Decanting my older child back to uni today. As she’s at St Andrew’s, and has a ton of stuff for the new year in a new house-share, it’s a long tough job. We are overnighting in Lancaster
What an attractive town! I’m v pleasantly surprised. Normally and sadly British towns surprise on the downside these days. But stone-built Lancaster is ruggedly handsome, with a bracing location, and feels actively prosperous (in the centre, at least)
Flag report from 6 hours of driving
A few around London. Basically none from Luton up to Brum. Then a couple. Then a LOT in the north - at one stage almost every bridge had one. More 🇬🇧 than 🏴
I'd have just popped my kid in an Uber. No way am I paying the price for her decision to go to University in the middle of nowhere.
Quite right too. Apart from my start of boarding school every time I went for a beginning of a school year or university my trunks and boxes were sent by DHL or similar and then I flew over with my bags. My parents instilled in me a sense of self reliance which I later realised was a sense of they had more fun things to do than deliver their child to educational establishments!
ah this explains the constant simping of millionaires
The real person who looks a prize pillock today is Ed Davey.
Why . He said wait for the ethics investigation to conclude and has sympathy for Rayner because of the situation with her son . Davey should not be criticised for showing some empathy which is totally lacking in Badenoch who would be buffing her nails as a school bus careered into a ravine !
What a pillock. Its not only perfectly legal, it is literally what every single person who makes money from media appearance do for a whole lot of valid reasons. He clearly doesn't understand personal service companies work. Its like saying to a plumber, why the bloody hell do you put your money through a company, its just you and your wrench.
Good Luck to @patmcfaddenmp as new DWP Secretary of State. The country needs you to succeed - get the benefits bill under control and get Britain working…(2/3)
1️⃣ Bring back face to face benefits assessments 2️⃣ Stop abuse of Motability…no more free cars for ADHD and tennis elbow 3️⃣ Get your Chancellor and Biz Secretary to stop killing jobs, and back businesses to create them instead (3/3)
Good Luck to @patmcfaddenmp as new DWP Secretary of State. The country needs you to succeed - get the benefits bill under control and get Britain working…(2/3)
1️⃣ Bring back face to face benefits assessments 2️⃣ Stop abuse of Motability…no more free cars for ADHD and tennis elbow 3️⃣ Get your Chancellor and Biz Secretary to stop killing jobs, and back businesses to create them instead (3/3)
I am going to be interested how long this crack down on welfare and immigration is going to last when its hits the reality that the backbenchers won't accept it. And now they have Big Ange sitting with them, who was the mediator previously between them and tin eared Starmer.
What a pillock. Its not only perfectly legal, it is literally what every single person who makes money from media appearance do for a whole lot of valid reasons. He clearly doesn't understand personal service companies work.
Yes it’s perfectly legal but it’s open season after Rayner . Similarly with the Daily Mirror front page which is a bit of a non-story but some won’t read what really happened and just see 44,000 pounds and Farage . The media have lots to attack Farage on that could have more impact if they could be bothered .
What a pillock. Its not only perfectly legal, it is literally what every single person who makes money from media appearance do for a whole lot of valid reasons. He clearly doesn't understand personal service companies work.
Yes it’s perfectly legal but it’s open season after Rayner . Similarly with the Daily Mirror front page which is a bit of a non-story but some won’t read what really happened and just see 44,000 pounds and Farage . The media have lots to attack Farage on if they could be bothered .
The media aren't going anywhere near personal service companies stories. Not only is it completely legal, it is what any good accountant will tell you to do and crucially all the media do it.
There is plenty of stuff to at Farage with, but if you keep calling for him to resign over nonsense claims it loses its edge and nobody takes you seriously.
What a pillock. Its not only perfectly legal, it is literally what every single person who makes money from media appearance do for a whole lot of valid reasons. He clearly doesn't understand personal service companies work.
Yes it’s perfectly legal but it’s open season after Rayner . Similarly with the Daily Mirror front page which is a bit of a non-story but some won’t read what really happened and just see 44,000 pounds and Farage . The media have lots to attack Farage on if they could be bothered .
The media aren't going anywhere near personal service companies stories. Not only is it completely legal, it is what any good accountant will tell you to do and crucially all the media do it.
There is plenty of stuff to at Farage with, but if you keep calling for him to resign over nonsense claims it loses its edge and nobody takes you seriously.
Other than small boats this government will rise or fall on this surely.
It's only a small proportion of the country that worries about housing costs. On average they are the lowest they have been since the '80s. I think a crash in prices is actually more of a risk to them than the opposite, particularly in London/SE if they introduce a property value tax and people start worrying about negative equity.
I think the NHS is a much bigger risk. But all of this is trumped by a general sense of inertia.
Other than small boats this government will rise or fall on this surely.
It's only a small proportion of the country that worries about housing costs. On average they are the lowest they have been since the '80s. I think a crash in prices is actually more of a risk to them than the opposite, particularly in London/SE if they introduce a property value tax and people start worrying about negative equity.
I think the NHS is a much bigger risk. But all of this is trumped by a general sense of inertia.
Who thought that using stage pyrotechnics when Farage arrive on stage at the Reform conference would be a good idea, is this an American import?! While it might have gone down well with his membership fan base in the conference hall, it was distracting and looked utterly bizarre on the news and certainly didn't convey the statesman like gravitas you would have expected for the leader of the party currently leading in the polls.
As for Andrea Jenkins cringeworthy entrance on stage, I thought I had been transported back to Eurovision about forty years ago, again hardly conveying the gravitas of a party that is supposedly seriously waiting to form the next government. And thanks to the Angela Raynor resignation from all her front bench roles in the Government and the Labour party, Keir Starmer then took the opportunity to hold a reshuffle to shore up his own position which resulted in the Labour party leaving Farage and the Reform party conference as a footnote in the televised news cycle and knocked them completely off all the front pages.
Who thought that using stage pyrotechnics when Farage arrive on stage at the Reform conference would be a good idea, is this an American import?! While it might have gone down well with his membership fan base in the conference hall, it was distracting and looked utterly bizarre on the news and certainly didn't convey the statesman like gravitas you would have expected for the leader of the party currently leading in the polls.
As for Andrea Jenkins cringeworthy entrance on stage, I thought I had been transported back to Eurovision about forty years ago, again hardly conveying the gravitas of a party that is supposedly seriously waiting to form the next government. And thanks to the Angela Raynor resignation from all her front bench roles in the Government and the Labour party, Keir Starmer then took the opportunity to hold a reshuffle to shore up his own position which resulted in the Labour party leaving Farage and the Reform party conference as a footnote in the televised news cycle and knocked them completely off all the front pages.
Other than small boats this government will rise or fall on this surely.
It's only a small proportion of the country that worries about housing costs. On average they are the lowest they have been since the '80s. I think a crash in prices is actually more of a risk to them than the opposite, particularly in London/SE if they introduce a property value tax and people start worrying about negative equity.
I think the NHS is a much bigger risk. But all of this is trumped by a general sense of inertia.
Are they?
There is a crucial distinction between house prices and housing costs.
For a start, you have 35%ish of the country that own their property outright. Then you have another 30% who own with a mortgage - they got hammered a bit during the period with high interest rates, but most people with a mortgage do not spend a particularly high proportion of their income on housing. For both these groups, high house prices are a good thing - they are an asset, not a liability or a cost.
