Brexit, for once some facts.

[flecc]

This I think is the familiar lurch to the right that accompany economic downturns, hardship.

Not from me. I'd be perfectly happy for all national borders to be removed , letting all go wherever they wish, since the planet belongs to us all.

That makes it a self solving problem, the world ending up in economic equilibrium.

With the cruel elites left alone in their deserts to enjoy their just deserts (pun intended).
.

 

[jonathan.agnew]

Not from me. I'd be perfectly happy for all national borders to be removed , letting all go wherever they wish, since the planet belongs to us all.

That makes it a self solving problem, the world ending up in economic equilibrium.

With the cruel elites left alone in their deserts to enjoy their just deserts (pun intended).
.

But the dystopia were in is about our own greed, not about immigrants taking services, money away from natives. Without repeating the flogged dead horse argument about immigrants being nett contributors to our economy, unlike many locals, I read interesting article about the fact that Nigerians, most populous group of immigrants post brexit, is more likely to bring large famies to uk than eu citizens used to pre brexit (who on the whole just brought themselves as younger singletons) and so burden services more. Poetic ******* justice I thought.

 

[Woosh]

That is not a solution, it is at best a fudge with built in failures.
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it's a lot better than pretending that they should have claimed asylum in France or it's the French government's job to stop the crossings.

 

[Zlatan]

Battery-Swapping Tech Gives Electric Motorcycles an Edge

Industry players are working on standardized swappable batteries that could shake up everything from garden trimmers to EV rickshaws.

www.wired.co.uk

Interesting.

 

[jonathan.agnew]

Battery-Swapping Tech Gives Electric Motorcycles an Edge

Industry players are working on standardized swappable batteries that could shake up everything from garden trimmers to EV rickshaws.

www.wired.co.uk

Interesting.

It is interesting, and rishi is going to cop

Keir Starmer attacks ‘weak’ Rishi Sunak for hiding behind ‘bully’ Williamson

’Everyone knows someone like the prime minister – the boss who is so weak, so worried the bullies will turn on him, that he hides behind them’

www.independent.co.uk

theres a pun in there somewhere ( us going green by swapping pm's)

 

[Zlatan]

Electric car owners could face taxation from 2025

Jeremy Hunt is said to be considering how and when to introduce taxation for the greenest models on the road to plug the revenue black hole lost in taxation on fuel and VED.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

Another interesting one.

 

[wheeler]

Electric car owners could face taxation from 2025

Jeremy Hunt is said to be considering how and when to introduce taxation for the greenest models on the road to plug the revenue black hole lost in taxation on fuel and VED.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

Another interesting one.

Interesting, but a statement of the bleeding obvious.
Once the various financial inducements to encourage the use of low emission vehicles have done their work, an alternate vehicle taxation system not based on emissions has to be applied to ensure sufficient tax revenue from vehicle use.

 

[flecc]

Interesting, but a statement of the bleeding obvious.
Once the various financial inducements to encourage the use of low emission vehicles have done their work, an alternate vehicle taxation system not based on emissions has to be applied to ensure sufficient tax revenue from vehicle use.

To be fair it should be mileage based, easily done.

Emailed dashboard image showing the odometer reading sent in at the end of each of the first two years. For the tiny minority who can't do that, recorded by an MOT centre for a fee. Thereafter for all later years the existing MOT odometer reading used to raise the charge.

Payment of each annual bill either singly or by instalments, just like the present practice with VED and insurance.
.

 

[oyster]

To be fair it should be mileage based, easily done.

Emailed dashboard image showing the odometer reading sent in at the end of each of the first two years. For the tiny minority who can't do that, recorded by an MOT centre for a fee. Thereafter for all later years the existing MOT odometer reading used to raise the charge.

Payment of each annual bill either singly or by instalments, just like the present practice with VED and insurance.
.

The idea that any charge should be related to mileage seems pretty much unassailable.

But there are questions. Like the difference between a Zoe and the latest USA pick-up with a sub-4 second 0 to 60, weight of around 3 tonnes, etc. Surely they could be taxed at the same rate?

 

[jonathan.agnew]

The idea that any charge should be related to mileage seems pretty much unassailable.

But there are questions. Like the difference between a Zoe and the latest USA pick-up with a sub-4 second 0 to 60, weight of around 3 tonnes, etc. Surely they could be taxed at the same rate?

And the fact that theres supposedly 477000 evs on uk roads

Electric car statistics - EV Data [Update: March '24] | heycar

As of March 2024, the latest electric vehicle market data, statistics and growth projections. Find anything and everything you need to know about EVs here.

heycar.co.uk

Taxing them isnt exactly going to fill truss sized financial cavities, and the business plan for owning an ev is evaporating, more so in the teeth of a recession

 

[flecc]

The idea that any charge should be related to mileage seems pretty much unassailable.

But there are questions. Like the difference between a Zoe and the latest USA pick-up with a sub-4 second 0 to 60, weight of around 3 tonnes, etc. Surely they could be taxed at the same rate?

That can be factored in too, but I dont think it too important. The real menace is the amount of travelling by motor vehicle, so making that cost for everyone to reduce it is the target to aim for.

Then add a cost for street parking of ANY kind to clear our streets, which were meant for travelling on, not garaging. That too would reduce car ownership.
.

 

[jonathan.agnew]

That can be factored in too, but I dont think it too important. The real menace is the amount of travelling by motor vehicle, so making that cost for everyone to reduce it is the target to aim for.

