I'm not saying it is hot but Erwin Rommel just asked me for directions to El Alamein.
I watched an adventure documentary thingy last night where the presenter was crossing the Namib desert. He described the horrendous conditions, temperatures in the 90s (Fahrenheit)... so the same as London today.
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will "resolve the difficult issues" before he leaves office to help Andy Burnham
No 10: "He said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps"
VERY VERY SIGNIFICANT
Starmer and Reeves wish to SETTLE DIP before ANKARA NATO meeting.
WIN WIN
For Burnham
Very Noble gesture by Starmer
A very significant increase in defence spending not enough for some, including hypocritical Tories who hollowed out Forces by slashing spending.
However, Labour can claim credit for generational increase, Starmer legacy but not an urgent issue unresolved on Burnham desk.
He can use it as a far better base to work from than Starmer inherited and seek to add to incrementally by 2029 and beyond.
The scorched earth Tories left behind on Defence will have least now have foundations and a first floor and scope to add layers.
Starmer very very generous and statesman like here.
Are you Big G's evil twin. You both sound so alike but from different viewpoints.
Point of order
I do not shout nor make loads of single lines of utter partisan nonsense and warned about by @NickPalmer
Indeed if you have followed my post I have been full of praise for Burnham and wished him well
There is far too much nastiness in politics today and disagreeing on politics is the essence of this forum but at times it goes too far
Point of order.
Do you ever re-read the daily dross you write about Kemi Badenoch? I know some people can become fixated with a public figure but to readers it is indistinguishable from the 'partisan nonsense' you eloquently speak about. Whether it's gone too far is in the eye of the reader. I find her the most ungracious leader of any Party other than farage and you clearly don't!
I'm not saying it is hot but Erwin Rommel just asked me for directions to El Alamein.
I watched an adventure documentary thingy last night where the presenter was crossing the Namib desert. He described the horrendous conditions, temperatures in the 90s (Fahrenheit)... so the same as London today.
It's 35C in Barnes at the moment. But it's forecast to drop to 29C by midnight.
I'm going to Barnes Philosophy Club in the local OSO this evening to discuss "what is our responsibility for future generations?" A very Barnesian topic. I'm more focused on this generation to be honest.
The OSO is airconditioned so it will make a change from hovering around the frozen pea section in Tesco Express with a couple of dozen of other hot people.
Edinburgh TV Festival Relocating To Greater Manchester
Soon-to-be UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham championed the bid
After 50 years, the Edinburgh TV Festival is no more.
Greater Manchester will become the new home of the biggest annual gathering of the British TV industry after a competitive bidding process fought between numerous British cities.
The decision means that 2026 will be the final time the TV Festival takes place in the Scottish capital.
Campbell Glennie, CEO of the TV Festival and TV Foundation, said Greater Manchester “presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates.” “This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes,” he added. “The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance; it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will "resolve the difficult issues" before he leaves office to help Andy Burnham
No 10: "He said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps"
VERY VERY SIGNIFICANT
Starmer and Reeves wish to SETTLE DIP before ANKARA NATO meeting.
WIN WIN
For Burnham
Very Noble gesture by Starmer
A very significant increase in defence spending not enough for some, including hypocritical Tories who hollowed out Forces by slashing spending.
However, Labour can claim credit for generational increase, Starmer legacy but not an urgent issue unresolved on Burnham desk.
He can use it as a far better base to work from than Starmer inherited and seek to add to incrementally by 2029 and beyond.
The scorched earth Tories left behind on Defence will have least now have foundations and a first floor and scope to add layers.
Starmer very very generous and statesman like here.
Are you Big G's evil twin. You both sound so alike but from different viewpoints.
Point of order
I do not shout nor make loads of single lines of utter partisan nonsense and warned about by @NickPalmer
Indeed if you have followed my post I have been full of praise for Burnham and wished him well
There is far too much nastiness in politics today and disagreeing on politics is the essence of this forum but at times it goes too far
Point of order.
Do you ever re-read the daily dross you write about Kemi Badenoch? I know some people can become fixated with a public figure but to readers it is indistinguishable from the 'partisan nonsense' you eloquently speak about. Whether it's gone too far is in the eye of the reader. I find her the most ungracious leader of any Party other than farage and you clearly don't!
I would be amazed of you did but look at her approval ratings so not just me who approves of her approach and policies
Maybe you need to explain Polanski ratings as I expect he is your cup of tea
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will "resolve the difficult issues" before he leaves office to help Andy Burnham
No 10: "He said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps"
VERY VERY SIGNIFICANT
Starmer and Reeves wish to SETTLE DIP before ANKARA NATO meeting.
WIN WIN
For Burnham
Very Noble gesture by Starmer
A very significant increase in defence spending not enough for some, including hypocritical Tories who hollowed out Forces by slashing spending.
However, Labour can claim credit for generational increase, Starmer legacy but not an urgent issue unresolved on Burnham desk.
He can use it as a far better base to work from than Starmer inherited and seek to add to incrementally by 2029 and beyond.
The scorched earth Tories left behind on Defence will have least now have foundations and a first floor and scope to add layers.
Starmer very very generous and statesman like here.
Are you Big G's evil twin. You both sound so alike but from different viewpoints.
Point of order
I do not shout nor make loads of single lines of utter partisan nonsense and warned about by @NickPalmer
Indeed if you have followed my post I have been full of praise for Burnham and wished him well
There is far too much nastiness in politics today and disagreeing on politics is the essence of this forum but at times it goes too far
And by the way I do not support the abolition of our nuclear defence and gifting Putin a huge coup
Personally I'm in favour of giving Putin a huge coup.
Getting rid of outdated nuclear weapons we have no control over to be replaced by state of the art drone and mobile field based weaponry would out the shits up Putin far more
A weapon by whose use you effectively vonsign the planet to death or a modern use any time any day weapon fit for all purposes..
The purpose of nuclear arms is precisely so that you do not need to use them, and it works.
If Ukraine had not given away its nukes, then Russia would never have invaded.
Not necessarily- Professor Isaac Rosenblum went through the logic in an episode of Yes, Prime Minister that was even more pedagogic than usual. If you want to invade a nuclear power, you do it with salami tactics. Induce some riots, offer some police "to help", replace them with troops who never get round to leaving, and so on. Never put the invadee in a position where they have no choice but to press the button.
The thing nukes defend against is other nukes, but that's about it. Otherwise, they're either too much or too late.
But I'm sure the fictional Prof would have loved drones.
As if any of that is remotely fucking relevant to the selection process.
The RAF want it because it might generate favour from the much adored USA. The wider politics probably favours M-346.
I’ve got shares in BAE, a little off their high.
This,doesn’t fill me with confidence.
As it happens, I sold all my BAE shares yesterday morning at 1827p. Still holding onto my RRs.
Mine have done well for me but they’ve started to concern me a little.
Mine have done well for me too. I bought in Feb last year at 1344p but I've missed the top.
I think if we have a thorough defence review including geographic scope, modern technology, flexibility, procurement and value for money, then BAE might not come well out of it. But DYOR as they say.
I'm highly amused this morning by the great sucking sound as newspapers find they suddenly may not have a 3-4 month succession process to use to try and create chaos in the Government, in order to complain about it.
The misleading framing of possible reforms to Council Tax are interesting. The Standard: "Londoners face £1,000 property tax rise." (Fact check: most Londoners will benefit, especially those who have not seen their house prices spiral so much since 1991). Also Telegraph: "Whoever the next chancellor is, they are coming for your home."
Those type of papers (ie nearly all of them) will be framing Council Tax as a Wealth Tax. Is there any limit to the black hole in the heads of readers of most of our newspapers?
