And after an on topic post I think I am justified in going off topic:
Despite the cold, I spotted a Postie earlier, still out and about in shorts.
You have Saturday post too?
Us too, complete with parcel delivered in less than 48 hours. Edinburgh admittedly but it wasn't first class or anything like that. Maybe even 24 hours.
Good analysis - thanks, Foxy. Something I don't know is whether swingback, when it occurs, happens gradually during the last 12 months, or only suddenly in the final weeks. Common sense suggests a bit of both, in which case the Tories need to hope for some initial movement in the next month or two. If they're behind in double digits for the next (N-1) months, they really won't suddenly catch up in month N.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
Good analysis - thanks, Foxy. Something I don't know is whether swingback, when it occurs, happens gradually during the last 12 months, or only suddenly in the final weeks. Common sense suggests a bit of both, in which case the Tories need to hope for some initial movement in the next month or two. If they're behind in double digits for the next (N-1) months, they really won't suddenly catch up in month N.
It is all part of my wider thinking about the factors that could predict the final shares, starting with my thoughts on Reform voters last week.
Components 1 and 2 are quite unpredictable, and can mean swing-away like in 2017 during the final weeks of a campaign.
In my mind swingback is a gradual phenomenon in the 6 months or so before the formal campaign starts.
Scottish press: "Is that @theSNP? Social media is full of stories that 2 senior SNP politicians had an extra-marital affair during lockdown. I wondered if you had any comment?"
SNP: "There is no truth in this rumour. The First Minister is happily married and so is his mistress."
Good analysis - thanks, Foxy. Something I don't know is whether swingback, when it occurs, happens gradually during the last 12 months, or only suddenly in the final weeks. Common sense suggests a bit of both, in which case the Tories need to hope for some initial movement in the next month or two. If they're behind in double digits for the next (N-1) months, they really won't suddenly catch up in month N.
Depends a bit what you think the underlying mechanism is.
First version of swingback is when a leader like Thatcher or Blair is utterly in control of the agenda and narrative. Do the unpopular stuff in years 1 and 2, accepting the consequences. Then hope that it has paid off, or that you have goodies to spray around in years 3 and 4. The '83 - '87 parliament is probably the best example of this, though '01 - '05 comes close. That option is closed off to the Conservatives this time. Partly because Boris would have spent like a sailor anyway, but mostly because Covid yanked the Scrooge-Santa cycle out of whack. (The winner in 2024/5 will dearly hope to be back to business as usual by 2028/9).
The other version is the "moan but vote" phenomenon. You may not be happy with X, and will moan in low-stakes situations like council elections, byelections and opinion polls, but when push comes to shove, you'll still back them against Y. That was a big factor in '92, probably a smaller one in '97, but polls are better at correcting for that now... aren't they? Opinium are just being a bit more ballsy in how big that factor is.
The other big unkown is what the voters who came out for the first time in 2016 for Brexit, the second time in 2019 for Boris and Brexit, will do. By all accounts, there are quite a lot of them, and they're not happy in general and doubly not happy with Rishi.
I think the changes of leader by the Tories will mess up the swing-back-o-meter. They’re a different party to the one that 2019 voters went for, so it’s not like going ‘home’ after being undecided mid term
To a certain extent Blair to Brown must have been factored in by 2005 Lab voters. I don’t think new leaders mid term have a very good record in the subsequent GE, Boris aside. Major won I suppose.
I am bloody freezing. Five layers of clothing. I have a hat. I can't wear Big Socks because reasons, and I need bare fingers to type. Both are cold. I hate winter. Make it stop.
My Mum just told me it’s going to get down to 20º tonight in the Midlands. I said it’s going to get down to 20º where I am too.
I'm amazed that anyone still uses Fahrenheit for temperatures in that range. We seem to have finally more-or-less dropped it even for hot temperatures.
My Mum just told me it’s going to get down to 20º tonight in the Midlands. I said it’s going to get down to 20º where I am too.
Reminds me of a classic moment on the Today programme many years ago. "In Siberia they've recorded a temperature of minus forty," said the man from the Met Office. "Fahrenheit or Centigrade?" asked the man from the BBC.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
My Mum just told me it’s going to get down to 20º tonight in the Midlands. I said it’s going to get down to 20º where I am too.
Reminds me of a classic moment on the Today programme many years ago. "In Siberia they've recorded a temperature of minus forty," said the man from the Met Office. "Fahrenheit or Centigrade?" asked the man from the BBC.
I am bloody freezing. Five layers of clothing. I have a hat. I can't wear Big Socks because reasons, and I need bare fingers to type. Both are cold. I hate winter. Make it stop.
I did a 10K run a couple of hours ago. Thoroughly pleasant whilst moving; blooming uncomfortable when I stopped.
Incidentally, for true cold, I'm currently reading Neville Shute's 'An Old Captivity', where a pilot flies an archaeological expedition to Greenland in the early 1930s. A fascinating book that captures the time when pilots had to do things like strip their own engines; a world that probably only existed for a couple of decades.
