The US had a primitive model back in the 1960s, but didn't pursue the technology (partly because it wasn't as useful for producing plutonium).
The latest fashion is pebble bed reactors. Molten salt is very last week.
The latest fashion is developing a closed Rankine cycle system using supercritical CO2 for generating the electricity. Theoretically way more efficient than a steam turbine, and does away with the corrosion problems associated with steam. Some way off, though.
As this is a Welsh thread (Diolch yn fawr, TSE) I thought PBers might be interested in the latest news from the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham. The Welsh Academy, guardians of our language, have decreed that to avoid further contamination by English the letters of the alphabet should in future be reversed and Welsh text should be read from right to left:
It's surprisingly easy, once you get the hang of it, though I've only done one word so far.
This evening I heard a group of farmers in a bar complaining in their native tongue about the cost of land and the price of milk. People sometimes ask if I know any swear words in Welsh and I'm happy to report that when a Welshman descends into profanity he instinctively reverts to English. I won't go into detail, but if I were a supporter of Plaid Llafur I'd be worried.
Interesting discussion on Scotcast tonight re the decline in nightlife, should government intervene more? About 1/3 of nightclubs in UK have closed since 2020 (Night time industries association)
Interesting discussion on Scotcast tonight re the decline in nightlife, should government intervene more? About 1/3 of nightclubs in UK have closed since 2020 (Night time industries association)
If you withdraw or block late licenses, then you don’t have nightclubs.
Interesting discussion on Scotcast tonight re the decline in nightlife, should government intervene more? About 1/3 of nightclubs in UK have closed since 2020 (Night time industries association)
For a long time the thought of "nightclubs" and "government" somehow going together would have seemed slightly ridiculous.
Interesting discussion on Scotcast tonight re the decline in nightlife, should government intervene more? About 1/3 of nightclubs in UK have closed since 2020 (Night time industries association)
If you withdraw or block late licenses, then you don’t have nightclubs.
Whole host of problems going by the rep who was on. Young people now plan events more and speak online, rather than pubs. People still keen on gigs but less so clubs
Some chat about the lack of younger people boozing nowadays. 25-35 year olds didn't come back out much after lockdown (more so the older end, as I can testify). More preferring to wake up fresh on a Saturday/Sunday morning and keep fit/exercise. Wonder if clubs are getting less strict on young guys coming into clubs in large groups (prob not)
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
Interesting discussion on Scotcast tonight re the decline in nightlife, should government intervene more? About 1/3 of nightclubs in UK have closed since 2020 (Night time industries association)
For a long time the thought of "nightclubs" and "government" somehow going together would have seemed slightly ridiculous.
Mr Gove's escapades have helped bring the two together.
Maybe the answer is random politicians turning up now and again to promote nightclubs? Jonathan Reynolds and Peter Kyle could do a few breakdances/dance offs. Liz Kendall could go round with the tray of shots
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
That's not entirely true. There are five US States which have indepedent, non-political, commissions for Congressional Districts:
- California - Arizona - Michigan - Colorado - Washington
Of these, three are "True Blue", and two (Michigan and Arizona) are Purple.
So, while it's perfectly fair to see both parties have been bad, there are some States who do try to do it properly, and they include the Bluest state of all.
I'd also note that what is different about what Texas is doing now is that they redrew Congressional boundaries immediately following the last census, as is the norm. So - what - three years ago.
Basically, you see where people live, then you redistrict (usually for political advantage).
What has not been done before is redistricting between census resullts.
Interesting discussion on Scotcast tonight re the decline in nightlife, should government intervene more? About 1/3 of nightclubs in UK have closed since 2020 (Night time industries association)
If you withdraw or block late licenses, then you don’t have nightclubs.
If jobs are lost due to AI but not replaced it will get worse and mean even more populist politics of left as much as right, with the likes of Corbyn, Sanders and Melenchon pledging to hammer corporations with tax to fund a massive UBI
Which was where Rochdale P was going when I discussed this with him a while,back.
Only problem is what’s stopping them moving ?
As if AI replaced jobs with no replacement worldwide every nation on earth would have populist parties and soon populist governments elected to increase tax on corporations to fund a UBI
Find it extraordinary that Lab only leads Reform by 3% on the NHS when Reform talked about replacing the NHS at the last election.
