Perhaps most of those who were inclined to leave Labour over something like this had already left anyway.

In other Ed Miliband news… the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (heat pump subsidy) is going up from £7,500 to £9,000 for homes in rural areas that rely on oil or LPG.

Given the spike in heating oil prices, and how good an option heat pumps are in rural areas, this is a good idea

I do it early so that I know in advance how much money they are going to want on 31 January, and can budget for it. Yes I could do the return on that day, but then I'd have to find whatever amount they ask for on the *same day*!

Quite. And there again that terrible framing of charges as "punishment". It's just paying for a service, namely the huge infrastructure required to make my journey by private vehicle into the city possible. Just like I pay to go into many other venues that provide services I wish to use.

America's shame is that their votes are so borderline when one side is offering literal fascism. People there still talk as if there are two perfectly valid alternative options. No, there is one fairly reasonable party which has significant issues ... and on the other hand there is utter madness.

This is true. And it's also true that you can't anticipate everything. We are human. But drivers CAN (a) choose a vehicle that is small, has a low bonnet and good visibility; (b) drive at a speed such that if an unpredictable accident happens, it doesn't cause serious injury. These are both easy.

The second most important thing is that the care, from the most basic checkups to the most advanced surgery, is provided in the most cost effective way possible, ie with maximum economy of scale and minimum profit.

The most important requirement is that everyone can afford whatever costs are incurred. No exceptions. Including those who cannot afford to pay anything at all.

Of course. I agree with the original post as well. :)

You should get free health care for life regardless of your service or lack of it.

🚨 NEW: 65% of Brits support the Green Party's policy of capping CEO pay at ten times the pay of the lowest paid employee

The image there worries me because it looks an awful lot like deforestation. Solar is brilliant and I accept the case for building it on fields where necessary, but in forests?

It's bordering on criminal how little Biden did to learn the lessons of Trump I. He genuinely thought Trump II would never happen and the battle was won ... until it was too late.

Same thing. That's the idea.

Brilliant news from Hungary. The demise of Trump's best mate Orbán means his far right propaganda network throughout Europe, funded by the Hungarian taxpayer and including key Reform figures, may now falter. Good riddance.

Anyone who says the fertility rate among teenage girls should *increase* is definitely the problem.

I simply cannot believe Trump knows or cares that Orbán's name has an accent on the a, let alone thoughtfully holds down his thumb on the keyboard to actually insert it - twice. Can you?

Cliftonville (Kent) Council By-Election Result:

🌍 GRN: 38.8% (+26.7)
➡️ RFM: 33.1% (-7.0)
🌳 CON: 15.2% (-4.5)
🌹 LAB: 10.4% (-11.6)
🙋 Ind: 1.3% (New)
🔶 LDM: 1.2% (-1.9)

No Ind (-3.0) as previous.

Green GAIN from Reform UK.
Changes w/ 2025.

More likely those now showing up as RES were previously not declaring support for any party in the list they were presented with, so they were outside the percentages altogether. The drops in LAB/GRN are probably just coincidental noise between polls.

Is Trump stupid enough, and angry enough, to nuke Tehran? Yes.

Is he idiotic enough to believe it would work? Yes.

Is he self-obsessed enough not to care what the consequences are for the world after he's gone? Absolutely.

Why is it dark? Surely going to all this expense to send humans round the back of the moon, NASA would have ensured they arrived when that side of it was lit?

You capitalise "HALF" like it's a big deal, but this is 2035 we're taking about. Nearly 10 years away. Any country not approaching 90% by then is underperforming.

"Will change" regulations rather than "have changed", but yes, very good news. 😎

All right, you got me on a technicality. Well done. I thought from the branding that all the parties were legally separate in Scotland but apparently not. Still, showing the Greens as two separate bars would be weird and unhelpful.

The polls don't tend to ask which Green Party people are planning to vote for. So yes.

I believe the figures include the Scottish Greens, and NI doesn't matter.

Yes, but "national" for a UK political party means the UK by default. For it to mean one of the constituent nations you have to be speaking in that context or call it out explicitly.

Nobody with an ordinary house, even a big one, would fall into the Greens' proposed wealth taxes. They're going for a much higher value than that - £10m last I heard. Those who need to pay them have ways to do so without selling up. Most millionaires know all about these methods already.

Louder for those in the back: the State Pension is an out-of-work BENEFIT. Yes you qualify for it by being in work for X years, but you do not "pay in", and there is no "pot".

Booked our Iceland tickets last year so no impact for us. The airline will have to work out how to buy the fuel using what we've already paid them. Next year we will probably go by rail anyway.