Chancellor Sunak's mini-budget yesterday seemed to be aimed at stimulating the housing market and helping those who habitually eat out. However, though the stamp duty cut finds favour with the neo-liberal think tanks, as well as with the Mail as one might expect, the Express is a bit sniffy.
The cut in VAT, though limited in time (which would make it permissible under EU rules, if we were still in the Union) and scope, goes against the conservatives' traditional affection for regressive taxes. The chancellor appears to have realised that cutting taxes on income encourages the well-off to save more rather than spend more. Apart from that, the statement appears to appeal to the Conservative core vote, rather than addressing the real troubles in our economy.
Thursday, 9 July 2020
Wednesday, 8 July 2020
Rollers
In the course of some unrelated research, I came to realise what an impact an American improvement to the humble roller-skate made. The Smithsonian records:
In 1863, James L. Plimpton changed the skating world forever when he patented the forerunner of the modern roller skate. Safer and easier to use than existing versions, which were little more than wheels attached to rigid boards, his "rocker skate" allowed skaters to steer simply by leaning left or right.
Roller-skating boomed. In the 1860s, Plimpton set up a skate factory and opened America's first roller-skating rinks in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, where he leased skates to customers. Skating soon became a popular family activity. The New York Roller-Skating Association—the first of its kind—and other clubs held speed and distance competitions in cities across the United States.
That surge soon spread across the Atlantic. Roller-skating rinks sprang up all over the British Isles, in some cases replacing traditional rinks using artificial ice. The peak was reached in 1909 with the Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club, the largest indoor rollerskating rink in Europe, complete with its own orchestra balcony - just before a collapse in interest, coinciding with the rise in moving pictures. (The loss by the roller-skaters of North London was the BBC's gain.)
The National Archives reveal a string of bankruptcies and windings-up of skating rink undertakings between 1909 and 1911. Among the people caught out was the enterprising John James of Ammanford, founder of the bus company still remembered with affection today. Vernon Morgan writes:
In 1910, John James ventured into a separate business that had no connection with the Mews. Forming a partnership with local haulier, David Evans, they had plans drawn up in March 1910 to build a roller skating rink at Margaret Street, Ammanford. Two years later they submitted another plan to the Ammanford council to alter the building into a cinema and roller-skating rink complex.
The partnership however, dissolved after a very short time and the building was sold as a going concern to Mr. J. R. Pooles of Edinburgh, from whence it was known as ‘Pooles’ Cinema.
There must have been other rinks in the area, perhaps even in Neath. A cursory web-search turns up nothing, but perhaps a reader may recall something.
A nerdy footnote: I can claim a rare distinction. I rode on that first Atlantean mentioned by Mr Morgan, not long after, in Wallasey, riding the first Atlantean to enter municipal service.
In 1863, James L. Plimpton changed the skating world forever when he patented the forerunner of the modern roller skate. Safer and easier to use than existing versions, which were little more than wheels attached to rigid boards, his "rocker skate" allowed skaters to steer simply by leaning left or right.
Roller-skating boomed. In the 1860s, Plimpton set up a skate factory and opened America's first roller-skating rinks in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, where he leased skates to customers. Skating soon became a popular family activity. The New York Roller-Skating Association—the first of its kind—and other clubs held speed and distance competitions in cities across the United States.
That surge soon spread across the Atlantic. Roller-skating rinks sprang up all over the British Isles, in some cases replacing traditional rinks using artificial ice. The peak was reached in 1909 with the Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club, the largest indoor rollerskating rink in Europe, complete with its own orchestra balcony - just before a collapse in interest, coinciding with the rise in moving pictures. (The loss by the roller-skaters of North London was the BBC's gain.)
The National Archives reveal a string of bankruptcies and windings-up of skating rink undertakings between 1909 and 1911. Among the people caught out was the enterprising John James of Ammanford, founder of the bus company still remembered with affection today. Vernon Morgan writes:
In 1910, John James ventured into a separate business that had no connection with the Mews. Forming a partnership with local haulier, David Evans, they had plans drawn up in March 1910 to build a roller skating rink at Margaret Street, Ammanford. Two years later they submitted another plan to the Ammanford council to alter the building into a cinema and roller-skating rink complex.
The partnership however, dissolved after a very short time and the building was sold as a going concern to Mr. J. R. Pooles of Edinburgh, from whence it was known as ‘Pooles’ Cinema.
There must have been other rinks in the area, perhaps even in Neath. A cursory web-search turns up nothing, but perhaps a reader may recall something.
