I think 'Russian Troll' is an overdetected condition as regards on here.
There may have been one or two but Heathener isn’t one of them.
They are a native English speaker for a start.
Yep. She seems to want to wind people up as much as possible, so that probably counts as a troll, but I don’t think she is paid. More that she gets her kicks from it. I don’t believe her nonsense about ‘protecting someone in power’, so the dogs IP must be an issue, but hey, who knows.
“She”
If self identification is anything, then calling her she, as she refers to herself on here, is merely courteous. Unless you know different? I have very little time for extremes of wokedom, but calling someone by what they wish to be referred to is just polite.
I still think that Boris will not only lead the Tories into the next election but win it, albeit with a reduced majority. As long as I think that I would not bet on SKS because it seems vanishingly unlikely to me that Boris would do another full term so the mext PM would also be a Tory, even if SKS holds on to leader on the back of an improved result.
It's way too early to say who that Tory replacement will be. This is a market for laying not buying.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
That’s an incorrect depiction.
Their view is “you had a democratic referendum less than 10 years ago and elected to stay part of the UK. It is reasonable for both the majority of voters who voted in that referendum and the other constituents of the Union that there is a period of time before the question can be tested again”
When I went around to the corner to our local shop to buy a paper the shop was open spot on time but the delightful Indian lady there hadn't been aware of the time shift because all her time pieces had automatically updated. Are we becoming subservient to computers?
There's a mildly amusing article in the Guardian in a similar vein about someone who refuses to follow BST:
They do make some good points. We play with clocks but perhaps the one we should pay more attention to is our body clock not online social or societal clocks? Is it just another means of control?
My body clock gets me up so early I hardly noticed the change.
I believe that in Gulliver's Travels the Lilliputians thought his pocket watch was his god because he had told them that he consulted it before he did anything.
If we didn't have BST though it would get light about 4am in June and dark at 8pm.
It gives lighter evenings for us to enjoy when we can, after work, instead of spilling it in the small hours when hardly anyone is awake.
Mmm. Lighter evenings for me means not dark at 11. I'd prefer 10:30 to be night time.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
When I went around to the corner to our local shop to buy a paper the shop was open spot on time but the delightful Indian lady there hadn't been aware of the time shift because all her time pieces had automatically updated. Are we becoming subservient to computers?
There's a mildly amusing article in the Guardian in a similar vein about someone who refuses to follow BST:
They do make some good points. We play with clocks but perhaps the one we should pay more attention to is our body clock not online social or societal clocks? Is it just another means of control?
My body clock gets me up so early I hardly noticed the change.
I believe that in Gulliver's Travels the Lilliputians thought his pocket watch was his god because he had told them that he consulted it before he did anything.
If we didn't have BST though it would get light about 4am in June and dark at 8pm.
It gives lighter evenings for us to enjoy when we can, after work, instead of spilling it in the small hours when hardly anyone is awake.
When I were a lad we had Double Summer Time.
However, as I were nowt but a young lad I didn't really realise the difference.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
We have recently discovered that modern tank warfare requires a network of dual carriageways well-maintained at the recipient's expense.
You're suggesting that the key to Scottish Independence is the chronic state of the A1? Is this why Nicola is so apparently indifferent to the economic damage it causes?
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Not really, more that Scottish Independence does not matter provided he can blame Labour.
Oh it does matter and if we have Tory governments forever you can guarantee it will not happen as indyref2 will not be allowed.
Indyref2 it is clear will only ever happen now with a UK Labour government reliant on SNP support and if they allow it it will be on them to win it
So the Tories wouldn’t allow IndyRef2 in 20 years time? What about all that ‘generation’ nonsense?
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
We have recently discovered that modern tank warfare requires a network of dual carriageways well-maintained at the recipient's expense.
You're suggesting that the key to Scottish Independence is the chronic state of the A1? Is this why Nicola is so apparently indifferent to the economic damage it causes?
I take it you rarely visit Northumberland? The A1 north of the Scottish border is a dream!
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
We have recently discovered that modern tank warfare requires a network of dual carriageways well-maintained at the recipient's expense.
You're suggesting that the key to Scottish Independence is the chronic state of the A1? Is this why Nicola is so apparently indifferent to the economic damage it causes?
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Same on all topics. Very black and white without consideration of other views. Also never contemplates the possibility of being wrong on anything, which makes confidence in any decision easier.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
We have recently discovered that modern tank warfare requires a network of dual carriageways well-maintained at the recipient's expense.
And without an NLAW behind every bridge support or bordering treeline.....
I still think that Boris will not only lead the Tories into the next election but win it, albeit with a reduced majority. As long as I think that I would not bet on SKS because it seems vanishingly unlikely to me that Boris would do another full term so the mext PM would also be a Tory, even if SKS holds on to leader on the back of an improved result.
It's way too early to say who that Tory replacement will be. This is a market for laying not buying.
AIUI a swing of about 5% from Conservative to Labour in Uxbridge etc would mean it was essential that, even if the Conservatives won overall, they'd still need a new Parliamentary leader!
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
We have recently discovered that modern tank warfare requires a network of dual carriageways well-maintained at the recipient's expense.
You're suggesting that the key to Scottish Independence is the chronic state of the A1? Is this why Nicola is so apparently indifferent to the economic damage it causes?
I see in this mornings press that the SNP are saying that 'Nessie' is a construct of the English trying to paint the Scots as dinosaurs
I will not repeat what my good lady said about this, but I cannot understand why on earth the SNP would want to attack such a wonderful legend and a great Scottish tourist attraction
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
When I went around to the corner to our local shop to buy a paper the shop was open spot on time but the delightful Indian lady there hadn't been aware of the time shift because all her time pieces had automatically updated. Are we becoming subservient to computers?
There's a mildly amusing article in the Guardian in a similar vein about someone who refuses to follow BST:
They do make some good points. We play with clocks but perhaps the one we should pay more attention to is our body clock not online social or societal clocks? Is it just another means of control?
My body clock gets me up so early I hardly noticed the change.
I believe that in Gulliver's Travels the Lilliputians thought his pocket watch was his god because he had told them that he consulted it before he did anything.
If we didn't have BST though it would get light about 4am in June and dark at 8pm.
It gives lighter evenings for us to enjoy when we can, after work, instead of spilling it in the small hours when hardly anyone is awake.
So, instead of voluntarily waking up earlier to make more use of the daylight you want the government to mess with the concept of time as our language around it to trick you into doing so?
It doesn't seem a very conservative position to take.
It encourages an infantile view that the government can pass a decree and create more daylight. It's the logic of the magic money tree applied to sunshine.
