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[Hiberno-Britannic Politics] Our Batman's a Plonker

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Posts

  • surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    zeeny wrote: »
    britain is simultaneously the richest and poorest country in europe

    http://inequalitybriefing.org/graphics/briefing_43_UK_regions_poorest_North_Europe.pdf

    inner london richest in europe, richer even than pointless countries like luxembourg

    9 of the 10 poorest areas in europe in the uk

    london greatest productivity per capita in europe

    outside london productivity in eg birmingham or manchester equivalent to a rural town in spain

    aww yiss

    Come on now. Poorest in the richest subset tin Europe, would be a better title.

    no i have been outside the london and seen the children scrabbling in the dirt to earn their daily salt and vinegar crisp

    3fpohw4n01yj.png
  • zeenyzeeny Registered User regular
    edited July 2017
    In case somebody would like to look at the actual PPS and not just GDP.

    http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/themes-in-the-spotlight/regional-gdp

    (I couldn't find a pretty map with the new data ;o()

    zeeny on
  • surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    edited July 2017
    interestingly that has no data for london, i suspect because london is actually a black hole which trapped the statisticians in some kind of number vortex for all eternity from which they could not escape

    EDIT: although associated press release says:

    http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/6839731/1-21052015-AP-EN.pdf/c3f5f43b-397c-40fd-a0a4-7e68e3bea8cd

    l0lx8iuiasbv.png

    surrealitycheck on
    3fpohw4n01yj.png
  • pezgenpezgen Registered User regular
    JoeUser wrote: »
    This isn't very surprising, but it's a commitment to the end of free movement, which means no single market


    The PM has said many things in the past, such as

    "I won't call a general election"
    and
    "My government will be strong and stable"

    So forgive me if I treat this statement with a bucketload of salt.

  • surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    seems to be a general consensus emerging that this announcement broadly means nothing and still nobody knows wtf is going on

    3fpohw4n01yj.png
  • RMS OceanicRMS Oceanic Registered User regular
    seems to be a general consensus emerging that this announcement broadly means nothing and still nobody knows wtf is going on

    strong and stable!

  • BurnageBurnage Registered User regular
    seems to be a general consensus emerging that this announcement broadly means nothing and still nobody knows wtf is going on

    strong and stable!

    Nobody knowing what's happening is our new normal, to be fair.

  • surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    argument running; yes technically free movement has to end then because it is defined in eu treaties and we will not be in eu treaties then, but then hammond is like yeah but something like it will be there for transitional period because otherwise cliff edge, then other people are like my eyes are revolving at 360 radians per second and we are banning all foreigners but they have not talked to hammond about this

    3fpohw4n01yj.png
  • RMS OceanicRMS Oceanic Registered User regular
    Burnage wrote: »
    seems to be a general consensus emerging that this announcement broadly means nothing and still nobody knows wtf is going on

    strong and stable!

    Nobody knowing what's happening is our new normal, to be fair.

    *Adds to the list of potential thread names*

  • pezgenpezgen Registered User regular
    No 10 contradicts Hammond over 'off-the-shelf' Brexit transition deal

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/31/no-10-rejects-off-the-shelf-transitional-deal-for-brexit?CMP=share_btn_tw

    From that article:
    on Monday a Number 10 spokesman said: “There were reports last week that we were looking for an off-the-shelf model, we are not looking for an off-the-shelf model. Precisely what the implementation model will look like is up for negotiation.”

    THE REPORTS CAME FROM HAMMOND! I don't know if they're being disingenuous or they genuinely don't know, and that's pretty scary.

  • Harry DresdenHarry Dresden Registered User regular
    edited July 2017
    Precisely what the implementation model will look like is up for negotiation.”

    These are not words people want to hear at this stage of the game.

    Harry Dresden on
  • LiiyaLiiya Registered User regular
    edited July 2017
    I visited London once and I can confirm it is a black hole.

    I lost all my northern cold resistance and started saying "the" with the th.

    Liiya on
  • pezgenpezgen Registered User regular
    I visited London once and tried to speak to someone on the Tube and now I've been banned.

