Labour lead down to 12 points with More in Common . Fieldwork 14 to 16 October
Lab 42 Con 30 Lib Dem 12 Reform 7 Green 6 SNP 3
I think events in the Middle East are helping the Cons with attention away from domestic issues .
The combined Con and Reform at 37 would seriously worry Labour . I think a few weeks back I’d have backed Labour for both by-elections . Now I think they’re more likely to take Tamworth than Mid-Beds . The split votes there and drop in national lead might be too much of a climb . In Tamworth the Tory candidate might have harmed his hopes with Fxckgate.
This is a swing of 12% since the general election, and Labour need a 10% swing to win a majority with the old boundaries. I think we're heading for a Lab/LD coalition, (which would hopefully introduce proportional representation).
I don't think Labour will need anything like a 10% lead to win a majority; anti-Con tactical voting and Scotland will see to that.
Labour lead down to 12 points with More in Common . Fieldwork 14 to 16 October
Lab 42 Con 30 Lib Dem 12 Reform 7 Green 6 SNP 3
I think events in the Middle East are helping the Cons with attention away from domestic issues .
The combined Con and Reform at 37 would seriously worry Labour . I think a few weeks back I’d have backed Labour for both by-elections . Now I think they’re more likely to take Tamworth than Mid-Beds . The split votes there and drop in national lead might be too much of a climb . In Tamworth the Tory candidate might have harmed his hopes with Fxckgate.
Ye gods. It's one poll. Do you jump around like this every time a new survey is released?
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
Indeed. Crackers.
Yet it seems Labour are the ones getting most upset and having a sense of entitlement and that is after they did f*** all for weeks while the LDs worked it. Some Lab supporters really have no sense of irony when complaining about a political party having the nerve to challenge them in an election.
I have been extremely critical of Labour's sluggishness in Mid Beds – I'm amazed you have missed my posts on the matter given how often I have repeated the point.
Yet @Barnesian 's argument is so crackpot it is almost beyond normal criticism and, rather, worthy of mockery. He argues, with a straight face, that, as the Liberals cannot win by-elections unless Labour concedes them, Labour should concede them even when the Liberals are IN THIRD PLACE.
I mean, this is not clever tactical voting strategy but, rather, an exercise in sheer idiocy. Sure, give the main challenger a free pass (a la Somerton, where Labour wilfully handed over its deposit). But conceding the race to the third-place party, whoever it is, is stark raving bonkers.
So yes, Labour can and should be criticised for being laggardly in Mid Beds.
And, also yes, @Barnesian and his fellow travellers should be scorned for their sense of entitlement and outright hubris.
I had noted you did. My post was a general one and not aimed specifically at you. I am missing a lot of posts however as I am currently driving around New England (7 States in total).
I have been a bit under the weather recently and on Monday I went to my GP who immediately sent me to A & E as a medical emergency with suspected DVT. I arrived at 5.30pm and was quickly triaged and at 6.30pm I had the all important bloods taken. I waited with my wife in A & E as the waiting times grew from originally 6 hours to 12 hours and at 3.00am I was asked for another blood test as the originally one had been incorrectly taken. It was only at 5.00am I saw a doctor who confirmed DVT and told me she was admitting me into hospital for an early ultra sound. At 7.00am I was summoned to a consultation room with several quite worried doctors and nurses arranging my immediate admission and at 10.30am I had my scan with confirmed an extensive upper leg DVT and treatment began immediately
I am home in quite some pain and know it will take upto 6 months to address the issue but I would just say that everyone in A & E were wonderful, as were the doctors and specialists who acted so quickly once the serious nature of the attack was realised and subsequently the hospital has confirmed that as I am now under their care I must contact them direct if I need to and they will admit me if required without going to A & E. This is very reassuring and hopefully I will in time make a full recovery
Some of the patients in A & E had been there for over 18 hours and as time went on through the night patients applauded when a fellow patient was finally called to the doctors
I tell this story because it is so obvious the issue is with the lack of staff and doctors and is applicable to all parts of the NHS, not just in England
I would just add that witnessing the appalling tragedy going on in Gaza I was reluctant to tell my story but it is a real experience of a patient in a medical emergency and hopefully politicians of whatever party must do something about it but I do have my doubts as there is no money
I should add I am not feeling particularly political at present as when faced with a really serious condition politics seems rather irrelevant
Sorry to hear this, and wishing you all the best.
An elderly relative of mine spent several hours queueing in an ambulance before being admitted to A&E last year, the shortages were so acute even then. The country really is falling apart.
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
Indeed. Crackers.
Yet it seems Labour are the ones getting most upset and having a sense of entitlement and that is after they did f*** all for weeks while the LDs worked it. Some Lab supporters really have no sense of irony when complaining about a political party having the nerve to challenge them in an election.
I have been extremely critical of Labour's sluggishness in Mid Beds – I'm amazed you have missed my posts on the matter given how often I have repeated the point.
Yet @Barnesian 's argument is so crackpot it is almost beyond normal criticism and, rather, worthy of mockery. He argues, with a straight face, that, as the Liberals cannot win by-elections unless Labour concedes them, Labour should concede them even when the Liberals are IN THIRD PLACE.
I mean, this is not clever tactical voting strategy but, rather, an exercise in sheer idiocy. Sure, give the main challenger a free pass (a la Somerton, where Labour wilfully handed over its deposit). But conceding the race to the third-place party, whoever it is, is stark raving bonkers.
So yes, Labour can and should be criticised for being laggardly in Mid Beds.
And, also yes, @Barnesian and his fellow travellers should be scorned for their sense of entitlement and outright hubris.
I had noted you did. My post was a general one and not aimed specifically at you. I am missing a lot of posts however as I am currently driving around New England (7 States in total).
Then I encourage you to focus on your trip and stop wasting your time bickering with random blokes on the internet, like me.
Sounds wonderful. I am extremely jealous. Enjoy it.
The LDs are fighting for this seat very hard to make the point they are the the opposition party with the best chance of winning in a mostly rural seat because the vast majority of traditional, soft Tory voters are very unlikely to switch to Labour despite Keir Starmer's window dressing. I can confirm reports that I have heard from several LD canvassers that believe the result will be very close and they have a good chance of winning tomorrow.
"But it is Mid Beds that has captured the political imagination."
What they mean by this is "We can't be bothered to visit Tamworth" even though it's only an hour by train from London.
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
We do however, see a lot of entitlement on the other side of the argument.
We do. But then if the Lib Dems want to position themselves unquestioningly as Labour's little helpers, that's not too surprising.
ICYMI the LibDems were the Conservatives' little helpers, 2010 to 2015. There's probably something on Facebook about it.
I have been a bit under the weather recently and on Monday I went to my GP who immediately sent me to A & E as a medical emergency with suspected DVT. I arrived at 5.30pm and was quickly triaged and at 6.30pm I had the all important bloods taken. I waited with my wife in A & E as the waiting times grew from originally 6 hours to 12 hours and at 3.00am I was asked for another blood test as the originally one had been incorrectly taken. It was only at 5.00am I saw a doctor who confirmed DVT and told me she was admitting me into hospital for an early ultra sound. At 7.00am I was summoned to a consultation room with several quite worried doctors and nurses arranging my immediate admission and at 10.30am I had my scan with confirmed an extensive upper leg DVT and treatment began immediately
I am home in quite some pain and know it will take upto 6 months to address the issue but I would just say that everyone in A & E were wonderful, as were the doctors and specialists who acted so quickly once the serious nature of the attack was realised and subsequently the hospital has confirmed that as I am now under their care I must contact them direct if I need to and they will admit me if required without going to A & E. This is very reassuring and hopefully I will in time make a full recovery
Some of the patients in A & E had been there for over 18 hours and as time went on through the night patients applauded when a fellow patient was finally called to the doctors
I tell this story because it is so obvious the issue is with the lack of staff and doctors and is applicable to all parts of the NHS, not just in England
I would just add that witnessing the appalling tragedy going on in Gaza I was reluctant to tell my story but it is a real experience of a patient in a medical emergency and hopefully politicians of whatever party must do something about it but I do have my doubts as there is no money
I should add I am not feeling particularly political at present as when faced with a really serious condition politics seems rather irrelevant
I should add I am not feeling particularly political at present as when faced with a really serious condition politics seems rather irrelevant
GWS, Big G. Me and Mrs DA were in A&E for ELEVEN hours last year with our elderly neighbour who was pumping claret out of her fundament. Absolute misery and a shocking indictment of political failure at the highest level.