Then you have social renters - 15%. A mixed picture, sometimes good, might not want to buy. And then private renters - another 15%. Not all private rents are insanely high - that tends to be an issue in the big cities, not our towns, and not all private renters want to buy anyway (e.g. students).
So you're not left with many people for whom lower house prices is a good thing (and particularly not in the main voting cohorts), nor many people with particularly high housing costs. There are broader societal/economic reasons why you might want to change this, but ultimately this is why housing is not a major issue in the polling.
Who thought that using stage pyrotechnics when Farage arrive on stage at the Reform conference would be a good idea, is this an American import?! While it might have gone down well with his membership fan base in the conference hall, it was distracting and looked utterly bizarre on the news and certainly didn't convey the statesman like gravitas you would have expected for the leader of the party currently leading in the polls.
As for Andrea Jenkins cringeworthy entrance on stage, I thought I had been transported back to Eurovision about forty years ago, again hardly conveying the gravitas of a party that is supposedly seriously waiting to form the next government. And thanks to the Angela Raynor resignation from all her front bench roles in the Government and the Labour party, Keir Starmer then took the opportunity to hold a reshuffle to shore up his own position which resulted in the Labour party leaving Farage and the Reform party conference as a footnote in the televised news cycle and knocked them completely off all the front pages.
I understand what you're saying, but maybe people are fed up with serious politics and are in the mood for this type of cheesy, naff stuff from the likes of Andrea Jenkyns and Dr David Bull.
Who thought that using stage pyrotechnics when Farage arrive on stage at the Reform conference would be a good idea, is this an American import?! While it might have gone down well with his membership fan base in the conference hall, it was distracting and looked utterly bizarre on the news and certainly didn't convey the statesman like gravitas you would have expected for the leader of the party currently leading in the polls.
As for Andrea Jenkins cringeworthy entrance on stage, I thought I had been transported back to Eurovision about forty years ago, again hardly conveying the gravitas of a party that is supposedly seriously waiting to form the next government. And thanks to the Angela Raynor resignation from all her front bench roles in the Government and the Labour party, Keir Starmer then took the opportunity to hold a reshuffle to shore up his own position which resulted in the Labour party leaving Farage and the Reform party conference as a footnote in the televised news cycle and knocked them completely off all the front pages.
I understand what you're saying, but maybe people are fed up with serious politics and are in the mood for this type of cheesy, naff stuff from the likes of Andrea Jenkyns and Dr David Bull.
Maybe they are, but I just felt it came across as cringeworthy and over confident and it reminded me of the Labour party Sheffield rally a week before the 1992 GE.
The real person who looks a prize pillock today is Ed Davey.
Why . He said wait for the ethics investigation to conclude and has sympathy for Rayner because of the situation with her son . Davey should not be criticised for showing some empathy which is totally lacking in Badenoch who would be buffing her nails as a school bus careered into a ravine !
Are you calling her a bus driver? That’s your way of taking the moral high ground?
You need to be careful with your language and your metaphors 😠
Who thought that using stage pyrotechnics when Farage arrive on stage at the Reform conference would be a good idea, is this an American import?! While it might have gone down well with his membership fan base in the conference hall, it was distracting and looked utterly bizarre on the news and certainly didn't convey the statesman like gravitas you would have expected for the leader of the party currently leading in the polls.
As for Andrea Jenkins cringeworthy entrance on stage, I thought I had been transported back to Eurovision about forty years ago, again hardly conveying the gravitas of a party that is supposedly seriously waiting to form the next government. And thanks to the Angela Raynor resignation from all her front bench roles in the Government and the Labour party, Keir Starmer then took the opportunity to hold a reshuffle to shore up his own position which resulted in the Labour party leaving Farage and the Reform party conference as a footnote in the televised news cycle and knocked them completely off all the front pages.
I understand what you're saying, but maybe people are fed up with serious politics and are in the mood for this type of cheesy, naff stuff from the likes of Andrea Jenkyns and Dr David Bull.
Maybe they are, but I just felt it came across as cringeworthy and over confident and it reminded me of the Labour party Sheffield rally a week before the 1992 GE.
Michael Palin's Iraq is currently on Channel 5, which, not that widely known, is some of his best ever work.
I enjoyed his recent-ish series travelling North Korea too. Quite sensitively done.
Yes. He's getting better and more mature, but ironically not signed up by the BBC any more as a standard-bearer, which sums up the current fear of subtlety and complexity.
Candidate for greatest living Englishman, top ten for definite.
There's a very slow and genteel cage-fight between him, Melvyn Bragg and Ian McKellen. Throw Brian Blessed and Tom Baker in there and it'd be a wild, if rather charming, evening.
Also occurs to me, now that I write them out - the North is very well represented in the national treasure list.
I appreciate Bragg's talent, but he's greasy.
I don't think the UK could embrace a national treasure which didn't have a flaw. The delight in playing old vinyl is the crackle.
The last national treasure was the late Queen and everything seems to have gone pear shaped since her demise under Liz Truss !!!
Kenneth Williams died well before Liz Truss.
Kenneth Williams died when Larry Grayson nicked his act.
He really has become a nauseating Trump sycophant.
Read between the lines. It is not about Trump. Mandelson, in crediting Brexit for improved US relations, implicitly denies David Lammy's role. Our ambassador in Washington has removed the Foreign Secretary.
Since his election as Labour leader in 2020, Starmer has reduced the representation of female MPs from Greater Manchester at cabinet/shadow cabinet level. Long-Bailey went several years ago; Rayner and Powell were removed yesterday. This leaves only Nandy, whom Starmer is strongly suspected as wishing to demote. Presumably, she only survived yesterday's reshuffle because 2 others left.
The real person who looks a prize pillock today is Ed Davey.
Why . He said wait for the ethics investigation to conclude and has sympathy for Rayner because of the situation with her son . Davey should not be criticised for showing some empathy which is totally lacking in Badenoch who would be buffing her nails as a school bus careered into a ravine !
he is another tin eared duffer, no idea of reality and the obvious fact she was toast , Lucky got it right.
Other than small boats this government will rise or fall on this surely.
It's only a small proportion of the country that worries about housing costs. On average they are the lowest they have been since the '80s. I think a crash in prices is actually more of a risk to them than the opposite, particularly in London/SE if they introduce a property value tax and people start worrying about negative equity.
I think the NHS is a much bigger risk. But all of this is trumped by a general sense of inertia.
Are they?
There is a crucial distinction between house prices and housing costs.
For a start, you have 35%ish of the country that own their property outright. Then you have another 30% who own with a mortgage - they got hammered a bit during the period with high interest rates, but most people with a mortgage do not spend a particularly high proportion of their income on housing. For both these groups, high house prices are a good thing - they are an asset, not a liability or a cost.
Then you have social renters - 15%. A mixed picture, sometimes good, might not want to buy. And then private renters - another 15%. Not all private rents are insanely high - that tends to be an issue in the big cities, not our towns, and not all private renters want to buy anyway (e.g. students).
So you're not left with many people for whom lower house prices is a good thing (and particularly not in the main voting cohorts), nor many people with particularly high housing costs. There are broader societal/economic reasons why you might want to change this, but ultimately this is why housing is not a major issue in the polling.
That's largely wrong.
For many of those who own their own place, even outright, high house prices are a bad thing, as they want to upgrade in the future. And even if they don't, again for many, high house prices are neutral, as those gains will be on paper forever. And even if house prices are neutral for older homeowners, many will have to fork over fortunes if they want to help their children get on the housing ladder.
