Daily Archives: December 22, 2019

The government intends to carry out the abolition of so-called no fault Section 21 evictions.

The Queens Speech announced a Renters Reform Bill, as well as a lifetime deposit which would allow tenants to swap their deposit from one property to another.

Section 21 enables landlords to evict tenants with two months notice.

David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark, said: In the absence of any meaningful plan to boost the level of social housing in this country, the announcement confirming the abolition of Section 21 in todays Queens speech is another attack against the landlords who actually house the nation.

If Section 21 is scrapped, Section 8 must be reformed and a new specialist housing tribunal created. Without this, supply will almost certainly fall which will have the consequential effect of raising rents and will further discourage new landlords from investing in the sector.

ARLA Propertymark will be engaging with the government to ensure they fully understand the consequences of any changes, and we will be scrutinising the legislation, to ensure landlords have the ability to regain their properties if needed.

But Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, said: The abolition of Section 21 and the removal of the no-fault eviction process has been long discussed and is understandable if we are going to respond to the longer-term requirements of tenants and particularly families with children.

Many landlords would be happy to embrace it but there must be an equal and opposite opportunity for landlords to remove tenants who are not otherwise complying with their tenancy agreement such as non payment of rent or upsetting other nearby residents.

It has to be seen to be fair and we need to see more detail of how it would work in practice. What we dont want to see is landlords leaving the sector, which will only increase upwards pressure on rents and make deposit saving for aspiring first-time buyers even more difficult.

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Government to press ahead with abolishing section 21 - Property Wire

The work of various historians, among them David Waldstreicher and Alfred W. and Ruth G. Blumrosen, supports the contention that uneasiness among slaveholders in the colonies about growing antislavery sentiment in Britain and increasing imperial regulation helped motivate the Revolution. One main episode that these and other historians refer to is the landmark 1772 decision of the British high court in Somerset v. Stewart. The case concerned a British customs agent named Charles Stewart who bought an enslaved man named Somerset and took him to England, where he briefly escaped. Stewart captured Somerset and planned to sell him and ship him to Jamaica, only for the chief justice, Lord Mansfield, to declare this unlawful, because chattel slavery was not supported by English common law.

It is true, as Professor Wilentz has noted elsewhere, that the Somerset decision did not legally threaten slavery in the colonies, but the ruling caused a sensation nonetheless. Numerous colonial newspapers covered it and warned of the tyranny it represented. Multiple historians have pointed out that in part because of the Somerset case, slavery joined other issues in helping to gradually drive apart the patriots and their colonial governments. The British often tried to undermine the patriots by mocking their hypocrisy in fighting for liberty while keeping Africans in bondage, and colonial officials repeatedly encouraged enslaved people to seek freedom by fleeing to British lines. For their part, large numbers of the enslaved came to see the struggle as one between freedom and continued subjugation. As Waldstreicher writes, The black-British alliance decisively pushed planters in these [Southern] states toward independence.

The culmination of this was the Dunmore Proclamation, issued in late 1775 by the colonial governor of Virginia, which offered freedom to any enslaved person who fled his plantation and joined the British Army. A member of South Carolinas delegation to the Continental Congress wrote that this act did more to sever the ties between Britain and its colonies than any other expedient which could possibly have been thought of. The historian Jill Lepore writes in her recent book, These Truths: A History of the United States, Not the taxes and the tea, not the shots at Lexington and Concord, not the siege of Boston; rather, it was this act, Dunmores offer of freedom to slaves, that tipped the scales in favor of American independence. And yet how many contemporary Americans have ever even heard of it? Enslaved people at the time certainly knew about it. During the Revolution, thousands sought freedom by taking refuge with British forces.

As for the question of Lincolns attitudes on black equality, the letter writers imply that Hannah-Jones was unfairly harsh toward our 16th president. Admittedly, in an essay that covered several centuries and ranged from the personal to the historical, she did not set out to explore in full his continually shifting ideas about abolition and the rights of black Americans. But she provides an important historical lesson by simply reminding the public, which tends to view Lincoln as a saint, that for much of his career, he believed that a necessary prerequisite for freedom would be a plan to encourage the four million formerly enslaved people to leave the country. To be sure, at the end of his life, Lincolns racial outlook had evolved considerably in the direction of real equality. Yet the story of abolition becomes more complicated, and more instructive, when readers understand that even the Great Emancipator was ambivalent about full black citizenship.

