Sometimes I don’t have to say anything, the image says it all – politicalbetting.com
Just 13% of Britons approve of the government's record to date, the lowest level recorded by YouGov since Labour took office a year agoApprove: 13% (-1 from 28-30 June)Disapprove: 67% (+1)Net: -54 (-2)yougov.co.uk/topics/polit…
It doesn't matter how disliked Reform are. If the government's approval rating remains at that level, Labour will obtain a similar result to the Conservatives in 2024.
Effigies of lifejacket-wearing migrants in boats have been placed on a village bonfire in a display condemned by critics as 'sickening' and 'racist'. A sign saying 'Stop the boats' was also attached to the pyre in Moygashel, on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland, prompting protests.
Effigies of lifejacket-wearing migrants in boats have been placed on a village bonfire in a display condemned by critics as 'sickening' and 'racist'. A sign saying 'Stop the boats' was also attached to the pyre in Moygashel, on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland, prompting protests.
Memo to self: do NOT stow away INSIDE an aircraft engine the next time I want to sneak into the UK.
"Flights suspended after man is sucked into plane engine on runway"
"Police at Milan Bergamo International Airport told Sky News that the person appeared to run on to the runway before voluntarily entering the engine of the Volotea aircraft."
Memo to self: do NOT stow away INSIDE an aircraft engine the next time I want to sneak into the UK.
"Flights suspended after man is sucked into plane engine on runway"
"Police at Milan Bergamo International Airport told Sky News that the person appeared to run on to the runway before voluntarily entering the engine of the Volotea aircraft."
There is absolutely no way the American government would allow this in reverse.
If you've ever wondered why Britain has fallen behind America and China in the tech world, this shows why. No investment in homegrown facilities or talent, over decades.
This is stupid on national security grounds, and equally stupid on development grounds.
A right old set too on the Loughborough Facebook pages. A couple of the balaclava clad bastard bike thieves have been named, shamed and threatened with broken legs. To be fair, most of us knew at least their names, and it turns out I went to school with one of their grandparents. He was a tosser as well. It's all kicking off, photos posted, addresses posted and the youngest (a 17 year old lad who apparently posts videos of his fuckaboutery and calls himself the TikTok Twokker) has run off to the Police because he fears for his life. Mums and aunties are slagging each other off and I witnessed a bit of handbags this afternoon in town between two female middle aged druggie clan members who were jonesing too hard to make the blows count. I'm hoping the resulting gang war takes out most of the Keats Way Massive.
A right old set too on the Loughborough Facebook pages. A couple of the balaclava clad bastard bike thieves have been named, shamed and threatened with broken legs. To be fair, most of us knew at least their names, and it turns out I went to school with one of their grandparents. He was a tosser as well. It's all kicking off, photos posted, addresses posted and the youngest (a 17 year old lad who apparently posts videos of his fuckaboutery and calls himself the TikTok Twokker) has run off to the Police because he fears for his life. Mums and aunties are slagging each other off and I witnessed a bit of handbags this afternoon in town between two female middle aged druggie clan members who were jonesing too hard to make the blows count. I'm hoping the resulting gang war takes out most of the Keats Way Massive.
There's no putting lipstick on that pig. Very poor ratings for the Labour government. But it's four loooong years until the election, the Cons are even more screwed, and Reform are an accident waiting to happen. So anybody saying "one term" as if that's a done deal needs to adjust their model.
Effigies of lifejacket-wearing migrants in boats have been placed on a village bonfire in a display condemned by critics as 'sickening' and 'racist'. A sign saying 'Stop the boats' was also attached to the pyre in Moygashel, on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland, prompting protests.
A right old set too on the Loughborough Facebook pages. A couple of the balaclava clad bastard bike thieves have been named, shamed and threatened with broken legs. To be fair, most of us knew at least their names, and it turns out I went to school with one of their grandparents. He was a tosser as well. It's all kicking off, photos posted, addresses posted and the youngest (a 17 year old lad who apparently posts videos of his fuckaboutery and calls himself the TikTok Twokker) has run off to the Police because he fears for his life. Mums and aunties are slagging each other off and I witnessed a bit of handbags this afternoon in town between two female middle aged druggie clan members who were jonesing too hard to make the blows count. I'm hoping the resulting gang war takes out most of the Keats Way Massive.
Hopefully not as twattish as the South Ilford Massive.
