For CON comparisons we should use the LAB/LD/GRN aggregate – politicalbetting.com
Whenever new polls come out we tend to look for just one figure and that is the Labour lead over the Conservatives.I would suggest that we are being too simplistic.
Did this ever happen in the navy, @Dura_Ace ? Few incidents of military corruption in Russia were more shameless than the destroyer captain who stole the bronze propellers from his own ship, replacing them with cheaper steel ones to net 39 million rubles. A final 🧵 on the impact of corruption on Russia's military.
Their military procurement makes the MoD look positively efficient.
Not to my knowledge. We were always more criminally reckless than criminally corrupt.
For the swing against the Tories in Tory v Labour and Tory v LD marginals then yes the decline in Tory voteshare since 2019 will be key due to tactical voting
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
Did this ever happen in the navy, @Dura_Ace ? Few incidents of military corruption in Russia were more shameless than the destroyer captain who stole the bronze propellers from his own ship, replacing them with cheaper steel ones to net 39 million rubles. A final 🧵 on the impact of corruption on Russia's military.
Their military procurement makes the MoD look positively efficient.
Not to my knowledge. We were always more criminally reckless than criminally corrupt.
Isn’t the Western military procurement problem more the merry-go-round between the brass hats, politicians and the contractors making the kit? So the kit takes forever to arrive and is way over budget, as opposed to the officers on the front line stealing their own kit.
Did this ever happen in the navy, @Dura_Ace ? Few incidents of military corruption in Russia were more shameless than the destroyer captain who stole the bronze propellers from his own ship, replacing them with cheaper steel ones to net 39 million rubles. A final 🧵 on the impact of corruption on Russia's military.
Their military procurement makes the MoD look positively efficient.
Not to my knowledge. We were always more criminally reckless than criminally corrupt.
Did this ever happen in the navy, @Dura_Ace ? Few incidents of military corruption in Russia were more shameless than the destroyer captain who stole the bronze propellers from his own ship, replacing them with cheaper steel ones to net 39 million rubles. A final 🧵 on the impact of corruption on Russia's military.
Their military procurement makes the MoD look positively efficient.
Not to my knowledge. We were always more criminally reckless than criminally corrupt.
Surely the most important figure to look at is the Tory share? It's one third. And has been for some months now. Add five percent to that and they'll be difficult to shift. Add nowt, and they are headed for defeat. Whichever way you slice it.
A thread a few days ago was pointing out that 45% of LD supporters in some areas (like Cleveland) preferred the Tories to Labour.
There's not many Lib Dems in lincolnshire, north east, east Midlands.
Am I right in thinking that there is little overlap between the Lib Dem territory and Danelaw land. (Which latter includes most of my favourite bits of England)
History has long arms. Alfred the Great was obvs an LD.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
You can’t look at the figures in the second paragraph without the figures in the first paragraph.
“There were 148,606 deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
“In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.”
COVID killed way more people. You could add the figures together, so cases where the diseases had any role, so there would be 319k for COVID and 254k for flu and pneumonia. COVID still ahead.
When interpreting these figures, you also need to be very clear that they’re for flu AND pneumonia. Pneumonia is common at the end of life and has a very different epidemiology to flu and COVID-19.
I would be interested in seeing some polling around tactical voting before making this jump. If we had a follow up question after this question, around the lines of "thinking about your seat, which is more important: voting for an MP from a party you agree with, or voting to keep out an MP from the Conservative Party?" or "would you be willing not to vote this way in a GE if your seat was more likely to go to x party, beating an incumbent Conservative?"
My thoughts are: Many LDs seem to like Starmer, but only ~50%, so the other half of LD voters are true party people. Many Labour voters will not vote LD, still holding resentment about the coalition and, indeed, the LDs participation in the anti-Corbyn coalition that allowed the 2019 election to go the way it did. Greens may have voted Labour in the past, but that was under Corbyn; expecting the Greens to "come home" to Labour under Starmer is a bigger question. I would actually expect more Greens to vote LD tactically than Labour, based on geography, policy and demographics.
What we really need to see is consistent polling by the LDs of >15% and Lab consistently >40% to get the kind of tactical voting needed to displace the Tories.
NB: As a Green I am against any tactical voting that would give Labour a majority or, indeed, allows Labour to only rely on LD votes. I think we need a truly hung parliament, or a "coalition of chaos" as the Tories would call it, to produce the necessary significant changes that would make the UK more democratic (repealing this recent police powers bill, electoral reform, referendums in Scotland and NI, more funding and power to local government in England, etc). I don't trust Starmer's Labour to do that if they are too firmly in the driver's seat, and I don't see the LDs having backbone enough if only their votes are needed. If Lab needs, depending on the context of the vote, a mix of LD, Green, PC and SNP votes, that seems much more reasonable to me. And if Lab ended up relying heavily on Tory votes (grand coalition style), the two main parties could easily see themselves collapse, which wouldn't be a bad thing either.
Surely the most important figure to look at is the Tory share? It's one third. And has been for some months now. Add five percent to that and they'll be difficult to shift. Add nowt, and they are headed for defeat. Whichever way you slice it.
Its an important figure, but not the only important one. Some "progressive alliance" types think that Lib Dem votes can be squeezed to Labour, but some might (as in 2015) be squeezed to the Tories instead, in the right circumstances.
If Labour has a significant sustained poll lead then the odds are they might win the next election.
If Labour has only a narrow midterm poll lead then swingback might provide a significant proportion of that 5%.
Did this ever happen in the navy, @Dura_Ace ? Few incidents of military corruption in Russia were more shameless than the destroyer captain who stole the bronze propellers from his own ship, replacing them with cheaper steel ones to net 39 million rubles. A final 🧵 on the impact of corruption on Russia's military.
Their military procurement makes the MoD look positively efficient.
Not to my knowledge. We were always more criminally reckless than criminally corrupt.
A thread a few days ago was pointing out that 45% of LD supporters in some areas (like Cleveland) preferred the Tories to Labour.
There's not many Lib Dems in lincolnshire, north east, east Midlands.
Am I right in thinking that there is little overlap between the Lib Dem territory and Danelaw land. (Which latter includes most of my favourite bits of England)
History has long arms. Alfred the Great was obvs an LD.
Cambridge?
But you are right in the main. Is there some kind of long term, perpetuating difference, like land tenure or something?
A thread a few days ago was pointing out that 45% of LD supporters in some areas (like Cleveland) preferred the Tories to Labour.
There's not many Lib Dems in lincolnshire, north east, east Midlands.
This is an important point. There are large areas of the North and Midlands where, like Wakefield, there is barely a LD vote to re-distribute
I think more accurately, the LD vote is already voting tactically in the East Mids. The LDs have a good number of council seats around me, and did respectably well in PR elections like the Euros.
I think the new seat Oadby, Wigston and Blaby would be a good target seat for LDs locally. O and W make up the bulk of the seat, and the council is already LD.
A thread a few days ago was pointing out that 45% of LD supporters in some areas (like Cleveland) preferred the Tories to Labour.
I think Mike was making a slightly different point there, which relates to the "progressive alliance" argument for standing down candidates in particular seats.
The point is that there are various areas (like Cleveland) where Labour is the incumbent and where it is fairly obvious the Lib Dems are not in contention. There, the Lib Dems' (rather low) residual vote isn't all that much more likely to choose Labour over the Conservatives. I had various criticisms of that, but understand the point.
That is not the same as saying that respondents in a generic vote opinion poll won't vote tactically, or that their tactical vote isn't reasonably predictable.
If you look at the only example Mike gave where the incumbent was not Labour, and it wasn't clear that the Lib Dems were out of contention (Cambridgeshire/Peterborough Mayor where the LDs were a close third and probably would have won in the second round had they edged out Labour in round one) that illustrates the point well - three quarters of LD second prefs were for Labour.
