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Why the Tory party is becoming more like the Lib Dems – politicalbetting.com

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  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,318

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Are they electric buses? 🤣
  • wooliedyedwooliedyed Posts: 16,401
    edited 11:14AM

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Are they electric buses? 🤣
    They are. Ha! (Some anyway lol)
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 60,472
    Drone shot of the Glasgow fire from this morning.

    There’s nothing left of the building except for the Gordon St facade (which looks like it could collapse at any moment).

    https://x.com/graeme_from_it/status/2030919350949929309
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442

    FF43 said:

    FF43 said:

    malcolmg said:

    FF43 said:

    Eabhal said:

    Surely this latest war is just more evidence we need to stop importing energy which surely means more renewables? How can anyone disagree.

    There are some alternatives. We could have massive strategic reserves of gas and oil that the government can release in an emergency (see Japan). We could nationalise and massively subsidise O&G production to isolate the industry from global energy prices and boost domestic production. Coal in theory could work because it's easy to store, we'd just need to import lots of it and, again, nationalise it in preperation for a period like this.

    These aren't cost-free options though.
    I am in favour of stocking, but not using, coal in dual fuel gas powered electricity station

    We should continue to extract from the North Sea although it's marginal given the exhaustion of supply. In principle the difference is the thin red line on this chart, although it may be more than that

    https://bsky.app/profile/drsimevans.carbonbrief.org/post/3kdj4ec4lai2h
    Why would we buy and stock it if never going to use it.
    Strategic reserve to be used only in times of stress. I don't want coal as a regular fuel.
    Having looked into this a bit more, I'm not sure this does make sense and we might be better investing in more redundant renewables and energy storage. Often there just aren't any quick and cheap fixes.
    Coal was always useful for base load. We have wind and solar now.
    Its many things, but wind and solar aren't base load.

    Nuclear is* and has milked that to the point where nuclear prices are five times what they are in South Korea.

    *(In late 2004 when the sun wasn't shining much and the wind wasn''t blowing, the nuclear base load was stretched to its limits when Sizewell was changing out the rods... We came close to rolling brownouts/blackouts.)
  • wooliedyedwooliedyed Posts: 16,401
    edited 11:16AM

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    Facts are inconvenient at this time of crisis
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,589

    ‪Duncan Weldon‬
    @duncanweldon.bsky.social‬

    Currently looking at the biggest daily move in two year gilt yields since the Truss shock.

    https://bsky.app/profile/duncanweldon.bsky.social/post/3mgmncermjk2b
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Until the bus drivers can't get to the depot because, er, they can't get fuel for their cars...
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 13,630

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    How will it affect cycling fuel? (Pastries and coffee).
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 7,703

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Of course you aren't. Electricity gas wood you name it will increase
  • MattWMattW Posts: 32,532
    edited 11:22AM
    Nigelb said:

    How far might this scale ?

    https://x.com/michaelandregg/status/2030764512488677736
    We've uploaded a fruit fly. We took the @FlyWireNews connectome of the fruit fly brain, applied a simple neuron model ( @Philip_Shiu Nature 2024) and used it to control a MuJoCo physics-simulated body, closing the loop from neural activation to action...

    ..It's crazy that this worked. The uploaded fly has 91% behavior accuracy with only 4 things:

    1. the graph of connections
    2. the weights as determined by the number of synapses connecting those neurons
    3. a map of excitatory and inhibitory neurons
    4. leaky-integrate-and-fire

    This shows how much information is captured by the architecture itself, rather than the neuron model, which is great for the feasibility of full emulation..


    Brave new world.

    Great. Some can make a Trump 2, with better judgement.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 126,717

    Anecdote alert: two people filling jerry cans at the local garage...

    I laugh in my best EV laugh.
    You need to recharge via the grid! Increasing gas prices!
    Until January of next year I pay 6.5p per kWh to charge my vehicles.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 32,532
    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    That looks like a trolls' delight.
  • wooliedyedwooliedyed Posts: 16,401

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Until the bus drivers can't get to the depot because, er, they can't get fuel for their cars...
    Ugh, facts fscts facts
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 16,845
    Electricity spot prices are pretty high today. £150 per MWh last time I looked. Some of that will be recent gas price rises but some is also, unfortunately, the weather. It’s coldish, still and overcast.

    Should improve soon. The wind returns by tomorrow morning, and Wednesday should be a bonanza for renewables: strong winds and decent sunshine.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 80,646
    Eabhal said:

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    How will it affect cycling fuel? (Pastries and coffee).
    Market Summary
    >
    Chicago SRW Wheat Futures
    623.75 USX
    +95.00 (17.97%)past month
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 60,472
    Eabhal said:

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    How will it affect cycling fuel? (Pastries and coffee).
    It will make them more expensive.

    Fuel price is the single largest factor in inflation, because it affects the price of everything delivered by road.

    It even costs more money to put fuel in the fuel trucks, which makes the fuel more expensive, which…
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,343
    Eabhal said:

    MelonB said:

    Rising fuel prices are great for the chancellor all that tax ontop of tax.

    This crisis does afford an opportunity to the government to re-set fuel duty structures.

    Pump prices have been historically low for some time, after repeated freezes of duty and that “temporary” 5p cut that never got reversed. From being some of the highest in Europe we are now among the lowest. Until this week they were the same in 2026 as in 2013, and that’s not even adjusting for inflation.

    But raising fuel duty is always politically toxic, even if it’s just reversing a cut. It’s like abandoning the triple lock. However, a crisis means the possibility of a quid pro quo: if the government introduces an automatic stabilisation mechanism that essentially dulls volatility, easing peaks in times of high prices and moderating troughs, then if they set the range right they could help motorists now while booking a significant windfall down the line if, as seems likely, we enter another period of low prices.

    Same logic has been discussed for North Sea ring fence taxation too, which would increase predictability and avoid situations like the current one (well, until Trump’s adventure) where the numbers don’t add up for investment.
    Weirdly fuel duty is a price stabiliser because it's fixed - in proportionate terms, tax is actually going to fall on fuel over the next few weeks (months, years?).

    It's the VAT that is going exacerbate it.
    The sane approach would have been to fix the taxes on fuel to £x per litre. That way price movements don't get multiplied, the Treasury gets a steady tax return (though declining in the long run).

    The only downside is "But what about windfalls of tax?". Well, when the price drops, you get the reverse. Give up both, and you get the same tax income in the long term.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 13,630
    edited 11:24AM
    Sandpit said:

    Eabhal said:

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    How will it affect cycling fuel? (Pastries and coffee).
    It will make them more expensive.

