I don't think a second referendum defeat would kill Scottish nationalism stone dead - I'm sure they'd be back in a year or two (or even a day or two) with a pretext for a third vote. They are experts at conjuring grievances and reasons from nowhere.
Whatever my view of the shortcomings of this deal, Alok Sharma has shown himself to be a person of decency, integrity and commitment as #COP26 President.
She gave Greta Thunberg an elbow bump, John Kerry a tartan tie and US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a can of Irn-Bru — and she gave herself the gift of massive publicity around the globe. Look this way, Nicola Sturgeon, whose daily snaps with celebrities and VIPs at Cop26 have earned her the nickname “Elsie McSelfie”.
For months before 120 world leaders came to Glasgow, Boris Johnson’s ministers fretted about what to do about the SNP leader during the climate summit, worried that the nationalists might try to “hijack” the event to further their campaign for Scottish independence. As they ruminate over coverage of the fortnight-long negotiations, some will reflect this weekend that they were right.
Hello again! Ms Sturgeon has certainly managed to keep herself 'up there', and, so far as I could see from the London media avoid any negative publicity during the fortnight. Unlike PM Johnson, who hasn't even managed to give a coherent speech. However, the guy he dropped the President job onto seems to have done a good job, and, see above, earned praise from outside his own party.
We wait to see, of course, what damage..... if any ..... Ms Arcuri's latest revelations do; it may be, of course, that they are regarded as old news. However, if our PM had 'started negotiations' with his current partner by the relevant time, there may be some fur to fly.
F1: had this in mind since I saw the sprint race. Backed Hamilton to win at 3.9 (Betfair), hedged at 1.4.
Will ramble more about when I've finished the just-begun pre-race tosh.
Good morning, everyone.
I think they’ve finally found the formula for making the sprint thingy exciting. Take the fastest driver from the qualifying session, and find a spurious reason to make him start last instead of first.
Personally, I think that they should make the sprint things a standalone championship. They’re clearly not giving up on them, as it generates huge Friday in-person crowds and a massive bump in the TV audiences over the weekend - so do the full All-Amercian show with reverse grids, a $1m prize for the winning driver that’s paraded around in a briefcase, make it like a 20-20 cricket match on the rest day of a Test match.
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
The issue about DNA collection from COVID testing which I mentioned last week made it to the front cover of todays Sunday times. The company in question is Cignpost Diagnostics who operate under the 'express test' brand, and it appears they are now under investigation by the ICO and the HTA.
The issue about DNA collection from COVID testing which I mentioned last week made it to the front cover of todays Sunday times. The company in question is Cignpost Diagnostics who operate under the 'express test' brand, and it appears they are now under investigation by the ICO and the HTA.
Thanks for this. I don't mind donating DNA for testing if I know what's happening, and why. It's when it's sneaky, and obviously for financial gain that I and, I suspect, most if not all of us, draw a big black line.
do the full All-Amercian show with reverse grids, a $1m prize for the winning driver that’s paraded around in a briefcase, make it like a 20-20 cricket match on the rest day of a Test match.
NASCAR uses 1-20/21-40 reverse grids (and occasionally by drawing lots) which works well enough.
IndyCar (which is obviously what F1 wants to be when it grows up as Indy is a money making machine) does a reverse grid by team points on ovals which is interesting and some insanely complicated system nobody understands for road courses which is less interesting. Indy 500 has its own four lap system.
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
Yes, there’s all sorts of fun things you could do with it. Make the teams substitute one driver for a rookie, start each sprint in reverse championship order, give them a new engine and let them turn it up to 11, run them at places like Monaco with Mazespin on pole and Lewis at the back.
The one thing they need to stop doing, is using it to set the grid for Sunday’s race. There’s too much jeopardy there, no-one wants to go for half a gap and end up last on Sunday. You need to be Lewis Hamilton to make progress, which of course he does very well indeed.
On today’s race, there’s a high chance of a safety car here, worth looking at the price, I’d take 1.25. Lewis for a podium is probably so short it’s worth laying. Max and Valtteri to take each other out, is probably worth 10/1 if you can find it (both to not finish?), I think the Finn got roasted by Herr Wolff after last weekend’s miserable attempt at defending the first corner.
Perhaps Salmond has toxified the field for Ref2 fundamentalists. If you exclude UDI and semi legal referendums (I agree they won't happen) all the SNP has left is winning elections and making noise. They are good at these.
As Sturgeon would be nuts to actually have a Ref2 she would lose, the status quo suits everyone. Boris is there to blame, the SNP have all the jobs in Holyrood and Westminster, they still have all the English cash, and don't have to provide non-Unicorn answers to hard questions.
I think Nicola will last long time yet, but keep an eye on Kate Forbes.
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
Yes, there’s all sorts of fun things you could do with it. Make the teams substitute one driver for a rookie, start each sprint in reverse championship order, give them a new engine and let them turn it up to 11, run them at places like Monaco with Mazespin on pole and Lewis at the back.
The one thing they need to stop doing, is using it to set the grid for Sunday’s race. There’s too much jeopardy there, no-one wants to go for half a gap and end up last on Sunday. You need to be Lewis Hamilton to make progress, which of course he does very well indeed.
On today’s race, there’s a high chance of a safety car here, worth looking at the price, I’d take 1.25. Lewis for a podium is probably so short it’s worth laying. Max and Valtteri to take each other out, is probably worth 10/1 if you can find it (both to not finish?), I think the Finn got roasted by Herr Wolff after last weekend’s miserable attempt at defending the first corner.
After the way he’s been treated by Mercedes I’m not sure he’ll actually care if he’s toasted by Wolff. Indeed, looking at events he seems to have become noticeably less aggressive since Mercedes sacked him.
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
Yes, there’s all sorts of fun things you could do with it. Make the teams substitute one driver for a rookie, start each sprint in reverse championship order, give them a new engine and let them turn it up to 11, run them at places like Monaco with Mazespin on pole and Lewis at the back.
The one thing they need to stop doing, is using it to set the grid for Sunday’s race. There’s too much jeopardy there, no-one wants to go for half a gap and end up last on Sunday. You need to be Lewis Hamilton to make progress, which of course he does very well indeed.
