I always regarded Sid Vicious's quote about the man in the street as profoundly directional for British electoral politics. That's a long time, and sadly it seems I was right.
November 30, 2025 at 12:09 PM
I always regarded Sid Vicious's quote about the man in the street as profoundly directional for British electoral politics. That's a long time, and sadly it seems I was right.
Honestly, it just sounds like he's had about 5 pints of Guinness and isn't used to it.
November 30, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Honestly, it just sounds like he's had about 5 pints of Guinness and isn't used to it.
Is it possible this is a consequence of the US system not having objectively measurable national subject exams which are either important in, or literally the thing that decides, university admission?
The kids know there is no external target which they must prepare themselves to hit.
The kids know there is no external target which they must prepare themselves to hit.
November 29, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Is it possible this is a consequence of the US system not having objectively measurable national subject exams which are either important in, or literally the thing that decides, university admission?
The kids know there is no external target which they must prepare themselves to hit.
The kids know there is no external target which they must prepare themselves to hit.
Self-assess with any eventual disparity (above a certain %) apparent on sale resulting in a council tax underpayment charge to the vendor.
You have to reference some property price index.
This is done in foreign parts.
You have to reference some property price index.
This is done in foreign parts.
November 29, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Self-assess with any eventual disparity (above a certain %) apparent on sale resulting in a council tax underpayment charge to the vendor.
You have to reference some property price index.
This is done in foreign parts.
You have to reference some property price index.
This is done in foreign parts.
Kind of suggests the landfill of bureaucracy & red tape the remnants of it survives under, while we set the others mentioned free, hasn't quite achieved what it was supposed to.
November 29, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Kind of suggests the landfill of bureaucracy & red tape the remnants of it survives under, while we set the others mentioned free, hasn't quite achieved what it was supposed to.
The personal finance advice & retail private asset management industry hasn't just been buried it's been nearly concreted over as if it was a republican arms cache.
What filled the vacuum was a motley assortment of YOLO tay & binary option trading, online gambling, crypto and cash ISAs.
What filled the vacuum was a motley assortment of YOLO tay & binary option trading, online gambling, crypto and cash ISAs.
November 29, 2025 at 12:17 AM
The personal finance advice & retail private asset management industry hasn't just been buried it's been nearly concreted over as if it was a republican arms cache.
What filled the vacuum was a motley assortment of YOLO tay & binary option trading, online gambling, crypto and cash ISAs.
What filled the vacuum was a motley assortment of YOLO tay & binary option trading, online gambling, crypto and cash ISAs.
...and pragmatism.
November 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM
...and pragmatism.
Yes & a similar thing went on once the right grabbed hold of the conservative party after the Brexit referendum. A lot of the right were kind of Thatcher tribute acts in that they represented a nuance-free caricature of what Margaret Thatcher was about. All the noise & fury but none of the thought.
November 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Yes & a similar thing went on once the right grabbed hold of the conservative party after the Brexit referendum. A lot of the right were kind of Thatcher tribute acts in that they represented a nuance-free caricature of what Margaret Thatcher was about. All the noise & fury but none of the thought.
themselves as media personalities/entertainers, with the politics just material for their performances.
Given that environment it's difficult to imagine them retreating to a role of just thinking up and asking illuminating questions from the shadows while the politicians display deep thoughtfulness.
Given that environment it's difficult to imagine them retreating to a role of just thinking up and asking illuminating questions from the shadows while the politicians display deep thoughtfulness.
November 28, 2025 at 3:10 PM
themselves as media personalities/entertainers, with the politics just material for their performances.
Given that environment it's difficult to imagine them retreating to a role of just thinking up and asking illuminating questions from the shadows while the politicians display deep thoughtfulness.
Given that environment it's difficult to imagine them retreating to a role of just thinking up and asking illuminating questions from the shadows while the politicians display deep thoughtfulness.
He was influentially terrible during the GFC, reveling in a total lack of understanding the way lots of journos have been proud of their inability to understand maths.
But was so good back in the day that I think he did influence the generation of political broadcast journos who seem to see
But was so good back in the day that I think he did influence the generation of political broadcast journos who seem to see
November 28, 2025 at 3:10 PM
He was influentially terrible during the GFC, reveling in a total lack of understanding the way lots of journos have been proud of their inability to understand maths.
But was so good back in the day that I think he did influence the generation of political broadcast journos who seem to see
But was so good back in the day that I think he did influence the generation of political broadcast journos who seem to see
That was essentially an accident 'cos they couldn't go to BBC Scotland for something on time iirc. So he just kept going, past the point of 'politeness' at which the silent conclusion would usually be left to the viewers.
Paxo was excellent but latterly was incurious & phoned it in, relying on style
Paxo was excellent but latterly was incurious & phoned it in, relying on style
November 28, 2025 at 3:10 PM
That was essentially an accident 'cos they couldn't go to BBC Scotland for something on time iirc. So he just kept going, past the point of 'politeness' at which the silent conclusion would usually be left to the viewers.