Effigies of lifejacket-wearing migrants in boats have been placed on a village bonfire in a display condemned by critics as 'sickening' and 'racist'. A sign saying 'Stop the boats' was also attached to the pyre in Moygashel, on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland, prompting protests.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
"The project also proposes paying about $9,000 each to half a million Gazans to relocate from the Strip."
Well, that is better than the traditional way of ethnically cleansing.
Does the proposal mention where said 500,000 Gazans are to be relocated to? I'm assuming not the West Bank, so therefore you would need to find another Middle Eastern country to take them.
"The project also proposes paying about $9,000 each to half a million Gazans to relocate from the Strip."
Well, that is better than the traditional way of ethnically cleansing.
Does the proposal mention where said 500,000 Gazans are to be relocated to? I'm assuming not the West Bank, so therefore you would need to find another Middle Eastern country to take them.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
If the people of Gaza are to see development, peace, clean water, jobs, and safety, then I am 100% in favour.
If this is planned for after the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, with the surving people forced into the Sinai desert, than I am not.
I'd be happy enough if they sent all the Hamas types into the Sinai. In fact they could redevelop that too - 'Corbyn Country'. It's odd to think that if they actually did get rid of all their terrorist types they might actually have a really nice country. Almost vanishingly unlikely of course.
(Edit: By 'they sent' - I mean the sensible Palestinians doing the sending, not the Israelis choosing)
And young people, bring back WI, Mothers' Union, Rotary Club, youth clubs, scouts etc and champion mothers and wives as well as high earning career women
I genuinely wonder if there will be an attempt to ban smartphones. Entirely. For everyone
You do realise I've been saying this for about 10 years?
Effigies of lifejacket-wearing migrants in boats have been placed on a village bonfire in a display condemned by critics as 'sickening' and 'racist'. A sign saying 'Stop the boats' was also attached to the pyre in Moygashel, on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland, prompting protests.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
"The project also proposes paying about $9,000 each to half a million Gazans to relocate from the Strip."
Well, that is better than the traditional way of ethnically cleansing.
Does the proposal mention where said 500,000 Gazans are to be relocated to? I'm assuming not the West Bank, so therefore you would need to find another Middle Eastern country to take them.
Texas? Lots of space, an entrepreneurial culture and a history of large-scale immigration. I'm sure they'd be welcome.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
One of two things will happen. We will either elect a government who has the mandate and the popular consent to drive through meaningful reform, or it will be forced on a government through circumstance eventually. It would be far, far preferable for the former, rather than the latter, to give it democratic legitimacy. The latter option risks a significant, and possibly very dangerous, counter-reaction.
Gov't approval nadirs/zeniths under previous PMs. (Yougov chart starts Feb 2011)
18/61 Cameron 5th June, 2016 (Resigned 24th June) (Height 40/44 shortly after winning majority) 9/72 May 13th May, 2019 (Announced resignation 24th May) (Height 35/41 (Start of GE 17 campaign early April) 13/63 Johnson (18/64 just before he left office) (Height 44/35, Boris has just beaten Covid (personally)) 8/77 Truss (Height 14/67) (Gov't v unpopular throughout her brief term) 12/73 Sunak (Height 18/63) 13/68 Starmer (Height 29/29 29th July 2024, start of term)
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
Here's the thing: every year the number of retirees relative to the number of workers increases. That means the people with the votes have no interest in the system changing.
Eventually the young will revolt: probably by moving to places where the oldies take a smaller piece of the pie.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
One of two things will happen. We will either elect a government who has the mandate and the popular consent to drive through meaningful reform, or it will be forced on a government through circumstance eventually. It would be far, far preferable for the former, rather than the latter, to give it democratic legitimacy. The latter option risks a significant, and possibly very dangerous, counter-reaction.
"Jofra Archer will play his first Test in more than four years after being named in the England team to face India at Lord's on Thursday. The 30-year-old's inclusion is the only change to the England team for the crucial third Test, with the series level at 1-1. Despite Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse both looking weary in the heavy second-Test defeat at Edgbaston, they are both retained, with Josh Tongue making way for Archer."
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
One of two things will happen. We will either elect a government who has the mandate and the popular consent to drive through meaningful reform, or it will be forced on a government through circumstance eventually. It would be far, far preferable for the former, rather than the latter, to give it democratic legitimacy. The latter option risks a significant, and possibly very dangerous, counter-reaction.