    Fuel price is the single largest factor in inflation, because it affects the price of everything delivered by road.

    It even costs more money to put fuel in the fuel trucks, which makes the fuel more expensive, which…
    I know. I'm just grateful that when I cycle to work, I'm the most fuel efficient being on Earth.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,343
    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 16,845
    Pulpstar said:

    Eabhal said:

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    How will it affect cycling fuel? (Pastries and coffee).
    Market Summary
    >
    Chicago SRW Wheat Futures
    623.75 USX
    +95.00 (17.97%)past month
    Great news: we’re expecting an El Niño later this year! El Niño tends to correlate with drought in several of the major wheat, rice and soy bean growing regions. Which means food inflation.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,343

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Good thing you don't use electricity or gas. Or eat food. Or buys things.

    There's a reason why price shocks like this lead to recessions.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,318

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    Facts are inconvenient at this time of crisis
    Facts can be so misleading
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 126,717
    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 80,646
    edited 11:29AM
    Hay/haylage has gone right up in price (& availability right down) recently as farmers are running out of last summer's meagre harvest but it isn't quite yet warm enough to ditch supplementing equine diets entirely...
  • eekeek Posts: 32,802

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 126,717
    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,910
    Eabhal said:

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    How will it affect cycling fuel? (Pastries and coffee).
    Not sure but I guess fertilizer is involved in those things so it could be bad
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 61,343

    Eabhal said:

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    How will it affect cycling fuel? (Pastries and coffee).
    Not sure but I guess fertilizer is involved in those things so it could be bad
    Yup. Go look at food production - it's all about mechanisation and transport.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Good thing you don't use electricity or gas. Or eat food. Or buys things.

    There's a reason why price shocks like this lead to recessions.
    Some of us had negative growth in the pb predictions competition...
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442

    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
    I'd be looking at an unreasonable worst case scenario. You are dealing with Donald and Bibi here...
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442
    MattW said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    That looks like a trolls' delight.
    Will keep the Moscow bot farms busy.
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 5,349

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    Should be OK as long as you don't eat food or buy things
    Facts are inconvenient at this time of crisis
    Facts can be so misleading
    Facts can be so...fake...
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,589
    Javier Blas
    @JavierBlas

    COLUMN: Iran’s strategy is by now clear: Impose an intolerable economic cost on President Trump.

    One of the last lines of defence is a couple of oil pipelines offerign a partial (**emphasis on partial**) bypass of the Strait of Hormuz.

    Link: https://bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-03-09/iran-war-these-saudi-and-uae-oil-pipelines-could-decide-who-wins?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=twitter


    https://x.com/JavierBlas/status/2030941091281662434
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 60,472

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Autumn?

    Some of us got a mass WFH edict last Monday!
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442
    edited 11:41AM

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    If "as they are" means no oil through the Straits of Hormuz, then by the autumn we will be barely working, let alone from home.

    Goaded on by Bibi, Trump will likely have nuked Tehran long before then.
  • eekeek Posts: 32,802
    Sandpit said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Autumn?

    Some of us got a mass WFH edict last Monday!
    I only go into the office to justify going to London and seeing a concert / show
  • glwglw Posts: 10,807


    ‪Duncan Weldon‬
    @duncanweldon.bsky.social‬

    Currently looking at the biggest daily move in two year gilt yields since the Truss shock.

    https://bsky.app/profile/duncanweldon.bsky.social/post/3mgmncermjk2b

    Any economic forecast from before 28th Feb must be complete junk. I would guess that the government's entire economic plan and spending commitments are now up in smoke. For starters Starmer is going to have to go from pondering "accelerating defence spending" to getting off his arse and doing something right now.
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 16,845
    Sadly the oil price drives global GDP more than it should, still. Far less than in the 1970s, but still a lot.

    Very strong negative correlation between global GDP and crude oil price with a 6-12m lag, with the pattern repeating everywhere except the major commodity exporters.

    The US is less affected as it’s now the world’s biggest oil producer. It’s possible to argue that US domestic oil and gas production and exports explain almost the entirety of its GDP performance gap with Europe and Japan in the period since the financial crisis.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 32,532

    MattW said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    That looks like a trolls' delight.
    Will keep the Moscow bot farms busy.
    It's also not the Government site.
  • glwglw Posts: 10,807

    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
    I'd be looking at an unreasonable worst case scenario. You are dealing with Donald and Bibi here...
    I was just about to say I'm sure we've seen "reasonable worst case scenarios" exceeded in the not too distant past.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,318

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    I blame Donald and Bibi...
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 36,857

    We non drivers with bus passes are unconcerned by the oil crisis.
    *smug*

    It's OK if you've a bus service.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 60,472
    MelonB said:

    Sadly the oil price drives global GDP more than it should, still. Far less than in the 1970s, but still a lot.

    Very strong negative correlation between global GDP and crude oil price with a 6-12m lag, with the pattern repeating everywhere except the major commodity exporters.

    The US is less affected as it’s now the world’s biggest oil producer. It’s possible to argue that US domestic oil and gas production and exports explain almost the entirety of its GDP performance gap with Europe and Japan in the period since the financial crisis.

    If this situation continues for more than another couple of weeks, expect “national security” restrictions on US O&G exports.

    Which will make life worse for everyone else who doesn’t have O&G resources, plus the UK which instead has an Ed Miliband.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,111
    Miliband is a Cnut.

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2030905119273816421

    Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,452

    Miliband is a Cnut.

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2030905119273816421

    Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.

    Where is the money coming from ?
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 19,293
    Eabhal said:

    FPT

    Eabhal said:

    Nigelb said:

    .

    Eabhal said:

    Surely this latest war is just more evidence we need to stop importing energy which surely means more renewables? How can anyone disagree.

    There are some alternatives. We could have massive strategic reserves of gas and oil that the government can release in an emergency (see Japan). We could nationalise and massively subsidise O&G production to isolate the industry from global energy prices and boost domestic production. Coal in theory could work because it's easy to store, we'd just need to import lots of it and, again, nationalise it in preperation for a period like this.

    These aren't cost-free options though.
    The massive gas storage facility which Conservative governments decided wasn't worth the cost of subsidising would have probably been the most cost effective mitigation.
    As a I understand it the North Sea would make an excellent gas storage facility, if we hadn't drilled it so extensively. That's why Rough is unusual for being a decent UK option, neglected until 2022 and the Ukraine invasion.

