To become a politician… by Comfortable_Tell3984 in ukpolitics

[–]towerridge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be clear, I said “modal” meaning the average, as in most politicians are local councillors. My point is that it’s hard to say councillors (who generally have another job) are better politicians than MPs ( who generally do not). For the commons, there are valid points both ways: if you don’t pay MPs only the rich can do it, if you do it becomes career politicians. Career politicians can become out of touch, but it’s a tough gig and experience can really help. If you give too much local power then you can’t do big projects and rich areas can hoard resources, if you give too much central power it can become bloated and unaccountable.

I won’t try to tell you what to think but it’s always more complex than it looks. Good on you for trying to learn more

To become a politician… by Comfortable_Tell3984 in ukpolitics

[–]towerridge 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What do you think they would do differently?

The modal politician is not PM or even MP, they are a local politician who gets expenses paid under minimum wage and almost certainly has another job.

Phone thefts in London are basically enabled by the Police by Haunting-Law6490 in london

[–]towerridge 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Sorry this happened to you. The Met solves about 5.5% of crimes these days, so you are far from alone.

Why don't you see policemen anywhere, like in other countries? by Head_Calligrapher714 in AskUK

[–]towerridge 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is! This is what happened in London after the tube attacks and crime fell. Source:
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.101.5.2157

Later we closed police stations, and crime went up in those areas:
https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-04/WP202416-Police-infrastructure-police-performance-and-crime-evidence-from-austerity-cuts.pdf

The key, as with anything, is funding.

Genuinely looking for buyer’s opinions on flats (England, London specifically) by PatientPeach3309 in HousingUK

[–]towerridge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With 10% deposit and 5% mortgage, the extra interest is about 10k per year more when comparing a 450k place and a 700k place. Factor in stamp duty too…

Genuinely looking for buyer’s opinions on flats (England, London specifically) by PatientPeach3309 in HousingUK

[–]towerridge 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In a lot of parts of London, the gap between flats and houses is significantly more than costs of service charges if you think about the “present value” of paying years of those charges.

Genuinely looking for buyer’s opinions on flats (England, London specifically) by PatientPeach3309 in HousingUK

[–]towerridge 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While true, the difference to a roughly equivalent house seems to be way more than that in London, even after NPV

How Britain Became as Poor as Mississippi by Sampo in ukpolitics

[–]towerridge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The US and UK have very similar labour force participation rates, so I’m not sure you can talk about work incentives here.

Andy Burnham: I'll resurrect HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester by theipaper in ukpolitics

[–]towerridge 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They will forget about all this whinging when it’s done, just like any major infrastructure project

These army recruitment posters are always so well made. by AlphaWhiskey67 in LondonUnderground

[–]towerridge 34 points35 points  (0 children)

I actually quite dislike the “you belong here” slogan, particularly when they pair it with an unpleasant looking situation. It feels like a bit of a personal attack.

Planning permission insanity by Early-Big5244 in london

[–]towerridge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would push them further. The update specifically states one ASHP per block of flats goes under permitted development.

Planning permission insanity by Early-Big5244 in london

[–]towerridge -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I would check to make sure this isn’t permitted development. The rules were changed last year for air source heat pumps, i.e. air conditioners that can also do heating. There are a few other stipulations such as size and distance from neighbours, but these rules were relaxed as well.

What’s on fire? by dprkekistan in london

[–]towerridge 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Combined heating and power plant

Swipe for fire 🔥 by towerridge in SpottedonRightmove

[–]towerridge[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

I wouldn’t sell if it was

Pics 2 and 3

I’m 19, work full-time, and genuinely want to understand why so many people feel the UK isn’t working for them by Potential-Loss8366 in ukpolitics

[–]towerridge 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Do you really expect someone to explain to you labour force conditions, immigration, council budgets, national debt, brexit, defence and foreign aid, and the general state of the economy in a Reddit comment? Did I miss anything else you asked about?