The UK government is simultaneously using "UKaid" as its branding for international aid and "Britain is Great" as its branding for trade, and has been using both for at least a decade.
There's no change. What is up with people inventing conspiracy theories over an imagined change? People haver lost their minds.
My wife says it's Covid and Santa.
For example, the change from GB stickers on cars to UK stickers. Not actually required by brexit, but part of an agenda to include NI.
The UK government is simultaneously using "UKaid" as its branding for international aid and "Britain is Great" as its branding for trade, and has been using both for at least a decade.
There's no change. What is up with people inventing conspiracy theories over an imagined change? People haver lost their minds.
My wife says it's Covid and Santa.
For example, the change from GB stickers on cars to UK stickers. Not actually required by brexit, but part of an agenda to include NI.
See also: "...The current sticker used on the back of vehicles will no longer be valid from September 28, the United Nations (UN) has outlined. Instead, motorists will have to replace it with a UK sticker to drive on foreign roads. Those with a GB number plate will also need a new sticker, or have to order a fresh number plate with the UK symbol. The UN said it had received “a notification stating that the United Kingdom is changing the distinguishing sign that it had previously selected for display in international traffic on vehicles registered in the United Kingdom, from ‘GB’ to ‘UK’”. Although no official reasons have yet been outlined, the move is thought to be a show of solidarity with Northern Ireland in the wake of Brexit. GB stands for Great Britain, which comprises England, Scotland and Wales, whereas UK stands for the United Kingdom, which comprises Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The switch to a ‘UK’ emblem is the second re-vamp number plates have had this year..." https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/gb-car-sticker-to-be-replaced-by-new-uk-version/
Former PB contributor @SeanT has just caught on that Zulu is a class-based critique of the class structure in the British army. Next week, he'll write an article about how Rosebud is the sled (yes I know about the Marion Davis clitoris theory). Piercing insight, our lad.
One of the saddest things about getting old is how the next generation is excitedly discovering things about the past that were either blisteringly bloody obvious at the time, or totally wrong. Tom Harwood on Twitter is excitedly and neurotically reporting that the abbreviation for the United Kingdom (UK) is a neologism that wasn't really used until the Good Friday agreement, which is just plain wrong. A generation is getting its info from Twitter and Grok instead of books, and they are thick as horseshit.
There is just a smidgeon of truth there. Britain was an official synonym for the UK. Britain, not Great Britain.
‘The UK’ only replaced ‘Britain’ as the usual collective name when Boris shoved it down our collective throats to gaslight the good people of Northern Ireland that he hadn't just sold them out by placing a border down the Irish Sea.
Representatives of the UK have been seated next to reps of the US for as long as I can remember (I'm over 75).
Yes, that is the name of the country. Britain (and hence British) is a synonym for UK, not for Great Britain. However, the recently increased prominence of UK dates from Boris selling out Northern Ireland (possibly because he never understood the issue of the border in the first place).
For instance, your passport probably says British at the top and United Kingdom at the bottom, yet we have only since Brexit changed number plates from GB to UK. In the Olympics I think we are still GB&NI with &NI in very small letters.
I think this is entirely in your head.
And your evidence is... what? Clearly I'm right about the use of Britain and British, clearly I'm right about the Brexit barrier down the Irish Sea which Boris had earlier ruled out, and clearly I'm right about the increased use of UK since Boris's time, so the only part I could be wrong on is Boris's motivation.
the notion that the use of the term UK is anything to do with Johnson, it's been common parlance my entire lifetime
The increased use, not use.
There's no evidence of increased use of United Kingdom over Great Britain
I suspect an analysis of the BBC's output would show a different picture. This story is typical:
"Moreover, the film – quite accurate in many respects – glosses over historical facts to serve its agenda. In the real world of 1879, the Zulus were fresh from conducting a massacre at Isandlwana, where hundreds of non-combatants were killed. At Rorke’s Drift, they weren’t attacking a strategic fortress, but a humble Swedish mission station turned makeshift hospital. Endfield finesses all this to make the Zulus worthier adversaries."
Erm. I watched the film literally about five hours ago as it was on Ch 5. They make it quite clear that the Zulus have just come from Isandlwana, making reference to the guns they have picked up from the dead british. It is quite clear it is a mission and hospital. And the whole point of the Bromhead 'my father fought at waterloo' and Chard clash is to show at the end that the butchery of war reduces everyone to the same level.
Former PB contributor @SeanT has just caught on that Zulu is a class-based critique of the class structure in the British army. Next week, he'll write an article about how Rosebud is the sled (yes I know about the Marion Davis clitoris theory). Piercing insight, our lad.
One of the saddest things about getting old is how the next generation is excitedly discovering things about the past that were either blisteringly bloody obvious at the time, or totally wrong. Tom Harwood on Twitter is excitedly and neurotically reporting that the abbreviation for the United Kingdom (UK) is a neologism that wasn't really used until the Good Friday agreement, which is just plain wrong. A generation is getting its info from Twitter and Grok instead of books, and they are thick as horseshit.
