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Why the next election might not be a 1997 redux – politicalbetting.com

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Comments

  • MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,842
    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    She could just say she believes that a benign, creative force called God made the earth, but whether he did so over seven 24 hour days or over millennia of evolution is more information than she has access to. I think it's fair enough if you support gay marriage to be concerned about the possibility of her opposing it, but it is a stretch to say her very belief in God is a liability. Theresa May was a Churchgoer. Rishi Sunak is a practising Hindu - are you recommending he be quizzed on hinduism's creation myths?
    As an engineer, “Intelligent Design” is an insult to God. Look at the human eye - it’s utterly crap and requires a huge amount of processing to make the images usable.

    Plus the idea that God kicked off the universe x billions years ago, and played a trillion gazillion bank snooker shot, knowing that humans would appear at the end of that is way, way cooler.
  • TresTres Posts: 2,165
    edited February 2023

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    She could just say she believes that a benign, creative force called God made the earth, but whether he did so over seven 24 hour days or over millennia of evolution is more information than she has access to. I think it's fair enough if you support gay marriage to be concerned about the possibility of her opposing it, but it is a stretch to say her very belief in God is a liability. Theresa May was a Churchgoer. Rishi Sunak is a practising Hindu - are you recommending he be quizzed on hinduism's creation myths?
    My childhood GP was a member of one of those fringe Scottish churches and brought his family up not to believe in evolution but it didn't seem to do me any harm as a child as far as I can tell. Not sure I'd have wanted him to be in charge of education policy though.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,048
    edited February 2023
    boulay said:

    ...

    Tres said:

    kle4 said:

    Chris said:

    The spectacle of the last two Tory prime ministers, having failed abysmally in their own premierships, trying to undermine their successor in the most public way possible, is an absolute joy to behold.

    Is it too much to hope that Theresa May will join in? Or David Cameron?

    Yes, because they've got more class than that. Possibly not much more in Cameron's case, but sufficiently more.

    Heck, even Heath stuck to sour muttering in the main.
    Theresa May has made repeated interventions, the most recent being to advocate strongly against amending her ill-considered modern slavery bill which is being used as an unanswerable asylum claim by boat people. Cameron maintains a classy silence, but Osborne intervenes enough for both of them, constantly telling everyone what to do in the most strident of terms, and most recently seen cockily insisting that no Tory Government would ever leave the ECHR regardless of whether it was in their manifesto. He even runs a newspaper to do so.
    The idea former PMs shouldn't intervene which some Express is a nonsense in my books. They may choose not to as being counter productive in most instances since most careers end in failure etc, but no reason they couldn't.

    Both May and Boris absolutely should feel the right to do so as both are still MPs. Any interventions should be judged on merit.

    Osborne was never leader so why shouldn't he become a pundit?
    No reason, I was just correcting a misleading impression. Some posters are very fond of complaining about the UNSPEAKABLY AWFUL behaviour of Johnson, and latterly Truss, and ignoring exactly the same behaviour from those who they support.

    Another example is the anger toward Truss and the 'Growth Group', who have actually been very loyal, just formed a caucus and suggested pro-growth policies to the Chancellor and PM. By contrast, the Sunakites spent the Truss era constantly briefing the papers about how deluded, mad, and awful Truss was, the dreadful fractious state of the party etc. I didn't see them gathering a dossier of 'pro-tax' (or whatever they're into) policies and trying to make their case to Kwasi. But apparently they're the better behaved ones.
    The Sunakites were quiet between Truss being elected and the disastrous mini-budget if I recall correctly. You can hardly blame them for saying 'we told you so'.
    We would have to check. The Growth group have waited longer, and it is now very clear that if implemented in full, Sunak/Hunts misery agenda will lead to less growth, is already leading to less energy security, and will plunge the economy into a prolonged recession that will depress tax receipts and make it harder to balance the books. But still there's no snarky briefing campaign - in fact it's still on the other side, with remarks about Truss's sanity following her essay and interview. Sunak's people just aren't very nice, expecially when their divine right to govern (I use the term loosely) is questioned.
    1. I appreciate you are very pro Truss’ plans for growth etc and I would agree with them if they were introduced at a time where the economy is stable - if Boris had implemented them for example when he was elected or, and I hope this will happen, if Sunak has time once stabilising the economy and winning back the trust of markets.

    I disagree with you about the whole briefing situation though - the briefing against Sunak ahead of the first leadership campaign was brutal and that side of the party - the idiots who want Boris back and the people who wanted the Truss revolution - can have no complaints whatsoever about shit being flung in their direction.

    I also think that it’s not that Truss fans are lovely and not briefing because they are honourable it’s more that they have been shown to be wrong and keeping their heads down in a period of quiet self-reflection - something Truss herself would be advised to do as well.

    They aren’t angels and probably realise their best chance of holding onto their seats now is to hope Sunak pulls something out of his arse because more infighting and turmoil will cost them their jobs.
    1. I am afraid I think you're kidding yourself. The corporation tax increase is a flat out red flag dud - it will not increase tax receipts and is already damaging investment. THAT is something you don't do during a period of economic instability. The Chancellor himself believes that CT should be at 15%.

    2. I don't agree. Everyone makes the case for their candidate and against the others in a leadership campaign - I have made no criticism for Rishi supporters slagging Truss or vice versa before she was appointed. When the leader is elected it is usual to display some loyalty, or if not, at least have the self-awareness not to expect loyalty the other way.

    3. The collective delusion that Truss's programme was actually implemented and failed, rather than announced and quickly abandoned, is peculiar. Nobody has been shown to be wrong on anything.

    4. Their jobs are gone under Sunak. For the most part, they seem to agree that infighting isn't a good look (again more than his supporters cared, or care, about), so they are lobbying hard for positive action on the economy. Personally I think this is a waste of time, as everyone will know that this has been extracted from Sunak Hunt, and they will get no credit. The Government is done. Unsalvageable. Sunak should remain in the Cabinet for a united front. Hunt I don't know. Give him an ambassadorship.
  • malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,082
    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?
  • CiceroCicero Posts: 2,182
    dixiedean said:

    Course the 1997 Tory campaign was the same.
    Blair was both deadly dull, and no different to them. And sinister and dangerous. (Remember Bambi and demon eyes?).
    You can't be both.
    Choose one and run with it.

    "New Labour... New Danger" was an abject failure. The only danger the voters identified was to the Tory Party, and by that time they were so utterly sick of Back to Basics, that removing the Conservative government was done with even more enthusiasm when they realized that it was going to work. I was still up for Portillo.

    I am not in love with the beige Labour that is seemingly on offer at the moment, but have some hope that behind the beige, there are plans for some radical moves after the election, much like in 1997, when having spent the whole campaign arguing against the Lib Dem policy of an independent Bank of England, they enacted it within a few hours of taking office.

    In any event, the record of the Conservatives is so dreadful that no one with an ounce of self respect could vote for them under virtually any circumstances. Sunak is paying the price for the sins of his predecessors, but can not do enough to stop the juggernaut of defeat now it is rolling.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,048

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    She could just say she believes that a benign, creative force called God made the earth, but whether he did so over seven 24 hour days or over millennia of evolution is more information than she has access to. I think it's fair enough if you support gay marriage to be concerned about the possibility of her opposing it, but it is a stretch to say her very belief in God is a liability. Theresa May was a Churchgoer. Rishi Sunak is a practising Hindu - are you recommending he be quizzed on hinduism's creation myths?
    As an engineer, “Intelligent Design” is an insult to God. Look at the human eye - it’s utterly crap and requires a huge amount of processing to make the images usable.