On today’s race, there’s a high chance of a safety car here, worth looking at the price, I’d take 1.25. Lewis for a podium is probably so short it’s worth laying. Max and Valtteri to take each other out, is probably worth 10/1 if you can find it (both to not finish?), I think the Finn got roasted by Herr Wolff after last weekend’s miserable attempt at defending the first corner.
After the way he’s been treated by Mercedes I’m not sure he’ll actually care if he’s toasted by Wolff. Indeed, looking at events he seems to have become noticeably less aggressive since Mercedes sacked him.
How has he been mistreated by Mercedes? He's had at least a season, perhaps two, more with the team than his results deserved - especially as they have plenty of younger drivers on their books. Look at Red Bull for a team that really treats second drivers poorly.
Bottas's problems have one root cause: his own underperformance.
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
Yes, there’s all sorts of fun things you could do with it. Make the teams substitute one driver for a rookie, start each sprint in reverse championship order, give them a new engine and let them turn it up to 11, run them at places like Monaco with Mazespin on pole and Lewis at the back.
The one thing they need to stop doing, is using it to set the grid for Sunday’s race. There’s too much jeopardy there, no-one wants to go for half a gap and end up last on Sunday. You need to be Lewis Hamilton to make progress, which of course he does very well indeed.
On today’s race, there’s a high chance of a safety car here, worth looking at the price, I’d take 1.25. Lewis for a podium is probably so short it’s worth laying. Max and Valtteri to take each other out, is probably worth 10/1 if you can find it (both to not finish?), I think the Finn got roasted by Herr Wolff after last weekend’s miserable attempt at defending the first corner.
After the way he’s been treated by Mercedes I’m not sure he’ll actually care if he’s toasted by Wolff. Indeed, looking at events he seems to have become noticeably less aggressive since Mercedes sacked him.
How has he been mistreated by Mercedes? He's had at least a season, perhaps two, more with the team than his results deserved - especially as they have plenty of younger drivers on their books. Look at Red Bull for a team that really treats second drivers poorly.
Bottas's problems have one root cause: his own underperformance.
He was sacked by newspaper leak for doing what the team told him to - ride shotgun to Hamilton.
I think he has the right to be a bit miffed about that even if he hasn't been the fastest driver in the race.
Bottas being blamed for the cross-threaded wheel nut in Monaco was ridiculous.
F1 wheel nuts (in common with almost all other motorsport centre lock nuts) have delayed lead in threads that are the same as the minor diameter of the thread so you can't misalign the nut relative to the axle. So, in theory, you can't cross thread it. It's more likely that the pit monkey fired up the gun (3,000Nm torque!) before the socket was fully engaged rounding the nut off making it impossible to remove.
If the team are saying it was cross threaded they are probably lying (Lying! In motorsport? Never!) for sibylline reasons of their own.
Bottas being blamed for the cross-threaded wheel nut in Monaco was ridiculous.
F1 wheel nuts (in common with almost all other motorsport centre lock nuts) have delayed lead in threads that are the same as the minor diameter of the thread so you can't misalign the nut relative to the axle. So, in theory, you can't cross thread it. It's more likely that the pit monkey fired up the gun (3,000Nm torque!) before the socket was fully engaged rounding the nut off making it impossible to remove.
If the team are saying it was cross threaded they are probably lying (Lying! In motorsport? Never!) for sibylline reasons of their own.
It also looks as if there are rumblings about the internal investigation which Barclays did when all this first surfaced and its thoroughness.
What I find odd is this statement -
"Barclays has made it clear that the investigation by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority did not find that Staley “saw or was aware of any of Mr Epstein’s alleged crimes”.
How can they say this with a straight face. Staley, it is reported, visited Epstein in prison after he had been convicted in 2009 for procuring a child for prostitution.
"alleged crimes"? "Not aware"?
That claim might be plausible before conviction. But afterwards?
There is also some history between the FCA and Barclays re Staley. The FCA really failed to deal adequately with Staley's misbehaviour over a bank whistleblower, in part because Barclays had already done an internal investigation. It looked as if the FCA were bounced into accepting that investigation and not taking tougher action. A mistake.
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
Yes, there’s all sorts of fun things you could do with it. Make the teams substitute one driver for a rookie, start each sprint in reverse championship order, give them a new engine and let them turn it up to 11, run them at places like Monaco with Mazespin on pole and Lewis at the back.
The one thing they need to stop doing, is using it to set the grid for Sunday’s race. There’s too much jeopardy there, no-one wants to go for half a gap and end up last on Sunday. You need to be Lewis Hamilton to make progress, which of course he does very well indeed.
On today’s race, there’s a high chance of a safety car here, worth looking at the price, I’d take 1.25. Lewis for a podium is probably so short it’s worth laying. Max and Valtteri to take each other out, is probably worth 10/1 if you can find it (both to not finish?), I think the Finn got roasted by Herr Wolff after last weekend’s miserable attempt at defending the first corner.
After the way he’s been treated by Mercedes I’m not sure he’ll actually care if he’s toasted by Wolff. Indeed, looking at events he seems to have become noticeably less aggressive since Mercedes sacked him.
How has he been mistreated by Mercedes? He's had at least a season, perhaps two, more with the team than his results deserved - especially as they have plenty of younger drivers on their books. Look at Red Bull for a team that really treats second drivers poorly.
Bottas's problems have one root cause: his own underperformance.
He was sacked by newspaper leak for doing what the team told him to - ride shotgun to Hamilton.
I think he has the right to be a bit miffed about that even if he hasn't been the fastest driver in the race.
Nah, I fundamentally disagree with this. He has underperformed by a significant margin over the last couple of years, meaning that he's often not been in a position to help Hamilton. Except perhaps this year, Mercedes have been fairly fair in driver treatment before one (Hamilton) has got far ahead in the standings.
Bottas has got very little reason to complain. If he'd performed better, he'd be at Mercedes in 2022. Heck, if he'd performed better he might have got a championship. He had the hardware to.
As for newspaper leak: the media had been talking about Bottas being replaced by Russell for 18 months. Bottas had the means to quench that talk by performing well, for himself and the team. He failed to do so, and so the media talked.
Bottas being blamed for the cross-threaded wheel nut in Monaco was ridiculous.
Yep, that was wrong of the team. AFAIUI he contributed to it by misplacing the car in the pits; but there were too many other factors for him to get the blame: the mechanic, the design, the materials etc.
