The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
The main buyers are fleet sales and their second hand values are dreadful
You cannot keep subsidies on products that are not popular
The point is to drive the chicken and egg problem by subsiding early adopters so the infrastructure catches up. That is quite clearly working based on the number on the road and the investment in charging infrastructure.
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
The main buyers are fleet sales and their second hand values are dreadful
You cannot keep subsidies on products that are not popular
The point is to drive the chicken and egg problem by subsiding early adaptors so the infrastructure catches up. That is quite clearly working based on the number on the road and the investment in charging infrastructure.
The problem is few want to buy them at the prices asked and market depreciation
James Hogg @JamesAHogg2 · 5h As Wimbledon is almost at an end I think it’s only right that I post the fabulous Not the Nine O’clock News lampoon of John McEnroe’s epic 1981 Wimbledon meltdown, which I believe every child in the world took great delight in repeating ad nauseam in the playground.
Neil Oliver @thecoastguy · 56m Watching 40th anniversary of Live Aid. Skin crawling with mortification about having wholeheartedly swallowed the nonsense then. All that money from trusting people sent to murderous regime. Plus ca change.
To be fair, the Ethiopian famine was largely as a result of the civil war in Ethiopia and the deliberate withholding of food by the government, as a weapon, was noted at the time.
This anti-science populist bollocks is going to kill many many people.
Shaun Lintern @ShaunLintern 🚨 EXCLUSIVE: A child has died after contracting measles in Liverpool, where public health officials fear a growing outbreak of the disease.
Neil Oliver @thecoastguy · 56m Watching 40th anniversary of Live Aid. Skin crawling with mortification about having wholeheartedly swallowed the nonsense then. All that money from trusting people sent to murderous regime. Plus ca change.
To be fair, the Ethiopian famine was largely as a result of the civil war in Ethiopia and the deliberate withholding of food by the government, as a weapon, was noted at the time.
Just give us the f*cking money.
You are Rachel Reeves, and I claim my five pounds.
My favourite Live Aid clip. Madonna's backing dancers mics are explicitly not wired up...
Madonna looked so good there. Never better imo
David Bowie really couldn’t sing, Jesus Christ he murdered his own “Modern Love” ( second record I ever bought)
I used to know a couple of Madonna's makeup-artist/stylists. It seemed like a well-paying, but not very enjoyable gig. And I do emphasise 'not very enjoyable'. A lot.
My favourite Live Aid clip. Madonna's backing dancers mics are explicitly not wired up...
Madonna looked so good there. Never better imo
David Bowie really couldn’t sing, Jesus Christ he murdered his own “Modern Love” ( second record I ever bought)
I used to know a couple of Madonna's makeup-artist/stylists. It seemed like a well-paying, but not very enjoyable gig. And I do emphasise 'not very enjoyable'. A lot.
This anti-science populist bollocks is going to kill many many people.
Shaun Lintern @ShaunLintern 🚨 EXCLUSIVE: A child has died after contracting measles in Liverpool, where public health officials fear a growing outbreak of the disease.
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
The main buyers are fleet sales and their second hand values are dreadful
You cannot keep subsidies on products that are not popular
Are you sure they ain’t popular? EV drivers rarely revert.
There’s lots going on .
¿Depreciation because the tech keeps getting better might be a factor.
I know I keep shifting my expectation and I’m always waiting for the next battery innovation. BYD Seal is my next test drive.
Tipping points. Energy dependence. Tax exemption. New wind farms coming online. The drive to decarbonise. Vehicle batteries becoming part of the energy storage solution.
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
The main buyers are fleet sales and their second hand values are dreadful
You cannot keep subsidies on products that are not popular
Are you sure they ain’t popular? EV drivers rarely revert.
There’s lots going on .
¿Depreciation because the tech keeps getting better might be a factor.
I know I keep shifting my expectation and I’m always waiting for the next battery innovation. BYD Seal is my next test drive.
Tipping points. Energy dependence. Tax exemption. New wind farms coming online. The drive to decarbonise. Vehicle batteries becoming part of the energy storage solution.
It’s an interesting time.
I agree, but to be honest it seems a long way off if you just look at the number of petrol and diesel cars on the road
No one I know is the least bit interested in an ev
When my mercedes went in for service I was provided with an ev courtesy car and it was lovely. but I understand it was over-£60,000 to buy new
I may have zoned out by the US end of things on LiveAid forty years ago or just simply forgotten, but I don't remember Crosby, Stills, Nash playing.
Not one of their great performances to be honest.
All I remember of Live Aid was : Freddy Mercury, a bit of Eurythmics, that bloke from 'Vienna', Phil Collins flying to New York or something, for reasons?
I may have zoned out by the US end of things on LiveAid forty years ago or just simply forgotten, but I don't remember Crosby, Stills, Nash playing.
Not one of their great performances to be honest.
All I remember of Live Aid was : Freddy Mercury, a bit of Eurythmics, that bloke from 'Vienna', Phil Collins flying to New York or something, for reasons?
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
Just because other countries do it doesn't make it a good idea.
We are subsidising people to buy new cars, rather than sweat assets and run old cars into the ground. Dumb idea, destroys value. Never, ever subsidise people to throw away usable equipment in favour of new, it's just burning cash. We should be expecting 20-25 years/500k miles life from a car, rather than the current 10-15 years/100-150k. Forcing manufacturers to build to this standard would be far more worthwhile than EV mandates - 10% increase in manufacturing cost could approximately double vehicle lifespans.
In case this idea isn't dumb enough, we're subsidising a version of motoring that is cheaper per mile almost entirely because of tax arbitrage - so we are subsidising people to erode the tax base.
We're also subsidising the Chinese car industry to destroy the European car industry, which seems pretty dumb.
And finally we're subsidising the well off who could probably afford an EV anyway, so that driving is even cheaper for them, rather than helping the poor (who are driving round in petrol powered bangers, and largely will be for the next 25-30 years).
If we subsidised anything other than a green shiboleth, like we subsidise EVs, the left would go mad with rage...
I may have zoned out by the US end of things on LiveAid forty years ago or just simply forgotten, but I don't remember Crosby, Stills, Nash playing.
Not one of their great performances to be honest.
All I remember of Live Aid was : Freddy Mercury, a bit of Eurythmics, that bloke from 'Vienna', Phil Collins flying to New York or something, for reasons?
