If you are anywhere near government decision making with rumours of when election is you don't go placing bets on this stuff. Its just moronic. Also do they not realise that bookies require KYC and are constantly checking for conflicts of interest these days. Hence why the footballers have all got done.
Much as I like a bet, do people in these positions even need the money from such a winning bet?
IF John Wilkes and James Fox are anything to go by . . . hell yes!
Green Party Manifesto 2024 Part 3 Making work fair
Workers being exploited. Repeal anti-union legislation. 10:1 pay ratio for all private and public sector organisations.
Minimum wage of £15, employment allowance to 10k, full employment rights day one
Pay gap protections
Support 4 day weeks
Giving everyone a fairer, greener deal
Universal credit up 40 a week
End 5 week wait for benefits
Abolish 2 child benefit gap
Carers increased at least 10% a month
Scrap bedroom tax
‘long term’ push for universal basic income
A fairer and greener approach to public finances
Investment income taxed same rate as earned income.
No increase in basic rate of income tax
Rejecting ‘straitjacket of conventional fiscal rules’ (note – sounds like something Truss would say)
Wealth tax – 1% for those with assets above 10m, 2% for those over a billion
Reform inheritance tax to be more fair (note – no idea what this means in practice)
Green party always opposed council tax – long term goal land value tax
Windfall tax increase for oil and gas
Carbon tax – 120 per tonne, to 500 per tonne within 10 years – ‘deliberately’ to make it cheaper to reduce emissions than pay tax. Estimate it will raise £80bn by end of parliament
‘never allow an obsession with fiscal rules to stop us investing’ (note - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So basically if something looks like a bad idea, never mind)
Brining nature back to life
Nature more than just its economic value.
Water privtisation a disaster.
New right to nature act – legal personhood to nature (note – and that helps things how? – says cannot be exploited for financial gain, does that mean farming is out?)
30% land and seas set aside
everyone can live 15 minutes from a nature rich green space
3bn annually to support returning to nature
Protecting animals
Commission on animal protection
ban on all blood suports
new laws to tackle when companion animals are stolen (note - gimmick, why is a new law needed?)
'work toward' ban on lab monkey testing
oppose badger culling
push for ban on bottom trawling
So nothing on flytipping? Or are they comfortable with it?
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I never knew it was illegal to stand in more than one constituency. Seems a bit much.
I didn’t know it was, and am fairly sure it didn’t used to be. It was just that if you got elected more than once, you had to resign all but one.
Didn’t Bill Boakes stand in multiple seats back in the ‘80s? Or maybe even the ‘70s?
So theoretically someone with £300k ish could stand in every constituency and just hope they get elected in one? I'm honestly surprised a YouTuber hasn't tried that before...
EDIT: Ah - it is indeed illegal - but as the article says, he might have got 10 people to change their names to his - which is harder to check of course
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
The "we never had Sky TV" poverty claim sounded even worse watching it - similar to May's mental gyrations before offering running through a field of wheat as her being naughty...
My parents were reduced to drinking second growth claret to afford the Uppingham school fees.
I was wondering where the Labour activists in East London would go given there aren't too many marginal seats in the vicinity (apart from East Ham and its 33,000 majority of course).
Would they go to Romford or to Hornchurch & Upminster?
It seems not - the Newham Mayor and the Labour candidates for Stratford & Bow and West Ham & Beckton have headed to Colchester.
James Cracknell, the new Conservative candidate, is defending a 9,400 majority - Labour needs a swing of 8.8% to take the seat so should be quite achievable on current numbers. It is the 136th most marginal Conservvative seat (or the 236th safest if you prefer).
A very thin excuse for a jolly if you ask me, Stodge.
Colchester can be pretty wild on a Wednesday night.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
You can’t watch the BBC iPlayer without a licence, and you can’t livestream Sky, ITV etc. without one, but you can watch Sky or ITV on demand/catch-up, I believe.