Why would oldies vote to have fewer sweeties?
It depends very much on the options being presented.
At some point, something in the economy will give and the things that were unaffordable will become completely out of reach. A managed restructuring will be much less disruptive, and there might even be the potential for transitions and grandfathering, and the promise of more jam tomorrow.
I don’t buy the idea that people are beyond persuading of the need for reform. It is the way that it is done that is the crucial element.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
It's more toxic for the model of finance, politics and governance which has been in place since 1918.
The model needs to evolve to match the demographics and that means looking at different ways of funding including looking at accumulated wealth taxation.
An afternoon at Lingfield Park, a lunch time at Toby Carvery and any cruise will tell you there's a lot of money in this country and that money is among the older demographic. That's not an argument against triple locks or pensions per se but perhaps a recognition that wealth accumulated via paying off mortgages in times of low interest rates and the resulting asset appreciation realised via downsizing are other areas for HM Treasury to consider.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
One of two things will happen. We will either elect a government who has the mandate and the popular consent to drive through meaningful reform, or it will be forced on a government through circumstance eventually. It would be far, far preferable for the former, rather than the latter, to give it democratic legitimacy. The latter option risks a significant, and possibly very dangerous, counter-reaction.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
Repealing the Corn Laws was probably the greatest unforced error made by the British Parliament in the nineteenth century and went a long way to undermining British Agricultural dominance over the whole world. (Discuss)
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
One of two things will happen. We will either elect a government who has the mandate and the popular consent to drive through meaningful reform, or it will be forced on a government through circumstance eventually. It would be far, far preferable for the former, rather than the latter, to give it democratic legitimacy. The latter option risks a significant, and possibly very dangerous, counter-reaction.
Why would oldies vote to have fewer sweeties?
They will vote for fewer sweeties for themselves if a) they think they have enough sweeties to get by and b) they want to ensure their grandchildren have enough sweeties as well.
Russia expects to recruit as many as 1 million workers from India by the end of the year, said Andrei Besedin, head of the Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry, citing his Indian counterparts.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
One of two things will happen. We will either elect a government who has the mandate and the popular consent to drive through meaningful reform, or it will be forced on a government through circumstance eventually. It would be far, far preferable for the former, rather than the latter, to give it democratic legitimacy. The latter option risks a significant, and possibly very dangerous, counter-reaction.
Why would oldies vote to have fewer sweeties?
They will vote for fewer sweeties for themselves if a) they think they have enough sweeties to get by and b) they want to ensure their grandchildren have enough sweeties as well.
They do like to have control of the sweeties so they can choose who else gets them
"Jofra Archer will play his first Test in more than four years after being named in the England team to face India at Lord's on Thursday. The 30-year-old's inclusion is the only change to the England team for the crucial third Test, with the series level at 1-1. Despite Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse both looking weary in the heavy second-Test defeat at Edgbaston, they are both retained, with Josh Tongue making way for Archer."
"The project also proposes paying about $9,000 each to half a million Gazans to relocate from the Strip."
Well, that is better than the traditional way of ethnically cleansing.
Does the proposal mention where said 500,000 Gazans are to be relocated to? I'm assuming not the West Bank, so therefore you would need to find another Middle Eastern country to take them.
A location was not given in the reporting i saw.
None of this is actually connected to a government. There doesn't seem much reason to take any of the details that seriously. Its just getting reported because a loose link to Blair, as far as I can tell.
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
"Jofra Archer will play his first Test in more than four years after being named in the England team to face India at Lord's on Thursday. The 30-year-old's inclusion is the only change to the England team for the crucial third Test, with the series level at 1-1. Despite Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse both looking weary in the heavy second-Test defeat at Edgbaston, they are both retained, with Josh Tongue making way for Archer."
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
Gov't approval nadirs/zeniths under previous PMs. (Yougov chart starts Feb 2011)
18/61 Cameron 5th June, 2016 (Resigned 24th June) (Height 40/44 shortly after winning majority) 9/72 May 13th May, 2019 (Announced resignation 24th May) (Height 35/41 (Start of GE 17 campaign early April) 13/63 Johnson (18/64 just before he left office) (Height 44/35, Boris has just beaten Covid (personally)) 8/77 Truss (Height 14/67) (Gov't v unpopular throughout her brief term) 12/73 Sunak (Height 18/63) 13/68 Starmer (Height 29/29 29th July 2024, start of term)
These figures arent quite right. Truss bottomed at 6/82 2 days before Sunak took over and topped at 21/58 during the mourning period Rishis bottom was 12/74 during the GE campaign, best 19/59 in June 23
It doesn't matter how disliked Reform are. If the government's approval rating remains at that level, Labour will obtain a similar result to the Conservatives in 2024.