It's also interesting as it fits a 'love/female interest' in a very male environment, in a way that does not grate. Few films managed that. One that did was 'Ice Cold in Alex'.
And after an on topic post I think I am justified in going off topic:
Despite the cold, I spotted a Postie earlier, still out and about in shorts.
Just been down to our town’s Christmas Market. Very crowded, two or three men in shorts. Nice gins for sampling!
We have not been above -1 here today. I certainly wouldn't want to be wearing shorts in this.
-1 here apparently. I ran in shorts. Though I had a fleece on top of my running shirt. I kept on taking my gloves and hat off as I ran, as at times I was too warm, at others too cool.
And after an on topic post I think I am justified in going off topic:
Despite the cold, I spotted a Postie earlier, still out and about in shorts.
Just been down to our town’s Christmas Market. Very crowded, two or three men in shorts. Nice gins for sampling!
We have not been above -1 here today. I certainly wouldn't want to be wearing shorts in this.
-1 here apparently. I ran in shorts. Though I had a fleece on top of my running shirt. I kept on taking my gloves and hat off as I ran, as at times I was too warm, at others too cool.
Thankfully the U7s rugby that I coach has been called off tomorrow due to frozen pitches. Last week was bad enough. It's not got above freezing here either today and was about -4 last night (and probably lower in Hipperholme, where we were due to play.
Good analysis - thanks, Foxy. Something I don't know is whether swingback, when it occurs, happens gradually during the last 12 months, or only suddenly in the final weeks. Common sense suggests a bit of both, in which case the Tories need to hope for some initial movement in the next month or two. If they're behind in double digits for the next (N-1) months, they really won't suddenly catch up in month N.
Depends a bit what you think the underlying mechanism is.
First version of swingback is when a leader like Thatcher or Blair is utterly in control of the agenda and narrative. Do the unpopular stuff in years 1 and 2, accepting the consequences. Then hope that it has paid off, or that you have goodies to spray around in years 3 and 4. The '83 - '87 parliament is probably the best example of this, though '01 - '05 comes close. That option is closed off to the Conservatives this time. Partly because Boris would have spent like a sailor anyway, but mostly because Covid yanked the Scrooge-Santa cycle out of whack. (The winner in 2024/5 will dearly hope to be back to business as usual by 2028/9).
The other version is the "moan but vote" phenomenon. You may not be happy with X, and will moan in low-stakes situations like council elections, byelections and opinion polls, but when push comes to shove, you'll still back them against Y. That was a big factor in '92, probably a smaller one in '97, but polls are better at correcting for that now... aren't they? Opinium are just being a bit more ballsy in how big that factor is.
The other big unkown is what the voters who came out for the first time in 2016 for Brexit, the second time in 2019 for Boris and Brexit, will do. By all accounts, there are quite a lot of them, and they're not happy in general and doubly not happy with Rishi.
As you say, I’d suggest there are multiple mechanisms at work.
There are people either not paying much attention to politics, or paying attention mostly to what the government is doing, who are answering pollsters simply on the basis of whether they like the government, offering a vote for the opposition (or a don’t know) if they don’t. The arrival of the election forces them to evaluate all the parties on a parallel basis, and some find they don’t like the opposition offering(s) any the more. You could see the Big_G saga as one of these; someone who spent eighteen months sharing his negative view of Johnson and saying he wouldn’t vote for him; then, when the election came and faced with Corbyn, voting for Johnson after all.
There are those who use their response to the pollster as a form of protest, rather akin to a by-election vote, never really intending to actually vote against their usual party when the election comes.
There are those usually government supporters who are so disaffected that they imagine they don’t intend to vote, but then either get caught up in the campaign or feel a social responsibility to vote, and do so in their usual fashion.
Then there’s the tendency of governments to do the bad stuff early and in the middle of their terms, then trying to Segway to better deeds in the final year. For those with short-term perspectives or horizons, this generates some natural swingback.
Then there are those influenced by specific factors that only become apparent during the campaign, such as the identity of the candidates, the vigour of the campaigns, and local tactical considerations, and these override their having previously given a default protest response to pollsters of intending to vote ‘for the other lot’. Similarly, but often conversely, in a close local context, the third and other minor party vote can get squeezed. Depending on local circumstances, these pressures can push people back to backing the governing party, or moving from the main opposition party to a third party, both of which can contribute to a swingback.
I think the changes of leader by the Tories will mess up the swing-back-o-meter. They’re a different party to the one that 2019 voters went for, so it’s not like going ‘home’ after being undecided mid term
To a certain extent Blair to Brown must have been factored in by 2005 Lab voters. I don’t think new leaders mid term have a very good record in the subsequent GE, Boris aside. Major won I suppose.
Yes, a good point. Can we have swingback to a different government? And that is what Sunak claims to be.
Mid term changes of PM are variable in outcome, but generally occur because the previous PM was failing badly, so dealt a difficult hand to play. Callaghan for Wilson was health reasons so a bit different, but nonetheless didn't work.
Blair to Brown wasn't an electoral success.