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I never knew it was illegal to stand in more than one constituency. Seems a bit much.
Only made illegal relatively recently, from the 2010 election onwards. There was a candidate called Catherine Taylor-Dawson who stood for several seats in 2005 and, in one of the Cardiff seats, got one vote - which I think is the record low in a Parliamentary election.
In the more distant past, when elections were held over a period of time, it was relatively common to stand in multiple seats in the same election.
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
On election night, Radio 4/5 - which I shall be listening to. In general, Times Radio has some decent coverage, and LBC also. Guardian website. PB and judicious use of its links.
(The existence of something called Gardener's World requires our household to have a licence).
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
You can’t watch the BBC iPlayer without a licence, and you can’t livestream Sky, ITV etc. without one, but you can watch Sky or ITV on demand/catch-up, I believe.
Rule is very simple. No live tv or iPlayer. Any other non-live streaming or catchup is fine. The only wrinkle is live streaming online like YouTube. I believe the rule is if it is also available on an over the air service, not allowed e.g. sky news, otherwise its ok to watch live YouTube or Twitch.
I was wondering where the Labour activists in East London would go given there aren't too many marginal seats in the vicinity (apart from East Ham and its 33,000 majority of course).
Would they go to Romford or to Hornchurch & Upminster?
It seems not - the Newham Mayor and the Labour candidates for Stratford & Bow and West Ham & Beckton have headed to Colchester.
James Cracknell, the new Conservative candidate, is defending a 9,400 majority - Labour needs a swing of 8.8% to take the seat so should be quite achievable on current numbers. It is the 136th most marginal Conservvative seat (or the 236th safest if you prefer).
A very thin excuse for a jolly if you ask me, Stodge.
Colchester can be pretty wild on a Wednesday night.
You seem to speak from experience.
I wouldn't know - one place I wouldn't be next Wednesday is Ascot. I can't remember if Flat racing was your interest or whether it was the jumps.
It'll be a welcome break from the election to do some proper punting.
The Green Party is fundamentally opposed to all blood sports and would campaign to introduce a ban on all hunting in the first year of a new parliament. This includes trophy hunting, trail hunting, where dogs are used to track foxes, and the commercial shooting of game birds.
This is exactly what I thought. Sky wasn't around when he was in his teens.
Andrew Neil @afneil · 3h I launched Sky TV in 1989, by which time Starmer was 27 — so obviously he didn’t have Sky growing up. Nobody his age did since it didn’t exist. Also, as the first Executive Chairman of Sky I can tell you with authority that working class families were the first to adopt it.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
On election night, Radio 4/5 - which I shall be listening to. In general, Times Radio has some decent coverage, and LBC also. Guardian website. PB and judicious use of its links.
(The existence of something called Gardener's World requires our household to have a licence).
My wife is obsessed with Monty Don, to a suspicious extent, I think.
Today's polls confirm the trend. That soft Lab vote that we all expected to peel off at some point is finally doing so. You have to assume this is down to the attacks on tax, Farage-mania and the Lab apparent coronation causing some anti-Cons, especially right-wing anti-Cons, to look elsewhere. Good news for a few Con MPs.
Or is it 2017-redux. No - because those voters are not rallying to Mr Sunak. Every poll shows the Con share still sliding except for MIC who have it flat-lining at the stratospheric level of 25%.
How about 2010? Well maybe. Can the Cons persuade those voters currently rallying to Reform to complete the journey home? This is where the shambolic campaign and especially D-Day really bites them in the posterior
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
You can’t watch the BBC iPlayer without a licence, and you can’t livestream Sky, ITV etc. without one, but you can watch Sky or ITV on demand/catch-up, I believe.
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
You can’t watch the BBC iPlayer without a licence, and you can’t livestream Sky, ITV etc. without one, but you can watch Sky or ITV on demand/catch-up, I believe.
