Because politics is very difficult to do well. To be really good at it, you need to have a clear vision, a good grasp of detail (but without getting bogged down in detail), excellent inter-personal skills, knowing when to delegate and when to do the job oneself, the ability to know when to stand firm and when to compromise, and to be a fine judge of character. How many people have that skillset?
People in business making tens of millions, mostly. Some of my former colleagues would make excellent Cabinet Ministers.
When they have made their pile, they might consider going into politics - but then they think "why the f*ck would I want to have people who I have never met calling me every name under the sun on a blog, for doing something they patently can't do themselves....? Sod that." And spend their days sailing, or whatever.
Because politics is very difficult to do well. To be really good at it, you need to have a clear vision, a good grasp of detail (but without getting bogged down in detail), excellent inter-personal skills, knowing when to delegate and when to do the job oneself, the ability to know when to stand firm and when to compromise, and to be a fine judge of character. How many people have that skillset?
And to be willing to subject yourself and your family to intense media scrutiny 24/7.
I'd say ensuring the skeletons stay hidden would be top of the list!
Tesla getting bad press again. Obviously we don't know the cause of the fire, but motor vehicles burst into flame for no apparent reason all the time. We usually put it down as "unexplained electrical fault" on the IRS..... Does Tesla have a particularly high number of car fires?
I'm unsure we have enough data to tell, or particularly amongst the sector Tesla compete in.
Tesla cars have only been going for a few years, particularly in the 'mass' market, and therefore statistical information on crashes and the like are difficult to discern. In addition, I'm guessing that Teslas tend to be newer cars than the average on the road, and that the older a car is, the more likely it is to spontaneously combust. I'm also guessing that Teslas cover less mileage than equivalent 'luxury' cars.
One thing I'd like to know: as a a fireman, have you been trained on the 'correct' way to tackle accidents in electric cars, both to isolate the batteries and how to tackle fires in the battery packs?
Yeah, we have. We have a good relationship with a number of dealers who have been happy to walk us through battery isolation and any hazards we should be wary of. There has actually been a lot of joined up thinking about the problems posed by electric vehicles. Mobile Data Terminals on the pumps (when they work....) have full Crashdata on pretty much every vehicle on the road that will give us an exploded diagram of what is where (Modern vehicles often have more than one battery so they can power FaceBook and Spotify). Modern high end cars burn very well, and take a bit of putting out. I didn't go to it, but one crew spent 5 trying to put a Mclaren supercar out when it caught fire at a testing day at a local airfield. The chief engineer even told them to go and get a cuppa while it burnt out, he said once it takes hold, it's done for and he'd never seen one saved yet!
I had a pretty exciting time with my Audi A4 burning out by the side of the road a few months ago. Some of your colleagues spent a fair amount of time putting it out. A lot of the aluminium burnt.
The various exotic alloys in modern cars make for pretty flames, and it isn't unusual to see the molten metal running down the road. I know a local artist who has used the shapes formed when it solidifies in some sculptures.
Its slightly harder to be objective about it when it is your own car that is making the interesting puddles of metal on the road as well as the flames. All those CDs I am going to have to replace, yet again.
Theresa has played a blinder with her NHS Brexit Bonanza. It's pure Gordon Brown at the height of his powers - use a massively increased deficit to hike public spending but then claim it's because you yourself abolished boom and bust. Theresa is now unstoppable!
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
Bit too much of an agenda for me but I have said previously that the June Summit is going to have an awful lot to deal with beside Brexit and May will struggle to get the likes of Merkel to devote time to it. I think she is more concerned with Italy (above all), Hungary, Poland, relations with France, the problems caused by immigration and the complete failure of the quota system, the stresses on the EZ... etc etc.
As I have said before it is not clear whether this will prove good or bad. There may be a desire to just get the deal done and move on. Or there may simply not have been enough hard thinking about what sort of relationship they want with us going forward.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
They don't need to win a bidding war. The NHS will always be an issue on which Labour leads. The Tories just need to ensure that the NHS is not the voters' main priority.
The Tories will obviously link their ability to invest in the NHS to prudent stewardship of the economy, and contrast that with Corbyn's recklessness and naivety.
I think there's some mileage in that.
Interesting that May has signed up to the Brexit bonus on the NHS. Rather means she has to deliver Brexit to deliver the NHS....
If that means that the Tories are now as committed to the NHS as the Labour Party then that’s a Brexit bonus of sorts.
Theresa has played a blinder with her NHS Brexit Bonanza. It's pure Gordon Brown at the height of his powers - use a massively increased deficit to hike public spending but then claim it's because you yourself abolished boom and bust. Theresa is now unstoppable!
Errmm...
I don't recall the ending of boom and bust going too well the last time. Although, in fairness, more than 10 years, on booms do seem to have disappeared.
Again, Amazon / Facebook / Google use ML to learn all about sales patterns etc. A lot of stolen stuff is fenced on things like ebay / social media, I bet the plod at best have some random pc manually looking through listings to see if they can spot any dodgy looking stuff.
Same with the drugs sales via social media.
One of the best (and least talked about things) Cameron did was the behavioural insights team. They didn't cost much and those guys made the country a boat load of money via extra tax collection and saved via some simple nudge stuff.
I would like to see the government / plod do a similar thing for crime. Imagine how little it would cost to fund some PhD / post docs to come together as team for the police to crunch the big data for crime, develop useful tools etc.
If you've not seen it, have a look at ex-Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross's book Crime, based on then-recent (2013) research. https://www.nickross.com/crime/
Speaking of Crimewatch, it was said that most identifications came from prison officers recognising their old customers, which suggests perhaps there should be some sort of internal equivalent. Maybe there is now. Or maybe the Home Office will spend five years planning a nationwide face recognition scheme which will fail after they've spunked a billion quid up the wall to the usual suspects.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
People in business making tens of millions, mostly. Some of my former colleagues would make excellent Cabinet Ministers.
When they have made their pile, they might consider going into politics - but then they think "why the f*ck would I want to have people who I have never met calling me every name under the sun on a blog, for doing something they patently can't do themselves....? Sod that." And spend their days sailing, or whatever.
Disagree entirely. Look at the example of Archie Norman who was lauded as the great hope of the Conservatives after 1997 but managed to rise and sink almost entirely without trace.
The trouble with businessmen (and Trump is an example) is they are used to command and control, to be able to intimidate and cajole as they see fit. Politics isn't like business - in politics you have to argue and persuade and deal with people as powerful as you who are hostile to you on an ideological basis.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
People in business making tens of millions, mostly. Some of my former colleagues would make excellent Cabinet Ministers.
When they have made their pile, they might consider going into politics - but then they think "why the f*ck would I want to have people who I have never met calling me every name under the sun on a blog, for doing something they patently can't do themselves....? Sod that." And spend their days sailing, or whatever.
