To be fair to Suella, that's a joke, albeit with the subtlety expected of a Cambridge-educated lawyer.
I'd be interested to know whether this year's and last year's apparently warm wet winter is part of a trend, or maybe just normal variation. Our parkrun was cancelled due to flooding from Christmas to mid February and the first two weeks in March, which is worse than last year (we managed one run in both January and February but back to BAU in March) and much worse than the year before (about one cancellation a month).
If we're really lucky we might even get a de facto lockdown
Huge energy price rises pile pressure on British companies
Warning of businesses going under as cost of gas set to rise by as much as 80 per cent, while electricity bills to increase by up to 30 per cent
Businesses across the UK are facing “eye-watering” rises in their energy bills because of the conflict in the Middle East, analysis for The Times suggests.
Unlike households, companies are not insulated from volatility in gas and electricity prices, which have almost doubled since the Iran war began.
The problem is particularly acute for the thousands of companies that fix their annual price tariff at the start of the financial year in April and will face an immediate sharp rise in their bills.
Analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found that as a result of the conflict, business users’ electricity bills would rise by up to 30 per cent, while the cost of gas could go up by as much as 80 per cent. This would mean that a business such as a larger retail and leisure site, on an average 12-month electricity contract, would have an annual bill of £578,000 — £95,000 more than early last month.
For gas, bills have risen by £376,000, reaching just over £1.02 million a year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent, based on the latest wholesale prices.
On Tuesday Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, warned that Europe risked fuel shortages as soon as next month. At an industry conference in Houston, Texas, he said the global oil and gas supply squeeze had already forced parts of Asia to cut energy consumption and that the “ripple effect” threatened to spread west within days.
Depressing. I’d much rather businesses were given some kind of some support - low interest government loans or similar - than handouts to people who can shoulder this. Loans that could bd used to install solar, heat pumps, batteries.
I include myself in this. We save for emergencies so can weather this out. We do huge mileage each year, but a lot of that is social, weekend driving that we can cut back on. We don’t need any help from the government.
OTOH , we don’t use much gas because we live in an energy-efficient flat, appropriate for two young-ish adults. I’m not sure why people like me should bail out those in big, detached houses. They’ve made their choice.
If only spongers on benefits are getting the help I doubt many will be in big detached houses , once again telling that you spew hatred on a handful of poor pensioners ( unlike the majority) who may have a decent house and no money.
30% of UK households (7mn) are in receipt of Universal Credit. Surprisingly the same spread throughout the UK (England 29% / Wales 30% / Scotland 31%). There are 9mn pensioner households.
So the workers not in receipt of UC are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for pensioners more than anyone else.
You’re obsessed with bloody pensioners receiving benefits but not working age people.
Pension is a contribution based benefit and those receiving it did the heavy lifting in the past.
Rightly or wrongly that’s the case.
Aside from a few benefits, such as contribution based JSA, you cannot say that about most who receive working age benefits and bloody labour, or some of them, want to hand more money to the Boriswave.
Personally I’d tie both pensions and benefits to GDP growth.
@malcolmg what is it with people here who are happy to dump on people who contributed to the benefits system getting something back but radiate their middle class, white, worthiness on those who largely haven’t ?
It seems that about 21% of pensioners receive some combination of pension credit, housing benefit and council tax reduction.
And to quote google AI:
Pension Credit acts as a "passported" benefit, meaning that receiving it often automatically entitles you to a range of other benefits and financial support. These can be worth thousands of pounds a year, particularly if you are in receipt of the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit.
Key benefits and support available include:
Housing and Council Tax Council Tax Reduction: You could have your council tax bill reduced, sometimes to zero, which is typically claimed through your local authority. Housing Benefit: If you rent your home, you may have your rent paid in full by your local council. Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI): If you own your home, you may be eligible for a loan to help with interest payments on your mortgage, as well as help with ground rent and service charges.
Health and NHS Costs If you receive Guarantee Credit, you are entitled to: Free NHS Dental Treatment: Full coverage for check-ups and treatments. Help with Spectacles: Vouchers for glasses or contact lenses. Travel Costs: Reimbursement of transport costs to and from hospital for NHS treatment. Free Prescriptions: (This is automatic in Scotland and Wales, but in England, it is dependent on receiving Guarantee Credit).
Energy and Heating Warm Home Discount: A £150 discount on your electricity bill (usually between October and March). Cold Weather Payments: A £25 payment for each seven-day period of freezing weather between November and March. Winter Heating Payment (Scotland): An automatic payment replacing the Cold Weather Payment.
Other Benefits Free TV Licence: People aged 75 or over, who also receive Pension Credit, are entitled to a free TV licence. Winter Fuel Payment: Eligible low-income pensioners will continue to receive this annual payment. Social Tariffs: Access to lower-cost phone and broadband packages from some providers. Funeral Expenses Payment: Financial support if you are arranging a funeral and are on a low income. Redirection Service: A discount on the Royal Mail redirection service if you are moving house.
It is important to note that even a small award of Pension Credit can unlock these additional benefits.
This is a problem with the UK benefits system - receiving one benefit makes you eligible to receive another and then another and then another and so on.
It might be worth knowing how much these recipients of pension credit (and all the resulting benefits) saved for their own retirement or how much work they ever did and how much tax they ever paid.
State pension is a welfare benefit paid for out of current taxation. There's no link between what you pay as NI and the pension you receive. Also NI if it actually was insurance should also cover healthcare costs, which are massively higher for older people.
There's an irrefutable case for welfare for older people. But that's what it is, and it has to be paid for out of general taxation levied on everyone. The whole population deserves a say in how their tax contributions get used.
There's an irrefutable case for welfare for people who can't physcially or maybe mentally work. But that applies whatever their age is.
There's no case at all for welfare for people who just happen to be 67 and a day not 66 and 364 days but are fully capable of working, as many people these days are up to 80 or beyond (a former colleague of a relative was still doing work at 105, though this is perhaps slightly unusual). It's an entirely arbitrary criteria, set first by Bismarck in the 19th century and completely inappropriate today.
To be in the top 10 for goals at a stadium you only play at once a year is a level of disrespect we may never see again.
I think he's probably got a couple of decent seasons left in him, wonder who will snaffle him.
Wrexham, maybe, for their final push into the Premier.
He's leaving after the season ends so that doesn't make sense. Also doubt it'll be the Championship club that gets him, they won't be able to compete on wages for a start with elsewhere.
He doesn't need the wages, so he could play for whoever he fancies.
Apparently his family is well settled in Liverpool and he likes the British way of life, so maybe he would choose somewhere reasonably local. Everton wouldn't really be acceptable and I can't see him joining the madness at Manchester.
Maybe one of the Birmingham clubs?
I reckon Inter Miami
That's would risk him being picked up by the ICE for forcible rendition to an unpleasant and hostile authority - Tottenham Hotspurs, for example.
On a train on my way to Thirsk for a collection caper. I know counterfeit plates are a subject of enduring fascination on here so I am experimenting with a completely ficticious set of trade plates I made.
(It's harsh to pin someone's youthful indiscretions on them as adults, but only NatScis wear that sort of coat, and we get mocked for it.)
Interesting take in that article: "Twitter is a sewer of left-wing bile”.
It is certainly a sewer. Not sure about 'left wing' though. Did the Tower of Babel have a political leaning? That seems the closest analogy to the Twittersphere.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 3m But it isn't claimed that he deleted them - right? You can set up WhatsApp on your computer as well as your phone and the messages will be there on your computer. So why can't he just recover his WhatsApp account?
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 30m Has someone checked with WhatsApp whether it has them stored?
If we're really lucky we might even get a de facto lockdown
Huge energy price rises pile pressure on British companies
Warning of businesses going under as cost of gas set to rise by as much as 80 per cent, while electricity bills to increase by up to 30 per cent
Businesses across the UK are facing “eye-watering” rises in their energy bills because of the conflict in the Middle East, analysis for The Times suggests.
Unlike households, companies are not insulated from volatility in gas and electricity prices, which have almost doubled since the Iran war began.
The problem is particularly acute for the thousands of companies that fix their annual price tariff at the start of the financial year in April and will face an immediate sharp rise in their bills.
Analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found that as a result of the conflict, business users’ electricity bills would rise by up to 30 per cent, while the cost of gas could go up by as much as 80 per cent. This would mean that a business such as a larger retail and leisure site, on an average 12-month electricity contract, would have an annual bill of £578,000 — £95,000 more than early last month.
For gas, bills have risen by £376,000, reaching just over £1.02 million a year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent, based on the latest wholesale prices.
On Tuesday Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, warned that Europe risked fuel shortages as soon as next month. At an industry conference in Houston, Texas, he said the global oil and gas supply squeeze had already forced parts of Asia to cut energy consumption and that the “ripple effect” threatened to spread west within days.
Depressing. I’d much rather businesses were given some kind of some support - low interest government loans or similar - than handouts to people who can shoulder this. Loans that could bd used to install solar, heat pumps, batteries.
