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The seat with a CON GE2019 72% share where Johnson can’t risk a by-election – politicalbetting.com
The seat with a CON GE2019 72% share where Johnson can’t risk a by-election – politicalbetting.com
It is being reported in the Telegraph that the Prime Minister has blocked the Maldon MP from being appointed head of OffCom because of the risk of losing the seat in a by-election. The figures from the last general election are in the Wikipedia table above.
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That John?
If the BBC think they can rival Netflix in the future, good luck to them, if they can find the subscribers.
Edit: not a personal comment so much as the way the wind is blowing.
Labour's poll leads continue (from head of Kantar)
The Conservatives always get them back. No harm done.
We have a plethora of broadcasters, no unique national one; it just so happens that one of the plethora is funded by a poll tax legacy.
That goodness we're not like Russia with RT being a national broadcaster. The sooner the BBC is freed from the state completely the better.
The BBC will be a streaming service, delivering all content by that mechanism.
As to the point about the ramping up of lethal aid being a vote winner or not, or that most people are exhausted by the conflict, I feel like it rather misses the point. People experience news fatigue on such stories, to be sure, but it hardly follows that people willl reactive negatively to the PM promising more lethal aid to Ukraine. At worst it would have neutral impact, so even if it gains no votes it won't cost any either.
If Oxford Council want to keep the shark maybe they should declare it to be a statue of a shark?
That's corrupt to you?
Grade doesn't seem like someone who will rock the boat enough.
If only Germany had even an ounce of their planning we'd have avoided this whole saga.
Will any English batsman get a higher score, than the Lib Dems will get seats at the next election?
The idea that Ofcom is about the telly seems very 20th Century.
England choose to bat and are 90 for 8 after 43 overs.
No wonder anyone capable gives it a wide berth.
Fibre on poles is a laugh. They *claim* to have come up with a version of fibre that can withstand the swaying in the wind without cracking....
Perhaps Lethal Aid -> "Russian Killing & Maiming Stuff"
One would certainly expect the numbers of actual casualties to be way higher than the Oryx figure, given each claimed kill there has to have been photographed and identified as a unique vehicle. But what do PBers think: given the lower Oryx figures, are the UkrMOD figures credible?
UkrMOD/(Oryx)
KIA: 15,800 (no number)
Tanks: 530 (280)
APVs: 1597 (600)
Artillery: 280 (93)
MLRS: 82 (33)
AA Sys: 47 (51)
Aircraft: 108 (15)
Helos: 124 (35)
UAVs: 50 (16)
Trucks: 1033 (580)
Gas tankers: 72 (no separate number)
Because, if the UkrMOD numbers are right, the Russians have already lost 40%+ of their tanks!!!
The Ukrainian numbers *could* be closer to the truth - but I doubt that even the Ukrainians know.
In 20 years, the BBC will be a broadcasting footnote, entirely down to the risk-averse shit management they had in place when they had a world-leading brand they could have exploited.
It might only be 10.
Firstly, the most newsworthy aspects of its work are not the most important. So it hits the headlines if there's a complaint about Peppa Pig, or Piers Morgan, or whoever. But that's ultimately all fluff. Balancing promotion of investment in telecoms infrastructure with prices for customers, and managing spectrum to enable new wireless services is genuinely important economically, but is quite boring so is never on the front pages. But that's where the big decisions are made and where most of the work happens.
Secondly, there's an assumption it has more of a role than it does as regulator in particular areas. For example, the framework for BBC regulation is in the Royal Charter and Agreement with the DCMS (not Ofcom), settled every decade or so, and then the BBC's strategy is decided by the BBC itself within those constraints. Ofcom isn't irrelevant, and does fill out the policy framework, but it isn't really where the action is in terms of making the weather.
On topic, I can see the PM's point. They'd probably hold Maldon given the demographics. But losing it would be fatal for the PM. In many ways, Whittingdale would be in a better position if he had a majority of 3,000 rather than 30,000. You can explain away a mid-term by-election loss in a marginal (even quite a heavy one) and the Tories have a sizeable majority so it has negligible impact on ability to pass legislation. But losing an ultra-safe seat would be horrific in terms of MP reaction when Johnson is far from out of the woods over Partygate.
*Breakdowns were often the majority of the "casualties".