Mr. Jessop, from memory, the claim he missed his marks was plain wrong and an attempt to blame him, at least in part, for a problem that had nothing to do with Bottas.
EXCL: Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes first Cabinet minister dragged into outside interests row - after not declaring £6m in cheap loans from his Cayman Islands-linked company
Support for the SNP and Scottish independence is holding up, with the party tipped to gain seats at the next UK general election but less than a quarter of voters now expect Scotland to leave the Union in the next five years.
The latest Panelbase survey for The Sunday Times puts backing for the SNP at Westminster at 48 per cent (up one point since September) while support for the Conservatives has slipped two points to 21 per cent, Labour is up one at 20 per cent and the Lib Dems are unchanged on 7 per cent. It comes after weeks of allegations of Tory sleaze.
Hello again! Ms Sturgeon has certainly managed to keep herself 'up there', and, so far as I could see from the London media avoid any negative publicity during the fortnight. Unlike PM Johnson, who hasn't even managed to give a coherent speech. However, the guy he dropped the President job onto seems to have done a good job, and, see above, earned praise from outside his own party.
We wait to see, of course, what damage..... if any ..... Ms Arcuri's latest revelations do; it may be, of course, that they are regarded as old news. However, if our PM had 'started negotiations' with his current partner by the relevant time, there may be some fur to fly.
Is there any new information? A bit of purple prose “Let me be your throttle…put your hand there and pull…”
But why is she doing this? I suppose making a bit of money or liking the attention? I guess the rest of her career hasn’t gone too well
Hello again! Ms Sturgeon has certainly managed to keep herself 'up there', and, so far as I could see from the London media avoid any negative publicity during the fortnight. Unlike PM Johnson, who hasn't even managed to give a coherent speech. However, the guy he dropped the President job onto seems to have done a good job, and, see above, earned praise from outside his own party.
We wait to see, of course, what damage..... if any ..... Ms Arcuri's latest revelations do; it may be, of course, that they are regarded as old news. However, if our PM had 'started negotiations' with his current partner by the relevant time, there may be some fur to fly.
Is there any new information? A bit of purple prose “Let me be your throttle…put your hand there and pull…”
But why is she doing this? I suppose making a bit of money or liking the attention? I guess the rest of her career hasn’t gone too well
Life after Boris has done with you and moved on not so good? A warning for the Conservative party?
WHO criterion for "pandemic under control" is below 5% of tests returning positive.
The UK positivity figure on our world in data is half what the UK gov dashboard is reporting.
Surely the positivity rates are highly misleading though? (even if in general higher levels of testing will pick up more (asymptomatic) cases). Clearly if you mass test routinely (as the UK does) then you are (in principle) going to have lower rates than if you test only based on suspicion. However an enormous number of UK tests presumably aren't reported (negative LFTs) although probably many are. But then the question is whether any sort of self reported LFT testing is of any use for these stats. If only positive LFTs are reported then they will have 100% positivity, so will massively exaggerate the positivity rate. Even if all positive LFTs are followed up (and replaced in stats) by PCRs then you would expect them to have very high positivity rates.
Basically there is reason to think that the high level of UK testing will result in lower positivity rates. But countering that the inclusion of self reported LFTs may mean higher positivity for those. So basically the actual rate is pretty meaningless.
Migrants Say Belarusians Took Them to E.U. Border and Supplied Wire Cutters - the twisted, miserable journey from Kurdistan to the middle of crisis in Europe
EXCL: Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes first Cabinet minister dragged into outside interests row - after not declaring £6m in cheap loans from his Cayman Islands-linked company
Hello again! Ms Sturgeon has certainly managed to keep herself 'up there', and, so far as I could see from the London media avoid any negative publicity during the fortnight. Unlike PM Johnson, who hasn't even managed to give a coherent speech. However, the guy he dropped the President job onto seems to have done a good job, and, see above, earned praise from outside his own party.
We wait to see, of course, what damage..... if any ..... Ms Arcuri's latest revelations do; it may be, of course, that they are regarded as old news. However, if our PM had 'started negotiations' with his current partner by the relevant time, there may be some fur to fly.
Is there any new information? A bit of purple prose “Let me be your throttle…put your hand there and pull…”
But why is she doing this? I suppose making a bit of money or liking the attention? I guess the rest of her career hasn’t gone too well
Life after Boris has done with you and moved on not so good? A warning for the Conservative party?
The issue is I don’t think her business ever had a source of business / revenue beyond government grants.
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
With the budget cap, none of the leading teams would ever contemplate such a thing, without a separate budget to pay for the inevitable shunts.
Those odds for a Hamilton win look very ungenerous to me. It’s possible, but doesn’t seem that likely without the assistance of a safety car - not to mention the possibility of his race being over on the first lap.
EXCL: Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes first Cabinet minister dragged into outside interests row - after not declaring £6m in cheap loans from his Cayman Islands-linked company
Another story that really isn't good for the Tories. Before someone (probably Charles) comes along and says he's done nothing wrong, that isn't the point.
There is a major issue here - getting worse by the day - for the Tories where the reality of "they/Boris are just like us" thinking from Brexit is showed up. They are nothing like ordinary people. Your average voter doesn't have a holding company in the Cayman Islands which he can use to advance cheap loans to add to your £8m property empire.
A lot of voters swallowed a lie that Brexit was being done for them against the man. They voted Tory in 2019 for the same. Now they're discovering the Tories were the man all along and have done very very nicely over the last few years thanks very much whilst making you poorer.
Identity politics is huge. Smash the facade, people not only no longer identify with you but think they've been lied to, they aren't going to keep voting for you.
EXCL: Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes first Cabinet minister dragged into outside interests row - after not declaring £6m in cheap loans from his Cayman Islands-linked company
WHO criterion for "pandemic under control" is below 5% of tests returning positive.
The UK positivity figure on our world in data is half what the UK gov dashboard is reporting.
Surely the positivity rates are highly misleading though? (even if in general higher levels of testing will pick up more (asymptomatic) cases). Clearly if you mass test routinely (as the UK does) then you are (in principle) going to have lower rates than if you test only based on suspicion. However an enormous number of UK tests presumably aren't reported (negative LFTs) although probably many are. But then the question is whether any sort of self reported LFT testing is of any use for these stats. If only positive LFTs are reported then they will have 100% positivity, so will massively exaggerate the positivity rate. Even if all positive LFTs are followed up (and replaced in stats) by PCRs then you would expect them to have very high positivity rates.