People are daft but not that daft. As from this year (see the polling) Reform are aiming at government. This may be a terrible idea but it's the case. It matters nothing what Reform said in July 2024. Their only chance of forming a government involves preserving all the currently existing free stuff including NHS, pensions, education to 18 and welfare safety net. Ask Farage's voters in Clacton what they want. They already know that a Reform party wanting government will promise to give it to them. This equals high spending. Which of course equals high taxing.
This makes their 2029 manifesto an interesting and important document. Especially as both thoughtful voters (there are some) and the bond markets will have a good look at what they say about tax, spend, borrowing, debt and deficit.
How Reform will campaign in 2029 and how they would actually govern from 2029 are easily the most interesting political questions. They are not being much addressed. but they will be.
There’s no way that Reform will commit to NHS abolition in their 2029 manifesto, IMHO. Far safer for them to claim that cutting bureaucracy, increasing charges for overseas/non resident users and denying asylum seekers access to free healthcare, or something of that bent, will fix all of the immediate problems while they “consult” on future changes for their second term.
Reform's policies will be very simple:
- Lots more benefits for Brits - Better pensions for the golden generation who did so much to make Britain great - Lower taxes - Fewer foreigners and no asylum seekers - A balanced budget
Any gap between income and expenditure will easily be made up by not having so many foreigners in the country. And eliminate the tens of billions of pounds of waste caused by displaying pronouns in the bottom of email signatures.
Huzzah!
Of course possibly. That is the rubbish for which they stood when they were not in it to win it. It is now different, and I don't think they can stand on that agenda because while it gets no detailed attention now, it will do by 2028 on current polling.
So the question of where and how they do stand, replcing opposition policies with governing ones is a fascinating question.
It's not only the voters who will be engaged. The bond markets will be very interested too. If Reform stand on a unicorn platform and look like winning, the markets will do interesting things.
Why wouldn't they stand on my platform?
The average Brit knows they pay loads in taxes, and knows there are loads of foreigners in the country.
A policy to reduce taxes, increase pensions and get rid of foreigners, paid for by elininating woke looks like a winner to me.
And the kind of people who would scrutinise Reform's manifesto for economic sense aren't the kind of people who will be voting for Reform anyway.
There are some easy wins they could go for - eg cutting the civil service back down to the size it was in 2015 would release about 150k people into the productive economy, and save about £5bn in wages alone (and they won't just be costing wages - they will be sitting in office space, using it equipment etc, so more savings there).
A lot of the UK state needs rethinking from the ground up. Back in the 1950s one of the major aeroplane manufacturers did a fascinating bit of engineering - they told the designers to assume that the aircraft they were developing was 20% (iirc) lighter than it actually was, and redesign their components accordingly. The resultant design came out over 20% lighter than their starting point.
I suspect we could perform a similar function with a lot of the states activities - but it only works if you are doing a proper redesign, not just firing every 5th person at random.
As for "why are people willing to let Reform anywhere near the NHS?" If you've had misfortune to use it recently, it's unsurprising. It's utterly disfunctional, especially if you need to deal with more than one discipline at a time. The fact that it's Doctors appear to be holding it to ransom in an act of pure greed is the icing on the cake. (I heard one of the non-striking doctors on the radio a couple of weeks ago - he said that he thought the 30%ish pay settlement he got last year was excellent, as it had allowed him to go to a four day week without losing earnings - and there we have the NHS's problem in a nutshell!).
"Texas House issues arrest warrants for Democrats who left state to block congressional redistricting
The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts."
Rachel Reeves must raise taxes immediately to plug a fresh £50bn hole in the public finances, according to one of Britain’s most respected economics organisations.
Slowing economic growth, a weak jobs market and the cost of Labour’s about-turns on welfare spending have combined to plunge government finances deeper into the red, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warned.
The Chancellor is now on course to miss her borrowing targets by £41.2bn, the think tank predicted. If she wants to restore the £9.9bn of headroom maintained since last year’s Budget, Ms Reeves must therefore raise taxes or cut spending by £51.1bn.
Rachel Reeves must raise taxes immediately to plug a fresh £50bn hole in the public finances, according to one of Britain’s most respected economics organisations.
Slowing economic growth, a weak jobs market and the cost of Labour’s about-turns on welfare spending have combined to plunge government finances deeper into the red, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warned.
The Chancellor is now on course to miss her borrowing targets by £41.2bn, the think tank predicted. If she wants to restore the £9.9bn of headroom maintained since last year’s Budget, Ms Reeves must therefore raise taxes or cut spending by £51.1bn.