Disagree entirely. Look at the example of Archie Norman who was lauded as the great hope of the Conservatives after 1997 but managed to rise and sink almost entirely without trace.
The trouble with businessmen (and Trump is an example) is they are used to command and control, to be able to intimidate and cajole as they see fit. Politics isn't like business - in politics you have to argue and persuade and deal with people as powerful as you who are hostile to you on an ideological basis.
The trouble with *some* businessmen, sure. But certainly not all.
And your view of politics appears a little askew. Yes, there is the high politics - the arguing and persuading. But there is also another aspect: the communication skills with constituents that *should* be a vital part of the job, and who are not as powerful as you (although they may be ideologically hostile).
I reckon no prior non-political occupation prepares for politics. A businessman might make a great political operator, but a hopeless constituency one. A union man might listen to groups of people he ideologically agrees with, and ignore the pleb constituent he disagrees with. A charity worker might be very sympathetic with constituents, but utterly hopeless at achieving results that help them.
People in business making tens of millions, mostly. Some of my former colleagues would make excellent Cabinet Ministers.
When they have made their pile, they might consider going into politics - but then they think "why the f*ck would I want to have people who I have never met calling me every name under the sun on a blog, for doing something they patently can't do themselves....? Sod that." And spend their days sailing, or whatever.
Disagree entirely. Look at the example of Archie Norman who was lauded as the great hope of the Conservatives after 1997 but managed to rise and sink almost entirely without trace.
The trouble with businessmen (and Trump is an example) is they are used to command and control, to be able to intimidate and cajole as they see fit. Politics isn't like business - in politics you have to argue and persuade and deal with people as powerful as you who are hostile to you on an ideological basis.
Archie Normal was a prickly, charmless individual who allowed John Prescott to paint the Tories as cynical and opportunistic twats over the Marchioness disaster.
Great overnight stint from Alonso looks as though it has helped seal the Le Mans win (and rival car’s Kobyashi missing his pit stop* has made it more certain).
Probably not the outright quickest racing driver in the world, but the most complete.
* Ran out of fuel and had to do most of a lap on electrical power only...
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
My point was not about being posh, it was that attacks on leaders' backgrounds fail. Voters don't care.
Theresa May has very clearly and unambiguously adopted the £350 million a week meme, and linked it to Brexit, in this clip:
twitter.com/MarrShow/status/1008269978116579329
She seems happier than I've seen here in a long time to be sharing 'good news'. Personally, I don't think it's going to show up much in the polls, but it probably removes at least one major millstone from around the neck of the Tories for GE2022.
I imagine she would have saved herself a hell of a lot of stress if the Tories had announced his policy as part of the GE campaign last year....
Most people don't know, don't care, and don't understand, the inner intricacies of Government finance. They just want more investment in the NHS. They will conclude this extra money has *something* to do with Brexit, perhaps not the extent claimed, but, still, something, because our net payments to the EU will go down, and that on the NHS will go up.
Absolutely! The masses are wholly ignorant of such things. This is, in fact, a beautiful political seam for Theresa to mine. Why stop at the NHS? She should massively increase spending on education, defence, welfare, law and order, farming, whatever and just claim it's all being funded by Brexit. Who'd question it? Who'd care?
Tesla getting bad press again. Obviously we don't know the cause of the fire, but motor vehicles burst into flame for no apparent reason all the time. We usually put it down as "unexplained electrical fault" on the IRS..... Does Tesla have a particularly high number of car fires?
I'm unsure we have enough data to tell, or particularly amongst the sector Tesla compete in.
Tesla cars have only been going for a few years, particularly in the 'mass' market, and therefore statistical information on crashes and the like are difficult to discern. In addition, I'm guessing that Teslas tend to be newer cars than the average on the road, and that the older a car is, the more likely it is to spontaneously combust. I'm also guessing that Teslas cover less mileage than equivalent 'luxury' cars.
One thing I'd like to know: as a a fireman, have you been trained on the 'correct' way to tackle accidents in electric cars, both to isolate the batteries and how to tackle fires in the battery packs?
Yeah, we have. We have a good relationship with a number of dealers who have been happy to walk us through battery isolation and any hazards we should be wary of. There has actually been a lot of joined up thinking about the problems posed by electric vehicles. Mobile Data Terminals on the pumps (when they work....) have full Crashdata on pretty much every vehicle on the road that will give us an exploded diagram of what is where (Modern vehicles often have more than one battery so they can power FaceBook and Spotify). Modern high end cars burn very well, and take a bit of putting out. I didn't go to it, but one crew spent 5 hours trying to put a Mclaren supercar out when it caught fire at a testing day at a local airfield. The chief engineer even told them to go and get a cuppa while it burnt out, he said once it takes hold, it's done for and he'd never seen one saved yet!
Cars made of carbon fibre make a right mess when they catch fire. Thankfully that construction makes it considerably safer for the occupants in the crash beforehand, compared to a traditional metal car.
People in business making tens of millions, mostly. Some of my former colleagues would make excellent Cabinet Ministers.
When they have made their pile, they might consider going into politics - but then they think "why the f*ck would I want to have people who I have never met calling me every name under the sun on a blog, for doing something they patently can't do themselves....? Sod that." And spend their days sailing, or whatever.
Disagree entirely. Look at the example of Archie Norman who was lauded as the great hope of the Conservatives after 1997 but managed to rise and sink almost entirely without trace.
The trouble with businessmen (and Trump is an example) is they are used to command and control, to be able to intimidate and cajole as they see fit. Politics isn't like business - in politics you have to argue and persuade and deal with people as powerful as you who are hostile to you on an ideological basis.
Archie Normal was a prickly, charmless individual...
That alone is no absolute bar to political success - for an extreme example, look at Nixon.
The trouble with *some* businessmen, sure. But certainly not all.
And your view of politics appears a little askew. Yes, there is the high politics - the arguing and persuading. But there is also another aspect: the communication skills with constituents that *should* be a vital part of the job, and who are not as powerful as you (although they may be ideologically hostile).
I reckon no prior non-political occupation prepares for politics. A businessman might make a great political operator, but a hopeless constituency one. A union man might listen to groups of people he ideologically agrees with, and ignore the pleb constituent he disagrees with. A charity worker might be very sympathetic with constituents, but utterly hopeless at achieving results that help them.
And in all these cases, vice versa.
I was generalising JJ but MM seemed to be eulogising the notion that if people made a lot of money that made them somehow suited to running the country.
I entirely agree with your comments re: businessmen and charity workers. I would surmise the tranche of MPs currently has a fair number of lawyers who have dealt with people and of course the State but I accept entirely it's a job for which there is no real experience available - it's not the same as leading a County Council which might seem the most obvious equivalent.