Absolutely. Anything that's not BBC/iPlayer or anything broadcast live via a recognisably a TV broadcaster is fine, so any catch up or on demand is fine, but not +1. I'm just commenting that you can't really legally watch live politics. Same as if there's a national emergency, and you wanted to watch the news to keep abreast of it or get public service announcements, legally you couldn't watch it. I just find it a bit grim that you have to fund the BBC to watch a live party leader debate on Sky News. That just seems unfair.
Green Party Manifesto Part 4 A greener and fairer food and farming system
Ultra processed food is bad. Climate change threatens food supply.
Support farmers to transition to nature friendly farming
Improve soil health
Offer sustainable employment, decent livelihoods, food conditions, to those growing food (note – how?)
End unfair trade deals
All children to have daily free school meal
‘rebalance power dynamic’ between big food manufacturers and local alternatives
Putting small and family farms ‘back in the room’ to develop farming policy (note – eh?)
Creating a fairer green education system
1.4bn per year in sure start centres
Extend ‘outgoing government’s officer of 35 hours per week childcare
8bn for schools
2.5bn to tackle RAAC concrete scandal
Ensure effective deliver of new natural history GCSE (note – oddly specific)
Academies back to local authority control, remove charitable status of private schools
5bm in SEND provision
12bn in skills and lifelong learning
Restore role of school nurse – all schools have on site medical professional
‘fully fund every higher education student, restore maintenance grants, and scrap undergraduate tuition fees. Long term plans to cancel graduate debt (note – this seems really, really, really expensive)
Investing in fairer greener transport
Air pollution leads to 40k deaths per year
19bn over 5 years to improve public transport
Local authorities control over improved bus services
2,5bn a year in new cycleways and footpaths
‘approach to identifying’ rails lines which could be identified (note – guff)
End to sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2027, end to use on the road by 2035
20mph default speed limit in built up areas
Frequent flyer levy
Halt to airport expansion
A fairer greener democracy
Corporations mean we don’t see action we need (note – pretty sure its people not voting for you)
Fair politics act – removes voter ID, get rid of FPTP (not clear with what, just something proportional), ‘fair’ system of funding parties, go after think tanks, 16 year olds to vote
Amend online safety act to ‘prevent political debate from being manipulated by falsehoods, fakes, and half truths (note – you what?! This is so unworkable)
Support self determination of devolved nations.
Give local government powers they need (note – just as vague as all parties)
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
Is it cheating if a bookie knows more than you do about how fast a horse can run?
In fixed-odds betting, he is offering the wager and I am accepting it. I am not obliged to inform him if I have superior information. It's different in exchange betting.
This is exactly what I thought. Sky wasn't around when he was in his teens.
Andrew Neil @afneil · 3h I launched Sky TV in 1989, by which time Starmer was 27 — so obviously he didn’t have Sky growing up. Nobody his age did since it didn’t exist. Also, as the first Executive Chairman of Sky I can tell you with authority that working class families were the first to adopt it.
Not sure what the point is here.
It's Sunak who said he didn't have Sky in his teens.
Sunak was born in May 1980. Sky TV launched in Feb 1989 so he would have been 8 at the time.
Live Premier League on Sky began in Aug 1992 when Sunak was 12.
Today's polls confirm the trend. That soft Lab vote that we all expected to peel off at some point is finally doing so. You have to assume this is down to the attacks on tax, Farage-mania and the Lab apparent coronation causing some anti-Cons, especially right-wing anti-Cons, to look elsewhere. Good news for a few Con MPs.
Or is it 2017-redux. No - because those voters are not rallying to Mr Sunak. Every poll shows the Con share still sliding except for MIC who have it flat-lining at the stratospheric level of 25%.
How about 2010? Well maybe. Can the Cons persuade those voters currently rallying to Reform to complete the journey home? This is where the shambolic campaign and especially D-Day really bites them in the posterior
Or do Conservative voters conclude that the party has run its course and stampede to Reform?