Basically there is reason to think that the high level of UK testing will result in lower positivity rates. But countering that the inclusion of self reported LFTs may mean higher positivity for those. So basically the actual rate is pretty meaningless.
And then magnify the issue across all the countries on the graph, all no doubt doing different testing regimes. We have little idea of the true picture on the ground in other countries. In the U.K., the ons is probably about right, but always a week or two behind.
Nicola Sturgeon wants a referendum even less than Boris. Things will plod on as they are until the next GE. The biggest risk to her is that SNP supporters sit on their hands if there is no movement before then. Nicola may realise that and take her desired high profile global job before then, probably something woke, leaving her successor to pick up the pieces.
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
Yes, there’s all sorts of fun things you could do with it. Make the teams substitute one driver for a rookie, start each sprint in reverse championship order, give them a new engine and let them turn it up to 11, run them at places like Monaco with Mazespin on pole and Lewis at the back.
The one thing they need to stop doing, is using it to set the grid for Sunday’s race. There’s too much jeopardy there, no-one wants to go for half a gap and end up last on Sunday. You need to be Lewis Hamilton to make progress, which of course he does very well indeed.
On today’s race, there’s a high chance of a safety car here, worth looking at the price, I’d take 1.25. Lewis for a podium is probably so short it’s worth laying. Max and Valtteri to take each other out, is probably worth 10/1 if you can find it (both to not finish?), I think the Finn got roasted by Herr Wolff after last weekend’s miserable attempt at defending the first corner.
After the way he’s been treated by Mercedes I’m not sure he’ll actually care if he’s toasted by Wolff. Indeed, looking at events he seems to have become noticeably less aggressive since Mercedes sacked him.
How has he been mistreated by Mercedes? He's had at least a season, perhaps two, more with the team than his results deserved - especially as they have plenty of younger drivers on their books. Look at Red Bull for a team that really treats second drivers poorly.
Bottas's problems have one root cause: his own underperformance.
He was sacked by newspaper leak for doing what the team told him to - ride shotgun to Hamilton.
I think he has the right to be a bit miffed about that even if he hasn't been the fastest driver in the race.
He was sacked because he’s more than a bit rubbish as a racer compared to his peers. Being quick over a lap isn’t enough.
It also looks as if there are rumblings about the internal investigation which Barclays did when all this first surfaced and its thoroughness.
What I find odd is this statement -
"Barclays has made it clear that the investigation by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority did not find that Staley “saw or was aware of any of Mr Epstein’s alleged crimes”.
How can they say this with a straight face. Staley, it is reported, visited Epstein in prison after he had been convicted in 2009 for procuring a child for prostitution.
"alleged crimes"? "Not aware"?
That claim might be plausible before conviction. But afterwards?
There is also some history between the FCA and Barclays re Staley. The FCA really failed to deal adequately with Staley's misbehaviour over a bank whistleblower, in part because Barclays had already done an internal investigation. It looked as if the FCA were bounced into accepting that investigation and not taking tougher action. A mistake.
Presumably the issue is whether he knew of the crimes before or during commission.
It is not normally expected that convicted criminals' friends and relatives disown them: prison visiting is a thing.
WHO criterion for "pandemic under control" is below 5% of tests returning positive.
The UK positivity figure on our world in data is half what the UK gov dashboard is reporting.
Surely the positivity rates are highly misleading though? (even if in general higher levels of testing will pick up more (asymptomatic) cases). Clearly if you mass test routinely (as the UK does) then you are (in principle) going to have lower rates than if you test only based on suspicion. However an enormous number of UK tests presumably aren't reported (negative LFTs) although probably many are. But then the question is whether any sort of self reported LFT testing is of any use for these stats. If only positive LFTs are reported then they will have 100% positivity, so will massively exaggerate the positivity rate. Even if all positive LFTs are followed up (and replaced in stats) by PCRs then you would expect them to have very high positivity rates.
Basically there is reason to think that the high level of UK testing will result in lower positivity rates. But countering that the inclusion of self reported LFTs may mean higher positivity for those. So basically the actual rate is pretty meaningless.
We take and a report our LFT results twice weekly. I have no idea if they are included in official statistics. Can anyone tell me, please?
Mr. Sandpit, if the imbeciles insist on having sprint races they could use it for a third driver for the teams. Qualify for the proper race Friday, have a stand-alone sprint race possibly with a reverse grid) for third drivers in their own championship on Saturday.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
With the budget cap, none of the leading teams would ever contemplate such a thing, without a separate budget to pay for the inevitable shunts.
Those odds for a Hamilton win look very ungenerous to me. It’s possible, but doesn’t seem that likely without the assistance of a safety car - not to mention the possibility of his race being over on the first lap.
Agreed on all points. You’d need a separate sponsored prize fund for the sprint series, to give the teams the an incentive to compete hard. If you play around with the format a bit, you’ll probably find that one of the midfield teams takes the trophy at the end of the season.
WHO criterion for "pandemic under control" is below 5% of tests returning positive.
The UK positivity figure on our world in data is half what the UK gov dashboard is reporting.
Surely the positivity rates are highly misleading though? (even if in general higher levels of testing will pick up more (asymptomatic) cases). Clearly if you mass test routinely (as the UK does) then you are (in principle) going to have lower rates than if you test only based on suspicion. However an enormous number of UK tests presumably aren't reported (negative LFTs) although probably many are. But then the question is whether any sort of self reported LFT testing is of any use for these stats. If only positive LFTs are reported then they will have 100% positivity, so will massively exaggerate the positivity rate. Even if all positive LFTs are followed up (and replaced in stats) by PCRs then you would expect them to have very high positivity rates.
Basically there is reason to think that the high level of UK testing will result in lower positivity rates. But countering that the inclusion of self reported LFTs may mean higher positivity for those. So basically the actual rate is pretty meaningless.
We take and a report our LFT results twice weekly. I have no idea if they are included in official statistics. Can anyone tell me, please?
Where are you reporting to? Almost certainly the answer is yes. I mean which tests did you think they were referring to?
EXCL: Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes first Cabinet minister dragged into outside interests row - after not declaring £6m in cheap loans from his Cayman Islands-linked company
It also looks as if there are rumblings about the internal investigation which Barclays did when all this first surfaced and its thoroughness.
