I remain reasonably confident of the prospects of a Burnham win in Makerfield.
The recent More in Common polling at national level showed Labour 6% behind Reform, but 3% ahead with Burnham as leader, a net 9% boost. However, the subbreaks in the North West show more of an effect - Labour currently 1% ahead of Reform but 14% ahead with Burnham as leader, a net 13% boost. So Burnham would have a greater positive effect on Labour's fortunes in the North West compared to the rest of the country. Possibly even more so in Makerfield given that it's very much his patch.
Other things seem also to be going in Burnham's favour: - the Reform candidate's far right links are out there and will be exposed in the campaign - Restore seem lined up to energetically split the Reform vote - the Greens are in a total mess - Burnham's commitment to electoral reform should appeal to Lib Dems and (if they have any sense*) Greens too. No point in moaning about FPTP if you try and scupper hopes of ending up with a PM who favours reform
Polling using the 2024 result as a baseline overlooks the artificial erosion of Labour's vote as a result of parachuting in a Westminster spad to replace a long standing local MP with a personal vote.
*Admittedly, a significant caveat, Caroline Lucas excepted.
Hasn’t Burnham kicked the electoral reform can to some unspecified point down the road?
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
That would be hilarious if Burnham is chucked out before the vote.
#labourcorruption-reformpropriety*
* That £5m was merely resting in my account.
The £5m is pining for the fjords.
Yes, sadly it is as far as the media are concerned. However I am still hopeful that the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner might have something to say in a year or three's time.
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged up to th eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all.
It’s the “convenience” stores that are under threat. Not the aircraft hanger sized stuff.
The quality of Morrisons stores was alway extremely variable, on a store by store basis.
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged up to th eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all.
It’s the “convenience” stores that are under threat. Not the aircraft hanger sized stuff.
The quality of Morrisons stores was alway extremely variable, on a store by store basis.
The purchase of the McColls convenience chain has been a disaster, but the proper supermarkets are also in big trouble. They are cutting corners all over the place. Its going to get worse,
"Morrisons, the UK's fifth-largest supermarket chain, is exploring a £1bn property deal amid its battle to recapture the ground it has lost to rivals including Sainsbury's and Aldi. Sky News has learnt that Morrisons, which is based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, has engaged the real estate advisory firm CBRE to evaluate options for raising finance secured against part of its large freehold store portfolio."
They will do this and then exit the business in far worse state than when they bought it.
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged Morrisons up to the eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all and cutting costs all over the place e.g. closing cafes, closing the "Market Street" i.e. fishmongers / butcher counters in most of the stores.
I still don't like him, but Scouse Andy is a better orator than any PM since Cameron, possibly Blair.
He's good. But I'd say it's more the natural way he has of speaking in public (so you get the impression he isn't faking anything because he's always like that) rather than 'oratory' as such. I think of oratory as something a bit more grand.
Streeting is also good imo. So that contest if it happens should be easy on the ear.
If you think of a great British orator who do you think of? No, no, not Johnson! I think of that chap who stands on a plinth on Queen Street in Cardiff with a traffic cone on his head, Aneurin Bevan.
Him for sure - and there's no way not to say Churchill even if we're trying to be fresh and original.
I'd say the best in my time following politics is Kinnock. The great Neil, I mean, not the perfectly serviceable Stephen.
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged Morrisons up to the eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all and cutting costs all over the place e.g. closing cafes, closing the "Market Street" i.e. fishmongers / butcher counters in most of the stores.
Leveraged buyouts should be banned, especially but not only when carried out by American private equity cowboys.
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged up to th eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all.
It’s the “convenience” stores that are under threat. Not the aircraft hanger sized stuff.
The quality of Morrisons stores was alway extremely variable, on a store by store basis.
No, as Urquart suggests the debt in unmanageable. Asda are on the hook too, but a few years behind Morrison's inevitable collapse.
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged Morrisons up to the eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all and cutting costs all over the place e.g. closing cafes, closing the "Market Street" i.e. fishmongers / butcher counters in most of the stores.
Leveraged buyouts should be banned, especially but not only when carried out by American private equity cowboys.
This bastardisation of the Private Equity model. There is something really wrong about not only the highly leveraged buyout model, but then the fact the PE company then charges their "own" company eye watering fees / revenue points all while insulated from the risk through a third party vehicle. Thus even if they f##k the company they got their money back (and more) via all the fees.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
Surely not illegal - charities are meant to promote good causes.
Charities are absolutely prohibited from even "associating themselves" with any particular political candidate (although the candidate can choose to associate themselves with the charity, which is a bit 'angels on the head of a pin'.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
Surely not illegal - charities are meant to promote good causes.
Charities are absolutely prohibited from even "associating themselves" with any particular political candidate (although the candidate can choose to associate themselves with the charity, which is a bit 'angels on the head of a pin'.
What about when the charity actually stands as a candidate - like in Clacton.
I remain reasonably confident of the prospects of a Burnham win in Makerfield.
The recent More in Common polling at national level showed Labour 6% behind Reform, but 3% ahead with Burnham as leader, a net 9% boost. However, the subbreaks in the North West show more of an effect - Labour currently 1% ahead of Reform but 14% ahead with Burnham as leader, a net 13% boost. So Burnham would have a greater positive effect on Labour's fortunes in the North West compared to the rest of the country. Possibly even more so in Makerfield given that it's very much his patch.
Other things seem also to be going in Burnham's favour: - the Reform candidate's far right links are out there and will be exposed in the campaign - Restore seem lined up to energetically split the Reform vote - the Greens are in a total mess - Burnham's commitment to electoral reform should appeal to Lib Dems and (if they have any sense*) Greens too. No point in moaning about FPTP if you try and scupper hopes of ending up with a PM who favours reform
Polling using the 2024 result as a baseline overlooks the artificial erosion of Labour's vote as a result of parachuting in a Westminster spad to replace a long standing local MP with a personal vote.
*Admittedly, a significant caveat, Caroline Lucas excepted.
Hasn’t Burnham kicked the electoral reform can to some unspecified point down the road?
It will be after the next election, at the earliest.
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged up to th eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all.
It’s the “convenience” stores that are under threat. Not the aircraft hanger sized stuff.
The quality of Morrisons stores was alway extremely variable, on a store by store basis.
No, as Urquart suggests the debt in unmanageable. Asda are on the hook too, but a few years behind Morrison's inevitable collapse.
Just incredible that this is the pitch from a leadership candidate and likely next PM only two years after a landslide win by his own party under the 'change' slogan:
Andy Burnham at the launch: “Hope is in the air, can you feel it?” he said.
“This is not business as usual. This is not more of the same … British politics is tired. It needs a new script. And over the next four weeks, the people of Makerfield are going to write that script.”
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged up to th eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all.
It’s the “convenience” stores that are under threat. Not the aircraft hanger sized stuff.
The quality of Morrisons stores was alway extremely variable, on a store by store basis.
No, as Urquart suggests the debt in unmanageable. Asda are on the hook too, but a few years behind Morrison's inevitable collapse.
