Off Topic The Politics Thread
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Is there any point in UKIP any more? They're even more ****ed up than Labour. Let's just hand the whole thing over to Theresa May and her kitten-heeled jackboots. Centre ground? My arse.
Punched out by someone called Hookem. Make it up you couldn't.
My wife, who has a South Welsh heritage, instantly said 'the audience will be fat then' on learning that QT is coming from Neath tonight. First questioner - fat.
Low grade panel
Christ this is dire already.
Low grade panel
Christ this is dire already.
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Neil Hamilton will always lessen the grade of any panel - not that fat though. Andy Parsons seems to want to do his stand-up routine, but wait a minute - a brilliant intervention from a fat bloke, saying something about freedom of speech allowing you to slag off foreigners. That's more like it.
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World Bank admits some have lost out from free trade
Kamal Ahmed Economics editor
The World Bank has admitted the growth of global free trade has not been a success for all.
An internal briefing document seen by the BBC says the effects of globalisation on advanced economies is "often uneven" and "may have led to rising wage inequality".
The bank, which provides loans to developing countries, also says that "adjustment costs", such as helping people who have lost their jobs, have been higher than expected.
Dr Jim Kim, the head of the World Bank, told the BBC that he understood why people were angry in advanced economies despite the fact that free trade was one of the "most powerful" drivers of growth and prosperity.
"I hear them and they are saying that my life is not better than my parents and my children's life does not look like it's going to be better than mine," he told me.
"So there is a real concern but the answer is to have more robust social security programmes, so you have a safety net. And then you need to get serious about getting the skills you need for the jobs of the future."
China effect
Dr Kim said that 20% of jobs lost in advanced economies could be linked to trade, with the rest down to automation and the need for new skills.
He said governments needed to do more to support those who had lost their jobs.
The document, written by World Bank economists, does say that "trade has played a powerful role in creating jobs and contributing to rising incomes in advanced economies", as well as in emerging economies.
But it highlights problems that have been created.
"Recent evidence for the US suggests that adjustment costs for those employed in sectors exposed to import competition from China are much higher than previously thought," the document says.
"While trade may have contributed to rising inequality in high income economies, so has technological change and the weakening of institutions that used to represent the interests of labour.
"Given overall efficiency gains, the dislocation effects of trade in advanced economies must be addressed through stronger safety nets and enhanced skills and flexible labour markets."
Target
Dr Kim said that if developed countries start throwing up trade barriers, ambitious targets to eradicate poverty by 2030 could be missed because global economic growth would be slower.
"It will be much, much harder to achieve [the poverty targets], there's no question," Dr Kim told me.
"We can build all the infrastructure we want and we can increase trade among the emerging market countries, [but] at the end of the day if global trade does not grow at a more robust rate it is going to be very hard to make those targets.
"If all the developed countries close their borders, it's going to be very difficult and it's going to be very difficult for those countries as well."
I asked him directly if the target could be missed.
"We very well could, absolutely, it's possible," he said.
More
Proposals to end extreme poverty - defined as anyone living on less than $1.25 a day - were put together by a United Nations committee chaired by David Cameron in 2013.
Dr Kim said that action by organisations like the World Bank, which provides loans to developing countries, as well as the growth of free trade had lifted millions of people out of poverty.
He said that international organisations had to do more to explain the advantages of global trade for advanced as well as emerging economies.
You must log in or register to see images
Kamal Ahmed Economics editor
You must log in or register to see images
Image copyright Getty ImagesThe World Bank has admitted the growth of global free trade has not been a success for all.
An internal briefing document seen by the BBC says the effects of globalisation on advanced economies is "often uneven" and "may have led to rising wage inequality".
The bank, which provides loans to developing countries, also says that "adjustment costs", such as helping people who have lost their jobs, have been higher than expected.
Dr Jim Kim, the head of the World Bank, told the BBC that he understood why people were angry in advanced economies despite the fact that free trade was one of the "most powerful" drivers of growth and prosperity.
"I hear them and they are saying that my life is not better than my parents and my children's life does not look like it's going to be better than mine," he told me.
"So there is a real concern but the answer is to have more robust social security programmes, so you have a safety net. And then you need to get serious about getting the skills you need for the jobs of the future."
China effect
Dr Kim said that 20% of jobs lost in advanced economies could be linked to trade, with the rest down to automation and the need for new skills.
He said governments needed to do more to support those who had lost their jobs.