A nerdy footnote: I can claim a rare distinction. I rode on that first Atlantean mentioned by Mr Morgan, not long after, in Wallasey, riding the first Atlantean to enter municipal service.
Tuesday, 7 July 2020
Bridgend: it looks like Out-eos
Brexiteer boss of Ineos, Jim Ratcliffe, has switched his interest from South Wales to France for a factory to build his 4x4 car. He has clearly had a good price from Daimler AG for a Mercedes factory the German-based multi-national wants rid of. In any case, Bridgend always looked impractical once the decision to leave the EU had been made. Two questions are: how soon did Ratcliffe realise this was the case, and did he cynically mislead the potential Bridgend workforce?Another pair of queries is: how much has the Welsh government laid out in getting the site ready for a new factory and how likely are we taxpayers to see a return on the investment?
Incidentally, the politician who criticised Ineos for betraying the good old English name of "Grenadier" in favour of France cannot have studied history - or the French language/
Incidentally, the politician who criticised Ineos for betraying the good old English name of "Grenadier" in favour of France cannot have studied history - or the French language/
Monday, 6 July 2020
Support for the arts in the UK?
Prime minister Johnson has made a big splash with a promise of £1.57bn of new money to support the arts in the UK through these difficult times. Interestingly, the first organisation to break the news was not the BBC nor any of the main arts bodies, but Rhinegold Publishing, part of the Mark Allen Group. One wonders whether Rhinegold broke a publishing embargo or there is a link between No. 10 and the publishing conglomerate.
Another question is how much of that money is going to be apportioned to Scotland and Wales, and whether governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff will then help to survive the little theatres, galleries and museums which are such a vital part of local life and which, having few resources to fall back upon, have suffered more than the national institutions during the Covid-19 lock-down.
Another question is how much of that money is going to be apportioned to Scotland and Wales, and whether governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff will then help to survive the little theatres, galleries and museums which are such a vital part of local life and which, having few resources to fall back upon, have suffered more than the national institutions during the Covid-19 lock-down.
Saturday, 4 July 2020
Independence of taxes
On US Independence Day 1920, Leona Helmsley, former hotel executive, was born in Brooklyn. The "Queen of Mean" is known today for one typical aphorism: "We don't pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes".
Friday, 3 July 2020
When we build cycle paths, the cyclists will come
A Netherlands ex-pat writes:
When I first moved to the UK from Holland almost eighteen years ago, someone told me I had to use the bus lane as a cyclist - I laughed. Then I realised they were serious.
I know I'm spoilt. I grew up in a country where there are more bikes than people. Where cycling is part of the national psyche and where the cycling infrastructure is the envy of the world. But it wasn't always that way. In the 1960s and 1970s, increasing numbers of road fatalities led to civil activist campaigns with titles like 'Stop Child Murder'. Coupled with the 1973 oil crisis and car-free Sundays, these campaigns gradually fed the political will that led to far-reaching improvements in cycling infrastructure over several decades.
Although in Holland bikes were never truly marginalised, the improved infrastructure had a massive impact on cycling uptake. It is now an every-day mode of transportation for people of all ages, carried out in normal clothing on bikes that are functional and often laden with shopping and children. Virtually every motorist is also a cyclist, and knows how to look out for them. And thanks to well-designed, segregated lanes that are still integrated as part of the wider transportation infrastructure, it is safe.
[a] combination of segregation and integration is key. Where I live in Edinburgh, a network of old railway lines was converted to shared cycling and pedestrian paths some years ago. Although in theory that sounds lovely (and certainly has its advantages) there are several issues. First of all, and especially in times of social distancing, there is simply not enough space for both pedestrians and cyclists to maintain their distance. This is not helped by the inherent speed differential between people on foot and people on wheels, and causes a lot of frustration. Secondly, the network is limited and doesn't go near the centre of town where most people work, nor does it really link up with other cycle paths. This means its functional use is limited.
But finally, and often overlooked, is the fact that most women simply don't feel safe at night on cycle paths that are secluded and separated from other roads and houses. Essentially, this type of provision excludes half of the population for significant parts of the day. To me it is absolutely key that cycling infrastructure is accessible and safe for all to use. We should therefore be aiming for a true network of segregated cycling lanes that exist alongside other forms of transport, linking up places where people actually want to go.