If jobs are lost due to AI but not replaced it will get worse and mean even more populist politics of left as much as right, with the likes of Corbyn, Sanders and Melenchon pledging to hammer corporations with tax to fund a massive UBI
Which was where Rochdale P was going when I discussed this with him a while,back.
Only problem is what’s stopping them moving ?
Speaking of Rochdale, on a completely irrelevant note I wonder if the comment I just left on the most recent video was deleted by him or (I think much more likely) some YouTube algo being automatically offended... Either way @RochdalePioneers it's not personal but every time a computer tries to kill you (or indeed anyone else) I'd quite like to watch it so please can you set the cams up to activate on horn so we can see what autopilot is up to? Appreciate there won't be the screaming and so on that a full dashcam solution would provide due to the nature of Tesla external recording but at least it'll visually represent what occurred. Especially as I'm about to get the same update myself...
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
The Democrats fairly recently put forward a bill to introduce that nationally. Every Democrat voted for it, and every GOPer against.
There are Dem states which have independent districting commissions - which is one reason the Republicans think they can grab an advantage by brining in the current gerrymanders.
What you seem to be implying is that the Democrats should effectively disarm unilaterally.
I asked Caccappolo (Daily Mail) if he thought AI-generated answers could put his company out of business. “That is absolutely the fear,” he told me. “And my concern is it’s not going to happen in three or five years—I joke it’s going to happen next Tuesday.”
So role on next Tuesday and relief from their clickbait journalism.
"Under the Anglo-French one-in-one-out migrant deal, which is more like 20 in, one out, the UK will pay not just the cost of transporting small boat migrants back to France but also pay to bring those asylum seekers deemed to have a greater chance of success across the Channel from France. All that on top of the hundreds of millions London pays Paris to beef police presence on the coast around Calais. Starmer et al really are quite the negotiators."
Rachel Reeves must raise taxes immediately to plug a fresh £50bn hole in the public finances, according to one of Britain’s most respected economics organisations.
Slowing economic growth, a weak jobs market and the cost of Labour’s about-turns on welfare spending have combined to plunge government finances deeper into the red, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warned.
The Chancellor is now on course to miss her borrowing targets by £41.2bn, the think tank predicted. If she wants to restore the £9.9bn of headroom maintained since last year’s Budget, Ms Reeves must therefore raise taxes or cut spending by £51.1bn.
This will not at all support the enormous amount of incestuous appointments of mates who are directors of other companies to company boards which is one reason why many of our public companies appear to be run by complete morons who have repeatedly failed elsewhere.
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
The boundary commission takes these decisions under strong scrutiny from all parties, so no idea what you are insinuating re: "Western Islands", which the Lib Dems have never held. Sounds like ignorant abuse rather than any informed comment.
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
The boundary commission takes these decisions under strong scrutiny from all parties, so no idea what you are insinuating re: "Western Islands", which the Lib Dems have never held. Sounds like ignorant abuse rather than any informed comment.
Rachel Reeves must raise taxes immediately to plug a fresh £50bn hole in the public finances, according to one of Britain’s most respected economics organisations.
Slowing economic growth, a weak jobs market and the cost of Labour’s about-turns on welfare spending have combined to plunge government finances deeper into the red, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warned.
The Chancellor is now on course to miss her borrowing targets by £41.2bn, the think tank predicted. If she wants to restore the £9.9bn of headroom maintained since last year’s Budget, Ms Reeves must therefore raise taxes or cut spending by £51.1bn.
At the risk of being a broken record (is this analogy past its sell by date?) the black hole is not £22bn or £50bn, its more like £150bn or something like 1/6th of all government expenditure. That is the scale of the challenge. Anything else is deck chairs on the Titanic.
Makes those Boston Dynamics videos look quaint. And dated. Future wars will surely be millions of these shooting each other with mega-lasers. Nice
I'm sure we'll find out once we have one outside an AI video.
(Unless someone has proof that it is a real video.)
It’s a real video. It is undisputed
“Yes, it's real! Unitree Robotics just announced the A2 Stellar Hunter today—a rugged industrial robodog that climbs, sprints at 5 m/s, and hauls loads up to 30kg. Impressive engineering, not sci-fi fiction. Check their official post for details. 🚀”
Rachel Reeves must raise taxes immediately to plug a fresh £50bn hole in the public finances, according to one of Britain’s most respected economics organisations.