I include myself in this. We save for emergencies so can weather this out. We do huge mileage each year, but a lot of that is social, weekend driving that we can cut back on. We don’t need any help from the government.
OTOH , we don’t use much gas because we live in an energy-efficient flat, appropriate for two young-ish adults. I’m not sure why people like me should bail out those in big, detached houses. They’ve made their choice.
If only spongers on benefits are getting the help I doubt many will be in big detached houses , once again telling that you spew hatred on a handful of poor pensioners ( unlike the majority) who may have a decent house and no money.
30% of UK households (7mn) are in receipt of Universal Credit. Surprisingly the same spread throughout the UK (England 29% / Wales 30% / Scotland 31%). There are 9mn pensioner households.
So the workers not in receipt of UC are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for pensioners more than anyone else.
You’re obsessed with bloody pensioners receiving benefits but not working age people.
Pension is a contribution based benefit and those receiving it did the heavy lifting in the past.
Rightly or wrongly that’s the case.
Aside from a few benefits, such as contribution based JSA, you cannot say that about most who receive working age benefits and bloody labour, or some of them, want to hand more money to the Boriswave.
Personally I’d tie both pensions and benefits to GDP growth.
@malcolmg what is it with people here who are happy to dump on people who contributed to the benefits system getting something back but radiate their middle class, white, worthiness on those who largely haven’t ?
It seems that about 21% of pensioners receive some combination of pension credit, housing benefit and council tax reduction.
And to quote google AI:
Pension Credit acts as a "passported" benefit, meaning that receiving it often automatically entitles you to a range of other benefits and financial support. These can be worth thousands of pounds a year, particularly if you are in receipt of the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit.
Key benefits and support available include:
Housing and Council Tax Council Tax Reduction: You could have your council tax bill reduced, sometimes to zero, which is typically claimed through your local authority. Housing Benefit: If you rent your home, you may have your rent paid in full by your local council. Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI): If you own your home, you may be eligible for a loan to help with interest payments on your mortgage, as well as help with ground rent and service charges.
Health and NHS Costs If you receive Guarantee Credit, you are entitled to: Free NHS Dental Treatment: Full coverage for check-ups and treatments. Help with Spectacles: Vouchers for glasses or contact lenses. Travel Costs: Reimbursement of transport costs to and from hospital for NHS treatment. Free Prescriptions: (This is automatic in Scotland and Wales, but in England, it is dependent on receiving Guarantee Credit).
Energy and Heating Warm Home Discount: A £150 discount on your electricity bill (usually between October and March). Cold Weather Payments: A £25 payment for each seven-day period of freezing weather between November and March. Winter Heating Payment (Scotland): An automatic payment replacing the Cold Weather Payment.
Other Benefits Free TV Licence: People aged 75 or over, who also receive Pension Credit, are entitled to a free TV licence. Winter Fuel Payment: Eligible low-income pensioners will continue to receive this annual payment. Social Tariffs: Access to lower-cost phone and broadband packages from some providers. Funeral Expenses Payment: Financial support if you are arranging a funeral and are on a low income. Redirection Service: A discount on the Royal Mail redirection service if you are moving house.
It is important to note that even a small award of Pension Credit can unlock these additional benefits.
This is a problem with the UK benefits system - receiving one benefit makes you eligible to receive another and then another and then another and so on.
It might be worth knowing how much these recipients of pension credit (and all the resulting benefits) saved for their own retirement or how much work they ever did and how much tax they ever paid.
State pension is a welfare benefit paid for out of current taxation. There's no link between what you pay as NI and the pension you receive. Also NI if it actually was insurance should also cover healthcare costs, which are massively higher for older people.
There's an irrefutable case for welfare for older people. But that's what it is, and it has to be paid for out of general taxation levied on everyone. The whole population deserves a say in how their tax contributions get used.
I'm aware of the legal definitions about pensions and welfare but if you look at your own HMRC account it specifically links your future pension amount to the number of years of NI contributions.
The problem is those pensioners who didn't pay NI for enough, or sometimes any, years but will still get the same, or more, money from the state once all the other credits and benefits are added in.
This country isn't paying out too much welfare because of people who worked, its paying out too much welfare because there are too many people who didn't and don't work.
And this excess welfare payments are taking place for non-workers both during what should be their working lives and when they're oldies.
If we're really lucky we might even get a de facto lockdown
Huge energy price rises pile pressure on British companies
Warning of businesses going under as cost of gas set to rise by as much as 80 per cent, while electricity bills to increase by up to 30 per cent
Businesses across the UK are facing “eye-watering” rises in their energy bills because of the conflict in the Middle East, analysis for The Times suggests.
Unlike households, companies are not insulated from volatility in gas and electricity prices, which have almost doubled since the Iran war began.
The problem is particularly acute for the thousands of companies that fix their annual price tariff at the start of the financial year in April and will face an immediate sharp rise in their bills.
Analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found that as a result of the conflict, business users’ electricity bills would rise by up to 30 per cent, while the cost of gas could go up by as much as 80 per cent. This would mean that a business such as a larger retail and leisure site, on an average 12-month electricity contract, would have an annual bill of £578,000 — £95,000 more than early last month.
For gas, bills have risen by £376,000, reaching just over £1.02 million a year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent, based on the latest wholesale prices.
On Tuesday Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, warned that Europe risked fuel shortages as soon as next month. At an industry conference in Houston, Texas, he said the global oil and gas supply squeeze had already forced parts of Asia to cut energy consumption and that the “ripple effect” threatened to spread west within days.
Depressing. I’d much rather businesses were given some kind of some support - low interest government loans or similar - than handouts to people who can shoulder this. Loans that could bd used to install solar, heat pumps, batteries.
I include myself in this. We save for emergencies so can weather this out. We do huge mileage each year, but a lot of that is social, weekend driving that we can cut back on. We don’t need any help from the government.
OTOH , we don’t use much gas because we live in an energy-efficient flat, appropriate for two young-ish adults. I’m not sure why people like me should bail out those in big, detached houses. They’ve made their choice.
If only spongers on benefits are getting the help I doubt many will be in big detached houses , once again telling that you spew hatred on a handful of poor pensioners ( unlike the majority) who may have a decent house and no money.
30% of UK households (7mn) are in receipt of Universal Credit. Surprisingly the same spread throughout the UK (England 29% / Wales 30% / Scotland 31%). There are 9mn pensioner households.
So the workers not in receipt of UC are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for pensioners more than anyone else.
You’re obsessed with bloody pensioners receiving benefits but not working age people.
Pension is a contribution based benefit and those receiving it did the heavy lifting in the past.
Rightly or wrongly that’s the case.
Aside from a few benefits, such as contribution based JSA, you cannot say that about most who receive working age benefits and bloody labour, or some of them, want to hand more money to the Boriswave.
Personally I’d tie both pensions and benefits to GDP growth.
@malcolmg what is it with people here who are happy to dump on people who contributed to the benefits system getting something back but radiate their middle class, white, worthiness on those who largely haven’t ?
Hopefully no-one wants to see state support removed for old people but what grates is the huge sense of entitlement of the current generation of pensioners. Who are much better catered for than generations past, and also those to come. Who sound off about how they deserve the lion share of state welfare "because they worked for it", all the while denying any support to people who are actually working, and supposedly feckless and morally inferior.
Sadly all parties indulge this sense of entitlement, hoping these guys will vote for them.
It is not pensioners receiving free childcare despite family incomes of up to £200,000 a year. It is not pensioners whose children enjoy breakfast clubs and after-school clubs. It is not pensioners who get higher rate tax relief on private pension contributions. It *is* pensioners who left school at 15 or 16 and worked for more years to 65 than younger generations who left school at 21 and whose pension age is 67 or 68.
And I still believe this intergenerational spat was started by Russian trolls.
Sorry but this is a shockingly ignorant post. Look at the marginal tax rates on families earning £200k. Look at the gradual erosion of the tax advantages of DC occupational pensions as offered to younger people Vs dB pensions as typically enjoyed by older people, look at the drying up of dB scheme surpluses and the elimination of the generous early retirement provisions enjoyed by earlier generations.
And what on earth is this point about younger people being in "school" until 21 ? They're at university, pushing themselves into debt rather than enjoying the free further education offered to previous generations, trying to improve their chances in a job market being choked by excessive taxation and poor growth.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 3m But it isn't claimed that he deleted them - right? You can set up WhatsApp on your computer as well as your phone and the messages will be there on your computer. So why can't he just recover his WhatsApp account?
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 30m Has someone checked with WhatsApp whether it has them stored?
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 3m But it isn't claimed that he deleted them - right? You can set up WhatsApp on your computer as well as your phone and the messages will be there on your computer. So why can't he just recover his WhatsApp account?
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 30m Has someone checked with WhatsApp whether it has them stored?
I have to scan a QR code with my phone to get WhatsApp on my laptop.
Technology quite often is irksome. I had a small PS5 system update the other day. If I wanted the privilege of seeing what the change actually was there was a QR code to scan, instead of the info just being put on-screen...
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Rent will be paid at the 30th percentile through Pension Credit if your income falls below £227/week. Plus it's a gateway to other benefits so there are cliff edges at both ends of the income scale.