Private rent is determined in large part by the cost of housing, (though other factors such as government regulations also play a part), so reducing property prices would reduce the cost of rent. Students may not want to buy now (though I'm not sure about that - I once visited a friend at business school where housing was very cheap and finance readily available and he said that many of his classmates had bought a place for the two years and would then sell it or rent it out when they moved on) but they are likely to in a few years.
And of course there are costs throughout the economy because of high property prices generally, of which high house prices are an important component, though most people won't recognise those.
I think the reason housing doesn't feature is not that more people wouldn't benefit from lower house prices, just as they would benefit from lower food or energy prices, it's that both governing parties have been equally crap about this for a generation and nobody seriously expects either of them to sort it out.
Who thought that using stage pyrotechnics when Farage arrive on stage at the Reform conference would be a good idea, is this an American import?! While it might have gone down well with his membership fan base in the conference hall, it was distracting and looked utterly bizarre on the news and certainly didn't convey the statesman like gravitas you would have expected for the leader of the party currently leading in the polls.
As for Andrea Jenkins cringeworthy entrance on stage, I thought I had been transported back to Eurovision about forty years ago, again hardly conveying the gravitas of a party that is supposedly seriously waiting to form the next government. And thanks to the Angela Raynor resignation from all her front bench roles in the Government and the Labour party, Keir Starmer then took the opportunity to hold a reshuffle to shore up his own position which resulted in the Labour party leaving Farage and the Reform party conference as a footnote in the televised news cycle and knocked them completely off all the front pages.
It's the same set as they used last year .
Yes, Farage is trying to import all he can from the USA. His level of support for Free Speech in the USA in the fast day or two has been impressive .
Decanting my older child back to uni today. As she’s at St Andrew’s, and has a ton of stuff for the new year in a new house-share, it’s a long tough job. We are overnighting in Lancaster
What an attractive town! I’m v pleasantly surprised. Normally and sadly British towns surprise on the downside these days. But stone-built Lancaster is ruggedly handsome, with a bracing location, and feels actively prosperous (in the centre, at least)
Flag report from 6 hours of driving
A few around London. Basically none from Luton up to Brum. Then a couple. Then a LOT in the north - at one stage almost every bridge had one. More 🇬🇧 than 🏴
A historic town too with a castle and university and a centre in the War of the Roses
Not the last. The House of Lancaster had very little to do with Lancaster, while the Stanley levies were from further south around what is now Liverpool.
It also has a large parish church and a Catholic cathedral though.
Who thought that using stage pyrotechnics when Farage arrive on stage at the Reform conference would be a good idea, is this an American import?! While it might have gone down well with his membership fan base in the conference hall, it was distracting and looked utterly bizarre on the news and certainly didn't convey the statesman like gravitas you would have expected for the leader of the party currently leading in the polls.
As for Andrea Jenkins cringeworthy entrance on stage, I thought I had been transported back to Eurovision about forty years ago, again hardly conveying the gravitas of a party that is supposedly seriously waiting to form the next government. And thanks to the Angela Raynor resignation from all her front bench roles in the Government and the Labour party, Keir Starmer then took the opportunity to hold a reshuffle to shore up his own position which resulted in the Labour party leaving Farage and the Reform party conference as a footnote in the televised news cycle and knocked them completely off all the front pages.
It's the same set as they used last year .
Yes, Farage is trying to import all he can from the USA. His level of support for Free Speech in the USA in the fast day or two has been impressive .
Mornimg PB.
It's the great irony about Farage. He dances around the flag day and night, but wants to be submerged in gaudy Trumpism politically and culturally, and knows very little about what makes the UK distinctive.
Rayner gone and Starmer rearranges the deck chairs.
The reshuffle brings its own problems.
Sergei Lavarov must be laughing his bollocks off at his new UK counter part.. Hope shes got a fishing licence Big chance missed in not moving Miliband to somewhere where he can do less damage Reed will screw up housing like he did farming. Reeves stays in place but with PM minders. In office but not in power. Lammy can go back to slagging off Trump
Really its not doing much, and 400 or so wannabes on the back benches have just lost their chance to do something meaningful in this Parliament.. Maybe Jezza or the Greens start to look attractive
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
That wasn’t a bad idea, in itself. The stupid part was saying that it couldn’t replace post-offer surveys.
If HIPS had been there to inform offers, that are then binding, it would actually have speeded up and much simplified the process.
Rayner lost her job because she was naive, tried to blame her lawyers, and had a track record of attacking from opposition conservatives in similar circumstances
It is nothing to do with her background, as much as some would want to portray but simply she was in a position as DPM and housing minister that demands the highest standards
Maybe you should ask who feed the information to the Telegraph and what motive did they have
Pleasingly from a next election watching point of view im likely to be moving soon away from boring old Clive Lewis' Norwich South to North Norfolk where a delicious Lib Con rematch is on the cards
Lib v Reform you mean
No, i don't.
I note the Daily Mail is seeking a coming together of Reform and the Conservatives
I don’t see it but I didn't see Rayner resigning this time last week
Nah. If the polls tighten and Reform drop into the mid 20s then an electoral pact is fairly likely even if informally but theres way too much bad blood at the moment
The Tory defectors to Reform are pretty much despised by those remaining. With some reason, I might add. Nadine Dorries just about sums it up.
The remainder of the Tory party is probably unelectable but, with the exception of Jenrick, moderately human.
I was in a meeting with the much maligned Mel Stride this week. He was thoughtful, circumspect, and on top of his brief. They will be, if not sorely, then at least wistfully missed.
Stride was very good as Minister for the Today programme in the lead up to the GE. Answered questions, knew the brief, polite and considered. Same with Alex Chalk.
I think he's a useless fart. Anyone who can face Rachel Reeves and fail to land a single blow should make their excuses and let someone else have a go.
He thinks he's in his position to defend the last Government not attack this one.
He failed to call for Reeves' resignation when challenged repeatedly to do so, but worse, couldn't come up with any other form of words that didn't make him sound like a struggling Government spokesperson sent out to defend her.
He has instead made headlines for attacking Truss, and more recently Badenoch.
As they say, with friends like that, who needs enemas.
Stride is a heavyweight and since when did he attack Badenoch?
Indeed he is a big lad who looks like he ate all the pies.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
Like so many things government tries to do, a half-hearted effort to do “something”, but without sufficient consultation and planning, that ended up making the whole process of house buying more expensive and less informative.
Hint: if your “HIP” isn’t acceptable to the bank advancing a mortgage on the property, then it’s as much use as a chocolate teapot.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
That should happen but even if it did it would not necessarily resolve Rayner's problem as it was complicated by a trust on another property
Decanting my older child back to uni today. As she’s at St Andrew’s, and has a ton of stuff for the new year in a new house-share, it’s a long tough job. We are overnighting in Lancaster
What an attractive town! I’m v pleasantly surprised. Normally and sadly British towns surprise on the downside these days. But stone-built Lancaster is ruggedly handsome, with a bracing location, and feels actively prosperous (in the centre, at least)
Flag report from 6 hours of driving
A few around London. Basically none from Luton up to Brum. Then a couple. Then a LOT in the north - at one stage almost every bridge had one. More 🇬🇧 than 🏴
Do you go the M6 route to Scotland because there is no A1(m) past Newcastle?