The letter writers also protest that Hannah-Jones, and the projects authors more broadly, ignore Lincolns admiration, which he shared with Frederick Douglass, for the commitment to liberty espoused in the Constitution. This seems to me a more general point of dispute. The writers believe that the Revolution and the Constitution provided the framework for the eventual abolition of slavery and for the equality of black Americans, and that our project insufficiently credits both the founders and 19th-century Republican leaders like Lincoln, Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner and others for their contributions toward achieving these goals.

It may be true that under a less egalitarian system of government, slavery would have continued for longer, but the United States was still one of the last nations in the Americas to abolish the institution only Cuba and Brazil did so after us. And while our democratic system has certainly led to many progressive advances for the rights of minority groups over the past two centuries, these advances, as Hannah-Jones argues in her essay, have almost always come as a result of political and social struggles in which African-Americans have generally taken the lead, not as a working-out of the immanent logic of the Constitution.

And yet for all that, it is difficult to argue that equality has ever been truly achieved for black Americans not in 1776, not in 1865, not in 1964, not in 2008 and not today. The very premise of The 1619 Project, in fact, is that many of the inequalities that continue to afflict the nation are a direct result of the unhealed wound created by 250 years of slavery and an additional century of second-class citizenship and white-supremacist terrorism inflicted on black people (together, those two periods account for 88 percent of our history since 1619). These inequalities were the starting point of our project the facts that, to take just a few examples, black men are nearly six times as likely to wind up in prison as white men, or that black women are three times as likely to die in childbirth as white women, or that the median family wealth for white people is $171,000, compared with just $17,600 for black people. The rampant discrimination that black people continue to face across nearly every aspect of American life suggests that neither the framework of the Constitution nor the strenuous efforts of political leaders in the past and the present, both white and black, has yet been able to achieve the democratic ideals of the founding for all Americans.

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Letter to the Editor: Historians Critique The 1619 Project, and We Respond - The New York Times

Motorists are collectively saving hundreds of thousands of pounds per day on the Severn crossings as the first anniversary since the removal of tolls is marked today [17 December]. All drivers are saving around 365,000 per day, based on the charges which were in place when the tolls were abolished.

The UK Government removed tolls on the westbound M4 and M48 crossings in December 2018, making it easier to travel between Wales and south west England with the aim of boosting business, enhancing inward investment, increasing tourism and creating jobs.

Since the tolls abolition, journeys into Wales from England over the Prince of Wales Bridge have increased by 16% with an average of more than 39,000 journeys now being made each day.

Following the UK Governments abolition of the tolls, the Western Gateway partnership was launched last month to maximise the economic potential of south Wales and the south west of England.

By bringing together world-renowned universities, businesses and local authorities across a wide region either side of the Severn, the Western Gateway will mirror the successful, established work of the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine and will seek to ensure that the region is globally competitive.

Over the last year, drivers have reaped the benefits of free road travel into Wales which is paying dividends for businesses across both sides of the Severn.

We are better connected economically as a result and through the Western Gateway initiative we will harness the joint strengths of these two regions while respecting our distinct identities and traditions.

The UK Government is committed to boosting Wales transport infrastructure and connectivity which is central to ensuring we raise our game economically and boost our productivity as a result.

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Motorists saving hundreds of thousands per day since Severn tolls' abolition - GOV.UK

The two newest members of Iowa City Council took their oaths of office in the council chamber on Thursday afternoon. Laura Bergus and Janice Weiner, both elected to at-large seats in November, were sworn in by City Clerk Kellie Fruehling.

For Bergus, its a new role in a familiar setting. Her first job as a teenager was televising council meetings for the citys cable channel. While doing that, Bergus developed what she calls her nerdy passion for local government.

Bergus didnt mention her high school job on Thursday in her brief remarks after signing the oath of office, during which she thanked the dozens of people who attended the swearing-in.

I am so humbled and grateful to have the support of the city of Iowa City, my hometown, the place where Ive lived my entire life, Bergus said.

She said she was looking forward to working with Weiner and the other members of the council on behalf of the people of Iowa City.

Weiner also began her remarks by expressing gratitude to Iowa Citians.

I am really both honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve the city, she began. As I said during the campaign, I am a public servant at heart.

Like Bergus, Weiner grew up in Iowa City. After graduating from high school, she attended Princeton University and Stanford Law School, before starting a career at the U.S. State Department. Weiner returned to Iowa City after a 27-year career in the Foreign Service.

