Cant wait to take away rights and security from renters by abolishing their proprietary interest and replacing it with a contract holding relationship.
Ground rent cap is good news (though peppercorn would be better straight away). Also welcome is promised abolition of new leasehold properties. Better still would be the outright abolition of leasehold altogether, a feudal anachronism virtually unique to England and Wales.
January 27, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Cant wait to take away rights and security from renters by abolishing their proprietary interest and replacing it with a contract holding relationship.
Also, the PHSO is not “an independent body that exists to hold the government to account“. It is a tool of MPs to assist them in holding the government to account. That is reflected in the original white paper, Crosman’s comments when introducing the 1967 Act, and its lack of any legal powers.
I’ve joined over 100 MPs calling on the Government to finally do the right thing for WASPI women. Women born in the 1950s were harmed by pension changes made without proper notice. Despite the Ombudsman’s findings, ministers are still delaying fair compensation.
I will keep pushing for justice.
I will keep pushing for justice.
January 26, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Also, the PHSO is not “an independent body that exists to hold the government to account“. It is a tool of MPs to assist them in holding the government to account. That is reflected in the original white paper, Crosman’s comments when introducing the 1967 Act, and its lack of any legal powers.
Why is this question only directed at Crown Dependencies and BOTs (and not e.g. other havens like Curacao, Panama or Seychelles)? Is NB expecting the gov to use its colonial era powers to interfere in the running of these territories?
The UK shouldn’t allow Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories to operate as safe havens for politically-exposed ultra-wealthy individuals.
#EndSafeHavens #FairEconomy
#EndSafeHavens #FairEconomy
January 26, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Why is this question only directed at Crown Dependencies and BOTs (and not e.g. other havens like Curacao, Panama or Seychelles)? Is NB expecting the gov to use its colonial era powers to interfere in the running of these territories?
I can't think what might be driving price increases in a labour, property and energy intensive industry with heavy competition and thin margins...
Could it be employer-sided NI, minimum wage, warehouse comparator equal pay claims, energy costs and business rate increases?
Could it be employer-sided NI, minimum wage, warehouse comparator equal pay claims, energy costs and business rate increases?
Food inflation skyrocketed after the Tories & Reform’s botched Brexit. 😐
So I’m campaigning to bring prices down and cut the cost of living, starting with a UK favourite: the meal deal. 🥪
It’s time to give something back to the grafters out getting their lunch. ✅
So I’m campaigning to bring prices down and cut the cost of living, starting with a UK favourite: the meal deal. 🥪
It’s time to give something back to the grafters out getting their lunch. ✅
January 22, 2026 at 4:03 PM
I can't think what might be driving price increases in a labour, property and energy intensive industry with heavy competition and thin margins...
Could it be employer-sided NI, minimum wage, warehouse comparator equal pay claims, energy costs and business rate increases?
Could it be employer-sided NI, minimum wage, warehouse comparator equal pay claims, energy costs and business rate increases?
Zack coming out for a French style independent nuclear deterrent and increase in military spending. He’s getting dangerously close to getting my vote.
When we said NATO wasn't working we were derided.
When we said a nuclear weapons system relying on the US is dangerous we were called stupid.
The truth is the establishment are more interested in kissing US feet than keeping the UK safe.
It's time for a rethink.
When we said a nuclear weapons system relying on the US is dangerous we were called stupid.
The truth is the establishment are more interested in kissing US feet than keeping the UK safe.
It's time for a rethink.
January 18, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Zack coming out for a French style independent nuclear deterrent and increase in military spending. He’s getting dangerously close to getting my vote.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
DSFO has a very troubled history in recent years. The Gov really needs to get to grips with what is going wrong there.
DSFO has a very troubled history in recent years. The Gov really needs to get to grips with what is going wrong there.
SFO Director announces retirement
Nick Ephgrave, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, will retire in the Spring.
www.gov.uk
January 16, 2026 at 11:02 AM
www.gov.uk/government/n...
DSFO has a very troubled history in recent years. The Gov really needs to get to grips with what is going wrong there.
DSFO has a very troubled history in recent years. The Gov really needs to get to grips with what is going wrong there.
The BBC should really stop uncritically reporting bad faith NIMBY talking points, such as the idea that only 'affordable units' (sic) will make a difference. They should be talking to economists about the role of chains.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Row over plan for 2,500 homes heads to mayor's desk
The Ladbroke Grobe plan was approved by councillors, but campaigners want Sir Sadiq Khan to stop it.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 11:34 AM
The BBC should really stop uncritically reporting bad faith NIMBY talking points, such as the idea that only 'affordable units' (sic) will make a difference. They should be talking to economists about the role of chains.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I suspect most people well versed in the bible understand Paul’s significance, which means this is potentially less well understood today than half a century ago.
