WTF is happening in the UK?

[G-CPTN]

In my primary working life, I was involved with on-road (and track) testing of 'overweight' trucks, regularly running 32 ton 'lorries' at 42 tonnes, including driving convoys down to the southern tip of Italy.

Of course the transport lobby persuaded the government to stretch 'our' limit to 44 tonnes whilst still staying within the existing axle weight limits instead of following the Ffrench to 13 tonnes, so stretching the longer vehicles to 48 tonnes is likely (Scandinavia already exceeds this ).

[OFSO]

Gloomy EU analysts have admitted it was “wrong” to underestimate Britain's economic prospects after new forecasts reveal that the pound will rise sharply against the dollar.

Investment bank Citi has disregarded a previous prediction that the pound would drop to parity with the dollar following the mini-budget.

New predictions suggest that sterling could rise towards $1.30 at the start of next year.

Currently the pound is trading close to a one-year high against the dollar at $1.26 after an economic activity boost and more durable housing market.

[barkingmad]

F A O OFSO and the rest of the team, my response to your post on the topic of financial speculation and prediction has been transported in Star Trek transporter fashion to the Coronabollocks thread, just in case you thought I wuz ignoring your contribution?

Strange that there is the capacity to magically shift posts at the drop of a hat but nil capacity/ability enthusiasm to tidy up the mess of identical threads spattered throughout the forum…?

..and your post was NOT in reply to OFSO's post but yet another extremely old video ranting about Covid, and I kindly tidied up your mess for you.

[FD2]

Unless the extended trailers are made of Fairy Dust, wouldn't they weigh more? If the trailers weigh more, then the load that can be carried, sticking within the present weight restriction of 44 tonnes, must be less than at present. The only way the hauliers could benefit would be if they get dispensation to increase the weight of the loads being carried. Is this the dog being wagged by the tail?

[G-CPTN]

Unless the extended trailers are made of Fairy Dust, wouldn't they weigh more? If the trailers weigh more, then the load that can be carried, sticking within the present weight restriction of 44 tonnes, must be less than at present. The only way the hauliers could benefit would be if they get dispensation to increase the weight of the loads being carried. Is this the dog being wagged by the tail?

Indeed, the same applies to the number of axles - more axles can mean greater carrying capacity - but one has to deduct the weight of the axle(s).

For some operators, the load maxes out (by volume) before the weight limit is reached.

[barkingmad]

This film is allegedly causing many Sir Bufton Tuftons in the UK and elsewhere to choke on their nighttime Horlicks or Ovaltine;

https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/2 ... -festival/

Is that the best we can do as a film festival submission?

[Boac]

It appears that at last The Speaker of the House of Commons has had the overdue operation to insert a pair of balls in his trousers. https://news.sky.com/story/who-do-you-t ... n-12878350

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

So what? They won't change what they are doing.

If it wasn't already obvious, governments in so-called democracies are in fact 4 year elected dictatorships.
They do what they like, with no concern for parliaments, the law, convention, or the voters.

Even the Ancient Greek democracies insisted that elected dictatorships were only in times of crisis, and then limited to one year.

[Boac]

It's a bit like wetting your nappy (ask BM...) - it gives you warm feeling for a short while.

[4mastacker]

The Government has intervened and nationalised Trans-Pennine Express because of their appalling record of time-keeping and cancellation of services. However, the company of last resort which is taking over will retain the current staff, trains and timetable. How on God's earth is that going to improve services when a lot of the cancellations were due to non-availability of staff due to sickness, strikes etc.?

[tango15]

The Government has intervened and nationalised Trans-Pennine Express because of their appalling record of time-keeping and cancellation of services. However, the company of last resort which is taking over will retain the current staff, trains and timetable. How on God's earth is that going to improve services when a lot of the cancellations were due to non-availability of staff due to sickness, strikes etc.?

Fair comment. What I find appalling is that this is not the first train operating company to go into special measures, and it probably won't be the last. FirstGroup seems to spend most of its time buying and selling transport companies as though they were items on a Monopoly board.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FirstGroup

[Karearea]

The Government has intervened and nationalised Trans-Pennine Express because of their appalling record of time-keeping and cancellation of services. However, the company of last resort which is taking over will retain the current staff, trains and timetable. How on God's earth is that going to improve services when a lot of the cancellations were due to non-availability of staff due to sickness, strikes etc.?

Fair comment. What I find appalling is that this is not the first train operating company to go into special measures, and it probably won't be the last. FirstGroup seems to spend most of its time buying and selling transport companies as though they were items on a Monopoly board.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FirstGroup

If I click on that link it takes me to the top of this page...