I can't understand why this is even a debate. Stick to GMT. Get up earlier. If you want. Or don't.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
We have recently discovered that modern tank warfare requires a network of dual carriageways well-maintained at the recipient's expense.
You're suggesting that the key to Scottish Independence is the chronic state of the A1? Is this why Nicola is so apparently indifferent to the economic damage it causes?
I take it you rarely visit Northumberland? The A1 north of the Scottish border is a dream!
The A1 finally becomes a proper road about Haddington. The stretch from Haddington to about Morpeth is a disgrace and seriously damages the level of economic activity on both sides of the border. When you look at all the minor roads that have been dualled in recent years (locally we now have 20 miles of dual carraigeway between Dundee and, err, Arbroath) it is genuinely bewildering. A tank trap is seriously the most rational explanation to date.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Same on all topics. Very black and white without consideration of other views. Also never contemplates the possibility of being wrong on anything, which makes confidence in any decision easier.
Yes because I am a Tory who believes in things, not a wet lettuce liberal
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Not really, more that Scottish Independence does not matter provided he can blame Labour.
Oh it does matter and if we have Tory governments forever you can guarantee it will not happen as indyref2 will not be allowed.
Indyref2 it is clear will only ever happen now with a UK Labour government reliant on SNP support and if they allow it it will be on them to win it
So the Tories wouldn’t allow IndyRef2 in 20 years time? What about all that ‘generation’ nonsense?
No, Boris has said not for 40 years at the earliest
I still think that Boris will not only lead the Tories into the next election but win it, albeit with a reduced majority. As long as I think that I would not bet on SKS because it seems vanishingly unlikely to me that Boris would do another full term so the mext PM would also be a Tory, even if SKS holds on to leader on the back of an improved result.
It's way too early to say who that Tory replacement will be. This is a market for laying not buying.
AIUI a swing of about 5% from Conservative to Labour in Uxbridge etc would mean it was essential that, even if the Conservatives won overall, they'd still need a new Parliamentary leader!
Edited for improved word choice & grammar.
If Uxbridge went Labour on UNS Labour would have won most seats anyway
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
That is rubbish. It was the EU who demanded a border in the Irish Sea for a trade deal, Boris could have imposed a hard border in Ireland and gone to No Deal but then you would have whinged about that too.
As for NI, only last week a bomb threat was made by the loyalist UVF against Simon Coveney, the Irish Foreign Minister, on his visit to Belfast last week. While obviously that should be condemned, the idea loyalists in Unionist dominated areas of NI like East Belfast and East Londonderry and county Antrim will peacefully settle into a United Ireland is absurd. It would just be the Troubles all over again, except mainly from the loyalist rather than nationalist side. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60875251
Hence Boris is considering invoking Article 16, as too much effort was made in the trade talks on the EU side on appeasing nationalists with no hard border in Ireland while ignoring loyalists who did not want a border in the Irish Sea
I don't think the EU demand anything. We left so there had to be a border. That is what leaving meant. Where would you like it? Or are you going to come out with a non existent tech solution (see Norway/Sweden or Switzerland)
By saying there “had to be a border” you are accepting the EU argument.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
To be fair to Scotland, English kings in the Middle Ages kept trying to invade and colonise Scotland. The Scots can hardly be blamed for resisting.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Not really, more that Scottish Independence does not matter provided he can blame Labour.
Oh it does matter and if we have Tory governments forever you can guarantee it will not happen as indyref2 will not be allowed.
Indyref2 it is clear will only ever happen now with a UK Labour government reliant on SNP support and if they allow it it will be on them to win it
So the Tories wouldn’t allow IndyRef2 in 20 years time? What about all that ‘generation’ nonsense?
No, Boris has said not for 40 years at the earliest
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
We have recently discovered that modern tank warfare requires a network of dual carriageways well-maintained at the recipient's expense.
You're suggesting that the key to Scottish Independence is the chronic state of the A1? Is this why Nicola is so apparently indifferent to the economic damage it causes?
I see in this mornings press that the SNP are saying that 'Nessie' is a construct of the English trying to paint the Scots as dinosaurs
I will not repeat what my good lady said about this, but I cannot understand why on earth the SNP would want to attack such a wonderful legend and a great Scottish tourist attraction
A friend of mine owns 2 of the hotels on Loch Ness. I am not sure that he would agree with the SNP line. Mind you, in fairness, he very rarely does.
But the SNP are creating their own myths. Ferries for the western Isles are amongst the latest. Bit harder to spot than Nessie though!
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Um, with all due respect, Still Waters, you are far more monotonously partisan (and therefore less interesting) than Heathener. The possibility of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party is real and it's not Putinesque to consider the implications if it did.
I still think that Boris will not only lead the Tories into the next election but win it, albeit with a reduced majority. As long as I think that I would not bet on SKS because it seems vanishingly unlikely to me that Boris would do another full term so the mext PM would also be a Tory, even if SKS holds on to leader on the back of an improved result.
It's way too early to say who that Tory replacement will be. This is a market for laying not buying.
AIUI a swing of about 5% from Conservative to Labour in Uxbridge etc would mean it was essential that, even if the Conservatives won overall, they'd still need a new Parliamentary leader!
Edited for improved word choice & grammar.
If Uxbridge went Labour on UNS Labour would have won most seats anyway
And able to form a Government without SNP or LD support? In any event, a very desirable state of affairs. What's more it would put 1997's Portillo moment well into the shade.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Um, with all due respect, Still Waters, you are far more monotonously partisan (and therefore less interesting) than Heathener. The possibility of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party is real and it's not Putinesque to consider the implications if it did.
The hysteria in some quarters should such occur would provide hours of innocent merriment for some of us!
I think 'Russian Troll' is an overdetected condition as regards on here.
There have been 3 detected. All have been on the same compromises VPN. 2 have been banned. @Heathener remains because @rcs1000 wants it to be so.
Not quite right. Not the same VPN, just that her VPN occurs on a list of suspicious ones. The fact that her language skills are fine, with no obvious errors leads me to believe she is a native speaker. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that much of what she posts is true, at least partly. Lots of people have worked for things like GCHQ, I mean the buildings need cleaners, after all. She may passionately believe all she posts, but I doubt it. When she arrived she debuted with bullshit about the government planning new lockdowns in November 2021, which was patent nonsense. She was either gullible, or trying to wind people up. Juries out, for me.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Um, with all due respect, Still Waters, you are far more monotonously partisan (and therefore less interesting) than Heathener. The possibility of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party is real and it's not Putinesque to consider the implications if it did.
2/1 on Irish unification before 2024 is a terrible bet, from Heatheners post.