It's probably for the best there is no equivalent so we get (hopefully) as wide a range of representatives as possible (though that clearly still needs a lot of work).
The trouble with *some* businessmen, sure. But certainly not all.
And your view of politics appears a little askew. Yes, there is the high politics - the arguing and persuading. But there is also another aspect: the communication skills with constituents that *should* be a vital part of the job, and who are not as powerful as you (although they may be ideologically hostile).
I reckon no prior non-political occupation prepares for politics. A businessman might make a great political operator, but a hopeless constituency one. A union man might listen to groups of people he ideologically agrees with, and ignore the pleb constituent he disagrees with. A charity worker might be very sympathetic with constituents, but utterly hopeless at achieving results that help them.
And in all these cases, vice versa.
I was generalising JJ but MM seemed to be eulogising the notion that if people made a lot of money that made them somehow suited to running the country.
You want people who are good at losing a mountain of money then?
I wasn't eulogising, just suggesting that people who had created a very successful business from scratch (and in so doing, made themselves a tidy heap too) might be the sort of people who would bring something to running the nation. But they think "Why?". And when people like you want to get sniffy because, er, they have been successful at making money, you can see their point.
Interesting tidbit from Dan "The Man" Hodges on today's MoS.
Says Farage might stand as an MP for the DUP in a safe DUP seat (which has been widely tipped) but also that he is trying to get the DUP to become a national party and to stand in all seats across the UK - This potentially splitting the Con vote...
You want people who are good at losing a mountain of money then?
I wasn't eulogising, just suggesting that people who had created a very successful business from scratch (and in so doing, made themselves a tidy heap too) might be the sort of people who would bring something to running the nation. But they think "Why?". And when people like you want to get sniffy because, er, they have been successful at making money, you can see their point.
Perhaps if you want a truly representative democracy you may need people who haven't been successful in business. It may just be politics is the thing at which they are successful.
If a successful businessman wants to take a pay cut and come into politics fine, I'd welcome it but that individual shouldn't assume that the talents they showed in business will necessarily work to their advantage in politics.
Don't play the sad old Tory game of claiming "the Left" doesn't like successful people.
I'm enjoying the bitter remainers shitting on more money for the NHS today. They look more out of touch than ever.
Welcome as it is it's frustrating to see this now.
If only Theresa had made this this centerpiece of her 2017 general election and not the dementia tax... She'd almost certainly have a comfortable Con majority to get whatever Brexit she wants through Parliament...
Great overnight stint from Alonso looks as though it has helped seal the Le Mans win (and rival car’s Kobyashi missing his pit stop* has made it more certain).
Probably not the outright quickest racing driver in the world, but the most complete.
* Ran out of fuel and had to do most of a lap on electrical power only...
Undisputed number 1 ego. Congrats on the 2 horse race win. His best win in over a decade.
Interesting tidbit from Dan "The Man" Hodges on today's MoS.
Says Farage might stand as an MP for the DUP in a safe DUP seat (which has been widely tipped) but also that he is trying to get the DUP to become a national party and to stand in all seats across the UK - This potentially splitting the Con vote...
Not heard that rumour before?
Might explain why Mr Banks had such a pressing lunch appointment the other day
I'm enjoying the bitter remainers shitting on more money for the NHS today. They look more out of touch than ever.
Welcome as it is it's frustrating to see this now.
If only Theresa had made this this centerpiece of her 2017 general election and not the dementia tax... She'd almost certainly have a comfortable Con majority to get whatever Brexit she wants through Parliament...
However welcome this may sound, it smacks of political opportunism and gimmickry and it's not unreasonable for the rest of us to ask where the money is going to come from. If this was a proposal from Labour or the LDs, this would be the first response from the Conservatives on here.
I'm enjoying the bitter remainers shitting on more money for the NHS today. They look more out of touch than ever.
Welcome as it is it's frustrating to see this now.
If only Theresa had made this this centerpiece of her 2017 general election and not the dementia tax... She'd almost certainly have a comfortable Con majority to get whatever Brexit she wants through Parliament...
She would have had to tell, in more clear terms than now , how it would be paid for.
Just before the election , she went back on a minor change to national insurance.
Any ways good to see conservatives supporting the magic money tree. Hypocrites one and all.
I'm enjoying the bitter remainers shitting on more money for the NHS today. They look more out of touch than ever.
Welcome as it is it's frustrating to see this now.
If only Theresa had made this this centerpiece of her 2017 general election and not the dementia tax... She'd almost certainly have a comfortable Con majority to get whatever Brexit she wants through Parliament...
But by explicitly linking Brexit to health funding Theresa has put a gun to the Remainers' heads: oppose Brexit and you're condemning people to death because of a bankrupted NHS. Irresponsible maybe, cynical quite possibly, egregiously false almost certainly, but boy could this bring her political dividends.
I'm enjoying the bitter remainers shitting on more money for the NHS today. They look more out of touch than ever.
Welcome as it is it's frustrating to see this now.
If only Theresa had made this this centerpiece of her 2017 general election and not the dementia tax... She'd almost certainly have a comfortable Con majority to get whatever Brexit she wants through Parliament...
She would have had to tell, in more clear terms than now , how it would be paid for.
Just before the election , she went back on a minor change to national insurance.
Any ways good to see conservatives supporting the magic money tree. Hypocrites one and all.
Everyone in government or who aspires to be supports the magic money tree.
The only questions are who will be doing the shaking and who will be collecting the falling leaves.
I'm enjoying the bitter remainers shitting on more money for the NHS today. They look more out of touch than ever.
Welcome as it is it's frustrating to see this now.
If only Theresa had made this this centerpiece of her 2017 general election and not the dementia tax... She'd almost certainly have a comfortable Con majority to get whatever Brexit she wants through Parliament...
However welcome this may sound, it smacks of political opportunism and gimmickry and it's not unreasonable for the rest of us to ask where the money is going to come from. If this was a proposal from Labour or the LDs, this would be the first response from the Conservatives on here.
Absolutely , at least New Labour , told us how it would be paid for.
The trouble with *some* businessmen, sure. But certainly not all.
And your view of politics appears a little askew. Yes, there is the high politics - the arguing and persuading. But there is also another aspect: the communication skills with constituents that *should* be a vital part of the job, and who are not as powerful as you (although they may be ideologically hostile).
I reckon no prior non-political occupation prepares for politics. A businessman might make a great political operator, but a hopeless constituency one. A union man might listen to groups of people he ideologically agrees with, and ignore the pleb constituent he disagrees with. A charity worker might be very sympathetic with constituents, but utterly hopeless at achieving results that help them.
And in all these cases, vice versa.
I was generalising JJ but MM seemed to be eulogising the notion that if people made a lot of money that made them somehow suited to running the country.
