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Do Republican politicians even want to be Senators these days? – politicalbetting.com

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Comments

  • felix said:

    felix said:

    Here! Cherry pick this one poll! Starmer must resign! Vote Tory!

    I think the appropriate response is 'calm down dear' - you're just showing your lack of confidence in your party. You're also inventing posts to argue against! Not a good look.
    Felix! Glad to have you back posting, how you doing
    I read 95% and post less than 5%. Just saying. :smiley:
    So are you well?
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,717

    geoffw said:

    kle4 said:

    Rwanda policy also leads 38 to 32 approval which is again unexpected

    I'm not surprised. A majority or at least plurality will support most proposals to try and deal with matters relating to immigration and/or boats landing on the beaches I expect. That's why the likely effectiveness, or not, and morality of any proposal is more relevant to me.
    Sky reported yesterday that asylum seekers in Calais are seriously worried and reconsidering their plans
    If they are asylum seekers why don't they seek asylum in France?

    The UK, and other countries, signed agreements saying they don't have to. Perhaps they expect the UK to stick to what it has signed?

    If we don't want that then we should withdraw from the relevant human rights treaties, not blame asylum seekers for making choices that we promised them were a choice.
    I'm genuinely interested to know more about these agreements. Can you point me towards them?

  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,759

    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    I got up to Barcelona station and realised that St Jordi’s day was just like Easter Monday; ie a Sunday that the timetables didn’t recognise. I was expecting to get a 46 minute direct train to Girona, but I had to catch a train to somewhere completely different, and then change at a station that had virtually the same name as the station before it and after it, then walk to another station half a mile away with an even more similar name to get on the train to Girona.

    I had looked at other places to stay and explore, but everywhere else was so expensive. I think I got lucky with the room I found here for the last two nights - it’s nearly as busy here now as it was in Barcelona! Certainly at least twice as busy as when I arrived three weeks ago.

    I’ve come out to a steak restaurant for dinner. I had their pickled veal tongue to start, and now trying my best to eat through the huge rib steak. I might need carrying back to my hotel!


    I've no idea if it applies to you, but it really annoys me how unregarding restaurants are to single diners. It's quite tough to win.
    A few places have turned me away over the last three weeks, hopefully for that reason! But generally I’ve been looked after fine alone.
    There should be precisely no places that turn away a PBer,
    'As the Roman, in days of old, could say 'Civis Romanus Sum', so the PB member, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye of OGH, and the strong arm of TSE, will protect him against indignity and wrong.'
    I think you've summed it up completely.
  • Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    This is desperate stuff and maybe the President of Ukraine would wholly disagree

    Indeed why not criticise Germany who have sold their economy to Russia and done everything to be evasive in helping Ukraine
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,822
    geoffw said:

    geoffw said:

    kle4 said:

    Rwanda policy also leads 38 to 32 approval which is again unexpected

    I'm not surprised. A majority or at least plurality will support most proposals to try and deal with matters relating to immigration and/or boats landing on the beaches I expect. That's why the likely effectiveness, or not, and morality of any proposal is more relevant to me.
    Sky reported yesterday that asylum seekers in Calais are seriously worried and reconsidering their plans
    If they are asylum seekers why don't they seek asylum in France?

    The UK, and other countries, signed agreements saying they don't have to. Perhaps they expect the UK to stick to what it has signed?

    If we don't want that then we should withdraw from the relevant human rights treaties, not blame asylum seekers for making choices that we promised them were a choice.
    I'm genuinely interested to know more about these agreements. Can you point me towards them?

    Sure, full fact do a clear explainer of the situation.

    https://fullfact.org/immigration/refugees-first-safe-country/
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,662

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    SKS fans please explain
    Why don't I post a poll from two years ago like you did?
    When did i post a poll from 2 years ago.

    Oh i know 2 years ago.

    How do you explain SKS still in negative territory and Lab only 2% ahead

    Opinium methodology?

    Pathetic mate Pathetic you are going to be suicidal come GE 2024 when SKS does far worse than 2017
  • ApplicantApplicant Posts: 3,379

    So Oldham Athletic become the first Premier League club to be relegated all the way out of the league. Credit to their fans for the huge on pitch process against the owner which stopped the game for an hour.

    The harsh reality - and its been like this for a while - is there are too many league clubs in Greater Manchester to be viable. When the city of Manchester has two global giants, the neighbouring city of Salford has a club and every surrounding town has a club, there's just not enough fans.

    But most of those clubs have probably been in existence for a century or more. The population isn't decreasing. I don't believe football is getting less popular. So what gives?
    Part of the problem is that there's now a big gap in the League One because of all the "massive" ex PL clubs there. The days of an Oldham or Wimbledon being in the top flight - or a Yeovil or Stockport being competitive in the second tier - are pretty much over.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,354
    ping said:

    HYUFD said:

    ping said:

    The contrast between the French right & British right is really quite striking.

    How the hell did the tories end up heavily taxing young workers in order to shovel cash to their client vote?

    I suspect it is only after a period of opposition that the tories will see sense and make a coherent and generous policy offer to the young.

    The contrast between the British Conservatives and the French Conservatives is the British Conservatives got 43.6% at the 2019 UK general election and won a landslide majority. While the French Conservative candidate Pecresse got just 5% in the first round of the Presidential election earlier this month and was knocked out
    A portent of things to come, perhaps?

    Your voters are dying and they’re not being replaced.
    I've been hearing that for 36 years.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    edited April 2022
    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,134

    xxxxx5 said:

    @CorrectHorseBattery - Starmer is boring and unappealing. We are heading for 1992 rather than 2010 in reverse. The Tories will just about get to 310 maybe as high as 325-326 in 2024. The first clue will be in two weeks time when voters will come out motivated by a dislike of the main stream media to vote and will stick with Boris as a Two figured gesture to the media and their poster boy Sir Keir.

    BJO, is that you?
    It's Isam! Happy days for my bet with him!
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    A serious forecast for 20% leads is how you are measuring Labours ongoing poll leads? I’m trying to be serious here and trade in facts not spin.

    I’ve explained the higher green figures come from companies showing lower Labour leads. For example the Kantor 3% lead you say is poor for Labour and the techne 7% lead both total the 55% for the shared votes. The 11% lead only 58% anti Tory vote total.

    Which means I agree with second thing you said, my theory only works in elections with tactical voting between labour, But this is exactly the situation we are in, this is exactly where we are when trying to guess the next GE from the polls we are today being given, by appreciating the mood is right for that tactical element, not least because Corbyn is gone and it’s now Boris and his team that’s hated.

    In short, 20% lead isn’t going to happen. But a labour lead of 5 or 6 in the next general election could happen. And tactical interchange between the labour and green vote will happen in GE, so it’s sensible to interpret the polling companies with high green figures in this way.
  • This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    SKS fans please explain
    Why don't I post a poll from two years ago like you did?
    When did i post a poll from 2 years ago.

    Oh i know 2 years ago.

    How do you explain SKS still in negative territory and Lab only 2% ahead

    Opinium methodology?

    Pathetic mate Pathetic you are going to be suicidal come GE 2024 when SKS does far worse than 2017
    Here we are:

    🇬🇧Johnson v Starmer

    "Can work w/ leaders" Starmer +1
    "Strong leader" Starmer +3
    "Knows how to get things done" Starmer +4
    "Stands up 4 UK" Starmer +5
    "Build strong economy" Starmer +6
    "Represents change" Starmer +10
    "Cares 4 ppl like me" Starmer +15
    "In good health" Starmer +21

    Johnson is dead

    https://twitter.com/alexwickham/status/1411942926045831169/photo/1
    You do know this is from 2021?

    Are you okay?
    From just a couple of days ago. You're embarrassing yourself.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,354

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,822
    Applicant said:

    So Oldham Athletic become the first Premier League club to be relegated all the way out of the league. Credit to their fans for the huge on pitch process against the owner which stopped the game for an hour.

    The harsh reality - and its been like this for a while - is there are too many league clubs in Greater Manchester to be viable. When the city of Manchester has two global giants, the neighbouring city of Salford has a club and every surrounding town has a club, there's just not enough fans.

