I don’t think faux-patriotism could get more bonkers. Pounds, Shillings and Pence next ?

The Government is borrowing to create a "Wealth Fund". The self-delusion is off the scale.

How can it have taken this long for them to grasp this. If you really want non intermittent non fossil fuel energy, this is the only answer.

Andy Haldane interview: **The financial situation is precarious - the penny hasn't dropped in No 10** 'The penny has not yet fully dropped, including in Downing Street. You see that in us having the highest borrowing costs in the G7, despite not having the highest debts and deficits 'It’s the old [Ernest] Hemingway thing, isn’t it? How do you go bankrupt? First slowly, then very quickly. 'Keir [Starmer] lost the dressing room. Andy’s biggest risk is that he loses the dealing room. And then that’s an even more painful way to go, as Liz Truss would tell you.' **Britain is at or close to being taxed out** 'The truth is, as a nation, we are at or close to being taxed out,” he says. “And we are at or close to being maxed out in terms of borrowing. 'So for me, the economics of this are very straightforward. We have a public sector, a government sector with a balance sheet whose productivity has failed to rise this century. And we have a private sector which is actually primed, its balance sheet is in good shape. 'If you want good growth in every postcode — dear God, I want that as much as the next man, probably just as much as Andy in fact — the root is by unlocking those animal spirits and that means a smaller state, lower taxes and that means lower government spending and tough choices around that' **The economy could 'crater' without spending cuts** “This is not a hypothetical risk. Look across the Channel, not just to what’s happening in France, but what’s happening in Greece or Italy or Portugal or Spain a decade and a bit ago. Avoid that like the plague 'Because when you are forced involuntarily into making much more draconian cuts to appease financial markets and get them back on side that will, one, crater the economy. And, two, almost certainly crater your popularity 'That for me is the peril that comes from prevarication on this front. The peril that comes from not using up political capital and making hard choices' **A 'mañana' Budget does not speak to the urgency of now** 'The public finances dimension is of course a real concern for me. I feel the time to get on top of that is now because who knows what might turn up tomorrow. And a mañana budget doesn’t speak to the urgency of now 'The mañana choices will not be easier tomorrow. They’re going to be much harder. So backloading them, crossing your fingers and hoping that the weather turns, for me would not be the preferred course, would not be the prudent course, and risks next year being even more of a heavy lift than would otherwise be the case' **Banking taxes are 'penny wise, pound foolish'** 'The point that actually weighs with me most heavily is that this isn’t just about the banks. If you are felt to be a country that is in the business of doing windfall taxes — if you earn profits, the taxman cometh — that is not a hospitable environment for investors. 'It means you mark down the value of UK businesses and mark up the cost of lending money to those businesses. And that is not a good growth strategy over the medium term. Penny wise, pound foolish' **What does ending 40 years of neoliberalism mean?** 'Have you been to Manchester? You know it’s the embodiment of neoliberalism done well. Success is founded on being a magnetic attractor of capital, or people, of business and culture. That’s what the UK should become' **What does public control of utilities mean?** 'From kind of full fat nationalisation, which would cost an arm and a leg, right through to tinkering with the regulatory rules. If you’re in the water industry, the energy industry, parts of the transport industry, investors are saying, ‘Hang on a sec, I’m not putting money in here.' thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…

Another British Fumble! £2bn AI data centre in Essex. 23,000 Nvidia chips, planning permission sorted, Microsoft signed up as the anchor tenant Microsoft has reportedly now walked. Because the grid told them they can't have the power until 2033/34 The government literally named this site in its own AI action plan. They talk about AI growth zones every other week. And we can't get 90MW to a field in Essex for 8 years Same story as the reservoirs. We don't build the boring stuff, so the exciting stuff can't happen here

🚨BREAKING: Manchester City’s appeal gains serious momentum: Sources indicate the Premier League appeal panel effectively set aside the bulk of the club’s evidence showing that disputed sponsorship payments originated from the Abu Dhabi government, the ultimate shareholder of the sponsors rather than from the club’s owners. Manchester City presented three core strands of evidence on the question of state funding. Their legal team argues these were given insufficient weight when assessing whether government money was involved in the sponsorship arrangements: Contemporaneous government documentation and bank statements from Abu Dhabi. Official letters from the Abu Dhabi government confirming the accuracy of the original records. Witness testimony from club executives, senior figures at the sponsors, and government officials. If the appeal panel accepts that this material was improperly sidelined, it could fundamentally undermine the original finding that the deals were “shams” used to disguise owner funding. The stakes could not be higher for the Premier League, the title race, and the integrity of financial rules.

🚨 CONFIRMED: MANCHESTER CITY TO RECEIVE 80-POINT DEDUCTION AND THREE-YEAR TRANSFER BAN AFTER JANUARY WINDOW: Manchester City are expected to receive a 70-point deduction alongside a three-year transfer ban following the conclusion of the club’s 115-charge case. The final verdict is expected to be announced after the January transfer window, with the sanctions set to take effect following the announcement. A 70-point deduction would have a major impact on Manchester City’s Premier League standing, while a three-year transfer ban would significantly restrict the club’s ability to strengthen its squad during that period. The outcome would represent a landmark moment in English football, with the club facing serious sporting consequences as the case reaches its conclusion. Further details surrounding the implementation of the sanctions are expected to emerge following the final announcement.

Wage growth in the public sector is running at 6.3% copared to 3% in the priate sector. This is not going to end well.

The Trump administration has entered its utter shambles era ft.trib.al/WoHZABJ | opinion

Britain and France face a very similar problem. They are increasingly poor countries that think they are still rich ones.

Much punchier accusations from Sir Malcolm Rifkind - a former defence and foreign secretary: "I choose my words very carefully. I think this week Donald Trump has shown himself as a person to be repulsive; as a President of the United States to be a disgrace to his own people as well as to his international responsibilities. "We all know his actual reasons for this are a grubby attempt to win a few more votes in the midterms by trying to get oil prices down. "In order to achieve that, he has not only betrayed Ukraine in the middle of a war, fighting for its very existence, but he is also directly - not indirectly - directly responsible for the deaths of many Ukrainians who will not now be protected by the attempts that have been successfully made using intelligence provided indirectly by the United States." xitter.cf/breeallegretti/status/…

Hooray.

After the financial crisis, public spending in Greece was cut by 25%, the civil service was slashed from one million to slightly over 600,000, and pensions were cut 11 times. But now it is growing again, its debt is falling, and its borrowing costs are below Britain and France.