Weiner said that although she is careful not mix religion with politics, on this occasion she wanted to acknowledge how her religious beliefs informed her political and social justice passion.

We, as Jews, welcome immigrants and refugees, because we were once immigrants in a strange land, she said. I am proud to represent a city that strives to embody those values. We believe strongly in social justice.

Weiner told the audience that she attended the Union for Reform Judaisms biennial conference in Chicago last week. The conference addressed issues of social and political importance such as the abolition of private prisons, addressing the opioid crisis, and studying and developing reparations for slavery and institutional racism in the United States.

We have work to do at every level of government, Weiner said. Good work has been done here, theres more to do.

I was reminded during that conference that voices multiplied can effect change. That determined individuals can make a real difference.

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Now that Bergus and Weiner have joined the city council, five of its seven members are women. Thats the largest number of women ever to serve together on the Iowa City Council.

Editors note: An earlier verion of this story incorrectly stated that this was the first time women have made up a majorithy on the Iowa City Council. This is the first time since the council expanded to its current size of seven seats that the majority of members have been women.

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'We have work to do': Laura Bergus and Janice Weiner officially join the Iowa City Council - Little Village

A little history of the death penalty in the UK, and why capital punishment was abolished in 1965.

Since the early Anglo-Saxon times, the favoured method of execution in the UK has been hanging. However, that didnt mean a trip to a purpose-built gallows by horse and cart. The convicted could be hangedfrom said horse and cart or from some form of stepladder, with a rope slung over a convenient tree. They would die a miserable death from suffocation. Burning at the stake was popular between the 11th and 13th century for conviction of the crime of heresy in the 11th century, and treason in the 13th, and beheading was popular with Royalty.

As in most other countries of the world, life was cheap, and punishment barbaric. In the 13th century England, being convicted of treason could see you hung, drawn, and quartered. A process that saw the guilty dragged to a place of public execution, hanged by the neck until dead, then beheaded, disembowelled, and their limbs cut off. The head was often displayed on a stake.

There were many trivial misdemeanours a hapless person could commit which would often land them on a gallows. From the 1600s to the early 1800s, England had over 200 offences punishable by death. These could be as minor as poaching, cutting down a tree, petty theft, or working as a pickpocket. Although this period was known as Britains Bloody Code, they bought these statutes in as a deterrent and, on the surface at least, it seemed to work.

For several reasons, throughout the 18th century, there were fewer people executed than in the 16th and 17th centuries combined. As well as the deterrent element, by the late 1700s, early 1800s, the population was losing its appetite for needless death penalties in the UK. For instance, theft of goods above a certain value was a capital offence, so juries found ways to reduce the value of the goods, allowing the defendant to receive a custodial sentence, rather than facing the gallows.

During this same period, transportation,' rather than hanging, was used as a popular punishment for those convicted of petty theft, or less serious crimes. Convicts were transported to the Americas and then, after the American Revolution, to Australia.

In 1806, a barrister by the name of Sir Samuel Romillywas appointed Solicitor General, and during his time in office, managed to repeal the death penalty for some minor misdemeanours. In 1834, Liberal MP William Ewartalso got bills passed to reduce the number of capital offences, including abolishing the death penalty for rustling. In 1861, the death penalty in the UK was abolished for all crimes except those of high treason, piracy with violence, arson in royal dockyards, and murder. Some seven years later, public hanging ended, with the introduction of the Capital Punishment Act.

By the end of the 1800s, there was already growing concern over the validity of the evidence for several convictions for murder. Nonetheless, the majority of these unfortunate souls still found themselves on the gallows. After the Great War, further legislation reduced the use of the death penalty in the UK. In 1922 the Infanticide Act protected mothers who had killed their new-born child, from the threat of hanging, provided an unbalanced state of mind at the time could be proven. In 1931, the death penalty for pregnant women was abolished, followed in 1933 by the abolishment of the death penalty for all those under the age of 18 years.

With controversial verdicts on several murder cases continuing to hit the headlines, the number of vocal, high profile capital punishment abolitionists continued to grow. By the early 1920s the penal reform group, The Howard League, became involved, and in 1927 the Labour Party published its Manifesto on Capital Punishment. As the anti-capital punishment lobby began to gather pace, a Select Committee was set up in 1929, and published its findings the following year, recommending a trial five-year suspension of the death penalty. However, the committees suggestion was never followed up.