What is it with West Yorkshire grocers?
Bath has a Morrisons near the station!
I haven't bought my sandwiches in that one for years. It used to be one of the nicer stores.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
Surely not illegal - charities are meant to promote good causes.
Charities are absolutely prohibited from even "associating themselves" with any particular political candidate (although the candidate can choose to associate themselves with the charity, which is a bit 'angels on the head of a pin'.
What about when the charity actually stands as a candidate - like in Clacton.
The guidance says that a candidate (or MP or whatever) is allowed to associate themselves with a charity (e.g. being a Trustee or whatever) but the charity is not allowed to associate itself with a political candidate (e.g by direct endorsement on behalf of the charity, or speaker opportunities on the charity's platform that are not open to all etc.).
It's acknowledged in the guidance that it is all very difficult and easy to get yourself into trouble.
However, issuing statements endorsing a politician is fairly clearly a breach on the Charity's part. But not the candidate's.
Speaking of big shops, time for another look at Iceland's rant on management:-
The Chief Executive’s handbook From the Business column, Newcastle Journal 2 August 2006 The classic 21-point career plan for a new Chief Executive goes like this:
1. Agree an amazingly generous salary, bonus, perks and LTIP package.
2. Settle your bottom comfortably in a swivelling chair behind a very large desk.
3. Order an even bigger desk and a better-padded chair in a more luxurious office suite.
4. Recruit a surprisingly attractive PA.
5. Announce that you have inherited a company in crisis. Issue a shock profit warning accompanied by massive provisions, setting a conveniently low base for recovery.
6. Appoint highly paid management consultants to conduct a top-to-bottom strategic review.
7. Sidestep questions on what exactly a Chief Executive is for, if management consultants need to be appointed to determine the company’s strategy.
8. Replace your finance director and auditors, to help cover your tracks.
9. Negotiate an even more generous salary to reflect the massive challenge of turning round the company that you now unexpectedly face.
10. Agree new LTIPs to reflect the enormous drop in the share price since your appointment.
11. Announce results of the strategic review, which has cost over £1 million and taken six months to state the bleeding obvious.
12. Botch its implementation, so that the expected recovery does not take place. Issue a series of further profit warnings (traditionally, a minimum of three).
13. Start sleeping with your surprisingly attractive PA to alleviate stress.
14. Bring in a new set of management consultants, who recommend ‘focusing’ the business through the sale of any remaining assets that actually make some money.
15. Achieve lower than expected returns from this fire sale.
16. Recommend acceptance of a derisory takeover bid for the rump of what was once a half decent business.
17. Exit the smoking ruins with a £1 million pay-off to cushion the pain of redundancy, and the thanks of grateful shareholders for getting the appalling company you inherited into a saleable condition.
18. Join a Government taskforce to advise on why British business is not fulfilling its potential.
19. Gain a suitable honour (CBE or above) for your important contribution to public life.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
Surely not illegal - charities are meant to promote good causes.
Charities are absolutely prohibited from even "associating themselves" with any particular political candidate (although the candidate can choose to associate themselves with the charity, which is a bit 'angels on the head of a pin'.
What about when the charity actually stands as a candidate - like in Clacton.
Calling Farage a charity is being charitable in itself.
Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs. The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.
It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", but did not give any further detail.
The PE company are going to bust Morrisons as their model was the thought they could sell and lease back all the stores at the top of the market while interest rates were super low. And they weren't able to do do that for more than a small proportion of the stores.
Have you been in Morrisons superstore recently? They are awful. Whether Government policy is a key factor by the by. Since the US equity outfit C,D and R took them over Morrisons the stores look like branches of 1980s Kwik Save.
After the McColls stores told the bigger ones will follow.
I am not a regular Morrison shopper, my only recent experience was I went to see the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team play last year and the car park was rammed getting out so popped with my mate to the Morrisons over the road to get some snacks and thought I had entered a supermarket from some war torn African country with the terrible quality of produce, loads of totally empty shelves and really shabby appearance of the shop. I put it down to perhaps late in the evening / older store. However, my elderly parents were regulars, but said since the PE firm what I saw was normal in their local store as well.
I don't think its every store - our local medium sized Morrisons is ok. No empty shelves, decent range of some things, less in others.
They leveraged up to th eye balls in debt and then all the current is against them, it will only be a matter of time before it goes downhill. I think you will find they are basically not investing in the buildings at all.
It’s the “convenience” stores that are under threat. Not the aircraft hanger sized stuff.
The quality of Morrisons stores was alway extremely variable, on a store by store basis.
The purchase of the McColls convenience chain has been a disaster, but the proper supermarkets are also in big trouble. They are cutting corners all over the place. Its going to get worse,
"Morrisons, the UK's fifth-largest supermarket chain, is exploring a £1bn property deal amid its battle to recapture the ground it has lost to rivals including Sainsbury's and Aldi. Sky News has learnt that Morrisons, which is based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, has engaged the real estate advisory firm CBRE to evaluate options for raising finance secured against part of its large freehold store portfolio."
They will do this and then exit the business in far worse state than when they bought it.
The government will be able to build lots of houses on the sites of the fallen stores and the head office in Sticker Lane, although that would also be a prime site for some new Chinese car dealerships.
Speaking of big shops, time for another look at Iceland's rant on management:-
The Chief Executive’s handbook From the Business column, Newcastle Journal 2 August 2006 The classic 21-point career plan for a new Chief Executive goes like this:
1. Agree an amazingly generous salary, bonus, perks and LTIP package.
2. Settle your bottom comfortably in a swivelling chair behind a very large desk.
3. Order an even bigger desk and a better-padded chair in a more luxurious office suite.
4. Recruit a surprisingly attractive PA.
5. Announce that you have inherited a company in crisis. Issue a shock profit warning accompanied by massive provisions, setting a conveniently low base for recovery.
6. Appoint highly paid management consultants to conduct a top-to-bottom strategic review.
7. Sidestep questions on what exactly a Chief Executive is for, if management consultants need to be appointed to determine the company’s strategy.
8. Replace your finance director and auditors, to help cover your tracks.
9. Negotiate an even more generous salary to reflect the massive challenge of turning round the company that you now unexpectedly face.
10. Agree new LTIPs to reflect the enormous drop in the share price since your appointment.
11. Announce results of the strategic review, which has cost over £1 million and taken six months to state the bleeding obvious.
12. Botch its implementation, so that the expected recovery does not take place. Issue a series of further profit warnings (traditionally, a minimum of three).
13. Start sleeping with your surprisingly attractive PA to alleviate stress.
14. Bring in a new set of management consultants, who recommend ‘focusing’ the business through the sale of any remaining assets that actually make some money.
15. Achieve lower than expected returns from this fire sale.
16. Recommend acceptance of a derisory takeover bid for the rump of what was once a half decent business.
17. Exit the smoking ruins with a £1 million pay-off to cushion the pain of redundancy, and the thanks of grateful shareholders for getting the appalling company you inherited into a saleable condition.
18. Join a Government taskforce to advise on why British business is not fulfilling its potential.
19. Gain a suitable honour (CBE or above) for your important contribution to public life.
Surely the trick with things like Morrisons is to ensure the land can't be used for residential purposes.
