scoobos

I don't think that's in the rules. I read that the protection is for a PM who's defended a vote of no confidence - so Truss has no protection.

I'll jump to his defence . He's doing a good job this month and I personally respect his actions and diplomacy. He can't commit to buying bonds , when the government are making people realise (not worry, realise) that they are not getting their money back in the short to medium term, all things remaining equal. Thus higher interest rates on gvt borrowing because they have extra risk, they are supposed to be a safe "boring" investment option. He's in a horrible position also, in that he knows we have to HIKE interest rates to be around the 8-10% mark with the extra inflationary pressure hmg have put on the economy - but that the government are good at hoodwinking and are already pointing the finger at the BoE for blame. In my semi educated view of economics , this is the equivalent of a car being on fire and HMG putting petrol on it and asking the fire brigade why they can't get it under control. For me, I'm reassured that he looks a broken stressed out man - it shows he cares and he's putting the effort in.

And working very hard on banning farmers from placing solar panels on their own private land - not to sell to the energy market , but to reduce their consumption. Parallel to this week's announcement that no energy saving information will be given because "we can't be telling people what to do" Meanwhile, those "climate emergency" protestors "Block ambulances" in central London. Hell in a fucking handbasket.

I beg to differ, since returning after a decade away the UK is more like the US than I can believe (admittedly the west coast mind). The arguments and division are very similar "Freedum" vs "communism" "Immigrants" vs "us" De-regulation vs Enemies of the economy Destroying of empathy and compassion for those less able.. One thing that shocked me in the USA was how veterans, deaf and blind people etc had to BEG and live in hostels , there's no state support that lasts long enough. In the UK today - we are paying foster carers 12 pound a day to look after a child and keep them off the streets - and asking the foster carers to only work part time .. Its not possible, then its just "kids choosing to be homeless" in the news. Even the NHS is regularly getting attacked now for being "Inefficient, costly, impossible" etc - when the cost per head is a fraction of what people in the US pay. The NHS is already massively privatised from what I can see - I've had a cancer scare in recent years , was treated overseas then came back to the UK I paid for an MRI overseas and it was a bill of 200 KYD$ - In the UK every single referral from my endocrinologist to have scans and checks, were performed in big white vans, owned by private health companies but branded with NHS logos , which charged £350 (450-500 KYD$) for the same MRI calling it a "Priority referral")- it sickens me (pardon the pun).* Supplychain.nhs.uk shows the extent, almost all support services are up for grabs. Then mental health services are the same - VitaHealth now "own" the contract for Newcastle's services at 20% extra cost with probably less quality of service. *MRI Scanners and Related Services (supplychain.nhs.uk) It's cheesy but I believe that division is the key tool used in the US and our politicians are lobbied by the same people ultimately, because the same people own the same equity funds that essentially own the huge monopolistic multinationals that own everything beneath them. E.g nestle, unilever , coca cola, YUM (Taco bell, KFC and Pizza Hut among others, all essentially the same company). end covid inspired rant

I seriously hope they do mutate by the following election though, neoliberal centre isnt going to fix everything thats been bust. This country has been pushed to US ideology in the general population for almost a decade - there's so much division, and I dare say hate out there now. Everyone's judging everyone else (me included) by default like we've been conditioned to. To use a corny US term, its winning peoples "Hearts and minds" back to we are all one country, in it together - that's going to be so difficult cos the Tories were fucking excellent at making a mockery of "we are all in this together" by deliberately gaslighting using the term during May's / Camerons time. I never noticed this Tory trait until Boris came in, as he was so shit at it that everything was obvious - so 1 thing to thank him for. I really hope there's a long game, and that we can bring back some solidarity and team spirit to the country to reunite us, and then start collectively working on restoring public services. Most major cities, Newcastle in particular, absolutely STINK of piss on a weekend evening - there's not a single public toilet in the entire city centre anymore. We are giving away money in tax cuts to the tune of tens of billions, when it costs less than 0.7bn a year to fund our libraries, after a 60% cut over 10 years. I could go on...

That would be the worlds hardest job at the moment! Malcolm Tucker would be 6 feet under by now.

Because he is trying to win votes from Tories, he has to , to get power. He can't insult people to that degree and win their votes, he has to seem (in their own words) a "Credible choice" for people who've voted tory year after year during this shitshow decade. Corbyn showed that, whatever you think of him, he listened to their attacks and tried to meet them (Fully costed spending plan VS "There was no money left, they bankrupted the country" - He leaked Trump / Boris trade deal that said NHS was up for grabs and made it publically available to the media - Media started putting him in chicken outfit photoshops). I truly believe the rhetoric and party will change over the years if they get power. But imo, on current polling its anyones game for the GE - except hopefully the Tories. Personally I'd be happy with a coalition of anyone but Tory and a change to the ministerial code to make it properly legally binding and a change to the voting system to PR. My dream would be Lib Dem / Lab coalition with Lib Dem majority! Civil Servants seem to love the Lib Dems and would hopefully be empowered to do what they should be doing - running the country - Civil servants have been demonised so badly, because they are the people who actually do the running of the country and push back on the absurd policies and targets and slashing and burning critical departments. Aaaaaaaaand relax

