The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
When did the Left lose its Cringe Function? Because it has gone very missing. And it’s a vital resource
Well known that righties LOVE having their erections whacked with a cold metal spoon.
lol. Good line. Might steal
Because this really is a thing. Lefty Cringelordism
Look at Starmer’s latest tweet
“I’m proud of our flag as a patriotic symbol of our nation, like lots of people I’ve proudly got one up at home.
Using our flag to divide devalues it.”
Pure, unadulterated CRINGE
Yes that was nauseating. The next journalist who asks about flags should be fired !
Why the hell can’t Starmer and other vaguely left of centre pols give a sensible answer along the lines of ‘I love my country and while I’m happy to see people flying the flag(s), I prefer to show my patriotism in other ways’. The guff above just supports the notion that Labour is yet again running scared of flag shagger in chief Farage.
Indeed
Not only that, the tweet is so badly written. It uses the word “proud” twice in one sentence. The punctuation is weird. I genuinely suspect his social media team dislike him and are doing this to undermine him. No one could write tweets this bad by mistake
Leon, who has even failed to finish that post off with a full stop critiques other people's punctuation shortcomings.
Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs!
I believe Leon does it as a matter of policy, as it serves no purpose at the end of a paragraph
It would be convenient if he could keep up this hiding game until he’s due for the state visit.
Yes - all will become clear about Trump's health by 17th September. He can't send a double. He'll be expected to make a speech at the state banquet. Two weeks at most to wait.
This is pure John Major in his prime, talking about, IIRC, peas.
Starmer is getting there but is not the finished article. Major always gave the impression that he was just slightly one of us and on our side and had accidentally ended up in charge of the country, meeting important despots and declaring war.
Starmer's current form of banality is an act. Major's wasn't, as his brother's great comic work 'Major Major' accidentally discloses.
Starmer’s banality is not an act. Or if it is it’s an act of desperation
He has no inner life. He never dreams. He can’t name a favourite book or poem. He’s never wondered if he is extrovert or introvert. He doesn’t understand the concept of “joke” or “funny story”
Ergo he has to fake it to make it. He’s decided that faking a love of flags is his new priority
What Starmer LOVES is rules. Rules make him feel good. The world is ordered. The judge is always right
That's an utterly vauous point, when you consider that every politician loves rules, because making them is their job.
We tried one who didn't like rules (and done people still fanboi him), and it was a blooming disaster.
He loved making rules; his flaw was in thinking they were always for others
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
A quiet morning so far - 86 years ago, it wasn’t so quiet. Had a place like this existed then, what would we have been saying or typing?
In New Zealand, where there are no inter-city or long distance trains, if you want to get from Napier to Wellington (about 170 miles) you have three options. Drive, fly or take the bus. The drive is about four and a half hours, the flight about 90 minutes and the bus six and a half hours. The Premium Economy on the bus one way works out about £30 so competitive with the drive and much cheaper than the plane.
I seem to remember a previous Labour Government being keen on long distance buses as a viable alternative to rail. The cheapest way from London to Penzance is on the bus (as low as £13 for a single nine hour trip). Weekend rail travel is not for the faint hearted in my experience and we clearly need more transport capacity given the rapid return of leisure travel to and indeed above pre-pandemic levels.
Things must have changed then. About a dozen years ago...... memory is a bit inexact ....... we caught a train from Wellington to Auckland, which is about as far as you can go without crossing the Cook St. I also recall seeing trains go from Christchurch (at least) to said Cook St.
When did the Left lose its Cringe Function? Because it has gone very missing. And it’s a vital resource
The probability that a male immigrant or assylum seeker has been or is involved in violence or sexual misconduct against a woman would appear to be small fraction of a per cent, and there isn't evidence that it is significantly greater than for existing UK male residents of the same ages. Whereas the probability of someone elected as a Reform MP of being involved in violence or sexual misconduct against a woman would appear to be at least 20%....
Given that we’re literally not allowed to present any contrary evidence on this matter, I shall refrain from the debate and go back to my original point
I didn't expect you to be up to taking on the statistics, as we know that maths is one of your many weak spots.
But surely you see the nonsense of trying to stigmatise a whole group of people based on the behaviour of a tiny, tiny, minority? The principle is precisely the same when there are just five of them, and by your logic because one of the elected Reform MPs has previously been convicted of assault against a woman, we are entitled to similarly condemn the lot of them?
I told you I’m not even going to engage in this debate, for reasons adduced
Debate is healthy. Aggressive shouting is not. Much of the "debate" out there insists that wife beaters organising flags are "protecting our women" from rapey muslims. Which despite the high profile grooming gang scandals is only a fraction of reality.
It does seem strange that Trump is awol from the news screens but I am not going to speculate on the cause but await the media to catch up on his absence
This morning is not a good one for Starmer and his government on the bond markets
Labour are incapable of any other thought than increasing spending and taxes, rather than cutting spending as mentioned in the Guardian this morning
'Fiscal concerns are being felt in the UK as well with 30Y Gilts yields close to the highest level since 1998. The recent economic reshuffle in the government did little to ease investor concerns and is seen as undermining Chancellor Reeves.
Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Stopping the boats, difficult Autumn statement, threatened strikes by the public sector are all going to prove very problemtic going forward
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
What with free bus travel for the over 60s & under 22s plus cheap ferry fares for under 22s, the SNP are committing the cardinal sin of trying to make the lives of their countrymen easier. It'll never catch on.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
Britain’s long-term borrowing costs have hit their highest level in 27 years, intensifying the pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves before the autumn budget.
The yield, or interest rate, on 30-year UK government debt hit 5.680% on Tuesday morning. That is its highest level since 1998, indicating that it will cost the UK more to borrow from the markets, above the previous 27-year high of 5.649% set in April.
Yields, which rise when a bond’s price falls, are a measure of the interest rate which investors demand when lending to a government or company.
UK long-term borrowing costs reach 27-year high in pre-budget blow for Labour
The UK 30-year bond yield has been rising steadily over the last year, amid a wider global sell-off in long-term government bonds. Analysts have blamed that sell-off on rising inflationary expectations – meaning lenders seek a higher rate of return.
While bond prices fell on Tuesday, traders piled in to precious metals in a flight to safety. This pushed the gold price up to a new record high of $3,508 (£2,607) an ounce on Tuesday, while silver rose over $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011.
Anxiety over fiscal sustainability are another factor, with Donald Trump’s recent tax cuts and spending bill expected to add trillions of dollars to the US national debt.
In the UK, opposition to proposed welfare cuts have highlighted the challenge in cutting government spending.
Rising borrowing costs are a blow to the UK chancellor, as they eat into the limited fiscal headroom available to the Treasury. It may force Reeves to consider tax rises, or spending cuts, to ensure she still hits her fiscal rule to have debt falling in five years’ time.
The rise in borrowing costs came as the City digested Keir Starmer’s decision to reshuffle his Downing Street organisation on Monday, including putting Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, in charge of day-to-day delivery of the prime minister’s priorities.
“The immediate market reaction is not exactly a vote of confidence on these moves,” said Simon French, the chief economist and head of research at the investment bank Panmure Liberum.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
They are, and imo giving publicity to Farage and Reform is a mistake. However, since England recently won the Women's Euros and we now have the Women's Rugby World Cup, it would not astonish me if female politicians are feeling patriotic.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
You criticise them when they do and you criticise them when they don’t. It’s not objective in the slightest.
