NOT THIS TIME GENTLEMEN PLEASE
The Daily Mail reports that Sir Keir Starmer was thrown out of a pub after being confronted by a Labour-supporting landlord furious that he supported the lockdown which had closed his business for months. In astonishing scenes in Bath on Monday Rod Humphris, the lockdown-sceptic landlord of the Raven, had to be held back by the Opposition Leader’s security guards as he demanded he leave, shouting, ‘that man is not allowed in my pub’ and ‘get out of my pub’. The incident was captured on camera by reporters amid a visit to the city to support West of England metro mayoral candidate Dan Norris ahead of the forthcoming elections. The bust-up comes as the Labour leader’s popularity among voters has plunged to its lowest level and Sir Keir’s Labour struggles in the polls – amid a surge in support for Boris Johnson’s Conservatives boosted by the vaccine rollout, with the Tories enjoying a 14-point poll lead.
RUSSIA PLANNING TO INVADE UKRAINE FOR WATER SUPPLIES
From the Daily Mail: Russia is planning an attack on Ukraine in a bid to secure water supply facilities, according to a report. Four Russian Ropucha class ships have gathered in the Black Sea, joining more than 15 other warships, in preparation for an attack, The Mirror reported, citing ‘military sources’. The report comes amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine as Russia has amassed more than 150,000 troops along the Ukrainian border and in the annexed Crimean peninsula. Ukrainian military takes these ships very seriously. ‘We estimate one of the Russian scenarios could be an amphibious and air assault from occupied Crimea to seize water supply facilities in south Ukraine to provide water to Crimea.” The UK has offered to send two warships to the Black Sea as a warning to Putin, according to leaked documents, after the US cancelled the deployment of two of its own vessels to the region.
BORIS CANCELS TRIP AND INDIA GOES ON COVID RED LIST
The Daily Mail reports that India is being added to the UK’s travel ‘red list’ after Boris Johnson cancelled his visit amid surging coronavirus cases and alarm about a new variant. Matt Hancock told MPs today that the government had made the ‘difficult’ decision to place the country in the highest level of restrictions from 4am on Friday. Some 103 cases of the variant first identified in India have now been identified in the UK, with the ‘vast majority’ linked to international travel, he said. Earlier, a joint statement from the British and Indian government said Mr Johnson’s trip – already scaled back – will not go ahead ‘in light of the current situation’.
BORIS NOT CAMPAIGNING IN SCOTLAND BEFORE MAY ELECTION
The Guardian reports that Boris Johnson has dropped plans to visit Scotland to campaign for the Conservatives before the May elections, heightening suspicions the party fears he will damage efforts to lure anti-independence voters away from Scottish Labour. Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Tories, admitted that the prime minister would not be going to Scotland despite Johnson’s assertion in January that “wild horses” would not keep him from campaigning to save the union. In a clear indication that the party fears Johnson’s poor ratings in Scotland would prove toxic to that strategy, Ross told reporters after his Holyrood manifesto launch on Monday that the pair had spoken the night before, agreeing Johnson would not come to Scotland.
DENMARK MAY ALLOW JAB CHOICE
The London Evening Standard reports that Denmark may allow people to choose the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine despite the country ceasing its rollout. The move comes after Denmark became the first country to stop using AstraZeneca’s vaccine altogether over a potential link to a rare but serious form of blood clot. The decision pushed back the scheduled conclusion of Denmark’s vaccination scheme to early August from July 25. Many countries in Europe and elsewhere have resumed using the shot, with some restricting it to certain age groups, mostly those aged above 50 or above 60.
GREEN FUEL NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ALL OLDER VEHICLES
The SUN reports that drivers of older vehicles are facing higher prices at petrol pumps across the country from Autumn. Changes to petrol designed to help the country become greener could add up to £6.11 to the cost of a tank of fuel for more than half a million car owners, The Sun has calculated. From September, petrol stations can start selling more eco-friendly E10 petrol, replacing E5 which is the current standard for unleaded petrol.The switch from E5 to E10 will help reduce C02 emissions and tackle climate change, the government has said. Drivers whose cars are not compatible with new E10 fuel will still be able to fill up, but they will have to opt for premium petrol on the forecourt which costs more.
WIND ENERGY TO GET CHEAPER
The Independent reports that the cost of harvesting wind energy could be halved by 2050, according to a new survey by American government scientists. Experts at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said more efficient turbines combined with lower capital and operating costs could see reductions of between 17 and 35 per cent by 2035. The savings could be between 37 and 49 per cent by 2050, according to the survey, published in the journal Nature Energy. Researchers polled 140 wind experts — from fields including business and engineering — on the prospects for three forms of the renewable energy source: land-based sites, fixed-bottom offshore generators and floating offshore turbines. The anticipated future costs for all three forms of harvesting wind energy were half what experts predicted in a similar study in 2015.
THOUSANDS FACE CREDIT CARD LIMIT CUT
The SUN reports that Barclaycard has cut credit limits for thousands of customers. The credit card firm, which has millions of customers in the UK, has reduced limits for some of them. Customers have been slamming the firm on social media, with some arguing that they have been loyal customers with good credit scores. Tougher regulation introduced in February 2020 by the City watchdog means lenders have to do more to help those in long-term debt repay it. The lender said that it has taken into account the impact of coronavirus on the economy and the ability of some customers to borrow money effectively.