    Richard_Tyndall is online however so he can put me straight.
    The problem is not how much we have drilled. Indeed drilling/producing a field is a pre-requisite to reduce the existing volumes/pressures in the formation so you can then use it to store gas. And the cement we use to abandon wells is, by necessity, stronger than the surrounding formations. This is my job these days, abandoning hundreds of wells across the North Sea and Denmark. As long as it is done properly then it has no impact on the storage capabilities.

    The problem with the gas storage is that continualy pumping gas into and out of the formation weakens it over time. Rough has no where near the capacity it had at the start of its storage life because of this. And suprisingly the number of fields suitable for such storage are vanishingly small. I am not aware currently of any other serious contenders for gas storage in the UK sector - although some of those being looked at for CCS might be suitable. Germany generally uses salt as the storage formation for its gas reserves which is much more stable but in the North Sea the Zechstein Salts are much deeper which causes a lot of additional problems as the pressures are higher and salt under pressure acts like a fluid and flows.

    I am sure there are suitable targets but successive governments over the last 40 years have not really invested in looking for or apppraising them.
    Sadly, creating storage caverns with large nuclear weapons doesn't work either.
    UK gas consumption has been falling for 20 years. 2024 saw the lowest consumption since 1992, I believe. Big investment in storage capacity does not seem like a priority.
    There is little prospect that we won't need some form of gas backup for decades to come. No matter what the Greens try to claim, renewables are not reliable enough at present to provide security of supply. And since we are dragging our feet over those non-hydrocarbon fuel sources which are reliable - nuclear and wave power - gas is really the only viable alternative. If you believe, as I do, that the world is becoming less secure for the foreseeable future then we do need some form of storage that will help assure our supply.
    There is always going to be a cold, dark, still week in January which we never be able to cover with renewables. Storage + CCGT is the answer.

    I do note however that Scotland is currently operating at 100% renewables + nuclear. That means my electricity bill will be unaffected, right?!
    There isn't necessarily always going to be a cold, dark, still week in January that we are never able to cover with renewables. Tidal and geothermal continue regardless of the weather. Hydroelectric is less connected to the weather and pumped-storage hydroelectricity is unaffected by the weather. More efficient solar and more solar means you make the most of whatever the weather conditions are. Better interconnectivity means you can rely on somewhere where it's windier and brighter.

    If you are going to burn carbon, it can be domestically produced biofuels, biogas and waste-to-energy.

    So, should we be spending money on a big investment in methane storage capacity, or could we spend it better on nuclear, wave, geothermal, biofuels, solar...?

    I was curious what the current figures are for UK gas imports. 2024 figures are...

    Norway 50.2%
    Domestic (North Sea) 33.8%
    US 11%
    Qatar 1.2%
    Trinidad and Tobago 1.1%
    others <1% each

    And then I thought, what would Trump do? Presumably invade Trinidad and Tobago. How quickly can we get an aircraft carrier to the Caribbean?
  • PhilPhil Posts: 3,186
    Sandpit said:

    Drone shot of the Glasgow fire from this morning.

    There’s nothing left of the building except for the Gordon St facade (which looks like it could collapse at any moment).

    https://x.com/graeme_from_it/status/2030919350949929309

    Vape shops are a blight on this country.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 13,630

    Miliband is a Cnut.

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2030905119273816421

    Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.

    Not sure why people who have shifted to EVs, cycling, solar, public transport, heat pumps should be bailing out those who haven't.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,111
    https://x.com/theinsiderpaper/status/2030968143552885240

    US suspends consulate services in south Turkey, orders non-essential staff to leave
  • PhilPhil Posts: 3,186
    glw said:


    ‪Duncan Weldon‬
    @duncanweldon.bsky.social‬

    Currently looking at the biggest daily move in two year gilt yields since the Truss shock.

    https://bsky.app/profile/duncanweldon.bsky.social/post/3mgmncermjk2b

    Any economic forecast from before 28th Feb must be complete junk. I would guess that the government's entire economic plan and spending commitments are now up in smoke. For starters Starmer is going to have to go from pondering "accelerating defence spending" to getting off his arse and doing something right now.
    Maybe they’ll finally have the excuse they need to rip up their “no new income taxes” promises & actually do something concrete to fix the insane way we’re taxing work?

    (Yes, this will probably involve putting up taxes overall, but you knew that was coming already, just not the detail, surely?)
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,589

    Miliband is a Cnut.

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2030905119273816421

    Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.

    Where is the money coming from ?
    The bond markets.

    Oh...
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 19,293
    MelonB said:

    Electricity spot prices are pretty high today. £150 per MWh last time I looked. Some of that will be recent gas price rises but some is also, unfortunately, the weather. It’s coldish, still and overcast.

    Should improve soon. The wind returns by tomorrow morning, and Wednesday should be a bonanza for renewables: strong winds and decent sunshine.

    Generation Mix - Today at 11:50
    Gas 43.6%
    Imports 19.5%
    Wind 13.0%
    Nuclear 7.0%
    Biomass 7.0%
    Solar 6.7%
    Hydro 1.5%
    Misc 1.2%
    Pumped-stored hydro 0.5%
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,452

    MelonB said:

    Electricity spot prices are pretty high today. £150 per MWh last time I looked. Some of that will be recent gas price rises but some is also, unfortunately, the weather. It’s coldish, still and overcast.

    Should improve soon. The wind returns by tomorrow morning, and Wednesday should be a bonanza for renewables: strong winds and decent sunshine.

    Generation Mix - Today at 11:50
    Gas 43.6%
    Imports 19.5%
    Wind 13.0%
    Nuclear 7.0%
    Biomass 7.0%
    Solar 6.7%
    Hydro 1.5%
    Misc 1.2%
    Pumped-stored hydro 0.5%
    Dull windless day no doubt
  • Britain is heavily anti-Trump.

    Reform UK and Tories allying with him is a very big mistake.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 60,472

    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
    The US are doing a great job today of proving “No matter how much you hate the media, it’s never enough”

    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2030738086116642999

    What actually happened is there was a demonstration outside Mamdani’s official residence, led by a guy who’s best described as an American Tommy Robinson.

    Two jihadis threw bombs into the crowd of demonstrators, which the NYPD have confirmed were viable explosive devices. They were arrested at the scene.

    If you only read the headlines, you’d be pretty sure that the people with the bombs were the people protesting Mamdani. The Mayor’s statement also deliberately confuses the situation.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442
    edited 12:05PM

    Miliband is a Cnut.

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2030905119273816421

    Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.

    Oh really? Just watch them. Mr Market has deeper pockets than you, Ed.

