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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » NEW PB/Polling Matters podcast: Why aren’t the polls moving?

SystemSystem Posts: 11,015
edited November 2017 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » NEW PB/Polling Matters podcast: Why aren’t the polls moving?

The PB / Polling Matters podcast returns! Keiran is joined by Leo Barasi and Matt Singh to discuss the latest developments in Westminster (and beyond) and what the numbers tell us about what is going on.

Read the full story here


«134

Comments

  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961
    First :smiley:
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961
    edited November 2017
    Strong 'n Stable! (the Tory share)
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,983
    As people want to give neither the Tories nor Corbyn a majority, so it remains deadlocked as it was at the general election
  • Options
    Very much a #longread but a quirky look at one Virginia House of Delegates district result. Very informative at how to turn ( counter ) populist rage into an actual election victory.

    https://nyti.ms/2hvzLEz
  • Options
    Bonnie Greer on the Age of Acceleration. After all those ' Brexit was the Reformation ' pieces she astutely suggests Luther was Steve Jobs and Brexit was the Counter Reformation.

    http://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/bonnie-greer-luddites-acceleration-1-5274333#
  • Options
    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    You really do delight in putting the worst possible interpretation on anything don't you?

    What's the opposite of Dr Pangloss?
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    Good news for the UK though, it shows the banks aren't actually keen on moving.
  • Options
    Charles said:

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    You really do delight in putting the worst possible interpretation on anything don't you?

    What's the opposite of Dr Pangloss?
    Eeyore....
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    RobD said:

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    Good news for the UK though, it shows the banks aren't actually keen on moving.
    The paradox is that the less prepared business is for a cliff edge, the bigger the cliff becomes, and the more politically 'brave' it becomes for the government to contemplate jumping.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961

    RobD said:

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    Good news for the UK though, it shows the banks aren't actually keen on moving.
    The paradox is that the less prepared business is for a cliff edge, the bigger the cliff becomes, and the more politically 'brave' it becomes for the government to contemplate jumping.
    Always looking for the silver lining. Jeez!
  • Options

    Charles said:

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    You really do delight in putting the worst possible interpretation on anything don't you?

    What's the opposite of Dr Pangloss?
    Eeyore....
    I only went to the guardian site as Big G from North Wales was ramping a Brexit triumph for May. It turned out telling a German MEP you'll offer €60bn after all is now a negotiating triumph.

    However if you don't like that small taste of Project Reality from the ECB try this new report from the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Customs Chaos on Brexit day.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/16/ministers-warned-about-repeat-of-dover-lorry-queues-after-brexit
  • Options
    archer101auarcher101au Posts: 1,612
    HYUFD said:

    To all those who think that Brexit is in trouble need to read the guardian, yes the guardian's, report on the meeting between Manfred Webber and TM today which looks like breakthrough is coming in the next couple of weeks and Webber is looking to extend the talks beyond Barnier

    Really encouraging news

    Maybe why Theresa was on the top of her game at PMQ's
    If she offers up Euro 60 billion without linking it to the actual delivery of a trade deal, it might be the last PMQs that she gets to face.

    Hague in the Telegraph stated that the EU will not get a penny until the trade deal is 'ratified'. This is the real issue. The trade deal will not be ratified until well after Brexit. Will May insist that the two are linked or not?
    The EU will not begin FTA talks until she makes a clear payment commitment so she has no choice
    She will not be able to make a commitment to pay the EU anything without guaranteeing something in return. If the EU insist on this then there will be no deal.

    I am assuming that May needs to offer something like this:

    Euro 20 Bn for a two year transition period (agreed and committed to now)
    Euro 10 Bn when the high level basis for an FTA is agreed and included in the A50 treaty
    Euro 20 Bn when such an FTA is ratified

    If she offers this it will be hard for the EU to refuse and, more importantly, hard for the remainers in the UK to say we should offer any more.

    If she tries to make an offer without linking it to deliverables, she will be out of power in a month.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    HYUFD said:

    To all those who think that Brexit is in trouble need to read the guardian, yes the guardian's, report on the meeting between Manfred Webber and TM today which looks like breakthrough is coming in the next couple of weeks and Webber is looking to extend the talks beyond Barnier

    Really encouraging news

    Maybe why Theresa was on the top of her game at PMQ's
    If she offers up Euro 60 billion without linking it to the actual delivery of a trade deal, it might be the last PMQs that she gets to face.

    Hague in the Telegraph stated that the EU will not get a penny until the trade deal is 'ratified'. This is the real issue. The trade deal will not be ratified until well after Brexit. Will May insist that the two are linked or not?
    The EU will not begin FTA talks until she makes a clear payment commitment so she has no choice
    She will not be able to make a commitment to pay the EU anything without guaranteeing something in return. If the EU insist on this then there will be no deal.

    I am assuming that May needs to offer something like this:

    Euro 20 Bn for a two year transition period (agreed and committed to now)
    Euro 10 Bn when the high level basis for an FTA is agreed and included in the A50 treaty
    Euro 20 Bn when such an FTA is ratified

    If she offers this it will be hard for the EU to refuse and, more importantly, hard for the remainers in the UK to say we should offer any more.

    If she tries to make an offer without linking it to deliverables, she will be out of power in a month.
    A wise man once said that it's dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future
  • Options
    PongPong Posts: 4,693
    edited November 2017
    Charles said:

    HYUFD said:

    To all those who think that Brexit is in trouble need to read the guardian, yes the guardian's, report on the meeting between Manfred Webber and TM today which looks like breakthrough is coming in the next couple of weeks and Webber is looking to extend the talks beyond Barnier

    Really encouraging news

    Maybe why Theresa was on the top of her game at PMQ's
    If she offers up Euro 60 billion without linking it to the actual delivery of a trade deal, it might be the last PMQs that she gets to face.

    Hague in the Telegraph stated that the EU will not get a penny until the trade deal is 'ratified'. This is the real issue. The trade deal will not be ratified until well after Brexit. Will May insist that the two are linked or not?
    The EU will not begin FTA talks until she makes a clear payment commitment so she has no choice
    She will not be able to make a commitment to pay the EU anything without guaranteeing something in return. If the EU insist on this then there will be no deal.

    I am assuming that May needs to offer something like this:

    Euro 20 Bn for a two year transition period (agreed and committed to now)
    Euro 10 Bn when the high level basis for an FTA is agreed and included in the A50 treaty
    Euro 20 Bn when such an FTA is ratified

    If she offers this it will be hard for the EU to refuse and, more importantly, hard for the remainers in the UK to say we should offer any more.

    If she tries to make an offer without linking it to deliverables, she will be out of power in a month.
    A wise man once said that it's dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future
    Wise indeed.

    Smart? No.

    In my experience, most of the money to be made out of political betting is from laying other peoples overconfident predictions.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,951
    archer: "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" has been the mantra of the UK government from the start and remains it now.

    A commitment to EUR60bn of payments (which, by the way, will be fudged in a number of ways anyway) is contingent on a successful deal on the far end.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,951
    Pong said:

    Charles said:

    HYUFD said:

    To all those who think that Brexit is in trouble need to read the guardian, yes the guardian's, report on the meeting between Manfred Webber and TM today which looks like breakthrough is coming in the next couple of weeks and Webber is looking to extend the talks beyond Barnier

    Really encouraging news

    Maybe why Theresa was on the top of her game at PMQ's
    If she offers up Euro 60 billion without linking it to the actual delivery of a trade deal, it might be the last PMQs that she gets to face.

    Hague in the Telegraph stated that the EU will not get a penny until the trade deal is 'ratified'. This is the real issue. The trade deal will not be ratified until well after Brexit. Will May insist that the two are linked or not?
    The EU will not begin FTA talks until she makes a clear payment commitment so she has no choice
    She will not be able to make a commitment to pay the EU anything without guaranteeing something in return. If the EU insist on this then there will be no deal.

    I am assuming that May needs to offer something like this:

    Euro 20 Bn for a two year transition period (agreed and committed to now)
    Euro 10 Bn when the high level basis for an FTA is agreed and included in the A50 treaty
    Euro 20 Bn when such an FTA is ratified

    If she offers this it will be hard for the EU to refuse and, more importantly, hard for the remainers in the UK to say we should offer any more.