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
This is the stage we are at where pillocks are leveraging democracy for views and likes. This civilisation deserves to fall.
Don't be so dramatic, Screaming Lord Sutch has been doing it since the 60s and there's probably been countless candidates before that too.
I understand there is a ludicrous joke candidate standing in Richmond & Northallerton this time, who is going around telling anyone who'll listen that he is in charge, and alluding to some kind of "plan" that he apparently wants to stick himself to.
Still, all adds to the gaiety of the nation, I suppose.
Is it cheating if a bookie knows more than you do about how fast a horse can run?
Not if that knowledge is based on information that is in the public domain. You just need to do your research better!
If Mr. Williams was aware of the date of the election when he placed his bet then this feels to me like an obvious case of cheating in its "normal, everyday meaning".
Labour leads Reform UK by 10% among those who primarily read the news from The Telegraph.
Westminster VI, Telegraph Readers (7-10 June):
Labour 36% Reform UK 26% Conservative 20% Liberal Democrat 7% Other 3% Don't Know 7%
Pretty astonishing numbers. It's likely they will endorse a party who are 3rd amongst its own readers - unless they break for Reform!
Less the Torygraph, more the Reformy-Labour-graph. For the Tories, You are a absolutely f##ked if you aren't even winning with Telegraph readers and GB News viewers.
I thought the ITV was a bit of a damp squib but probably because it was so heavily trailed and leaked. Also they segued pop vox documentary clips into it so it didn’t really seem much like a proper interview.
I’ve switched to the Sky debate but suspect my patience will run thin very quickly
The Green Party is fundamentally opposed to all blood sports and would campaign to introduce a ban on all hunting in the first year of a new parliament. This includes trophy hunting, trail hunting, where dogs are used to track foxes, and the commercial shooting of game birds.
Thanks. Yet AUIU the term 'blood sports' includes fishing. I assume that would be *after* the first year...
The "we never had Sky TV" poverty claim sounded even worse watching it - similar to May's mental gyrations before offering running through a field of wheat as her being naughty...
My parents were reduced to drinking second growth claret to afford the Uppingham school fees.
Green Party Manifesto Part 4 A greener and fairer food and farming system
Ultra processed food is bad. Climate change threatens food supply.
Support farmers to transition to nature friendly farming
Improve soil health
Offer sustainable employment, decent livelihoods, food conditions, to those growing food (note – how?)
End unfair trade deals
All children to have daily free school meal
‘rebalance power dynamic’ between big food manufacturers and local alternatives
Putting small and family farms ‘back in the room’ to develop farming policy (note – eh?)
Creating a fairer green education system
1.4bn per year in sure start centres
Extend ‘outgoing government’s officer of 35 hours per week childcare
8bn for schools
2.5bn to tackle RAAC concrete scandal
Ensure effective deliver of new natural history GCSE (note – oddly specific)
Academies back to local authority control, remove charitable status of private schools
5bm in SEND provision
12bn in skills and lifelong learning
Restore role of school nurse – all schools have on site medical professional
‘fully fund every higher education student, restore maintenance grants, and scrap undergraduate tuition fees. Long term plans to cancel graduate debt (note – this seems really, really, really expensive)
Investing in fairer greener transport
Air pollution leads to 40k deaths per year
19bn over 5 years to improve public transport
Local authorities control over improved bus services
2,5bn a year in new cycleways and footpaths
‘approach to identifying’ rails lines which could be identified (note – guff)
End to sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2027, end to use on the road by 2035
20mph default speed limit in built up areas
Frequent flyer levy
Halt to airport expansion
A fairer greener democracy
Corporations mean we don’t see action we need (note – pretty sure its people not voting for you)
Fair politics act – removes voter ID, get rid of FPTP (not clear with what, just something proportional), ‘fair’ system of funding parties, go after think tanks, 16 year olds to vote
Amend online safety act to ‘prevent political debate from being manipulated by falsehoods, fakes, and half truths (note – you what?! This is so unworkable)
Support self determination of devolved nations.