Those who reflexively dislike Trump will all now be writing opinion pieces on how traditional-looking buildings are horrible, and how modernist glass-and-concrete building is a sign of a wonderful future.
I don't think most people reflexively dislike Trump. No, they dislike Trump based on his actions and words, on his selling out of Ukraine, on his deranged economic theories, on his multiple reliably attested cases of sexual assault, on his habitual law-breaking, on how he used his charity to enrich himself, and many, many other examples. It's a considered dislike of Trump. An evidence-based disdain.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
You criticise them when they do and you criticise them when they don’t. It’s not objective in the slightest.
Show me where I have criticised anyone in labour for not displaying this kind of flag waving, especially as we all know it is fake and just trying to keep up with Farage
It does seem strange that Trump is awol from the news screens but I am not going to speculate on the cause but await the media to catch up on his absence
This morning is not a good one for Starmer and his government on the bond markets
Labour are incapable of any other thought than increasing spending and taxes, rather than cutting spending as mentioned in the Guardian this morning
'Fiscal concerns are being felt in the UK as well with 30Y Gilts yields close to the highest level since 1998. The recent economic reshuffle in the government did little to ease investor concerns and is seen as undermining Chancellor Reeves.
Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Stopping the boats, difficult Autumn statement, threatened strikes by the public sector are all going to prove very problemtic going forward
I've no problem with Government spending, so long as it's money well spent. I wouldn't even mind taxes in general going up a bit so long as, see above, the money's spent wisely and usefully. TBH I can't see many (?any) places where the Government could make significant savings. There are all sorts of things where we need more spending, not less. Education for one.
Good morning from Athina. A "major announcement" from the White House and/or Trump at 6pm UK time, apparently.
Wonder what that is.
99.9% of the time, a "major announcement" turns out to be nothing of the kind. It's almost always that the Treasury Secretary is going to open a new papermill in Idaho next Wednesday or something.
Trump won't run again, he doesn't have the two thirds majority in Congress to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Vance is also determined to be the GOP nominee himself.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
When did the Left lose its Cringe Function? Because it has gone very missing. And it’s a vital resource
The probability that a male immigrant or assylum seeker has been or is involved in violence or sexual misconduct against a woman would appear to be small fraction of a per cent, and there isn't evidence that it is significantly greater than for existing UK male residents of the same ages. Whereas the probability of someone elected as a Reform MP of being involved in violence or sexual misconduct against a woman would appear to be at least 20%....
Given that we’re literally not allowed to present any contrary evidence on this matter, I shall refrain from the debate and go back to my original point
I didn't expect you to be up to taking on the statistics, as we know that maths is one of your many weak spots.
But surely you see the nonsense of trying to stigmatise a whole group of people based on the behaviour of a tiny, tiny, minority? The principle is precisely the same when there are just five of them, and by your logic because one of the elected Reform MPs has previously been convicted of assault against a woman, we are entitled to similarly condemn the lot of them?
I told you I’m not even going to engage in this debate, for reasons adduced
So your referring to the Guardian coverage of something you're not allowed to talk about, is your way of getting around the restriction placed upon you by the mods of not talking about it, by talking about it by implication?
You'd do better to avoid commenting on press coverage of subjects you're not allowed to talk about.
When did the Left lose its Cringe Function? Because it has gone very missing. And it’s a vital resource
The probability that a male immigrant or assylum seeker has been or is involved in violence or sexual misconduct against a woman would appear to be small fraction of a per cent, and there isn't evidence that it is significantly greater than for existing UK male residents of the same ages. Whereas the probability of someone elected as a Reform MP of having been involved in violence or sexual misconduct against a woman would appear to be at least 20%....
It's a small sample size, however. The 95% confidence interval is 1%-72%. So, in the best style of UK journalism, we should report this as "up to 72%".
Those who reflexively dislike Trump will all now be writing opinion pieces on how traditional-looking buildings are horrible, and how modernist glass-and-concrete building is a sign of a wonderful future.
I don't think most people reflexively dislike Trump. No, they dislike Trump based on his actions and words, on his selling out of Ukraine, on his deranged economic theories, on his multiple reliably attested cases of sexual assault, on his habitual law-breaking, on how he used his charity to enrich himself, and many, many other examples. It's a considered dislike of Trump. An evidence-based disdain.
He cheats at golf. That's shorthand for all the rest.
On topic, I am genuinely entertained by the crisis management team in the White House. The boss - self-styled as superman, the fittest, the most virile man everrrrrrr - has had a serious health incident. Of the exact kind he and his cult berated Biden over.
What to do? COVER. Lets just have someone tweeting in a style almost wholly dissimilar to the boss - nobody will notice. Lets release some photos of him playing golf, video too. Obviously him. Forget that we released these 3 months ago. And now a nice photo of him smiling with a friend at his resort. No that isn't the Mar a Lago carpet. No we haven't badly photoshopped the mirror to hide that its Mar a Lago.
How shit is the White House operation?
Have the White House message management team been seen in the same room as the UK government team?
Trump won't run again, he doesn't have the two thirds majority in Congress to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Vance is also determined to be the GOP nominee himself.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
Trump issued an executive order criminalising flag burning despite the constitution, as determined by the Supreme Court, protecting the act. What makes you think he's bothered by what the constitution says or the need to obey it?
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
That's a fair point but if you really want to help poor people out it's got to be an investment in local buses, not trains.
It does seem strange that Trump is awol from the news screens but I am not going to speculate on the cause but await the media to catch up on his absence
This morning is not a good one for Starmer and his government on the bond markets
Labour are incapable of any other thought than increasing spending and taxes, rather than cutting spending as mentioned in the Guardian this morning
'Fiscal concerns are being felt in the UK as well with 30Y Gilts yields close to the highest level since 1998. The recent economic reshuffle in the government did little to ease investor concerns and is seen as undermining Chancellor Reeves.
Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Stopping the boats, difficult Autumn statement, threatened strikes by the public sector are all going to prove very problemtic going forward
I've no problem with Government spending, so long as it's money well spent. I wouldn't even mind taxes in general going up a bit so long as, see above, the money's spent wisely and usefully. TBH I can't see many (?any) places where the Government could make significant savings. There are all sorts of things where we need more spending, not less. Education for one.
Maybe, but ultimately the people who lend us the money will have to be convinced
Cutting spending is difficult, but if the bond markets continue on this trajectory there will be no choice
We all need to understand we are living beyond our means and face being poorer
Trump won't run again, he doesn't have the two thirds majority in Congress to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Vance is also determined to be the GOP nominee himself.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
Trump issued an executive order criminalising flag burning despite the constitution, as determined by the Supreme Court, protecting the act. What makes you think he's bothered by what the constitution says or the need to obey it?
Fun fact - according to various US government institutions, the correct way to dispose of an old/worn out flag is to… burn it.
A train full of old Russian T-55 tanks, heading off to refight the early years of the Cold War - except that they’ll be up against modern Western tanks and MANPADS.
That lot will barely last a day or two on the front line, yet more proof if it were needed that the enemy is now at the point of raiding museums for weapons of war.