I go up one way and come back the other to vary the tedious journeys
Anyone who chooses to use the M6 from Wednesbury to the other side of the Orrell Interchange when they don't have to is clinically insane.
Nadine Dorries is northern,, female working, class worked her way up though the public sector and the Left will quite happily call her mad, uncouth etc. You could argue something similar for Esther McVey who spent the first years of her life in a Barnardos Home yet John McDonnel wants her lynched.
If youre going to protest about treatment of women MPs maybe you could start by following your own principles.
Other than small boats this government will rise or fall on this surely.
It's only a small proportion of the country that worries about housing costs. On average they are the lowest they have been since the '80s. I think a crash in prices is actually more of a risk to them than the opposite, particularly in London/SE if they introduce a property value tax and people start worrying about negative equity.
I think the NHS is a much bigger risk. But all of this is trumped by a general sense of inertia.
Are they?
There is a crucial distinction between house prices and housing costs.
For a start, you have 35%ish of the country that own their property outright. Then you have another 30% who own with a mortgage - they got hammered a bit during the period with high interest rates, but most people with a mortgage do not spend a particularly high proportion of their income on housing. For both these groups, high house prices are a good thing - they are an asset, not a liability or a cost.
Then you have social renters - 15%. A mixed picture, sometimes good, might not want to buy. And then private renters - another 15%. Not all private rents are insanely high - that tends to be an issue in the big cities, not our towns, and not all private renters want to buy anyway (e.g. students).
So you're not left with many people for whom lower house prices is a good thing (and particularly not in the main voting cohorts), nor many people with particularly high housing costs. There are broader societal/economic reasons why you might want to change this, but ultimately this is why housing is not a major issue in the polling.
Another key factor is affordability. House prices of 6 or more times average incomes are affordable with rock bottom interest rates, but not when interest rates return to historically normal levels, as they seem to be doing now.
The effect on prices is slow, partly as many houses are owned outright or have small mortgages, and most mortgages are on 2 or more year fixed rates. The effect will happen slowly over time and I would expect a real terms slow decline in property prices. Those of us around in the nineties will remember that negative equity brings its own problems.
Hegseth's new title role is Secretary of War, shouldn't it be Secretary for War?
SoW he is and SoW he shall remain. Hegseth was a grunt after all.
SFW = So fucking what...
I see the point you are making.
This administration is building nicely to a crescendo of awfulness. The jobs numbers yesterday were about 50k below expectations, with previous months also further reduced by another 22k - so it's now the worst period for US jobs since the Pandemic.
Decanting my older child back to uni today. As she’s at St Andrew’s, and has a ton of stuff for the new year in a new house-share, it’s a long tough job. We are overnighting in Lancaster
What an attractive town! I’m v pleasantly surprised. Normally and sadly British towns surprise on the downside these days. But stone-built Lancaster is ruggedly handsome, with a bracing location, and feels actively prosperous (in the centre, at least)
Flag report from 6 hours of driving
A few around London. Basically none from Luton up to Brum. Then a couple. Then a LOT in the north - at one stage almost every bridge had one. More 🇬🇧 than 🏴
Do you go the M6 route to Scotland because there is no A1(m) past Newcastle?
I go up one way and come back the other to vary the tedious journeys
Anyone who chooses to use the M6 from Wednesbury to the other side of the Orrell Interchange when they don't have to is clinically insane.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Couldn’t agree more . The whole buying selling process could learn from the French system both at the start in terms of offers etc and in terms of the role of the notaire .
Hegseth's new title role is Secretary of War, shouldn't it be Secretary for War?
SoW he is and SoW he shall remain. Hegseth was a grunt after all.
SFW = So fucking what...
I see the point you are making.
This administration is building nicely to a crescendo of awfulness. The jobs numbers yesterday were about 50k below expectations, with previous months also further reduced by another 22k - so it's now the worst period for US jobs since the Pandemic.
Haven’t you heard, Ambassador Mandelson thinks fellow Epstein pal Trump is a maverick risk taker doing the things that other democratic leaders aren’t brave enough to do.
Ironically in the face of those job figures, the ambo will apparently say in a speech:
"I credit President Trump's political instincts in identifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work…
"These American concerns find their mirror image in British society, where Keir Starmer won an electoral mandate for national renewal which is similar to Donald Trump's."
Move over sycophant Lammy, make room for an expert.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
That wasn’t a bad idea, in itself. The stupid part was saying that it couldn’t replace post-offer surveys.
If HIPS had been there to inform offers, that are then binding, it would actually have speeded up and much simplified the process.
Preventing bidders from doing their own due diligence? It’s very easy to get a cheap and quick survey but with older properties you need a much more comprehensive one
Decanting my older child back to uni today. As she’s at St Andrew’s, and has a ton of stuff for the new year in a new house-share, it’s a long tough job. We are overnighting in Lancaster
What an attractive town! I’m v pleasantly surprised. Normally and sadly British towns surprise on the downside these days. But stone-built Lancaster is ruggedly handsome, with a bracing location, and feels actively prosperous (in the centre, at least)
Flag report from 6 hours of driving
A few around London. Basically none from Luton up to Brum. Then a couple. Then a LOT in the north - at one stage almost every bridge had one. More 🇬🇧 than 🏴
Do you go the M6 route to Scotland because there is no A1(m) past Newcastle?
I go up one way and come back the other to vary the tedious journeys
Anyone who chooses to use the M6 from Wednesbury to the other side of the Orrell Interchange when they don't have to is clinically insane.
There! You have now proved what we all suspected.
Might he have used the toll road?
That only gets him to Cannock. Handy if he wants to crash out at your gaff mind.
I am sure Newent will feature in the conversation.
Hegseth's new title role is Secretary of War, shouldn't it be Secretary for War?
SoW he is and SoW he shall remain. Hegseth was a grunt after all.
SFW = So fucking what...
I see the point you are making.
This administration is building nicely to a crescendo of awfulness. The jobs numbers yesterday were about 50k below expectations, with previous months also further reduced by another 22k - so it's now the worst period for US jobs since the Pandemic.
'Crescendo of awfulness' would actually be good news, because crescendos end. The other (and I fear, more likely) answer is that it will be awfulness all the way down and there's plenty more down to come.
We were lucky that Britain's dalliance with a crazy leader whose surname began Tru was a brief fever dream. It's not normally like that.
Hegseth's new title role is Secretary of War, shouldn't it be Secretary for War?
SoW he is and SoW he shall remain. Hegseth was a grunt after all.
SFW = So fucking what...
I see the point you are making.
This administration is building nicely to a crescendo of awfulness. The jobs numbers yesterday were about 50k below expectations, with previous months also further reduced by another 22k - so it's now the worst period for US jobs since the Pandemic.
Haven’t you heard, Ambassador Mandelson thinks fellow Epstein pal Trump is a maverick risk taker doing the things that other democratic leaders aren’t brave enough to do.
Ironically in the face of those job figures, the ambo will apparently say in a speech:
"I credit President Trump's political instincts in identifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work…
"These American concerns find their mirror image in British society, where Keir Starmer won an electoral mandate for national renewal which is similar to Donald Trump's."
Move over sycophant Lammy, make room for an expert.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Couldn’t agree more . The whole buying selling process could learn from the French system both at the start in terms of offers etc and in terms of the role of the notaire .
Notaries are an absolute PITA who add zero value. I have to use them whenever I do stuff in Italy and they all they do is stick a seal on my signature. I can get that done by an independent witness if needed
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Couldn’t agree more . The whole buying selling process could learn from the French system both at the start in terms of offers etc and in terms of the role of the notaire .