After the end of World War II, the new Labour government again failed to get the abolition of the death penalty included in the 1948 Criminal Justice Act, although flogging and prison with hard labour was abolished. In the 1950s, new controversial cases involving the death penalty in the UK continued to hit the headlines and fuelled continued concern over the use of capital punishment. These controversies included the hanging of at least two innocent men, Timothy Evans in 1950, and Derek Bentley in 1953. The last woman to receive the death penalty in the UK was Ruth Ellis. Although she had suffered mental and physical abuse, and everything pointed to the fact she was mentally unbalanced at the time she shot her lover, she was hanged in 1955.

Another failed attempt to abolish the death penalty was made in 1956, by Labours MP Sydney Silverman. However, in 1957, a change to the Homicide Act further reduced the types of murder that carried the death penalty. These remaining capital crimes were the murder of a police officer or murdering in the furthering of robbery. These changes reduced the number of hangings in the UK to three or four a year. On 13th August 1964, Peter Allen and Gwynne Evanswere the last people to be hanged in the UK. They were convicted of killing a taxi driver during the act of robbing him (in furtherance of theft) and consequently received a death sentence.

In 1965, the Murder Act, (the Abolition of the Death Penalty), suspended the use of capital punishment in the UK for a period of five years, before making it permanent in 1969, and replacing it with a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. In 1971, the death penalty for arson in Royal dockyards was abolished, and in Northern Ireland, the death penalty was abolished in 1973. In 1998, capital punishment in the UK for acts of treason, and piracy with violence were also abolished, finally making the UK totally free of the death penalty.

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When Was The Death Penalty Abolished In The UK? - Fairplanet

A play exposing the little-known history of the Indian migrant labourers indentured to work on plantations around the world following the abolition of slavery is coming to the stage in the new year.

The Great Experiment comes to audiences at the Tara Theatre on February 11-15.

This new work recounts the moment in history when more than two million Indians were indentured to replace slave labour in Mauritius, Malaysia, the Caribbean and mainland Africa as part of The Great Experiment.

Carefully devised by performers from various backgrounds in a process led by those of Mauritian heritage, The Great Experiment, directed by Michael Walling, tells two parallel stories that of the labourers and that of the actors themselves grappling with their own relationships to this difficult history and its enduring effects that are still felt today.

Having worked with expert historians and the communities descended from indentured workers, the production also makes use of multimedia and archive footage that the audience are encouraged to explore and interact with before each performance.

Director Michael Walling said: Most of Border Crossings previous work has been very contemporary but the current moment seems to call for a new look at our histories, and particularly the untold histories of the British Empire.

The story of the indentured migrations feels incredibly resonant at a time when people are travelling the world in search of a better life not just because these Indian labourers also migrated for work, but also because their work laid the foundations for the very inequalities which make Europe and America so rich and the global South so poor today.

Our confrontation with this history has brought into the open some incredibly powerful questions about who we are in the UK today: how our multicultural space came into being and why it contains so many unresolved divisions. The past is not past.

Deviser and performer Nisha Dassyne said: Working on The Great Experiment, Ive had to visit the ghosts and memories in my family. They have become more concrete, more human, more accessible.

The connection to my ancestors isnt just something to talk about anymore its a real connection.

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Theatre: The Great Experiment, Tara Theatre - London News Online

"And down in city hall, I've heard the council say, We'll change the name of the Severn Bridge, To the Geraint Thomas Way," sang Max Boyce in 2018 as part of his tribute to the Welshman who won the Tour De France.

Prophetically, and somewhat ironically, a bike as well as Thomas' famed Olympian cycling prowess is probably the one thing you now need for your daily commute since the bridge's tolls were abolished on December 17 last year.

That's particularly true if you live in Chepstow, which has seen a huge spike in traffic travelling both in and out of it since motorists were no longer required to stop and pay to enter Wales via the M48 Severn Bridge and the Second Severn Crossing, now renamed the Prince of Wales bridge.

A financial barrier as much as they were a physical one it seems at its priciest it cost 6.70 to cross the tolls' removal has seen a 16% increase in westbound journeys on the Prince of Wales bridge while the M48 crossing witnessed a spike of around 32%.

Eastbound journeys on the Prince of Wales saw an increase of 8.9%, bringing the average number of crossings a day to almost 40,400.

Moreover a UK government study earlier this year suggested that more than 24m vehicles every year would use the crossings westbound by 2022, compared with 18m had the tolls had stayed in place.

Already used to congestion and delays, Chepstow was plunged into gridlock chaos after decommissioning work began, its out-of-date road network clogged and unable to cope with sheer amount of traffic.