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Rent will be paid at the 30th percentile through Pension Credit if your income falls below £227/week. Plus it's a gateway to other benefits so there are cliff edges at both ends of the income scale.
The problem is a full pension is £230.25 so if you have diligently paid your stamp and done things correctly you don’t qualify for pension credit. Only if things have gone wrong so you aren’t on a full pension could you qualify for that help.
(It's harsh to pin someone's youthful indiscretions on them as adults, but only NatScis wear that sort of coat, and we get mocked for it.)
Interesting take in that article: "Twitter is a sewer of left-wing bile”.
It is certainly a sewer. Not sure about 'left wing' though. Did the Tower of Babel have a political leaning? That seems the closest analogy to the Twittersphere.
Sewers are designed to safely & efficently remove the foul smelling, disease ridden effluent from society. Twitter ooh..
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Rent will be paid at the 30th percentile through Pension Credit if your income falls below £227/week. Plus it's a gateway to other benefits so there are cliff edges at both ends of the income scale.
The problem is a full pension is £230.25 so if you have diligently paid your stamp and done things correctly you don’t qualify for pension credit. Only if things have gone wrong so you aren’t on a full pension could you qualify for that help.
Back in the day did people actually get a stamp ? My Dad and Grandad always referred to it as paying your stamp.
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Rent will be paid at the 30th percentile through Pension Credit if your income falls below £227/week. Plus it's a gateway to other benefits so there are cliff edges at both ends of the income scale.
The problem is a full pension is £230.25 so if you have diligently paid your stamp and done things correctly you don’t qualify for pension credit. Only if things have gone wrong so you aren’t on a full pension could you qualify for that help.
So either way we will end up with pensioner poverty - at the moment you won’t qualify for state aid, if you do the right thing.
If we're really lucky we might even get a de facto lockdown
Huge energy price rises pile pressure on British companies
Warning of businesses going under as cost of gas set to rise by as much as 80 per cent, while electricity bills to increase by up to 30 per cent
Businesses across the UK are facing “eye-watering” rises in their energy bills because of the conflict in the Middle East, analysis for The Times suggests.
Unlike households, companies are not insulated from volatility in gas and electricity prices, which have almost doubled since the Iran war began.
The problem is particularly acute for the thousands of companies that fix their annual price tariff at the start of the financial year in April and will face an immediate sharp rise in their bills.
Analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found that as a result of the conflict, business users’ electricity bills would rise by up to 30 per cent, while the cost of gas could go up by as much as 80 per cent. This would mean that a business such as a larger retail and leisure site, on an average 12-month electricity contract, would have an annual bill of £578,000 — £95,000 more than early last month.
For gas, bills have risen by £376,000, reaching just over £1.02 million a year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent, based on the latest wholesale prices.
On Tuesday Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, warned that Europe risked fuel shortages as soon as next month. At an industry conference in Houston, Texas, he said the global oil and gas supply squeeze had already forced parts of Asia to cut energy consumption and that the “ripple effect” threatened to spread west within days.
Depressing. I’d much rather businesses were given some kind of some support - low interest government loans or similar - than handouts to people who can shoulder this. Loans that could bd used to install solar, heat pumps, batteries.
I include myself in this. We save for emergencies so can weather this out. We do huge mileage each year, but a lot of that is social, weekend driving that we can cut back on. We don’t need any help from the government.
OTOH , we don’t use much gas because we live in an energy-efficient flat, appropriate for two young-ish adults. I’m not sure why people like me should bail out those in big, detached houses. They’ve made their choice.
If only spongers on benefits are getting the help I doubt many will be in big detached houses , once again telling that you spew hatred on a handful of poor pensioners ( unlike the majority) who may have a decent house and no money.
30% of UK households (7mn) are in receipt of Universal Credit. Surprisingly the same spread throughout the UK (England 29% / Wales 30% / Scotland 31%). There are 9mn pensioner households.
So the workers not in receipt of UC are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for pensioners more than anyone else.
You’re obsessed with bloody pensioners receiving benefits but not working age people.
Pension is a contribution based benefit and those receiving it did the heavy lifting in the past.
Rightly or wrongly that’s the case.
Aside from a few benefits, such as contribution based JSA, you cannot say that about most who receive working age benefits and bloody labour, or some of them, want to hand more money to the Boriswave.
Personally I’d tie both pensions and benefits to GDP growth.
@malcolmg what is it with people here who are happy to dump on people who contributed to the benefits system getting something back but radiate their middle class, white, worthiness on those who largely haven’t ?
Hopefully no-one wants to see state support removed for old people but what grates is the huge sense of entitlement of the current generation of pensioners. Who are much better catered for than generations past, and also those to come. Who sound off about how they deserve the lion share of state welfare "because they worked for it", all the while denying any support to people who are actually working, and supposedly feckless and morally inferior.
Sadly all parties indulge this sense of entitlement, hoping these guys will vote for them.
It is not pensioners receiving free childcare despite family incomes of up to £200,000 a year. It is not pensioners whose children enjoy breakfast clubs and after-school clubs. It is not pensioners who get higher rate tax relief on private pension contributions. It *is* pensioners who left school at 15 or 16 and worked for more years to 65 than younger generations who left school at 21 and whose pension age is 67 or 68.
And I still believe this intergenerational spat was started by Russian trolls.
Sorry but this is a shockingly ignorant post. Look at the marginal tax rates on families earning £200k. Look at the gradual erosion of the tax advantages of DC occupational pensions as offered to younger people Vs dB pensions as typically enjoyed by older people, look at the drying up of dB scheme surpluses and the elimination of the generous early retirement provisions enjoyed by earlier generations.
And what on earth is this point about younger people being in "school" until 21 ? They're at university, pushing themselves into debt rather than enjoying the free further education offered to previous generations, trying to improve their chances in a job market being choked by excessive taxation and poor growth.
They're at University being milked. They've been sold a university degree as the best career path, sold tuition fee and maintenance loans as being a good value investment, then charged rents at getting on for the full maintenance loan. The system doesn't care if they get a worthwhile degree, it just wants students to borrow money to pay out as rent.
I’ve got some amazing travel coming up. This fuel crisis is gonna fuck it, isn’t it?
Won’t someone think of the poor luxury travel writing flint knapping hack correspondents
You can do luxury train journeys or cruises. Michaels Palin and Portillo built careers on it. Seriously, get a waistcoat and a pair of red trousers and talk to rich matrons who complain about woke whilst the Mediterranean slides by. You can be the 21st century Alan Whicker.
How can it even be possible that the PM’s Chief of Staff has a phone with no automatic backups? Even my little work IT team makes sure everyone’s phones get backed up regularly. The official version of this incident totally stinks.
a) 11 September, Mandelson resigns b) 11 September - 13 October, No.10 start putting together strategy for dealing with Tory demand for messages between Mandelson/McSweeney c) 20 October, McSweeney reports phone stolen. All messages reportedly lost
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036712739582738438 This was published by Tim Shipman on 14 February. It details how in the period up to 13 October, 2025 Labour officials became worried a motion would be put to parliament demanding the release of Morgan McSweeney's messages to Peter Mandelson. On October 20 McSweeney reported his mobile had been stolen.
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Housing has more or less kept pace with inflation since 2006. Sustained UK wide real terms house price growth is long gone.
We are just stuck at absurd prices now.
Unless they drop by about 50%, the problems will continue.
If you look at how benefit rates are set, they are set on the basis of what was considered necessary for “subsistence”. As housing became a larger part of living, benefits levels started to erode the gap with working. You had compression of the gap between work and non-work. But at the same time employers were lobbying for subsidies via UC to the extent that 30% of households get UC.
So we are stuck between the needs of someone living here and what they will be paid - with the gap being met by UC including rent.
If we're really lucky we might even get a de facto lockdown
Huge energy price rises pile pressure on British companies
Warning of businesses going under as cost of gas set to rise by as much as 80 per cent, while electricity bills to increase by up to 30 per cent
Businesses across the UK are facing “eye-watering” rises in their energy bills because of the conflict in the Middle East, analysis for The Times suggests.
Unlike households, companies are not insulated from volatility in gas and electricity prices, which have almost doubled since the Iran war began.
The problem is particularly acute for the thousands of companies that fix their annual price tariff at the start of the financial year in April and will face an immediate sharp rise in their bills.
Analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found that as a result of the conflict, business users’ electricity bills would rise by up to 30 per cent, while the cost of gas could go up by as much as 80 per cent. This would mean that a business such as a larger retail and leisure site, on an average 12-month electricity contract, would have an annual bill of £578,000 — £95,000 more than early last month.
For gas, bills have risen by £376,000, reaching just over £1.02 million a year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent, based on the latest wholesale prices.
On Tuesday Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, warned that Europe risked fuel shortages as soon as next month. At an industry conference in Houston, Texas, he said the global oil and gas supply squeeze had already forced parts of Asia to cut energy consumption and that the “ripple effect” threatened to spread west within days.