Notaries are an absolute paid who add zero value. I have to use them whenever I do stuff in Italy and they all they do is stick a seal on my signature. I can get that done by an independent witness if needed
It depends what you’re actually doing . I’ve dealt with them in France regarding property . The whole experience both in terms of the conveyancing was excellent . As for selling none of the problems of buyers running around making multiple offers , no gazumping and a lot less stress if you’re buying aswell as selling .
In local news, Nottingham is showing signs of expansion, to include Gedling and Broxtowe. Which is logical but as was pointed out they are just talking about whole District Councils - though the existing District Councils in Notts are quite logical. An improvement, but not quite right.
There's a Reform-skeptic Youtube Channel called Political Custard, which monitors RefUK Councils by keeping an eye on local media, who whenever he reports on here mangles the names gloriously. Councillor Boam of Leics is "Brom", and @NickPalmer 's old stamping ground of Gedling becomes "Gelding" as if anyone entering would be castrated at the border. He's based in Yorkshire somewhere and has his backdrop arranged as if wearing the Yorkshire Rose like Maggie Simpson's hood.
Recently he came up with this disturbing video of extremists at a Norwich anti-hotel demonstration: https://youtu.be/2BiDMF_mVAs?t=25
In local news, Nottingham is showing signs of expansion, to include Gedling and Broxtowe. Which is logical but as was pointed out they are just talking about whole District Councils - though the existing District Councils in Notts are quite logical. An improvement, but not quite right.
There's a Reform-skeptic Youtube Channel called Political Custard, which monitors RefUK Councils by keeping an eye on local media, who whenever he reports on here mangles the names gloriously. Councillor Boam of Leics is "Brom", and @NickPalmer 's old stamping ground of Gedling becomes "Gelding" as if anyone entering would be castrated at the border. He's based in Yorkshire somewhere and has his backdrop arranged as if wearing the Yorkshire Rose like Maggie Simpson's hood.
Recently he came up with this disturbing video of grass roots extremists at a Norwich demonstration: https://youtu.be/2BiDMF_mVAs?t=25
A minor point: Gedling was Vernon Coaker's constituency.
In local news, Nottingham is showing signs of expansion, to include Gedling and Broxtowe. Which is logical but as was pointed out they are just talking about whole District Councils - though the existing District Councils in Notts are quite logical. An improvement, but not quite right.
There's a Reform-skeptic Youtube Channel called Political Custard, which monitors RefUK Councils by keeping an eye on local media, who whenever he reports on here mangles the names gloriously. Councillor Boam of Leics is "Brom", and @NickPalmer 's old stamping ground of Gedling becomes "Gelding" as if anyone entering would be castrated at the border. He's based in Yorkshire somewhere and has his backdrop arranged as if wearing the Yorkshire Rose like Maggie Simpson's hood.
Recently he came up with this disturbing video of extremists at a Norwich anti-hotel demonstration: https://youtu.be/2BiDMF_mVAs?t=25
Ah! Got my Youtube channels muddled - the description is a different one called Bowler Hat Man, who has the disturbing habit of stopping and going silent for several seconds to make sure his point is absorbed.
Hegseth's new title role is Secretary of War, shouldn't it be Secretary for War?
SoW he is and SoW he shall remain. Hegseth was a grunt after all.
SFW = So fucking what...
I see the point you are making.
This administration is building nicely to a crescendo of awfulness. The jobs numbers yesterday were about 50k below expectations, with previous months also further reduced by another 22k - so it's now the worst period for US jobs since the Pandemic.
Haven’t you heard, Ambassador Mandelson thinks fellow Epstein pal Trump is a maverick risk taker doing the things that other democratic leaders aren’t brave enough to do.
Ironically in the face of those job figures, the ambo will apparently say in a speech:
"I credit President Trump's political instincts in identifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work…
"These American concerns find their mirror image in British society, where Keir Starmer won an electoral mandate for national renewal which is similar to Donald Trump's."
Move over sycophant Lammy, make room for an expert.
Pass me the sick bag ! What nauseating claptrap .
Didn't Mandelson praise brexit recently
Yesterday's reshuffle moved towards a Blairite government with a Blairlite leader
In local news, Nottingham is showing signs of expansion, to include Gedling and Broxtowe. Which is logical but as was pointed out they are just talking about whole District Councils - though the existing District Councils in Notts are quite logical. An improvement, but not quite right.
There's a Reform-skeptic Youtube Channel called Political Custard, which monitors RefUK Councils by keeping an eye on local media, who whenever he reports on here mangles the names gloriously. Councillor Boam of Leics is "Brom", and @NickPalmer 's old stamping ground of Gedling becomes "Gelding" as if anyone entering would be castrated at the border. He's based in Yorkshire somewhere and has his backdrop arranged as if wearing the Yorkshire Rose like Maggie Simpson's hood.
Recently he came up with this disturbing video of grass roots extremists at a Norwich demonstration: https://youtu.be/2BiDMF_mVAs?t=25
A minor point: Gedling was Vernon Coaker's constituency.
Other than small boats this government will rise or fall on this surely.
It's only a small proportion of the country that worries about housing costs. On average they are the lowest they have been since the '80s. I think a crash in prices is actually more of a risk to them than the opposite, particularly in London/SE if they introduce a property value tax and people start worrying about negative equity.
I think the NHS is a much bigger risk. But all of this is trumped by a general sense of inertia.
Are they?
There is a crucial distinction between house prices and housing costs.
For a start, you have 35%ish of the country that own their property outright. Then you have another 30% who own with a mortgage - they got hammered a bit during the period with high interest rates, but most people with a mortgage do not spend a particularly high proportion of their income on housing. For both these groups, high house prices are a good thing - they are an asset, not a liability or a cost.
Then you have social renters - 15%. A mixed picture, sometimes good, might not want to buy. And then private renters - another 15%. Not all private rents are insanely high - that tends to be an issue in the big cities, not our towns, and not all private renters want to buy anyway (e.g. students).
So you're not left with many people for whom lower house prices is a good thing (and particularly not in the main voting cohorts), nor many people with particularly high housing costs. There are broader societal/economic reasons why you might want to change this, but ultimately this is why housing is not a major issue in the polling.
That's largely wrong.
For many of those who own their own place, even outright, high house prices are a bad thing, as they want to upgrade in the future. And even if they don't, again for many, high house prices are neutral, as those gains will be on paper forever. And even if house prices are neutral for older homeowners, many will have to fork over fortunes if they want to help their children get on the housing ladder.
Private rent is determined in large part by the cost of housing, (though other factors such as government regulations also play a part), so reducing property prices would reduce the cost of rent. Students may not want to buy now (though I'm not sure about that - I once visited a friend at business school where housing was very cheap and finance readily available and he said that many of his classmates had bought a place for the two years and would then sell it or rent it out when they moved on) but they are likely to in a few years.
And of course there are costs throughout the economy because of high property prices generally, of which high house prices are an important component, though most people won't recognise those.
I think the reason housing doesn't feature is not that more people wouldn't benefit from lower house prices, just as they would benefit from lower food or energy prices, it's that both governing parties have been equally crap about this for a generation and nobody seriously expects either of them to sort it out.
Both main parties in Ireland have been monumentally useless over housing, but people in Ireland are still furious about the issue.