It would, of course, be wrong to simply add the Labour, Lib Dem and Green votes together - if you could do that, the Conservatives would have lost many more elections than they have. However, if you merely focus on the Labour lead over the Conservatives (or vice versa) ignoring the relative levels of Lib Dem/Green and RE-FUK votes, you're missing a key point.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
You can’t look at the figures in the second paragraph without the figures in the first paragraph.
“There were 148,606 deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
“In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.”
COVID killed way more people. You could add the figures together, so cases where the diseases had any role, so there would be 319k for COVID and 254k for flu and pneumonia. COVID still ahead.
When interpreting these figures, you also need to be very clear that they’re for flu AND pneumonia. Pneumonia is common at the end of life and has a very different epidemiology to flu and COVID-19.
And secondary pneumonia is a recognised feature of covid. How many of these deaths are in both columns.
What's remarkably unremarked upon is that for all the voters exacerbation with Boris and the Tories they are totally unconvinced by Starmer.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I was thinking on this just yesterday, remembering my interactions with Labour councillors.
The biggest, overwhelming, difference isn’t one of policy but of attitude. Liberals put a value on independence of thought and action, socialists prize solidarity, loyalty and adherence to the party line. That’s a little glib, and I could have written a whole paragraph (but don’t feel like it). But the answer is in there somewhere.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I think that is quite telling regarding Starmer's popularity among LDs. In some yougov measures Starmer performs better among LDs than he does with Labour voters. I assume this is a "sensible centrists" feeling amongst the LD voters rather than actual policies that Labour will end up running on.
I do think that more Labour voters will back the LDs than vice versa. Most Green voters will end up backing Labour.
Labour’s payoff from any arrangement or from tactical voting isn’t really in extra net votes or extra seats, but from the significantly higher chance of having its leader become PM after the election. It’s the smaller parties that gain votes and seats, but then ‘win’ the poison chalice of propping up another party in government, one way or another.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I was thinking on this just yesterday, remembering my interactions with Labour councillors.
The biggest, overwhelming, difference isn’t one of policy but of attitude. Liberals put a value on independence of thought and action, socialists prize solidarity, loyalty and adherence to the party line. That’s a little glib, and I could have written a whole paragraph (but don’t feel like it). But the answer is in there somewhere.
Which is why I think that the LibDems alienated a large number of potential voters over their response to the Brexit vote - suddenly they didn't seem to value independence of thought on that issue and were (and still are to some degree) totally myopic about it in a way that comes across as unwelcoming for anyone who thinks differently.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
You can’t look at the figures in the second paragraph without the figures in the first paragraph.
“There were 148,606 deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
“In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.”
COVID killed way more people. You could add the figures together, so cases where the diseases had any role, so there would be 319k for COVID and 254k for flu and pneumonia. COVID still ahead.
When interpreting these figures, you also need to be very clear that they’re for flu AND pneumonia. Pneumonia is common at the end of life and has a very different epidemiology to flu and COVID-19.
Presumably the "cause OR contributory factor" data encapsulates cause only? So adding them together is double-counting?
(I don't know, I have no idea, I am merely asking a genuine question as that is how it reads)
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
What's remarkably unremarked upon is that for all the voters exacerbation with Boris and the Tories they are totally unconvinced by Starmer.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
I disagree - I think Corbyn specifically did address the fundamentals of why they were booted out in 2010, and more voters liked that than they do "Starmerism"; it's just that even more voters disliked Corbyn than disliked Johnson; partly because Johnson ran to the left on the economy than most Tories (what was Levelling Up if not a repudiation of austerity) but to the right on social issues and leveraged Brexit as a culture issue. It also helps that the British political and media establishment suggest that anything to the left of Brownism will result in Stalinism or worse.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I was thinking on this just yesterday, remembering my interactions with Labour councillors.
The biggest, overwhelming, difference isn’t one of policy but of attitude. Liberals put a value on independence of thought and action, socialists prize solidarity, loyalty and adherence to the party line. That’s a little glib, and I could have written a whole paragraph (but don’t feel like it). But the answer is in there somewhere.
There is a similar distinction on the right of politics too.
You get Conservatives who value liberal principles of independence of thought and action etc - and those who demand their own version of solidarity, loyalty and adherence too.
For me, independence of thought is absolutely critical and most important, for others only ever voting Tory no matter what is more important.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I think that is quite telling regarding Starmer's popularity among LDs. In some yougov measures Starmer performs better among LDs than he does with Labour voters. I assume this is a "sensible centrists" feeling amongst the LD voters rather than actual policies that Labour will end up running on.
Possibly also a widespread misreading of Starmer? Projecting a boring persona doesn't mean that he isn't pretty ideological. The LP manifesto will have a big impact one way or another.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Euro is already under $1.04, close to a 10-year low. It could well go under a dollar in the next few days, if the ECB keeps the printing presses on and doesn’t raise interest rates. It’s one hell of a risky strategy.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
You can’t look at the figures in the second paragraph without the figures in the first paragraph.
“There were 148,606 deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
“In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.”
COVID killed way more people. You could add the figures together, so cases where the diseases had any role, so there would be 319k for COVID and 254k for flu and pneumonia. COVID still ahead.
When interpreting these figures, you also need to be very clear that they’re for flu AND pneumonia. Pneumonia is common at the end of life and has a very different epidemiology to flu and COVID-19.
Presumably the "cause OR contributory factor" data encapsulates cause only? So adding them together is double-counting?
(I don't know, I have no idea, I am merely asking a genuine question as that is how it reads)
Reading it again, I'm fairly sure that it IS double counting – and Richard was quite right to say flu and pneumonia were a cause or contributory factor in more deaths than covid since the pandemic began, which is surprising.
Moreover, that same report says we probably under count flu deaths – because of the lack of testing... which again is food for thought and further grist to Richard's mill...
For example, death certificates likely underestimate flu deaths because not all patients are tested for it, and circulating flu causes increases in deaths due to other conditions such as cardiovascular diseases.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I was thinking on this just yesterday, remembering my interactions with Labour councillors.
The biggest, overwhelming, difference isn’t one of policy but of attitude. Liberals put a value on independence of thought and action, socialists prize solidarity, loyalty and adherence to the party line. That’s a little glib, and I could have written a whole paragraph (but don’t feel like it). But the answer is in there somewhere.
Don't know about glib but it's a bit jaundiced! Stat of 1 - me - I have asked myself why I'm Lab not LD because it is an interesting thing to ponder. The main reason is my view that the government's top domestic priority, not the only one but the top one, should be to foster a more equal society.
What's remarkably unremarked upon is that for all the voters exacerbation with Boris and the Tories they are totally unconvinced by Starmer.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
I disagree - I think Corbyn specifically did address the fundamentals of why they were booted out in 2010, and more voters liked that than they do "Starmerism"; it's just that even more voters disliked Corbyn than disliked Johnson; partly because Johnson ran to the left on the economy than most Tories (what was Levelling Up if not a repudiation of austerity) but to the right on social issues and leveraged Brexit as a culture issue. It also helps that the British political and media establishment suggest that anything to the left of Brownism will result in Stalinism or worse.
Anything to the left of Brownism? Unless it's a Tory implementing it of course.
A thread a few days ago was pointing out that 45% of LD supporters in some areas (like Cleveland) preferred the Tories to Labour.
I think Mike was making a slightly different point there, which relates to the "progressive alliance" argument for standing down candidates in particular seats.
The point is that there are various areas (like Cleveland) where Labour is the incumbent and where it is fairly obvious the Lib Dems are not in contention. There, the Lib Dems' (rather low) residual vote isn't all that much more likely to choose Labour over the Conservatives. I had various criticisms of that, but understand the point.