Taking to social media to vent, some overheated drivers claimed it was taking them two and a half hours to do three miles through the town during morning rush hour.

Shaun Thomas, who's worked at the same tile outlet on the nearby Bulwark industrial estate for 19 years, is one of those people whose daily journey has become interminable.

"I drive down the A48 from the Forest of Dean to get in each morning and what used to take me 45 minutes is now almost double that because of the sheer back log of traffic," says the 35-year-old dad-of-three.

"It's got progressively worse over last year in particular. If someone has a bump en route then you've no chance of getting round it you just have to sit there or turn back home."

And it's also affecting business, he adds. "I've had a few roastings for being late but it's also putting customers off in some cases. People wanting to pop in after work have no chance of getting here before we close because the traffic's so silly.

"Personally it would put me off coming to Chepstow to shop altogether."

Once past the pinchpoint that is the Tesco traffic lights in the middle of town, Shaun then faces a long steep crawl up the residential Hardwick Hill, the town's busiest drag, to make it to his workplace.

Dotted on either side with well-heeled Georgian properties, it feels ill-suited to cope with the sheer volume of vehicles many of which are coming from English towns like Lydney en route to Bristol via the M48 and the old Severn Bridge.

Its narrow pavements can also make it difficult for pedestrians with the slipstream from the constant succession of lorries, buses and cars barrelling past at elbow's length often rocking them on their feet.

And poor air quality is another big factor and has been for a long time. Indeed it's regarded as one of the most polluted stretches in the UK.

The World Health Organisation even previously positioned Chepstow above the likes of Birmingham and Bristol on a list of places exceeding the limits for fine-particle pollution levels.

Someone who knows all about this is Tim Melville, coordinator of the Transition Chepstow Transport Group and board member of the Chepstow Air Quality Monitoring Group.

"I lived on Hardwick Hill for over 10 years but moved a long time ago," says the 55-year old, who's helped formulate many of the plans to alleviate congestion and air pollution in the area.

"My daughter Martha had asthma that got so bad it kept her in hospital on a couple of occasions.

"She was about six at the time but the amount of pollution from the traffic affected her really badly - so much so that, despite loving the house we had to relocate."

Upping sticks for a quieter back road a mere 400 yards away, Tim soon found his daughter's condition improved considerably.

"In fact she's been fine ever since," he adds, pointing out that there's been no improvements made to the road system there for 30 years.

Also the air quality monitors situated at various points along the A48 have seen significant increases in nitrogen dioxide levels since the tolls' demise.

"The average for NO2 emissions in 2019 has gone up by more than 10% while, in other areas of Wales, it has been going down as combustion engines become cleaner," says Tim.

"NO2 has gone up by the Chepstow School on Welsh Street by 25% and this could be reduced by more children walking to school and less cars on the road come the morning rush hour.

"We as a group have also been talking about having new commuter buses run from Chepstow to Bristol as well as 'park and share'-type car pool facilities situated outside of the town."

But the long-mooted solution of a 100m plus bypass road, bandied around by Gwent County Council as far back as the '80s and '90s, is too simplistic an idea, he adds.

If built the road would run through border towns like Sedbury and Beachley, providing a direct link between the A48 to the east of Chepstow and theM48.

"The problem is, though, we've not got another 20 years to wait," says Tim. "Things need to be done now because sitting in queueing traffic as early as 6am and journey times of 90 minutes to go just 15 miles is ludicrous."

Meanwhile the Welsh Government has awarded 50,000 to Monmouthshire council to look at how to improve transport in and around Chepstow town centre while funding has also been allocated to support road safety improvements and encourage active travel.

But a steep hike in the population of Chepstow and its surrounding areas in recent times not to mention an increase in house prices is also contributing to the problem.

Monmouthshire and Newport, the closest local authorities to the Severn bridges, are two of the fastest-growing property markets in the UK both having experienced recent rises of 14% and 13.7% respectively.

Gwent-based estate agents Moon & Co reported a boost in sales of property ranging from 350,000 to 400,000 while another from Newport remarked about hearing "more Bristol accents than Welsh" when it came to those calling to enquire about viewings, indicating a steady climb in the numbers coming from over the English border in search of cheaper accomodation.

Many have also pointed the finger at property developers on the other side of the England/Wales divide for taking advantage of the tolls' abolition to build more homes than the local infrastructure can cope with.