I wonder whether in Britain it has been tied up with the immigration issue. Britons may believe the argument that the housing crisis is primarily a crisis created by immigration, and so they're furious about immigration, whereas in Ireland people are more focused on the lack of supply.
Bilge, Roger. You can't build a career calling out the Tories for venal, tax dodging behaviour and then fall into the trap yourself...
Have no fear. Like Mandelson she will resurrect like Deadpool back into the cabinet. I predict it will be May 2026 after disastrous locals when Starmer needs to reconnect with the huddled masses...
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
I never had an issue with the idea of this. Why have multiple surveys done by interested buyers? Why not have every house with a register of energy efficiency? As ever delivery is everything.
Nadine Dorries is northern,, female working, class worked her way up though the public sector and the Left will quite happily call her mad, uncouth etc. You could argue something similar for Esther McVey who spent the first years of her life in a Barnardos Home yet John McDonnel wants her lynched.
If youre going to protest about treatment of women MPs maybe you could start by following your own principles.
Your authentic 'working class Notheren-dar' is well off beam. Esther McVey who I happen to have a tiny knowledge of has nothing whatever to do with being working class. She's privately school educated from the Wirrel. Don't be confused by her slight Liverpool accent. That's just how people who were brought up in that area speak!
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
I never had an issue with the idea of this. Why have multiple surveys done by interested buyers? Why not have every house with a register of energy efficiency? As ever delivery is everything.
Because HIPs weren’t proper surveys, and banks didn’t trust them.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
I never had an issue with the idea of this. Why have multiple surveys done by interested buyers? Why not have every house with a register of energy efficiency? As ever delivery is everything.
Every home placed on the market is mandated to produce an energy efficiency rating
The present system is archaic and needs fundamental change
I believe that before home can be put on the market a sale pack should be produced to include pre contract enquiry forms and fixture and fittings list, local searches, and of course the presently mandated EPC
Furthermore no sale should be agreed without full confirmation of the buyers purchasing position including the need to sell their own home and where their funds are being sourced
Bilge, Roger. You can't build a career calling out the Tories for venal, tax dodging behaviour and then fall into the trap yourself...
Have no fear. Like Mandelson she will resurrect like Deadpool back into the cabinet. I predict it will be May 2026 after disastrous locals when Starmer needs to reconnect with the huddled masses...
Most right wing politicians have stayed the right side of legality with their and their friends (Dirty Desmond springs to mind) tax avoiding behaviour. In some respects the morality is more egregious, but they invested in top lawyers and tax accountants to remain in the clear and Rayner didn't.
Rayner had to go because she breached the Ministerial Code. How the f*** Jenrick's advice to Desmond didn't breach anything is beyond me.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Couldn’t agree more . The whole buying selling process could learn from the French system both at the start in terms of offers etc and in terms of the role of the notaire .
Notaries are an absolute paid who add zero value. I have to use them whenever I do stuff in Italy and they all they do is stick a seal on my signature. I can get that done by an independent witness if needed
It depends what you’re actually doing . I’ve dealt with them in France regarding property . The whole experience both in terms of the conveyancing was excellent . As for selling none of the problems of buyers running around making multiple offers , no gazumping and a lot less stress if you’re buying aswell as selling .
I agree. French property purchases are very smooth processes.
Notaries can be annoying in other ways: ours is slow to respond to emails (we have needed her for various ownership related issues recently), and has that rather magisterial, tut tutting attitude that suggests she’s our superior and we’re naughty kids, but she knows her stuff.
'You have to understand, I fiddled with theses kiddies for the nation. Hated it, absolutely hated it...'
unusual_whales @unusual_whales BREAKING: Speaker of the House announces Trump was an FBI informant tasked with taking down Epstein. 10:18 pm · 5 Sep 2025 9.5M Views
'You have to understand, I fiddled with theses kiddies for the nation. Hated it, absolutely hated it...'
unusual_whales @unusual_whales BREAKING: Speaker of the House announces Trump was an FBI informant tasked with taking down Epstein. 10:18 pm · 5 Sep 2025 9.5M Views
Hegseth's new title role is Secretary of War, shouldn't it be Secretary for War?
SoW he is and SoW he shall remain. Hegseth was a grunt after all.
SFW = So fucking what...
I see the point you are making.
This administration is building nicely to a crescendo of awfulness. The jobs numbers yesterday were about 50k below expectations, with previous months also further reduced by another 22k - so it's now the worst period for US jobs since the Pandemic.
Haven’t you heard, Ambassador Mandelson thinks fellow Epstein pal Trump is a maverick risk taker doing the things that other democratic leaders aren’t brave enough to do.
Ironically in the face of those job figures, the ambo will apparently say in a speech:
"I credit President Trump's political instincts in identifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work…
"These American concerns find their mirror image in British society, where Keir Starmer won an electoral mandate for national renewal which is similar to Donald Trump's."
Move over sycophant Lammy, make room for an expert.
Pass me the sick bag ! What nauseating claptrap .
Didn't Mandelson praise brexit recently
Yesterday's reshuffle moved towards a Blairite government with a Blairlite leader
A man who has spent his miserable life being wrong claims a Brexit benefit and eulogises Trump.
Bilge, Roger. You can't build a career calling out the Tories for venal, tax dodging behaviour and then fall into the trap yourself...
Have no fear. Like Mandelson she will resurrect like Deadpool back into the cabinet. I predict it will be May 2026 after disastrous locals when Starmer needs to reconnect with the huddled masses...
Most right wing politicians have stayed the right side of legality with their and their friends (Dirty Desmond springs to mind) tax avoiding behaviour. In some respects the morality is more egregious, but they invested in top lawyers and tax accountants to remain in the clear and Rayner didn't.
Rayner had to go because she breached the Ministerial Code. How the f*** Jenrick's advice to Desmond didn't breach anything is beyond me.
Very much in the tradition of theatrical British due process, particularly from the Victorian era. Sometimes it helps to establish norms, but at other times it eases the far bigger and more socially damaging breaches to go quietly unpunished.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Couldn’t agree more . The whole buying selling process could learn from the French system both at the start in terms of offers etc and in terms of the role of the notaire .
Notaries are an absolute paid who add zero value. I have to use them whenever I do stuff in Italy and they all they do is stick a seal on my signature. I can get that done by an independent witness if needed
It depends what you’re actually doing . I’ve dealt with them in France regarding property . The whole experience both in terms of the conveyancing was excellent . As for selling none of the problems of buyers running around making multiple offers , no gazumping and a lot less stress if you’re buying aswell as selling .
I agree. French property purchases are very smooth processes.
Notaries can be annoying in other ways: ours is slow to respond to emails (we have needed her for various ownership related issues recently), and has that rather magisterial, tut tutting attitude that suggests she’s our superior and we’re naughty kids, but she knows her stuff.
Meanwhile, last time I was sorting a house purchase the solicitors for the other side (Davisons) suggested a completion date of the 22nd June (this was on about the 30th May).
I replied with I think pardonable sarcasm that if this idiot had consulted these things we have called 'calendars' she would have noted the 22nd was a Sunday.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Couldn’t agree more . The whole buying selling process could learn from the French system both at the start in terms of offers etc and in terms of the role of the notaire .
Notaries are an absolute paid who add zero value. I have to use them whenever I do stuff in Italy and they all they do is stick a seal on my signature. I can get that done by an independent witness if needed
It depends what you’re actually doing . I’ve dealt with them in France regarding property . The whole experience both in terms of the conveyancing was excellent . As for selling none of the problems of buyers running around making multiple offers , no gazumping and a lot less stress if you’re buying aswell as selling .