Oh wait, that would require councillors with a spine and not be open to bribes.
No because selling shops for housing would be popular, possibly even useful, but is not the usual problem which is selling freehold shops off and then leasing them back at extortionate rents with guaranteed annual hikes. This leads to dark and empty shops with skeleton crews with a high risk of going bust in ten or so years.
You will be shocked to hear that often the new landlord is the same PE company!
Speaking of big shops, time for another look at Iceland's rant on management:-
The Chief Executive’s handbook From the Business column, Newcastle Journal 2 August 2006 The classic 21-point career plan for a new Chief Executive goes like this:
1. Agree an amazingly generous salary, bonus, perks and LTIP package.
2. Settle your bottom comfortably in a swivelling chair behind a very large desk.
3. Order an even bigger desk and a better-padded chair in a more luxurious office suite.
4. Recruit a surprisingly attractive PA.
5. Announce that you have inherited a company in crisis. Issue a shock profit warning accompanied by massive provisions, setting a conveniently low base for recovery.
6. Appoint highly paid management consultants to conduct a top-to-bottom strategic review.
7. Sidestep questions on what exactly a Chief Executive is for, if management consultants need to be appointed to determine the company’s strategy.
8. Replace your finance director and auditors, to help cover your tracks.
9. Negotiate an even more generous salary to reflect the massive challenge of turning round the company that you now unexpectedly face.
10. Agree new LTIPs to reflect the enormous drop in the share price since your appointment.
11. Announce results of the strategic review, which has cost over £1 million and taken six months to state the bleeding obvious.
12. Botch its implementation, so that the expected recovery does not take place. Issue a series of further profit warnings (traditionally, a minimum of three).
13. Start sleeping with your surprisingly attractive PA to alleviate stress.
14. Bring in a new set of management consultants, who recommend ‘focusing’ the business through the sale of any remaining assets that actually make some money.
15. Achieve lower than expected returns from this fire sale.
16. Recommend acceptance of a derisory takeover bid for the rump of what was once a half decent business.
17. Exit the smoking ruins with a £1 million pay-off to cushion the pain of redundancy, and the thanks of grateful shareholders for getting the appalling company you inherited into a saleable condition.
18. Join a Government taskforce to advise on why British business is not fulfilling its potential.
19. Gain a suitable honour (CBE or above) for your important contribution to public life.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
HNH would be a lot more credible if they campaigned against hate on both ends of the horseshoe.
I remain reasonably confident of the prospects of a Burnham win in Makerfield.
The recent More in Common polling at national level showed Labour 6% behind Reform, but 3% ahead with Burnham as leader, a net 9% boost. However, the subbreaks in the North West show more of an effect - Labour currently 1% ahead of Reform but 14% ahead with Burnham as leader, a net 13% boost. So Burnham would have a greater positive effect on Labour's fortunes in the North West compared to the rest of the country. Possibly even more so in Makerfield given that it's very much his patch.
Other things seem also to be going in Burnham's favour: - the Reform candidate's far right links are out there and will be exposed in the campaign - Restore seem lined up to energetically split the Reform vote - the Greens are in a total mess - Burnham's commitment to electoral reform should appeal to Lib Dems and (if they have any sense*) Greens too. No point in moaning about FPTP if you try and scupper hopes of ending up with a PM who favours reform
Polling using the 2024 result as a baseline overlooks the artificial erosion of Labour's vote as a result of parachuting in a Westminster spad to replace a long standing local MP with a personal vote.
*Admittedly, a significant caveat, Caroline Lucas excepted.
Hasn’t Burnham kicked the electoral reform can to some unspecified point down the road?
It will be after the next election, at the earliest.
Today programme talking about "real world work experience" for children at 16. Broadcasting their ignorance of the reality of trying to get real world work experience at 16, which is very difficult due to the unwillingness of companies to offer it and the administration burden. If companies and the government want 16 year olds to do work experience, then they have to offer it.
Never mind you can get a fiver off your zoo visit this summer
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
Surely not illegal - charities are meant to promote good causes.
Charities are absolutely prohibited from even "associating themselves" with any particular political candidate (although the candidate can choose to associate themselves with the charity, which is a bit 'angels on the head of a pin'.
What about when the charity actually stands as a candidate - like in Clacton.
Calling Farage a charity is being charitable in itself.
Well there's at least one benefactor who views him that way.
"So I can be safe and secure for the rest of my life"
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
HNH would be a lot more credible if they campaigned against hate on both ends of the horseshoe.
They seem to be oblivious to the endemic Jew hatred in corners of the Green Party
Rather like the Led By Donkeys lot who still seem to be more troubled by Truss.
Today programme talking about "real world work experience" for children at 16. Broadcasting their ignorance of the reality of trying to get real world work experience at 16, which is very difficult due to the unwillingness of companies to offer it and the administration burden. If companies and the government want 16 year olds to do work experience, then they have to offer it.
Never mind you can get a fiver off your zoo visit this summer
I don't understand how you PB Tories don't understand the rationale behind this. Think Eat Out to Help Out, or perhaps it's best not to.
I still don't like him, but Scouse Andy is a better orator than any PM since Cameron, possibly Blair.
He's good. But I'd say it's more the natural way he has of speaking in public (so you get the impression he isn't faking anything because he's always like that) rather than 'oratory' as such. I think of oratory as something a bit more grand.
Streeting is also good imo. So that contest if it happens should be easy on the ear.
If you think of a great British orator who do you think of? No, no, not Johnson! I think of that chap who stands on a plinth on Queen Street in Cardiff with a traffic cone on his head, Aneurin Bevan.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
HNH would be a lot more credible if they campaigned against hate on both ends of the horseshoe.
Antisemitism on the left, you mean? Fair point. If they ignore that, they shouldn't. But tbf most racist bile does come from the far and populist right.
I still don't like him, but Scouse Andy is a better orator than any PM since Cameron, possibly Blair.
He's good. But I'd say it's more the natural way he has of speaking in public (so you get the impression he isn't faking anything because he's always like that) rather than 'oratory' as such. I think of oratory as something a bit more grand.
Streeting is also good imo. So that contest if it happens should be easy on the ear.
If you think of a great British orator who do you think of? No, no, not Johnson! I think of that chap who stands on a plinth on Queen Street in Cardiff with a traffic cone on his head, Aneurin Bevan.
Heseltine Kinnock Robin Cook
I see Steve Kinnock in Port Talbot regularly. He's no orator, although his wife is very charismatic.
It's more than £1,000 per person in the UK. It would be compensation payouts averaging £1m to 73,400 people.
Can that possibly be right?
Blood scandal, post office scandal,???
About a billion had been paid out as part of the Horizon redress scheme, but the total quoted is a total of compensation debt - so compensation that's acknowledged as required but that hasn't been made yet.
I'm going to have to look at the report the article is based on to get the details, I guess, but it feels bonkers.
Tsunami on the Gilt markets this morning mostly UK
After many doom mongering right wing experts predicting 6% record recent fall below 5% at one point.
