won for three teams - though it is easier now, with more races per season, hence more opportunities to win.
Edit - also Alain Prost, Renault, Ferrari and McLaren.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/ramadan-massacre-obliterates-wests-claim-moral-leadership
So it's not *usual* but it's not that rare.
In fact I think Prost holds the modern era record with four teams, as he won with Williams as well.
Moss must surely hold the overall record with wins for five teams in sixteen victories.
The govt have done the right thing trying to put a brake on this. They need to go further. Scrap the triple lock and radically scale back motability.
https://x.com/johnrentoul/status/1903144427855487066?s=61
https://www.ft.com/content/fac609fc-f1fc-4e26-ad92-84cf23a234f4
Ideally, we wouldn't put troops into Ukraine.
As long as Russia has no troops in Ukraine, we won't need to either.
Over to Trump's paymaster...
Fascinating, Dr Moriarty.
I’ve not seen it, unlikely to as I’m not really the target audience, but even The Guardian really doesn’t like the Disney Snow White.
A controversial movie which launched to little fanfare.
I did notice in sainsburys yesterday there was a Snow White tie in with some cleaning products. Not well promoted though.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/19/snow-white-review-live-action-musical-rachel-zegler-gal-gadot
Serious question. That has the feel of some vindictive people objecting to disabled people being able to use their Personal Independence Payment to make their lives easier.
Is there a case to support such a move?
Perhaps we need to start with not locking disabled people out of the best local parks.
on social media (as opposed to the Gaza conspIracists) The IDF are drawing up plans to evacuate Gaza.
I expect in a couple of years Gaza will become a part of Israel with the connivance of the west and tacit agreement of other Arab nations in the region.
Many years ago at the height of the Schumacher/Häkkinen rivalry, there was a theory that actually Irvine was driving at about the level of a typical F1 driver - it's just the Ferrari wasn't very quick. What was keeping it competitive was Schumacher's extraordinary ability to extract the maximum from it.
You will hate me forever for this but...I wonder if something similar could be said about the disparity of results at Red Bull last year.
One in five new cars are motability and they go to people for all sorts of reasons. The scheme is expanding rapidly and needs to be looked at. For example the cars available on it and the reasons people can claim for one.
This is, ultimately, taxpayers money going to fund these cars. There should be some accountability.
If you have 10 teams and 20 drivers then each driver should race 2 times with each team.
We then would know the best driver and best car rather than the best combination. And it is less likely to be obvious who will win early in the season.
Gaza is a deepwater port and major economic centre (or would be, in a normal world). It has a major international airport (albeit shut). It is home to around 40% of the population of the Palestinian Territories.
Deprived of that, any Palestinian state would be a small, landlocked entity with all its entrance and exit points except one controlled by Israel. Its largest economic centre would be Jericho, which is to Gaza City roughly the equivalent of Carlisle to Liverpool in economic terms.
It would therefore be an Israeli protectorate - at the very least - whether the UN liked it or not. In fact, in all likelihood it would be very difficult for it to resist formal annexation (again, a stated goal of Netanyahu) and when it does the Mandatory area would have a Jewish majority (again, not possible if the population of Gaza is included).
This has obviously been the plan by Netanyahu for several years, progressively making conditions worse in Gaza to encourage emigration, which has rather stalled on the fact the population have nowhere to go. I will admit I am surprised he has moved to be so blatant about it, but maybe he feels that with a total loon who couldn't find Gaza on a map in the White House and Iran in such a weak state due to Syria and Lebanon's crises, the age and confusion of the leadership and their backers seriously distracted by Ukraine he will never have a better chance to impose his will.
And, of course, it's the people of Gaza that suffer for it.
Won't happen as the engine suppliers would raise hell. But it would lead to much more exciting races.
There are already demands for Egypt and Jordan to open their borders. Once the Gazans are expunged they will never go back.
The West Bank, as well as parts of Syria will eventually fall too. There are too many settlements in the West Bank now for,it to ever be a viable Palestinian state.