    If she tries to make an offer without linking it to deliverables, she will be out of power in a month.
    A wise man once said that it's dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future
    Wise indeed.

    Smart? No.

    In my experience, most of the money to be made out of political betting is from laying other peoples overconfident predictions.
    Fortunately there are absolutely no posters on here who are overconfident in their predictions.
  • Options

    Charles said:

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    You really do delight in putting the worst possible interpretation on anything don't you?

    What's the opposite of Dr Pangloss?
    Eeyore....
    I only went to the guardian site as Big G from North Wales was ramping a Brexit triumph for May. It turned out telling a German MEP you'll offer €60bn after all is now a negotiating triumph.

    However if you don't like that small taste of Project Reality from the ECB try this new report from the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Customs Chaos on Brexit day.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/16/ministers-warned-about-repeat-of-dover-lorry-queues-after-brexit
    The Guardian is about the only sensible paper left publishing - while it wears its Remain heart on its sleeve it is far from uncritical of the EU or their negotiation. Talking of the Guardian the Trump dossier author is standing by 70% of it:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/15/christopher-steele-trump-russia-dossier-accurate
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,951

    Charles said:

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    You really do delight in putting the worst possible interpretation on anything don't you?

    What's the opposite of Dr Pangloss?
    Eeyore....
    I only went to the guardian site as Big G from North Wales was ramping a Brexit triumph for May. It turned out telling a German MEP you'll offer €60bn after all is now a negotiating triumph.

    However if you don't like that small taste of Project Reality from the ECB try this new report from the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Customs Chaos on Brexit day.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/16/ministers-warned-about-repeat-of-dover-lorry-queues-after-brexit
    The Guardian is about the only sensible paper left publishing - while it wears its Remain heart on its sleeve it is far from uncritical of the EU or their negotiation. Talking of the Guardian the Trump dossier author is standing by 70% of it:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/15/christopher-steele-trump-russia-dossier-accurate
    I would have though the real story is that around a third of it was fabricated.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    rcs1000 said:

    A commitment to EUR60bn of payments (which, by the way, will be fudged in a number of ways anyway) is contingent on a successful deal on the far end.

    To whom is that contingency a threat? Primarily to ourselves.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,951

    rcs1000 said:

    A commitment to EUR60bn of payments (which, by the way, will be fudged in a number of ways anyway) is contingent on a successful deal on the far end.

    To whom is that contingency a threat? Primarily to ourselves.
    That's rather by-the-by isn't it? My point is simply that there is not a situation where we crash out of the EU with no transition period, and no agreement at all, having paid the EU a cheque for EUR60bn.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    A commitment to EUR60bn of payments (which, by the way, will be fudged in a number of ways anyway) is contingent on a successful deal on the far end.

    To whom is that contingency a threat? Primarily to ourselves.
    That's rather by-the-by isn't it? My point is simply that there is not a situation where we crash out of the EU with no transition period, and no agreement at all, having paid the EU a cheque for EUR60bn.
    True, but there is a situation in which we pay the money, get the transition, but merely push back the cliff edge with no guarantee of an FTA.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,951

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    A commitment to EUR60bn of payments (which, by the way, will be fudged in a number of ways anyway) is contingent on a successful deal on the far end.

    To whom is that contingency a threat? Primarily to ourselves.
    That's rather by-the-by isn't it? My point is simply that there is not a situation where we crash out of the EU with no transition period, and no agreement at all, having paid the EU a cheque for EUR60bn.
    True, but there is a situation in which we pay the money, get the transition, but merely push back the cliff edge with no guarantee of an FTA.
    I think a more likely scenario is one where the FTA on offer is fairly complete wrt to physical goods (where the EU is strong), and is only partial in areas like like legal and financial services.
  • Options
    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:

    It begins. An interesting example of how regulators will use their gravitational effect to onshore any activity that needs to take place inside the Single Market. We'll rue the emphasis on tariffs mark my words.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/ecb-criticises-banks-relocation-plans-brexit-euro-area

    You really do delight in putting the worst possible interpretation on anything don't you?

    What's the opposite of Dr Pangloss?
    Eeyore....
    I only went to the guardian site as Big G from North Wales was ramping a Brexit triumph for May. It turned out telling a German MEP you'll offer €60bn after all is now a negotiating triumph.

    However if you don't like that small taste of Project Reality from the ECB try this new report from the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Customs Chaos on Brexit day.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/16/ministers-warned-about-repeat-of-dover-lorry-queues-after-brexit
    The Guardian is about the only sensible paper left publishing - while it wears its Remain heart on its sleeve it is far from uncritical of the EU or their negotiation. Talking of the Guardian the Trump dossier author is standing by 70% of it:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/15/christopher-steele-trump-russia-dossier-accurate
    I would have though the real story is that around a third of it was fabricated.
    In fairness he did say 70% to 90% - which I would have thought for his line of work was pretty good
  • Options
    @CarlottaVance Yes I feel the guardian is at least trying to uphold a certain seriousness in a dark time for Journalism. Certainly the huge progress it's making on it's third way model of voluntarily subscription without a pay wall is interesting. Even then though the app pushes too many click bait pieces which reek of crap written for free in exchange for the kudos of being published by the guardian.

    I subscribe to The New European print edition. Much more subtle than you think and really an experiment in what newsprint will look like when everything goes weekly. Now I don't commute I find it's enough newsprint for one week.

    I've moved to the New York Times recently in light of some introductory offers then a freebie from Google. It's beautiful. A pleasure to be able to follow world news without the Brexit Wars.

    The revamped Washington Post is fantastic content wise but I hated the app.

    In terms of a centre right source to challenge me I've dropped the Telegraph then the Daily Mail as Brexit has unhinged both. The former has become the Sun with longer sentences. I do buy the Mail on Sunday though which is far more nuanced. I won't even click on an Independent link now as since it ceased printing the online edition is so poor.

    Proper journalists being able to afford food is a bulwark against tyranny. The period where we learn to monetise serious non print news is going to be very bumpy and often grim.
  • Options
    archer101auarcher101au Posts: 1,612

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    A commitment to EUR60bn of payments (which, by the way, will be fudged in a number of ways anyway) is contingent on a successful deal on the far end.

    To whom is that contingency a threat? Primarily to ourselves.
    That's rather by-the-by isn't it? My point is simply that there is not a situation where we crash out of the EU with no transition period, and no agreement at all, having paid the EU a cheque for EUR60bn.
    True, but there is a situation in which we pay the money, get the transition, but merely push back the cliff edge with no guarantee of an FTA.
    Correct. Up until now Barnier has basically been saying we have to commit to the money, a transition can be agreed but a FTA cannot be done until after Brexit. That just pushes back the cliff edge but the UK loses all leverage.

    May will have to link payment to actual delivery. If she does, she will get away with paying the bill and even hard Brexit guys like myself will shrug and accept it. If the payment is contingent on the FTA there is at least a reasonable basis for the negotiations for the FTA because both sides have leverage.
  • Options
    On a conciliatory note I agree with several Brexiter posters below. #1 Certainly nothing will be agreed till everything is agreed on the A50 agreement. #2 Certainly the €50 to €60 bn can and will be fudged and a good chunk is nothing to really do with the divorce.
  • Options
    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,859
    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
  • Options
    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    One thing struck me about the reporting of 'The EU might not accept our vehicle certification so we won't be able to sell cars in the EU'.

    Wouldn't that cut both ways?

    While hugely disruptive - and more damaging for us than them, its not cost-free for them either......
  • Options
    archer101auarcher101au Posts: 1,612
    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    Nobody in the World pays for an FTA whether or not it includes services. It is not 'free' trade if you are paying - there is no difference between paying tariffs and fees.

    If an UK/EU FTA does not properly cover services it is very simple - it should be rejected as not in the UKs interests.
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,859
    edited November 2017

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    One thing struck me about the reporting of 'The EU might not accept our vehicle certification so we won't be able to sell cars in the EU'.

    Wouldn't that cut both ways?

    While hugely disruptive - and more damaging for us than them, its not cost-free for them either......
    Yes, the EU trying to big up a trade war with the UK isn’t going to work in their favour, given the £100bn trade deficit we have with them.