One of my main memories is that my mate from university's sister had a ticket. It was like... how? How has she snaffled that? Grrr...
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
Just because other countries do it doesn't make it a good idea.
We are subsidising people to buy new cars, rather than sweat assets and run old cars into the ground. Dumb idea, destroys value. Never, ever subsidise people to throw away usable equipment in favour of new, it's just burning cash. We should be expecting 20-25 years/500k miles life from a car, rather than the current 10-15 years/100-150k. Forcing manufacturers to build to this standard would be far more worthwhile than EV mandates - 10% increase in manufacturing cost could approximately double vehicle lifespans.
In case this idea isn't dumb enough, we're subsidising a version of motoring that is cheaper per mile almost entirely because of tax arbitrage - so we are subsidising people to erode the tax base.
We're also subsidising the Chinese car industry to destroy the European car industry, which seems pretty dumb.
And finally we're subsidising the well off who could probably afford an EV anyway, so that driving is even cheaper for them, rather than helping the poor (who are driving round in petrol powered bangers, and largely will be for the next 25-30 years).
If we subsidised anything other than a green shiboleth, like we subsidise EVs, the left would go mad with rage...
Chinese EVs should definitely be excluded from any subsidiary scheme.
I may have zoned out by the US end of things on LiveAid forty years ago or just simply forgotten, but I don't remember Crosby, Stills, Nash playing.
Not one of their great performances to be honest.
All I remember of Live Aid was : Freddy Mercury, a bit of Eurythmics, that bloke from 'Vienna', Phil Collins flying to New York or something, for reasons?
He just landed (40 years ago)
And they say Concord was a pointless white elephant.
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
Just because other countries do it doesn't make it a good idea.
We are subsidising people to buy new cars, rather than sweat assets and run old cars into the ground. Dumb idea, destroys value. Never, ever subsidise people to throw away usable equipment in favour of new, it's just burning cash. We should be expecting 20-25 years/500k miles life from a car, rather than the current 10-15 years/100-150k. Forcing manufacturers to build to this standard would be far more worthwhile than EV mandates - 10% increase in manufacturing cost could approximately double vehicle lifespans.
In case this idea isn't dumb enough, we're subsidising a version of motoring that is cheaper per mile almost entirely because of tax arbitrage - so we are subsidising people to erode the tax base.
We're also subsidising the Chinese car industry to destroy the European car industry, which seems pretty dumb.
And finally we're subsidising the well off who could probably afford an EV anyway, so that driving is even cheaper for them, rather than helping the poor (who are driving round in petrol powered bangers, and largely will be for the next 25-30 years).
If we subsidised anything other than a green shiboleth, like we subsidise EVs, the left would go mad with rage...
Dunno about that. I’m green and left and I’ve never previously mentioned fossil fuel subsidies. Ever. To anyone.
The first number out of Wikipedia on fossil fuel subsidy was $7 trillion per year. AKA 7.1% of global GDP.
Which is what? Quite a lot!
Making up the views of the people I presume you disagree with does you no credit.
This anti-science populist bollocks is going to kill many many people.
Shaun Lintern @ShaunLintern 🚨 EXCLUSIVE: A child has died after contracting measles in Liverpool, where public health officials fear a growing outbreak of the disease.
Neil Young wrote some lovely songs, but I really can’t have I his voice. . I heard ‘Harvest Moon’ for the first time this week, but had to find a cover of it (Brothers Comatose). Same goes with ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ , which I knew as a St Etienne song
David Frum @davidfrum · 17m As Scooby Doo taught millions of TV watchers: if the deceased villain's best friend tells you there's nothing worth seeing inside the locked closet ... there's probably something worth seeing inside the locked closet.
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
The main buyers are fleet sales and their second hand values are dreadful
You cannot keep subsidies on products that are not popular
Are you sure they ain’t popular? EV drivers rarely revert.
There’s lots going on .
¿Depreciation because the tech keeps getting better might be a factor.
I know I keep shifting my expectation and I’m always waiting for the next battery innovation. BYD Seal is my next test drive.
Tipping points. Energy dependence. Tax exemption. New wind farms coming online. The drive to decarbonise. Vehicle batteries becoming part of the energy storage solution.
It’s an interesting time.
I agree, but to be honest it seems a long way off if you just look at the number of petrol and diesel cars on the road
No one I know is the least bit interested in an ev
When my mercedes went in for service I was provided with an ev courtesy car and it was lovely. but I understand it was over-£60,000 to buy new
Neil Young wrote some lovely songs, but I really can’t have I his voice. . I heard ‘Harvest Moon’ for the first time this week, but had to find a cover of it (Brothers Comatose). Same goes with ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ , which I knew as a St Etienne song
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
Just because other countries do it doesn't make it a good idea.
We are subsidising people to buy new cars, rather than sweat assets and run old cars into the ground. Dumb idea, destroys value. Never, ever subsidise people to throw away usable equipment in favour of new, it's just burning cash. We should be expecting 20-25 years/500k miles life from a car, rather than the current 10-15 years/100-150k. Forcing manufacturers to build to this standard would be far more worthwhile than EV mandates - 10% increase in manufacturing cost could approximately double vehicle lifespans.
In case this idea isn't dumb enough, we're subsidising a version of motoring that is cheaper per mile almost entirely because of tax arbitrage - so we are subsidising people to erode the tax base.
We're also subsidising the Chinese car industry to destroy the European car industry, which seems pretty dumb.
And finally we're subsidising the well off who could probably afford an EV anyway, so that driving is even cheaper for them, rather than helping the poor (who are driving round in petrol powered bangers, and largely will be for the next 25-30 years).
If we subsidised anything other than a green shiboleth, like we subsidise EVs, the left would go mad with rage...
This is *mostly* true: but old, old cars often become prohibitively expensive to service, and over time fuel economy only gets worse. My son's best friend's parents got him a 15 year old Mercedes A Class, on the basis that it would be sturdy and cheap to run, but have been staggered by how much its efficency has diminished. When new it probably got low 30s (petrol), now they're getting less than 20. On a not very big or exciting car.
Now that car is probably only going to be driven 3-5,000 miles a year, so it's shitty fuel consumption is not a big deal. But at some point, it's going to be for the knacker's yard, particularly if petrol prices rise.
