@Alon I'm not kidding. Some of it's lack of investment, some of it's just geography, but the motorway and fast railway lines both end at Exeter. Cornwall especially is remote.
@Alon I'm not sure, but suspect not (there aren't that many people down here, it's barely over a million in Devon and Cornwall). Also I suspect the bigger factor is simply geography - the further west you go, the more rugged the landscape, so everything has to slow down.
@Alon Fair enough - that makes sense. My gut instinct is that there are other reasons (lots of viaducts, turns etc) things slow down, but I could be wrong
@simonvarwell Quite. My suspicion is he's more radical than he's letting on - not more left-wing, but more ambitious. He's very comfortable lying about stuff for electoral reasons, but occasionally you get these glimpses, as on planning. But ... we don't know what he wants and that's not great
@simonvarwell The planning stuff is a pretty big deal. It's controversial and at the root of a lot of our other issues (economic, demographic, quality of life). I suspect there'll be something on Europe too. Beyond that... hmm.
"...the exact midpoint between the popular parlour game of wink murder and the Milgram Experiment..." Since I'm clearly going to become OBSESSED again, here's my it bit from last year in which I try to work out why The Traitors is so compelling https://jonn.substack.com/p/why-is-the-traitors-so-compelling
"The Met’s leaders may talk about “policing by consent”; but the actions of its officers are those of a group that does not believe it works for the public, but rules over them."
Upsettingly, inevitably, I have written about the Metropolitan Police and its failures at the coronation this weekend.