    But most of those clubs have probably been in existence for a century or more. The population isn't decreasing. I don't believe football is getting less popular. So what gives?
    Part of the problem is that there's now a big gap in the League One because of all the "massive" ex PL clubs there. The days of an Oldham or Wimbledon being in the top flight - or a Yeovil or Stockport being competitive in the second tier - are pretty much over.
    Yet Brentford are in the top flight and Luton are in the champ play offs......well run clubs can still over achieve.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,360

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    This is desperate stuff and maybe the President of Ukraine would wholly disagree

    Indeed why not criticise Germany who have sold their economy to Russia and done everything to be evasive in helping Ukraine
    It's the statement of the obvious, given that there are a whole bunch of weapons that we are now giving Ukraine for the first time, and having to give them crash-course training in.

    Maybe it was the right policy at the time, in an attempt to avoid the large-scale war now being fought, but as a description of what happened it hardly merits an "exclusive" tag, given that the facts are well-known.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,717

    geoffw said:

    geoffw said:

    kle4 said:

    Rwanda policy also leads 38 to 32 approval which is again unexpected

    I'm not surprised. A majority or at least plurality will support most proposals to try and deal with matters relating to immigration and/or boats landing on the beaches I expect. That's why the likely effectiveness, or not, and morality of any proposal is more relevant to me.
    Sky reported yesterday that asylum seekers in Calais are seriously worried and reconsidering their plans
    If they are asylum seekers why don't they seek asylum in France?

    The UK, and other countries, signed agreements saying they don't have to. Perhaps they expect the UK to stick to what it has signed?

    If we don't want that then we should withdraw from the relevant human rights treaties, not blame asylum seekers for making choices that we promised them were a choice.
    I'm genuinely interested to know more about these agreements. Can you point me towards them?

    Sure, full fact do a clear explainer of the situation.

    https://fullfact.org/immigration/refugees-first-safe-country/
    Thanks for that.

  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,662

    xxxxx5 said:

    @CorrectHorseBattery - Starmer is boring and unappealing. We are heading for 1992 rather than 2010 in reverse. The Tories will just about get to 310 maybe as high as 325-326 in 2024. The first clue will be in two weeks time when voters will come out motivated by a dislike of the main stream media to vote and will stick with Boris as a Two figured gesture to the media and their poster boy Sir Keir.

    BJO, is that you?
    No.

    I think you will find there are more of us who hold SKS in poor regard than you would like though.
  • xxxxx5xxxxx5 Posts: 38
    @Correct Horse Battery 2024 will be like 1992 when the media, a remain voting British Media says a Labour government, the red wall will then go and vote in a Tory government never in my life time has their been a massive discourse between the electorate and the main stream broadcast media.
  • ApplicantApplicant Posts: 3,379

    Cookie said:

    So Oldham Athletic become the first Premier League club to be relegated all the way out of the league. Credit to their fans for the huge on pitch process against the owner which stopped the game for an hour.

    The harsh reality - and its been like this for a while - is there are too many league clubs in Greater Manchester to be viable. When the city of Manchester has two global giants, the neighbouring city of Salford has a club and every surrounding town has a club, there's just not enough fans.

    Not just GM - Lancashire (by which I mean, here, post 1974 Lancashire) has, now, 7 league clubs. But I don't see too much wrong with this, to be honest. Should be perfectly possible to run a professional team with average gates of 4,000 or so as long as you cut your cloth accordingly. Problems only arise when you get situations like that of Bury where assets get stripped.
    Football defies economics. It's about identity. (It's certainly not, most of the time, about entertainment.) You can't simply move consumers around like economic units.
    Where do you put Milton Keynes Dons? Moved best part of 100 miles North, picked up new supporters.
    I thought the discussion was about football clubs, not franchise scum who should never have been allowed to steal a league place and kill off at least two other clubs in the process.
  • https://twitter.com/CllrSimonHogg/status/1517877173432037376

    They've got my vote.

    Embarrassing we don't have a separate food bin.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,368
    kinabalu said:

    xxxxx5 said:

    @CorrectHorseBattery - Starmer is boring and unappealing. We are heading for 1992 rather than 2010 in reverse. The Tories will just about get to 310 maybe as high as 325-326 in 2024. The first clue will be in two weeks time when voters will come out motivated by a dislike of the main stream media to vote and will stick with Boris as a Two figured gesture to the media and their poster boy Sir Keir.

    BJO, is that you?
    It's Isam! Happy days for my bet with him!
    Surely not. Isn't he on a sine die ban?
  • Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    A serious forecast for 20% leads is how you are measuring Labours ongoing poll leads? I’m trying to be serious here and trade in facts not spin.

    I’ve explained the higher green figures come from companies showing lower Labour leads. For example the Kantor 3% lead you say is poor for Labour and the techne 7% lead both total the 55% for the shared votes. The 11% lead only 58% anti Tory vote total.

    Which means I agree with second thing you said, my theory only works in elections with tactical voting between labour, But this is exactly the situation we are in, this is exactly where we are when trying to guess the next GE from the polls we are today being given, by appreciating the mood is right for that tactical element, not least because Corbyn is gone and it’s now Boris and his team that’s hated.

    In short, 20% lead isn’t going to happen. But a labour lead of 5 or 6 in the next general election could happen. And tactical interchange between the labour and green vote will happen in GE, so it’s sensible to interpret the polling companies with high green figures in this way.
    I never thought a 20% lead was feasible but it has been forecast by some

    Despite the atrocious few weeks the conservatives have had, and Boris in particular , average 34/35% polling is remarkable and I can only suggest the public are weary of partygate and want full attention on the cost of living crisis by all parties
  • ApplicantApplicant Posts: 3,379
    Cookie said:

    So Oldham Athletic become the first Premier League club to be relegated all the way out of the league. Credit to their fans for the huge on pitch process against the owner which stopped the game for an hour.

    The harsh reality - and its been like this for a while - is there are too many league clubs in Greater Manchester to be viable. When the city of Manchester has two global giants, the neighbouring city of Salford has a club and every surrounding town has a club, there's just not enough fans.

    But most of those clubs have probably been in existence for a century or more. The population isn't decreasing. I don't believe football is getting less popular. So what gives?
    Money. It costs £lots to compete, and you can't generate enough revenues from the population of Oldham. Or Bury. Or Stockport.
    Oldham, Stockport and Bury are quite sizable settlements. If Southampton and Norwich are able to field a team there's no reason why Stockport, Oldham and Bury cannot.
    Obviously Man U and Man C draw a lot of fans from those towns. But there's nothing inevitable about that - it's largely a function of relative league standing. Back in the 90s when Stockport were in the second tier (a tier above Man City) they were getting gates of 10,000 plus. Kids in South Eastern GM were choosing Stockport over City. Then Carlton Palmer came along...
    (Actually, I don't wholly blame Carlton - Stockport were disproportionately hit by the collapse of ITV digital.)
    And averaging over 6k in the fifth tier.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,662

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    SKS fans please explain
    Why don't I post a poll from two years ago like you did?
    When did i post a poll from 2 years ago.

    Oh i know 2 years ago.

    How do you explain SKS still in negative territory and Lab only 2% ahead

    Opinium methodology?

    Pathetic mate Pathetic you are going to be suicidal come GE 2024 when SKS does far worse than 2017
    Here we are:

    🇬🇧Johnson v Starmer

    "Can work w/ leaders" Starmer +1
    "Strong leader" Starmer +3
    "Knows how to get things done" Starmer +4
    "Stands up 4 UK" Starmer +5
    "Build strong economy" Starmer +6
    "Represents change" Starmer +10
    "Cares 4 ppl like me" Starmer +15
    "In good health" Starmer +21

    Johnson is dead

    https://twitter.com/alexwickham/status/1411942926045831169/photo/1
    You do know this is from 2021?

    Are you okay?
    From just a couple of days ago. You're embarrassing yourself.
    You said i posted a Poll from 2 years ago.

    July 2021 was not 2 years ago.

    You're embarrassing yourself.

    Stop making stuff up.
  • GadflyGadfly Posts: 1,191
    felix said:

    felix said:

    Here! Cherry pick this one poll! Starmer must resign! Vote Tory!

    I think the appropriate response is 'calm down dear' - you're just showing your lack of confidence in your party. You're also inventing posts to argue against! Not a good look.
    Felix! Glad to have you back posting, how you doing
    I read 95% and post less than 5%. Just saying. :smiley:
    Likewise.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,284

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    Nothing much to say about this LOL!
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,360

    https://twitter.com/CllrSimonHogg/status/1517877173432037376

    They've got my vote.

    Embarrassing we don't have a separate food bin.

    Do you know what they mean by "carbon neutral"?

    There's a sign outside Kings Cross about a development proud of being "carbon neutral", which then confusingly goes on to say that it's a step towards their ambition of being "net zero". Looking at it from a simple-minded maths perspective I would have expected the two to be synonymous, but it would seem that "carbon neutral" is not as good as "net zero", and somehow also a lot easier to achieve.