"They have been sitting on the land waiting for the tolls to go and now look whats happening," says Sue Dutson of Tutshill, the English village just a short walk from Chepstow across its cast iron, Regency-built Old Wye Bridge.

"They say it's because people need houses but these aren't affordable homes for local people."

She's talking about an application for a new 185 unit housing development on nearby land south of the A48, while more than 1,000 extra homes are also planned for the Chepstow and Severnside areas of Monmouthshire.

In addition a further 1,800 homes earmarked for Lydney can only cause further headaches for those affected.

Indeed, for everyone who's sick of spending each day bumper-to-bumper in grindingly slow traffic, it may already be a bridge too far.

See the article here:

How scrapping the Severn Bridge tolls has affected one Welsh town - Wales Online

Express News Service

Former Odisha-cadre IAS officer turned entrepreneur Ashwini Vaishnaws election to Rajya Sabha from BJP with a seat gifted by BJD took everyone by surprise. Handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and backed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Vaishnaw, though, has donned the new role with aplomb. He speaks toSN Agragami on his journey, the state of economy and Odishas growth and development.

Bureaucrat, technocrat, private secretary to former PM AB Vajpayee, corporate head to entrepreneur, and now a politician quite a career journey it has been. How would you describe it?I think the variety of experience has given me humility to recognise the complexities of modern world. This journey has helped me understand how countries like China, Japan and South Korea transformed themselves from third world to first world within a short span of time. Wharton MBA transformed the way of thinking. Working with Vajpayeeji gave me the privilege of understanding the world view of a great statesman. Working in industry has given me the satisfaction of creating meaningful employment.

We all remember in 1999, when internet was nascent in Odisha, how you used it to follow US Navy website for tracking the Super Cyclone. You saved many lives and your work was commended by National Human Rights Commission. Dont you miss public service?The satisfaction that ones hard work and enterprise is supporting fellow human beings is immense. I like the focus of working on one subject, but sometimes I do miss the opportunity to serve people on a much larger scale. Handling the Super Cyclone of 1999 in Balasore was a team effort. Every section of society, be it lawyers, politicians, journalists, businessmen or the common man, everybody supported the district administration. Almighty was kind that he made my team as the medium for saving thousands of lives.

Ashwini Vaishnaw was elected to Rajya Sabha as BJP candidate from Odisha with the ruling BJD giving up a seat despite having a brute majority. An unlikely candidate and an equally surprising gift by a political party to a bitter rival of the just concluded polls. Please, throw some light on it.I think this was amply clarified by the senior leaders of BJP and BJD. Rajya Sabha has many apolitical members, now as well as in the past. The not so common combination of public life and industry experience is considered useful for contributing to Indias growth story.

As a first time Parliamentarian, how has the experience in Rajya Sabha been?Rajya Sabha is a very welcoming place. Senior members are always eager to guide and mentor. While both sides debate vociferously within the House, the camaraderie outside, cutting across party lines, is a thing to experience. I think we have a mature democracy, and that is undoubtedly the biggest strength of our country.

You have been actively taking part in debates on the state of Indian economy. With the economy gripped by a great slowdown and stuttering on all fronts, how do you view the scenario and the road ahead?I think Indian economy will come out of this slowdown far stronger than ever. Bank balance sheets have purged the toxic NPAs. GST has simplified life for industries. Culture of ever-greening bank loans is over. Corporate tax rationalisation will help in de-leveraging and creating capital for next cycle of growth.

Yes, there is a significant contraction in demand. But, this can be reasonably improved by the proposed annual investment of 10 trillion rupees in infrastructure.Indias nominal GDP is 200-210 trillion rupees. Inflation is benign at 4-6%. For real growth of 8%, nominal growth required is 12-14%. That means about 26-30 trillion rupees additional output.

Investment in infrastructure has a multiplier of three to four times. Therefore, with 10 trillion rupee infrastructure investment programme, we can aim at 8-10% real growth rate. Yes, it will take a couple of years to reach that level, but it is definitely doable. I think we need to work more on our ability to execute projects by removing the archaic tender processes, giving much more freedom to operating teams, and by having a robust contract enforcement regime.

I think the infrastructure investment cycle has started picking up and it will start showing the results by Q4 of FY19-20. Some sections of politicians and academics are proposing greater transfer of money directly to people by way of increased spending in MGNREGA, etc. In my view, that kind of short-term solution will only lead to inflationary pressures without increasing long term productivity of economy.