That's obviously quite an important factor in his thinking. As with Trump, of course.
It's going to make life difficult for people with things like cancer, MND, severe arthritis, PTSD and so on. Another example - if we reduced hospital spending to what it was in real terms in 2005, that would also represent a "cut" because the scope and prevalence of hospital care has massively increased since then.
What I am hearing there is inchoate outrage about disabled people spending a non-means-tested benefit on something that they find helps them most effectively.
I see no rational basis for interference. Basically, it's nothing whatsoever to do with the likes of John Rentoul or any politicians - unless an abuse can be shown. BTW I can't find the tweet - is it genuine?
If there are believed to be problems about who gets the benefit, then that's about who is eligible for the benefit, not about how it is spent. It is specifically intended as a modest contribution to helping disabled people adapt to their needs.
I have my own issues with Motability, as you know, mainly around equivalent mobility aids being excluded from the scheme.
But non-disabled commentators trying to control the lives of disabled people without a really strong case is as obscene as it sounds.
I haven't seen any weigh in from stirrers or politicians, but to me it has the same whiff as for example the outrage Robert Jenrick was trying to generate when he claimed that disability being listed as a factor deserving a pre-sentencing report in a Court Case was an act of discrimination against white men. But Jenrick is a dog whistler, as we know.
What I can say with confidence is that if Joe Public believes they are cuts and sees taxes rise at the same time because costs are going up then Joe Public will lose faith in govt and be more open to voting for the loons.
We have been round the "send them to Jordan" track decades ago; last time that resulted in a civil war.
it will be exactly like all of Mr Chump's other nostrums; his monument will be the deaths of tens or hundreds of thousands and chaos wherever he interferes.
Kemi Badenoch’s net zero rant comes close to political tragedy
The Tory leader is pitting herself against science to embrace culture war ideology
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/03/20/kemi-badenochs-net-zero-rant-comes-close-political-tragedy/ (£££)
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/1m-found-inside-cadbury-heroes-31254793
The Liverpool Echo's entry to puzzling headlines of the week.
Your response reminds me of the trans-activist response to women who are angry with cross-dressers exposing themselves in women's loos. A blanket refusal to contemplate that there are people abusing the system - if you identify as disabled, you are. You're entitled to your opinion, but it seems odd to me, because these people are calling into question the benefits that those who are genuinely disabled depend upon, just as the perverts indulging their kink have called into question (wrongly in my view) the right of post-op transsexuals to use women's loos. I would be furious with them, not furious with the people wondering why motability has become a part of Britain's economy that can be seen from space.
You could argue that the mobility (not Motability) component of PIP should be reduced because transport costs including the cost of buying and running cars have come down (though I'm not sure they have) but to suggest the government should tell a charity how to run it's operation is the path to a totalitarian state.
But that's the trouble with you rightists - always wanting to interfere with other people's lives.
Maybe you'd be happier if we made disabled people use these instead?
AFAIK - no, it isn't, and no, it can't be made into one easily, either. That is, short of many billions being spent to build an island as was done for Hong Kong airport.
1. Rush of enthusiasm. The nation's brow is gilded with laurels as we embark on a collective enterprise of unqualified good.
2. Don't worry about RoE, strategy or an exit plan. See #1
3. Stories start to appear about why they don't have socks. Questions Must Be Asked.
4. British troops comport themselves with their usual restraint and decorum. Bad apples, not reflective of service ethos, etc.
5. Gruz 200s start.
6. The dominant objective becomes not to take casualties for political reasons leading to stasis and ineffectiveness.
7. Put a giant fucking poppy on your Nissan Juke.
There's a set of cirtieria, a rigorous assessment, an appeal process. People who apply either qualify or they don't. Most who apply don't qualify for the higher rate mobility component of PIP, which is what you need to join the Motability scheme.
There are regular reviews, a process for reporting suspected fraud, an established investigation team, fraudulent claimants are made to pay back the money they've received and can be fined or imprisoned.