Thatcher to Major saved the Tories in 1992
MacMillan to Douglas-Home didn't work, but Eden to Macmillan did.
It's a bit double or quits for a party in trouble so far as I can see.
Apologies if this duplicates previous comments (I haven't read the whole discussion). One point to bear in mind is that voters *always* overestimate their likelihood to vote. Even in the Scottish independence referendum, which IIRC had the highest turnout of any public poll in decades, it would still have been even higher (over 90%), if voters had done as opinion polls said they would.
Apologies if this duplicates previous comments (I haven't read the whole discussion). One point to bear in mind is that voters *always* overestimate their likelihood to vote. Even in the Scottish independence referendum, which IIRC had the highest turnout of any public poll in decades, it would still have been even higher (over 90%), if voters had done as opinion polls said they would.
Opinium methodology seems to adjust for that:
"Going forward, we will be actively sampling to increase the proportions of those who classify as low or mid political attention and weighting our political sample to be representative based on political attention, using targets from the British Election Study."
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
It's not the norm but is it truly rare? If you're into politics and have some ideology of course you won't be flopping about. I'm not sure I'd vote Conservative even at gunpoint. But lots of people, perhaps a majority, are not like that. Eg my parents have both voted for all 3 main parties at various elections over the years.
Sunak is “increasingly tetchy” and the mood is affecting Downing Street staff, according to Bloomberg.
Obviously it would be better if he weren't showing it, and a fair bit of it is Sunak's earlier misjudgements catching up with him ("Only Boris Can Save Us" for example), but he has a fair bit to be tetchy about.
Sunak is “increasingly tetchy” and the mood is affecting Downing Street staff, according to Bloomberg.
Obviously it would be better if he weren't showing it, and a fair bit of it is Sunak's earlier misjudgements catching up with him ("Only Boris Can Save Us" for example), but he has a fair bit to be tetchy about.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
It's not the norm but is it truly rare? If you're into politics and have some ideology of course you won't be flopping about. I'm not sure I'd vote Conservative even at gunpoint. But lots of people, perhaps a majority, are not like that. Eg my parents have both voted for all 3 main parties at various elections over the years.
I have voted for 5 different parties at General Elections, and am one of the Undecideds that are sure to vote. Not that it matters a lot as mine is a safe seat.
I am bloody freezing. Five layers of clothing. I have a hat. I can't wear Big Socks because reasons, and I need bare fingers to type. Both are cold. I hate winter. Make it stop.
Close the window! You can get usb-powered heated clothing these days. The old fashioned cure would be a warm bath which should keep you going for a few hours. As I posted a couple of threads back, my Argos mole says they are doing a roaring trade in electric blankets and throws.
My Mum just told me it’s going to get down to 20º tonight in the Midlands. I said it’s going to get down to 20º where I am too.
Reminds me of a classic moment on the Today programme many years ago. "In Siberia they've recorded a temperature of minus forty," said the man from the Met Office. "Fahrenheit or Centigrade?" asked the man from the BBC.
It took me a minute...
Yes I get it now (v good) but for a while I was self-consciously chuckling to fit in with the room.
Model, starlet, spy. Allegedly she had relationships with the sons of both Churchill and Mussolini.
There was an anecdote that went something like this: Germans came to arrest her in the hotel she was staying at in Venice. She turned up to greet the Germans who came to the hotel, and was introduced as someone else. They did nor find her. sadly she was betrayed a few days later, and was sent to Ravensbruck, which she survived.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
It's not the norm but is it truly rare? If you're into politics and have some ideology of course you won't be flopping about. I'm not sure I'd vote Conservative even at gunpoint. But lots of people, perhaps a majority, are not like that. Eg my parents have both voted for all 3 main parties at various elections over the years.
I have voted for 5 different parties at General Elections, and am one of the Undecideds that are sure to vote. Not that it matters a lot as mine is a safe seat.
Five? Gosh. But you DO have some ideology. So I'm surprised. Is it that your views have changed quite a bit over time?
My Mum just told me it’s going to get down to 20º tonight in the Midlands. I said it’s going to get down to 20º where I am too.
Reminds me of a classic moment on the Today programme many years ago. "In Siberia they've recorded a temperature of minus forty," said the man from the Met Office. "Fahrenheit or Centigrade?" asked the man from the BBC.
What's the technical word to describe that type of situation, where two different measures/formulas happen to give the same answer?
"Average life expectancy in the U.S. increased by more than a year in 2022, but it still has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
I first voted in 1997: Labour Then LD, LD, Tory, Lab, Tory, Tory.
In 1997, I remember telling myself I would never vote Tory, but in 2010 I did!
I am bloody freezing. Five layers of clothing. I have a hat. I can't wear Big Socks because reasons, and I need bare fingers to type. Both are cold. I hate winter. Make it stop.
My Mum just told me it’s going to get down to 20º tonight in the Midlands. I said it’s going to get down to 20º where I am too.