Then it all depends on how many MPs the LDs and Tories and SNP and Greens win whether Farage or Starmer becomes PM if a hung parliament
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
"The project also proposes paying about $9,000 each to half a million Gazans to relocate from the Strip."
Well, that is better than the traditional way of ethnically cleansing.
Does the proposal mention where said 500,000 Gazans are to be relocated to? I'm assuming not the West Bank, so therefore you would need to find another Middle Eastern country to take them.
A location was not given in the reporting i saw.
None of this is actually connected to a government. There doesn't seem much reason to take any of the details that seriously. Its just getting reported because a loose link to Blair, as far as I can tell.
I expect they'll come here. Every other Tom, Dick and Harry from the Middle East does. $9,000 should pay the people smugglers.
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
Unfortunately for the UK the 13% who oppose are the ones paying the rump of tax and also the most able to leave.
It is actually less than 1% who would have assets over £10 million liable for the wealth tax in that question, though yes they invest a lot in this country and some might leave if it was introduced
Putting aside the clickbait title, the crux seems to be that he has become active on social media / going to demonstrations while in the UK illegally. He hasn't been able to prove his claims of attending demonstrations while in Iraq.
This again seems a very easy way to game the system. Get here, while the system is sorting out your claim, get mouthy on socials in English, then claim I can't go back because somebody might find my Faceache posts. Job done.
Does anybody get an asylum claim rejected, these days?
What about after all the appeals? As it seems a lot of these reports are often after several appeals it the original Home Office decision gets overturned.
The number of appeals won is high, however it depends how many of those rejected actually appeal. At the moment on your figures 53% get rejected....not if only 10% appeal but 75% win on appeal thats a lot different in all 53% appeal and 75% win
"The project also proposes paying about $9,000 each to half a million Gazans to relocate from the Strip."
Well, that is better than the traditional way of ethnically cleansing.
Does the proposal mention where said 500,000 Gazans are to be relocated to? I'm assuming not the West Bank, so therefore you would need to find another Middle Eastern country to take them.
A location was not given in the reporting i saw.
None of this is actually connected to a government. There doesn't seem much reason to take any of the details that seriously. Its just getting reported because a loose link to Blair, as far as I can tell.
I expect they'll come here. Every other Tom, Dick and Harry from the Middle East does. $9,000 should pay the people smugglers.
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
Unfortunately for the UK the 13% who oppose are the ones paying the rump of tax and also the most able to leave.
It is actually less than 1% who would have assets over £10 million liable for the wealth tax in that question, though yes they invest a lot in this country and some might leave if it was introduced
The people who aren’t the 1% with assets over £10m but still wealthy will realise that if the 1% leave then their tax will need replacing from somewhere - who will that be? So they will also start planning to leave before the tax man comes for them too.
Effigies of lifejacket-wearing migrants in boats have been placed on a village bonfire in a display condemned by critics as 'sickening' and 'racist'. A sign saying 'Stop the boats' was also attached to the pyre in Moygashel, on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland, prompting protests.
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
That's true of all developed world countries.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
So the current welfare and pensions legislation is the Corn Laws of our age. Who will be brave enough to repeal them?
Here's the thing: every year the number of retirees relative to the number of workers increases. That means the people with the votes have no interest in the system changing.
Eventually the young will revolt: probably by moving to places where the oldies take a smaller piece of the pie.
Don't be silly to young won't revolt they would need to look up from their phones to do so
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
IMO it's a fairly naive, silly article from Sky (as you say, "excited") - afaics they only focus on the "2% above £10m worth" option. Our moronic media will go up the gum tree as they always do, yammering on about extreme options - exactly as the "Labour will tax you until your pips squeak" bollocks we had from the papers and the opposition politicians in the run up to the election.
At least Sky mention the Swiss option which is at much lower levels and is applied more widely and less regressively, and which afaik is about the only one that works in raising a decent amount of money.
