Mandelson should get back under the rock he was hiding under. There is no possible reason for him to ever be involved in public life.

Europe.

The less interaction the UK has with the US over the next four years, the better.

So what does Trump want from Starmer?

It’s not meant to benefit consumers, it’s meant to enrich fossil-fuel companies even more.

The builders’ lobby is powerful in CA.

why does it seem to be the only solution for consumers that is offered

Because it’s the least intrusive and most economical option?

They can look at my house from maps and see of got a sizable empty plot of land next to my house that could also be used.

Then put it there and pay more. Up to you.

This is going to prove to be one of Starmer’s worst strategic errors. The oligarch-controlled press will be Labour’s undoing, but Labour seems to be under the delusion that some of those propaganda outlets can be brought on-side. The British press is a cesspit that is poisoning our society.

Of course he did. He was put in to destroy US power and wealth. Undermining soft power is part of that.

Sadiq is making the horrible political faux pas of speaking of things as they are.

Not if they’re fascists.

Poncey, rich twats, in other words.

I live well below my means over here, so that I can afford to travel. Compared to the US, the number of low-cost travel destinations here is amazing. And because I’m living in a house similar to everyone else’s, the resentment towards me as a “rich Yank” is much less. They dislke flashy people here (I’m not in London, it’s different there), but are quite warm as long as you don’t act like an entitled knobhead.

Luckily the DUP were mercenary enough to just grab a few billion in public funds to disburse to their cronies, rather than attempting to influence policy.

I could see a media frenzy being manufactured over rich Yanks coming in with their money and making housing even less affordable.

Good point. That’ll make a huge difference to the vast numbers of Americans intending to emigrate Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Scotland’s wonderful, by the way, lots going on with culture and the arts, and its politics are more social-democratic than England (for now), but it’s not easy finding well-paid work there, and the climate can be challenging. I know Americans who have gone there, mainly for education.

Northern Ireland’s a bit socially backward, one of the religious groups has some unpleasant similarities to US fundamentalists, and though sectarianism is less a problem than it used to be, it’s still there. I have no idea how an American in-comer would be received there. Communities seem tight-knit and somewhat insular. On the other hand, like they have in the Republic, things could improve siginificantly.

I left the US during Obama’s time in office, and for family rather than political reasons, but I’ve found that the quality of life here is excellent. My advice: avoid London, which is insanely expensive, overcrowded, polluted, and full of money-grubbing finance weasels and slimy foreign oligarchs and those who pander to them. Also, London has too many Americans from the finance sector, so Americans are not well-liked there. I live in the South West, which has (by English standards at least) good weather, beautiful and varied countryside, and down-to-earth no-bullshit people. Also, their accent is less abrasive than many in England.

With England, there’s London, which is an international hub city, then there’s the rest of the country. They’re not the same. Make sure to experience both before deciding.

And yeah, you don’t need to learn a new language, though cultural norms are different and it takes a while to understand the unwritten rules.

And for a bit of balance, what has Badenoch said about the conflict?

Oh, look, it’s much, much worse: https://hyphenonline.com/2024/11/04/kemi-badenoch-conservative-party-islamophobia-muslims-israel-gaza/

But the media only demands perfection from one party, and it’s never the Cons.

Have you ever gone outside at midday on a cloudy day? If so, did you notice it wasn’t dark?

I strongly suspect a funding channel originating from fossil-fuel producers.

The UK currently doesn’t do even the most trivial of reuse. But the privatised water companies would rather impose metering followed by price increases to deter consumption, since that’ll mean more money for them.

Only if we let it happen.