Neil Young wrote some lovely songs, but I really can’t have I his voice. . I heard ‘Harvest Moon’ for the first time this week, but had to find a cover of it (Brothers Comatose). Same goes with ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ , which I knew as a St Etienne song
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
Just because other countries do it doesn't make it a good idea.
We are subsidising people to buy new cars, rather than sweat assets and run old cars into the ground. Dumb idea, destroys value. Never, ever subsidise people to throw away usable equipment in favour of new, it's just burning cash. We should be expecting 20-25 years/500k miles life from a car, rather than the current 10-15 years/100-150k. Forcing manufacturers to build to this standard would be far more worthwhile than EV mandates - 10% increase in manufacturing cost could approximately double vehicle lifespans.
In case this idea isn't dumb enough, we're subsidising a version of motoring that is cheaper per mile almost entirely because of tax arbitrage - so we are subsidising people to erode the tax base.
We're also subsidising the Chinese car industry to destroy the European car industry, which seems pretty dumb.
And finally we're subsidising the well off who could probably afford an EV anyway, so that driving is even cheaper for them, rather than helping the poor (who are driving round in petrol powered bangers, and largely will be for the next 25-30 years).
If we subsidised anything other than a green shiboleth, like we subsidise EVs, the left would go mad with rage...
This is *mostly* true: but old, old cars often become prohibitively expensive to service, and over time fuel economy only gets worse. My son's best friend's parents got him a 15 year old Mercedes A Class, on the basis that it would be sturdy and cheap to run, but have been staggered by how much its efficency has diminished. When new it probably got low 30s (petrol), now they're getting less than 20. On a not very big or exciting car.
Now that car is probably only going to be driven 3-5,000 miles a year, so it's shitty fuel consumption is not a big deal. But at some point, it's going to be for the knacker's yard, particularly if petrol prices rise.
Ah, the A Class. The car of the most successful secretaries...
Neil Oliver @thecoastguy · 56m Watching 40th anniversary of Live Aid. Skin crawling with mortification about having wholeheartedly swallowed the nonsense then. All that money from trusting people sent to murderous regime. Plus ca change.
I think questioning of Live Aid (in that the Ethiopian Government is said to have used the funding to implement ethnic cleansing) is fairly mainstream now - has been for years in fact. I am sure Neil Oliver has said some far more loony things that would support your view better.
Is ethnic cleansing good or bad these days? It's hard to keep up with changing fashion.
Neil Oliver @thecoastguy · 56m Watching 40th anniversary of Live Aid. Skin crawling with mortification about having wholeheartedly swallowed the nonsense then. All that money from trusting people sent to murderous regime. Plus ca change.
Neil Oliver @thecoastguy · 56m Watching 40th anniversary of Live Aid. Skin crawling with mortification about having wholeheartedly swallowed the nonsense then. All that money from trusting people sent to murderous regime. Plus ca change.
LiveAid gave up the likes of the iconic Freddie Mercury performance, this year Glastonbury ended up being overshadowed by a bloke going on an antisemitic rant about the bloke who organised LiveAid. How times have changed.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he added that the US president, Donald Trump, should expect a “warm reception” when he comes to the UK for a second state visit.
“He should expect a warm reception because he really does love Britain. He hugely admires it,” Mandelson said.
“He trusts Keir Starmer. It’s not a question of expressing our gratitude. My lodestar here is to demonstrate respect, not sycophancy. I don’t think the administration has any problem with that.”
LiveAid gave up the likes of the iconic Freddie Mercury performance, this year Glastonbury ended up being overshadowed by a bloke going on an antisemitic rant about the bloke who organised LiveAid. How times have changed.
Yes. But which one had Gary Numan? I rest my case. 😎
I still recall my surprise when I first used Chat GPT and asked which candidate won DC at the 1988 US election, and was told the answer was George HW Bush, the Republican candidate.
Dukakis winning West Virginia by 31k votes is the standard out result in 1988 for me
One missing piece of information in the story is what on earth the husband was doing for income? If the illness is fake, he should have been working. Keeping up the mortgage on a 250000 house shouldn't have been too hard even with two low incomes - and recoverable even with the alleged fraud.
Middle class people with low incomes are a fascinating breed.
I don't know - I had never heard of them, despite seven figures of sales since 2018.
The latest book has been delayed. The statement is very blurb:
On Winter Hill sees Winn undertake the Coast to Coast walk in northern England, this time alone. “Despite 45 years of walking together, setbacks in her husband, Moth’s, health have led him to see his decline as inevitable, which Raynor refuses to accept”, according to the publisher’s description. “Feeling trapped, she is drawn north, like a migratory bird, seeking the peace and hope that walking brings her”.
The Coast to Coast is a great walk, but it's only 70 miles. Was not @JosiasJessop planning to do it on a pushbike in one day?
Nah, and certainly not on a pushbike!
For some reason the C-to-c is one trail I've got little interest in doing. I've walked all the national trails, aside from the Southern Upland, the Yorkshire Wolds, and a couple of recentish extensions to other trails, but the coast-to-coast leaves me cold. I don't know why.
When I was walking past St Bees Head on my coastal walk, I met some people descending the cliffs. They said proudly they'd just walked from Robin Hood's Bay in a couple of weeks. I replied I'd just come from there in ?five? months, but had come around the long way...
The question is whether I need to do the English Coastal Path when it opens - I've walked the coast before, but that wouldn't have been the 'official' trail, so probably doesn't count...
I did the coast to coast thirty odd years ago before it had become so ridiculously well known.
It was longer than 70 miles that's for sure.
Has the route changed?
We (OK - me) may be at cross-purposes.
My 70 miles is the approximate length of Hadrian's Wall, which I have always treated as the Coast to Coast walk since a friend did it the week after his University Course finished. And I don't really see the point in a "coast-to-coast" which is longer than necessary; that's like building the Panama Canal through Belize, Guatemala and Mexico.
One of my favourite long bike rides was a coast-to-coast-to-coast across northern Scotland. Fortunately, the wind backed through 180 degrees in the twelve hours otherwise I’d have been stranded a long way from my bd for the night.
The Southern Upland Way is a coast to coast, and 214 miles. Remarkably few people complete it, through some of the most unknown territory of the UK.
Indeed, many people do it in sections but few complete the whole thing in one go, only around 1000 per year. Contrast with the west highland way (96 miles) which has around 35k people completing the full route every year. Very contrasting routes, WHW being much more famous across the globe
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he added that the US president, Donald Trump, should expect a “warm reception” when he comes to the UK for a second state visit.
