If Rachel Reeves borrowed a trillion pounds from HSBC and JP Morgan, but signed the loan agreement while she was standing in the US Embassy in London, then technically America would have to pay it back because embassies are foreign territory. Or if she signed the agreement in Belfast, then Ireland would have to pay it back because they claim Belfast is part of Ireland. Or if she borrowed the money but then changed the name of the UK, we wouldn’t have to pay it back because the country that signed the agreement wouldn’t exist any more.

It’s just Starmer’s lack of imagination that he won’t explore all this.

If Wales were independent and the monarchy were abolished and the rest of the UK went back into the EU, then we’d technically be able to borrow cryptocurrency against the pound and then nationalise the debts the Bank of England owes the banks.

https://parkpnp.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-parking-in-dublin-city-centre/?amp=1

You could park in the centre or use a DART or LUAS park and ride…?

for decades we have kept the pound at an artificially high level

The GBP is pretty much at a 40 year low against the USD (apart from 2 one-week long crises in Feb 1985 and Sep 2022)! It’s a similarish story for the EUR.

I can’t embed the chart – Google “GBP to USD chart” and select max.

The debate debacle hasn’t caused his poll numbers to tank

Yeah unfortunately with third parties – that exist, like RFK Jr – he still only has a 1% lead over Trump. That’s not good enough.

Much like the UK Labour party preferred the tories to Corbyn, the democrats would rather Trump be president than AOC.

Outstanding crowbar there!

Clooney should put his money where his mouth is and stand for election.

Tbf I don’t think he was suggesting it should be him.

given his latest gaff which world leader do you think will be the accidental recepient of this?

There’s a certain Brazilian journeyman goalie who isn’t sleeping well at night

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_(footballer)

It’s amazing if people vote for “The President” and not the party they want to lead the country. Imagine being American and having to choose, surely you’d go by the politics of the Democrats and just hope Biden gets replaced sometime into his tenure.

The whole point of having separation of powers and separate elections for the executive is to ensure that it is not just an extension of the dominant parliamentary party.

There was originally no need for a President to even be a member of a party and IIRC there was an early tradition of the runner up in the Presidential election being appointed as VP by the victor. Admittedly those are probably obsolete and unrecoverable now

Biden has to go. His job from Day 1 should have been to create a platform for a new generation of Democratic leaders, and Harris in particular, to compete and win against a chaotic and corrupt Republican Party. He has totally failed to do that. Harris wasn’t a great performer as VP but he also has not given her room to grow.

Biden has persevered through personal tragedy (his wife and child being killed, another son dying of cancer, another son in addiction and crime) by throwing himself ever harder into work. And so far it has paid off. But he cannot and should not pull this last trick off.

There is still time for the Dems to nominate an ass-kicking, public-connecting candidate at the convention.

Run with Harris and Gavin Newsom.

I like them individually but 2 Californians? No way.

Michelle Obama would be a terrible idea. She has never been elected and has no platform. She is very smart but she’s not going to win over anyone that’s not already a D. And it would be better for US politics to move away from political dynasties…Kennedy, Bush, Clinton, Obama…

Wes Streeting has said there will be no charges or co-pays at point of use for NHS services [in England?], and presumably that includes for GP appointments  https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/wes-streeting-health-nhs-review-reform-lbc-privatisation/

? although I assume that doesn’t cover dentistry or prescriptions where there are co-pays for many peoplw

Best be quick – he told me he’s flying back to his job on an oil rig in Bahrain tomorrow!

@dovebiker: hold on, did you just raise a genuine, viable solution to adding to the UK housing stock? Instead of moaning or picking holes in other’s suggestions? That’s a novelty on this thread! ;)

PS there might be a big floating accommodion unit that’s back on the market pretty soon. Maybe our friends in Clacton in need to cheaper property would like to try living on that, considering how “luxurious” it was supposed to be.

You’re going back 316 years to find a grievance to complain about now? I knew Scottish Nationalists were keen on European-style politics but I assumed they meant the civic nationalism of the Nordics, not Balkan grudges and mangled history. What’s the Gaelic for “pet stotina godina pod Turcima”?

The benefit if the toll tag is that you don’t have to stop at the ticket gates, you just stay in the moving traffic lanes. The queues at the ticket gates are (were?) heinous at busy times. But you’re right, the wait at the ticket gates was not such a big deal off peak.

If you can, avoid travelling between Friday lunchtime and Sunday afternoon. The traffic can be absolutely nuts. I drove from London to past Brussels on a Friday afternoon and basically spent the whole time in a traffic jam.

You don’t need the physical Crit’Air sticker to arrive – you just need to be registered online. And in any case plenty of French cars in Paris didn’t have them – it doesn’t seem to be like ULEZ where you get immediately pinged once you cross into the city. It seems to be much more manual – if the cops notice you and pull you over, you need to explain. But in any case it doesn’t seem like OP will be stopping in any big towns.

I don’t know if any of other places have clean air zones etc.