You want people who are good at losing a mountain of money then?
I wasn't eulogising, just suggesting that people who had created a very successful business from scratch (and in so doing, made themselves a tidy heap too) might be the sort of people who would bring something to running the nation. But they think "Why?". And when people like you want to get sniffy because, er, they have been successful at making money, you can see their point.
I am a businessman of sorts - though I only employ 2 people full time and my pile of money is rather smaller than it would likely of been if I had carried on working for someone else. But I'd say that there are some people who are just better at getting good results out of what resources that they have than others. A lot of businessmen fall into that category, but so do a lot of other people.
Alistair Meeks and William Glenn have been converted to the cause of Scottish nationalism post the Brexit vote with all the zeal of a cybernat whereas they could not give two hoots about it before the EU referendum as they somehow think Scottish independence will 'punish' English Leave voters.
They fail to realise the most ardent Brexiteers are also often the most ardent English nationalists and would be quite happy to be rid of Edinburgh as well as Brussels while ignoring the fact that if they lose Scotland that is 1/3 of the Remain voting regions of the UK lost as well
Interesting tidbit from Dan "The Man" Hodges on today's MoS.
Says Farage might stand as an MP for the DUP in a safe DUP seat (which has been widely tipped) but also that he is trying to get the DUP to become a national party and to stand in all seats across the UK - This potentially splitting the Con vote...
Not heard that rumour before?
I can count the Tory DUP floating voters in the Home Counties on one hand, literally
People in business making tens of millions, mostly. Some of my former colleagues would make excellent Cabinet Ministers.
When they have made their pile, they might consider going into politics - but then they think "why the f*ck would I want to have people who I have never met calling me every name under the sun on a blog, for doing something they patently can't do themselves....? Sod that." And spend their days sailing, or whatever.
Disagree entirely. Look at the example of Archie Norman who was lauded as the great hope of the Conservatives after 1997 but managed to rise and sink almost entirely without trace.
The trouble with businessmen (and Trump is an example) is they are used to command and control, to be able to intimidate and cajole as they see fit. Politics isn't like business - in politics you have to argue and persuade and deal with people as powerful as you who are hostile to you on an ideological basis.
Archie Normal was a prickly, charmless individual who allowed John Prescott to paint the Tories as cynical and opportunistic twats over the Marchioness disaster.
As a CF member in Tunbridge Wells he was my MP, very intelligent and sharp but without the people skills needed in the best MPs
Anyone fancy a bet on Brazil convincingly defeating the Yodel Boys in this evening's World Cup match? If Braxil are half as good as I suggested in my betting post earlier, they should win in spades. This is reflected in the outright betting odds where they are on offer at around 2/5 or 1.4 decimal. Try being a little more ambitious by backing them to win by exactly 2 goals at odds of 10/3 with Bet365 as well as staking the same amount at the same odds with Skybet on them winning by 3 goals or more. By this combination bet, you are effectively covering Brazil defeating Switzerland by a margin of 2 goals or more at odds of approx 7/6 or 2.17 in decimal terms. In this way, that extra goal (i.e 2 or more as opposed to 1 single goal in Brazil's winning margin) almost triples one's winnings from 40 basis points to 117 basis points, Well worth a modest punt I would suggest, but do your own research!
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
May to stay PM until the end of the transition period then Boris to take over as PM and Gove as Chancellor to run post Brexit UK and take the Tories into the 2022 general election is an increased possibility with today's NHS 'Brexit bonus' news yes
I'm enjoying the bitter remainers shitting on more money for the NHS today. They look more out of touch than ever.
Yes.
Not a bus in sight from them....
Many of them only ever look at buses - they would never condescend to use them! Of course the areas with the biggest concentrations of buses - big cities - were mostly likely to back remain. So clearly bus ads weren't the sole reason for Brexit.
They fail to realise the most ardent Brexiteers are also often the most ardent English nationalists and would be quite happy to be rid of Edinburgh as well as Brussels while ignoring the fact that if they lose Scotland that is 1/3 of the Remain voting regions of the UK lost as well
Um, no, that is precisely the point, that the animating force of Brexit is destructive to the British Union. You are looking at the arrow of causality the wrong way round.
Anyone fancy a bet on Brazil convincingly defeating the Yodel Boys in this evening's World Cup match? If Braxil are half as good as I suggested in my betting post earlier, they should win in spades. This is reflected in the outright betting odds where they are on offer at around 2/5 or 1.4 decimal. Try being a little more ambitious by backing them to win by exactly 2 goals at odds of 10/3 with Bet365 as well as staking the same amount at the same odds with Skybet on them winning by 3 goals or more. By this combination bet, you are effectively covering Brazil defeating Switzerland by a margin of 2 goals or more at odds of approx 7/6 or 2.17 in decimal terms. In this way, that extra goal (i.e 2 or more as opposed to 1 single goal in Brazil's winning margin) almost triples one's winnings from 40 basis points to 117 basis points, Well worth a modest punt I would suggest, but do your own research!
If I understood any of that, I'd bung a tenner on them!
They fail to realise the most ardent Brexiteers are also often the most ardent English nationalists and would be quite happy to be rid of Edinburgh as well as Brussels while ignoring the fact that if they lose Scotland that is 1/3 of the Remain voting regions of the UK lost as well
Um, no, that is precisely the point, that the animating force of Brexit is destructive to the British Union. You are looking at the arrow of causality the wrong way round.
Yet the SNP lost over a third of their MPs after the Brexit vote and the DUP won most seats in both post EU referendum elections in NI.
Many Brexiteers may have little interest in the Union but that does not mean the majority of people in Scotland and Northern Ireland are rushing to end it even after the Brexit vote
Mr. Stopper, some of my best betting wins have come from misunderstandings
There was a particularly great one when Perez had a penalty I didn't realise. I backed him for top 6 at seemingly good odds, only to discover he was starting far further back than I thought. He ended up sneaking 6th
Mr. Divvie, by that choice of words every government since WWII
It's also rather odd that the SNP and their ilk are grumpy about leaving the EU, when their victory in 2014 would have ensured Scotland leaving the EU. It's almost as if leaving the EU without England, Wales and Northern Ireland is wonderful, and leaving it with England, Wales and Northern Ireland is catastrophic. Which is a nonsensical position to hold.
Tbh honest my appetite for debating with those who have a vote in and live in my country over why their preferred option should be imposed on that country is pretty diminished. For those who don't live and vote here, its zilch.
Morris Dancer does live in and vote in your country. As do I. It's the United Kingdom.
Of course, if you're referring to Scotland, then you're more than welcome to set up and run an equivalent blog and online discussion zone. But it's a bit hypocritical to come here and then complain that you don't want to talk to the English.
Unless you're now the PB arbiter on such things, I think I'll decide who I choose to engage with.