    Iraq has become the first country to start shutting in oilfields because it can't export through the Straits of Hormuz. "It won't be the last."

    Any plan to take on Iran without a detailed plan to secure the Straits was bobbins. And that plan would have been HARD to implement.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,111
    Inspiring stuff.

    https://x.com/pippacrerar/status/2030952994733179302

    Keir Starmer warns that the longer the Iran conflict goes on, the greater the impact on the domestic economy.

    "You will sense I think, that the longer this goes on, the more likely the potential for an impact on our economy, impact into the lives and households of everybody and every business.

    “And our job is to get ahead of that, to look around the corner, assess the risk, monitor the risks, and work with others in relation to that.”
  • eekeek Posts: 32,802
    edited 12:09PM

    Britain is heavily anti-Trump.

    Reform UK and Tories allying with him is a very big mistake.

    Allying with the person whose war is about to create a Depression probably wasn’t their wisest move.

    There were reasons why saner Presidents left Iran alone even though they really didn’t like Iran, I think we are going to see why that was the case

  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,242

    Miliband is a Cnut.

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2030905119273816421

    Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.

    Oh really? Just watch them. Mr Market has deeper pockets than you, Ed.

    Iraq has become the first country to start shutting in oilfields because it can't export through the Straits of Hormuz. "It won't be the last."

    Any plan to take on Iran without a detailed plan to secure the Straits was bobbins. And that plan would have been HARD to implement.
    Strange how Tories seem to think trying to cut energy prices makes someone a cnut.

    Meanwhile Kemi wants a debate on implementation of petrol price cap in September.

    Yes September... Playground politics
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 7,998

    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
    I'd be looking at an unreasonable worst case scenario. You are dealing with Donald and Bibi here...
    Indeed. We might get to the point where the only affordable pizza topping is pineapple
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 34,100

    Miliband is a Cnut.

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2030905119273816421

    Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.

    Oh really? Just watch them. Mr Market has deeper pockets than you, Ed.

    Iraq has become the first country to start shutting in oilfields because it can't export through the Straits of Hormuz. "It won't be the last."

    Any plan to take on Iran without a detailed plan to secure the Straits was bobbins. And that plan would have been HARD to implement.
    To be fair to Miliband (and I almost choke saying those words) he was at least opposed to this US/Israeli adventure.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442
    edited 12:11PM

    Inspiring stuff.

    https://x.com/pippacrerar/status/2030952994733179302

    Keir Starmer warns that the longer the Iran conflict goes on, the greater the impact on the domestic economy.

    "You will sense I think, that the longer this goes on, the more likely the potential for an impact on our economy, impact into the lives and households of everybody and every business.

    “And our job is to get ahead of that, to look around the corner, assess the risk, monitor the risks, and work with others in relation to that.”

    File under "PM Insights: No Shit, Sherlock..."

    "Get ahead of that". Try firing Ed Miliband. Oh you can't, because then he'd be working to unseat you as PM.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 21,814

    MelonB said:

    Electricity spot prices are pretty high today. £150 per MWh last time I looked. Some of that will be recent gas price rises but some is also, unfortunately, the weather. It’s coldish, still and overcast.

    Should improve soon. The wind returns by tomorrow morning, and Wednesday should be a bonanza for renewables: strong winds and decent sunshine.

    Generation Mix - Today at 11:50
    Gas 43.6%
    Imports 19.5%
    Wind 13.0%
    Nuclear 7.0%
    Biomass 7.0%
    Solar 6.7%
    Hydro 1.5%
    Misc 1.2%
    Pumped-stored hydro 0.5%
    Dull windless day no doubt
    Twenty percent renewables on a fairly gloomy still day isn't bad. After all, there's plenty more capacity to come.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 19,293
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
    The US are doing a great job today of proving “No matter how much you hate the media, it’s never enough”

    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2030738086116642999

    What actually happened is there was a demonstration outside Mamdani’s official residence, led by a guy who’s best described as an American Tommy Robinson.

    Two jihadis threw bombs into the crowd of demonstrators, which the NYPD have confirmed were viable explosive devices. They were arrested at the scene.

    If you only read the headlines, you’d be pretty sure that the people with the bombs were the people protesting Mamdani. The Mayor’s statement also deliberately confuses the situation.
    The American Tommy Robinson is described by Sky News thus:

    “Mr Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before being pardoned as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency for defendants connected to the January 6 riots in Washington DC.”

    I guess the difference between the US and the UK is that we don’t pardon Tommy Robinson.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 80,646
    edited 12:13PM
    eek said:

    Britain is heavily anti-Trump.

    Reform UK and Tories allying with him is a very big mistake.

    Allying with the person whose war is about to create a Depression probably wasn’t their wisest move.

    There were reasons why saner Presidents left Iran alone even though they really didn’t like Iran, I think we are going to see why that was the case

    The irony is Trump sold himself as the GOP candidate who was NOT going to bomb Iran unlike the likes of Bolton & Haley. 5 minutes into his second term with Netanyahu in his ear and...
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,242
    Phil said:

    glw said:


    ‪Duncan Weldon‬
    @duncanweldon.bsky.social‬

    Currently looking at the biggest daily move in two year gilt yields since the Truss shock.

    https://bsky.app/profile/duncanweldon.bsky.social/post/3mgmncermjk2b

    Any economic forecast from before 28th Feb must be complete junk. I would guess that the government's entire economic plan and spending commitments are now up in smoke. For starters Starmer is going to have to go from pondering "accelerating defence spending" to getting off his arse and doing something right now.
    Maybe they’ll finally have the excuse they need to rip up their “no new income taxes” promises & actually do something concrete to fix the insane way we’re taxing work?

    (Yes, this will probably involve putting up taxes overall, but you knew that was coming already, just not the detail, surely?)
    Increasing defence spending on anything but drone and drone defence now, to the detriment of cost of living measures is frankly insane.

    A new plane in 5 years or ship in 10,while costs soar because of Trump and Netanyahu backed by Farage and Kemi is insane
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,452
    Turkey say a second Iranian ballistic missile was shot down by NATO defences in their airspace, as it was heading towards the eastern Med

    Turkey's defence minister said it will take all necessary steps without hesitation

    Iran spreading the conflict to it's allies ?

    Also interesting use of the term NATO
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 60,472

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
    The US are doing a great job today of proving “No matter how much you hate the media, it’s never enough”

    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2030738086116642999

    What actually happened is there was a demonstration outside Mamdani’s official residence, led by a guy who’s best described as an American Tommy Robinson.

