Michael Sissons

By day: a lawyer based in London and sometime photographer, traveller, plant collector and general potterer. By night: asleep.

[Kelvin MacKenzie @kelvmackenzie]

Burnham is literally balmy. He will quote these stats next week to justify taking powers and money from the wealth creating South and giving it to the North;
At present Londoners pays £24,400 in tax and get back £19,500 in spending on public services while the South East pays £17,600 and gets back £15,900.
In the North West they pay £12,700 in tax and get £17,300. In the North East it’s £11,200 and £17,400.
The Times says Burnham will announce slashing Whitehall budgets and giving the money to mayors to deliver social housing, tackle welfare and allegedly reduce the cash going North.
It’s all bollocks. The idea that by handing money to dim local mayors who then bribe the voters with mad schemes is likely to increase wealth is for the birds.
Burnham knows it but will keep him in office for three years before we chuck him out to a record defeat. Roll on ‘29

[Liam Halligan @LiamHalligan]

This will be good ⬇️⬇️⬇️

I've visited Michaela School - it's in the same part of London where I grew up. What Katharine Birbalsingh and her staff have achieved there is nothing short of remarkable.

Michaela is a non-selective state school, in one of the toughest parts of the capital. Yet it consistently chalks up the highest "Progress 8" score (value added) of any school in the country.

It's raw exam results also outstrip those of almost all British schools, with Michaela recently achieving 100pc pass rates in English & Maths GCSEs with over 40pc of all pupils achieved five or more grade 9s (the highest possible GCSE grade) and over 80pc of Michaela's sixth form securing spots at prestigious Russell Group universities.

That places Michaela among the top 2pc of all schools in Britain – including the most exclusive, highly-selective, resource-rich independent schools ... a non-selective state school in one of the toughest, most deprived parts of London.

Many of the leading lights of Britain's education establishment – obsessed with "Whitehall knows best" nostrums of "progressive child-centered learning" and DEI – often bitterly criticise Katharine Birbalsingh.

But her traditional, "no-excuses" approach based on teacher-led instruction, rigorous discipline, and unified national values so clearly works – with Michaela transforming the lives of countless youngsters, helping them to become happy, aspirational and productive citizens.

For many of those who influence and determine education policy in the UK, clinging to their tired, self-serving, statist ideology matters far more than revolutionising the life chances of some of our least privileged and most vulnerable children.

I look forward to @Miss_Snuffy's upcoming podcast - which I'm sure will be full of valuable educational insights, while winding up all the right people.

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Volkswagen aims to axe up to 100,000 jobs in a “profound” strategic shift to counter trade tariffs, stagnating markets and, above all, fierce competition from China.
It will cut one in six of its 660,000 jobs worldwide and production at four German factories — the largest restructure in automotive industry history.
China is out to do to Europe’s car industry what it’s already done to its solar panel industry — destroy it.
Judging from the pathetic response of the EU so far to this threat (the UK is equally pathetic) it’s likely to succeed.
China also aims to dominate batteries, wind power machinery, machine tools, Pharma and chips — with its mercantilist ‘industrial policy of everything’.
China 2.0 poses a far bigger threat to European industry than China 1.0 over 20 years ago. Some forecasts predict over 50% of what’s left of Europe’s manufacturing base will be gone in a decade.

[Michael Sissons @msissons]

@MaccaMX_ Happiness is a Warm Gun.

[Britain Unbound @BritainUnbound]

They're still not listening.

We just need to keep telling them.

Survation polling, released earlier today, of over 10,000 UK adults.

The preferred EU relationship of the majority of Brits, is to stay out of the EU.

We just need to keep telling them.

[M. A. @eurostrategist]

In September 1990, my village in Valencia hit 46°C.

It was the exact kind of natural climate volatility this ancient planet has unleashed for billions of years.

Today, Valencia, Rome, and Athens are actually sitting well below their seasonal averages. Yet, the media is in a coordinated meltdown over a standard two-week warm patch in the UK, France, and Belgium.

As a geospatial engineer who wrote a thesis on climatology, I’m positioned better than many to talk about the topic, the entire narrative relies on a broken view of data systems.

The formula is simple: zoom in on a tiny slice of geography, filter out the cool regions that ruin the story, and label a hot afternoon a global catastrophe.

The funniest part is the sheer hubris of the solution.

We are told the Earth's massive climate system operates like a living room thermostat, that if humans just stop CO2 emissions, we can magically freeze the weather at our preferred temperature.

Pretending we can micromanage global macro-cycles with carbon taxes.

But as long as panic funds the machine, and people don’t think by themselves, they’ll keep selling the front-row tickets.

[Sky News @SkyNews]

“I also voted to remain, but if we had a referendum today, I wouldn’t.”

Former chancellor @Jeremy_Hunt reflects on Brexit and says he’d vote differently now.

