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introduced 2018, bloody hell ...

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I like it. Scored ok on ratebeer too bitd, iirc.

Ahhh Coalville. Fond memories.

destruction of proper pubs.

Pretty sure that is actually a combo of 1. Property value. 2. Smoking ban. 3. High prices. 4. Young people not drinking as much alcohol.

If your old clients can't smoke and afford to drink, and your new potential clients go to the gym or coffee shop, then you're stuck with adapting your existing offering.

Emporium?

Just to jump back to the Truss tax cuts....

The most convincing theory I've heard is that the Tories are hoping it'll give a short term stimulus that generates some figures they can hang their hat on, to convince people they've better off than they are.

I'm pretty sure that neither will it work, nor will it convince people. But I feel like that is the most credible rational for it.

Also heard someone say they'll U-turn on the windfall tax when quarterly profits come out.

GE declared right after conference then.

Yeah, that's what I was wondering.

"Look, here are some numbers that show that we're boosting the economy. Now we've got a new PM it's only right we get a new mandate. The country needs a safe pair of hands in this time of economic uncertainty, not some sort of crazed ideologue who'll plunge us into economic disaster. #ChaosunderSirStarmer."

She has to head off Johnson, who will be doing everything he can to get back into Number 10 before the next election - if she looks weak in any way the letters will go in and Johnson would be win a landslide of Tory membership votes.

If making tasty beer keeps Tarquinius away from disaster capitalism, I’m all for it.
Anyway, if it’s that easy why can’t the shitty pubcos compete?

How is this a more convincing theory than both Truss and Kwarteng having an ideological fetish for cutting taxes?

Sorry, more accurately, an ideological fetish for cutting taxes for the rich

I mean logic would say they're quite fucked and will loose the next election. So while people like Gove will sit out the next however many years, if you're in the group who've made a grab for power you've got to do something to extend your innings.

This is the lobby group behind Truss

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

There's a degree of sense, therefore, in just doing whatever the fuck you want with no filter at all, no?

Been a good week for the Truss administration and moving on from Johnson's sleeze, so far in five days we have had three stories about her new chief of staff, involved in FBI investigation into corruption, not on Government payroll but "seconded" from lobbying company, promised contract for next election campaign in exchange from taking job, Truss appears to have great judgement of character
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/20/mark-fullbrook-no-10-chief-of-staff-questioned-by-fbi-has-full-support-of-liz-truss

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/25/liz-truss-promised-chief-of-staff-next-tory-election-campaign-in-exchange-for-no-10-job

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/25/liz-truss-chief-of-staff-mark-fullbrook-paid-via-lobbying-firm-in-potential-tax-saving-move

The group behind the group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Network

Truss is compromised?

Huge if true

Well less that, more that you've got to take the risky/bold choices, commit to a strategy head on I guess. Look at Johnson and Brexit.

Like I said I'm most convinced by the idea that they're trying to stave off recession for a bit and give a bump in numbers, and maybe some gains to their voters.

But then they're doing things that I just can't see resonating with their core - fracking, bankers bonuses, etc. But maybe they recon they'll vote Tory just because.

I think they have suckled on 55 Tufton St's pendulous dugs for 20 years, imbibing the articles of faith of their paymasters - the state is bad, as are taxes, rich people must be paid more to work whilst poor people must be starved to achieve the same ends, and that simply doing as many of these things as possible will lead to the magical Growth.

Truss and Kwarteng (and a good chunk of the rest of their cabinet) would pay top dollar for unwashed items of thatcher’s underwear, there’s nothing more to understand about them than this.

Yeah. That too.

My old boss was like that. On the one hand, not remotely questioning wealthy clients on crazy salary + crazier bonuses, but yet couldn't understand how one of the young tech guys from a startup sharing our office wouldn't work on the weekend to do our website for a couple of hundred quid. I tried to explain supply, demand and market rates, but to him it was £x so surely he'd want it.

I also don't think there's anything more to it than them blindly carrying out their pet project, given that they all wrote their intentions 10 years ago in a little pamphlet "Britannia Unchained".

All the above plus they have probably realised the public are tiring of tories and the chance of another term is not guaranteed and they never expected to be in this position, so might as well hit the accelerating and do maximum ideology implementation/ damage while you can and make off like a bandit

I have almost no recollection of 2002 but I know I was there almost every weekend