Summer Time should probably be called "Woke Time".
It's time for people who can't have the reality of waking up before 7am, and so want everyone to make believe that 06:00 is actually 07:00 - except now they want super-woke time (ie double summer time) so that they can have a "lie in" until 8am!
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Um, with all due respect, Still Waters, you are far more monotonously partisan (and therefore less interesting) than Heathener. The possibility of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party is real and it's not Putinesque to consider the implications if it did.
I fully agree that the topic is interesting. It was the last sentence that I objected to “he [johnson] sacrificed the Union for his own political aspirations”. I don’t see how that progresses the discussion.
I’m not partisan - although I am right of centre. I don’t particularly recall posting much on British politics. Mainly on Ukraine.
The only this that I do which could be monotonous is calling out @Heathener as a poster with an agenda to cause discord. Because she is.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Um, with all due respect, Still Waters, you are far more monotonously partisan (and therefore less interesting) than Heathener. The possibility of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party is real and it's not Putinesque to consider the implications if it did.
The hysteria in some quarters should such occur would provide hours of innocent merriment for some of us!
Why? Unionist parties would still win more seats than Nationalist parties on current polls for Stormont and SF's vote would actually be down on 2017.
Given the DUP would still boycott the Executive as would the TUV the FM post is effectively redundant for the moment in NI anyway
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
That is rubbish. It was the EU who demanded a border in the Irish Sea for a trade deal, Boris could have imposed a hard border in Ireland and gone to No Deal but then you would have whinged about that too.
As for NI, only last week a bomb threat was made by the loyalist UVF against Simon Coveney, the Irish Foreign Minister, on his visit to Belfast last week. While obviously that should be condemned, the idea loyalists in Unionist dominated areas of NI like East Belfast and East Londonderry and county Antrim will peacefully settle into a United Ireland is absurd. It would just be the Troubles all over again, except mainly from the loyalist rather than nationalist side. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60875251
Hence Boris is considering invoking Article 16, as too much effort was made in the trade talks on the EU side on appeasing nationalists with no hard border in Ireland while ignoring loyalists who did not want a border in the Irish Sea
When it comes to NI you are dangerously clueless.
Let us hope the NI issue is resolved before you reach high office.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Not really, more that Scottish Independence does not matter provided he can blame Labour.
Oh it does matter and if we have Tory governments forever you can guarantee it will not happen as indyref2 will not be allowed.
Indyref2 it is clear will only ever happen now with a UK Labour government reliant on SNP support and if they allow it it will be on them to win it
So the Tories wouldn’t allow IndyRef2 in 20 years time? What about all that ‘generation’ nonsense?
No, Boris has said not for 40 years at the earliest
Summer Time should probably be called "Woke Time".
It's time for people who can't have the reality of waking up before 7am, and so want everyone to make believe that 06:00 is actually 07:00 - except now they want super-woke time (ie double summer time) so that they can have a "lie in" until 8am!
In the immortal words of Spud "Daylight saving is for farmers, not for fricken junkies."
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
To be fair to Scotland, English kings in the Middle Ages kept trying to invade and colonise Scotland. The Scots can hardly be blamed for resisting.
Summer Time should probably be called "Woke Time".
It's time for people who can't have the reality of waking up before 7am, and so want everyone to make believe that 06:00 is actually 07:00 - except now they want super-woke time (ie double summer time) so that they can have a "lie in" until 8am!
Do people really want double Summer time? I remember it. Pitch black going to school in Winter. In the Summer, waking in the night not knowing whether it was time to get up or if it just hadn't got dark yet. Thoroughly bizarre desire.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Um, with all due respect, Still Waters, you are far more monotonously partisan (and therefore less interesting) than Heathener. The possibility of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party is real and it's not Putinesque to consider the implications if it did.
The hysteria in some quarters should such occur would provide hours of innocent merriment for some of us!
Why? Unionist parties would still win more seats than Nationalist parties on current polls for Stormont and SF's vote would actually be down on 2017.
Given the DUP would still boycott the Executive as would the TUV the FM post is effectively redundant for the moment in NI anyway
Well, the event wouldn't have occurred, would it? I'm simply saying that if Sinn Fein and allies did win more seats than the DUP etc....
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Um, with all due respect, Still Waters, you are far more monotonously partisan (and therefore less interesting) than Heathener. The possibility of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party is real and it's not Putinesque to consider the implications if it did.
I fully agree that the topic is interesting. It was the last sentence that I objected to “he [johnson] sacrificed the Union for his own political aspirations”. I don’t see how that progresses the discussion.
Because he fucking did! Brexit was always going to challenge the existing state of the union. Johnson chose to accept those consequences and risks because he wanted to be PM not because he wanted Brexit. His natural remainerism was devoured by his monumental ambition and vanity.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
To be fair to Scotland, English kings in the Middle Ages kept trying to invade and colonise Scotland. The Scots can hardly be blamed for resisting.
And often Scots Kings invaded the other way. It's almost as though it would be natural for an island to be a single country/kingdom/nation.
Fascinating chart. Thatcher really hated poor people but loved the rich. Blair was head and shoulders above any other recent prime minister (shame about Iraq). Major also good. Johnson is the worst.
While the rich and poor did badly under Brown. albeit the middle a bit better.
Wilson, Heath, Callaghan, Blair, Major and Cameron and May as you say saw everyones incomes grow over their premierships.
Though the biggest growth for everyone was Thatcher 1983-1987 and Blair 1997 to 2001, although Thatcher saw more of that growth go to the rich and Blair saw more of it go to the poor.
Say what you like about HYUFD, he respects figures and accepts their conclusions.
Covid update for the curious - only got 3 hours' sleep last night because of the persistent cough and streaming pseudo-cold. But the oximeter has arrived and it's 95%, so I'm surviving OK. Nonetheless, it's a nuisance.
We're returning to the office 2 days a week in April. There's a good deal of nervousness since although we don't expect anyone to die, having maybe a fifth of the staff off work for a week at a time is not something we want. But we'll give it a try, as the alternative really is permanent WFH.
Summer Time should probably be called "Woke Time".
It's time for people who can't have the reality of waking up before 7am, and so want everyone to make believe that 06:00 is actually 07:00 - except now they want super-woke time (ie double summer time) so that they can have a "lie in" until 8am!
Do people really want double Summer time? I remember it. Pitch black going to school in Winter. In the Summer, waking in the night not knowing whether it was time to get up or if it just hadn't got dark yet. Thoroughly bizarre desire.