    If they want to be sh1ts about it then we’ll all just buy Jaguars and McLarens rather than Beemers and Ferraris. Oh, and we’ll keep buying Nissans from Sunderland and Hondas from Swindon too, and maybe even Minis from Oxford. It’s not as if British-made cars are all rubbish any more, they’re just as good as the European offerings.
  • Options
    archer101auarcher101au Posts: 1,612

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    #1 is the point I have been trying to make. It is not acceptable. There needs to be a high level FTA agreed, subject to detailed work later, with payment of the Brexit bill linked to delivery. If May can't get that, she has to walk, basically for the reason you stated in #4.
    #5 is not going to be acceptable either - you don't pay for 'free' trade. On a CETA style agreement there will be no basis for payments. You could argue that virtual SM access might attract a small ongoing fee, but this doesn't appear to be on offer anyway.

    The above are not going to be May's red lines - they are the red lines that will be forced on her by the public, the Tory party and the cabinet leavers. They are also in line with common sense - once you get past the irrational view that leaving the SM is bound to be a disaster, these outcomes would be far worse than leaving with no deal.

    So no, I don't think there is any chance that Brexit day will not be a clear break. There won't be a transition at all if she cannot manage these outcomes.
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,859
    edited November 2017

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    Nobody in the World pays for an FTA whether or not it includes services. It is not 'free' trade if you are paying - there is no difference between paying tariffs and fees.

    If an UK/EU FTA does not properly cover services it is very simple - it should be rejected as not in the UKs interests.
    Agreed. I’ve been saying for a while now that we need to decide quickly whether or not an acceptable trade deal can be sorted out before we leave. If we decide not, then we need to spend the next 18 months planning and preparing for no deal and leaving to WTO terms. That decision needs to be made this year, it’s in the EUs playbook to give the impression things will get sorted while keeping a careful eye on the ticking clock and watching business start making contingency plans.
  • Options
    surbitonsurbiton Posts: 13,549
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    One thing struck me about the reporting of 'The EU might not accept our vehicle certification so we won't be able to sell cars in the EU'.

    Wouldn't that cut both ways?

    While hugely disruptive - and more damaging for us than them, its not cost-free for them either......
    Yes, the EU trying to big up a trade war with the UK isn’t going to work in their favour, given the £100bn trade deficit we have with them.

    If they want to be sh1ts about it then we’ll all just buy Jaguars and McLarens rather than Beemers and Ferraris. Oh, and we’ll keep buying Nissans from Sunderland and Hondas from Swindon too, and maybe even Minis from Oxford. It’s not as if British-made cars are all rubbish any more, they’re just as good as the European offerings.
    Sadly, the majority of the components for Jaguars and Nissans and Toyotas, even Aston Martin come from the EU.
  • Options
    Encouraging:

    The UK's chemical and pharmaceutical industry will today say it will be resilient in the face of Brexit uncertainty.

    The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) will lay out plans for continued growth after Brexit at its annual dinner today.

    “We have our challenges with Brexit and the rest but we won’t sit around waiting for things to happen to us. This is an industry that has always made its own future and will continue to do so," CIA president Tom Crotty will say.


    http://www.cityam.com/275834/uk-chemicals-sector-we-wont-bogged-down-brexit-uncertainty?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=dvTwitter
  • Options
    surbitonsurbiton Posts: 13,549

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    A commitment to EUR60bn of payments (which, by the way, will be fudged in a number of ways anyway) is contingent on a successful deal on the far end.

    To whom is that contingency a threat? Primarily to ourselves.
    That's rather by-the-by isn't it? My point is simply that there is not a situation where we crash out of the EU with no transition period, and no agreement at all, having paid the EU a cheque for EUR60bn.
    True, but there is a situation in which we pay the money, get the transition, but merely push back the cliff edge with no guarantee of an FTA.
    I am not sure there can be a transition unless there is a agreed FTA first [ even in outline ]. It has to be a "transition" from A [ current situation; SM , CU ] to B [ FTA ].
  • Options
    surbitonsurbiton Posts: 13,549

    Encouraging:

    The UK's chemical and pharmaceutical industry will today say it will be resilient in the face of Brexit uncertainty.

    The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) will lay out plans for continued growth after Brexit at its annual dinner today.

    “We have our challenges with Brexit and the rest but we won’t sit around waiting for things to happen to us. This is an industry that has always made its own future and will continue to do so," CIA president Tom Crotty will say.


    http://www.cityam.com/275834/uk-chemicals-sector-we-wont-bogged-down-brexit-uncertainty?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=dvTwitter

    Clutching at straws ?
  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,859
    edited November 2017
    surbiton said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    -
    .

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    One thing struck me about the reporting of 'The EU might not accept our vehicle certification so we won't be able to sell cars in the EU'.

    Wouldn't that cut both ways?

    While hugely disruptive - and more damaging for us than them, its not cost-free for them either......
    Yes, the EU trying to big up a trade war with the UK isn’t going to work in their favour, given the £100bn trade deficit we have with them.

    If they want to be sh1ts about it then we’ll all just buy Jaguars and McLarens rather than Beemers and Ferraris. Oh, and we’ll keep buying Nissans from Sunderland and Hondas from Swindon too, and maybe even Minis from Oxford. It’s not as if British-made cars are all rubbish any more, they’re just as good as the European offerings.
    Sadly, the majority of the components for Jaguars and Nissans and Toyotas, even Aston Martin come from the EU.
    This was about the EU scaremongering that British-built cars wouldn’t be allowed to be type-approved and therefore banned from sale, in the same way they’re scaremongering about grounding planes on the day we leave.

    The component supply chain is a different issue, but yes I agree it’s still a significant hurdle to overcome.
  • Options
    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,256
    Pong said:

    Charles said:

    HYUFD said:

    To all those who think that Brexit is in trouble need to read the guardian, yes the guardian's, report on the meeting between Manfred Webber and TM today which looks like breakthrough is coming in the next couple of weeks and Webber is looking to extend the talks beyond Barnier

    Really encouraging news

    Maybe why Theresa was on the top of her game at PMQ's
    If she offers up Euro 60 billion without linking it to the actual delivery of a trade deal, it might be the last PMQs that she gets to face.

    Hague in the Telegraph stated that the EU will not get a penny until the trade deal is 'ratified'. This is the real issue. The trade deal will not be ratified until well after Brexit. Will May insist that the two are linked or not?
    The EU will not begin FTA talks until she makes a clear payment commitment so she has no choice
    She will not be able to make a commitment to pay the EU anything without guaranteeing something in return. If the EU insist on this then there will be no deal.

    I am assuming that May needs to offer something like this:

    Euro 20 Bn for a two year transition period (agreed and committed to now)
    Euro 10 Bn when the high level basis for an FTA is agreed and included in the A50 treaty
    Euro 20 Bn when such an FTA is ratified

    If she offers this it will be hard for the EU to refuse and, more importantly, hard for the remainers in the UK to say we should offer any more.

    If she tries to make an offer without linking it to deliverables, she will be out of power in a month.
    A wise man once said that it's dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future
    Wise indeed.

    Smart? No.

    In my experience, most of the money to be made out of political betting is from laying other peoples overconfident predictions.
    Certainly would have been a great move back when so many were predicting a Tory landslide....
  • Options
    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,256

    @CarlottaVance Yes I feel the guardian is at least trying to uphold a certain seriousness in a dark time for Journalism. Certainly the huge progress it's making on it's third way model of voluntarily subscription without a pay wall is interesting. Even then though the app pushes too many click bait pieces which reek of crap written for free in exchange for the kudos of being published by the guardian.

    I subscribe to The New European print edition. Much more subtle than you think and really an experiment in what newsprint will look like when everything goes weekly. Now I don't commute I find it's enough newsprint for one week.

    I've moved to the New York Times recently in light of some introductory offers then a freebie from Google. It's beautiful. A pleasure to be able to follow world news without the Brexit Wars.

    The revamped Washington Post is fantastic content wise but I hated the app.

    In terms of a centre right source to challenge me I've dropped the Telegraph then the Daily Mail as Brexit has unhinged both. The former has become the Sun with longer sentences. I do buy the Mail on Sunday though which is far more nuanced. I won't even click on an Independent link now as since it ceased printing the online edition is so poor.

