Further or Alternatively
@furtheror.bsky.social
Not only does it go deeper than Brexit - on some views it goes deeper than people possibly imagine. There are loads of graphs like this, many just going back to WWII, but the moral of them is that the GFC was a bigger deal for the UK than ... basically anything else.
October 8, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Not only does it go deeper than Brexit - on some views it goes deeper than people possibly imagine. There are loads of graphs like this, many just going back to WWII, but the moral of them is that the GFC was a bigger deal for the UK than ... basically anything else.
But it's broader than just the C of E (which, as its name suggests, is "of England", not apart from it). @luketryl.bsky.social pointed this out recently. The Left has gained the establishment in this country, as in the US.
October 3, 2025 at 10:49 AM
But it's broader than just the C of E (which, as its name suggests, is "of England", not apart from it). @luketryl.bsky.social pointed this out recently. The Left has gained the establishment in this country, as in the US.
Crossness Pumping Station. They don't make 'em like they used to.
October 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Crossness Pumping Station. They don't make 'em like they used to.
That's plainly not my argument. At the risk of repetition:
(1) the context for this debate is the argument from Starmer quoted below and the riposte *to that argument* that in fact being pro-labour mobility is left-wing. That's a debate about people with no jobs or current labour rights here.
...
(1) the context for this debate is the argument from Starmer quoted below and the riposte *to that argument* that in fact being pro-labour mobility is left-wing. That's a debate about people with no jobs or current labour rights here.
...
September 30, 2025 at 12:10 PM
That's plainly not my argument. At the risk of repetition:
(1) the context for this debate is the argument from Starmer quoted below and the riposte *to that argument* that in fact being pro-labour mobility is left-wing. That's a debate about people with no jobs or current labour rights here.
...
(1) the context for this debate is the argument from Starmer quoted below and the riposte *to that argument* that in fact being pro-labour mobility is left-wing. That's a debate about people with no jobs or current labour rights here.
...
Right. The highlighted sentence you gave is wrong. I accept that all kinds of liberals (left and right) have been and are in favour of freedom of movement for labour. I think what is characteristic about the Left as a whole is its emphasis on *other* ways of improving the lot of workers.
September 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Right. The highlighted sentence you gave is wrong. I accept that all kinds of liberals (left and right) have been and are in favour of freedom of movement for labour. I think what is characteristic about the Left as a whole is its emphasis on *other* ways of improving the lot of workers.
"always" is doing a lot of work there. I'm old enough to remember the Brexit referendum and this exchange!
September 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM
"always" is doing a lot of work there. I'm old enough to remember the Brexit referendum and this exchange!
British workers take home money than Germans because they are so lightly taxed. We have an extremely progressive tax system (including already high property taxes) and raising more money, being realistic, means more tax on middle/lower income earners.
September 16, 2025 at 6:24 PM
British workers take home money than Germans because they are so lightly taxed. We have an extremely progressive tax system (including already high property taxes) and raising more money, being realistic, means more tax on middle/lower income earners.
I have just seen that today is September 11. Conspiracy theories are evergreen, I suppose. But put "Charlie Kirk Epstein" into the search box, go for "Latest" and you'll find some extraordinary stuff. (Bit of a sideline, as these are not necessarily anti-Kirk / gloating posts, just odd.)
September 11, 2025 at 11:10 AM
I have just seen that today is September 11. Conspiracy theories are evergreen, I suppose. But put "Charlie Kirk Epstein" into the search box, go for "Latest" and you'll find some extraordinary stuff. (Bit of a sideline, as these are not necessarily anti-Kirk / gloating posts, just odd.)
Well, there was abolishing it in the UK, abolishing the trade in slaves (1807) and then making the trade a felony (1811). Then, after abolition, there were attempts via treaties to abolish it more widely and the establisment of a Slave Trade Department. There's an interesting legal angle to it:
August 20, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Well, there was abolishing it in the UK, abolishing the trade in slaves (1807) and then making the trade a felony (1811). Then, after abolition, there were attempts via treaties to abolish it more widely and the establisment of a Slave Trade Department. There's an interesting legal angle to it:
This is what British architects can design. This could be London.
July 29, 2025 at 1:33 PM
This is what British architects can design. This could be London.
This is the 1000 Trees development in Shanghai, by Suzhou Creek.
July 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM
This is the 1000 Trees development in Shanghai, by Suzhou Creek.
No, because he wants decades of capital gains to be taxed retrospectively. This is how changes in CGT work - each year going forward has a rate for the gains made.
