What caught our eye this week.
Hello campers, TA here – standing in for TI, who’s off on his annual hols this week. That means topping up his monitor tan in some seedy foreign hotel instead of his seedy London lair. Ah well, a change is as good as rest as they say.
Right, with that piece of libel out of the way, I understand there’s a big event coming up on 4 July that simply cannot be ignored. That’s right, my assault on the Bitchfield [1] pie-eating record. Oh, and this news just in: there’s a General Election on, too.
So as reluctant as I am to spend all day fighting fires in the comments section, I can’t rightfully ignore the political earthquake incoming.
Personally, I chart a wavy political line: weaving around the traffic cones of the centre ground.
I’ll happily borrow my opinions and remedies from the sane of the centre-left and centre-right. My vote goes to whoever I think will best govern in the interests of the whole country.
In 2010, I felt Labour could do with a spell in opposition. They needed time to think again.
So here we are in 2024 and we’re faced with a choice: more of the same or time for a change?
As ever, it’s Red vs Blue.
But governments shouldn’t be judged like football teams … “I’m Accrington Stanley until I die,” or whatever.
Governments should be judged like football managers: on their track record.
Why as citizens would we offer politicians our unconditional support?
Either they put the country on a sound footing and create the necessary conditions for prosperity, or we turf them out.
It’s the only leverage we have. If you’ve done a bad job, you have to go. And, my god, have any of the country’s problems appreciably improved over the last 14 years?
- Low productivity
- Economic competitiveness
- Public services: NHS, social care, education, welfare
- Housing
- National debt
- Immigration (interpret this according to your political taste)
- Regional imbalances
- Environmental protections
How about the two big promises of the last election: Brexit and Levelling Up?
Whatever you think of those two issues, it’s telling that the Conservatives aren’t shouting about their achievements on either count.
They haven’t got a vision beyond staying in power: witness ad hoc policy gimmicks like National Service. Tories were pooh-poohing that idea only weeks before the election was called.
They’re afraid to take difficult decisions to solve the country’s problems: hence the lack of progress on planning reform or social care.
And now they’re laying traps for the next Government by ruling out every tax rise they can think of. The objective being what? To keep the country in a mess until we fall back into their arms? Love it. Essentially, they’re saying: “If we can’t have you, nobody can.”
This from the people who gaslit us with ‘fiscal drag’ – raising the UK tax burden to its highest level since 1950 [2], while simultaneously claiming they’re cutting taxes because they’ve knocked a few quid off National Insurance.
Not to mention the chaos of four prime ministers in five years – at least one of whom was manifestly unfit for office.
Casting a vote for this lot again is like going back to a bad boyfriend who says it’ll be different this time.
You may doubt Labour. “All politicians are the same,” is the cop-out defence I keep hearing. Well, let’s find out shall we?
The ire of the electorate should be biblical. Not because ‘beating the Tories’ is an inherently good thing. But because all politicians need to know that if they screw us around, they’re out.
That if they spend their time spinning and lying and fudging and faction-fighting instead of mending and sorting then they’re goners.
Remember how Boris Johnson’s 80-seat majority was meant to be unassailable? He was being talked about as a two-term prime minister because Labour needed an impossible swing to overturn their historic 2019 defeat.
Thankfully those political assumptions are in the shredder. Unquestioned party loyalty is breaking down. Tribalism is dissolving.
So, if Labour get in, they’re on notice. The electorate is volatile and vengeful.
That’s how it should be.
Some may still be stuck in the trenches, unable to overcome their fear of the Red team. But in truth, neither of our two main parties are radical. They’re usually only elected when the moderates are in charge.
Can things only get better? Definitely not. But tribalism doesn’t help us. It’s the political equivalent of auto-renewing your subscription. You will be taken advantage of.
So it’s time to switch supplier. I’m not expecting massively better service just because I’ve moved from EDF to E.ON or whoever. But it’s the only way to keep them both in line. Hence, I say:
- Vote tactically
- Vote on record
- Do not reward failure
Have a great weekend.
From Monevator
The Minimum Pension Age trap – Monevator [3]
The perils of leveraging your mortgage to invest – Monevator [Members] [4]
From the archive-ator: The floor and upside retirement strategy – Monevator [5]
News
Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view click through to read the article. Try privacy/incognito mode to avoid cookies. Consider subscribing to sites you visit a lot.