➡️ https://t.co/dE5Gq3tUN7

📺 Sky 501 and YouTube

[nigel biggar @NigelBiggar]

The Brexiteers were right, and I say that as someone who voted Remain.

Brexit has had costs. But it has also restored democratic authority to Westminster, strengthened the case for the United Kingdom against Scottish separatism, and given Britain more room to think globally rather than remain trapped in Europe’s political and regulatory machinery. For all the prophecies of apocalypse, Britain is still standing, and politically freer.

Read my thoughts on why I would now vote to stay out, at The Biggar Picture: https://t.co/E6GsSkRmwu

[Danny Baker @prodnose]

Germany's goal allowed to stand despite German boot high into Ecuadorian's face.
VAR now just a random chance machine there to protect bigger sides.
#ECUGER

[Cut My Tax @CutMyTaxUK]

Supposedly, Burnham wants to increase capital gains tax in order to be able to reduce energy bills. What he seems to have difficulty in understanding is that hiking CGT will significantly reduce revenues.

That's not just what HMRC is saying. It's also the clear evidence from previous increases in the CGT rate in Britain and in multiple other countries.

UK History (1988–1998): When CGT was aligned with income tax rates and indexed, revenues fell sharply (55% after 3 years, 70% after 5 years).
Blair/Brown Era: Cutting CGT on business assets to 10% more than doubled revenues.
Later Hikes: Raising rates (e.g., to 18% in 2008, then 28% in 2010) led to revenue declines.
Ireland (1997): Halving CGT from 40% to 20% nearly trebled revenues.
Australia (1999): 50% cut led to strong growth in individual CGT revenue.
Sweden (1990s): Rate cuts doubled revenues.
US: Multiple cuts (e.g., 1978, 1997, 2003) boosted revenues significantly (up 46%, 50%, 45% in periods cited).

For fuller details see below:

[Michael Sissons @msissons]

@Ronieutd Michael Owen and Laurie Cunningham spring to mind

[BruceUnfiltered @BruceUnfiltered]

I'm fuming. From April 2027 the cash ISA limit drops to £12,000 for under-65s, and there's a flat 22% charge on cash interest inside stocks & shares ISAs. You earn it, you're taxed on it, you save it, then taxed again. Over-65s exempt. This is how they cripple ordinary savers.

[Sharron Davies HoL MBE @sharrond62]

Chasing away foreign investment & the top 1% of tax payers (who pay 30% in total) is the politics of envy, economic suicide & some would say economic illiteracy

[Burnside @BurnsideWasTosh]

Are Labour MPs so lacking in intellectual curiosity they are just going to crown Burnham leader without asking any questions as to how he will govern? Just different vibes. This is the only time you have leverage over the executive and you just lie there having your gunts tickled.

[penelopepitstop ( blue tick) @BlondeKbf]

Just for context here are some facts about the heatwave of 1976;
It lasted from mid June to late August
For 15 consecutive days from 23rd June to 7th July temperatures exceeded 32.2C everywhere
The hottest day on 3rd July reached 35.9C in Cheltenham
Calm the fuck down 🌞🌞🌞🌞

[Danny Baker @prodnose]

From my World Cup Diary today on the ever bloating world of TV football coverage.
"Dear God, Barry Norman reviewed Star Wars in under four minutes - how can it take five people an hour to sum up a lousy 0-0 draw against Ghana?"
https://t.co/RjmLN9kD1i

[Adam Brooks AKA EssexPR 🇬🇧 @EssexPR]

The idiots in Parliament are now stating that we can stop this hot weather. There’s nothing we can do to change this.
Utter lies.

1976 was just as hot… 50 years ago.

Net Zero con.

[Mike Yardley @YardleyShooting]

Someone just suggested elsewhere that Boris's 'Lockdown' was the best decision that could be made at the time. My answer: "In this case, this terrible decision needs to be explored and challenged. Especially in the context of faked imagery of people collapsing on the pavement in China, vested interest by Big Pharma, and the historical fact that Britain has survived many epidemics which occur every 15 or 20 years. I remember, for example, 'the Hong Kong Flu'. It did not require a cessation of liberty. Britain was financially ruined by Lockdown. Sweden had no Lockdown, no 1/2 £trillion expenditure, and only suffered 80% of our mortality WITH NO LOCKDOWN. There was no benefit. There was enormous cost. Ditto PPE. Britain's economy will not recover from it. The cost was roughly 3 Iran wars or something approaching the US national defence budget. We we suckered into economic destruction.".

[Jeremy Clarkson @JeremyClarkson]

Thank God for this hydration break. It’s nearly 16 degrees out here

[Chris Rose @ArchRose90]

If Andy Burnham doesn’t call a snap GE, I’m confident that this time next year he’ll be very unpopular. As Mayor, he received mild scrutiny and could pass the buck to government funding when challenged.

He has no plan and winging it. A recipe for disaster. Bookmark this.