There is just a smidgeon of truth there. Britain was an official synonym for the UK. Britain, not Great Britain.
‘The UK’ only replaced ‘Britain’ as the usual collective name when Boris shoved it down our collective throats to gaslight the good people of Northern Ireland that he hadn't just sold them out by placing a border down the Irish Sea.
Representatives of the UK have been seated next to reps of the US for as long as I can remember (I'm over 75).
Yes, that is the name of the country. Britain (and hence British) is a synonym for UK, not for Great Britain. However, the recently increased prominence of UK dates from Boris selling out Northern Ireland (possibly because he never understood the issue of the border in the first place).
For instance, your passport probably says British at the top and United Kingdom at the bottom, yet we have only since Brexit changed number plates from GB to UK. In the Olympics I think we are still GB&NI with &NI in very small letters.
I think this is entirely in your head.
And your evidence is... what? Clearly I'm right about the use of Britain and British, clearly I'm right about the Brexit barrier down the Irish Sea which Boris had earlier ruled out, and clearly I'm right about the increased use of UK since Boris's time, so the only part I could be wrong on is Boris's motivation.
the notion that the use of the term UK is anything to do with Johnson, it's been common parlance my entire lifetime
It’s a weird new alt-right trope that it is essentially concurrent with the Boriswave and is an attempt to provide a deracinated name for the country formerly known as “Britain”.
I don't really understand it, although it’s true that early in the 20th century, the shorthand “England” became “Great Britain” and perhaps much later, “Great Britain” seems to have become “United Kingdom”.
I feel like Thatcher used Britain more, but Blair may have heralded the move to United Kingdom? The latter is technically more correct and is maybe therefore suspiciously technocratic as opposed to the virile connotations of Great Britain.
...but this is kind of the problem. The use of "United Kingdom" as the shortform name of the state has been around since the 1940s at least, but a lot of presumably intelligent people (such as yourself) now believe that it's a post-GFA coinage. This is because people get their info from the internet, and it's not always right. And by the time I do something like request a copy of the CIA factbook from the 1960s to show this, everybody has moved onto the next thing. Aaargh!
That’s not my claim. I don’t think it’s recently coined. However I suspect (but don’t know) that it’s replaced “Britain” in political discourse.
The UK government is simultaneously using "UKaid" as its branding for international aid and "Britain is Great" as its branding for trade, and has been using both for at least a decade.
There's no change. What is up with people inventing conspiracy theories over an imagined change? People haver lost their minds.
My wife says it's Covid and Santa.
For example, the change from GB stickers on cars to UK stickers. Not actually required by brexit, but part of an agenda to include NI.
I'm sure the people of Northern Ireland are thrilled to be thought of as an agenda.
"'Cold U.K.' Becomes British". The Times. 21 October 1961. p. 8.
"United Kingdom Government offices and agencies in the Commonwealth will in future be designated "British". [...] The spokesman added, [...] "'United Kingdom' sounds very cold, so we have decided to use the term which is more generally used throughout the world."
Oh, I have to leave you fine people to wish HNY to real-life people, so I'll leave you with a hearty Happy New Year to all of you and yours, and I hope you achieve what you wish in 2026.
Metropolitan Police @metpoliceuk A dispersal order has been put in place in the area of central London shown on the map below to deal with anti-social behaviour.
It gives officers the power to order people to leave the area. Those who refuse to do so are liable to arrest.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
Metropolitan Police @metpoliceuk A dispersal order has been put in place in the area of central London shown on the map below to deal with anti-social behaviour.
It gives officers the power to order people to leave the area. Those who refuse to do so are liable to arrest.
It would not really work as in that case the aim would have been to get fans into Villa Park.
"'Cold U.K.' Becomes British". The Times. 21 October 1961. p. 8.
"United Kingdom Government offices and agencies in the Commonwealth will in future be designated "British". [...] The spokesman added, [...] "'United Kingdom' sounds very cold, so we have decided to use the term which is more generally used throughout the world."
The adjective has always been "British". We don't say "United Kingdomish".
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
This evening those generators ran out of diesel.
Putin will be on the phone to President Xi with a large order for solar panels. How can they run out of diesel? It's not as if Russia has to import the stuff and they can't export it.
Metropolitan Police @metpoliceuk A dispersal order has been put in place in the area of central London shown on the map below to deal with anti-social behaviour.
It gives officers the power to order people to leave the area. Those who refuse to do so are liable to arrest.
The BBC seem to have put up a paywall on its standard news site for audiences in the U.S.
So I don’t know why police are closing off Primrose Hill on NYE.
Another daft idea; the BBC should aim to be the global Wikipedia of news, not try to “compete” with Bloomberg or whatever.
It's described as "dynamic" and "selective".