[admin2]

Try now. Not sure why that happened, but presumably some sort of electronic confusion in the board. I have removed the [url] links that Tango had (reasonably) inserted and just used the 'raw' url.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Large companies with franchises do not make money from running efficient enterprises.
They do it by finding the loopholes in government contracts and subsidies.
This is not hard. I speak from personal experience.
In fact, the government contracting procedures effectively exclude new start-ups that could run an efficient business.
Carillion is a great example.
The government has been desperate to offload from its books any service it can for at least 20 years.
It decreases the headline government expenditure and headcount, but inevitably several years later ends up costing more through all the contracts.
AND it increases the number effectively employed by the State, whilst reducing the nominal number.
There's an article in today's DT on just that point.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... estimates/

In 1997, 6.5m people were directly or indirectly employed in the public sector. This has since risen by 61pc, far outpacing overall employment growth across the economy of 25pc.

Blame the socialists, which means every government since 1997. Cameron was just Bliar in a blue tie.

[barkingmad]

No change there then, UK railways have suffered since they were set up sooh inefficiently by the original private owners.

LNER has been back in guvvment hands for years and the TPE 'renationalistion' comes as no surprise, as my drinking colleagues there will confirm.

Branson and Stagecoach walked away without returning to the screwed taxpayers squillions of dosh he'd promised in return for being awarded the East Coast franchise;

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 54031.html

I recall thinking at the time how anyone with a basic grasp of maths could have allowed Virgin to promise such returns to the taxpayer on that route, wildly ambitious figures which would have failed a cursory inspection of the projected business plan.

This was the dream scheme which ended up as it looked, pie in the sky;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30222458

"A joint venture between Stagecoach and Virgin has won the franchise to run the East Coast mainline rail route.
The firms promised to invest £140m in the route over eight years, and will pay the government £3.3bn for the contract.

Can anyone see a flaw in this proposal?

Finally here is the guvvment waffle explaining why it was a crock of sh1te to begin with;

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... cument.pdf

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

‘Go back to work and we can cut income tax by 2p,’ says Mel Stride

Basic rate can be slashed if those who left jobs during Covid pandemic return to employment, says Work and Pensions Secretary

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... ax-2p-cut/

This has to be the most pathetically laughable attempt at blame-shifting since.. ooh, last week when the Bank of England tried it.

Somebody send him a copy of 'Atlas Shrugged'

[OneHungLow]

It appears that at last The Speaker of the House of Commons has had the overdue operation to insert a pair of balls in his trousers. https://news.sky.com/story/who-do-you-t ... n-12878350

"Bad Enough" is an egregious example of the Dunning - Kruger effect in action, if anything she is even worse than Truss, arrogant, stupid, disrespectful of due process and parliament, alienating and entitled. The Speaker of the House of Commons barked but showed no bite. She should be sanctioned and ejected for her disrespectful and flippant behaviour.

If Mr Speaker fails to act he will be like the teacher who threatened his pupils but never flogged a soul, and had not a shred of respect or authority amongst them!

The fact that Badenoch's dim and belated realisation that the planned bonfire of the EU laws would have caused utter chaos and further expense and confusion for beleaguered British businesses, and workers, was undoubtedly correct, is neither here nor there, as she showed utter contempt for her peers, parliament and British democracy itself!

[OneHungLow]

The fact that Badenoch's dim and belated realisation that the planned bonfire of the EU laws would have caused utter chaos and further expense and confusion for beleaguered British businesses, and workers, was undoubtedly correct, is neither here nor there, as she showed utter contempt for her peers, parliament and British democracy itself!

That the bill itself is still totally flawed is obvious though.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ay-lawyers

The Conservatives’ decision to water down proposed legislation to remove 4,000 EU laws from the statute books is still a “reckless” and “irresponsible” project, leading barristers have said.

While the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, was accused of “a massive climbdown”, barristers say the retention of sweeping “undemocratic” ministerial powers and the removal of the “interpretive effect” of EU law will blow up decades of legal precedent set by courts in Britain and makes for legislation like that found in authoritarian states.

[Boac]

What strange mental state exists where people (in this case Tory voters) seem to believe the waffle the 'leaders' speak? They are even clamouring for BoJo to 'come back'. Has ever been, since a 'leader' first arose from the mob. Which reminds me - is it true that the word 'gullible' is NOT in the Oxford dictionary?

[OneHungLow]

What strange mental state exists where people (in this case Tory voters) seem to believe the waffle the 'leaders' speak? They are even clamouring for BoJo to 'come back'. Has ever been, since a 'leader' first arose from the mob. Which reminds me - is it true that the word 'gullible' is NOT in the Oxford dictionary?

Isn't one definition of intelligence the "ability to learn from experience!"