Give local government powers they need (note – just as vague as all parties)
If you were a Tory canvasser in Godalming, and you thought your canvass returns were better than the opinion polls, and you placed a bet on Hunt to hold his seat - would that be "insider betting"? If you were a Tory MP who knew how to count, and had spent years in the Commons tea rooms talking with your colleagues, and you placed a bet on the next Conservative Party leader - would that be "insider betting"? If you were on a relatively obscure political betting website (less than 10K views on most threads, how many of those are me and Scott?) and a Tory canvasser shares their view that it's going to be a terrrrible night for the Tories - would that be "insider betting"?
I think we want to be careful before we kick up a fuss about this, and give the gambling companies a reason to cancel winning bets. They already have a lot stacked in their favour.
The "we never had Sky TV" poverty claim sounded even worse watching it - similar to May's mental gyrations before offering running through a field of wheat as her being naughty...
My parents were reduced to drinking second growth claret to afford the Uppingham school fees.
Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian · 10h oh good, you've all been given an excuse to talk about your childhoods in relation to class, what a rare delight for British Twitter
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I never knew it was illegal to stand in more than one constituency. Seems a bit much.
I didn’t know it was, and am fairly sure it didn’t used to be. It was just that if you got elected more than once, you had to resign all but one.
Didn’t Bill Boakes stand in multiple seats back in the ‘80s? Or maybe even the ‘70s?
So theoretically someone with £300k ish could stand in every constituency and just hope they get elected in one? I'm honestly surprised a YouTuber hasn't tried that before...
EDIT: Ah - it is indeed illegal - but as the article says, he might have got 10 people to change their names to his - which is harder to check of course
Here we go..amazing recall of a childhood memory on my part, and Wikipedia to the rescue: He stood for his home constituencies of Streatham and Wimbledon at the February 1974 general election; in the latter, he received 240 votes, which was his highest ever number of votes.
I wonder when it became illegal? And whether Boaks’s double candidature was the reason?
I thought the ITV was a bit of a damp squib but probably because it was so heavily trailed and leaked. Also they segued pop vox documentary clips into it so it didn’t really seem much like a proper interview.
I’ve switched to the Sky debate but suspect my patience will run thin very quickly
There's not much point here as the odds of anyone other than Labour winning are not far off Bootle territory.
I don't know if @Dumbosaurus has seen many posters in his part of the seat but nothing at all round my part. Safe labour seat.
Lots of stuff on twitter of Luke Akehurst campaigning and eating his way around North Durham. Little else.
You wouldn't know there was an election on if you didn't know !!!
Lots of Labour and LibDem posters up in Didcot and Wantage, supposedly a safe Tory seat which both parties have as long-shot possibilities. I've yet to see a Tory poster.
If they're both working it then a very strong chance Tories come through the middle.
Yep. There's a disaster unfolding there because neither will seemingly back down. I know the seat very well and friends are perplexed about who to vote for. The MRP says the Libs are in the box seat, so Labour should probably back down.
Same thing in my Newton Abbot constituency. If they could sort it they would easily unseat the incumbent tory (Anne Morris)
It really is silly behaviour. They need to sort it out.
Newton Abbot is an obvious Lib Dem target and they were second in 2019 and control Teignbridge council. I think in most cases like this voters will know the right answer.
Thanks for this Tim.
Despite the boundary changes, you’re right although it has been genuinely confusing until the last few days.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
You can’t watch the BBC iPlayer without a licence, and you can’t livestream Sky, ITV etc. without one, but you can watch Sky or ITV on demand/catch-up, I believe.
Rule is very simple. No live tv or iPlayer. Any other non-live streaming or catchup is fine. The only wrinkle is live streaming online like YouTube. I believe the rule is if it is also available on an over the air service, not allowed e.g. sky news, otherwise its ok to watch live YouTube or Twitch.