You are not missing much on the Israel/Gaza front. Positions have now ossified on pb.com and battle lines are now drawn. I went from not giving a fuck as both sides are a pack of lying bastards who are capable of just about anything to being mildly pro-Hamas as all the worst people on here are pro-Israel.
Best wishes to @Big_G_NorthWales for a speedy recovery. Sorry to hear you have had such an appalling experience, but sadly, not surprised. I had an elderly relative in a midlands hospital recently and the wait for a doctor was similar to yours.
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
We do however, see a lot of entitlement on the other side of the argument.
We do. But then if the Lib Dems want to position themselves unquestioningly as Labour's little helpers, that's not too surprising.
ICYMI the LibDems were the Conservatives' little helpers, 2010 to 2015. There's probably something on Facebook about it.
They were never emotionally that though; it was only ever a transactional relationship (and often not even that).
The reality is that either the LDs position themselves as able to support either main party or they become an adjunct to their only option (there is a third possibility, of replacing one of the others, but they blew their best chance of that in 2019 and are unlikely to get another opportunity in the foreseeable future).
What's the latest on who was responsible for the Gaza blast?
I'll hazard a wild guess that we remain where we were when it happened last night.
Nobody knows.
I haven't looked a the news for about 12 hours. Thought it was a good idea to have a brief rest from it.
You’re not the only one who’s been very carefully curating their ‘news’ for the past couple of weeks.
Way more heat than light, and especially online plenty of stuff that you really don’t want to see. We already know that war involves dead people, without needing graphic images of such.
My appetite for watching people die live on TV was lost on 1st May 1994.
The LDs are fighting for this seat very hard to make the point they are the the opposition party with the best chance of winning in a mostly rural seat because the vast majority of traditional, soft Tory voters are very unlikely to switch to Labour despite Keir Starmer's window dressing. I can confirm reports that I have heard from several LD canvassers that believe the result will be very close and they have a good chance of winning tomorrow.
"But it is Mid Beds that has captured the political imagination."
What they mean by this is "We can't be bothered to visit Tamworth" even though it's only an hour by train from London.
You can get to Bedford from Farringdon in 61 minutes.
Best wishes to @Big_G_NorthWales for a speedy recovery. Sorry to hear you have had such an appalling experience, but sadly, not surprised. I had an elderly relative in a midlands hospital recently and the wait for a doctor was similar to yours.
Get well soon.
Thank you for your kind comment
I would just say the suffering by many of the 114 patients in A & E through the night was hard to witness and the staff carried our triage on them through the night to detect any deterioration in their condition.
You cannot expect the NHS to improve in any part of the UK without a huge increase in staff and the public need to recognise the price has to be paid which no doubt needs even more taxation
Labour lead down to 12 points with More in Common . Fieldwork 14 to 16 October
Lab 42 Con 30 Lib Dem 12 Reform 7 Green 6 SNP 3
I think events in the Middle East are helping the Cons with attention away from domestic issues .
The combined Con and Reform at 37 would seriously worry Labour . I think a few weeks back I’d have backed Labour for both by-elections . Now I think they’re more likely to take Tamworth than Mid-Beds . The split votes there and drop in national lead might be too much of a climb . In Tamworth the Tory candidate might have harmed his hopes with Fxckgate.
Ye gods. It's one poll. Do you jump around like this every time a new survey is released?
Wouldn't be surprised if there's a reaction to Starmer's rather brutal wish for Israel to do their worst in Gaza. There are roughly 15 times more Muslims in the UK than Jews and not all Jews are in lockstep with a brutal repression of the Palestinians
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
Indeed. Crackers.
Yet it seems Labour are the ones getting most upset and having a sense of entitlement and that is after they did f*** all for weeks while the LDs worked it. Some Lab supporters really have no sense of irony when complaining about a political party having the nerve to challenge them in an election.
I have been extremely critical of Labour's sluggishness in Mid Beds – I'm amazed you have missed my posts on the matter given how often I have repeated the point.
Yet @Barnesian 's argument is so crackpot it is almost beyond normal criticism and, rather, worthy of mockery. He argues, with a straight face, that, as the Liberals cannot win by-elections unless Labour concedes them, Labour should concede them even when the Liberals are IN THIRD PLACE.
I mean, this is not clever tactical voting strategy but, rather, an exercise in sheer idiocy. Sure, give the main challenger a free pass (a la Somerton, where Labour wilfully handed over its deposit). But conceding the race to the third-place party, whoever it is, is stark raving bonkers.
So yes, Labour can and should be criticised for being laggardly in Mid Beds.
And, also yes, @Barnesian and his fellow travellers should be scorned for their sense of entitlement and outright hubris.
I had noted you did. My post was a general one and not aimed specifically at you. I am missing a lot of posts however as I am currently driving around New England (7 States in total).
Then I encourage you to focus on your trip and stop wasting your time bickering with random blokes on the internet, like me.
Sounds wonderful. I am extremely jealous. Enjoy it.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
Labour lead down to 12 points with More in Common . Fieldwork 14 to 16 October
Lab 42 Con 30 Lib Dem 12 Reform 7 Green 6 SNP 3
I think events in the Middle East are helping the Cons with attention away from domestic issues .
The combined Con and Reform at 37 would seriously worry Labour . I think a few weeks back I’d have backed Labour for both by-elections . Now I think they’re more likely to take Tamworth than Mid-Beds . The split votes there and drop in national lead might be too much of a climb . In Tamworth the Tory candidate might have harmed his hopes with Fxckgate.
Ye gods. It's one poll. Do you jump around like this every time a new survey is released?
Wouldn't be surprised if there's a reaction to Starmer's rather brutal wish for Israel to do their worst in Gaza. There are roughly 15 times more Muslims in the UK than Jews and not all Jews are in lockstep with a brutal repression of the Palestinians
Starmer's brutal wish for Israel to do their worst? Are you Jewish Rog?
I think you should also consider that many people will have been horrified by the pro palestinian marches, or should I say celebrations as they initially appeared to be.
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
We do however, see a lot of entitlement on the other side of the argument.
We do. But then if the Lib Dems want to position themselves unquestioningly as Labour's little helpers, that's not too surprising.
ICYMI the LibDems were the Conservatives' little helpers, 2010 to 2015. There's probably something on Facebook about it.
They were never emotionally that though; it was only ever a transactional relationship (and often not even that).
The reality is that either the LDs position themselves as able to support either main party or they become an adjunct to their only option (there is a third possibility, of replacing one of the others, but they blew their best chance of that in 2019 and are unlikely to get another opportunity in the foreseeable future).
It's all very well saying "able to support either main party" but right now the Conservatives are unsupportable, as the polls should remind you.
The LibDems wouldn't have supported a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn and they won't support a Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak. It's to Labour's credit that they threw their liability of a leader overboard and got someone halfway competent. The Conservatives are doing quite well with the "throwing overboard" bit but still appear to struggle with "getting someone halfway competent".
(FWIW I don't think you're right about "only ever transactional". Nick Clegg, Danny Alexander, Jeremy Browne etc. were fully aligned with Cameron's bunch. The Farron tendency weren't, but every party is an internal coalition, the Conservatives perhaps more than most.)
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
What's the latest on who was responsible for the Gaza blast?
I'll hazard a wild guess that we remain where we were when it happened last night.
Nobody knows.
I haven't looked a the news for about 12 hours. Thought it was a good idea to have a brief rest from it.
You’re not the only one who’s been very carefully curating their ‘news’ for the past couple of weeks.