Depressing. I’d much rather businesses were given some kind of some support - low interest government loans or similar - than handouts to people who can shoulder this. Loans that could bd used to install solar, heat pumps, batteries.
I include myself in this. We save for emergencies so can weather this out. We do huge mileage each year, but a lot of that is social, weekend driving that we can cut back on. We don’t need any help from the government.
OTOH , we don’t use much gas because we live in an energy-efficient flat, appropriate for two young-ish adults. I’m not sure why people like me should bail out those in big, detached houses. They’ve made their choice.
If only spongers on benefits are getting the help I doubt many will be in big detached houses , once again telling that you spew hatred on a handful of poor pensioners ( unlike the majority) who may have a decent house and no money.
30% of UK households (7mn) are in receipt of Universal Credit. Surprisingly the same spread throughout the UK (England 29% / Wales 30% / Scotland 31%). There are 9mn pensioner households.
So the workers not in receipt of UC are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for pensioners more than anyone else.
You’re obsessed with bloody pensioners receiving benefits but not working age people.
Pension is a contribution based benefit and those receiving it did the heavy lifting in the past.
Rightly or wrongly that’s the case.
Aside from a few benefits, such as contribution based JSA, you cannot say that about most who receive working age benefits and bloody labour, or some of them, want to hand more money to the Boriswave.
Personally I’d tie both pensions and benefits to GDP growth.
@malcolmg what is it with people here who are happy to dump on people who contributed to the benefits system getting something back but radiate their middle class, white, worthiness on those who largely haven’t ?
Hopefully no-one wants to see state support removed for old people but what grates is the huge sense of entitlement of the current generation of pensioners. Who are much better catered for than generations past, and also those to come. Who sound off about how they deserve the lion share of state welfare "because they worked for it", all the while denying any support to people who are actually working, and supposedly feckless and morally inferior.
Sadly all parties indulge this sense of entitlement, hoping these guys will vote for them.
It is not pensioners receiving free childcare despite family incomes of up to £200,000 a year. It is not pensioners whose children enjoy breakfast clubs and after-school clubs. It is not pensioners who get higher rate tax relief on private pension contributions. It *is* pensioners who left school at 15 or 16 and worked for more years to 65 than younger generations who left school at 21 and whose pension age is 67 or 68.
And I still believe this intergenerational spat was started by Russian trolls.
Sorry but this is a shockingly ignorant post. Look at the marginal tax rates on families earning £200k. Look at the gradual erosion of the tax advantages of DC occupational pensions as offered to younger people Vs dB pensions as typically enjoyed by older people, look at the drying up of dB scheme surpluses and the elimination of the generous early retirement provisions enjoyed by earlier generations.
And what on earth is this point about younger people being in "school" until 21 ? They're at university, pushing themselves into debt rather than enjoying the free further education offered to previous generations, trying to improve their chances in a job market being choked by excessive taxation and poor growth.
They're at University being milked. They've been sold a university degree as the best career path, sold tuition fee and maintenance loans as being a good value investment, then charged rents at getting on for the full maintenance loan. The system doesn't care if they get a worthwhile degree, it just wants students to borrow money to pay out as rent.
RPI + 3% debt accruing for your fertile & mortgage paying years and then being wiped is simply bonkers from all perspectives. Effectively 9% extra tax on your working life, disgusting.
On a train on my way to Thirsk for a collection caper. I know counterfeit plates are a subject of enduring fascination on here so I am experimenting with a completely ficticious set of trade plates I made.
Heard the one about Crispin Blake asking Chris Pincher for good smacks 🤣🤣🤣
Who’s Crispin Blake ?
Quentin Blake is a cartoonist and illustrator, Crispin Blunt is a drug-using former MP currently being tried for drug possession. I think @Brixian59 has confused the two.
If we're really lucky we might even get a de facto lockdown
Huge energy price rises pile pressure on British companies
Warning of businesses going under as cost of gas set to rise by as much as 80 per cent, while electricity bills to increase by up to 30 per cent
Businesses across the UK are facing “eye-watering” rises in their energy bills because of the conflict in the Middle East, analysis for The Times suggests.
Unlike households, companies are not insulated from volatility in gas and electricity prices, which have almost doubled since the Iran war began.
The problem is particularly acute for the thousands of companies that fix their annual price tariff at the start of the financial year in April and will face an immediate sharp rise in their bills.
Analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found that as a result of the conflict, business users’ electricity bills would rise by up to 30 per cent, while the cost of gas could go up by as much as 80 per cent. This would mean that a business such as a larger retail and leisure site, on an average 12-month electricity contract, would have an annual bill of £578,000 — £95,000 more than early last month.
For gas, bills have risen by £376,000, reaching just over £1.02 million a year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent, based on the latest wholesale prices.
On Tuesday Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, warned that Europe risked fuel shortages as soon as next month. At an industry conference in Houston, Texas, he said the global oil and gas supply squeeze had already forced parts of Asia to cut energy consumption and that the “ripple effect” threatened to spread west within days.
Depressing. I’d much rather businesses were given some kind of some support - low interest government loans or similar - than handouts to people who can shoulder this. Loans that could bd used to install solar, heat pumps, batteries.
I include myself in this. We save for emergencies so can weather this out. We do huge mileage each year, but a lot of that is social, weekend driving that we can cut back on. We don’t need any help from the government.
OTOH , we don’t use much gas because we live in an energy-efficient flat, appropriate for two young-ish adults. I’m not sure why people like me should bail out those in big, detached houses. They’ve made their choice.
If only spongers on benefits are getting the help I doubt many will be in big detached houses , once again telling that you spew hatred on a handful of poor pensioners ( unlike the majority) who may have a decent house and no money.
30% of UK households (7mn) are in receipt of Universal Credit. Surprisingly the same spread throughout the UK (England 29% / Wales 30% / Scotland 31%). There are 9mn pensioner households.
So the workers not in receipt of UC are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for pensioners more than anyone else.
You’re obsessed with bloody pensioners receiving benefits but not working age people.
Pension is a contribution based benefit and those receiving it did the heavy lifting in the past.
Rightly or wrongly that’s the case.
Aside from a few benefits, such as contribution based JSA, you cannot say that about most who receive working age benefits and bloody labour, or some of them, want to hand more money to the Boriswave.
Personally I’d tie both pensions and benefits to GDP growth.
@malcolmg what is it with people here who are happy to dump on people who contributed to the benefits system getting something back but radiate their middle class, white, worthiness on those who largely haven’t ?
It seems that about 21% of pensioners receive some combination of pension credit, housing benefit and council tax reduction.
And to quote google AI:
Pension Credit acts as a "passported" benefit, meaning that receiving it often automatically entitles you to a range of other benefits and financial support. These can be worth thousands of pounds a year, particularly if you are in receipt of the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit.
Key benefits and support available include:
Housing and Council Tax Council Tax Reduction: You could have your council tax bill reduced, sometimes to zero, which is typically claimed through your local authority. Housing Benefit: If you rent your home, you may have your rent paid in full by your local council. Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI): If you own your home, you may be eligible for a loan to help with interest payments on your mortgage, as well as help with ground rent and service charges.
Health and NHS Costs If you receive Guarantee Credit, you are entitled to: Free NHS Dental Treatment: Full coverage for check-ups and treatments. Help with Spectacles: Vouchers for glasses or contact lenses. Travel Costs: Reimbursement of transport costs to and from hospital for NHS treatment. Free Prescriptions: (This is automatic in Scotland and Wales, but in England, it is dependent on receiving Guarantee Credit).
Energy and Heating Warm Home Discount: A £150 discount on your electricity bill (usually between October and March). Cold Weather Payments: A £25 payment for each seven-day period of freezing weather between November and March. Winter Heating Payment (Scotland): An automatic payment replacing the Cold Weather Payment.
Other Benefits Free TV Licence: People aged 75 or over, who also receive Pension Credit, are entitled to a free TV licence. Winter Fuel Payment: Eligible low-income pensioners will continue to receive this annual payment. Social Tariffs: Access to lower-cost phone and broadband packages from some providers. Funeral Expenses Payment: Financial support if you are arranging a funeral and are on a low income. Redirection Service: A discount on the Royal Mail redirection service if you are moving house.
It is important to note that even a small award of Pension Credit can unlock these additional benefits.
This is a problem with the UK benefits system - receiving one benefit makes you eligible to receive another and then another and then another and so on.
It might be worth knowing how much these recipients of pension credit (and all the resulting benefits) saved for their own retirement or how much work they ever did and how much tax they ever paid.
State pension is a welfare benefit paid for out of current taxation. There's no link between what you pay as NI and the pension you receive. Also NI if it actually was insurance should also cover healthcare costs, which are massively higher for older people.
There's an irrefutable case for welfare for older people. But that's what it is, and it has to be paid for out of general taxation levied on everyone. The whole population deserves a say in how their tax contributions get used.
There is a link, given that paying NI is the qualification for a state pension and we have all spent our working lives being told this is the case. Also, why should it pay for healthcare? It is a tax that qualifies you for employment related benefits including crrtain unemployment and sickness benefits and your pension.