That is not the same as saying that respondents in a generic vote opinion poll won't vote tactically, or that their tactical vote isn't reasonably predictable.
If you look at the only example Mike gave where the incumbent was not Labour, and it wasn't clear that the Lib Dems were out of contention (Cambridgeshire/Peterborough Mayor where the LDs were a close third and probably would have won in the second round had they edged out Labour in round one) that illustrates the point well - three quarters of LD second prefs were for Labour.
It would, of course, be wrong to simply add the Labour, Lib Dem and Green votes together - if you could do that, the Conservatives would have lost many more elections than they have. However, if you merely focus on the Labour lead over the Conservatives (or vice versa) ignoring the relative levels of Lib Dem/Green and RE-FUK votes, you're missing a key point.
Yes, I think that's a good summary. As a rule of thumb, where it is obvious who the non-Tory challenger is, I'd add a third of the LD/Green vote to Labour next time (as much as half in by-elections), or half (2/3 in by-elections) to the LibDems. You have to adjust for past history, though - in some seats, the tactical vote has already happened, and what's left is less likely to switch. Conversely, if a seat suddenly looks marginal or the incumbent is very unpopular, the switch may be higher. For example, I'll be surprised if the non-Tory vote in Uxbridge (Con 53, Lab 38, LD 6, Gr 3) doesn't go overwhelmingly Labour next time, so Johnson will need close to 50% to hold it.
What's remarkably unremarked upon is that for all the voters exacerbation with Boris and the Tories they are totally unconvinced by Starmer.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
I disagree - I think Corbyn specifically did address the fundamentals of why they were booted out in 2010, and more voters liked that than they do "Starmerism"; it's just that even more voters disliked Corbyn than disliked Johnson; partly because Johnson ran to the left on the economy than most Tories (what was Levelling Up if not a repudiation of austerity) but to the right on social issues and leveraged Brexit as a culture issue. It also helps that the British political and media establishment suggest that anything to the left of Brownism will result in Stalinism or worse.
The biggest problem Starmer has is that there is no Starmerism, yet.
So far, he is the quiet, competent guy who gets the show back on the road after their wheels came off. He is gradually facing down the more ludicrous types, but apart from that, hasn’t made a big pitch as to what Starmerism might be.
1997 happened because the Tories were incredibly in popular *and* Blair had moved the Labour Party from NotNutters (Kinnock) and LeftSocialDemocracy (Smith) to NewLabour. Which was, at that point, a massively positive brand.
In my opinion and speaking as someone probably voting for them, the LibDems need to spend a significant bit of bandwidth distancing themselves from Labour and criticising them not just acting as a "me too" opposition to Tories. Attack Labour for authoritarian tendencies, extremism of some members esp. identity politics, unrealistic economics etc. Strong LD presence needed to ensure Tories out and Labour constrained. Big emphasis on traditional Liberal values and centrism.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
I'd have to check but there could be double counting going on there. Covid can lead to pneumonia. Which would mean you would appear in both buckets.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I think that is quite telling regarding Starmer's popularity among LDs. In some yougov measures Starmer performs better among LDs than he does with Labour voters. I assume this is a "sensible centrists" feeling amongst the LD voters rather than actual policies that Labour will end up running on.
Possibly also a widespread misreading of Starmer? Projecting a boring persona doesn't mean that he isn't pretty ideological. The LP manifesto will have a big impact one way or another.
I agree that he is ideological, but that ideology isn't of the Labour left - it increasingly seems to be much closer to that of Blair and Brown. He also is highly authoritarian when it comes to the party itself ; many more expulsions, forcing of candidates to local parties and attempts to undo practices brought in by the Corbyn team that gave more power to Labour members.
If that authoritarian turn is repeated nationally, I do wonder if the LDs would be able to outflank Labour on the left on some things - this policing bill, the borders and nationality bill etc. Going back to the socially libertarian instincts of some liberals would, in my mind, go back to the pre coalition days where Charles Kennedy / Paddy Ashdown seemed to sit.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I was thinking on this just yesterday, remembering my interactions with Labour councillors.
The biggest, overwhelming, difference isn’t one of policy but of attitude. Liberals put a value on independence of thought and action, socialists prize solidarity, loyalty and adherence to the party line. That’s a little glib, and I could have written a whole paragraph (but don’t feel like it). But the answer is in there somewhere.
Don't know about glib but it's a bit jaundiced! Stat of 1 - me - I have asked myself why I'm Lab not LD because it is an interesting thing to ponder. The main reason is my view that the government's top domestic priority, not the only one but the top one, should be to foster a more equal society.
Sorry @kinabula (don't like to disagree with you) but I am with @ianb2 on this one.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
I'd have to check but there could be double counting going on there. Covid can lead to pneumonia. Which would mean you would appear in both buckets.
Isn’t pneumonia a symptom of illness rather than an illness itself?
Chelsea’s new owners have commissioned an investigation into accusations of a toxic culture of bullying within their marketing team after it emerged the former head of the club’s television channel took his own life.
The club confirmed they had appointed “an external review team” following the revelation Richard Bignell had killed himself aged 44 in January and that a coroner’s report had found he had been “deeply troubled by anxiety, depression and despair following the loss of his job”.
The New York Times said Bignell, who worked at Chelsea for 18 years, had been abruptly sacked in September a day after returning from more than a year of medical leave.
It said Chelsea’s previous leadership had hired an outside firm to conduct a cultural review of their marketing department in March but that it was to be jointly overseen by the executive accused of being to blame for the worst of its problems.
It said it had spoken to almost a dozen of Bignell’s current or former colleagues, a number of whom told it he had struggled to cope with the executive’s aggressive management style that sometimes left colleagues in tears.
Other staff were said to have been signed off on medical leave, with at least 10 members of the team having quit the club.
One former employee was said to have done so amid fears over his or her own mental health, and to have written to Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck to that effect.
Others were said to have expressed similar concerns to club executives or in exit interviews with human resources staff.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Not correct on the ECB. It plans to sterilise any bond purchases under its anti fragmentation tool, ie it will have no net effect on the monetary base. Similarly, flexibility in PEPP reinvestment to support BTPs (Italian bonds) will have no impact on the ECB's liabilities - it simply means it will buy more Italian debt and less German debt (for instance) when it reinvests the proceeds of maturing bonds. And whatever the ECB is doing wrong must apply even more to the BOE, as GBP is down more than 2% against EUR since the start of the year.
What's remarkably unremarked upon is that for all the voters exacerbation with Boris and the Tories they are totally unconvinced by Starmer.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
I disagree - I think Corbyn specifically did address the fundamentals of why they were booted out in 2010, and more voters liked that than they do "Starmerism"; it's just that even more voters disliked Corbyn than disliked Johnson; partly because Johnson ran to the left on the economy than most Tories (what was Levelling Up if not a repudiation of austerity) but to the right on social issues and leveraged Brexit as a culture issue. It also helps that the British political and media establishment suggest that anything to the left of Brownism will result in Stalinism or worse.
The biggest problem Starmer has is that there is no Starmerism, yet.
So far, he is the quiet, competent guy who gets the show back on the road after their wheels came off. He is gradually facing down the more ludicrous types, but apart from that, hasn’t made a big pitch as to what Starmerism might be.
1997 happened because the Tories were incredibly in popular *and* Blair had moved the Labour Party from NotNutters (Kinnock) and LeftSocialDemocracy (Smith) to NewLabour. Which was, at that point, a massively positive brand.
Yeah, I agree. I know many people disagree with the likes of Owen Jones, but this is something he often remarks - at least Blair believed in something and was upfront about where he wanted to take the party. Whereas Starmer ran on Corbynism without Corbyn, is acting as quite a reactionary Labour leader, and doesn't seem to have a clear set of beliefs about what the party should do. If Starmer was just the vehicle to get rid of Corbyn and "course correct" the party (from the view of the centrists), then he has done that. I assume that's why all the whispers of Streeting and others are popping up.