Breaking news, World Service Radio, and podcasts are still free, I am told.
If we want a global wikipedia of news (an aspiration with which I agree), then we need to fund it properly. We do not because purblind little Englanders are offended, and Mr Starmer pays them too much attention.
At present, the Foreign Office (-25% on headcount), the British Council (withdrawing from ~40 countries), and the BBC World Service (no numbers to hand), are amongst areas of funding which aiui are being gutted, alongside overseas development aid (down to 0.3% of GDP plus billions diverted to asylum hotels etc).
I think this may be one of Mr Starmer's biggest strategic mistakes, and where he should have reversed the previous Government direction - at whatever cost, because this policy will cost more long-term than the alternative.
The central problem of our times, which nobody is anywhere near answering.
Numerically, we're richer than previous generations of Britons. We're richer overall than this time last year, not that anyone says that out loud. Yet we don't feel rich, and we keep concluding that we can only keep warm is by chucking another but of furniture on the fire. See all the soft power cuts you mention, then continue from there.
And yes, a lot of that is because we're increasingly a pension system with a country attached, and those pensions should have been paid for decades ago but weren't. But that can't be the entire story... can it?
It can't be the entire story, because in funding of pension systems we are pretty much right at the bottom of the league both by expenditure amongst developed countries (with the Anglosphere and some Asians - though I do not see that latter holding given demograhics), and by how said expenditure is increasing.
It's a debate unfortunately dominated by shouting
We do have the state pension triple lock though and we have a higher percentage with private pensions than the OECD average
That's correct.
However, as a fraction of average (mean) earnings, the State Pension - even the New State Pension - is still below what it was in 1980. The New State pension (ie the increased one brought in in 2016) on a full contribution record is still below 25% of that figure.
That's whilst the retirement age has gone from 60/65 to 67 from 2028.
What it has done has recovered the % of average income to what it was when Geoffrey Howe removed the Earnings Link, though that is as much caused by flatlining of average earnings.
As an aside - for a double lock, which one would you remove?
In general, however, pensioners have done extremely well, financially, over that period. That is why the triple lock should go.
Yes it should. I am sure they could sell it as a reform without much consequence. Either an average of the 3 or link it to wages (excl bonuses).
It should be means tested not replaced, state pensioners on just state pension now have an income below minimum wage
That’s a thought. Should minimum wage and minimum pension be equal?
It might make the future creation of a universal basic income more comprehensible and concentrate the minds of younger people on the realities of aging on a limited income.
Basic state pension of £230 per week is equivalent to a 18.8 hour week on minimum wage
yes fecking peanuts
Equivalent to a £250k pension pot.
According to Google AI the average *household* pays £571k in income tax over their lifetime.
Assuming that’s typically 2 adults that means that they are basically getting it all back in pension income
Oh, I have to leave you fine people to wish HNY to real-life people, so I'll leave you with a hearty Happy New Year to all of you and yours, and I hope you achieve what you wish in 2026.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
This evening those generators ran out of diesel.
Putin will be on the phone to President Xi with a large order for solar panels. How can they run out of diesel? It's not as if Russia has to import the stuff and they can't export it.
In this instance I think it's just incompetence that nobody organised refuelling the generators.
Russia did have to import diesel earlier in the year, and they were exporting it until Ukraine started damaging their oil refineries and Russia banned exports.
Two Black Sea oil export ports hit by drone strikes this evening too, damaging Russia's ability to export oil to pay for the war. Some people are starting to say that Ukraine has sustained an increase in the volume of long-distance strikes it is making inside Russia, but it might be a bit early to be sure about that.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
This evening those generators ran out of diesel.
Putin will be on the phone to President Xi with a large order for solar panels. How can they run out of diesel? It's not as if Russia has to import the stuff and they can't export it.
In this instance I think it's just incompetence that nobody organised refuelling the generators.
Russia did have to import diesel earlier in the year, and they were exporting it until Ukraine started damaging their oil refineries and Russia banned exports.
Two Black Sea oil export ports hit by drone strikes this evening too, damaging Russia's ability to export oil to pay for the war. Some people are starting to say that Ukraine has sustained an increase in the volume of long-distance strikes it is making inside Russia, but it might be a bit early to be sure about that.
I dimly recall working for a company whose backup generators failed because the fuel tanks on the World Trade Centre froze (although at this distance I might be conflating two stories).
You want to witness a pointless flame war, check out the reactions of Christians to the Peace Walk of 19 Theravada monks and a dog from Fort Worth to Washington, currently in Georgia. It's utterly insane.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
This evening those generators ran out of diesel.
Putin will be on the phone to President Xi with a large order for solar panels. How can they run out of diesel? It's not as if Russia has to import the stuff and they can't export it.
In this instance I think it's just incompetence that nobody organised refuelling the generators.
Russia did have to import diesel earlier in the year, and they were exporting it until Ukraine started damaging their oil refineries and Russia banned exports.