I agree. French property purchases are very smooth processes.
Notaries can be annoying in other ways: ours is slow to respond to emails (we have needed her for various ownership related issues recently), and has that rather magisterial, tut tutting attitude that suggests she’s our superior and we’re naughty kids, but she knows her stuff.
My daughter recent house sale included incorrect legal advice from her lawyer, which fortunately with both my daughter and my knowledge was swift to identify the error and prompt a fulsome apology from her lawyer
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
I never had an issue with the idea of this. Why have multiple surveys done by interested buyers? Why not have every house with a register of energy efficiency? As ever delivery is everything.
Every home placed on the market is mandated to produce an energy efficiency rating
The present system is archaic and needs fundamental change
I believe that before home can be put on the market a sale pack should be produced to include pre contract enquiry forms and fixture and fittings list, local searches, and of course the presently mandated EPC
Furthermore no sale should be agreed without full confirmation of the buyers purchasing position including the need to sell their own home and where their funds are being sourced
The Scottish system is still going, But it is different. It involves a Home Report available to all buyers. As well as an energy report and a valuation, it includes a systematic questionnaire answered by the seller - various things such as any knowledge of flood down to whether the light bulbs are included - and a professional survey by a surveyor.
When selling my late father's house (built 1900) this was enough to get it sold apart from a further look by a builder at the roof at the request of the prospective buyer (there is a flat bit not visible from the ground which needed a view through a hatch).
Hegseth's new title role is Secretary of War, shouldn't it be Secretary for War?
SoW he is and SoW he shall remain. Hegseth was a grunt after all.
SFW = So fucking what...
I see the point you are making.
This administration is building nicely to a crescendo of awfulness. The jobs numbers yesterday were about 50k below expectations, with previous months also further reduced by another 22k - so it's now the worst period for US jobs since the Pandemic.
Haven’t you heard, Ambassador Mandelson thinks fellow Epstein pal Trump is a maverick risk taker doing the things that other democratic leaders aren’t brave enough to do.
Ironically in the face of those job figures, the ambo will apparently say in a speech:
"I credit President Trump's political instincts in identifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work…
"These American concerns find their mirror image in British society, where Keir Starmer won an electoral mandate for national renewal which is similar to Donald Trump's."
Move over sycophant Lammy, make room for an expert.
Pass me the sick bag ! What nauseating claptrap .
Didn't Mandelson praise brexit recently
Yesterday's reshuffle moved towards a Blairite government with a Blairlite leader
A man who has spent his miserable life being wrong claims a Brexit benefit and eulogises Trump.
It must hurt to see labour grandees championing brexit
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
I never had an issue with the idea of this. Why have multiple surveys done by interested buyers? Why not have every house with a register of energy efficiency? As ever delivery is everything.
Because HIPs weren’t proper surveys, and banks didn’t trust them.
Well - I assumed that the original idea was that they would be. Everything ready, done and dusted.
What the Rayner saga shows above all else is that our system of property sale, conveyancing and taxation is an outdated shambles that needs wholesale reform, as I am sure every single person who has tried to buy or sell a house in the last 20 years will attest.
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
Perhaps every intending seller could be obliged to assemble a Home Information Pack bulging with professionally attested, relevant information about the property...
I never had an issue with the idea of this. Why have multiple surveys done by interested buyers? Why not have every house with a register of energy efficiency? As ever delivery is everything.
Every home placed on the market is mandated to produce an energy efficiency rating
The present system is archaic and needs fundamental change
I believe that before home can be put on the market a sale pack should be produced to include pre contract enquiry forms and fixture and fittings list, local searches, and of course the presently mandated EPC
Furthermore no sale should be agreed without full confirmation of the buyers purchasing position including the need to sell their own home and where their funds are being sourced
The Scottish system is still going, But it is different. It involves a Home Report available to all buyers. As well as an energy report and a valuation, it includes a systematic questionnaire answered by the seller - various things such as any knowledge of flood down to whether the light bulbs are included - and a professional survey by a surveyor.
When selling my late father's house (built 1900) this was enough to get it sold apart from a further look by a builder at the roof at the request of the prospective buyer (there is a flat bit not visible from the ground which needed a view through a hatch).
We still don't know which man and woman were arrested.
Last week it was the 12 year old arrested, and true we don't know who arrested now but given a man and woman were involved it would point in their direction, mystery continues.
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Other than small boats this government will rise or fall on this surely.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/09/05/peter-mandelson-credits-brexit-for-close-ties-with-us/
A man with no scrupples.
Acyn
@Acyn
Secretary of Defense letters coming down at the Pentagon.
https://x.com/Acyn/status/1964083363670798802
He is reportedly paid for media appearances through a private company, meaning he pays corporation tax on this income, not income tax
https://x.com/theipaper/status/1964031746669772871
What a pillock. Its not only perfectly legal, it is literally what every single person who makes money from media appearance do for a whole lot of valid reasons. He clearly doesn't understand personal service companies work. Its like saying to a plumber, why the bloody hell do you put your money through a company, its just you and your wrench.
Helen Whately MP
@Helen_Whately
Good Luck to
@patmcfaddenmp as new DWP Secretary of State. The country needs you to succeed - get the benefits bill under control and get Britain working…(2/3)
Helen Whately MP
@Helen_Whately
Three things for your to-do list on Monday:
1️⃣ Bring back face to face benefits assessments
2️⃣ Stop abuse of Motability…no more free cars for ADHD and tennis elbow
3️⃣ Get your Chancellor and Biz Secretary to stop killing jobs, and back businesses to create them instead (3/3)
There is plenty of stuff to at Farage with, but if you keep calling for him to resign over nonsense claims it loses its edge and nobody takes you seriously.
Techne
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election#2025
I think the NHS is a much bigger risk. But all of this is trumped by a general sense of inertia.
Are they?
"Computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton: ‘AI will make a few people much richer and most people poorer’" (£)
https://www.ft.com/content/31feb335-4945-475e-baaa-3b880d9cf8ce
As for Andrea Jenkins cringeworthy entrance on stage, I thought I had been transported back to Eurovision about forty years ago, again hardly conveying the gravitas of a party that is supposedly seriously waiting to form the next government. And thanks to the Angela Raynor resignation from all her front bench roles in the Government and the Labour party, Keir Starmer then took the opportunity to hold a reshuffle to shore up his own position which resulted in the Labour party leaving Farage and the Reform party conference as a footnote in the televised news cycle and knocked them completely off all the front pages.
For a start, you have 35%ish of the country that own their property outright. Then you have another 30% who own with a mortgage - they got hammered a bit during the period with high interest rates, but most people with a mortgage do not spend a particularly high proportion of their income on housing. For both these groups, high house prices are a good thing - they are an asset, not a liability or a cost.
Then you have social renters - 15%. A mixed picture, sometimes good, might not want to buy. And then private renters - another 15%. Not all private rents are insanely high - that tends to be an issue in the big cities, not our towns, and not all private renters want to buy anyway (e.g. students).
So you're not left with many people for whom lower house prices is a good thing (and particularly not in the main voting cohorts), nor many people with particularly high housing costs. There are broader societal/economic reasons why you might want to change this, but ultimately this is why housing is not a major issue in the polling.
