Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Sheilbh]

Not an ideal headline or sentence for a new leader (From the Herald political editor:

Another political comms masterclass from Yousaf Again, poor sod:

Also in reason #576 why Brits prefer older homes - they are still standing securely. Chatting with a colleague whose flat (new build) turned out to not have fire stopping compartmentalising each flat. So instead of each flat having fire proofing which should (in theory) last for about an hour in the event of a fire, one would basically just rip through their building (similar issue with Parliament actually). Luckily enough for them this was identified in the warranty period of a new build so it had to be remedied quickly and at zero cost to residents, and at least the cladding was fine. But still - would take one person to have a dodgy appliance

A big part of why I am dubious of new builds - and I do think they're getting better - is that I don't really trust British property developers or builders

[Duque de Bragança]

A big part of why I am dubious of new builds - and I do think they're getting better - is that I don't really trust British property developers or builders

Brexit (bye Central/Eastern Europeans builders) won't help and probably worsens the problem. Or is it Covid again? 

[Sheilbh]

Brexit (bye Central/Eastern Europeans builders) won't help and probably worsens the problem. Or is it Covid again? 

Well I don't mean the nationality of the builder but builders in Britain.

[Duque de Bragança]

Brexit (bye Central/Eastern Europeans builders) won't help and probably worsens the problem. Or is it Covid again? 

Well I don't mean the nationality of the builder but builders in Britain.

Business practices? Builder status/experiences? Regulations? Magic influence of the white cliffs of Dover? 

Did they discover at least a more recent plumbing than say, Victorian-era plumbing?

[The Brain]

Our words are backed by exterior plumbing!

[Duque de Bragança]

Our words are backed by exterior plumbing!

No scribes allowed, obviously.

[Tamas]

Is there a segment on cats?

Watch the whole thing and see what consuming animal products means in terms of suffering and death.

I have seen my grandmother expertly cut the neck of chickens and have them bleed out to the ground.

I have heard the terrified death screams of a pig being slaughtered in the backyard.

You should also look up the Italian scientist who was interviewed on the Guardian recently presenting his case that plants have a forl of consciousness.

[Hamilcar]

Is there a segment on cats?

Watch the whole thing and see what consuming animal products means in terms of suffering and death.

I have seen it before, I was making a joke related to another thread

An ok, Im not up to date on the languish lore. 

[Sheilbh]

Business practices? Builder status/experiences? Regulations? Magic influence of the white cliffs of Dover? 

In this type of case - economics, structure of the market, the incentives in the market etc. (Edit: Basically the same thing I think explains an awful lot of human behaviour.)

The UK has a very unusually fragmenteded construction sector with small and micro businesses and far more sub-contracting on projects of all sizes, relatedly with far less vertical integration across the stages of building. All of which is partly - except for things like the big new build warranty - to manage away and parcel up risk/try to avoid responsibility.

In a way it's the standard British thing which has had a big impact in other areas of "maximising" efficiency to an extent that it only works if everything goes well and there are zero issues. As soon as it does there are ripples of delays and extra costs etc.

[Duque de Bragança]

Business practices? Builder status/experiences? Regulations? Magic influence of the white cliffs of Dover? 

In this type of case - economics, structure of the market, the incentives in the market etc. (Edit: Basically the same thing I think explains an awful lot of human behaviour.)

The UK has a very unusually fragmenteded construction sector with small and micro businesses and far more sub-contracting on projects of all sizes, relatedly with far less vertical integration across the stages of building. All of which is partly - except for things like the big new build warranty - to manage away and parcel up risk/try to avoid responsibility.

In a way it's the standard British thing which has had a big impact in other areas of "maximising" efficiency to an extent that it only works if everything goes well and there are zero issues. As soon as it does there are ripples of delays and extra costs etc.

 
Thanks.

Plenty of small and micro businesses in the building sector in general though over here as well.

[Sheilbh]

Plenty of small and micro busineses in the building sector in general though over here as well.

Of the construction sector in the UK it's about 40-50%, in France or Germany about 10-20%.

[Josquius]

I suspect there may be something at work in the UK too where most good tradesmen don't want to work on construction sites. The big money is to be found renovating old houses.

[Sheilbh]

Some Holyrood polling after the recent events. SNP constituency vote down to its lowest level since YouGov started polling Scotland separately, their regional list vote down to the lowest since before the 2014 independence referendum.

Looking pretty good for Starmer and Sarwar.

Edit: Meanwhile in the Scottish parliament there was a reminder today that SNP politics has always been a bit of a family business with the Deputy Presiding Officer, Annabelle Ewing (SNP), reprimanding her brother, Fergus Ewing (SNP), for calling the Greens "wine bar revolutionaries". They're the kids of the late, great Winnie Ewing who was a huge figure in Scottish politics and key in making the modern SNP as an MP, MSP and MEP from the mid-60s to the 2000s.

[HVC]

Can Boris run in Scotland?

[Sheilbh]

Can Boris run in Scotland?

He's welcome to try - his (and Cameron's) brand of Englishman doesn't really travel too well north of the border though.