July 16, 2025 at 12:43 PM
No, because he wants decades of capital gains to be taxed retrospectively. This is how changes in CGT work - each year going forward has a rate for the gains made.
Retrospectively grab, that is.
Here's a HoC briefing paper: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri.... There's not that much difference between the amounts and distribution of pension & housing wealth.
Here's a HoC briefing paper: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri.... There's not that much difference between the amounts and distribution of pension & housing wealth.
July 16, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Retrospectively grab, that is.
Here's a HoC briefing paper: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri.... There's not that much difference between the amounts and distribution of pension & housing wealth.
Here's a HoC briefing paper: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri.... There's not that much difference between the amounts and distribution of pension & housing wealth.
I didn't read your highlighted phrase as a comment on retired, non-working people venting off, but rather as a comment about the kinds of people featured in this BBC documentary. As with comments about Brits in Spain, I see a lot of snobbery dressed up as moral superiority.
July 16, 2025 at 8:48 AM
I didn't read your highlighted phrase as a comment on retired, non-working people venting off, but rather as a comment about the kinds of people featured in this BBC documentary. As with comments about Brits in Spain, I see a lot of snobbery dressed up as moral superiority.
Really? See britishexpatguide.co.uk/guides/movin... or dubai.lawyer/immigrate-to... - it's all about getting visas to work or join family
July 15, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Really? See britishexpatguide.co.uk/guides/movin... or dubai.lawyer/immigrate-to... - it's all about getting visas to work or join family
This is the sort of thing you had in mind, I suppose? I attach a couple of typical replies (blaming us).
July 15, 2025 at 8:21 AM
This is the sort of thing you had in mind, I suppose? I attach a couple of typical replies (blaming us).
I think we basically agree - see my posts below. It may be selfish, but it comes from a consistent worldview that people will be selfish and not care about the wellbeing of countries they go to, and such countries should look out for themselves. That does not seem hypocritical to me.
July 15, 2025 at 7:28 AM
I think we basically agree - see my posts below. It may be selfish, but it comes from a consistent worldview that people will be selfish and not care about the wellbeing of countries they go to, and such countries should look out for themselves. That does not seem hypocritical to me.
What about today? Police sergeants used to get 2/3 to 3/4 of an MP's salary. Today, they get 55-57% of an MP's salary. But two police sergeants are still (together) on a bit less than the average hospital consultant's salary.
June 10, 2025 at 9:14 AM
What about today? Police sergeants used to get 2/3 to 3/4 of an MP's salary. Today, they get 55-57% of an MP's salary. But two police sergeants are still (together) on a bit less than the average hospital consultant's salary.
Police used to get paid pretty well - cf doctors
June 9, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Police used to get paid pretty well - cf doctors
Whereas police sergeants in 1993 were on £20-£23k. hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1994.... So a household of two sergeants was probably making more than a household of one GP and a stay at home spouse at that time. I think a GP in 1993 wd have had a 'good' salary.
June 9, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Whereas police sergeants in 1993 were on £20-£23k. hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1994.... So a household of two sergeants was probably making more than a household of one GP and a stay at home spouse at that time. I think a GP in 1993 wd have had a 'good' salary.
What's the Bluesky 'community' (if that's the right word) answer to this kind of comment about usage?
June 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
What's the Bluesky 'community' (if that's the right word) answer to this kind of comment about usage?
But is appropriate that a prominent, salient objection to a policy is put to the PM so he can respond. Maybe it wd be better to use a "many people say" phrasing, but that's pretty minor carping. This was a press conference - a time for short, snappy questions.
May 19, 2025 at 3:12 PM
But is appropriate that a prominent, salient objection to a policy is put to the PM so he can respond. Maybe it wd be better to use a "many people say" phrasing, but that's pretty minor carping. This was a press conference - a time for short, snappy questions.
Bear in mind that this is the context for this whole discussion. It is not incumbent on the BBC to have a settled position on what would or would not amount to "selling out" fishermen (go on - you say what would be "selling them out") and then tell the country whether Starmer meets that test.
May 19, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Bear in mind that this is the context for this whole discussion. It is not incumbent on the BBC to have a settled position on what would or would not amount to "selling out" fishermen (go on - you say what would be "selling them out") and then tell the country whether Starmer meets that test.
The report, which is brilliant, concludes as follows. It is, of course, the "thirteenth stroke of a crazy clock" to argue that "a man can do what he likes if he does nobody any harm".
May 19, 2025 at 9:52 AM
The report, which is brilliant, concludes as follows. It is, of course, the "thirteenth stroke of a crazy clock" to argue that "a man can do what he likes if he does nobody any harm".