Absolutely Not The Daily Troll-o-Graph

 All eyes are on the balance between spending cuts and tax increases Source - Daily Telegraph - 13/11/22 Link Here we go again. On Thursday we will suffer the third major fiscal statement this year, although it will be the present Chancellor’s first. For ages the Treasury has been trying to switch the Budget from its traditional slot in March to November. That month’s fiscal statement, usually referred to as the Autumn Statement, was traditionally less significant, containing few, if any, tax measures. This year the Treasury is again calling Thursday’s fiscal event the Autumn Statement. In practice, however, it is going to be the equivalent of a Budget – and not a mini one at that. Heaven knows what the position will be by the time we come to what used to be called “the Budget” at its traditional slot in March. Discussions about what Chancellor Jeremy Hunt can and will do on Thursday have been dominated by estimates of the so-called “fiscal hole”, sometimes referred to as a “black ...

 Germany and France are growing closer to Beijing as tensions with the US deepen Source - Daily Telegraph - 12/11/22 Link In the new Cold War economy, trade will be restricted, technology fenced off, and intellectual property fiercely protected. Manufacturing capabilities will be built up, and supply chains brought closer to home to ensure resilience whatever happens. As relations between the West and China deteriorate sharply, every developed economy will have to pick a side. And it is already becoming clear which one the major powers of Europe – and the European Union itself – have chosen. China.  Over the last few weeks, we have seen example after example of major industrial and commercial ties with China deepening. Renault is partnering with Geely, presumably with the blessing of President Emmanuel Macron. Chinese investors are buying up a port in Hamburg, a crucial piece of infrastructure. And Chinese companies have announced three major new battery factories in Europe, t...

Trustnet looks at the initiatives that could be in Jeremy Hunt’s first Budget as chancellor. Source - Trustnet 10/11/22 Link Investors and savers will be hoping that chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s first Budget lands more favourably than his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget. After the former chancellor tanked the pound and caused chaos in markets through his low-tax, high-growth agenda, he was ousted, followed by prime minister Liz Truss. Now, with the official Budget just one week away, prime minister Rishi Sunak and Hunt will hope that the latest set of measures will be more appetising to markets. Below, we look at some of the key points that investors and savers may expect from the new Conservative administration. Tax freezes Analysts at AJ Bell said there could be a number of ‘stealth taxes’ on the agenda. These are not necessarily done by raising the tax percentage, but by freezing allowances or thresholds. Laura Suter, head of personal finance, said: “Stealth tax freezes generat...

 With the Tories refusing to fix the public sector or go for growth, Britain is now stuck with higher taxes Source - Daily Telegraph ,- 26/10/22 Link Some prime ministers are forgotten almost immediately after they leave office; others haunt their successors from beyond the grave. Clement Attlee passed away 13 years before Rishi Sunak was even born, but as the creator of the NHS and the Green Belt, the post-war Labour hero remains Britain’s most influential politician, and is directly responsible for two of the most pressing crises facing our new Prime Minister. Almost uniquely, this country has virtually socialised the whole cost of population ageing: the NHS, unlike other, better-designed universal health systems, is entirely taxpayer-funded, and the state is about to take on even more liabilities by underwriting the costs of elderly care. Like all nationalised industries, this one was ruinously expensive and wasteful – while delivering a scandalously sub-par service by internati...

 The state has no place criminally prosecuting people for their private correspondence   Britain is becoming a society with a state approved ideology   The two officers deserve to be out of the Met, but they shouldn't be in prison Source - CAPX 09/11/22 Link Defending free speech seriously, as opposed to just rhetorically, means defending right to expression of those we vehemently disagree with (including those who would put us up against a wall come the revolution), are embarrassed to be associated with, and whose outpourings we find repugnant. Political liberals worthy of the title should, therefore, be appalled by the decision of Westminster Magistrates Court to imprison two police officers, Jonathon Cobban and Joel Borders, under Section 27 of the Communications Act for sending ‘grossly offensive’ messages on WhatsApp. Their messages on a private group that included PC Wayne Couzens, the murderer of Sarah Everard, contained rape jokes, racism, homophobia – the abomina...

 The Midterms have shown that DeSantis, not Trump, is the future for the Republicans. Source - Spiked - 09/11/22 Link Republicans can take some positives from yesterday’s Midterm elections. They will most likely regain control of the House of Representatives and there is, at the time of writing, a small possibility they can retake the Senate, too. But on the whole, the results have to be viewed as disappointing for them. Going into the Midterms, the broader nationwide trends suggested a potential Republican ‘red wave’. Americans expressed low satisfaction with the state of the country, said they were hurting from inflation and gave President Joe Biden poor approval ratings – all trends that would normally lead to big losses for the party in power. But these national trends didn’t translate into strong Republican wins when it came to state and district elections across the country, especially in some key races. In the run-up to election day, Republicans were expecting to pick up abo...

 Humiliated Emmanuel Macron is presiding over a country that has lost its raison d’être Source - Daily Telegraph 06/11/22 Link Whatever became of France? Once the most beautiful, brilliant and civilised country on earth, it is now caught in a seemingly irreversible spiral of decline. The French know it — a survey last year found that 61pc believe the country is in decline — but they feel powerless to prevent it. The mood is sullen, resentful and angry. Violence simmers just below the surface, as in the yellow vest protests four years ago. Those who dare to look behind the crumbling facade of the French state will find a nation in existential crisis. The crisis has countless causes. At its heart, however, is the despair of a people who have been deceived for so long that they no longer believe anything their leaders say — even if they tell the truth. The mood is crepuscular, at times almost apocalyptic, as those who have been kept in denial come to terms with a present that mocks th...