In Holland, it took two crises (oil and road deaths) for the political will to emerge to deliver systemic improvements. Perhaps today's equivalent, the perfect storm of global pandemic and climate emergency, will finally wake up those in charge of transport infrastructure across our local and national governments and help deliver the change we need. When we build cycle paths, the cyclists will come.
To repeat the message from an earlier post:
The boom in cycling shows that folk are taking matters in their own hands (or feet). Those continental nations which incorporated cycle lanes into the reconstruction of their cities after the world war have been shown to be more far-sighted than they knew. Those of us who are less mobile than we used to be bemoan the fact that our local authorities (with honourable exceptions, like the New Towns) went the other way, as we dodge squads of young people on bikes on already too-narrow footways. It is ironic that the cycle-lane-to-nowhere outside Port Talbot Parkway station was not extended, but removed as part of the piazza project just before the Covid-19 lock-down hit.
When I first moved to the UK from Holland almost eighteen years ago, someone told me I had to use the bus lane as a cyclist - I laughed. Then I realised they were serious.
I know I'm spoilt. I grew up in a country where there are more bikes than people. Where cycling is part of the national psyche and where the cycling infrastructure is the envy of the world. But it wasn't always that way. In the 1960s and 1970s, increasing numbers of road fatalities led to civil activist campaigns with titles like 'Stop Child Murder'. Coupled with the 1973 oil crisis and car-free Sundays, these campaigns gradually fed the political will that led to far-reaching improvements in cycling infrastructure over several decades.
Although in Holland bikes were never truly marginalised, the improved infrastructure had a massive impact on cycling uptake. It is now an every-day mode of transportation for people of all ages, carried out in normal clothing on bikes that are functional and often laden with shopping and children. Virtually every motorist is also a cyclist, and knows how to look out for them. And thanks to well-designed, segregated lanes that are still integrated as part of the wider transportation infrastructure, it is safe.
[a] combination of segregation and integration is key. Where I live in Edinburgh, a network of old railway lines was converted to shared cycling and pedestrian paths some years ago. Although in theory that sounds lovely (and certainly has its advantages) there are several issues. First of all, and especially in times of social distancing, there is simply not enough space for both pedestrians and cyclists to maintain their distance. This is not helped by the inherent speed differential between people on foot and people on wheels, and causes a lot of frustration. Secondly, the network is limited and doesn't go near the centre of town where most people work, nor does it really link up with other cycle paths. This means its functional use is limited.
But finally, and often overlooked, is the fact that most women simply don't feel safe at night on cycle paths that are secluded and separated from other roads and houses. Essentially, this type of provision excludes half of the population for significant parts of the day. To me it is absolutely key that cycling infrastructure is accessible and safe for all to use. We should therefore be aiming for a true network of segregated cycling lanes that exist alongside other forms of transport, linking up places where people actually want to go.
In Holland, it took two crises (oil and road deaths) for the political will to emerge to deliver systemic improvements. Perhaps today's equivalent, the perfect storm of global pandemic and climate emergency, will finally wake up those in charge of transport infrastructure across our local and national governments and help deliver the change we need. When we build cycle paths, the cyclists will come.
To repeat the message from an earlier post:
The boom in cycling shows that folk are taking matters in their own hands (or feet). Those continental nations which incorporated cycle lanes into the reconstruction of their cities after the world war have been shown to be more far-sighted than they knew. Those of us who are less mobile than we used to be bemoan the fact that our local authorities (with honourable exceptions, like the New Towns) went the other way, as we dodge squads of young people on bikes on already too-narrow footways. It is ironic that the cycle-lane-to-nowhere outside Port Talbot Parkway station was not extended, but removed as part of the piazza project just before the Covid-19 lock-down hit.
Thursday, 2 July 2020
Status and ability of civil service to take another lurch down
Liberal Democrats and others are rightly concerned about the latest threat to the independence and corporate expertise of the British civil service. The stated rationale is contained in this report from the Daily Telegraph:
it was confirmed that Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, would be leaving the role in September. The announcement had been planned for later in the year, but was rushed out after The Telegraph and the Financial Times reported on the plans.
While Sir Mark officially resigned, it seems fairly clear that he was forced out. The head of the Civil Service, who also served as National Security Adviser, had been expected to be cleared out as soon as Johnson came into office, but, initially at least, was said to enjoy a good relationship with the new PM and his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings.
In recent months, however, it has soured considerably and Sir Mark has been subject to considerable briefings against him to the media, especially over the coronavirus crisis.