If you post on PB, then expect answers on PB.
And if you give unsolicited answers to my posts expect me to to decide whether and how I reply to them, you pompous diddy.
David Herdson is anything but pompous.
You seem to suffer from a need to always have the last word, and are unusually sensitive on the subject of Scottish Independence. If someone disagrees with you, your responses (after you've had several minutes to compose what you think is the most biting) are usually dripping in sarcasm and exhibit all aspects of your charming personality.
Why not simply engage politely with the substance of the argument?
That's all right; I had good practice yesterday when I got into a discussion about the Scottish football team on Twitter with a Scot with a chip the size of Leicester on his shoulder, following me agreeing (!) that a GB bid including Scotland for the 2030 World Cup would be a good idea, and a reply that it'd be the only way Scotland would qualify for anything.
Well, that didn't half set him off. The volcano of answers he spouted forth included:
- but, England haven't won a World Cup this century (which wasn't the point in question and in terms of qualifying - which was half of it - England's record is pretty decent); - but, shinty, curling and mountaineering;
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
May to stay PM until the end of the transition period then Boris to take over as PM and Gove as Chancellor to run post Brexit UK and take the Tories into the 2022 general election is an increased possibility with today's NHS 'Brexit bonus' news yes
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
They don't need to win a bidding war. The NHS will always be an issue on which Labour leads. The Tories just need to ensure that the NHS is not the voters' main priority.
The Tories will obviously link their ability to invest in the NHS to prudent stewardship of the economy, and contrast that with Corbyn's recklessness and naivety.
I think there's some mileage in that.
The Tories have been portraying Labour as reckless and naive under three different leaders since 2008, it still hasn’t change the matter of the NHS being much safer territory for Labour than the Tories.
On Sean F’s point: I’m not sure whether the NHS is main priority matters particularly in regards to the Tories’ fortunes. The voters most likely to care about the NHS, are older people who rely on it - in other words, the Tories’ core base. If they didn’t decide to withdraw support for the Tories after the winter crisis, I don’t see what would change their minds.
European countries have so far been involved in 7 contests and remain unbeaten ... that's some feat in a World Cup tournament. (It's actually 8 times unbeaten in as many games if you classify Russia as being European.)
European countries have so far been involved in 7 contests and remain unbeaten ... that's some feat in a World Cup tournament. (It's actually 8 times unbeaten in as many games if you classify Russia as being European.)
I'm sure England will come to the rescue of that stat.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
May to stay PM until the end of the transition period then Boris to take over as PM and Gove as Chancellor to run post Brexit UK and take the Tories into the 2022 general election is an increased possibility with today's NHS 'Brexit bonus' news yes
That is a good point about Hunt - though the victory in ministerial committees will be of less significance than the reduction in 'NHS crisis' stories that would otherwise have been prompted, or the use of it as an answer when they do arise.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
May to stay PM until the end of the transition period then Boris to take over as PM and Gove as Chancellor to run post Brexit UK and take the Tories into the 2022 general election is an increased possibility with today's NHS 'Brexit bonus' news yes
Wonder whether the Tories’ members will like either Hunt or Javid for leader. If Gove runs, wouldn’t remotely be surprised to see him chosen as leader, even though he’s pretty unpopular.
Why are Labour not going after the issue of what happens to all the EU funded schemes e.g. farming, research etc that cannot now happen as the entire Brexit Dividend (if we accept such a thing exists) has been spent on the NHS?
Ms. Apocalypse, would be a barrier for him. However, there's also likely to be a lot of negative voting at that stage. Being inoffensive would be helpful to make the last two, at which point enthusing the membership (or at least irritating it less than the alternative candidate) will win it.
European countries have so far been involved in 7 contests and remain unbeaten ... that's some feat in a World Cup tournament. (It's actually 8 times unbeaten in as many games if you classify Russia as being European.)
It is why I am sceptical of a Brazil win, though hope to see them at the St Petersburg SF in 3 weeks.
Non Europeans seem to be finding the conditions difficult, even though many of their players play in European Leagues.
Ms. Apocalypse, would be a barrier for him. However, there's also likely to be a lot of negative voting at that stage. Being inoffensive would be helpful to make the last two, at which point enthusing the membership (or at least irritating it less than the alternative candidate) will win it.
Who the f knows what the MPs will do. This is a party in the throws of a nervous breakdown.
Ms. Apocalypse, the members only decide (sometimes...) between the final two. Conservative MPs determine who the final two are.
Ah, forgot about that. I don’t think MPs will let Gove get to stage where members decide, then.
I think that would depend on who else was standing. The MPs surely will not want, by way of example, two remainer final candidates (even converted remainers), so unless someone does a Leadsom and comes from nowhere, I could see Gove progressing in certain situations (hinges on Boris perhaps?).
I think the fundamental point that the members might not go for a Hunt or Javid type is pretty sound though. Javid is busy reinventing his image as quick as he can, with the haste of a man who knows his opportunity might come sooner rather than later, but Hunt doesn't have that luxury, and while neither have struck me as offputting personalities, neither have seemed that striking to date.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
He was always a threat, though whether that would be a good idea has been far less clear, but it does seem he has a better shot than that.
Even accepting it was a very difficult job to do, and that the GE (which though it proved very damaging in all fairness did not seem as stupid an idea at the time as it proved) made it even more difficult, my worry is last time plenty of people figured May was the least offensive, least risky, and most competent choice. The same strategy might not work this time given how that worked out!
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
May to stay PM until the end of the transition period then Boris to take over as PM and Gove as Chancellor to run post Brexit UK and take the Tories into the 2022 general election is an increased possibility with today's NHS 'Brexit bonus' news yes
Either Boris or Gove would comfortably beat Hunt with the membership though I think Javid has now overtaken Hunt as the main candidate of the former Remainers anyway
Well the Mexican supporters have certainly turned up. That is the loudest anthem (bar Russia) to date. Can their team do the same?
I hope so. I've got a bet on more than 3.5 goals being scored overall.
You nearly had your first one there. But football is a simple game. 24 countries play a series of games and then the Germans win. It will be the same this time, I think.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
May to stay PM until the end of the transition period then Boris to take over as PM and Gove as Chancellor to run post Brexit UK and take the Tories into the 2022 general election is an increased possibility with today's NHS 'Brexit bonus' news yes
Either Boris or Gove would comfortably beat Hunt with the membership though I think Javid has now overtaken Hunt as the main candidate of the former Remainers anyway
His rise to the Home Office has been quite useful for his prospects. Total guess on my part, but I would think even many who think Hunt has the qualities for the job are wary of making such a long running Health secretary (whatever good he may have done in their eyes) the focal point of their campaigning, and a suitable alternative like Javid would seem a safer bet for them.