Your comment that "if you identify as disabled, you are" is utter bullshit and very offensive.
You can understand why the Jordanians and Egyptians don’t want all of these people. They have enough problems of their own.
So where do they go to enable this ?
Consensus on this topic among the major parties has made a lot of people feel rather powerless and that they are not sharing in the benefits of nor understanding the changes that they are told are coming. We are simply setting arbitrary targets but not telling our people how we are going to take that journey (beyond very vague “beyond X date you can’t buy Y.”) I don’t think there’s enough consensus in the country around how the journey is made for this to always be accepted unquestioningly, so fair play to Badenoch on that one (and I’m far from a big fan).
I have a plan to get to the moon. My plan is to jump very, very, very high while holding my breath.
You ever driven a Juke ?
I was once offered a job at a tier 1 automotive company working on components for the new Juke, it was late 2014.
I politely declined.
As for the validity of that criticism itself, it is exactly the opposite of what she did. Looks like the man living up to his reputation as a daft twat to me.
You just did not read what I wrote. I explicitly said:
"If there are believed to be problems about who gets the benefit, then that's about who is eligible for the benefit, not about how it is spent.
Have another go, and reply to what I said, not the straw men you are projecting?
As a rider, I don't get this "identify as disabled" comment. That comes across as a bit of an obsession, like a dog with a bone. It's nothing to do with how PiP eligibility is determined - unless you know better from an understanding of the process that you can explain?
We are borrowing £100bn a year. Reeves says she will not borrow for current consumption but is finding it increasingly difficult to make the numbers work for that. Expect more tax increases (hopefully not as economically damaging as those in October) and fudging around what is "investment".
That massive stimulus to demand is not generating growth. It is not generating growth because too much of our consumption is spent on imports. We are bleeding nearly £50bn of demand to imports a year. Obviously we need imports. But we also need to produce as much as we consume.
So, our priorities should be increasing investment, reducing consumption, increasing production and eliminating both the fiscal and trade deficits. Is this really this hard? Obviously the devil is in the details but what is needed is a narrative that both acknowledges the mess we are in and the long, painful journey we need to undertake to get out of it. Where is the shadow Chancellor?
For all her faults however, Kemi wasn't really an insider in the Truss period. She has far more questions to answer about her responsibilities and failures during the Sunak era. But hey.
If there's ever another election in America, I can see AOC getting the Dem nomination. She seems to be getting Bernies endorsement.
I am on at 45, I notice she is now 22.
https://bsky.app/profile/aoc.bsky.social/post/3lkwlajfsbs24
Kemi Badenoch has missed an open goal. The Tory leader could have launched a withering attack on the dysfunctional absolutism of Labour’s Clean Power 2030 plan.
She could have aimed her fire at the mad “marginal” pricing system, whereby the last molecule of gas needed to keep lights on in London sets the cost of electricity in the faraway industrial hubs of Teesside or the Humber, which have abundant and cheaper wind power just offshore.
She could have demanded to know why Britain’s energy-intensive industries are not shielded from network charges and costs in the same way as European peers, which leaves UK steelmakers paying circa £66 MWh for power, compared to £49.5 MWh in Germany – a country that has an even higher share of green power in its mix than Britain.
...
She could have held Labour’s feet to the fire over its prohibitions and compulsive posturing. She could have told us how a Badenoch government would seize the economic prize of clean tech and cheap energy, doing it the free-market Tory way by means of price signals.
Instead, she went full Farageist and declared culture war on net zero, calling it a “fantasy politics, built on nothing, promising the Earth”.
...
If you are going to repudiate a core position of the Conservative Party – and smash Britain’s cross-party consensus on climate policy – you might wish to avoid claims about decarbonisation that are demonstrably untrue.