I feel sorry for the Galicians. Having endured the winter on Berlin time they have just been frog-marched onto Moscow time. Our oldest allies next door are more sensible.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
That is rubbish. It was the EU who demanded a border in the Irish Sea for a trade deal, Boris could have imposed a hard border in Ireland and gone to No Deal but then you would have whinged about that too.
As for NI, only last week a bomb threat was made by the loyalist UVF against Simon Coveney, the Irish Foreign Minister, on his visit to Belfast last week. While obviously that should be condemned, the idea loyalists in Unionist dominated areas of NI like East Belfast and East Londonderry and county Antrim will peacefully settle into a United Ireland is absurd. It would just be the Troubles all over again, except mainly from the loyalist rather than nationalist side. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60875251
Hence Boris is considering invoking Article 16, as too much effort was made in the trade talks on the EU side on appeasing nationalists with no hard border in Ireland while ignoring loyalists who did not want a border in the Irish Sea
I don't think the EU demand anything. We left so there had to be a border. That is what leaving meant. Where would you like it? Or are you going to come out with a non existent tech solution (see Norway/Sweden or Switzerland)
By saying there “had to be a border” you are accepting the EU argument.
Why does there “have to be a border”?
There didn't have to be a border, if we had Remained.
It's Brexit that created the border, and it's degree of hardness and intrusion relates to how Brexit is implemented. If we dynamically aligned with EU food and agriculture regulations it would be a lot softer.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Not really, more that Scottish Independence does not matter provided he can blame Labour.
Oh it does matter and if we have Tory governments forever you can guarantee it will not happen as indyref2 will not be allowed.
Indyref2 it is clear will only ever happen now with a UK Labour government reliant on SNP support and if they allow it it will be on them to win it
So the Tories wouldn’t allow IndyRef2 in 20 years time? What about all that ‘generation’ nonsense?
No, Boris has said not for 40 years at the earliest
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
To be fair to Scotland, English kings in the Middle Ages kept trying to invade and colonise Scotland. The Scots can hardly be blamed for resisting.
And often Scots Kings invaded the other way. It's almost as though it would be natural for an island to be a single country/kingdom/nation.
I'm not going to spend time doing a summary of who invaded who most, or caused most damage to who, or whatever. I've got other things on my mind. Until someone shows me that it was evens, or even that there was more aggression by 'official' Scots, then I'll stick with my opinion that English were more aggressive.
My mind is made up, but I could be convinced the other way.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
You have an agenda to stir up trouble.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Um, with all due respect, Still Waters, you are far more monotonously partisan (and therefore less interesting) than Heathener. The possibility of Sinn Fein becoming the largest party is real and it's not Putinesque to consider the implications if it did.
I fully agree that the topic is interesting. It was the last sentence that I objected to “he [johnson] sacrificed the Union for his own political aspirations”. I don’t see how that progresses the discussion.
I’m not partisan - although I am right of centre. I don’t particularly recall posting much on British politics. Mainly on Ukraine.
The only this that I do which could be monotonous is calling out @Heathener as a poster with an agenda to cause discord. Because she is.
Many of us who are not of the Johnson faith believe (rightly or wrongly) that Johnson's two letter pitch on the EU Ref and coming out in favour of Leave was simply a mechanism to undermine Cameron and promote his own career.
I suspect he had no idea that his intervention would drag Leave over the line, but a victorious Remainer Cameron would have been damaged (as Labour are) in the eyes of Leavers. So in comes Johnson to take over the reins. Well it didn't work quite like that, but no matter, he climbed the greasy pole anyway.
Oh and to return to your point Johnson knew Brexit and the GFA were incompatible when he made his pitch. He does now too, which means if he triggers A16, as HY is desperate for him so to do, he doesn't care about protecting the peace process or the Union.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
I am greatly saddened that a southern right wing Englishman should have such disrespect for the Scots who are generous and wonderful people
You seem to want to act as some old time despot who expects subservience from their people, when in fact all you succeed in doing is increase resentment and the inevitability of independence
You do have a habit of pontificating from Epping Forest on all things from behind a keyboard, with no practical knowledge of many of the topics you speak about
I lived in Berwick from 1954 to 1960, Edinburgh from 1960 - 1964, and here in North Wales since
I married a Scot in 1964 and have an extensive Scottish family but like so many of the nation are divided over independence, but I can tell you that indyref 2 is eminently winnable and far better to make a case in the right circumstances and grant indyref2
You quote Boris, but it is known that you cannot rely on anything he says and he may have thrown away a 40 year line, but circumstances could evolve that it would be politically expedient for him to allow indyref 2.
I would also comment he cannot just say no if an official request is received from the Scottish Government as that would be down to the HOC, which of course at present would be unlikely to agree
Maybe a more temperate and positive attitude would do you no harm, indeed you may benefit from it
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Why would Johnson trigger A16? It's just not the type of bullshit ambiguous good news story he likes.
He definitely doesn't give a fuck if the drumbashers are pissing iron filings over it because he doesn't need them, their approval or their votes in the HoC.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Not really, more that Scottish Independence does not matter provided he can blame Labour.
Oh it does matter and if we have Tory governments forever you can guarantee it will not happen as indyref2 will not be allowed.
Indyref2 it is clear will only ever happen now with a UK Labour government reliant on SNP support and if they allow it it will be on them to win it
So the Tories wouldn’t allow IndyRef2 in 20 years time? What about all that ‘generation’ nonsense?
No, Boris has said not for 40 years at the earliest
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
That is rubbish. It was the EU who demanded a border in the Irish Sea for a trade deal, Boris could have imposed a hard border in Ireland and gone to No Deal but then you would have whinged about that too.
As for NI, only last week a bomb threat was made by the loyalist UVF against Simon Coveney, the Irish Foreign Minister, on his visit to Belfast last week. While obviously that should be condemned, the idea loyalists in Unionist dominated areas of NI like East Belfast and East Londonderry and county Antrim will peacefully settle into a United Ireland is absurd. It would just be the Troubles all over again, except mainly from the loyalist rather than nationalist side. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60875251
Hence Boris is considering invoking Article 16, as too much effort was made in the trade talks on the EU side on appeasing nationalists with no hard border in Ireland while ignoring loyalists who did not want a border in the Irish Sea
When it comes to NI you are dangerously clueless.
Let us hope the NI issue is resolved before you reach high office.
An editor might suggest your post could be improved by removing the first half of the first sentence and the second half of the second one.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
That is rubbish. It was the EU who demanded a border in the Irish Sea for a trade deal, Boris could have imposed a hard border in Ireland and gone to No Deal but then you would have whinged about that too.