Slowing economic growth, a weak jobs market and the cost of Labour’s about-turns on welfare spending have combined to plunge government finances deeper into the red, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warned.
The Chancellor is now on course to miss her borrowing targets by £41.2bn, the think tank predicted. If she wants to restore the £9.9bn of headroom maintained since last year’s Budget, Ms Reeves must therefore raise taxes or cut spending by £51.1bn.
At the risk of being a broken record (is this analogy past its sell by date?) the black hole is not £22bn or £50bn, its more like £150bn or something like 1/6th of all government expenditure. That is the scale of the challenge. Anything else is deck chairs on the Titanic.
(Somewhat marginal, and I'd call it about 87:1 as Tantrum no. 798 or "Look at Me".)
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll from earlier this year showed Greene losing to Ossoff by 17 points, hardly good news. Greene reaffirmed to the Daily Mail she's staying out of the Senate race
Both of those sound like very good news to me. The second perhaps less so for Jon Ossoff.
Isn't it interesting though that in listing everything that is going wrong she's criticising all of Trump's policies and actions but believes they are the actions of a shadowy cabal that have captured office? Talk about delusional. No wonder the Republicans are in such utter chaos.
(Somewhat marginal, and I'd call it about 87:1 as Tantrum no. 798 or "Look at Me".)
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll from earlier this year showed Greene losing to Ossoff by 17 points, hardly good news. Greene reaffirmed to the Daily Mail she's staying out of the Senate race
Both of those sound like very good news to me. The second perhaps less so for Jon Ossoff.
Isn't it interesting though that in listing everything that is going wrong she's criticising all of Trump's policies and actions but believes they are the actions of a shadowy cabal that have captured office? Talk about delusional. No wonder the Republicans are in such utter chaos.
In the plus column, she did tell David Cameron to **** off.
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
The boundary commission takes these decisions under strong scrutiny from all parties, so no idea what you are insinuating re: "Western Islands", which the Lib Dems have never held. Sounds like ignorant abuse rather than any informed comment.
Confusion with Shetland and Orkney?
Can't be. They haven't lost that and have never held the Western Isles. Needs clarification or an apology as it appears like a nasty smear, particularly as they don't have the power to gerrymander anyway.
US life expectancy going ... DOWN. It's not really my area, but the flu one looks like the potential short run hit ... though I'm not sure if mRNA flu vaccines are a thing quite yet.
RFK Jr cancels $500m in mRNA vaccine development in the US
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to cancel $500m (£376m) in funding for mRNA vaccines being developed to counter viruses like the flu and Covid-19.
The move will impact 22 projects being led by major pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, for vaccines against bird flu and other viruses, HHS said.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, announced he was pulling the funding over claims that "mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74dzdddvmjo
On topic, yes, Reform will do well (and may nab the story) but Plaid will come out top.
They will be about as effective as the SNP and just as obsessed about independence, but Welsh opposition to Labour has been split for so long that it seems people are now ready to roll the dice on any realistic alternative.
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
The boundary commission takes these decisions under strong scrutiny from all parties, so no idea what you are insinuating re: "Western Islands", which the Lib Dems have never held. Sounds like ignorant abuse rather than any informed comment.
Confusion with Shetland and Orkney?
Can't be. They haven't lost that and have never held the Western Isles. Needs clarification or an apology as it appears like a nasty smear, particularly as they don't have the power to gerrymander anyway.
I was thinking rather that Fishing had confused Western Isles with Orkney and Shetland (my bad) and therefore thought the Liberal Democrats had held it. Meanwhile noticing they do not hold the Western Isles so assuming they had lost it.
I agree with you it's a rather unconvincing smear.
(Somewhat marginal, and I'd call it about 87:1 as Tantrum no. 798 or "Look at Me".)
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll from earlier this year showed Greene losing to Ossoff by 17 points, hardly good news. Greene reaffirmed to the Daily Mail she's staying out of the Senate race
Both of those sound like very good news to me. The second perhaps less so for Jon Ossoff.
Isn't it interesting though that in listing everything that is going wrong she's criticising all of Trump's policies and actions but believes they are the actions of a shadowy cabal that have captured office? Talk about delusional. No wonder the Republicans are in such utter chaos.