Which one ? There are multiple different timescales.
Burnham calming them earlier this week has helped when he backed away from his ‘the bond markets will be my bitch’ attitude and said the reverse.
Also politics is helping and the feeling the gulf conflict will resolve. It’s not right wing to warn of the consequences of the bond market. Was it ‘right wing’ that the Bond markets clipped Trumps wings over tariffs.
Worth pointing out since labour came to power our bonds have performed poorly. They weren’t great before the election. They’ve got worse. But, muh, Truss. We are now above the G7 range.
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Manchester City)
Defenders: Reece James (Chelsea), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), John Stones (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), Dan Burn (Newcastle), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)
I'm struggling with the idea that the likes of Henderson and Gordon are worth a place ahead of the in-form Gibbs-White.
At least Phil Foden is ditched
One man wrecking ball for midfield cohesion especially the excellent Kane and Bellingham link up play that his complete lack of position awareness would often hamper.
Bellingham best in a free roving end to end role, mopping up, starting moves at pace getting up the pitch for end product or taking ball and running straight at defensive midfield and committing defenders as a result
Injuries earlier conspire to have him fresher than most at key time
Tsunami on the Gilt markets this morning mostly UK
After many doom mongering right wing experts predicting 6% record recent fall below 5% at one point.
It's interesting, isn't it, how the doom mongers are usually right-wing when we have a Labour government, and left-wing when we have a Conservative government.
A decent Reform video of Farage with their candidate in Makerfield talking about his links to the are and his start in life. Proper working class lad that Labour once cared about then took for granted.
If only Nigel could try looking a little more interested at times 😂
Speaking of big shops, time for another look at Iceland's rant on management:-
The Chief Executive’s handbook From the Business column, Newcastle Journal 2 August 2006 The classic 21-point career plan for a new Chief Executive goes like this:
1. Agree an amazingly generous salary, bonus, perks and LTIP package.
2. Settle your bottom comfortably in a swivelling chair behind a very large desk.
3. Order an even bigger desk and a better-padded chair in a more luxurious office suite.
4. Recruit a surprisingly attractive PA.
5. Announce that you have inherited a company in crisis. Issue a shock profit warning accompanied by massive provisions, setting a conveniently low base for recovery.
6. Appoint highly paid management consultants to conduct a top-to-bottom strategic review.
7. Sidestep questions on what exactly a Chief Executive is for, if management consultants need to be appointed to determine the company’s strategy.
8. Replace your finance director and auditors, to help cover your tracks.
9. Negotiate an even more generous salary to reflect the massive challenge of turning round the company that you now unexpectedly face.
10. Agree new LTIPs to reflect the enormous drop in the share price since your appointment.
11. Announce results of the strategic review, which has cost over £1 million and taken six months to state the bleeding obvious.
12. Botch its implementation, so that the expected recovery does not take place. Issue a series of further profit warnings (traditionally, a minimum of three).
13. Start sleeping with your surprisingly attractive PA to alleviate stress.
14. Bring in a new set of management consultants, who recommend ‘focusing’ the business through the sale of any remaining assets that actually make some money.
15. Achieve lower than expected returns from this fire sale.
16. Recommend acceptance of a derisory takeover bid for the rump of what was once a half decent business.
17. Exit the smoking ruins with a £1 million pay-off to cushion the pain of redundancy, and the thanks of grateful shareholders for getting the appalling company you inherited into a saleable condition.
18. Join a Government taskforce to advise on why British business is not fulfilling its potential.
19. Gain a suitable honour (CBE or above) for your important contribution to public life.
Tsunami on the Gilt markets this morning mostly UK
After many doom mongering right wing experts predicting 6% record recent fall below 5% at one point.
Which one ? There are multiple different timescales.
Burnham calming them earlier this week has helped when he backed away from his ‘the bond markets will be my bitch’ attitude and said the reverse.
Also politics is helping and the feeling the gulf conflict will resolve. It’s not right wing to warn of the consequences of the bond market. Was it ‘right wing’ that the Bond markets clipped Trumps wings over tariffs.
Worth pointing out since labour came to power our bonds have performed poorly. They weren’t great before the election. They’ve got worse. But, muh, Truss. We are now above the G7 range.
The prospect of some kind of peace deal with US and Iran is likely the cause, and anyone cheering a 4.9% 10 year bond has no understanding of the additional cost to our borrowing and the implication for the country
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
HNH would be a lot more credible if they campaigned against hate on both ends of the horseshoe.
Its often the way with these things. I have been involved in Athena Swann for many years. If you don't know it started out looking at barriers to female success in academia, aiming at things like a culture of working long hours (not conducive to childcare), and many other things (women taking career breaks to look after/raise offspring). Its morphed into a wider look at work culture but all too often its still just about women. I asked a question once about the gender imbalance on the pharmacy course (it heavily skews female) and whether we should be worried or look into the reasons.
Today programme talking about "real world work experience" for children at 16. Broadcasting their ignorance of the reality of trying to get real world work experience at 16, which is very difficult due to the unwillingness of companies to offer it and the administration burden. If companies and the government want 16 year olds to do work experience, then they have to offer it.
Never mind you can get a fiver off your zoo visit this summer
I don't understand how you PB Tories don't understand the rationale behind this. Think Eat Out to Help Out, or perhaps it's best not to.
Tsunami on the Gilt markets this morning mostly UK
After many doom mongering right wing experts predicting 6% record recent fall below 5% at one point.
Which one ? There are multiple different timescales.
Burnham calming them earlier this week has helped when he backed away from his ‘the bond markets will be my bitch’ attitude and said the reverse.
Also politics is helping and the feeling the gulf conflict will resolve. It’s not right wing to warn of the consequences of the bond market. Was it ‘right wing’ that the Bond markets clipped Trumps wings over tariffs.
Worth pointing out since labour came to power our bonds have performed poorly. They weren’t great before the election. They’ve got worse. But, muh, Truss. We are now above the G7 range.
Alex Wickham @alexwickham Andy Burnham’s decision to keep the current fiscal rules, as told to Bloomberg this week, has contributed to gilts having their best weekly gain since 2023
Easing political concerns plus optimism on Iran, slower than forecast inflation numbers and soft jobs and retail data all gave bonds a lift
Tsunami on the Gilt markets this morning mostly UK
After many doom mongering right wing experts predicting 6% record recent fall below 5% at one point.
Which one ? There are multiple different timescales.
Burnham calming them earlier this week has helped when he backed away from his ‘the bond markets will be my bitch’ attitude and said the reverse.
Also politics is helping and the feeling the gulf conflict will resolve. It’s not right wing to warn of the consequences of the bond market. Was it ‘right wing’ that the Bond markets clipped Trumps wings over tariffs.
Worth pointing out since labour came to power our bonds have performed poorly. They weren’t great before the election. They’ve got worse. But, muh, Truss. We are now above the G7 range.