What I find odd is this statement -
"Barclays has made it clear that the investigation by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority did not find that Staley “saw or was aware of any of Mr Epstein’s alleged crimes”.
How can they say this with a straight face. Staley, it is reported, visited Epstein in prison after he had been convicted in 2009 for procuring a child for prostitution.
"alleged crimes"? "Not aware"?
That claim might be plausible before conviction. But afterwards?
There is also some history between the FCA and Barclays re Staley. The FCA really failed to deal adequately with Staley's misbehaviour over a bank whistleblower, in part because Barclays had already done an internal investigation. It looked as if the FCA were bounced into accepting that investigation and not taking tougher action. A mistake.
Presumably the issue is whether he knew of the crimes before or during commission.
It is not normally expected that convicted criminals' friends and relatives disown them: prison visiting is a thing.
Three problems with that:-
1. The statement does not make the caveat you are making. 2. Throughout the position has been that this was a professional relationship only ie he was his banker advising him in relation to the funds he was managing. Not a friend. Professional bankers do not usually visit people in prison. 3. The crime was procurement of a child for prostitution. Did no-one wonder whether it was wise to associate with such a person? After all this is exactly one of the criticisms made of Andrew - that he continued his friendship with Epstein even after his conviction. Staley is meant to be brighter than Andrew.
The other interesting aspect of this case is that the FCA will have had to approve Staley when he became Barclays CEO. How much - and in what detail - did he and Barclays tell them? How much digging of their own did the FCA do?
It will be interesting to see whether the argument run by Staley is "I told the FCA everything" or "So what if I was friends with a child abuser. That's irrelevant to whether I was fit and proper to run a UK bank".
WHO criterion for "pandemic under control" is below 5% of tests returning positive.
The UK positivity figure on our world in data is half what the UK gov dashboard is reporting.
Surely the positivity rates are highly misleading though? (even if in general higher levels of testing will pick up more (asymptomatic) cases). Clearly if you mass test routinely (as the UK does) then you are (in principle) going to have lower rates than if you test only based on suspicion. However an enormous number of UK tests presumably aren't reported (negative LFTs) although probably many are. But then the question is whether any sort of self reported LFT testing is of any use for these stats. If only positive LFTs are reported then they will have 100% positivity, so will massively exaggerate the positivity rate. Even if all positive LFTs are followed up (and replaced in stats) by PCRs then you would expect them to have very high positivity rates.
Basically there is reason to think that the high level of UK testing will result in lower positivity rates. But countering that the inclusion of self reported LFTs may mean higher positivity for those. So basically the actual rate is pretty meaningless.
We take and a report our LFT results twice weekly. I have no idea if they are included in official statistics. Can anyone tell me, please?
Yes they are. I've not bothered reporting the last few -ve lat flows I did. Non reporting negatives skews positivity % up.
Cricket’s racism scandal deepens today as a player claims he was nicknamed Bomber by team-mates the day after the 9/11 attacks.
Muslim Zoheb Sharif alleges he was also called “curry muncher” while playing for Essex.
His allegations emerge following racism revelations by ex-Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq that led to the club losing sponsors and the right to host Tests.
On Friday Essex chair John Faragher resigned after an allegation he used racist language at a board meeting in 2017, which he strongly denies.
Zoheb, 38, said he was speaking out because he could see “many parallels” between the Rafiq case at Yorkshire and what he had been through. He said: “Azim has shone a light on what’s been going on.
As long as Boris remains PM he will not grant an indyref2. There are no benefits to him in terms of the risk it poses to the Union, while refusing it means he can continue to hold up the prospect of a PM Starmer propped up by the SNP which on current polls is a real prospect at the next general election. Sturgeon too has no desire to press the issue too hard with most polls still putting No ahead.
However, if there is a hung parliament in 2023/4 and the SNP do have the balance of power then inevitably they will have to push for an indyref2 and Starmer would have to give it to them to be able to get into No 10 and get any legislation through Parliament
Many Tories are furious with their leader over the blowback from the Owen Paterson affair, but not all that anger is of the noble variety. A lot are cross because the prime minister’s shabby scheming has triggered a torrent of stories about moonlighting MPs and the voters, many of whom won’t have been previously conscious of it, don’t like what they see.
It is telling that MPs sitting for marginals are much less likely to have other jobs compared with those enthroned on large majorities. The most sleaze-intolerant Tory MPs tend to be those who came into parliament recently, often represent previously Labour constituencies and have smallish majorities that are in jeopardy if an appalled public turns on the Tories. The sleaze-tolerant Tory MPs tend to be those who have been comfortably ensconced in parliament for a long time. They sit on fat majorities and that has fed their sense of entitlement.
Legislators should not be lobbyists. A ban on MPs taking on paid roles as “consultants”, “advisers” and “strategists” was recommended by the committee on standards in public life three years ago and is now under consideration by parliament’s own standards committee. It ought to happen. Whether it does is another matter. That will depend on whether Boris Johnson fears the heat from the media and the disgust of the public more than he does the wrath of the many Conservative MPs who will hate being deprived of their outside earners because, like him, they “can’t possibly live” on an MP’s salary.
EXCL: Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes first Cabinet minister dragged into outside interests row - after not declaring £6m in cheap loans from his Cayman Islands-linked company
Again it’s a really technical breach so I can’t see it deserves anything but a reprimand from the standards commissioner at most.
But the optics, like Cox, look horrible
Get a grip Charles! For some people six million quid is a lot of money particularly for home decoration. And how many Hartlipudlians can call on a little sideline in the Caymen Islands to provide the cash?
HM The Queen will not attend the Remembrance Service today because of a 'back problem'.
She’s dead, isn’t she. Fake photo of her driving, sudden cancellations. London Bridge is down, but they are handling the presentation...
They reckon The Queen's funeral and mourning period will be a super spreader event so they'll announce it during the summer.
Or she hates our armed forces by shamefully disrespecting them like this.
What a horrible post, though one would expect little better from a non Tory republican LD like you.