“He should expect a warm reception because he really does love Britain. He hugely admires it,” Mandelson said.
“He trusts Keir Starmer. It’s not a question of expressing our gratitude. My lodestar here is to demonstrate respect, not sycophancy. I don’t think the administration has any problem with that.”
The only way he'll get a warm reception is if he arrives around the time of the Lewes bonfires...
This is the voting system previously used in London Mayoral elections. One irony is that Reform favoured proportional voting but its current poll leads mean it does better under FPTP.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he added that the US president, Donald Trump, should expect a “warm reception” when he comes to the UK for a second state visit.
“He should expect a warm reception because he really does love Britain. He hugely admires it,” Mandelson said.
“He trusts Keir Starmer. It’s not a question of expressing our gratitude. My lodestar here is to demonstrate respect, not sycophancy. I don’t think the administration has any problem with that.”
The only way he'll get a warm reception is if he arrives around the time of the Lewes bonfires...
Yes, it is not difficult to think of ways Trump's visits could backfire on him and us.
This is the voting system previously used in London Mayoral elections. One irony is that Reform favoured proportional voting but its current poll leads mean it does better under FPTP.
Voters have a funny way of being presented with different systems and working out how to engineer (rarely on an individual level, but as wisdom of crowds) still get their desired outcome.
On the EV thing I was in Shanghai and it was so weird, you're in the centre of the city and you've got the middle-income-country traffic with loads of cars and little scooters zooming in and out all over the place but it's... totally silent. The future sounds like nothing.
The idea is a throwback to the Youth Training Scheme, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1983 to tackle soaring youth unemployment by offering school leavers aged 16 and 17 on-the-job training and a nominal wage. By 1988 there were more than 500,000 contracted placements on the scheme. It was replaced by Youth Training in 1989, which ran until the mid-1990s.
Gregg said his wages proposal would be possible if the Office for Budget Responsibility took into account potential future savings when estimating the fiscal impact of the policy. He claims that the alternative is that it ends up in a “really bizarre situation, which is that we can’t fund sensible reform to save money”.
Well if Thatcher did it, its dead on arrival for Labour MPs to back it....
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
Just because other countries do it doesn't make it a good idea.
We are subsidising people to buy new cars, rather than sweat assets and run old cars into the ground. Dumb idea, destroys value. Never, ever subsidise people to throw away usable equipment in favour of new, it's just burning cash. We should be expecting 20-25 years/500k miles life from a car, rather than the current 10-15 years/100-150k. Forcing manufacturers to build to this standard would be far more worthwhile than EV mandates - 10% increase in manufacturing cost could approximately double vehicle lifespans.
In case this idea isn't dumb enough, we're subsidising a version of motoring that is cheaper per mile almost entirely because of tax arbitrage - so we are subsidising people to erode the tax base.
We're also subsidising the Chinese car industry to destroy the European car industry, which seems pretty dumb.
And finally we're subsidising the well off who could probably afford an EV anyway, so that driving is even cheaper for them, rather than helping the poor (who are driving round in petrol powered bangers, and largely will be for the next 25-30 years).
If we subsidised anything other than a green shiboleth, like we subsidise EVs, the left would go mad with rage...
Someone said (a Canadian economist?) that EV's were to save the car industry and not the planet.
And the UK government hoses subsidies far and wide - almost to the levels that would make Musk mad.
The idea is a throwback to the Youth Training Scheme, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1983 to tackle soaring youth unemployment by offering school leavers aged 16 and 17 on-the-job training and a nominal wage. By 1988 there were more than 500,000 contracted placements on the scheme. It was replaced by Youth Training in 1989, which ran until the mid-1990s.
Gregg said his wages proposal would be possible if the Office for Budget Responsibility took into account potential future savings when estimating the fiscal impact of the policy. He claims that the alternative is that it ends up in a “really bizarre situation, which is that we can’t fund sensible reform to save money”.
Well if Thatcher did it, its dead on arrival for Labour MPs to back it....
Big Ange wants to build a squillion new homes but we lack builders. Brexit has screwed up our usual solution of importing electricians, plasterers and plumbers from Europe. Starmer's worried about NEETS. Why not have the state underwrite apprenticeships?
This is what is wrong with Britain. It is favouring slogans over policies. It's not NIMBYs and it's not the blob, it's the lack of joined-up thinking anywhere in Westminster or Whitehall.
The idea is a throwback to the Youth Training Scheme, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1983 to tackle soaring youth unemployment by offering school leavers aged 16 and 17 on-the-job training and a nominal wage. By 1988 there were more than 500,000 contracted placements on the scheme. It was replaced by Youth Training in 1989, which ran until the mid-1990s.
Gregg said his wages proposal would be possible if the Office for Budget Responsibility took into account potential future savings when estimating the fiscal impact of the policy. He claims that the alternative is that it ends up in a “really bizarre situation, which is that we can’t fund sensible reform to save money”.
Well if Thatcher did it, its dead on arrival for Labour MPs to back it....
Big Ange wants to build a squillion new homes but we lack builders. Brexit has screwed up our usual solution of importing electricians, plasterers and plumbers from Europe. Starmer's worried about NEETS. Why not have the state underwrite apprenticeships?
This is what is wrong with Britain. It is favouring slogans over policies. It's not NIMBYs and it's not the blob, it's the lack of joined-up thinking anywhere in Westminster or Whitehall.
Whatever you say about Boris, he had the measure post Brexit of not enough Eastern European brickies coming over here, so he brought in Indian brickies. Job done!
Why can't this Government take a leaf out of Boris's book? Needs must!
The idea is a throwback to the Youth Training Scheme, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1983 to tackle soaring youth unemployment by offering school leavers aged 16 and 17 on-the-job training and a nominal wage. By 1988 there were more than 500,000 contracted placements on the scheme. It was replaced by Youth Training in 1989, which ran until the mid-1990s.
Gregg said his wages proposal would be possible if the Office for Budget Responsibility took into account potential future savings when estimating the fiscal impact of the policy. He claims that the alternative is that it ends up in a “really bizarre situation, which is that we can’t fund sensible reform to save money”.
Well if Thatcher did it, its dead on arrival for Labour MPs to back it....
Big Ange wants to build a squillion new homes but we lack builders. Brexit has screwed up our usual solution of importing electricians, plasterers and plumbers from Europe. Starmer's worried about NEETS. Why not have the state underwrite apprenticeships?