The prospect of some kind of peace deal with US and Iran is likely the cause, and anyone cheering a 4.9% 10 year bond has no understanding of the additional cost to our borrowing and the implication for the country
I think we can also credit Burnhams warm words too as that was the moment it started going the other way
Tsunami on the Gilt markets this morning mostly UK
After many doom mongering right wing experts predicting 6% record recent fall below 5% at one point.
Which one ? There are multiple different timescales.
Burnham calming them earlier this week has helped when he backed away from his ‘the bond markets will be my bitch’ attitude and said the reverse.
Also politics is helping and the feeling the gulf conflict will resolve. It’s not right wing to warn of the consequences of the bond market. Was it ‘right wing’ that the Bond markets clipped Trumps wings over tariffs.
Worth pointing out since labour came to power our bonds have performed poorly. They weren’t great before the election. They’ve got worse. But, muh, Truss. We are now above the G7 range.
The prospect of some kind of peace deal with US and Iran is likely the cause, and anyone cheering a 4.9% 10 year bond has no understanding of the additional cost to our borrowing and the implication for the country
I think we can also credit Burnhams warm words too as that was the moment it started going the other way
The jets, each worth £125m, arrived at Lajes International Airport on the mid-Atlantic island on 9 March on their journey from the Lockheed Martin plant at Fort Worth in Texas, and then never left...
Both Lockheed and the UK government are denying responsibility for this stranding of what are new, undelivered aircraft, that we're paying for. And have never taken delivery of.
Tsunami on the Gilt markets this morning mostly UK
After many doom mongering right wing experts predicting 6% record recent fall below 5% at one point.
Which one ? There are multiple different timescales.
Burnham calming them earlier this week has helped when he backed away from his ‘the bond markets will be my bitch’ attitude and said the reverse.
Also politics is helping and the feeling the gulf conflict will resolve. It’s not right wing to warn of the consequences of the bond market. Was it ‘right wing’ that the Bond markets clipped Trumps wings over tariffs.
Worth pointing out since labour came to power our bonds have performed poorly. They weren’t great before the election. They’ve got worse. But, muh, Truss. We are now above the G7 range.
Alex Wickham @alexwickham Andy Burnham’s decision to keep the current fiscal rules, as told to Bloomberg this week, has contributed to gilts having their best weekly gain since 2023
Easing political concerns plus optimism on Iran, slower than forecast inflation numbers and soft jobs and retail data all gave bonds a lift
The jets, each worth £125m, arrived at Lajes International Airport on the mid-Atlantic island on 9 March on their journey from the Lockheed Martin plant at Fort Worth in Texas, and then never left...
Both Lockheed and the UK government are denying responsibility for this stranding of what are new, undelivered aircraft, that we're paying for. And have never taken delivery of.
Have they tried turning them on and off again? Failing that, a hearty whack to the top aircraft?
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
One admires ambition, but .... "Eccles is the new Dubai" ?
(I think the Derbyshire Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site would be a better model, perhaps.)
masterplan would see the area of Salford, which is home to the Barton Aerodrome, become ‘a centre equal to Dubai DXB’.
Setting out the vision, he added: “Twinning the world's best talent with painted markets, linked by artistic tunnels in a spectacular and vibrant energy.
“Tunnels built to ease pathways to modern living that will bring jobs to build new experiences with a spectrum of art and colours.
“As newly elected ward councillor, my work begins on bringing a new and exciting great initiative to Barton and Winton.”
Pressed on how the transformation would be achieved, Councillor Felse explained that the ‘bedrock’ of the plan would be for a new ‘AI Academy for Arts, Culture, AI and Community Leadership’ in Salford.
He added: “Successful graduates can expect over £100k a year jobs in public sector work seen recently advertised in the press.
“Sited aside the [Salford Community] Stadium offering 6,000 student places including AI on line at £9k a year each, triggering investing £54million a year income into Barton.”
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
HNH would be a lot more credible if they campaigned against hate on both ends of the horseshoe.
Its often the way with these things. I have been involved in Athena Swann for many years. If you don't know it started out looking at barriers to female success in academia, aiming at things like a culture of working long hours (not conducive to childcare), and many other things (women taking career breaks to look after/raise offspring). Its morphed into a wider look at work culture but all too often its still just about women. I asked a question once about the gender imbalance on the pharmacy course (it heavily skews female) and whether we should be worried or look into the reasons.
Fell on rather stony ground.
Ok but I don't think there's an obligation for campaigning groups to widen their activities beyond what they want to concentrate on.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
HNH would be a lot more credible if they campaigned against hate on both ends of the horseshoe.
Its often the way with these things. I have been involved in Athena Swann for many years. If you don't know it started out looking at barriers to female success in academia, aiming at things like a culture of working long hours (not conducive to childcare), and many other things (women taking career breaks to look after/raise offspring). Its morphed into a wider look at work culture but all too often its still just about women. I asked a question once about the gender imbalance on the pharmacy course (it heavily skews female) and whether we should be worried or look into the reasons.
Fell on rather stony ground.
Ok but I don't think there's an obligation for campaigning groups to widen their activities beyond what they want to concentrate on.
No, but its the hypocrisy that amuses more, me than anything else.
I find that post a bit gross but Harwood has caught some people in his net.
As per the comments, the obvious (and deliberate?) confusion is between corporate margin and product markup, where the standard is indeed 50% - apart from some places that want a bit more.
Not gonna open linkedin and find out the actual question asked but this might be people confusing the profit margin of the business with the markup on the actual things they sell.
Leon to gain Holborn and St Pancras for Reform from Sir Keir in shock poll?
But how would we know he is the candidate? I don't think @Leon_VotedForStarmer is his real name. If it is it's a shite name for a candidate fighting Starmer.
Today programme talking about "real world work experience" for children at 16. Broadcasting their ignorance of the reality of trying to get real world work experience at 16, which is very difficult due to the unwillingness of companies to offer it and the administration burden. If companies and the government want 16 year olds to do work experience, then they have to offer it.
Never mind you can get a fiver off your zoo visit this summer
I don't understand how you PB Tories don't understand the rationale behind this. Think Eat Out to Help Out, or perhaps it's best not to.
One admires ambition, but .... "Eccles is the new Dubai" ?
(I think the Derbyshire Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site would be a better model, perhaps.)
masterplan would see the area of Salford, which is home to the Barton Aerodrome, become ‘a centre equal to Dubai DXB’.
Setting out the vision, he added: “Twinning the world's best talent with painted markets, linked by artistic tunnels in a spectacular and vibrant energy.
“Tunnels built to ease pathways to modern living that will bring jobs to build new experiences with a spectrum of art and colours.
“As newly elected ward councillor, my work begins on bringing a new and exciting great initiative to Barton and Winton.”
Pressed on how the transformation would be achieved, Councillor Felse explained that the ‘bedrock’ of the plan would be for a new ‘AI Academy for Arts, Culture, AI and Community Leadership’ in Salford.
He added: “Successful graduates can expect over £100k a year jobs in public sector work seen recently advertised in the press.
“Sited aside the [Salford Community] Stadium offering 6,000 student places including AI on line at £9k a year each, triggering investing £54million a year income into Barton.”