Her Majesty has made almost every other Remembrance Parade in her 95 years, I am sure the veterans will understand if she watches on TV today if she has her back problem and given her age. Her son and grandson will be there in person
EXCL: Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes first Cabinet minister dragged into outside interests row - after not declaring £6m in cheap loans from his Cayman Islands-linked company
EXCL: Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes first Cabinet minister dragged into outside interests row - after not declaring £6m in cheap loans from his Cayman Islands-linked company
Talking about corrupt behaviour, how do we vote out the Prince of Wales?
Prince Charles’s closest adviser told a Saudi donor he would be very happy to help him secure an OBE while soliciting a £10 million donation from him, according to leaked letters that place fresh pressure on Scotland Yard to investigate the “cash-for-honours” scandal.
Michael Fawcett also wrote that the prince would back Mahfouz bin Mahfouz’s application for British citizenship.
HM The Queen will not attend the Remembrance Service today because of a 'back problem'.
She’s dead, isn’t she. Fake photo of her driving, sudden cancellations. London Bridge is down, but they are handling the presentation...
They reckon The Queen's funeral and mourning period will be a super spreader event so they'll announce it during the summer.
Or she hates our armed forces by shamefully disrespecting them like this.
What a horrible post, though one would expect little better from a non Tory republican LD like you.
Her Majesty has made almost every other Remembrance Parade in her 95 years, I am sure the veterans will understand if she watches on TV today if she has her back problem and given her age. Her son and grandson will be there in person
HM The Queen will not attend the Remembrance Service today because of a 'back problem'.
How do you sprain your back while resting on doctor's orders?
I did mine three weeks ago sprawled in my chair...
I did a Derek Pringle a few years ago, hurt my back writing a letter.
I genuinely have no idea how I did it. I was innocently working away at the PC and tweaked the lower back. Clearly an older weakness, but still.
It's a sign of old age, having back complaints.
According to my friends, you know you're getting old when you watch porn and your first thought is 'Oooh that looks like a comfortable bed, I wonder where they got it from?'
HM The Queen will not attend the Remembrance Service today because of a 'back problem'.
How do you sprain your back while resting on doctor's orders?
I did mine three weeks ago sprawled in my chair...
I did a Derek Pringle a few years ago, hurt my back writing a letter.
I genuinely have no idea how I did it. I was innocently working away at the PC and tweaked the lower back. Clearly an older weakness, but still.
It's a sign of old age, having back complaints.
According to my friends, you know you're getting old when you watch porn and your first thought is 'Oooh that looks like a comfortable bed, I wonder where they got it from?'
I thought the first sign of getting old is when you go out and see someone and your first thought is 'she must be cold'.
While I have little time for the royals I do respect HMQ enormously, and maybe having been married for nearly 60 years I can understand just how much she must be missing Philip
Indeed, with all the troubles in her family and at 95, her resolve to continue doing her duty maybe now takes second place in her priorities
It will be an event of enormous magnitude when she passes and will be like nothing we have witnessed in our lifetime
I expect lots of box sets and books will be in demand
As long as Boris remains PM he will not grant an indyref2. There are no benefits to him in terms of the risk it poses to the Union, while refusing it means he can continue to hold up the prospect of a PM Starmer propped up by the SNP which on current polls is a real prospect at the next general election. Sturgeon too has no desire to press the issue too hard with most polls still putting No ahead.
However, if there is a hung parliament in 2023/4 and the SNP do have the balance of power then inevitably they will have to push for an indyref2 and Starmer would have to give it to them to be able to get into No 10 and get any legislation through Parliament
I somehow doubt it. A Labour minority has everything to gain and nothing to lose from yielding as little as possible to Scottish Nationalism, and thus exposing it as ineffectual. Besides, the English and Welsh still return Labour MPs in large numbers, whereas the Scots don't. Why piss off the former by showering the latter with concessions? It gets Starmer nowhere.
Let the SNP try Parliamentary wrecking tactics if they want. They can only hurt Labour by helping the Evil Tories. Their secessionist and (allegedly) centre-left tendencies are in fundamental opposition: an actual wet consensus social democrat party would be no more in favour of breaking the British Union than the European one. A proper right-wing nationalist party wouldn't have these problems, of course, but a proper right-wing nationalist party won't win elections in Scotland.
Starmer isn't stupid. If he gets the opportunity then he'll invite the SNP to wreck itself trying to square the circle of its own contradictions.
HM The Queen will not attend the Remembrance Service today because of a 'back problem'.
How do you sprain your back while resting on doctor's orders?
I did mine three weeks ago sprawled in my chair...
I did a Derek Pringle a few years ago, hurt my back writing a letter.
I genuinely have no idea how I did it. I was innocently working away at the PC and tweaked the lower back. Clearly an older weakness, but still.
Well if we're sharing medical histories, my probable COVID has progressed to overnight fever. After a slow start this morning I'm actually feeling OK, mostly just sore throat and a bit of nasal congestion, slightly headachy so have taken ibuprofen. Working on the assumption that fever is adaptive so not taking paracetamol and tried to keep myself as warm as possible last night. To be honest I have had many worse colds, but the symptoms started less than 48 hours ago so it might have some more to run. Now to cook a full English...
Cricket’s racism scandal deepens today as a player claims he was nicknamed Bomber by team-mates the day after the 9/11 attacks.
Muslim Zoheb Sharif alleges he was also called “curry muncher” while playing for Essex.
His allegations emerge following racism revelations by ex-Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq that led to the club losing sponsors and the right to host Tests.
On Friday Essex chair John Faragher resigned after an allegation he used racist language at a board meeting in 2017, which he strongly denies.
Zoheb, 38, said he was speaking out because he could see “many parallels” between the Rafiq case at Yorkshire and what he had been through. He said: “Azim has shone a light on what’s been going on.
'Curry muncher' has to be at lower end of the racial abuse scale, surely. Would it be wrong to call a person from Yorkshire a 'pudding eater'? And it's made clear on an Essex followers board what the chair is alleged to have said and while it's not a phrase I've heard this century In wouldn't be at all surprised if many here have heard it, and possibly used it, in the past.
HM The Queen will not attend the Remembrance Service today because of a 'back problem'.
How do you sprain your back while resting on doctor's orders?
I did mine three weeks ago sprawled in my chair...
I did a Derek Pringle a few years ago, hurt my back writing a letter.
I genuinely have no idea how I did it. I was innocently working away at the PC and tweaked the lower back. Clearly an older weakness, but still.