    So, does it mean anything specific beyond being a superficially attractive slogan?
  • .
    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,662
    GIN1138 said:

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    Nothing much to say about this LOL!
    GIN1138 said:

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    Nothing much to say about this LOL!
    CHB/ Pete has declared Opiniums new methodology to blame and would prefer Opinium to return to the methodology Opinium believe is flawed.

    Because it cant be right that SKS has over egged Party Gate
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,747

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    No doubt there’s a degree of “I told you so” going on. Backlash against the simple minded transactional foreign policy of the Cameron / Osborne years.
  • ApplicantApplicant Posts: 3,379

    Applicant said:

    So Oldham Athletic become the first Premier League club to be relegated all the way out of the league. Credit to their fans for the huge on pitch process against the owner which stopped the game for an hour.

    The harsh reality - and its been like this for a while - is there are too many league clubs in Greater Manchester to be viable. When the city of Manchester has two global giants, the neighbouring city of Salford has a club and every surrounding town has a club, there's just not enough fans.

    But most of those clubs have probably been in existence for a century or more. The population isn't decreasing. I don't believe football is getting less popular. So what gives?
    Part of the problem is that there's now a big gap in the League One because of all the "massive" ex PL clubs there. The days of an Oldham or Wimbledon being in the top flight - or a Yeovil or Stockport being competitive in the second tier - are pretty much over.
    Yet Brentford are in the top flight and Luton are in the champ play offs......well run clubs can still over achieve.
    Brentford have a multi-millionaire sugar daddy (although, to be fair, so do Stockport now. And Wrexham. Some of the money at the top of the NL is crazy)
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,874


    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on

    Come on, you're trying to build a poll move within Margin of Error as though it was a huge event of seminal importance.

    We know Opinium have changed their methodology and we'll see if this represents a genuine shift in opinion or it's just an outlier but some on here build it up as being the most important poll ever reported.

    As to what will happen in May. @xxxxx5 has a view, it's not one I've heard before but there you go. I suspect we'll see Conservative abstention rather than a direct flight to Labour and while that will cost Conservative councillors their seats it may not worry Government as much because it will show those voters are there to be regained in the next couple of years.

    My final thought is those viewing the Parliament through the prism of others and treating this as a traditional mid term and expecting the usual swingback forget what an unusual Parliament has been with the virus and now a major conflict. This Parliament won't play like the others - I haven't a clue how it will play out but assuming there's going to be a swingback may be unwise.

  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504
    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,821

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    FOUR MONTHS AND 17 DAYS SINCE THE LAST TORY POLL LEAD.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,958
    kinabalu said:

    geoffw said:

    kle4 said:

    Rwanda policy also leads 38 to 32 approval which is again unexpected

    I'm not surprised. A majority or at least plurality will support most proposals to try and deal with matters relating to immigration and/or boats landing on the beaches I expect. That's why the likely effectiveness, or not, and morality of any proposal is more relevant to me.
    Sky reported yesterday that asylum seekers in Calais are seriously worried and reconsidering their plans
    If they are asylum seekers why don't they seek asylum in France?

    The UK, and other countries, signed agreements saying they don't have to. Perhaps they expect the UK to stick to what it has signed?

    If we don't want that then we should withdraw from the relevant human rights treaties, not blame asylum seekers for making choices that we promised them were a choice.
    It's a Yossarian thing -

    How can you claim asylum in the UK?

    You have to prove you're a genuine asylum seeker.

    How?

    By not claiming asylum in the UK.
    Would it be tasteless to introduce a witch finder comparison?

    ‘You drowned, you’re a genuine asylum seeker!’
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,662

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    FOUR MONTHS AND 17 DAYS SINCE THE LAST TORY POLL LEAD.
    Would be unfortunate if it came the week before LE2022
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,360
    Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    That they deserve more credit for helping Ukraine than Boris Johnson would be my guess.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,354

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,821

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    FOUR MONTHS AND 17 DAYS SINCE THE LAST TORY POLL LEAD.
    Would be unfortunate if it came the week before LE2022
    Whereupon you would spontaneously ejaculate?
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 4,665

    https://twitter.com/CllrSimonHogg/status/1517877173432037376

    They've got my vote.

    Embarrassing we don't have a separate food bin.

    Do you know what they mean by "carbon neutral"?

    There's a sign outside Kings Cross about a development proud of being "carbon neutral", which then confusingly goes on to say that it's a step towards their ambition of being "net zero". Looking at it from a simple-minded maths perspective I would have expected the two to be synonymous, but it would seem that "carbon neutral" is not as good as "net zero", and somehow also a lot easier to achieve.

    So, does it mean anything specific beyond being a superficially attractive slogan?
    I suppose you could define 'neutral' to mean no worse than than the alternative.

    So flying could be 'carbon neutral' if it emits (net) no more than a car / boat making the same journey.


    I do hope nobody has been doing this...
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,134
    edited April 2022

    https://twitter.com/CllrSimonHogg/status/1517877173432037376

    They've got my vote.

    Embarrassing we don't have a separate food bin.

    Do you know what they mean by "carbon neutral"?

    There's a sign outside Kings Cross about a development proud of being "carbon neutral", which then confusingly goes on to say that it's a step towards their ambition of being "net zero". Looking at it from a simple-minded maths perspective I would have expected the two to be synonymous, but it would seem that "carbon neutral" is not as good as "net zero", and somehow also a lot easier to achieve.

    So, does it mean anything specific beyond being a superficially attractive slogan?
    I also thought it was the same. Or rather that the difference is only that carbon neutral tends to relate to an activity and net zero to a target aggregate state of affairs.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,386

    kinabalu said:

    geoffw said:

    kle4 said:

    Rwanda policy also leads 38 to 32 approval which is again unexpected

    I'm not surprised. A majority or at least plurality will support most proposals to try and deal with matters relating to immigration and/or boats landing on the beaches I expect. That's why the likely effectiveness, or not, and morality of any proposal is more relevant to me.
    Sky reported yesterday that asylum seekers in Calais are seriously worried and reconsidering their plans
    If they are asylum seekers why don't they seek asylum in France?

    The UK, and other countries, signed agreements saying they don't have to. Perhaps they expect the UK to stick to what it has signed?

    If we don't want that then we should withdraw from the relevant human rights treaties, not blame asylum seekers for making choices that we promised them were a choice.
    It's a Yossarian thing -

    How can you claim asylum in the UK?

    You have to prove you're a genuine asylum seeker.

    How?

    By not claiming asylum in the UK.
    Would it be tasteless to introduce a witch finder comparison?

    ‘You drowned, you’re a genuine asylum seeker!’
    It would be inappropriate to joke about a serious Matt-er.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,385

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    SKS fans please explain
    Why don't I post a poll from two years ago like you did?
    When did i post a poll from 2 years ago.

    Oh i know 2 years ago.

    How do you explain SKS still in negative territory and Lab only 2% ahead

    Opinium methodology?

    Pathetic mate Pathetic you are going to be suicidal come GE 2024 when SKS does far worse than 2017
    Mate, that suicidal comment is uncalled for. You know CHB has had some mental health issues, I know you disagree on stuff but be kind.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504
    edited April 2022
    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    I don’t mind your patronising response, so typical of PB, because you didn’t attwck or prove my theory wrong at all.

    Basically you can’t, because you know I am right.

    2005 there was massive anti Tory tactical vote to produce those seat totals from the popular vote share. You know I’m right.

    1992. The stay at home vote from previous things such as locals came out to stop labour they feared in government. You know I am right.

    And my theory doesn’t just work retrospectively, it can predict the future.

    Yes this same MoonRabbit theory of tactical votes, including stay at home votes and coming out to stop someone winning not positive for the other parties, means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then coming local elections results are meaningless as GE guide, no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time as a GE guide.

    I want to see specifics of actual churn. I want to see proof what degree it’s stay at home voters disproportion from a particular party, but evidence those who voted Boris last election now vote Labour just two years later not merely staying home.

    Without that evidence I dare you to draw conclusion it’s bad result for Tories, because if it’s just hand sitters stay at home votes putting Tories say 7% behind Labour nationally, that merely points possibility 1992 happening all over again at next election.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,134
    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    But what about in this polarized 'trads v progs' politics that has been evolving since 2016 and which Johnson is seeing as the way to win again?
  • ApplicantApplicant Posts: 3,379
    edited April 2022
    kinabalu said:

    https://twitter.com/CllrSimonHogg/status/1517877173432037376

    They've got my vote.