Here’s a fun top five: things that are consensus among historians but are essentially unknown by the public. Richard I, a bad king of England. Roman Empire, fell in 1453. Paul, more important than Jesus. Witch burning, a modern phenomenon not a medieval one. Britain last invaded in 1688. Yours?
As someone who wrote a dissertation on that damnable Frenchman; one can only hope.
January 5, 2026 at 11:37 PM
I suspect most people well versed in the bible understand Paul’s significance, which means this is potentially less well understood today than half a century ago.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
If I was the RMT I would be extremely careful about this, as there will be an immediate equal pay claim made using drivers as comparators. if you thought the Birmingham bin strikes were vicious...
If I was the RMT I would be extremely careful about this, as there will be an immediate equal pay claim made using drivers as comparators. if you thought the Birmingham bin strikes were vicious...
UK government should end rail outsourcing ‘racket’, says union
RMT estimates six cleaning, security and catering suppliers made £150m profits last year
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:08 PM
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
If I was the RMT I would be extremely careful about this, as there will be an immediate equal pay claim made using drivers as comparators. if you thought the Birmingham bin strikes were vicious...
If I was the RMT I would be extremely careful about this, as there will be an immediate equal pay claim made using drivers as comparators. if you thought the Birmingham bin strikes were vicious...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I fundamentally beleive that it can be done, it is just we lack the political will or logistical competence as a country to do it.
I fundamentally beleive that it can be done, it is just we lack the political will or logistical competence as a country to do it.
HS2 goal to be up and running by 2033 'cannot be met' - BBC News
HS2 CEO Mark Wild advises the government that the 2029/2033 opening schedule is not achievable.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 29, 2025 at 2:12 PM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I fundamentally beleive that it can be done, it is just we lack the political will or logistical competence as a country to do it.
I fundamentally beleive that it can be done, it is just we lack the political will or logistical competence as a country to do it.
www.standard.co.uk/news/london/...
Good. “Affordable home” requirements are a tax on new developments, which is why NIMBYs love them so much. The only way to affordable homes is building as many as possible.
Good. “Affordable home” requirements are a tax on new developments, which is why NIMBYs love them so much. The only way to affordable homes is building as many as possible.
South London council signs off plan for huge housing scheme with no affordable homes
The development at Mitcham Gasworks will have 626 homes when finished
www.standard.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 10:39 PM
www.standard.co.uk/news/london/...
Good. “Affordable home” requirements are a tax on new developments, which is why NIMBYs love them so much. The only way to affordable homes is building as many as possible.
Good. “Affordable home” requirements are a tax on new developments, which is why NIMBYs love them so much. The only way to affordable homes is building as many as possible.
There is a big difference between an incumbent losing an election and an incumbent being unpopular. I don’t think you can compare the two.
A thought. In 2022-24 incumbents did terribly everywhere and the most common explanation was voters hating inflation.
Today inflation is much lower. And Merz, Starmer & Trump are all deeply unpopular.
Today inflation is much lower. And Merz, Starmer & Trump are all deeply unpopular.
He's done it! Merz is now less popular than Olaf Scholz at his lowest low.
Nobody could have predicted this, of course. www.n-tv.de/politik/Kanz...
Nobody could have predicted this, of course. www.n-tv.de/politik/Kanz...
December 2, 2025 at 6:40 PM
There is a big difference between an incumbent losing an election and an incumbent being unpopular. I don’t think you can compare the two.
Here’s an alternative - scrap the BSR and instead an offence with up to life imprisonment for anyone convicted of knowingly using unsafe materials, plus a statutory tort for the same to anyone injured by the same, with punitive damages at least equal to that damage.
I am consistently amazed the Building Safety Regulator isn’t a much bigger story. It’s brought house building in London to a total halt, but it’s also brought cladding remedy works to a halt, too. Which is costing leaseholders FORTUNES, halting sales, and leaving people living in unsafe buildings.
... at the Building Safety Regulator - which has lead to 9 month delays at this stage alone:
www.building.co.uk/news/nine-mo...
www.building.co.uk/news/nine-mo...
December 1, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Here’s an alternative - scrap the BSR and instead an offence with up to life imprisonment for anyone convicted of knowingly using unsafe materials, plus a statutory tort for the same to anyone injured by the same, with punitive damages at least equal to that damage.
