Westminstenders: Tachographs and Empty Shelves

[pointythings]

So Grant Shapps' solution to the shortage of lorry drivers is to allow them to drive longer hours.

Leading to more accidents and deaths on the UK's roads. But Brexit is Job Done and all is well - isn't it?

Does this government ever do any planning?

Oh dear, but I'm sure Comical Clavi will be along to praise someone selling a rich tea biscuit to a dutchman soon.

EUs trade surplus with UK first 7 months 2021, ie post Brexit trade deal, was €82.1bn, notably up from same months in 2020, €56.7bn

Driven by 17.1% or €16bn fall in UK exports to EU.
Trade into EU from every other major partner up.

EU exports to UK grew by 6.2%, or €9bn.

We've basically given the EU a massive competitive advantage over us. What a win...

www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/media/five-ways-for-bbc-news-to-avoid-saying-its-because-of-brexit-20210916212102

Oh FFS!

Boris Johnson is to announce the return of imperial weights and measures, making it legal for market stalls, shops and supermarkets to sell their goods using only Britain’s traditional weighing system post-Brexit.

Well, here’s a useful conversion chart;

0 lb 0 oz = 0 kg 0 g
0 pints = 0 litres

Boris Johnson is to announce the return of imperial weights and measures

Next step - return to lsd - which will be fantastic - my generation had to learn both and it didn't do us any harm :l - and #brexitbonus I won't have to explain 'bent as a nine-bob note' when referring to tory politicians.

Why go back simply to lsd: why not groats and guineas?

I look forward to the riots when they try to reintroduce pounds, shillings and pence.

Haha, posted by me on Tuesday. Until recently I had to teach metric to Imperial conversions (and vice versa). I can assure you that the vast majority of people a) have no idea what most Imperial measures are b) couldn’t care less about them and c) don’t want them.

just the thought of pounds, shillings and pence makes my brain hurt.

Hmm, is it easier to con people in pounds, shillings and pence, I wonder?

I can assure you that the vast majority of people
Possibly, but plumbers, joiners and some other areas of building and engineering are still living with the imperial legacy

• school? might help to explain why some timber comes in lengths of 2440mm, why replacement doors are 1981mm x 762mm, why tap, waste etc fittings may not be metric, even in relatively modern houses, why 3.66m is a standard width for carpet rolls etc etc

Possibly, but plumbers, joiners and some other areas of building and engineering are still living with the imperial legacy

Yep, these were the guys I was teaching and they universally hated the legacy units and the confusion they created in the workplace.
At least once I’d finished with them they could confidently both approximate and accurately work out the conversions if given the conversion factor.

I will admit to having certain easy old recipes that I still do in imperial: my mum's magnificent recipe for tablet (2lb sugar, 4oz butter, 1 can condensed milk and a cup of milk) and her rough recipe for great shortcrust pastry (slightly more than half fat itself half fat/half butter to plain flour), which I find easier to adapt in imperial for however much I want to make.

Everything else I do in metric.

I taught a motor vehicle apprentice who was charmed to discover that “cc” meant “cubic centimetre” and was the same as cm^3, which no one had bothered to explain to him. He was in a very old fashioned garage run by his grandad and a couple of uncles.

Aidan Skinner
@aidanskinner
Everybody's misunderstoood: the prime minister meant we're going to have to adjust to (long) waits and (emergency) measures like it was the 1950s.

Trader blames Brexit for soaring price of fish – but BBC edits it out

They didn't edit out the trader saying she imported a lot of the fish (sea bass and sea bream) from Greece and Turkey - Turkey must have joined the EU earlier in the year...

It's interesting though that the comments say that some of the increased costs are due to the lack of shipping containers - but is fresh fish brought in by container?

The fish comes via air freight into Manchester airport - several references to this on the company's Facebook page - J & B Wilde/ Fish & Poultry.

Google never ceases to amaze. The trader and her company are mentioned here:

31 Dec 2020
The Government has released a list of almost 140 firms that in total failed to pay £6.7m to employees.

The companies are being "named and shamed" by the Government for failing to pay workers the minimum wage, ranging from those with just one employee, to supermarket giant Tesco.