    Plus the idea that God kicked off the universe x billions years ago, and played a trillion gazillion bank snooker shot, knowing that humans would appear at the end of that is way, way cooler.
    It works though. And surely if it's so awful, it's an argument against millions of years of evolutionary development too?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630
    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    Taz said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    I noticed my shop had gone down too this week. Only by a small amount but it had gone down.

    There weren’t many shortages in the fruit and veg aisle either.
    Glad to hear that it's not just in my little bit of North London that prices are hopefully falling.
  • Foxy said:

    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?

    I suspect the problem is less the views of religious members in different sects, but the views of secular members. Abortion is going to be a particularly difficult one for her. Interesting to hear views though.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,739
    malcolmg said:

    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope.

    A cynic might suggest it's a way of trying to secure her legacy.

    Like BoZo, they look like slightly less of a complete fuckup if compared to a successor who is even worse...
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,739
    Foxy said:

    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?

    I posted a comment to that effect yesterday.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630
    Foxy said:

    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?

    The question is, rather, whether personal beliefs can be reconciled with existing party policies.

    The SNP has been committed to the progressive side on politics for a considerable time.

    If a putative leader was hard core Opus Dei, I think the issue would be the same.

  • dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
  • TresTres Posts: 2,165
    "The suspension of a senior journalist at France's leading TV news channel has uncovered what appears to be a well-organised system of corruption and influence buying in the international media."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64677232

    Interesting story from the Beeb. Good job nothing like this happens in the good old British media.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    She could just say she believes that a benign, creative force called God made the earth, but whether he did so over seven 24 hour days or over millennia of evolution is more information than she has access to. I think it's fair enough if you support gay marriage to be concerned about the possibility of her opposing it, but it is a stretch to say her very belief in God is a liability. Theresa May was a Churchgoer. Rishi Sunak is a practising Hindu - are you recommending he be quizzed on hinduism's creation myths?
    As an engineer, “Intelligent Design” is an insult to God. Look at the human eye - it’s utterly crap and requires a huge amount of processing to make the images usable.

    Plus the idea that God kicked off the universe x billions years ago, and played a trillion gazillion bank snooker shot, knowing that humans would appear at the end of that is way, way cooler.
    It works though. And surely if it's so awful, it's an argument against millions of years of evolutionary development too?
    Evolution works on the basis of patching repeatedly to improve performance. Radical redesign from the top can’t happen.

    Hence the human eye - millions of years of bodges to the original photoreceptors.
  • Foxy said:

    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?

    I think Forbes needs to show a bit of courage on stating publicly positions on various issues even if it made things a bit sticky with her church, it's part of successful a politician's skill set. An absolute clear condemnation of anti Catholic bigotry should be part of that.

    I'd imagine I have more direct experience of Free Church Christianity than most on here, Isle of Harris in my case. I'd say I saw the most direct expression of what I'd call a true tenet of Christianity, loving thy neighbour as thyself, combined with a usually quiet obduracy when their social norms were threatened. Made things tricky sometimes, though I thought it was fair enough as I was essentially an interloper in their world.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,776
    dixiedean said:

    HYUFD said:

    What a cruel bastard King Charles III is, how can he treat his brother like this and make him homeless? No wonder the King's son hates him.


    Fortunately for Andrew though Kings no longer put brothers who have become a nuisance in the Tower of London.

    He will just have to find a detached house in Surrey
    I hear Woking has good places to eat.
    He'd get regular meals in prison, too.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684
    Foxy said:

    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?

    Most of teh nutters would not have a clue what it is , and there is little of the catholic v Orange Lodge issue there. Personally I do not care a jot as long as she would run country properly , not a catholic mind you so cannot speak for them and would not spit on the zealot OL people on the other side.
    I cannot personally see religion being an issue other than to the minority moronic tribal football supporting neanderthals.
    Much more worying is it being a real vote counted in public and what restrictions the ruling clique will put in place to hamstring their opponents.
    They have form.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,776
    DavidL said:

    If Sagan is right - I suspect he is -

    Not a single tomato to be had in Cardiff (Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Morrisons)
    #EmptyShelves
    Apparently “supply issues”
    #BrexitBritain
    Also British greenhouses cannot afford to put on the heating
    #ToryCostOfLivingCrisis


    https://twitter.com/jonnyfawr/status/1626632317056712710?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    There’s loads of these type of pics popping up on my Twitter feed from all across the UK, often helpfully contrasted with shelves groaning under the weight of fresh produce in the EU.

    Supposedly, one woman complained about the lack of fresh produce and was told by an employee that it was due to bad weather affecting crops. The employee then helpfully added that that’s what management had told them to say, but really it’s because of Brexit.

    If it is due to crop shortages, they don’t seem to have affected yields in the EU.
    And Twitter delivers right on cue.


    Of course it's sodding Brexit. It has totally fucked over farmers and fishermen. As they are telling anyone who will listen. And yet wazzock Tories (David Duguid as an example) keep saying how it's great and that they are listening to the very same farmers and fishermen detailing why it isn't great.
    The figures I saw recently were that UK fishermen were landing nearly 20k tonnes more fish than pre-Brexit and that will increase for the next several years as EU rights wind down. The oddity was that nearly all of that extra 20k tonnes was being landed at Peterhead with most of the English ports pretty level.
    This piece from the BBC has some of the detail: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/64430216
    Don't let facts intrude into the debate.
  • eekeek Posts: 24,797
    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Not really - it wouldn't surprise me if they do a collection and delivery service - we have that for our ironing.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630
    Sean_F said:

    dixiedean said:

    HYUFD said:

    What a cruel bastard King Charles III is, how can he treat his brother like this and make him homeless? No wonder the King's son hates him.


    Fortunately for Andrew though Kings no longer put brothers who have become a nuisance in the Tower of London.

    He will just have to find a detached house in Surrey
    I hear Woking has good places to eat.
    He'd get regular meals in prison, too.
    All you need now is someone to actually charge him with committing a crime…
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,100
    edited February 2023
    Dura_Ace said:

    Sean_F said:

    Not a single tomato to be had in Cardiff (Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Morrisons)
    #EmptyShelves
    Apparently “supply issues”
    #BrexitBritain
    Also British greenhouses cannot afford to put on the heating
    #ToryCostOfLivingCrisis


    https://twitter.com/jonnyfawr/status/1626632317056712710?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Maybe he should have gone in the morning?
    Brexit terrific before noon.

    I am not going to get drawn into this FBPE Sunday circle-jerk for the umpteenth time but you'd have largely empty supermarket shelves of fruit and vegetables late on a Saturday night 10 years ago too.

    The facts are irrelevant. Brexit's getting the blame. That's just the way it goes.
    That exact photo appeared extensively in our press in from September 2021.
    eg https://www.independent.co.uk/business/one-in-six-unable-to-buy-essential-food-items-in-past-two-weeks-survey-suggests-b1926442.html

    The claim on twitter that it is from this weekend is just the usual dishonest garbage from a remainer-bot, and idiots who want to believe it, fall for it, or knowingly find it convenient for propaganda.