Way more heat than light, and especially online plenty of stuff that you really don’t want to see. We already know that war involves dead people, without needing graphic images of such.
My appetite for watching people die live on TV was lost on 1st May 1994.
What's the latest on who was responsible for the Gaza blast?
I'll hazard a wild guess that we remain where we were when it happened last night.
Nobody knows.
I haven't looked a the news for about 12 hours. Thought it was a good idea to have a brief rest from it.
You’re not the only one who’s been very carefully curating their ‘news’ for the past couple of weeks.
Way more heat than light, and especially online plenty of stuff that you really don’t want to see. We already know that war involves dead people, without needing graphic images of such.
My appetite for watching people die live on TV was lost on 1st May 1994.
I have been a bit under the weather recently and on Monday I went to my GP who immediately sent me to A & E as a medical emergency with suspected DVT. I arrived at 5.30pm and was quickly triaged and at 6.30pm I had the all important bloods taken. I waited with my wife in A & E as the waiting times grew from originally 6 hours to 12 hours and at 3.00am I was asked for another blood test as the originally one had been incorrectly taken. It was only at 5.00am I saw a doctor who confirmed DVT and told me she was admitting me into hospital for an early ultra sound. At 7.00am I was summoned to a consultation room with several quite worried doctors and nurses arranging my immediate admission and at 10.30am I had my scan with confirmed an extensive upper leg DVT and treatment began immediately
I am home in quite some pain and know it will take upto 6 months to address the issue but I would just say that everyone in A & E were wonderful, as were the doctors and specialists who acted so quickly once the serious nature of the attack was realised and subsequently the hospital has confirmed that as I am now under their care I must contact them direct if I need to and they will admit me if required without going to A & E. This is very reassuring and hopefully I will in time make a full recovery
Some of the patients in A & E had been there for over 18 hours and as time went on through the night patients applauded when a fellow patient was finally called to the doctors
I tell this story because it is so obvious the issue is with the lack of staff and doctors and is applicable to all parts of the NHS, not just in England
I would just add that witnessing the appalling tragedy going on in Gaza I was reluctant to tell my story but it is a real experience of a patient in a medical emergency and hopefully politicians of whatever party must do something about it but I do have my doubts as there is no money
I should add I am not feeling particularly political at present as when faced with a really serious condition politics seems rather irrelevant
God, that's grim, Big G. Sympathies. Endure!
As I stare out at the sweeping cold autumnal rain it is hard not to feel a tiny bit depressed about EVERYTHING
I am consoling myself by creating hateful images of demons on Midjourney
I have been a bit under the weather recently and on Monday I went to my GP who immediately sent me to A & E as a medical emergency with suspected DVT. I arrived at 5.30pm and was quickly triaged and at 6.30pm I had the all important bloods taken. I waited with my wife in A & E as the waiting times grew from originally 6 hours to 12 hours and at 3.00am I was asked for another blood test as the originally one had been incorrectly taken. It was only at 5.00am I saw a doctor who confirmed DVT and told me she was admitting me into hospital for an early ultra sound. At 7.00am I was summoned to a consultation room with several quite worried doctors and nurses arranging my immediate admission and at 10.30am I had my scan with confirmed an extensive upper leg DVT and treatment began immediately
I am home in quite some pain and know it will take upto 6 months to address the issue but I would just say that everyone in A & E were wonderful, as were the doctors and specialists who acted so quickly once the serious nature of the attack was realised and subsequently the hospital has confirmed that as I am now under their care I must contact them direct if I need to and they will admit me if required without going to A & E. This is very reassuring and hopefully I will in time make a full recovery
Some of the patients in A & E had been there for over 18 hours and as time went on through the night patients applauded when a fellow patient was finally called to the doctors
I tell this story because it is so obvious the issue is with the lack of staff and doctors and is applicable to all parts of the NHS, not just in England
I would just add that witnessing the appalling tragedy going on in Gaza I was reluctant to tell my story but it is a real experience of a patient in a medical emergency and hopefully politicians of whatever party must do something about it but I do have my doubts as there is no money
I should add I am not feeling particularly political at present as when faced with a really serious condition politics seems rather irrelevant
Very sorry to read this Big G, and wish you all the best.
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
We do however, see a lot of entitlement on the other side of the argument.
We do. But then if the Lib Dems want to position themselves unquestioningly as Labour's little helpers, that's not too surprising.
ICYMI the LibDems were the Conservatives' little helpers, 2010 to 2015. There's probably something on Facebook about it.
They were never emotionally that though; it was only ever a transactional relationship (and often not even that).
The reality is that either the LDs position themselves as able to support either main party or they become an adjunct to their only option (there is a third possibility, of replacing one of the others, but they blew their best chance of that in 2019 and are unlikely to get another opportunity in the foreseeable future).
It's all very well saying "able to support either main party" but right now the Conservatives are unsupportable, as the polls should remind you.
The LibDems wouldn't have supported a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn and they won't support a Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak. It's to Labour's credit that they threw their liability of a leader overboard and got someone halfway competent. The Conservatives are doing quite well with the "throwing overboard" bit but still appear to struggle with "getting someone halfway competent".
(FWIW I don't think you're right about "only ever transactional". Nick Clegg, Danny Alexander, Jeremy Browne etc. were fully aligned with Cameron's bunch. The Farron tendency weren't, but every party is an internal coalition, the Conservatives perhaps more than most.)
There's a difference between having Hobson's choice as an event and a strategy. The Lib Dems are attempting to recreate the anti-Con tactical vote alliance that proved so effective in about 1994-2006, and so disastrous in 2011-16. Independence of action and choice will, inevitably, sometimes be compromised by circumstances outside their control and yes, the Tories are uncoalitionable for the Lib Dems at the moment. But so they were in 1997-2005ish too. Things change.
As an aside, the LDs couldn't credibly say they wouldn't back Corbyn and Johnson, unless they planned on forcing a new election (but to what end if both Corbyn and Johnson remained in post?). It was effectively a binary choice that they were fortunate to not have to make.
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
We do however, see a lot of entitlement on the other side of the argument.
If Labour backed PR, as the Libdems do, they would look less hypocritical. Why should anybody have to stand down in an election
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
We do however, see a lot of entitlement on the other side of the argument.
We do. But then if the Lib Dems want to position themselves unquestioningly as Labour's little helpers, that's not too surprising.
If Lib Dems do that then they'll have lost my vote forever. Along with many other Lib Dems I suspect.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
Labour lead down to 12 points with More in Common . Fieldwork 14 to 16 October
Lab 42 Con 30 Lib Dem 12 Reform 7 Green 6 SNP 3
I think events in the Middle East are helping the Cons with attention away from domestic issues .
The combined Con and Reform at 37 would seriously worry Labour . I think a few weeks back I’d have backed Labour for both by-elections . Now I think they’re more likely to take Tamworth than Mid-Beds . The split votes there and drop in national lead might be too much of a climb . In Tamworth the Tory candidate might have harmed his hopes with Fxckgate.
Ye gods. It's one poll. Do you jump around like this every time a new survey is released?
Wouldn't be surprised if there's a reaction to Starmer's rather brutal wish for Israel to do their worst in Gaza. There are roughly 15 times more Muslims in the UK than Jews and not all Jews are in lockstep with a brutal repression of the Palestinians
Starmer's brutal wish for Israel to do their worst? Are you Jewish Rog?
I think you should also consider that many people will have been horrified by the pro palestinian marches, or should I say celebrations as they initially appeared to be.
Yes I am. And I'm of the opinion that the conditions the Gazans have been forced to live in are quite unacceptable. This latest outrage has not come out of nowhere.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
Labour lead down to 12 points with More in Common . Fieldwork 14 to 16 October
Lab 42 Con 30 Lib Dem 12 Reform 7 Green 6 SNP 3
I think events in the Middle East are helping the Cons with attention away from domestic issues .
The combined Con and Reform at 37 would seriously worry Labour . I think a few weeks back I’d have backed Labour for both by-elections . Now I think they’re more likely to take Tamworth than Mid-Beds . The split votes there and drop in national lead might be too much of a climb . In Tamworth the Tory candidate might have harmed his hopes with Fxckgate.