MTG is kind of right though, except there is more than one shadowy cabal. Trump's EO blitz is from Project 2025, for instance. The Big Beautiful Bill racks up the deficit in line with previous Tea Party/GOP ‘starve the beast’ tactics. MAGA wants no wars and peace in the Middle East, while Neocons give unconditional support to Israel and ramping up pressure on Russia. Where MTG is wrong is in missing that even from day one, there were obvious tensions between Trump's rhetoric and policies.
"Under the Anglo-French one-in-one-out migrant deal, which is more like 20 in, one out, the UK will pay not just the cost of transporting small boat migrants back to France but also pay to bring those asylum seekers deemed to have a greater chance of success across the Channel from France. All that on top of the hundreds of millions London pays Paris to beef police presence on the coast around Calais. Starmer et al really are quite the negotiators."
So what would you have suggested. It is us that wants them moved back. The French don't want them. So when you negotiated with the French and suggested they pay and they say no, what was going to be your next move.
I would have made fishing access dependent on their agreement on this. That’s where we had massive leverage
Starmer is either too dumb or too treacherous to do this
Remember Starmer said that he preferred Davos to Westminster. It was an unguarded moment with someone he regarded as a very safe interviewer - it even surprised Maitless, hence her scoff. The man is fully bought into an internationalist agenda, and that agenda by definition is going to be against the interests of a single country sometimes. If the country is gobby Brexity Britain, standing in opposition to the global direction of travel, make that all the time.
If you have this perspective, rinsing Britain, proving Brexit was wrong (on some warped level in their heads), and giving the money back to an EU member state is all quite right and proper. Starmer wouldn't call it treachery, and many here who share his views wouldn't call it that either. But of course it is.
I have no doubt that Starmer thinks he is doing the right thing for Britain, and wants Britain to do well.
The issue is his vision of Britain is increasingly becoming undermined/less credible.
A lot of the political class fundamentally see Britain in a different way to a significant chunk of the population. They see its merits as being a liberal society, which plays by the “rules”, sets an example, is enlightened and jolly and welcome and diverse and permissive. And there have been merits to this, both economically and socially over the years.
But there are an increasing number of people who simply don’t see the benefits any more, and are impacted by the drawbacks, who see this as going too far, and are becoming divorced from this vision.
Starmer's actions go well beyond any notion of playing by the rules. One can work respectfully within the rules in one's own national interest. That isn't what Starmer has done. These are his choices.
He starts from the principle that Britain is "privileged".
From that everything else follows and once you understand that his actions make sense.
Find it extraordinary that Lab only leads Reform by 3% on the NHS when Reform talked about replacing the NHS at the last election.
People are daft but not that daft. As from this year (see the polling) Reform are aiming at government. This may be a terrible idea but it's the case. It matters nothing what Reform said in July 2024. Their only chance of forming a government involves preserving all the currently existing free stuff including NHS, pensions, education to 18 and welfare safety net. Ask Farage's voters in Clacton what they want. They already know that a Reform party wanting government will promise to give it to them. This equals high spending. Which of course equals high taxing.
This makes their 2029 manifesto an interesting and important document. Especially as both thoughtful voters (there are some) and the bond markets will have a good look at what they say about tax, spend, borrowing, debt and deficit.
How Reform will campaign in 2029 and how they would actually govern from 2029 are easily the most interesting political questions. They are not being much addressed. but they will be.
There’s no way that Reform will commit to NHS abolition in their 2029 manifesto, IMHO. Far safer for them to claim that cutting bureaucracy, increasing charges for overseas/non resident users and denying asylum seekers access to free healthcare, or something of that bent, will fix all of the immediate problems while they “consult” on future changes for their second term.
Reform's policies will be very simple:
- Lots more benefits for Brits - Better pensions for the golden generation who did so much to make Britain great - Lower taxes - Fewer foreigners and no asylum seekers - A balanced budget
Any gap between income and expenditure will easily be made up by not having so many foreigners in the country. And eliminate the tens of billions of pounds of waste caused by displaying pronouns in the bottom of email signatures.
Find it extraordinary that Lab only leads Reform by 3% on the NHS when Reform talked about replacing the NHS at the last election.
People are daft but not that daft. As from this year (see the polling) Reform are aiming at government. This may be a terrible idea but it's the case. It matters nothing what Reform said in July 2024. Their only chance of forming a government involves preserving all the currently existing free stuff including NHS, pensions, education to 18 and welfare safety net. Ask Farage's voters in Clacton what they want. They already know that a Reform party wanting government will promise to give it to them. This equals high spending. Which of course equals high taxing.