My immediate thought is that if he is in, Burnham needs to do things quickly. A revaluation of Council Tax may possible and implemented in a year or two. I'm not sure about a proprty value tax (unfortunately).
I think that is all completely untrue. Of course it all depends on what level PVT s set at. But yesterday the discussion was on a 1% levy.
Given the median council tax in London is currently £2200 and the median house price is £50000, a 1% PVT would see the median property tax burden more than double.
The suggestion made yesterday that people can simply move to a cheaper property is so ludicrous in the London context that it doesn’t even deserve a response
The other suggestion to make the PVT only 0.5% works better for London but would slash the amount being raised across the rest of the country.
A national one size fits all PVT simply doesn't work.
You have the Maths/policy wrong.
The proposal nationwide routinely talked about is 0.5% (actually slightly less) and that does work nationwide.
1% has been proposed by some as a surcharge rate for second homes etc not as the standard rate.
Yes.
The "Burnham policy" is a flat 0.48% annual tax on a property's current market value.
A higher rate of 0.96% would apply to second homes, empty properties, and foreign-owned properties.
The policy is designed to be revenue-neutral for the government while completely abolishing two existing UK taxes: Council Tax and Stamp Duty. So it sorts out the 1991 Council Tax valuation anomaly and also facilitates more economic and social mobility by removing Stamp Duty.
I think there is an initial transition cap in the proposal, ensuring no homeowner's bill increases by more than £1,200 per year compared to their previous council tax, and that roughly 75% of households (particularly in the North and Midlands) would save money, while the remaining 25% (concentrated in high-value areas like London and the South East) would see tax increases.
It might fly. It might be popular. It's certainly bold.
Who is doing the valuation?
The VOA would do the valuation (as now for Council Tax) and would calculate a home's worth using local transaction histories and actual sales data recorded by the Land Registry, similar to the Zoopla valuation method.
It would be reassessed on the actual value of a sale with a rebate or extra charge.
You can’t really do local sales data because every house is different. Just last sales data plus an annual inflation is far simpler
Yes in general. Though Zoopla seems to regularly update the value of my mansion flat, which is one of fifty, based on recent sales of other nearby flats.. They are fairly similar.
I agree that last sales data plus a local house inflation would be simple and seen to be fair.
No, inflation not house price inflation. Or a fixed amount: say 2.5% pa. There will then be a rebasing when the house gets sold.
It makes it simple, ensures that the purchasing power of taxes remains broadly in line.
The problem with house price inflation is it creates an incentive for the government to inflate house prices…
In view of our experience on the railways today I would suggest anyone travelling by train over the next 2 days keep a regular check on the departure and arrival boards of their respective stations
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will "resolve the difficult issues" before he leaves office to help Andy Burnham
No 10: "He said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps"
VERY VERY SIGNIFICANT
Starmer and Reeves wish to SETTLE DIP before ANKARA NATO meeting.
WIN WIN
For Burnham
Very Noble gesture by Starmer
A very significant increase in defence spending not enough for some, including hypocritical Tories who hollowed out Forces by slashing spending.
However, Labour can claim credit for generational increase, Starmer legacy but not an urgent issue unresolved on Burnham desk.
He can use it as a far better base to work from than Starmer inherited and seek to add to incrementally by 2029 and beyond.
The scorched earth Tories left behind on Defence will have least now have foundations and a first floor and scope to add layers.
Starmer very very generous and statesman like here.
This is dubious. It depends on Burnham wanting an already done deal rather than wanting the right deal. If the deal was so bad the Defence minister resigned, why should the rest of us believe the deal secures the defence of the realm? The PM can't rely on the authority of others. He is responsible for how the government responds to the big calls he makes, but also for the big calls he inherits. That is the mistake Starmer made.
Yes, it's nonsensical. The last set of defence ministers resigned because there was no coherent plan. There's no agreement on what needs to be spent, or how it is to be spent.
A last minute stitch up by two people with minimal defence knowledge, with a temporary defence secretary CV ticker in the background, is not going to convince an incoming PM that he's been done a favour.
As if any of that is remotely fucking relevant to the selection process.
The RAF want it because it might generate favour from the much adored USA. The wider politics probably favours M-346.
I’ve got shares in BAE, a little off their high.
This,doesn’t fill me with confidence.
As it happens, I sold all my BAE shares yesterday morning at 1827p. Still holding onto my RRs.
Mine have done well for me but they’ve started to concern me a little.
Mine have done well for me too. I bought in Feb last year at 1344p but I've missed the top.
I think if we have a thorough defence review including geographic scope, modern technology, flexibility, procurement and value for money, then BAE might not come well out of it. But DYOR as they say.
Indeed. And as I’m retired now my question to myself is can I repurpose the money to an asset that is less risky and pays a better dividend.
I’ll be doing more over the weekend but it’s on my risk list.
Edinburgh TV Festival Relocating To Greater Manchester
Soon-to-be UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham championed the bid
After 50 years, the Edinburgh TV Festival is no more.
Greater Manchester will become the new home of the biggest annual gathering of the British TV industry after a competitive bidding process fought between numerous British cities.
The decision means that 2026 will be the final time the TV Festival takes place in the Scottish capital.
Campbell Glennie, CEO of the TV Festival and TV Foundation, said Greater Manchester “presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates.” “This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes,” he added. “The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance; it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
Edinburgh TV Festival Relocating To Greater Manchester
Soon-to-be UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham championed the bid
After 50 years, the Edinburgh TV Festival is no more.
Greater Manchester will become the new home of the biggest annual gathering of the British TV industry after a competitive bidding process fought between numerous British cities.
The decision means that 2026 will be the final time the TV Festival takes place in the Scottish capital.
Campbell Glennie, CEO of the TV Festival and TV Foundation, said Greater Manchester “presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates.” “This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes,” he added. “The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance; it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
I'm highly amused this morning by the great sucking sound as newspapers find they suddenly may not have a 3-4 month succession process to use to try and create chaos in the Government, in order to complain about it.
The misleading framing of possible reforms to Council Tax are interesting. The Standard: "Londoners face £1,000 property tax rise." (Fact check: most Londoners will benefit, especially those who have not seen their house prices spiral so much since 1991). Also Telegraph: "Whoever the next chancellor is, they are coming for your home."
Those type of papers (ie nearly all of them) will be framing Council Tax as a Wealth Tax. Is there any limit to the black hole in the heads of readers of most of our newspapers?
My immediate thought is that if he is in, Burnham needs to do things quickly. A revaluation of Council Tax may possible and implemented in a year or two. I'm not sure about a proprty value tax (unfortunately).
I think that is all completely untrue. Of course it all depends on what level PVT s set at. But yesterday the discussion was on a 1% levy.
Given the median council tax in London is currently £2200 and the median house price is £50000, a 1% PVT would see the median property tax burden more than double.
The suggestion made yesterday that people can simply move to a cheaper property is so ludicrous in the London context that it doesn’t even deserve a response
The other suggestion to make the PVT only 0.5% works better for London but would slash the amount being raised across the rest of the country.
A national one size fits all PVT simply doesn't work.
When they looked at property tax replacing Council Tax in Scotland the proposal that got closest to cross partly support was PVT with upper and lower thresholds.
You exempt properties below a certain value and then charge a percentage above that, but also have an upper limit.
You also probably need a minimum service charge, for those eligible to pay, so that you don't have a large number of properties just above the threshold being sent bills for less than the cost of billing them.
Revaluation on sale and when building works like renovations or extentions are completed.
People can challenge the valuation but it is validated on sale, so that if it turns out the property the owner argued was worth less isn't the Council can get back the lost revenue. You cold teh otehr way round also claim a rebate.
