The plan for a High Speed rail line from London to Leeds and Manchester via Birmingham (and eventually to Scotland) was a daft idea from the start. I'm getting forgetful of the details but I seem to remember that it was originally estimated to cost around £30bn, and has now escalated to around £100bn. It was sold as absolutely essential for the prosperity of the northern economy (now re-branded as the Northern Powerhouse) It was actually a prestige project in the gleaming eyes of politicians with happy childhood memories of playing with Hornby Model Railways who were determined to leave ...
So, I wrote yesterday that I was "Still waiting very anxiously as of this writing for the results of my return-to-Belgium test taken this morning. I feel about as grotty as I usually do after a series of late nights with friends, capped by Eurostar yesterday evening." I woke up, still not feeling in top form and still with no test result, had breakfast and got on the train to work, assuming that I would get a negative test result during the commute and get through the morning with coffee as usual. As the train pulled out of our local ...
Second paragraph of third section (a short story, "Energy Eater", by Mike Wild, originally commissioned for the "real" 1982 Blakes 7 Annual before it was cancelled):Avon picked himself up from the floor and looked around. The others were all there: Dayna, slumped forward over a console; Tarrant, spread-eagled near the weapons station; Vila and Sooh-Ling [sic], half-sat, half-lying against a bulkhead like two rag dolls. Avon scowled, his feelings of confusion turning to anger. They had been attacked without warning. Somthing had cut them down as easily as if they were puppets whose strings had been severed.Well. Here we are. ...
In my view much of the national coverage of Sunday's explosion has been a heady of sensationalist nonsense and gossip. Why are they making such extensive coverage? Because sensation leads to purchase of papers and clicks on social media. The image that parts of the media portray is of a city that has been traumatised by the event and which is hunkering down against fear of further attacks. That just is not the case. Of course, all of us in Liverpool were shocked by what had happened and even more so what might have happened. The death toll could have ...
China's economy is heavily skewed towards property development and the policy derives from party factional wars to control wealth, power and influence. Evergrande is part of this vicious cycle. This resulted in property value accounting for 71.35% of household wealth (Li & Fan, 2020). Similarly, this out of proportion asset balance is reflected in the Chinese political system disproportionate logic of a balance of power. It is important to understand the complication of this economic model so one is not fooled by the rosy pictures when China's economy is portrayed. In China, the first step for large enterprise is obtaining ...
For many years, from well before he became a pollster himself, Anthony Wells's UKPollingReport has been a must-read for anyone following British political polling. He's been particularly good at explaining the technicalities behind polling, and why. for example, questions that ask people to agree or disagree with a possible policy are so problematic. But he's now going to be closing his blog: I started writing UKPollingReport in 2004, back when blogs were the new exciting thing on the internet. It was when I was an amateur observer of polls, rather than someone who actually carried them out. Over time my ...
This week has been coined Trans Visibility Week. It comes round each year, just before the annual Trans Day of Remembrance, when we honour those who lost their lives in the previous year just for being trans. So, what's happened in this Trans Visibility Week? There's been an almighty row at the BBC, and Vice has reported that LGBT+ staff are leaving in droves. There have been a couple of fiery meetings between the BBC Pride group and management, and in one of them, Tim Davie (the Director General) reportedly said he was worried about the perception that the BBC ...
Our campaign has already got off to a flying start in the by-election caused by Owen Paterson's disgrace. The local party had already made impressive progress in this May's local elections. They secured a clear second place and created many marginal Conservative-Liberal Democrat wards. Now we have a brilliant opportunity to turbo-charge that growth in our support and to see just how angry voters are about sleaze and sewage. Ed Davey is already on his third visit there. Whether it's by helping in person, on the phones or with your wallet, please do help too. You can donate online or ...
Wed, 12:26: Last year, the Spanish Comisi�n de Arbitraje, Quejas y Deontolog�a del Periodismo found completely in my favour when I complained that OK Diario had published information about me that was completely untrue. OK Diario then complained that they had not had a chance to respond. https://t.co/FDVMEaCmLP Wed, 12:56: RT @301N: Very important thread. Well done Nicholas https://t.co/LK3h1eAPWn Wed, 18:09: RT @APCOBXLInsider: 📢 JOB ALERT Interested in EU affairs and consultancy? #APCO Brussels could be the place for you. We are hiring for sev... Wed, 20:11: 610 days of plague https://t.co/hceUhU4sZS Thu, 10:09: I just got a positive diagnosis ...
The 2008 Newsnight London Mayor debate had a very revealing moment about Boris Johnson's grasp of the facts. Or rather, non-grasp.
Boris Johnson may have thought that he had stolen the opposition's thunder by proposing his own ban on MPs having second jobs, but closer examination of his proposals suggest that they are more spin than substance. The Guardian reports that an analysis of the register of interests has found that fewer than 10 MPs are likely to be affected by Boris Johnson's proposed rule changes: On Wednesday the cabinet minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, in a series of interviews, suggested the changes could mean a restriction on paid outside work limiting it to fewer than 20 hours a week, or below 10-15 ...
Just four weeks today, voters will go to the polls across North Shropshire. More than 83,000 voters will have the chance to cast their vote. We can win that vote. Even the bookies think so - odds on Helen Morgan winning have shortened this week with William Hill now offering 2:1. The previous incumbent, Owen Paterson, held a majority of 22,949. Despite that, the Tories are not invincible in North Shropshire. They have presided over the decline of local NHS services. Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust was rated as inadequate for the third time today. There are long waits for ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : This Saturday (20th November) from 2pm to 4pm at the Lamb Gallery, Tower Building, University of Dundee, you can join us for a comics workshop imagining the lives behind the animals in the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum. Learn more about comics and create your very own comic strips inspired by the inhabitants of the museum, hosted by comics artist Cat Laird. We'll start in the Lamb Gallery where you'll see both comics and animals in our Drawn exhibition, before heading over to the Zoology Museum. Places must be ...
This was topical satire when I wrote it. The Guardian report on Eliza Manners' case said: On Wednesday night she was pictured wearing a £1,600 Balmain dress at Harry's Bar in Mayfair and last week she posted pictures on Instagram from Annabel's, another Mayfair luxury establishment. Her Instagram account also features pictures from a recent holiday to Italy. The recipe for pork-pie jelly Today's most popular news story involves a daughter of the Duke of Rutland. She was fined just £50 for speeding - half the normal minimum, the paper says - after she claimed paying a penalty would cause ...
As well as a Liberal Democrat MP it has a heritage signal box and an interesting railway history. Jago Hazzard is our guide - you can support his videos via his Patreon page.