This is what is wrong with Britain. It is favouring slogans over policies. It's not NIMBYs and it's not the blob, it's the lack of joined-up thinking anywhere in Westminster or Whitehall.
Whatever you say about Boris, he had the measure post Brexit of not enough Eastern European brickies coming over here, so he brought in Indian brickies. Job done!
Why can't this Government take a leaf out of Boris's book? Needs must!
One missing piece of information in the story is what on earth the husband was doing for income? If the illness is fake, he should have been working. Keeping up the mortgage on a 250000 house shouldn't have been too hard even with two low incomes - and recoverable even with the alleged fraud.
Middle class people with low incomes are a fascinating breed.
I don't know - I had never heard of them, despite seven figures of sales since 2018.
The latest book has been delayed. The statement is very blurb:
On Winter Hill sees Winn undertake the Coast to Coast walk in northern England, this time alone. “Despite 45 years of walking together, setbacks in her husband, Moth’s, health have led him to see his decline as inevitable, which Raynor refuses to accept”, according to the publisher’s description. “Feeling trapped, she is drawn north, like a migratory bird, seeking the peace and hope that walking brings her”.
The Coast to Coast is a great walk, but it's only 70 miles. Was not @JosiasJessop planning to do it on a pushbike in one day?
Nah, and certainly not on a pushbike!
For some reason the C-to-c is one trail I've got little interest in doing. I've walked all the national trails, aside from the Southern Upland, the Yorkshire Wolds, and a couple of recentish extensions to other trails, but the coast-to-coast leaves me cold. I don't know why.
When I was walking past St Bees Head on my coastal walk, I met some people descending the cliffs. They said proudly they'd just walked from Robin Hood's Bay in a couple of weeks. I replied I'd just come from there in ?five? months, but had come around the long way...
The question is whether I need to do the English Coastal Path when it opens - I've walked the coast before, but that wouldn't have been the 'official' trail, so probably doesn't count...
I did the coast to coast thirty odd years ago before it had become so ridiculously well known.
It was longer than 70 miles that's for sure.
Has the route changed?
We (OK - me) may be at cross-purposes.
My 70 miles is the approximate length of Hadrian's Wall, which I have always treated as the Coast to Coast walk since a friend did it the week after his University Course finished. And I don't really see the point in a "coast-to-coast" which is longer than necessary; that's like building the Panama Canal through Belize, Guatemala and Mexico.
One of my favourite long bike rides was a coast-to-coast-to-coast across northern Scotland. Fortunately, the wind backed through 180 degrees in the twelve hours otherwise I’d have been stranded a long way from my bd for the night.
The Southern Upland Way is a coast to coast, and 214 miles. Remarkably few people complete it, through some of the most unknown territory of the UK.
Indeed, many people do it in sections but few complete the whole thing in one go, only around 1000 per year. Contrast with the west highland way (96 miles) which has around 35k people completing the full route every year. Very contrasting routes, WHW being much more famous across the globe
I'm slightly annoyed I've never done the SUW - one of only two national trails I've never done. I've done a few sections of it as part of other walks, and it's truly spectacular. I just haven't got around to it yet, and family commitments makes it hard to take a couple of weeks off to hike.
I've done the WHW once (the top half twice), and it's like a motorway. A worthwhile trail to do, and one that would be an easyish starter hike because, although it can be wild terrain, it is well setup for hikers wrt facilities. But it is pants if you really want wilderness. The climb up the Devil's Staircase from Kings House is like the top of Everest on a summer's morning; a queue of people making their way up.
I was just watching the build-up to the Swansea 70.3 Ironman on Youtube.
The American presenter says "the insights that only two locals can give us."
The 'locals' are Joe Skipper and Fraser Cartmell. Joe is English; Fraser Scottish.
So not very 'local' to Wales...
Yes but to lots of Americans the country of England contains Scotland and Wales... Trying to explain the UK vs Great Britain and their heads explode.
Another legacy of Boris is having to say UK or United Kingdom seventeen times a day as a sop to Northern Ireland after he stabbed them in the front with his Brexit border down the Irish Sea.
I was just watching the build-up to the Swansea 70.3 Ironman on Youtube.
The American presenter says "the insights that only two locals can give us."
The 'locals' are Joe Skipper and Fraser Cartmell. Joe is English; Fraser Scottish.
So not very 'local' to Wales...
When you send a postcard from abroad to your aunty in Llantwit Major don't you put Wales, Nr England before the postcode so the foreign posties will know where to send it?
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
The idea is a throwback to the Youth Training Scheme, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1983 to tackle soaring youth unemployment by offering school leavers aged 16 and 17 on-the-job training and a nominal wage. By 1988 there were more than 500,000 contracted placements on the scheme. It was replaced by Youth Training in 1989, which ran until the mid-1990s.
Gregg said his wages proposal would be possible if the Office for Budget Responsibility took into account potential future savings when estimating the fiscal impact of the policy. He claims that the alternative is that it ends up in a “really bizarre situation, which is that we can’t fund sensible reform to save money”.
Well if Thatcher did it, its dead on arrival for Labour MPs to back it....
Big Ange wants to build a squillion new homes but we lack builders. Brexit has screwed up our usual solution of importing electricians, plasterers and plumbers from Europe. Starmer's worried about NEETS. Why not have the state underwrite apprenticeships?
This is what is wrong with Britain. It is favouring slogans over policies. It's not NIMBYs and it's not the blob, it's the lack of joined-up thinking anywhere in Westminster or Whitehall.
Whatever you say about Boris, he had the measure post Brexit of not enough Eastern European brickies coming over here, so he brought in Indian brickies. Job done!
Why can't this Government take a leaf out of Boris's book? Needs must!
I was just watching the build-up to the Swansea 70.3 Ironman on Youtube.
The American presenter says "the insights that only two locals can give us."
The 'locals' are Joe Skipper and Fraser Cartmell. Joe is English; Fraser Scottish.
So not very 'local' to Wales...
Yes but to lots of Americans the country of England contains Scotland and Wales... Trying to explain the UK vs Great Britain and their heads explode.
Another legacy of Boris is having to say UK or United Kingdom seventeen times a day as a sop to Northern Ireland after he stabbed them in the front with his Brexit border down the Irish Sea.