    Two jihadis threw bombs into the crowd of demonstrators, which the NYPD have confirmed were viable explosive devices. They were arrested at the scene.

    If you only read the headlines, you’d be pretty sure that the people with the bombs were the people protesting Mamdani. The Mayor’s statement also deliberately confuses the situation.
    The American Tommy Robinson is described by Sky News thus:

    “Mr Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before being pardoned as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency for defendants connected to the January 6 riots in Washington DC.”

    I guess the difference between the US and the UK is that we don’t pardon Tommy Robinson.
    The problem isn’t that this guy was a moron, he’s clearly a moron, it’s that the media are being very careful to avoid saying that the bombs were from those opposing him.
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,242

    Inspiring stuff.

    https://x.com/pippacrerar/status/2030952994733179302

    Keir Starmer warns that the longer the Iran conflict goes on, the greater the impact on the domestic economy.

    "You will sense I think, that the longer this goes on, the more likely the potential for an impact on our economy, impact into the lives and households of everybody and every business.

    “And our job is to get ahead of that, to look around the corner, assess the risk, monitor the risks, and work with others in relation to that.”

    File under "PM Insights: No Shit, Sherlock..."

    "Get ahead of that". Try firing Ed Miliband. Oh you can't, because then he'd be working to unseat you as PM.
    Why would he fire Ed Miliband whose renewables vision will save the UK whilst Kemi and Farage lick Trumps oily ass
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 126,717

    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
    I'd be looking at an unreasonable worst case scenario. You are dealing with Donald and Bibi here...
    We assume the worst with the Ayrshire hotelier.
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,242
    Farage and Kemi

    Let's drill more oil and gss

    The intellectually thick cheer

    Can someone explain to them that they still have to pay the going fucking rate...

    Of course Farage knows that, Kemi I'm not so sure, she's may be not that bright.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 86,974
    This is about right.

    I'll be honest, when we first attacked Iran, I hoped that freeing the Iranian people from their brutal regime would be one good thing Trump might accomplish.
    I hoped they wouldn't do to Iran what they did to Venezuela.
    But they did, and so much worse. Just like russia, they were so convinced of their superiority that they had no plan B. Just like russia, they assumed Iran would roll over without a fight against the might of a superpower.

    Now thousands of civilians are dead across the whole middle east, we're bombing civilian infrastructure that the very people we claimed to be saving can't survive without, homes and businesses in Tehran are burning, Iran is dragging other countries into the fray and activating their terrorists worldwide, endangering innocent people everywhere, and we will all be less safe for a long time to come.

    Just to increase the sheer scale of insanity, Trump rolled back sanctions on russia, enabling them to not only continue killing Ukrainians, but giving them the money to aid Iran against us.

    There was no plan. None. There still isn't. And instead of liberating an oppressed people, we're killing them and sparking additional violence around the world. Even if Iran were to surrender, the terrorists will never stop trying to take revenge.

    I don't even have words for what a disaster this is for the whole world.
    And people still support him.

    No words.

    https://x.com/FoxBrambleFarm/status/2030707636564287534
  • eekeek Posts: 32,802
    edited 12:22PM

    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
    I'd be looking at an unreasonable worst case scenario. You are dealing with Donald and Bibi here...
    We assume the worst with the Ayrshire hotelier.
    To which the follow up question is how do you think we are going to get to September without an oil supply crisis?

    I can easily see WFH due to rationing being required from May
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 10,729
    Brixian59 said:

    Miliband is a Cnut.

    https://x.com/jessicaelgot/status/2030905119273816421

    Ministers are discussing the possibility of intervening to protect the public against soaring household energy bills if the Middle East conflict drags on.

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is understood to believe that prices cannot be allowed to rise substantially.

    Oh really? Just watch them. Mr Market has deeper pockets than you, Ed.

    Iraq has become the first country to start shutting in oilfields because it can't export through the Straits of Hormuz. "It won't be the last."

    Any plan to take on Iran without a detailed plan to secure the Straits was bobbins. And that plan would have been HARD to implement.
    Strange how Tories seem to think trying to cut energy prices makes someone a cnut.

    Meanwhile Kemi wants a debate on implementation of petrol price cap in September.

    Yes September... Playground politics
    It's curious that Kemi wants to implement policies to mitigate a situation that she asserts was a spectacularly good idea. I think the British Right will have to pivot quite shortly - they can't really get their teeth into Sir Keir while continually trumpeting the supposed flawless judgement of Donald. Something will have to be jettisoned.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 63,633
    Betting Post

    F1: could be entirely wrong, but I think this is a two horse title race and the 3.8 or so on Ferrari on Betfair Exchange is well worth considering, especially as China may well suit the Prancing Horse rather more.

    On a similar note, I've backed Hamilton to win each way at 9.5 (Ladbrokes boosted). He's often been strong there and looked very good in Australia, and sounds a lot happier than he has been. As ever, do at your own risk.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 34,100



    There isn't necessarily always going to be a cold, dark, still week in January that we are never able to cover with renewables. Tidal and geothermal continue regardless of the weather. Hydroelectric is less connected to the weather and pumped-storage hydroelectricity is unaffected by the weather. More efficient solar and more solar means you make the most of whatever the weather conditions are. Better interconnectivity means you can rely on somewhere where it's windier and brighter.

    If you are going to burn carbon, it can be domestically produced biofuels, biogas and waste-to-energy.

    So, should we be spending money on a big investment in methane storage capacity, or could we spend it better on nuclear, wave, geothermal, biofuels, solar...?

    I was curious what the current figures are for UK gas imports. 2024 figures are...

    Norway 50.2%
    Domestic (North Sea) 33.8%
    US 11%
    Qatar 1.2%
    Trinidad and Tobago 1.1%
    others less than 1% each

    And then I thought, what would Trump do? Presumably invade Trinidad and Tobago. How quickly can we get an aircraft carrier to the Caribbean?

    As I said earlier, remember Norway already proposed cutting the supply of gas to the UK last year.

    And a few other points:

    Current hydro capacity is about 1 percent of demand.
    Pumped Storage is not generation. It is simply a liquid battery.
    Tidal and geothermal are almost non existent in the UK and successive governments have refused to invest in them, which is criminal to my mind.
    Interconnectvity can only provide about 9GW of power total. Peak demand in the UK is around 60GW.

    All of these things are important and on a decades level, if we get a government with any sense (no laughing at the back please), then tidal, geothermal and nuclear could be a huge leap forward for us. But that is a very very long way away. Even further with the sorts of governments we seem to get these days.
  • eekeek Posts: 32,802

    Betting Post

    F1: could be entirely wrong, but I think this is a two horse title race and the 3.8 or so on Ferrari on Betfair Exchange is well worth considering, especially as China may well suit the Prancing Horse rather more.