Two Black Sea oil export ports hit by drone strikes this evening too, damaging Russia's ability to export oil to pay for the war. Some people are starting to say that Ukraine has sustained an increase in the volume of long-distance strikes it is making inside Russia, but it might be a bit early to be sure about that.
I dimly recall working for a company whose backup generators failed because the fuel tanks on the World Trade Centre froze (although at this distance I might be conflating two stories).
I recall an Important Person at my day job demanding that we installed backup generators at the cost of tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds because there had been a power-cut and his desktop had gone offline and ruined 'vital research'.
The 'vital research' turned out to be a notification from B&Q about a wood-burning stove.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
This evening those generators ran out of diesel.
Putin will be on the phone to President Xi with a large order for solar panels. How can they run out of diesel? It's not as if Russia has to import the stuff and they can't export it.
In this instance I think it's just incompetence that nobody organised refuelling the generators.
Russia did have to import diesel earlier in the year, and they were exporting it until Ukraine started damaging their oil refineries and Russia banned exports.
Two Black Sea oil export ports hit by drone strikes this evening too, damaging Russia's ability to export oil to pay for the war. Some people are starting to say that Ukraine has sustained an increase in the volume of long-distance strikes it is making inside Russia, but it might be a bit early to be sure about that.
I dimly recall working for a company whose backup generators failed because the fuel tanks on the World Trade Centre froze (although at this distance I might be conflating two stories).
I recall an Important Person at my day job demanding that we installed backup generators at the cost of tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds because there had been a power-cut and his desktop had gone offline and ruined 'vital research'.
The 'vital research' turned out to be a notification from B&Q about a wood-burning stove.
On the one hand - justified re wood burning stove.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
This evening those generators ran out of diesel.
Putin will be on the phone to President Xi with a large order for solar panels. How can they run out of diesel? It's not as if Russia has to import the stuff and they can't export it.
In this instance I think it's just incompetence that nobody organised refuelling the generators.
Russia did have to import diesel earlier in the year, and they were exporting it until Ukraine started damaging their oil refineries and Russia banned exports.
Two Black Sea oil export ports hit by drone strikes this evening too, damaging Russia's ability to export oil to pay for the war. Some people are starting to say that Ukraine has sustained an increase in the volume of long-distance strikes it is making inside Russia, but it might be a bit early to be sure about that.
I dimly recall working for a company whose backup generators failed because the fuel tanks on the World Trade Centre froze (although at this distance I might be conflating two stories).
I recall an Important Person at my day job demanding that we installed backup generators at the cost of tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds because there had been a power-cut and his desktop had gone offline and ruined 'vital research'.
The 'vital research' turned out to be a notification from B&Q about a wood-burning stove.
On the one hand - justified re wood burning stove.
On the other - B&Q. WTAF?
Hateful though it is, many successful highly paid people have awful taste.
Alternative list of “Best” Britons of the 21st Century
Jade Goody Michelle Mone Jared O’Mara Russell Brand Bonnie Blue John Darwin Liz Truss Katie Price’s son Harvey Camila Batmanghelidjh Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Fred Goodwin Pete Doherty Henry Bolton Nadine Dorries Phillip Schofield Shamima Begum Harold Shipman Carl Beech Max Clifford Marc Francois Sally Bercow
Put like that, maybe we should be glad that things are going as well as they are.
Why the dislike for Jade Goody? She was fairly crass, but generally harmless and died 15 years ago at the age of only 29.
Yesterday Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity supplies to a Moscow suburb. The grid hasn't been repaired yet, but large numbers of mobile generators were rushed to the area to supply electricity.
This evening those generators ran out of diesel.
Either that - or the weather in Russia is currently so severe, the diesel froze.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has vowed to reunify China and Taiwan in his annual New Year’s Eve speech in Beijing.
Xi will never have a better opportunity to annex Taiwan than whilst your dipshit President is in the Whitehouse.
Given his age, this year is probably his last opportunity.
Make sure your computers are up to date and that you are not overexposed on tech stocks including AI.
It was made 30 years ago, but the first Mission Impossible movie actually mentions AI, briefly
AI as a term was first popularised in 1956, although its antecedents arguably go back to maybe 1950 or 1943.
The first use of the term in a film may be 1970's "Colossus: The Forbin Project", although obviously "2001", 2 years earlier, prominently featured an AI, just called something else.
"Colossus: The Forbin Project" is an excellent film. I've recommended it to quite a few people down the years. Sadly overlooked. I could see it (and the follow-up novel) making a very good HBO/Netflix/Who-ever long-form TV show in the current climate.
Alternative list of “Best” Britons of the 21st Century
Jade Goody Michelle Mone Jared O’Mara Russell Brand Bonnie Blue John Darwin Liz Truss Katie Price’s son Harvey Camila Batmanghelidjh Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Fred Goodwin Pete Doherty Henry Bolton Nadine Dorries Phillip Schofield Shamima Begum Harold Shipman Carl Beech Max Clifford Marc Francois Sally Bercow
Put like that, maybe we should be glad that things are going as well as they are.