    Embarrassing we don't have a separate food bin.

    Do you know what they mean by "carbon neutral"?

    There's a sign outside Kings Cross about a development proud of being "carbon neutral", which then confusingly goes on to say that it's a step towards their ambition of being "net zero". Looking at it from a simple-minded maths perspective I would have expected the two to be synonymous, but it would seem that "carbon neutral" is not as good as "net zero", and somehow also a lot easier to achieve.

    So, does it mean anything specific beyond being a superficially attractive slogan?
    I also thought it was the same. Or rather that the difference is only that carbon neutral tends to relate to an activity and net zero to a target aggregate state of affairs.
    I believe that net zero applies to all emissions, not just carbon dioxide.

    Edit: I googled "difference between carbon neutral and net zero" and it gave various results including this one: https://ecometrica.com/carbon-neutral-net-zero/
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    edited April 2022

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    FOUR MONTHS AND 17 DAYS SINCE THE LAST TORY POLL LEAD.
    Would be unfortunate if it came the week before LE2022
    You think lab would be 10 points ahead under captain jewhater?

    Dem counterfactuals.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,368

    GIN1138 said:

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    Nothing much to say about this LOL!
    GIN1138 said:

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    Nothing much to say about this LOL!
    CHB/ Pete has declared Opiniums new methodology to blame and would prefer Opinium to return to the methodology Opinium believe is flawed.

    Because it cant be right that SKS has over egged Party Gate
    It was gold standard methodology. But their choice and the trend is slightly down. Must be the Ukraine war.
  • Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    A mixture of reasons

    1) To admit past mistakes
    2) To try and correct those mistakes
    3) Make sure we help Ukraine
    4) To make sure Putin understands that we will no longer appease him
    5) That we are prepared for Putin's next target(s)
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,134

    kinabalu said:

    geoffw said:

    kle4 said:

    Rwanda policy also leads 38 to 32 approval which is again unexpected

    I'm not surprised. A majority or at least plurality will support most proposals to try and deal with matters relating to immigration and/or boats landing on the beaches I expect. That's why the likely effectiveness, or not, and morality of any proposal is more relevant to me.
    Sky reported yesterday that asylum seekers in Calais are seriously worried and reconsidering their plans
    If they are asylum seekers why don't they seek asylum in France?

    The UK, and other countries, signed agreements saying they don't have to. Perhaps they expect the UK to stick to what it has signed?

    If we don't want that then we should withdraw from the relevant human rights treaties, not blame asylum seekers for making choices that we promised them were a choice.
    It's a Yossarian thing -

    How can you claim asylum in the UK?

    You have to prove you're a genuine asylum seeker.

    How?

    By not claiming asylum in the UK.
    Would it be tasteless to introduce a witch finder comparison?

    ‘You drowned, you’re a genuine asylum seeker!’
    Risky post, this. Can we be absolutely sure Priti isn't on here looking for the next big idea?
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504
    stodge said:


    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on

    Come on, you're trying to build a poll move within Margin of Error as though it was a huge event of seminal importance.

    We know Opinium have changed their methodology and we'll see if this represents a genuine shift in opinion or it's just an outlier but some on here build it up as being the most important poll ever reported.

    As to what will happen in May. @xxxxx5 has a view, it's not one I've heard before but there you go. I suspect we'll see Conservative abstention rather than a direct flight to Labour and while that will cost Conservative councillors their seats it may not worry Government as much because it will show those voters are there to be regained in the next couple of years.

    My final thought is those viewing the Parliament through the prism of others and treating this as a traditional mid term and expecting the usual swingback forget what an unusual Parliament has been with the virus and now a major conflict. This Parliament won't play like the others - I haven't a clue how it will play out but assuming there's going to be a swingback may be unwise.

    “I suspect we'll see Conservative abstention rather than a direct flight to Labour and while that will cost Conservative councillors their seats it may not worry Government as much because it will show those voters are there to be regained in the next couple of years.“

    Absolutely spot on Stodge, this is exactly what I have been trying to explain to PB tonight.

    How can we know? Who can actually give it to us, the degree the result is stay at home Tories ready to come out for Boris again at next election, or 2019 Tory voters are now voting Labour in large numbers? This major election event, all the money spent on it, will we actually get thst key piece of information killing spin stone dead, or just endless spin leaving us in the dark about what actually happened?
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585

    Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    A mixture of reasons

    1) To admit past mistakes
    2) To try and correct those mistakes
    3) Make sure we help Ukraine
    4) To make sure Putin understands that we will no longer appease him
    5) That we are prepared for Putin's next target(s)
    3-5 are all worthy aims, but it seems like the emphasis is on the first point - which is what’s total bollocks and looking through the benefit of hindsight.

    Oh, and if they hadn’t noticed, 3-5 are very much being implemented right now.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504

    GIN1138 said:

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    Nothing much to say about this LOL!
    GIN1138 said:

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    Nothing much to say about this LOL!
    CHB/ Pete has declared Opiniums new methodology to blame and would prefer Opinium to return to the methodology Opinium believe is flawed.

    Because it cant be right that SKS has over egged Party Gate
    Does anyone believe Starmer has over egged Partygate?
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,662
    IshmaelZ said:

    This week’s @OpiniumResearch
    @ObserverUK poll shows Labour’s lead actually dropping back from 4 points to 2.

    Con 34% (n/c)
    Lab 36% (-2)
    Lib Dem 10% (n/c)
    Green 8% (+1)

    FOUR MONTHS AND 17 DAYS SINCE THE LAST TORY POLL LEAD.
    Would be unfortunate if it came the week before LE2022
    You think lab would be 10 points ahead under captain jewhater?

    Dem counterfactuals.
    "20% AHEAD UNDER ANY OTHER LEADER"
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,083
    I could only get maybe five of those, the rest would be complete guesses
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Do we know why Fallon disappeared so quickly? There must have been more in his old locker than a thigh grope at dinner? Did he go to bed with an enemy spy or something?

    And why is he trying to stab Boris tonight?

    I don’t understand this.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 17,218

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Do we know why Fallon disappeared so quickly? There must have been more in his old locker than a thigh grope at dinner? Did he go to bed with an enemy spy or something?

    And why is he trying to stab Boris tonight?

    I don’t understand this.
    Kick a man when he's down, but before he's out?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,759
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    geoffw said:

    kle4 said:

    Rwanda policy also leads 38 to 32 approval which is again unexpected

    I'm not surprised. A majority or at least plurality will support most proposals to try and deal with matters relating to immigration and/or boats landing on the beaches I expect. That's why the likely effectiveness, or not, and morality of any proposal is more relevant to me.
    Sky reported yesterday that asylum seekers in Calais are seriously worried and reconsidering their plans
    If they are asylum seekers why don't they seek asylum in France?

    The UK, and other countries, signed agreements saying they don't have to. Perhaps they expect the UK to stick to what it has signed?

    If we don't want that then we should withdraw from the relevant human rights treaties, not blame asylum seekers for making choices that we promised them were a choice.
    It's a Yossarian thing -

    How can you claim asylum in the UK?

    You have to prove you're a genuine asylum seeker.

    How?

    By not claiming asylum in the UK.
    Would it be tasteless to introduce a witch finder comparison?

    ‘You drowned, you’re a genuine asylum seeker!’
    Risky post, this. Can we be absolutely sure Priti isn't on here looking for the next big idea?
    She'd be a great asset if she is a member. She's far from faultless, but the criticism she gets is wild.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504
    Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    Boris Johnson did state at PMQs this week, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin.

    No you are not Boris, you delusional Buffoon. 😠. You are in fact doing nothing different than any other leader of Tory’s today would do, and no different than Starmer would do if PM in this crisis. In fact if we had a less lazy and more trustworthy PM than you Boris, we could expect an even better job of it actually going on behind the scenes.

    Does anyone on PB want to agree with Boris, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin?

    He’s getting delusional on this isn’t he?
  • .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Do we know why Fallon disappeared so quickly? There must have been more in his old locker than a thigh grope at dinner? Did he go to bed with an enemy spy or something?

    And why is he trying to stab Boris tonight?

    I don’t understand this.
    Kick a man when he's down, but before he's out?
    The person Michael Fallon is most critical of in this piece?

    Michael Fallon.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Do we know why Fallon disappeared so quickly? There must have been more in his old locker than a thigh grope at dinner? Did he go to bed with an enemy spy or something?

