Merry Christmas!

The rattle of Hastings bit.ly/497Jt5L when locals turn on the tap all they hear is emptiness

Too important to tax part 94 bit.ly/4qh2V6Q tractor protests achieve major concession on govt plans to make farmers pay inheritance tax. NB plans not abandoned and not a u-turn! It is a major concession which means farms worth up to £5.65m could be IHT free on 2nd death

Cut arms ties with Israel, say ex top army leaders because of war tactics employed in Gaza bit.ly/4qndzcn and objected to MoD saying they were similar to our own

Flat. Leasehold. Ex-council. Cheap. What could possibly go wrong? bit.ly/4qoBt7o I’ve seen cases where the actual upgrades and repairs are only done to the flats the council still owns but the leaseholders still have to pay their share for the scaffolding!

Major new concession on farm inheritance tax bit.ly/3Y9rdDX on top of normal reliefs farmers can leave £2.5m tax free - up from £1m - and heirs pay half normal tax on rest. Left to a spouse all is taxfree and then spouse’s heirs gets double - could total £6 million free of Inheritance Tax.

Lord Houchen’s ‘vanity project’ collapses Labour MP claims bit.ly/44HtKZJ search ‘Houchen allegations’ to read more

Canal empties as hole appears bit.ly/4s29uvQ I hope the boat owners were insured and the insurer pays up.

Hunts still chase foxes when they can get away with it bit.ly/48QV625 drone footage shows

Sigh. Really? bit.ly/4saL3fK if you’re going to dip your toe into the bitcoin stream makes sure it’s a toe you can afford to lose

Climate scientists dismissed as global research centre closed down by US govt bit.ly/4jfHn8I criticised for not supporting fossil fuel industry

The robots are not just coming, they’re here, and will replace the shrinking number of new humans providing essential services bit.ly/3MQ3mGW

Don’t leave the USA or you might be banned from returning, tech companies warn foreign staff bit.ly/4b8NrgS after free speech clamp down on personal social media posts

Major insurer with 6.5m UK customers banned from taking on more by @TheFCA in major review of the home and travel insurance market

Israel moves to take more of the West Bank bit.ly/4b1JNW8 leaving hopes for a two state solution in tatters and an open policy of reclaiming Israel from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea - as God, some Israelis believe, ordained

Global criminals love the UK bit.ly/4p3co0F an estimated £700 billion of dirty money passed through UK in past seven years, but only £6.8 billion was frozen and £1.9 billion permanently recovered under powers that are seldom used

It’s an inequitable life, Henry bit.ly/3MTCHsM victims of one of the first major financial scandals still waiting for compensation a quarter of a century later. If you remember the slogan you’ll remember the story!

Out on a Limb. Newly nominated peer did not have a PhD as she has frequently and publicly claimed or an MA bit.ly/3MRLAmD she is also chair of King’s Foundation charity and was chair of Scouts and Athenaeum. She’ll get £371 a day taxfree for turning up at Lords. She says she has honorary doctorates.

Romance fraud is growing - and the banks do not always refund the victims bit.ly/4asEqze But most of it is not done like this by individuals who can be identified and caught, but from fraud factories in Asia by people who are themselves exploited

Walliams dropped by publisher after @telegraph investigation into complaints about his behaviour bit.ly/4aWQ0m7

Michel Mone linked firm goes bust bit.ly/3Yzqwns Liquidation means the money will not be repaid unless the govt can go after the personal assets in trust but that could be tricky.

From March banks will be free to remove the £100 limit on contactless cards bit.ly/3MQDFpG bringing them in line with contactless payments through a smartphone. Banks are being encouraged to let customers choose their limit - 76% of those surveyed did not want any change

For a real treat this Xmas track down the 2009 Zemeckis animated version of Christmas Carol - in 3D is best if your TV can show it - faithful to the text, great actors, amazing evocation of Victorian London, fabulous animation bit.ly/49393IW

Scottish water customers - everyone living there as it is state owned and paid through council tax - face 4%+CPI inflation rise every year for six years bit.ly/48LsQhj

The new EV tax per mile could ‘breach human rights’ if it applies to miles (or even km) driven abroad bit.ly/4aXPq7H D Tel of course always a strong supporter of using human rights laws to challenge govt!

