Author | Lightnews

Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 18h

Congratulations!

Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 1d

There could have been an earlier Thick of It type stage, where the hapless assistant arrives with two unspecified bead colours, and they all slowly realise half of them are black

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah, what's up with that? That's more than the federal govt spends in total. Have they added all such spending over the period and compared it with GDP?
I don't doubt it's big, but...

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 1d

I still have trouble visualising "Dubai but for 65m people"... Is it a failure of my imagination, or in the economics?
Wondering if I feel there's too many markets a bit winner-take-all like in finance that therefore can't be expanded at the same level of productivity/value?

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 1d

So do we already have its economic model (as far as apx proportion of GDP goes)?

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 1d

Not to get all "but you need [insert sector here, e.g. manufacturing]" but does that kind of thing scale up beyond a city-sized unit, though?
London, Dubai, Singapore etc, but bigger?

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 2d

We went on the Thames clipper does that count for the rowing bit?

Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 2d

Checklist from my parental leave this year:

Museums ✅
Lord's ✅
Cafés and restaurants ✅
Western classical music ✅
Polo ❌

Ok, so clearly not worth £180,000, but maybe someone will pay me £150k for bringing up my child

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 13d

Some of it is about knots too

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 13d

I think this fits with other issues about state capacity. Don't enforce this law just like other public services don't get provided. Sends some wild signals and moves us all to a worse equilibrium where it's all just shrugged off

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 13d

Well, tbf, they are both heavier and faster and raise the possibility of much higher momentum crashes. Plus maybe correlated with more reckless riding

But overall completely agree, the number of cars I see on daily basis speeding, weaving around, overtaking me in 20mph zones etc. coverage is ridic

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 14d

Yes all fair, not commonplace but "at least one country is further down this path, have you looked at what goes on there?"

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 14d

Plus, fits of the vapours about the risks of sports gambling addiction (totally valid), whilst a general shrug at youjd men plunging life savings into crypto

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 14d

There's been a lot of slightly odd/naive commentary on the rise of betting in the US; podcasts etc treating it as this brave new world and hyperventilating a bit about stuff that's entirely commonplace elsewhere. Classic case of not looking beyond their borders?

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 15d

Yes, wouldn't the most basic model suggest this leads to price increases, as sellers now incorporate the SDLT into the price

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 17d

Forget documenting crony contracts, this is peak public discourse.

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Reposted by Andrew Lay

Sophie E. Hill @sophieehill.bsky.social · 17d

A thread of inspirational quotes from two of my idols: Kemi Badenoch and Ange Postecoglou

(uh-oh, I may have gotten some mixed up... or have I??)

🧵

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 18d

Funny, isn't it. Niche celebrities with global recognition just not that many people at home.
Wonder what country scores highest in recognition of an equivalent figure. Maybe somewhere smaller like Estonia?

Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 21d

People already expect us to lose said the Man U manager, so this loss isn't a big deal
Etc

Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 21d

Enjoying the logic of the spokesperson

People already expect us to rob banks, said the criminal, so they won't mind us invading their homes

People already expect us to commit extra judicial killings so an extra droning won't hurt, said the government spokesman

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 22d

Agree with most of all the above chain, plus it feels he's probably more effective running a key mission-led department and being if not an intellectual leader for the party (sort of is) then an internal conscience.
Why waste him as leader, when he can be slightly out of focus getting stuff done

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 22d

Careful, if you and others criticise this take too much you might provoke more "intolerant Bluesky users" discourse

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 23d

Yet at the same time, if Madders, Deki, Solanke, RKM and two (granted second string) defenders all got injured now it'd be called a major injury crisis. But as things just started that way it's overlooked. Sure lots of system things to sort but a lot of fans seem to think that change can be instant

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Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 24d

"Abrahamic grocery tariffs" would blow his mind

Andrew Lay @apwlay.bsky.social · 25d

Is there an arctic caterpillar?!

Evokes some kind of ancient parasite, in stasis in the arctic permafrost, emerging as climate change warms its frozen tomb...
...yeah I'll stick to the normal one

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