Labour would be better saying "nothing like this in the current term - Kemi and Nigel are a couple of BS merchants", and close all the other loopholes of which lists have been published.
Then pivot Council Tax to a % of property value, or at least with no upper bands and make it linear, which is a type of wealth tax on our most featherbedded type of wealth. That would then begin to slay the house price inflation demon and make property more affordable, a superb contrast to the morally-bankrupt Conservative never-ending feeding of the demand side with subsidies, which makes the house price inflation worse.
There is absolutely no way the American government would allow this in reverse.
If you've ever wondered why Britain has fallen behind America and China in the tech world, this shows why. No investment in homegrown facilities or talent, over decades.
This is stupid on national security grounds, and equally stupid on development grounds.
British Job For British Workers Drinking British Pints....
I would say one of the biggest issues why Britain has fallen behind despite having very good universities, lack of investment in GPUs and the infrastructure to host them. Ask people in the university sector doing research into ML in the UK what they have and then tell people who work at Google, Meta, etc, even companies like PInterest, and they will piss themselves laughing.
Good job the UK government is investing in, checks notes, AMD GPU powered data centres....
To be fair there are some compute units that should come online soon that were authoritised by the previous government. Isambard one in Bristol to be shared among several universities in that region. But it still small beans.
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
IMO it's a fairly naive, silly article from Sky (as you say, "excited") - afaics they only focus on the "2% above £10m worth" option. Our moronic media will go up the gum tree as they always do, yammering on about extreme options - exactly as the "Labour will tax you until your pips squeak" bollocks we had from the papers and the opposition politicians in the run up to the election.
At least Sky mention the Swiss option which is at much lower levels and is applied more widely and less regressively, and which afaik is about the only one that works in raising a decent amount of money.
Labour would be better saying "nothing like this in the current term - Kemi and Nigel are a couple of BS merchants", and close all the other loopholes of which lists have been published.
Then pivot Council Tax to a % of property value, or at least with no upper bands and make it linear, which is a type of wealth tax on our most featherbedded type of wealth. That would then begin to slay the house price inflation demon and make property more affordable, a superb contrast to the morally-bankrupt Conservative never-ending feeding of the demand side with subsidies, which makes the house price inflation worse.
Pivoting council tax to property value is going to drive renters out of better area's. Who renting is going to pay a council tax based on property value in london
I see Alistair and Rory have decided that they've been quiet for too long and need to criticise Israel on their podcast. Fair enough.
I'm not a regular listener but I wonder if they have also been silent on the cesspit that was Gaza before October 2023 and the role of all the international aid and charitable organisations that were complicit in it. Hamas built a network of tunnels bigger than the London underground headquartered next to hospitals and had schools indoctrinating children against Jews. Are we to believe that none of the agencies knew anything about this? That they were blissfully unaware of how all their aid was being mis-used in Gaza by psychopathic savages intent on violence? At the very least I'd like some question to be asked of them not be constantly treated like paragons on the BBC and Sky News as they detail Israel's crimes.
There's a lot of hate for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (inevitable since it is American/Israeli) but can well understand why Israel has taken the steps it has to take control of the aid distribution system from the international bodies who's goods always seemed to find their way into Hamas' hands. Of course the GHF is dubbed 'controversial' by the media whilst the UN bodies are not controversial. Who gets to decide on that?
I think we are seeing again a load of anchoring going on....nudge nudge to the media all these extreme changes to taxes, then when they don't come about but still raise taxes by loads, it will be seen as not as bad as it could have been.
I think we are seeing again a load of anchoring going on....nudge nudge to the media all these extreme changes to taxes, then when they don't come about but still raise taxes by loads, it will be seen as not as bad as it could have been.
It’s not going to work. They’re terrible at retail politics
Sky News getting excited about the idea of a wealth tax.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one? The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
IMO it's a fairly naive, silly article from Sky (as you say, "excited") - afaics they only focus on the "2% above £10m worth" option. Our moronic media will go up the gum tree as they always do, yammering on about extreme options - exactly as the "Labour will tax you until your pips squeak" bollocks we had from the papers and the opposition politicians in the run up to the election.
At least Sky mention the Swiss option which is at much lower levels and is applied more widely and less regressively, and which afaik is about the only one that works in raising a decent amount of money.
Labour would be better saying "nothing like this in the current term - Kemi and Nigel are a couple of BS merchants", and close all the other loopholes of which lists have been published.
