|
Post by mercian on Sept 30, 2023 0:13:18 GMT
If a car goes at 20 mph where it used to do 30, it will take longer and won't it therefore give out more pollution? No. "The health benefits of slowing traffic as part of the Healthy Streets Approach will dwarf any dis-benefits. Most of these benefits will come from supporting a shift to walking and cycling. So we're deliberately penalising poor old folks like me who can't walk very far and haven't cycled for 50 years. Hmm, I think I might vote for someone who doesn't want to do that.
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,091
|
Post by steve on Sept 30, 2023 5:00:37 GMT
pjw1961 While my own career is consistent with being a knuckle dragging comprehensive school inmate ( other than the educational bits) Faith who went to the Cheshire version of my London over spill education cesspool* somehow managed to end up despite only passing one A level as one of the most senior nurses in the country with a masters degree in health sciences. It's probably down to the old school tie influence of her father, those ici storemen pack considerable political influence. * Reality check my bog standard comprehensive was actually academically outstanding.
|
|
neilj
Member
Posts: 5,910
Member is Online
|
Post by neilj on Sept 30, 2023 5:41:06 GMT
|
|
neilj
Member
Posts: 5,910
Member is Online
|
Post by neilj on Sept 30, 2023 6:00:59 GMT
More dissent in the tory party
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,091
|
Post by steve on Sept 30, 2023 6:14:32 GMT
"So we're deliberately penalising poor old folks like me who can't walk very far and haven't cycled for 50 years. Hmm, I think I might vote for someone who doesn't want to do that."
On the odd occasion they are walking don't you think they would benefit from vehicles travelling slower, or don't you old fogies ever cross the road?
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,091
|
Post by steve on Sept 30, 2023 6:28:53 GMT
In most Spanish towns at virtually every junction and liberally dispersed between junctions you will find crossing points resembling a zebra crossing , sometimes these have warning lights like UK zebra crossings very occasionally traffic lights like pelican crossings, but normally they don't have either. 95%+ of vehicles give way to pedestrians using these crossings, taxis are the worst offenders for not doing so. The normal speed limit for urban roads is 30 kph 18 miles an hour this drops to 20 kph in shared roads ( no pavements).
Spanish drivers accept it there's not a far right government trying to increase the speed limits
At 30 kph you are twenty times less likely to die as a result of being hit by a vehicle than at 30 mph. At 20kph this reduces to just 1% of the chance of death
Both Spain and the UK have low death rates on the roads , Spain's is actually slightly higher due to a combination of the number of visitors who aren't familiar with driving in Spain, higher motorway speed limits and the lack of street lighting in many rural areas and lack of enforcement but the town streets are exceptionally safe places to walk down.
|
|
|
Post by crossbat11 on Sept 30, 2023 6:46:03 GMT
I was amused by two little posts on Twitter I've seen recently. One was from the comedian Joe Lycett who announced that he'd informed his agent that he was available at any time to replace one of the suspended presenters on GB News. He'd be a definite upgrade should his application be successful!
The other one related to Lawrence Fox's observation that GB News was one of most toxic workplace environments he'd ever encountered and was populated in the main by careerist "snakes". The Twitter comment suggested that Fox had experienced a moment of epiphany. He'd just realised that GB News was populated entirely by right wing dickheads just like himself. Who knew?
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,091
|
Post by steve on Sept 30, 2023 6:57:39 GMT
This is Joe and Jill Bidens house, it's very nice, over the course of fifty years as a senior politician married to a senior teacher the Biden's like many have traded up from a modest home to a much more impressive property , they're comfortably off. I expect some of our contributors here have done the same. The gop nutters say this is " proof " of corruption as the property is currently worth around $3 million , it was a third of that when they purchased it, total bollocks of course a couple on a combined income of £250,000 would have no issue buying a £750,000 home. At the same time multiple bankrupt rapist fraudster leader of the gop identifies his primary residence ( at least for tax evasion and fraud purposes) as worth $1.8 billion! ( it isn't) projection at its finest.
|
|
|
Post by crossbat11 on Sept 30, 2023 7:05:45 GMT
I think there is an irony in the Sunak government's recent broadside against localism and a communitarian type of self-government. It appears that they are pledging to do away with all that if it results in measures that they feel are woke and quasi-socialist. Specific road traffic regulations, community inspired measures on the environment etc.