Leylandii.  Plant now, enjoy satisfaction of being right in about 20 years time.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/family-finally-admit-defeat-after-5456610.amp

@alanl: how dare you suggest that Ms Sturgeon was in any way involved in the camper van affair or the loan to the SNP? That was 100% the dealings (if they even happened) of her husband, who is a completely separate person, and the very idea that she might have known of it (because he might have mentioned it over the cornflakes or she would have spotted the big shiny object on her elderly mother-in-law’s driveway) is reprehensible.

It’s much like the Justice Clarence Thomas position in the US, where it’s his wife that got all the gifts from political donors, and he just happened to have accompanied his spouse as a +1.

https://people.com/ginni-thomas-accepted-payments-judicial-activist-report-7489373

Even higher with a 60% turnout, based on this ‘barrier’ it seems to me that Westminster doesn’t have a mandate in Scotland.

I suppose if we’re going to entertain the argument that turnout below 60% indicates a lack of a mandate, then the real story here is that the Strasbourg didn’t have a mandate in Scotland. Turnout in the 2014 Euro elections (the last proper election for a full parliamentary term) was only 33.5% in Scotland. Even the pointless 2019 Euro elections (when EU membership had been the top talking point for a year) didn’t crack 40%. The implication of this argument is that the Scottish electorate did not legitimise European parliamentary democracy.

But it’s a silly argument and it should be ignored completely.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_(European_Parliament_constituency)

Get the French toll tag if you can.

Try not to leave anything exposed in your locked car.

High viz vest, Euro breakdown cover, light blanket and lots of water in the car (in case you get stuck in a massive jam).

Can you sleep in the car? Or take a little tent and sleeping bag for campsites on the way?

I’m going to go with scam. He’s been on FB for a year and has 2 friends.

TBF that’s what my profile looks like because I only use Facebook to keep tabs on one community group and use Marketplace

Mix it with lemonade or sparking water or Coke.

The same guy is selling a similar campervan of similar age for a similar price because he has got an upgrade. Its a part of the country filled with auctions and scrap yards. It’s 26 years old, non ULEZ, and with a patchy MOT history, and it’s been off the road since the pandemic.

And that’s before the repetitive ads I suppose…

Stay clear of the Muddy fox. I had one on 4 week loan and it went back after one. The gearing is so high and the motor pickup so slow it’s near unusable.

Ahh, that’s unfortunate. You could change the front ring easily enough, couldn’t you? Or is it a one piece crankset? Anyway, if the motor is not great, that won’t fix it.

I was assuming it would basically be like riding a Lime bike – not exactly a dream ride but fine for a couple of miles.

6’3 here with 32″ waist.

Is this the showing off thread then? ;)

how are “we” supposed to know/find out who owns the copyright to a certain image if it isn’t stated?

I don’t know who owns the nice Spesh locked up at the station but I know it’s not me!

What died on the Swytch kit, by the way?

https://www.evanscycles.com/brand/muddyfox/electric-avenue-hybrid-bike-700516#colcode=70051603

£400…available on Cycle 2 Work if that helps…but no rack or mudguards or lights supplied, and single speed. Black or dark grey frame, so I’d wrap the whole thing in the 3M looks-black-reflects-white adhesive tape/sheets.

3M Scotchlite 580/680 Black Reflective Tape

Have you looked at the Merc fixed price servicing subscription scheme? My dad’s C class was only about £30 more to do at the main dealer than at the independent. (As a cheapskate, I immediately assumed an indy would be preferable).

Lots more just didn’t answer the call.

Plenty of people (inc Gen Z and me) just won’t answer phone calls from unknown numbers.

I really can’t afford to pay this…This was a really stupid mistake and the stress this is causing is awful.

You must not worry about this. It’s like the supermarket sending you a “penalty charge notice” for overstaying in the car park. No-one is going to arrest you or seize your home.

Before offering to pay – how about just replying to say “thank you for your email. I don’t understand all of this but I have deleted the image completely, thank you, goodbye”?

As long as they had a bar/mess hall on site, and a brothel in the nearest town

Are you sure you weren’t watching Deadwood? Did Ian McShane point a six shooter at a cattle rustler at any point? The reality is a bit more dismal than you suggest. But if you are comfortable with forced labourers building your next Wimpey home…

https://hir.harvard.edu/taken-hostage-in-the-uae/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/22/abu-dhabi-happiness-island-misery

When I was in Malaga in January I used the kettle in the hotel room to do the same job and it got me through the week.

The next guest’s coffee will have tasted a bit…chemically

Ruddy awful since brexit.  No great issue pre brexit.  Its one of the tragedies of brexit that we no longer have access to the surplus nurses in the EU

There’s been a massive increase in the number of non-EU foreign care staff in the UK since Brexit – far more than there were ever EU foreign care staff.

Most newly-registered doctors are educated outside the UK, and very few of them were from the EU before Brexit.

