Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Gups]

It shouldn't be a case of simple "fuck you we blindly drew this straight line on a map so we are plowing through" but the engagement should certainly be a lot quicker and simpler than it currently is. Cut down on opportunities for bad faith complaints. They're what really annoy me.

Like if a guy complains a particular position for a pylon is wrong because it's right in the middle of a fertile field - should be a simple case of running the numbers to see whether it makes sense to adjust the position slightly or if it would add millions to the cost only for the guy to shift his complaint onto something else - his original moan being bad faith and he really wants the whole thing gone.
Make him sign off on a high level sketch, no further opportunity for complaint, it will go a few metres to the north, you'll get 100k compensation, agreed.
This kind of crap was endemic in hs2.

It's on my list of things to put into words and make a video about at some point. Holland and Japan as two extremes on planning both of which have their issues. Too many want to jump from one extreme to the other I find and we so have to be wary of this.

You clearly have no idea how these projects are dealt with. They don't choose a line because they don't get a detailed design until after authorisation. Instead they have what are called "limits of deviation" which can be several hundred metres wide. This can take out drainage, access etc etc. The landowner doesn't get any money until the land is actually taken (whcih can be any time up to 5 years after authorisation or longer sometimes). Believe me, its the promoters that have all the power.

A typical large energy infrastructure scheme has an examination period of six months (maximum by law). Landowner objection does not hold up these projects - its more likely to be pressure groups challenging the legality of the decision e.g. Stonehenge post-authorisation and the delays inherent in our environmental protection legislation in the pre-application process.

[Josquius]

Explain the recent stories on the topic then?

BBC News - Impact of pylons plan is devastating, say farmers
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv221gxkzm9o

[Barrister]

Explain the recent stories on the topic then?

BBC News - Impact of pylons plan is devastating, say farmers
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv221gxkzm9o

OMG - the NIMBYism is strong!

Why the hell wouldn't the farmland be just as productive as before?

My house - we back on to what we consider a giant greenspace - but in reality is a big utility corridor.  We're maybe 200m away from some honking big high voltage transmission lines.  But underneath them?  They rent the land out to farmers to grow hay.  We get coyotes all the time (my beagle is constantly barking at the coyotes) because they hay of course attracts all kinds of rodents.  In fact when we didn't have a dog (after our old dog died) I found all kinds of rodents were invading our yard and digging it up.

Edit:

I should also mention this is in the middle of a big city.

[Valmy]

Yeah one of the nice things about farms with regards to things like high voltage transmission lines and wind turbines, is that they can continue to operate with few issues even when these things are installed on the land. So the farmer can both get paid a lease for the turbines, or for the easement for the transmission lines, and continue to farm his land.

Granted having to plow and harvest around the poles is a bit of a pain but hey...

[Gups]

Explain the recent stories on the topic then?

BBC News - Impact of pylons plan is devastating, say farmers
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv221gxkzm9o

What do you want me to explain? Despite the headline, this is about underground cabling, not pylons. I'm involved in this project and it's absolutely typical of NG's approach. No design so seeking powers for a 200m wide construction corridor  right through the middle of my client's land entirely destroying his business. No compensation until way after the event, once the business is dead.

[Sheilbh]

Lovely to see some classic Lib Dem bar chart leaflets (this sort of thing, by the by, is why local Labour and Tory activists are absolutely united in really, really hating the Lib Dems)

OR journalists felt left out with no "is he too old" discussions to copy-paste from American politics, no matter how stupid it is.

No-one's saying he's too old. Just that there's going to be succession chat even in his first term - and there will now.

I wish Americans would engage in some succession chat, but here we are...

[Valmy]

We're not allowed to do that. Everybody is very cagey about saying they want to be the next leader because they don't want to undermine Biden or whomever. So we just kind of wait around until the next election gets started, though in our case that is about five minutes after the last election.

LOL at 32 percentage points behind being some kind of competitive situation.

[Barrister]

Lovely to see some classic Lib Dem bar chart leaflets (this sort of thing, by the by, is why local Labour and Tory activists are absolutely united in really, really hating the Lib Dems)

So I remember being the campaign manager in a ruding where the leading candidate was going to (and did) lap the field with over 50% of the vote.  We still ran the campaign because you have to still show the flag even in those kinds of ridings.

But just run some fairly generic party materials and otherwise save your money...

(I'm sure I told this story - we came in 4th, but the difference between 2nd through 4th was minor compared to how much the winner got)

[HVC]

Apparently lib dem votes are worth twice as much as anyone elses

[Sheilbh]

Also total aside but the Labour candidate running in Clacton against Farage, Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, is really well-dressed. I think he may be too stylish to be an MP (I could not pull off any of these looks)
https://x.com/edcumming/status/1802726765493919912

[HVC]

Gotta get across his Britishness by eating fish and chips

[Sheilbh]

Not just Britain, but a seaside resort with a pier - the spiritual home of fish and chips

[HVC]

Not just Britain, but a seaside resort with a pier - the spiritual home of fish and chips

That would be Portugal

[Valmy]

Also total aside but the Labour candidate running in Clacton against Farage, Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, is really well-dressed. I think he may be too stylish to be an MP (I could not pull off any of these looks)
https://x.com/edcumming/status/1802726765493919912

Simultaneously fashionable yet still very twee. Almost painfully English. He even has a hyphenated last name, except its not Fitzroy-Howard or something.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Unfortunately he is unlikely to win in Clacton, which is hugely brexity and tory for some reason.

However, he would make an excellent Doctor Who whilst waiting to be given a better seat.