Ms. Apocalypse, the members only decide (sometimes...) between the final two. Conservative MPs determine who the final two are.
Ah, forgot about that. I don’t think MPs will let Gove get to stage where members decide, then.
I think that would depend on who else was standing. The MPs surely will not want, by way of example, two remainer final candidates (even converted remainers), so unless someone does a Leadsom and comes from nowhere, I could see Gove progressing in certain situations (hinges on Boris perhaps?).
I think the fundamental point that the members might not go for a Hunt or Javid type is pretty sound though. Javid is busy reinventing his image as quick as he can, with the haste of a man who knows his opportunity might come sooner rather than later, but Hunt doesn't have that luxury, and while neither have struck me as offputting personalities, neither have seemed that striking to date.
Agreed - you make a great point on MPs not wanting two Remainer candidates. It’s why Javid is likely to make an effort to seem very Pro Brexit in the coming months, IMHO. We already saw the signs shortly after he became Home Secretary.
The tories can't win a bidding war with JC on the NHS. If they promise 350m/week he'll promise 700m and a soapy tit wank. He gives even less of a fuck about spending money than May (and that's saying something). I'm not entirely convinced he knows what money is. He's spent his entire life being rich and doing horseshit non jobs.
Indeed, Corbyn grew up in a seven bedroom manor house, went to prep school and grammar school and after a brief period as a councillor and working for a union has been an MP since his thirties
And Tony Blair is Bambi but with devil-eyes and Boris is posh and Cameron is posh and who really cares because election results suggest that voters do not.
I never said being posh was a bar to winning votes but Blair was a barrister before becoming an MP, Boris a top national journalist and Cameron worked for Carlton TV they all had more extensive non political careers than Corbyn
Johnson has emerged as a credible threat to May and will claim credit for the promise to the NHS on his bus being kept.I think he is better than a 12-1 chance for next Leader.
May to stay PM until the end of the transition period then Boris to take over as PM and Gove as Chancellor to run post Brexit UK and take the Tories into the 2022 general election is an increased possibility with today's NHS 'Brexit bonus' news yes
Either Boris or Gove would comfortably beat Hunt with the membership though I think Javid has now overtaken Hunt as the main candidate of the former Remainers anyway
His rise to the Home Office has been quite useful for his prospects. Total guess on my part, but I would think even many who think Hunt has the qualities for the job are wary of making such a long running Health secretary (whatever good he may have done in their eyes) the focal point of their campaigning, and a suitable alternative like Javid would seem a safer bet for them.
Boris v Javid is the most likely final two at this point in my view, Gove will this time back Boris in return for Chancellor and Mogg will likely back him in the end too
Ms. Apocalypse, the members only decide (sometimes...) between the final two. Conservative MPs determine who the final two are.
Ah, forgot about that. I don’t think MPs will let Gove get to stage where members decide, then.
There's a lot of game-playing involved. If the final three are Gove/Javid/Hunt, then I think Gove, as the only true Brexiteer, gets through fairly comfortably. The key (but unknowable) questions are (1) who runs, and (2) what order do they get knocked out in.
As I've said before, the 2005 contest would have looked very different had Fox not edged out Clarke. The result of that was that Clarke's vote transferred in the main to Cameron and landed the latter with a substantial lead and clear momentum, while also exposing Davis' falling support. Had Fox been eliminated, most of his vote would probably have transferred to Davis, masking those who'd defected from him in the first round, and giving him a big lead over Cameron as they went through to the members' vote.
Unfortunately, with big unanswered questions (does Boris run?) it's next-to-impossible to game the contest.
Ms. Apocalypse, the members only decide (sometimes...) between the final two. Conservative MPs determine who the final two are.
Ah, forgot about that. I don’t think MPs will let Gove get to stage where members decide, then.
I think that would depend on who else was standing. The MPs surely will not want, by way of example, two remainer final candidates (even converted remainers), so unless someone does a Leadsom and comes from nowhere, I could see Gove progressing in certain situations (hinges on Boris perhaps?).
I think the fundamental point that the members might not go for a Hunt or Javid type is pretty sound though. Javid is busy reinventing his image as quick as he can, with the haste of a man who knows his opportunity might come sooner rather than later, but Hunt doesn't have that luxury, and while neither have struck me as offputting personalities, neither have seemed that striking to date.
Agreed - you make a great point on MPs not wanting two Remainer candidates. It’s why Javid is likely to make an effort to seem very Pro Brexit in the coming months, IMHO. We already saw the signs shortly after he became Home Secretary.
Guido was happy he replaced Rudd on the grounds of being sterner in his Brexitism - a point was made yesterday that in any contest he would likely be bounced into what appears to be a fairly hard Brexit position in order to get the MPs and members on side. I think there's some sense in that
Ms. Apocalypse, the members only decide (sometimes...) between the final two. Conservative MPs determine who the final two are.
Ah, forgot about that. I don’t think MPs will let Gove get to stage where members decide, then.
Unfortunately, with big unanswered questions (does Boris run?) it's next-to-impossible to game the contest.
Everyone knows Boris wants it more than anything. I don't know how he can not run next time without destroying his chances forever. Yesterday I wondered about what sort of flexibility PM Javid might have, as odds are he would have to keep a lot of people on side that he might not want to (Do we seriously think May actually wanted Boris at a Great Office of State?), but given Boris has been nothing but a loose cannon for May, continually undermining her, I wonder if Javid, were he to win, would have the strength to not include Boris in his Cabinet after all. New day, new Cabinet, thank you to Boris for all his work but time for someone else etc etc.
He's been pissing all over the tent since May brought him in, and if he doesn't stand and win he might find that the next person wants to clear out the stench of urine from the inside of the tent at least.
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
The ridiculous headline was what I was poking fun at, although for peak Guardian it really should be when a Waitrose closes. The issue of the changing nature of how and where we shop is of interest.
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
And whose fault is that? The same people bemoaning this probably shop on Amazon and get home deliveries - the stores on the high street are just for trying not for buying.
In the end it's changing shopping patterns that are responsible for this - and of course rising rents and consequently high business rates.
But business rates are now the main source of funding for social care, children's services, libraries, roads and fire services and in London they even fund policing. So what do we save or cut.
Will any of the extra £600m a week go to councils for social care - money that might actually be more productively used which would save the NHS money as well. As opposed to giving the inefficient NHS black hole even more cash.
PS heaven help us when Waitrose start closing stores - as they generally only operate in wealthy areas.
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
Agreed. What on earth are we going to do with all this surplus space on the High Street? And what is going to happen to the return on business rates? It is a real problem and local government must stop seeing these stores as cash cows rather than key businesses for local development.
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
And whose fault is that? The same people bemoaning this probably shop on Amazon and get home deliveries - the stores on the high street are just for trying not for buying.