Reminds me of a classic moment on the Today programme many years ago. "In Siberia they've recorded a temperature of minus forty," said the man from the Met Office. "Fahrenheit or Centigrade?" asked the man from the BBC.
What's the technical word to describe that type of situation, where two different measures/formulas happen to give the same answer?
I think on here it would be called crossover (appropriately capitalised). It wasn't a particularly daft question at 7.30 on a cold morning, just a little ironic.
Sunak is “increasingly tetchy” and the mood is affecting Downing Street staff, according to Bloomberg.
Obviously it would be better if he weren't showing it, and a fair bit of it is Sunak's earlier misjudgements catching up with him ("Only Boris Can Save Us" for example), but he has a fair bit to be tetchy about.
He does. He knows he's not impressing in the job and that must frustrate and rankle. Probably not best equipped to handle it, his rise in politics being so swift and frictionless.
No problem with the adultery of course, but the alleged breach of Covid rules is a problem.
If it is the FM and the suggested MSP, his replacement should be someone who would uphold Christian values, which could be very beneficial for SNP fortunes.
And after an on topic post I think I am justified in going off topic:
Despite the cold, I spotted a Postie earlier, still out and about in shorts.
Just been down to our town’s Christmas Market. Very crowded, two or three men in shorts. Nice gins for sampling!
We have not been above -1 here today. I certainly wouldn't want to be wearing shorts in this.
-1 here apparently. I ran in shorts. Though I had a fleece on top of my running shirt. I kept on taking my gloves and hat off as I ran, as at times I was too warm, at others too cool.
Thankfully the U7s rugby that I coach has been called off tomorrow due to frozen pitches. Last week was bad enough. It's not got above freezing here either today and was about -4 last night (and probably lower in Hipperholme, where we were due to play.
Had a couple of accidents on the river, here. Westminster School had an eight wrapped around Hammersmith Bridge. Thank fuck for Empacher - they make the inner layer of the hull out of Kevlar and the outer out of carbon fibre. So the boat didn't break up - it kinda folded around the pier.
It's been amusing walking the boats into the river at low tide. Some fools try and use wellies. But you need to get enough water under the boat - so the wellies always flood....
From a discussion on a previous thread: Rick Atkinson (in "An Army at Dawn" and "The Day Of Battle", the first two volumes in his WW II trilogy) mentions, briefly, the attacks on women by the "goumiers" in Italy -- and in North Africa. A responsible commander wouldn't station these troops near an Italian village, or an Arab village.
(Atkinson mentions other war crimes in those volumes, including some committed by American troops, especially in North Africa.)
I think the changes of leader by the Tories will mess up the swing-back-o-meter. They’re a different party to the one that 2019 voters went for, so it’s not like going ‘home’ after being undecided mid term
To a certain extent Blair to Brown must have been factored in by 2005 Lab voters. I don’t think new leaders mid term have a very good record in the subsequent GE, Boris aside. Major won I suppose.
Yes, a good point. Can we have swingback to a different government? And that is what Sunak claims to be.
Mid term changes of PM are variable in outcome, but generally occur because the previous PM was failing badly, so dealt a difficult hand to play. Callaghan for Wilson was health reasons so a bit different, but nonetheless didn't work.
Blair to Brown wasn't an electoral success.
Thatcher to Major saved the Tories in 1992
MacMillan to Douglas-Home didn't work, but Eden to Macmillan did.
It's a bit double or quits for a party in trouble so far as I can see.
You'd say the basic criteria are:
1.) Is the transition relatively orderly? Obviously there's some element of disorderliness in any defenestration of a leader. But an orderly one would be, say, an ordinary contest where a strong winner emerges to lead.
2.) Is the leader a plausible fresh face who can ditch what got the previous leader in trouble and lead a 'new' government.
Both Johnson in 2019 and Major meet that. Despite Brexit providing background chaos in 2019, he won the leadership convincingly and was able to make a fresh pitch. Major was plausibly able to move away from Thatcher's confrontational style and ditch the policies which did for her.
None apply to Sunak. Johnson's removal was very messy. He lost to Truss, then had an awkward emergency coronation after she proved to be a disaster. Plus has a recalcitrant right he's tried to placate but who make him look incredibly weak.
Plus, he was a key decisionmaker or supporter in the defining events of the Johnson premiership so can't really shy away from its screw ups, broken promises, and promotion of Brexit. All of which have intensely annoyed lots of different people and exacerbate a difficult economic picture that leads to people thinking the country is on the wrong track.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
I first voted in 1997: Labour Then LD, LD, Tory, Lab, Tory, Tory.
In 1997, I remember telling myself I would never vote Tory, but in 2010 I did!
I've been as good as my word to myself. A vote for the Liberals in Leominster was the first in 1983. I just missed out on 1979 by 9 months and that was to turn over a Con majority of just 579 votes. As it turned our Temple- Morris won by nearly 5000 votes.
I have still never voted blue meanie, but I have voted PC. which is probably worse.
