it now looks like the Resident Doctors strike actually might not have had the impact they would have perhaps hoped for: On 'health leader' told the FT; 'the impact of having senior decision makers at all points through the hospital means that actually hospitals went into this Christmas with a lower level of bed occupancy than we’ve seen for years' and thereby avoiding the worse of a winter crisis. Of course this could be management mischief making, but it has a certain logic? #NHS #health

I'm going to say you'll be unsurprised that polling commissioned from IPSOS by Andy Haldane suggests the majority of voters mistrust both the institutions of government & the people who run them; leading to wide support former deliberative democracy (such as referendums - I mean that's been trouble free hasn't it) and more local democracy (devolution - which *has* worked better). But the key thing is voters want new blood (outsiders) in charge... hello Nigel & Zac! #politics #democracy h/t FT

Nigel Farage is playing both ends to the middle tight now; at once presenting ReformUK Ltd as the 'party' for anti-establishment voters who view the current political settlement as corrupt & distant from their interests.... while also moving to befriend business with (among other things) a deregulatory agenda that looks exactly like what the business/wealthy elites are looking for in economic policy. The Q. is: how long he can keep this contradiction going? #politics

openDemocracy

‘Could I be in their cabinet?’: Big Business eyes up Reform

How Nigel Farage’s ‘anti-establishment’ party began a love affair with lobbyists and industry leaders

I'm not sure the Tangerine Tyrant really understands that threats of tariffs against his intentional opponents (now those who resist his moves on Greenland) are of diminishing utility; partly because, of course, that actual monetary cost is paid by US consumers, and; partly as the pivot away from the US market continues, so countries (and their firms) will be less exposed to the demand-reducing logic of such tariffs; they're already looking towards other rmarkets. #tariffs #Greenland #USPol

The Irish may think they're lucky that they don't really have a significant high-profile far-right populist party, opposing immigration (even though around 20% of the Irish population is foreign born)... but, that's a challenge to Steve Bannon who sees Ireland as the next country where he might be able to ferment a new populist-nationalist movement. For the Irish, forewarned hopefully is forearmed - Bannon is making no secret of what he intends! #politics #Ireland #FarRight h/t FT

RE:

mastodon.scot

JackTheRebelCat 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 (@JackTheCat@mastodon.scot)

Good news. Biffa's £51.4m legal claim against Scottish Government thrown out | The National https://www.thenational.scot/news/25772012.biffas-5...

This is the sort of stuff that Investor State Dispute Settlement often looks at, and settles for the Corporation - Biffa would've done a lot better if they had been offshore (and covered by an investment treaty)... thankkfully, they weren't! #ISDS #politics View quoted note →