The biggest stumbling block is what happens when house prices fall and you need to up the rate.espeically if lots of peopel suddenly want rebates.
There isteh Asset Rich/Cash Poor like some pensioners who could get discounts,if these are decided by Councils and self funded, the more residents you want to exempt, the more others need to pay. Tough for those Councils with high levels of dpprivation.
You also don't escape the problem where Councils with low value housing stock have a high tax and low threshold at teh bottom and high at the top, and those with high value the opposites.
You need external Government support in the form of a grant or the people in poorer areas end up paying more for a small house than those in a rich area for a larger one. I t's why rich Tories quite like the idea of raising all their own money and poorer traditional Labour ones don't.
Peter.
sounds like the usual clusterfcuk that would require thousands of admin staff to handle and end up with less revenue than now but a small subset funding the whole thing. I am already paying 4K for a small property.
Well given the highest band H is Scotland is about £4,000 it's either not a small property or a holiday home/let in an area of housing pressure so I'd have thought you'd be exactly the right person to want reform.
Also if you think going from deciding what the theoretical value of a current property was in the 1993 and then dividing it into 8 bands, takes a lot less work than deducting a figure from current value and multiplying by a percentage does, you struggle with basic arithmetic.
The main cost is aways the billing and chasing people to pay not the basic calculation.
Peter.
wrong on all counts Peter, it is a G, not big just an average 4 bed detached , not a holiday let and not a kick in the arse off 4K. Daylight robbery.
Where is Scotland is a G Band house that isn't a second home £4k? The highest G band is Dundee and that's only £2,900?
Oh and since when has 4 bedroom been small, most small peoperties are 1 or 2 bed?
Feels like it's peaked some way below what they said
The thunderstoms last night (which were mega) washed a fair bit of heat out... for now. The damp ground does mean that it's even more like a sauna out there.
(Noticeable that the storms seemed to come out of nowhere. Are they still too small and short-lived as features for computers to compute? Butterflies and whatnot?)
The fact that we have home-grown criminals isn't an argument for potentially letting in criminals from other countries.
At the end of James O'Brien today he played listener's favourite post Brexit calls. He might have been more disingenuous than normal but a lot of caller justification for Brexit was that being in the EU meant too many brown people, which is why we had to leave.
Over to you Brexiters...
I like a lot about JO'B but this I don't. He majors on the fact that he is cleverer than all the dim uninformed people who for strange reasons ring him up to put him right, and constantly returns to the theme of how dim they are. Which of course is true.
However if you are remotely interested in truth what you do is not pitch quality and informed argument against people suffering from Dunning Kruger but against the best counter arguments available. This he does rather less of.
So you end up in the JO'B world with phoners in who can do no wrong, and phoners in who can do no right, and this is closely aligned to JO'B's views, many of which I share.
I believe that to be largely true. But I suppose Nick Ferrari before him gets all the calls that O'Brexit might once have taken.
There is a good BBC pipe dream perfect balance there. Ferrari only takes Conservative/ Reform calls. O 'Brexit takes only non-Conservative/ Reform calls.
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will "resolve the difficult issues" before he leaves office to help Andy Burnham
No 10: "He said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps"
VERY VERY SIGNIFICANT
Starmer and Reeves wish to SETTLE DIP before ANKARA NATO meeting.
WIN WIN
For Burnham
Very Noble gesture by Starmer
A very significant increase in defence spending not enough for some, including hypocritical Tories who hollowed out Forces by slashing spending.
However, Labour can claim credit for generational increase, Starmer legacy but not an urgent issue unresolved on Burnham desk.
He can use it as a far better base to work from than Starmer inherited and seek to add to incrementally by 2029 and beyond.
The scorched earth Tories left behind on Defence will have least now have foundations and a first floor and scope to add layers.
Starmer very very generous and statesman like here.
This is dubious. It depends on Burnham wanting an already done deal rather than wanting the right deal. If the deal was so bad the Defence minister resigned, why should the rest of us believe the deal secures the defence of the realm? The PM can't rely on the authority of others. He is responsible for how the government responds to the big calls he makes, but also for the big calls he inherits. That is the mistake Starmer made.
Yes, it's nonsensical. The last set of defence ministers resigned because there was no coherent plan. There's no agreement on what needs to be spent, or how it is to be spent.
A last minute stitch up by two people with minimal defence knowledge, with a temporary defence secretary CV ticker in the background, is not going to convince an incoming PM that he's been done a favour.
Or at least it shouldn't.
I think this sort of nonsense increases the chances of a Starmer/Burnham disagreement meaning he’s in office before the weekend.
The Labour process could run in the background but he can kiss the ring the minute he has 326 supporters.
Edinburgh TV Festival Relocating To Greater Manchester
Soon-to-be UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham championed the bid
After 50 years, the Edinburgh TV Festival is no more.
Greater Manchester will become the new home of the biggest annual gathering of the British TV industry after a competitive bidding process fought between numerous British cities.
The decision means that 2026 will be the final time the TV Festival takes place in the Scottish capital.
Campbell Glennie, CEO of the TV Festival and TV Foundation, said Greater Manchester “presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates.” “This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes,” he added. “The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance; it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
Edinburgh TV Festival Relocating To Greater Manchester
Soon-to-be UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham championed the bid
After 50 years, the Edinburgh TV Festival is no more.
Greater Manchester will become the new home of the biggest annual gathering of the British TV industry after a competitive bidding process fought between numerous British cities.
The decision means that 2026 will be the final time the TV Festival takes place in the Scottish capital.
Campbell Glennie, CEO of the TV Festival and TV Foundation, said Greater Manchester “presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates.” “This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes,” he added. “The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance; it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
“ Remember that time Vincent Kompany gave Andy Burnham £3m from his testimonial match to tackle homelessness on the streets of Manchester and he doubled it? The homeless population, not the cash!”
"What on earth has it got to do with you ?" Farage asks the national broadcaster's interviewer.
He really cannot handle even simple questioning on his bung.
To be fair to Farage, what would a good answer even look like? An excellent final exam question for Spin Doctor school, except I'm not sure anyone could pass.
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will "resolve the difficult issues" before he leaves office to help Andy Burnham
No 10: "He said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps"
VERY VERY SIGNIFICANT
Starmer and Reeves wish to SETTLE DIP before ANKARA NATO meeting.
WIN WIN
For Burnham
Very Noble gesture by Starmer
A very significant increase in defence spending not enough for some, including hypocritical Tories who hollowed out Forces by slashing spending.
However, Labour can claim credit for generational increase, Starmer legacy but not an urgent issue unresolved on Burnham desk.
He can use it as a far better base to work from than Starmer inherited and seek to add to incrementally by 2029 and beyond.
The scorched earth Tories left behind on Defence will have least now have foundations and a first floor and scope to add layers.
Starmer very very generous and statesman like here.
Are you Big G's evil twin. You both sound so alike but from different viewpoints.
Point of order
I do not shout nor make loads of single lines of utter partisan nonsense and warned about by @NickPalmer
Indeed if you have followed my post I have been full of praise for Burnham and wished him well
There is far too much nastiness in politics today and disagreeing on politics is the essence of this forum but at times it goes too far
And by the way I do not support the abolition of our nuclear defence and gifting Putin a huge coup
Personally I'm in favour of giving Putin a huge coup.
Getting rid of outdated nuclear weapons we have no control over to be replaced by state of the art drone and mobile field based weaponry would out the shits up Putin far more
A weapon by whose use you effectively vonsign the planet to death or a modern use any time any day weapon fit for all purposes..
The purpose of nuclear arms is precisely so that you do not need to use them, and it works.
If Ukraine had not given away its nukes, then Russia would never have invaded.
