Dyson Fury

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/22/angela-rayner-ex-husband-mark-134000-council-house-sale/ And he was perfectly within his rights to do that. But, here's the new thing:

This illustrates a key point that so many people fail to understand. The EU Single Market gives the illusion of "free trade", but in practice it is anything but. Free Trade among the EU member countries, but behind huge protectionist barriers erected against trade with the rest of the world: high tariffs and low quotas. Restrictions on the import of orange juice from the outside world are designed to protect the citrus fruit growers of southern Europe, whose crop yields are lower and their prices higher. This import tariff is of no benefit whatever to the UK, where citrus fruit is not grown, but forces UK consumers to pay higher prices. It restricts access to the most efficient producers such as Florida, and harms Commonwealth nations such as South Africa.

Be thankful that you don't live in a district where half the houses have been converted to student HMOs. Three-bedroom family homes converted into 6-bedroom HMOs, where one of the extra bedrooms has been converted from the former garage. Four, five or six cars per property.

But this is a key point that so many people fail to understand. The Single Market may give the illusion of "free trade", but in practice it is anything but. Trade among the member countries, but behind high tariff and non-tariff walls erected against trade with the rest of the world. Just one minor example: bananas (straight or curved, it does not matter here). Restrictions on the import of bananas from Central America and the Caribbean, to protect the banana growers of southern Europe whose crop yields are lower and their prices higher. A trade barrier of no benefit whatever to the UK, where bananas are not grown, but harming Commonwealth nations in the West Indies.

Fixed that for you 😈

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/apr/15/airbnb-is-allowing-my-tenant-to-illigally-sublet-my-house 637 comments, including several from women who travel alone for business or vacation and were astonished to find out from the article how non-existent AirBnB safety procedures are. Ignoring the side point of how the rent arrears were allowed to build to such a large amount, focus on the central issue. Anybody can list "their" property on AirBnB. No need to prove that they own it, or that they rent it under terms that allow sub-letting. No need for an owner to get any permission from the mortgage lender. No need for any tiresome details like insurance, fire safety, food hygiene, DBS vetting, etc that people working in any legitimate hospitality industry must have and must pay for. Just go right ahead.

No such problems in the EU, of course. https://www.wolftheiss.com/insights/medicine-shortages-in-the-cee-and-see/ Or anywhere else in the world. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/12/health/drug-shortage-record-high/index.html https://www.ft.com/content/6143300d-d11a-4b2f-898c-87c5dd0ff6ce But... but... but... BREXIT! 😱

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13314917/Lab-leak-bird-flu-China-army-USDA.html

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/your-right-to-buy-your-home-summary--2/right-to-buy-summary-booklet

It's in the Terms and Conditions of the Right to Buy scheme. To retain the full discount, you must live in the property as your residence for 5 years before letting out or selling. Them's the Rules.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/04/16/rishi-sunak-latest-news-smoking-ban-simon-clarke-liz-truss/#1713266423931 Then Emir Kir and his political puppet police are going to be very busy in June, when the European Parliament convenes in Brussels after the imminent European Elections. Oh, and Belgium's own national Government, after the General Election on the same day. Vlaams Belang and Nieuw-Vlaams Alliantie are on course to gain nearly 50% of the vote. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/belgium/ Perhaps the Brussels Police might pay a bit more attention to policing the district of Molenbeek, an effective no-go area which was home to some of the Bataclan terrorist gang?

AIUI you are allowed to rent out your RTB home (if you bought it with a mortgage then you will have to get this approved by your lender). To be able to sell the house without being liable to repay some of the discount, you must have lived there yourself as your principal residence for 5 years (not sure if this has to be the first 5 years after buying, or 5 years in total).

You are quite right. But this was not in my list (or that of the 118er landlord). The issues about renting out the house are those which concern all landlords, e.g. gas safety certificates, taxation of the rental income, etc.

On and on it goes. Dan Neidle has been studying the case: https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/03/30/post_office_stopped_gagging/ https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/04/04/post_office_cover_up/

This article is a perfect illustration of how House Price Inflation has become the basis of the whole UK economy. So to buy a house with a current market value of £281,913 will cost a total of £445,000 over 30 years (ignoring inflation, and not doing any calculation of the current value of that cost). But if the house will be worth £445,000 in 30 years, then it will have cost NOTHING AT ALL! But there is even better news: So if you buy that house for £281,913 now, you will be a MILLIONAIRE in 2054. One small point: if everybody is a millionaire, how much do you think a loaf of bread or a litre of petrol will cost? Ask the people who live in Zimbabwe, for example.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1888105/uk-warned-dumping-ground-products-slaves

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1886543/kemi-badenoch-uk-exports-brexit

There are several issues at stake here. Including: - moral issue of having bought her council house under right-to-buy, but now holding a senior position in a Party which is opposed in principle to the scheme. - Possible CGT liability (as discussed above). A married couple can legally have only one "principal residence" for CGT purposes, regardless of their actual living arrangements. - Possible liability to repay a proportion of the profit made selling the house, if it had not been her sole residence for 5 years after purchase, which is a condition of the RTB scheme. - Electoral register fraud (this is the criminal investigation). Not very serious in my view, just shifting her possible vote from one constituency to an adjacent one. - The things nobody has mentioned yet. If she was letting out the house to her brother, as has been alleged, there are a number of legal and financial issues. Eloquently summarised by a 118er here: https://www.property118.com/angela-rayner-police-reveal-investigation-into-council-house-row/#comment-173878

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/diplomatic-row-fake-stamps-china-denies-wrongdoing/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/china-insidious-threat-not-even-stamps-are-safe/

the scenario in the article:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1886757/eu-china-economy-wind-turbine-subsidies More evidence of China's long-term mercantilist policy. Flood the West with cheap manufactured goods and technology, produced with coal-fired energy and near-slave labour. Sold at a loss if necessary. Until Western industry is forced out of the market. Then the real face of Chinese industry and trade will be revealed.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/china-flooding-britain-fake-stamps-economic-warfare/ https://archive.ph/TBjzF

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13227315/How-Chinese-spies-bring-Britains-roads-standstill-Warning-electric-cars-remotely-stopped-Beijing-steal-drivers-data-experts-warn-EVs-Trojan-horse.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13292973/China-paralyse-Britain-kill-hacking-electric-car-deadly-traffic-jams-EDWARD-LUCAS.html https://archive.ph/gUtnk

https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2024/781 It is a long read!

The concern I have is that almost EVERY phone and broadband company seemed to introduce this term into its contracts, at the same time, a few years ago, with X = 3.9% in every case. You could not find a clearer example of price collusion, which is supposed to be illegal. Did the Monopolies Commission / Competition Authority or whatever it is called these days stir itself to do anything about this? No.