Really good news about the Horizon programme. If they can get that signed off it will be a really positive outcome, off the back of the NI trade deal. That trade deal at the time felt a big step, and so it seems to be proving. Credit where it is due, some pragmatism is making a difference.
Ministers should have some relevant experience with regard the purpose of the ministry they're put in charge of.
Yes. I don't know if you saw Bridget Phillipson on the news (poss Sky News) over the weekend talking about how they plan to prevent teachers dropping out of the profession. Her plan was almost exactly the same as the Conservatives are doing now. Disappointing.
I’m looking forward to see how many policies that Labour say is s hit now, they reverse, I will put my money on, not one.
I did see it. It was disappointing and offered no hope for me. I think both parties seem unwilling to tackle the education challenges in this country.
Also "privatised" the Probation Service, a French CATERING firm, Sodexo , got the contract (I know because I painted 2 proposed offices in S.Shields and Nwcle). That soon went tits up and it was took back "in house" by the government. Think they had to pay Sodexo up in full as if they had fulfilled the contract
My money would be on more years of paralysis as open war breaks out in the party now the big chair is the prize. All the while, doing exactly what the Tories did - blaming the previous government.
At the very least there should be a subject matter expert with an equivalent level of authority alongside them. PMs appointing hopeless cronies is as old as the hills though. The only two who were different were Thatcher - because she wouldn't put up with underperformance -and early Blair, who had a ridiculous amount of talent to call on.
Isn’t he saying the mortgage situation is keeping inflation up whilst the BOE say it will bring it down ?
How can a serving MP, and recent minister for a party in power, be allowed to present a news programme. News programmes are supposed to be impartial and unbiased .... ... if this was Russia people would say it's government propaganda.
I think he is saying the number of people on fixed price deals, and thus low rates, are making it take longer for higher interest rates to make an impact.
Aye. I'm fixed at 2% for the next three years. Plus I didn't go balls deep on how much I could borrow on the presumption that rates would stay at the historic low forever. You know, common sense.
Ah righto , I can see the difference , thanks for pointing it out . It also makes me think - those with borrowing in effect have to use their money to “ buy” making other things the price they were in the first place. Just like the Sainsbury’s guy today saying if you want cheaper bread , then I’ll overcharge you the petrol . We will be robbed right left and centre by people and business just moving the increases around .
Sadly that is probably true. Sainburys is a plc with a business model requiring dividends to shareholders. Their dividend yield is attractive and they arguably need to keep it that way. I daresay our pension pots have these sorts of large plcs in them. In the past supermarkets have used their petrol forecourt as a means to tempt customers in. Spend £30 get 5p off a litre for example. Those schemes make sense for both parties, if you are a big mileage driver. I used to save a fair bit on a tank. Point is though they will do as you say. You can actually look at inflation in terms of just specific items. Bread and cereals were running at about 19% recently I think. That is the highest since we started keeping records. Some drivers for that are supply shortages or supply chain costs. Last years heatwaves across Europe caused a poorer than normal crop. Ukraine imvasion sent fertiliser costs up. At least these are factors in the analysis I read. So in reality Sainsburys will be paying more. Whether they are passing on like for like, if if they need to pass it all on, may well be a very different matter. We are slower than countries in Europe to see the benefit of gas prices coming down too. It is a bit beyond me but something to do with the energy price guarantee causing a lag. In some countries household prices are linked to wholesale prices more directly, so drops in prices get to them sooner and their headline inflation figures look better for it. I might have these figures slightly wrong, but I think broadly speaking there is a core inflation figure, which removes food and energy. When you look at that we are only a little worse off than some european countries, and tracking a similar pattern. Of course taking that out doesnt help us with the cost of living in this country. Ultimately it isnt easy for most of us and ideally it will get better soon. We need supermarkets to do their bit, banks to do their bit (higher interest rates on savings would be a start), and the govt to do more of their bit. The one sure fire way to ensure people have less to spend, and thus throttle inflation, is to increase tax. 1 year out from an election we know that wont be on the table, so they need to find innovative ways of achieving these self imposed targets. No idea how, but the target is a rod of their own making.