Or if America had stood by its guarantees to ukraine.
I can see why Ukraine might not rely on others any more - and is building its own missiles. Building nukes wouldn't surprise me.
"What on earth has it got to do with you ?" Farage asks the national broadcaster's interviewer.
He really cannot handle even simple questioning on his bung.
To be fair to Farage, what would a good answer even look like? An excellent final exam question for Spin Doctor school, except I'm not sure anyone could pass.
Implying that it was comparable to someone's salary undercuts every disclaimer he's previously made.
There isn't a good answer to questions about a £5m bung; and he seems determined to run through all the bad answers.
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will "resolve the difficult issues" before he leaves office to help Andy Burnham
No 10: "He said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps"
VERY VERY SIGNIFICANT
Starmer and Reeves wish to SETTLE DIP before ANKARA NATO meeting.
WIN WIN
For Burnham
Very Noble gesture by Starmer
A very significant increase in defence spending not enough for some, including hypocritical Tories who hollowed out Forces by slashing spending.
However, Labour can claim credit for generational increase, Starmer legacy but not an urgent issue unresolved on Burnham desk.
He can use it as a far better base to work from than Starmer inherited and seek to add to incrementally by 2029 and beyond.
The scorched earth Tories left behind on Defence will have least now have foundations and a first floor and scope to add layers.
Starmer very very generous and statesman like here.
Are you Big G's evil twin. You both sound so alike but from different viewpoints.
Point of order
I do not shout nor make loads of single lines of utter partisan nonsense and warned about by @NickPalmer
Indeed if you have followed my post I have been full of praise for Burnham and wished him well
There is far too much nastiness in politics today and disagreeing on politics is the essence of this forum but at times it goes too far
And by the way I do not support the abolition of our nuclear defence and gifting Putin a huge coup
Personally I'm in favour of giving Putin a huge coup.
Ukraine is enormous.
It is. It’s the largest country wholly in Europe. (European Russia is bigger).
It’s 12 hours on the train from Lviv to Kiyv.
Yeah but sometimes it's 12 hours by train from Leeds to London!
One of teh big issues with Ukraine joining teh EU is teh CAP...Ukraine is or certainly has teh potential to e an Agricultural Super power! The entire EU produces about 250 to 300m tonnes of grain a year. Ukraine about 60m.
That's a lot of cheap grain that EU farmers will have to compete with even before Ukrainian farmers get support which won't be cheap.
“Marie-France van Heel” is trending, and not in a good way.
Might the new PM get into a scandal as quickly as the current PM did?
He's a possible Labour Prime Minister and as much every aspect of his life has to be forensically investigated for a stick with which the new leader can be beaten.
“ Remember that time Vincent Kompany gave Andy Burnham £3m from his testimonial match to tackle homelessness on the streets of Manchester and he doubled it? The homeless population, not the cash!”
Oddly enough, no one seems to have brought up that for all the new development in Manchester city centre since Burnham became Mayor, I think the City's housing waiting list has climbed from 13k to 20k.
🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer will "resolve the difficult issues" before he leaves office to help Andy Burnham
No 10: "He said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps"
VERY VERY SIGNIFICANT
Starmer and Reeves wish to SETTLE DIP before ANKARA NATO meeting.
WIN WIN
For Burnham
Very Noble gesture by Starmer
A very significant increase in defence spending not enough for some, including hypocritical Tories who hollowed out Forces by slashing spending.
However, Labour can claim credit for generational increase, Starmer legacy but not an urgent issue unresolved on Burnham desk.
He can use it as a far better base to work from than Starmer inherited and seek to add to incrementally by 2029 and beyond.
The scorched earth Tories left behind on Defence will have least now have foundations and a first floor and scope to add layers.
Starmer very very generous and statesman like here.
Are you Big G's evil twin. You both sound so alike but from different viewpoints.
Point of order
I do not shout nor make loads of single lines of utter partisan nonsense and warned about by @NickPalmer
Indeed if you have followed my post I have been full of praise for Burnham and wished him well
There is far too much nastiness in politics today and disagreeing on politics is the essence of this forum but at times it goes too far
And by the way I do not support the abolition of our nuclear defence and gifting Putin a huge coup
Personally I'm in favour of giving Putin a huge coup.
Ukraine is enormous.
It is. It’s the largest country wholly in Europe. (European Russia is bigger).
It’s 12 hours on the train from Lviv to Kiyv.
Yeah but sometimes it's 12 hours by train from Leeds to London!
One of teh big issues with Ukraine joining teh EU is teh CAP...Ukraine is or certainly has teh potential to e an Agricultural Super power! The entire EU produces about 250 to 300m tonnes of grain a year. Ukraine about 60m.
That's a lot of cheap grain that EU farmers will have to compete with even before Ukrainian farmers get support which won't be cheap.
Peter.
Absolutely, Ukraine after the war will be the breadbasket of Europe. Look at what’s happening in Poland over the past decade, and Ukraine will be there in the next decade.
Off topic, but about the most important domestic problem the US has:
On February 12th, 1809 Abraham Lincoln was born, in Kentucky. Unable to get a clear title to land there, his father, Tom, moved the family to Indiana. On October 5th, 1818, Abe's mother, Nancy, died of milk sickness, leaving Abe's older sister, Sarah, then 11 years old, in charge of their one-room cabin. A year later, that changed. Here's how Carl Sandburg describes what happened:
Lonesome days came for Abe and Sarah in November when their father went away, promising to come back. He headed for Elizabethtown, Kentucky, through woods and across the Ohio River, heading to the house of the widow Sarah Bush Johnston. They said he argued straight out: "I have no wife and you no husband. I came a-purpose to marry you. I knowed you from a gal and you knowed me from a boy. I've no time to lose; and if you're willin' let it be done straight off." She answered, "I got a few little debts," gave him a list and he paid them, and they were married December 2, 1819. He could write his name; she "made her mark." Why the two of them took up with each other so quickly Dennis Hanks later said, "Tom had a kind o' way with women, an' maybe it was somethin' she took comfort in to have a man that didn't drink an' cuss none." Abe and Sarah had a nice surprise one morning when four horses and a wagon came into their clearing, and their father jumped off, then Sarah Bush Lincoln, the new wife and mother, then her three children by her first husband, Sarah Elizabeth (13), Matilda (10), and John D. Johnston (nine years old). Next off the wagon came a feather mattress and pillows, a black walnut bureau. a large clothes chest, a table, chairs, pots and skillets, , knives, forks, spoons. "Here's your new mammy, his father told Abe as the boy looked up at a strong, large-boned, rosy woman, with a kindly face and eyes, steady voice, steady ways. From the first she was warm and friendly for Abe's hands to touch. And his hands roved with curiosity over a feather pillow and a feather mattress.
(From my much-used one-volume biography of Lincoln. Dennis Hanks was an older boy who lived with the Lincolns for years. I had intended this for Sunday, Father's Day in the US, because it shows, vividly, a father doing what was best for his children.)
As if any of that is remotely fucking relevant to the selection process.
The RAF want it because it might generate favour from the much adored USA. The wider politics probably favours M-346.
I’ve got shares in BAE, a little off their high.
This,doesn’t fill me with confidence.
As it happens, I sold all my BAE shares yesterday morning at 1827p. Still holding onto my RRs.
Funny, I sold all mine last Thursday, along with over half my other holdings, basically dumping everything averagely cyclical or above. I am happy to sit out the rest of the year with the proceeds sitting in a cash ISA, with the added advantage that it beats Reeves’s transfer restrictions coming in April 2027 (although before long I will be old enough not to be covered by them anyway)
Feels like it's peaked some way below what they said
The thunderstoms last night (which were mega) washed a fair bit of heat out... for now. The damp ground does mean that it's even more like a sauna out there.