There has been a massive increase in the number of non-EU foreign nurses in the UK since Brexit. Nurses from outside the EU are being enrolled at twice the peak of EU nurse registration.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migration-and-the-health-and-care-workforce/

It is just not the case that immigration has reduced since Brexit – despite the intentions of Brexiteers. The exact opposite has happened.

By the way, it is completely nuts that the UK NHS is now mostly reliant on foreign education systems to train enough doctors. Indian and Nigerian taxpayers are subsidising our health service and we are subsidising the Australian and New Zealand health service (to a much smaller degree).

Construction workers will contribute to building hundreds of homes, not just one…

Did you read the link with the industry estimate that construction of an additional 10,000 homes requires 30,000 additional workers?

Net migration to the UK was 685,000 last year, and only 212,000 new homes were completed. The government wants to raise that to 300,000 new homes per annum – which means about 300,000 more skilled construction workers would need to arrive to deliver those 100,000 extra homes? Where are they going to live – and their dependents?

Blindly and blithely relying on more immigration to fix the problem isn’t gonna work. The only way Gulf States have knocked up so many houses to serve their massive immigration in the last 20 years is by having millions of forced labourers living in barracks as single men and working 6-7 days a week. The UK isn’t going to do that (I hope).

But since you raised it, how is relying on overseas workers medical workers for the NHS long term staffing needs working out for the NHS and their countries of origin, by the way?

also conveniently forgetting that without immigration we face a falling and aging population

Again – the rate of net migration is far, far above the rate by which the UK population is falling. Oxford Uni Migration Observatory sez:

The UK’s population would grow from 67 million in 2021 to 77 million in 2046, and that net migration would account for 92% of this growth.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/the-impact-of-migration-on-uk-population-growth/

politecameraaction, your logic is so flawed that I don’t know where to begin… it’s like suggesting we can’t let people into the UK to help with NHS staffing because those workers will also need the support of the NHS.

It’s not comparable. 100% of people that enter the UK themselves need housing for the duration of their stay. 100% of NHS workers don’t need constant medical attention for the duration of their stay.

Plus some debate about why two of them voted Reform….. But saying someone is a bit bigoted is apparently not very nice.

Not knowing you or your family but: you’re never going to change their mind. You (me, him, everyone) probably have your own failings. Showing up and arguing about woke/gay salmon/recycling/whatever doesn’t make you better or them smarter. Can you not ignore it and move onto other things?

This is easy for me to say as I definitely don’t get wound up by every single thing my dad says…

most workers born elsewhere will not be working in construction

Exactly – the suggested immigration of more construction workers comes in addition to the existing levels of migration!!!

What’s more, the industry itself estimates that you need an additional 30,000 workers to build 10,000 homes. But if you bring 30,000 additional workers into the UK, then they need somewhere to live. And if they live ~3 to a home (which is above typical UK density, as mentioned above), then you need to add 10,000 homes to the UK hosting stock on the first day the builders arrive to avoid a worsening of the supply/demand relationship!

There is no way to build the UK out of a housing shortage using mostly foreign labour and maintaining net immigration across the rest of the economy…unless you want to imitate Dubai and make builders live in tents or Portakabins on site, or temporary barracks miles away.

I have NFI what the answer is.

and secondly that construction workers are more likely to be from the EU/EEA than from outside Europe.

Historically, yes, but t²here’s been a 25-30% decline in EU workers over the last 3-4 years. (Figures are difficult to come by because of the casualisation of the sector). Now there’s no difference between Hungary or Ukraine or Uganda for immigration purposes. Morocco and Turkey are only a few hours drive further than Romania. Some of our Europhile friends who criticise Brexiteer racism seem a bit squeamish about non-EU migrant labour.

UK construction loses a quarter of its EU-born workforce

https://www.hbf.co.uk/news/skills-shortfall-home-building-research-workforce-census/

£400 for the Evans Muddy Fox Electric Avenue singlespeed ebike. Crikey.

https://www.evanscycles.com/brand/muddyfox/electric-avenue-hybrid-bike-700516#colcode=70051603

A greek Cypriot, you say  is he aware of the Turkish Cypriot population?

To be fair, Cyprus is somewhere it’s not just mad conspiracy theory that “we are being invaded and they want to replace us all with Muslims”!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_settlers_in_Northern_Cyprus

As an aside, I was on LinkedIn yesterday and some geezer (who according to this profile has lived and worked in the UK for 20+ years, if he wasn’t born here) was saying “we Indians can’t abide all this woke stuff, hopefully Nigel and Tommy will sort us all out soon enough”. :scratch:

Insurance companies don’t like 7 seats. Fine up to 6, but 7 seems to be an issue

Eh?

Is it a bit like being a Free Member and then moaning about the forum?

A colleague had a kid in nursery that had an issue with parents being late for pick up

Someone’s read Freakonomics…

This meant that the restaurant which looked like it had 50 bookings on the offer ended up empty.

You could have told the restaurant you didn’t need the booking, though.

Oddball Japanese import like Toyota Alphard etc…?