Ye gods. It's one poll. Do you jump around like this every time a new survey is released?
Wouldn't be surprised if there's a reaction to Starmer's rather brutal wish for Israel to do their worst in Gaza. There are roughly 15 times more Muslims in the UK than Jews and not all Jews are in lockstep with a brutal repression of the Palestinians
Starmer's brutal wish for Israel to do their worst? Are you Jewish Rog?
I think you should also consider that many people will have been horrified by the pro palestinian marches, or should I say celebrations as they initially appeared to be.
Yes I am. And I'm of the opinion that the conditions the Gazans have been forced to live in are quite unacceptable. This latest outrage has not come out of nowhere.
So what is your solution? All I hear from pro Palestinian voices is protest, anger and from some support for massacres against innocent people. Also no blame for Gazans' plight resting with Hamas or Iran. Perhaps you can direct me towards some more thoughtful analysis?
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
I should add I am not feeling particularly political at present as when faced with a really serious condition politics seems rather irrelevant
GWS, Big G. Me and Mrs DA were in A&E for ELEVEN hours last year with our elderly neighbour who was pumping claret out of her fundament. Absolute misery and a shocking indictment of political failure at the highest level.
You are not missing much on the Israel/Gaza front. Positions have now ossified on pb.com and battle lines are now drawn. I went from not giving a fuck as both sides are a pack of lying bastards who are capable of just about anything to being mildly pro-Hamas as all the worst people on here are pro-Israel.
For the record 'liked' that for the humour rather than agreeing with it.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
Some insight as to why Rep. Jim "Jockstrap" Jordan (R-Nuremberg) was NOT elected Speaker of the Us House of Representatives yesterday:
Politico.com - Revenge of the squishes An unlikely centrist rebellion has backed Jim Jordan into a corner. ttps://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/18/jim-jordan-centrist-rebellion-house-speaker-00122171
Yesterday every member of US House voted EXCEPT one GOPer, Bilirakis of Florida who was absent attending a funeral. He's expected to be under the Big Top for today's proceedings, meaning a Full House which is pretty rare.
The LDs are fighting for this seat very hard to make the point they are the the opposition party with the best chance of winning in a mostly rural seat because the vast majority of traditional, soft Tory voters are very unlikely to switch to Labour despite Keir Starmer's window dressing. I can confirm reports that I have heard from several LD canvassers that believe the result will be very close and they have a good chance of winning tomorrow.
"But it is Mid Beds that has captured the political imagination."
What they mean by this is "We can't be bothered to visit Tamworth" even though it's only an hour by train from London.
I know this will amaze politics watchers on here but a sizeable chunk of the good people of Mid Beds haven't a scooby that there is an election on.
I live in a neighbouring county. I was pretty confident backing Labour due to Tories abstaining (or voting Remould or whatever they are effing called) but now I'm wobbling especially as I see the turnaround in the odds in favour of the Conservatives.
The only thing I'm picking up from speaking to a few people is that Sunak's action in delaying the ban on ICE cars and the boiler thing has cut through, and they have twigged that ULEZ is a Labour thing not a Conservative thing.
I know this is anecdotal but it is consistent - a small sample size but sufficient for me to wonder whether this could affect the outcome in the Tories favour.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
With respect to multi-ballot elections for Speaker of US House, the record (at least for now) was set by the 34th Congress between Dec. 1856 and February 1857:
"At the opening of the 34th U.S. Congress in December 1855, after the Democrats had lost their majority and only made up 35% of the House, representatives from several parties opposed to slavery's spread gradually united in supporting the Know Nothing [Nathaniel] Banks [of Massachusetts] for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. After |the longest and one of the most bitter speakership contests on record, lasting from December 3, 1855, to February 2, 1856, Banks was chosen on the 133rd ballot."
SSI - Banks was really an abolitionist Republican; when he was elected to Congress, at a time when the American party system was in flux (to put it mildly) in the leadup to the Civil war.
I have been a bit under the weather recently and on Monday I went to my GP who immediately sent me to A & E as a medical emergency with suspected DVT. I arrived at 5.30pm and was quickly triaged and at 6.30pm I had the all important bloods taken. I waited with my wife in A & E as the waiting times grew from originally 6 hours to 12 hours and at 3.00am I was asked for another blood test as the originally one had been incorrectly taken. It was only at 5.00am I saw a doctor who confirmed DVT and told me she was admitting me into hospital for an early ultra sound. At 7.00am I was summoned to a consultation room with several quite worried doctors and nurses arranging my immediate admission and at 10.30am I had my scan with confirmed an extensive upper leg DVT and treatment began immediately
I am home in quite some pain and know it will take upto 6 months to address the issue but I would just say that everyone in A & E were wonderful, as were the doctors and specialists who acted so quickly once the serious nature of the attack was realised and subsequently the hospital has confirmed that as I am now under their care I must contact them direct if I need to and they will admit me if required without going to A & E. This is very reassuring and hopefully I will in time make a full recovery
Some of the patients in A & E had been there for over 18 hours and as time went on through the night patients applauded when a fellow patient was finally called to the doctors
I tell this story because it is so obvious the issue is with the lack of staff and doctors and is applicable to all parts of the NHS, not just in England
I would just add that witnessing the appalling tragedy going on in Gaza I was reluctant to tell my story but it is a real experience of a patient in a medical emergency and hopefully politicians of whatever party must do something about it but I do have my doubts as there is no money
I should add I am not feeling particularly political at present as when faced with a really serious condition politics seems rather irrelevant
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
I suspect that whoever wins will have much less impact. Most of the public won’t notice. Others will see one day’s headlines.
Obviously, people in parties do pay more attention, but even then, the Labourites who like cooperation with the LibDems will still like cooperation with the LibDems and those who don’t will still not. Any Tories who think winning on ~30% because they got lucky on a split opposition vote is a big success or a winning strategy for the general election is a fool. Sure, milk the headlines if you win, but don’t get carried away!
As a PR supporter who has advocated Lib-Lab cooperation for years and practiced it both as an MP and currently in council coalition, it does plenty to discourage me. If the Tories win the seat, as Barnesian revealingly hopes in the absence of an unlikely LibDem win, we will certainly blame the LibDems, and apparently they will blame us. Encourage cooperation? No.
But we should park the argument till Friday when we find out what actually happened, eh?
It makes me sad to see that some LibDems say that - but I've seen quite a lot of Labour people saying they'd prefer a Con win to a LibDem win, so it cuts both ways. Both parties have their convinced partisans, and their pragmatic dealmakers (other adjectives are available in both cases). I've always thought that a) voters really really want one party they can get behind b) that an as easily mean a party that's seen to make an effort, as the previous runner-up c) that doesn't mean not standing a candidate for those who really really want to vote their first choice as opposed to most likely to win, it means standing a candidate and not working hard for it d) a lot of people are going to disagree with me as soon as they read this.
The way the Russians speak about our intelligence operations, I feel like our agents are, Bond-like, saving the world at least once a week, given how amazingly powerful and all-knowing they seem to be.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
Labour lead down to 12 points with More in Common . Fieldwork 14 to 16 October
Lab 42 Con 30 Lib Dem 12 Reform 7 Green 6 SNP 3
I think events in the Middle East are helping the Cons with attention away from domestic issues .
The combined Con and Reform at 37 would seriously worry Labour . I think a few weeks back I’d have backed Labour for both by-elections . Now I think they’re more likely to take Tamworth than Mid-Beds . The split votes there and drop in national lead might be too much of a climb . In Tamworth the Tory candidate might have harmed his hopes with Fxckgate.
Ye gods. It's one poll. Do you jump around like this every time a new survey is released?
Wouldn't be surprised if there's a reaction to Starmer's rather brutal wish for Israel to do their worst in Gaza. There are roughly 15 times more Muslims in the UK than Jews and not all Jews are in lockstep with a brutal repression of the Palestinians
Starmer's brutal wish for Israel to do their worst? Are you Jewish Rog?