(Noticeable that the storms seemed to come out of nowhere. Are they still too small and short-lived as features for computers to compute? Butterflies and whatnot?)
UKV had a storm on roughly the right path modelled, but the others were a bit of a fail. There is a lot of energy available but working out whether or not it will get triggered is hard. Often that depends on very local effects, even though once a storm gets going it is self-sustaining.
Note that models still have silly temperatures Thurs/Fri.
It is easy to forget that the highest June temperature ever recorded was "only" 35.6C, and just because it is going to be 38C instead of 42C doesn't mean this isn't still horrendous.
It is like snow in winter - every extreme forecast depends on a whole set of variables coinciding, so the likelihood is always that it will be "downgraded".
Anyway, as far as I can tell we've broken the highest ever dewpoint record today, as the air in 2022 was a lot dryer. So it will feel more Florida than Phoenix.
Unless you can provide links to reputable news source rather than Twitter, then your discussion is now closed.
Got to say it's useful to see what crap being written on the cesspit of bullshit that is X but it's not something I would want on a website I owned / managed.
One thing I wish the Government would do is ban departments from putting stuff on X and insist that BlueSky is used given that it provides an algorithm free timeline...
Heck they could take BlueSky and create their own version if they wanted...
Absolutely, Ukraine after the war will be the breadbasket of Europe. Look at what’s happening in Poland over the past decade, and Ukraine will be there in the next decade.
Ah but at what cost.
Rough estimate ( I used AI) to include Ukraine the Cap budget would either have to rise by €10-12bn (18-22%) or individal farm payments would need to drop by18-22% if the budget was capped.
Given what we have ploughed into Ukraine (npi) I think we would find the €12bn, but corruption would be an issue as with most Eastern European entrants.
The BBC state Wisley has set the high number so far today at 33.7c which is hot enough but a little "under cooked" compared to some of the numbers doing the rounds on the weather models.
Tomorrow looks very hot for central southern England - perhaps 35-37c and similar on Thursday with the heat shifting east and north on Friday before sanity returns on Saturday.
When Bush II was in the White House, he proposed to deploy ABM systems to Poland, due to growing concerns about North Korean ICBMs.
This is because ICBMs travel the Great Circle Route to their destination - the shortest distance. It’s basic mechanics.
The Russians lost their shit. Why?
Well, a missile based ABM system defends a narrow cone - long and thin, oriented along the path of the incoming missile.
The proposed American system was high performance enough that it could “fatten” the cone considerably for *missiles aimed at Poland itself*.
So, almost accidentally, Poland would become one of the first countries on Earth largely invulnerable to a nuclear missile strike from Russia.
Russian nationalists regard the right to treat the “near abroad” as inferiors. And taking away their nuclear sabre rattling for Poland would reduce them, in heir relationship with Poland to almost equals.
Unless you can provide links to reputable news source rather than Twitter, then your discussion is now closed.
Got to say it's useful to see what crap being written on the cesspit of bullshit that is X but it's not something I would want on a website I owned / managed.
One thing I wish the Government would do is ban departments from putting stuff on X and insist that BlueSky is used given that it provides an algorithm free timeline...
Heck they could take BlueSky and create their own version if they wanted...
That's the thing - X is now the refuge of the sad, bad and mad.
As Messrs Lennon and McCartney would doubtless NOT have written - "all the angry people, where do they all go to?".
“ Remember that time Vincent Kompany gave Andy Burnham £3m from his testimonial match to tackle homelessness on the streets of Manchester and he doubled it? The homeless population, not the cash!”
Oddly enough, no one seems to have brought up that for all the new development in Manchester city centre since Burnham became Mayor, I think the City's housing waiting list has climbed from 13k to 20k.
Peter.
He's made it such an attractive city, everybody wants to live there...
In my area in the Midlands it was supposed to be possibly 37 degrees over the next few days. Latest BBC forecast is it will peak at 32 or 33. Good news.
"Bad news" for weather geeks like me, who get excited by records and extremes. And I missed the cataclysmic thunderstorms last night too, because I'm abroad (though I just heard a rumble of thunder here). Those thunderstorms are one reason the heat peaks are lower.
That said, we'll still probably break the June all time record this week.
Had heavy rain in Kos on Friday afternoon.
That aside, Scorchio.
Back to the U.K. tomorrow. In time for the Steam Fair on Saturday.
It's actually quite chilly in areas of Brixham with a freshening wind..
In 1973 I holidayed in Brixham, or near to it, in a Warner holiday site.
I’ve little memory of it apart from limeade with a fly in it and my idiot cousin being there.
But where are we on the fly in drink spectrum?
1. Fly has contaminated the drink. Chuck the whole lot out 2. Annoying. Fish out the fly and drink the rest. 3. It's just a bit of extra protein. Down it.
I'm finding myself evolving from 2 to 3 as I age, depending on insect size and type (would fish out a bluebottle but generally just drink a fruitfly or thunder bug).
I’m afraid as a seven year old and my dear old Dad was somewhat tight either the fly was removed or I had to drink it. They were small though, I do remember that. So I got stage 3 early on.
I have an aversion to fishing out greenbottles as I just recall seeing them all over horse muck near to me. A bluebottle I’d get rid. But, and I’m sure @mattw would empathise here, I’ve accidentally swallowed far more flies in the summer cycling than ever in a glass of plonk. Usually when it happens I’m retching like Bob Fleming but it’s no good.
I still jump 2 feet in the air from a wasp. I was stung at the age of about 4 on the chin.
I had a similar thing about dogs - having had a poodle lick my eyes at about the same age.
I'm sort of cured of that dog one, since I had a tenant who had 9 dogs, and worked on me for a couple of years.
But I still get very nervous when a dog-person says a Ref Flag phrase - "he's being friendly", "he likes strangers", "he's playing" - which is what may precede an attack. But I do find that most dog people are quite good in my area - we have scores and scores up the lane every day.
Interestingly I also know of a fair number of cycling acquaintances who have had a "Big BE" (= Bad Experience) with a dog attack, and make sure they have something suitable for self-defence to hand, such as a metal pump or a lock chain.
It's a question I've asked in disabled circles; I might see what people say.
Formerly a high-flying brand consultant, the Dutch-born 56-year-old says she came on board as a senior executive at a thriving Manchester electric car start-up after its growth prospects had been ‘cemented’ by a lucrative local authority deal.
Hundreds of public EV chargers in the city and beyond now bear the appropriately green livery of the fast-growing firm, Be.EV.
But it is the crucial seven-year contract awarded to the business – worth £5.4 million to date – which has led to renewed scrutiny over the past fortnight.
That is because the deal in question was with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), responsible for delivering the city region’s elected Mayor Andy Burnham’s transport policies. Which has proved controversial – because Ms Van Heel also happens to be Mr Burnham’s wife of 26 years.
I like to accompany my early evening chilled beer with a good strong think about a topical question. It irritates my wife who would prefer to chat but she's got used to it. I sit there sipping and thinking. Today, triggered by the (now off) summer battle of ideas between Andy and Wes, the topical question is going to be, what is the difference between 'progressive capitalism' and 'business friendly socialism'?
When Bush II was in the White House, he proposed to deploy ABM systems to Poland, due to growing concerns about North Korean ICBMs.
This is because ICBMs travel the Great Circle Route to their destination - the shortest distance. It’s basic mechanics.
The Russians lost their shit. Why?
Well, a missile based ABM system defends a narrow cone - long and thin, oriented along the path of the incoming missile.
The proposed American system was high performance enough that it could “fatten” the cone considerably for *missiles aimed at Poland itself*.