Just rename Great Britain and (the whole of) Ireland, Great Boris, and our American friends will be much clearer as to where we live and who our King of Hearts is.
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
Were you having a stroke when you wrote that? Or are you quoting the words of a certified genius?
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
Were you having a stroke when you wrote that? Or are you quoting the words of a certified genius?
Only one certified genius? Two were involved in bringing that to you.
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
Were you having a stroke when you wrote that? Or are you quoting the words of a certified genius?
Only one certified genius? Two were involved in bringing that to you.
Plus some bloke called WS Gilbert.
Your literary and musical knowledge never fails to impress.
Please reference in future to save my ignorant blushes.
We’re releasing the Epstein Files day one. There are no Epstein Files. Here’s video proof nothing happened. Ok we had to edit it. There are no Epstein Files. There are Epstein Files, but the Democrats made them. Why do you care so much about this Epstein guy? What are “Files”?
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
Were you having a stroke when you wrote that? Or are you quoting the words of a certified genius?
Only one certified genius? Two were involved in bringing that to you.
Plus some bloke called WS Gilbert.
Your literary and musical knowledge never fails to impress.
Please reference in future to save my ignorant blushes.
I should be delighted. Such a request would realize my fondest dreams. But no, at any sacrifice, I must set bounds to my insatiable ambition!
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
Were you having a stroke when you wrote that? Or are you quoting the words of a certified genius?
Only one certified genius? Two were involved in bringing that to you.
Plus some bloke called WS Gilbert.
Your literary and musical knowledge never fails to impress.
Please reference in future to save my ignorant blushes.
I should be delighted. Such a request would realize my fondest dreams. But, at any sacrifice, I must set no bounds to my insatiable ambition!
I'm guessing Boris Johnson's Unleashed? (after my edit of your post)
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
Were you having a stroke when you wrote that? Or are you quoting the words of a certified genius?
Only one certified genius? Two were involved in bringing that to you.
Plus some bloke called WS Gilbert.
Your literary and musical knowledge never fails to impress.
Please reference in future to save my ignorant blushes.
I should be delighted. Such a request would realize my fondest dreams. But, at any sacrifice, I must set no bounds to my insatiable ambition!
I'm guessing Boris Johnson's Unleashed? (after my edit of your post)
A more humane person.
And if you don't know who it was, there may be a punishment involved. Something lingering with the boiling oil in it, I fancy.
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
Were you having a stroke when you wrote that? Or are you quoting the words of a certified genius?
Only one certified genius? Two were involved in bringing that to you.
Plus some bloke called WS Gilbert.
Your literary and musical knowledge never fails to impress.
Please reference in future to save my ignorant blushes.
I should be delighted. Such a request would realize my fondest dreams. But, at any sacrifice, I must set no bounds to my insatiable ambition!
I'm guessing Boris Johnson's Unleashed? (after my edit of your post)
A more humane person.
And if you don't know who it was, there may be a punishment involved. Something lingering with the boiling oil in it, I fancy.
If you are going to the US soon, do not have this pic on your phone.
As someday it may happen that a victim must be found I've got a little list, I've got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed; who never would be missed! Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind, Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind, And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who — The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list, For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
Were you having a stroke when you wrote that? Or are you quoting the words of a certified genius?
Only one certified genius? Two were involved in bringing that to you.
Plus some bloke called WS Gilbert.
Your literary and musical knowledge never fails to impress.
Please reference in future to save my ignorant blushes.
I should be delighted. Such a request would realize my fondest dreams. But, at any sacrifice, I must set no bounds to my insatiable ambition!
I'm guessing Boris Johnson's Unleashed? (after my edit of your post)
A more humane person.
And if you don't know who it was, there may be a punishment involved. Something lingering with the boiling oil in it, I fancy.
The government is to provide another 640 million in subsidies for evs as they are not selling
Why are we subsidising expensive evs most ordinary workers cannot afford ?
A lot of countries subsidise EVs. And in any event you see a lot of them these days, even in the North. Not just rich people.
Just because other countries do it doesn't make it a good idea.
We are subsidising people to buy new cars, rather than sweat assets and run old cars into the ground. Dumb idea, destroys value. Never, ever subsidise people to throw away usable equipment in favour of new, it's just burning cash. We should be expecting 20-25 years/500k miles life from a car, rather than the current 10-15 years/100-150k. Forcing manufacturers to build to this standard would be far more worthwhile than EV mandates - 10% increase in manufacturing cost could approximately double vehicle lifespans.
In case this idea isn't dumb enough, we're subsidising a version of motoring that is cheaper per mile almost entirely because of tax arbitrage - so we are subsidising people to erode the tax base.
We're also subsidising the Chinese car industry to destroy the European car industry, which seems pretty dumb.
And finally we're subsidising the well off who could probably afford an EV anyway, so that driving is even cheaper for them, rather than helping the poor (who are driving round in petrol powered bangers, and largely will be for the next 25-30 years).
If we subsidised anything other than a green shibboleth, like we subsidise EVs, the left would go mad with rage...
We're one of the very few European countries that doesn't subsidise private EV purchase any more. The proposed new subsidies are for loan financing, which should benefit the less well off.
The tax subsidy for business EVs is likely to be phased out quite soon.
As for "forcing" manufacturers to build to "this standard", the UK government has nowhere near the influence to do so. Pure fantasy.
I suggest reading the Telegraph with slightly more scepticism.
The biggest mistake the west made was not subsidising EV and particularly battery manufacturing massively over the last two decades. We have effectively ceded much of the market to China.
Jon Ossoff on Trump: “He promised to release the Epstein files. Did anyone really think the sexual predator president who used to party with Jeffrey Epstein was gonna release the Epstein files?” https://x.com/sahilkapur/status/1944150075749675062
This anti-science populist bollocks is going to kill many many people.
Shaun Lintern @ShaunLintern 🚨 EXCLUSIVE: A child has died after contracting measles in Liverpool, where public health officials fear a growing outbreak of the disease.
I absolutely despair of those parents that have refused to have their children given the MMR vaccine over recent years while they selfishly relied on the far greater sensible actions of other parents who did assuring UK herd immunity which again protected their own children from risk! Sadly over recent years that vital herd immunity in the UK which had eliminated these horrible viral infections that can cause serious illness and complications in unvaccinated children has not been maintained due to declining vaccination rates leading to recent outbreaks.