    And why is he trying to stab Boris tonight?

    I don’t understand this.
    Kick a man when he's down, but before he's out?
    Just so he is aware you are kicking him and appreciating the pain?
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,354

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    I don’t mind your patronising response, so typical of PB, because you didn’t attwck or prove my theory wrong at all.

    Basically you can’t, because you know I am right.

    2005 there was massive anti Tory tactical vote to produce those seat totals from the popular vote share. You know I’m right.

    1992. The stay at home vote from previous things such as locals came out to stop labour they feared in government. You know I am right.

    And my theory doesn’t just work retrospectively, it can predict the future.

    Yes this same MoonRabbit theory of tactical votes, including stay at home votes and coming out to stop someone winning not positive for the other parties, means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then coming local elections results are meaningless as GE guide, no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time as a GE guide.

    I want to see specifics of actual churn. I want to see proof what degree it’s stay at home voters disproportion from a particular party, but evidence those who voted Boris last election now vote Labour just two years later not merely staying home.

    Without that evidence I dare you to draw conclusion it’s bad result for Tories, because if it’s just hand sitters stay at home votes putting Tories say 7% behind Labour nationally, that merely points possibility 1992 happening all over again at next election.
    You started with the ad hominem attack on me. My response was restrained, and in no way patronising.
  • Putting aside the fact that in two of his questions, two of his suggested answers are correct; in one, technically none of his suggestions are right (although the one I chose is closest); that he misspelled a couple (which might be down to the original article), and that in a quiz about pretentious word uels, he used braggadocious (!), I got 23/30.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    edited April 2022

    Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    Boris Johnson did state at PMQs this week, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin.

    No you are not Boris, you delusional Buffoon. 😠. You are in fact doing nothing different than any other leader of Tory’s today would do, and no different than Starmer would do if PM in this crisis. In fact if we had a less lazy and more trustworthy PM than you Boris, we could expect an even better job of it actually going on behind the scenes.

    Does anyone on PB want to agree with Boris, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin?

    He’s getting delusional on this isn’t he?
    I think the PM was quoting the Ukranian PM Zelensky. The UK has been training the Ukranian military since 2014, and there’s a huge amount of mutual respect between the countries at a military level.

    Boris has certainly been leading the European response, with Macron in election mode and that prat in Germany more worried about upsetting Putin. Johnson has also been key to getting Biden and the Americans involved, against a domestic background of not wanting to get involved in more foreign wars.
  • xxxxx5xxxxx5 Posts: 38
    I hope that isn't a dig at Correct Horse Battery and if it isn't a dig I wish you all the best recovering in regards to your mental health. I feel that the Brexit wounds haven't healed and there is still a suspicion amongst the Red Wall voters that the media are using party gate as a smoke screen to attack the Prime Minister die to Brexit. I think this will enthuse Red Wall voters to stick with Boris. I think Boris the Tories will be the largest party just shy of a majority in 2024 they could even get over the line to 324/327 seats.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,836

    Putting aside the fact that in two of his questions, two of his suggested answers are correct; in one, technically none of his suggestions are right (although the one I chose is closest); that he misspelled a couple (which might be down to the original article), and that in a quiz about pretentious word uels, he used braggadocious (!), I got 23/30.
    24 for me ...
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    xxxxx5 said:

    I hope that isn't a dig at Correct Horse Battery and if it isn't a dig I wish you all the best recovering in regards to your mental health. I feel that the Brexit wounds haven't healed and there is still a suspicion amongst the Red Wall voters that the media are using party gate as a smoke screen to attack the Prime Minister die to Brexit. I think this will enthuse Red Wall voters to stick with Boris. I think Boris the Tories will be the largest party just shy of a majority in 2024 they could even get over the line to 324/327 seats.

    The most likely result for the next election IMHO, is something like 1992 - a drastically reduced but just about workable majority.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,921
    edited April 2022
    Sandpit said:

    xxxxx5 said:

    I hope that isn't a dig at Correct Horse Battery and if it isn't a dig I wish you all the best recovering in regards to your mental health. I feel that the Brexit wounds haven't healed and there is still a suspicion amongst the Red Wall voters that the media are using party gate as a smoke screen to attack the Prime Minister die to Brexit. I think this will enthuse Red Wall voters to stick with Boris. I think Boris the Tories will be the largest party just shy of a majority in 2024 they could even get over the line to 324/327 seats.

    The most likely result for the next election IMHO, is something like 1992 - a drastically reduced but just about workable majority.
    Or 2010 and a hung parliament, except with Starmer in the Cameron role and Boris as Brown
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647
    kle4 said:

    I could only get maybe five of those, the rest would be complete guesses
    Me too, but their is nothing wrong with a broad vocabulary in a text. It expands the mind.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    edited April 2022
    Yep!

    It’s the concentration on Village gossip, rather than issues that matter to normal people. Labour had the opportunity last week to force a debate on inflation, minimum wage or cost of living, but instead decided to have a go at the PM personally because his wife bought him a birthday cake two years ago.

    I don’t know how many times I’ve said this now, but everyone needs to get off Twitter and look at what’s happening in the real world.

    The real world doesn’t live in Zone 1, drives to work and is watching petrol prices.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,836
    edited April 2022

    https://twitter.com/CllrSimonHogg/status/1517877173432037376

    They've got my vote.

    Embarrassing we don't have a separate food bin.

    Do you know what they mean by "carbon neutral"?

    There's a sign outside Kings Cross about a development proud of being "carbon neutral", which then confusingly goes on to say that it's a step towards their ambition of being "net zero". Looking at it from a simple-minded maths perspective I would have expected the two to be synonymous, but it would seem that "carbon neutral" is not as good as "net zero", and somehow also a lot easier to achieve.

    So, does it mean anything specific beyond being a superficially attractive slogan?
    I suppose you could define 'neutral' to mean no worse than than the alternative.

    So flying could be 'carbon neutral' if it emits (net) no more than a car / boat making the same journey.


    I do hope nobody has been doing this...
    AIUI carbon neutral refers to CO2 release. Net zero refers to all greenhouse gases, which would include methane for instance, as well as CO2.

    Edit: in both cases there is no net addition to the atmosphere of the gases in question.
  • Carnyx said:

    Putting aside the fact that in two of his questions, two of his suggested answers are correct; in one, technically none of his suggestions are right (although the one I chose is closest); that he misspelled a couple (which might be down to the original article), and that in a quiz about pretentious word uels, he used braggadocious (!), I got 23/30.
    24 for me ...
    Itnwas a bit like reading a condensed Clark Ashton Smith short story, tbh
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    Boris Johnson did state at PMQs this week, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin.

    No you are not Boris, you delusional Buffoon. 😠. You are in fact doing nothing different than any other leader of Tory’s today would do, and no different than Starmer would do if PM in this crisis. In fact if we had a less lazy and more trustworthy PM than you Boris, we could expect an even better job of it actually going on behind the scenes.

    Does anyone on PB want to agree with Boris, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin?

    He’s getting delusional on this isn’t he?
    I think the PM was quoting the Ukranian PM Zelensky. The UK has been training the Ukranian military since 2014, and there’s a huge amount of mutual respect between the countries at a military level.

    Boris has certainly been leading the European response, with Macron in election mode and that prat in Germany more worried about upsetting Putin. Johnson has also been key to getting Biden and the Americans involved, against a domestic background of not wanting to get involved in more foreign wars.
    yes the usual “compared to Germany and France Boris is leading the world against Putin etc”. No Boris wasn’t quoting Zelenskyy, Boris genuinely believes what he said at PMQs - he is deluded enough to think he is leading the world in fight against Putin.

    No we havn’t done too bad in supplying arms, though we were slow at first on sanctions and on oligarch’s and still not got it good on those needing refuge after fleeing, but that’s basically because under Petal this is the most useless home office EVER - that’s not just me saying it, that’s what her cabinet colleagues told her!

    What has Boris and his government actually done that tops the doggedness and bravery of the Poles or the financial largess of the US? In fact, when you discount for pain and exposure to Russia Gas, have we really outstripped the EU?

    The only world this lazy lying oaf Boris is leading is the world of delusion in his own head. The opposition party leaders should now pick him up on that claim at next PMQs and call him out as over egging it.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647
    It takes a long time to unpack all the misogyny on show. Perhaps Ms Rayner should wear a burka so as not to distract males from serious matters?

    From the Male on Sunday...


  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    Boris Johnson did state at PMQs this week, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin.