When laws are oppressive some have the courage to break them - British citizen and journalist Jimmy Lai faces life in Hong Kong prison for doing that bit.ly/4iUPCGM PM urged to act to get British journalist released

Give me your emails, facebook / Your huddled contacts, yearning goals to see / The wretched refuse of your teeming thoughts. / Send these, the careless, temper-tossed, to me, / I lift my hand beside the closing door! bit.ly/3YriQnd

Yes is the answer but we don’t know how yet bit.ly/3L1yiDB this will turn out to be a logistical nightmare, complexifying what was a fairly simple system

Gold promoting, crypto financed party leader now finds firm he is an ambassador for is being threatened with bankruptcy by @HMRCgovuk over unpaid taxes bit.ly/4abxaaL gold firm says problem was due to an ‘in correct digit’

This ludicrous Telegraph piece calls the bonus Labour’s bit.ly/4j2gEwg it was introduced in 1972 by Edward Heath (Conservative) and was worth far more than a week’s pension which was £6.75. It has never been cancelled by any govt (Conservative or Labour) or uprated.

If your parcel is stolen or never arrives that’s retailer’s responsibility not delivery company’s and it must refund you bit.ly/48BqNwa never nominate safe place or neighbour - that moves responsibility away from retailer. What’s your experience of missing parcels?

We’re victims of crime not tax evaders, say footballers being pursued for millions in unpaid taxes and penalties on avoidance schemes that didn’t work promoted by criminals bit.ly/44XngpC should they be let off?

The @crisis_uk choir in the stunning Southwark Cathedral last night for carols, moving testimonies by people Crisis has helped out of homelessness, and celebrity readings. A wonderful evening. If you can give, please do. Here’s the link bit.ly/4abu6LN

The policy of making students pay fees for their own tuition was based on the premise that they would earn more and get that money back. It’s always been a questionable argument, now a new report shows that for many it is not true bit.ly/44rPsRq

Jails, detention centres, and hospitals are routinely in breach of human rights ban on inhuman and degrading treatment bit.ly/4oRrZAr treatment of mentally ill people particularly bad but prisons and detention centres are deteriorating with appalling conditions - report

Housing lobbyist appointed to House of Lords by PM as one of 25 new Labour peers bit.ly/4pyVI24

Expensive homes become a bit less valuable in anticipation of high value council tax surcharge in England from 2028 bit.ly/4rJN9TE the new tax will raise over £600m a year and there will be a consultation on detail in new year.

Five years social media, contacts, and emails before you can enter the land of the free where free speech is protected by the Constitution bit.ly/44m92hP I don’t think I’ll be going for a while! Nor will Rishi Sunak who seems to lose his messages whenever he changes phones!

False positives - identifying innocent people as criminals - are a big problem with police facial recognition system bit.ly/48AzIfW but police prefer a lot of hits even if they’re wrong

MPs vote to join an EU customs union after some Labour rebels defy party ‘advice’ and vote for Bill to do that bit.ly/3XIxHJV MPs heard it would boost the economy after Brexit led to 4% lower economic activity. Speaker voted according to precedent to let debate continue

The great Covid frauds lost £11bn partly because of government errors and Ministers overruling official advice bit.ly/48Kl06q most of the money is lost to the thieves forever.

TikTok launch “Starmer may not be the world’s most gifted content creator but he could yet surprise us all. After all, he has turned out to be rather adept at discontent creation, and some of the skills must surely be transferable.” @tompeck of course bit.ly/4oDKIzd

New livery for Great British Railways bit.ly/4aAau3Z echoes the union flag and moving forward. Most like it but DT leads with one who hates it. Do you like it?

Police investigating claims that ReformUK leader spent more than the law allowed to win Clacton seat in 2024 election bit.ly/4aBItJk Reform’s response is that whistleblower kept sex toys in the office and in any case it is too late for a prosecution

The @TheHowardLeague challenges govt in court case about spraying children in custody with PAVA spray which is formulated to cause pain.

Laura Norder returns to run Conservative Party, this time with her focus on blaming foreigners, or half-foreigners bit.ly/49ZhYNP

Sun King killed by relative of mushroom, shock discovery claims bit.ly/4pnGXz5

To cheer you up by @mortenmorland

Could Scotland be forced to make university students pay towards their education as the rest of the UK does? bit.ly/4aCzTtO