Well if we're sharing medical histories, my probable COVID has progressed to overnight fever. After a slow start this morning I'm actually feeling OK, mostly just sore throat and a bit of nasal congestion, slightly headachy so have taken ibuprofen. Working on the assumption that fever is adaptive so not taking paracetamol and tried to keep myself as warm as possible last night. To be honest I have had many worse colds, but the symptoms started less than 48 hours ago so it might have some more to run. Now to cook a full English...
If you are still up for the full English, that’s a good sign! If I’m still interested in food, I’m happy that I’m not that ill... Get well soon.
Comments
Burrrrp.
TSE on the blink.
And about to go for a run.
https://twitter.com/ed_miliband/status/1459623868730155012?s=21
For months before 120 world leaders came to Glasgow, Boris Johnson’s ministers fretted about what to do about the SNP leader during the climate summit, worried that the nationalists might try to “hijack” the event to further their campaign for Scottish independence. As they ruminate over coverage of the fortnight-long negotiations, some will reflect this weekend that they were right.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nicola-sturgeon-in-sharp-focus-for-fortnight-of-selfies-at-cop26-d6ftcpp7t
Betting Post
F1: had this in mind since I saw the sprint race. Backed Hamilton to win at 3.9 (Betfair), hedged at 1.4.
Will ramble more about when I've finished the just-begun pre-race tosh.
Good morning, everyone.
Ms Sturgeon has certainly managed to keep herself 'up there', and, so far as I could see from the London media avoid any negative publicity during the fortnight. Unlike PM Johnson, who hasn't even managed to give a coherent speech. However, the guy he dropped the President job onto seems to have done a good job, and, see above, earned praise from outside his own party.
We wait to see, of course, what damage..... if any ..... Ms Arcuri's latest revelations do; it may be, of course, that they are regarded as old news. However, if our PM had 'started negotiations' with his current partner by the relevant time, there may be some fur to fly.
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/5JTxB/81/
And why some countries are rightly worried:
WHO criterion for "pandemic under control" is below 5% of tests returning positive.
Personally, I think that they should make the sprint things a standalone championship. They’re clearly not giving up on them, as it generates huge Friday in-person crowds and a massive bump in the TV audiences over the weekend - so do the full All-Amercian show with reverse grids, a $1m prize for the winning driver that’s paraded around in a briefcase, make it like a 20-20 cricket match on the rest day of a Test match.
Ramming it into a normal race weekend just doesn't work.
The issue about DNA collection from COVID testing which I mentioned last week made it to the front cover of todays Sunday times. The company in question is Cignpost Diagnostics who operate under the 'express test' brand, and it appears they are now under investigation by the ICO and the HTA.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/testing-firm-can-profit-from-sale-of-covid-swabs-w6vkb2f2f
Backed Mercedes at 1.95 for a double podium:
https://enormo-haddock.blogspot.com/2021/11/brazil-pre-race-2021.html
I don't mind donating DNA for testing if I know what's happening, and why. It's when it's sneaky, and obviously for financial gain that I and, I suspect, most if not all of us, draw a big black line.
Last seven days:
Positive: 256,207
Tested: 6,126,434
%: 4.2%
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
IndyCar (which is obviously what F1 wants to be when it grows up as Indy is a money making machine) does a reverse grid by team points on ovals which is interesting and some insanely complicated system nobody understands for road courses which is less interesting. Indy 500 has its own four lap system.
Whoch means the UKs figure is actually lower than the our world in data graph because I believe that Scotland doesn't report LFD test figures.
The one thing they need to stop doing, is using it to set the grid for Sunday’s race. There’s too much jeopardy there, no-one wants to go for half a gap and end up last on Sunday. You need to be Lewis Hamilton to make progress, which of course he does very well indeed.
On today’s race, there’s a high chance of a safety car here, worth looking at the price, I’d take 1.25. Lewis for a podium is probably so short it’s worth laying. Max and Valtteri to take each other out, is probably worth 10/1 if you can find it (both to not finish?), I think the Finn got roasted by Herr Wolff after last weekend’s miserable attempt at defending the first corner.
As Sturgeon would be nuts to actually have a Ref2 she would lose, the status quo suits everyone. Boris is there to blame, the SNP have all the jobs in Holyrood and Westminster, they still have all the English cash, and don't have to provide non-Unicorn answers to hard questions.
I think Nicola will last long time yet, but keep an eye on Kate Forbes.
Bottas's problems have one root cause: his own underperformance.
I think he has the right to be a bit miffed about that even if he hasn't been the fastest driver in the race.
If the team are saying it was cross threaded they are probably lying (Lying! In motorsport? Never!) for sibylline reasons of their own.
https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-reveals-video-bottas-wheel-removal/6516504/
Pannick on the case for Staley.
It also looks as if there are rumblings about the internal investigation which Barclays did when all this first surfaced and its thoroughness.
What I find odd is this statement -
"Barclays has made it clear that the investigation by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority did not find that Staley “saw or was aware of any of Mr Epstein’s alleged crimes”.
How can they say this with a straight face. Staley, it is reported, visited Epstein in prison after he had been convicted in 2009 for procuring a child for prostitution.
"alleged crimes"? "Not aware"?
That claim might be plausible before conviction. But afterwards?
There is also some history between the FCA and Barclays re Staley. The FCA really failed to deal adequately with Staley's misbehaviour over a bank whistleblower, in part because Barclays had already done an internal investigation. It looked as if the FCA were bounced into accepting that investigation and not taking tougher action. A mistake.
Bottas has got very little reason to complain. If he'd performed better, he'd be at Mercedes in 2022. Heck, if he'd performed better he might have got a championship. He had the hardware to.
As for newspaper leak: the media had been talking about Bottas being replaced by Russell for 18 months. Bottas had the means to quench that talk by performing well, for himself and the team. He failed to do so, and so the media talked.
In tomorrow's Mail on Sunday https://twitter.com/AVMikhailova/status/1459650263795605515/photo/1
The latest Panelbase survey for The Sunday Times puts backing for the SNP at Westminster at 48 per cent (up one point since September) while support for the Conservatives has slipped two points to 21 per cent, Labour is up one at 20 per cent and the Lib Dems are unchanged on 7 per cent. It comes after weeks of allegations of Tory sleaze.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/poll-tips-snp-to-gain-westminster-seats-but-no-change-for-union-within-five-years-rf96rptww
But why is she doing this? I suppose making a bit of money or liking the attention? I guess the rest of her career hasn’t gone too well
As he's got older he's had to promise more and more to burds to get them to shag him, he's had to give the current one his job!