– Here comes the hard rain –
The departure of Sir Mark, who will become the shortest-serving Cabinet Secretary, means that three of the top four civil servants in Whitehall have all been cleared out under Johnson, with only the permanent secretary at the Treasury remaining.
While Sir Mark was a key ally and effectively a creation of Theresa May’s, this is, for obvious reasons, being seen as part of Cummings’ plans to upend Whitehall, following his briefing to advisers this month that a “hard rain” was coming for the Civil Service.
On Saturday, Michael Gove gave some indication of the plans. He talked of breaking up departments and moving civil servants to the Midlands and the North, getting more scientists involved and making Whitehall and the Government “closer to the 52 per cent who voted to leave”.
[One of Cummings' key objectives] is to redress the balance of power between No. 10 and the Whitehall departments. The UK is unusual in that the PM has plenty of official power but very few resources to enforce it. Pulling a lever only for nothing to happen is a familiar feeling among former prime ministers.
it was confirmed that Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, would be leaving the role in September. The announcement had been planned for later in the year, but was rushed out after The Telegraph and the Financial Times reported on the plans.
While Sir Mark officially resigned, it seems fairly clear that he was forced out. The head of the Civil Service, who also served as National Security Adviser, had been expected to be cleared out as soon as Johnson came into office, but, initially at least, was said to enjoy a good relationship with the new PM and his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings.
In recent months, however, it has soured considerably and Sir Mark has been subject to considerable briefings against him to the media, especially over the coronavirus crisis.
– Here comes the hard rain –
The departure of Sir Mark, who will become the shortest-serving Cabinet Secretary, means that three of the top four civil servants in Whitehall have all been cleared out under Johnson, with only the permanent secretary at the Treasury remaining.
While Sir Mark was a key ally and effectively a creation of Theresa May’s, this is, for obvious reasons, being seen as part of Cummings’ plans to upend Whitehall, following his briefing to advisers this month that a “hard rain” was coming for the Civil Service.
On Saturday, Michael Gove gave some indication of the plans. He talked of breaking up departments and moving civil servants to the Midlands and the North, getting more scientists involved and making Whitehall and the Government “closer to the 52 per cent who voted to leave”.
[One of Cummings' key objectives] is to redress the balance of power between No. 10 and the Whitehall departments. The UK is unusual in that the PM has plenty of official power but very few resources to enforce it. Pulling a lever only for nothing to happen is a familiar feeling among former prime ministers.
Wednesday, 1 July 2020
England and Wales not yet ready to rejoin EU
In spite of what some business-orientated media are saying, there is no unambiguous signal that the UK population south of Hadrian's Wall is itching to get back into the European Union. The opinion surveys show that those with fixed views are as roughly equally divided as the "Yeses" and "Noes" of the period before the last referendum. The mistake commentators seem to be making is to count all the "Maybes" as people who will vote for Remain parties or candidates at the next general election.
As Prof David Kynaston pointed out on last Friday's Long View - Rethink, Britain is a very conservative country. That applies to Labour sympathisers as well as Conservative voters. So those Maybes will melt away as they did in 2017 and before last year's election. There is going to be some hardening on the Conservative benches, too. We have already seen that Conservative MPs whose instincts are that it was better for business to be in have had to follow the Johnson line or be deselected by their local constituency Tories. The infiltration of local parties by National Front sympathisers and other xenophobes is only going to make matters worse.
It will take an economic decline so severe that even Johnson will not be able to attribute it credibly to the Covid-19 emergency to cause a change of heart. The trouble is that, the more Britain's fortunes decline, the less attractive we will be to the EU27. One must also bear in mind that a decision by the EU nations to admit an applicant must be unanimous.
As Prof David Kynaston pointed out on last Friday's Long View - Rethink, Britain is a very conservative country. That applies to Labour sympathisers as well as Conservative voters. So those Maybes will melt away as they did in 2017 and before last year's election. There is going to be some hardening on the Conservative benches, too. We have already seen that Conservative MPs whose instincts are that it was better for business to be in have had to follow the Johnson line or be deselected by their local constituency Tories. The infiltration of local parties by National Front sympathisers and other xenophobes is only going to make matters worse.
It will take an economic decline so severe that even Johnson will not be able to attribute it credibly to the Covid-19 emergency to cause a change of heart. The trouble is that, the more Britain's fortunes decline, the less attractive we will be to the EU27. One must also bear in mind that a decision by the EU nations to admit an applicant must be unanimous.
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