So, almost accidentally, Poland would become one of the first countries on Earth largely invulnerable to a nuclear missile strike from Russia.
Russian nationalists regard the right to treat the “near abroad” as inferiors. And taking away their nuclear sabre rattling for Poland would reduce them, in heir relationship with Poland to almost equals.
So Obama equivocated and Hilary talked of resets.
But the shortest route from North Korea to anywhere in the USA is along a great circle over the Arctic (well, Alaska and Canada), which doesn't go anywhere near Poland.
Formerly a high-flying brand consultant, the Dutch-born 56-year-old says she came on board as a senior executive at a thriving Manchester electric car start-up after its growth prospects had been ‘cemented’ by a lucrative local authority deal.
Hundreds of public EV chargers in the city and beyond now bear the appropriately green livery of the fast-growing firm, Be.EV.
But it is the crucial seven-year contract awarded to the business – worth £5.4 million to date – which has led to renewed scrutiny over the past fortnight.
That is because the deal in question was with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), responsible for delivering the city region’s elected Mayor Andy Burnham’s transport policies. Which has proved controversial – because Ms Van Heel also happens to be Mr Burnham’s wife of 26 years.
Did you read the article - because you really are clutching at straws - let's quote 1 paragraph from the BBC article
The mayor said he chose to declare his wife's links to EV charging and remove himself from any related decision-making "so that there could be no perception of a conflict of interest nor any suggestion of privileged information being misused".
I like to accompany my early evening chilled beer with a good strong think about a topical question. It irritates my wife who would prefer to chat but she's got used to it. I sit there sipping and thinking. Today, triggered by the (now off) summer battle of ideas between Andy and Wes, the topical question is going to be, what is the difference between 'progressive capitalism' and 'business friendly socialism'?
I like to accompany my early evening chilled beer with a good strong think about a topical question. It irritates my wife who would prefer to chat but she's got used to it. I sit there sipping and thinking. Today, triggered by the (now off) summer battle of ideas between Andy and Wes, the topical question is going to be, what is the difference between 'progressive capitalism' and 'business friendly socialism'?
I like to accompany my early evening chilled beer with a good strong think about a topical question. It irritates my wife who would prefer to chat but she's got used to it. I sit there sipping and thinking. Today, triggered by the (now off) summer battle of ideas between Andy and Wes, the topical question is going to be, what is the difference between 'progressive capitalism' and 'business friendly socialism'?
No problem. They will merge into 'progressive socialism friendly business capitalism'.
When Bush II was in the White House, he proposed to deploy ABM systems to Poland, due to growing concerns about North Korean ICBMs.
This is because ICBMs travel the Great Circle Route to their destination - the shortest distance. It’s basic mechanics.
The Russians lost their shit. Why?
Well, a missile based ABM system defends a narrow cone - long and thin, oriented along the path of the incoming missile.
The proposed American system was high performance enough that it could “fatten” the cone considerably for *missiles aimed at Poland itself*.
So, almost accidentally, Poland would become one of the first countries on Earth largely invulnerable to a nuclear missile strike from Russia.
Russian nationalists regard the right to treat the “near abroad” as inferiors. And taking away their nuclear sabre rattling for Poland would reduce them, in heir relationship with Poland to almost equals.
So Obama equivocated and Hilary talked of resets.
But the shortest route from North Korea to anywhere in the USA is along a great circle over the Arctic (well, Alaska and Canada), which doesn't go anywhere near Poland.
Formerly a high-flying brand consultant, the Dutch-born 56-year-old says she came on board as a senior executive at a thriving Manchester electric car start-up after its growth prospects had been ‘cemented’ by a lucrative local authority deal.
Hundreds of public EV chargers in the city and beyond now bear the appropriately green livery of the fast-growing firm, Be.EV.
But it is the crucial seven-year contract awarded to the business – worth £5.4 million to date – which has led to renewed scrutiny over the past fortnight.
That is because the deal in question was with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), responsible for delivering the city region’s elected Mayor Andy Burnham’s transport policies. Which has proved controversial – because Ms Van Heel also happens to be Mr Burnham’s wife of 26 years.
Did you read the article - because you really are clutching at straws - let's quote 1 paragraph from the BBC article
The mayor said he chose to declare his wife's links to EV charging and remove himself from any related decision-making "so that there could be no perception of a conflict of interest nor any suggestion of privileged information being misused".
She now works for the company that got the contract, as a director.
When Bush II was in the White House, he proposed to deploy ABM systems to Poland, due to growing concerns about North Korean ICBMs.
This is because ICBMs travel the Great Circle Route to their destination - the shortest distance. It’s basic mechanics.
The Russians lost their shit. Why?
Well, a missile based ABM system defends a narrow cone - long and thin, oriented along the path of the incoming missile.
The proposed American system was high performance enough that it could “fatten” the cone considerably for *missiles aimed at Poland itself*.
So, almost accidentally, Poland would become one of the first countries on Earth largely invulnerable to a nuclear missile strike from Russia.
Russian nationalists regard the right to treat the “near abroad” as inferiors. And taking away their nuclear sabre rattling for Poland would reduce them, in heir relationship with Poland to almost equals.
So Obama equivocated and Hilary talked of resets.
But the shortest route from North Korea to anywhere in the USA is along a great circle over the Arctic (well, Alaska and Canada), which doesn't go anywhere near Poland.
A busy couple of weeks for Mr Stodge including Royal Ascot and a trip to Weymouth, where it seems the 1980s has gone to retire.
Dorchester is a really attractive little town I must confess and tootling round rural and coastal Dorset is an antidote to many of life's travails.
The writing was on the wall for Starmer a long time ago - rather like Johnson, he found, I think, the terms on which he wanted to do the job of Prime Minister weren't the terms on offer once he was in post. Johnson found himself having to deal with viruses and lockdowns which went completely against the grain of what he wanted his Premiership to be - in effect, Chief Cheerleader of Brexit Britain.
Starmer wanted quiet, rules and patience - almost technocratic management - and that's what the public didn't want - they wanted rapid, positive, effective change, clear and unmistakeable improvements in their lives and solutions to the big problems left behind by Sunak - immigration mainly, the cost of living and also perhaps social care.
Early unforced errors left Starmer's Government looking tainted in a way that F1 didn't do to Blair - in truth, inanities like arguing over free tickets were simply the ploy of opposition writers but the WFA removal looked bad politics and was - perhaps Reeves felt she had to do "something", this was perhaps the right thing but in the wrong way.
The unforgiving 24 hour news cycle gave the Government no respite - it's part of how the world works (regrettably). I suspect had Thatcher lived in such an environment, she might have been hounded out in the late summer and autumn of 1981. I think the refusal of Labour MPs to support welfare changes was the biggest blow - there's no gratitude in politics it would seem.
The irony is those in the forefront of the assualt on the Government tend to conveniently forget their acquiesence of the failures of the previous decade and a half and it's not as though they've learnt from those mistakes and have anything new or radical to propose. It's almost as though they see themselves as the rightful custodians of the management of our decline even though no one voted for them to have that role in 2024.
As for Burnham, I know little about him but he seems more politically adept than Starmer. He will be a far more formidable opponent on that basis for Badenoch and Farage. I've heard him described as a "socialist" on here (whatever that means) and clearly we will have a more interventionist Government than many on here would like but he's a serious prospect to win next time.
I'm highly amused this morning by the great sucking sound as newspapers find they suddenly may not have a 3-4 month succession process to use to try and create chaos in the Government, in order to complain about it.
The misleading framing of possible reforms to Council Tax are interesting. The Standard: "Londoners face £1,000 property tax rise." (Fact check: most Londoners will benefit, especially those who have not seen their house prices spiral so much since 1991). Also Telegraph: "Whoever the next chancellor is, they are coming for your home."