Yeah, that was criminal imo! I know I'm in a minority here, but I do actually think the BBC is balanced - I'm pulling the "I've lived in many other countries card" that always makes me feel a twat , but when you see Sky in Australia , Cayman compass , CNN etc - you realise what real TV news bias looks like. Channel 4 is the closest we have , but its to my own alignment so I don't mind I think in trying to be impartial the BBC airs views that support both sides, but at different times - so yes they may give something the limelight and not something else at the same point in time, but over time it balances out. I don't see them as being supportive of the tories, the headlines are mostly critical. But then during Covid I did think that Nick Triggle twat was telling us all it's just a mild flu, from day 1 until today and recently inferring that the NHS was beyond hope - Fixing the NHS - a near impossible job for new PM? - BBC News .

I hated writing about the "mini budget cost the BoE 65bn" piece, because it feels like saying it's only 6bn! 6bn could pay for libraries for eight to ten years , on current budget*.. But it's being said a lot by the media and its factually very incorrect and needs to be called out. I desperately want to see an end to politicians openly saying something on camera and microphone, when its published fact otherwise. Trump did it and Boris did it and it frankly scares me that people swallow it all. Websites like fullfact etc dont even seem to help. I certainly don't want to hear about Labour or the Liberal Democrats doing it , but perhaps they both know what they are up against, a rigged system, monopolies everywhere and lobbying being "accepted as norm" - so they are deciding to get down and dirty just to get power off of them? *UK library budgets fall by £25m in a year | Libraries | The Guardian

Adding .... I'm not an economic expert, I've got an a level and a little degree .. But I think that's more than these twats. Some of my above post might be misunderstood , but I "reckon" its right 😀

I'm full of covid, so this may make no sense by the end and I wont edit for once! Sometimes I wonder at how smart the smart people are.. This is a result of the BoE saying its going to end its emergency buying measures, it's not a surprise - it's perhaps a surprise its gone a bit earlier . Hopefully, most know me on here as a rabid socialist - so read this the right way please, I'm not supporting anything the twats in charge have been saying, blaming the BoE - the BoE has to control inflation, its all its there for (and lender of last resort of course) The BoE had to act due to the mini budget, but its the BoE acting to purchase that drove the interest rate down (this is the "cost of borrowing" for the government, to anyone who's not savvy). The BoE said they'd spend up to 65bn - I think they've spent around 5 to 7.5 bn (they said up to 3bn per day). There's lies going around on both sides, but the BoE have NOT spent 65bn on bonds - but what they will want to do is make these purchases investments and therefore it's in their interests that the price goes UP from the day they bought them, so they are assets and not debt. Maybe they've seen the background of Kwasi's report - or maybe they have decided that if the government wants to play stupid buggers with debt and borrowing and ignoring the elephant in the room of extreme supply chain issues*- whilst simultaneously blaming the BoE for inflation - then fuck em.. Lets look after our own institution and prioritise inflation and fuck the damage to pensions, investment funds etc - let them die on their own sword, rather than the BoE be brought back into Gvt control. I mean, can you imagine what would have happened if the BoE was under gvt control during this past month - we'd have kissed goodbye to the state pension and any chance of controlling inflation , thats for sure. (* yes its global, but the Brexit add on has fucked us royally). Side note - but this is worth watching for any with an interest - I've crossed paths with him in real life and he's no socialist - hes "one of them" , but he speaks the truth and pretty much spells out that Britannia Unchained is utter utter bollocks. This was recorded years ago, 11:40 onwards debunks these twats completely.

I watched this in bed, with Covid for the first time - and saw my neighbour in my seat on TV 😕 Was always going to miss this match, had a weekend booked In Edinburgh for a family birthday -- nailed on win, but 5 - 1 .. wow.

Fuck me, they cancelled the raise outright and cancelled the NHS Health and Social Care Levy.. I'm in a kind of shock despite expecting it to happen - but not to cancel the whole fucking raise.

That depends on who "we" are. If its people on PAYE between 12,570 and 150k then sure - but corporation tax (if companies even "choose" to pay it - see holding companies offshore / Ireland etc) , dividend tax , directors salaries seem to be continually getting looked after. It boils my piss to see corporation tax fall , when its almost fucking optional to anyone above the middle classes - PAYE is optional to most business owners , over the working class - and they are just totally screwed. Corporation tax profits 2009-10 (£) Corporation tax profits 2010-11 (£) 0 - 300,000 21% 21% 300,001 - 1,500,000 Marginal relief Marginal relief 1,500,001 or more 28% Corporation tax rates Financial year 2020-21 Financial year 2021-22 Financial year 2022-23 Financial year 2023-24 Main rate 19% 19% 19% 25% Small profits rate N/A N/A N/A 19% Lower threshold N/A N/A N/A £50,000 Upper threshold N/A N/A N/A £250,000 A cut of 2% to 19% over 2010 and the 28% higher rate isn't even there anymore. 2023-24 was promised by Sunak - but lets see how long that lasts - they'll fucking reduce it again. I'm not trying to be "all about the workers" but the squeeze is on everyone but the upper middle classes to the elite, imo - and nothing on corporations due to "your pensions are in it" / "they will take their business elsewhere" etc. Oh shit, rant coming... Costa wont take their business elsewhere if you tax them properly for UK sales , or force them to give proper employment contracts - it will just be an "operating cost" for selling coffee in the UK, which they will still want to do - they can still make a profit. Profit is better than no profit. jaysus... valium and relax.

