malumbu

Good to clarify and hopefully all publicity is good publicity. Perhaps those quick to speculate, particularly that this was an issue about the LTN, may wish to acknowledge they were wrong. And not jump to conclusions. I'll be criticised for being patronising but it needs to be said.

We've been saying the same things and having the same arguments about CPZs, LTNs, ULEZ, the joys and benefits of active travel, etc for the last two or three years. All rather tedious wouldn't you say? What would your term be for using private cars more efficiently and environmentally? Happy to have a better term than smarter driving. But too much dumb driving at the moment.

Not helpful to use the language of the gutter. Reminds me of Johnson telling those that caused trouble at Euro 20 to crawl back under from the rock they came from they came from.

Bucharest felt left behind in the 90s and still that way now. In my opinion! Fancy the odds and sods like Mostar and North Macedonia but sometimes difficult to get to.

Costs seem fairly reasonable, you will already be paying 1000s of pounds a year to own a car in any case. For some it may be a tipping point to getting rid of their car, using public transport and active travel more, and/or car clubs. There are hundreds of posts already for and against CPZs on this forum. Ultimately drivers and owners need to make smarter choices on using their vehicles.

It's relevant as it was not possible to explain or conclude the situation at the time so a material issue. It is not asserting that those who don't have English as a first language are criminals, but I bet those at the top of the criminal ladder are happy to exploit those in the gig economy, many of whom wont speak good English.

Insurance companies often adopt the path of least cost which is to pay up. Worth complaining to insurers (ie they are facilitating fraud at a cost to you, their customer, resulting in higher premiums), and then escalating to the Financial Ombudsman, involving your MP at this stage. You should also report to https://www.insurancefraudbureau.org/cheatline Whilst it is a crime it pales into insignificance with on line fraud, ID theft etc therefore more police resources there. The situation that we are aware of has some hallmarks of fraud - rider did not reveal his face, English not a first language, no ID, immediately mobile in hand, ambulance chasers contact within hours, but no obvious accomplice, an older vehicle involved (ie not high end). So perhaps just a rubbish rider not looking and/or distracted by their phone screen.

A general point is that we should all think about reducing short breaks with flights due to out carbon footprints, not that I am a particularly good example, but it you go longer rather than have a number of short breaks that is a good start. Long distance train travel has its environmental benefits, but will take longer and cost a fair bit more - but an adventure. I traveled fairly extensively to the old communist block in the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and saw places change quickly, often for the better but not always. Some places can be over-run by tourists, worse still stag and hen do's. Prague remains incredibly beautiful but spoiled in many ways. So looking at pretty, relatively quiet and certainly cheap places, Lublijana is nice. Sofia is OK, but you may wish to tack on a day trip or two by train. Tirana is a left field choice, but you'd best arrange some sort of tour of that part of Europe or even hire a car as there are lovely beach areas, UNESCO world heritage sites, nature reserves but grim bits in between. Very cheap. Danzig/Gdansk is interesting, as with the Baltic countries summer will quickly be ending.

The House of Lords 2024 report is interesting reading Quoting selectively from this: She (Helen Hayes MP) argued that the government did not believe “the scaremongering that there will be an exodus of pupils into the state sector”, but that independent school pupils moving to state school would not impose significant costs on the government because “our state schools would be able to cope with an increase in their numbers”. She said that “across England, overall pupil numbers are due to decline by at least 100,000 per year until 2030; the total drop is higher than the number of children currently attending private schools”. And: (IFS) said surveys should not be heavily relied upon, as “how people respond to a survey is rarely a good guide to how they behave in practice”. It argued that parents’ responsiveness to fee increases is low because the proportion of children in independent schools has remained steady in recent years despite significant fee increases. It also stated that evidence suggests that parents who choose to send their children to private schools tend to be “concentrated at the very top of the income and wealth distributions and such individuals tend to have relatively complex income and wealth streams”. There's lots of data on the concentration of those independently educated at the top of certain sectors including permanent secretaries and journalists, and Sunak's views on the aspirations of parents such as his who worked hard to give their kids the best opportunities (most of us aren't that fortunate of course). https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/independent-schools-proposed-vat-changes/ And a centre right/free market think tank that challenges the view of mass reduction in numbers privately educated. https://iea.org.uk/in-defence-of-vat-on-private-school-fees/ Which argues that there is price inelasticity in this sector ie you don't get the standard reduction in demand as prices go up. A general plea, if you are going to put up articles to justify your case, do actually give your views, as otherwise I find this a lazy way of debating an issue

???? Do you have your own view????

It's not a well written letter so I won't sign. Starmer has responded well, even Patel has called Farage out (and yes GB News/Reform - not sure about the Mail - have some responsibility). Perhaps they could hold those accused of thuggery on the Bibby Stockholm whilst they await trial.

That may be your understanding but surely we all remember what a nasty congested junction this was for four hours a day, 200 days a year.

Have a close contact with similar experience. Reported both as a scam and as careless driving. I'll PM you separately. Fortunately there were witnesses.

I'm not in a world where I send kids to a private school but I'd like to think that I would do my research first on their social credentials. I expect that most do some genuine good for their community but no doubt there is the equivalent of green washing too. It's stark that someone who sends say three kids to private school will be spending over twice what a cleaner gets paid But I'm not speaking from experience. We all speculate bit it's rare that those with real experience post.

Virtually anyone who has worked in a large office has seen the impact of outsourcing back office functions - facilities, reception, security and the like. High turn over of low paid staff with little loyalty to the organisation. Saves the organisation money of course.....

In deed, odd that there are apologists for private schools that appear happy to not pay some staff appropriately.

Pavements are for pedestrians. Yes it is frustrating seeing other people flout the law. I'm posting from the view of someone who got multiple fines in the past who has long since realised that it was wrong to park inconsiderately, speed etc. ultimately you got it wrong so blame yourself rather than others.

No excuse. I wish they'd have stronger enforcement. And this is from experience as I've had my fair share of fines in the dim and distance past where I took too many liberties

Pitchforks and burning torches this evening. Or maybe not. If the masses truly are offended then nobody would shop there.

Just for clarity I understand that you are community/ not for profit/ social enterprise etc. rather than a business There was a lot of excitement about micro generation around 2018, hope this will be picked up again by the power that be

I understand that the Xmas queue for William Rose has already started and causing an obstruction on the other pavement.

See what you have started Bob? You lob a grenade in then do a disappearing act. It's as if you wanted people to get into a debate. Whatever next. Ps the last 5 PMs set a progressively lower bar. I'm not sure what the alternative was to Starmer.

Love the pictures of Edwardian high streets with the awnings out. Although we knew how to dressing those days!

Abduction is nothing new, it happened when you were a child, your parents were children and so on. Most harm to children comes from family members. The vast majority of people will not do harm to children (yes we have had a dreadful incident in Southport, and sadly every few years there will be an atrocity). We have to take a broad view on risk, or else we would never leave our front door. I doubt if the Rye or other local parks are a particular danger. It always makes sense to be vigilant. The police should help and advise. They are often aware of local problem people.

You are not above the law. There are too many people who think they are judging by the violence against the police in recent nights. No matter how bad something is, there are still proper processes.