Why the dislike for Jade Goody? She was fairly crass, but generally harmless and died 15 years ago at the age of only 29.
Shetty was the one being obnoxious towards Jade imo.
I am sure you are on your own on that one.
Danielle Lloyd who was involved in the racist bullying of Shilpa Shetty lost a shit load of lucrative modelling contracts because of her behaviour.
Goody, Budden, Tweed, O' Meara and Lloyd were absolutely disgusting. The elevation of Jade Goody along with her repulsive mother to national treasure status was the lowest point during the Blair government years.
I will not wish a happy new year - how can any year be expected to be happy when the prospects of a General Election are so remote?
I know there's locals and Holyrood and the Senedd of course, which could have some near wipe outs for the former and a new winner for the latter, but it is just not the same.
"'Cold U.K.' Becomes British". The Times. 21 October 1961. p. 8.
"United Kingdom Government offices and agencies in the Commonwealth will in future be designated "British". [...] The spokesman added, [...] "'United Kingdom' sounds very cold, so we have decided to use the term which is more generally used throughout the world."
The adjective has always been "British". We don't say "United Kingdomish".
Alternative list of “Best” Britons of the 21st Century
Jade Goody Michelle Mone Jared O’Mara Russell Brand Bonnie Blue John Darwin Liz Truss Katie Price’s son Harvey Camila Batmanghelidjh Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Fred Goodwin Pete Doherty Henry Bolton Nadine Dorries Phillip Schofield Shamima Begum Harold Shipman Carl Beech Max Clifford Marc Francois Sally Bercow
Put like that, maybe we should be glad that things are going as well as they are.
Why the dislike for Jade Goody? She was fairly crass, but generally harmless and died 15 years ago at the age of only 29.
Shetty was the one being obnoxious towards Jade imo.
I am sure you are on your own on that one.
Danielle Lloyd who was involved in the racist bullying of Shilpa Shetty lost a shit load of lucrative modelling contracts because of her behaviour.
Goody, Budden, Tweed, O' Meara and Lloyd were absolutely disgusting. The elevation of Jade Goody along with her repulsive mother to national treasure status was the lowest point during the Blair government years.
Some would say that academic publications being plagiarised by the ex-pornographer, Alistair Campbell, were the low point.
At to Big Brither, everyone involved should have been sentenced to 6 months house arrest. In the same house.
The BBC seem to have put up a paywall on its standard news site for audiences in the U.S.
So I don’t know why police are closing off Primrose Hill on NYE.
Another daft idea; the BBC should aim to be the global Wikipedia of news, not try to “compete” with Bloomberg or whatever.
It's described as "dynamic" and "selective".
Breaking news, World Service Radio, and podcasts are still free, I am told.
If we want a global wikipedia of news (an aspiration with which I agree), then we need to fund it properly. We do not because purblind little Englanders are offended, and Mr Starmer pays them too much attention.
At present, the Foreign Office (-25% on headcount), the British Council (withdrawing from ~40 countries), and the BBC World Service (no numbers to hand), are amongst areas of funding which aiui are being gutted, alongside overseas development aid (down to 0.3% of GDP plus billions diverted to asylum hotels etc).
I think this may be one of Mr Starmer's biggest strategic mistakes, and where he should have reversed the previous Government direction - at whatever cost, because this policy will cost more long-term than the alternative.
The central problem of our times, which nobody is anywhere near answering.
Numerically, we're richer than previous generations of Britons. We're richer overall than this time last year, not that anyone says that out loud. Yet we don't feel rich, and we keep concluding that we can only keep warm is by chucking another but of furniture on the fire. See all the soft power cuts you mention, then continue from there.
And yes, a lot of that is because we're increasingly a pension system with a country attached, and those pensions should have been paid for decades ago but weren't. But that can't be the entire story... can it?
It can't be the entire story, because in funding of pension systems we are pretty much right at the bottom of the league both by expenditure amongst developed countries (with the Anglosphere and some Asians - though I do not see that latter holding given demograhics), and by how said expenditure is increasing.
It's a debate unfortunately dominated by shouting
We do have the state pension triple lock though and we have a higher percentage with private pensions than the OECD average
That's correct.
However, as a fraction of average (mean) earnings, the State Pension - even the New State Pension - is still below what it was in 1980. The New State pension (ie the increased one brought in in 2016) on a full contribution record is still below 25% of that figure.
That's whilst the retirement age has gone from 60/65 to 67 from 2028.
What it has done has recovered the % of average income to what it was when Geoffrey Howe removed the Earnings Link, though that is as much caused by flatlining of average earnings.
As an aside - for a double lock, which one would you remove?
In general, however, pensioners have done extremely well, financially, over that period. That is why the triple lock should go.