In the end it's changing shopping patterns that are responsible for this - and of course rising rents and consequently high business rates.
But business rates are now the main source of funding for social care, children's services, libraries, roads and fire services and in London they even fund policing. So what do we save or cut.
Will any of the extra £600m a week go to councils for social care - money that might actually be more productively used which would save the NHS money as well. As opposed to giving the inefficient NHS black hole even more cash.
PS heaven help us when Waitrose start closing stores - as they generally only operate in wealthy areas.
People still use the High Street for cafes, restaurants, traditional butchers or antique shops, to see the estate agent, GP, dentist or hairdresser but many of the purchases which would have been done in the big chain stores, visits to the bank or even the weekly shop at the supermarket are increasingly done online
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
Agreed. What on earth are we going to do with all this surplus space on the High Street? And what is going to happen to the return on business rates? It is a real problem and local government must stop seeing these stores as cash cows rather than key businesses for local development.
A lot of the spare building space will inevitably end up as flats especially with the housing shortage
Ms. Apocalypse, the members only decide (sometimes...) between the final two. Conservative MPs determine who the final two are.
Ah, forgot about that. I don’t think MPs will let Gove get to stage where members decide, then.
There's a lot of game-playing involved. If the final three are Gove/Javid/Hunt, then I think Gove, as the only true Brexiteer, gets through fairly comfortably. The key (but unknowable) questions are (1) who runs, and (2) what order do they get knocked out in.
As I've said before, the 2005 contest would have looked very different had Fox not edged out Clarke. The result of that was that Clarke's vote transferred in the main to Cameron and landed the latter with a substantial lead and clear momentum, while also exposing Davis' falling support. Had Fox been eliminated, most of his vote would probably have transferred to Davis, masking those who'd defected from him in the first round, and giving him a big lead over Cameron as they went through to the members' vote.
Unfortunately, with big unanswered questions (does Boris run?) it's next-to-impossible to game the contest.
Thanks for your reply, I didn’t know that about the 2005 leadership contest. If Boris and Gove are the only Leavers that run it’ll be interesting to see which of them make the final two. Raab has been talked about as a dark horse as well.
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
Agreed. What on earth are we going to do with all this surplus space on the High Street? And what is going to happen to the return on business rates? It is a real problem and local government must stop seeing these stores as cash cows rather than key businesses for local development.
A lot of the spare building space will inevitably end up as flats especially with the housing shortage
Maybe. In Dundee city centre we have had retail accomodation that is crying out to be converted into flats sitting empty for 20 years. The Local Authority will not grant change of use somehow believing that the shops (and the associated jobs) will magically return.
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
Agreed. What on earth are we going to do with all this surplus space on the High Street? And what is going to happen to the return on business rates? It is a real problem and local government must stop seeing these stores as cash cows rather than key businesses for local development.
A lot of the spare building space will inevitably end up as flats especially with the housing shortage
Maybe. In Dundee city centre we have had retail accomodation that is crying out to be converted into flats sitting empty for 20 years. The Local Authority will not grant change of use somehow believing that the shops (and the associated jobs) will magically return.
There was a really good Freakonomics the other week about redeveloping New York in the early 2000s and now the Google Labs Sidewalk project in Toronto.
So often it was vested interests not wanting rezoning and politicians wanting their payoff in order to sign off on things.
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
Agreed. What on earth are we going to do with all this surplus space on the High Street? And what is going to happen to the return on business rates? It is a real problem and local government must stop seeing these stores as cash cows rather than key businesses for local development.
A lot of the spare building space will inevitably end up as flats especially with the housing shortage
Maybe. In Dundee city centre we have had retail accomodation that is crying out to be converted into flats sitting empty for 20 years. The Local Authority will not grant change of use somehow believing that the shops (and the associated jobs) will magically return.
There was a really good Freakonomics the other week about redeveloping New York in the early 2000s and now the Google Labs Sidewalk project in Toronto.
The irony is that a significant increase in the number of people actually living in the City Centre using local shops is by far the best chance of at least small retail thriving.
It is a pretty sad tale of the death of a British High St.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
Agreed. What on earth are we going to do with all this surplus space on the High Street? And what is going to happen to the return on business rates? It is a real problem and local government must stop seeing these stores as cash cows rather than key businesses for local development.
A lot of the spare building space will inevitably end up as flats especially with the housing shortage
Maybe. In Dundee city centre we have had retail accomodation that is crying out to be converted into flats sitting empty for 20 years. The Local Authority will not grant change of use somehow believing that the shops (and the associated jobs) will magically return.
The government's housing targets will mean they soon don't have much choice but to turn them into flats in their Local Plans
Comments
When they have made their pile, they might consider going into politics - but then they think "why the f*ck would I want to have people who I have never met calling me every name under the sun on a blog, for doing something they patently can't do themselves....? Sod that." And spend their days sailing, or whatever.
https://twitter.com/SamCoatesTimes/status/1008312768662032384
Errmm...
I don't recall the ending of boom and bust going too well the last time. Although, in fairness, more than 10 years, on booms do seem to have disappeared.
https://www.nickross.com/crime/
Speaking of Crimewatch, it was said that most identifications came from prison officers recognising their old customers, which suggests perhaps there should be some sort of internal equivalent. Maybe there is now. Or maybe the Home Office will spend five years planning a nationwide face recognition scheme which will fail after they've spunked a billion quid up the wall to the usual suspects.
The trouble with businessmen (and Trump is an example) is they are used to command and control, to be able to intimidate and cajole as they see fit. Politics isn't like business - in politics you have to argue and persuade and deal with people as powerful as you who are hostile to you on an ideological basis.
And your view of politics appears a little askew. Yes, there is the high politics - the arguing and persuading. But there is also another aspect: the communication skills with constituents that *should* be a vital part of the job, and who are not as powerful as you (although they may be ideologically hostile).
I reckon no prior non-political occupation prepares for politics. A businessman might make a great political operator, but a hopeless constituency one. A union man might listen to groups of people he ideologically agrees with, and ignore the pleb constituent he disagrees with. A charity worker might be very sympathetic with constituents, but utterly hopeless at achieving results that help them.
And in all these cases, vice versa.
Probably not the outright quickest racing driver in the world, but the most complete.
* Ran out of fuel and had to do most of a lap on electrical power only...
I entirely agree with your comments re: businessmen and charity workers. I would surmise the tranche of MPs currently has a fair number of lawyers who have dealt with people and of course the State but I accept entirely it's a job for which there is no real experience available - it's not the same as leading a County Council which might seem the most obvious equivalent.
It's probably for the best there is no equivalent so we get (hopefully) as wide a range of representatives as possible (though that clearly still needs a lot of work).
