Another day, another developing scandal in a privatised industry....
this time, its the Dept. of Transport warning rail firms that their common use of 'lay prosecutors' may be illegal (by which they mean they have taken legal advice that has concluded they should never present cases in courts), and thus throws into doubt a range of fare-evasion prosecutions (I would imagine).
Another cost-cutting exercise that is about to become unstuck!
#railways #RuleOfLaw #politics
h/t FT
Are those worried about prospects of China invading Taiwan missing the logical direction of any Chinese expansionism?
Writing in th New World, Mette Skak, notes that Jon Lonergan has made the case that actually, given its geopolitical value (and its likely mineral wealth) China might more likely be looking to Siberia as a prospect for expansion (not least as they may have assessed Russia is too weak to defend the territory)....
Interesting... and not implausible
#China #Russia #politics
Q. are (some) MPs & Labour Lords who voted for the proscription of Palestine Action now having voters' regret(s)?
Peter Hain thinks so, and perhaps rights suggests that if the ongoing legal challenge to the proscription is successful, it 'would be a mercy to all concerned, including the government'!
Yup, not only an own goal bu having alienated many of its working class voters, Labour now is alienating the middle class professionals they'd replace them with!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/aug/13/peter-hain-says-uk-government-digging-itself-into-hole-over-palestine-action
Is the roll-out of an expanded police capacity for live facial recognition a welcome move to catch criminals or the expansion of the surveillance state, which will be deployed not against criminals but against protestors? Or perhaps, both?
Do you trust the police to use the technology only in ways that enhance the safety of the public, rather than using it to further the growing attrition on protest we have seen across the country in the last few years?
#politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4wy21dwkwo
The Govt. is briefing that Rachel Reeves is looking at how to increase the tax take from inheritance tax. At the very least we can expect the continued holding of thresholds (allowing 'fiscal drag' to increase income); but there is also some indication that she has a team looking at how to narrow the gap between the 40% income tax rate for the wealthy & the effective 13% rate paid by the average estate via IHT.
While I think she is right, it will be a difficult political sell!
#tax #politics
I've posted before on the UK's ongoing monolingualism & its impact on the (once trumpeted) attempts to promote a 'Global Britain'.... as we know, there has been reductions in funding & the time to teach languages in the school curriculum.
Now while there are other routes to language learning, nonetheless the striking reduction of A-level entries for modern languages (with the exception of Spanish) is a clear example of the progressive reduction of language learning.
#education #language
As Jamie Shields argues, self-identifiying is an important aspect of disabled people's autonomy:
'If someone chooses “Disabled person” or “person with a Disability,” “autistic” or “person on the spectrum,” “blind” or “person with sight loss”, that’s theirs. Not yours, but theirs....
We don’t need more debates about which words are “right.” We need more respect for each individual’s right to choose'
#disability #identity #language
h/t LinkedIn
After three years out of the EU's Horizon research programme, UK researchers re-entry has seen them quickly ramp up the grant levels towards levels in previous programmes.
This will be good news for those universities hosting these research projects... so a glimmer of good news for the university sector, alleviating the finical crisis a little for some universities!
#universities #EU
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/aug/12/uk-recovers-position-horizon-europe-science-research-eu-brexit
The FT's summary of Trumponomics:
'The cost of Trump’s transactionalism is clear: trading an economy grounded in the rule of law for one ruled by arbitrary deals. Such a system rewards a powerful few, punishes the small & unconnected, and ultimately erodes the stable foundations on which America’s prosperity has long rested'!
There's a reason I refer to the current administration as 'The Court of Tangerine Tyrant'!...
#politics #RuleOfLaw
h/t FT
I have (as a retirement project) to take up photography (again), and this afternoon was out with my new kit (a birthday present to myself).... here's an abstract, textured photo that was one result of an hour or so of my compositional roaming.
#photography
Emeritus Prof Christopher May