If there is one targeted and high profile emergency Government TV/Social media health campaign that should be launched yesterday across the UK like those that were so effective in the 60s/70s and 80s on a range of safety issues to warn of the dangers its this one which should explain the symptoms and risks to children developing mumps, measles or rubella and why it was so important for them to have the very safe MMR vaccine to prevent them and the risks they posed to children. It should also add in the importance to women who plan to get pregnant to check their rubella immunity status. Especially after the cynically targeting of key groups by anti vaccing groups following the global Covid outbreak.
When the false claims that there was a link to the MMR vaccine and autism were made during Blair's government vast sums of money was spent trying to debunk the link rather than either an important health campaign explaining why the MMR vaccine was so important and how it provided herd immunity which was vital to eradicating these viruses and all the awful side effects. But not only that, sadly it also drained resources from the serious research into the causes and genetic links to autism that were making great inroads at the time that would have clearly shown that there was no link to the MMR vaccine other than a simple a coincidence in the timing of children getting it and some parents starting to notice the early symptoms of autism around the time their children got the vaccine.
Trump threatens to revoke US citizenship of longtime critic Rosie O’Donnell
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/12/trump-revoke-citizenship-rosie-odonnell-00449920 President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is considering revoking the citizenship of one of his longtime foes — actor and comedian Rosie O’Donnell — something he has no clear legal pathway to do. The move is an escalation of Trump’s weaponization of American citizenship. While the president has enacted mass deportations for immigrants and looked to end birthright citizenship for the children of some immigrants, his threat to revoke the New York-born actor’s citizenship marks a new frontier...
This anti-science populist bollocks is going to kill many many people.
Shaun Lintern @ShaunLintern 🚨 EXCLUSIVE: A child has died after contracting measles in Liverpool, where public health officials fear a growing outbreak of the disease.
I absolutely despair of those parents that have refused to have their children given the MMR vaccine over recent years while they selfishly relied on the far greater sensible actions of other parents who did assuring UK herd immunity which again protected their own children from risk! Sadly over recent years that vital herd immunity in the UK which had eliminated these horrible viral infections that can cause serious illness and complications in unvaccinated children has not been maintained due to declining vaccination rates leading to recent outbreaks.
If there is one targeted and high profile emergency Government TV/Social media health campaign that should be launched yesterday across the UK like those that were so effective in the 60s/70s and 80s on a range of safety issues to warn of the dangers its this one which should explain the symptoms and risks to children developing mumps, measles or rubella and why it was so important for them to have the very safe MMR vaccine to prevent them and the risks they posed to children. It should also add in the importance to women who plan to get pregnant to check their rubella immunity status. Especially after the cynically targeting of key groups by anti vaccing groups following the global Covid outbreak.
When the false claims that there was a link to the MMR vaccine and autism were made during Blair's government vast sums of money was spent trying to debunk the link rather than either an important health campaign explaining why the MMR vaccine was so important and how it provided herd immunity which was vital to eradicating these viruses and all the awful side effects. But not only that, sadly it also drained resources from the serious research into the causes and genetic links to autism that were making great inroads at the time that would have clearly shown that there was no link to the MMR vaccine other than a simple a coincidence in the timing of children getting it and some parents starting to notice the early symptoms of autism around the time their children got the vaccine.
Oh look, it''s migration. Again
"Ethnic inequities in routine childhood vaccinations in England 2006–2021: an observational cohort study using electronic health records"
Comments
David Bowie really couldn’t sing, Jesus Christ he murdered his own “Modern Love” ( second record I ever bought)
The Killers first live performance of "Mr. Brightside" in 2002
https://x.com/historigins/status/1944034468295324118
Sarah Longwell
@SarahLongwell25
·
1h
I can’t believe they got to Kash too.
https://x.com/SarahLongwell25/status/1944131289231372668
The competition was stiff. Some said I was nuts to bid. But I stayed firm and rose to the occasion in a long, hard auction*.
https://x.com/ColeSouth/status/1944137995705364755
* it is safe for work it is just the result of bidding on a domain name
Shaun Lintern
@ShaunLintern
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: A child has died after contracting measles in Liverpool, where public health officials fear a growing outbreak of the disease.
Full story:
https://x.com/ShaunLintern/status/1944148188773929375
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jC9SWuKHpc
https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social/post/3ltsellx3ec2i
There’s lots going on .
¿Depreciation because the tech keeps getting better might be a factor.
I know I keep shifting my expectation and I’m always waiting for the next battery innovation. BYD Seal is my next test drive.
Tipping points. Energy dependence. Tax exemption. New wind farms coming online. The drive to decarbonise. Vehicle batteries becoming part of the energy storage solution.
It’s an interesting time.
Not one of their great performances to be honest.
No one I know is the least bit interested in an ev
When my mercedes went in for service I was provided with an ev courtesy car and it was lovely. but I understand it was over-£60,000 to buy new
We are subsidising people to buy new cars, rather than sweat assets and run old cars into the ground. Dumb idea, destroys value. Never, ever subsidise people to throw away usable equipment in favour of new, it's just burning cash. We should be expecting 20-25 years/500k miles life from a car, rather than the current 10-15 years/100-150k. Forcing manufacturers to build to this standard would be far more worthwhile than EV mandates - 10% increase in manufacturing cost could approximately double vehicle lifespans.
In case this idea isn't dumb enough, we're subsidising a version of motoring that is cheaper per mile almost entirely because of tax arbitrage - so we are subsidising people to erode the tax base.
We're also subsidising the Chinese car industry to destroy the European car industry, which seems pretty dumb.
And finally we're subsidising the well off who could probably afford an EV anyway, so that driving is even cheaper for them, rather than helping the poor (who are driving round in petrol powered bangers, and largely will be for the next 25-30 years).
If we subsidised anything other than a green shiboleth, like we subsidise EVs, the left would go mad with rage...
The first number out of Wikipedia on fossil fuel subsidy was $7 trillion per year. AKA 7.1% of global GDP.
Which is what?
Quite a lot!
Making up the views of the people I presume you disagree with does you no credit.
Young sounds like Jordan Peterson!
David Frum
@davidfrum
·
17m
As Scooby Doo taught millions of TV watchers: if the deceased villain's best friend tells you there's nothing worth seeing inside the locked closet ... there's probably something worth seeing inside the locked closet.
I can't decide whether someone in the FBI is intentionally sabotaging Trump, or there is someone that incompetent working for him.