They could put a large dome over the top to reduce the rainfall? Like the Simpsons? As for the tunnels, Birmingham has just spent the best part of a generation removing its tunnels because people refused to use them.
Not gonna open linkedin and find out the actual question asked but this might be people confusing the profit margin of the business with the markup on the actual things they sell.
The average person is consistently bad at the scale of structure in our society.
So they mostly believe that “billions in profit” means the supermarkets own the whole contents of Grimgots Bank.
Watching them get upset when turnover and profit *margin” is explained is always fun.
Same reason that for the belief that firing 6 DEI officers will payoff the national debt.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
A charity can only campaign (in politics) against what is indisputably bad (like racism). Theil could try that but he'd be struck down imo.
I've just read Pep's resignation statement. It's fabulous. Can we find him a seat so he can join the leadership contest?
It's very good. I wouldn't be surprised to see Burnham borrow some of the lines about Manchester - but in a way that suggests his having being the city's mayor had a good deal to do with it.
One admires ambition, but .... "Eccles is the new Dubai" ?
(I think the Derbyshire Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site would be a better model, perhaps.)
masterplan would see the area of Salford, which is home to the Barton Aerodrome, become ‘a centre equal to Dubai DXB’.
Setting out the vision, he added: “Twinning the world's best talent with painted markets, linked by artistic tunnels in a spectacular and vibrant energy.
“Tunnels built to ease pathways to modern living that will bring jobs to build new experiences with a spectrum of art and colours.
“As newly elected ward councillor, my work begins on bringing a new and exciting great initiative to Barton and Winton.”
Pressed on how the transformation would be achieved, Councillor Felse explained that the ‘bedrock’ of the plan would be for a new ‘AI Academy for Arts, Culture, AI and Community Leadership’ in Salford.
He added: “Successful graduates can expect over £100k a year jobs in public sector work seen recently advertised in the press.
“Sited aside the [Salford Community] Stadium offering 6,000 student places including AI on line at £9k a year each, triggering investing £54million a year income into Barton.”
They could put a large dome over the top to reduce the rainfall? Like the Simpsons? As for the tunnels, Birmingham has just spent the best part of a generation removing its tunnels because people refused to use them.
Ditto Nottingham.
Tunnels can work well if they are not dark, narrow, dank intricate victim traps.
The Dutch know how to do tunnels - comfortable, wide enough to be maintained easily, lit, short enough that the entire thing and out the other end can be seen before you enter. And they need to be tolerably well trafficked.
Good examples of neglected tunnels that still work ish: various pedestrian underpasses on the M1 between J25 and J29. Also the pedestrian tunnels underneath the motorway traffic island at M1 J29, which form a separate level.
Bad example: the horrible passageways under Nuthall Road roundabout in Nottingham, with a right angle at the entrance so you can't see, also with a slalom barrier right on the corner.
Speaking of big shops, time for another look at Iceland's rant on management:-
The Chief Executive’s handbook From the Business column, Newcastle Journal 2 August 2006 The classic 21-point career plan for a new Chief Executive goes like this:
1. Agree an amazingly generous salary, bonus, perks and LTIP package.
2. Settle your bottom comfortably in a swivelling chair behind a very large desk.
3. Order an even bigger desk and a better-padded chair in a more luxurious office suite.
4. Recruit a surprisingly attractive PA.
5. Announce that you have inherited a company in crisis. Issue a shock profit warning accompanied by massive provisions, setting a conveniently low base for recovery.
6. Appoint highly paid management consultants to conduct a top-to-bottom strategic review.
7. Sidestep questions on what exactly a Chief Executive is for, if management consultants need to be appointed to determine the company’s strategy.
8. Replace your finance director and auditors, to help cover your tracks.
9. Negotiate an even more generous salary to reflect the massive challenge of turning round the company that you now unexpectedly face.
10. Agree new LTIPs to reflect the enormous drop in the share price since your appointment.
11. Announce results of the strategic review, which has cost over £1 million and taken six months to state the bleeding obvious.
12. Botch its implementation, so that the expected recovery does not take place. Issue a series of further profit warnings (traditionally, a minimum of three).
13. Start sleeping with your surprisingly attractive PA to alleviate stress.
14. Bring in a new set of management consultants, who recommend ‘focusing’ the business through the sale of any remaining assets that actually make some money.
15. Achieve lower than expected returns from this fire sale.
16. Recommend acceptance of a derisory takeover bid for the rump of what was once a half decent business.
17. Exit the smoking ruins with a £1 million pay-off to cushion the pain of redundancy, and the thanks of grateful shareholders for getting the appalling company you inherited into a saleable condition.
18. Join a Government taskforce to advise on why British business is not fulfilling its potential.
19. Gain a suitable honour (CBE or above) for your important contribution to public life.
Thank you for sharing this, which accords very much with my experience of (some) private sector organisations I've worked for when they've been somewhere around step 11/12.
I've just read Pep's resignation statement. It's fabulous. Can we find him a seat so he can join the leadership contest?
It's very good. I wouldn't be surprised to see Burnham borrow some of the lines about Manchester - but in a way that suggests his having being the city's mayor had a good deal to do with it.
Yes he must surely be looking at it in that light. The statement definitely has a 'progressive' flavour to it. There's little for Reform or Restore there other than that slight touch of backwards looking nostalgia about the industrial revolution.
I've just read Pep's resignation statement. It's fabulous. Can we find him a seat so he can join the leadership contest?
It's very good. I wouldn't be surprised to see Burnham borrow some of the lines about Manchester - but in a way that suggests his having being the city's mayor had a good deal to do with it.
Yes he must surely be looking at it in that light. The statement definitely has a 'progressive' flavour to it. There's little for Reform or Restore there other than that slight touch of backwards looking nostalgia about the industrial revolution.
Perhaps also Oasis in their more boorish incarnations?
Today programme talking about "real world work experience" for children at 16. Broadcasting their ignorance of the reality of trying to get real world work experience at 16, which is very difficult due to the unwillingness of companies to offer it and the administration burden. If companies and the government want 16 year olds to do work experience, then they have to offer it.
I thought it was arranged by secondary schools. Is that no longer the case?
That only works to the extent that the schools can find willing companies to arrange it with, surely? My impression was that it was a matter of connections the school has with local businesses, parents who can persuade or connect with their employer to sort something out, and so on.
My old employer does "work experience" for 16 year olds (or 18? IDK) but honestly it's not actually work, it's more like a week of some kind of group project in a meeting room in the office doing some programming or hardware related task under somebody's supervision, AIUI. It's not til you get to university student age and a whole summer placement that it even starts to get to "students do something approximately work shaped and a good student might even produce something useful" and even that is more "we offer paid internships so we have an opportunity to find and offer jobs to the good ones".
Back thirty years ago my "work experience" week at 16 was clearly nothing like actually working, and it's kind of hard to see how it could be unless it's on a job you could reasonably start doing immediately out of high school, which then isn't very representative of what most people will end up doing.