What's remarkably unremarked upon is that for all the voters exacerbation with Boris and the Tories they are totally unconvinced by Starmer.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
I disagree - I think Corbyn specifically did address the fundamentals of why they were booted out in 2010, and more voters liked that than they do "Starmerism"; it's just that even more voters disliked Corbyn than disliked Johnson; partly because Johnson ran to the left on the economy than most Tories (what was Levelling Up if not a repudiation of austerity) but to the right on social issues and leveraged Brexit as a culture issue. It also helps that the British political and media establishment suggest that anything to the left of Brownism will result in Stalinism or worse.
Anything to the left of Brownism? Unless it's a Tory implementing it of course.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Euro is already under $1.04, close to a 10-year low. It could well go under a dollar in the next few days, if the ECB keeps the printing presses on and doesn’t raise interest rates. It’s one hell of a risky strategy.
I think the ECB has no choice but to keep the printing presses rolling: inflation (which also deflates the value of Club Med's debts) and depreciation (which suits the export led economies of the Eurozone) is clearly preferable to a credit crunch on top of external pressures.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
I'd have to check but there could be double counting going on there. Covid can lead to pneumonia. Which would mean you would appear in both buckets.
Isn’t pneumonia a symptom of illness rather than an illness itself?
Yes it's an inflammation of the lungs as a result of infection, often bacterial in origin. Colds can lead to pneumonia via bacteria getting established during the initial stages of the viral disease. I am prone to chest infections after colds which are related to my asthma.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Euro is already under $1.04, close to a 10-year low. It could well go under a dollar in the next few days, if the ECB keeps the printing presses on and doesn’t raise interest rates. It’s one hell of a risky strategy.
I wonder whether people right across the Western world are about to undergo a downward adjustment in their living standards so swift and violent it could well be destabilising socially.
A thread a few days ago was pointing out that 45% of LD supporters in some areas (like Cleveland) preferred the Tories to Labour.
There's not many Lib Dems in lincolnshire, north east, east Midlands.
Am I right in thinking that there is little overlap between the Lib Dem territory and Danelaw land. (Which latter includes most of my favourite bits of England)
History has long arms. Alfred the Great was obvs an LD.
Cambridge?
But you are right in the main. Is there some kind of long term, perpetuating difference, like land tenure or something?
Cambridge is of course a peculiar. Its inhabitants are both always dogmatically correct and keep changing their minds, while taking for granted that everyone else is an idiot. But actually Labour held not LD at the moment, though it's been a bit of everything. In happier days when Tory MPs might be educated, moderate, decent and thoughtful Robert Rhodes James held it.
When the Tories return to those days I shall vote for them again.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
You can’t look at the figures in the second paragraph without the figures in the first paragraph.
“There were 148,606 deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
“In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.”
COVID killed way more people. You could add the figures together, so cases where the diseases had any role, so there would be 319k for COVID and 254k for flu and pneumonia. COVID still ahead.
When interpreting these figures, you also need to be very clear that they’re for flu AND pneumonia. Pneumonia is common at the end of life and has a very different epidemiology to flu and COVID-19.
No sorry you are double counting (as I see Anabob has already suggested.) If you look at the underlying data the 'Cause or contributory factor' column includes those for whom it was the primary cause. So you cannot add the two figures together in the way you want to.
Notwithstanding what others have said about pneumonia being a result of Covid, which would require more examination of the data, flu and pneumonia have been a cause or contributory factor in more deaths than Covid since March 2020.
Ah the Lib Dems are just errant socialists who will come to see the error of their ways as part of a progressive alliance when the time comes.
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
I was thinking on this just yesterday, remembering my interactions with Labour councillors.
The biggest, overwhelming, difference isn’t one of policy but of attitude. Liberals put a value on independence of thought and action, socialists prize solidarity, loyalty and adherence to the party line. That’s a little glib, and I could have written a whole paragraph (but don’t feel like it). But the answer is in there somewhere.
Don't know about glib but it's a bit jaundiced! Stat of 1 - me - I have asked myself why I'm Lab not LD because it is an interesting thing to ponder. The main reason is my view that the government's top domestic priority, not the only one but the top one, should be to foster a more equal society.
Labour has become too much of a conduit for daft ideologically driven ideas (not saying they are unique in that!) and given their attractiveness to activist puritans that can make them dangerous. Lots of good people in the party but some ghastly ideological fixations bubbling away. I think there might be a real chance for LDs if they can pitch things effectively. There is a massive disaffected centrist pragmatist vote to be won by someone.
There is a lot of dislike and distrust of LP only offset by utterly crap nature of current government. Danger for Labour is that Tory MPs might kick out BoJo and appoint a better alternative so even Tories losing next election is not a certainty.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
I'd have to check but there could be double counting going on there. Covid can lead to pneumonia. Which would mean you would appear in both buckets.
Isn’t pneumonia a symptom of illness rather than an illness itself?
Yes - you 'get' pneumonia through multiple different avenues - viral, bacterial, etc: which is why relying on the flu and pneumonia stats bucket is so unhelpful when trying to draw comparisons with Covid.
What's remarkably unremarked upon is that for all the voters exacerbation with Boris and the Tories they are totally unconvinced by Starmer.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
I disagree - I think Corbyn specifically did address the fundamentals of why they were booted out in 2010, and more voters liked that than they do "Starmerism"; it's just that even more voters disliked Corbyn than disliked Johnson; partly because Johnson ran to the left on the economy than most Tories (what was Levelling Up if not a repudiation of austerity) but to the right on social issues and leveraged Brexit as a culture issue. It also helps that the British political and media establishment suggest that anything to the left of Brownism will result in Stalinism or worse.
The biggest problem Starmer has is that there is no Starmerism, yet.
So far, he is the quiet, competent guy who gets the show back on the road after their wheels came off. He is gradually facing down the more ludicrous types, but apart from that, hasn’t made a big pitch as to what Starmerism might be.
1997 happened because the Tories were incredibly in popular *and* Blair had moved the Labour Party from NotNutters (Kinnock) and LeftSocialDemocracy (Smith) to NewLabour. Which was, at that point, a massively positive brand.
Yeah, I agree. I know many people disagree with the likes of Owen Jones, but this is something he often remarks - at least Blair believed in something and was upfront about where he wanted to take the party. Whereas Starmer ran on Corbynism without Corbyn, is acting as quite a reactionary Labour leader, and doesn't seem to have a clear set of beliefs about what the party should do. If Starmer was just the vehicle to get rid of Corbyn and "course correct" the party (from the view of the centrists), then he has done that. I assume that's why all the whispers of Streeting and others are popping up.
I don't know how anyone could say this. He wrote a 14,000 word mission statement less than a year ago setting out his vision.
It's a shame he accidentally mailed it to /dev/null ...
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
You can’t look at the figures in the second paragraph without the figures in the first paragraph.
“There were 148,606 deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
“In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.”
COVID killed way more people. You could add the figures together, so cases where the diseases had any role, so there would be 319k for COVID and 254k for flu and pneumonia. COVID still ahead.
When interpreting these figures, you also need to be very clear that they’re for flu AND pneumonia. Pneumonia is common at the end of life and has a very different epidemiology to flu and COVID-19.
Presumably the "cause OR contributory factor" data encapsulates cause only? So adding them together is double-counting?
(I don't know, I have no idea, I am merely asking a genuine question as that is how it reads)
Reading it again, I'm fairly sure that it IS double counting – and Richard was quite right to say flu and pneumonia were a cause or contributory factor in more deaths than covid since the pandemic began, which is surprising.
Moreover, that same report says we probably under count flu deaths – because of the lack of testing... which again is food for thought and further grist to Richard's mill...