    Proper journalists being able to afford food is a bulwark against tyranny. The period where we learn to monetise serious non print news is going to be very bumpy and often grim.

    Weekly works fine for comment and good analysis - as so many of our excellent magazines already know - but not so good for news. Even if well investigated and reported, will people pay to read stuff that is up to a week old, which they have already seen reported elsewhere? Even if you do proper journalism and secure a scoop, in the modern world it is almost impossible to keep it under wraps for up to seven days.
  • Options
    archer101auarcher101au Posts: 1,612
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    Nobody in the World pays for an FTA whether or not it includes services. It is not 'free' trade if you are paying - there is no difference between paying tariffs and fees.

    If an UK/EU FTA does not properly cover services it is very simple - it should be rejected as not in the UKs interests.
    Agreed. I’ve been saying for a while now that we need to decide quickly whether or not an acceptable trade deal can be sorted out before we leave. If we decide not, then we need to spend the next 18 months planning and preparing for no deal and leaving to WTO terms. That decision needs to be made this year, it’s in the EUs playbook to give the impression things will get sorted while keeping a careful eye on the ticking clock and watching business start making contingency plans.
    The voice of reason! Can you please go and work for the DxEU immediately?
  • Options
    surbiton said:

    Encouraging:

    The UK's chemical and pharmaceutical industry will today say it will be resilient in the face of Brexit uncertainty.

    The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) will lay out plans for continued growth after Brexit at its annual dinner today.

    “We have our challenges with Brexit and the rest but we won’t sit around waiting for things to happen to us. This is an industry that has always made its own future and will continue to do so," CIA president Tom Crotty will say.


    http://www.cityam.com/275834/uk-chemicals-sector-we-wont-bogged-down-brexit-uncertainty?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=dvTwitter

    Clutching at straws ?
    Ask president Tom Crotty
  • Options
    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,256
    edited November 2017

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    .

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    .
    Agreed. I’ve been saying for a while now that we need to decide quickly whether or not an acceptable trade deal can be sorted out before we leave. If we decide not, then we need to spend the next 18 months planning and preparing for no deal and leaving to WTO terms. That decision needs to be made this year, it’s in the EUs playbook to give the impression things will get sorted while keeping a careful eye on the ticking clock and watching business start making contingency plans.
    The voice of reason! Can you please go and work for the DxEU immediately?
    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.
  • Options


    I subscribe to The New European print edition.

    I'm afraid I haven't been able to take it seriously since:

    http://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/culture/michelin-restaurants-in-britain-how-will-brexit-impact-uk-fine-dining-1-4839214

    Which rather summed up one of the reasons Remain lost....
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,502
    Interesting article on one of the EU countries with most to lose from no deal...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41986090
    ....It was a suggestion I made to the Dutch minister for European affairs, Anne Mulder. Was it time, I asked, for the Netherlands and other influential EU nations to offer the UK more concessions, given all would suffer from a breakdown of talks?
    The Dutch have a reputation for politeness, and I was expecting a reply laden with diplomatic euphemism. What I got was a surprisingly pithy denunciation of Britain's politicians, and their approach to the Brexit negotiations:
    "Some of them are unrealistic, they are not rational… they are always saying the ball is in the EU's court. Well there's a great big ball in their court, but they don't want to see, because they are blind."
    And what about the claim that the EU needs the UK just as much as the UK needs the EU?
    "If you want to dream, do it at night," he suggested
    ....
  • Options

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    I'll be particularly interested in the psychological impact of the penny dropping that Brexit Day isn't going to bring closure. That in fact negotiations will continue long into the now 27 month transition.

    #1 is the point I have been trying to make. It is not acceptable. There needs to be a high level FTA agreed, subject to detailed work later, with payment of the Brexit bill linked to delivery. If May can't get that, she has to walk, basically for the reason you stated in #4.
    #5 is not going to be acceptable either - you don't pay for 'free' trade. On a CETA style agreement there will be no basis for payments. You could argue that virtual SM access might attract a small ongoing fee, but this doesn't appear to be on offer anyway.

    The above are not going to be May's red lines - they are the red lines that will be forced on her by the public, the Tory party and the cabinet leavers. They are also in line with common sense - once you get past the irrational view that leaving the SM is bound to be a disaster, these outcomes would be far worse than leaving with no deal.

    So no, I don't think there is any chance that Brexit day will not be a clear break. There won't be a transition at all if she cannot manage these outcomes.

    This is where the UKIP comeback springs from: the sense of betrayal conviction Brexiteers will feel should May finally accept the reality of where we are - that the EU is in the box seat and there is no viable No Deal Brexit.

    The polling pretty clearly indicates that a UKIP revival that takes support on the right away from the Tories is pretty much the only way Labour wins for as long as Corbyn is in charge.

  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,502
    IanB2 said:

    @CarlottaVance Yes I feel the guardian is at least trying to uphold a certain seriousness in a dark time for Journalism. Certainly the huge progress it's making on it's third way model of voluntarily subscription without a pay wall is interesting. Even then though the app pushes too many click bait pieces which reek of crap written for free in exchange for the kudos of being published by the guardian.

    I subscribe to The New European print edition. Much more subtle than you think and really an experiment in what newsprint will look like when everything goes weekly. Now I don't commute I find it's enough newsprint for one week.

    I've moved to the New York Times recently in light of some introductory offers then a freebie from Google. It's beautiful. A pleasure to be able to follow world news without the Brexit Wars.

    The revamped Washington Post is fantastic content wise but I hated the app.

    In terms of a centre right source to challenge me I've dropped the Telegraph then the Daily Mail as Brexit has unhinged both. The former has become the Sun with longer sentences. I do buy the Mail on Sunday though which is far more nuanced. I won't even click on an Independent link now as since it ceased printing the online edition is so poor.

    Proper journalists being able to afford food is a bulwark against tyranny. The period where we learn to monetise serious non print news is going to be very bumpy and often grim.

    Weekly works fine for comment and good analysis - as so many of our excellent magazines already know - but not so good for news. Even if well investigated and reported, will people pay to read stuff that is up to a week old, which they have already seen reported elsewhere? Even if you do proper journalism and secure a scoop, in the modern world it is almost impossible to keep it under wraps for up to seven days.
    The Atlantic is a decent example of a monthly magazine which does daily news comment online - and their long read articles are often excellent.
  • Options
    Front page lead in City AM:

    Credit rating giant S&P says UK banks are now better placed to deal with Brexit | City A.M.

    http://www.cityam.com/275844/credit-rating-giant-sp-says-uk-banks-now-better-placed-deal
  • Options
    RecidivistRecidivist Posts: 4,679
    Charles said:

    HYUFD said:

    To all those who think that Brexit is in trouble need to read the guardian, yes the guardian's, report on the meeting between Manfred Webber and TM today which looks like breakthrough is coming in the next couple of weeks and Webber is looking to extend the talks beyond Barnier

    Really encouraging news

    Maybe why Theresa was on the top of her game at PMQ's
    If she offers up Euro 60 billion without linking it to the actual delivery of a trade deal, it might be the last PMQs that she gets to face.

    Hague in the Telegraph stated that the EU will not get a penny until the trade deal is 'ratified'. This is the real issue. The trade deal will not be ratified until well after Brexit. Will May insist that the two are linked or not?
    The EU will not begin FTA talks until she makes a clear payment commitment so she has no choice
    She will not be able to make a commitment to pay the EU anything without guaranteeing something in return. If the EU insist on this then there will be no deal.

    I am assuming that May needs to offer something like this:

    Euro 20 Bn for a two year transition period (agreed and committed to now)
    Euro 10 Bn when the high level basis for an FTA is agreed and included in the A50 treaty
    Euro 20 Bn when such an FTA is ratified

    If she offers this it will be hard for the EU to refuse and, more importantly, hard for the remainers in the UK to say we should offer any more.

    If she tries to make an offer without linking it to deliverables, she will be out of power in a month.
    A wise man once said that it's dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future
    I knew someone would say that.
  • Options
    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one. That anything remotely better than the shallowest FTA is going to incur *ongoing* budget contributions on a 1% to 100% scale varying between basic FTA and SM -

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    .