Looping back to this- getting work experience placements is really hard work, even in FE. Partly because of the increased onerousness of safeguarding, partly (as you say) that the sort of jobs where a late teenager can just walk in and do something useful are much rarer than they used to be. (Remember this when people go on about the Good Old Days Of Work.) But also, it's much harder for firms to find spare capacity to take someone under their wing for a week or a fortnight and not get that much out of them. Hence also the difficulty of setting up apprenticeships as a massive thing.
See also the dilution of the work experience component of T Levels- whatever the merits in theory, getting sufficient workplace placements has been a nightmare in reality.
Points 7 and 8 apply a lot in local government. I know of several cases in which a top officer was appointed on a high salary with councillors extolling his/her experience, knowledge, contacts, etc. First thing they do is bring in outside consultants. Why if they have such experience, knowedge, contacts, etc?
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
A charity can only campaign (in politics) against what is indisputably bad (like racism). Theil could try that but he'd be struck down imo.
I've had chats with our local HnH bod. Their literature says they campaign against Reform and the Far Right. They know they can't endorse one party for election (and maybe Charity) law reasons, as well as possibly adding an election expense onto a candidate , merely referring voters to the various tactical voting websites. I think someone has worked out the many snags and steered a path through.
Still if ReFuk objects it is up them to start a legal challenge - they should have enough crypto to afford it.
Can't see any other reason other than potential national team management coming up post world cup for Pep to leave the job now instead of finishing up his contract, loads of national team jobs will come up post World Cup and I assume he'll have his pick pretty much.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Really?
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
A charity can only campaign (in politics) against what is indisputably bad (like racism). Theil could try that but he'd be struck down imo.
Hope not hate is a manipulative organisation that coarsens and pollutes the political debate. It falls well short of the political impartiality expected of charities, but gets away with it by dividing its 'charitable arm' from its 'campaigning arm' and making the ludicrous assertion that the two are unrelated.
Can't see any other reason other than potential national team management coming up post world cup for Pep to leave the job now instead of finishing up his contract, loads of national team jobs will come up post World Cup and I assume he'll have his pick pretty much.
I can think of 115 charges reasons why he's decided to leave.
There are some reports on Twitter that a charity may possibly have been campaigning for Andy Burnham, which apparently is illegal.
It will be interesting if there are legal issues with it as the same organisation has been active in many election campaigns.
Which charity?
Hope not Hate.
Well there you go. That's on-mission and intra-vires.
The last thing we need is charities getting into political campaigning.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
Hope Not Hate though - they have to campaign against the Ghastlies. Special case.
Malmesbury is right. Be careful what you wish for.
I know what I'm wishing for - a brake on Reform's progress before things get out of hand. That said, I can see the point. HNH campaigning for LAB feels wrong to me (whether legal or not). Campaigning *against* REF otoh - that feels ok. More than ok really.
HNH would be a lot more credible if they campaigned against hate on both ends of the horseshoe.
Its often the way with these things. I have been involved in Athena Swann for many years. If you don't know it started out looking at barriers to female success in academia, aiming at things like a culture of working long hours (not conducive to childcare), and many other things (women taking career breaks to look after/raise offspring). Its morphed into a wider look at work culture but all too often its still just about women. I asked a question once about the gender imbalance on the pharmacy course (it heavily skews female) and whether we should be worried or look into the reasons.
Fell on rather stony ground.
Ok but I don't think there's an obligation for campaigning groups to widen their activities beyond what they want to concentrate on.
No, but its the hypocrisy that amuses more, me than anything else.
I don't know about that.
Say I form an org to fight antisemitism. Our mission is to detect, call out and condemn it wherever it rears its head. So we do that with laser focus and we don't comment on any other types of racism.
Can't see any other reason other than potential national team management coming up post world cup for Pep to leave the job now instead of finishing up his contract, loads of national team jobs will come up post World Cup and I assume he'll have his pick pretty much.
I can think of 115 charges reasons why he's decided to leave.
The EPL has been utterly glacial on all that.
EFL seems to be much quicker and stricter (Compare Chelsea to Leicester, WBA, Spies(No) Saints & Sheffield Wednesday)
Can't see any other reason other than potential national team management coming up post world cup for Pep to leave the job now instead of finishing up his contract, loads of national team jobs will come up post World Cup and I assume he'll have his pick pretty much.
I can think of 115 charges reasons why he's decided to leave.
The EPL has been utterly glacial on all that.
EFL seems to be much quicker and stricter (Compare Chelsea to Leicester, WBA, Spies(No) Saints & Sheffield Wednesday)
Comments
"Morrisons, the UK's fifth-largest supermarket chain, is exploring a £1bn property deal amid its battle to recapture the ground it has lost to rivals including Sainsbury's and Aldi. Sky News has learnt that Morrisons, which is based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, has engaged the real estate advisory firm CBRE to evaluate options for raising finance secured against part of its large freehold store portfolio."
They will do this and then exit the business in far worse state than when they bought it.
That will turn into an ocean of soft money, American style, used to buy elections.
£5 million bungs is bad enough. And that needs treading on. Otherwise, the next one will be £50 million and buy an election outright.
I'd say the best in my time following politics is Kinnock. The great Neil, I mean, not the perfectly serviceable Stephen.
What is it with West Yorkshire grocers?
Andy Burnham at the launch: “Hope is in the air, can you feel it?” he said.
“This is not business as usual. This is not more of the same … British politics is tired. It needs a new script. And over the next four weeks, the people of Makerfield are going to write that script.”
Oh wait, that would require councillors with a spine and not be open to bribes.
It's acknowledged in the guidance that it is all very difficult and easy to get yourself into trouble.
However, issuing statements endorsing a politician is fairly clearly a breach on the Charity's part. But not the candidate's.
The Chief Executive’s handbook
From the Business column, Newcastle Journal 2 August 2006
The classic 21-point career plan for a new Chief Executive goes like this:
1. Agree an amazingly generous salary, bonus, perks and LTIP package.
2. Settle your bottom comfortably in a swivelling chair behind a very large desk.
3. Order an even bigger desk and a better-padded chair in a more luxurious office suite.
4. Recruit a surprisingly attractive PA.
5. Announce that you have inherited a company in crisis. Issue a shock profit warning accompanied by massive provisions, setting a conveniently low base for recovery.
6. Appoint highly paid management consultants to conduct a top-to-bottom strategic review.
7. Sidestep questions on what exactly a Chief Executive is for, if management consultants need to be appointed to determine the company’s strategy.
8. Replace your finance director and auditors, to help cover your tracks.
9. Negotiate an even more generous salary to reflect the massive challenge of turning round the company that you now unexpectedly face.
10. Agree new LTIPs to reflect the enormous drop in the share price since your appointment.
11. Announce results of the strategic review, which has cost over £1 million and taken six months to state the bleeding obvious.
12. Botch its implementation, so that the expected recovery does not take place. Issue a series of further profit warnings (traditionally, a minimum of three).
13. Start sleeping with your surprisingly attractive PA to alleviate stress.
14. Bring in a new set of management consultants, who recommend ‘focusing’ the business through the sale of any remaining assets that actually make some money.