It does seem strange that Trump is awol from the news screens but I am not going to speculate on the cause but await the media to catch up on his absence
This morning is not a good one for Starmer and his government on the bond markets
Labour are incapable of any other thought than increasing spending and taxes, rather than cutting spending as mentioned in the Guardian this morning
'Fiscal concerns are being felt in the UK as well with 30Y Gilts yields close to the highest level since 1998. The recent economic reshuffle in the government did little to ease investor concerns and is seen as undermining Chancellor Reeves.
Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Stopping the boats, difficult Autumn statement, threatened strikes by the public sector are all going to prove very problemtic going forward
I've no problem with Government spending, so long as it's money well spent. I wouldn't even mind taxes in general going up a bit so long as, see above, the money's spent wisely and usefully. TBH I can't see many (?any) places where the Government could make significant savings. There are all sorts of things where we need more spending, not less. Education for one.
Maybe, but ultimately the people who lend us the money will have to be convinced
Cutting spending is difficult, but if the bond markets continue on this trajectory there will be no choice
We all need to understand we are living beyond our means and face being poorer
Yes, those who lend us the money will have to be convinced, but there are several ways of doing that, not just cutting spending. We can raise taxes. We can raise income in other ways, e.g. greater growth. We can increase confidence in our long-term ability to pay the money back.
Trump won't run again, he doesn't have the two thirds majority in Congress to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Vance is also determined to be the GOP nominee himself.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
I think k Vance is still in the stage where this would count as his first term if he takes over now?
Trump won't run again, he doesn't have the two thirds majority in Congress to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Vance is also determined to be the GOP nominee himself.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
I think k Vance is still in the stage where this would count as his first term if he takes over now?
Yes. It's the halfway point that makes the difference, 2 years in.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
You criticise them when they do and you criticise them when they don’t. It’s not objective in the slightest.
Show me where I have criticised anyone in labour for not displaying this kind of flag waving, especially as we all know it is fake and just trying to keep up with Farage
Didn’t see you complaining when David C was pretending to be a huge Aston Villa fan and to know how much milk costs.
The bond market emergency must surface in the public consciousness soon
I'm still shocked that S&P haven't downgraded UK debt, it's well past time. It will be something like that or a BoE intervention that will push it into the public consciousness.
A train full of old Russian T-55 tanks, heading off to refight the early years of the Cold War - except that they’ll be up against modern Western tanks and MANPADS.
That lot will barely last a day or two on the front line, yet more proof if it were needed that the enemy is now at the point of raiding museums for weapons of war.
Getting a burst of Putin's at death's door nostalgia. Ah, no, thats currently the other anti Ukraine president.
When did the Left lose its Cringe Function? Because it has gone very missing. And it’s a vital resource
Well known that righties LOVE having their erections whacked with a cold metal spoon.
lol. Good line. Might steal
Because this really is a thing. Lefty Cringelordism
Look at Starmer’s latest tweet
“I’m proud of our flag as a patriotic symbol of our nation, like lots of people I’ve proudly got one up at home.
Using our flag to divide devalues it.”
Pure, unadulterated CRINGE
Yes that was nauseating. The next journalist who asks about flags should be fired !
Why the hell can’t Starmer and other vaguely left of centre pols give a sensible answer along the lines of ‘I love my country and while I’m happy to see people flying the flag(s), I prefer to show my patriotism in other ways’. The guff above just supports the notion that Labour is yet again running scared of flag shagger in chief Farage.
Indeed
Not only that, the tweet is so badly written. It uses the word “proud” twice in one sentence. The punctuation is weird. I genuinely suspect his social media team dislike him and are doing this to undermine him. No one could write tweets this bad by mistake
Leon, who has even failed to finish that post off with a full stop critiques other people's punctuation shortcomings.
Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs!
I believe Leon does it as a matter of policy, as it serves no purpose at the end of a paragraph
It lets you know he didn't hit 'post comment' by accident before ending the
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
The bond market emergency must surface in the public consciousness soon
I'm still shocked that S&P haven't downgraded UK debt, it's well past time. It will be something like that or a BoE intervention that will push it into the public consciousness.
I think it’s sweet that you still trust the rating agencies 😂
It does seem strange that Trump is awol from the news screens but I am not going to speculate on the cause but await the media to catch up on his absence
This morning is not a good one for Starmer and his government on the bond markets
Labour are incapable of any other thought than increasing spending and taxes, rather than cutting spending as mentioned in the Guardian this morning
'Fiscal concerns are being felt in the UK as well with 30Y Gilts yields close to the highest level since 1998. The recent economic reshuffle in the government did little to ease investor concerns and is seen as undermining Chancellor Reeves.
Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Stopping the boats, difficult Autumn statement, threatened strikes by the public sector are all going to prove very problemtic going forward
I've no problem with Government spending, so long as it's money well spent. I wouldn't even mind taxes in general going up a bit so long as, see above, the money's spent wisely and usefully. TBH I can't see many (?any) places where the Government could make significant savings. There are all sorts of things where we need more spending, not less. Education for one.
Maybe, but ultimately the people who lend us the money will have to be convinced
Cutting spending is difficult, but if the bond markets continue on this trajectory there will be no choice
We all need to understand we are living beyond our means and face being poorer
Yes, those who lend us the money will have to be convinced, but there are several ways of doing that, not just cutting spending. We can raise taxes. We can raise income in other ways, e.g. greater growth. We can increase confidence in our long-term ability to pay the money back.
This is the salient point from the Guardian's comments
'Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Trump won't run again, he doesn't have the two thirds majority in Congress to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Vance is also determined to be the GOP nominee himself.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
Trump issued an executive order criminalising flag burning despite the constitution, as determined by the Supreme Court, protecting the act. What makes you think he's bothered by what the constitution says or the need to obey it?
It was immediately ignored by a chap outside the White House burning a stars and stripes in protest.
Unless there's a new SCOTUS ruling, or a new law, as you say Flag Burning is 1st Amendment Protected Free Speech.
I don't think even The Great Donaldo will pursue this one any further.
A train full of old Russian T-55 tanks, heading off to refight the early years of the Cold War - except that they’ll be up against modern Western tanks and MANPADS.
That lot will barely last a day or two on the front line, yet more proof if it were needed that the enemy is now at the point of raiding museums for weapons of war.
The T-55s are mostly used as low rent self propelled artillery, as I understand it. They’ve pretty much run out of ancient, rusty SPGs to renovate and production is still very low. Especially replacement barrels.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
You criticise them when they do and you criticise them when they don’t. It’s not objective in the slightest.
Show me where I have criticised anyone in labour for not displaying this kind of flag waving, especially as we all know it is fake and just trying to keep up with Farage
Didn’t see you complaining when David C was pretending to be a huge Aston Villa fan and to know how much milk costs.
It does seem strange that Trump is awol from the news screens but I am not going to speculate on the cause but await the media to catch up on his absence
This morning is not a good one for Starmer and his government on the bond markets
Labour are incapable of any other thought than increasing spending and taxes, rather than cutting spending as mentioned in the Guardian this morning
'Fiscal concerns are being felt in the UK as well with 30Y Gilts yields close to the highest level since 1998. The recent economic reshuffle in the government did little to ease investor concerns and is seen as undermining Chancellor Reeves.
Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Stopping the boats, difficult Autumn statement, threatened strikes by the public sector are all going to prove very problemtic going forward
You could add this from billionaire Ray Dalio on Trumpism, from FT as reported in the Guardian:
“I think that what is happening now politically and socially is analogous to what happened around the world in the 1930-40 period.
I am just describing the cause and effect relationships that are driving what is happening. And by the way, during such times most people are silent because they are afraid of retaliation if they criticise.”
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
You criticise them when they do and you criticise them when they don’t. It’s not objective in the slightest.
Show me where I have criticised anyone in labour for not displaying this kind of flag waving, especially as we all know it is fake and just trying to keep up with Farage
Didn’t see you complaining when David C was pretending to be a huge Aston Villa fan and to know how much milk costs.
Out of interest did you just weirdly remember every post by BigG from that period or did you go through all of his old posts from that period to check that he hadn’t complained about Cameron?
I think we're getting closer to a BoE intervention which is basically doom for the government.
Are these 5.6% 30y bonds index-linked? Because if they are that’s almost S&P500 levels of return.
No - that's fixed rate - so higher than expected inflation will massively reduce your (real) returns.
The inflation-adjusted 30 Year equivalent is currently showing as a 2.59% (+Inflation) Yield - which is potentially interesting for some people / circumstances.
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
What with free bus travel for the over 60s & under 22s plus cheap ferry fares for under 22s, the SNP are committing the cardinal sin of trying to make the lives of their countrymen easier. It'll never catch on.
Talking about that, I was interested to see a Slab MSP is jacking it in, and a left-wing one at that.
"SCOTTISH Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba has said she will not be standing for Holyrood again in 2026.
Villalba, a left-wing MSP who represents the North East of Scotland on the regional list, said she was “proud” of her record in Holyrood – but suggested that campaigning “on the streets” was in her future instead."
The bond market emergency must surface in the public consciousness soon
I'm still shocked that S&P haven't downgraded UK debt, it's well past time. It will be something like that or a BoE intervention that will push it into the public consciousness.
I think it’s sweet that you still trust the rating agencies 😂
I mean I don't, it's more that it would cause a political headache for the government seeing debt downgrade headlines. Our risk premium is nowhere near AA with a stable outlook, at best it's an A with negative outlook so still investment grade but only a couple of notches above speculative.
I think we're getting closer to a BoE intervention which is basically doom for the government.
Are these 5.6% 30y bonds index-linked? Because if they are that’s almost S&P500 levels of return.
I think it is 4.25% 2055 being sold at a 80p or so in the £, so a fixed rate?
[Might be only 70p next month...]
That is not index linked, of course. The IL equivalent would be the Treasury 1.25% 22/11/2055, which trades around 73, and therefore yields around 1.7%.
Sterling down 1.5c against the dollar today. That'll show up later this week in my fairly global pension pot lol. Still weak against the Euro - helps my job in the round but will make Paris next year (even) more expensive if it continues to fall lol.
A train full of old Russian T-55 tanks, heading off to refight the early years of the Cold War - except that they’ll be up against modern Western tanks and MANPADS.
That lot will barely last a day or two on the front line, yet more proof if it were needed that the enemy is now at the point of raiding museums for weapons of war.
The T-55s are mostly used as low rent self propelled artillery, as I understand it. They’ve pretty much run out of ancient, rusty SPGs to renovate and production is still very low. Especially replacement barrels.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty good for Ukraine, with gains in territory made, and an ability to attack air defences and Russian O&G or military-industrial facilities seemingly at will.
The tank stocks are pretty much done when they’re rolling these old relics out, and the actual new T-80 tanks are coming out of the factory at handfuls per month when they’re losing hundreds, sanctions making it much more difficult to source electronic components for them.
The worry now has to be that he finds another serious source of heavy weapons, from NK, China, or India - although there have even been rumours of Russian agents hitting up the African warlords offering to buy old tanks and take mercenary soldiers.
A train full of old Russian T-55 tanks, heading off to refight the early years of the Cold War - except that they’ll be up against modern Western tanks and MANPADS.
That lot will barely last a day or two on the front line, yet more proof if it were needed that the enemy is now at the point of raiding museums for weapons of war.
Sterling down 1.5c against the dollar today. That'll show up later this week in my fairly global pension pot lol. Still weak against the Euro - helps my job in the round but will make Paris next year (even) more expensive if it continues to fall lol.
Could have done with that a couple of weeks ago, when I was buying pounds with dollars!
I think we're getting closer to a BoE intervention which is basically doom for the government.
Are these 5.6% 30y bonds index-linked? Because if they are that’s almost S&P500 levels of return.
I’m thinking about buying some.
For a higher rate tax payer it’s the equivalent of about a 10.6% gross return. For government debt.
Why is that ? Is the entire interest paid at the end or something ?
Nah, it's a tax free investment without requiring the use of an ISA. I'm also tempted at these rates, 30 years of 5.6% yield is better than anything else available not in an ISA.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
You criticise them when they do and you criticise them when they don’t. It’s not objective in the slightest.
Show me where I have criticised anyone in labour for not displaying this kind of flag waving, especially as we all know it is fake and just trying to keep up with Farage
Didn’t see you complaining when David C was pretending to be a huge Aston Villa fan and to know how much milk costs.
Out of interest did you just weirdly remember every post by BigG from that period or did you go through all of his old posts from that period to check that he hadn’t complained about Cameron?
Didn’t recall him complaining. Not deeper than that.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
What with free bus travel for the over 60s & under 22s plus cheap ferry fares for under 22s, the SNP are committing the cardinal sin of trying to make the lives of their countrymen easier. It'll never catch on.
Talking about that, I was interested to see a Slab MSP is jacking it in, and a left-wing one at that.
"SCOTTISH Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba has said she will not be standing for Holyrood again in 2026.
Villalba, a left-wing MSP who represents the North East of Scotland on the regional list, said she was “proud” of her record in Holyrood – but suggested that campaigning “on the streets” was in her future instead."
One of the few on the SLab benches for whom I had a bit of respect.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
To be honest Starmer and Reeves (with others in labour) are embarrassing themselves to an extraordinary degree with their fake nod to Farage and Reform
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
You criticise them when they do and you criticise them when they don’t. It’s not objective in the slightest.
Criticism of government and leadership both when they do X and when they don't do X is not usually criticism about both being wrong in themselves, and not necessarily a failure of objectivity; it's about failure to have principles and to lead in a consistent manner.
Leadership does not consist of shifting from: 'Reform are wrong about everything, don't vote for them': to 'Reform are right about a lot of things, don't vote for them'.
This is not, of course, Starmer's regulation or regulator. But he is now responsible for it, and the government has promised to get building restarted, after the Tories completely arsed it up, and this government has yet to deliver.
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK's housing crisis Sir Keir Starmer has made house building one of his government's priorities, and regularly rails against NIMBY culture. But Sky News can reveal the government's own regulator has also been getting in the way of people moving into new homes.
...Sky News saw how in one newly built property in Acton, west London, the sign-off for a building by the BSR was delayed in part because a sign was two millimetres too small and all the signs had to be changed.
This has contributed to a 14-month delay in a green light for residents to move in.
According to the Federation of Master Builders and the Chartered Institute of Building, 38% of developers believe planning delays are the number one issue.