Ministers said the 139 companies have short-changed their employees and have been fined. The Business Department said it was a "completely unacceptable breach of employment law".

Mr Brian Wilde, Ms Mariella Gabbutt, Mr Tony Wilde, Mr Joseph Wilde, trading as J & B Wilde & Sons, Manchester, failed to pay £1,717.23 to 4 workers.

www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/full-list-companies-named-shamed-19543048

7 June 2019
Firm 'on its knees' after 'heartless' theft set to receive £650,000 following Proceeds of Crime hearing.

Joseph Wilde, 56, was jailed after stealing from struggling New Smithfield Market-based business J and B Wilde, run by his own family.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/j-b-wilde-joseph-court-16396717

Incidentally, Waitrose has some special offers on sea bass and sea bream from Greece and Turkey now.

Peregrina
As for the Petitions committee - 6 Tories, 4 Labour and 1 SNP - a majority of Tories so surely one of them had enough knowledge to say - Wait a minute - the Severn flows in England too.

You would think that the two Labour MPs from Wales might have had some local knowledge although I suspect that the petition was rejected by a 'pen-pusher' - George Monbiot refers to "parliamentary officials" in your link.

M & S say that Brexit is the cause of their pulling out of their stores in France

Indeed -

“We are getting about 80% of our product through, less than that in France because the French, predictably, are draconian.”

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1490760/marks-and-spencer-brexit-border-delay-france-food-supplies-lorry-ont

As if on cue...

Nice spot of French-bashing there from the M&S boss (and those who quote him).

I feel the urge to post this again:
twitter.com/nicktolhurst/status/1432261537004232709?s=20

UK 3.2% inflation

From the link up thread;

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said: "August saw the largest rise in annual inflation month-on-month since the series was introduced almost a quarter of a century ago.

"However, much of this is likely to be temporary, as last year, restaurant and cafe prices fell substantially due to the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, while this year, prices rose."

3.9% inflation in Germany.

30 August -
German inflation jumps to its highest level in a quarter-century...

Economists expect consumer prices to continue to rise in the coming months, with some projecting inflation rates as high as 5%. But they view it as a temporary phenomenon.

www.dw.com/en/german-inflation-jumps-to-its-highest-level-in-a-quarter-century/a-59031023

Nice spot of French-bashing there from the M&S boss

He is quoted as referring to 'pointless byzantine EU rules’ elsewhere.

At least M&S will be launching its food range into 150 new countries with British Corner Shop.

Not saying that I necessarily agreed with the politics of all of the previous Foreign Secretaries but at least they were strong intellects who understood the diplomacy required.

Jan 2009
Miliband's trip to India 'a disaster', after Kashmir gaffe.

Foreign Secretary spends the night in a mud hut, but is criticised for 'aggressive style' in top-level talks.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/miliband-s-trip-to-india-a-disaster-after-kashmir-gaffe-1418914.html

And who could forget his banana pose?

www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/david-miliband-back-on-song-and-yes-he-has-no-bananas-1793845.html

Turkey must have joined the EU earlier in the year...
Turkey has had a Customs agreement since 1995, so although they have not succeeded in joining the EU, they certainly haven't yet decided that they will cut their noses off to spite their faces.

The fish comes via air freight into Manchester airport
Which rather proves my point that it doesn't come in by shipping containers from the Far East.

You would think that the two Labour MPs from Wales might have had some local knowledge

Since neither Neath nor Gower are near the catchements of the Wye or Severn, it is debatable whether this would count as local knowledge.

I'll admit to still weighing myself in too many stones and pounds - but 21 year old ds weighs himself in kg.

Looks like showing the world what big bollocks our leaders have has not gone down well with allies.

I can understand Australia's concern, being relatively near to China, less so that of the USA being on the other side of the Pacific, and no advantage for the UK whatever, but since the current Tories have no idea of geography I am not surprised.

www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/15/fire-shuts-one-of-uk-most-important-power-cables-in-midst-of-supply-crunch?

Just going from bad to worse…