Laurie61

Initially yes, but the latest GDP forecasts show the UK is going nowhere near a recession. As the graph above, I posted earlier, shows. The BoE could have moved rates back up last OCT/NOV this would have reduced the inflationary pressures that are due to star working through over the next twelve months or so and supported GDP .

I agree with your comments, it is the weaker pound that will have the biggest influence on the UK economy in the short/medium term. So, if we all know this you might wonder what our friend at the BoE is doing with his interest rate decisions. Carnie took steps directly after the vote to drop interest rates as a precautionary/proactive measure. This had a negative effect on the pounds value but was considered a reasonable compromise at the time. Since then real economic data has appeared that shows the UK economy was carrying on at the same pace as before the vote. You might think a BoE governor would then respond to the new information and put rates back up, instead he has left them at rock bottom knowing that this will have an impact on inflation and peoples spending power. Why he is pursuing this policy only he knows but as a supporter of the remain campaign he is in a position to create at least some negative effects for the UK economy and to support his original stance when all others negative predictions have failed to materialise.

I could not comment on the reason some politicians change their minds but it’s completely different to holding a vote only then for a group to come along and decide that some may have changed their views and it’s a good enough reason to hold another vote. A vote is a snapshot of people’s intentions at the time and it is then acted on as expected. It’s a perfectly reasonable convention and is why the vote to trigger article 50 went through so easily in the commons. As you say a referendum is not a binding obligation but it was made clear in the leaflet sent out by Government that the result would be implemented so there was no doubt about the actions parliament would take. This pledge was included in the leaflet specifically to stress the importance to voters of their actions. If they had any doubts they were recommended to vote ‘in’ and avoid (the remain campaign’s forecast of) an emergency budget, 100,000’s job losses and house price collapse ECT. So the Leave campaign has not reneged on any promise, just followed through on what was understood to be the intentions behind the vote. Had they decided to ignore the vote then that would have been seen as reneging on what was original proposed.

You only have to answer one. Do you accept that it is open to the people to change their minds if they decide Brexit will in fact harm their own and the country's interests? If we apply the same logic then any vote/general election could be advisory based on the performance of the incoming government and if it looks as though changes in policy will result in harming the country's interests the election could be re run. Blair did not insist he held a vote on his own performance at the time so why should he expect one on brexit now ? Strangely his belief that brexit will end in disaster is not shared by others. Analyst Says Brexit Britain Will Win by 2027 Thanks to productivity and demographics, the U.K. economy is set to overcome Brexit difficulties to be the fastest-growing major economy in Europe over the next 10 years. Although up to 2 percent smaller by the end of 2021, than it would have been if Britain had voted to stay in the EU. Growth rates in output per hour seen before the financial crisis should return and the working-age population is likely to hold up better than in most other countries, according to analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence economist Jamie Murray. After a dip to 1.3 percent in 2018, the U.K.’s expansion should return to 2 percent and higher, making it a stronger performing economy than Germany, France, Italy or Spain by 2027. The U.K. economy “will expand more slowly than in the past, but faster than other European economies where growth rates are set to slow,” Murray said. “The ‘greying’ of Europe, characterized by higher life expectancy and lower fertility, will act as a significant drag.” Europe will experience an uneven recovery, he said, with Germany likely to experience a “modest amount of overheating” and Italy operating below its potential for several years. The European Central Bank’s era of extraordinary stimulus is likely to come to an end as growth should be enough to bring inflation back to the ECB’s target, he said. Nevertheless, this year’s slew of elections on the continent poses a risk.