Yes it should. I am sure they could sell it as a reform without much consequence. Either an average of the 3 or link it to wages (excl bonuses).
It should be means tested not replaced, state pensioners on just state pension now have an income below minimum wage
That’s a thought. Should minimum wage and minimum pension be equal?
It might make the future creation of a universal basic income more comprehensible and concentrate the minds of younger people on the realities of aging on a limited income.
Basic state pension of £230 per week is equivalent to a 18.8 hour week on minimum wage
yes fecking peanuts
Equivalent to a £250k pension pot.
According to Google AI the average *household* pays £571k in income tax over their lifetime.
Assuming that’s typically 2 adults that means that they are basically getting it all back in pension income
I am not typical
Does that mean there are more than 2 people in your household? Or that you are rich so can afford to be generous? The system doesn’t work if the wealthy don’t pay in more.
"'Cold U.K.' Becomes British". The Times. 21 October 1961. p. 8.
"United Kingdom Government offices and agencies in the Commonwealth will in future be designated "British". [...] The spokesman added, [...] "'United Kingdom' sounds very cold, so we have decided to use the term which is more generally used throughout the world."
The adjective has always been "British". We don't say "United Kingdomish".
British refers to “the British Isles”.
Technical the Irish are Brits…
By the same token, we don't say "United Statesish", we say "American".
Alternative list of “Best” Britons of the 21st Century
Jade Goody Michelle Mone Jared O’Mara Russell Brand Bonnie Blue John Darwin Liz Truss Katie Price’s son Harvey Camila Batmanghelidjh Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Fred Goodwin Pete Doherty Henry Bolton Nadine Dorries Phillip Schofield Shamima Begum Harold Shipman Carl Beech Max Clifford Marc Francois Sally Bercow
Put like that, maybe we should be glad that things are going as well as they are.
Why the dislike for Jade Goody? She was fairly crass, but generally harmless and died 15 years ago at the age of only 29.
Shetty was the one being obnoxious towards Jade imo.
I am sure you are on your own on that one.
Danielle Lloyd who was involved in the racist bullying of Shilpa Shetty lost a shit load of lucrative modelling contracts because of her behaviour.
Goody, Budden, Tweed, O' Meara and Lloyd were absolutely disgusting. The elevation of Jade Goody along with her repulsive mother to national treasure status was the lowest point during the Blair government years.
Some would say that academic publications being plagiarised by the ex-pornographer, Alistair Campbell, were the low point.
At to Big Brither, everyone involved should have been sentenced to 6 months house arrest. In the same house.
With the cameras supposedly rolling. Only to be told on release that there was no footage and no broadcast.
20 minutes of two ex-MI6 types talking about Russia, what they might have on Trump, why the Arctic might be in play (Greenland & Canada anyone?), and the basis of China's support for Russia.
"'Cold U.K.' Becomes British". The Times. 21 October 1961. p. 8.
"United Kingdom Government offices and agencies in the Commonwealth will in future be designated "British". [...] The spokesman added, [...] "'United Kingdom' sounds very cold, so we have decided to use the term which is more generally used throughout the world."
The adjective has always been "British". We don't say "United Kingdomish".
British refers to “the British Isles”.
Technical the Irish are Brits…
By the same token, we don't say "United Statesish", we say "American".
Alternative list of “Best” Britons of the 21st Century
Jade Goody Michelle Mone Jared O’Mara Russell Brand Bonnie Blue John Darwin Liz Truss Katie Price’s son Harvey Camila Batmanghelidjh Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Fred Goodwin Pete Doherty Henry Bolton Nadine Dorries Phillip Schofield Shamima Begum Harold Shipman Carl Beech Max Clifford Marc Francois Sally Bercow
Put like that, maybe we should be glad that things are going as well as they are.
Why the dislike for Jade Goody? She was fairly crass, but generally harmless and died 15 years ago at the age of only 29.
Alternative list of “Best” Britons of the 21st Century
Jade Goody Michelle Mone Jared O’Mara Russell Brand Bonnie Blue John Darwin Liz Truss Katie Price’s son Harvey Camila Batmanghelidjh Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Fred Goodwin Pete Doherty Henry Bolton Nadine Dorries Phillip Schofield Shamima Begum Harold Shipman Carl Beech Max Clifford Marc Francois Sally Bercow
Put like that, maybe we should be glad that things are going as well as they are.
Why the dislike for Jade Goody? She was fairly crass, but generally harmless and died 15 years ago at the age of only 29.
Alternative list of “Best” Britons of the 21st Century
Jade Goody Michelle Mone Jared O’Mara Russell Brand Bonnie Blue John Darwin Liz Truss Katie Price’s son Harvey Camila Batmanghelidjh Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Fred Goodwin Pete Doherty Henry Bolton Nadine Dorries Phillip Schofield Shamima Begum Harold Shipman Carl Beech Max Clifford Marc Francois Sally Bercow
Put like that, maybe we should be glad that things are going as well as they are.