I'm struggling to understand who'd want to shag him.
i can’t stand the guy but he’s not a bad looking bloke
Curtains for his career if proved, however
Your hotel has ladyboys on speed dial and you're weighing up the pros and cons of Humza? Neither interest me, but whatever floats your boat, I guess.
My hotel tonight has pretty much zero on speed dial as I’m in an auberge up in the high Bugey, treating myself to a bit of snow before heading back to Lyon airport tomorrow. 3 rooms, they don’t even open the doors until 6pm and I had to call the owner to let me in. It was -5C when I got here and there’s about 20cm of fresh snow everywhere.
The trouble is I’m in a hire car with normal tyres and the roads here aren’t gritted. I parked on a slope at the auberge and 10 minutes later heard a loud skidding sound. The car had slipped about 3 metres down the slope into the road but fortunately hadn’t hit the wall (yes the handbrake was on).
There is now nothing to do except sit reading PB until dinner at 7.30, because I left the book I was reading back at the house. But I did do some proper tourism earlier. I went to the thermal baths in Aix les Bains, donned my maillot and spent a couple of hours sitting in hot steaming water outside with a view of the mountains above the lake and snowflakes falling on my compulsory swimming cap. Not done one of those old fashioned hot baths before. Good fun.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
I first voted in 1997: Labour Then LD, LD, Tory, Lab, Tory, Tory.
In 1997, I remember telling myself I would never vote Tory, but in 2010 I did!
I've been as good as my word to myself. A vote for the Liberals in Leominster was the first in 1983. I just missed out on 1979 by 9 months and that was to turn over a Con majority of just 579 votes. As it turned our Temple- Morris won by nearly 5000 votes.
I have still never voted blue meanie, but I have voted PC. which is probably worse.
I’ve been the country’s worst tactical voter. The one election that I lived in a marginal was 1997 in Oxford, and I voted Labour not realising the Lib Dems were the challengers. I’ve since voted LD in every election but always in an ultra-safe Labour seat. I’ve also voted LD in Mayoral elections and LD, Green and WEP in locals.
I have therefore never to this day voted for a winning candidate. And I voted on the losing side in both referendums.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
I first voted in 1997: Labour Then LD, LD, Tory, Lab, Tory, Tory.
In 1997, I remember telling myself I would never vote Tory, but in 2010 I did!
I've been as good as my word to myself. A vote for the Liberals in Leominster was the first in 1983. I just missed out on 1979 by 9 months and that was to turn over a Con majority of just 579 votes. As it turned our Temple- Morris won by nearly 5000 votes.
I have still never voted blue meanie, but I have voted PC. which is probably worse.
Good evening
You are in good company - @HYUFD has voted Plaid as well
No problem with the adultery of course, but the alleged breach of Covid rules is a problem.
If it is the FM and the suggested MSP, his replacement should be someone who would uphold Christian values, which could be very beneficial for SNP fortunes.
Be careful what you wish for. Kate Forbes would be a much more formidable opponent, especially for the Tories in Scotland.
Good analysis - thanks, Foxy. Something I don't know is whether swingback, when it occurs, happens gradually during the last 12 months, or only suddenly in the final weeks. Common sense suggests a bit of both, in which case the Tories need to hope for some initial movement in the next month or two. If they're behind in double digits for the next (N-1) months, they really won't suddenly catch up in month N.
Depends a bit what you think the underlying mechanism is.
First version of swingback is when a leader like Thatcher or Blair is utterly in control of the agenda and narrative. Do the unpopular stuff in years 1 and 2, accepting the consequences. Then hope that it has paid off, or that you have goodies to spray around in years 3 and 4. The '83 - '87 parliament is probably the best example of this, though '01 - '05 comes close. That option is closed off to the Conservatives this time. Partly because Boris would have spent like a sailor anyway, but mostly because Covid yanked the Scrooge-Santa cycle out of whack. (The winner in 2024/5 will dearly hope to be back to business as usual by 2028/9).
The other version is the "moan but vote" phenomenon. You may not be happy with X, and will moan in low-stakes situations like council elections, byelections and opinion polls, but when push comes to shove, you'll still back them against Y. That was a big factor in '92, probably a smaller one in '97, but polls are better at correcting for that now... aren't they? Opinium are just being a bit more ballsy in how big that factor is.
The other big unkown is what the voters who came out for the first time in 2016 for Brexit, the second time in 2019 for Boris and Brexit, will do. By all accounts, there are quite a lot of them, and they're not happy in general and doubly not happy with Rishi.
As you say, I’d suggest there are multiple mechanisms at work.
There are people either not paying much attention to politics, or paying attention mostly to what the government is doing, who are answering pollsters simply on the basis of whether they like the government, offering a vote for the opposition (or a don’t know) if they don’t. The arrival of the election forces them to evaluate all the parties on a parallel basis, and some find they don’t like the opposition offering(s) any the more. You could see the Big_G saga as one of these; someone who spent eighteen months sharing his negative view of Johnson and saying he wouldn’t vote for him; then, when the election came and faced with Corbyn, voting for Johnson after all.