As for NI, only last week a bomb threat was made by the loyalist UVF against Simon Coveney, the Irish Foreign Minister, on his visit to Belfast last week. While obviously that should be condemned, the idea loyalists in Unionist dominated areas of NI like East Belfast and East Londonderry and county Antrim will peacefully settle into a United Ireland is absurd. It would just be the Troubles all over again, except mainly from the loyalist rather than nationalist side. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60875251
Hence Boris is considering invoking Article 16, as too much effort was made in the trade talks on the EU side on appeasing nationalists with no hard border in Ireland while ignoring loyalists who did not want a border in the Irish Sea
I don't think the EU demand anything. We left so there had to be a border. That is what leaving meant. Where would you like it? Or are you going to come out with a non existent tech solution (see Norway/Sweden or Switzerland)
By saying there “had to be a border” you are accepting the EU argument.
Why does there “have to be a border”?
?
Because that is what leaving means. We decided that. Sorry the question is bizarre. We created a border by leaving. You can't leave and not have a border. Did people who voted leave not know that? What did they think leaving meant? It meant just that; creating more borders. That has to be the weirdest question asked.
Here is an example. When I used to travel in Europe with equipment I was bringing back I filled in a carnet. We moved to stopping that. We now have to again. How do they overcome that once you leave. That is a border.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
"There was something staggeringly tin-eared about the way Rishi chose to boast about his tax-cutting instincts at the very moment he was clobbering the British people with the biggest tax bombshell since Hugh Gaitskell was Chancellor."
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
Faith schools are as much a matter of parental and religious choice in NI as in GB
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
That is rubbish. It was the EU who demanded a border in the Irish Sea for a trade deal, Boris could have imposed a hard border in Ireland and gone to No Deal but then you would have whinged about that too.
As for NI, only last week a bomb threat was made by the loyalist UVF against Simon Coveney, the Irish Foreign Minister, on his visit to Belfast last week. While obviously that should be condemned, the idea loyalists in Unionist dominated areas of NI like East Belfast and East Londonderry and county Antrim will peacefully settle into a United Ireland is absurd. It would just be the Troubles all over again, except mainly from the loyalist rather than nationalist side. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60875251
Hence Boris is considering invoking Article 16, as too much effort was made in the trade talks on the EU side on appeasing nationalists with no hard border in Ireland while ignoring loyalists who did not want a border in the Irish Sea
I don't think the EU demand anything. We left so there had to be a border. That is what leaving meant. Where would you like it? Or are you going to come out with a non existent tech solution (see Norway/Sweden or Switzerland)
By saying there “had to be a border” you are accepting the EU argument.
Why does there “have to be a border”?
?
Because that is what leaving means. We decided that. Sorry the question is bizarre. We created a border by leaving. You can't leave and not have a border. Did people who voted leave not know that? What did they think leaving meant? It meant just that; creating more borders. That has to be the weirdest question asked.
Here is an example. When I used to travel in Europe with equipment I was bringing back I filled in a carnet. We moved to stopping that. We now have to again. How do they overcome that once you leave. That is a border.
Basically we want a border that keeps them out (well some of them at least), but lets us pass freely, and goods pass freely both ways, even if the goods do not comply to their rules. And we are surprised that this cannot be agreed to. And those who point out the futility of our desires are accused of accepting the EU side and being unpatriotic.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
Faith schools are as much a matter of parental and religious choice in NI as in GB
I don't think these madrasas have served the NI community very well.
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
Faith schools are as much a matter of parental and religious choice in NI as in GB
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
I believe that in the Good Old Days, before the GFA, a test for employing someone in N Ireland was to ask them which school they had attended. The employer than didn't have to specifically ask whether they were Protestant of Catholic; the school attended gave it away.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
Not an ounce of diplomacy or understanding, just a no or the tanks will be sent to Berwick
Not really, more that Scottish Independence does not matter provided he can blame Labour.
Oh it does matter and if we have Tory governments forever you can guarantee it will not happen as indyref2 will not be allowed.
Indyref2 it is clear will only ever happen now with a UK Labour government reliant on SNP support and if they allow it it will be on them to win it
So the Tories wouldn’t allow IndyRef2 in 20 years time? What about all that ‘generation’ nonsense?
No, Boris has said not for 40 years at the earliest
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Your problem is you still see the Scots as the enemy
Russian anti-war protestors join the Ukraine solidarity protest in London.
The white-blue-white flag of the peace movement was raised courageously across Russia in the face of the invasion to show solidarity with Ukraine. It’s the Russian flag without the blood.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
I am greatly saddened that a southern right wing Englishman should have such disrespect for the Scots who are generous and wonderful people
You seem to want to act as some old time despot who expects subservience from their people, when in fact all you succeed in doing is increase resentment and the inevitability of independence
You do have a habit of pontificating from Epping Forest on all things from behind a keyboard, with no practical knowledge of many of the topics you speak about
I lived in Berwick from 1954 to 1960, Edinburgh from 1960 - 1964, and here in North Wales since
I married a Scot in 1964 and have an extensive Scottish family but like so many of the nation are divided over independence, but I can tell you that indyref 2 is eminently winnable and far better to make a case in the right circumstances and grant indyref2
You quote Boris, but it is known that you cannot rely on anything he says and he may have thrown away a 40 year line, but circumstances could evolve that it would be politically expedient for him to allow indyref 2.
I would also comment he cannot just say no if an official request is received from the Scottish Government as that would be down to the HOC, which of course at present would be unlikely to agree
Maybe a more temperate and positive attitude would do you no harm, indeed you may benefit from it
If Boris allowed an indyref2 and lost it, he would be out of No 10 the next day as Cameron was after he lost the EUref he allowed and he knows it, hence he can and will continue to refuse one.
Starmer would refuse indyref2 too if he could avoid needing the SNP to become PM
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
Faith schools are as much a matter of parental and religious choice in NI as in GB
I don't think these madrasas have serve the NI community very well.
Religious schools only work when no-one takes religion seriously.
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
Faith schools are as much a matter of parental and religious choice in NI as in GB
I can accept that for privately funded ones. I prefer the French approach of secular state schools, and think it would massively benefit NI, but as a more consensual step am not suggesting banning faith state schools, but giving the more integrated schools, whether faith or secular, better funding.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Your problem is you still see the Scots as the enemy
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
Faith schools are as much a matter of parental and religious choice in NI as in GB
I don't think these madrasas have serve the NI community very well.
Religious schools only work when no-one takes religion seriously.
Even then, I'm not sure. Groupthink enclosures do not make happy societies.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Your problem is you still see the Scots as the enemy
Scottish Nationalists not all Scots
They are not an enemy, they just have a different view to you.
