In the news

I always forget about that one, tx will give it a go.

That Guardian article is it's equivalent of a Daily Mail one about cancer, or The Express about Diana

Good summary of the rail strikes
https://twitter.com/BBCRosAtkins/status/1538952108065554434

They must be preparing for an election, triple lock to be brought back i.e. 10% rise in the state pension
https://twitter.com/JosephineCumbo/status/1539165889785999360

Considering the ~£2.5tn state pension deficit this seems to be a mighty bold move.

Edit:

My bad, its more than that.

The latest numbers show that the UK has accrued pension liabilities of £7.6 trillion – rights that have been built up in the past but not yet paid. There are assets of around £2.7 trillion invested to cover that bill so the shortfall is c£5 trillion. The biggest chunk of this is the State Pension which accounts for (currently) £4 trillion of the total.

Anybody else getting an Argentina in the 90s sort of vibe about the UK economy?

(said only partially in jest)

Also from the Chancellor today:

On wages, Rishi Sunak told Cabinet they had "a responsibility to not take any action that would feed into inflationary pressures or reduce the Government's ability to lower taxes in the future".

Boris Johnson's spox: "The Prime Minister does pretty much agree with that".

https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1539211960444657665

Get the pensioners back on side, increases bosses pay, get business back on side, cut taxes despite asking everyone to have a real terms pay cut, red meat all around ahead of an election it would seem

I was there in 2001 and 2002 and it was rough.

I was there in 2001 and 2002 and it was rough.

Ha! So was I! From about March 2001 until June 2002.

Edit: Wrong way round. June 2001 to March 2002.

Latest from Alistair Heath in The Telegraph “Britain is in ruins thanks to the failed dogmas of our permanent Leftist elite”.

Sorry, say what?

It's a literally unbelievable attack line - somehow this is all Labour's fault: strikes, cost of living etc. being trotted out by all the usual lickspittles. I would not be hugely surprised if it's being tested out for an early election.

somehow this is all Labour's fault

How long have the Tories been in power for? Isn't it something like 38 of the last 50 years?

A heady, 4d Schrodinger combo of Labour the all powerful and simultaneously useless against the Tories being the natural party of government and simultaneously not responsible for anything

Permanent Leftist elite: it will mean whatever people think it means.

Which is, people they don't like that may be a bit left, like journalists, that libdem party member, whatever.

All tribalism and no work involved. (but if Heath actually believes it... never believe your own bullshit)

Heath is an absolute Brexit purist headbanger, his articles are always frothing at something or other (full disclosure - my local gets The Telegraph so if I pop in I usually read it to fuel my righteous indignation for the ride home)

I think the current line (look at what's happening now - that's what you'd get if Labour was in charge!) is, erm, brave.

CHAOS with Milliband.

Never gets old. Dickhead.

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Would you bet against it working though

If you read the article (you did, right?) he actually says that Boris Johnson is "all talk, and no delivery" and the current government is "weak", so it's not quite what the headline suggests. I can't imagine these lines are a rehearsal for the Tory election campaign!

His essential argument is that Britain is run by a Left-wing, politico-managerial class.

However, it's also that the current government doesn't have the required skill or energy to fix the 'problem' (if you see technocrats stopping the government from doing incredibly stupid things as a problem - I'm not sure I do).

I think the real issue with his arguments is that the formation of the 'blob' has happened under both Labour and Tory governments. But as everyone here has rightly pointed out the current bunch have had 12 years to address this (if it is a problem) and have failed to do so.

I did scan the article (appreciate you checking) and my takeaway was as yours. Stand by it being deranged nonsense consistent with his other work.

I thought this said Rabbi.

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Better than caffeine for those personal bests? ;)

Righteous indignation, it gives you wings