    And has been on Alamy since then:
    https://www.alamy.com/file-photo-dated-130921-of-empty-shelves-at-a-co-op-supermarket-as-the-countrys-union-for-farmers-and-growers-has-warned-that-the-uk-is-sleepwalking-into-a-food-supply-crisis-image499425358.html


  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,776
    Dura_Ace said:

    Sean_F said:

    Not a single tomato to be had in Cardiff (Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Morrisons)
    #EmptyShelves
    Apparently “supply issues”
    #BrexitBritain
    Also British greenhouses cannot afford to put on the heating
    #ToryCostOfLivingCrisis


    https://twitter.com/jonnyfawr/status/1626632317056712710?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Maybe he should have gone in the morning?
    Brexit terrific before noon.

    I am not going to get drawn into this FBPE Sunday circle-jerk for the umpteenth time but you'd have largely empty supermarket shelves of fruit and vegetables late on a Saturday night 10 years ago too.

    Domestic fruit (in Winter time) is grown in polytunnels and the increase in wholesale gas prices has meant these are now expensive to heat, together with higher fuel costs for transportation - this is the real problem.

    The only contributing factor from Brexit would be health checks on seeds entering the UK, to rule out plant viruses that can affect crops, which wouldn't affect this year's haul because, um, there's no time for them to be planted and grow, and it's a pretty marginal issue anyway that can be planned for. You could just about argue that's there an issue of seasonal labour for harvesting, but that's also a European-wide and even a global issue now with war, inflation, inclement weather and unprecedented demand being the fundamental issues.

    Which is a problem in Spain: https://www.freshplaza.com/asia/article/9503988/shortage-of-vegetables-in-almeria-due-to-the-cold/

    And in the USA: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11736999/All-food-shortages-watch-2023.html
    The facts are irrelevant. Brexit's getting the blame. That's just the way it goes.
    I agree that the facts are irrelevant. FBPE types think we're living in the world of "Threads", after the bombing of Sheffield.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,082

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
  • TresTres Posts: 2,165
    MattW said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    Sean_F said:

    Not a single tomato to be had in Cardiff (Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Morrisons)
    #EmptyShelves
    Apparently “supply issues”
    #BrexitBritain
    Also British greenhouses cannot afford to put on the heating
    #ToryCostOfLivingCrisis


    https://twitter.com/jonnyfawr/status/1626632317056712710?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Maybe he should have gone in the morning?
    Brexit terrific before noon.

    I am not going to get drawn into this FBPE Sunday circle-jerk for the umpteenth time but you'd have largely empty supermarket shelves of fruit and vegetables late on a Saturday night 10 years ago too.

    The facts are irrelevant. Brexit's getting the blame. That's just the way it goes.
    That exact photo appeared extensively in our press in from September 2021.
    eg https://www.independent.co.uk/business/one-in-six-unable-to-buy-essential-food-items-in-past-two-weeks-survey-suggests-b1926442.html

    The claim on twitter that it is from this weekend is just the usual dishonest garbage from a remainer-bot, and idiots who want to believe it, fall for it, or knowingly find it convenient for propaganda.

    And has been on Alamy since then:
    https://www.alamy.com/file-photo-dated-130921-of-empty-shelves-at-a-co-op-supermarket-as-the-countrys-union-for-farmers-and-growers-has-warned-that-the-uk-is-sleepwalking-into-a-food-supply-crisis-image499425358.html


    Oh well what's good for the EU trying to ban bent bananas goose is good for the gander.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,776
    edited February 2023

    Foxy said:

    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?

    The question is, rather, whether personal beliefs can be reconciled with existing party policies.

    The SNP has been committed to the progressive side on politics for a considerable time.

    If a putative leader was hard core Opus Dei, I think the issue would be the same.

    I'd say it's quite difficult to be a leading politician *and* to take one's religion seriously. Especially as we live in a society where it is decreasingly permissible to say, "I disapprove of what you do, but I don't think it's any of the government's business to punish it."
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,265
    Dura_Ace said:



    If Starmer has a problem, and I don't think it's a major one, it's that he needs to demonstrate his real personality; if such a thing exits. The small target, managerial, at-least-we're-not-the-tories policy lite strategy is effective but it doesn't really give you a sense of what SKS is like. I've never met Sunak but I know exactly what he'd be like if I encountered him in person. A pathetic boring little dweeb who's never heard of Rodrigo Moreno but would try to tell me about Microsoft Azure or some fucking thing. I have no idea what to expect from a personal encounter with SKS. Maybe he's a right laugh?

    I've only met him once (at a campaign rally) - he seemed a fairly typical middle-aged, middle-class pleasant man with above-average capacity to focus. I dount if there is a rollicking jollly type underneath, but he's not nerdish or boring.
  • malcolmg said:

    Foxy said:

    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?

    Most of teh nutters would not have a clue what it is , and there is little of the catholic v Orange Lodge issue there. Personally I do not care a jot as long as she would run country properly , not a catholic mind you so cannot speak for them and would not spit on the zealot OL people on the other side.
    I cannot personally see religion being an issue other than to the minority moronic tribal football supporting neanderthals.
    Much more worying is it being a real vote counted in public and what restrictions the ruling clique will put in place to hamstring their opponents.
    They have form.
    From the outside, I think her religion may be a net benefit for several reasons:

    - My impression is that religion is relatively more important in Scotland than E and W so, for issues such as abortion and transgender rights, Forbes is maybe more aligned on people's views than she would be in E and W

    - As you say, though, the idea of Scotland as an Orange v Green hotbed is largely historical (Liverpool is another classic case). What people want more is competence and honesty. I think she would be good on that

    - People also respect those who stand up for their beliefs, especially when not fashionable (obvious limits of course such as Nazi-ism but I'm not one of those who puts religion in that camp

    In the ST, Rod Liddle said he wanted to wish Kate Forbes luck but wouldn't because she would advance the cause of Scottish independence. I think that's right.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,590
    edited February 2023

    HYUFD said:

    TimS said:

    HYUFD said:

    Heathener said:

    "I feel confident in my Labour largest party in a hung parliament position, if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views but Starmer needs to up his game." @TSE

    Good morning all.

    1. Starmer doesn't need to up his game

    2. It's good that he is no Blair. Boris and Cameron have made that kind of politician toxic.

    3. Starmer has expunged Corbyn's anti-semitic legacy

    4. Labour don't need Scotland but they are recovering well there.

    5. Believe the polls

    6. I am not merely confident, I am certain, that Labour will win a thumping great majority. We have witnessed a sea change.

    7. But you are right. This won't be 1997 Redux. It will be far, far, worse for the tories. In 1997 the economy was in great shape. Now it has tanked. Everyone I know is STILL talking about that Liz Truss budget and Labour will continue to remind us of it. The tories have done 1000x worse in the last 4 years than they did back then on every level, including corruption and sleaze. Which is really saying something.

    They are in for an absolute pounding. 100-150 seats but my latest reckoning is that they may go sub 100.

    Did you hear that dreadful Rishi Sunak speech in Munich? OMFG. He sounds like a precocious 14 year old reading his script (the teacher gave it a C+) in front of the class, very poorly. Really eye-wateringly poorly. This man is going to get savaged during the election campaign.

    The 100-150 band ought to be possible with a half-decent leader. But the Tories don’t have a half-decent leader.
    I watched and it was fine and he answered questions well.

    Compared to Starmer, whose speeches making watching paint dry exciting, Sunak is a perfectly good speaker
    They’re both reasonable but not electrifying speakers.