    On a similar note, I've backed Hamilton to win each way at 9.5 (Ladbrokes boosted). He's often been strong there and looked very good in Australia, and sounds a lot happier than he has been. As ever, do at your own risk.

    Ferrari seem to still have the inability to change strategy during a race, see yesterday when it would have made sense for 1 of their drivers to pit early when the opportunity came
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,111
    Brixian59 said:

    Farage and Kemi

    Let's drill more oil and gss

    The intellectually thick cheer

    Can someone explain to them that they still have to pay the going fucking rate...

    Of course Farage knows that, Kemi I'm not so sure, she's may be not that bright.

    So you're saying it would be a nice little earner for the government and we could use the money to fund our NHS?
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,452
    edited 12:27PM
    Brixian59 said:

    Farage and Kemi

    Let's drill more oil and gss

    The intellectually thick cheer

    Can someone explain to them that they still have to pay the going fucking rate...

    Of course Farage knows that, Kemi I'm not so sure, she's may be not that bright.

    They are correct not least because we have the capacity and it would provide much needed tax revenue

    And protects thousands of Scots jobs

    Norway does it and it is insane not to

    Indeed I expect Starmer will be forced into it as it is a clear way of getting tax

    And as for your attitude to Kemi and general use of unnnecessary language, reflects more on you than her
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 86,974
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
    The US are doing a great job today of proving “No matter how much you hate the media, it’s never enough”

    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2030738086116642999

    What actually happened is there was a demonstration outside Mamdani’s official residence, led by a guy who’s best described as an American Tommy Robinson.

    Two jihadis threw bombs into the crowd of demonstrators, which the NYPD have confirmed were viable explosive devices. They were arrested at the scene.

    If you only read the headlines, you’d be pretty sure that the people with the bombs were the people protesting Mamdani. The Mayor’s statement also deliberately confuses the situation.
    The American Tommy Robinson is described by Sky News thus:

    “Mr Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before being pardoned as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency for defendants connected to the January 6 riots in Washington DC.”

    I guess the difference between the US and the UK is that we don’t pardon Tommy Robinson.
    The problem isn’t that this guy was a moron, he’s clearly a moron, it’s that the media are being very careful to avoid saying that the bombs were from those opposing him.
    "The media".

    The first account I found was quite explicit in its reporting.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/08/new-york-city-anti-islam-protest
    New York police have confirmed that an improvised explosive device was thrown outside Zohran Mamdani’s official residence on Saturday when anti-Islam demonstrators, led by rightwing influencer Jake Lang, clashed with counterprotesters.

    New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that a preliminary bomb squad analysis of the device that was ignited and thrown during the protest had “determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb”.

    “It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death. Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device,” Tisch said in a social media post.

    The commissioner added that two men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who were arrested on the scene, are in custody in connection with the incident and that New York police are working with federal prosecutors and the FBI through a terrorism taskforce...

    ..Six people were arrested on Saturday during the clash between far-right protesters who had gathered for a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” demonstration near Gracie Mansion, the Upper East Side home of Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, and counterprotesters.

    One counterprotester at the event lit and threw a device containing nuts, bolts and screws at the anti-Muslim protesters after someone from that group used pepper spray on the counterprotest, police said. Fistfights broke out among the crowd, said the New York Times, and raw eggs flew through the air.

    Tensions continued to heighten, she said, when someone in the counterprotest lit and threw a device Tisch described as smaller than a football into the protesting crowd of about 20 people.


    Please don't quote "libsofticktock" as a reliable source. It isn't.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 126,717
    eek said:

    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
    I'd be looking at an unreasonable worst case scenario. You are dealing with Donald and Bibi here...
    We assume the worst with the Ayrshire hotelier.
    To which the follow up question is how do you think we are going to get to September without an oil supply crisis?

    I can easily see WFH due to rationing being required from May
    We can see that too.

    Assuming TACO we might see a de-escalation but but it’ll be a recession rather than a depression.

    For the price cap residential customers are protected until July when rationing might kick in.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 19,293
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
    The US are doing a great job today of proving “No matter how much you hate the media, it’s never enough”

    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2030738086116642999

    What actually happened is there was a demonstration outside Mamdani’s official residence, led by a guy who’s best described as an American Tommy Robinson.

    Two jihadis threw bombs into the crowd of demonstrators, which the NYPD have confirmed were viable explosive devices. They were arrested at the scene.

    If you only read the headlines, you’d be pretty sure that the people with the bombs were the people protesting Mamdani. The Mayor’s statement also deliberately confuses the situation.
    The American Tommy Robinson is described by Sky News thus:

    “Mr Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before being pardoned as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency for defendants connected to the January 6 riots in Washington DC.”

    I guess the difference between the US and the UK is that we don’t pardon Tommy Robinson.
    The problem isn’t that this guy was a moron, he’s clearly a moron, it’s that the media are being very careful to avoid saying that the bombs were from those opposing him.
    No, I think part of the problem is that this guy is a violent nutcase. And part of the problem is that there are some other violent nutcases who chucked a bomb at the first violent nutcase.

    The media taking a bit of time to work out what happened and meanwhile just regurgitating bland police reports… not a huge problem, no.
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 7,213
    Perhaps a good time to announce help on energy bills is early May !

    Never let a crisis go to waste . At the same time nail Farage and Badenoch to the wall on their support for the war and its economic impact on the UK .

    Job done and the elections in May might not be such a horror show for Labour !
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 60,472
    edited 12:29PM
    Nigelb said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
    The US are doing a great job today of proving “No matter how much you hate the media, it’s never enough”

    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2030738086116642999

    What actually happened is there was a demonstration outside Mamdani’s official residence, led by a guy who’s best described as an American Tommy Robinson.

    Two jihadis threw bombs into the crowd of demonstrators, which the NYPD have confirmed were viable explosive devices. They were arrested at the scene.

    If you only read the headlines, you’d be pretty sure that the people with the bombs were the people protesting Mamdani. The Mayor’s statement also deliberately confuses the situation.
    The American Tommy Robinson is described by Sky News thus:

    “Mr Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before being pardoned as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency for defendants connected to the January 6 riots in Washington DC.”

    I guess the difference between the US and the UK is that we don’t pardon Tommy Robinson.
    The problem isn’t that this guy was a moron, he’s clearly a moron, it’s that the media are being very careful to avoid saying that the bombs were from those opposing him.
    "The media".

