The Good News thread, local jobs, economy etc

[Rincewind]

Things are getting better

 

in Libya. I would like it confirmed before moving. I reserve my right to sit on the fence for this one.

 

Edited 19 April 2014 by Rincewind

[Webbo]

Things are getting better

 

in Libya. I would like it confirmed before moving. I reserve my right to sit on the fence for this one.

 

Makes you wonder why they had a revolution there 3/4 years ago.

[leicsmac]

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27222077

 

Kudos to the Tories, in Willetts they've got a science minister saying and doing the right things as far as this particular area goes.

 

Investment in this area will pay off.

Edited 1 May 2014 by leicsmac

[MooseBreath]

7% growth during recession, multi-billion government support... that industry looks about as vibrant as it gets at the moment. Are you absolutely sure you didnt go back for a bit of sun kwon a bit too soon?

[leicsmac]

7% growth during recession, multi-billion government support... that industry looks about as vibrant as it gets at the moment. Are you absolutely sure you didnt go back for a bit of sun kwon a bit too soon?

 

I have thought this myself Moose, but the idea of getting enough moolah to have a bit of time in the sun, then come back and have myself a decent car and perhaps even a deposit on a house while sorting out my job search was too good to pass up.

 

It'll still be growing when I get back, I'm sure.

Edited 1 May 2014 by leicsmac

[davieG]

Good news if you're rich

The 64 richest people in Britain have a combined wealth which is equal to that of the poorest 19 million citizens. This remarkable example of the nation's massive inequality comes from figures contained in the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

Indeed, the rich are getting richer. To join the ranks of the 1,000 wealthiest people in the Sunday Times Rich List now requires at least £85 million – up from £80 million in 2008.

Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Mercury-opinion-shameful-gap-rich-poor/story-21113760-detail/story.html#ixzz32FEi8zzH

Read more at http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Mercury-opinion-shameful-gap-rich-poor/story-21113760-detail/story.html#v5KblFf7HYVHMWWf.99

[Rincewind]

Matt is OK then

[l444ry]

With Farage and his UKIP cowboys getting rumbled daily and the Tory engineered election property boom going tits up, it looks like we are entering a different phase.

[Guest MattP]

Matt is OK then

Glad you have continued your personal quest to make you dont make comments about things you aren't interested in.

With Farage and his UKIP cowboys getting rumbled daily and the Tory engineered election property boom going tits up, it looks like we are entering a different phase.

What's happened just seen the news and I can't find anything about any of this?

[Rincewind]

You won't find much news in the mainstream media about some things.

[Alf Bentley]

With Farage and his UKIP cowboys getting rumbled daily and the Tory engineered election property boom going tits up, it looks like we are entering a different phase.

 

What's happened just seen the news and I can't find anything about any of this?

 

I assume he's referring to the big increase in house prices, particularly in London/SE - 8% p.a. nationally, 17% p.a. in London, 35% p.a. in parts of London. Speculation that the Bank of England will have to intervene and/or suggest that the Govt cuts back the "Help to Buy" scheme. Might bring forward the increase in interest rates expected for next year. Little change in prices elsewhere in the country, further exacerbating regional inequality.

 

Inflation also turned up slightly for the first time in nearly a year, though that may just be a statistical blip to do with air/sea travel price increases.

 

It is starting to look like the increase in interest rates (which could lead to repossessions, make business investment more costly, lead to job losses etc.) will happen before the General Election and not after it, which could have electoral consequences, depending on how quickly the effects become evident.... Georgie Boy might still get away with it, but he could end up with egg on his face.

[Guest MattP]

You won't find much news in the mainstream media about some things.

 

Yes Ken, the mainstream media have just been desperate to show UKIP in a positive light.

 

I assume he's referring to the big increase in house prices, particularly in London/SE - 8% p.a. nationally, 17% p.a. in London, 35% p.a. in parts of London. Speculation that the Bank of England will have to intervene and/or suggest that the Govt cuts back the "Help to Buy" scheme. Might bring forward the increase in interest rates expected for next year. Little change in prices elsewhere in the country, further exacerbating regional inequality.

 

Inflation also turned up slightly for the first time in nearly a year, though that may just be a statistical blip to do with air/sea travel price increases.