    No you are not Boris, you delusional Buffoon. 😠. You are in fact doing nothing different than any other leader of Tory’s today would do, and no different than Starmer would do if PM in this crisis. In fact if we had a less lazy and more trustworthy PM than you Boris, we could expect an even better job of it actually going on behind the scenes.

    Does anyone on PB want to agree with Boris, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin?

    He’s getting delusional on this isn’t he?
    I think the PM was quoting the Ukranian PM Zelensky. The UK has been training the Ukranian military since 2014, and there’s a huge amount of mutual respect between the countries at a military level.

    Boris has certainly been leading the European response, with Macron in election mode and that prat in Germany more worried about upsetting Putin. Johnson has also been key to getting Biden and the Americans involved, against a domestic background of not wanting to get involved in more foreign wars.
    yes the usual “compared to Germany and France Boris is leading the world against Putin etc”. No Boris wasn’t quoting Zelenskyy, Boris genuinely believes what he said at PMQs - he is deluded enough to think he is leading the world in fight against Putin.

    No we havn’t done too bad in supplying arms, though we were slow at first on sanctions and on oligarch’s and still not got it good on those needing refuge after fleeing, but that’s basically because under Petal this is the most useless home office EVER - that’s not just me saying it, that’s what her cabinet colleagues told her!

    What has Boris and his government actually done that tops the doggedness and bravery of the Poles or the financial largess of the US? In fact, when you discount for pain and exposure to Russia Gas, have we really outstripped the EU?

    The only world this lazy lying oaf Boris is leading is the world of delusion in his own head. The opposition party leaders should now pick him up on that claim at next PMQs and call him out as over egging it.
    It’s called soft power, and the UK still has f***loads of it in Ukraine.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504
    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    I don’t mind your patronising response, so typical of PB, because you didn’t attwck or prove my theory wrong at all.

    Basically you can’t, because you know I am right.

    2005 there was massive anti Tory tactical vote to produce those seat totals from the popular vote share. You know I’m right.

    1992. The stay at home vote from previous things such as locals came out to stop labour they feared in government. You know I am right.

    And my theory doesn’t just work retrospectively, it can predict the future.

    Yes this same MoonRabbit theory of tactical votes, including stay at home votes and coming out to stop someone winning not positive for the other parties, means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then coming local elections results are meaningless as GE guide, no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time as a GE guide.

    I want to see specifics of actual churn. I want to see proof what degree it’s stay at home voters disproportion from a particular party, but evidence those who voted Boris last election now vote Labour just two years later not merely staying home.

    Without that evidence I dare you to draw conclusion it’s bad result for Tories, because if it’s just hand sitters stay at home votes putting Tories say 7% behind Labour nationally, that merely points possibility 1992 happening all over again at next election.
    You started with the ad hominem attack on me. My response was restrained, and in no way patronising.
    Okay, I’ll concede that mate. 👍🏻

    I’ll also wouldn’t mind if you could use that knowledge about elections, to prove my theory about the 2005 and 1992 elections is actually wrong. Because if I am right about what happened then and why, it shows what things to look for in predicting future elections.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,836
    Foxy said:

    It takes a long time to unpack all the misogyny on show. Perhaps Ms Rayner should wear a burka so as not to distract males from serious matters?

    From the Male on Sunday...


    The Mail is clearly implying that Mr Johnson has his brains in, erm ... Which is odd for a newspaper supporting the Tory cayse.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    I don’t mind your patronising response, so typical of PB, because you didn’t attwck or prove my theory wrong at all.

    Basically you can’t, because you know I am right.

    2005 there was massive anti Tory tactical vote to produce those seat totals from the popular vote share. You know I’m right.

    1992. The stay at home vote from previous things such as locals came out to stop labour they feared in government. You know I am right.

    And my theory doesn’t just work retrospectively, it can predict the future.

    Yes this same MoonRabbit theory of tactical votes, including stay at home votes and coming out to stop someone winning not positive for the other parties, means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then coming local elections results are meaningless as GE guide, no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time as a GE guide.

    I want to see specifics of actual churn. I want to see proof what degree it’s stay at home voters disproportion from a particular party, but evidence those who voted Boris last election now vote Labour just two years later not merely staying home.

    Without that evidence I dare you to draw conclusion it’s bad result for Tories, because if it’s just hand sitters stay at home votes putting Tories say 7% behind Labour nationally, that merely points possibility 1992 happening all over again at next election.
    You started with the ad hominem attack on me. My response was restrained, and in no way patronising.
    Okay, I’ll concede that mate. 👍🏻

    I’ll also wouldn’t mind if you could use that knowledge about elections, to prove my theory about the 2005 and 1992 elections is actually wrong. Because if I am right about what happened then and why, it shows what things to look for in predicting future elections.
    Were you not saying we would shortly be having a snap general election?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,997
    edited April 2022
    Somebody on the front row at Wembley got a nice souvenir ....Dillian Whyte tooth.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    Boris Johnson did state at PMQs this week, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin.

    No you are not Boris, you delusional Buffoon. 😠. You are in fact doing nothing different than any other leader of Tory’s today would do, and no different than Starmer would do if PM in this crisis. In fact if we had a less lazy and more trustworthy PM than you Boris, we could expect an even better job of it actually going on behind the scenes.

    Does anyone on PB want to agree with Boris, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin?

    He’s getting delusional on this isn’t he?
    I think the PM was quoting the Ukranian PM Zelensky. The UK has been training the Ukranian military since 2014, and there’s a huge amount of mutual respect between the countries at a military level.

    Boris has certainly been leading the European response, with Macron in election mode and that prat in Germany more worried about upsetting Putin. Johnson has also been key to getting Biden and the Americans involved, against a domestic background of not wanting to get involved in more foreign wars.
    yes the usual “compared to Germany and France Boris is leading the world against Putin etc”. No Boris wasn’t quoting Zelenskyy, Boris genuinely believes what he said at PMQs - he is deluded enough to think he is leading the world in fight against Putin.

    No we havn’t done too bad in supplying arms, though we were slow at first on sanctions and on oligarch’s and still not got it good on those needing refuge after fleeing, but that’s basically because under Petal this is the most useless home office EVER - that’s not just me saying it, that’s what her cabinet colleagues told her!

    What has Boris and his government actually done that tops the doggedness and bravery of the Poles or the financial largess of the US? In fact, when you discount for pain and exposure to Russia Gas, have we really outstripped the EU?

    The only world this lazy lying oaf Boris is leading is the world of delusion in his own head. The opposition party leaders should now pick him up on that claim at next PMQs and call him out as over egging it.
    It’s called soft power, and the UK still has f***loads of it in Ukraine.
    Ukraine rightly say nice things about everyone (except Germans) in this situation you concede? But a UK PM must not actually believe hype from others, but concentrate modestly on doing best they can, you understand?

    It was crass when Gordon Brown claimed he was saving the world, it’s crass and cringeworthy to hear it from Boris too.

    image
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 17,218
    edited April 2022
    Sandpit said:

    Yep!

    It’s the concentration on Village gossip, rather than issues that matter to normal people. Labour had the opportunity last week to force a debate on inflation, minimum wage or cost of living, but instead decided to have a go at the PM personally because his wife bought him a birthday cake two years ago.

    I don’t know how many times I’ve said this now, but everyone needs to get off Twitter and look at what’s happening in the real world.

    The real world doesn’t live in Zone 1, drives to work and is watching petrol prices.
    Yes and no.

    The party itself isn't as important as the other things you mention, sure. But telling the truth does matter a lot. After all, if the party (let alone the others that we know happened) isn't that important, why did Johnson go to the trouble of not making a full confession from the off? Why is the extent of the problem having to be dragged out of him?

    I've said before that my take on Johnson is that he's an overgrown schoolboy. And one of the things that schoolboys do when they've been caught out (copy of Big and Bouncy in their locker, that sort of thing) is to make it as painful and humiliating as possible to bring them to justice, even when they've been caught bang to rights.

    It's the same MO that Johnson and Cummings used in 2019, and Johnson and Patel are trying over the Rwanda plan. "Sure, you can stop us. But if you do, loads of people will hate you for stopping us in an underhand way. And if you don't, loads of other people will hate you for being weak and failing to stop us when you could have." Clever politics, but it tends to lead to Dick Dastardly-style behaviour that distracts from good government.