I think I've vented before here about the Guardian - for me it's the Mail on the other side of the spectrum. "libertarian" has fuck all to do with the Liberal Democrats. It refers to neoliberalist economics, not liberal politics. Difference Between Liberalism and Neoliberalism | Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Yeah I think that's incorrect myself - as otherwise Centrica wouldn't be making the money it is. I believe the price cap preserves their margin. But I'll go research though, as what you are saying makes more sense than what I am thinking.

fuck me , i picked the wrong time to post a bigun!

I bet this has already been posted , but I've not seen it. It's a gem anyway: One thing thats pissing me off at the moment (and please someone correct me if I'm wrong) - are two statements coming hard and fast in the media : Both of which totally contradict my A level economics knowledge, of supply and demand and how prices are decided by the market. Forgive the format, I know its not school 1. Energy companies cannot help the wholesale price and we cannot control it - they are not making excessive profits. a. The way I understand this says they ARE - they charge a percentage mark up on the fuel they sell - so if a unit costs £1 and they put a 10% markup on it - they make 10p per unit - if a unit costs £4 and they put 10% margin on it they make 40p per unit - thus exploiting the consumer - who has no choice but to pay. b. Electricity is sold at a price matching unit price - no matter the source. E.g "Gas prices going up, means electricity cost goes up" . How does that work for Nuclear, Renewable etc? They are just matching the cost - if they sold theirs cheaper , then they would put decrease demand on the gas electricity, thus forcing a reduction in price. 2. We cannot tax profits at a higher level , because it stifles investment. This has to be bullshit - Consumers pay tiered tax - low rate and higher rate , based on thresholds. Businesses are taxed on GROSS profits (profits that equal the revenue brought in from sales vs the cost of selling those goods ). Am I mistaken that investments are a Cost of goods sold? If I invest in training courses because my employees need new skills next year - that is a cost of selling my service and therefore its a cost that reduces the profit so I'm taxed less. So how does taxing people reduce investment? If anything it MAY convince them to invest more in order to avoid taxes and reap their money over a longer term. Thinking that oil and gas companies are going to seriously invest of their own accord into renewables is like thinking a tobacco / nicotine company is going to invest in not selling nicotine anymore. Set me right someone please, its driving me fucking bonkers.

I'm perhaps old and jaded, but I've said this 3 times in the past 25 years... They have the media sewn up and marketing is all powerful nowadays.

It really did, exactly like that and that's why I can't let it go I'll try get my lass to sign up just to back it up. (cos that makes it even more credible, from the same IP, right?) I'm still livid, a trip down from Maidenhead then we ended up getting our tenner deposit back and having to book some shit seafront overpriced room at last minute on a saturday. Utter utter cunt he was.

To be fair though, my last visit to Brighton , after a 100 mile drive - was to be kicked out of a hotel that we'd reserved because he didn't have the parking he said he had and we were a straight couple. Seriously. I asked about parking - he called us too straight and uptight and told us we'd have to go ; I told him he can't do that - he pointed to the camera and said "I've just filmed you complaining that the hotel is a queer hotel" .. (which of course, we didn't say anything like). Cuts both ways. Was fookin livid. Oh, and FWIW I think this is going to be a challenge for us. I'd be happy with anything other than defeat.

He needs to stop just standing about or walking when he loses possession, so many times today he was the ONLY member of the team not jogging at least. I was raging at him today and felt a bit sorry for the lads sat next to me - I think I just hit a snap point with him - all I see is ego.

So, after seeing Pope today - wow what a difference and clearly better than Dubravka (albeit just this one game). Was getting annoyed with ASM again today though, he just seems so disinterested when out of possession. Also wrong with Lingard being a good target for us , he looked properly in it for the money today, not the Lingard of his England days by a long shot.

Well, in my limited experience of watching Pope, I think Dubravka is better. Pope has that England goalkeeper twitch in him that makes silly mistakes every 4 or 5 games. Also, Wood aint no Donkey either. Hopefully he'll settle this year and maybe ASM will learn how to put a high ball in, rather than a square ball when he's ran out of options on the touchline with 3 men on him.

You keep mentioning Dubravka like he's our second keeper - I'm not so sure, he's probably better than Pope ?