 

It is starting to look like the increase in interest rates (which could lead to repossessions, make business investment more costly, lead to job losses etc.) will happen before the General Election and not after it, which could have electoral consequences, depending on how quickly the effects become evident.... Georgie Boy might still get away with it, but he could end up with egg on his face.

 

Interesting reading Alf, the cutting of the help to buy scheme would be a PR disaster given the effort that has been put into it and it revolved around the whole policy of helping those who couldn't afford it get on the ladder.

 

I'm sure they will try and everything to delay any occurance such as those mentioned until after next May.

[Alf Bentley]

Yes Ken, the mainstream media have just been desperate to show UKIP in a positive light.

 

 

Interesting reading Alf, the cutting of the help to buy scheme would be a PR disaster given the effort that has been put into it and it revolved around the whole policy of helping those who couldn't afford it get on the ladder.

 

I'm sure they will try and everything to delay any occurance such as those mentioned until after next May.

 

There's some speculation that the Bank of England might:

(a) Insist that mortgage lenders give the BoE a much larger deposit to guarantee against reckless mortgage lending

(b) Lean on Cameron to only make "Help to Buy" available on properties worth under £300k, not £600k (is that the ceiling at the moment?)

 

The first option certainly sounds sensible from an economic viewpoint, given the over-lending before 2008 and the near certainty that interest rates will rise within 6-12 months, leaving a lot of over-stretched mortgage holders strapped for cash. I suppose the second option would give Cameron the chance to present himself as helping the less well off and regions outside the SE, but could lose him votes in London/SE....

 

The timing of the interest rate rise, its effects and how quickly they happen could be crucial to the outcome of the election...

 

As well as having political opinions, I'm becoming a right nerd about all this economic stuff! I find it fascinating, particularly as it has major political implications (not least for people who want an EU referendum - little chance of that unless Cameron gets close to a majority in 2015, I reckon). Then again, 2015 could be a good election to lose for all sorts of reasons (continued spending cuts, potential bursting of the housing bubble, decline in investment/employment due to higher interest rates, growing NHS crisis, party divisions over the EU referendum for the Tories...) - and that's before you throw possible Scottish independence into the equation. Interesting times!

[Rincewind]

I never said the media were on UKIP's side more of what Alf says. Who funds the Tory Party? I believe some of the media bosses back them and in return are helped themselves. The unions used to back Labour but they were destroyed in the Thatcher and Blair years.A thought process of self has been installed into what was known as the working class. The middle to high earners worry about their own position and blame the low paid for bad times. There are stories about other things than a celebritie's latest boob job. It is the independant rearchers and organisations that report on them. It is a lot easier now to set up a blog and put a daily update of what is happening if you are involved with social organisation or a charity. Coming from the horses mouth so to speak it is often first hand accounts of those involved and care about what they do. The mainstream do not often find these newsworthy or do not want to lose it's readership.

 

See the quote in my sig. I think that sums politics up nicely.

[MooseBreath]

You might find that this is subscriber only content but there's some interesting analysis here on help to buy. It shows that help to buy is have no impact at all on house price increases because nobody in areas that are getting frothy has used it. It is only being used in areas where house prices are still struggling. Which makes sense of course since it's aimed at helping the less wealthy and the less wealthy tend to live in areas away from where we're seeing big increases. So it's no wonder labour haven't been jumping too much all over help to buy, it's actually yet another policy from the tories which is helping the less wealthy without negative consequence.

http://m.building.co.uk/5068687.article?mobilesite=enabled

[Mike Oxlong]

The nerds over analyse all this fiscal economics shizzle. At the end of the day it all boils down to the money shot.

[Rincewind]

This is a good news story. School students doing something positive and learning about the real world.

 

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/11227139.Students_focus_on_homelessness_in_Rawtestall/

[davieG]

The government has raised a record £23.9bn in additional tax for the year to the end of March as a result of a crackdown on tax avoidance.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it had secured the money - the highest amount since records began - as a result of its investigations.

The figure is almost £1bn higher than the target set by Chancellor George Osborne in the Autumn Statement.

The extra money raised is in addition to regular tax receipts.