Fair point on qualifications for the benefit. Nevertheless State Pension is paid out of current taxation, what you get out isn't connected to what you put in over the population, and National insurance is an employment tax and isn't actually insurance.
State Pension is chickenfeed, as a former Tory PM might have said.
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
"An XL bully started eating an 84-year-old man alive “as if he were its prey” before police stopped the attack, a court heard.
John McColl died from his injuries a month after the attack. The dog, called Toretto, had to be shot 10 times by armed police officers at the property in Warrington, Cheshire, on Feb 24, 2025.
Sean Garner, 31, has admitted possessing the banned male dog and a female XL bully without an exemption certificate, but he denied being the owner of a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control."
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
House prices are seasonal. They go up on/after Easter, continue high until September, then stabilize/decline over Winter.
Having said that, I have also heard about the London flat price falling that isn't obviously seasonal.
"An XL bully started eating an 84-year-old man alive “as if he were its prey” before police stopped the attack, a court heard.
John McColl died from his injuries a month after the attack. The dog, called Toretto, had to be shot 10 times by armed police officers at the property in Warrington, Cheshire, on Feb 24, 2025.
Sean Garner, 31, has admitted possessing the banned male dog and a female XL bully without an exemption certificate, but he denied being the owner of a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control."
Any of our PB tech crew able to explain how this works ? (A Norwegian startup is pursuing the technology commercially.)
Advances in metastable helium (He) atom lithography https://spie.org/advanced-lithography/presentation/Advances-in-metastable-atom-lithography/13982-76 Photolithography uses masks (reticles) combined with demagnifying projection optics to print patterns at high volume manufacturing (HVM) throughput. However, there are two fundamental challenges. Firstly; the half-pitch (resolution) is limited by the wavelength, which is inversely proportional to the photon energy; the increase in energy with wavelength reduction leads to increased stochastics and electron blurring in the resist, which limit the minimum achievable feature size (critical dimension, CD). Secondly; engineering constraints on the projection optics lead to limitation of the size of the field (exposure field/write field) and the Depth of Focus (DOF). Here we propose metastable helium (He*) atom matter wave lithography as a next-generation tool to reach extreme resolutions, scale up the field beyond the standard full field size of 26 mm × 33 mm and provide HVM throughputs. A fundamental advantage of using metastable atoms for lithography is that the patterning resolution is decoupled from the patterning energy. The wavelength of a helium atom is typically less than 0.1 nm, smaller than any desired resolution, while the deposited energy (the patterning energy) is no more than 20 eV and independent of the wavelength. In this paper we present first results from a He* atom lithography prototype tool. We demonstrate two different exposure modes: proximity and diffraction. For proximity, we present patterns of holes down to 50 nm CD at a half pitch of 100 nm. For diffraction, we present a regular line pattern with a half pitch of 50 nm. Furthermore, we present the first AI-based Inverse Lithography Technology (ILT) diffraction mask designs for atoms. We show that the mask designs can produce arbitrary patterns with a theoretical resolution limit down to the atomic spacing of silicon. The mask design simulations can be scaled to the current full field size and beyond.
Presenter. Bodil Holst Lace Lithography (Norway) Bodil Holst is CEO and co-founder of Lace Lithography. She is a world-leading expert with over 20 years of experience developing advanced helium instrumentation. She holds a PhD in Experimental Physics from the University of Cambridge and an Executive Master of Management from BI Norwegian Business School. Before founding Lace, she was Professor of Physics at the University of Bergen and served as Chair of the Kavli Prize Committee in Nanoscience (2019–2024).
Well I'll post when I finally find some sardines but until then it can be assumed that I haven't. Been almost a month now. Not the war, I don't think, given it pre-dates the start of that.
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Rent will be paid at the 30th percentile through Pension Credit if your income falls below £227/week. Plus it's a gateway to other benefits so there are cliff edges at both ends of the income scale.
The problem is a full pension is £230.25 so if you have diligently paid your stamp and done things correctly you don’t qualify for pension credit. Only if things have gone wrong so you aren’t on a full pension could you qualify for that help.
Back in the day did people actually get a stamp ? My Dad and Grandad always referred to it as paying your stamp.
Yes, I think it was a stamp in a little book. Think it was a sticky stamp like a postage stamp. Back in the day when most people were paid weekly, employers only had to pay it over 4 weekly which is why your Nino ends A, B, C or D according to which week of the cycle you were. Annoyingly three of the letters rhyme making it difficult to hear on the phone - A, B, X, Y would have been better
Well I'll post when I finally find some sardines but until then it can be assumed that I haven't. Been almost a month now. Not the war, I don't think, given it pre-dates the start of that.
If we're really lucky we might even get a de facto lockdown
Huge energy price rises pile pressure on British companies
Warning of businesses going under as cost of gas set to rise by as much as 80 per cent, while electricity bills to increase by up to 30 per cent
Businesses across the UK are facing “eye-watering” rises in their energy bills because of the conflict in the Middle East, analysis for The Times suggests.
Unlike households, companies are not insulated from volatility in gas and electricity prices, which have almost doubled since the Iran war began.
The problem is particularly acute for the thousands of companies that fix their annual price tariff at the start of the financial year in April and will face an immediate sharp rise in their bills.
Analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found that as a result of the conflict, business users’ electricity bills would rise by up to 30 per cent, while the cost of gas could go up by as much as 80 per cent. This would mean that a business such as a larger retail and leisure site, on an average 12-month electricity contract, would have an annual bill of £578,000 — £95,000 more than early last month.
For gas, bills have risen by £376,000, reaching just over £1.02 million a year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent, based on the latest wholesale prices.
On Tuesday Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, warned that Europe risked fuel shortages as soon as next month. At an industry conference in Houston, Texas, he said the global oil and gas supply squeeze had already forced parts of Asia to cut energy consumption and that the “ripple effect” threatened to spread west within days.
Depressing. I’d much rather businesses were given some kind of some support - low interest government loans or similar - than handouts to people who can shoulder this. Loans that could bd used to install solar, heat pumps, batteries.
I include myself in this. We save for emergencies so can weather this out. We do huge mileage each year, but a lot of that is social, weekend driving that we can cut back on. We don’t need any help from the government.
OTOH , we don’t use much gas because we live in an energy-efficient flat, appropriate for two young-ish adults. I’m not sure why people like me should bail out those in big, detached houses. They’ve made their choice.
If only spongers on benefits are getting the help I doubt many will be in big detached houses , once again telling that you spew hatred on a handful of poor pensioners ( unlike the majority) who may have a decent house and no money.
30% of UK households (7mn) are in receipt of Universal Credit. Surprisingly the same spread throughout the UK (England 29% / Wales 30% / Scotland 31%). There are 9mn pensioner households.
So the workers not in receipt of UC are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for pensioners more than anyone else.
You’re obsessed with bloody pensioners receiving benefits but not working age people.
Pension is a contribution based benefit and those receiving it did the heavy lifting in the past.
Rightly or wrongly that’s the case.
Aside from a few benefits, such as contribution based JSA, you cannot say that about most who receive working age benefits and bloody labour, or some of them, want to hand more money to the Boriswave.
Personally I’d tie both pensions and benefits to GDP growth.
@malcolmg what is it with people here who are happy to dump on people who contributed to the benefits system getting something back but radiate their middle class, white, worthiness on those who largely haven’t ?
It seems that about 21% of pensioners receive some combination of pension credit, housing benefit and council tax reduction.
And to quote google AI:
Pension Credit acts as a "passported" benefit, meaning that receiving it often automatically entitles you to a range of other benefits and financial support. These can be worth thousands of pounds a year, particularly if you are in receipt of the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit.
Key benefits and support available include:
Housing and Council Tax Council Tax Reduction: You could have your council tax bill reduced, sometimes to zero, which is typically claimed through your local authority. Housing Benefit: If you rent your home, you may have your rent paid in full by your local council. Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI): If you own your home, you may be eligible for a loan to help with interest payments on your mortgage, as well as help with ground rent and service charges.
Health and NHS Costs If you receive Guarantee Credit, you are entitled to: Free NHS Dental Treatment: Full coverage for check-ups and treatments. Help with Spectacles: Vouchers for glasses or contact lenses. Travel Costs: Reimbursement of transport costs to and from hospital for NHS treatment. Free Prescriptions: (This is automatic in Scotland and Wales, but in England, it is dependent on receiving Guarantee Credit).
Energy and Heating Warm Home Discount: A £150 discount on your electricity bill (usually between October and March). Cold Weather Payments: A £25 payment for each seven-day period of freezing weather between November and March. Winter Heating Payment (Scotland): An automatic payment replacing the Cold Weather Payment.
Other Benefits Free TV Licence: People aged 75 or over, who also receive Pension Credit, are entitled to a free TV licence. Winter Fuel Payment: Eligible low-income pensioners will continue to receive this annual payment. Social Tariffs: Access to lower-cost phone and broadband packages from some providers. Funeral Expenses Payment: Financial support if you are arranging a funeral and are on a low income. Redirection Service: A discount on the Royal Mail redirection service if you are moving house.