As Freedland observed in his recent article, this is another nail in the coffin of traditional conservatism that used to claim to treasure and champion such things. Cameron tried to revive the notion of a conservative based community, battered by Thatcherism, in his rather nebulous and ephemeral Big Society, but he was on to something about the need to, and benefits of, empowering local communities to make their own decisions on how they organise their lives.
Old style Toryism and right wing populism don't really sit easily with one another as political concepts and I suspect, accommodated as they both currently are in the monolithic British Conservative Party, something will have to give at some time.
The electorate, I think, may be cottoning on to the fact that they have a governing party that, ideologically, is a bagful of incompatible contradictions.
A party like that in office usually makes for a very bad and incoherent government. This is where I think the cottoning on bit is coming in.
|
|
|
Post by hireton on Sept 30, 2023 7:07:22 GMT
Re: HS2 Most posters on here won't like the source, but this is an interesting article on why costs are out of control: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12576983/GUY-ADAMS-HS2-costs-diversity.htmlHere are a couple of quotes "Its 2020 fact sheet on 'land acquisition', an endeavour that had by then cost taxpayers about £4 billion, runs to just five pages. A document explaining what would happen to thousands of residents of homes facing the life-changing prospect of compulsory purchase comes in at a mere six pages. A guide to 'tunnelling costs', which have eaten up tens of billions of public money, is a feeble 12 pages. In contrast, the most recent edition of HS2's annual report on 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' comes in at 52 pages long." "Last year, £67,000 went to the Bengali Workers Association, a charity helping Bengali residents of London's Camden hold 'activity sessions' for over 50s, £28,000 went to the Camden Town Shed, which runsa woodwork and pottery classes, and some £32,000 was given to a nature reserve in Buckinghamshire so it could make its paths wheelchair-accessible." Amongst difficulties in building the Crewe to Manchester leg, a report says: "Then there are the aforementioned 'sex workers'. If HS2 is built, the report notes that they will lose the use of a 'drop-in centre' on Fairfield Street near Piccadilly that provides 'sexual health services' and a needle exchange." Read it and weep. It's just charitable donations programne which many large companies do. Interesting to see the right wing resiling from charity but not unexpected. Also notable to see that grants to help minority ethnic and disabled people highlighted for condemnation.
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,091
|
Post by steve on Sept 30, 2023 7:23:38 GMT
While call me Dave wanted to hug a hoodie Sunakered wants to run them over instead.
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,091
|
Post by steve on Sept 30, 2023 7:26:34 GMT
hiretonSeem perfectly reasonable organisations doing worthwhile work. No wonder the hate finds it objectionable.
|
|
pjw1961
Member
Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
Posts: 8,318
|
Post by pjw1961 on Sept 30, 2023 7:29:31 GMT
No. "The health benefits of slowing traffic as part of the Healthy Streets Approach will dwarf any dis-benefits. Most of these benefits will come from supporting a shift to walking and cycling. So we're deliberately penalising poor old folks like me who can't walk very far and haven't cycled for 50 years. Hmm, I think I might vote for someone who doesn't want to do that.Are you seriously trying to pretend you ever were?
|
|
Mr Poppy
Member
Teaching assistant and now your elected PM
Posts: 3,774
|
Post by Mr Poppy on Sept 30, 2023 7:47:16 GMT
God knows how a knuckle-dragging bog-standard comprehensive troglodyte like me ever became a Chartered Accountant. Standards obviously dropped since my day ! Have the trolls been attempting to misrepresent me (ie trolling) again. How 😴😴😴 You deleted the comment but I'm not wasting my time unhiding their posts to read drivel. Of course people who go to "bog-standard comprehensives" can also become the 'best that they can be' such as a troglodyte becoming a Chartered Accountant or someone like myself having a successful career in Investment Banking. As per a reply I posted yesterday then it's not all about what school one attends. 'Good parenting' and creating opportunities for your children to be "the best that they can be" comes in many forms. Regarding the specific issue of how to tax the rich then IMO it should not be at the expense of helping those 'less well off' parents (aka 'working class') who might choose to save money from their monthly salary to send their kid(s) to a private school. As already covered then Starmer's 'evolved' plan has several loopholes which the 'very rich' (aka 'elite') will be able to use to avoid paying the VAT (eg pay for several years fees upfront before the VAT rise kicks in; make a large 'gift' to a private school and then receive a scholarship/similar (which AFAIK is kind of how the 'uber elite' already do it); etc) So the 'elite' don't pay any more tax but the 'working class' do. IMO that is a 💩 policy and I expect Starmer will work that out at some point (possibly not until after he actually implements it).