The document, written by World Bank economists, does say that "trade has played a powerful role in creating jobs and contributing to rising incomes in advanced economies", as well as in emerging economies.
But it highlights problems that have been created.
"Recent evidence for the US suggests that adjustment costs for those employed in sectors exposed to import competition from China are much higher than previously thought," the document says.
"While trade may have contributed to rising inequality in high income economies, so has technological change and the weakening of institutions that used to represent the interests of labour.
"Given overall efficiency gains, the dislocation effects of trade in advanced economies must be addressed through stronger safety nets and enhanced skills and flexible labour markets."
Target
Dr Kim said that if developed countries start throwing up trade barriers, ambitious targets to eradicate poverty by 2030 could be missed because global economic growth would be slower.
"It will be much, much harder to achieve [the poverty targets], there's no question," Dr Kim told me.
You must log in or register to see images
Image copyright Reuters"We can build all the infrastructure we want and we can increase trade among the emerging market countries, [but] at the end of the day if global trade does not grow at a more robust rate it is going to be very hard to make those targets.
"If all the developed countries close their borders, it's going to be very difficult and it's going to be very difficult for those countries as well."
I asked him directly if the target could be missed.
"We very well could, absolutely, it's possible," he said.
More
Proposals to end extreme poverty - defined as anyone living on less than $1.25 a day - were put together by a United Nations committee chaired by David Cameron in 2013.
Dr Kim said that action by organisations like the World Bank, which provides loans to developing countries, as well as the growth of free trade had lifted millions of people out of poverty.
He said that international organisations had to do more to explain the advantages of global trade for advanced as well as emerging economies.
There was much complaining from Leave voters during the referendum about how they were being wrongly branded as racist xenophobes, and, to be fair, they had a point - many of them were not racist. However, Theresa May and her Home Secretary seem to have interpreted the referendum result as a mandate to promote Nationalism and to vilify immigrants in a way that the previous administration would not have dared. Not satisfied with asking employers to identify foreign workers, the government are now asking schools to collect information about the country of birth and nationality of their pupils. Sinister.
That's good then.
A lot of those Euro countries rely on tourists (many from the UK). Imagine how Spain and Greece would get on without the package deals?
Agree the Euro has dropped but I remember £1 to €1 not that long ago and that was before Brexit. I normally spend 3-4 months a year in France and holiday there in the summer. If the Euro is crap I will spend my money here like many others.
The EU will fall apart in the future because without us it will be severely weakened. I will wait until then to go on holiday when you will get about €5 to the pound.
Just did a quick Google and found that Brits are the largest group of people who visit Spain on a short term basis - about 23% of the total in 2015. Rough calculations tell me that was approx 2.5% of their 2015 GDP. Not trivial, is it?
I would imagine people who have retired to Spain and other places and are depending on British pensions will be in big doo doo.
more worrying for Labour is they were beaten into 2nd place in the Hartlepool by-election in the Headland and Harbour ward by UKIP yesterday
I'm not sure losing 1 council seat where they have a large majority is "more worrying".
Those days are over old kiddy
No one will rest until the Euro is equal to the pond newt
My lovely girl moans everytime I use transfer extra funds via the excellent transferwise and we get lower and lower rates yet again she is a Jewish fusspot who like me has to accept people in the UK will need to accept you should need just enough money and never more
Interesting times for the 48% who still IMO deserve to be European
When a flash crash is based on just words from a gob then we must all accept how fickle the UK pond newt is ... And so should it be IMO
Next I hope that the housing market dives in the south at least and at least I will get a buzz from that
I have many so called clever friends who have sold up around me in London and moved South and purchased two houses and are currently getting through their other cash left over very quickly . They were just lucky to be born in London they have done nothing clever IMO and it's fun watching it all turn
Many ask me if they purchased in France would they make money and look amazed when I say of course not ... You buy there to obtain a better life and it's just that
You should need just enough no more no less then life gets a lot easier
not much fun for people that only have the house they live in with a massive mortgage
some people used to have "fun"watching public executions
luckily for you and your stable house price not everyone can afford a spare house in france
some people used to have "fun"watching public executions
luckily for you and your stable house price not everyone can afford a spare house in france
My wife, who works in a school, says they already have complete info regarding country of origin etc., there's nothing new or 'sinister' in that...
All is not lost for Labour, Tony Blair is reportedly considering a political comeback. The unelectable and the untouchable. All we need now is Lord Mandy to emerge from under his stone to complete the Holy Trinity...