    In recent* years Blair, Hague, Cameron, Miliband, May and Johnson were all good orators. Brown, Howard, Corbyn, Starmer and Sunak mediocre. Truss and IDS awful. Kinnock was world class.

    Corbyn was overrated as a speaker. His fans loved him but I always felt his oratory was awkward and disjointed.

    *as I get older “recent” takes on a more extended meaning.
    Hague, Cameron, Blair and Kinnock were by far the best speakers and orators of the last 40 years amongst the main party leaders. Though 2 of them won, 2 of them also lost so great oratory is not enough to win general elections.

    Boris was more amusing than great speaker
    Gordon Brown wrote good speeches but tended to the head down and gabble school of delivery. His speeches were better read than heard. Older PBers might remember Peter Lilley as a Conservative on those lines. Ken Clarke used to laugh at his own jokes, which rather spoiled them.

    I am genuinely puzzled why modern politicians do not undertake training, since they will not have been able to learn their craft at the mass meetings of old.
    I actually recall a Lilley speech - “I have a little list”.
    Utter tw@t.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,082
    Sean_F said:

    Foxy said:

    I would be interested in whether our Scottish posters think being a Free Presbyterian will be a problem with the SNP membership. Would it put off Catholic members? Or is that sort of Sectarianism history?

    The question is, rather, whether personal beliefs can be reconciled with existing party policies.

    The SNP has been committed to the progressive side on politics for a considerable time.

    If a putative leader was hard core Opus Dei, I think the issue would be the same.

    I'd say it's quite difficult to be a leading politician *and* to take one's religion seriously. Especially as we live in a society where it is decreasingly permissible to say, "I disapprove of what you do, but I don't think it's any of the government's business to punish it."
    Well that was the problem that Tim Farron had, and didn't handle well. It is though the essence of Liberalism.
  • Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Forbes is Free Church, the slightly more flexible sect. The Free Presbyterians were the ones that suspended Lord Mackay of Clashfern after he attended the funeral mass of a Catholic colleague. To his credit he told them where to stick it.
  • Tres said:

    "The suspension of a senior journalist at France's leading TV news channel has uncovered what appears to be a well-organised system of corruption and influence buying in the international media."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64677232

    Interesting story from the Beeb. Good job nothing like this happens in the good old British media.

    Looking at "La Syndicaliste" plot, there's a lot of stuff that goes on in France that doesn't happen in the U.K. - thank God.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,082

    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Forbes is Free Church, the slightly more flexible sect. The Free Presbyterians were the ones that suspended Lord Mackay of Clashfern after he attended the funeral mass of a Catholic colleague. To his credit he told them where to stick it.
    My own ancestors were reunified into the URC, but I think it was more complicated in Scotland itself.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540
    edited February 2023

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence and more than twice as important as the NHS:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 5,794
    edited February 2023
    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Not sure if this is accurate:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Churches_of_Scotland_timeline.svg
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,590

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    She could just say she believes that a benign, creative force called God made the earth, but whether he did so over seven 24 hour days or over millennia of evolution is more information than she has access to. I think it's fair enough if you support gay marriage to be concerned about the possibility of her opposing it, but it is a stretch to say her very belief in God is a liability. Theresa May was a Churchgoer. Rishi Sunak is a practising Hindu - are you recommending he be quizzed on hinduism's creation myths?
    As an engineer, “Intelligent Design” is an insult to God. Look at the human eye - it’s utterly crap and requires a huge amount of processing to make the images usable.

    Plus the idea that God kicked off the universe x billions years ago, and played a trillion gazillion bank snooker shot, knowing that humans would appear at the end of that is way, way cooler.
    It works though. And surely if it's so awful, it's an argument against millions of years of evolutionary development too?
    Quite the opposite.
    Once a complex system like the eye has started evolving in a particular direction, there’s no good mechanism to reset that, since evolution is only about the persistence of comparative advantage that benefits survival and reproduction.

    There are many other animal vision systems which evolved separately and work better.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630

    Tres said:

    "The suspension of a senior journalist at France's leading TV news channel has uncovered what appears to be a well-organised system of corruption and influence buying in the international media."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64677232

    Interesting story from the Beeb. Good job nothing like this happens in the good old British media.

    Looking at "La Syndicaliste" plot, there's a lot of stuff that goes on in France that doesn't happen in the U.K. - thank God.
    It happens everywhere. The Twitter Files stuff was really about government and Twitter getting into bed with each other in the way that traditional media is.
  • It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
    I'd definitely say someone who posts multiple times a day on the subject seven days a week when they don't even live in Scotland qualifies as an all consumed obsessive.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,100
    MattW said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    Sean_F said:

    Not a single tomato to be had in Cardiff (Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Morrisons)
    #EmptyShelves
    Apparently “supply issues”
    #BrexitBritain
    Also British greenhouses cannot afford to put on the heating
    #ToryCostOfLivingCrisis


    https://twitter.com/jonnyfawr/status/1626632317056712710?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Maybe he should have gone in the morning?
    Brexit terrific before noon.

    I am not going to get drawn into this FBPE Sunday circle-jerk for the umpteenth time but you'd have largely empty supermarket shelves of fruit and vegetables late on a Saturday night 10 years ago too.

    The facts are irrelevant. Brexit's getting the blame. That's just the way it goes.
    That exact photo appeared extensively in our press in from September 2021.
    eg https://www.independent.co.uk/business/one-in-six-unable-to-buy-essential-food-items-in-past-two-weeks-survey-suggests-b1926442.html

    The claim on twitter that it is from this weekend is just the usual dishonest garbage from a remainer-bot, and idiots who want to believe it, fall for it, or knowingly find it convenient for propaganda.

    And has been on Alamy since then:
    https://www.alamy.com/file-photo-dated-130921-of-empty-shelves-at-a-co-op-supermarket-as-the-countrys-union-for-farmers-and-growers-has-warned-that-the-uk-is-sleepwalking-into-a-food-supply-crisis-image499425358.html


    It's moderately interesting observing the planks retweeting that - Mitch Benn for one.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684
    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Exactly add the petrol and price of laundrette must be much more than using washing machine at home and even tumbling drying if you have to.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,776
    O/T did anyone read Ann Coulter's nasty comments about how Nikki Haley should "go home" to where they worship cows and rats.

    The thing about Coulter is that she is an extremely intelligent woman who edited the Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law School is reckoned to be one of the top three in the USA. She also attended Cornell.

    Unlike people like Lauren Boebert and MTG, who spew stupidities as if they were demon-possessed, Coulter actually knows what she's doing.
  • glwglw Posts: 9,535
    edited February 2023
    MattW said:


    That exact photo appeared extensively in our press in from September 2021.
    eg https://www.independent.co.uk/business/one-in-six-unable-to-buy-essential-food-items-in-past-two-weeks-survey-suggests-b1926442.html

    The claim on twitter that it is from this weekend is just the usual dishonest garbage from a remainer-bot, and idiots who want to believe it, fall for it, or knowingly find it convenient for propaganda.

    And has been on Alamy since then:
    https://www.alamy.com/file-photo-dated-130921-of-empty-shelves-at-a-co-op-supermarket-as-the-countrys-union-for-farmers-and-growers-has-warned-that-the-uk-is-sleepwalking-into-a-food-supply-crisis-image499425358.html


    Excellent work Matt.

