EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

This.

All the undercurrent for the last few years has been driverless vehicles.
(Whether this becomes more than Musk's wet dream we will have to wait and see).
Why would anyone invest the considerable amount of money and time to get an HGV license
when the narrative is 'this industry will soon make you redundant'?

Tube driver is responsible for (upto) hundreds of people.
Strong Union = decent wage based upon the responsibility.

If you've got people in a shit job requiring few quals and there's another new job line opening up paying more, people will move.

Generally true, but I suspect that the people on wages which make an HGV driving job attractive won't have the savings to cover not working while they train for a Class I HGV licence, let alone the costs of getting one. And many companies won't invest in training staff if, at the end of the training, they get poached by a competitor offering slightly higher wages.

This will have a monumental effect on the US. Not only do drivers get well paid for their skill level, but the unionisation and heath care (and other social benefits) mean that as a combination it has historically been a route to moving your family up.

Once that's gone all that will be left is for poor people to do is learn to code.

You get paid by the hour to argue with people. I'm not paying your wages now. Have a KitKat.
@Brommers

Tube driver is responsible for (upto) hundreds of people.

But they are driving a train (where they still actually drive it rather than close the doors and press start) in a closed system. People shouldn't be on the track and in many cases there isn't much the driver can do if they are anyway. The thought of driving an HGV on not-motorways is horrifying to me.

I agree that tube drivers have lots of responsibility and there are extremely grim parts of the job (shifts, sitting on your own being bored all day, oneunders) but I think HGV drivers have a lot in common.

Strong Union = decent wage based upon the responsibility.

I think that is the bigger bit. Tube drivers deserve their wage, I don't think an HGV driver should be getting less than half that.

Meanwhile I'm paid more than both because I can tell you what 802.1x is for in an interview (and if you know and want a job in London let me know as we have vacancies). It makes no sense.

Skill is not proportional to wages.

At all.

Just remove universal credit- problem solved

Got my "your Universal Credit covid payments are ending and payments will be going down by £86 a month" message earlier.
You get to keep 34p per pound earned or something, so to make that £86 back I need to earn an extra £250ish after deductions. That'll get the low paid full time workers taking on a 2nd job to help fill gaps.

By the quarter hour in my experience of the legal profession

You get paid by the hour to argue with people.

True.

I'm not paying your wages now.

You're not, but I was basically agreeing with you, so it's on the house.

Have a KitKat.

I'll pass. I'm fat enough as it is. Can I have some carrot sticks instead?

By the quarter hour in my experience of the legal profession

Solicitors usually charge in 6 minute units - i.e. one tenth of an hour. Barristers generally quote a fee for a single piece of work.

I used to secretly want to be a truck driver. Freedom of the road, customised cab, CB radio conversations with my comrades..

Back on topicish.. is there a shortage of criminal case barristers because of legal aid cuts (in ref to a post above re lawyers)?

Basically? Id hate to see outright disagreement.

Basically? Id hate to see outright disagreement.

You have no idea. That would involve a 50 page pdf file with mind-numblingly closely-argued submissions. You got off lightly.

That's a big 10-4 Rubber Duck

If real jobs paid decent salaries maybe they'll be less money for useless, well paid jobs. An Utopia I know.

Back on topicish.. is there a shortage of criminal case barristers because of legal aid cuts (in ref to a post above re lawyers)?

Without wishing to dodge the question, I've no idea from personal experience. The last criminal case I did was over 20 years ago, and the best I can claim is that I didn't make my client's position any worse. I haven't done a legal aid funded case in nearly 20 years - it's just not available for the work I do. I either do privately-funded work or pro bono cases. Legal aid cuts in my line of work meant it wasn't available, at all, a long, long time ago. In a galaxy, far, far away.

Anecdotally, I don't think there's a shortage of criminal barristers. There are a sufficient number who consider it a vocation, and so who are prepared to work for considerably less than the minimum wage, and a sufficient number of independently wealthy people who consider the social cachet of being a barrister a fair trade for being paid less than the minimum wage. I do know that senior members of the criminal bar are concerned that it's becoming no more than a hobby for people who have a private income and so don't actually need to work to pay for rent, food and other expenses. And then there's the problem of the endemic institutional racism of the legal system, which is another story entirely, albeit an extremely important one.

The more pressing problem, I understand, is the lack of criminal law solicitors. No-one is ever going to become a criminal solicitor for the social cachet. No wigs, for starters. And if you can't get a decent solicitor, then getting a brief to represent you is the least of your problems.

If you haven't read The Secret Barrister then I'd urge you to do so. It is a damning indictment on the current criminal legal system in the UK. It's becoming like the US - if you can afford a decent legal team, then as a criminal defendant you have a fighting chance. If you're left to legal aid representation, then you're best relying on a sympathetic jury.

Thanks.. my question was triggered by stuff I'd read in the papers around this (including the SB). Interesting to hear from someone in the profession.

Solicitors usually charge in 6 minute units

It’s standard in the States and elsewhere too. It was one of the parts of the legal profession that I hated the most.

Popped into Tesco in Lewisham earlier. So many gaps on the shelves.

Also just saw this on the decathlon website.

Everything is fine,right?

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It is amazing that more stores are not calling out Brexit for this, are they scared of upsetting the Brexit voters??

I guess there’s just no point calling it out. It isn’t being reversed, so won’t make any difference; all that could happen is you lose some custom…

Technically drivers shortage is exactly that, and easily explained.

They can says what is happening but cannot 100% says why, even thought it's obvious.

I was in a Decathlon today and there were some sparse shelves.

Asda next door not so bad.