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    .
    Agreed. I’ve been saying the impression things will get sorted while keeping a careful eye on the ticking clock and watching business start making contingency plans.
    The voice of reason! Can you please go and work for the DxEU immediately?
    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    Yep, Brexit will be with us for many years yet - and will be especially dominate if we crash out of the EU. But I would not underestimate the Tory inclination to put party before country.

  • Options
    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,859
    Nigelb said:

    IanB2 said:

    @CarlottaVance Yes I feel the guardian is at least trying to uphold a certain seriousness in a dark time for Journalism. Certainly the huge progress it's making on it's third way model of voluntarily subscription without a pay wall is interesting. Even then though the app pushes too many click bait pieces which reek of crap written for free in exchange for the kudos of being published by the guardian.

    I subscribe to The New European print edition. Much more subtle than you think and really an experiment in what newsprint will look like when everything goes weekly. Now I don't commute I find it's enough newsprint for one week.

    I've moved to the New York Times recently in light of some introductory offers then a freebie from Google. It's beautiful. A pleasure to be able to follow world news without the Brexit Wars.

    The revamped Washington Post is fantastic content wise but I hated the app.

    In terms of a centre right source to challenge me I've dropped the Telegraph then the Daily Mail as Brexit has unhinged both. The former has become the Sun with longer sentences. I do buy the Mail on Sunday though which is far more nuanced. I won't even click on an Independent link now as since it ceased printing the online edition is so poor.

    Proper journalists being able to afford food is a bulwark against tyranny. The period where we learn to monetise serious non print news is going to be very bumpy and often grim.

    Weekly works fine for comment and good analysis - as so many of our excellent magazines already know - but not so good for news. Even if well investigated and reported, will people pay to read stuff that is up to a week old, which they have already seen reported elsewhere? Even if you do proper journalism and secure a scoop, in the modern world it is almost impossible to keep it under wraps for up to seven days.
    The Atlantic is a decent example of a monthly magazine which does daily news comment online - and their long read articles are often excellent.
    Yes, weekly and print works well for long read or investigative articles, or stories of such import as they’ll lead the news. Online is much better for daily news and comment, although as we’ve seen with the Telegraph there’s a tendency for a reduction in quality as the economics of online are much more difficult than print.
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    OchEyeOchEye Posts: 1,469
    Nigelb said:

    Interesting article on one of the EU countries with most to lose from no deal...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41986090
    ....It was a suggestion I made to the Dutch minister for European affairs, Anne Mulder. Was it time, I asked, for the Netherlands and other influential EU nations to offer the UK more concessions, given all would suffer from a breakdown of talks?
    The Dutch have a reputation for politeness, and I was expecting a reply laden with diplomatic euphemism. What I got was a surprisingly pithy denunciation of Britain's politicians, and their approach to the Brexit negotiations:
    "Some of them are unrealistic, they are not rational… they are always saying the ball is in the EU's court. Well there's a great big ball in their court, but they don't want to see, because they are blind."
    And what about the claim that the EU needs the UK just as much as the UK needs the EU?
    "If you want to dream, do it at night," he suggested
    ....

    +1 What a few of us have been saying for some time, except that the Brexiteers will just say that it's a bluff.....and carry on trying to navigate the sewage without any means of propulsion
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    surbiton said:

    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    A commitment to EUR60bn of payments (which, by the way, will be fudged in a number of ways anyway) is contingent on a successful deal on the far end.

    To whom is that contingency a threat? Primarily to ourselves.
    That's rather by-the-by isn't it? My point is simply that there is not a situation where we crash out of the EU with no transition period, and no agreement at all, having paid the EU a cheque for EUR60bn.
    True, but there is a situation in which we pay the money, get the transition, but merely push back the cliff edge with no guarantee of an FTA.
    I am not sure there can be a transition unless there is a agreed FTA first [ even in outline ]. It has to be a "transition" from A [ current situation; SM , CU ] to B [ FTA ].

    You can’t have a transition unless you are transitioning to something. And that something will largely be decided by the EU. That is the reality. We get to decide whether it’s Canada or Norway, they get to dictate the terms beyond that. If we pay up and the Irish border is sorted out.

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    Front page lead in City AM:

    Credit rating giant S&P says UK banks are now better placed to deal with Brexit | City A.M.

    http://www.cityam.com/275844/credit-rating-giant-sp-says-uk-banks-now-better-placed-deal

    You should bloody well hope so!!

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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,256

    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    RobD said:

    I think the ' Divorce Bill ' issue is rather old hat. Once we get passed the initial media hit both negative ( We're paying how much ? ) and positive ( May Trade Talks Triumph ) we just get a whole new set of problems. #1 May needs to then accept Transition without an agreed FTA by Brexit Day which she's said she wouldn't. #2 She needs to accept the quite small core of the bill that is genuinely divorce related will be paid in the A50 agreement. #3 She needs to accept on going payments however minor for the costs of the security treaty. #4 She then needs to accept that point #1 delays the cliff edge not avoids it and admit transition is actually extension in all but name #5 Then the big one

    The extent to which these matters get caught up between Theological objections on one side and ' why the f*ck are we leaving then ? ' on the other will determine how we go.

    .

    Does Canada pay for its FTA?
    Indeed not, but doesn’t include services. Anything that doesn’t include a single market in services isn’t worth paying for, as trade in goods is almost all one way - they should be paying us for a Canada-style deal.
    .
    Agreed. I’ve been saying the impression things will get sorted while keeping a careful eye on the ticking clock and watching business start making contingency plans.
    The voice of reason! Can you please go and work for the DxEU immediately?
    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    Yep, Brexit will be with us for many years yet - and will be especially dominate if we crash out of the EU. But I would not underestimate the Tory inclination to put party before country.

    The Tories do appear to have fallen for what is normally a Labour disease, for sure.
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    "Just a German politician"

    Weber’s comments are noteworthy not only because he’s an an ally of the German Chancellor but because on several occasions he has dismissed British proposals on the financial settlement and citizens rights. Last summer he went as far as accusing May of bringing chaos to Britain with her choice of calling a snap election. He even asked May to fire Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as recently as October.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-15/hawkish-ally-of-merkel-met-may-and-struck-a-positive-brexit-note
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    "Just a German politician"

    Weber’s comments are noteworthy not only because he’s an an ally of the German Chancellor but because on several occasions he has dismissed British proposals on the financial settlement and citizens rights. Last summer he went as far as accusing May of bringing chaos to Britain with her choice of calling a snap election. He even asked May to fire Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as recently as October.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-15/hawkish-ally-of-merkel-met-may-and-struck-a-positive-brexit-note

    Yep, if May is finally going to accept reality on the money front that is very good news and should get us to Stage Two.

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    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,859


    I subscribe to The New European print edition.

    I'm afraid I haven't been able to take it seriously since:

    http://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/culture/michelin-restaurants-in-britain-how-will-brexit-impact-uk-fine-dining-1-4839214

    Which rather summed up one of the reasons Remain lost....
    That was a good one, up there with Stuart Rose saying on the first day of the campaign that if we leave the cost of labour will go up.
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    asjohnstoneasjohnstone Posts: 1,276
    "The Dutch have a reputation for politeness"

    In what alternate universe do the Dutch have a reputation for politeness?

    I used to work in den Bosch, great people the dutch, but polite? You've got to be kidding me, they are the most straight talking, direct, nation on earth.
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    PongPong Posts: 4,693
    edited November 2017
    IanB2 said:

    Pong said:

    Charles said:

    HYUFD said:

    To all those who think that Brexit is in trouble need to read the guardian, yes the guardian's, report on the meeting between Manfred Webber and TM today which looks like breakthrough is coming in the next couple of weeks and Webber is looking to extend the talks beyond Barnier

    Really encouraging news

    Maybe why Theresa was on the top of her game at PMQ's
    If she offers up Euro 60 billion without linking it to the actual delivery of a trade deal, it might be the last PMQs that she gets to face.

    Hague in the Telegraph stated that the EU will not get a penny until the trade deal is 'ratified'. This is the real issue. The trade deal will not be ratified until well after Brexit. Will May insist that the two are linked or not?
    The EU will not begin FTA talks until she makes a clear payment commitment so she has no choice
    She will not be able to make a commitment to pay the EU anything without guaranteeing something in return. If the EU insist on this then there will be no deal.