    FWIW the only thing I noticed missing in Tesco's fruit and veg this morning is that they didn't have the particular blueberries I wanted so I bought the other ones instead.
  • ChrisChris Posts: 11,010

    kle4 said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Tim Farron was a bit hard done by but he made a rod for his own back by dissembling and then lying about it.
    I think this is a little harsh on Farron, the core of whose problem was the public anguish over trying to avoid telling a lie about his religious beliefs (he had a couple of years to formulate a decent answer, and that he didn't is pretty poor but there we are).
    The core of his problem was that he was meant to be a liberal.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,776

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence and more than twice as important as the NHS:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
    Look how low the constitutional issue is on this list, yet who would doubt it is the major driver of party support in Scotland?
  • It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
    I'd definitely say someone who posts multiple times a day on the subject seven days a week when they don't even live in Scotland qualifies as an all consumed obsessive.
    On a “non issue” too! How’s that worked out?
  • Reluctant as I am to disagree with one of the world's greatest pineapple connoisseurs, I have to say that TSE may have this slightly wrong.

    Take a look, for example, at clunky old Electoral Calculus. OK we all know its limitations but it is suggesting 83 Tory seats, ffs. And there is no reason to think that if it is wrong it is wrong on the downside. It could be worse. Reason? Well, tactical voting for a start.

    I wouldn't be betting on NOM. I don't think I'd be majoring on a LabMaj.

    I think I might be chancing my arm on a meltdown. That, I suspect, is where the value lies.

    I think the odds for a meltdown will be high but they will be accurately priced. Not sure that makes it value.

    Reasons for thinking it's not likely:

    - none of the parties inspire
    - residual distrust of Labour and what it stands for, particularly on cultural issues
    - While Brexit has faded as an issue, it is still an issue for some

    The best chance of a meltdown bet coming off is a historically very low turnout election with Labour eking out a large number of fairly narrow wins and the LDs expanding the map.
    You are slightly missing my point, KC.

    I'm recommending backing the two extremes against the middle.
  • Eabhal said:

    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Not sure if this is accurate:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Churches_of_Scotland_timeline.svg
    Didn't you claim to be Outer Hebrides schoolboy champion at some sport or other? You should know all this stuff by heart.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 14,775
    MaxPB said:

    Taz said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    I noticed my shop had gone down too this week. Only by a small amount but it had gone down.

    There weren’t many shortages in the fruit and veg aisle either.
    Glad to hear that it's not just in my little bit of North London that prices are hopefully falling.
    Food price inflation was the one component I noticed was lower in Britain than in Ireland in the January figures. Food prices in Britain were level in January, but still rising in Ireland.

    Food prices rose by 0.9% in February 2022, so a decline would be a marked change.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684
    eek said:

    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Not really - it wouldn't surprise me if they do a collection and delivery service - we have that for our ironing.
    means they will charge for that on top of washing and drying , still no way is that less cost than doing your own, as I said lazy gits and nothing to do with electricity costs even at the eye watering rates we have.
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 12,884

    Dura_Ace said:



    If Starmer has a problem, and I don't think it's a major one, it's that he needs to demonstrate his real personality; if such a thing exits. The small target, managerial, at-least-we're-not-the-tories policy lite strategy is effective but it doesn't really give you a sense of what SKS is like. I've never met Sunak but I know exactly what he'd be like if I encountered him in person. A pathetic boring little dweeb who's never heard of Rodrigo Moreno but would try to tell me about Microsoft Azure or some fucking thing. I have no idea what to expect from a personal encounter with SKS. Maybe he's a right laugh?

    I've only met him once (at a campaign rally) - he seemed a fairly typical middle-aged, middle-class pleasant man with above-average capacity to focus. I dount if there is a rollicking jollly type underneath, but he's not nerdish or boring.
    He is genuinely into football instead of busking it like most politicians and he represented the McLibel Two for free so that's two ticks from me even though Labour exists only manage capitalism rather than destroy it.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630
    Sean_F said:

    O/T did anyone read Ann Coulter's nasty comments about how Nikki Haley should "go home" to where they worship cows and rats.

    The thing about Coulter is that she is an extremely intelligent woman who edited the Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law School is reckoned to be one of the top three in the USA. She also attended Cornell.

    Unlike people like Lauren Boebert and MTG, who spew stupidities as if they were demon-possessed, Coulter actually knows what she's doing.

    MAGA seems to be associated with brain rot. The scary thing is that they really believe in the kind of shit, usually. It’s not an act.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,724
    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Exactly add the petrol and price of laundrette must be much more than using washing machine at home and even tumbling drying if you have to.
    I rather suspect that the campaign about electricity prices have induced fear in quite a few people unnecessarily.

  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,776

    Sean_F said:

    O/T did anyone read Ann Coulter's nasty comments about how Nikki Haley should "go home" to where they worship cows and rats.

    The thing about Coulter is that she is an extremely intelligent woman who edited the Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law School is reckoned to be one of the top three in the USA. She also attended Cornell.

    Unlike people like Lauren Boebert and MTG, who spew stupidities as if they were demon-possessed, Coulter actually knows what she's doing.

    MAGA seems to be associated with brain rot. The scary thing is that they really believe in the kind of shit, usually. It’s not an act.
    MAGA is too left wing for Ann Coulter>
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 5,794

    Eabhal said:

    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Not sure if this is accurate:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Churches_of_Scotland_timeline.svg
    Didn't you claim to be Outer Hebrides schoolboy champion at some sport or other? You should know all this stuff by heart.
    We just went to the local Church of Scotland, infrequently. I don't really know anything about the other churches except they had Psalm singing in the north and lots of Catholics in the south.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684
    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Very true Max, I had not thought of that , so more expensive and more effort than just walking to the utility room and sticking it in the washing machine and pressing a button.
  • It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
    I'd definitely say someone who posts multiple times a day on the subject seven days a week when they don't even live in Scotland qualifies as an all consumed obsessive.
    On a “non issue” too! How’s that worked out?
    *Checks latest polling*
    I'd estimate that it'll work out to have changed hardly anything electorally.
    I mean I know it'll affect how you vote in Scotland, but..

  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,842
    Sean_F said:

    O/T did anyone read Ann Coulter's nasty comments about how Nikki Haley should "go home" to where they worship cows and rats.

    The thing about Coulter is that she is an extremely intelligent woman who edited the Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law School is reckoned to be one of the top three in the USA. She also attended Cornell.

    Unlike people like Lauren Boebert and MTG, who spew stupidities as if they were demon-possessed, Coulter actually knows what she's doing.

    Wonder how she'd greet the PM?
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684
    Sean_F said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence and more than twice as important as the NHS:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
    Look how low the constitutional issue is on this list, yet who would doubt it is the major driver of party support in Scotland?
    That is because it is just a fact of life to majority , you are just looking at unionist sour grapes there.
  • malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
    I guess I'm one of the few on here who will actually have a vote, so I promise faithfully to let everyone know when the fix is in, whether it's Murrell money or Sturgeon boot boys coming round.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Exactly add the petrol and price of laundrette must be much more than using washing machine at home and even tumbling drying if you have to.
    I rather suspect that the campaign about electricity prices have induced fear in quite a few people unnecessarily.

    Hello OKC, hope you are on the mend and getting back to full strength
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,048
    dixiedean said:

    Sean_F said:

    O/T did anyone read Ann Coulter's nasty comments about how Nikki Haley should "go home" to where they worship cows and rats.