Having a SF first minister at Stormont may not make a lot of practical difference if the Unionists continue to spit the dummy. Nonetheless an important piece of symbolism. Having the FM oppose article 16 I'd quite significant two.
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
Starting point is schools. If we can't force unsegregated schools, at least encourage them. Perhaps a 20% funding premium for those whose children are less than 70% from both main faiths.
Faith schools are as much a matter of parental and religious choice in NI as in GB
And should be banned in all parts of the UK.
Absolutely not, in fact I would open more of them. Faith schools generally get the best GCSE results of any state schools after grammar schools
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
I am greatly saddened that a southern right wing Englishman should have such disrespect for the Scots who are generous and wonderful people
You seem to want to act as some old time despot who expects subservience from their people, when in fact all you succeed in doing is increase resentment and the inevitability of independence
You do have a habit of pontificating from Epping Forest on all things from behind a keyboard, with no practical knowledge of many of the topics you speak about
I lived in Berwick from 1954 to 1960, Edinburgh from 1960 - 1964, and here in North Wales since
I married a Scot in 1964 and have an extensive Scottish family but like so many of the nation are divided over independence, but I can tell you that indyref 2 is eminently winnable and far better to make a case in the right circumstances and grant indyref2
You quote Boris, but it is known that you cannot rely on anything he says and he may have thrown away a 40 year line, but circumstances could evolve that it would be politically expedient for him to allow indyref 2.
I would also comment he cannot just say no if an official request is received from the Scottish Government as that would be down to the HOC, which of course at present would be unlikely to agree
Maybe a more temperate and positive attitude would do you no harm, indeed you may benefit from it
If Boris allowed an indyref2 and lost it, he would be out of No 10 the next day as Cameron was after he lost the EUref he allowed and he knows it, hence he can and will continue to refuse one.
Starmer would refuse indyref2 too if he could avoid needing the SNP to become PM
Boris does not have the power to stop it, nor does Starmer
If a request is received it is the HOC that will decide which currently would say no
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Your problem is you still see the Scots as the enemy
Whereas in Essex, cricket-wise, it's people from Kent.
Disclaimer; my elder son and his family live in Kent. Sadly they're not very interested in the game.
As I was born and raised in Kent and live in Essex does not really apply to me
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
This trope is getting tiresome for most people who accept that I am not a troll. It's a pity you are incapable of addressing the issues and this one is a serious issue and the link is from the Daily Telegraph.
So try to grow up and get a life.
Why don’t you try crawling back to your cave. That’s where trolls belong. You’re boss’s megalomaniac war is failing, your pathetic amateurish brand of fascism is done. And we can now all see through your weak attempts to needle wounds and stir division. It won’t work.
Indeed. Point and laugh at the troll, point and laugh at the troll.....
Russian anti-war protestors join the Ukraine solidarity protest in London.
The white-blue-white flag of the peace movement was raised courageously across Russia in the face of the invasion to show solidarity with Ukraine. It’s the Russian flag without the blood.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Your problem is you still see the Scots as the enemy
Scottish Nationalists not all Scots
They are not an enemy, they just have a different view to you.
If you think Scottish Nationalists don't see English Tories like me as the enemy, I would like to have some of what you are smoking!
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
I am greatly saddened that a southern right wing Englishman should have such disrespect for the Scots who are generous and wonderful people
You seem to want to act as some old time despot who expects subservience from their people, when in fact all you succeed in doing is increase resentment and the inevitability of independence
You do have a habit of pontificating from Epping Forest on all things from behind a keyboard, with no practical knowledge of many of the topics you speak about
I lived in Berwick from 1954 to 1960, Edinburgh from 1960 - 1964, and here in North Wales since
I married a Scot in 1964 and have an extensive Scottish family but like so many of the nation are divided over independence, but I can tell you that indyref 2 is eminently winnable and far better to make a case in the right circumstances and grant indyref2
You quote Boris, but it is known that you cannot rely on anything he says and he may have thrown away a 40 year line, but circumstances could evolve that it would be politically expedient for him to allow indyref 2.
I would also comment he cannot just say no if an official request is received from the Scottish Government as that would be down to the HOC, which of course at present would be unlikely to agree
Maybe a more temperate and positive attitude would do you no harm, indeed you may benefit from it
If Boris allowed an indyref2 and lost it, he would be out of No 10 the next day as Cameron was after he lost the EUref he allowed and he knows it, hence he can and will continue to refuse one.
Starmer would refuse indyref2 too if he could avoid needing the SNP to become PM
Normally I would say that was true but we are talking Boris here. It might need several crowbars.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
I am greatly saddened that a southern right wing Englishman should have such disrespect for the Scots who are generous and wonderful people
You seem to want to act as some old time despot who expects subservience from their people, when in fact all you succeed in doing is increase resentment and the inevitability of independence
You do have a habit of pontificating from Epping Forest on all things from behind a keyboard, with no practical knowledge of many of the topics you speak about
I lived in Berwick from 1954 to 1960, Edinburgh from 1960 - 1964, and here in North Wales since
I married a Scot in 1964 and have an extensive Scottish family but like so many of the nation are divided over independence, but I can tell you that indyref 2 is eminently winnable and far better to make a case in the right circumstances and grant indyref2
You quote Boris, but it is known that you cannot rely on anything he says and he may have thrown away a 40 year line, but circumstances could evolve that it would be politically expedient for him to allow indyref 2.
I would also comment he cannot just say no if an official request is received from the Scottish Government as that would be down to the HOC, which of course at present would be unlikely to agree
Maybe a more temperate and positive attitude would do you no harm, indeed you may benefit from it
If Boris allowed an indyref2 and lost it, he would be out of No 10 the next day as Cameron was after he lost the EUref he allowed and he knows it, hence he can and will continue to refuse one.
Starmer would refuse indyref2 too if he could avoid needing the SNP to become PM
Boris does not have the power to stop it, nor does Starmer
If a request is received it is the HOC that will decide which currently would say no
Of course he does, he has a Tory majority of 80 which will vote one down and the UK government would have to propose one to Parliament first anyway.
Starmer could ignore the SNP too if Labour won most seats at the next general election
It’s still possible the Tories come to their senses before the GE.
As in ditching Boris?
I think Labour would be delighted to be up against Sunak who, as Mike illustrated, is a completely out of touch billionaire investment banker: about the least attractive profession during this terrible cost of living squeeze.
So if not Sunak, whom? Liz Truss would be made mincemeat. She's completely out of her depth, however much the Daily Express or Telegraph want to channel the spirit of Maggie through her.
To whom else could they turn? Michael Gove? Loathed by most people. Jeremy Hunt? Better but still loathed. Priti Patel? Loathed.