    I am assuming that May needs to offer something like this:

    Euro 20 Bn for a two year transition period (agreed and committed to now)
    Euro 10 Bn when the high level basis for an FTA is agreed and included in the A50 treaty
    Euro 20 Bn when such an FTA is ratified

    If she offers this it will be hard for the EU to refuse and, more importantly, hard for the remainers in the UK to say we should offer any more.

    If she tries to make an offer without linking it to deliverables, she will be out of power in a month.
    A wise man once said that it's dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future
    Wise indeed.

    Smart? No.

    In my experience, most of the money to be made out of political betting is from laying other peoples overconfident predictions.
    Certainly would have been a great move back when so many were predicting a Tory landslide....
    There was an odd overconfidence in the extent of the landslide, too.

    For example - take this bell curve produced by the former Beliezian ambassador to the United Nations;

    https://dashboards.lordashcroftpolls.com/Storyboard/RHViewStoryBoard.aspx?RId=²¶&RLId=²²&PId=±´»µ¶&UId=´¹¹¹¼&RpId=25

    It was bollocks - Michael was clearly overconfident and the result proves his bell curve was garbage.

    But punters wanted to believe.
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    "The Dutch have a reputation for politeness"

    In what alternate universe do the Dutch have a reputation for politeness?

    I used to work in den Bosch, great people the dutch, but polite? You've got to be kidding me, they are the most straight talking, direct, nation on earth.

    Yep, I was thinking that. The Dutch don’t hold back in my experience. I think they’re great.

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    Sandpit said:


    I subscribe to The New European print edition.

    I'm afraid I haven't been able to take it seriously since:

    http://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/culture/michelin-restaurants-in-britain-how-will-brexit-impact-uk-fine-dining-1-4839214

    Which rather summed up one of the reasons Remain lost....
    That was a good one, up there with Stuart Rose saying on the first day of the campaign that if we leave the cost of labour will go up.

    The New European is the perfect example of a publication telling its readership exactly what they want to hear. That’s a pretty decent niche business model, especially when - I suspect - contributors are taking little in the way of fees.

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    "The Dutch have a reputation for politeness"

    In what alternate universe do the Dutch have a reputation for politeness?

    I used to work in den Bosch, great people the dutch, but polite? You've got to be kidding me, they are the most straight talking, direct, nation on earth.

    Yep, I was thinking that. The Dutch don’t hold back in my experience. I think they’re great.
    In my international travels the Dutch were easily the easiest to work with. Firstly, like the British (and unlike the French, Germans or Italians) they were willing to travel and make the most of it when they got there, not forever regretting it wasn't Paris, Frankfurt or Milan. Secondly, as you observe, they never let tact get in the way of clarity.....
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    PongPong Posts: 4,693
    edited November 2017
    Pong said:

    IanB2 said:

    Pong said:

    Charles said:

    HYUFD said:



    Maybe why Theresa was on the top of her game at PMQ's

    If she offers up Euro 60 billion without linking it to the actual delivery of a trade deal, it might be the last PMQs that she gets to face.

    Hague in the Telegraph stated that the EU will not get a penny until the trade deal is 'ratified'. This is the real issue. The trade deal will not be ratified until well after Brexit. Will May insist that the two are linked or not?
    The EU will not begin FTA talks until she makes a clear payment commitment so she has no choice
    She will not be able to make a commitment to pay the EU anything without guaranteeing something in return. If the EU insist on this then there will be no deal.

    I am assuming that May needs to offer something like this:

    Euro 20 Bn for a two year transition period (agreed and committed to now)
    Euro 10 Bn when the high level basis for an FTA is agreed and included in the A50 treaty
    Euro 20 Bn when such an FTA is ratified

    If she offers this it will be hard for the EU to refuse and, more importantly, hard for the remainers in the UK to say we should offer any more.

    If she tries to make an offer without linking it to deliverables, she will be out of power in a month.
    A wise man once said that it's dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future
    Wise indeed.

    Smart? No.

    In my experience, most of the money to be made out of political betting is from laying other peoples overconfident predictions.
    Certainly would have been a great move back when so many were predicting a Tory landslide....
    There was an odd overconfidence in the extent of the landslide, too.

    For example - take this bell curve produced by the former Beliezian ambassador to the United Nations;

    https://dashboards.lordashcroftpolls.com/Storyboard/RHViewStoryBoard.aspx?RId=²¶&RLId=²²&PId=±´»µ¶&UId=´¹¹¹¼&RpId=25

    It was bollocks - Michael was clearly overconfident and the result proves his bell curve was garbage.

    But punters wanted to believe.
    Looking back at my records, I laid conservative majority of 150-174 @ 5.8 for £310 on May 18th. Madness.

    That was never a 17% chance.
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    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,859

    "The Dutch have a reputation for politeness"

    In what alternate universe do the Dutch have a reputation for politeness?

    I used to work in den Bosch, great people the dutch, but polite? You've got to be kidding me, they are the most straight talking, direct, nation on earth.

    Yep, I was thinking that. The Dutch don’t hold back in my experience. I think they’re great.

    +1 for the Dutch. I once had a Dutch boss, he didn’t give a crap for office politics and people speaking in riddles, just got on with the job. He’s now CIO of a global hotel chain.
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    archer101auarcher101au Posts: 1,612
    IanB2 said:



    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?
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    IanB2 said:



    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?
    We can, Archer, and I expect we will.

    It will just mean a lower standard of living than we currently enjoy. As long as folk are happy with that, no problem.
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    IanB2 said:



    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?

    No-one else has ever had to manage leaving the EU. David Davis used to say it would be easy. He doesn’t anymore.

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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,256
    edited November 2017

    IanB2 said:



    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?
    You are confusing the destination with the journey.

    As it happens, no one has ever made the journey we are attempting, breaking 45 years of ties and institutional and regulatory convergence with so many other countries and our closest trading partners.

    Leavers fixate on returning to the pre-70s position and spend very little time considering whether, even if this proves beneficial as they believe, the size of the eventual prize (in real rather than ideological terms) justifies the cost of and damage from making what will probably be a very uncomfortable transition.
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    Hat-tip for Matt Singh:

    Matt Singh of Number Cruncher Politics, a wonky U.K. blog.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-16/theresa-may-s-job-is-safe-for-now
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    IanB2 said:

    IanB2 said:



    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?
    Leavers fixate on returning to the pre-70s
    Citation required.
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    archer101auarcher101au Posts: 1,612
    IanB2 said:



    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?

    You are confusing the destination with the journey.

    As it happens, no one has ever made the journey we are attempting, breaking 45 years of ties and institutional and regulatory convergence with so many other countries and our closest trading partners.

    Leavers fixate on returning to the pre-70s position and spend very little time considering whether, even if this proves beneficial as they believe, the size of the eventual prize (in real rather than ideological terms) justifies the cost of and damage from making what will probably be a very uncomfortable transition.
    You ascribe this huge value to the EU and the SM, but there is no evidence. If the SM was so wonderful and WTO so disastrous, surely we would expect that EU nations would have the highest growth rates in the World and that trade between EU members and growth rates would be far higher after the advent of the SM than before. But neither of these are true.

    So even if the trade outcome is slightly worse, we do not think that the evidence suggests it is material and could easily be countered by better trade deals elsewhere, lower regulation and a reduction of tariffs on imports which protect largely French and German interests and not ours.

    Given that there is evidence all over the World that trading outside the SM is not exactly a problem, why should be back away from this view?
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    IanB2 said:



    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?

    No-one else has ever had to manage leaving the EU. David Davis used to say it would be easy. He doesn’t anymore.

    From memory, didn’t Greenland leave?
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    WinstanleyWinstanley Posts: 434
    edited November 2017
    My near daily whinge about discussing the polling: what is the point when we don't know if or how the polling companies have changed their methods in response to 2017? Maybe they've over corrected and May is creeping ahead. Maybe they're still under recording Labour. As it is, you may just as well try to understand politics now by reading the tarot.

    It makes the graphs of polling we like to make narratives from just trash, reading into shifts in data that are just the result of shifts in methods. Until we know what changes the polling companies have made and when, their data is useless for any purpose.

