Barclays Business Savings rates!

We've recently opened a Business Savings account with Barclays. Today we received a nice letter from them telling us about the fantastic feature they offer: a tiered savings rate that pays a larger percentage if we have more money in the account.

Sadly, it appears that we need to deposit £1million before our rate will rise from the current 0.05% to the impressive 0.15%!

The horrible effect of Big Business

Recently had this interesting post about how Royal Mail (now a big commercial enterprise, and no longer a public service) is treating its staff and customers:

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n18/maya01_.html

Sad to see a so-called "left wing" government presiding over the death of another public service that the UK used to be so proud of.

Promises of a decent Transport Policy!

The new Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Lord Andrew Adonis, made one of the best-informed speeches on government transport policy for years last Wednesday.

Lots of good aims, including:

In promoting low carbon transport, there is no lower carbon or healthier means of getting from A to B, besides walking, than cycling. Cycling has for too long been the Cinderella of transport policy – adored but neglected, when in fact it ought to be central to our thinking and planning if we are serious about a low carbon and healthier future.

and:

I am looking forward to discussing with Philip Darnton of Cycling England how we can bring about a step-change in numbers getting their bikes out of the shed or the garage and into use.

The full speech, including encouraging sections about the railways, is here:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/speeches/transportmanifesto

Sadly the current government is forced to have an election in the next year, and it doesn't look likely that Lord Adonis will be around long enough to do what he wants to. It all eerily echoes the aims of Sir George Younger (the "bicycling baronet") at the end of the last Conservative period in power: it seems that just as government realises what a good transport policy looks like, it loses power. Let's hope that this time the incoming party don't forget the lessons learnt.