For example, death certificates likely underestimate flu deaths because not all patients are tested for it, and circulating flu causes increases in deaths due to other conditions such as cardiovascular diseases.
On the 'grist to the mill' point, I should clarify that I do not favour Bart's idea about just ignoring it and let it happen. I would suggest that anyone who goes to work with a known case of flu is just as irresponsible as anyone who goes to work with a known case of Covid and I repeat that I think the Government has been incredibly negligent in ending free testing.
In my case this is simply an argument about interesting perceptions and how they influence our responses. I do think we need a mindset change and learn to accept that covid is here to stay and people will die of it just as they do with flu (often in very large numbers). But that is not to encourage irresponsibility which personally, and with respect, I think is what Bart is advocating.
Christ the average age of death chart between "flu and pneumonia" vs "covid" is staggering, even for me as someone who has been pouring over the numbers these last 2 years.
The Scot Nats are cretins, they are Putin's little helpers.
Nicola Sturgeon's ministers have said no more of their money should be given to the Ukraine for weapons after being pressured by the Treasury to hand over £65 million.
Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, said she had agreed to provide the money "on this occasion" but lashed out at the Treasury, making clear "this must not be seen as any kind of precedent."
Her comments were echoed by Rebecca Evans, her Welsh counterpart, who complained she had been forced to donate £30 million of money earmarked for "devolved areas, like health and education."
But the Treasury "strongly disagreed" with her characterisation of the request, saying government departments across Whitehall had also been asked to make a contribution through their underspend.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Euro is already under $1.04, close to a 10-year low. It could well go under a dollar in the next few days, if the ECB keeps the printing presses on and doesn’t raise interest rates. It’s one hell of a risky strategy.
I wonder whether the living standards of people right across the Western world are about to undergo a downward adjustment in their living standards so swift and violent it could well be destabilising socially.
I think that’s probably overstating it. But not by much.
It’s going to be a tough next couple of years for most of the Western world, there will likely be close to a completely reversal of the asset price inflation we have seen since shortly after the start of the pandemic, as well as commodity-led inflation remaining high in the general economy.
At a Rugby League World Cup press conference today. Nadine Dorries, sec of state for sport, is special guest. “I’ve always liked the idea of rugby league. That drop goal in 2003 was such a special moment.” That drop goal was actually in the Rugby Union World Cup.
The Scot Nats are cretins, they are Putin's little helpers.
Nicola Sturgeon's ministers have said no more of their money should be given to the Ukraine for weapons after being pressured by the Treasury to hand over £65 million.
Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, said she had agreed to provide the money "on this occasion" but lashed out at the Treasury, making clear "this must not be seen as any kind of precedent."
Her comments were echoed by Rebecca Evans, her Welsh counterpart, who complained she had been forced to donate £30 million of money earmarked for "devolved areas, like health and education."
But the Treasury "strongly disagreed" with her characterisation of the request, saying government departments across Whitehall had also been asked to make a contribution through their underspend.
The Scot Nats are cretins, they are Putin's little helpers.
Nicola Sturgeon's ministers have said no more of their money should be given to the Ukraine for weapons after being pressured by the Treasury to hand over £65 million.
Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, said she had agreed to provide the money "on this occasion" but lashed out at the Treasury, making clear "this must not be seen as any kind of precedent."
Her comments were echoed by Rebecca Evans, her Welsh counterpart, who complained she had been forced to donate £30 million of money earmarked for "devolved areas, like health and education."
But the Treasury "strongly disagreed" with her characterisation of the request, saying government departments across Whitehall had also been asked to make a contribution through their underspend.
I mean, I think it is reasonable to say "we as devolved governments don't have enough money to do what we want anyway, why should we ship it over there". If the country was well funded in other areas, I'd agree with you, but it isn't. Successive governments have cut services to the bone saying it had to be done, and are now flush with cash to hand out to war and to bungs to companies during Covid, at a time where a real cost of living crisis is hitting people, and the front line services that would help them through a hard period doesn't exist. I want Ukraine to win and Russia actively defeated, but I also understand the bristling at being told there is "no money magic tree" when you want minor social democratic social spending, but the printers go brrr for war.
At a Rugby League World Cup press conference today. Nadine Dorries, sec of state for sport, is special guest. “I’ve always liked the idea of rugby league. That drop goal in 2003 was such a special moment.” That drop goal was actually in the Rugby Union World Cup.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
I'd have to check but there could be double counting going on there. Covid can lead to pneumonia. Which would mean you would appear in both buckets.
Isn’t pneumonia a symptom of illness rather than an illness itself?
Yes it's an inflammation of the lungs as a result of infection, often bacterial in origin. Colds can lead to pneumonia via bacteria getting established during the initial stages of the viral disease. I am prone to chest infections after colds which are related to my asthma.
That’s what I thought - so listing it with Flu and COVID is mixing categories.
Isn’t pneumonia also associated with a lot of other diseases?
Christ the average age of death chart between "flu and pneumonia" vs "covid" is staggering, even for me as someone who has been pouring over the numbers these last 2 years.
Also note that the covid line is now approaching the flu and pneumonia. I'd suggest covid is starting to act as the end point for many elderly and sick patients in the same way that flu/pneumonia have for many years.
At a Rugby League World Cup press conference today. Nadine Dorries, sec of state for sport, is special guest. “I’ve always liked the idea of rugby league. That drop goal in 2003 was such a special moment.” That drop goal was actually in the Rugby Union World Cup.
I think its time we realised that she is doing this on purpose to distract attention from elsewhere. I mean - she must get briefings from her department right? Mustn't she?
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Euro is already under $1.04, close to a 10-year low. It could well go under a dollar in the next few days, if the ECB keeps the printing presses on and doesn’t raise interest rates. It’s one hell of a risky strategy.
I wonder whether the living standards of people right across the Western world are about to undergo a downward adjustment in their living standards so swift and violent it could well be destabilising socially.
I think that’s probably overstating it. But not by much.
It’s going to be a tough next couple of years for most of the Western world, there will likely be close to a completely reversal of the asset price inflation we have seen since shortly after the start of the pandemic, as well as commodity-led inflation remaining high in the general economy.
Its a curious time because where I work we are finding it harder than ever to hold onto staff. Even long termers with a good track record behind them are getting poached with packages they just could not refuse.
I would suggest simplifying even further, and simply looking at the Tory vote share. The Tories haven't lost an election with more than 35% of the vote since 1974. I'd suggest that if the Tories win more than 35% of the vote it will be hard for them to lose, and if they receive less than 35% of the vote it will be hard for them to win.
At the moment they're close enough to 35% that it's plausible they can close the gap during an election campaign by scaring the voters with a bunch of rubbish about the Opposition. The Opposition have a job of work to do to convince the voters they're worth a try.
What's remarkably unremarked upon is that for all the voters exacerbation with Boris and the Tories they are totally unconvinced by Starmer.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
The main reasons they were booted out in 2010 were (i) they'd been in for 13 years and (ii) the global financial system imploded on their watch. (i) is addressed, boot's now on the other foot, and I think (ii) just about is too. The Cons were brilliant in framing the crash as Labour-induced, one of the great pieces of political propaganda of modern times, and it stuck for over a decade, but I sense it's finally faded now and lost its utility.
I think you're right about SKS and the voters though. There's something about him that doesn't cut through. It's not a lack of 'charisma' as such - in any case please save us from more of that - it's more that he seems on too tight a rein, kind of bottled up, so you don't as a casual observer (which is what the voters are) get a sense of knowing and relating to him. Of all the skills a politician needs for personal electoral appeal, creating that illusion (which it usually is) is imo the most important. SKS doesn't have it in his locker - which is a problem.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
I'd have to check but there could be double counting going on there. Covid can lead to pneumonia. Which would mean you would appear in both buckets.