Developers have told Sky News the agency was meant to speed up approvals by ending a system where they have to bring in external consultants to approve the application, but this has not yet happened...
Only a more parochial/anecdotal level, my own experience of local authority building control found it a very long way from pragmatic, or helpful.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
What with free bus travel for the over 60s & under 22s plus cheap ferry fares for under 22s, the SNP are committing the cardinal sin of trying to make the lives of their countrymen easier. It'll never catch on.
Talking about that, I was interested to see a Slab MSP is jacking it in, and a left-wing one at that.
"SCOTTISH Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba has said she will not be standing for Holyrood again in 2026.
Villalba, a left-wing MSP who represents the North East of Scotland on the regional list, said she was “proud” of her record in Holyrood – but suggested that campaigning “on the streets” was in her future instead."
She'll need to campaign in a more modest brand of car if she wants to have street cred with the left.
Oi! There's only about three or four physics teach...
... ah, that could well be "most of them".
(It's a tricky one, and I don't know what the answer is. You could increase pay, but there's no money for that and you probably get more learning per pound by spending it on more, cheaper teachers. Besides, a lot of older teachers gladly exchange the money for fewer days, like I have. It would probably help to let teachers teach only one of the sciences, not all three, but having generic scientists is the bodge that schools use to cover the lack of specialists.
Basically, it's a problem that's been bubbling for decades, and nobody has really had an answer.)
A train full of old Russian T-55 tanks, heading off to refight the early years of the Cold War - except that they’ll be up against modern Western tanks and MANPADS.
That lot will barely last a day or two on the front line, yet more proof if it were needed that the enemy is now at the point of raiding museums for weapons of war.
The T-55s are mostly used as low rent self propelled artillery, as I understand it. They’ve pretty much run out of ancient, rusty SPGs to renovate and production is still very low. Especially replacement barrels.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty good for Ukraine, with gains in territory made, and an ability to attack air defences and Russian O&G or military-industrial facilities seemingly at will.
The tank stocks are pretty much done when they’re rolling these old relics out, and the actual new T-80 tanks are coming out of the factory at handfuls per month when they’re losing hundreds, sanctions making it much more difficult to source electronic components for them.
The worry now has to be that he finds another serious source of heavy weapons, from NK, China, or India - although there have even been rumours of Russian agents hitting up the African warlords offering to buy old tanks and take mercenary soldiers.
Russia has been running the war in broken back mode, when it comes to tanks and artillery for quite a while now.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
Nothing wrong with it in itself but it doesn't sound authentic. It's as if Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed admiration for Pink Floyd or a fondness for standing on the terraces at Accrington Stanley.
With the latest Trump speculation channelling Weekend at Bernie’s, I got to thinking about how a handful of films - usually but not exclusively comedies - have managed to become memes based on a single premise that carries the whole movie.
So any story involving people pretending someone isn’t dead is now weekend at Bernie’s.
A few that come to mind:
- Groundhog Day (same thing keeps happening) - Wag the dog (politician starts a war to distract from domestic woes) - Brewster’s millions (got to spend a budget before time runs out - this one came up yesterday at work) - Indecent proposal (would you bonk someone if they paid you lots of money) - Fatal attraction (moment of weakness leads to consequences / bunny boiling) - Truman show (reality isn’t real) - Sliding doors (a moment where your life could go one way or another) - 28 days later (a normally bustling city is eerily quiet)
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
That's a fair point but if you really want to help poor people out it's got to be an investment in local buses, not trains.
Scotland doesn’t have a bus fare cap, so although buses are free for under 22s and over 60s, they are dearer for those in between, which covers a lot of commuters.
I think we're getting closer to a BoE intervention which is basically doom for the government.
Are these 5.6% 30y bonds index-linked? Because if they are that’s almost S&P500 levels of return.
I’m thinking about buying some.
For a higher rate tax payer it’s the equivalent of about a 10.6% gross return. For government debt.
Why is that ? Is the entire interest paid at the end or something ?
Nah, it's a tax free investment without requiring the use of an ISA. I'm also tempted at these rates, 30 years of 5.6% yield is better than anything else available not in an ISA.
I don't think the 30 year gilt everyone is talking about this morning is index-linked.
Trump won't run again, he doesn't have the two thirds majority in Congress to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Vance is also determined to be the GOP nominee himself.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
Trump issued an executive order criminalising flag burning despite the constitution, as determined by the Supreme Court, protecting the act. What makes you think he's bothered by what the constitution says or the need to obey it?
Fun fact - according to various US government institutions, the correct way to dispose of an old/worn out flag is to… burn it.
Which is also what we do with our Buddhist literature. We even have a guy whose task it is... Other religions differ on this technique.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
Nothing wrong with it in itself but it doesn't sound authentic. It's as if Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed admiration for Pink Floyd or a fondness for standing on the terraces at Accrington Stanley.
'Popular' broadcaster Ed Balls is now fully and authentically on board with Project Patriot.
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
That's a fair point but if you really want to help poor people out it's got to be an investment in local buses, not trains.
Scotland doesn’t have a bus fare cap, so although buses are free for under 22s and over 60s, they are dearer for those in between, which covers a lot of commuters.
Lothian Buses effectively have a cap, though that's no consolation to the 'Wegians over in the wild west cowboy country realms.
This is not, of course, Starmer's regulation or regulator. But he is now responsible for it, and the government has promised to get building restarted, after the Tories completely arsed it up, and this government has yet to deliver.
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK's housing crisis Sir Keir Starmer has made house building one of his government's priorities, and regularly rails against NIMBY culture. But Sky News can reveal the government's own regulator has also been getting in the way of people moving into new homes.
...Sky News saw how in one newly built property in Acton, west London, the sign-off for a building by the BSR was delayed in part because a sign was two millimetres too small and all the signs had to be changed.
This has contributed to a 14-month delay in a green light for residents to move in.
According to the Federation of Master Builders and the Chartered Institute of Building, 38% of developers believe planning delays are the number one issue.
Developers have told Sky News the agency was meant to speed up approvals by ending a system where they have to bring in external consultants to approve the application, but this has not yet happened...
Only a more parochial/anecdotal level, my own experience of local authority building control found it a very long way from pragmatic, or helpful.
Starmer’s government could be forgiven for a whole lot, if it looked like they were making a serious attempt at building millions of houses.
Be it planning reform, allocation of government land for development, working on finance and warranties for unconventional contructions, infrastructure improvements such as proactive building of rail stations and motorway junctions.
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
That's a fair point but if you really want to help poor people out it's got to be an investment in local buses, not trains.
Scotland doesn’t have a bus fare cap, so although buses are free for under 22s and over 60s, they are dearer for those in between, which covers a lot of commuters.
Lothian Buses effectively have a cap, though that's no consolation to the 'Wegians over in the wild west cowboy country realms.
Lothian Buses are effectively publicly owned, and are a good example of why all buses and trains should be publicly owned.
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
That's a fair point but if you really want to help poor people out it's got to be an investment in local buses, not trains.
Scotland doesn’t have a bus fare cap, so although buses are free for under 22s and over 60s, they are dearer for those in between, which covers a lot of commuters.
Lothian Buses effectively have a cap, though that's no consolation to the 'Wegians over in the wild west cowboy country realms.
