The system working as intended

 

Two Headlines

Tesco’s slow retreat from Europe is depressing

Tesco is shrinking, and appears to be retreating from all its European operations outside the UK and Ireland, following reports the supermarket is in talks with the owners of Lidl to offload operations in Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic, which together account for a little under a tenth of its total turnover.


Retailers urge Healey to unwind national insurance hike to boost jobs

Retailers have called on Chancellor John Healey to unwind some of the national insurance reforms made by his predecessor in a bid to tackle the youth joblessness crisis.

Speed limit of 145mph

Mrs H recently heard about problems with a new Alfa Romeo and its speed limit warning system. On a stretch of 30mph urban road it showed a limit of 145mph for example.

Not an unknown problem apparently -

My Tonale is now just over a year old and from new has coped very badly with recognising speed limits.

I have it showing 10mph in 40, 45mph in 20, 145mph in 40 - you get the idea.

This is every day not just every so often.

The UK is a climate-science superpower

UK to join new EU ocean science scheme amid El Nino concerns

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will today announce Britain is joining the scheme, Sky News can reveal, sharing much more data from bodies like the Met Office with counterparts in the EU and Canada than previously.

Her department said the initiative would help inform future flood defences and coastal planning, helping to protect the country from extreme weather like storms and flooding.

She told Sky News the UK is a "climate-science superpower" and said joining the alliance would "allow us to work with our allies to better protect our oceans and shield communities from the impacts of climate change".


Merely another reason to regard UK government-sponsored science as a bleak, diseased wasteland of political posturing, dishonesty, lost opportunities, squandered resources, and endemic corruption.

Merely another reason to pull out an Arnold Bennett quote about conspicuous ritualistic waste by the leisured class, because that's what it is. Nobody expects this game to have any value apart from handing out unearned status and remuneration to those who play it. 

In that sense the UK certainly is a climate-science superpower, a major player in a dirty game.

The great principle of conspicuous ritualistic waste had been illustrated in a manner to satisfy the most exacting standard of the leisured class; and incidentally a subject of talk was provided.

Arnold Bennett - The Roll-Call (1916)

UN Twaddle Exhibition

I couldn't see anything to enthuse about in this brief Evening Standard report of Andy Starmer's UN speech, but here are some bits and pieces I've picked out to suggest he's no improvement on Sir Keir Burnham.

Five key points from Andy Burnham's first major international speech

Russian disinformation

He used the speech to announce a new National Centre for Information Defence to fight Russian disinformation.

AI

Mr Burnham said the UK would work towards agreeing a set of global principles and standards to ensure transparency, access to AI models, and that development happens safely.

New national security deal with the US

The Prime Minister said the meeting was “excellent”, while Mr Trump said that Mr Burnham was a “man he could do business with”.

‘Decade-long plan’

Mr Burnham confirmed that his government will unveil a new decade-long plan for the country later this year.

The plan will focus on getting more people into work, especially young people, as well as easing the cost-of-living crisis for most people,

The Prime Minister did not announce any specific measures during the speech.

Middle East

Mr Burnham concluded his speech by saying: “You can count on us to stand up for those long standing British values of fairness and justice.

Burnham bows

Burnham bows to Trump over Chagos deal

Andy Burnham is reviewing the Chagos Islands deal after Donald Trump said it was “terrible” in their first face-to-face meeting.

The Prime Minister said he was doing “everything possible to find a resolution to the issue”, opening the door to scrapping the deal he “inherited” from Sir Keir Starmer.

Mr Burnham reversed his position after a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in which the US president suggested he should review the “ridiculous” agreement.

It should be interesting to see what happens to this when Burnham returns to base.

I see no cliff

Ted Newson has a useful Critic piece on what he calls 'Britain’s energy cliff edge'. Nothing we don't know, but a worthwhile reminder that Andrew Burnham seems intent on driving us over the cliff while denying its existence.


Britain’s energy cliff edge

We shouldn’t sacrifice energy security for social security

Recently PMQs, Andy Burnham said the quiet part out loud. “National security can’t come at the expense of social security,” he told the chamber, to roars from the opposition benches. With the welfare bill expected to reach £400bn by 2030 and Burnham unsteady on a 3 per cent GDP target for military spending, it’s a startling admission but reflected in public spending.

He didn’t have to wait long for a response. Just a week later, at the Global Warming Policy Foundation’s annual lecture, Sir Richard Dearlove — former head of MI6 — used Burnham’s own words against him, warning attendees of the risks facing our current grid system. The ex-spy chief said Britain has “negligently wandered close to a cliff edge” and hearing the PM’s remark left him “in a state of pessimism and extreme concern.”


The whole piece is well worth reading as it emphasises yet again the serious nature of the situation. It's not something we can expect to survive as a developed country without major policy changes. 

So far, Andrew Burnham seems keen to avoid making those changes and relaxed about the likely consequences - the UK ceasing to be a developed country for example.


Moving Britain towards a safer energy system, as Sir Richard advocates, will likely cost money in the short term — switching from a wind-heavy grid to one powered by reliable sources doesn’t come free — but securing the future of the grid requires drastic action. Dearlove put the stakes bluntly: “We have very little industry left to protect and we cannot rebuild non-existent industries which lie in foreign jurisdictions beyond our reach.” A resilient grid is what keeps that industry here at all.