RE: “Andy Burnham v London” by Matthew d’Ancona, TNW #488
I’m all for shifting the political centre of gravity away from That London, but why is it always Manchester that benefits? It’s not even officially the second city (Birmingham is, right?). And what about the Midlands in general, always ignored in these discussions, or the south-west, where there’s a huge amount of rural poverty?
Ian Williams
I live in the north and have a bright daughter who has had to “emigrate” south to get a well-paid job. The other side of the coin is that, in her mid-20s, she is only able to afford to rent rooms in a shared house.
The point being that the economic disparities Andy Burnham is highlighting damage young people north and south, as with relatively high incomes in the south come horribly high housing costs.
Brian Ronson
London, according to which report you refer to, generates 30% to 40% of the UK’s GDP. London also generates about 30% of the UK’s “economy taxes” and a huge surplus, which we then have to give to the rest of Brexitland because it’s so busy complaining about the EU, migrants, small boats and the ECHR that it forgets to get up and do some work. By all means devolve, and do it quickly so we can keep more of our taxes and stop subsidising Brexitland. The best and brightest thrive in London, because it’s a great city. And there is success and opportunity to be had – success that we created and that we consolidated.
Richard Riddle
Suggested Reading
Andy Burnham v London
RE: “How Gen Z fell for Andy Burnham” by Lucy Reade, TNW #488
I hope Andy Burnham deals with the insidious creep of the tech barons into our government, lives and now our energy sector. Multiple applications are in play to build hyper data centres in Scotland that, if approved, threaten to consume 1.2 times the amount of peak electricity available on the grid. Ireland has already had pause to regret the amount of power given to these greedy control freaks.
There should be no easy access for Palantir, Amazon, Facebook/Meta, X, and Google. They should always pay well over the odds for any access, and face intense scrutiny.
Keith Brisley
Suggested Reading
How Gen Z fell for Andy Burnham
RE: “JD Vance’s books are an unholy mess” by Ian Winwood, TNW #488
Bravo! This was music to my ears. At last, a voice speaking plain truth, courageous enough to eschew the mealy-mouthed verbiage that threatens to overwhelm our human faculties in a cowardly refusal to face reality. I read this with delight. What a breath of fresh air dancing its way into our befugged, dulled consciousness.
Penelope Lane
An absolutely excellent use of vitriol.
Patrick Reynolds
RE: Alastair Campbell’s diary on climate unreality, TNW #488
Do climate deniers themselves really believe what they are saying? The evidence for man-made climate change is now so overwhelming; just going outside can provide conclusive evidence.
It seems more likely to me that they are cynical liars seeking personal advantage now at the cost of destroying our civilisation for future generations.
Will Douglas-Mann
In 1987, the Brundtland Report introduced me to the concept of sustainable development – still, to my mind, the best slogan to use in any argument with the head in the (hot) sand climate-crisis deniers. The UN’s 17 sustainable development goals should be the blueprint for not only every government in the world, but even more importantly, for the billionaire-led multinational companies that are casting the wellbeing of the population aside in their quest for ever-increasing profit.
Tim Devas
RE: “The American right’s war on Britain” by James Ball, TNW #488
James Ball is one of the few media commentators who clearly observes what is going on here. As he writes, “It is right there to see, for anyone who will look”. I am heartily sick of seeing political “experts” (always white men) being asked in the media why Donald Trump and co are so obsessed with Europe. The answer they give is always some vague BS about it being frustration at Nato spending rates or “culture war” posturing. But the real reason Trump, Musk et al are obsessed with Europe is that they – along with their MAGA movement – are white supremacists. They view Europe as a kind of spiritual homeland for white people alone. If they had their way, Europe’s non-white population would be stripped of their collective citizenships and deported. As JB writes, of all the issues Andy Burnham will deal with, “this may be the most important”.
Will Goble
Suggested Reading
The American right’s war on Britain
RE: “Albania’s message to Jared Kushner – see you next Tuesday!” by Matt Withers, TNW #488
Kushner is, without doubt, a Completely Unique National Treasure.
Colin Hayes
RE: “Aircon is cool, except it makes the world hotter” by Jonn Elledge, TNW #488
I had an air-to-water heat pump installed four years ago, and having done extensive research, I understood that I could have a system that cooled the house in the summer as well as warming it in the winter. What stopped me going down that route was realising that I needed to have wall-mounted fans in each room for cooling, in addition to radiators for heating. My 1960s ex-council house is quite large by modern-day standards, but I decided that all the extra equipment and pipe work was too awful to contemplate on top of the enormous upheaval involved in installing the heat pump to start with. Retrofitting a combined heating and cooling system in old British homes would be hugely expensive and disruptive, but I do agree that all new houses should have combined heating and cooling heat pumps, as well as solar PV. There are lots of new properties being built near me that have heat pumps and EV chargers, but no solar PV? Incomprehensible!
Janet Bayford
RE: Rats in a Sack on the Mail and the World Cup, TNW #488
I must say that I have never heard the phrase “go woke, go broke” before reading this. But then, I never read the Daily Mail, where I assume it must appear several times in every article.
Andy Wright
BELOW THE LINE:
RE: “The indescribable hell of the late gig cancellation” by Paul Hanley, TNW #488
I was at a gig once and the main act still hadn’t appeared. I asked the promoter what time he was coming on. “When we’ve sobered him up.”
David Pollard
RE: “How David Hockney became an accidental life coach” by Florence Hallett, TNW #488
What a splendid tribute to a man whom I have admired not only for his paintings, but also his joie de vivre. Many years ago, I decided that Hockney reminded me of the words of the tramp poet WH Davies: “What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs, and stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see when woods we pass, where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.”
Let us hope his legacy continues to make a big splash.
Robert Boston
Kingshill, Kent
RE: Alastair Campbell on Eurovision, TNW #488
I am sure Alastair is aware that Céline Dion already won Eurovision. The Canadian triumphed in 1988, with Ne Partes Pas Sans Moi (Don’t Leave Without Me), representing Switzerland in Dublin.
Richie Butler
Dublin, Ireland