You need to be careful with your language and your metaphors 😠
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr5dx3z272o
Barking & Dagenham council and the City of London Police (which is responsible for fraud investigations, not the Met).
https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/technology/article/tesla-offers-elon-musk-a-1-trillion-pay-package-dvqbdn3nm (£££)
Funny how tech bro squillionaires build their wealth in California before moving to Texas to avoid tax.
Mildly surprised Rayner's gone so quickly, but that may mitigate the damage a little.
For many of those who own their own place, even outright, high house prices are a bad thing, as they want to upgrade in the future. And even if they don't, again for many, high house prices are neutral, as those gains will be on paper forever. And even if house prices are neutral for older homeowners, many will have to fork over fortunes if they want to help their children get on the housing ladder.
Private rent is determined in large part by the cost of housing, (though other factors such as government regulations also play a part), so reducing property prices would reduce the cost of rent. Students may not want to buy now (though I'm not sure about that - I once visited a friend at business school where housing was very cheap and finance readily available and he said that many of his classmates had bought a place for the two years and would then sell it or rent it out when they moved on) but they are likely to in a few years.
And of course there are costs throughout the economy because of high property prices generally, of which high house prices are an important component, though most people won't recognise those.
I think the reason housing doesn't feature is not that more people wouldn't benefit from lower house prices, just as they would benefit from lower food or energy prices, it's that both governing parties have been equally crap about this for a generation and nobody seriously expects either of them to sort it out.
Yes, Farage is trying to import all he can from the USA. His level of support for Free Speech in the USA in the fast day or two has been impressive
It also has a large parish church and a Catholic cathedral though.
It's the great irony about Farage. He dances around the flag day and night, but wants to be submerged in gaudy Trumpism politically and culturally, and knows very little about what makes the UK distinctive.
Rayner gone and Starmer rearranges the deck chairs.
The reshuffle brings its own problems.
Sergei Lavarov must be laughing his bollocks off at his new UK counter part.. Hope shes got a fishing licence
Big chance missed in not moving Miliband to somewhere where he can do less damage
Reed will screw up housing like he did farming.
Reeves stays in place but with PM minders. In office but not in power.
Lammy can go back to slagging off Trump
Really its not doing much, and 400 or so wannabes on the back benches have just lost their chance to do something meaningful in this Parliament.. Maybe Jezza or the Greens start to look attractive
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/man-woman-charged-after-dundee-35850128
If Starmer were to grasp the nettle of fundamental reform there it would make dramatic changes to the lives of millions of people. Far more useful than pandering to the weird obsessions of drunken lunatics about small boats that seems to stem from muddled memories of Dunkirk.
But he won’t, because he’s actually rather too like the Tories in not trying to sort out the boring stuff that makes a difference to people’s lives* rather than hollow rhetoric about grand visions that will never happen.
*An interesting example of this from Johnson was the capped bus fares.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/angela-rayners-real-offence-being-32422596?int_source=nba
If HIPS had been there to inform offers, that are then binding, it would actually have speeded up and much simplified the process.
Rayner lost her job because she was naive, tried to blame her lawyers, and had a track record of attacking from opposition conservatives in similar circumstances
It is nothing to do with her background, as much as some would want to portray but simply she was in a position as DPM and housing minister that demands the highest standards
Maybe you should ask who feed the information to the Telegraph and what motive did they have
Hint: if your “HIP” isn’t acceptable to the bank advancing a mortgage on the property, then it’s as much use as a chocolate teapot.
Hegseth was a grunt after all.
There! You have now proved what we all suspected.
Nadine Dorries is northern,, female working, class worked her way up though the public sector and the Left will quite happily call her mad, uncouth etc. You could argue something similar for Esther McVey who spent the first years of her life in a Barnardos Home yet John McDonnel wants her lynched.
If youre going to protest about treatment of women MPs maybe you could start by following your own principles.
We still don't know which man and woman were arrested.
The effect on prices is slow, partly as many houses are owned outright or have small mortgages, and most mortgages are on 2 or more year fixed rates. The effect will happen slowly over time and I would expect a real terms slow decline in property prices. Those of us around in the nineties will remember that negative equity brings its own problems.
https://x.com/ftlp_ftt/status/1964003390779740603?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
I see the point you are making.
This administration is building nicely to a crescendo of awfulness. The jobs numbers yesterday were about 50k below expectations, with previous months also further reduced by another 22k - so it's now the worst period for US jobs since the Pandemic.
Ironically in the face of those job figures, the ambo will apparently say in a speech:
"I credit President Trump's political instincts in identifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work…
"These American concerns find their mirror image in British society, where Keir Starmer won an electoral mandate for national renewal which is similar to Donald Trump's."
Move over sycophant Lammy, make room for an expert.
I am sure Newent will feature in the conversation.
We were lucky that Britain's dalliance with a crazy leader whose surname began Tru was a brief fever dream. It's not normally like that.
In local news, Nottingham is showing signs of expansion, to include Gedling and Broxtowe. Which is logical but as was pointed out they are just talking about whole District Councils - though the existing District Councils in Notts are quite logical. An improvement, but not quite right.
There's a Reform-skeptic Youtube Channel called Political Custard, which monitors RefUK Councils by keeping an eye on local media, who whenever he reports on here mangles the names gloriously. Councillor Boam of Leics is "Brom", and @NickPalmer 's old stamping ground of Gedling becomes "Gelding" as if anyone entering would be castrated at the border. He's based in Yorkshire somewhere and has his backdrop arranged as if wearing the Yorkshire Rose like Maggie Simpson's hood.
Recently he came up with this disturbing video of extremists at a Norwich anti-hotel demonstration:
https://youtu.be/2BiDMF_mVAs?t=25
The video link is to Political Custard, however.
Yesterday's reshuffle moved towards a Blairite government with a Blairlite leader
I wonder whether in Britain it has been tied up with the immigration issue. Britons may believe the argument that the housing crisis is primarily a crisis created by immigration, and so they're furious about immigration, whereas in Ireland people are more focused on the lack of supply.
Have no fear. Like Mandelson she will resurrect like Deadpool back into the cabinet. I predict it will be May 2026 after disastrous locals when Starmer needs to reconnect with the huddled masses...
The present system is archaic and needs fundamental change
I believe that before home can be put on the market a sale pack should be produced to include pre contract enquiry forms and fixture and fittings list, local searches, and of course the presently mandated EPC
Furthermore no sale should be agreed without full confirmation of the buyers purchasing position including the need to sell their own home and where their funds are being sourced
Rayner had to go because she breached the Ministerial Code. How the f*** Jenrick's advice to Desmond didn't breach anything is beyond me.
Notaries can be annoying in other ways: ours is slow to respond to emails (we have needed her for various ownership related issues recently), and has that rather magisterial, tut tutting attitude that suggests she’s our superior and we’re naughty kids, but she knows her stuff.
unusual_whales
@unusual_whales
BREAKING: Speaker of the House announces Trump was an FBI informant tasked with taking down Epstein.
10:18 pm · 5 Sep 2025
9.5M
Views
https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1964075685858754638
I replied with I think pardonable sarcasm that if this idiot had consulted these things we have called 'calendars' she would have noted the 22nd was a Sunday.
When selling my late father's house (built 1900) this was enough to get it sold apart from a further look by a builder at the roof at the request of the prospective buyer (there is a flat bit not visible from the ground which needed a view through a hatch).
https://walkerfrasersteele.co.uk/home-reports/
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