It’s a strange argument to make. The EU has had it all their own way now for decades, they have been able to introduce policies as they have seen fit. The EU should be so good by now that there would be no room for nationalistic ideas or, so called, populism. The idea was supposed to be that operating as a group would allow countries to outperform what would otherwise be expected, yet France, Greece, Spain have flat lined. God help them if they are currently better off than they would have been out of the EU. There have always been extreme views from small groups but they would come and go without getting a political foothold. It is the EU’s massive failure to make good on its promises and instead peruse ideas of grandeur that have created the increasingly popular nationalistic views. Despite warnings they are the architects of their own demise. In the meantime I see all the strong supporters of previous policies are abandoning ship, Martin Schulz has gone, Guy Verhofstadt quit the EU Parliament race and now Jean-Claude Juncker has activated his escape pod.

S1 Lotus Esprit

As I am a Time Lord it seems I am at a bit of an advantage with this, don't tell anybody. A car with many horsepowers.

It would be if true, to assume 100% of trump voters were angry is the same as labelling all those who voted for Brexit as racist. It may be a comforting explanation for the opposing side to take the ideological high ground but it does not help identify the real problem and making a better job of opposing similar events in the future. Many in the US voted for a change from career politicians and a repeat of the same old antics. To promise much and deliver little or nothing.

The UK and US already trade, we could agree to remove any tariffs and then accept existing regulations on both sides. There may be some concerns about access to NHS ect but just allowing US companies to quote for work does not mean you have to accept the quote or give them the job.

I would be tempted by a Rover P6. Family owned two in the sixty's and it's about the first car I remember being driven around in.

What is your point ?

It is amazing to see the desperate spin being used to suggest a UK US trade alliance would be a bad idea. It is often suggested by those raising objections on ethical grounds to the Trump presidency that the best way to manage the dubious ideas of other nations/individuals is to engage with them and educate. Let us not forget that Trump was elected in a democracy. Over the years UK has engaged with far more dubious characters including IRA, China, Saudi Arabia along with many others. In the meantime air travellers are still being abused by immigration officials, presumably we will see the appropriate level of protesters demonstrating here also... Mother 'told to prove lactation' at Frankfurt airport http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38767588

Continued failure to control immigration - This is a prediction not a fact, the system of immigration control is always going to be a compromise but having no control cannot be better than having some ? The UK Government, which has massively failed to balance the books in the last 7 years - Its not UK government that has failed to balance the books, it’s the relatively strong UK economy buying goods whilst a mostly flat lining EU had no money to buy anything, a financial position created by the euro along with other ineffective monetary policy’s. All caused by multiple nations, with different economic requirements, failing to agree on a way out of the mess. The US has an even stronger view on this and feels that the euro was designed to allow Germany a low interest rate and an artificially weak currency, which is effectively currency rigging. So there is no real incentive for Germany to sort the EU mess out.

Gina Miller must be thinking she has wasted her time and money today. She has managed to make the government’s job easier rather than stop it. By allowing the case to reach a verdict Gov have a legal ruling showing devolved countries will not be able to stop the triggering of article 50. http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-legal-idUKKCN10119V

A decent statement by May I thought, focusing on the desire to continue to trade and work closely with the EU and aiming for a positive outcome but with the UK outside the EU. Then reminding them that it was inflexibility on their part that helped cause Brexit and if they remained inflexible it would result in no deal rather than a bad deal.

Or - Evidence is emerging that the sharp drop in the pound is boosting UK exports, economists say. Economists say that could be a sign that the fall in value of the pound since June is boosting exports. It could also be behind a rebound in manufacturing output in November. In November, the volume of goods exported rose at a three-month rate of 1.1%, up from the previous report which showed a 2.7% decline, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). "Signs are appearing... that the weaker pound is benefiting the economy, especially in terms of rising goods exports," said Chris Williamson chief business economist at IHS Markit. "Stronger exports do at least seem to be helping drive manufacturing output higher," he added in a research note. Paul Hollingsworth UK economist at Capital Economics said there were "encouraging signs" that the drop in the pound was "having a positive impact". The deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated at £4.2bn in November, up from £2.6bn in October. The widening gap reflects a £3.3bn surge in imports. A £1.4bn rise in machinery and transport equipment imports was the biggest contributor to that figure the ONS said. The trade figures, also out today, show that the UK is importing increasing amounts and rising exports are not able to keep pace, thus our trade deficit is widening. That is to be expected at the moment, although the fall in the pound should reduce imports, as they become more expensive and increase our exports as they become cheaper; that process can take years. In the short term a falling pound just makes already ordered imports more expensive and that increases the trade deficit. What is missing from today's figures is however the most important factor, the services sector is the biggest part of the economy, almost 80% of it, and figures on its performance are not out until later this month. Services are likely to be doing well and that means economic growth towards the end of 2016 almost certainly remained robust.