Lothian Buses are effectively publicly owned, and are a good example of why all buses and trains should be publicly owned.
Indeed: it's not cowboy country over here (the odd pair leaping into the saddle on the Lothian Buses service through Loanhead en route to the local rodeo, aside).
The skeptical parrot on my shoulder says that this is the last gasp SNP administration laying an egg for the following administration to deal with, but that would be too cynical surely?
Has to be a good thing, they are trying to get more people to use trains rather than cars , what can be bad about it. Has been talked about since they nationalised it, had a pilot where I think it did cost them money but have implemented it. Do you think London subsidising bus fares is laying an egg for next mayor
Still, great to see the BBC who were pelting the SNP for the end of the suspended peak fare pilot scheme (vox pops with pissed off commuters and everything) now trying to frame permanently abolished peak fares as a bad thing.
I noticed that too - but different parts, the pelters were from BBC Shortbread and the compliments from BBC Imperial GHQ.
PS Also the theory expounded by some that commuters are only middle class. No wonder, if they can afford the peak fares ...
That's a fair point but if you really want to help poor people out it's got to be an investment in local buses, not trains.
Scotland doesn’t have a bus fare cap, so although buses are free for under 22s and over 60s, they are dearer for those in between, which covers a lot of commuters.
Lothian Buses effectively have a cap, though that's no consolation to the 'Wegians over in the wild west cowboy country realms.
Lothian Buses are effectively publicly owned, and are a good example of why all buses and trains should be publicly owned.
A train full of old Russian T-55 tanks, heading off to refight the early years of the Cold War - except that they’ll be up against modern Western tanks and MANPADS.
That lot will barely last a day or two on the front line, yet more proof if it were needed that the enemy is now at the point of raiding museums for weapons of war.
The T-55s are mostly used as low rent self propelled artillery, as I understand it. They’ve pretty much run out of ancient, rusty SPGs to renovate and production is still very low. Especially replacement barrels.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty good for Ukraine, with gains in territory made, and an ability to attack air defences and Russian O&G or military-industrial facilities seemingly at will.
The tank stocks are pretty much done when they’re rolling these old relics out, and the actual new T-80 tanks are coming out of the factory at handfuls per month when they’re losing hundreds, sanctions making it much more difficult to source electronic components for them.
The worry now has to be that he finds another serious source of heavy weapons, from NK, China, or India - although there have even been rumours of Russian agents hitting up the African warlords offering to buy old tanks and take mercenary soldiers.
Russia has been running the war in broken back mode, when it comes to tanks and artillery for quite a while now.
I’d like to think that too, but I also know it’s what I want to hear and most of my sources are close to the Ukranian side of the war.
Most of the Russian side is so blantantly wrong or clear propoganda it’s difficult to believe anything coming from that side.
However there being a couple of new Russian O&G facilities or war factories on fire every morning for the past few weeks is definitely verifiable, as are the long queues starting to appear for petrol all over Russia. Their economy is definitely hurting a lot now, but the question remains for how much longer it can continue before internal pressure on Putin gets too much.
Trump won't run again, he doesn't have the two thirds majority in Congress to change the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Vance is also determined to be the GOP nominee himself.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
I think k Vance is still in the stage where this would count as his first term if he takes over now?
Easily. He'd only get the opportunity to stand for re-election twice rather than once if he takes over more than two years into Trump's term (so 21st January 2027 or later).
This is not, of course, Starmer's regulation or regulator. But he is now responsible for it, and the government has promised to get building restarted, after the Tories completely arsed it up, and this government has yet to deliver.
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK's housing crisis Sir Keir Starmer has made house building one of his government's priorities, and regularly rails against NIMBY culture. But Sky News can reveal the government's own regulator has also been getting in the way of people moving into new homes.
...Sky News saw how in one newly built property in Acton, west London, the sign-off for a building by the BSR was delayed in part because a sign was two millimetres too small and all the signs had to be changed.
This has contributed to a 14-month delay in a green light for residents to move in.
According to the Federation of Master Builders and the Chartered Institute of Building, 38% of developers believe planning delays are the number one issue.
Developers have told Sky News the agency was meant to speed up approvals by ending a system where they have to bring in external consultants to approve the application, but this has not yet happened...
Only a more parochial/anecdotal level, my own experience of local authority building control found it a very long way from pragmatic, or helpful.
Starmer’s government could be forgiven for a whole lot, if it looked like they were making a serious attempt at building millions of houses.
Be it planning reform, allocation of government land for development, working on finance and warranties for unconventional contructions, infrastructure improvements such as proactive building of rail stations and motorway junctions.
But no, there’s lots of talk but little action.
Process State be processing.
I recall something akin to panic in certain circles when George Osborne introduced a rule that income tax under payments of a pound or 2 (commonly happened due to PAYE calculations) would not result in letters being sent out etc.
With the latest Trump speculation channelling Weekend at Bernie’s, I got to thinking about how a handful of films - usually but not exclusively comedies - have managed to become memes based on a single premise that carries the whole movie.
So any story involving people pretending someone isn’t dead is now weekend at Bernie’s.
A few that come to mind:
- Groundhog Day (same thing keeps happening) - Wag the dog (politician starts a war to distract from domestic woes) - Brewster’s millions (got to spend a budget before time runs out - this one came up yesterday at work) - Indecent proposal (would you bonk someone if they paid you lots of money) - Fatal attraction (moment of weakness leads to consequences / bunny boiling) - Truman show (reality isn’t real) - Sliding doors (a moment where your life could go one way or another) - 28 days later (a normally bustling city is eerily quiet)
This is not, of course, Starmer's regulation or regulator. But he is now responsible for it, and the government has promised to get building restarted, after the Tories completely arsed it up, and this government has yet to deliver.
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK's housing crisis Sir Keir Starmer has made house building one of his government's priorities, and regularly rails against NIMBY culture. But Sky News can reveal the government's own regulator has also been getting in the way of people moving into new homes.
...Sky News saw how in one newly built property in Acton, west London, the sign-off for a building by the BSR was delayed in part because a sign was two millimetres too small and all the signs had to be changed.
This has contributed to a 14-month delay in a green light for residents to move in.
According to the Federation of Master Builders and the Chartered Institute of Building, 38% of developers believe planning delays are the number one issue.
Developers have told Sky News the agency was meant to speed up approvals by ending a system where they have to bring in external consultants to approve the application, but this has not yet happened...
Only a more parochial/anecdotal level, my own experience of local authority building control found it a very long way from pragmatic, or helpful.
Starmer’s government could be forgiven for a whole lot, if it looked like they were making a serious attempt at building millions of houses.
Be it planning reform, allocation of government land for development, working on finance and warranties for unconventional contructions, infrastructure improvements such as proactive building of rail stations and motorway junctions.
But no, there’s lots of talk but little action.
Process State be processing.
I recall something akin to panic in certain circles when George Osborne introduced a rule that income tax under payments of a pound or 2 (commonly happened due to PAYE calculations) would not result in letters being sent out etc.
That sort of administrative pettiness costs a huge amount of money in admin costs, especially given modern postage charges. Anything say plus or minus £100 should just roll into the next tax period and accrued in the HMRC accounts. Sending out bills and cheques for a couple of quid is just silly.