HOUSE PRICES SURGE TO NEW RECORD
The Times reports that homebuyers this spring are facing the highest house prices seen in Britain after the average increased by almost £7,000 in the past month alone. The average price has hit £327,797, an increase of more than £4,000 on the previous record set last October. Sellers are also finding buyers at record speed, with almost a quarter agreeing a sale within a week, data from the Rightmove property site said. From today, buyers will need a deposit of 5 per cent to apply for mortgages with the launch of a new system of government guarantees. Lenders will offer 95 per cent mortgages on properties of up to £600,000 but several are excluding new-build homes. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, announced the scheme in last month’s budget.
GOVERNMENT HOME BUY SCHEME NO HELP TO SOME SINGLES
The Guardian reports: the government’s scheme to turn ‘generation rent’ into ‘generation buy’ will not help single thirtysomethings get on the property ladder in much of England and Wales, Guardian analysis has found. The mortgage guarantee scheme, which came into effect on Monday, will support banks and building societies to offer 95% loans, meaning that buyers only have to raise 5% themselves. The scheme, announced in March’s budget, aims to help first-time buyers and movers struggling to raise large deposits. However, analysis by the Guardian has found that single buyers in their 30s on the UK median wage will still be locked out of buying a home in about half of local authority areas in England and Wales. Although two salaries will make it easier to raise a large mortgage, those on the UK median earnings for that age group will be unable to afford to buy a home in all of London and parts of the south and east.
LOCKDOWN FINES NOT PAID
The London Evening Standard reports that just a fraction of £3.6 million in fines handed out to London’s Covid-19 rule breakers were actually paid in the first year of the pandemic. Police forces across the UK have issued tens of thousands of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to lockdown breakers, punishing those ignoring the ‘stay at home’ message, throwing house parties, and refusing to wear a mask. But figures obtained by the Evening Standard show that less than 15 percent of FPNs issued by the Met Police in the last year for Covid-19 regulation breaches have actually been paid. A total of 14,174 fines were dished out, adding up to £3,625,440, but just £538,100 of the bill was settled between the start of the pandemic and mid-March this year.
AND FINALLY
From the Daily Star: The near future might just look like something out of a Sci-Fi flick if expert predictions prove correct – with us all dialling our loved ones and rocking up for a chat via hologram in their living rooms. After a year of communicating via video calls, which saw Zoom and Facetime soar in popularity, tech forecasters are now predicting that holograms will be the next form of virtual communication within just nine years. A study of 2,000 Brits found half are bored of video calls, while 63 per cent feel they don’t give the level of interaction or closeness they want and 44 per cent believe the pandemic has permanently changed the way we interact with technology, and that it will have a remarkable impact on our lifestyles in years to come.
Re Lockdown Fines not paid; good to see people fighting back against evil laws. But be warned that we face ending up with the Chinese Communist Party Social Credits system, whereby we will not have that option. The state will be able to help itself to our money from our bank account. There is a you tube of someone relating how he was pinged by his smartphone telling him he had a fixed penalty notice for jaywalking. and that the fine had been removed from his account on the spot. For with this system ALL our personal data is in one place on that smartphone. Plus for some “social” offence, his attempt to purchase from a shop by swiping his phone was rejected. (over there they’ve moved on from paying by debit/credit card). Total control.
Prompts the question whether pay as you go ‘burner’ phones are banned in China. I often use one.
I don’t believe the water supply for Crimea story.
If there was a problem, a pipe could be run along the new bridge.
Much cheaper than starting a war.
Back in 1970,my first house cost £400, an end of terrace wreck with outside toilets. Four years work to fix it up.
There’s still cheap property out there but today’s kids want a picture perfect house with no work involved.
Not even prepared to pick up a paint brush. (Or even know how)
When did you last see a DIY program on the TV?
You could buy a back to back in Hebden Bridge in the 60s for £50 !
Another day with the UK’s wind ‘fleet’ doing damn all to keep our society working. No wind, no power – – still, the the subsidies can always be raised.
People don’t always understand that the subsidies are put directly onto electricity bills, with energy suppliers acting as tax gatherers. People who use proportionately most on energy, the old, the poor and the sick, are thus taxed proportionately more.
Maybe the subsidies should be paid from general taxation – – an income tax increase would show what’s going on and might raise protests
JF
Ggl gridwatch templar
Just because the wind isn’t blowing here doesn’t mean it’s not blowing elsewhere. The electricity grid is being extended constantly so that the wind can be “followed” as low pressure systems track across Europe.
Plus it’s excellent weather for solar power.
JF ‘Maybe the subsidies should be paid from general taxation’.
Instead, maybe subsidies should be abolished? Then, when that dark brown sticky stuff hits the air circulating device, maybe reporting on the true cost of this scam will become apparent to all – unlikely but even the bbc(!). Taxation similarly would be exposed for what it is – plunder of our income for our hard work.