This makes their 2029 manifesto an interesting and important document. Especially as both thoughtful voters (there are some) and the bond markets will have a good look at what they say about tax, spend, borrowing, debt and deficit.
How Reform will campaign in 2029 and how they would actually govern from 2029 are easily the most interesting political questions. They are not being much addressed. but they will be.
There’s no way that Reform will commit to NHS abolition in their 2029 manifesto, IMHO. Far safer for them to claim that cutting bureaucracy, increasing charges for overseas/non resident users and denying asylum seekers access to free healthcare, or something of that bent, will fix all of the immediate problems while they “consult” on future changes for their second term.
Reform's policies will be very simple:
- Lots more benefits for Brits - Better pensions for the golden generation who did so much to make Britain great - Lower taxes - Fewer foreigners and no asylum seekers - A balanced budget
Any gap between income and expenditure will easily be made up by not having so many foreigners in the country. And eliminate the tens of billions of pounds of waste caused by displaying pronouns in the bottom of email signatures.
"Migrants can use human rights ‘loophole’ to avoid return to France People who have crossed the Channel in small boats may be able to avoid deportation by lodging human rights cases or claiming to be under 18" (£)
None of this will change unless Parliament actually asserts the sovereignty it is entitled to and starts actually legislating to remove the discretion from the courts or the underpinning laws. It’s that simple.
Anyone see any problem with this?
"Britain must inform France of its intention to return an individual within 14 days of arrival on a small boat. France can reject the request if it “considers that an individual would be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Schengen states”, meaning the 29 European countries that have removed controls at their borders.
France must give a response within 28 days for each migrant Britain intends to return. However, if France ignores the request, the migrant must remain in the UK."
"Migrants can use human rights ‘loophole’ to avoid return to France People who have crossed the Channel in small boats may be able to avoid deportation by lodging human rights cases or claiming to be under 18" (£)
None of this will change unless Parliament actually asserts the sovereignty it is entitled to and starts actually legislating to remove the discretion from the courts or the underpinning laws. It’s that simple.
Anyone see any problem with this?
"Britain must inform France of its intention to return an individual within 14 days of arrival on a small boat. France can reject the request if it “considers that an individual would be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Schengen states”, meaning the 29 European countries that have removed controls at their borders.
France must give a response within 28 days for each migrant Britain intends to return. However, if France ignores the request, the migrant must remain in the UK."
(Somewhat marginal, and I'd call it about 87:1 as Tantrum no. 798 or "Look at Me".)
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll from earlier this year showed Greene losing to Ossoff by 17 points, hardly good news. Greene reaffirmed to the Daily Mail she's staying out of the Senate race
Both of those sound like very good news to me. The second perhaps less so for Jon Ossoff.
Isn't it interesting though that in listing everything that is going wrong she's criticising all of Trump's policies and actions but believes they are the actions of a shadowy cabal that have captured office? Talk about delusional. No wonder the Republicans are in such utter chaos.
In the plus column, she did tell David Cameron to **** off.
And Emily Maitlis. So she has, at least, one redeeming feature.
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
That's not entirely true. There are five US States which have indepedent, non-political, commissions for Congressional Districts:
- California - Arizona - Michigan - Colorado - Washington
Of these, three are "True Blue", and two (Michigan and Arizona) are Purple.
A fair point. American state-level politics is so diverse that one can generally find exceptions to every rule, unless there is a federal standard involved.
So, while it's perfectly fair to see both parties have been bad, there are some States who do try to do it properly, and they include the Bluest state of all.
I don't know what metric you're using to determine the "bluest state of all", but according to the 2024 presidential election results, but the five states (not counting non-state DC, which sucks off the government teat and is majority black so is by far the bluest on any measure) with the highest Harris share were (in reverse order):
Maine - 59.69% Hawaii - 60.59% Massachusetts - 61.22% Maryland - 62.62% Vermont - 63.83%
None are on your list. California is next at 58% but that's hardly the bluest state by this metric. If we go to State legislatures, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Taxachussets are bluer than CA. Etc.
Pedantry, of course, but this is pb.com and hopefully to some extent enlightening.
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
The boundary commission takes these decisions under strong scrutiny from all parties, so no idea what you are insinuating re: "Western Islands", which the Lib Dems have never held. Sounds like ignorant abuse rather than any informed comment.
