dannymaxim.bsky.social
Ex protector and assessor with interests in politics, economics, social science, railways. Plus a bit of sport and music.
48 posts
53 followers
387 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
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www.thetimes.com/article/346e...
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Interms of the closing words of Eddington you quote, equally substitute "Brexit" for "transport policy" for another ill conceived project carried along by hubris.
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And a media which stirs up discontent and dissatisfaction with public services but then also highly critical of spending, pay, pensions etc on pubic sector.
Likewise anti red tape but critical of lack of enforcement across many sectors.
Quality has to be paid for.
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Agree with this but also noting media trend of advocating for policies but then also reporting in depth hostile reaction to same when actuated. Sotto voce support but bold headlines reporting critics. So in this case if fuel duty goes up expect The Times to report on widespread criticism.....
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Like some absurd reality show where the extreme characters always generate the public interest. Drama = hits but the BBC has a duty to be more balanced and circumspect on who/what it gives coverage to.
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Another thing the media is terrible for is simultaneously calling for ecomomic restraint whilst also reporting the public unpopularity of the very cuts called for and the political danger [four years hence] it has created for the Government.
Almost like the media wants to ratchet up tension.
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That's definitely a factor. The political drama of the last decade has made the politicos much more prominent and they don't want to get off the main stage, back to reporting the dull, mundane reality politics should be.
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All because the BBC journos are hooked on the drama of election jeopardy for the Government and what it means for a GE in 4 years time.
They also only report the plotting and scheming designed to undermine rather than positive effects of government initiatives. Doom gets clicks, ultimately.
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The False Flag
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#fritfarage
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Lancashire?
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Quite so, education is by school or university, training is what employers provide or arrange and is vocational rather than accademic.
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The curse of the newspaper opinion columnist - the need to have a take on every subject, the growing need for hotter takes slowly radicalises them. The job needs term limits. Social media turned everybody into them.
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Totally agree, my point was that privatisation didn't add anything which couldn't be accomplished nationalised and also took revenue out of the public coffers.
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It is hard to argue that privatisation even maintained the standard set let alone improved it before massive state interventions again became the norm. East Coast route being a prime example, largest returns when state run.
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At the time of privatisation British Rail, with sectorisation, had become reportedly the most efficient railway industry in Europe. Nobody would have been interested in it 10 years earlier for example but it illustrates that significant improvement could be readily achieved in a state owned context.
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The press lobby has become little more than a bunch of political gossip columnists, recirculating tittle tattle dressed up as analysis and hot takes.
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Colvile has long been arch purveyor of the logical fallacy.
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Yes. Sellner is talking about deporting non-white citizens. @rcolvile.bsky.social isn't saying that.
Powell, like @rcolvile.bsky.social, was talking about how to get rid of people who came here legally to work in health, social care, transport as well as of course their families and kids.
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Happy birthday to a fellow 30.1.70 entrant to the world!
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The lobby journos have no business recirculating tittle tattle and petty name calling.
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The attacks on VAT for private schools are perhaps the product of journos with a vested interest ....
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Below the article was a piece by Hannan proclaiming Brexit was solely about "democracy". The same Hannan who said explicitly UK would remain part of the single market despite a vote to leave the EU. Then pushed for hard Brexit anyway.
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And I did not burn down a therapist's office. The implicit logic of the 'why weren't people told more sooner' is that had this attack been the thing it is 75 per cent of the time, some mob justice would have been A-OK!
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It’s more about the fragmentation of the media landscape, but yes: the breakdown of norms against this sort of rhetoric is imo one of the 2-3 most important societal shifts of the past couple of decades.
Hence my recommendation for best book of 2024!
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Incredible for someone who portrays herself as an engineer, an entirely research and evidence based profession.
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There was a moral obligation to be straight about this at the time of the referendum. MPs who advocated for Leave and a subsequent litany of Tory ministers should be forced to publicly account for this so supporters are able to understand how they were misinformed as to what they were voting for.
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Starmer has consistently said the "Tory Brexit" is a failure though and he has now got their leader to say as much too.
The Tories have reopened the debate and admitted failure which Labour can use to great advantage.
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Rank hypocrisy given all that went before in their tenure. Incredibly immature too.
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In the same vein, use of "forward planning" .......
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To judge from comments by all parts of "the ruling class" one would be forgiven for thinking that nobody seems "comfortable", actually!
In my mid fifties, I don't recall any period where prosperity was universal, though I would say the current position and the 80s /early 90s are/were worst.
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My point was your latest critique is politically motivated, whereas your earlier observations stop short of pointing the finger at failure of Tory Government. As the 'well, pandemic' comment illustrates.
For this issue to be solved it firstly needs to be treated politically neutrally. Some hope.
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Cheers, rumour has it the 8f is close to returning to action after a lengthy lay off so we may see it in the much changed Blackburn station once again soon.
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Is the one of 8151 at a station Blackburn?
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Ok so the chronology was slightly different but the premise is that you are criticising the current Labour position as inadequate, having failed to call out the Tory administrations in the same way.
For a prominent "independent" commentator, seeking to influence perception, a blatant political bias.
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Points out an architect of the 2019 Tory manifesto which led to a PM on the steps of Downing Street proclaiming an immediate, once and for all fix of UK social care.
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Yep