HMRC credited "increased activity" on unpaid tax for the figure.

"HMRC will pursue those seeking to avoid their responsibilities and will collect the taxes that are due," said Treasury minister David Gauke.

"The government is determined to tackle the minority that seek to avoid paying the taxes they owe," he added.

HMRC said that of the total amount it had raised, more than £8bn came from large businesses, £1bn from criminals and £2.7bn from tackling avoidance schemes in courts.

In total, HMRC has said it expects to secure £100bn between May 2010 and March 2015 as a result of its investigations into unpaid tax.

The "tax gap" - the difference between the amount of tax due and that collected - was 7% for the 2011-2012 financial year, the most recent figure available.

[Guest MattP]

 

The government has raised a record £23.9bn in additional tax for the year to the end of March as a result of a crackdown on tax avoidance.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it had secured the money - the highest amount since records began - as a result of its investigations.

The figure is almost £1bn higher than the target set by Chancellor George Osborne in the Autumn Statement.

The extra money raised is in addition to regular tax receipts.

HMRC credited "increased activity" on unpaid tax for the figure.

"HMRC will pursue those seeking to avoid their responsibilities and will collect the taxes that are due," said Treasury minister David Gauke.

"The government is determined to tackle the minority that seek to avoid paying the taxes they owe," he added.

HMRC said that of the total amount it had raised, more than £8bn came from large businesses, £1bn from criminals and £2.7bn from tackling avoidance schemes in courts.

In total, HMRC has said it expects to secure £100bn between May 2010 and March 2015 as a result of its investigations into unpaid tax.

The "tax gap" - the difference between the amount of tax due and that collected - was 7% for the 2011-2012 financial year, the most recent figure available.

 

 

Can this week actually get any worse for the left?

[MooseBreath]

Amazing how much tax avoidance Labour were allowing through the net really. That along with the expenses scandal and the increase of tax on the poor makes labour's reign increasingly look like a really ugly free for all pillaging of the public purse at the expense of those who could least afford it. Truly disgusting behaviour.

Edited 27 May 2014 by MooseBreath

[sphericalfox]

Amazing how much tax avoidance Labour were allowing through the net really. That along with the expenses scandal and the increase of tax on the poor makes labour's reign increasingly look like a really ugly free for all pillaging of the public purse at the expense of those who could least afford it. Truly disgusting behaviour.

 

I hope they don't leave the majority of their political donors out the amazing personal driven crusade to put wrongs right. It'd be nice to see the list of those who've paid up, or perhaps better the list who haven't. 

 

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2013/06/conservative-party-donors-tax-havens/

[Webbo]

I hope they don't leave the majority of their political donors out the amazing personal driven crusade to put wrongs right. It'd be nice to see the list of those who've paid up, or perhaps better the list who haven't. 

 

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2013/06/conservative-party-donors-tax-havens/

Scrapbook is looking forward to hearing more from Cameron on tax havens and avoidance.

 

Like anyone gives a **** about some half baked blogger.

[Guest MattP]

Like anyone gives a **** about some half baked blogger.

 

Another one of these "trendy lefties" whose political views should have been left at the entrance of Woodstock.

 

 

Political Scrapbook is a left wing political blog. The site was described as "influential" by The Independent^[1] as and is viewed, along with outlets such as Left Foot Forward, as part of a cohort of British left-wing blogs which have attracted significant interest from the media.^[2] The site has been likened to Paul Staines' anti-establishment Guido Fawkes blog,^[3] although Staines has claimed "It's hard to create a leftwing version of me because of political correctness."^[4] In 2011 the site was ranked by Wikio as the 7th most influential political blog in the UK^[5] and was voted as Total Politics' 2nd best left-wing blog in 2011.^[6]

Political Scrapbook is edited by Laurence Durnan, who stated he set the site up "to make life difficult for the right".^[7]

Edited 27 May 2014 by MattP

[sphericalfox]

Like anyone gives a **** about some half baked blogger.

 

So you're saying it's boll0cks then?

Edited 27 May 2014 by sphericalfox

[Webbo]

So you're saying it's boll0cks then?

Probably not but I don't think the PM will be responding to "Political scrapbook's" demand for answers.