Why the dislike for Jade Goody? She was fairly crass, but generally harmless and died 15 years ago at the age of only 29.
Shetty was the one being obnoxious towards Jade imo.
I am sure you are on your own on that one.
Danielle Lloyd who was involved in the racist bullying of Shilpa Shetty lost a shit load of lucrative modelling contracts because of her behaviour.
Goody, Budden, Tweed, O' Meara and Lloyd were absolutely disgusting. The elevation of Jade Goody along with her repulsive mother to national treasure status was the lowest point during the Blair government years.
Some would say that academic publications being plagiarised by the ex-pornographer, Alistair Campbell, were the low point.
At to Big Brither, everyone involved should have been sentenced to 6 months house arrest. In the same house.
Can you take this call? I have Alistair Campbell's lawyers on the line.
The BBC seem to have put up a paywall on its standard news site for audiences in the U.S.
So I don’t know why police are closing off Primrose Hill on NYE.
Another daft idea; the BBC should aim to be the global Wikipedia of news, not try to “compete” with Bloomberg or whatever.
It's described as "dynamic" and "selective".
Breaking news, World Service Radio, and podcasts are still free, I am told.
If we want a global wikipedia of news (an aspiration with which I agree), then we need to fund it properly. We do not because purblind little Englanders are offended, and Mr Starmer pays them too much attention.
At present, the Foreign Office (-25% on headcount), the British Council (withdrawing from ~40 countries), and the BBC World Service (no numbers to hand), are amongst areas of funding which aiui are being gutted, alongside overseas development aid (down to 0.3% of GDP plus billions diverted to asylum hotels etc).
I think this may be one of Mr Starmer's biggest strategic mistakes, and where he should have reversed the previous Government direction - at whatever cost, because this policy will cost more long-term than the alternative.
The central problem of our times, which nobody is anywhere near answering.
Numerically, we're richer than previous generations of Britons. We're richer overall than this time last year, not that anyone says that out loud. Yet we don't feel rich, and we keep concluding that we can only keep warm is by chucking another but of furniture on the fire. See all the soft power cuts you mention, then continue from there.
And yes, a lot of that is because we're increasingly a pension system with a country attached, and those pensions should have been paid for decades ago but weren't. But that can't be the entire story... can it?
It can't be the entire story, because in funding of pension systems we are pretty much right at the bottom of the league both by expenditure amongst developed countries (with the Anglosphere and some Asians - though I do not see that latter holding given demograhics), and by how said expenditure is increasing.
It's a debate unfortunately dominated by shouting
We do have the state pension triple lock though and we have a higher percentage with private pensions than the OECD average
That's correct.
However, as a fraction of average (mean) earnings, the State Pension - even the New State Pension - is still below what it was in 1980. The New State pension (ie the increased one brought in in 2016) on a full contribution record is still below 25% of that figure.
That's whilst the retirement age has gone from 60/65 to 67 from 2028.
What it has done has recovered the % of average income to what it was when Geoffrey Howe removed the Earnings Link, though that is as much caused by flatlining of average earnings.
Happy New Year pb! Without noticing, to erroneously paraphrase HMHH, it's become cliched to he cynical about new year. "Oh, we don't really do anything - we're in bed by 10.30". Well, that's fine, and each to their own, bu reflecting on this on the evening of the 30th, NYE is genuinely important to me. Christmas is all about family - whom I am genuinely grateful for - but NYE is all about the friends you choose. People my age do NYE down, but NYEs have genuinely been some of the most memorable and brilliant nights of my life. Some have bèen disappointing (Sheffield 00/01 I'm looking at you) but a surprisingly large number have been brilliant. And tonight was no exception. Christmas is about the family you're given, NYE is about the friends you choose I feel prodoundly lucky on both counts.
"'Cold U.K.' Becomes British". The Times. 21 October 1961. p. 8.
"United Kingdom Government offices and agencies in the Commonwealth will in future be designated "British". [...] The spokesman added, [...] "'United Kingdom' sounds very cold, so we have decided to use the term which is more generally used throughout the world."
The adjective has always been "British". We don't say "United Kingdomish".
British refers to “the British Isles”.
Technical the Irish are Brits…
By the same token, we don't say "United Statesish", we say "American".
That’s a misnomer born of American exceptionalism
I don't think so. It predates the existence of the United States - people from the 13 colonies were referred to as Americans in English and other European languages long before the establishment of the United States, and they just kept that descriptor after independence.
In addition, of course, to United Statesian being longer and much less elegant.
Who was the only man ever to receive the Soviet Union’s Order of Lenin, Italy’s Knight Grand Cross with Collar, and to become a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE)?
I'll help you out with a small hint.
He was an American capitalist.
He also had a brand of toothpaste named after him. Nobody else can touch that.
The inhabitants of the United Arab Emirates are known as Emirati.