There are those who use their response to the pollster as a form of protest, rather akin to a by-election vote, never really intending to actually vote against their usual party when the election comes.
There are those who are so disaffected that they imagine they don’t intend to vote, but then either get caught up in the cam
Apologies if this duplicates previous comments (I haven't read the whole discussion). One point to bear in mind is that voters *always* overestimate their likelihood to vote. Even in the Scottish independence referendum, which IIRC had the highest turnout of any public poll in decades, it would still have been even higher (over 90%), if voters had done as opinion polls said they would.
Yes, but that’s on average.
There are people who do so, because when polling day comes it turns out they are on holiday or working away or ill or in hospital or having a work or personal crisis or forget or many other reasons why they don’t make it to vote. You’d expect this group to be spread randomly.
But there are also people who spend a long time asserting that they don’t intend to vote but usually end up doing so. And, this group probably tends towards voters for the incumbent.
The SNP seem to have shot themselves in the foot then the head. SKS will be delighted.
Nah, if Yousaf has to quit he is likely to be replaced by Kate Forbes who read History at Cambridge, that indicates a formidable person, Starmer should be afraid.
No problem with the adultery of course, but the alleged breach of Covid rules is a problem.
If it is the FM and the suggested MSP, his replacement should be someone who would uphold Christian values, which could be very beneficial for SNP fortunes.
Be careful what you wish for. Kate Forbes would be a much more formidable opponent, especially for the Tories in Scotland.
I’d imagine SKS might be quite relaxed about a Kate Forbes leadership. Opens up the central belt nicely. But in any case it’s surely impossible to imagine someone who’s so at odds with her party base managing to carry off a successful leadership race.
Not so much swingback as "Don't think I'll bother" switching to "Oh, I suppose I ought to".
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
No, that would be the ones in my second group, turnout by demographics.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
This is where I don't think that they really are undecided who to vote for. Rather, I think that they are undecided whether to vote for their regular party or not.
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
It's not the norm but is it truly rare? If you're into politics and have some ideology of course you won't be flopping about. I'm not sure I'd vote Conservative even at gunpoint. But lots of people, perhaps a majority, are not like that. Eg my parents have both voted for all 3 main parties at various elections over the years.
I have voted for 5 different parties at General Elections, and am one of the Undecideds that are sure to vote. Not that it matters a lot as mine is a safe seat.
Five? Gosh. But you DO have some ideology. So I'm surprised. Is it that your views have changed quite a bit over time?
Indeed, though not a very straightforward or coherent ideology. I believe in decentralised decision making as far as possible, strong local government and for a low debt, balanced budget. I also believe in internationalism, and a safety net for all. LDs seem the best fit.
I have voted SDP, LD , Lab, Green, and Conservative (2010) so 5 parties in all.
No problem with the adultery of course, but the alleged breach of Covid rules is a problem.
If it is the FM and the suggested MSP, his replacement should be someone who would uphold Christian values, which could be very beneficial for SNP fortunes.
Be careful what you wish for. Kate Forbes would be a much more formidable opponent, especially for the Tories in Scotland.
I’d imagine SKS might be quite relaxed about a Kate Forbes leadership. Opens up the central belt nicely. But in any case it’s surely impossible to imagine someone who’s so at odds with her party base managing to carry off a successful leadership race.
But then the SNP have the same problem that the Conservatives had with Sunak.
If not Forbes... who? Ash Regan buggered off to Alba.
The SNP seem to have shot themselves in the foot then the head. SKS will be delighted.
Nah, if Yousaf has to quit he is likely to be replaced by Kate Forbes who read History at Cambridge, that indicates a formidable person, Starmer should be afraid.
The SNP seem to have shot themselves in the foot then the head. SKS will be delighted.
Nah, if Yousaf has to quit he is likely to be replaced by Kate Forbes who read History at Cambridge, that indicates a formidable person, Starmer should be afraid.
The SNP seem to have shot themselves in the foot then the head. SKS will be delighted.
Nah, if Yousaf has to quit he is likely to be replaced by Kate Forbes who read History at Cambridge, that indicates a formidable person, Starmer should be afraid.
Diane Abbott and Michael Portillo both read history at Cambridge, as well as acting together at school.
Comments
Enjoy!
It is the voters with the patchy voting record wot win it for the party who can get them sufficiently motivated.
Despite the cold, I spotted a Postie earlier, still out and about in shorts.
What Opinium and Kantar are doing is to correct for those who are consistent at turning out, but undecided who to vote for. These tend to be 2019 Tory voters in the main.
This is the link to the updated Opinium methodology, the source of the figure and Quote in the header.
https://www.opinium.com/resource-center/uk-voting-intention-27th-january-2022-2/
Components 1 and 2 are quite unpredictable, and can mean swing-away like in 2017 during the final weeks of a campaign.
In my mind swingback is a gradual phenomenon in the 6 months or so before the formal campaign starts.
Though personally I wouldn't call two or three men in shorts "very crowded".
Maybe it's the gin?