Uniquely, what you say about boundaries is not true in the case of the Western Isles - the Boundary Commission cannot amalgamate the boundaries of that constituency, unlike every other constituency in the country. Clegg insisted on including that in the 2011 Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act that as the Lib Dems had traditionally been popular there, and Cameron understandably agreed to get the Act through. It has 21k electors compared with more than three times that for the average UK constituency.
In fact, of course, they did disastrously in the subsequent election, and have never recovered. So his gerrymandering didn't help his party.
@BarackObama · 37m We can’t lose focus on what matters – right now, Republicans in Texas are trying to gerrymander district lines to unfairly win five seats in next year’s midterm elections. This is a power grab that undermines our democracy.
... because the Democrats have never, ever tried to gerrymander of course. Oh no.
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
The boundary commission takes these decisions under strong scrutiny from all parties, so no idea what you are insinuating re: "Western Islands", which the Lib Dems have never held. Sounds like ignorant abuse rather than any informed comment.
Uniquely, what you say about boundaries is not true in the case of the Western Isles - the Boundary Commission cannot amalgamate the boundaries of that constituency, unlike every other constituency in the country. Clegg insisted on including that in the 2011 Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act that as the Lib Dems had traditionally been popular there, and Cameron understandably agreed to get the Act through. It has 21k electors compared with more than three times that for the average UK constituency.
In fact, of course, they did disastrously in the subsequent election, and have never recovered. So his gerrymandering didn't help his party.
So I'm afraid the ignorant abuse comes from you.
This is bollocks, frankly. For a start it's not a unique provision, it also applies to Orkney and Shetland and Anglesey. The point being they are islands so it makes no logical sense from a geographical perspective to 'merge' seats.
If memory serves regarding island constituencies, at the time Cameron wanted the number of seats reduced to 600. This would have meant the island constituencies having a mainland portion. This was felt unreasonable so they were allowed to be lower population constituencies by themselves. The 600 never went thru and we stated at 650 but the principle of island constituencies remained
Incidentally, Isle of Wight has two constituencies.
If memory serves regarding island constituencies, at the time Cameron wanted the number of seats reduced to 600. This would have meant the island constituencies having a mainland portion. This was felt unreasonable so they were allowed to be lower population constituencies by themselves. The 600 never went thru and we stated at 650 but the principle of island constituencies remained
Incidentally, Isle of Wight has two constituencies.
Yes, that's my recollection. I didn't - and still don't - see why constituencies which have both island and mainland portions is unreasonable. Does Lewis have any less in common with Ullapool than it does with Barra? Does Orkney have any less in common with Caithness than it does with Shetland? Arran is lumped in with North Ayrshire, Mull with mainland Argyll.
Comments
https://www.facebook.com/groups/8576703359/posts/10161238162688360/
Some chat about the lack of younger people boozing nowadays. 25-35 year olds didn't come back out much after lockdown (more so the older end, as I can testify). More preferring to wake up fresh on a Saturday/Sunday morning and keep fit/exercise. Wonder if clubs are getting less strict on young guys coming into clubs in large groups (prob not)
Non-political districting is the only sensible way forward, but weirdly Democrats seem about as reluctant as Republicans to implement it.
We can be extremely grateful that that kind of gerrymandering doesn't happen in this country (except for the LibDems and the Western Isles constituency of course, which they have since lost anyway).
Maybe the answer is random politicians turning up now and again to promote nightclubs? Jonathan Reynolds and Peter Kyle could do a few breakdances/dance offs. Liz Kendall could go round with the tray of shots
- California
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Colorado
- Washington
Of these, three are "True Blue", and two (Michigan and Arizona) are Purple.
So, while it's perfectly fair to see both parties have been bad, there are some States who do try to do it properly, and they include the Bluest state of all.
I'd also note that what is different about what Texas is doing now is that they redrew Congressional boundaries immediately following the last census, as is the norm. So - what - three years ago.
Basically, you see where people live, then you redistrict (usually for political advantage).
What has not been done before is redistricting between census resullts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2025_Dutch_general_election
A lot of the UK state needs rethinking from the ground up. Back in the 1950s one of the major aeroplane manufacturers did a fascinating bit of engineering - they told the designers to assume that the aircraft they were developing was 20% (iirc) lighter than it actually was, and redesign their components accordingly. The resultant design came out over 20% lighter than their starting point.
I suspect we could perform a similar function with a lot of the states activities - but it only works if you are doing a proper redesign, not just firing every 5th person at random.