I wasn't eulogising, just suggesting that people who had created a very successful business from scratch (and in so doing, made themselves a tidy heap too) might be the sort of people who would bring something to running the nation. But they think "Why?". And when people like you want to get sniffy because, er, they have been successful at making money, you can see their point.
Nothing is "inevitable"
Except taxes... And death...
Off Topic:
Interesting tidbit from Dan "The Man" Hodges on today's MoS.
Says Farage might stand as an MP for the DUP in a safe DUP seat (which has been widely tipped) but also that he is trying to get the DUP to become a national party and to stand in all seats across the UK - This potentially splitting the Con vote...
Not heard that rumour before?
If a successful businessman wants to take a pay cut and come into politics fine, I'd welcome it but that individual shouldn't assume that the talents they showed in business will necessarily work to their advantage in politics.
Don't play the sad old Tory game of claiming "the Left" doesn't like successful people.
If only Theresa had made this this centerpiece of her 2017 general election and not the dementia tax... She'd almost certainly have a comfortable Con majority to get whatever Brexit she wants through Parliament...
Not a bus in sight from them....
Just before the election , she went back on a minor change to national insurance.
Any ways good to see conservatives supporting the magic money tree.
Hypocrites one and all.
The only questions are who will be doing the shaking and who will be collecting the falling leaves.
With a rise in National Insurance.
The Murrells are on thin ice and their grip on the Nat cult is draining away. Support for the Union is as strong as ever.
Jim Sillars offers a far more accurate view on what is really happening.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jim-sillars-blames-nicola-sturgeon-for-brexit-hostility-q2jtr7mj6
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sturgeon-has-soured-our-relationship-with-westminster-and-put-nationalists-on-the-back-foot-g70k7b6dh
They fail to realise the most ardent Brexiteers are also often the most ardent English nationalists and would be quite happy to be rid of Edinburgh as well as Brussels while ignoring the fact that if they lose Scotland that is 1/3 of the Remain voting regions of the UK lost as well
With many shops in York, a suucessful tourist City , closing blaming business rates.
They were asking that the rates be collected on turnover, not the value of the property.
Is this feasible , for the government to introduce ?
He has only one great subject.
The love affair between Meeks and the European Union is one of the prettiest romances in all literature.
Caught the end of Le Mans. Alonso's 2/3 of the way there to match Graham Hill's triple crown.
Anyone fancy a bet on Brazil convincingly defeating the Yodel Boys in this evening's World Cup match?
If Braxil are half as good as I suggested in my betting post earlier, they should win in spades. This is reflected in the outright betting odds where they are on offer at around 2/5 or 1.4 decimal. Try being a little more ambitious by backing them to win by exactly 2 goals at odds of 10/3 with Bet365 as well as staking the same amount at the same odds with Skybet on them winning by 3 goals or more.
By this combination bet, you are effectively covering Brazil defeating Switzerland by a margin of 2 goals or more at odds of approx 7/6 or 2.17 in decimal terms. In this way, that extra goal (i.e 2 or more as opposed to 1 single goal in Brazil's winning margin) almost triples one's winnings from 40 basis points to 117 basis points,
Well worth a modest punt I would suggest, but do your own research!
Mr. Pete, does he have Parliamentary support, though?
When copies of the SNP’s staging notes were discovered, the Conservatives claimed that the stunt had backfired.
The note contained points to be raised in Tuesday evening's debate as the title and use of "today" and "this evening" make clear.
only copy I could locate was from WoS:
https://wingsoverscotland.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/arthurnotes.jpg
Many Brexiteers may have little interest in the Union but that does not mean the majority of people in Scotland and Northern Ireland are rushing to end it even after the Brexit vote
There was a particularly great one when Perez had a penalty I didn't realise. I backed him for top 6 at seemingly good odds, only to discover he was starting far further back than I thought. He ended up sneaking 6th
Well, that didn't half set him off. The volcano of answers he spouted forth included:
- but, England haven't won a World Cup this century (which wasn't the point in question and in terms of qualifying - which was half of it - England's record is pretty decent);
- but, shinty, curling and mountaineering;
https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1008331820423892992
On Sean F’s point: I’m not sure whether the NHS is main priority matters particularly in regards to the Tories’ fortunes. The voters most likely to care about the NHS, are older people who rely on it - in other words, the Tories’ core base. If they didn’t decide to withdraw support for the Tories after the winter crisis, I don’t see what would change their minds.
Non Europeans seem to be finding the conditions difficult, even though many of their players play in European Leagues.
There's certainly a lot of division.
I think the fundamental point that the members might not go for a Hunt or Javid type is pretty sound though. Javid is busy reinventing his image as quick as he can, with the haste of a man who knows his opportunity might come sooner rather than later, but Hunt doesn't have that luxury, and while neither have struck me as offputting personalities, neither have seemed that striking to date.
Even accepting it was a very difficult job to do, and that the GE (which though it proved very damaging in all fairness did not seem as stupid an idea at the time as it proved) made it even more difficult, my worry is last time plenty of people figured May was the least offensive, least risky, and most competent choice. The same strategy might not work this time given how that worked out!
Germany 1.52
Mexico 7.8
Draw 4.6
Germany to win with more than 3 goals: 6.6
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/football/market/1.137598300
Obviously it was still a stunt either way, and it clearly worked since it got people talking about the debate issue they were angry about.
Can a town survive when its M&S closes?
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jun/17/it-was-heartbreaking-what-happens-to-a-town-when-its-marks-and-spencer-closes
As I've said before, the 2005 contest would have looked very different had Fox not edged out Clarke. The result of that was that Clarke's vote transferred in the main to Cameron and landed the latter with a substantial lead and clear momentum, while also exposing Davis' falling support. Had Fox been eliminated, most of his vote would probably have transferred to Davis, masking those who'd defected from him in the first round, and giving him a big lead over Cameron as they went through to the members' vote.
Unfortunately, with big unanswered questions (does Boris run?) it's next-to-impossible to game the contest.
He's been pissing all over the tent since May brought him in, and if he doesn't stand and win he might find that the next person wants to clear out the stench of urine from the inside of the tent at least.
Not sure why you see it as "Peak Guardian", it seems quite good reportage.
In the end it's changing shopping patterns that are responsible for this - and of course rising rents and consequently high business rates.
But business rates are now the main source of funding for social care, children's services, libraries, roads and fire services and in London they even fund policing. So what do we save or cut.
Will any of the extra £600m a week go to councils for social care - money that might actually be more productively used which would save the NHS money as well. As opposed to giving the inefficient NHS black hole even more cash.
PS heaven help us when Waitrose start closing stores - as they generally only operate in wealthy areas.
Oil tanker defending from Germany.
This is the best game (bar Portugal-v-Spain of course) that I have seen by a distance.
So often it was vested interests not wanting rezoning and politicians wanting their payoff in order to sign off on things.