By the same logic inhabitants of United States of America should be known as Staters.
And inhabitants of United Kingdom of GB&NI should be known as Kingdomers.
Isn’t “Emirati” just “the followers of the Emirs”?
So even if Abu Dhabi and Dubai and the other Emirates that no one remembers were independent then they would still individually and collectively be Emirati.
Comments
See also: "...The current sticker used on the back of vehicles will no longer be valid from September 28, the United Nations (UN) has outlined. Instead, motorists will have to replace it with a UK sticker to drive on foreign roads. Those with a GB number plate will also need a new sticker, or have to order a fresh number plate with the UK symbol. The UN said it had received “a notification stating that the United Kingdom is changing the distinguishing sign that it had previously selected for display in international traffic on vehicles registered in the United Kingdom, from ‘GB’ to ‘UK’”. Although no official reasons have yet been outlined, the move is thought to be a show of solidarity with Northern Ireland in the wake of Brexit. GB stands for Great Britain, which comprises England, Scotland and Wales, whereas UK stands for the United Kingdom, which comprises Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The switch to a ‘UK’ emblem is the second re-vamp number plates have had this year..." https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/gb-car-sticker-to-be-replaced-by-new-uk-version/
Erm. I watched the film literally about five hours ago as it was on Ch 5. They make it quite clear that the Zulus have just come from Isandlwana, making reference to the guns they have picked up from the dead british. It is quite clear it is a mission and hospital. And the whole point of the Bromhead 'my father fought at waterloo' and Chard clash is to show at the end that the butchery of war reduces everyone to the same level.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/search?endDate=2025-12-31&partial=False&searchTerm=" GB "&sortOrder=1&startDate=1800-01-01
https://hansard.parliament.uk/search?startDate=1800-01-01&endDate=2025-12-31&searchTerm=" UK "&partial=False&sortOrder=1
"United Kingdom Government offices and agencies in the Commonwealth will in future be designated "British". [...] The spokesman added, [...] "'United Kingdom' sounds very cold, so we have decided to use the term which is more generally used throughout the world."
https://x.com/metpoliceuk/status/2006480856542581204
Metropolitan Police
@metpoliceuk
A dispersal order has been put in place in the area of central London shown on the map below to deal with anti-social behaviour.
It gives officers the power to order people to leave the area. Those who refuse to do so are liable to arrest.
This evening those generators ran out of diesel.
Russia did have to import diesel earlier in the year, and they were exporting it until Ukraine started damaging their oil refineries and Russia banned exports.
Two Black Sea oil export ports hit by drone strikes this evening too, damaging Russia's ability to export oil to pay for the war. Some people are starting to say that Ukraine has sustained an increase in the volume of long-distance strikes it is making inside Russia, but it might be a bit early to be sure about that.
It's utterly insane.
The 'vital research' turned out to be a notification from B&Q about a wood-burning stove.
On the other - B&Q. WTAF?
Happy New Year to all.
WorldTrump Cup year!It's a big ask, but...a worthy one.
Best wishes to the pb.com community.
Is it just here that there were far fewer fireworks?
Danielle Lloyd who was involved in the racist bullying of Shilpa Shetty lost a shit load of lucrative modelling contracts because of her behaviour.
Goody, Budden, Tweed, O' Meara and Lloyd were absolutely disgusting. The elevation of Jade Goody along with her repulsive mother to national treasure status was the lowest point during the Blair government years.
I know there's locals and Holyrood and the Senedd of course, which could have some near wipe outs for the former and a new winner for the latter, but it is just not the same.
Technical the Irish are Brits…
At to Big Brither, everyone involved should have been sentenced to 6 months house arrest. In the same house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YOQ64iEB78
20 minutes of two ex-MI6 types talking about Russia, what they might have on Trump, why the Arctic might be in play (Greenland & Canada anyone?), and the basis of China's support for Russia.
Without noticing, to erroneously paraphrase HMHH, it's become cliched to he cynical about new year. "Oh, we don't really do anything - we're in bed by 10.30". Well, that's fine, and each to their own, bu reflecting on this on the evening of the 30th, NYE is genuinely important to me. Christmas is all about family - whom I am genuinely grateful for - but NYE is all about the friends you choose. People my age do NYE down, but NYEs have genuinely been some of the most memorable and brilliant nights of my life. Some have bèen disappointing (Sheffield 00/01 I'm looking at you) but a surprisingly large number have been brilliant. And tonight was no exception.
Christmas is about the family you're given, NYE is about the friends you choose I feel prodoundly lucky on both counts.
In addition, of course, to United Statesian being longer and much less elegant.
By the same logic inhabitants of United States of America should be known as Staters.
And inhabitants of United Kingdom of GB&NI should be known as Kingdomers.
So even if Abu Dhabi and Dubai and the other Emirates that no one remembers were independent then they would still individually and collectively be Emirati.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c8xdxvj2qjdt
Cause not yet known.