It is important to note that even a small award of Pension Credit can unlock these additional benefits.
This is a problem with the UK benefits system - receiving one benefit makes you eligible to receive another and then another and then another and so on.
It might be worth knowing how much these recipients of pension credit (and all the resulting benefits) saved for their own retirement or how much work they ever did and how much tax they ever paid.
State pension is a welfare benefit paid for out of current taxation. There's no link between what you pay as NI and the pension you receive. Also NI if it actually was insurance should also cover healthcare costs, which are massively higher for older people.
There's an irrefutable case for welfare for older people. But that's what it is, and it has to be paid for out of general taxation levied on everyone. The whole population deserves a say in how their tax contributions get used.
You cannot receive the state pension without having paid NI or NI credits nor can you receive JSA now without NI or NI credit payments.
I would also yes have more social insurance to fund state healthcare like most OECD nations do
I’ve got some amazing travel coming up. This fuel crisis is gonna fuck it, isn’t it?
Won’t someone think of the poor luxury travel writing flint knapping hack correspondents
You can do luxury train journeys or cruises. Michaels Palin and Portillo built careers on it. Seriously, get a waistcoat and a pair of red trousers and talk to rich matrons who complain about woke whilst the Mediterranean slides by. You can be the 21st century Alan Whicker.
On my Bouquet List for this year (hopefully!):
West Midlands Metro from Wednesbury to Dudley (expected August) West Midlands Metro from Bull Street to Millennium Point (expected "soon") East West Rail from Bicester to Bletchley (expected... some time!)
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
My gaff has fallen about 15% in the last 3 years, Taz, you'll be happy to learn.
I sense the era of making easy money off property has passed and that's got to be a good thing.
Well I'll post when I finally find some sardines but until then it can be assumed that I haven't. Been almost a month now. Not the war, I don't think, given it pre-dates the start of that.
Mum said she saw some frozen sardines in Lidl, Ilford North, the other day.
If we're really lucky we might even get a de facto lockdown
Huge energy price rises pile pressure on British companies
Warning of businesses going under as cost of gas set to rise by as much as 80 per cent, while electricity bills to increase by up to 30 per cent
Businesses across the UK are facing “eye-watering” rises in their energy bills because of the conflict in the Middle East, analysis for The Times suggests.
Unlike households, companies are not insulated from volatility in gas and electricity prices, which have almost doubled since the Iran war began.
The problem is particularly acute for the thousands of companies that fix their annual price tariff at the start of the financial year in April and will face an immediate sharp rise in their bills.
Analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight found that as a result of the conflict, business users’ electricity bills would rise by up to 30 per cent, while the cost of gas could go up by as much as 80 per cent. This would mean that a business such as a larger retail and leisure site, on an average 12-month electricity contract, would have an annual bill of £578,000 — £95,000 more than early last month.
For gas, bills have risen by £376,000, reaching just over £1.02 million a year, an increase of nearly 60 per cent, based on the latest wholesale prices.
On Tuesday Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, warned that Europe risked fuel shortages as soon as next month. At an industry conference in Houston, Texas, he said the global oil and gas supply squeeze had already forced parts of Asia to cut energy consumption and that the “ripple effect” threatened to spread west within days.
Depressing. I’d much rather businesses were given some kind of some support - low interest government loans or similar - than handouts to people who can shoulder this. Loans that could bd used to install solar, heat pumps, batteries.
I include myself in this. We save for emergencies so can weather this out. We do huge mileage each year, but a lot of that is social, weekend driving that we can cut back on. We don’t need any help from the government.
OTOH , we don’t use much gas because we live in an energy-efficient flat, appropriate for two young-ish adults. I’m not sure why people like me should bail out those in big, detached houses. They’ve made their choice.
If only spongers on benefits are getting the help I doubt many will be in big detached houses , once again telling that you spew hatred on a handful of poor pensioners ( unlike the majority) who may have a decent house and no money.
30% of UK households (7mn) are in receipt of Universal Credit. Surprisingly the same spread throughout the UK (England 29% / Wales 30% / Scotland 31%). There are 9mn pensioner households.
So the workers not in receipt of UC are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for pensioners more than anyone else.
You’re obsessed with bloody pensioners receiving benefits but not working age people.
Pension is a contribution based benefit and those receiving it did the heavy lifting in the past.
Rightly or wrongly that’s the case.
Aside from a few benefits, such as contribution based JSA, you cannot say that about most who receive working age benefits and bloody labour, or some of them, want to hand more money to the Boriswave.
Personally I’d tie both pensions and benefits to GDP growth.
@malcolmg what is it with people here who are happy to dump on people who contributed to the benefits system getting something back but radiate their middle class, white, worthiness on those who largely haven’t ?
Hopefully no-one wants to see state support removed for old people but what grates is the huge sense of entitlement of the current generation of pensioners. Who are much better catered for than generations past, and also those to come. Who sound off about how they deserve the lion share of state welfare "because they worked for it", all the while denying any support to people who are actually working, and supposedly feckless and morally inferior.
Sadly all parties indulge this sense of entitlement, hoping these guys will vote for them.
It is not pensioners receiving free childcare despite family incomes of up to £200,000 a year. It is not pensioners whose children enjoy breakfast clubs and after-school clubs. It is not pensioners who get higher rate tax relief on private pension contributions. It *is* pensioners who left school at 15 or 16 and worked for more years to 65 than younger generations who left school at 21 and whose pension age is 67 or 68.
And I still believe this intergenerational spat was started by Russian trolls.
Sorry but this is a shockingly ignorant post. Look at the marginal tax rates on families earning £200k. Look at the gradual erosion of the tax advantages of DC occupational pensions as offered to younger people Vs dB pensions as typically enjoyed by older people, look at the drying up of dB scheme surpluses and the elimination of the generous early retirement provisions enjoyed by earlier generations.
And what on earth is this point about younger people being in "school" until 21 ? They're at university, pushing themselves into debt rather than enjoying the free further education offered to previous generations, trying to improve their chances in a job market being choked by excessive taxation and poor growth.
They're at University being milked. They've been sold a university degree as the best career path, sold tuition fee and maintenance loans as being a good value investment, then charged rents at getting on for the full maintenance loan. The system doesn't care if they get a worthwhile degree, it just wants students to borrow money to pay out as rent.
It's the interest rate on student loans, rather than the concept per se, that I find most shocking.
Well I'll post when I finally find some sardines but until then it can be assumed that I haven't. Been almost a month now. Not the war, I don't think, given it pre-dates the start of that.
Mum said she saw some frozen sardines in Lidl, Ilford North, the other day.
Ah interesting. That's a bit far for me though. I haven't been checking frozen - will do so next time.
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Rent will be paid at the 30th percentile through Pension Credit if your income falls below £227/week. Plus it's a gateway to other benefits so there are cliff edges at both ends of the income scale.
The problem is a full pension is £230.25 so if you have diligently paid your stamp and done things correctly you don’t qualify for pension credit. Only if things have gone wrong so you aren’t on a full pension could you qualify for that help.
Back in the day did people actually get a stamp ? My Dad and Grandad always referred to it as paying your stamp.
Yes; employers had to buy them from the Post Office.
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
My gaff has fallen about 15% in the last 3 years, Taz, you'll be happy to learn.
I sense the era of making easy money off property has passed and that's got to be a good thing.
I hear that Labour MPs and councillors in rural seats are already lobbying the government to back off the big house building plans.
Their pitch is that it will lose them seats, deliver nothing before the next election etc.
Well I'll post when I finally find some sardines but until then it can be assumed that I haven't. Been almost a month now. Not the war, I don't think, given it pre-dates the start of that.
Steven Swinford (PolEd at The Times) with a transcript of McSweeney’s 999 call.
No mention at all of who he works for, and gives a personal email and address outside London, but he does say he called ‘work’ to have them track the phone.
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
House prices are seasonal. They go up on/after Easter, continue high until September, then stabilize/decline over Winter.
Having said that, I have also heard about the London flat price falling that isn't obviously seasonal.
Not just flats. London property is generally well off the peak.
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Rent will be paid at the 30th percentile through Pension Credit if your income falls below £227/week. Plus it's a gateway to other benefits so there are cliff edges at both ends of the income scale.
The problem is a full pension is £230.25 so if you have diligently paid your stamp and done things correctly you don’t qualify for pension credit. Only if things have gone wrong so you aren’t on a full pension could you qualify for that help.
Back in the day did people actually get a stamp ? My Dad and Grandad always referred to it as paying your stamp.
Yes; employers had to buy them from the Post Office.
One of the drivers of the Thorpe scandal in the 70s was Josiffe’s National Insurance card, which he believed Thorpe was in possession of & was crucial to Josiffe being able to claim any contribution-based benefits.
Yesterday saw a 1000 drone raid on Ukraine's cities. A first, I think ?
I believe yes, sadly.
But where are these drones coming from? The Iranians must have expended hundreds if not thousands in the last four weeks, no?