In misty/foggy conditions you will see stray light coming from headlight/highbeams. As light is angled well away from oncoming traffic it does not usually cause dazzle for other vehicles.

I would refer you to my post above and ask you to point out where I described a land of milk and honey or buildings made from ginger flavoured confectionary.

But there is a much better deal than the one we have, the EU know all about it and have accused the UK of trying to get it. Depending on who you listen to it’s called the Cake and Eat It or Cherry Pick deal. It is a great deal that gives all the benefits of EU cooperation with no down sides. You might think, given all the problems in EU land, that their top brass might be keen on not just letting the UK have this deal but all the other member states? After all, we are told that we can’t have it because then everybody else would to, so it should be easy to negotiate the Cake and Eat It deal across the EU. So what’s the problem, well the new deal would involve giving back powers to member states, binning the euro, and generally slimming down the EU,s budget. It would end up creating something more closely resembling the common market, rather than the United States of Europe. There is no way those who have spent decades building up the EU, with political reputations and power at stake (and lets not forget pensions) will stand for putting the best deal for EU citizens in front of their own political legacy. So unfortunately no Cake and Eat it deal for anybody and in a few years no EU.

A second storm coming through on Christmas day could be just as interesting as Bab's.

I have driven one car that's had the work carried out but it's not a superb. My brother runs a Leon 170 tdi and he decided to to take the car in for update. I had a drive in it a few weeks after and there were no obvious signs of problems, using third gear and from a rolling start with revs at tick over it accelerated away smoothly and without any flat spots or strange noises. As I don't drive it often it's hard to comment on overall noise levels but he says he can't feel/hear any difference.

The letter does not specify an area just that 265,000 have been updated. There is now a hotline for those who have queries regarding the update or the impact on their vehicle. Sounds like they might be getting quite a lot of resistance to having the work carried out ?

Another reminder letter received this morning, "We haven't seen you regarding the EA 189 NOx emissions service action required for your vehicle" it say's in big red letters. They are now offering me a visit from the VW group Roadside team at a location of my choice, home or work, to do the 60 min update. Apparently there have now been 265,000 vehicles updated.

Finding the brighter planets is not difficult as they can be seen by naked eye, when they are about. If you have a dark enough sky you can also see Andromeda by eye, if your sky is light polluted a scope will not show it. 200x mag is enough for Mars, when its at its closest, you will see some surface detail and pole cap. Seeing conditions become more important as you go much beyond 200x. Observing at higher magnification can be a case of standing at the eyepiece and waiting for a steady few moments when good detail will show. Finding your way around the sky can be half the fun, even a go to system will not guarantee finding targets at higher magnification. it will get you in the area and you then might have to search around a bit. The advantage of go to is the mount will track objects once found, at 200x magnification a planet will move through the field of view in about 30 sec, with an undriven scope you need to keep nudging it to follow. Astronomy is one of those hobbies that can cost more money than initially though, scopes only come with basic eyepieces and most folks will end up upgrading if they stick at it. My recommendation would be not rush into spending any money and find a local astro club and go and have a look at some kit and what it does, then see if you can find something used to start with, there is a lot of equipment available second hand. http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?titlechoice%5B%5D=For+Sale&minprice=&maxprice=

Another decent episode, possibly the best one yet.