    The first account I found was quite explicit in its reporting.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/08/new-york-city-anti-islam-protest
    New York police have confirmed that an improvised explosive device was thrown outside Zohran Mamdani’s official residence on Saturday when anti-Islam demonstrators, led by rightwing influencer Jake Lang, clashed with counterprotesters.

    New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that a preliminary bomb squad analysis of the device that was ignited and thrown during the protest had “determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb”.

    “It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death. Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device,” Tisch said in a social media post.

    The commissioner added that two men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who were arrested on the scene, are in custody in connection with the incident and that New York police are working with federal prosecutors and the FBI through a terrorism taskforce...

    ..Six people were arrested on Saturday during the clash between far-right protesters who had gathered for a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” demonstration near Gracie Mansion, the Upper East Side home of Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, and counterprotesters.

    One counterprotester at the event lit and threw a device containing nuts, bolts and screws at the anti-Muslim protesters after someone from that group used pepper spray on the counterprotest, police said. Fistfights broke out among the crowd, said the New York Times, and raw eggs flew through the air.

    Tensions continued to heighten, she said, when someone in the counterprotest lit and threw a device Tisch described as smaller than a football into the protesting crowd of about 20 people.


    Please don't quote "libsofticktock" as a reliable source. It isn't.
    Most people don’t read past the headline and first paragraph of any story. That’s my point.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 19,293
    Nigelb said:

    This is about right.

    I'll be honest, when we first attacked Iran, I hoped that freeing the Iranian people from their brutal regime would be one good thing Trump might accomplish.
    I hoped they wouldn't do to Iran what they did to Venezuela.
    But they did, and so much worse. Just like russia, they were so convinced of their superiority that they had no plan B. Just like russia, they assumed Iran would roll over without a fight against the might of a superpower.

    Now thousands of civilians are dead across the whole middle east, we're bombing civilian infrastructure that the very people we claimed to be saving can't survive without, homes and businesses in Tehran are burning, Iran is dragging other countries into the fray and activating their terrorists worldwide, endangering innocent people everywhere, and we will all be less safe for a long time to come.

    Just to increase the sheer scale of insanity, Trump rolled back sanctions on russia, enabling them to not only continue killing Ukrainians, but giving them the money to aid Iran against us.

    There was no plan. None. There still isn't. And instead of liberating an oppressed people, we're killing them and sparking additional violence around the world. Even if Iran were to surrender, the terrorists will never stop trying to take revenge.

    I don't even have words for what a disaster this is for the whole world.
    And people still support him.

    No words.

    https://x.com/FoxBrambleFarm/status/2030707636564287534

    It’s alright, Trump and Bibi haven’t lost @BartholomewRoberts yet.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 63,633
    eek said:

    Betting Post

    F1: could be entirely wrong, but I think this is a two horse title race and the 3.8 or so on Ferrari on Betfair Exchange is well worth considering, especially as China may well suit the Prancing Horse rather more.

    On a similar note, I've backed Hamilton to win each way at 9.5 (Ladbrokes boosted). He's often been strong there and looked very good in Australia, and sounds a lot happier than he has been. As ever, do at your own risk.

    Ferrari seem to still have the inability to change strategy during a race, see yesterday when it would have made sense for 1 of their drivers to pit early when the opportunity came
    They should be amazing at sprints. Premium on good start and no opportunity for the strategy team to sabotage the drivers' races.

    China has a sprint (4am, not getting up for it). If Ferrari do well, and they should, the odds will shorten for trading.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,111

    eek said:

    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
    I'd be looking at an unreasonable worst case scenario. You are dealing with Donald and Bibi here...
    We assume the worst with the Ayrshire hotelier.
    To which the follow up question is how do you think we are going to get to September without an oil supply crisis?

    I can easily see WFH due to rationing being required from May
    We can see that too.

    Assuming TACO we might see a de-escalation but but it’ll be a recession rather than a depression.

    For the price cap residential customers are protected until July when rationing might kick in.
    Does Trump still have "de-escalation dominance"?

    With things like tariffs, he could turn the disruption on and off again at will, but war isn't like that, especially now that multiple countries are involved.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442
    Brixian59 said:

    Inspiring stuff.

    https://x.com/pippacrerar/status/2030952994733179302

    Keir Starmer warns that the longer the Iran conflict goes on, the greater the impact on the domestic economy.

    "You will sense I think, that the longer this goes on, the more likely the potential for an impact on our economy, impact into the lives and households of everybody and every business.

    “And our job is to get ahead of that, to look around the corner, assess the risk, monitor the risks, and work with others in relation to that.”

    File under "PM Insights: No Shit, Sherlock..."

    "Get ahead of that". Try firing Ed Miliband. Oh you can't, because then he'd be working to unseat you as PM.
    Why would he fire Ed Miliband whose renewables vision will save the UK whilst Kemi and Farage lick Trumps oily ass
    Ed is ridiculously blinkered.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 70,452
    nico67 said:

    Perhaps a good time to announce help on energy bills is early May !

    Never let a crisis go to waste . At the same time nail Farage and Badenoch to the wall on their support for the war and its economic impact on the UK .

    Job done and the elections in May might not be such a horror show for Labour !

    Needs to explain where the money is coming from not least with bond rates soaring and huge increases needed now in defence spending
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 60,472
    edited 12:36PM

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
    The US are doing a great job today of proving “No matter how much you hate the media, it’s never enough”

    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2030738086116642999

    What actually happened is there was a demonstration outside Mamdani’s official residence, led by a guy who’s best described as an American Tommy Robinson.

    Two jihadis threw bombs into the crowd of demonstrators, which the NYPD have confirmed were viable explosive devices. They were arrested at the scene.

    If you only read the headlines, you’d be pretty sure that the people with the bombs were the people protesting Mamdani. The Mayor’s statement also deliberately confuses the situation.
    The American Tommy Robinson is described by Sky News thus:

    “Mr Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before being pardoned as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency for defendants connected to the January 6 riots in Washington DC.”

    I guess the difference between the US and the UK is that we don’t pardon Tommy Robinson.
    The problem isn’t that this guy was a moron, he’s clearly a moron, it’s that the media are being very careful to avoid saying that the bombs were from those opposing him.
    No, I think part of the problem is that this guy is a violent nutcase. And part of the problem is that there are some other violent nutcases who chucked a bomb at the first violent nutcase.

    The media taking a bit of time to work out what happened and meanwhile just regurgitating bland police reports… not a huge problem, no.
    Oh dear.

