[Tubby Isaacs]

I don’t know how you pivot away from this US tech. I don’t see this as being an overly Atlanticist thing. While lots of the “sclerotic EU” stuff is merely demographics, there seems to have been a long term failure on tech. I expect Mario Draghi has some ideas.

With tech, it’s basically what’s called “Wimbledonisation”. The UK can do well out of being the host (of the tennis tournament, or tech investment) but the top players are foreign.

It’s a useful term, first coined of the City of London.

[Youngian]

Steve Richards on the digital ID U-turn as an example of what's going wrong with this government. It doesn't bother arguing the advantages of policies which are then dropped after they are announced.
The country needs serious government after Johnson and Truss's tomfoolery. But I'm getting the feeling if you nominated Keir to be Santa at a kid's Christmas party he'd come in a Grim Reaper costume by mistake.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I'm getting tired of the unremitting negativity about Starmer and the Labour government.

[Youngian]

So am I as its fixable self inflicted weaknesses that are dragging the government's popularity down. The list of positive policy initiatives introduced in 18 months already outstrip five years of the previous lot. But no one knows about them, Labour can't spend the next three years like Corbyn's supporters blaming the meeja.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This was pretty bad, in fairness. Most of it is actually going ahead, and should be handy, despite the bollocks about taking money from cops on the streets from the allegedly grown up Lib Dems. Just not the bit that was the main reason put forward by the Government for it.

[The Weeping Angel]

I suppose they'll get a kicking for this as well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yvldj47v9o

The government has pulled an amendment to its Hillsborough Law following a backlash from campaigners and some Labour MPs.

The draft legislation would introduce a legal obligation for public authorities to co-operate with and tell the truth to inquiries.

But bereaved families raised concerns that MI5 and MI6 officers could be exempted from disclosing information, after the government put forward an amendment that would have made doing so subject to the approval of the head of their service.

The government will no longer put this proposal to a vote on Monday, with a spokesperson saying it would continue to work with all parties to strengthen the bill "without compromising national security".

The move was welcomed by the Hillsborough Law Now campaign group, which said it would "engage further with government to ensure the bill fully applies to the security services whilst not jeopardising national security".

The proposed law - named after the football stadium in Sheffield where a deadly crush occurred in 1989 - aims to make the security services more accountable for failings. The government amendment sought to balance this with protecting confidential information.

Ministers were facing a potential rebellion from Labour MPs, with around 30 backing a proposal by Liverpool Labour MP Ian Byrne that would ensure the legislation applied fully to security service personnel.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Probably not too much. Apart from the Stephen Bush types who have some Platonic ideal of governance.

[Boiler]

I don’t know how you pivot away from this US tech.

As a start, bin Apple, bin Android, bin Microsoft, go Linux?

[Tubby Isaacs]

As individuals we could. It's hard for institutions to do that- the Green Party can't even ditch X, even though they have the perfect demographic following to do so. And the Government can't really call for a mass boycott without Trump flattening our economy, as he might do with Greenland anyway, admittedly.

[mattomac]

Probably not too much. Apart from the Stephen Bush types who have some Platonic ideal of governance.

He does have all the perfect ideas and solutions. I’m puzzled why he’s still working for the FT and not high up in government

[Boiler]

As individuals we could. It's hard for institutions to do that- the Green Party can't even ditch X, even though they have the perfect demographic following to do so. And the Government can't really call for a mass boycott without Trump flattening our economy, as he might do with Greenland anyway, admittedly.

Selling all US Treasury Securities?

[Tubby Isaacs]

They don't own any of ours?

The media are absolute jokers on this stuff. Here's a good journalist from a good news programme.

Q: [From Gary Gibbon from Channel 4 News] Is there anything that Trump could do that would make you stop thinking of him as an ally?

Gary Gibbon is aware of the existence of diplomacy- I saw him loads of times on TV reporting from EU Summits, and he covered the Northern Ireland Peace Process.

He knows very well Starmer thinks Trump is a dangerous moron, and he also knows that there'd be consequences for Britain if Starmer said so.

Starmer had a pop at Davey and Polanski in his speech, attacking people who think you solve stuff with social media posts, when you have to do diplomatic hard yards.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Starmer rules out retaliatory tariffs against US over Greenland
PM says US tariffs are in no one’s interests – and Greenland row should be resolved through ‘calm discussion’

Lots of people seem to want tariffs, but do Davey, Polanski and the other political straight talkers actually want them? Polanski might, because the Greens aren't exactly competing for the votes of people who'd be affected by them. I'd be surprised if Davey had that attitude though.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Another to add to things that the Government aren't allowed to do- unwind special measures from the Covid era, which were due to end anyway (per Deborah Meaden).

Labour MPs urge ministers to press ahead with manifesto pledge to replace business rates
Labour MPs have urged the Treasury to say when it will “replace the business rates system”, to tick off a manifesto pledge, PA media reports. PA says:

Liam Byrne said his party vowed to “replace the business rates system, not tinker with it or subsidise it”, as Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson faced questions about policies which are set to leave pubs and hospitality firms paying more tax.
And Meg Hillier, who chairs the Commons Treasury committee, warned pubs in her Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency were “seeing eye-watering increases in business rates”.

[Spoonman]

As individuals we could. It's hard for institutions to do that- the Green Party can't even ditch X, even though they have the perfect demographic following to do so. And the Government can't really call for a mass boycott without Trump flattening our economy, as he might do with Greenland anyway, admittedly.

BiB - their Northern Irish cousins did so last week.

As it is, I can see a "Buy British/European" campaign start cranking up if things don't de-escalate in the next few days. The problem is what can you replace Twitter with? Bluesky is no good as that's based in MAGAstan itself, Mastodon was the great white hope a couple of years back but that failed to get off the ground much apart from a few outliers.

[Youngian]

Economic usurpers like China reverse engineer the technology of global leaders and take it from there. If Trump wants Europe to pay for its own defence we'll need our own technology as well.

[Tubby Isaacs]

We'll also need the public to have the slightest inclination to pay more tax. On current evidence, other people paying more tax is a sacrifice that they're willing to make.

[The Weeping Angel]

I suppose this will get attacked for neo-liberalism.

https://news.sky.com/story/government-t ... s-13495807

The government will this week unveil plans for a radical overhaul of the way mergers are scrutinised in Britain including reforms that observers say will entrench the power of the competition regulator's boss.

Sky News has learnt that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is to announce the abolition of the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) panels system, under which independent experts convene to assess whether corporate deals raise serious anti-trust concerns.

A government source said the CMA's ability to examine certain types of mergers, such as those involving two foreign companies, could be curtailed under new limits on the watchdog's jurisdictional powers.

They added that officials had also been considering scrapping the ability for those affected by merger decisions to appeal against the verdicts on their merits, while leaving intact the ability to seek judicial reviews.

The CMA's current practice of wide-ranging market investigations into entire industries will also be refined, with the CMA's market studies and market investigations processes merged into a single procedure which lasts between six and 12 months.