Those type of papers (ie nearly all of them) will be framing Council Tax as a Wealth Tax. Is there any limit to the black hole in the heads of readers of most of our newspapers?
My immediate thought is that if he is in, Burnham needs to do things quickly. A revaluation of Council Tax may possible and implemented in a year or two. I'm not sure about a proprty value tax (unfortunately).
I think that is all completely untrue. Of course it all depends on what level PVT s set at. But yesterday the discussion was on a 1% levy.
Given the median council tax in London is currently £2200 and the median house price is £50000, a 1% PVT would see the median property tax burden more than double.
The suggestion made yesterday that people can simply move to a cheaper property is so ludicrous in the London context that it doesn’t even deserve a response
The other suggestion to make the PVT only 0.5% works better for London but would slash the amount being raised across the rest of the country.
A national one size fits all PVT simply doesn't work.
When they looked at property tax replacing Council Tax in Scotland the proposal that got closest to cross partly support was PVT with upper and lower thresholds.
You exempt properties below a certain value and then charge a percentage above that, but also have an upper limit.
You also probably need a minimum service charge, for those eligible to pay, so that you don't have a large number of properties just above the threshold being sent bills for less than the cost of billing them.
Revaluation on sale and when building works like renovations or extentions are completed.
People can challenge the valuation but it is validated on sale, so that if it turns out the property the owner argued was worth less isn't the Council can get back the lost revenue. You cold teh otehr way round also claim a rebate.
The biggest stumbling block is what happens when house prices fall and you need to up the rate.espeically if lots of peopel suddenly want rebates.
There isteh Asset Rich/Cash Poor like some pensioners who could get discounts,if these are decided by Councils and self funded, the more residents you want to exempt, the more others need to pay. Tough for those Councils with high levels of dpprivation.
You also don't escape the problem where Councils with low value housing stock have a high tax and low threshold at teh bottom and high at the top, and those with high value the opposites.
You need external Government support in the form of a grant or the people in poorer areas end up paying more for a small house than those in a rich area for a larger one. I t's why rich Tories quite like the idea of raising all their own money and poorer traditional Labour ones don't.
Peter.
sounds like the usual clusterfcuk that would require thousands of admin staff to handle and end up with less revenue than now but a small subset funding the whole thing. I am already paying 4K for a small property.
Well given the highest band H is Scotland is about £4,000 it's either not a small property or a holiday home/let in an area of housing pressure so I'd have thought you'd be exactly the right person to want reform.
Also if you think going from deciding what the theoretical value of a current property was in the 1993 and then dividing it into 8 bands, takes a lot less work than deducting a figure from current value and multiplying by a percentage does, you struggle with basic arithmetic.
The main cost is aways the billing and chasing people to pay not the basic calculation.
Peter.
wrong on all counts Peter, it is a G, not big just an average 4 bed detached , not a holiday let and not a kick in the arse off 4K. Daylight robbery.
Where is Scotland is a G Band house that isn't a second home £4k? The highest G band is Dundee and that's only £2,900?
Oh and since when has 4 bedroom been small, most small peoperties are 1 or 2 bed?
I'm not saying it is hot but Erwin Rommel just asked me for directions to El Alamein.
I watched an adventure documentary thingy last night where the presenter was crossing the Namib desert. He described the horrendous conditions, temperatures in the 90s (Fahrenheit)... so the same as London today.
It's 35C in Barnes at the moment. But it's forecast to drop to 29C by midnight.
I'm going to Barnes Philosophy Club in the local OSO this evening to discuss "what is our responsibility for future generations?" A very Barnesian topic. I'm more focused on this generation to be honest.
The OSO is airconditioned so it will make a change from hovering around the frozen pea section in Tesco Express with a couple of dozen of other hot people.
Do you know, I've never thought of you as living in Barnes. I always thought it was your name. Well, today I have learned something...
Comments
Do you ever re-read the daily dross you write about Kemi Badenoch? I know some people can become fixated with a public figure but to readers it is indistinguishable from the 'partisan nonsense' you eloquently speak about. Whether it's gone too far is in the eye of the reader. I find her the most ungracious leader of any Party other than farage and you clearly don't!
I'm going to Barnes Philosophy Club in the local OSO this evening to discuss "what is our responsibility for future generations?" A very Barnesian topic. I'm more focused on this generation to be honest.
The OSO is airconditioned so it will make a change from hovering around the frozen pea section in Tesco Express with a couple of dozen of other hot people.
I suspect that the remaining defenders of Moscow would struggle somewhat today.
Edinburgh TV Festival Relocating To Greater Manchester
Soon-to-be UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham championed the bid
After 50 years, the Edinburgh TV Festival is no more.
Greater Manchester will become the new home of the biggest annual gathering of the British TV industry after a competitive bidding process fought between numerous British cities.
The decision means that 2026 will be the final time the TV Festival takes place in the Scottish capital.
Campbell Glennie, CEO of the TV Festival and TV Foundation, said Greater Manchester “presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates.” “This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes,” he added. “The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance; it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”
https://deadline.com/2026/06/edinburgh-tv-festival-relocating-to-greater-manchester-2027-1236964385/
Maybe you need to explain Polanski ratings as I expect he is your cup of tea
The thing nukes defend against is other nukes, but that's about it. Otherwise, they're either too much or too late.
But I'm sure the fictional Prof would have loved drones.
I think if we have a thorough defence review including geographic scope, modern technology, flexibility, procurement and value for money, then BAE might not come well out of it. But DYOR as they say.
It makes it simple, ensures that the purchasing power of taxes remains broadly in line.
The problem with house price inflation is it creates an incentive for the government to inflate house prices…
The last set of defence ministers resigned because there was no coherent plan. There's no agreement on what needs to be spent, or how it is to be spent.
A last minute stitch up by two people with minimal defence knowledge, with a temporary defence secretary CV ticker in the background, is not going to convince an incoming PM that he's been done a favour.
Or at least it shouldn't.
I’ll be doing more over the weekend but it’s on my risk list.
The highest G band is Dundee and that's only £2,900?
Oh and since when has 4 bedroom been small, most small peoperties are 1 or 2 bed?
Peter.
(Noticeable that the storms seemed to come out of nowhere. Are they still too small and short-lived as features for computers to compute? Butterflies and whatnot?)
There is a good BBC pipe dream perfect balance there. Ferrari only takes Conservative/ Reform calls. O 'Brexit takes only non-Conservative/ Reform calls.
The Labour process could run in the background but he can kiss the ring the minute he has 326 supporters.
https://x.com/leftsidehist/status/2069370231680639318
"What on earth has it got to do with you ?" Farage asks the national broadcaster's interviewer.
He really cannot handle even simple questioning on his bung.
Equating it to Robinson's salary was potentially a huge blunder.
“ Remember that time Vincent Kompany gave Andy Burnham £3m from his testimonial match to tackle homelessness on the streets of Manchester and he doubled it? The homeless population, not the cash!”
https://x.com/realtolmie/status/2069365925460021563?s=61
I can see why Ukraine might not rely on others any more - and is building its own missiles. Building nukes wouldn't surprise me.
https://spectator.com/article/the-42-reasons-why-keir-starmer-failed/
There isn't a good answer to questions about a £5m bung; and he seems determined to run through all the bad answers.
It’s 12 hours on the train from Lviv to Kiyv.
Might the new PM get into a scandal as quickly as the current PM did?
One of teh big issues with Ukraine joining teh EU is teh CAP...Ukraine is or certainly has teh potential to e an Agricultural Super power!
The entire EU produces about 250 to 300m tonnes of grain a year. Ukraine about 60m.