  • Options
    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,100

    This is where the UKIP comeback springs from: the sense of betrayal conviction Brexiteers will feel should May finally accept the reality of where we are - that the EU is in the box seat and there is no viable No Deal Brexit.

    The polling pretty clearly indicates that a UKIP revival that takes support on the right away from the Tories is pretty much the only way Labour wins for as long as Corbyn is in charge.

    My guess is that the Great Disgruntled will go/return to the Can't Be Arsed Party. What is the point of voting, if nobody bothers to implement the will of the people? UKIP has had its day in the sun. No-one will believe that UKIP can re-open whatever settlement we achieve with the EU.

    UKIP can't take themselves seriously. Why should the voters?
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    IanB2 said:



    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?

    No-one else has ever had to manage leaving the EU. David Davis used to say it would be easy. He doesn’t anymore.

    From memory, didn’t Greenland leave?
    And before that Algeria.....but it wasn't the EU then.......
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    My near daily whinge about discussing the polling: what is the point when we don't know if or how the polling companies have changed their methods in response to 2017? Maybe they've over corrected and May is creeping ahead. Maybe they're still under recording Labour. As it is, you may just as well try to understand politics now by reading the tarot.

    It makes the graphs of polling we like to make narratives from just trash, reading into shifts in data that are just the result of shifts in methods. Until we know what changes the polling companies have made and when, their data is useless for any purpose.

    Not all the pollsters got it wrong at the election.

    The current gold standard has Labour 6% ahead.
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    My near daily whinge about discussing the polling: what is the point when we don't know if or how the polling companies have changed their methods in response to 2017? Maybe they've over corrected and May is creeping ahead. Maybe they're still under recording Labour. As it is, you may just as well try to understand politics now by reading the tarot.

    It makes the graphs of polling we like to make narratives from just trash, reading into shifts in data that are just the result of shifts in methods. Until we know what changes the polling companies have made and when, their data is useless for any purpose.

    I agree, but with two caveats:

    1) the polls have never really been very reliable so this isn't a new thing; and

    2) where methodologies haven't changed between polls, directions of travel are of some use. So I'm not very interested in ICM finding that Labour and the Conservatives are level. I am interested in them finding that neither seems to be declining much and that both' poll ratings have been consistent for months.
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    IanB2 said:



    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?

    You are confusing the destination with the journey.

    As it happens, no one has ever made the journey we are attempting, breaking 45 years of ties and institutional and regulatory convergence with so many other countries and our closest trading partners.

    Leavers fixate on returning to the pre-70s position and spend very little time considering whether, even if this proves beneficial as they believe, the size of the eventual prize (in real rather than ideological terms) justifies the cost of and damage from making what will probably be a very uncomfortable transition.
    You ascribe this huge value to the EU and the SM, but there is no evidence. If the SM was so wonderful and WTO so disastrous, surely we would expect that EU nations would have the highest growth rates in the World and that trade between EU members and growth rates would be far higher after the advent of the SM than before. But neither of these are true.

    So even if the trade outcome is slightly worse, we do not think that the evidence suggests it is material and could easily be countered by better trade deals elsewhere, lower regulation and a reduction of tariffs on imports which protect largely French and German interests and not ours.

    Given that there is evidence all over the World that trading outside the SM is not exactly a problem, why should be back away from this view?

    Mature, developed economies are unlikely to have the world’s highest growth rates. But they do deliver high standards of living and sustainable trade. That’s a good base from which to export to the rest of the world; which, of course, we are perfectly capable of doing now. It’s just a matter of making stuff and offering services others want to buy. See the many EU member states that are better at it than us, for example.

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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,256
    edited November 2017
    Pong said:
    A good article, thanks for the link. I have long been concerned that people think 'housebuilding' as soon as you mention the housing crisis, overlooking completely all of the financial reasons - cheap finance, openness to foreign criminals investors, favourable financial and regulatory environment for landlords, QE, government schemes to subsidise house buying, etc. - that are the true drivers of the explosion in property values. New homes are important, given the growing population, but lack of them is only a small part of the story of how we got to here.
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    FregglesFreggles Posts: 3,486

    IanB2 said:



    Not really "reason" - the economic and political risks of no deal are way too high for any sensible government to take. Even if you can plan in your mind a scenario where the outcome isn't too bad for the UK (and I can't see it yet), its successful implementation depends on a level of planning, co-ordination and implementation capability that our government (any government) simply does not have.

    As I predicted during the referendum, Brexit is very likely to involve the UK still following most EU rules, still continuing to make financial contributions, and allowing in most of the EU workers who actually still want to come.

    YellowSub is also right that anyone who thinks that Brexit can be ticked off as 'done' in the foreseeable, allowing 'normal politics' to resume, is being naive.

    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?
    Not being in something in the first place is completely different to leaving it.

    Our economy has been built on the presumption Single Market membership. We can adapt to being outside, but until (if?) we construct trade deals that are a net positive compared to EU membership for our economy (and these usually take 7+ years in the meantime we are growing slower) we will be poorer than we would have otherwise been.

    And on the customs/imports issue you are saying that we can put in place a system before March 2019 that is equivalent to systems built up over decades in other countries. Well, maybe with massive costs and bringing in a lot of migrant labour....
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    RecidivistRecidivist Posts: 4,679
    Christopher Hitchens used to say that the purpose of polls is to mould public opinion, not measure it. As the years go by the truer I find that.
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    Why aren't the polls moving?

    Because there's a LOT of heat, and not much light.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    My near daily whinge about discussing the polling: what is the point when we don't know if or how the polling companies have changed their methods in response to 2017? Maybe they've over corrected and May is creeping ahead. Maybe they're still under recording Labour. As it is, you may just as well try to understand politics now by reading the tarot.

    It makes the graphs of polling we like to make narratives from just trash, reading into shifts in data that are just the result of shifts in methods. Until we know what changes the polling companies have made and when, their data is useless for any purpose.

    Not all the pollsters got it wrong at the election.

    The current gold standard has Labour 6% ahead.
    Which is the current gold standard?
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,256

    IanB2 said:



    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?

    You are confusing the destination with the journey.

    As it happens, no one has ever made the journey we are attempting, breaking 45 years of ties and institutional and regulatory convergence with so many other countries and our closest trading partners.

    Leavers fixate on returning to the pre-70s position and spend very little time considering whether, even if this proves beneficial as they believe, the size of the eventual prize (in real rather than ideological terms) justifies the cost of and damage from making what will probably be a very uncomfortable transition.
    You ascribe this huge value to the EU and the SM, but there is no evidence. If the SM was so wonderful and WTO so disastrous, surely we would expect that EU nations would have the highest growth rates in the World and that trade between EU members and growth rates would be far higher after the advent of the SM than before. But neither of these are true.

    So even if the trade outcome is slightly worse, we do not think that the evidence suggests it is material and could easily be countered by better trade deals elsewhere, lower regulation and a reduction of tariffs on imports which protect largely French and German interests and not ours.

    Given that there is evidence all over the World that trading outside the SM is not exactly a problem, why should be back away from this view?
    Once again you miss the point. Irrespective of whether inside or outside the EU is the optimum place to be, in terms of trade and the economy, it is the damage that the wrench of taking us from inside to outside will do that is the question here. You appear unwilling even to consider the matter.
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    My near daily whinge about discussing the polling: what is the point when we don't know if or how the polling companies have changed their methods in response to 2017? Maybe they've over corrected and May is creeping ahead. Maybe they're still under recording Labour. As it is, you may just as well try to understand politics now by reading the tarot.

    It makes the graphs of polling we like to make narratives from just trash, reading into shifts in data that are just the result of shifts in methods. Until we know what changes the polling companies have made and when, their data is useless for any purpose.

    Not all the pollsters got it wrong at the election.

    The current gold standard has Labour 6% ahead.
    Which is the current gold standard?
    Survation.
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    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    Polls not moving for two reasons.

    1. Question is irrelevant, there is no election.
    2. Positions increasing entrenched, switching May<->Corbyn hard. Both recruiting sergeants for other team.
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    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,970
    Jonathan said:

    Polls not moving for two reasons.