Isn’t pneumonia a symptom of illness rather than an illness itself?
Yes it's an inflammation of the lungs as a result of infection, often bacterial in origin. Colds can lead to pneumonia via bacteria getting established during the initial stages of the viral disease. I am prone to chest infections after colds which are related to my asthma.
That’s what I thought - so listing it with Flu and COVID is mixing categories.
Isn’t pneumonia also associated with a lot of other diseases?
Yes. Really pneumonia is a symptom, not a disease. We wouldn't class running a fever as a disease.
its complicated by pneumunoccal bacteria that cause pneumonia. (Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus) And there is a vaccine against it, so people are offered vaccines against pneumonia, which is a bit confusing.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
You can’t look at the figures in the second paragraph without the figures in the first paragraph.
“There were 148,606 deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
“In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.”
COVID killed way more people. You could add the figures together, so cases where the diseases had any role, so there would be 319k for COVID and 254k for flu and pneumonia. COVID still ahead.
When interpreting these figures, you also need to be very clear that they’re for flu AND pneumonia. Pneumonia is common at the end of life and has a very different epidemiology to flu and COVID-19.
Presumably the "cause OR contributory factor" data encapsulates cause only? So adding them together is double-counting?
(I don't know, I have no idea, I am merely asking a genuine question as that is how it reads)
Reading it again, I'm fairly sure that it IS double counting – and Richard was quite right to say flu and pneumonia were a cause or contributory factor in more deaths than covid since the pandemic began, which is surprising.
Moreover, that same report says we probably under count flu deaths – because of the lack of testing... which again is food for thought and further grist to Richard's mill...
For example, death certificates likely underestimate flu deaths because not all patients are tested for it, and circulating flu causes increases in deaths due to other conditions such as cardiovascular diseases.
On the 'grist to the mill' point, I should clarify that I do not favour Bart's idea about just ignoring it and let it happen. I would suggest that anyone who goes to work with a known case of flu is just as irresponsible as anyone who goes to work with a known case of Covid and I repeat that I think the Government has been incredibly negligent in ending free testing.
In my case this is simply an argument about interesting perceptions and how they influence our responses. I do think we need a mindset change and learn to accept that covid is here to stay and people will die of it just as they do with flu (often in very large numbers). But that is not to encourage irresponsibility which personally, and with respect, I think is what Bart is advocating.
Yes, sorry, I understand that did not intend to imply otherwise.
My point was simply that you were right in your contention about the data.
The Scot Nats are cretins, they are Putin's little helpers.
Nicola Sturgeon's ministers have said no more of their money should be given to the Ukraine for weapons after being pressured by the Treasury to hand over £65 million.
Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, said she had agreed to provide the money "on this occasion" but lashed out at the Treasury, making clear "this must not be seen as any kind of precedent."
Her comments were echoed by Rebecca Evans, her Welsh counterpart, who complained she had been forced to donate £30 million of money earmarked for "devolved areas, like health and education."
But the Treasury "strongly disagreed" with her characterisation of the request, saying government departments across Whitehall had also been asked to make a contribution through their underspend.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Euro is already under $1.04, close to a 10-year low. It could well go under a dollar in the next few days, if the ECB keeps the printing presses on and doesn’t raise interest rates. It’s one hell of a risky strategy.
I wonder whether the living standards of people right across the Western world are about to undergo a downward adjustment in their living standards so swift and violent it could well be destabilising socially.
I think that’s probably overstating it. But not by much.
It’s going to be a tough next couple of years for most of the Western world, there will likely be close to a completely reversal of the asset price inflation we have seen since shortly after the start of the pandemic, as well as commodity-led inflation remaining high in the general economy.
Its a curious time because where I work we are finding it harder than ever to hold onto staff. Even long termers with a good track record behind them are getting poached with packages they just could not refuse.
Yes, the wierd bit at the moment is the lack of unemployment. Quite the opposite in fact, as your anecdote suggests. That’s the same everywhere too, as the labour market has been shrunk by the pandemic - plus of course, the ‘B-word’ in the UK, which has led to rising wages as predicted.
Looks like 🇧🇪 is going to get an additional 19 CAESAR MkIIs, on top of the 9 ordered a few months ago. Nice to see European NATO countries slowly getting their arses back in gear when it comes to Arty
The Scot Nats are cretins, they are Putin's little helpers.
Nicola Sturgeon's ministers have said no more of their money should be given to the Ukraine for weapons after being pressured by the Treasury to hand over £65 million.
Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, said she had agreed to provide the money "on this occasion" but lashed out at the Treasury, making clear "this must not be seen as any kind of precedent."
Her comments were echoed by Rebecca Evans, her Welsh counterpart, who complained she had been forced to donate £30 million of money earmarked for "devolved areas, like health and education."
But the Treasury "strongly disagreed" with her characterisation of the request, saying government departments across Whitehall had also been asked to make a contribution through their underspend.
I mean, I think it is reasonable to say "we as devolved governments don't have enough money to do what we want anyway, why should we ship it over there". If the country was well funded in other areas, I'd agree with you, but it isn't. Successive governments have cut services to the bone saying it had to be done, and are now flush with cash to hand out to war and to bungs to companies during Covid, at a time where a real cost of living crisis is hitting people, and the front line services that would help them through a hard period doesn't exist. I want Ukraine to win and Russia actively defeated, but I also understand the bristling at being told there is "no money magic tree" when you want minor social democratic social spending, but the printers go brrr for war.
Helping Ukraine now is an investment in the future; if we do not help Ukraine beat Russia now, we will have to spend lots more in a few years helping Poland. Or Lithuania. Or Finland. Or Estonia.
At a Rugby League World Cup press conference today. Nadine Dorries, sec of state for sport, is special guest. “I’ve always liked the idea of rugby league. That drop goal in 2003 was such a special moment.” That drop goal was actually in the Rugby Union World Cup.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Euro is already under $1.04, close to a 10-year low. It could well go under a dollar in the next few days, if the ECB keeps the printing presses on and doesn’t raise interest rates. It’s one hell of a risky strategy.
I wonder whether the living standards of people right across the Western world are about to undergo a downward adjustment in their living standards so swift and violent it could well be destabilising socially.
I think that’s probably overstating it. But not by much.
It’s going to be a tough next couple of years for most of the Western world, there will likely be close to a completely reversal of the asset price inflation we have seen since shortly after the start of the pandemic, as well as commodity-led inflation remaining high in the general economy.
Its a curious time because where I work we are finding it harder than ever to hold onto staff. Even long termers with a good track record behind them are getting poached with packages they just could not refuse.
Yes, the wierd bit at the moment is the lack of unemployment. Quite the opposite in fact, as your anecdote suggests. That’s the same everywhere too, as the labour market has been shrunk by the pandemic - plus of course, the ‘B-word’ in the UK, which has led to rising wages as predicted.
The Fed in America is all but saying they want unemployment to rise as they believe everyone having a job is the main cause of inflation.
Re: the mini debate on the previous thread, I can't see how @Richard_Tyndall has misunderstood them.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
I'd have to check but there could be double counting going on there. Covid can lead to pneumonia. Which would mean you would appear in both buckets.
Isn’t pneumonia a symptom of illness rather than an illness itself?
Yes it's an inflammation of the lungs as a result of infection, often bacterial in origin. Colds can lead to pneumonia via bacteria getting established during the initial stages of the viral disease. I am prone to chest infections after colds which are related to my asthma.
That’s what I thought - so listing it with Flu and COVID is mixing categories.
Isn’t pneumonia also associated with a lot of other diseases?
Yes, what is missing from the ONS stats to contextualise them is "Deaths certificates with Covid & Pneumonia on them".
The Scot Nats are cretins, they are Putin's little helpers.