That's a lot of cheap grain that EU farmers will have to compete with even before Ukrainian farmers get support which won't be cheap.
Peter.
Are we keeping cool? Icepops all round...
Also the Manchester contracts predates her joining the firm.
Finally the only shares she’s got is via an employee incentive plan
Got to say all I see is a lot of people very scared of Andy being PM
It's a rite of passage for any leader as we know.
Peter.
On February 12th, 1809 Abraham Lincoln was born, in Kentucky. Unable to get a clear title to land there, his father, Tom, moved the family to Indiana. On October 5th, 1818, Abe's mother, Nancy, died of milk sickness, leaving Abe's older sister, Sarah, then 11 years old, in charge of their one-room cabin.
A year later, that changed. Here's how Carl Sandburg describes what happened: (From my much-used one-volume biography of Lincoln.
Dennis Hanks was an older boy who lived with the Lincolns for years.
I had intended this for Sunday, Father's Day in the US, because it shows, vividly, a father doing what was best for his children.)
FFS
I'd need a lot more than that to be even slightly concerned.
Yet it doesn't stop the widespread cut and paste of tweets from X and elsewhere.
Note that models still have silly temperatures Thurs/Fri.
It is easy to forget that the highest June temperature ever recorded was "only" 35.6C, and just because it is going to be 38C instead of 42C doesn't mean this isn't still horrendous.
It is like snow in winter - every extreme forecast depends on a whole set of variables coinciding, so the likelihood is always that it will be "downgraded".
Anyway, as far as I can tell we've broken the highest ever dewpoint record today, as the air in 2022 was a lot dryer. So it will feel more Florida than Phoenix.
Unless you can provide links to reputable news source rather than Twitter, then your discussion is now closed.
One thing I wish the Government would do is ban departments from putting stuff on X and insist that BlueSky is used given that it provides an algorithm free timeline...
Heck they could take BlueSky and create their own version if they wanted...
Absolutely, Ukraine after the war will be the breadbasket of Europe. Look at what’s happening in Poland over the past decade, and Ukraine will be there in the next decade.
Ah but at what cost.
Rough estimate ( I used AI) to include Ukraine the Cap budget would either have to rise by €10-12bn (18-22%) or individal farm payments would need to drop by18-22% if the budget was capped.
Given what we have ploughed into Ukraine (npi) I think we would find the €12bn, but corruption would be an issue as with most Eastern European entrants.
All in favour of it but not plain sailing.
Peter.
Tomorrow looks very hot for central southern England - perhaps 35-37c and similar on Thursday with the heat shifting east and north on Friday before sanity returns on Saturday.
When Bush II was in the White House, he proposed to deploy ABM systems to Poland, due to growing concerns about North Korean ICBMs.
This is because ICBMs travel the Great Circle Route to their destination - the shortest distance. It’s basic mechanics.
The Russians lost their shit. Why?
Well, a missile based ABM system defends a narrow cone - long and thin, oriented along the path of the incoming missile.
The proposed American system was high performance enough that it could “fatten” the cone considerably for *missiles aimed at Poland itself*.
So, almost accidentally, Poland would become one of the first countries on Earth largely invulnerable to a nuclear missile strike from Russia.
Russian nationalists regard the right to treat the “near abroad” as inferiors. And taking away their nuclear sabre rattling for Poland would reduce them, in heir relationship with Poland to almost equals.
So Obama equivocated and Hilary talked of resets.
Tim’s Mom
As Messrs Lennon and McCartney would doubtless NOT have written - "all the angry people, where do they all go to?".
...might be one explanation.
I had a similar thing about dogs - having had a poodle lick my eyes at about the same age.
I'm sort of cured of that dog one, since I had a tenant who had 9 dogs, and worked on me for a couple of years.
But I still get very nervous when a dog-person says a Ref Flag phrase - "he's being friendly", "he likes strangers", "he's playing" - which is what may precede an attack. But I do find that most dog people are quite good in my area - we have scores and scores up the lane every day.
Interestingly I also know of a fair number of cycling acquaintances who have had a "Big BE" (= Bad Experience) with a dog attack, and make sure they have something suitable for self-defence to hand, such as a metal pump or a lock chain.
It's a question I've asked in disabled circles; I might see what people say.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/live/c4gd57ye444t#player
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-60448224
More recently:
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15877795/Andy-Burnhams-wife-profit-green-revolution-Manchester-JAMES-TOZER.html
As an evangelist for green technologies, life for Marie-France Van Heel, known as Frankie, is frequently ‘organised chaos’.
Formerly a high-flying brand consultant, the Dutch-born 56-year-old says she came on board as a senior executive at a thriving Manchester electric car start-up after its growth prospects had been ‘cemented’ by a lucrative local authority deal.
Hundreds of public EV chargers in the city and beyond now bear the appropriately green livery of the fast-growing firm, Be.EV.
But it is the crucial seven-year contract awarded to the business – worth £5.4 million to date – which has led to renewed scrutiny over the past fortnight.
That is because the deal in question was with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), responsible for delivering the city region’s elected Mayor Andy Burnham’s transport policies. Which has proved controversial – because Ms Van Heel also happens to be Mr Burnham’s wife of 26 years.
You can check here.
The mayor said he chose to declare his wife's links to EV charging and remove himself from any related decision-making "so that there could be no perception of a conflict of interest nor any suggestion of privileged information being misused".
NEW THREAD
The fact remains that the Russians regarded the loss of being able to threaten Poland as an inferior as very serious.
A busy couple of weeks for Mr Stodge including Royal Ascot and a trip to Weymouth, where it seems the 1980s has gone to retire.
Dorchester is a really attractive little town I must confess and tootling round rural and coastal Dorset is an antidote to many of life's travails.
The writing was on the wall for Starmer a long time ago - rather like Johnson, he found, I think, the terms on which he wanted to do the job of Prime Minister weren't the terms on offer once he was in post. Johnson found himself having to deal with viruses and lockdowns which went completely against the grain of what he wanted his Premiership to be - in effect, Chief Cheerleader of Brexit Britain.
Starmer wanted quiet, rules and patience - almost technocratic management - and that's what the public didn't want - they wanted rapid, positive, effective change, clear and unmistakeable improvements in their lives and solutions to the big problems left behind by Sunak - immigration mainly, the cost of living and also perhaps social care.
Early unforced errors left Starmer's Government looking tainted in a way that F1 didn't do to Blair - in truth, inanities like arguing over free tickets were simply the ploy of opposition writers but the WFA removal looked bad politics and was - perhaps Reeves felt she had to do "something", this was perhaps the right thing but in the wrong way.
The unforgiving 24 hour news cycle gave the Government no respite - it's part of how the world works (regrettably). I suspect had Thatcher lived in such an environment, she might have been hounded out in the late summer and autumn of 1981. I think the refusal of Labour MPs to support welfare changes was the biggest blow - there's no gratitude in politics it would seem.
The irony is those in the forefront of the assualt on the Government tend to conveniently forget their acquiesence of the failures of the previous decade and a half and it's not as though they've learnt from those mistakes and have anything new or radical to propose. It's almost as though they see themselves as the rightful custodians of the management of our decline even though no one voted for them to have that role in 2024.
As for Burnham, I know little about him but he seems more politically adept than Starmer. He will be a far more formidable opponent on that basis for Badenoch and Farage. I've heard him described as a "socialist" on here (whatever that means) and clearly we will have a more interventionist Government than many on here would like but he's a serious prospect to win next time.
Council Tax Charge: £3,301.43Water & Sewerage: £503.25Total Annual Bill: £3,804.68
Is it possible that the photo discovered by @Taz above can be used at the top of https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/22/the-long-running-series-is-cancelled/ instead of the existing one please?