Don't Say We Didn't Tell You: Pt 1795482

Electric car owners will have to pay road tax for the first time, as part of ‘eye-watering’ Budget plans designed to fill a £54 billion hole in the public finances.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will use Thursday’s budget to change Treasury rules which mean emission-free cars and vans currently pay no vehicle excise duty. The move is designed to plug a projected £7 billion shortfall in road tax as the switch to electric vehicles gathers pace.

And yes, covid is the excuse, but if you believe this wasn't always on the cards at some point, I've a bridge to sell you... 

The Bank of England warned last week that Britain could be entering a two-year recession, the longest on record.

If you shut down the country for two years, the bill is going to come due some time, isn't it?

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes And Albanians...

This is not a basis for an asylum claim! Is it?

I asked Iva, 31, who was a stockbroker in Albania, why she would make such a dangerous journey in the back of a lorry.

She said: "It doesn't make sense. But when you look at Albania and the opportunities it gives to young people it will make sense.

"I just want to live in a happy environment. I just want to live in a safe environment. I want to live in a society that is well-structured and well-organised. I don't want to live in chaos anymore."

We here in the UK want those things too. How can we have them when people like you try to game the system? 

Now she's trying to register her arrival with the Home Office on its dedicated hotline - entering a system which she knows could take years to process her application.

Then fire the Home Office staff who can't process such an application and stamp it 'REJECTED' in double-quick time! 

Iva and Denis, who say they are both university educated, told us they want to speak to Sky News because of the "stigma" surrounding Albanian asylum seekers.

'"Why see migrants as a problem," Denis said. "Start to see us as worthy people."

There's nothing worthy about you. You should be on the next flight back.

We Will Remember Them...

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. 

At the going down of the sun and in the morning 

We will remember them.

Maybe You Should Look Elsewhere...

...it's not the public who are causing the biggest issue, is it?

H/T: Ian J via email

Why We Aren't Stopping Knife Crime...

A Holland & Barrett worker attacked his boss in front of shocked customers after a row erupted about the length of his lunch break.

Terry Stokes, 26, dug his fingers into Kyran Burnett’s eyes then grabbed a blade from the store room at the health food shop near Victoria Station, central London.

Four customers fled in panic as Stokes chased Mr Burnett with the knife on December 29 last year, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Oh no, are you in for a long spell in ... 

But the judge gave Stokes credit for finding another job since the incident.

*blinks* Wait, what? Who would give this maniac a job? 

‘We have an impressive letter written on your behalf by your new employer who plainly thinks you would be of more use outside of prison than behind bars.’

Stokes, of Camden, was convicted of assault by beating and possessing a knife. He was sentenced to eight months jail suspended for 21 months.

/facepalm 

The judge added: ‘You still have anger issues and it may properly be addressed with these sessions.

‘You really must curb your temper in the future.’

What incentive does he have to do so, 'your honour'..? When he doesn't see a day behind bars for physical assault, while a sick sense of humour gets you 12 weeks in chokey?

We Won't See Any Such Thing, I Predict...

Blazing headlines - no more circumcisions, tummy tucks and other 'unnecessary' procedures on the NHS.

NHS medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis told The Telegraph that the 'crackdown' on procedures funded by the NHS was to help improve the institution's efficiency, and prevent wasting money 'from the public purse'.

Hurrah! Right?

It follows years of plans being drawn up to cut NHS costs.

Plans that are never ever put into place, or when they actually are, don't achieve the desired result. 

So...why would this one be any more successful?

The new list, which includes circumcisions, tummy tucks and liposuction is the third that the NHS has made a bid to reduce costs.

OK, so what's the catch? 

Created by NHS bosses and medics from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the plan states that the procedures should only be performed via NHS funding if specific criteria have been met. Each year the NHS in England performs 23,000 circumcisions, more than 1,000 now liposuction operations and more than 500 tummy tucks.

The drafted guidance says that liposuction and tummy tucks should not be done for cosmetic purposes, with circumcisions only being funded to treat medial (sic) problems, the newspaper reported.

There you go. Desires for these procedures will simply be reclassified as medical problems for the patient, and the NHS will then perform them. 

Didn't Quite Get It Right...

Well, the sign does say "Car Park" - but I suspect it means "On all four wheels"... 

H/T: Dave Ward via email

The Reaction Of Someone Who Knows They Are In The Wrong...

Police forces must ‘stop humouring’ eco activists, Suella Braverman said yesterday. The Home Secretary accused officers of letting protests get out of control because of their ‘reluctance’ to tackle ‘criminal disruption’.

Her demand came after Just Stop Oil activists brought more chaos to the M25, leading to a crash in which a constable was injured.

She suggested that members of the public were taking the law into their own hands because they had lost faith in the police.

All very true. So...what was the reaction? Contrition? Excuses about 'resources' or the paperwork burden?

No, actually, sarcasm and insolence: 

But Sir Mark said: ‘We have gone as fast as we think we can do on the Just Stop Oil issues. We can’t take snipers apparently to people who are climbing the gantries.’

I must have missed where she asked you to do that...

‘When we use the angle grinders we have to apparently just take off the locks, we can’t take off the limbs at the same time.’

I don't believe that was in the Home Sec's statement either, Sir Mark... 

‘There are limits to how you can do this at speed. We are turning up at those things very quickly. We’re going as quickly as we can.’

I'm sure you are, but what concerns the public is the sloth and indolence your officers display when they get there, and the concern they show for the ecoloons, when that concern should be shown for the public:

And that reaction tells me her remarks struck home, and you know it too...

Just One Little Question, Then, Joe...

...which countries are you talking about? 

I mean, do you even know?

And why is Musk suddenly the bête noire of the Establishment, I wonder..?

They Need To Be Reminded Who They Serve...

Labour MP Rosie Duffield has slammed the British Transport Police (BTP) after they tweeted an appeal to identify a suspected flasher, referring to the suspect as 'them' rather than stating their gender.

Because if someone flashes you, their sex is immediate and obvious. So what does it matter what gender they claim to be? 

The BTP repeatedly refused to disclose to MailOnline whether a suspected flasher dressed in a wig and skirt exposed male or female genitals to two teenage girls on a train.

MailOnline subsequently requested further information several times throughout today to confirm further details regarding the incident - including whether the suspect was is a man or woman and whether they exposed male or female genitals.

But BTP's press office rebuffed the queries, instead insisting that it 'did not need further descriptions' after issuing the appeal.

Unlike other photos, this one was crystal clear. But it would still help to know which particular flavour of pervert they were looking for... 

British Transport Police said: 'At this stage of the investigation, our priority is to speak to the individual. It is not necessary for us to add any further descriptors - we just want to identify the individual in the picture and would encourage anyone with information to assist with this.

'We are committed to tackling violence against women and girls across the rail and underground network.'

That's going to be pretty difficult for you, since you seem unable to tell what women and girls are...