    So the headline is “bomb… far-right protest…. Mamdani residence…”

    The actuality is that far-left Islamists, supporters of the mayor, threw bombs at the right-wing protestors.
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 10,729

    eek said:

    eek said:

    So at work we’ve decided if things remain as they are heading into the autumn we’ll initiate a mass work from home edict.

    Which is bad news for businesses that rely on commuter footfall.

    Is that based on how things are today, or how you envisage things to look like in a months time with Israel still fighting Iran
    We are working on a reasonable worst case scenario in the autumn.
    I'd be looking at an unreasonable worst case scenario. You are dealing with Donald and Bibi here...
    We assume the worst with the Ayrshire hotelier.
    To which the follow up question is how do you think we are going to get to September without an oil supply crisis?

    I can easily see WFH due to rationing being required from May
    We can see that too.

    Assuming TACO we might see a de-escalation but but it’ll be a recession rather than a depression.

    For the price cap residential customers are protected until July when rationing might kick in.
    Does Trump still have "de-escalation dominance"?

    With things like tariffs, he could turn the disruption on and off again at will, but war isn't like that, especially now that multiple countries are involved.
    Was Trump's lack of 'de-escalation dominance' factored in is what I want to know.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 58,442
    nico67 said:

    Perhaps a good time to announce help on energy bills is early May !

    Never let a crisis go to waste . At the same time nail Farage and Badenoch to the wall on their support for the war and its economic impact on the UK .

    Job done and the elections in May might not be such a horror show for Labour !

    The 2024 election shows that the voters give absolutley no credit for paying their increased electricity bills with their own tax money.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,589
    Pulpstar said:

    eek said:

    Britain is heavily anti-Trump.

    Reform UK and Tories allying with him is a very big mistake.

    Allying with the person whose war is about to create a Depression probably wasn’t their wisest move.

    There were reasons why saner Presidents left Iran alone even though they really didn’t like Iran, I think we are going to see why that was the case

    The irony is Trump sold himself as the GOP candidate who was NOT going to bomb Iran unlike the likes of Bolton & Haley. 5 minutes into his second term with Netanyahu in his ear and...

    Spencer Hakimian
    @SpencerHakimian

    Let me predict the future for you.

    Oil Stays >$100 for a few more days.

    Trump panics as he sees his Poll Numbers collapse further.

    Trump makes some schizophrenic truth social post that the U.S. won this war.

    U.S. soldiers leave Iran.

    The Ayatollah’s Son just got a 40 year reign courtesy of the Red White & Blue.

    Trump & Hegseth bomb Cuba next.

    https://x.com/SpencerHakimian/status/2030825072194097219
  • eekeek Posts: 32,802
    nico67 said:

    Perhaps a good time to announce help on energy bills is early May !

    Never let a crisis go to waste . At the same time nail Farage and Badenoch to the wall on their support for the war and its economic impact on the UK .

    Job done and the elections in May might not be such a horror show for Labour !

    Wednesday April 29th or 22nd surely? May would be too late
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 86,974
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    carnforth said:

    carnforth said:

    Has anyone used the governments new petrol price finder website? Perhaps it also has a code for "no fuel available..."



    Some sites have new functionality...
    Is this going to be like that incident from a few years ago, when a couple of stations in a specific area ran out of petrol, but Radio 5 Live could talk about nothing else for six hours, treating it as a national emergency and setting off panic buying among all the road warriors who spend their days listening to the radio.
    Why should journalists learn from mistakes?
    The US are doing a great job today of proving “No matter how much you hate the media, it’s never enough”

    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2030738086116642999

    What actually happened is there was a demonstration outside Mamdani’s official residence, led by a guy who’s best described as an American Tommy Robinson.

    Two jihadis threw bombs into the crowd of demonstrators, which the NYPD have confirmed were viable explosive devices. They were arrested at the scene.

    If you only read the headlines, you’d be pretty sure that the people with the bombs were the people protesting Mamdani. The Mayor’s statement also deliberately confuses the situation.
    The American Tommy Robinson is described by Sky News thus:

    “Mr Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before being pardoned as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency for defendants connected to the January 6 riots in Washington DC.”

    I guess the difference between the US and the UK is that we don’t pardon Tommy Robinson.
    The problem isn’t that this guy was a moron, he’s clearly a moron, it’s that the media are being very careful to avoid saying that the bombs were from those opposing him.
    No, I think part of the problem is that this guy is a violent nutcase. And part of the problem is that there are some other violent nutcases who chucked a bomb at the first violent nutcase.

    The media taking a bit of time to work out what happened and meanwhile just regurgitating bland police reports… not a huge problem, no.
    Oh dear.

    So the headline is “bomb… far-right protest…. Mamdani residence…”

    The actuality is that far-left Islamists, supporters of the mayor, threw bombs at the right-wing protestors.
    No, the headline in the UK's leading liberal newspaper is:
    "Explosive device thrown outside of Zohran Mamdani’s residence at anti-Islam protest"

    Which is what happened.
    Not 'by' or 'during'. At.
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 7,213

    nico67 said:

    Perhaps a good time to announce help on energy bills is early May !

    Never let a crisis go to waste . At the same time nail Farage and Badenoch to the wall on their support for the war and its economic impact on the UK .

    Job done and the elections in May might not be such a horror show for Labour !

    Needs to explain where the money is coming from not least with bond rates soaring and huge increases needed now in defence spending
    Many countries are likely to have to step in and so like Covid the money markets won’t just be using the UK as a punchbag .

  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,242

    nico67 said:

    Perhaps a good time to announce help on energy bills is early May !

    Never let a crisis go to waste . At the same time nail Farage and Badenoch to the wall on their support for the war and its economic impact on the UK .

    Job done and the elections in May might not be such a horror show for Labour !

    Needs to explain where the money is coming from not least with bond rates soaring and huge increases needed now in defence spending
    Fuck defence spending until Trump and Bibi have stopped their shit show.

    A plane in 6 years not 5 or a shop in 11 years not 10 stops no one from freezing or petrol rising.

    Bomb Trumps oilfields that'll stop the cnut
  • wooliedyedwooliedyed Posts: 16,401
    nico67 said:

    Perhaps a good time to announce help on energy bills is early May !

    Never let a crisis go to waste . At the same time nail Farage and Badenoch to the wall on their support for the war and its economic impact on the UK .

    Job done and the elections in May might not be such a horror show for Labour !

    Help on energy bills is why the Trussterfuck happened. We cant afford it.
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