Why I won't Wayve goodbye to Black Cabs?Since September 3, Uber and Wayve have been operating a small number of self-driving cars in London. Passengers can travel in electric Ford Mustang Mach-Es equipped with Wayve's AI driving system. For now, these are supervised autonomous journeys: a trained, TfL-licensed private-hire driver remains in the vehicle to monitor the system and intervene if necessary — which, incidentally, seems to defeat the point of a driverless vehicle. The initial service operates across the capital, excluding airports, and is being expanded gradually. The UK government forecasts a self-driving market worth up to £42 billion, creating up to 38,000 jobs by 2035. ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1585"Burnham's speech was, in some ways, an exercise in calling the electorate's bluff. 'I have given you what you often say is missing from politics,' Burnham concluded. "Honesty, ideas and a clear direction for the country we all love.' The message was thus: You say you want change and are sick of politicians who dodge difficult decisions and offer little beyond managerialism. So here are some difficult decisions — will you back me?"Zoe Grunewald was in Liverpool for Andy Burnham's speech. Chris Grey looks at the the speech's effect on the Brexit debate: "In personal life, we rarely regard terrible ... (more) |
Has Ed Davey got it wrong on the triple lock?The Mirror reports that the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Tom Gordon has clashed with his own party leader in defence of Andy Burnham's plans to overhaul the pensions triple lock to fund a National Care Service. The paper says that Tom Gordon said he thought Sir Ed Davey had "missed the point" and that it was "for the birds" that the state pension trip lock helps millennials: Lib Dem leader Sir Ed earlier today said changing the triple lock would mean millennials, those aged 30 to 45, would have a "very poor pension" when they retire. In ... (more) |
Now We Are Severn released by Shrewsbury's Up Sewage CreekThe Shrewsbury river campaigners Up Sewage Creek have released a 10-minute film about the River Severn and their work to protect it: We Are Severn. Shropshire Live says: The film, which has been produced by award winning Shropshire arts organisation MediaActive Projects, is a collaboration between local people and creative practitioners designed to raise awareness about the state of the Severn. It features video footage, animation, and interviews with local river campaigners talking about the Severn and why it is so important to Shrewsbury. Up Sewage Creek won't allow the video to be embedded on other sites - good luck ... (more) |
The death of Dennis O'Neill and expertise in a narrow subjectBecoming very knowledgeable about a niche subject is worrying, because you find much that has been published about it is wrong. And then it become more worrying, because you suspect this is true of every subject if only you knew. One of my niches of expertise is the death of Dennis O'Neill in 1945. He had been fostered by a couple on a farm in the Stiperstones (that's why I first came across the case) and the trial of his killers shared the front pages with news of the last days of the war in Europe. Now I've come across ... (more) |
Peer says his name should not be used in legal letter in island cafe dog snub rowAfter commending the slugs of Stretford, the judges gave our Headline of the Day Award to The Scotsman. Our picture shows Great Bernera in the Outer Hebrides, where the cafe in the island cafe dog snub row is to be found. (more) |
A fair pension for every generation: a Liberal Democrat case for reform(Image: The Guardian) I was 18 years old when I opened a bank account with the Royal Bank of Scotland. It was my first experience of aggressive salesmanship. I thought all I was doing was taking in some pieces of identification, confirming some information and opening a bank account. But no. I had a half-hour appointment with an advisor who was keen to offer me pretty much every other product the bank had available. Inevitably the conversation came round to the subject of pensions. He asked me whether I had thought about pensions. I'd just turned 18 years old a ... (more) |
Keep the earnings link: don't repeat the mistakes of the 80sThe triple lock was introduced in 2010 by David Cameron's Coalition Government when Steve Webb (Lib Dem) was Minister of Pensions, to restore the erosion which had taken place since the earnings link was replaced with a prices' link in the 1980s. To replace the triple lock with a prices' link or 2.5%, as was proposed today, will reverse the progress of the last sixteen years. Clearly it has been proposed to save money, as it was in the 1980s, which means a reducing state pension at the very time Government should have been looking to increase it to reduce ... (more) |
Where have we heard this one before? Labour and electoral reformA Labour Prime Minister has announced a commission on electoral reform. Where have we heard this one before? For those who remember, or, like me, are interested in political history, you would know that Andy Burnham isn't the first Labour leader to announce the creation of a commission on electoral reform; that accolade belongs to Tony Blair. Time for a quick crash course: as part of their 1997 election manifesto, New Labour committed to holding a referendum on an alternative voting system to First Past the Post. After entering office, Blair asked Lord Jenkins to head a commission on electoral ... (more) |
A national care service - questions for Burnham (and us)On the cusp of sixty, having witnessed so many speeches of unconvincing emotion - Thatcher: the tragic King's Cross fire, Blair: "I love this party, it was losing I hated", or various Lib Dem leaders over the years lecturing Liberal Assembly or the early Lib Dem conferences that we weren't "serious about power" – it would be churlish not to recognise the raw power and daring delivery of Burnham's speech about care. Having been both a politician and a worker in the care sector, I for one appreciated the PM's direct apology to camera that the former profession had let ... (more) |