Nicola Sturgeon's ministers have said no more of their money should be given to the Ukraine for weapons after being pressured by the Treasury to hand over £65 million.
Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, said she had agreed to provide the money "on this occasion" but lashed out at the Treasury, making clear "this must not be seen as any kind of precedent."
Her comments were echoed by Rebecca Evans, her Welsh counterpart, who complained she had been forced to donate £30 million of money earmarked for "devolved areas, like health and education."
But the Treasury "strongly disagreed" with her characterisation of the request, saying government departments across Whitehall had also been asked to make a contribution through their underspend.
I mean, I think it is reasonable to say "we as devolved governments don't have enough money to do what we want anyway, why should we ship it over there". If the country was well funded in other areas, I'd agree with you, but it isn't. Successive governments have cut services to the bone saying it had to be done, and are now flush with cash to hand out to war and to bungs to companies during Covid, at a time where a real cost of living crisis is hitting people, and the front line services that would help them through a hard period doesn't exist. I want Ukraine to win and Russia actively defeated, but I also understand the bristling at being told there is "no money magic tree" when you want minor social democratic social spending, but the printers go brrr for war.
Helping Ukraine now is an investment in the future; if we do not help Ukraine beat Russia now, we will have to spend lots more in a few years helping Poland. Or Lithuania. Or Finland. Or Estonia.
I agree. If only the government took that position on social spending as well. Spending now on the NHS, on education and higher education, on green energy and public housing would make the citizenry and the country richer, and increase private profits. But it doesn't. And the ideological case it makes for not doing that is - the money doesn't exist, sorry. So now their hypocrisy is exposed. So I agree in the funding for Ukraine. But I also understand why politicians with political priorities that would help people and their country say wait a sec, why do we have to pay for this when we are scraping the state to the bone as it is.
I see Russia had said it has exited Snake Island as a "gesture of goodwill".
Obviously they couldn't hold it, given the arrival of MLRS / Harpoons etc but, on this logic, they realise that the arrival of such equipment - even in small numbers - is going to have a catastrophic impact on their resources.
Which makes me think that we may not be too far again from the Russians offering some sort of ceasefire proposal, especially if the Ukrainian army leaves / is defeated at Lysychansk and it therefore has control of Luhansk, if not the entire Donbas.
One other part - apparently at the well-publicised meeting between Shiogu and the Russian commanders was the head of the RU army's personnel department. Might be worth thinking about why he would be there.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
The Japanese have their own problems. The markets are testing the BoJ's policy that JGB yields cannot rise above 0.20% by sinking the yen. And sunk it indeed has....If the peg breaks, the consequences are profound.
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
Euro is already under $1.04, close to a 10-year low. It could well go under a dollar in the next few days, if the ECB keeps the printing presses on and doesn’t raise interest rates. It’s one hell of a risky strategy.
I wonder whether the living standards of people right across the Western world are about to undergo a downward adjustment in their living standards so swift and violent it could well be destabilising socially.
I think that’s probably overstating it. But not by much.
It’s going to be a tough next couple of years for most of the Western world, there will likely be close to a completely reversal of the asset price inflation we have seen since shortly after the start of the pandemic, as well as commodity-led inflation remaining high in the general economy.
Its a curious time because where I work we are finding it harder than ever to hold onto staff. Even long termers with a good track record behind them are getting poached with packages they just could not refuse.
Yes, the wierd bit at the moment is the lack of unemployment. Quite the opposite in fact, as your anecdote suggests. That’s the same everywhere too, as the labour market has been shrunk by the pandemic - plus of course, the ‘B-word’ in the UK, which has led to rising wages as predicted.
Real wages down more than 4% on a year ago, biggest ever fall.
Comments
I think about 30-40% of the Lib Dem vote is likely to split right.
Greens split 80-90% to Labour, less are likely to go Lib Dem.
And I think disgruntled Con will go Green before Lab or Lib Dem.
I have a very good friend (© Malmesbury) who served on Tu -22 as a WSO and he told me they didn't fly for months on end because the coolant system used a blend of 50/50 water and ethanol which could be stolen and sold as a bracing beverage. Every single officer on the squadron was in on it and they all got an allocation of coolant based on rank to either sell or get constantly drunk on. He was supposed to be my best man but got locked up in Cyprus for stabbing somebody on the stag night. Top bloke/Молодец!
This myth is normally peddled by Labour folk, not normally by Lib Dems themselves.
Flu and pneumonia were a cause of contributory factor in more deaths than covid was since the start of the pandemic, which I must admit really surprised me... however that is indeed what the data say.
So Richard is quite right I think.
There are large areas of the North and Midlands where, like Wakefield, there is barely a LD vote to re-distribute
I presume they deliberately didn't add methanol so as not to blind half the squadron ?
It's one third. And has been for some months now.
Add five percent to that and they'll be difficult to shift.
Add nowt, and they are headed for defeat. Whichever way you slice it.
History has long arms. Alfred the Great was obvs an LD.
“There were 148,606 deaths where COVID-19 was identified as the underlying cause of death in England and Wales between the weeks ending 13 March 2020 and 1 April 2022, compared with 35,007 deaths due to flu and pneumonia.
“In contrast, there were 170,600 deaths, where COVID-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate as cause or contributory factor, compared to 219,207 deaths involving flu and pneumonia.”
COVID killed way more people. You could add the figures together, so cases where the diseases had any role, so there would be 319k for COVID and 254k for flu and pneumonia. COVID still ahead.
When interpreting these figures, you also need to be very clear that they’re for flu AND pneumonia. Pneumonia is common at the end of life and has a very different epidemiology to flu and COVID-19.
My thoughts are: Many LDs seem to like Starmer, but only ~50%, so the other half of LD voters are true party people. Many Labour voters will not vote LD, still holding resentment about the coalition and, indeed, the LDs participation in the anti-Corbyn coalition that allowed the 2019 election to go the way it did. Greens may have voted Labour in the past, but that was under Corbyn; expecting the Greens to "come home" to Labour under Starmer is a bigger question. I would actually expect more Greens to vote LD tactically than Labour, based on geography, policy and demographics.
What we really need to see is consistent polling by the LDs of >15% and Lab consistently >40% to get the kind of tactical voting needed to displace the Tories.
NB: As a Green I am against any tactical voting that would give Labour a majority or, indeed, allows Labour to only rely on LD votes. I think we need a truly hung parliament, or a "coalition of chaos" as the Tories would call it, to produce the necessary significant changes that would make the UK more democratic (repealing this recent police powers bill, electoral reform, referendums in Scotland and NI, more funding and power to local government in England, etc). I don't trust Starmer's Labour to do that if they are too firmly in the driver's seat, and I don't see the LDs having backbone enough if only their votes are needed. If Lab needs, depending on the context of the vote, a mix of LD, Green, PC and SNP votes, that seems much more reasonable to me. And if Lab ended up relying heavily on Tory votes (grand coalition style), the two main parties could easily see themselves collapse, which wouldn't be a bad thing either.
If Labour has a significant sustained poll lead then the odds are they might win the next election.
If Labour has only a narrow midterm poll lead then swingback might provide a significant proportion of that 5%.
But you are right in the main.
Is there some kind of long term, perpetuating difference, like land tenure or something?
I think the new seat Oadby, Wigston and Blaby would be a good target seat for LDs locally. O and W make up the bulk of the seat, and the council is already LD.
No wonder the UK is selling off various defence contractors.
The point is that there are various areas (like Cleveland) where Labour is the incumbent and where it is fairly obvious the Lib Dems are not in contention. There, the Lib Dems' (rather low) residual vote isn't all that much more likely to choose Labour over the Conservatives. I had various criticisms of that, but understand the point.
That is not the same as saying that respondents in a generic vote opinion poll won't vote tactically, or that their tactical vote isn't reasonably predictable.