  • Desktop HippieDesktop Hippie Registered User regular
    I visited London three times! I got to see The Lion King, Les Miserables and Wicked in the West End, tour the Tower of London, walk through the grounds of Kensington Palace, have brunch at The Orangery, have a cream tea at Harrods, visit the Victoria and Albert Museum, visit the National Gallery and visit the British Museum!

    Wait, I'm doing this wrong amn't I?

  • altidaltid Registered User regular
    pezgen wrote: »
    I visited London once and tried to speak to someone on the Tube and now I've been banned.

    I bet you didn't have your oyster card ready before the barrier either, and stood on the wrong side of the escalator!

  • Redcoat-13Redcoat-13 Registered User regular
    I visited London three times! I got to see The Lion King, Les Miserables and Wicked in the West End, tour the Tower of London, walk through the grounds of Kensington Palace, have brunch at The Orangery, have a cream tea at Harrods, visit the Victoria and Albert Museum, visit the National Gallery and visit the British Museum!

    Wait, I'm doing this wrong amn't I?

    Last time I visited London, it was to see a friend. We met up near the London eye, and he told me he lived 40 mins walk away but it was a nice scenic route. 45 mins later while in the middle of Lambeth, I asked him how much longer the walk was, and he told me another 30 mins.

    I get to his flat that he was sharing with another guy, and it was worse than all of the Student dives I'd seen (excluding the one that had a floor / ceiling missing). It got hardly any natural light, the bathroom and kitchen were tiny, I doubt it had been decorated in the last 40 years and came with no furniture.

    The rent must have been approaching £2k per month. You have to spend so much to live in place that isn't a rabbit hutch and / or isn't a shithole.

    The only nice place I visited and stayed, was when a girl who used to be a receptionist at the place I worked, asked me to come stay with her one weekend at a flat her friend had. Her friend was the daughter of an (ex?) ambassador who most likely had diverted funds to be able to afford a flat that was literally just around the corner from Harrods (the flat was amazing).

    PSN Fleety2009
  • KarlKarl Registered User regular
    Redcoat-13 wrote: »
    I visited London three times! I got to see The Lion King, Les Miserables and Wicked in the West End, tour the Tower of London, walk through the grounds of Kensington Palace, have brunch at The Orangery, have a cream tea at Harrods, visit the Victoria and Albert Museum, visit the National Gallery and visit the British Museum!

    Wait, I'm doing this wrong amn't I?

    Last time I visited London, it was to see a friend. We met up near the London eye, and he told me he lived 40 mins walk away but it was a nice scenic route. 45 mins later while in the middle of Lambeth, I asked him how much longer the walk was, and he told me another 30 mins.

    I get to his flat that he was sharing with another guy, and it was worse than all of the Student dives I'd seen (excluding the one that had a floor / ceiling missing). It got hardly any natural light, the bathroom and kitchen were tiny, I doubt it had been decorated in the last 40 years and came with no furniture.

    The rent must have been approaching £2k per month. You have to spend so much to live in place that isn't a rabbit hutch and / or isn't a shithole.

    The only nice place I visited and stayed, was when a girl who used to be a receptionist at the place I worked, asked me to come stay with her one weekend at a flat her friend had. Her friend was the daughter of an (ex?) ambassador who most likely had diverted funds to be able to afford a flat that was literally just around the corner from Harrods (the flat was amazing).

    I do have to disagree on this front.

    Your friend is an idiot for making you walk so far when a tube would have got you there much faster. You can get great places in Lambeth for around that price as well.


  • HerrCronHerrCron It that wickedly supports taxation Registered User regular
    altid wrote: »
    pezgen wrote: »
    I visited London once and tried to speak to someone on the Tube and now I've been banned.

    I bet you didn't have your oyster card ready before the barrier either, and stood on the wrong side of the escalator!

    That kind of behaviour carries a death sentence, as well it should.