|
|
Danny
Member
Posts: 9,605
|
Post by Danny on Sept 30, 2023 7:50:16 GMT
Interesting he predicts the need to increase the NHS workforce from 1.5 million to 2.5 million in 15 years, because of the aging population. Thats about 70,000 per year, or 5% per year. Which means a real terms budget increase of 5% per year above whatever the medical inflation rate is. Not to forget that this rising demand isnt just starting now but has been operating for some time. So since 2019 thats 4 years have gone by during which the NHS needed an increase of 20%+ inflation to match demand, which it most certainly has not had. Hence falling standards of care and growing waiting lists. So alternatively, obviously, we accept this lower standard of medical care and allow it to fall further. To put this into perspective, he suggests the necessary increase in NHS budget in 15 years time would equal current spending on defence. If labour take over next year and have a run of government as has become the pattern, then in 15 years we shall see these effects which they are going to have to face. And just where are a million extra workers coming from, not to mention some of them need to be highly qualified specialists. Or, we could reprioritise NHS spending. The waiting lists are growing in non urgent cases, less life threatening. But maybe we should prioritise these more, so we stop having masses of people suffering ongoing difficulties, and instead deprioritise things like cancer which tend to come more at end of life. Accept what we refused to accept during covid, that old people die and there are steeply diminishing returns trying to keep them alive just a bit longer? The trillion pounds private and public spent futilely trying to keep people alive in lockdowns could have been spend very much more wisely, or even not at all.
|
|
Mr Poppy
Member
Teaching assistant and now your elected PM
Posts: 3,774
|
Post by Mr Poppy on Sept 30, 2023 7:55:49 GMT
Perhaps not the best wording for the questions but mention 'Private School' and some folks might think Eton I suppose. Quite a partisan split but I note that whilst only 34% of people have a 'favourable' opinion of private schools then 41% would still send their kids to one if they could - with the difference being most obvious in a minority of LAB voters (some of whom are perhaps the parents of LAB MPs )
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2023 7:56:44 GMT
Standards obviously dropped since my day ! Have the trolls been attempting to misrepresent me (ie trolling) again. How 😴😴😴 You deleted the comment but I'm not wasting my time unhiding their posts to read drivel. Of course people who go to "bog-standard comprehensives" can also become the 'best that they can be' such as a troglodyte becoming a Chartered Accountant or someone like myself having a successful career in Investment Banking. As per a reply I posted yesterday then it's not all about what school one attends. 'Good parenting' and creating opportunities for your children to be "the best that they can be" comes in many forms. Regarding the specific issue of how to tax the rich then IMO it should not be at the expense of helping those 'less well off' parents (aka 'working class') who might choose to save money from their monthly salary to send their kid(s) to a private school. As already covered then Starmer's 'evolved' plan has several loopholes which the 'very rich' (aka 'elite') will be able to use to avoid paying the VAT (eg pay for several years fees upfront before the VAT rise kicks in; make a large 'gift' to a private school and then receive a scholarship/similar (which AFAIK is kind of how the 'uber elite' already do it); etc) So the 'elite' don't pay any more tax but the 'working class' do. IMO that is a 💩 policy and I expect Starmer will work that out at some point (possibly not until after he actually implements it). Eh
|
|
Danny
Member
Posts: 9,605
|
Post by Danny on Sept 30, 2023 8:05:29 GMT
Re: HS2 Most posters on here won't like the source, but this is an interesting article on why costs are out of control: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12576983/GUY-ADAMS-HS2-costs-diversity.htmlHere are a couple of quotes "Its 2020 fact sheet on 'land acquisition', an endeavour that had by then cost taxpayers about £4 billion, runs to just five pages. A document explaining what would happen to thousands of residents of homes facing the life-changing prospect of compulsory purchase comes in at a mere six pages. A guide to 'tunnelling costs', which have eaten up tens of billions of public money, is a feeble 12 pages. In contrast, the most recent edition of HS2's annual report on 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' comes in at 52 pages long." "Last year, £67,000 went to the Bengali Workers Association, a charity helping Bengali residents of London's Camden hold 'activity sessions' for over 50s, £28,000 went to the Camden Town Shed, which runs woodwork and pottery classes, and some £32,000 was given to a nature reserve in Buckinghamshire so it could make its paths wheelchair-accessible." Amongst difficulties in building the Crewe to Manchester leg, a report says: "Then there are the aforementioned 'sex workers'. If HS2 is built, the report notes that they will lose the use of a 'drop-in centre' on Fairfield Street near Piccadilly that provides 'sexual health services' and a needle exchange." Read it and weep. It may have been essential to use tunnels on the approaches to big cities. Otherwise it seems likely these were mostly for cosmetic reasons to appease residents. It is quite extraordinary how con have pretty much managed this project from the start and caused it to become incredibly expensive and now potentially too expensive to finish. People should be asking whether the time has come to cancel it completely.