The Russians have set up a factory or 2. The output isn’t vast - limited by components. So they have saved up production over a period to do a mass attack. The idea of which is to overwhelm defences.
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
My gaff has fallen about 15% in the last 3 years, Taz, you'll be happy to learn.
I sense the era of making easy money off property has passed and that's got to be a good thing.
I hear that Labour MPs and councillors in rural seats are already lobbying the government to back off the big house building plans.
Their pitch is that it will lose them seats, deliver nothing before the next election etc.
Anyone want to bet on the U turn?
I would, since I think not, but we already have a bet on something else.
Yesterday saw a 1000 drone raid on Ukraine's cities. A first, I think ?
I believe yes, sadly.
But where are these drones coming from? The Iranians must have expended hundreds if not thousands in the last four weeks, no?
The Iranian factory is no more, and they now appear to be launching only dozens per day.
There is however also a Russian factory, and both countries have potentially 10k of them stored.
Importantly, the sea crossing between the two countries has been targeted, there’s no Iranian port left intact on the Caspian Sea. That should stop the Iranian parts being shipped to Russia.
The government is severely cutting nuclear physics research (among other things)to pay for its AI bet. The money is not massive in terms of government spending, but is existential for parts of the UK science base.
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
My gaff has fallen about 15% in the last 3 years, Taz, you'll be happy to learn.
I sense the era of making easy money off property has passed and that's got to be a good thing.
I hear that Labour MPs and councillors in rural seats are already lobbying the government to back off the big house building plans.
Their pitch is that it will lose them seats, deliver nothing before the next election etc.
"An XL bully started eating an 84-year-old man alive “as if he were its prey” before police stopped the attack, a court heard.
John McColl died from his injuries a month after the attack. The dog, called Toretto, had to be shot 10 times by armed police officers at the property in Warrington, Cheshire, on Feb 24, 2025.
Sean Garner, 31, has admitted possessing the banned male dog and a female XL bully without an exemption certificate, but he denied being the owner of a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control."
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
My gaff has fallen about 15% in the last 3 years, Taz, you'll be happy to learn.
I sense the era of making easy money off property has passed and that's got to be a good thing.
I hear that Labour MPs and councillors in rural seats are already lobbying the government to back off the big house building plans.
Their pitch is that it will lose them seats, deliver nothing before the next election etc.
Anyone want to bet on the U turn?
Is a U-turn actually needed ?
Housing is way off target anyway.
They’re not even trying.
At some point there’s going to be a Parliamentary majority for building 10m new houses in five years, as happened after WWII. But it’s now clear that’s not happening any time soon.
How can it even be possible that the PM’s Chief of Staff has a phone with no automatic backups? Even my little work IT team makes sure everyone’s phones get backed up regularly. The official version of this incident totally stinks.
a) 11 September, Mandelson resigns b) 11 September - 13 October, No.10 start putting together strategy for dealing with Tory demand for messages between Mandelson/McSweeney c) 20 October, McSweeney reports phone stolen. All messages reportedly lost
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036712739582738438 This was published by Tim Shipman on 14 February. It details how in the period up to 13 October, 2025 Labour officials became worried a motion would be put to parliament demanding the release of Morgan McSweeney's messages to Peter Mandelson. On October 20 McSweeney reported his mobile had been stolen.
The government is severely cutting nuclear physics research (among other things)to pay for its AI bet. The money is not massive in terms of government spending, but is existential for parts of the UK science base.
Fuxsake. This is so stupid. It's like burning your house down to boil water to make a cup of tea for the painter who has come to paint the walls of your kitchen.
Reform may have well peaked and is falling . These Tory defectors may wish they hadn’t defected came the next GE.
On the other hand they will get a huge publicity boost when they gain several hundred council seats, take over some more councils and become the opposition in Scotland and Wales. Even if they perform below what us politics nerds regard as expectations, they will still get a huge publicity boost. And Pollcheck reports they are still a couple of percent above where they were this time last year.
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
My gaff has fallen about 15% in the last 3 years, Taz, you'll be happy to learn.
I sense the era of making easy money off property has passed and that's got to be a good thing.
Why would that please me ? I may disagree with you on here but I wish you, not anyone here, no ill fortune.
Whilst Starmer can say nothing but “She would have taken us straight into this war without thought for the consequences” at least he’s giving “did you know my Dad was a toolmaker” a rest. 🤷♀️
"An XL bully started eating an 84-year-old man alive “as if he were its prey” before police stopped the attack, a court heard.
John McColl died from his injuries a month after the attack. The dog, called Toretto, had to be shot 10 times by armed police officers at the property in Warrington, Cheshire, on Feb 24, 2025.
Sean Garner, 31, has admitted possessing the banned male dog and a female XL bully without an exemption certificate, but he denied being the owner of a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control."
How can it even be possible that the PM’s Chief of Staff has a phone with no automatic backups? Even my little work IT team makes sure everyone’s phones get backed up regularly. The official version of this incident totally stinks.
a) 11 September, Mandelson resigns b) 11 September - 13 October, No.10 start putting together strategy for dealing with Tory demand for messages between Mandelson/McSweeney c) 20 October, McSweeney reports phone stolen. All messages reportedly lost
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036712739582738438 This was published by Tim Shipman on 14 February. It details how in the period up to 13 October, 2025 Labour officials became worried a motion would be put to parliament demanding the release of Morgan McSweeney's messages to Peter Mandelson. On October 20 McSweeney reported his mobile had been stolen.
It's taking the piss isn't it?
It’s way more than that, at this point.
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036774824790339916 I've now spoken to two former Government Spads. Both were senior, both lost their Government phones. In both cases their first approach was to the Government internal security services, who then brokered a liaison with the Met to ensure the issue was dealt with properly.
This says that there’s a process in place which wasn’t followed.
The timing appears to be impeccable.
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036757585395581387 I'm still trying to get round the fact that in 72 hours we've gone from "he lost his phone a year before the Mandelson scandal broke" to "OK, he actually lost his phone a week after we strategised how to deal with parliament trying to get his Mandelson messages".
The whole thing totally stinks, and it’s always the cover-up that gets you.
On pensions - the next comedy will be when generation rent retires.
If you own your property outright, you can live well on very little.
If they are paying full rent, many will not have the resources to retire at all - no savings, since it all went on rent.
An oncoming cliff of pensioner poverty.
All workers should have their own pensions by then because of pension auto enrolment.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
Good luck with a pension big enough to support the rental values we see.
Rent will be paid at the 30th percentile through Pension Credit if your income falls below £227/week. Plus it's a gateway to other benefits so there are cliff edges at both ends of the income scale.
The problem is a full pension is £230.25 so if you have diligently paid your stamp and done things correctly you don’t qualify for pension credit. Only if things have gone wrong so you aren’t on a full pension could you qualify for that help.
Back in the day did people actually get a stamp ? My Dad and Grandad always referred to it as paying your stamp.
Yes; employers had to buy them from the Post Office.
One of the drivers of the Thorpe scandal in the 70s was Josiffe’s National Insurance card, which he believed Thorpe was in possession of & was crucial to Josiffe being able to claim any contribution-based benefits.
Yes; one of the first things a student was asked for when doing vacation work was their NI card. Obviously there were unstamped areas on it and at least one friend of mine was sympathetically asked if he'd been in prison. Card weren't stamped there, apparently. Occasionally wondered how ex-prisoners, with many years 'service'and released in their 60's got an OAP!
Lebanon below the river Litani, which is happening, and now this proposal.
‘ 🇮🇱🇬🇷 A representative of the Israel Defense Minister's party has proposed Israel purchase islands in Greece “for the good of the Jewish people.”
Avri Steiner, a board member of the Jewish National Fund, proposed the purchasing Greek islands as an emergency “safe haven” for Jews, and claims a framework could be created with the Greek government to eventually transfer full sovereignty.
Reform may have well peaked and is falling . These Tory defectors may wish they hadn’t defected came the next GE.
On the other hand they will get a huge publicity boost when they gain several hundred council seats, take over some more councils and become the opposition in Scotland and Wales. Even if they perform below what us politics nerds regard as expectations, they will still get a huge publicity boost. And Pollcheck reports they are still a couple of percent above where they were this time last year.
Six weeks or so before the elections, so they've still time to fall a bit further.
Benefit Street Bailout will hit home. Cost of Living will be a heavy weight for Labour. Drill baby drill
Reform last week asked the same question as Kemi’s 6 this week, and the “fact checkers” shredded the argument, that drilling for gas is certain to reduce gas bills as Kemi today it would.
Kemi also said at PMQs, the new Gas would be used exclusively by Britons, and she named the actual counties who would be using it.
Go look at the fact checkers on this, they call out what Kemi said today as bunkum and lies.
Comments
https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/24186
(It's harsh to pin someone's youthful indiscretions on them as adults, but only NatScis wear that sort of coat, and we get mocked for it.)
There's no case at all for welfare for people who just happen to be 67 and a day not 66 and 364 days but are fully capable of working, as many people these days are up to 80 or beyond (a former colleague of a relative was still doing work at 105, though this is perhaps slightly unusual). It's an entirely arbitrary criteria, set first by Bismarck in the 19th century and completely inappropriate today.