I think you should also consider that many people will have been horrified by the pro palestinian marches, or should I say celebrations as they initially appeared to be.
Yes I am. And I'm of the opinion that the conditions the Gazans have been forced to live in are quite unacceptable. This latest outrage has not come out of nowhere.
So what is your solution? All I hear from pro Palestinian voices is protest, anger and from some support for massacres against innocent people. Also no blame for Gazans' plight resting with Hamas or Iran. Perhaps you can direct me towards some more thoughtful analysis?
Hamas are the 'talent', obviously, and therefore can do whatever they want.
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
I suspect that whoever wins will have much less impact. Most of the public won’t notice. Others will see one day’s headlines.
Obviously, people in parties do pay more attention, but even then, the Labourites who like cooperation with the LibDems will still like cooperation with the LibDems and those who don’t will still not. Any Tories who think winning on ~30% because they got lucky on a split opposition vote is a big success or a winning strategy for the general election is a fool. Sure, milk the headlines if you win, but don’t get carried away!
As a PR supporter who has advocated Lib-Lab cooperation for years and practiced it both as an MP and currently in council coalition, it does plenty to discourage me. If the Tories win the seat, as Barnesian revealingly hopes in the absence of an unlikely LibDem win, we will certainly blame the LibDems, and apparently they will blame us. Encourage cooperation? No.
But we should park the argument till Friday when we find out what actually happened, eh?
It makes me sad to see that some LibDems say that - but I've seen quite a lot of Labour people saying they'd prefer a Con win to a LibDem win, so it cuts both ways. Both parties have their convinced partisans, and their pragmatic dealmakers (other adjectives are available in both cases). I've always thought that a) voters really really want one party they can get behind b) that an as easily mean a party that's seen to make an effort, as the previous runner-up c) that doesn't mean not standing a candidate for those who really really want to vote their first choice as opposed to most likely to win, it means standing a candidate and not working hard for it d) a lot of people are going to disagree with me as soon as they read this.
John Prescott always despised the LibDems over the Tories.
I still remember that day. I was living in a flat in Docklands, and I was already very sad after Ratzemberger's fatal crash, and Barrichello's serious one. My flatmate was not interested in F1, and after Senna's crash I went down in tears to say there had been another fatality. From memory, we went out to a church to pray, then to the pub. Matching our religious and secular natures...
The way the Russians speak about our intelligence operations, I feel like our agents are, Bond-like, saving the world at least once a week, given how amazingly powerful and all-knowing they seem to be.
Aimed at 'dislodging the US from the Middle East' no less.
I'm off to Perthshire on Monday. Nowhere better in Europe* for Autumn colours. I know this is far from the biggest concern, but I'm hoping the storm doesn't prematurely remove the goldens and browns from the trees.
*I have travelled nowhere near enough to know whether this is true, but it seems feasible.
It is fabulous. The hillside to the north and east of Perth is excellent already and will get better but the trees and walks around Dunkeld are hard to beat. Do the river walk there. So many different mature trees from all around the world.
This storm is looking ominous though. The woods near me haven’t recovered from the storm 3? years ago. In fact they won’t in my lifetime.
Yes, we're staying just outside Dunkeld. We did the same trip last year. I loved it. I would describe the Tay there as 'muscular'; quite an awesome volume of water surging past. I'm hoping to do Ben Vrackie, if the kids are up to it; and also possibly the Falls of Bruar. We're also (following last year's recommendation by, I think, @Luckyguy1983 ) going to do the Enchanted Forest again. Hopefully schedule in a castle of some sort. But basically just spend a few days together as a family. The kids are absolutely running on empty leading up to half term - haven't needed a holiday as much as this in a long time!
Blair Castle is great if you want to see a massive baronial (Ducal in this case) pile. Should fit in with Bruar quite well. So glad you enjoyed last year's visit - sure this one will be even better.
Thanks - we did Blair Castle last year; loved it. Not least because I realised when I arrived that I had been there before, when I was, ooh, four, and had indeed camped in the campsite next door. There's something magical about a memory from that far back that you had forgotten even having. Also something magical about a lone piper playing outside a Baronial (/ducal) pile at 3pm with a backdrop of thousands of acres of empty highland landscape - which is also probably another only half-remembered childhood memory. So we may well do Blair Castle again!
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
I suspect that whoever wins will have much less impact. Most of the public won’t notice. Others will see one day’s headlines.
Obviously, people in parties do pay more attention, but even then, the Labourites who like cooperation with the LibDems will still like cooperation with the LibDems and those who don’t will still not. Any Tories who think winning on ~30% because they got lucky on a split opposition vote is a big success or a winning strategy for the general election is a fool. Sure, milk the headlines if you win, but don’t get carried away!
As a PR supporter who has advocated Lib-Lab cooperation for years and practiced it both as an MP and currently in council coalition, it does plenty to discourage me. If the Tories win the seat, as Barnesian revealingly hopes in the absence of an unlikely LibDem win, we will certainly blame the LibDems, and apparently they will blame us. Encourage cooperation? No.
But we should park the argument till Friday when we find out what actually happened, eh?
It makes me sad to see that some LibDems say that - but I've seen quite a lot of Labour people saying they'd prefer a Con win to a LibDem win, so it cuts both ways. Both parties have their convinced partisans, and their pragmatic dealmakers (other adjectives are available in both cases). I've always thought that a) voters really really want one party they can get behind b) that an as easily mean a party that's seen to make an effort, as the previous runner-up c) that doesn't mean not standing a candidate for those who really really want to vote their first choice as opposed to most likely to win, it means standing a candidate and not working hard for it d) a lot of people are going to disagree with me as soon as they read this.
John Prescott always despised the LibDems over the Tories.
I'm off to Perthshire on Monday. Nowhere better in Europe* for Autumn colours. I know this is far from the biggest concern, but I'm hoping the storm doesn't prematurely remove the goldens and browns from the trees.
*I have travelled nowhere near enough to know whether this is true, but it seems feasible.
It is fabulous. The hillside to the north and east of Perth is excellent already and will get better but the trees and walks around Dunkeld are hard to beat. Do the river walk there. So many different mature trees from all around the world.
This storm is looking ominous though. The woods near me haven’t recovered from the storm 3? years ago. In fact they won’t in my lifetime.
Yes, we're staying just outside Dunkeld. We did the same trip last year. I loved it. I would describe the Tay there as 'muscular'; quite an awesome volume of water surging past. I'm hoping to do Ben Vrackie, if the kids are up to it; and also possibly the Falls of Bruar. We're also (following last year's recommendation by, I think, @Luckyguy1983 ) going to do the Enchanted Forest again. Hopefully schedule in a castle of some sort. But basically just spend a few days together as a family. The kids are absolutely running on empty leading up to half term - haven't needed a holiday as much as this in a long time!
Blair Castle is great if you want to see a massive baronial (Ducal in this case) pile. Should fit in with Bruar quite well. So glad you enjoyed last year's visit - sure this one will be even better.
Thanks - we did Blair Castle last year; loved it. Not least because I realised when I arrived that I had been there before, when I was, ooh, four, and had indeed camped in the campsite next door. There's something magical about a memory from that far back that you had forgotten even having. Also something magical about a lone piper playing outside a Baronial (/ducal) pile at 3pm with a backdrop of thousands of acres of empty highland landscape - which is also probably another only half-remembered childhood memory. So we may well do Blair Castle again!