As for "why are people willing to let Reform anywhere near the NHS?" If you've had misfortune to use it recently, it's unsurprising. It's utterly disfunctional, especially if you need to deal with more than one discipline at a time. The fact that it's Doctors appear to be holding it to ransom in an act of pure greed is the icing on the cake. (I heard one of the non-striking doctors on the radio a couple of weeks ago - he said that he thought the 30%ish pay settlement he got last year was excellent, as it had allowed him to go to a four day week without losing earnings - and there we have the NHS's problem in a nutshell!).
The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts."
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/04/texas-democrats-house-warrants-arrest-quorum-break
Slowing economic growth, a weak jobs market and the cost of Labour’s about-turns on welfare spending have combined to plunge government finances deeper into the red, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warned.
The Chancellor is now on course to miss her borrowing targets by £41.2bn, the think tank predicted. If she wants to restore the £9.9bn of headroom maintained since last year’s Budget, Ms Reeves must therefore raise taxes or cut spending by £51.1bn.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/08/06/reeves-facing-50bn-black-hole-as-tax-pressure-mounts/
£22bn£50bn blackhole.There are Dem states which have independent districting commissions - which is one reason the Republicans think they can grab an advantage by brining in the current gerrymanders.
What you seem to be implying is that the Democrats should effectively disarm unilaterally.
...
Companies House confirms that from Tuesday 18 November 2025, legal requirements for directors and people with significant control (PSCs) of companies to verify their identities will begin.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/companies-house-confirms-identity-verification-rollout-from-18-november-2025
It's not just for porn.
MTG: I am done with the Republican Party.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14960689/marjorie-taylor-greene-floats-breakup-republican-party.html
(Somewhat marginal, and I'd call it about 87:1 as Tantrum no. 798 or "Look at Me".)
Both of those sound like very good news to me. The second perhaps less so for Jon Ossoff.
Isn't it interesting though that in listing everything that is going wrong she's criticising all of Trump's policies and actions but believes they are the actions of a shadowy cabal that have captured office? Talk about delusional. No wonder the Republicans are in such utter chaos.
RFK Jr cancels $500m in mRNA vaccine development in the US
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to cancel $500m (£376m) in funding for mRNA vaccines being developed to counter viruses like the flu and Covid-19.
The move will impact 22 projects being led by major pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, for vaccines against bird flu and other viruses, HHS said.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, announced he was pulling the funding over claims that "mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74dzdddvmjo
They will be about as effective as the SNP and just as obsessed about independence, but Welsh opposition to Labour has been split for so long that it seems people are now ready to roll the dice on any realistic alternative.
I agree with you it's a rather unconvincing smear.
NEW THREAD
From that everything else follows and once you understand that his actions make sense.
They are selling the latest fantasy.
The true bit is the grip on immigration.
They are selling the latest fantasy.
The true bit is the grip on immigration.
"Britain must inform France of its intention to return an individual within 14 days of arrival on a small boat. France can reject the request if it “considers that an individual would be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Schengen states”, meaning the 29 European countries that have removed controls at their borders.
France must give a response within 28 days for each migrant Britain intends to return. However, if France ignores the request, the migrant must remain in the UK."
"Britain must inform France of its intention to return an individual within 14 days of arrival on a small boat. France can reject the request if it “considers that an individual would be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Schengen states”, meaning the 29 European countries that have removed controls at their borders.
France must give a response within 28 days for each migrant Britain intends to return. However, if France ignores the request, the migrant must remain in the UK."
Maine - 59.69%
Hawaii - 60.59%
Massachusetts - 61.22%
Maryland - 62.62%
Vermont - 63.83%
None are on your list. California is next at 58% but that's hardly the bluest state by this metric. If we go to State legislatures, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Taxachussets are bluer than CA. Etc.
Pedantry, of course, but this is pb.com and hopefully to some extent enlightening.
Uniquely, what you say about boundaries is not true in the case of the Western Isles - the Boundary Commission cannot amalgamate the boundaries of that constituency, unlike every other constituency in the country. Clegg insisted on including that in the 2011 Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act that as the Lib Dems had traditionally been popular there, and Cameron understandably agreed to get the Act through. It has 21k electors compared with more than three times that for the average UK constituency.
In fact, of course, they did disastrously in the subsequent election, and have never recovered. So his gerrymandering didn't help his party.
So I'm afraid the ignorant abuse comes from you.
Incidentally, Isle of Wight has two constituencies.