So there’s very little point in the Nats continuing to hide it
Kate Forbes might be happy
@Erudite4Unity
Scottish press: "Is that @theSNP? Social media is full of stories that 2 senior SNP politicians had an extra-marital affair during lockdown. I wondered if you had any comment?"
SNP: "There is no truth in this rumour. The First Minister is happily married and so is his mistress."
Curtains for his career if proved, however
First version of swingback is when a leader like Thatcher or Blair is utterly in control of the agenda and narrative. Do the unpopular stuff in years 1 and 2, accepting the consequences. Then hope that it has paid off, or that you have goodies to spray around in years 3 and 4. The '83 - '87 parliament is probably the best example of this, though '01 - '05 comes close. That option is closed off to the Conservatives this time. Partly because Boris would have spent like a sailor anyway, but mostly because Covid yanked the Scrooge-Santa cycle out of whack. (The winner in 2024/5 will dearly hope to be back to business as usual by 2028/9).
The other version is the "moan but vote" phenomenon. You may not be happy with X, and will moan in low-stakes situations like council elections, byelections and opinion polls, but when push comes to shove, you'll still back them against Y. That was a big factor in '92, probably a smaller one in '97, but polls are better at correcting for that now... aren't they? Opinium are just being a bit more ballsy in how big that factor is.
The other big unkown is what the voters who came out for the first time in 2016 for Brexit, the second time in 2019 for Boris and Brexit, will do. By all accounts, there are quite a lot of them, and they're not happy in general and doubly not happy with Rishi.
Especially if the miscreants are odious creeps
Or so he'd have us believe. He's probably just an incel who hasn't left his woodlouse-infected basement flat in Southend for five years...
To a certain extent Blair to Brown must have been factored in by 2005 Lab voters. I don’t think new leaders mid term have a very good record in the subsequent GE, Boris aside. Major won I suppose.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pail_of_Air
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_(novel)
Floating voters, switching between Labour and Conservative, are rare beasts.
Incidentally, for true cold, I'm currently reading Neville Shute's 'An Old Captivity', where a pilot flies an archaeological expedition to Greenland in the early 1930s. A fascinating book that captures the time when pilots had to do things like strip their own engines; a world that probably only existed for a couple of decades.
It's also interesting as it fits a 'love/female interest' in a very male environment, in a way that does not grate. Few films managed that. One that did was 'Ice Cold in Alex'.
There are people either not paying much attention to politics, or paying attention mostly to what the government is doing, who are answering pollsters simply on the basis of whether they like the government, offering a vote for the opposition (or a don’t know) if they don’t. The arrival of the election forces them to evaluate all the parties on a parallel basis, and some find they don’t like the opposition offering(s) any the more. You could see the Big_G saga as one of these; someone who spent eighteen months sharing his negative view of Johnson and saying he wouldn’t vote for him; then, when the election came and faced with Corbyn, voting for Johnson after all.
There are those who use their response to the pollster as a form of protest, rather akin to a by-election vote, never really intending to actually vote against their usual party when the election comes.
There are those usually government supporters who are so disaffected that they imagine they don’t intend to vote, but then either get caught up in the campaign or feel a social responsibility to vote, and do so in their usual fashion.
Then there’s the tendency of governments to do the bad stuff early and in the middle of their terms, then trying to Segway to better deeds in the final year. For those with short-term perspectives or horizons, this generates some natural swingback.
Then there are those influenced by specific factors that only become apparent during the campaign, such as the identity of the candidates, the vigour of the campaigns, and local tactical considerations, and these override their having previously given a default protest response to pollsters of intending to vote ‘for the other lot’. Similarly, but often conversely, in a close local context, the third and other minor party vote can get squeezed. Depending on local circumstances, these pressures can push people back to backing the governing party, or moving from the main opposition party to a third party, both of which can contribute to a swingback.
No problem with the adultery of course, but the alleged breach of Covid rules is a problem.
Mid term changes of PM are variable in outcome, but generally occur because the previous PM was failing badly, so dealt a difficult hand to play. Callaghan for Wilson was health reasons so a bit different, but nonetheless didn't work.
Blair to Brown wasn't an electoral success.
Thatcher to Major saved the Tories in 1992
MacMillan to Douglas-Home didn't work, but Eden to Macmillan did.
It's a bit double or quits for a party in trouble so far as I can see.
Apologies if this duplicates previous comments (I haven't read the whole discussion). One point to bear in mind is that voters *always* overestimate their likelihood to vote. Even in the Scottish independence referendum, which IIRC had the highest turnout of any public poll in decades, it would still have been even higher (over 90%), if voters had done as opinion polls said they would.
- December Netflix release? I don't think it's Ethan Hawke or Benedict Cumberbatch or Michael Fassbinder
- Marvel superhero with jaw implant? The only male sleb of any note with a jaw implant I know is Zac Efron and he's not Marvel
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/plastic-surgery-celebrities-actors-b2456972.html"Going forward, we will be actively sampling to increase the proportions of those who classify as low or mid political attention and weighting our political sample to be representative based on political attention, using targets from the British Election Study."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/02/philippines-hit-by-earthquake-tsunami-say-experts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toto_Koopman
Model, starlet, spy. Allegedly she had relationships with the sons of both Churchill and Mussolini.