Ah OK. If you're driving up to Perthshire from Edinburgh you could try coming the Stirling way and doing Stirling Castle? That's a great one - very similar to Edinburgh Castle in style and topography but a lot more interesting inside.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
Canada, the Liberals have the advantage of constituency boundaries in their favour and the likelihood of squeezing the NDP vote, but having said that their time is probably up, just on the swing of the pendulum, three wins is enough for any PM, not a fourth. Mid Beds: The Lib Dem canvassers continue to report good doorstep body language when they call. Either they are being conned, are conning themselves or they are indeed close to victory. We shall see. To day is of course their "blue letter" delivery day
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
Canada, the Liberals have the advantage of constituency boundaries in their favour and the likelihood of squeezing the NDP vote, but having said that their time is probably up, just on the swing of the pendulum, three wins is enough for any PM, not a fourth. Mid Beds: The Lib Dem canvassers continue to report good doorstep body language when they call. Either they are being conned, are conning themselves or they are indeed close to victory. We shall see. To day is of course their "blue letter" delivery day
Well, they could be conning us, but I'm sure no self-respecting LD would ever dream of such a thing.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
The way the Russians speak about our intelligence operations, I feel like our agents are, Bond-like, saving the world at least once a week, given how amazingly powerful and all-knowing they seem to be.
It’s not so much that we live in their heads, rent free, as that the entire British Empire is in there. Complete with Harry Flashman, GA Henty etc.
The way the Russians speak about our intelligence operations, I feel like our agents are, Bond-like, saving the world at least once a week, given how amazingly powerful and all-knowing they seem to be.
All the Bond films are actually documentaries, we just won't be told for another hundred years until the papers are declassified.
Though, of course, Goldfinger actually succeeded in his assault on Fort Knox in '64, leading to the eventual abandonment of the Gold Standard in 1971, when the US ran out of non-radioactive gold to exchange.
I have been a bit under the weather recently and on Monday I went to my GP who immediately sent me to A & E as a medical emergency with suspected DVT. I arrived at 5.30pm and was quickly triaged and at 6.30pm I had the all important bloods taken. I waited with my wife in A & E as the waiting times grew from originally 6 hours to 12 hours and at 3.00am I was asked for another blood test as the originally one had been incorrectly taken. It was only at 5.00am I saw a doctor who confirmed DVT and told me she was admitting me into hospital for an early ultra sound. At 7.00am I was summoned to a consultation room with several quite worried doctors and nurses arranging my immediate admission and at 10.30am I had my scan with confirmed an extensive upper leg DVT and treatment began immediately
I am home in quite some pain and know it will take upto 6 months to address the issue but I would just say that everyone in A & E were wonderful, as were the doctors and specialists who acted so quickly once the serious nature of the attack was realised and subsequently the hospital has confirmed that as I am now under their care I must contact them direct if I need to and they will admit me if required without going to A & E. This is very reassuring and hopefully I will in time make a full recovery
Some of the patients in A & E had been there for over 18 hours and as time went on through the night patients applauded when a fellow patient was finally called to the doctors
I tell this story because it is so obvious the issue is with the lack of staff and doctors and is applicable to all parts of the NHS, not just in England
I would just add that witnessing the appalling tragedy going on in Gaza I was reluctant to tell my story but it is a real experience of a patient in a medical emergency and hopefully politicians of whatever party must do something about it but I do have my doubts as there is no money
I should add I am not feeling particularly political at present as when faced with a really serious condition politics seems rather irrelevant
Glad to hear you were attended to and can now concentrate on your recovery.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
My school in Bedford was about 60% non-white, and almost half of kids didn't speak English at home.
My maternal ancestors were millers just outside Bedford. The mill is still there, although of historic interest only now. The family has diversified into a wide range of activities. None, as far as I am concerned or aware, especially lucrative!
The LDs are fighting for this seat very hard to make the point they are the the opposition party with the best chance of winning in a mostly rural seat because the vast majority of traditional, soft Tory voters are very unlikely to switch to Labour despite Keir Starmer's window dressing. I can confirm reports that I have heard from several LD canvassers that believe the result will be very close and they have a good chance of winning tomorrow.
"But it is Mid Beds that has captured the political imagination."
What they mean by this is "We can't be bothered to visit Tamworth" even though it's only an hour by train from London.
You can get to Bedford from Farringdon in 61 minutes.
If you go to Bedford, you'll have passed the constituency; you need to get off no later than Flitwick.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
My school in Bedford was about 60% non-white, and almost half of kids didn't speak English at home.
Showing that pride in local roots = racism is ipso facto BS.
Of course, it MAY be that, but in this case seems a streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch.
Yes but presumably very few of the non-white kids at rcs100's school had ancestors in Bedfordshire going back generations.
I think, if not pride, it must at least be interesting to be that deeply rooted in a place. (None of my grandparents came from within 80 miles of any of the others.) But I don't think it confers any sort of moral advantage.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
My school in Bedford was about 60% non-white, and almost half of kids didn't speak English at home.
My maternal ancestors were millers just outside Bedford. The mill is still there, although of historic interest only now. The family has diversified into a wide range of activities. None, as far as I am concerned o aware, especially lucrative!
The LDs are fighting for this seat very hard to make the point they are the the opposition party with the best chance of winning in a mostly rural seat because the vast majority of traditional, soft Tory voters are very unlikely to switch to Labour despite Keir Starmer's window dressing. I can confirm reports that I have heard from several LD canvassers that believe the result will be very close and they have a good chance of winning tomorrow.
"But it is Mid Beds that has captured the political imagination."
What they mean by this is "We can't be bothered to visit Tamworth" even though it's only an hour by train from London.
I know this will amaze politics watchers on here but a sizeable chunk of the good people of Mid Beds haven't a scooby that there is an election on.
I live in a neighbouring county. I was pretty confident backing Labour due to Tories abstaining (or voting Remould or whatever they are effing called) but now I'm wobbling especially as I see the turnaround in the odds in favour of the Conservatives.
The only thing I'm picking up from speaking to a few people is that Sunak's action in delaying the ban on ICE cars and the boiler thing has cut through, and they have twigged that ULEZ is a Labour thing not a Conservative thing.
I know this is anecdotal but it is consistent - a small sample size but sufficient for me to wonder whether this could affect the outcome in the Tories favour.
ULEZ is a treasury thing - but it only impacts cities at the moment which (because they are mainly led by Labour) makes it look like a Labour policy.
Sadly, I can't get Betfair to reopen my account (it is apparently, "unappealable"). So does anyone have any recommendations about other sites where I might be able to bet on these byelections?
I'm thinking a little snifter on the Conservatives in Tamworth, and on the LDs in mid-Beds.
I'm off to Perthshire on Monday. Nowhere better in Europe* for Autumn colours. I know this is far from the biggest concern, but I'm hoping the storm doesn't prematurely remove the goldens and browns from the trees.
*I have travelled nowhere near enough to know whether this is true, but it seems feasible.
It is fabulous. The hillside to the north and east of Perth is excellent already and will get better but the trees and walks around Dunkeld are hard to beat. Do the river walk there. So many different mature trees from all around the world.
This storm is looking ominous though. The woods near me haven’t recovered from the storm 3? years ago. In fact they won’t in my lifetime.
Yes, we're staying just outside Dunkeld. We did the same trip last year. I loved it. I would describe the Tay there as 'muscular'; quite an awesome volume of water surging past. I'm hoping to do Ben Vrackie, if the kids are up to it; and also possibly the Falls of Bruar. We're also (following last year's recommendation by, I think, @Luckyguy1983 ) going to do the Enchanted Forest again. Hopefully schedule in a castle of some sort. But basically just spend a few days together as a family. The kids are absolutely running on empty leading up to half term - haven't needed a holiday as much as this in a long time!
Blair Castle is great if you want to see a massive baronial (Ducal in this case) pile. Should fit in with Bruar quite well. So glad you enjoyed last year's visit - sure this one will be even better.
Thanks - we did Blair Castle last year; loved it. Not least because I realised when I arrived that I had been there before, when I was, ooh, four, and had indeed camped in the campsite next door. There's something magical about a memory from that far back that you had forgotten even having. Also something magical about a lone piper playing outside a Baronial (/ducal) pile at 3pm with a backdrop of thousands of acres of empty highland landscape - which is also probably another only half-remembered childhood memory. So we may well do Blair Castle again!
Ah OK. If you're driving up to Perthshire from Edinburgh you could try coming the Stirling way and doing Stirling Castle? That's a great one - very similar to Edinburgh Castle in style and topography but a lot more interesting inside.