Then pivot Council Tax to a % of property value, or at least with no upper bands and make it linear, which is a type of wealth tax on our most featherbedded type of wealth. That would then begin to slay the house price inflation demon and make property more affordable, a superb contrast to the morally-bankrupt Conservative never-ending feeding of the demand side with subsidies, which makes the house price inflation worse.
Pivoting council tax to property value is going to drive renters out of better area's. Who renting is going to pay a council tax based on property value in london
It's a local tax not national, you don't pay 10x the council tax for a studio flat in London as you would for a 2up2down terrace in Grimsby.
A friend of mine is moving to Surrey. She's found a place to rent for £1300pcm that is in council tax band B. Rather confusing for me as I'm in band C and I don't think I could rent my flat for anything like that!
I think we are seeing again a load of anchoring going on....nudge nudge to the media all these extreme changes to taxes, then when they don't come about but still raise taxes by loads, it will be seen as not as bad as it could have been.
It’s not going to work. They’re terrible at retail politics
Well it didn't work last time when people realised some of it. I still don't think people fully comprehend the NI changes.
Comments
Truss had a 6 and a 7
After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of 𝕏.
https://x.com/lindayaX/status/1942957094811951197
Effigies of lifejacket-wearing migrants in boats have been placed on a village bonfire in a display condemned by critics as 'sickening' and 'racist'. A sign saying 'Stop the boats' was also attached to the pyre in Moygashel, on the outskirts of Dungannon in Co Tyrone in Northern Ireland, prompting protests.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14889681/Fury-racist-village-bonfire-effigy-migrants-stop-boats.html
https://x.com/adam_tooze/status/1942920419448688674
"Flights suspended after man is sucked into plane engine on runway"
"Police at Milan Bergamo International Airport told Sky News that the person appeared to run on to the runway before voluntarily entering the engine of the Volotea aircraft."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/flights-suspended-after-man-is-sucked-into-plane-engine-on-runway/ar-AA1IcsA8?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=b943513bf425457f974f49e8476c073c&ei=19
Company to provide free technology and ‘upskill’ civil servants but concerns raised over UK data being held on US servers
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/09/uk-governments-deal-with-google-dangerously-naive-say-campaigners
There is absolutely no way the American government would allow this in reverse.
If you've ever wondered why Britain has fallen behind America and China in the tech world, this shows why. No investment in homegrown facilities or talent, over decades.
This is stupid on national security grounds, and equally stupid on development grounds.
To be fair, most of us knew at least their names, and it turns out I went to school with one of their grandparents. He was a tosser as well.
It's all kicking off, photos posted, addresses posted and the youngest (a 17 year old lad who apparently posts videos of his fuckaboutery and calls himself the TikTok Twokker) has run off to the Police because he fears for his life.
Mums and aunties are slagging each other off and I witnessed a bit of handbags this afternoon in town between two female middle aged druggie clan members who were jonesing too hard to make the blows count.
I'm hoping the resulting gang war takes out most of the Keats Way Massive.
If this is planned for after the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, with the surving people forced into the Sinai desert, than I am not.
"The project also proposes paying about $9,000 each to half a million Gazans to relocate from the Strip."
"Britain "cannot afford the array of promises it has made to the public", the budget watchdog has concluded in a stark warning that the country has been living beyond its means".
Does the proposal mention where said 500,000 Gazans are to be relocated to? I'm assuming not the West Bank, so therefore you would need to find another Middle Eastern country to take them.
Is the MBS highway named after the leader of Saudi Arabia?
Trump, MBS, etc., they all love getting their names on things.
The combination of rising life expectancy, promised pensions, increasingly expensive healthcare, and low birthrates is absolutely toxic for the sustainability of developed world government finances.
(Edit: By 'they sent' - I mean the sensible Palestinians doing the sending, not the Israelis choosing)
18/61 Cameron 5th June, 2016 (Resigned 24th June) (Height 40/44 shortly after winning majority)
9/72 May 13th May, 2019 (Announced resignation 24th May) (Height 35/41 (Start of GE 17 campaign early April)
13/63 Johnson (18/64 just before he left office) (Height 44/35, Boris has just beaten Covid (personally))
8/77 Truss (Height 14/67) (Gov't v unpopular throughout her brief term)
12/73 Sunak (Height 18/63)
13/68 Starmer (Height 29/29 29th July 2024, start of term)
Eventually the young will revolt: probably by moving to places where the oldies take a smaller piece of the pie.
https://www.ft.com/content/6ddd81c2-6dc2-4d11-830b-631e08a43354
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/c77vk1k5n27o
At some point, something in the economy will give and the things that were unaffordable will become completely out of reach. A managed restructuring will be much less disruptive, and there might even be the potential for transitions and grandfathering, and the promise of more jam tomorrow.
