Wednesday 28th September 2022

[refitman]

Morning all.

[frog222]

Morning refit

Splendid news from conference that Sir Keir received a standing ovation for his victory over the antisemites !



I was a little shocked to read that what Quentin Letts describes as " a handful of bigots" remained seated , but then there are always a few diehards left . Very like those Japanese soldiers hiding in the jungle decades after the war had ended .

Good to hear that the investment in counter-antisemitism has paid off but of course the Disciplinary Team must be kept in place to defend against other forms of subversion --

[gilsey]

Pound falls as experts forecast house price drop of at least 10% next year – business live

Article in the G yesterday about house prices, including a couple buying a 2-bed in Didcot for 250k. So pleased to have got on the ladder, but a crash will wipe them out financially probably into their middle age.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/ ... rn-britain

Their mortgage payments of £840 a month are only a little higher than their previous rent. They also escaped some of the effects of soaring inflation on mortgage deals, which are now making life even tougher for first-time buyers. “Had we waited even a couple of months, it would have been a real struggle,” Harkness says. Martinez was gleeful when she got the keys. “It felt like such a big thing to have our own place.”

'At least 10%', history tells us that when house prices start falling, they don't stop at 10%. Mad system we have.

Soaring inflation on mortgage deals is a big flashing red light.

[gilsey]

Morning refit

Splendid news from conference that Sir Keir received a standing ovation for his victory over the antisemites !

If anyone has the stomach for another piece on 'Labour's anti-semitism crisis', I thought this was good and comprehensive, quite long but shorter than some I've seen.

False Compromise

[gilsey]

(Starmer) said that what Rupa Huq said about Kwasi Kwarteng being “superficially” black was “racist”. But he refused to say she should be thrown out of the party, saying that she was now subject to a disciplinary process that needed to proceed independently.

Is an investigation and 'process' the right way to go when she's admitted it and apologised straight off? What's to investigate? Don't they have the option to just suspend her for a month, say, slap on the wrist and don't do it again?

[AnatolyKasparov]

Presumably part of the "investigation" is to determine if she has previous in this sort of thing, as has been claimed.

[RogerOThornhill]

Good afternoon.

I'm not sure, in over 40 years of politics/economy watching, that I've ever seen such reaction to something that our own Government has done.

[gilsey]

The most striking thing about it for me is the absence of practical suggestions on how to get rid of them.
Can't remember that ever happening before. Govt makes complete arse of itself and can carry on regardless while the rest of the economy goes tits up?
Somebody do something.

[RogerOThornhill]

Apparently it's all Labour's fault. No, not the last Labour Government but the next one...

[AnatolyKasparov]

Morning refit

Splendid news from conference that Sir Keir received a standing ovation for his victory over the antisemites !

I mean you do know that, as I said yesterday, the Blairite true believers are whingeing like mad that Starmer has "lurched to the left"?

[RogerOThornhill]

Blimey!

Neither can survive this surely?

[gilsey]

The most striking thing about it for me is the absence of practical suggestions on how to get rid of them.
Can't remember that ever happening before. Govt makes complete arse of itself and can carry on regardless while the rest of the economy goes tits up?
Somebody do something.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Apparently it's all Labour's fault. No, not the last Labour Government but the next one...

Nice to know there are some Philip K Dick fans among the Tory ranks.

Conservatives love to preach about personal responsibility but as soon as the shit hits the fan they're the first out of the blocks to blame everyone but themselves. It's worked for the last 12 years but trying to blame lefty remainer city traders and future Starmer for this current fiasco is so patently absurd that the only response is the wall to wall mockery they're receiving.

This is going to destroy a lot of reputations on the right of Tory politics in this country.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Somebody do something.

The only people who can do anything are the Tory MPs who by a large margin didn't want Truss in the first place. However as far as I'm aware they have to wait 12 months before they can oust her. They're as much hostages to fortune as we are.

It would take a vote of no confidence in the commons to get her out which would bring down the government so its not going to happen. Though the way things are going you never know.

[AnatolyKasparov]

If things carry on as they are now for any significant length of time, *something* will happen.

God knows what, though. Not actually impossible we could end up with something like PM Badenoch.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

John Redwood on CH4 News.

Nothing that's happening has anything to do with Truss and Kwarteng, it was all going to happen anyway and it's a total coincidence everything went to shit as soon as Kwarteng opened his mouth.

What to do about it? Public sector 'efficiencies' and benefit cuts.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Hah, now he's trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons (if you happen to be unfortunate enough to be John Redwood).

I mean if the best you can get to come out and defend you is a lunatic with a track record of being dangerously wrong about everything then you know you're in deep trouble.

[AnatolyKasparov]

So the "its because the markets fear a Labour government" line has been discarded?

Maybe from people laughing too much.

[gilsey]

My brother moved to the US years ago and is now a citizen, they're what's known as snowbirds ie live in Florida in the winter, bro lives in Annapolis in summer. Got a shock when I saw this earlier, Estero Blvd is where his place is.



I've checked and they are safe in MD, he's seen a photo of their car floating in the car park.
They now have a condo in MD but when they first moved there they had a house on Chesapeake Bay which was wrecked in a hurricane storm surge in 2003. Maybe living on the coast isn't such a great idea.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

Wow indeed, that's quite impressive. Having visited Florida (mercifully briefly) I must say it looks a lot better under water.

Glad you're brother's ok.

[gilsey]

I've been to Miami airport and briefly Coconut Grove when we had a few hours to kill, but that's the limit of my experience of Florida.
Only actually visited them once, when they lived near Boston, be fair to say we don't have a great deal in common these days.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

I spent a couple of days in Miami back in the Nineties. To be fair the bars and restaurants were pretty good but I despised the atmosphere and attitude of the place. Flashy cars, flashy clothes on flashy people with fake tans and fake teeth. It was hideous and the sooner the sea reclaims it the better. Las Vegas seemed more real and authentic.

[Sky'sGoneOut]

I didn't see it but I'm reading that Chris Philp on Peston was intimating that pensions and benefits won't be rising with inflation next April.

Given the rate of inflation those would in effect be cuts while he gleefully hands millionaires tax cuts paid for with public borrowing.

Will the public put up with this? Hopefully we'll never get a chance to find out.

[Sky'sGoneOut]