|
|
|
Post by hireton on Sept 30, 2023 8:05:43 GMT
For those interested in the HS2 Funds, it is a grant programme actually funded by the UK Government for communities disrupted by the construction. So nothing to do with cost overruns: hs2funds.org.uk/about/
|
|
Mr Poppy
Member
Teaching assistant and now your elected PM
Posts: 3,774
|
Post by Mr Poppy on Sept 30, 2023 8:08:08 GMT
Have the trolls been attempting to misrepresent me (ie trolling) again. How 😴😴😴 You deleted the comment but I'm not wasting my time unhiding their posts to read drivel. Of course people who go to "bog-standard comprehensives" can also become the 'best that they can be' such as a troglodyte becoming a Chartered Accountant or someone like myself having a successful career in Investment Banking. As per a reply I posted yesterday then it's not all about what school one attends. 'Good parenting' and creating opportunities for your children to be "the best that they can be" comes in many forms. Regarding the specific issue of how to tax the rich then IMO it should not be at the expense of helping those 'less well off' parents (aka 'working class') who might choose to save money from their monthly salary to send their kid(s) to a private school. As already covered then Starmer's 'evolved' plan has several loopholes which the 'very rich' (aka 'elite') will be able to use to avoid paying the VAT (eg pay for several years fees upfront before the VAT rise kicks in; make a large 'gift' to a private school and then receive a scholarship/similar (which AFAIK is kind of how the 'uber elite' already do it); etc) So the 'elite' don't pay any more tax but the 'working class' do. IMO that is a 💩 policy and I expect Starmer will work that out at some point (possibly not until after he actually implements it). Eh Perhaps I misunderstand the intention of Starmer's attack on private schools. I thought he was trying to raise £1.6bn (using very optimistic assumptions) to pay for more money to go into state schools with a policy supposedly aimed at targeting the 'elite'. I've already posted comments showing his plan is flawed but I also posted YG polling on the issue that shows that attacking private schools is 'popular' as plurality of people have an 'unfavourable' view of private schools. Examples of Private Schools: Eton Reigate Grammar School (that became fee paying in 1976) - attended by Keir Starmer The school attended by Keir Mather, etc, etc... PS I expect the Starmer sock puppets will think Starmer's plan is fantastic, even when it has already changed and after it changes again.