Paxo was excellent but latterly was incurious & phoned it in, relying on style
Paxo was excellent but latterly was incurious & phoned it in, relying on style
Cripes! It's a Lego house-arrest Trump-gaff.
November 28, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Cripes! It's a Lego house-arrest Trump-gaff.
That aesthetic should be encouraged. House building is tricky & skills capacity constrained. Legoisation might be the solution.
November 27, 2025 at 8:23 PM
That aesthetic should be encouraged. House building is tricky & skills capacity constrained. Legoisation might be the solution.
The cycle is: over-caution & over-regulation following a crisis; then an eventual realisation that was the case; then an eventual reversal to try to correct; then by the time the next crisis is brewing everyone is so fed up with over-regulation there isn't enough of it.
November 27, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The cycle is: over-caution & over-regulation following a crisis; then an eventual realisation that was the case; then an eventual reversal to try to correct; then by the time the next crisis is brewing everyone is so fed up with over-regulation there isn't enough of it.
What's wrong with a community approach of a smattering of shopping trolleys, the odd car on bricks & some caravans?
November 27, 2025 at 3:41 PM
What's wrong with a community approach of a smattering of shopping trolleys, the odd car on bricks & some caravans?
Difficult not to recall "weathercocks & signposts" & note the repeated sniggering he didn't seem to understand about all the toolmaker references.
November 27, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Difficult not to recall "weathercocks & signposts" & note the repeated sniggering he didn't seem to understand about all the toolmaker references.
The hype/optimism [delete as applicable] about AI is also having a big negative effect on sentiment about future employment prospects. I can't recall anything as widely accepted as potentially undermining so many careers far into the future. Even the GFC was thought temporary by most.
November 27, 2025 at 4:27 AM
The hype/optimism [delete as applicable] about AI is also having a big negative effect on sentiment about future employment prospects. I can't recall anything as widely accepted as potentially undermining so many careers far into the future. Even the GFC was thought temporary by most.
I think the 'new media' context encourages echo-chamber thinking. People don't want their views challenged - & that includes <35s.
There's been a anti-capitalist shift in how it's cool to view the economy, prompted by GFC coverage & encouraged by QE/asset inflation -> house ownership exclusion.
There's been a anti-capitalist shift in how it's cool to view the economy, prompted by GFC coverage & encouraged by QE/asset inflation -> house ownership exclusion.
November 27, 2025 at 4:18 AM
I think the 'new media' context encourages echo-chamber thinking. People don't want their views challenged - & that includes <35s.
There's been a anti-capitalist shift in how it's cool to view the economy, prompted by GFC coverage & encouraged by QE/asset inflation -> house ownership exclusion.
There's been a anti-capitalist shift in how it's cool to view the economy, prompted by GFC coverage & encouraged by QE/asset inflation -> house ownership exclusion.
& we were into the Great Stimulus Overheating by then. Can't look at any of these measures without defaulting to 'yes, and there'd been market gains/losses, housing gains/losses..'. etc.
<35 negative vibe really seems to be abt a) RE ownership & b) a perception of momentum shifting against them.
<35 negative vibe really seems to be abt a) RE ownership & b) a perception of momentum shifting against them.
November 27, 2025 at 3:02 AM
& we were into the Great Stimulus Overheating by then. Can't look at any of these measures without defaulting to 'yes, and there'd been market gains/losses, housing gains/losses..'. etc.
<35 negative vibe really seems to be abt a) RE ownership & b) a perception of momentum shifting against them.
<35 negative vibe really seems to be abt a) RE ownership & b) a perception of momentum shifting against them.
I'd note that's to 2022 so distorted by stimulus payments & not unconnected stock market gains.
November 27, 2025 at 2:06 AM
I'd note that's to 2022 so distorted by stimulus payments & not unconnected stock market gains.
Find a way to equip people with access to more cash or they won't be able to buy / commission them.
Upwards-only regulation has consequences too.
Upwards-only regulation has consequences too.
November 27, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Find a way to equip people with access to more cash or they won't be able to buy / commission them.
Upwards-only regulation has consequences too.
Upwards-only regulation has consequences too.
Think the basic problem is that it just costs too much to build relative to what people think they should need to / can afford to pay.
One thesis is these are real assets with a cost of production linked to the risks involved & real assets have outperformed the cash people get paid with.
One thesis is these are real assets with a cost of production linked to the risks involved & real assets have outperformed the cash people get paid with.
November 27, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Think the basic problem is that it just costs too much to build relative to what people think they should need to / can afford to pay.
One thesis is these are real assets with a cost of production linked to the risks involved & real assets have outperformed the cash people get paid with.
One thesis is these are real assets with a cost of production linked to the risks involved & real assets have outperformed the cash people get paid with.
That's literally a Candy in a cupboard.
November 27, 2025 at 1:15 AM
That's literally a Candy in a cupboard.
I'd just like to take this opportunity to reassure everyone that nobody connected in any way with the Gilt market would ever stoop to the level of cynicism you're displaying there.
November 27, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I'd just like to take this opportunity to reassure everyone that nobody connected in any way with the Gilt market would ever stoop to the level of cynicism you're displaying there.