There is a growing sense that the Modi Government is not doing enough to pull the economy out of the slump. The much-touted 5 trillion dollar economy target by 2024-25 now seems an unapproachable target.I do not agree. Government is continually listening to the needs of all sections of society. Look at the frequency and speed at which Union Finance Minister Nirmalaji has responded to every situation. We must realise that the structural changes of cleaner banking, GST, and greater transparency do take time to be digested by the system. I think that process has matured by now.

There is one more thing that we definitely need to do to attract manufacturing industries. We need more manufacturing to create employment for our teeming millions. I think if we abolish the Dividend Distribution Tax, then a large number of manufacturing businesses will come to India. This distortionary tax is a big deterrent. The effective tax rate on returns on equity is still 40 per cent despite the historic Corporate tax cut. In my opinion, the abolition of DDT and foregoing `41,000 crore revenue would have had greater impact on attracting manufacturing businesses than the `1,45,000 crore revenue foregone by Corporate tax rate cut.

You began your IAS career from Odisha with stints as Collector of Balasore and Cuttack. As an entrepreneur too, you are still connected to the State. As MP representing Odisha, what is your vision for development and progress of the State?Odisha is my karma-bhoomi. Lord Jagannath is kind to give me opportunity to serve this holy land and its people. Odisha has the highest potential to be 1 trillion-dollar economy. A combination of coastline, steel, power and aluminum industries can lead to humungous industrial growth in ship building, heavy engineering, automobile, fabrication, petrochemicals, and host of other heavy industries that can generate multiple downstream and upstream ancillaries and generate huge employment.

Tourism, handicrafts, traditional handlooms, food processing, marine, and spices industries can provide the bridge between the old and the new. In my view, Odisha has the complete spectrum of industrial activity combined with the cultural strength that can lead to economic growth with stable society.

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'Economy will come out of the slump far stronger' - The New Indian Express

The shock hung Parliament at the 2017 General Election was attributed in large part to aRentquake: private renters voted in greater numbers and favoured Labour.

This time around, a similar pattern is harder to detect. Looking at the 47 marginal seats with a large private renter population, Labour lost Leave-voting Ipswich and Peterborough, but increased their majorities in seats like Reading East and Portsmouth South.

Exactly how private renters voted on Thursday will take some further analysis. But in the two and a half years since the renters movement announced itself as a political force, the Conservatives, worried about alienating a fifth of the population, have made some efforts to neutralise housing as an electoral issue.

The partys manifesto contained two policies that Generation Rent has been campaigning for: reform of the deposit protection system to passport tenants cash between tenancies, and the abolition of unfair Section 21 evictions. The latter policy, which was adopted by all parties, will give tenants more security in their homes and prevent homelessness.

But without limits on rent increases, as advocated by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, unscrupulous landlords could still bully tenants who ask for repairs. When pressed on thisin an interview, housing secretary Robert Jenrick rejected old fashioned rent controls and suggested mere guidance on rent increases would be considered as part of reforms.

The Tories also diverged from their opponents on building more social housing. They didnt match the other parties commitments to 100,000 or more new social homes a year, only promising a White Paper to support their continued supply.

Instead, the focus of the housing elements of the partys manifesto was home ownership. To help more people buy their own home, it has promised longer term mortgages and discounted starter homes. But if delivered and not one of the 200,000 starter homes announced by David Cameron has been these policies will only benefit those who can save in the first place. Two thirds of private renters have no savings at all let alone enough for a 5 per cent deposit.

To really make a difference, the new government must invest in substantial numbers of new social homes. These would take the worst-off tenants out of the unaffordable private sector, in turn reducing demand in the wider market, bringing rents down for everyone. Only then would private renters enjoy more cash at the end of the month to put aside for the future or put food on the table.

The size of the Conservatives victory presents Boris Johnson with two options: ignore the housing crisis and pay lip service to home ownership and house building; or use his political capital to do the right thing. Controversial but necessary decisions are needed on the green belt and property tax if we want a housing system that allows people to live near their work, and rewards them more for going to work than for owning property. These issues have been ducked by previous governments with shakier mandates and rebellious banckbenchers. But Johnson has more ability to ignore the partys allies of landlords and take action if he wants to.

Johnsons speech on Friday morning suggested that we were getting more than just a traditional Conservative programme of government. He highlighted the trust that first-time Conservative voters placed in him and his party and the need not to let them down.

For many of these voters, they, their children and their grandchildren see no prospect of a stable home.Our polling showsthat protection from eviction and rent control is popular, and with cross-party support, an effective package of tenancy reform would be a quick win for the new Parliament.