The annoying thing with housing is that it requires hardly any actual government spending, in fact it’s mostly government getting in the way that’s causing the problems in the first place. But instead they’re pandering to the lawyers, NIMBYs, and Ed Miliband, making new homes rare and expensive.
This is not, of course, Starmer's regulation or regulator. But he is now responsible for it, and the government has promised to get building restarted, after the Tories completely arsed it up, and this government has yet to deliver.
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK's housing crisis Sir Keir Starmer has made house building one of his government's priorities, and regularly rails against NIMBY culture. But Sky News can reveal the government's own regulator has also been getting in the way of people moving into new homes.
...Sky News saw how in one newly built property in Acton, west London, the sign-off for a building by the BSR was delayed in part because a sign was two millimetres too small and all the signs had to be changed.
This has contributed to a 14-month delay in a green light for residents to move in.
According to the Federation of Master Builders and the Chartered Institute of Building, 38% of developers believe planning delays are the number one issue.
Developers have told Sky News the agency was meant to speed up approvals by ending a system where they have to bring in external consultants to approve the application, but this has not yet happened...
Only a more parochial/anecdotal level, my own experience of local authority building control found it a very long way from pragmatic, or helpful.
Starmer’s government could be forgiven for a whole lot, if it looked like they were making a serious attempt at building millions of houses.
Be it planning reform, allocation of government land for development, working on finance and warranties for unconventional contructions, infrastructure improvements such as proactive building of rail stations and motorway junctions.
But no, there’s lots of talk but little action.
Process State be processing.
I recall something akin to panic in certain circles when George Osborne introduced a rule that income tax under payments of a pound or 2 (commonly happened due to PAYE calculations) would not result in letters being sent out etc.
That sort of administrative pettiness costs a huge amount of money in admin costs, especially given modern postage charges. Anything say plus or minus £100 should just roll into the next tax period and accrued in the HMRC accounts. Sending out bills and cheques for a couple of quid is just silly.
The annoying thing with housing is that it requires hardly any actual government spending, in fact it’s mostly government getting in the way that’s causing the problems in the first place. But instead they’re pandering to the lawyers, NIMBYs, and Ed Miliband, making new homes rare and expensive.
Though a lot of that is because of accumulated pandering from previous governments of all stripes. This lot are at least facing the right way and moving (too slowly) in the right direction.
Apologies to those who get triggered by this, but it is an area where Rayner and team deserve 5/10. Far from great, but clearly better than the alternatives.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I thought this was a satire of Lab Operation Patriot, but no.
Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth Asked if she's got a flag on display in her home, the Home Secretary says she has Union Jack bunting, St Georges flags, St Georges bunting, and Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
Nothing wrong with it in itself but it doesn't sound authentic. It's as if Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed admiration for Pink Floyd or a fondness for standing on the terraces at Accrington Stanley.
'Popular' broadcaster Ed Balls is now fully and authentically on board with Project Patriot.
This is not, of course, Starmer's regulation or regulator. But he is now responsible for it, and the government has promised to get building restarted, after the Tories completely arsed it up, and this government has yet to deliver.
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK's housing crisis Sir Keir Starmer has made house building one of his government's priorities, and regularly rails against NIMBY culture. But Sky News can reveal the government's own regulator has also been getting in the way of people moving into new homes.
...Sky News saw how in one newly built property in Acton, west London, the sign-off for a building by the BSR was delayed in part because a sign was two millimetres too small and all the signs had to be changed.
This has contributed to a 14-month delay in a green light for residents to move in.
According to the Federation of Master Builders and the Chartered Institute of Building, 38% of developers believe planning delays are the number one issue.
Developers have told Sky News the agency was meant to speed up approvals by ending a system where they have to bring in external consultants to approve the application, but this has not yet happened...
Only a more parochial/anecdotal level, my own experience of local authority building control found it a very long way from pragmatic, or helpful.
Starmer’s government could be forgiven for a whole lot, if it looked like they were making a serious attempt at building millions of houses.
Be it planning reform, allocation of government land for development, working on finance and warranties for unconventional contructions, infrastructure improvements such as proactive building of rail stations and motorway junctions.
But no, there’s lots of talk but little action.
Process State be processing.
I recall something akin to panic in certain circles when George Osborne introduced a rule that income tax under payments of a pound or 2 (commonly happened due to PAYE calculations) would not result in letters being sent out etc.
That sort of administrative pettiness costs a huge amount of money in admin costs, especially given modern postage charges. Anything say plus or minus £100 should just roll into the next tax period and accrued in the HMRC accounts. Sending out bills and cheques for a couple of quid is just silly.
The annoying thing with housing is that it requires hardly any actual government spending, in fact it’s mostly government getting in the way that’s causing the problems in the first place. But instead they’re pandering to the lawyers, NIMBYs, and Ed Miliband, making new homes rare and expensive.
You wouldn't describe new homes as 'rare' if you came to Essex.
X Fraser Nelson@FraserNelson "As long as this Labour government is led by a leader who so sorely lacks interest in the raw stuff of politics, its adviser class will struggle to achieve anything."
Comments
It does seem strange that Trump is awol from the news screens but I am not going to speculate on the cause but await the media to catch up on his absence
This morning is not a good one for Starmer and his government on the bond markets
Labour are incapable of any other thought than increasing spending and taxes, rather than cutting spending as mentioned in the Guardian this morning
'Fiscal concerns are being felt in the UK as well with 30Y Gilts yields close to the highest level since 1998. The recent economic reshuffle in the government did little to ease investor concerns and is seen as undermining Chancellor Reeves.
Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Stopping the boats, difficult Autumn statement, threatened strikes by the public sector are all going to prove very problemtic going forward
I really do wonder what's up with him.
All we need now is Dame Emily Thornberry to echo these statements
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/r_IP6T2NHmc
50 seconds from The Rest is History on Herbert Henry Asquith, First World War Prime Minister.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD1jyk3LhA8
I do think the video overplays the issues, but it is a good background to the complexities.
Britain’s long-term borrowing costs have hit their highest level in 27 years, intensifying the pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves before the autumn budget.
The yield, or interest rate, on 30-year UK government debt hit 5.680% on Tuesday morning. That is its highest level since 1998, indicating that it will cost the UK more to borrow from the markets, above the previous 27-year high of 5.649% set in April.
Yields, which rise when a bond’s price falls, are a measure of the interest rate which investors demand when lending to a government or company.
UK long-term borrowing costs reach 27-year high in pre-budget blow for Labour
The UK 30-year bond yield has been rising steadily over the last year, amid a wider global sell-off in long-term government bonds. Analysts have blamed that sell-off on rising inflationary expectations – meaning lenders seek a higher rate of return.
While bond prices fell on Tuesday, traders piled in to precious metals in a flight to safety. This pushed the gold price up to a new record high of $3,508 (£2,607) an ounce on Tuesday, while silver rose over $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011.
Anxiety over fiscal sustainability are another factor, with Donald Trump’s recent tax cuts and spending bill expected to add trillions of dollars to the US national debt.
In the UK, opposition to proposed welfare cuts have highlighted the challenge in cutting government spending.