Who? With Sunak fading I can't see it happening now. They missed their chance and I'm convinced the people will punish them at the polls.
While I generally agree, I don't think Jeremy Hunt is 'loathed'. And quite a few people I know who have met Priti Patel 'like' her on a personal basis. She can't meet everyone, of course.
Priti at -59 on Yougov favourability. Makes even "eat nowt to help out" Sunak look good:
Ben Wallace now the man to beat if and when Boris goes
Ben Wallace scores 63 per cent on the "don't know" scale so let's not break out the bunting just yet.
Ben Wallace strikes me as a man of the moment candidate.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
Thank you for confirming that whether people vote Tory or not in the upcoming local elections it will have zero effect on protecting the union. That's not how the Scottish Tories are campaigning.
The local elections are irrelevant to the union, only relevant to Scottish council tax and potholes and planning.
The Scottish Tories will do what they want to maximise their vote, it is the UK Government under Boris which will be doing the refusal of indyref2 whatever happens in Scotland
By your analysis all elections in Scotland are irrelevant to the Union as long as your motley crew are in charge.
"There was something staggeringly tin-eared about the way Rishi chose to boast about his tax-cutting instincts at the very moment he was clobbering the British people with the biggest tax bombshell since Hugh Gaitskell was Chancellor."
It's a bit silly tbh. The NI raise had already been announced. So the main announcements of the mini budget were 5p a litre off fuel, a £3000 increase in allowances for NI meaning that 70% of the population were, at worst, no worse off as a result of the NI changes, an increase in the employers allowance for taking on a new worker and various insultation costs etc reduced to zero rated VAT. The bomb of the tax bombshell had already gone off.
None of that made the the aspiration of a penny off IT any less bizarre, however, when the government is clearly struggling to afford public spending and uncertainty is at a peak with the consequences of sanctions, a persistent pandemic, a real risk of an escalation of a war or, at the least, serious disruption amongst our major trading partners and inflation seriously out of control. The latter is going to mean huge pressure on both benefits and public sector pay. Saying we can afford a tax cut puts the government in a distinctly weird position in relation to that.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Your problem is you still see the Scots as the enemy
Scottish Nationalists not all Scots
They are not an enemy, they just have a different view to you.
If you think Scottish Nationalists don't see English Tories like me as the enemy, I would like to have some of what you are smoking!
I don't see my political opponents as 'enemies'; misled and mistaken yes, but fellow humans.
Completely agree with Mike on this. I laid Sunak several months back at a very good profit. The odds on Starmer remain very attractive.
Meanwhile across the Irish Sea it is beginning to look possible that Sinn Fein will win most seats in the Stormont elections on May 5th, meaning the first ever Sinn Fein First Minister of Northern Ireland. I was lampooned by a couple of people for suggesting this might happen but it's now a real possibility.
You can get 2/1 on a Irish unification before 01/01/24 with Betfair which I'm probably not tempted by as it's too soon (I think) but the chances of it happening in our lifetimes are immeasurably closer. I was told that this was no big deal. Well it is a big deal. A seismic shift in United Kingdom politics. The seeds of this go back a long way but there's no doubt that Boris Johnson's sell-out of Northern Ireland provides the immediate catalyst. He sacrificed the union for his own political aspirations.
2/1 on Irish unification seems rather short in that time frame. It is looking increasingly likely over time though.
Hmm. Current Tory attitude to Scottish indyref is "who cares if there is a majority of votes and seats for pro-indy, pro-referendum parties? We still say no, we won't let you even have a democratic referendum". Which will be that much harder to justify if the Nirish get one on exactly that basis. Unless they argue that NI is somehow different from the rest of the UK, which is precisely what they have been denying all along while mishandling this aspect of Brexit ...
It’s a poor error of judgement on their part and one, I suspect, they will come to regret as it will make Indy more, not less, likely.
No it won't.
Grant an indyref2 now and it would be at best 50% No 50% Yes.
Refuse an indyref2 now and that guarantees Scotland stays in the UK.
If there is an indyref2 it will be a Labour government reliant on SNP support who has to take the risk, as long as this Tory government remains in power it will never allow an indyref2 anyway
In the short term you get your wish in the medium term I think this makes Indy far more likely than 50/50.
No it doesn't, certainly from a Tory perspective as we will never grant an indyref2 we need to win anyway now.
If Labour get in and grant one then they would take the risk of losing it and have to hope the devomax etc they likely promise allows No to scrape home
Never is a long time and it was a Tory leader who granted the last one. Would it be such a disaster if one was held and yes won ? Far better to be good friends with Scotland than holding an increasingly unwilling nation in a union they increasingly want no part of as they see it being for their detriment.
You are doing the Nationalists work for them.
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
If I’m honest I’m not really bothered if Scotland became a separate nation or not but I do think we could, and would, have a better relationship than now.
Absolutely not, before the Act of Union Scotland was England's oldest enemy after France.
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
We've been over this before. The Danes are an older enemy to England. I don't know why you keep forgetting it.
England fought more wars against Scotland and France than it ever did against Denmark. Scotland was certainly England's 2nd longest enemy before the Act of Union
Your problem is you still see the Scots as the enemy
Scottish Nationalists not all Scots
They are not an enemy, they just have a different view to you.
If you think Scottish Nationalists don't see English Tories like me as the enemy, I would like to have some of what you are smoking!
Fortunately you are not representatives of conservatives across the land
You are a narrow minded right wing Englishman who speaks like a despot on Scottish matters
Comments
I have very little time for extremes of wokedom, but calling someone by what they wish to be referred to is just polite.
It's way too early to say who that Tory replacement will be. This is a market for laying not buying.
The 90's was a wonderful era of growing prosperity.
What a time to be young.
Their view is “you had a democratic referendum less than 10 years ago and elected to stay part of the UK. It is reasonable for both the majority of voters who voted in that referendum and the other constituents of the Union that there is a period of time before the question can be tested again”
Weak appeasement. You are talking as if Yes is on 90% not barely 50% in current polls.
This government is rightly standing up to the Nationalists, they had their chance in 2014, they lost and they will not get another one while we Tories are in power. Tough.
The idea we would be good friends with an SNP led Scotland after independence too? Laughable. It would be a very bitter divorce which would make the current UK and EU relationship look friendly
However, as I were nowt but a young lad I didn't really realise the difference.
Your post was fine, but then you unnecessarily made it a partisan issue.
I’m not saying you are a troll. But you should add a tagline at the end of the post “Vladimir Putin approves of this message”
Edited for improved word choice & grammar.