    Now Playing:
    Celeste [Switch] - She'll be wrestling with inner demons when she comes...
    Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age [Switch] - Sit down and watch our game play itself
  • LiiyaLiiya Registered User regular
    Its crazy how much house prices vary across the country. My colleagues were gobsmacked at the price difference between Liverpool and Manchester - I haven't the heart to tell them about London, I'm not sure they'd be able to take it.

  • KarlKarl Registered User regular
    Nah, they'd just laugh at the silly sotherners.

    My neighbours are trying to sell a 2 bedroom flat and I think it's going for around £500K

  • KarlKarl Registered User regular
    London

    Not even once

  • Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    London estate agent windows look fairly reasonable, if on the high side, until you notice that the prices are weekly instead of monthly

    Whereas I'm currently in discussions with Mrs Rhesus about whether it's practical to buy a grade 2 listed building in Halifax - sure it's got gargoyles, but we don't currently hold a crenellation licence, and we would have to rig up a crane to move furniture in through the balcony as the spiral staircase won't fit our fridge

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
  • BurnageBurnage Registered User regular
    I do wonder if we're ever going to reach a point where London isn't some kind of horrendous financial monstrosity compared to the rest of the UK.

    It doesn't seem healthy at all for the country as a whole to have one single area dominating to such a degree in terms of, well, almost everything.

  • Wraith260Wraith260 Happiest Goomba! Registered User regular
    Karl wrote: »
    London

    Not even once

    and now i want this printed on a posted of Boris Johnson dangling from that zip-line.

  • RMS OceanicRMS Oceanic Registered User regular
    Burnage wrote: »
    I do wonder if we're ever going to reach a point where London isn't some kind of horrendous financial monstrosity compared to the rest of the UK.

    It doesn't seem healthy at all for the country as a whole to have one single area dominating to such a degree in terms of, well, almost everything.

    We're making a good attempt at robbing London of its economic significance right now

  • pezgenpezgen Registered User regular
    London estate agent windows look fairly reasonable, if on the high side, until you notice that the prices are weekly instead of monthly

    Whereas I'm currently in discussions with Mrs Rhesus about whether it's practical to buy a grade 2 listed building in Halifax - sure it's got gargoyles, but we don't currently hold a crenellation licence, and we would have to rig up a crane to move furniture in through the balcony as the spiral staircase won't fit our fridge

    Yes, we decided not to buy the Newcastle riverside property with slipway access as

    a) It's built next to a bit of Hadrian's Wall and there'd be loads of tourists
    b) we don't have a boat

  • Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    You buy a house with a slipway and a boat eventually turns up

    They're like stray cats

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
  • JazzJazz Registered User regular
    edited July 2017
    There's a Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum at the moment that I'd love to get to before it closes on August 12th.

    I have not been to London (except airports) since 1999, and I'm aware it's changed a tad since then. What can you guys advise me about travel from the Midlands?

    Specific questions:

    - Am I better, mostly cost-wise but also time-wise, getting the train all the way, driving part of the way (say, just past the M25) and then hopping the train, or driving as far as I can? Back in the day I used to just drive in and figure it out when I got there, and that worked then, but that was before the congestion charge. But I'm happy to drive as far as I can, if I can.
    - If using the Tube or a bus or something, is an Oyster card actually required now?

    (Apologies for the off-topicness but you guys are the best source of collective knowledge I have by a long, long way.)

    Jazz on
  • LiiyaLiiya Registered User regular
    Burnage wrote: »
    I do wonder if we're ever going to reach a point where London isn't some kind of horrendous financial monstrosity compared to the rest of the UK.

    It doesn't seem healthy at all for the country as a whole to have one single area dominating to such a degree in terms of, well, almost everything.

    Thats why I'm worried about Channel 4 potentially coming to Manchester. Yes we have Media City™ here already and thats been good for the economy and made parts of Salford more desirable to live, but wouldn't it be good for Channel 4 to go to another city that needs a bit of a boost? I know its probably not economically viable to spread them out but there are other northern cities that could do with the help.

  • pezgenpezgen Registered User regular
    Liiya wrote: »
    Burnage wrote: »
    I do wonder if we're ever going to reach a point where London isn't some kind of horrendous financial monstrosity compared to the rest of the UK.

