Not "hopes" John - it knows it will!

J ohn Harris has a piece up at the G - We have to talk about why some people agree with benefit cuts - which contains the following l...

And if we can keep the number of "new builds" well below 200,000, who knows how high they could go !

Some cheering news from the Centre for Economics and Business Research .. The cost of the average home will jump by nearly £50,000 over th...

One day, I was promoted to sergeant.

The next day, they dismissed me without notice. They operate a "three stripes and you're out' rule.

Ed does some explaining

Always keen to explain himself to the faithful is Ed For example " On the welfare sanctions revolt "- For the benefit of those wh...

Bruges' answer to Manneken Pis

I ran over a bloke wearing a camouflage jacket today.

It wasn't my fault though. I just didn't see him.

Now That's What I Call Resignation Language

Except he doesn't mention it.   But everyone's favourite "man prepared to think the unthinkable" Frank Field has some quit...

We asked our hotel for a wake-up call.

So this morning at eight o'clock, the receptionist rang us to say that malaria kills a million people every year.

OK so users will be limited to the one supermarket

but the lucky (aside from needing emergency handouts) people of  Birmingham will be able to benefit from the ASDA Price Guarantee! So if th...

Giving it the Bird (aka Nimbys of the Week) - PM intervenes (allegedly)

This was first aired on 13th March - this evening we are told on the G website that "a small flock of birds [ aka The Lodge Hill Night...

Belgian railways: Calling it the way they see it

"there are no problems with UC and it will roll out as planned"

The delay appears to be an admission by the Government that they do not have the training, computer programmes and exper...

"An irresistible urge to interfere in other peoples lives 'may be a sign of psychiatric illness'"

Spotted by Bob E in The Independent : The controversial finding comes in a major report, Prodnosing and Mental Health, published this week b...

"Job Centre is screwing us into the ground': Claimant blasts DWP for late payment and 'hostility' towards unemployed"

From The Daily Mail : A welfare claimant has criticised the body responsible for overseeing welfare payments, claiming they are trying to ...

"Pope Francis to wash windscreens on Maundy Thursday"

From the BBC : Pope Francis will wash windscreens at a busy junction near Rome on Maundy Thursday. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists are ar...

The interesting part about this isn't "the heckling" but ...

Another one from the desk of Bob E: Smith was about to deliver a speech on welfare and pensions reform when campaigner Willie Black began ha...

"Biggest council rent increase in three years as four in 10 town halls refuse to freeze bills"

Spotted by Bob E in The Telegraph : Council tenants are having to pay their biggest increase in rent for three years after four in 10 town h...

"Three men jailed for selling information to the Sun"

From the BBC : A former prison worker and two ex-policemen have been jailed for selling information to newspapers. Richard Trunkfield, 31, w...

"Energy price rises 'reduce bill rises'"

From the BBC : Energy policies which increase price rises this year will cushion consumers from future price rises, but only after consumers...

The tide of overwhelming idiocy cannot be held back ....

Emailed in by Bob E: Food vouchers to provide emergency help but prevent spending on alcoh...

Here's a nice simple diagram to explain the general idea...

Which originally appeared somewhere on this site :

Sometimes it all gets a bit too much

From today's FT : Alistair Darling, former Labour chancellor, has warned that the package of mortgage guarantees announced last week cou...

"Daily Mail plumbs new depths with article about 45-year-old losing his virginity to 'sex therapist', 68"

From Channel 4 : A still photograph from a documentary about a 45-year-old IT engineer losing his virginity to a 68-year-old 'sex surrog...

Police shoot cow

Emailed in by بول , from The Telegraph : The Belgian blue female was killed after police chased the animal for two hours across Grantham, Li...

Car Attack

From EDP24 : Emergency services were called to Norwich Jobcentre Plus at about 9.40am this morning after a Rover car crashed into the front ...

Charity News

Charities journal Third Sector has an interesting piece up Analysis: Senior pay - a fair price for good leadership? about securing ...

Fun Online Polls: Press Regulation & Full English Breakfasts

The results to last week's Fun Online Poll were as follows : Press regulation: is anybody actually bothered? Yes, me! - 69% Not me - 26%...

Economic Myths: Work hard and you will get on in life.

Debunked over at www.buysellrentspain.com

Economic Myths: Capital controls

Today's City AM gleefully grabs the wrong end of the stick: THERE is something truly terrifying about capital controls, the harsh restr...

I own land, give me money!

Emailed in by MBK from The Sunday Times : A LANDLORD has collected taxpayer-funded rents of £3,550 a week by letting out two modest former c...

The Simple Seller

I've often liked BOM's expression - the Simple Shopper, to describe the disaster that is the government purchasing, but there's ...

Car Attack

From the BBC :

Neither surprising nor particularly relevant

From The Daily Mail : Around one in five European students have disappeared without paying back millions of pounds in loans to study at Brit...

"Military Cross for 'cool' soldier"

From the BBC : A soldier who "kept cool under fierce fire" as he led a 200m charge across open ground in Afghanistan wearing Ray B...

They own land! Give them money!

We are truly living in a parallel universe. From today's City AM : REMORTGAGE lender LMS called for an extension to the funding for lend...

That Employment Miracle

Emailed in by BobE, from The Guardian : Between December 2011 and December 2012, the number of people employed in the public sector fell by ...

“Of course we aren’t “gagging” public servants

"they are completely free to express how brilliant our outsourcing schemes are in any arena they wish !” s aid a government spokesperso...

Archbishop of Cantebury says some Roman Catholic priests have relationships of 'stunning quality'

From The Daily Mail : Justin Welby will today be officially enthroned as the Archbishop of Canterbury - and for the first time in history, t...

Help To Buy - Handy Infographic

Over at Quantitative Politics . I've disabled comments to this post, please post any comments over there to keep it simple.

The Home-Owner-Ist checklist

- council house right to buy discount increased? Check - council house right to buy discount increased a bit more in London, so that MPs wil...

Hooray, it is already working, well done the Oik ! (they own land etc. etc.)

( and rest assured more tangible thank you's will find their way to the Party in time for 2015! ) Chancellor's budget lift for housi...

They own land, give them money (2)

Twas truly a budget for everyone today, as alongside the Help to Buy scheme (see earlier post)   and the "improvements" in Right t...

They own land! Give them money!

From The Telegraph : The Chancellor said the scheme will be available to everyone who wants to buy a home, old or new, under the Help to Buy...

"Budget 2013: £100,000 off right-to-lend on London homes"

From The Evening Standard : Thousands of London mortgage salesmen will get a chance to lend money to London's higher earning social tena...

Daily Mail under-estimates how much tax Mr & Mrs Average pay: Shock

Via BobE, from Mail Online : When most people think about tax, they think of income tax. This, largely, is taken directly from your pay each...

Church could perform marriages, say Jedi Council

From the BBC : The Jedi council has raised concerns about Jedi and Nerfherder ceremonies being joined by a third category. Jedi spokesman, L...

Car Attack

From The Bournemouth... mouth... mouth... mouth : SHOCKED members of a Bournemouth fitness centre had a “miraculous” escape after a sports ...

Basic accounting & Basic accounts

1. Basic accounting The FT peddles the same old myth, that somebody can make a profit by trading with himself : Changes to the state pension...