But democracy does not end at the ballot box and governments of any stripe must be held to their promises. Generation Rent will keep making renters voices heard, making the case for reform and keeping the pressure on until we have a fair housing system.

Dan Wilson Craw is director ofGeneration Rent.

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Boris Johnson now has the majority to fix the housing crisis if he wants to - CityMetric

We wish you a headless robot/ We wish you a headless robot/ We wish you a headless robot/ and an alpha zero. If that ditty lacked a certain something, you should be going Da da da doom! about the festive piece in Saturdays Post about a computer saying Roll Over Beethoven and finishing his fragmentary 10th Symphony for him, possibly as a weirdly soulless funeral march.

Evidently this most ambitious project of its type ever attempted will see AI replicate creative genius ending in a public performance by a symphony orchestra in Bonn, Beethovens birthplace part of celebrations to mark the 250th anniversary of the composers birth. Why its not being performed by flawless machines synthesizing perfect tones is unclear.

What is clear is that its one of those plans with only two obvious pitfalls. It might fail. Or it might work.

Its one of those plans with only two obvious pitfalls. It might fail. Or it might work

A bad computer symphony would be awful, like early chess programs beneath contempt in their non-human weakness. But now their non-human strength is above contempt, as they dispatch the strongest grandmasters without emotion.

So my main concern here isnt with the headless Beethoven thing failing. Its with it succeeding. I know theres no stopping progress, that from mustard gas we had to go on to nuclear weapons then autonomous killer bots. But must we whistle so cheerfully as we design heartless successors who will even whistle better than us?

Its strange how many people yearn for the abolition of man. From New Soviet Man to Walden II, radicals cant wait to reinvent everything, including getting rid of dumb old languages where bridges have gender, and dumb old Adam and Eve into the bargain. Our ancestors stank. And we stink. The founder of behaviourist B.F. Skinners utopian Walden II chortles that when his perfect successors arrive the rest of us will pass on to a well-deserved oblivion.

So who are these successors? In That Hideous Strength, C.S. Lewiss demented scientist Filostrato proclaims that In us organic life has produced Mind. It has done its work. After that we want no more of it. We do not want the world any longer furred over with organic life, like what you call the blue mould What if were nearly there?

Freed of the boring necessities of life we might be paddocked in a digital, this-worldly Garden of Eden. But unless we are remade, we shall be more than just restless there. Without purpose we would go insane, as in Logans Run or the planet Miranda.

Ah, but we shall be remade. Mondays Post profiled Jennifer Doudna, inventor of the Crispr-Cas9 gene-editing technique so simple and powerful theres an app for it. Scientists can now dial up better genes on their smartphones and leave all the messy calculating to the machines. But if the machines can outcompose Beethoven, why would they leave the creative redesign of humans to us?

If the machines can outcompose Beethoven, why would they leave the redesign of humans to us?

To her credit, Prof. Doudna has nightmares about Hitler welcoming her invention. But forget Hitler. Here comes Leela to edit us away. And if Walden IIs eagerly anticipated design of personalities and control of temperament are within reach, and desirable, why should the new ones look anything like our current wretched ones? Is there anything to cherish in fallible man? If not, what sleep shall come?

So as we ponder Christmas, if we do, let us remember that 2,000 years ago the world was turned upside down by a God made Man because he loved weakness not strength. As a baby, then in the hideous humiliation of crucifixion, Christ gave a dignity to the helpless and downtrodden you find nowhere else including operating systems. Is it all rubbish, from the theology to the morality?

Years ago I argued for genetic modifications to restore the normal human template. But not to improve it, from eagle eyes to three legs to eight feet tall. But what will the computers think, and why should they? If nature is an obstacle to transcendence, where will they get their standards? Not from us. Nor will they want a bunch of meat around, sweating, bruising, rotting. Say goodnight, HAL.

Already algorithmic pop music is not just worse but in some important way less human. Where is Greensleeves or Good King Wenceslas in this Brave New World? And where should it be?

Shall the digital future burst forth from our abdomens and laser away the mess? Or is there something precious about us frail, vain, petty and, yes, smelly mortals? If so, what?

Many people love Christmas without being Christian. But many do not. And I think it comes down to your ability, or inability, to love humans as we are, which the Bible says God did but which supercomputers have no obvious reason to do.

So sing a carol for fallen man while the machines work on a funeral march.

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John Robson: Why is man so keen to make man obsolete? - National Post