    The thing about Coulter is that she is an extremely intelligent woman who edited the Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law School is reckoned to be one of the top three in the USA. She also attended Cornell.

    Unlike people like Lauren Boebert and MTG, who spew stupidities as if they were demon-possessed, Coulter actually knows what she's doing.

    Wonder how she'd greet the PM?
    Probably give him her carkeys and tell him to mind the paintwork.

    She makes a living as a shock jock horrible racist harridan. She knows exactly what she's doing and deserves to be ignored.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
    I guess I'm one of the few on here who will actually have a vote, so I promise faithfully to let everyone know when the fix is in, whether it's Murrell money or Sturgeon boot boys coming round.
    You will never know TUD, it will be done in the Magpie residence and evidence shredded or deleted prior to result. Will be many "I do not recall " moments assuming certain people are still at liberty. Please promise you will not vote Macbeth or Humza Useless.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,724
    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Exactly add the petrol and price of laundrette must be much more than using washing machine at home and even tumbling drying if you have to.
    I rather suspect that the campaign about electricity prices have induced fear in quite a few people unnecessarily.

    Hello OKC, hope you are on the mend and getting back to full strength
    Thanks Malc. I am slowly improving but it's going to be a long hard road. Spinal operations, particularly on the neck, have a raft of consequences.
  • It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
    I'd definitely say someone who posts multiple times a day on the subject seven days a week when they don't even live in Scotland qualifies as an all consumed obsessive.
    On a “non issue” too! How’s that worked out?
    It IS a non issue. Which is what the polls are telling us. Compare the answers in question 2 with the answers in question 3. Voters very unhappy with the SNP expending time on this non-issue. Only 3% named it as a top 3 issue.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630
    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Very true Max, I had not thought of that , so more expensive and more effort than just walking to the utility room and sticking it in the washing machine and pressing a button.
    Many people have poor ideas of how their home appliances work, and the cost of running them.

    I recall one friend who ranted about water use in dishwashers. He thought that dishwashers fill to the top, like a giant bath for dishes. He was astonished when I explained it is actually a pressure wash, using a small amount of water and cycling it round and round.
  • Reluctant as I am to disagree with one of the world's greatest pineapple connoisseurs, I have to say that TSE may have this slightly wrong.

    Take a look, for example, at clunky old Electoral Calculus. OK we all know its limitations but it is suggesting 83 Tory seats, ffs. And there is no reason to think that if it is wrong it is wrong on the downside. It could be worse. Reason? Well, tactical voting for a start.

    I wouldn't be betting on NOM. I don't think I'd be majoring on a LabMaj.

    I think I might be chancing my arm on a meltdown. That, I suspect, is where the value lies.

    I think the odds for a meltdown will be high but they will be accurately priced. Not sure that makes it value.

    Reasons for thinking it's not likely:

    - none of the parties inspire
    - residual distrust of Labour and what it stands for, particularly on cultural issues
    - While Brexit has faded as an issue, it is still an issue for some

    The best chance of a meltdown bet coming off is a historically very low turnout election with Labour eking out a large number of fairly narrow wins and the LDs expanding the map.
    You are slightly missing my point, KC.

    I'm recommending backing the two extremes against the middle.
    Fair point Peter. As a beneficiary of Ladbrokes offering 18/1 on DJT winning the likes of PA and MI, I should be more attuned to this.
  • MaxPB said:

    Taz said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    I noticed my shop had gone down too this week. Only by a small amount but it had gone down.

    There weren’t many shortages in the fruit and veg aisle either.
    Glad to hear that it's not just in my little bit of North London that prices are hopefully falling.
    Food price inflation was the one component I noticed was lower in Britain than in Ireland in the January figures. Food prices in Britain were level in January, but still rising in Ireland.

    Food prices rose by 0.9% in February 2022, so a decline would be a marked change.
    The latest cost price increase I'm doing was 3% and is now 5%. Good news for the customers who accepted it early as I won't come to them for the new 2% more... Cost price pressures are less than they were last year which will slow the rate of price increases, but they're still increasing. Sadly.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 5,794
    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
    I guess I'm one of the few on here who will actually have a vote, so I promise faithfully to let everyone know when the fix is in, whether it's Murrell money or Sturgeon boot boys coming round.
    You will never know TUD, it will be done in the Magpie residence and evidence shredded or deleted prior to result. Will be many "I do not recall " moments assuming certain people are still at liberty. Please promise you will not vote Macbeth or Humza Useless.
    Is Robertson even going to stand? Neil Gray has just endorsed Yousaf.
  • Sean_F said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence and more than twice as important as the NHS:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
    Look how low the constitutional issue is on this list, yet who would doubt it is the major driver of party support in Scotland?
    I think the key point is “at the moment” - where ironically “Keeping Scotland in the U.K.” ranks higher than Independence (16 vs 14).
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,630
    malcolmg said:

    Sean_F said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    But voters think it’s the SNP’s all consuming obsession - second only to independence and more than twice as important as the NHS:



    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Scotland-Poll-Summary-Feb-2023.pdf

    Sorry, who are the all consumed obsessives again?
    Look how low the constitutional issue is on this list, yet who would doubt it is the major driver of party support in Scotland?
    That is because it is just a fact of life to majority , you are just looking at unionist sour grapes there.
    The forced choice of ranking policies in order is always nonsense.

    According to that, no one cared about the EU either way.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,590
    Sean_F said:

    O/T did anyone read Ann Coulter's nasty comments about how Nikki Haley should "go home" to where they worship cows and rats.

    The thing about Coulter is that she is an extremely intelligent woman who edited the Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law School is reckoned to be one of the top three in the USA. She also attended Cornell.

    Unlike people like Lauren Boebert and MTG, who spew stupidities as if they were demon-possessed, Coulter actually knows what she's doing.

    I think @rcs1000 once met her and found her charming.
    Which is perhaps more of a comment on her duplicity than his ability to judge character.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    Eabhal said:

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
    I guess I'm one of the few on here who will actually have a vote, so I promise faithfully to let everyone know when the fix is in, whether it's Murrell money or Sturgeon boot boys coming round.
    You will never know TUD, it will be done in the Magpie residence and evidence shredded or deleted prior to result. Will be many "I do not recall " moments assuming certain people are still at liberty. Please promise you will not vote Macbeth or Humza Useless.
    Is Robertson even going to stand? Neil Gray has just endorsed Yousaf.
    Oh please let it be Humza Useless.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,590
    Dura_Ace said:

    Dura_Ace said:



    If Starmer has a problem, and I don't think it's a major one, it's that he needs to demonstrate his real personality; if such a thing exits. The small target, managerial, at-least-we're-not-the-tories policy lite strategy is effective but it doesn't really give you a sense of what SKS is like. I've never met Sunak but I know exactly what he'd be like if I encountered him in person. A pathetic boring little dweeb who's never heard of Rodrigo Moreno but would try to tell me about Microsoft Azure or some fucking thing. I have no idea what to expect from a personal encounter with SKS. Maybe he's a right laugh?