    It doesn't seem healthy at all for the country as a whole to have one single area dominating to such a degree in terms of, well, almost everything.

    Thats why I'm worried about Channel 4 potentially coming to Manchester. Yes we have Media City™ here already and thats been good for the economy and made parts of Salford more desirable to live, but wouldn't it be good for Channel 4 to go to another city that needs a bit of a boost? I know its probably not economically viable to spread them out but there are other northern cities that could do with the help.

    This has always been one of my biggest (of many) issues with the so-called "Northern Powerhouse" initiative. The vast majority of the investment seemed to be focused on Manchester and its environs (and Leeds to a lesser extent), leaving vast swathes of the North, even the cities, to make do with scraps. I know I shouldn't expect a Conservative government to care that much about the North, but it still struck me as a particularly hollow gesture even for them.

  • Bad-BeatBad-Beat Registered User regular
    Woah woah woah.. People bad mouthing my home city?

    Just a bunch of jealous northerners in here, I'll tell you what.

  • Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    Bad-Beat wrote: »
    Woah woah woah.. People bad mouthing my home city?

    Just a bunch of jealous northerners in here, I'll tell you what.

    Yup, jealousy

    *Continues browsing sub-200k 4-bed houses while not dying of smog*

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
  • BurnageBurnage Registered User regular
    Jazz wrote: »
    There's a Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum at the moment that I'd love to get to before it closes on August 12th.

    I have not been to London (except airports) since 1999, and I'm aware it's changed a tad since then. What can you guys advise me about travel from the Midlands?

    Specific questions:

    - Am I better, mostly cost-wise but also time-wise, getting the train all the way, driving part of the way (say, just past the M25) and then hopping the train, or driving as far as I can? Back in the day I used to just drive in and figure it out when I got there, and that worked then, but that was before the congestion charge. But I'm happy to drive as far as I can, if I can.
    - If using the Tube or a bus or something, is an Oyster card actually required now?

    (Apologies for the off-topicness but you guys are the best source of collective knowledge I have by a long, long way.)

    Taking a train to either Euston, St. Pancras or Kings Cross is probably your most time effective method of travel - the trains are quick and direct from most Midlands cities, the stations are all within walking distance of the British Museum and driving through London looks nightmarish. There are also a few other things of interest near that area (e.g., the British Library) if you want to avoid taking the Tube at all.

    If you're cool with going on the underground then it's simple to buy a day ticket and there are obvious maps dotted throughout most stations that'll tell you where you need to go.

    Also be warned that London is expensive but you can work around pricier aspects - book tickets in advance and preferably for a late train coming back, don't buy alcohol near the train stations, etc.

  • JoeUserJoeUser Forum Santa Registered User regular
    Oops


    Japan's biggest bank 'set to move investment operations from London to Amsterdam' because of Brexit

    Japan’s biggest bank is reportedly set to move its European investment operations from London to Amsterdam because of the uncertainty posed by Brexit.

    MUFG could move hundreds of its 2,100 London employees to the Dutch capital, sources told the Financial Times.

    Other banks are also looking to set up new offices in various European cities because of Brexit.

  • scherbchenscherbchen Asgard (it is dead)Registered User regular
    look, nobody could have predicted that.

    ....

  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    JoeUser wrote: »
    Oops


    Japan's biggest bank 'set to move investment operations from London to Amsterdam' because of Brexit

    Japan’s biggest bank is reportedly set to move its European investment operations from London to Amsterdam because of the uncertainty posed by Brexit.

    MUFG could move hundreds of its 2,100 London employees to the Dutch capital, sources told the Financial Times.

    Other banks are also looking to set up new offices in various European cities because of Brexit.
    I remember reading an article about how this sort of thing would happen with Brexit. In fact I think it was you Joe who explained it to me (that London was the EU's unofficial financial center).

  • Anarchy Rules!Anarchy Rules! Registered User regular
    Burnage wrote: »
    Jazz wrote: »
    There's a Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum at the moment that I'd love to get to before it closes on August 12th.