    The PM could stop Partygate tomorrow, if he wanted to. All he has to do is tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But if he insists on clinging on by his fingernails, he doesn't get to complain if the doorframe gets scratched.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    Who dares wins…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10746503/Putin-hunts-SAS-Ukraine-Russia-launches-probe-British-elite-specialists-sabotage.html

    So what do we think happens, if Russian forces in Ukraine encounter some random British special forces on a training mission?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,997
    Sandpit said:

    Who dares wins…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10746503/Putin-hunts-SAS-Ukraine-Russia-launches-probe-British-elite-specialists-sabotage.html

    So what do we think happens, if Russian forces in Ukraine encounter some random British special forces on a training mission?

    Don't you mean lost British businessmen.....
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585

    Sandpit said:

    Who dares wins…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10746503/Putin-hunts-SAS-Ukraine-Russia-launches-probe-British-elite-specialists-sabotage.html

    So what do we think happens, if Russian forces in Ukraine encounter some random British special forces on a training mission?

    Don't you mean lost British businessmen.....
    There’s probably a fair few of those too. Make their Martinis shaken, not stirred.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647

    Sandpit said:

    Who dares wins…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10746503/Putin-hunts-SAS-Ukraine-Russia-launches-probe-British-elite-specialists-sabotage.html

    So what do we think happens, if Russian forces in Ukraine encounter some random British special forces on a training mission?

    Don't you mean lost British businessmen.....
    I think that you will find that they are an amateur football team carring out charitable works.
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 4,587

    Putting aside the fact that in two of his questions, two of his suggested answers are correct; in one, technically none of his suggestions are right (although the one I chose is closest); that he misspelled a couple (which might be down to the original article), and that in a quiz about pretentious word uels, he used braggadocious (!), I got 23/30.
    I was fascinated he thought “astringent” obscure.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    I don’t mind your patronising response, so typical of PB, because you didn’t attwck or prove my theory wrong at all.

    Basically you can’t, because you know I am right.

    2005 there was massive anti Tory tactical vote to produce those seat totals from the popular vote share. You know I’m right.

    1992. The stay at home vote from previous things such as locals came out to stop labour they feared in government. You know I am right.

    And my theory doesn’t just work retrospectively, it can predict the future.

    Yes this same MoonRabbit theory of tactical votes, including stay at home votes and coming out to stop someone winning not positive for the other parties, means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then coming local elections results are meaningless as GE guide, no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time as a GE guide.

    I want to see specifics of actual churn. I want to see proof what degree it’s stay at home voters disproportion from a particular party, but evidence those who voted Boris last election now vote Labour just two years later not merely staying home.

    Without that evidence I dare you to draw conclusion it’s bad result for Tories, because if it’s just hand sitters stay at home votes putting Tories say 7% behind Labour nationally, that merely points possibility 1992 happening all over again at next election.
    You started with the ad hominem attack on me. My response was restrained, and in no way patronising.
    Okay, I’ll concede that mate. 👍🏻

    I’ll also wouldn’t mind if you could use that knowledge about elections, to prove my theory about the 2005 and 1992 elections is actually wrong. Because if I am right about what happened then and why, it shows what things to look for in predicting future elections.
    Were you not saying we would shortly be having a snap general election?
    A weeks a long time in politics, let alone last month.

    Labour didn’t have to go in 1970, but lured into by good locals.

    I stand by what I said on basis the Tory’s have war gamed every month left of this term for the best moment to have election, 2023 2024 are completely ruled out by stagflation and recession and double digit poll deficits so you see the point that if there was enough war bounce left this May then June, before three years of economic pain hurts voters so much isn’t such a bad idea. You see my point?
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 5,398
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Hoping to achieve what exactly?
    Boris Johnson did state at PMQs this week, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin.

    No you are not Boris, you delusional Buffoon. 😠. You are in fact doing nothing different than any other leader of Tory’s today would do, and no different than Starmer would do if PM in this crisis. In fact if we had a less lazy and more trustworthy PM than you Boris, we could expect an even better job of it actually going on behind the scenes.

    Does anyone on PB want to agree with Boris, he is leading the world in the fight against Putin?

    He’s getting delusional on this isn’t he?
    I think the PM was quoting the Ukranian PM Zelensky. The UK has been training the Ukranian military since 2014, and there’s a huge amount of mutual respect between the countries at a military level.

    Boris has certainly been leading the European response, with Macron in election mode and that prat in Germany more worried about upsetting Putin. Johnson has also been key to getting Biden and the Americans involved, against a domestic background of not wanting to get involved in more foreign wars.
    yes the usual “compared to Germany and France Boris is leading the world against Putin etc”. No Boris wasn’t quoting Zelenskyy, Boris genuinely believes what he said at PMQs - he is deluded enough to think he is leading the world in fight against Putin.

    No we havn’t done too bad in supplying arms, though we were slow at first on sanctions and on oligarch’s and still not got it good on those needing refuge after fleeing, but that’s basically because under Petal this is the most useless home office EVER - that’s not just me saying it, that’s what her cabinet colleagues told her!

    What has Boris and his government actually done that tops the doggedness and bravery of the Poles or the financial largess of the US? In fact, when you discount for pain and exposure to Russia Gas, have we really outstripped the EU?

    The only world this lazy lying oaf Boris is leading is the world of delusion in his own head. The opposition party leaders should now pick him up on that claim at next PMQs and call him out as over egging it.
    It’s called soft power, and the UK still has f***loads of it in Ukraine.
    Amongst all the horrors, this has been one of the quietly satisfying points about this conflict. Whilst Germany and France were quite happy to suck up to Putin over the last decade, the UK were training the army in Ukraine to fight him. The Ukrainians understand that, and many people in England would rather not come to terms with it, they profoundly dislike the idea that we could have been doing something right (for a change).
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,647

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    I don’t mind your patronising response, so typical of PB, because you didn’t attwck or prove my theory wrong at all.

    Basically you can’t, because you know I am right.

    2005 there was massive anti Tory tactical vote to produce those seat totals from the popular vote share. You know I’m right.

    1992. The stay at home vote from previous things such as locals came out to stop labour they feared in government. You know I am right.

    And my theory doesn’t just work retrospectively, it can predict the future.

    Yes this same MoonRabbit theory of tactical votes, including stay at home votes and coming out to stop someone winning not positive for the other parties, means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then coming local elections results are meaningless as GE guide, no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time as a GE guide.

    I want to see specifics of actual churn. I want to see proof what degree it’s stay at home voters disproportion from a particular party, but evidence those who voted Boris last election now vote Labour just two years later not merely staying home.

    Without that evidence I dare you to draw conclusion it’s bad result for Tories, because if it’s just hand sitters stay at home votes putting Tories say 7% behind Labour nationally, that merely points possibility 1992 happening all over again at next election.
    You started with the ad hominem attack on me. My response was restrained, and in no way patronising.
    Okay, I’ll concede that mate. 👍🏻

    I’ll also wouldn’t mind if you could use that knowledge about elections, to prove my theory about the 2005 and 1992 elections is actually wrong. Because if I am right about what happened then and why, it shows what things to look for in predicting future elections.
    Were you not saying we would shortly be having a snap general election?
    A weeks a long time in politics, let alone last month.

    Labour didn’t have to go in 1970, but lured into by good locals.

    I stand by what I said on basis the Tory’s have war gamed every month left of this term for the best moment to have election, 2023 2024 are completely ruled out by stagflation and recession and double digit poll deficits so you see the point that if there was enough war bounce left this May then June, before three years of economic pain hurts voters so much isn’t such a bad idea. You see my point?
    https://twitter.com/MoS_Politics/status/1517972372795670531?t=AdjiXBeI46BD9VXzoe-Abw&s=19

    Prime Minister ‘plots early General Election to see off his rivals’: https://t.co/3hh46KV6O6
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,997
    edited April 2022
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Who dares wins…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10746503/Putin-hunts-SAS-Ukraine-Russia-launches-probe-British-elite-specialists-sabotage.html

    So what do we think happens, if Russian forces in Ukraine encounter some random British special forces on a training mission?

    Don't you mean lost British businessmen.....
    There’s probably a fair few of those too. Make their Martinis shaken, not stirred.
    Two more Russian Generals killed over the past day or so....incredibly unlucky that this keeps happening, in the same way anybody who crosses Putin becomes very unlucky.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    I don’t mind your patronising response, so typical of PB, because you didn’t attwck or prove my theory wrong at all.

    Basically you can’t, because you know I am right.

    2005 there was massive anti Tory tactical vote to produce those seat totals from the popular vote share. You know I’m right.

    1992. The stay at home vote from previous things such as locals came out to stop labour they feared in government. You know I am right.