|
|
Danny
Member
Posts: 9,605
|
Post by Danny on Sept 30, 2023 8:10:51 GMT
.what did you think of my arboriculture tips? You left out the bit about having to wait 100+ years for it to regain its former size. Given the state of the NHS, not altogether a solution for any currently alive wanting to see it again. It is however possible to transplant pretty large trees with suitable equipment, this might be a helpful shortcut for a replacement?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2023 8:15:38 GMT
Eh Perhaps I misunderstand the intention of Starmer's attack on private schools. I thought he was trying to raise £1.6bn (using very optimistic assumptions) to pay for more money to go into state schools with a policy supposedly aimed at targeting the 'elite'. I've already posted comments showing his plan is flawed but I also posted YG polling on the issue that shows that attacking private schools is 'popular' as plurality of people have an 'unfavourable' view of private schools. Examples of Private Schools: Eton Reigate Grammar School (that became fee paying in 1976) - attended by Keir Starmer The school attended by Keir Mather, etc, etc... PS I expect the Starmer sock puppets will think Starmer's plan is fantastic, even when it has already changed and after it changes again. Yeh. But you seemed to be responding to my humorous post to pjw
|
|
|
Post by leftieliberal on Sept 30, 2023 8:16:20 GMT
If a car goes at 20 mph where it used to do 30, it will take longer and won't it therefore give out more pollution? No. "The health benefits of slowing traffic as part of the Healthy Streets Approach will dwarf any dis-benefits. Most of these benefits will
come from supporting a shift to walking and cycling.content.tfl.gov.uk/speed-emissions-and-health.pdfHey, I've got a great idea. Let's get a man with a red flag to walk in front of every car. Now that will really increase walking. Seriously, do you believe everything that comes from Transport for London?
|
|
Danny
Member
Posts: 9,605
|
Post by Danny on Sept 30, 2023 8:23:58 GMT
When my aunt went into a care home, a fairly sobering statistic we found out was that very roughly the average time a resident was in the home was 2 years. Which means that in a typical care home with 50 residents you would statistically expect on average roughly 25 deaths a year, or one every 2 weeks. Also note, average life expectancy for people already in such a home is only one year, because they range from new arrivals with a full 2 years to go, to those just about to depart. This was always an important consideration for any one-off event such as a wave of infection. Depending on which figures you believed, in the first wave 1/4 to 1/2 of all covid deaths were in care homes. Even amongst the elderly, this group was uniquely susceptible, and for obvious reasons. Zoe currently reporting national cases still rising. Alec was worrying about new strains and zoe dont separate out such so cannot comment on his fears. But the general pattern is business as usual for the last two years, so thats rising currently but no more than the regular cyclic behaviour we have seen over that time. Long term trend still slowly falling.
|
|
Danny
Member
Posts: 9,605
|
Post by Danny on Sept 30, 2023 8:26:03 GMT
My guess would be the lower gear driving would probably be of greater significance, so you're probably right. An expert being interviewed suggested 30-50 mph is the sweet spot for most efficient driving. So at 30 max we are already on the low side of optimum.
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,091
|
Post by steve on Sept 30, 2023 8:28:19 GMT
Every year on UK roads around 15,000 children are involved in road accidents resulting in significant injury in around 2000 of these accidents the injuries are life changing or fatal.
What kind of dickhead would think I can gain votes our of being the " motorists friend" by increasing the likelihood of accidents and the severity of the outcome.
You can expect this kind of crap from our far right billionaire owner right wing media but a government any government , even this one, is supposed to put the safety of the public first not allow Mr Broom Broom to compensate for other deficiencies by driving like a twat.
Maybe if they'd ever had to take a dead child in their arms at the scene of an accident they'd have a bit more basic humanity.
|
|
|
Post by crossbat11 on Sept 30, 2023 8:30:17 GMT
My guess would be the lower gear driving would probably be of greater significance, so you're probably right. An expert being interviewed suggested 30-50 mph is the sweet spot for most efficient driving. So at 30 max we are already on the low side of optimum. This is no time for experts, Danny, as you very well know. They mucked up our response to the COVID pandemic, remember If we'd only have listened to that lifeguard on Hastings Beach in early 2019.
|
|
|
Post by leftieliberal on Sept 30, 2023 8:30:35 GMT
English and Welsh Green Party in financial trouble (the Scottish Green Party is entirely separate): www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66935750Obviously, this could have consequences for the number of candidates they field at the next GE, so potentially a boost for Labour and Lib Dems.
|
|
Danny
Member
Posts: 9,605
|
Post by Danny on Sept 30, 2023 8:30:58 GMT
"Most of these benefits will come from supporting a shift to walking and cycling." Over the past 50 years the exact opposite has happened, schools for example no longer have cycle sheds and kids dont walk but get driven. Everyone walks less and less, and while slowing speeds might set that back a bit it isnt going to alter the trend.
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,091
|
Post by steve on Sept 30, 2023 8:33:34 GMT
Trying to imagine the average gbeebies viewers conundrum when confronted by the lady who waste of skin Fox described as to put it delicately unattractive.
|
|