TONIGHT FOR THE 6TH TIME the UK puts off taking back control of borders, because, we read, checking stuff could cause "big delays" Defra cautioned against disclosing it with media to avoid negative news stories. Of course the charges that come in on the 30th of this month will not be postponed. Booze and breweries come to mind.
They're waiting to hand over the problem to Labour (or whoever else is in power next). The tabloids have already written up their 'BREXIT BETRAYAL!!!!' front pages as soon as anyone reasonable sorts out our Single Market access.
"Thousands more taxpayers moved to Scotland than left each year in the period after the Scottish Income Tax was brought in, new research has found." I suspect that people are happy to pay more tax when they see they are getting something for it.
It's not really accurate to say that they pay more under SIT - the majority pay less, although high earners certainly do pay more. And then there's the issue of Council Tax - it's always difficult to compare given that every Council seems to charge differently, but our Band D house here costs around £230 pa less than a Band D in Watford - and our charge includes water & sewage, which I believe is paid separately down there. Public sector wages are generally higher here too. For example, my wife is an 'ambitionless' teacher at the top of her pay scale - by which I mean she is quite happy to remain a class teacher rather than chase promotion. In England, her salary would be circa £41,000 - here she is paid £8000 more than that. The main difference though is that, in spite of what the media may say, we have a government here that is a good deal more competent at governing - and one that tends to care about all of its citizens, not just a few.
Imagine this being beamed live on TV about you across virtually the whole world. Popcorn sales would rocket...
Are the English beginning to show what they think out on the streets? Some weeks ago in Scotland, BB might remember when, the police were thwarted as they attempted to put migrants into their vans by locals who were happy having them living alongside them. But this has now happened twice in Margate and Peckham, where coaches were brought in to transport migrants to the Bibby Stockholm, but left empty after locals refused to allow them to be put on the coaches. I am used to seeing protests by the population on the streets of Paris and other big cities here, but actively preventing the authorities doing what they have been ordered to in England, seems to be something new.
That was nearly three years ago - during lockdown if I remember rightly - in Pollockshields, part of Nicola Sturgeon's constituency. A couple of hundred locals surrounded the Immigration Officers' van and refused to let them move. Even Police Scotland couldn't help them...
Conservative MP Sally Ann Heart saying people with Learning Disabilities should be paid less because they don't understand money. Words fail me. Do we really have people elected who think like this?
Unfortunately yes. And schools in England are having to get rid of the specialist teachers employed to help them - it can only end in tears. Personally I think MPs like her, who don't understand the basics of everyday life, should be paid far less too. But try suggesting that...
https://x.com/coldwarsteve/status/1787872478326292984 ARGH, stupid twitter renaming broke embedded tweets please log in to view this image
Brilliant piece by John Crace, the comments are good too. I really hope we get an election asap... https://www.theguardian.com/politic...h-times-gives-the-uk-one-last-chance-with-him
You can rely on John Crace to put into words what you are thinking. Glad to have him back after his heart attack.
I look forward to his pieces, poor guy must suffer having to follow this lot and try to make it funny, no wonder he had a heart attack...