We may do that. How long do you think Stirling Castle needs to make it worth doing?
NYT live blog - Here’s the latest on the speaker fight.
Representative Jim Jordan, the hard-line Republican from Ohio, was battling on Wednesday to pick up the votes to become speaker, a day after a bloc of 20 G.O.P. holdouts handed him a defeat that raised questions about his ability to win the gavel.
Mr. Jordan called for a second vote around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, hoping that he would be able to show he has the momentum on the House floor to win the majority he needs to be elected. A few Republicans who opposed him on Tuesday said they would relent and back Mr. Jordan on the second ballot.
But other mainstream Republicans vowed to continue opposing Mr. Jordan, skeptical of his history as a right-wing rabble-rouser and furious with the way he and his backers refused to line up behind Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the party’s No. 2, who first won the party’s speaker nomination last week only to withdraw because he lacked the hard-liners’ support.
As the infighting rages on, the House remains leaderless with wars raging in the Middle East and Ukraine, while Congress must act or watch the government shut down in mid-November.
Mr. Jordan evinced confidence on Wednesday morning . . .
But Mr. Jordan’s loss on Tuesday underscored the seemingly intractable divisions among Republicans as well as the near-impossible political math that led to the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as speaker two weeks ago and which have so far thwarted the party’s attempts to choose a successor.
Republicans control the House with only four votes to spare, which has allowed a small hard-right minority to flex its muscles repeatedly. The refusal of some mainstream party members to go along with Mr. Jordan was an unusual show of force from a group that more commonly seeks compromise and conciliation. . . .
Mr. Jordan's allies unleashed a pressure campaign over the weekend . . . It won him a few votes, but appeared to have mostly backfired, instead infuriating the holdouts. In an effort to assuage them, Mr. Jordan wrote on social media on Tuesday night: “We must stop attacking each other and come together. There’s too much at stake.” [ssi - ha! ha! ha! sieg nicht! sieg nicht! sieg nicht!]
Many of the holdouts represent districts that President Biden won in 2020 . . . Others are veteran members of the powerful Appropriations Committee, who are deeply distrustful of Mr. Jordan’s approach to spending and the types of cuts he has endorsed.
The chaos in the House has renewed discussions to empower Representative Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina — the temporary speaker whose role is primarily to hold an election for a speaker — to carry out the chamber’s work until the conflict could be resolved. . . .
SSI - Note vote sched for 11am DC, not 1pm as I said previously . . . so get to popping your popcorn!
Sadly, I can't get Betfair to reopen my account (it is apparently, "unappealable"). So does anyone have any recommendations about other sites where I might be able to bet on these byelections?
I'm thinking a little snifter on the Conservatives in Tamworth, and on the LDs in mid-Beds.
The BBC are leading with 'they're still collecting the dead'.
I find it hard to believe that this is true. I find it very easy to believe that it's completely worthless journalism and a smokescreen to cover yesterdays BBC news car crash.
OT. If LibDems cost Labour the seat could have pretty negative consequences for Davey. A significant number of anti-Tory voters likely to reflexively vote Labour at the GE and not "risk" a LibDem vote even in seats where the LibDems are challengers. Not everyone is clued in sufficiently to realise where the value lies.
If LibDems don't win the seat, I hope the Tories win it rather than Labour.
It will make little difference to the current parliamentary arithmetic.
It will show Labour that barging the LibDems aside has consequences.
It will encourage more cooperation between Labour and LibDems on tactical voting.
It may encourage the Tories and reduce the number of Tory losses in the GE making a minority rather than majority Labour government more likely.
The Lib Dems were there to be barged aside, weren't they?
It is some entitlement to think that the main opposition should go easy in an election it could win, merely to allow a much smaller party, which finished a considerable way back in third, to have a clearer run.
Indeed. Crackers.
Yet it seems Labour are the ones getting most upset and having a sense of entitlement and that is after they did f*** all for weeks while the LDs worked it. Some Lab supporters really have no sense of irony when complaining about a political party having the nerve to challenge them in an election.
Yes @Anabobazina has an advanced sense of entitlement. There are a lot of Labour supporters like him unfortunately. But not all.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
My school in Bedford was about 60% non-white, and almost half of kids didn't speak English at home.
Showing that pride in local roots = racism is ipso facto BS.
Of course, it MAY be that, but in this case seems a streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch.
Yes but presumably very few of the non-white kids at rcs100's school had ancestors in Bedfordshire going back generations.
I think, if not pride, it must at least be interesting to be that deeply rooted in a place. (None of my grandparents came from within 80 miles of any of the others.) But I don't think it confers any sort of moral advantage.
Most of the kids were born there, though. It was very sad to see so little integration. The Bangladeshi kids mostly hung out with other Bangladeshi kids; the Pakastani with Pakastani; and the Caribbean with Caribbean.
The only two parts of the school that was genuinely mixed, and where friendships thrived across racial and cultural boundaries, was the school's really excellent cricket and chess teams.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
My school in Bedford was about 60% non-white, and almost half of kids didn't speak English at home.
My maternal ancestors were millers just outside Bedford. The mill is still there, although of historic interest only now. The family has diversified into a wide range of activities. None, as far as I am concerned o aware, especially lucrative!
Sadly, I can't get Betfair to reopen my account (it is apparently, "unappealable"). So does anyone have any recommendations about other sites where I might be able to bet on these byelections?
I'm thinking a little snifter on the Conservatives in Tamworth, and on the LDs in mid-Beds.
Sadly, I can't get Betfair to reopen my account (it is apparently, "unappealable"). So does anyone have any recommendations about other sites where I might be able to bet on these byelections?
I'm thinking a little snifter on the Conservatives in Tamworth, and on the LDs in mid-Beds.
Is it because you are abroad?
No. This happened before I fled to the US. The result is that I mostly use SpreadEx for my trading.
But they're not carrying any markets on the byelections.
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
My school in Bedford was about 60% non-white, and almost half of kids didn't speak English at home.
My maternal ancestors were millers just outside Bedford. The mill is still there, although of historic interest only now. The family has diversified into a wide range of activities. None, as far as I am concerned o aware, especially lucrative!
Which mill, if you don't mind me asking.
Bromham, to the West of Bedford town.
Know it well. I've spent many a few happy hours fishing the Great Ouse - particularly a stretch a bit down from Bromham, at Harrold mill.
Comments
An elderly relative of mine spent several hours queueing in an ambulance before being admitted to A&E last year, the shortages were so acute even then. The country really is falling apart.
Sounds wonderful. I am extremely jealous. Enjoy it.
What they mean by this is "We can't be bothered to visit Tamworth" even though it's only an hour by train from London.
You are not missing much on the Israel/Gaza front. Positions have now ossified on pb.com and battle lines are now drawn. I went from not giving a fuck as both sides are a pack of lying bastards who are capable of just about anything to being mildly pro-Hamas as all the worst people on here are pro-Israel.
Get well soon.
The reality is that either the LDs position themselves as able to support either main party or they become an adjunct to their only option (there is a third possibility, of replacing one of the others, but they blew their best chance of that in 2019 and are unlikely to get another opportunity in the foreseeable future).
Way more heat than light, and especially online plenty of stuff that you really don’t want to see. We already know that war involves dead people, without needing graphic images of such.
My appetite for watching people die live on TV was lost on 1st May 1994.
I would just say the suffering by many of the 114 patients in A & E through the night was hard to witness and the staff carried our triage on them through the night to detect any deterioration in their condition.
You cannot expect the NHS to improve in any part of the UK without a huge increase in staff and the public need to recognise the price has to be paid which no doubt needs even more taxation
"Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, insisted she is the true local candidate, with ancestors going back generations. “People like the fact that I’m Bedfordshire through and through,” she said."
https://www.ft.com/content/22be14ad-f5ad-4d57-b2fc-2ed4a48f21f5
I think you should also consider that many people will have been horrified by the pro palestinian marches, or should I say celebrations as they initially appeared to be.