There was an anecdote that went something like this: Germans came to arrest her in the hotel she was staying at in Venice. She turned up to greet the Germans who came to the hotel, and was introduced as someone else. They did nor find her. sadly she was betrayed a few days later, and was sent to Ravensbruck, which she survived.
Let’s hope 2022 is the start of a trend:
"Average life expectancy in the U.S. increased by more than a year in 2022, but it still has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
U.S. life expectancy was 77.5 years, researchers found, up 1.1 years from 2021. The increase did not overcome a loss of 2.4 years in life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, which has largely been attributed to excess deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic.
source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/americans-are-living-longer-but-there-s-a-catch-cdc-report-on-us-life-expectancy/ar-AA1kK1Wn? ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=e690843496fa4efadbb75c07cc54625e&ei=124 "
(US Life expectancy fell in the last year or two that Obama was president.
Do I blame him for that? To some extent. There’s a hint in that “largely”.)
Then LD, LD, Tory, Lab, Tory, Tory.
In 1997, I remember telling myself I would never vote Tory, but in 2010 I did!
I have a pair.
https://www.thenorthface.co.uk/shop/en-gb/tnf-gb/mens-etip-gloves-4sha?variationId=21L
It's been amusing walking the boats into the river at low tide. Some fools try and use wellies. But you need to get enough water under the boat - so the wellies always flood....
(Atkinson mentions other war crimes in those volumes, including some committed by American troops, especially in North Africa.)
1.) Is the transition relatively orderly? Obviously there's some element of disorderliness in any defenestration of a leader. But an orderly one would be, say, an ordinary contest where a strong winner emerges to lead.
2.) Is the leader a plausible fresh face who can ditch what got the previous leader in trouble and lead a 'new' government.
Both Johnson in 2019 and Major meet that. Despite Brexit providing background chaos in 2019, he won the leadership convincingly and was able to make a fresh pitch. Major was plausibly able to move away from Thatcher's confrontational style and ditch the policies which did for her.
None apply to Sunak. Johnson's removal was very messy. He lost to Truss, then had an awkward emergency coronation after she proved to be a disaster. Plus has a recalcitrant right he's tried to placate but who make him look incredibly weak.
Plus, he was a key decisionmaker or supporter in the defining events of the Johnson premiership so can't really shy away from its screw ups, broken promises, and promotion of Brexit. All of which have intensely annoyed lots of different people and exacerbate a difficult economic picture that leads to people thinking the country is on the wrong track.
I have still never voted blue meanie, but I have voted PC. which is probably worse.
The trouble is I’m in a hire car with normal tyres and the roads here aren’t gritted. I parked on a slope at the auberge and 10 minutes later heard a loud skidding sound. The car had slipped about 3 metres down the slope into the road but fortunately hadn’t hit the wall (yes the handbrake was on).
There is now nothing to do except sit reading PB until dinner at 7.30, because I left the book I was reading back at the house. But I did do some proper tourism earlier. I went to the thermal baths in Aix les Bains, donned my maillot and spent a couple of hours sitting in hot steaming water outside with a view of the mountains above the lake and snowflakes falling on my compulsory swimming cap. Not done one of those old fashioned hot baths before. Good fun.
I have therefore never to this day voted for a winning candidate. And I voted on the losing side in both referendums.
You are in good company - @HYUFD has voted Plaid as well
There are people either not paying much attention to politics, or paying attention mostly to what the government is doing, who are answering pollsters simply on the basis of whether they like the government, offering a vote for the opposition (or a don’t know) if they don’t. The arrival of the election forces them to evaluate all the parties on a parallel basis, and some find they don’t like the opposition offering(s) any the more. You could see the Big_G saga as one of these; someone who spent eighteen months sharing his negative view of Johnson and saying he wouldn’t vote for him; then, when the election came and faced with Corbyn, voting for Johnson after all.
There are those who use their response to the pollster as a form of protest, rather akin to a by-election vote, never really intending to actually vote against their usual party when the election comes.
There are those who are so disaffected that they imagine they don’t intend to vote, but then either get caught up in the cam Yes, but that’s on average.
There are people who do so, because when polling day comes it turns out they are on holiday or working away or ill or in hospital or having a work or personal crisis or forget or many other reasons why they don’t make it to vote. You’d expect this group to be spread randomly.
But there are also people who spend a long time asserting that they don’t intend to vote but usually end up doing so. And, this group probably tends towards voters for the incumbent.
SKS will be delighted.
All that’s been confirmed so far is the SNP officially calling the divorced husband of one party a liar.
The #HumzaBinShagin is a joke based on his desperate attempts to get photo ops at COP to which he was not invited
I have voted SDP, LD , Lab, Green, and Conservative (2010) so 5 parties in all.
Scotland, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.
If not Forbes... who? Ash Regan buggered off to Alba.