If you look at the only example Mike gave where the incumbent was not Labour, and it wasn't clear that the Lib Dems were out of contention (Cambridgeshire/Peterborough Mayor where the LDs were a close third and probably would have won in the second round had they edged out Labour in round one) that illustrates the point well - three quarters of LD second prefs were for Labour.
It would, of course, be wrong to simply add the Labour, Lib Dem and Green votes together - if you could do that, the Conservatives would have lost many more elections than they have. However, if you merely focus on the Labour lead over the Conservatives (or vice versa) ignoring the relative levels of Lib Dem/Green and RE-FUK votes, you're missing a key point.
Labour still haven't addressed the fundamentals of why they were booted out of office in 2010, IMHO. If they do win in 2024/25 it will only be by default and because someone has to win.
The biggest, overwhelming, difference isn’t one of policy but of attitude. Liberals put a value on independence of thought and action, socialists prize solidarity, loyalty and adherence to the party line. That’s a little glib, and I could have written a whole paragraph (but don’t feel like it). But the answer is in there somewhere.
Basically, the US, the UK and the Eurozone are all heading towards economic contraction in Q3, while Japan has (so far) avoided it.
(I don't know, I have no idea, I am merely asking a genuine question as that is how it reads)
https://mobile.twitter.com/AFP/status/1542249958161670145
"No problem" for Russia if Finland, Sweden join NATO, Putin says
Is the euro next? The ECB also thinks it has a consequence free pass to print as much money as it wants whenever it wants. The latest printing exercise is to support the debt markets of member economies that are so chronically weak they cannot even stand positive rates.
You get Conservatives who value liberal principles of independence of thought and action etc - and those who demand their own version of solidarity, loyalty and adherence too.
For me, independence of thought is absolutely critical and most important, for others only ever voting Tory no matter what is more important.
Moreover, that same report says we probably under count flu deaths – because of the lack of testing... which again is food for thought and further grist to Richard's mill...
For example, death certificates likely underestimate flu deaths because not all patients are tested for it, and circulating flu causes increases in deaths due to other conditions such as cardiovascular diseases.
Unless it's a Tory implementing it of course.
@nadhimzahawi has gutted his own legislation. https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1542472024068689921/photo/1
So far, he is the quiet, competent guy who gets the show back on the road after their wheels came off. He is gradually facing down the more ludicrous types, but apart from that, hasn’t made a big pitch as to what Starmerism might be.
1997 happened because the Tories were incredibly in popular *and* Blair had moved the Labour Party from NotNutters (Kinnock) and LeftSocialDemocracy (Smith) to NewLabour. Which was, at that point, a massively positive brand.
If that authoritarian turn is repeated nationally, I do wonder if the LDs would be able to outflank Labour on the left on some things - this policing bill, the borders and nationality bill etc. Going back to the socially libertarian instincts of some liberals would, in my mind, go back to the pre coalition days where Charles Kennedy / Paddy Ashdown seemed to sit.
Chelsea’s new owners have commissioned an investigation into accusations of a toxic culture of bullying within their marketing team after it emerged the former head of the club’s television channel took his own life.
The club confirmed they had appointed “an external review team” following the revelation Richard Bignell had killed himself aged 44 in January and that a coroner’s report had found he had been “deeply troubled by anxiety, depression and despair following the loss of his job”.
The New York Times said Bignell, who worked at Chelsea for 18 years, had been abruptly sacked in September a day after returning from more than a year of medical leave.
It said Chelsea’s previous leadership had hired an outside firm to conduct a cultural review of their marketing department in March but that it was to be jointly overseen by the executive accused of being to blame for the worst of its problems.
It said it had spoken to almost a dozen of Bignell’s current or former colleagues, a number of whom told it he had struggled to cope with the executive’s aggressive management style that sometimes left colleagues in tears.
Other staff were said to have been signed off on medical leave, with at least 10 members of the team having quit the club.
One former employee was said to have done so amid fears over his or her own mental health, and to have written to Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck to that effect.
Others were said to have expressed similar concerns to club executives or in exit interviews with human resources staff.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/06/30/chelsea-launch-review-toxic-culture-suicide-clubs-former-head/
When the Tories return to those days I shall vote for them again.
Notwithstanding what others have said about pneumonia being a result of Covid, which would require more examination of the data, flu and pneumonia have been a cause or contributory factor in more deaths than Covid since March 2020.
There is a lot of dislike and distrust of LP only offset by utterly crap nature of current government. Danger for Labour is that Tory MPs might kick out BoJo and appoint a better alternative so even Tories losing next election is not a certainty.
It's a shame he accidentally mailed it to /dev/null ...
Enteric viruses replicate in salivary glands and infect through saliva
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04895-8
In my case this is simply an argument about interesting perceptions and how they influence our responses. I do think we need a mindset change and learn to accept that covid is here to stay and people will die of it just as they do with flu (often in very large numbers). But that is not to encourage irresponsibility which personally, and with respect, I think is what Bart is advocating.
Nicola Sturgeon's ministers have said no more of their money should be given to the Ukraine for weapons after being pressured by the Treasury to hand over £65 million.
Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, said she had agreed to provide the money "on this occasion" but lashed out at the Treasury, making clear "this must not be seen as any kind of precedent."
Her comments were echoed by Rebecca Evans, her Welsh counterpart, who complained she had been forced to donate £30 million of money earmarked for "devolved areas, like health and education."
But the Treasury "strongly disagreed" with her characterisation of the request, saying government departments across Whitehall had also been asked to make a contribution through their underspend.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/06/30/nicola-sturgeons-snp-will-no-longer-send-money-ukraine-weapons/
It’s going to be a tough next couple of years for most of the Western world, there will likely be close to a completely reversal of the asset price inflation we have seen since shortly after the start of the pandemic, as well as commodity-led inflation remaining high in the general economy.
Nadine Dorries, sec of state for sport, is special guest.
“I’ve always liked the idea of rugby league. That drop goal in 2003 was such a special moment.”
That drop goal was actually in the Rugby Union World Cup.
https://twitter.com/chrishallitv/status/1542488532274618368
Why omit Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party?
It was indeed a special moment though, one of the sporting moments of the century so far.
Isn’t pneumonia also associated with a lot of other diseases?
At the moment they're close enough to 35% that it's plausible they can close the gap during an election campaign by scaring the voters with a bunch of rubbish about the Opposition. The Opposition have a job of work to do to convince the voters they're worth a try.
I think you're right about SKS and the voters though. There's something about him that doesn't cut through. It's not a lack of 'charisma' as such - in any case please save us from more of that - it's more that he seems on too tight a rein, kind of bottled up, so you don't as a casual observer (which is what the voters are) get a sense of knowing and relating to him. Of all the skills a politician needs for personal electoral appeal, creating that illusion (which it usually is) is imo the most important. SKS doesn't have it in his locker - which is a problem.
its complicated by pneumunoccal bacteria that cause pneumonia. (Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus) And there is a vaccine against it, so people are offered vaccines against pneumonia, which is a bit confusing.
My point was simply that you were right in your contention about the data.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-61994020
https://twitter.com/JakOSpades/status/1542480400668397568
Does it show?
(Currently 'Together in Electric Dreams'; next 'Nothing's gonna stop us now.')
Obviously they couldn't hold it, given the arrival of MLRS / Harpoons etc but, on this logic, they realise that the arrival of such equipment - even in small numbers - is going to have a catastrophic impact on their resources.
Which makes me think that we may not be too far again from the Russians offering some sort of ceasefire proposal, especially if the Ukrainian army leaves / is defeated at Lysychansk and it therefore has control of Luhansk, if not the entire Donbas.
One other part - apparently at the well-publicised meeting between Shiogu and the Russian commanders was the head of the RU army's personnel department. Might be worth thinking about why he would be there.