    1. Question is irrelevant, there is no election.
    2. Positions increasing entrenched, switching May<->Corbyn hard. Both recruiting sergeants for other team.

    People beginning to think about Christmas.
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    WinstanleyWinstanley Posts: 434
    edited November 2017

    My near daily whinge about discussing the polling: what is the point when we don't know if or how the polling companies have changed their methods in response to 2017? Maybe they've over corrected and May is creeping ahead. Maybe they're still under recording Labour. As it is, you may just as well try to understand politics now by reading the tarot.

    It makes the graphs of polling we like to make narratives from just trash, reading into shifts in data that are just the result of shifts in methods. Until we know what changes the polling companies have made and when, their data is useless for any purpose.

    I agree, but with two caveats:

    1) the polls have never really been very reliable so this isn't a new thing; and

    2) where methodologies haven't changed between polls, directions of travel are of some use. So I'm not very interested in ICM finding that Labour and the Conservatives are level. I am interested in them finding that neither seems to be declining much and that both' poll ratings have been consistent for months.
    Do we know if they have changed their methods or not? Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, but I only heard after GE2017 that they'd reduced the weighting for Labour leaning groups after getting 2015 wrong, making aĺl the discussions of trends crossing that boundary meaningless. Maybe we'll find out what changes they made after GE2017 after the next screw up.

    Stability in top line figures doesn't mean stability, if they've got the weightings for different groups as badly wrong as previously. Over-weighted groups could be compensating for shifts in under-weighted ones. We just don't know.

    The polls have never been reliable, but it's crazy to allow the polling to guide how we talk about politics when they've been so consistently wrong previously.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    IanB2 said:

    IanB2 said:



    The problem is that you are saying that it is impossible for us to transition to something that every other country in the World manages without any problems. Australia, for example, not only manages proper immigration control (which we kept being told is impossible), but they also manage to get all imports (which is virtually everything not dug out of the ground) through customs and the strictest quarantine system in the World. Yet there is still food on the shelves and goods in the shops.

    The only reason the Government will not be able to execute this is because the civil service, aided and abetted by Hammond, refuse to plan for it.

    But if everyone else can manage this, why can't we?

    You are confusing the destination with the journey.

    As it happens, no one has ever made the journey we are attempting, breaking 45 years of ties and institutional and regulatory convergence with so many other countries and our closest trading partners.

    Leavers fixate on returning to the pre-70s position and spend very little time considering whether, even if this proves beneficial as they believe, the size of the eventual prize (in real rather than ideological terms) justifies the cost of and damage from making what will probably be a very uncomfortable transition.
    You ascribe this huge value to the
    Once again you miss the point. Irrespective of whether inside or outside the EU is the optimum place to be, in terms of trade and the economy, it is the damage that the wrench of taking us from inside to outside will do that is the question here. You appear unwilling even to consider the matter.
    Leavers now seem to be agreeing that there will be years of disruption, perhaps even a lost decade, before the sunny uplands of chlorinated chicken.

    Who is going to electorally benefit in that period?

    Jonathan said:

    Polls not moving for two reasons.

    1. Question is irrelevant, there is no election.
    2. Positions increasing entrenched, switching May<->Corbyn hard. Both recruiting sergeants for other team.

    Polls this far out are bizarrely irrelevant, as there is no GE on the cards. The polls shifted hugely when there was one called. The starting point was forgotten very quickly.

    If May had another 2 digit lead would she call an election? No, because nobody would believe it.
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    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Paris, indeed.
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    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,597
    Opinion polling for the next GE isn't able to project forward to who the PM will be by then. The change ought to give the Tories a boost, but they might manage to find someone worse than May.

    Also, I am still not convinced that Jezza will still be there in 2022, and a change in LOTO will also have a big impact.

    So at the moment movements in the polls (when there are any) are interesting, but not much else is relevant.
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    TonyETonyE Posts: 938
    The Single Market isn't some great panacea of wealth and growth - but it does create a barrier which the EU economy uses to create a hurdle for external competition. However, sometimes it is also used against us (such as when Bosch convinced the EU to set the standards for energy economy in vacuum cleaners to not recognise the bag filling, the issue that gets James Dyson all hot under the collar).

    The estimate is about 1-2% GDP benefit derived from the single market itself in that it reduces certain costs derived of regulatory difference. Customs unions rarely 'create' any wealth - they simply divert trade to keep it inside the bloc, which allows it to entrench old technologies or old working practices if that is politically advantageous.

    Australia found this when it set its American deal, that the trade liberalisation it had pursued around Asia started to reverse. The trajectory of the economy didn't massively shift, but their trade displaced itself towards the USA.

    Of course, once you're in, you've already tied in that effect and it isn't easy or cheap to undo. That's why the big nations/powers favour these arrangements (USA/EU) because it ties the smaller economies in semi permanently because they can't undo the arrangements as easily as they made them. The big nations become the centre of gravity regulation wise.
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    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    Leavers now seem to be agreeing that there will be years of disruption, perhaps even a lost decade, before the sunny uplands of chlorinated chicken.

    Who is going to electorally benefit in that period?

    Or take the waste-management firm in the Midlands, located in a sea of Leavers, that now can’t get European firms to renew their five-year deals on taking unrecyclable waste to use as fuel, because nobody knows what the post-Brexit trade terms will be. An executive there told me that local authorities around the country are privately talking of reopening mothballed landfill sites now that exporting waste to Europe may become so problematic and, given the pound’s post-Brexit fall, expensive. More sovereignty means more rubbish; that’s not one of the slogans I remember from the bus.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/brexit-heartlands-want-someone-else-to-pay-pthzgl35g
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    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,100
    edited November 2017

    Opinion polling for the next GE isn't able to project forward to who the PM will be by then. The change ought to give the Tories a boost, but they might manage to find someone worse than May.

    Also, I am still not convinced that Jezza will still be there in 2022, and a change in LOTO will also have a big impact.

    So at the moment movements in the polls (when there are any) are interesting, but not much else is relevant.

    Agreed, there can be no election we have lived through where the known unknowns are as great as they will be by 2022.

    It would be like expecting Mr. Dancer to tell us who was going to be the top dog in F1 in 2022....
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,212
    In 2016 we exported £242bn of goods and services to the EU and imported £302bn, a deficit of £60bn. Let's suppose the somewhat unlikely scenario that trade with the EU in each direction reduces by 10%. We would lose £24,2bn of exports and reduce imports by £30,2 bn. This would, all other things being equal boost growth by about 0.4% provided the unmet demand is met by import substitution.

    Of course things are not equal and those who point out that our economic model is currently built on unrestricted access to the Single Market are right. There would be some disruption and refocusing of effort over a period of time. There might be some adverse investment decisions as well as some positive ones (where import substitution is made more attractive by the barriers). There would probably be a period of growth that would be modestly below par.

    The point I have made on here on previous occasions is that these are very small effects and are likely to be subsumed in other effects. A material slow down in the US (our biggest single customer), for example, would have a larger effect than this. In reality I think that 10% is a significant overstatement of the consequences of WTO rules so the effects will be even smaller.

    I completely get that some people think why should we suffer these adverse effects at all, however minor. I even get the argument that we might have better growth opportunities in the future inside the SM although the evidence for that is weak. But those who try to paint this as the end of the world (or indeed a fabulous new opportunity) are seriously overstating the case. It just isn't.
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    VerulamiusVerulamius Posts: 1,435
    Housing appears to be an important topic for the budget. Recently the Government has been constrained because local housing associations, since last year, were classified as Government controlled for statistical purposes and this formed part of the Government accounts.

    This means that all the borrowing of the local housing associations were included as part of the Government debt and deficit numbers. As a consequence the Government was controlling their borrowing, reducing affordable house building.

    Over the past couple of months a new statutory instrument has been approved which put restrictions on local government control over housing associations. The purpose was to enable the ONS to change the classification of housing associations so that they were no longer included in the Government accounts, and hence debt numbers. See this letter from last August: https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/news/statementsandletters/furtherstatementonenglishhousingassociations/englishprpsaugust2017.pdf

    It would appear that the decision has now been taken by the ONS to reclassify, thus enabling the Government to permit more borrowing by Housing Associations and hence more affordable house building.
This discussion has been closed.