    I have not been to London (except airports) since 1999, and I'm aware it's changed a tad since then. What can you guys advise me about travel from the Midlands?

    Specific questions:

    - Am I better, mostly cost-wise but also time-wise, getting the train all the way, driving part of the way (say, just past the M25) and then hopping the train, or driving as far as I can? Back in the day I used to just drive in and figure it out when I got there, and that worked then, but that was before the congestion charge. But I'm happy to drive as far as I can, if I can.
    - If using the Tube or a bus or something, is an Oyster card actually required now?

    (Apologies for the off-topicness but you guys are the best source of collective knowledge I have by a long, long way.)

    Taking a train to either Euston, St. Pancras or Kings Cross is probably your most time effective method of travel - the trains are quick and direct from most Midlands cities, the stations are all within walking distance of the British Museum and driving through London looks nightmarish. There are also a few other things of interest near that area (e.g., the British Library) if you want to avoid taking the Tube at all.

    If you're cool with going on the underground then it's simple to buy a day ticket and there are obvious maps dotted throughout most stations that'll tell you where you need to go.

    Also be warned that London is expensive but you can work around pricier aspects - book tickets in advance and preferably for a late train coming back, don't buy alcohol near the train stations, etc.

    Don't buy day tickets for the underground - if you use a contactless bank card the day limit is less than the price of the paper day ticket (£6.60 vs £12.30). With the bus you can use contactless as well. As far as I'm aware Oyster cards are just used for longer travelcards/season tickets now.

    I prefer just being able to jump on a train (from Nottingham) and get straight into Kings Cross/St Pancras (British Museum is a single stop away on the Piccadilly line). I've visited friends in Hertfordshire before - the trains from there run much more often and far later into the night (but you're not saving that much moneywise - was about £9 into London vs £25 from Nottingham).

  • eEK!eEK! Registered User regular
    Jazz wrote: »
    There's a Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum at the moment that I'd love to get to before it closes on August 12th.

    I have not been to London (except airports) since 1999, and I'm aware it's changed a tad since then. What can you guys advise me about travel from the Midlands?

    Specific questions:

    - Am I better, mostly cost-wise but also time-wise, getting the train all the way, driving part of the way (say, just past the M25) and then hopping the train, or driving as far as I can? Back in the day I used to just drive in and figure it out when I got there, and that worked then, but that was before the congestion charge. But I'm happy to drive as far as I can, if I can.
    - If using the Tube or a bus or something, is an Oyster card actually required now?

    (Apologies for the off-topicness but you guys are the best source of collective knowledge I have by a long, long way.)

    I just visited London and the British Museum, so I can answer some of this.

    Cheapest transport is something like a megabus, but I always just advance book single train tickets, cos coaches suck.
    Oyster cards can be bought and topped up very easily from machines in all stations, but if you only want to go the the British Museum, I would just walk from Kings Cross.
    On the other hand Oyster cards are very handy if you want to get around by bus or tube, as it saves you the trouble of buying tickets.
    The British Museum is still very popular, so you'll need to get there early, as we're now in school holidays, so weekdays will packed as well.
    Every museum I went in has security/bag checking, so definitely a good idea to carry as little as possible, also another reason to be early, so you can avoid queues.

    And in case any one thinks this is off topic there's not much that's more political than transport and museums.

  • Bad-BeatBad-Beat Registered User regular
    Point on London public transport: If your credit/debit card uses contactless payment, that'll work across the transport network in place of an Oyster card so that's your best bet. It's a cashless transport system now.

  • LiiyaLiiya Registered User regular
    Bad-Beat wrote: »
    Point on London public transport: If your credit/debit card uses contactless payment, that'll work across the transport network in place of an Oyster card so that's your best bet. It's a cashless transport system now.

    How does that work in terms of discounts for say weekly or monthly tickets? As in, do you buy the whatever ticket online and just use the card you bought with to scan? Or is it logging and charging for each journey you scan your card at?

This discussion has been closed.