Then add a cost for street parking of ANY kind to clear our streets, which were meant for travelling on, not garaging. That too would reduce car ownership.
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Taxes should be about nudges to change lifestyle, environment, ecology. But it's hard to get away from it also being about money at the moment. Which, without wanting to change the subject, brings to mind the fact that the pound is tanking again

Sterling rises, but set for largest weekly fall in six weeks

LONDON — Sterling rose on Friday but was still set for its largest weekly decline in six weeks after losing 2% following the Bank of England’s (BoE) biggest…

financialpost.com

It's an odd paradox, BoE put up interest rates .75%, which should strengthen pound, then try to soften blow by saying they wont have to do it again because demand is weak anyway (because were in recession and, to put it baldly, completely screwed) which made investors flee. Which will up inflation (recent up in fuel prices was due to weak pound dollar), which could force BoE to up rates..

It’s time to stop kidding ourselves the Bank of England can control inflation

Only the government can administer the required medicine of subsidies and price controls.

www.newstatesman.com

 

[Woosh]

Markets expect BoE to match US Feds rates. Andrew Bailey did not, so they hammer the pound. That suits the government because that helps exporters. We have to show that we don't live above our means, that is more difficult for any government.

 

[jonathan.agnew]

Markets expect BoE to match US Feds rates. Andrew Bailey did not, so they hammer the pound. That suits the government because that helps exporters. We have to show that we don't live above our means, that is more difficult for any government.

Yes, in principle. if, in practice, BoE or the govt could turn us into a productive, exporting, self sustained nation it will have achieved a great deal indeed. Especially after twelve years of growth sapping austerity and gross mismanagement (and, of course, brexit)

 

[Woosh]

Yes, in principle. if, in practice, BoE or the govt could turn us into a productive, exporting, self sustained nation it will have achieved a great deal indeed. Especially after twelve years of growth sapping austerity and gross mismanagement (and, of course, brexit)

I needed a tool for our workshop last week. I went to see a guy in Grainger Rd Industrial Estate in Southend for help. He worked in about 1500sqft workshop for god knows how many years. We worked with him for years but this was the first time I went to see him myself. The workshop is properly ancient. He's got tons of old equipment and skills to match.
That reminded me once upon a time I went to a small town in Northern France to see the local council office about a factory. That was just before I came to England. I wanted to build amplifiers using microprocessors. It was very new then. The local French authorities gave me a list of premises that they own that I could rent and subsidies I could apply for, including an offer to build it and rent it for me at very good rental. Tax on commercial premises are very low. The difference is clear: I have never seen UK government doing much to assist small manufacturing firms.

 

[Danidl]

To be fair it should be mileage based, easily done.

Emailed dashboard image showing the odometer reading sent in at the end of each of the first two years. For the tiny minority who can't do that, recorded by an MOT centre for a fee. Thereafter for all later years the existing MOT odometer reading used to raise the charge.

Payment of each annual bill either singly or by instalments, just like the present practice with VED and insurance.
.

Even simpler is to include the first two years average subscription as part of the purchase price. Then an adjustment can be made at the annual MOTs.

 

[Danidl]

I needed a tool for our workshop last week. I went to see a guy in Grainger Rd Industrial Estate in Southend for help. He worked in about 1500sqft workshop for god knows how many years. We worked with him for years but this was the first time I went to see him myself. The workshop is properly ancient. He's got tons of old equipment and skills to match.
That reminded me once upon a time I went to a small town in Northern France to see the local council office about a factory. That was just before I came to England. I wanted to build amplifiers using microprocessors. It was very new then. The local French authorities gave me a list of premises that they own that I could rent and subsidies I could apply for, including an offer to build it and rent it for me at very good rental. Tax on commercial premises are very low. The difference is clear: I have never seen UK government doing much to assist small manufacturing firms.

I had occasion maybe 16 years ago to visit a FHS college near Hannover and went off on a day trip with the Department Head on a few trips to small industry and one of the huge trade shows. What I found exhilarating and on another level worrying, because we would not really be able to compete, was the complete synchronisation between these small high tech industries,and the academic departments, and the expectation that students would be doing work placement. These were ot big enterprises on the Siemens scale, but small operations with maybe 4 engineers or less. Every stand we visited would have been looking towards cooperation

 

[Woosh]

European attention to fostering small manufacturing and engineering firms is something of a tradition that we don't have here.
In the UK, business rates kill small opportunities.

 

[esuark]

Ben Wallace told MPs a competition to build the vessel, estimated to cost up to £250m, had been terminated.

Another of "his" wild fantasies, bridges, tunnels, airports, water cannons,cable cars, painting aircraft and buses.. Does anyone know how much money has been spent on "his" fantasies. I think I read somewhere that millions were spent on the garden bridge that never materialized whist other bridges are in dire need of repairs.

 

[flecc]

Ben Wallace told MPs a competition to build the vessel, estimated to cost up to £250m, had been terminated.

Another of "his" wild fantasies, bridges, tunnels, airports, water cannons,cable cars, painting aircraft and buses.. Does anyone know how much money has been spent on "his" fantasies. I think I read somewhere that millions were spent on the garden bridge that never materialized whist other bridges are in dire need of repairs.

He (Boris Johnson) spent over £56 millions on the garden bridge project, the build never started.

He hid the fact that he'd signed us up to 1000 of his new Routemaster buses at a staggering £355,000 each, double that of competitive double deckers. We'd thought it was 100. Worse still is that the prohibitive running costs to keep them on the road mean they will be scrapped at only 12 years old.

The previous original Routemaster gave 30 years of service and their predecessor, the RT, gave 35 years of service before numbers being sold to Hong Kong for further years of service.

There are many other examples of such losses caused by him, some of which you've mentioned. He should be banned from ever again holding any public office.
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