15. Achieve lower than expected returns from this fire sale.
16. Recommend acceptance of a derisory takeover bid for the rump of what was once a half decent business.
17. Exit the smoking ruins with a £1 million pay-off to cushion the pain of redundancy, and the thanks of grateful shareholders for getting the appalling company you inherited into a saleable condition.
18. Join a Government taskforce to advise on why British business is not fulfilling its potential.
19. Gain a suitable honour (CBE or above) for your important contribution to public life.
20. Apply for a new job as Chief Executive.
21. See 1.
This is, of course, a completely theoretical scenario, and any passing resemblance to any actual Chief Executive, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
https://about.iceland.co.uk/our-story/the-dark-ages/the-chief-executives-handbook/
Can that possibly be right?
You will be shocked to hear that often the new landlord is the same PE company!
Not 13, at the very least.
"So I can be safe and secure for the rest of my life"
Your heart melts.
Rather like the Led By Donkeys lot who still seem to be more troubled by Truss.
After many doom mongering right wing experts predicting 6% record recent fall below 5% at one point.
KABOOM
Kinnock
Robin Cook
I'm going to have to look at the report the article is based on to get the details, I guess, but it feels bonkers.
Burnham calming them earlier this week has helped when he backed away from his ‘the bond markets will be my bitch’ attitude and said the reverse.
Also politics is helping and the feeling the gulf conflict will resolve. It’s not right wing to warn of the consequences of the bond market. Was it ‘right wing’ that the Bond markets clipped Trumps wings over tariffs.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-22/gilts-set-for-best-week-gain-since-2023-as-rates-offset-politics
Worth pointing out since labour came to power our bonds have performed poorly. They weren’t great before the election. They’ve got worse. But, muh, Truss. We are now above the G7 range.
One man wrecking ball for midfield cohesion especially the excellent Kane and Bellingham link up play that his complete lack of position awareness would often hamper.
Bellingham best in a free roving end to end role, mopping up, starting moves at pace getting up the pitch for end product or taking ball and running straight at defensive midfield and committing defenders as a result
Injuries earlier conspire to have him fresher than most at key time
If only Nigel could try looking a little more interested at times 😂
https://x.com/nigel_farage/status/2057741954792693929?s=61
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93xv27kpwxo
Tom Harwood
@tomhfh
Extraordinary stats via
@hwallop
over on LinkedIn:
"On average, people said pubs make a profit margin of 40%. Last year, JD Wetherspoon made 3.8 per cent.
They thought supermarkets made 50% profit margins. Tesco’s margin last year was 4.3%, the highest in the industry.
Aldi and Lidl run at 0.7%, according to the UK competition watchdog."
https://x.com/tomhfh/status/2057752525814608184
Fell on rather stony ground.
Expect a very quick and coruscating rebuttal
Alex Wickham
@alexwickham
Andy Burnham’s decision to keep the current fiscal rules, as told to Bloomberg this week, has contributed to gilts having their best weekly gain since 2023
Easing political concerns plus optimism on Iran, slower than forecast inflation numbers and soft jobs and retail data all gave bonds a lift
https://x.com/alexwickham/status/2057760820289761654
https://www.defenceeye.co.uk/2026/05/15/quarter-of-a-billion-pounds-worth-of-raf-fighter-jets-stuck-in-holiday-paradise/
Two RAF Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II combat jets have been stuck on the Portuguese Azores Islands for two months after being hit by mystery technical problems.
The jets, each worth £125m, arrived at Lajes International Airport on the mid-Atlantic island on 9 March on their journey from the Lockheed Martin plant at Fort Worth in Texas, and then never left...
Both Lockheed and the UK government are denying responsibility for this stranding of what are new, undelivered aircraft, that we're paying for. And have never taken delivery of.
“It’s ok. These people are good” is how it starts.
Let that go through and the Peter Thiel funded “Rational Immigration” charity will be campaigning for Restore. On the reopening of Shark Island as a deportation camp for immigrants. With a £50 million budget.
One admires ambition, but .... "Eccles is the new Dubai" ?
(I think the Derbyshire Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site would be a better model, perhaps.)
masterplan would see the area of Salford, which is home to the Barton Aerodrome, become ‘a centre equal to Dubai DXB’.
Setting out the vision, he added: “Twinning the world's best talent with painted markets, linked by artistic tunnels in a spectacular and vibrant energy.
“Tunnels built to ease pathways to modern living that will bring jobs to build new experiences with a spectrum of art and colours.
“As newly elected ward councillor, my work begins on bringing a new and exciting great initiative to Barton and Winton.”
Pressed on how the transformation would be achieved, Councillor Felse explained that the ‘bedrock’ of the plan would be for a new ‘AI Academy for Arts, Culture, AI and Community Leadership’ in Salford.
He added: “Successful graduates can expect over £100k a year jobs in public sector work seen recently advertised in the press.
“Sited aside the [Salford Community] Stadium offering 6,000 student places including AI on line at £9k a year each, triggering investing £54million a year income into Barton.”
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greatemanchester-news/reform-councillor-who-wants-turn-33942298
Thin margins on big turnover, backed by strong brand loyalty and economies of scale. It’s much more like the supermarket model, than the pub model.
@carla_denyer
·
1h
Following my doctor’s advice, I am taking some time away from work for health reasons.
My office will be functioning as usual and my staff are there to support all my constituents who need help, so please don't hesitate to get in touch.
See my full statement below.
https://x.com/carla_denyer/status/2057761852541546952
As for the tunnels, Birmingham has just spent the best part of a generation removing its tunnels because people refused to use them.
So they mostly believe that “billions in profit” means the supermarkets own the whole contents of Grimgots Bank.
Watching them get upset when turnover and profit *margin” is explained is always fun.
Same reason that for the belief that firing 6 DEI officers will payoff the national debt.
Tunnels can work well if they are not dark, narrow, dank intricate victim traps.
The Dutch know how to do tunnels - comfortable, wide enough to be maintained easily, lit, short enough that the entire thing and out the other end can be seen before you enter. And they need to be tolerably well trafficked.
Good examples of neglected tunnels that still work ish: various pedestrian underpasses on the M1 between J25 and J29. Also the pedestrian tunnels underneath the motorway traffic island at M1 J29, which form a separate level.
Bad example: the horrible passageways under Nuthall Road roundabout in Nottingham, with a right angle at the entrance so you can't see, also with a slalom barrier right on the corner.
All built in the 1960s and hardly touched since.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1d26nv6xw5o
See also the dilution of the work experience component of T Levels- whatever the merits in theory, getting sufficient workplace placements has been a nightmare in reality.
https://feweek.co.uk/t-levels-go-fully-remote-as-ministers-scrap-work-placement-limits/
Still if ReFuk objects it is up them to start a legal challenge - they should have enough crypto to afford it.
chargesreasons why he's decided to leave.Say I form an org to fight antisemitism. Our mission is to detect, call out and condemn it wherever it rears its head. So we do that with laser focus and we don't comment on any other types of racism.
Is that hypocritical of us? I don't think so.
EFL seems to be much quicker and stricter (Compare Chelsea to Leicester, WBA, Spies(No) Saints & Sheffield Wednesday)
Why the difference do you think ?