UK economic growth revised upwards – BBC [6]
[7]
Labour won’t end tax-free cash for pensioners – Evening Standard via MSN [8]
UK disposable income growth lags Europe but poorer households outpace richer ones – BBC [9]
When a wealth tax goes wrong – Telegraph via MSN [10]
Ex-Fujitsu engineer changed witness statements at behest of Post Office – Guardian [11]
Productivity resurgence in the North – Business Live via MSN [12]
SpaceX tender offer values company at $210 billion – Bloomberg [13]
Top scientists turning down UK jobs due to visa costs – Guardian [14]
The desert data boom – Sherwood [15]
Election section mini-special
General Election poll-of-polls – Electoral Calculus [16]
Tactical voting recommendations – Best for Britain [17]
The economic challenges our politicians won’t talk about [Podcast] – Institute for Fiscal Studies [18]
Reform activist makes racist comments about Sunak – Guardian [19]
Macron looks to be in deep merde – The Economist [20]
Democrats / Free World panics over Biden debate debacle [Search result] – FT [21]
Mad elections [Podcast] – The Rest is History [22]
Products and services
Best savings accounts beating inflation – Yahoo Finance [23]
Time to lock savings up before interest rates fall? – This Is Money [24]
Sign-up to Trading 212 via our affiliate link [25] to claim your free share and cashback. T&Cs apply – Trading 212 [25]
Best travel insurance – Which [26]
Open an account with low-cost platform InvestEngine via our link [27] and get up to £50 when you invest at least £100 (T&Cs apply. Capital at risk) – InvestEngine [27]
eBay seller’s tax guide – Yahoo Finance [28]
Beautiful homes faintly connected to politicians, in pictures – Guardian [29]
Comment and opinion
The happiest and unhappiest nations on Earth – Our World In Data [30]
The seven laws of personal finance – Scott Burns [31]
Why you need to stop hoarding cash – Cautiously Optimistic [32]
Spendthrifts vs tightwads (which are you?) – Morningstar [33]
Persuading elderly parents to downsize: how not to do it [Search result] – FT [34]
Is Nvidia a good stock? – Bloomberg [35]
The small cap premium is dead. No! It’s only resting – A Wealth of Common Sense [36]
Can US stocks keep outperforming? – Morningstar [37]
Five retirement regrets and how to avoid them – Which [38]
Five things an investor shouldn’t care about – Safal Niveshak [39]
The cost of following England at the Euros (possibly the most joyless article I’ve ever read. Had to share!) – Yahoo Finance [40]
Why European stocks have lagged US stocks – Albert Bridge Capital [41]
The World’s top retailers by revenue – Visual Capitalist [42]
Empty inside: the eerie feeling of abandoned mansions – Yahoo Finance [43]
Naughty corner: Active antics
Cancelled! TA is in charge this week. Say three Hail Mary’s and read Passive vs active investing [44] as penance for even thinking about timing the market.
Kindle book bargains
A Man for All Markets by Edward O. Thorpe – £0.99 on Kindle [45]
Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth – £0.99 on Kindle [46]
Taxtopia by The Rebel Accountant – £0.99 on Kindle [47]
The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau – £0.99 on Kindle [48]
Environmental factors
How global companies are rowing back on green targets [Search result] – FT [49]
How to avert mass extinction – Guardian [50]
Futuristic Saudi city, The Line, cut short (absolute shocker) – BBC [51]
BP doubles down on fossil fuels (absolute shocker #2) – This Is Money via MSN [52]
Robot overlord roundup
Bill Gates thinks AI will be net good vs climate change (presumably because it’ll kill us all?) – Guardian [53]
What happens if humanity’s AGI dreams come true? [Podcast] – 80,000 Hours [54]
Overthrowing our tech overlords – Noema [55]
I’m sorry Robo-Master, I didn’t mean it when I said you’d kill us all [Grovels, sobs].
Sex click-bait! [New section]
The tyranny of the female-orgasm industrial complex – Atlantic [56]
Can 25% of people orgasm from tickling? – Guardian [57]
Better read these fast before TI returns to crush my awesome new editorial initiative.
Off our beat
Glasto in pictures! – BBC [58]
How to choose between competing theories (send to the conspiracy theorist in your life) – Clearer Thinking [59]
The loneliness of the tennis player who isn’t quite good enough (or how the dream dies) – Guardian [60]
Why the West is not to blame for Putin invading Ukraine (spoiler alert: Putin is to blame) – Institute for the Study of War [61]
Late bloomers: those who succeed later in life – Atlantic [62]
How to think about differences in ability between groups – Clearer Thinking [63]
German viral comedy-rap sensation (instant antidote to election blues) – YouTube [64]
The correct way to hang toilet paper (this will change your life. Not for the better, obviously) – Unilad [65]
And finally…
“Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.”
– Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning [66]
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