I don’t buy the idea that people are beyond persuading of the need for reform. It is the way that it is done that is the crucial element.
The model needs to evolve to match the demographics and that means looking at different ways of funding including looking at accumulated wealth taxation.
An afternoon at Lingfield Park, a lunch time at Toby Carvery and any cruise will tell you there's a lot of money in this country and that money is among the older demographic. That's not an argument against triple locks or pensions per se but perhaps a recognition that wealth accumulated via paying off mortgages in times of low interest rates and the resulting asset appreciation realised via downsizing are other areas for HM Treasury to consider.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/09/russia-seeks-to-recruit-1mln-indian-workers-in-2025-urals-chamber-of-commerce-head-says-a89748
Russia expects to recruit as many as 1 million workers from India by the end of the year, said Andrei Besedin, head of the Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry, citing his Indian counterparts.
None of this is actually connected to a government. There doesn't seem much reason to take any of the details that seriously. Its just getting reported because a loose link to Blair, as far as I can tell.
"What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one?
The idea of a wealth tax has been raised before in the UK but has never been implemented."
https://news.sky.com/story/what-is-a-wealth-tax-how-would-it-work-in-the-uk-and-where-else-has-one-13394144
75% of voters back a wealth tax of 2% on wealth over £10 million, 13% opposed.
88% of Labour voters, 83% of LDs, even 62% of Tory and 55% of Reform voters in favour
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2025/07/08/3086a/1
Truss bottomed at 6/82 2 days before Sunak took over and topped at 21/58 during the mourning period
Rishis bottom was 12/74 during the GE campaign, best 19/59 in June 23
Boris hit 52/26 as Covid lockdown began
Excel spreadsheet from YG here https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/trackers/government-approval
https://x.com/StephenM/status/1942981399080018275
What if, this entire time, the key to fixing our cities was enforcing our immigration laws?
At least Sky mention the Swiss option which is at much lower levels and is applied more widely and less regressively, and which afaik is about the only one that works in raising a decent amount of money.
Labour would be better saying "nothing like this in the current term - Kemi and Nigel are a couple of BS merchants", and close all the other loopholes of which lists have been published.
Then pivot Council Tax to a % of property value, or at least with no upper bands and make it linear, which is a type of wealth tax on our most featherbedded type of wealth. That would then begin to slay the house price inflation demon and make property more affordable, a superb contrast to the morally-bankrupt Conservative never-ending feeding of the demand side with subsidies, which makes the house price inflation worse.
I would say one of the biggest issues why Britain has fallen behind despite having very good universities, lack of investment in GPUs and the infrastructure to host them. Ask people in the university sector doing research into ML in the UK what they have and then tell people who work at Google, Meta, etc, even companies like PInterest, and they will piss themselves laughing.
Good job the UK government is investing in, checks notes, AMD GPU powered data centres....
To be fair there are some compute units that should come online soon that were authoritised by the previous government. Isambard one in Bristol to be shared among several universities in that region. But it still small beans.
I'm not a regular listener but I wonder if they have also been silent on the cesspit that was Gaza before October 2023 and the role of all the international aid and charitable organisations that were complicit in it. Hamas built a network of tunnels bigger than the London underground headquartered next to hospitals and had schools indoctrinating children against Jews. Are we to believe that none of the agencies knew anything about this? That they were blissfully unaware of how all their aid was being mis-used in Gaza by psychopathic savages intent on violence? At the very least I'd like some question to be asked of them not be constantly treated like paragons on the BBC and Sky News as they detail Israel's crimes.
There's a lot of hate for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (inevitable since it is American/Israeli) but can well understand why Israel has taken the steps it has to take control of the aid distribution system from the international bodies who's goods always seemed to find their way into Hamas' hands. Of course the GHF is dubbed 'controversial' by the media whilst the UN bodies are not controversial. Who gets to decide on that?