..
Partly because he knows as much about nuance as he does about truth, and cares even less.
Mostly, however, because he's one of those talkers and writers (assuming he actually can & does write his own copy) who simply can NOT resist using a colorful word ("piccanniny") or phrase IF it strikes his fancy.
When perhaps 99.46% of the art & science of superior writing - and statesmenship? - is crossing OUT words & phrases with which you're especially enamored.
BTW, does anyone know for sure how much of Johnson's writings are really his own? As opposed to ghosted?
Of course his ostensible role model WSC employed a stable of researchers and fellow writers; and Samuel Elliot Morrison contemplated suing him for libel (but settled for a citation in next edition).
Personally, have always imagined that the process of extracting copy from Boris, is rather similar (and at least as surreal) as the methods used back in the day by Rolling Stone to capture the stream-of-consciousness of Dr Hunter S Thompson and massage same into printable condition.
In HST's case, result was often (though not always) impure gold.
In BJ's case, fool's gold if not toxic waste ("picanninny").
Once he worked out that they needed a couple of sheep a week in payment, they even stopped eating the tenants from the local village.
His wife.... his car... his shopping habits...his dosh...his fakeness....and everyone's piling in...
He's the same person he's been for the last two years.
Is there something a bit sheep like with the British?
Not my scene, I agree. But there's a market for all this.
"No, I said it was true that I'd heard it!"
Firstly she’s dull as shit.
Secondly she has absolutely nothing remotely that you could say she could impart to the guests of interest.
Third she cost an absolute fortune.
It’s absolutely amazing how people will spend serious money to have a “name” speak at an event when there is absolutely no benefit apart from the hope that some sad individuals are excited by seeing someone off the television in their presence.
Which nobody ever thinks about these days . . . except when your car breaks down AND you discover you cell has drained its charge . . .
When I was a kid, you could make unlimited long-distance call for a dime. Or less: when I moved to Louisiana, I was delighted to discover that in the Pelican State, pay-phone calls were only a nickel!
By that time (or shortly after), the drop at phone booths in other 49 states had gone up to a quarter, where it pretty much stayed until . . . the demise of the phone booth in the US. RIP
They were sweating copper and ignoring FTTP for so long. When Openreach was hived off and lead by somebody with a small bit of intelligence they started installing thousands of miles a year and will be mostly done within a decade
In the case of aircraft, it can sometimes be hard to say what is a hard 'kill' - see the ?Frogfoot? that landed last week with major damage. Probably claimed as a kill by Ukr. UAVs are so small you might not be able to find the evidence to photograph it - especially if it makes it back over the border.
Also, tanks are 'sexy', so they are more likely to be photographed than some sort of truck I cannot identify (cue usual 'journalists' tank recognition sheet' (*))
So IMV, Ukr are over-estimating. But nowhere near as much as I would have expected before this mess began. Oryx appear to have been doing a brilliant job.
(*) https://twitter.com/pascalheyman/status/1088555831187128321?lang=en
Blissful.
Hammered.
It needs to accept its future funding model will change and if Johnson remains as PM until 2024 and implements it then that’s one good thing to come from this useless govt.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1506946757502156801
Philistine
The best regarded have I guess been Atlee and Thatcher.
Blair will in my view get a much better press, as will Cameron. Brown, Wilson, Heath, Callaghan - hopeless to a man.
(I know I'm missing a couple, but I have no view on them)
No indication sanctions are working yet
Nick Beake
BBC News, Brussels
Despite the proclamations ringing out here at Nato HQ - support for Ukraine and a determination to punish Russia financially - I’ve just had a sobering insight from one Western official who was in the leaders’ meeting earlier.
Apparently, not one leader could give any indication that sanctions had begun to change Putin's mind or affect his behaviour in his war on Ukraine.
The Nato strategy depends on supplying the Ukrainians with weapons while waiting for the unprecedented financial penalties levied on Russia to persuade him to stop attacking his neighbour.
But for millions of Ukrainians - displaced, under fire and sleeping in bunkers for a month - it is the most terrifying of waits. More civilians will die as the war grinds on.
Edit - And now I’ve replied to the wrong comment. Picking up on my “polls” for “poles”. Though is paying P&O day rates, one can’t also consider using “Poles”.