Reposted
EU example of drowning small companies in paperwork. UK examples will be easy to find (and let's not start again on ending small company de minimis exemptions...) www.ft.com/content/0797...
Companies swamped by 3,000 hours of paperwork to tap EU climate funds
Of the €7.1bn awarded from the bloc’s flagship innovation programme for clean tech, only 5% has been paid out
www.ft.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:31 AM
EU example of drowning small companies in paperwork. UK examples will be easy to find (and let's not start again on ending small company de minimis exemptions...) www.ft.com/content/0797...
Sorry, someone’s been raiding the old Yes Minister storylines again. Specifically the one about the hospital with no patients but fully staffed.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Soon-to-be-axed 7am Manchester-London train will still run – but without passengers
Exclusive: Rail regulator pulls Avanti service from timetable from mid-December but it is needed for staff travel
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Sorry, someone’s been raiding the old Yes Minister storylines again. Specifically the one about the hospital with no patients but fully staffed.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The fact that jurors subjectively believe they do a good job does nothing to reassure me. Again, the problem is that they do justice in secret, without reasons.
“It is a strange irony,” Professor Michael Zander told me yesterday, “that a study that conveys the best available empirical evidence that trial by jury is fit for purpose becomes generally available at a time when trial by jury faces its most severe threat.”
rozenberg.substack.com/p/asking-abo...
rozenberg.substack.com/p/asking-abo...
Asking about juries
What can we learn from a major study of the Crown Court 33 years ago?
rozenberg.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:27 AM
The fact that jurors subjectively believe they do a good job does nothing to reassure me. Again, the problem is that they do justice in secret, without reasons.
Hahahahahahhaha. We’re really doing this again are we? A 29 year old is just the same as 12 year old?
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Four pivotal ages in your brain's development revealed in new scientific study
Brain scans on thousands of people reveal the dramatic shifts the brain goes through between birth and death.
www.bbc.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Hahahahahahhaha. We’re really doing this again are we? A 29 year old is just the same as 12 year old?
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
The responses to this suggest we are all in a lot of trouble if BlueSky ever does get its chosen leaders into office.
I have read Zack Polanski's interview with Laura K. Good grief docs.google.com/document/d/1...
November 24, 2025 at 10:31 PM
The responses to this suggest we are all in a lot of trouble if BlueSky ever does get its chosen leaders into office.
Reposted
This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...
November 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...
“Affordable” homes are built by effectively taxing developers. Building them relies on having developers building profitable developments, some of the profit of which goes into building affordable housing. The BSR has effectively killed such developments in London.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
London mayor criticised as affordable home building slows in capital - BBC News
Data from the Greater London Authority shows a decline in developers making starts on affordable homes.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 3:11 PM
“Affordable” homes are built by effectively taxing developers. Building them relies on having developers building profitable developments, some of the profit of which goes into building affordable housing. The BSR has effectively killed such developments in London.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
It will never not be surprising to me that the last commercial canal to be opened in England (1905) opened after the last main line railway (1899).
November 14, 2025 at 11:34 PM
It will never not be surprising to me that the last commercial canal to be opened in England (1905) opened after the last main line railway (1899).
Merely freezing threshold and abolishing salary sacrifice is the definition of politics over good policy. Salary sacrifice is one of the few ways that an employee approaching the £100k cliff edge can avoid falling off while still getting a financial benefit.
November 14, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Merely freezing threshold and abolishing salary sacrifice is the definition of politics over good policy. Salary sacrifice is one of the few ways that an employee approaching the £100k cliff edge can avoid falling off while still getting a financial benefit.
Damn every one of these selfish people, who have themselves already got accommodation, but are happy to see other people without homes.
www.mylondon.news/news/north-l...
www.mylondon.news/news/north-l...
Anti-gentrification campaigners slam 'grotesque' estate regeneration
Camden locals including Sir Michael Palin sign letter accusing their council of turning an affordable housing project into "high rise investment opportunity"
www.mylondon.news
November 1, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Damn every one of these selfish people, who have themselves already got accommodation, but are happy to see other people without homes.
www.mylondon.news/news/north-l...
www.mylondon.news/news/north-l...
Because we haven't really been trying. We've been saying we would like to have it, without any willingness to consider the necessary trade offs to get there (indeed, pilling on obstacles to growth).
Why do we still generally assume that there is still a path to much higher growth after 17 years of failing to find it?
October 30, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Because we haven't really been trying. We've been saying we would like to have it, without any willingness to consider the necessary trade offs to get there (indeed, pilling on obstacles to growth).