If they don't that will be their own fault.
There is the privilege of quarterly tax returns, I suppose.
@andrew_lilico
·
3m
But it isn't claimed that he deleted them - right? You can set up WhatsApp on your computer as well as your phone and the messages will be there on your computer. So why can't he just recover his WhatsApp account?
Andrew Lilico
@andrew_lilico
·
30m
Has someone checked with WhatsApp whether it has them stored?
https://x.com/andrew_lilico/status/2036759855164264636
The problem is those pensioners who didn't pay NI for enough, or sometimes any, years but will still get the same, or more, money from the state once all the other credits and benefits are added in.
This country isn't paying out too much welfare because of people who worked, its paying out too much welfare because there are too many people who didn't and don't work.
And this excess welfare payments are taking place for non-workers both during what should be their working lives and when they're oldies.
And what on earth is this point about younger people being in "school" until 21 ? They're at university, pushing themselves into debt rather than enjoying the free further education offered to previous generations, trying to improve their chances in a job market being choked by excessive taxation and poor growth.
🤣🤣🤣
Perfect, isn’t it?
"National Savings in chaos over payouts
Government-backed bank accused of short-changing bereaved families"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/banking/bonds/national-savings-chaos-bereaved-families-short-change/
Unless they drop by about 50%, the problems will continue.
https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/
They've been sold a university degree as the best career path, sold tuition fee and maintenance loans as being a good value investment, then charged rents at getting on for the full maintenance loan.
The system doesn't care if they get a worthwhile degree, it just wants students to borrow money to pay out as rent.
How can it even be possible that the PM’s Chief of Staff has a phone with no automatic backups? Even my little work IT team makes sure everyone’s phones get backed up regularly. The official version of this incident totally stinks.
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036718497988764006
So this is the sequencing:
a) 11 September, Mandelson resigns
b) 11 September - 13 October, No.10 start putting together strategy for dealing with Tory demand for messages between Mandelson/McSweeney
c) 20 October, McSweeney reports phone stolen. All messages reportedly lost
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036712739582738438
This was published by Tim Shipman on 14 February. It details how in the period up to 13 October, 2025 Labour officials became worried a motion would be put to parliament demanding the release of Morgan McSweeney's messages to Peter Mandelson. On October 20 McSweeney reported his mobile had been stolen.
So we are stuck between the needs of someone living here and what they will be paid - with the gap being met by UC including rent.
Prices, mainly leasehold flats, seem to be falling in London.
https://x.com/londonpricedrop/status/2036713688388755609?s=61
Round by me houses are selling with small drops in asking price. Although it’s all relative. A decent 3 bed detached with 1 bathroom goes for about £300K
John McColl died from his injuries a month after the attack. The dog, called Toretto, had to be shot 10 times by armed police officers at the property in Warrington, Cheshire, on Feb 24, 2025.
Sean Garner, 31, has admitted possessing the banned male dog and a female XL bully without an exemption certificate, but he denied being the owner of a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/24/xl-bully-eating-pensioner-alive-savage-attack-warrington
Having said that, I have also heard about the London flat price falling that isn't obviously seasonal.
Non existent because it is too expensive for the insurance companies…
When the current insurance disappears (run by a charity that can’t afford it anymore) the dogs would otherwise be liable to be destroyed.
(A Norwegian startup is pursuing the technology commercially.)
Advances in metastable helium (He) atom lithography
https://spie.org/advanced-lithography/presentation/Advances-in-metastable-atom-lithography/13982-76
Photolithography uses masks (reticles) combined with demagnifying projection optics to print patterns at high volume manufacturing (HVM) throughput. However, there are two fundamental challenges. Firstly; the half-pitch (resolution) is limited by the wavelength, which is inversely proportional to the photon energy; the increase in energy with wavelength reduction leads to increased stochastics and electron blurring in the resist, which limit the minimum achievable feature size (critical dimension, CD). Secondly; engineering constraints on the projection optics lead to limitation of the size of the field (exposure field/write field) and the Depth of Focus (DOF). Here we propose metastable helium (He*) atom matter wave lithography as a next-generation tool to reach extreme resolutions, scale up the field beyond the standard full field size of 26 mm × 33 mm and provide HVM throughputs. A fundamental advantage of using metastable atoms for lithography is that the patterning resolution is decoupled from the patterning energy. The wavelength of a helium atom is typically less than 0.1 nm, smaller than any desired resolution, while the deposited energy (the patterning energy) is no more than 20 eV and independent of the wavelength. In this paper we present first results from a He* atom lithography prototype tool. We demonstrate two different exposure modes: proximity and diffraction. For proximity, we present patterns of holes down to 50 nm CD at a half pitch of 100 nm. For diffraction, we present a regular line pattern with a half pitch of 50 nm. Furthermore, we present the first AI-based Inverse Lithography Technology (ILT) diffraction mask designs for atoms. We show that the mask designs can produce arbitrary patterns with a theoretical resolution limit down to the atomic spacing of silicon. The mask design simulations can be scaled to the current full field size and beyond.
Presenter. Bodil Holst
Lace Lithography (Norway)
Bodil Holst is CEO and co-founder of Lace Lithography. She is a world-leading expert with over 20 years of experience developing advanced helium instrumentation. She holds a PhD in Experimental Physics from the University of Cambridge and an Executive Master of Management from BI Norwegian Business School. Before founding Lace, she was Professor of Physics at the University of Bergen and served as Chair of the Kavli Prize Committee in Nanoscience (2019–2024).
Climate change related...
https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/tinned-sardines-shortages-loom-as-morocco-supply-non-existent/702375.article
I would also yes have more social insurance to fund state healthcare like most OECD nations do
West Midlands Metro from Wednesbury to Dudley (expected August)
West Midlands Metro from Bull Street to Millennium Point (expected "soon")
East West Rail from Bicester to Bletchley (expected... some time!)
I sense the era of making easy money off property has passed and that's got to be a good thing.
A first, I think ?
Their pitch is that it will lose them seats, deliver nothing before the next election etc.
Anyone want to bet on the U turn?
No mention at all of who he works for, and gives a personal email and address outside London, but he does say he called ‘work’ to have them track the phone.
https://x.com/steven_swinford/status/2036769547768807770
There is however also a Russian factory, and both countries have potentially 10k of them stored.
Importantly, the sea crossing between the two countries has been targeted, there’s no Iranian port left intact on the Caspian Sea. That should stop the Iranian parts being shipped to Russia.
The money is not massive in terms of government spending, but is existential for parts of the UK science base.
The STFC turmoil bodes ill for UK plc as well as UK physics
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/stfc-turmoil-bodes-ill-uk-plc-well-uk-physics
Housing is way off target anyway.
And other effects - a potential recession in Europe; the US relaxing sanctions on Russia etc - won't help.
At some point there’s going to be a Parliamentary majority for building 10m new houses in five years, as happened after WWII. But it’s now clear that’s not happening any time soon.
Remember what you said in Government
Understand basic Fundamental Law
When you've been told twice that what you're suggesting is illegal, don't keep asking why it's not being done
Bssic
Bssic
Basic
Drill baby drill
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036774824790339916
I've now spoken to two former Government Spads. Both were senior, both lost their Government phones. In both cases their first approach was to the Government internal security services, who then brokered a liaison with the Met to ensure the issue was dealt with properly.
This says that there’s a process in place which wasn’t followed.
The timing appears to be impeccable.
https://x.com/dpjhodges/status/2036757585395581387
I'm still trying to get round the fact that in 72 hours we've gone from "he lost his phone a year before the Mandelson scandal broke" to "OK, he actually lost his phone a week after we strategised how to deal with parliament trying to get his Mandelson messages".
The whole thing totally stinks, and it’s always the cover-up that gets you.
Good timing for some bright breezy days considering the price and availability of gas.
https://grid.iamkate.com/
Card weren't stamped there, apparently.
Occasionally wondered how ex-prisoners, with many years 'service'and released in their 60's got an OAP!
Lebanon below the river Litani, which is happening, and now this proposal.
‘ 🇮🇱🇬🇷 A representative of the Israel Defense Minister's party has proposed Israel purchase islands in Greece “for the good of the Jewish people.”
Avri Steiner, a board member of the Jewish National Fund, proposed the purchasing Greek islands as an emergency “safe haven” for Jews, and claims a framework could be created with the Greek government to eventually transfer full sovereignty.
Follow: @europa’
https://x.com/europa/status/2036569682430374069?s=61
Wes Streeting, now: I always use disappearing messages on WhatsApp.
Wes Streeting in February: *Released a batch of WhatsApp messages with Lord Mandelson, over a period of 14 months*
I don’t believe Wes has disappearing messages on. He’s lying and part of the cover up.
There's been a few replies to his tweet since I posted it on here.
Kemi also said at PMQs, the new Gas would be used exclusively by Britons, and she named the actual counties who would be using it.
Go look at the fact checkers on this, they call out what Kemi said today as bunkum and lies.