(Hanlon's razor suggests the latter.)
Presumably there will be massive squirrel drop on Monday to divert us all.
Might be time for bed
...but, I recently discovered an all female
covertribute band called Joanne JoanneWatching them made me realise that although Nick Rhodes uses 88 key keyboards onstage, he only ever plays about 12 of them
Now that car is probably only going to be driven 3-5,000 miles a year, so it's shitty fuel consumption is not a big deal. But at some point, it's going to be for the knacker's yard, particularly if petrol prices rise.
Ah, the A Class. The car of the most successful secretaries...
Another, more salient question is "how many lives did the money save"
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he added that the US president, Donald Trump, should expect a “warm reception” when he comes to the UK for a second state visit.
“He should expect a warm reception because he really does love Britain. He hugely admires it,” Mandelson said.
“He trusts Keir Starmer. It’s not a question of expressing our gratitude. My lodestar here is to demonstrate respect, not sycophancy. I don’t think the administration has any problem with that.”
Angela Rayner to ditch first-past-the-post ballots in favour of European-style ‘supplementary vote’ with candidates ranked by preference
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/07/12/mayoral-elections-supplementary-vote-system-sadiq-khan/ (£££)
This is the voting system previously used in London Mayoral elections. One irony is that Reform favoured proportional voting but its current poll leads mean it does better under FPTP.
Starmer’s workforce tsar says his idea could stop a ‘ticking time bomb’ and spare millions from living on benefits
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/labour-urged-to-offer-state-paid-jobs-to-struggling-16-year-olds-0d0dqp7ws (£££)
Gregg said his wages proposal would be possible if the Office for Budget Responsibility took into account potential future savings when estimating the fiscal impact of the policy. He claims that the alternative is that it ends up in a “really bizarre situation, which is that we can’t fund sensible reform to save money”.
Well if Thatcher did it, its dead on arrival for Labour MPs to back it....
And the UK government hoses subsidies far and wide - almost to the levels that would make Musk mad.
This is what is wrong with Britain. It is favouring slogans over policies. It's not NIMBYs and it's not the blob, it's the lack of joined-up thinking anywhere in Westminster or Whitehall.
Why can't this Government take a leaf out of Boris's book? Needs must!
Free Ghislaine!
Face of Boris Johnson spotted on a fruit as woman wanted to 'call an exorcist'
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/face-boris-johnson-spotted-fruit-35531620
The American presenter says "the insights that only two locals can give us."
The 'locals' are Joe Skipper and Fraser Cartmell. Joe is English; Fraser Scottish.
So not very 'local' to Wales...
I've done the WHW once (the top half twice), and it's like a motorway. A worthwhile trail to do, and one that would be an easyish starter hike because, although it can be wild terrain, it is well setup for hikers wrt facilities. But it is pants if you really want wilderness. The climb up the Devil's Staircase from Kings House is like the top of Everest on a summer's morning; a queue of people making their way up.
https://news.sky.com/story/heatwave-set-to-peak-with-highs-of-more-than-34c-with-warning-of-potential-rise-in-deaths-13395663
PB Starmer fans please explain.
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/uk-new-lcv-market-declines-for-seventh-month-running
I've got a little list, I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground
And who never would be missed; who never would be missed!
Like apoplectic statesmen of a compromiséd kind,
Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind,
And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who —
The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you.
But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list,
For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
1. Release the Epstein files!
2. The Epstein files are sitting on my desk and I will release them very soon
3. There are no Epstein files and the case is closed
4. There are Epstein files but they are forgeries created by Obama and Hillary so if you like me you will never talk about them again
https://bsky.app/profile/juddlegum.bsky.social/post/3ltskeq4a6k2d
Plus some bloke called WS Gilbert.
Please reference in future to save my ignorant blushes.
We’re releasing the Epstein Files day one. There are no Epstein Files. Here’s video proof nothing happened. Ok we had to edit it. There are no Epstein Files. There are Epstein Files, but the Democrats made them. Why do you care so much about this Epstein guy? What are “Files”?
https://x.com/QuickTeaAI/status/1944175057536004542
(after my edit of your post)
And if you don't know who it was, there may be a punishment involved. Something lingering with the boiling oil in it, I fancy.
NEW THREAD
The PB of PB
The proposed new subsidies are for loan financing, which should benefit the less well off.
The tax subsidy for business EVs is likely to be phased out quite soon.
As for "forcing" manufacturers to build to "this standard", the UK government has nowhere near the influence to do so. Pure fantasy.
I suggest reading the Telegraph with slightly more scepticism.
The biggest mistake the west made was not subsidising EV and particularly battery manufacturing massively over the last two decades.
We have effectively ceded much of the market to China.
https://x.com/sahilkapur/status/1944150075749675062
If there is one targeted and high profile emergency Government TV/Social media health campaign that should be launched yesterday across the UK like those that were so effective in the 60s/70s and 80s on a range of safety issues to warn of the dangers its this one which should explain the symptoms and risks to children developing mumps, measles or rubella and why it was so important for them to have the very safe MMR vaccine to prevent them and the risks they posed to children. It should also add in the importance to women who plan to get pregnant to check their rubella immunity status. Especially after the cynically targeting of key groups by anti vaccing groups following the global Covid outbreak.
When the false claims that there was a link to the MMR vaccine and autism were made during Blair's government vast sums of money was spent trying to debunk the link rather than either an important health campaign explaining why the MMR vaccine was so important and how it provided herd immunity which was vital to eradicating these viruses and all the awful side effects. But not only that, sadly it also drained resources from the serious research into the causes and genetic links to autism that were making great inroads at the time that would have clearly shown that there was no link to the MMR vaccine other than a simple a coincidence in the timing of children getting it and some parents starting to notice the early symptoms of autism around the time their children got the vaccine.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/12/trump-revoke-citizenship-rosie-odonnell-00449920
President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is considering revoking the citizenship of one of his longtime foes — actor and comedian Rosie O’Donnell — something he has no clear legal pathway to do.
The move is an escalation of Trump’s weaponization of American citizenship. While the president has enacted mass deportations for immigrants and looked to end birthright citizenship for the children of some immigrants, his threat to revoke the New York-born actor’s citizenship marks a new frontier...
"Ethnic inequities in routine childhood vaccinations in England 2006–2021: an observational cohort study using electronic health records"
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00458-3/fulltext