I will not repeat what my good lady said about this, but I cannot understand why on earth the SNP would want to attack such a wonderful legend and a great Scottish tourist attraction
If an indyref2 was granted and Scotland voted for independence it would be an extremely divisive relationship, not least with huge arguments over who has how much North Sea Oil, the military etc, questions over passports, Treasury funding etc.
It would be a bitter, bitter divorce and ramp up Nationalism even further on these islands. It would make Brexit and our EU relationship look friendly
It doesn't seem a very conservative position to take.
It encourages an infantile view that the government can pass a decree and create more daylight. It's the logic of the magic money tree applied to sunshine.
I can't understand why this is even a debate. Stick to GMT. Get up earlier. If you want. Or don't.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/wait-40-years-for-another-scottish-independence-vote-says-boris-johnson-kwb7njq99
Why does there “have to be a border”?
But the SNP are creating their own myths. Ferries for the western Isles are amongst the latest. Bit harder to spot than Nessie though!
In any event, a very desirable state of affairs. What's more it would put 1997's Portillo moment well into the shade.
The fact that her language skills are fine, with no obvious errors leads me to believe she is a native speaker. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that much of what she posts is true, at least partly. Lots of people have worked for things like GCHQ, I mean the buildings need cleaners, after all.
She may passionately believe all she posts, but I doubt it. When she arrived she debuted with bullshit about the government planning new lockdowns in November 2021, which was patent nonsense. She was either gullible, or trying to wind people up. Juries out, for me.
It's time for people who can't have the reality of waking up before 7am, and so want everyone to make believe that 06:00 is actually 07:00 - except now they want super-woke time (ie double summer time) so that they can have a "lie in" until 8am!
I’m not partisan - although I am right of centre. I don’t particularly recall posting much on British politics. Mainly on Ukraine.
The only this that I do which could be monotonous is calling out @Heathener as a poster with an agenda to cause discord. Because she is.
Given the DUP would still boycott the Executive as would the TUV the FM post is effectively redundant for the moment in NI anyway
Let us hope the NI issue is resolved before you reach high office.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flodden
I remember it. Pitch black going to school in Winter. In the Summer, waking in the night not knowing whether it was time to get up or if it just hadn't got dark yet.
Thoroughly bizarre desire.
Edited for an attack of FFS!
The peace dividend was real.
Covid update for the curious - only got 3 hours' sleep last night because of the persistent cough and streaming pseudo-cold. But the oximeter has arrived and it's 95%, so I'm surviving OK. Nonetheless, it's a nuisance.
We're returning to the office 2 days a week in April. There's a good deal of nervousness since although we don't expect anyone to die, having maybe a fifth of the staff off work for a week at a time is not something we want. But we'll give it a try, as the alternative really is permanent WFH.
The other day we discovered that one of my wife's cousins and her family are anti-vaxxers. They were spouting all sorts of shite. Very sad.
It's Brexit that created the border, and it's degree of hardness and intrusion relates to how Brexit is implemented. If we dynamically aligned with EU food and agriculture regulations it would be a lot softer.
Until someone shows me that it was evens, or even that there was more aggression by 'official' Scots, then I'll stick with my opinion that English were more aggressive.
My mind is made up, but I could be convinced the other way.
I suspect he had no idea that his intervention would drag Leave over the line, but a victorious Remainer Cameron would have been damaged (as Labour are) in the eyes of Leavers. So in comes Johnson to take over the reins. Well it didn't work quite like that, but no matter, he climbed the greasy pole anyway.
Oh and to return to your point Johnson knew Brexit and the GFA were incompatible when he made his pitch. He does now too, which means if he triggers A16, as HY is desperate for him so to do, he doesn't care about protecting the peace process or the Union.
Yours,
A Russian Troll
You seem to want to act as some old time despot who expects subservience from their people, when in fact all you succeed in doing is increase resentment and the inevitability of independence
You do have a habit of pontificating from Epping Forest on all things from behind a keyboard, with no practical knowledge of many of the topics you speak about
I lived in Berwick from 1954 to 1960, Edinburgh from 1960 - 1964, and here in North Wales since
I married a Scot in 1964 and have an extensive Scottish family but like so many of the nation are divided over independence, but I can tell you that indyref 2 is eminently winnable and far better to make a case in the right circumstances and grant indyref2
You quote Boris, but it is known that you cannot rely on anything he says and he may have thrown away a 40 year line, but circumstances could evolve that it would be politically expedient for him to allow indyref 2.
I would also comment he cannot just say no if an official request is received from the Scottish Government as that would be down to the HOC, which of course at present would be unlikely to agree
Maybe a more temperate and positive attitude would do you no harm, indeed you may benefit from it
The Good Friday Agreement forced power sharing, but has entrenched a rather fossilised political divide. A dangerous can of worms to reopen, but needs doing at some point.
He definitely doesn't give a fuck if the drumbashers are pissing iron filings over it because he doesn't need them, their approval or their votes in the HoC.
Because that is what leaving means. We decided that. Sorry the question is bizarre. We created a border by leaving. You can't leave and not have a border. Did people who voted leave not know that? What did they think leaving meant? It meant just that; creating more borders. That has to be the weirdest question asked.
Here is an example. When I used to travel in Europe with equipment I was bringing back I filled in a carnet. We moved to stopping that. We now have to again. How do they overcome that once you leave. That is a border.
"There was something staggeringly tin-eared about the way Rishi chose to boast about his tax-cutting instincts at the very moment he was clobbering the British people with the biggest tax bombshell since Hugh Gaitskell was Chancellor."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10655471/DAN-HODGES-Rishi-Sunak-fiscal-magician-Shame-Tommy-Cooper-Houdini.html
Russian anti-war protestors join the Ukraine solidarity protest in London.
The white-blue-white flag of the peace movement was raised courageously across Russia in the face of the invasion to show solidarity with Ukraine. It’s the Russian flag without the blood.
✊✊✊ https://t.co/Q23FPWMAyU
Starmer would refuse indyref2 too if he could avoid needing the SNP to become PM
If a request is received it is the HOC that will decide which currently would say no
Starmer could ignore the SNP too if Labour won most seats at the next general election
None of that made the the aspiration of a penny off IT any less bizarre, however, when the government is clearly struggling to afford public spending and uncertainty is at a peak with the consequences of sanctions, a persistent pandemic, a real risk of an escalation of a war or, at the least, serious disruption amongst our major trading partners and inflation seriously out of control. The latter is going to mean huge pressure on both benefits and public sector pay. Saying we can afford a tax cut puts the government in a distinctly weird position in relation to that.
You are a narrow minded right wing Englishman who speaks like a despot on Scottish matters