The LibDems wouldn't have supported a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn and they won't support a Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak. It's to Labour's credit that they threw their liability of a leader overboard and got someone halfway competent. The Conservatives are doing quite well with the "throwing overboard" bit but still appear to struggle with "getting someone halfway competent".
(FWIW I don't think you're right about "only ever transactional". Nick Clegg, Danny Alexander, Jeremy Browne etc. were fully aligned with Cameron's bunch. The Farron tendency weren't, but every party is an internal coalition, the Conservatives perhaps more than most.)
https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1714590158387814869
As I stare out at the sweeping cold autumnal rain it is hard not to feel a tiny bit depressed about EVERYTHING
I am consoling myself by creating hateful images of demons on Midjourney
As an aside, the LDs couldn't credibly say they wouldn't back Corbyn and Johnson, unless they planned on forcing a new election (but to what end if both Corbyn and Johnson remained in post?). It was effectively a binary choice that they were fortunate to not have to make.
Why should anybody have to stand down in an election
https://x.com/francis_scarr/status/1714219828154683802
Rather startled. Bales are not bundles, not least in the effect they have if they fall on one's head. But perhaps modern boatsmen need that.
Chivalry is dead
My run-in with an oaf"
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-it-offensive-for-men-to-offer-women-a-seat-on-the-tube/
Politico.com - Revenge of the squishes
An unlikely centrist rebellion has backed Jim Jordan into a corner.
ttps://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/18/jim-jordan-centrist-rebellion-house-speaker-00122171
Politico.com - Jim Jordan’s allies tried strong-arming his GOP critics. It backfired.
“The one thing that will never work with me — if you try to pressure me, if you try to threaten me, then I shut off,” GOP Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/17/conservative-pressure-jordan-speaker-bid-00122089
SSI - next vote on speakership scheduled (I think) for 1pm (DC time) today. Can be viewed live via
https://www.house.gov/
Yesterday every member of US House voted EXCEPT one GOPer, Bilirakis of Florida who was absent attending a funeral. He's expected to be under the Big Top for today's proceedings, meaning a Full House which is pretty rare.
I live in a neighbouring county. I was pretty confident backing Labour due to Tories abstaining (or voting Remould or whatever they are effing called) but now I'm wobbling especially as I see the turnaround in the odds in favour of the Conservatives.
The only thing I'm picking up from speaking to a few people is that Sunak's action in delaying the ban on ICE cars
and the boiler thing has cut through, and they have twigged that ULEZ is a Labour thing not a Conservative thing.
I know this is anecdotal but it is consistent - a small sample size but sufficient for me to wonder whether this could affect the outcome in the Tories favour.
"At the opening of the 34th U.S. Congress in December 1855, after the Democrats had lost their majority and only made up 35% of the House, representatives from several parties opposed to slavery's spread gradually united in supporting the Know Nothing [Nathaniel] Banks [of Massachusetts] for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. After |the longest and one of the most bitter speakership contests on record, lasting from December 3, 1855, to February 2, 1856, Banks was chosen on the 133rd ballot."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_P._Banks
SSI - Banks was really an abolitionist Republican; when he was elected to Congress, at a time when the American party system was in flux (to put it mildly) in the leadup to the Civil war.
Both parties have their convinced partisans, and their pragmatic dealmakers (other adjectives are available in both cases). I've always thought that
a) voters really really want one party they can get behind
b) that an as easily mean a party that's seen to make an effort, as the previous runner-up
c) that doesn't mean not standing a candidate for those who really really want to vote their first choice as opposed to most likely to win, it means standing a candidate and not working hard for it
d) a lot of people are going to disagree with me as soon as they read this.
Con 40%
Lib 25%
NDP 19%
Green 7%
BQ 5%
PPC 3%
Mainstreet Research, Canada
Con 41%
Lib 27%
NDP 17%
BQ 6%
Green 3%
PPC 3%
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_45th_Canadian_federal_election#Pre-campaign_period
A living example of the state (largely nonexistent) of NHS dentistry.
Perhaps DA can tweet some suggestions ?
(/the weird and wonderful World of Roger...)
So we may well do Blair Castle again!
"Number of war zones visited by 45 previous presidents without US military protection: zero. Number visited by President Biden: two."
Mid Beds: The Lib Dem canvassers continue to report good doorstep body language when they call. Either they are being conned, are conning themselves or they are indeed close to victory. We shall see. To day is of course their "blue letter" delivery day
On the day the election results were announced, the Polish president named 72 illegal judges, all appointed unconstitutionally
https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1714642341787554256
Of course, it MAY be that, but in this case seems a streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch.
Though, of course, Goldfinger actually succeeded in his assault on Fort Knox in '64, leading to the eventual abandonment of the Gold Standard in 1971, when the US ran out of non-radioactive gold to exchange.
The family has diversified into a wide range of activities. None, as far as I am concerned or aware, especially lucrative!
"Matt Goodwin
@GoodwinMJ
It appears the BBC has just given the world a masterclass in how to spread terrorist misinformation."
https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1714598412195188930
I think, if not pride, it must at least be interesting to be that deeply rooted in a place. (None of my grandparents came from within 80 miles of any of the others.)
But I don't think it confers any sort of moral advantage.
Sadly, I can't get Betfair to reopen my account (it is apparently, "unappealable"). So does anyone have any recommendations about other sites where I might be able to bet on these byelections?
I'm thinking a little snifter on the Conservatives in Tamworth, and on the LDs in mid-Beds.
Representative Jim Jordan, the hard-line Republican from Ohio, was battling on Wednesday to pick up the votes to become speaker, a day after a bloc of 20 G.O.P. holdouts handed him a defeat that raised questions about his ability to win the gavel.
Mr. Jordan called for a second vote around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, hoping that he would be able to show he has the momentum on the House floor to win the majority he needs to be elected. A few Republicans who opposed him on Tuesday said they would relent and back Mr. Jordan on the second ballot.
But other mainstream Republicans vowed to continue opposing Mr. Jordan, skeptical of his history as a right-wing rabble-rouser and furious with the way he and his backers refused to line up behind Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the party’s No. 2, who first won the party’s speaker nomination last week only to withdraw because he lacked the hard-liners’ support.
As the infighting rages on, the House remains leaderless with wars raging in the Middle East and Ukraine, while Congress must act or watch the government shut down in mid-November.
Mr. Jordan evinced confidence on Wednesday morning . . .
But Mr. Jordan’s loss on Tuesday underscored the seemingly intractable divisions among Republicans as well as the near-impossible political math that led to the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as speaker two weeks ago and which have so far thwarted the party’s attempts to choose a successor.
Republicans control the House with only four votes to spare, which has allowed a small hard-right minority to flex its muscles repeatedly. The refusal of some mainstream party members to go along with Mr. Jordan was an unusual show of force from a group that more commonly seeks compromise and conciliation. . . .
Mr. Jordan's allies unleashed a pressure campaign over the weekend . . . It won him a few votes, but appeared to have mostly backfired, instead infuriating the holdouts. In an effort to assuage them, Mr. Jordan wrote on social media on Tuesday night: “We must stop attacking each other and come together. There’s too much at stake.” [ssi - ha! ha! ha! sieg nicht! sieg nicht! sieg nicht!]
Many of the holdouts represent districts that President Biden won in 2020 . . . Others are veteran members of the powerful Appropriations Committee, who are deeply distrustful of Mr. Jordan’s approach to spending and the types of cuts he has endorsed.
The chaos in the House has renewed discussions to empower Representative Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina — the temporary speaker whose role is primarily to hold an election for a speaker — to carry out the chamber’s work until the conflict could be resolved. . . .
SSI - Note vote sched for 11am DC, not 1pm as I said previously . . . so get to popping your popcorn!
I find it hard to believe that this is true. I find it very easy to believe that it's completely worthless journalism and a smokescreen to cover yesterdays BBC news car crash.
The only two parts of the school that was genuinely mixed, and where friendships thrived across racial and cultural boundaries, was the school's really excellent cricket and chess teams.
But they're not carrying any markets on the byelections.
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.218056777