Basically there is reason to think that the high level of UK testing will result in lower positivity rates. But countering that the inclusion of self reported LFTs may mean higher positivity for those. So basically the actual rate is pretty meaningless.
https://twitter.com/janearraf/status/1459469939790725128?s=20
Man takes loan from company he owns.
Again it’s a really technical breach so I can’t see it deserves anything but a reprimand from the standards commissioner at most.
But the optics, like Cox, look horrible
Those odds for a Hamilton win look very ungenerous to me. It’s possible, but doesn’t seem that likely without the assistance of a safety car - not to mention the possibility of his race being over on the first lap.
Another story that really isn't good for the Tories. Before someone (probably Charles) comes along and says he's done nothing wrong, that isn't the point.
There is a major issue here - getting worse by the day - for the Tories where the reality of "they/Boris are just like us" thinking from Brexit is showed up. They are nothing like ordinary people. Your average voter doesn't have a holding company in the Cayman Islands which he can use to advance cheap loans to add to your £8m property empire.
A lot of voters swallowed a lie that Brexit was being done for them against the man. They voted Tory in 2019 for the same. Now they're discovering the Tories were the man all along and have done very very nicely over the last few years thanks very much whilst making you poorer.
Identity politics is huge. Smash the facade, people not only no longer identify with you but think they've been lied to, they aren't going to keep voting for you.
In the U.K., the ons is probably about right, but always a week or two behind.
It is not normally expected that convicted criminals' friends and relatives disown them: prison visiting is a thing.
1. The statement does not make the caveat you are making.
2. Throughout the position has been that this was a professional relationship only ie he was his banker advising him in relation to the funds he was managing. Not a friend. Professional bankers do not usually visit people in prison.
3. The crime was procurement of a child for prostitution. Did no-one wonder whether it was wise to associate with such a person? After all this is exactly one of the criticisms made of Andrew - that he continued his friendship with Epstein even after his conviction. Staley is meant to be brighter than Andrew.
The other interesting aspect of this case is that the FCA will have had to approve Staley when he became Barclays CEO. How much - and in what detail - did he and Barclays tell them? How much digging of their own did the FCA do?
It will be interesting to see whether the argument run by Staley is "I told the FCA everything" or "So what if I was friends with a child abuser. That's irrelevant to whether I was fit and proper to run a UK bank".
Or she hates our armed forces by shamefully disrespecting them like this.
Cricket’s racism scandal deepens today as a player claims he was nicknamed Bomber by team-mates the day after the 9/11 attacks.
Muslim Zoheb Sharif alleges he was also called “curry muncher” while playing for Essex.
His allegations emerge following racism revelations by ex-Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq that led to the club losing sponsors and the right to host Tests.
On Friday Essex chair John Faragher resigned after an allegation he used racist language at a board meeting in 2017, which he strongly denies.
Zoheb, 38, said he was speaking out because he could see “many parallels” between the Rafiq case at Yorkshire and what he had been through. He said: “Azim has shone a light on what’s been going on.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/ex-cricket-player-says-i-25452875
However, if there is a hung parliament in 2023/4 and the SNP do have the balance of power then inevitably they will have to push for an indyref2 and Starmer would have to give it to them to be able to get into No 10 and get any legislation through Parliament
I wonder if we will have a Bertrand Dawson de nos jours?
Many Tories are furious with their leader over the blowback from the Owen Paterson affair, but not all that anger is of the noble variety. A lot are cross because the prime minister’s shabby scheming has triggered a torrent of stories about moonlighting MPs and the voters, many of whom won’t have been previously conscious of it, don’t like what they see.
It is telling that MPs sitting for marginals are much less likely to have other jobs compared with those enthroned on large majorities. The most sleaze-intolerant Tory MPs tend to be those who came into parliament recently, often represent previously Labour constituencies and have smallish majorities that are in jeopardy if an appalled public turns on the Tories. The sleaze-tolerant Tory MPs tend to be those who have been comfortably ensconced in parliament for a long time. They sit on fat majorities and that has fed their sense of entitlement.
Legislators should not be lobbyists. A ban on MPs taking on paid roles as “consultants”, “advisers” and “strategists” was recommended by the committee on standards in public life three years ago and is now under consideration by parliament’s own standards committee. It ought to happen. Whether it does is another matter. That will depend on whether Boris Johnson fears the heat from the media and the disgust of the public more than he does the wrath of the many Conservative MPs who will hate being deprived of their outside earners because, like him, they “can’t possibly live” on an MP’s salary.
Her Majesty has made almost every other Remembrance Parade in her 95 years, I am sure the veterans will understand if she watches on TV today if she has her back problem and given her age. Her son and grandson will be there in person
Time to run for the sanatorium....
Prince Charles’s closest adviser told a Saudi donor he would be very happy to help him secure an OBE while soliciting a £10 million donation from him, according to leaked letters that place fresh pressure on Scotland Yard to investigate the “cash-for-honours” scandal.
Michael Fawcett also wrote that the prince would back Mahfouz bin Mahfouz’s application for British citizenship.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/police-told-to-act-as-new-letters-confirm-charles-aide-michael-fawcett-sought-obe-for-saudi-donor-p86mttwlm
According to my friends, you know you're getting old when you watch porn and your first thought is 'Oooh that looks like a comfortable bed, I wonder where they got it from?'
Indeed, with all the troubles in her family and at 95, her resolve to continue doing her duty maybe now takes second place in her priorities
It will be an event of enormous magnitude when she passes and will be like nothing we have witnessed in our lifetime
I expect lots of box sets and books will be in demand
Let the SNP try Parliamentary wrecking tactics if they want. They can only hurt Labour by helping the Evil Tories. Their secessionist and (allegedly) centre-left tendencies are in fundamental opposition: an actual wet consensus social democrat party would be no more in favour of breaking the British Union than the European one. A proper right-wing nationalist party wouldn't have these problems, of course, but a proper right-wing nationalist party won't win elections in Scotland.
Starmer isn't stupid. If he gets the opportunity then he'll invite the SNP to wreck itself trying to square the circle of its own contradictions.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56141128