    I've only met him once (at a campaign rally) - he seemed a fairly typical middle-aged, middle-class pleasant man with above-average capacity to focus. I dount if there is a rollicking jollly type underneath, but he's not nerdish or boring.
    He is genuinely into football instead of busking it like most politicians and he represented the McLibel Two for free so that's two ticks from me even though Labour exists only manage capitalism rather than destroy it.
    That would be three ticks from me if I cared about football.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,756
    edited February 2023
    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
    I guess I'm one of the few on here who will actually have a vote, so I promise faithfully to let everyone know when the fix is in, whether it's Murrell money or Sturgeon boot boys coming round.
    You will never know TUD, it will be done in the Magpie residence and evidence shredded or deleted prior to result. Will be many "I do not recall " moments assuming certain people are still at liberty. Please promise you will not vote Macbeth or Humza Useless.
    Haven't decided yet (& we still don't have all the runners & riders), still to work out which will cause maximum annoyance >:)
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,048

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    In the real world I did my Sainsbury's weekly shop this morning, shockingly, compared to the last few weeks, it's actually gone down in price. It's the same list I always do on a Sunday morning, not much variation in what I bought so prices are definitely falling for the stuff we need.

    Shortages in store - they didn't have all of the tomato varieties but I get mine from Natura anyway and they don't seem to have any issues importing from Italy. Everything else was available, potatoes seem to have dropped in price the most and onions are down as well if, like us, you buy loose ones not in the bag.

    Overall comparing this week to last week it was down about 4% in value terms but there's no account of quantity there, pack sizes may have changed and surprisingly I've got better things to do than check pack weights vs last week.

    Regarding the cost of living crisis, at our local launderette last week, the place was full to the brim with service washes. My guess is that people prefer the known cost of a service wash to the unknown cost of using their own washing machines and dryers.
    Or they are just lazy gits.
    Surely it's more effort to drive to the launderette than to use one's own washing machine, Malc.
    Exactly add the petrol and price of laundrette must be much more than using washing machine at home and even tumbling drying if you have to.
    I rather suspect that the campaign about electricity prices have induced fear in quite a few people unnecessarily.

    Hello OKC, hope you are on the mend and getting back to full strength
    Thanks Malc. I am slowly improving but it's going to be a long hard road. Spinal operations, particularly on the neck, have a raft of consequences.
    Glad to hear you're improving.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,160
    Eabhal said:

    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Not sure if this is accurate:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Churches_of_Scotland_timeline.svg
    In my experience one has to check. And then double check again once one has written whatever one has written, right up to final proof stage.

    I don't think the average southron even realises that the splits *and mergers* have affected the Church of Scotland as it now is, not just what seems commonly to be assumed to be a few minor island churches (their words, not mine). My granddad was an elder in the U.P. but how one would translate that into modern terms I would have to stop and think, and indeed double check.
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 12,884
    Cocks out, middle aged tories! Penny Dreadful is on Sky News. Rip the head off your old boy.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,160

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
    I guess I'm one of the few on here who will actually have a vote, so I promise faithfully to let everyone know when the fix is in, whether it's Murrell money or Sturgeon boot boys coming round.
    You will never know TUD, it will be done in the Magpie residence and evidence shredded or deleted prior to result. Will be many "I do not recall " moments assuming certain people are still at liberty. Please promise you will not vote Macbeth or Humza Useless.
    Haven't decided yet, still to work out which will cause maximum annoyance >:)
    Me too.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,160
    Eabhal said:

    Eabhal said:

    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Not sure if this is accurate:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Churches_of_Scotland_timeline.svg
    Didn't you claim to be Outer Hebrides schoolboy champion at some sport or other? You should know all this stuff by heart.
    We just went to the local Church of Scotland, infrequently. I don't really know anything about the other churches except they had Psalm singing in the north and lots of Catholics in the south.
    PS I think one needs to interpret for those of us born outside the Covenant - 'south' refers not to the IoW or whatever, but to the southern islands in the Long Isle - Barra, South Uist, and so on.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,096

    I was planning on writing an AV thread this afternoon but time has got away from me, so apologies in advance for the phallus based thread this afternoon.

    No worries, your second choice will do fine.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,160
    Dura_Ace said:

    Cocks out, middle aged tories! Penny Dreadful is on Sky News. Rip the head off your old boy.

    I see someone has off topicked that. Rather unfair thatgiven the ejaculations on here quite often about the more pulchritudinous pols.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 5,794
    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    Eabhal said:

    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Not sure if this is accurate:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Churches_of_Scotland_timeline.svg
    Didn't you claim to be Outer Hebrides schoolboy champion at some sport or other? You should know all this stuff by heart.
    We just went to the local Church of Scotland, infrequently. I don't really know anything about the other churches except they had Psalm singing in the north and lots of Catholics in the south.
    PS I think one needs to interpret for those of us born outside the Covenant - 'south' refers not to the IoW or whatever, but to the southern islands in the Long Isle - Barra, South Uist, and so on.
    "Up south".
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,719
    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They do. Forbes' Free Church of Scotland is creationist and rejects evolution


    https://www.scotsman.com/news/uk-news/bid-ban-creationism-militant-atheism-1521472
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,724
    Carnyx said:

    Eabhal said:

    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    Unpopular said:

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    To be fair to the Free Church, not something I'm massively inclined to do, I'm not aware that they reject evolution as doctrine.
    They just refuse to participate in it for a few thousand years.
    I’m kind of impressed that they shut their website for Sunday -

    https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/we-are-closed-for-the-sabbath/

    But, then again, isn’t Sunday the day to be spreading the doctrine?
    I'm not sure she's a Free Presbyterian - I think they are a separate outfit from the Free Church of Scotland.
    Quite possibly so. The splits, schisms and reunification of various branches is quite hard for outsiders to follow.
    Not sure if this is accurate:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Churches_of_Scotland_timeline.svg
    In my experience one has to check. And then double check again once one has written whatever one has written, right up to final proof stage.

    I don't think the average southron even realises that the splits *and mergers* have affected the Church of Scotland as it now is, not just what seems commonly to be assumed to be a few minor island churches (their words, not mine). My granddad was an elder in the U.P. but how one would translate that into modern terms I would have to stop and think, and indeed double check.
    Reminds me of the tale of the Welsh Robinson Crusoe.

    When he was finally rescued he showed his rescuers round the island, including the chapel he'd built. One of the rescuers noticed a small building a little way away; "what's that "he asked."That " Dai Crusoe said "is the chapel I don't go to! "
  • FrankBoothFrankBooth Posts: 9,005
    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    O/T did anyone read Ann Coulter's nasty comments about how Nikki Haley should "go home" to where they worship cows and rats.

    The thing about Coulter is that she is an extremely intelligent woman who edited the Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law School is reckoned to be one of the top three in the USA. She also attended Cornell.

    Unlike people like Lauren Boebert and MTG, who spew stupidities as if they were demon-possessed, Coulter actually knows what she's doing.

    MAGA seems to be associated with brain rot. The scary thing is that they really believe in the kind of shit, usually. It’s not an act.
    MAGA is too left wing for Ann Coulter>

    There seems to be a lot of money to be made for intelligent people in spouting stupid but somewhat popular ideas which lend them credibility.
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 12,884
    Carnyx said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    Cocks out, middle aged tories! Penny Dreadful is on Sky News. Rip the head off your old boy.

    I see someone has off topicked that. Rather unfair thatgiven the ejaculations on here quite often about the more pulchritudinous pols.
    O/T = badge of pride
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,096

    Tres said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    - “… if the YouGov Scotland poll turns out to be harbinger rather than an outlier then I may revise my views…”

    Oh look! Second post-resignation poll in a row with SNP well above that YouGov level (which was 38% incidentally, not the 29% shouted out in the PB piece.)