    And my theory doesn’t just work retrospectively, it can predict the future.

    Yes this same MoonRabbit theory of tactical votes, including stay at home votes and coming out to stop someone winning not positive for the other parties, means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then coming local elections results are meaningless as GE guide, no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time as a GE guide.

    I want to see specifics of actual churn. I want to see proof what degree it’s stay at home voters disproportion from a particular party, but evidence those who voted Boris last election now vote Labour just two years later not merely staying home.

    Without that evidence I dare you to draw conclusion it’s bad result for Tories, because if it’s just hand sitters stay at home votes putting Tories say 7% behind Labour nationally, that merely points possibility 1992 happening all over again at next election.
    You started with the ad hominem attack on me. My response was restrained, and in no way patronising.
    Okay, I’ll concede that mate. 👍🏻

    I’ll also wouldn’t mind if you could use that knowledge about elections, to prove my theory about the 2005 and 1992 elections is actually wrong. Because if I am right about what happened then and why, it shows what things to look for in predicting future elections.
    Were you not saying we would shortly be having a snap general election?
    A weeks a long time in politics, let alone last month.

    Labour didn’t have to go in 1970, but lured into by good locals.

    I stand by what I said on basis the Tory’s have war gamed every month left of this term for the best moment to have election, 2023 2024 are completely ruled out by stagflation and recession and double digit poll deficits so you see the point that if there was enough war bounce left this May then June, before three years of economic pain hurts voters so much isn’t such a bad idea. You see my point?
    It’s a theory but there are counter arguments, not least 24 months in office with an 80 seat majority, the possibility that things will turn around, a new leader at some point, tax bribes, resolution of Ukraine and good will to the U.K., coupled with economy recovering.

    No government is going to trade 24 or more months of power when actually behind in the polls. That would be mad.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,504
    Sandpit said:

    Yep!

    It’s the concentration on Village gossip, rather than issues that matter to normal people. Labour had the opportunity last week to force a debate on inflation, minimum wage or cost of living, but instead decided to have a go at the PM personally because his wife bought him a birthday cake two years ago.

    I don’t know how many times I’ve said this now, but everyone needs to get off Twitter and look at what’s happening in the real world.

    The real world doesn’t live in Zone 1, drives to work and is watching petrol prices.
    I agree with you Sandpit, Partygate is old hat and over egged now, the opposition parties will be better served now concentrating on the Governments response to the household bills crisis and Boris delusion about leading the world.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,997
    Foxy said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    Poor poll for labour tonight

    To drop 2% in this climate is astonishing

    No.

    There’s a range of polls showing closer gap and lower Labour scores, yougovs, Kantor and now this opinonion that are not poor for Labour but fools gold for Tories, because they have greens on unrealistic 7s and 8s. I’m sorry Big G but you don’t know how to read the polls across the companies in the bigger picture at the moment. But it’s simple really, let me teach you. You do two things. Firstly, if Greens 7 take off 3 give to labour if they 8 take off 4 give to Labour and BINGO - it now looks just like polls from the other companies. Secondly total lab, Libdem and green together to come to 54 or 55, and you find 9 point labour leads produce that same 54 or 55 total as the 3 and 2 leads from other pollsters.

    At first glance it looks like all the polling companies can’t be right because the lab to Tory gap is so different, but in their defence I suggest this theory, Libdem and green hard to poll correctly because their pockets of support are not uniform national swing changes. So when the green and Libdem figures are higher than other pollsters it’s invariably at expense of Labours lead.

    Hope this helps. 🙂
    Your thesis only works if tactical voting occurs

    By any definition tonight's poll is poor for labour when some were forecasting 20% leads nailed on
    In any case, I'm sceptical about the idea of just lumping the Labour, Green, and Lib Dem vote shares all together.

    This is an unpopular government, but not an unusally unpopular government.
    Then you are clueless in how elections work. People never vote positively they vote negatively. They don’t vote for, they vote against, which is why the 55% average I quoted WILL mean tactical voting and Tory losses that seat calculators struggle to show you.

    Forget 97, I’m giving you 2005 and 1992 to prove you are wrong.

    Firstly 2005, how does that result happen if you are ruling out tactical anti Tory vote on a massive scale when the climate is right for it?

    secondly, how do you think 92 happened. Labour leads in polls, great by election and local election results all the way up to election, and then crushing defeat? The answers easy let me explain it to you. In the years up to the election Labour didn’t get positive votes for, the votes were against government, or more importantly not even a vote, a sitting on hands. The 92 result was negative vote against Labour, fearful of economy, tax policy, and defence in their hands, the no longer sitting on hands but using the vote against Labour.

    Incidentally, this same MoonRabbit theory means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then the local elections results are meaningless as GE guide and no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time.
    I have quite a bit of knowledge about how elections work, thank you. I've contested quite a few, either as a candidate, or as an organiser.

    In every general election in my lifetime, the combined vote share for Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have exceeded the Conservative vote share. The Conservatives have won more than half of those same elections.
    I don’t mind your patronising response, so typical of PB, because you didn’t attwck or prove my theory wrong at all.

    Basically you can’t, because you know I am right.

    2005 there was massive anti Tory tactical vote to produce those seat totals from the popular vote share. You know I’m right.

    1992. The stay at home vote from previous things such as locals came out to stop labour they feared in government. You know I am right.

    And my theory doesn’t just work retrospectively, it can predict the future.

    Yes this same MoonRabbit theory of tactical votes, including stay at home votes and coming out to stop someone winning not positive for the other parties, means the election in two weeks is a meaningless result for predicting the next General Election, unless the pebble counters can show us actual transfer of votes, people voting different not merely sitting on their hands and not voting, then coming local elections results are meaningless as GE guide, no one on PB or MPs in parliament should pay any attention to it in two weeks time as a GE guide.

    I want to see specifics of actual churn. I want to see proof what degree it’s stay at home voters disproportion from a particular party, but evidence those who voted Boris last election now vote Labour just two years later not merely staying home.

    Without that evidence I dare you to draw conclusion it’s bad result for Tories, because if it’s just hand sitters stay at home votes putting Tories say 7% behind Labour nationally, that merely points possibility 1992 happening all over again at next election.
    You started with the ad hominem attack on me. My response was restrained, and in no way patronising.
    Okay, I’ll concede that mate. 👍🏻

    I’ll also wouldn’t mind if you could use that knowledge about elections, to prove my theory about the 2005 and 1992 elections is actually wrong. Because if I am right about what happened then and why, it shows what things to look for in predicting future elections.
    Were you not saying we would shortly be having a snap general election?
    A weeks a long time in politics, let alone last month.

    Labour didn’t have to go in 1970, but lured into by good locals.

    I stand by what I said on basis the Tory’s have war gamed every month left of this term for the best moment to have election, 2023 2024 are completely ruled out by stagflation and recession and double digit poll deficits so you see the point that if there was enough war bounce left this May then June, before three years of economic pain hurts voters so much isn’t such a bad idea. You see my point?
    https://twitter.com/MoS_Politics/status/1517972372795670531?t=AdjiXBeI46BD9VXzoe-Abw&s=19

    Prime Minister ‘plots early General Election to see off his rivals’: https://t.co/3hh46KV6O6
    It seems to be silly season in the papers tonight.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,821
    Foxy said:

    It takes a long time to unpack all the misogyny on show. Perhaps Ms Rayner should wear a burka so as not to distract males from serious matters?

    From the Male on Sunday...


    "Have you ever fucked on cocaine, Boris? It's nice!"
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559

    .

    Sandpit said:

    Scott_xP said:

    🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Former ministers have broken ranks to describe how successive prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, withheld arms from Ukraine until just weeks before February’s invasion because of fears they might provoke Vladimir Putin https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-spent-seven-years-begging-three-pms-for-weapons-and-no-one-listened-58t5m9kkq?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1650733937-1

    Except that it’s provable that the UK has been providing both arms and extensive military training to Ukraine since 2014.

    Sure, we didn’t spend the last few years shipping every surplus weapon in the arsenal to Kiev, but the UK has been one of the best performers in Europe (in sharp contrast to France and especially Germany) when it comes to helping out Ukraine.

    Usual sh!t-stirring media, one expects better of the Sunday Times.
    It's not shit stirring, it is former ministers and others, such as Defence ministers like Michael Fallon and Gerald Howarth, who have gone on the record.
    Perhaps Putin believed he'd purchased key members of governing party - only to learn, he'd just rented them?
This discussion has been closed.