Rising borrowing costs are a blow to the UK chancellor, as they eat into the limited fiscal headroom available to the Treasury. It may force Reeves to consider tax rises, or spending cuts, to ensure she still hits her fiscal rule to have debt falling in five years’ time.
The rise in borrowing costs came as the City digested Keir Starmer’s decision to reshuffle his Downing Street organisation on Monday, including putting Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, in charge of day-to-day delivery of the prime minister’s priorities.
“The immediate market reaction is not exactly a vote of confidence on these moves,” said Simon French, the chief economist and head of research at the investment bank Panmure Liberum.
https://x.com/andrew_lilico/status/1962785534402502803?s=61
10 year also high
TBH I can't see many (?any) places where the Government could make significant savings. There are all sorts of things where we need more spending, not less. Education for one.
Unless the administration gets its approval rating closer to 50% than its current 40% neither would win anyway
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/sep/02/quarter-schools-england-lack-physics-teacher
That is because most of them are on here.
It’s not your place to regulate discussion on this board
Ian Fleming knew this...
Cutting spending is difficult, but if the bond markets continue on this trajectory there will be no choice
We all need to understand we are living beyond our means and face being poorer
https://x.com/thedeaddistrict/status/1962720841956745304
That lot will barely last a day or two on the front line, yet more proof if it were needed that the enemy is now at the point of raiding museums for weapons of war.
Ah, no, thats currently the other anti Ukraine president.
'Tax rises are inevitable, but we are reaching a stage where further tax rises could become counterproductive. So far the government has shied away from difficult decisions on spending cuts which would be required to bring the fiscal picture back in order. We remain negative on the UK long end and continue to favour steepeners along the curve'.
Unless there's a new SCOTUS ruling, or a new law, as you say Flag Burning is 1st Amendment Protected Free Speech.
I don't think even The Great Donaldo will pursue this one any further.
For a higher rate tax payer it’s the equivalent of about a 10.6% gross return. For government debt.
“I think that what is happening now politically and socially is analogous to what happened around the world in the 1930-40 period.
I am just describing the cause and effect relationships that are driving what is happening. And by the way, during such times most people are silent because they are afraid of retaliation if they criticise.”
[Might be only 70p next month...]
The inflation-adjusted 30 Year equivalent is currently showing as a 2.59% (+Inflation) Yield - which is potentially interesting for some people / circumstances.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25433722.scottish-labour-msp-mercedes-villalba-quit-holyrood-2026/?ref=ebbn&nid=1457&u=f140ec39d500193051a33e140c12bd95&date=020925
"SCOTTISH Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba has said she will not be standing for Holyrood again in 2026.
Villalba, a left-wing MSP who represents the North East of Scotland on the regional list, said she was “proud” of her record in Holyrood – but suggested that campaigning “on the streets” was in her future instead."
The IL equivalent would be the Treasury 1.25% 22/11/2055, which trades around 73, and therefore yields around 1.7%.
The tank stocks are pretty much done when they’re rolling these old relics out, and the actual new T-80 tanks are coming out of the factory at handfuls per month when they’re losing hundreds, sanctions making it much more difficult to source electronic components for them.
The worry now has to be that he finds another serious source of heavy weapons, from NK, China, or India - although there have even been rumours of Russian agents hitting up the African warlords offering to buy old tanks and take mercenary soldiers.
https://youtu.be/8KPKs6LrbiM?si=ve7hhlDKcu859hmi
Leadership does not consist of shifting from: 'Reform are wrong about everything, don't vote for them': to 'Reform are right about a lot of things, don't vote for them'.
But he is now responsible for it, and the government has promised to get building restarted, after the Tories completely arsed it up, and this government has yet to deliver.
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK's housing crisis
Sir Keir Starmer has made house building one of his government's priorities, and regularly rails against NIMBY culture. But Sky News can reveal the government's own regulator has also been getting in the way of people moving into new homes.
https://news.sky.com/story/the-red-tape-keeping-these-flats-empty-and-threatening-labours-vital-new-homes-target-13423446
...As of 1 August, there is "no decision" on eight applications covering 1,210 completed new residential units. For sites yet to be built, there are 156 applications with no decision, covering 34,965 new residential units...
...Sky News saw how in one newly built property in Acton, west London, the sign-off for a building by the BSR was delayed in part because a sign was two millimetres too small and all the signs had to be changed.
This has contributed to a 14-month delay in a green light for residents to move in.
According to the Federation of Master Builders and the Chartered Institute of Building, 38% of developers believe planning delays are the number one issue.
Developers have told Sky News the agency was meant to speed up approvals by ending a system where they have to bring in external consultants to approve the application, but this has not yet happened...
Only a more parochial/anecdotal level, my own experience of local authority building control found it a very long way from pragmatic, or helpful.
... ah, that could well be "most of them".
(It's a tricky one, and I don't know what the answer is. You could increase pay, but there's no money for that and you probably get more learning per pound by spending it on more, cheaper teachers. Besides, a lot of older teachers gladly exchange the money for fewer days, like I have. It would probably help to let teachers teach only one of the sciences, not all three, but having generic scientists is the bodge that schools use to cover the lack of specialists.
Basically, it's a problem that's been bubbling for decades, and nobody has really had an answer.)
So any story involving people pretending someone isn’t dead is now weekend at Bernie’s.
A few that come to mind:
- Groundhog Day (same thing keeps happening)
- Wag the dog (politician starts a war to distract from domestic woes)
- Brewster’s millions (got to spend a budget before time runs out - this one came up yesterday at work)
- Indecent proposal (would you bonk someone if they paid you lots of money)
- Fatal attraction (moment of weakness leads to consequences / bunny boiling)
- Truman show (reality isn’t real)
- Sliding doors (a moment where your life could go one way or another)
- 28 days later (a normally bustling city is eerily quiet)
I’m sure there are plenty of others.
Other religions differ on this technique.
https://x.com/stuzi_pants/status/1962808377370636318
Be it planning reform, allocation of government land for development, working on finance and warranties for unconventional contructions, infrastructure improvements such as proactive building of rail stations and motorway junctions.
But no, there’s lots of talk but little action.
Most of the Russian side is so blantantly wrong or clear propoganda it’s difficult to believe anything coming from that side.
However there being a couple of new Russian O&G facilities or war factories on fire every morning for the past few weeks is definitely verifiable, as are the long queues starting to appear for petrol all over Russia. Their economy is definitely hurting a lot now, but the question remains for how much longer it can continue before internal pressure on Putin gets too much.
I recall something akin to panic in certain circles when George Osborne introduced a rule that income tax under payments of a pound or 2 (commonly happened due to PAYE calculations) would not result in letters being sent out etc.
The annoying thing with housing is that it requires hardly any actual government spending, in fact it’s mostly government getting in the way that’s causing the problems in the first place. But instead they’re pandering to the lawyers, NIMBYs, and Ed Miliband, making new homes rare and expensive.
I think that's the most dramatic possibility.
Apologies to those who get triggered by this, but it is an area where Rayner and team deserve 5/10. Far from great, but clearly better than the alternatives.
Expensive; now that's different.
Fraser Nelson@FraserNelson
"As long as this Labour government is led by a leader who so sorely lacks interest in the raw stuff of politics, its adviser class will struggle to achieve anything."
Leading article in The Times:-
https://x.com/FraserNelson/status/1962817398140031010