    Funny how neither the Savanta (SNP 42%) nor this Survation poll got reported by PB. I thought this was meant to be a service for punters?

    The SNP remain in a strong position in our 1st poll that has fieldwork conducted after Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last week. At 43% the party would be just 2% shy of their solid 2019 Westminster showing.

    SNP 43% (+1)
    LAB 30% (+1)
    CON 17% (-)
    LD 6% (-1)
    Others 3% (-1)


    https://twitter.com/survation/status/1627002594676690946?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Even that poll has Labour gaining 8 SNP seats.

    That is before the Labour attack machine lays into Kate Forbes as an anti abortion member of an anti homosexual marriage church, if as is likely she succeeds Sturgeon as FM
    Wrong. On the new boundaries SLab would gain just 5 SNP seats, balanced out by the SNP gaining 4 SCon seats. The British Assimilationist parties would still be floundering:

    SNP 47 seats (-1)
    Assimilationists 10 seats (+1)

    As for your Forbes prediction: duly screenshotted.
    Forbes is an interesting one. There is some risk to being devoutly religious in politics in nations as secular as ours. Tim Farron being the obvious example.

    My own Scottish ancestors were Free Presbyterian ministers, and it is still part of the family culture. It is one thing that would prevent me from standing for election myself.
    Some enterprising journo should ask Forbes what her views are on evolution.
    She could just say she believes that a benign, creative force called God made the earth, but whether he did so over seven 24 hour days or over millennia of evolution is more information than she has access to. I think it's fair enough if you support gay marriage to be concerned about the possibility of her opposing it, but it is a stretch to say her very belief in God is a liability. Theresa May was a Churchgoer. Rishi Sunak is a practising Hindu - are you recommending he be quizzed on hinduism's creation myths?
    As an engineer, “Intelligent Design” is an insult to God. Look at the human eye - it’s utterly crap and requires a huge amount of processing to make the images usable.

    Plus the idea that God kicked off the universe x billions years ago, and played a trillion gazillion bank snooker shot, knowing that humans would appear at the end of that is way, way cooler.
    It works though. And surely if it's so awful, it's an argument against millions of years of evolutionary development too?
    No, merely work in progress
  • Dura_Ace said:

    Cocks out, middle aged tories! Penny Dreadful is on Sky News. Rip the head off your old boy.

    Her astonishing good looks alone would have made her a 'global phenomenon' apparently. Oh what we could have had!
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,684

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
    I guess I'm one of the few on here who will actually have a vote, so I promise faithfully to let everyone know when the fix is in, whether it's Murrell money or Sturgeon boot boys coming round.
    You will never know TUD, it will be done in the Magpie residence and evidence shredded or deleted prior to result. Will be many "I do not recall " moments assuming certain people are still at liberty. Please promise you will not vote Macbeth or Humza Useless.
    Haven't decided yet (& we still don't have all the runners & riders), still to work out which will cause maximum annoyance >:)
    TUD, If I was daft enough to fund the Murrell's I woudl be going for either Forbes or Regan , Regan favourite as she has at least shown she is for independence. They do not have much competition if a fair contest for sure.
    It needs a big clear out of clan and the Greens booted into touch, a bonfire of Imelda's pet charities who make the policy badly needed.
    Wonder if we will find out why she really went in such a hurry , for sure the shredders and disk cleaning would have been on overtime the week prior.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,100
    Tres said:

    MattW said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    Sean_F said:

    Not a single tomato to be had in Cardiff (Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Morrisons)
    #EmptyShelves
    Apparently “supply issues”
    #BrexitBritain
    Also British greenhouses cannot afford to put on the heating
    #ToryCostOfLivingCrisis


    https://twitter.com/jonnyfawr/status/1626632317056712710?s=46&t=eNsBLMSATSn17GYQMqF1Tw

    Maybe he should have gone in the morning?
    Brexit terrific before noon.

    I am not going to get drawn into this FBPE Sunday circle-jerk for the umpteenth time but you'd have largely empty supermarket shelves of fruit and vegetables late on a Saturday night 10 years ago too.

    The facts are irrelevant. Brexit's getting the blame. That's just the way it goes.
    That exact photo appeared extensively in our press in from September 2021.
    eg https://www.independent.co.uk/business/one-in-six-unable-to-buy-essential-food-items-in-past-two-weeks-survey-suggests-b1926442.html

    The claim on twitter that it is from this weekend is just the usual dishonest garbage from a remainer-bot, and idiots who want to believe it, fall for it, or knowingly find it convenient for propaganda.

    And has been on Alamy since then:
    https://www.alamy.com/file-photo-dated-130921-of-empty-shelves-at-a-co-op-supermarket-as-the-countrys-union-for-farmers-and-growers-has-warned-that-the-uk-is-sleepwalking-into-a-food-supply-crisis-image499425358.html


    Oh well what's good for the EU trying to ban bent bananas goose is good for the gander.
    "It's OK for me to lie, because I say that person over there was lying" does not especially persuade me of your case :smile: .
  • I wish people would stop attacking @_KateForbes for her religious faith. She’s never shown any inclination to roll back rights as a matter of govt policy.I don’t recall any fuss about Ian Blackford’s membership of the same church. It is rank #misogyny

    https://twitter.com/joannaccherry/status/1627223288232525825?s=20
  • ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 2,806
    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    malcolmg said:

    It seems that the GRA stuff may not be the all consuming obsession of voters that the all consumed obsessives think it is.


    I think most would agree, so why is Forbe's Christianity causing SNP figures to threaten to flounce?
    It’s certainly got lots of tabloids and ALBA supporters saying it’s causing SNP figures threatening to flounce, not necessarily the same thing.
    Interesting point is that it appears Sturgeon is backing Humza Useless, her pets are out this morning punting him big time. Surely unless her and Peter are counting the votes, she cannot believe he has even a remote hope. Also why not promoting her pet Macbeth who has always been groomed as her successor, skeletons must be rattling in the cupboards right enough.
    No idea who Sturgeon supports. Weirdly Eck (among many others) has been far more vocal on who should lead the SNP than Nicola.
    She is far more sneaky TUD, she will as usual rig it behind the scenes via acolytes and other methods rather than give an opinion in public , give Salmond his dues in that he at least is up and front about what he supports and wants independence.
    I guess I'm one of the few on here who will actually have a vote, so I promise faithfully to let everyone know when the fix is in, whether it's Murrell money or Sturgeon boot boys coming round.
    You will never know TUD, it will be done in the Magpie residence and evidence shredded or deleted prior to result. Will be many "I do not recall " moments assuming certain people are still at liberty. Please promise you will not vote Macbeth or Humza Useless.
    Haven't decided yet (& we still don't have all the runners & riders), still to work out which will cause maximum annoyance >:)
    TUD, If I was daft enough to fund the Murrell's I woudl be going for either Forbes or Regan , Regan favourite as she has at least shown she is for independence. They do not have much competition if a fair contest for sure.
    It needs a big clear out of clan and the Greens booted into touch, a bonfire of Imelda's pet charities who make the policy badly needed.
    Wonder if we will find out why she really went in such a hurry , for sure the shredders and disk cleaning would have been on overtime the week prior.
    I was just amusing myself looking at BBC Scotland's newspaper summary. Pretty much all of them running on variations of 'SNP Infighting', 'Stitch up accusations', etc etc. Except The National with a big headline of 'Onwards and Upwards!'.

    Which even for them seems a little 'head in the sand'.
This discussion has been closed.