“Anyone who has done any serious analysis knows it cannot be achieved without a significant drop in our living standards or worse, by bankrupting us,” she said.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/03/20/kemi-badenochs-net-zero-rant-comes-close-political-tragedy/ (£££)
https://x.com/classicbritcom/status/1903244611994231289?s=61
Any rule against it ?
It’s something Luckyguy, who I always like to read, does quite a bit so I thought I’d do it. Save him the bother.
(The finger pointing about why we don't need to get to net zero pretty urgently is another manifestation of roughly the same psychology.)
So we get these silly fantasies that, as long as we stop this or that bit of spending that doesn't really seem to benefit us, everything will be fine.
It's bigger than that, and probably has been since the Lawson years.
No wonder opinions on both Labour and Tories are so low. People want free stuff and the moon on a stick, so will vote Faragist next time. We are on a trajectory of a failed state.
ONS, already working on fixing a survey, uncovers problems with two indices used to measure prices in economy
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/21/troubled-uk-statistics-agency-warns-of-errors-in-its-growth-figures
Stop press: Reeves could be the greatest Chancellor ever. Or the worst. No-one knows. Part 94 in our series, all economic statistics are rubbish.
Limitations on foreign funding of UK political parties are being considered earlier than thought likely. They were in the Starmer Manifesto. Sky News framed it as a response to Musk's meddling. The alleged proposals to do it on the basis of profits made in the UK seems timid to me.
There are other things that could go alongside it as a theme of the next King's Speech - levellng up voter ID, votes for 16 year olds etc.
https://news.sky.com/story/foreign-donations-to-uk-political-parties-set-to-be-restricted-amid-rumours-elon-musk-is-planning-to-give-80m-to-reform-13328570
Labour full of what the current coalition running Durham is doing wrong and how they would be much better while forgetting they have a poor record of their time in office and did not do a great job. All rather bland.
One from reform who only seem to be putting up one candidate. All stop the boats, net zero, cut my tax, and little as to,what they’d do for Durham. Which is what I care about.
Not a great start really. Also sounds like they are both out campaigning too.
It is a good day to buy a lottery ticket and hope no-one picks all six numbers. It is a "must be won" day so we can hope for £100 for three numbers if it all rolls down.
The problem is that this is being offset by profligate government spending. Let's face it, Reeves' target of "only" borrowing every pound that is "invested" is an incredibly modest one. No business or household would operate on such a basis. And she is struggling to achieve even that having blown her extra £22bn on wages.
It was 'built on nothing' because there was no plan (this is simply a matter of historical record) on how to implement it beyond hoping for the best. Why exactly should Kemi and her team attempt to bend reality, just to make May and Boris' amateur hour politics look less ridiculous?
If they need someone to calm things down, Sanders and AOC are exactly the wrong way to go. Tim Walz, or someone like him, would be way better.
Unfortunately, it may need a revolutionary to break through. Basically, a real-life
Katniss Everdeen. AOC fits that bill pretty well.
Choosing them before the draw seems somewhat more difficult...
Probably need to devote their energies to,their job rather than this.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99v3x1m5pyo
The problem, as ever, is that Labour inherited all those mechanisms from the Conservatives, so the politics are tricky.
That really is poor journalism.
Businesses aren’t spending money, and nor are households. We’ve become a nation of misers, building up our own balance sheets at the expense of growth and investment. So government has ended up having to do our borrowing for us.
We need to be encouraging everyone to spend spend spend. Eat out to help out. Do that kitchen extension. Refurbish that office. Build the new datacentre, or the solar plant. Buy that IT system.
There are things government can do to stimulate this. Planning reform is one, but targeted incentives should be part of it too.
AIs are playing up Reform type themes, and inserting some outright fabrications afaics - such as allegations about rolling Ashfield up with Nottingham City into a unitary, and bring in a Low Emission Zone. Nottingham, never mind Notts, is one of the places with afaik no prospect of that as they have been working on building public transport and similar initiatives since the 1990s.
Don't forget that Kemi's Tories will probably be the policy backbone of the next Government, even if they don't get most seats.