A good rule of thumb is that if it's broadcast live on UK satellite, no matter what country it is from or what language it is in, you need a TV Licence. So Sky News is not allowed but something like a NASA launch or Spacex or a random bloke doing a livestream is fine.
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I never knew it was illegal to stand in more than one constituency. Seems a bit much.
Electoral commission cites 1983 edition of Representation of the People Act.
Note that in 1918 general election, Eamon de Valera ran for and was elected SF MP for East Clare (his home seat which he was still representing as FF TD until 1959 when he was elected President) and also Mayo East, where he defeated John Dillon who was leader (briefly) of the rival (and soon defunct) Irish Parliamentary Party.
This is exactly what I thought. Sky wasn't around when he was in his teens.
Andrew Neil @afneil · 3h I launched Sky TV in 1989, by which time Starmer was 27 — so obviously he didn’t have Sky growing up. Nobody his age did since it didn’t exist. Also, as the first Executive Chairman of Sky I can tell you with authority that working class families were the first to adopt it.
Not sure what the point is here.
It's Sunak who said he didn't have Sky in his teens.
Sunak was born in May 1980. Sky TV launched in Feb 1989 so he would have been 8 at the time.
Live Premier League on Sky began in Aug 1992 when Sunak was 12.
It was a trap he shouldn’t have fallen into. His point - essentially that he didn’t have a spoiled childhood - is a perfectly reasonable one; even if his parents were comfortably off, there are plenty of children from such backgrounds who don’t get everything they want. Many well off parents restrict their children’s access to phones and computer games and TV.
But the journalist knew that pushing for a specific example of something he didn’t get would generate a story, since any one thing he cited would sound ridiculous when considered against the experience of children growing up in genuine poverty or neglect. A more able political would have managed to avoid being specific and retreated to the general.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
You can’t watch the BBC iPlayer without a licence, and you can’t livestream Sky, ITV etc. without one, but you can watch Sky or ITV on demand/catch-up, I believe.
Absolutely. Anything that's not BBC/iPlayer or anything broadcast live via a recognisably a TV broadcaster is fine, so any catch up or on demand is fine, but not +1. I'm just commenting that you can't really legally watch live politics. Same as if there's a national emergency, and you wanted to watch the news to keep abreast of it or get public service announcements, legally you couldn't watch it. I just find it a bit grim that you have to fund the BBC to watch a live party leader debate on Sky News. That just seems unfair.
Agree, except that I would want to be paid to watch it. Radio is free, whether heard in the old fashioned way after the valves have warmed up, or on the interweb thingy, and remains a fantastic bargain.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
You can’t watch the BBC iPlayer without a licence, and you can’t livestream Sky, ITV etc. without one, but you can watch Sky or ITV on demand/catch-up, I believe.
Absolutely. Anything that's not BBC/iPlayer or anything broadcast live via a recognisably a TV broadcaster is fine, so any catch up or on demand is fine, but not +1. I'm just commenting that you can't really legally watch live politics. Same as if there's a national emergency, and you wanted to watch the news to keep abreast of it or get public service announcements, legally you couldn't watch it. I just find it a bit grim that you have to fund the BBC to watch a live party leader debate on Sky News. That just seems unfair.
I don’t see any need to watch live politics. You are not less informed about the candidates because you watched a debate 2 hours later.
If there was a national emergency, there would be free, live streams on GOV.UK to watch.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
On election night, Radio 4/5 - which I shall be listening to. In general, Times Radio has some decent coverage, and LBC also. Guardian website. PB and judicious use of its links.
(The existence of something called Gardener's World requires our household to have a licence).
My wife is obsessed with Monty Don, to a suspicious extent, I think.
He is a great presenter though.
Derek Guy, the US male fashion blogger followed by several PBers, has him in his top 10 best dressed men. I’d agree on the basis that he’s entirely comfortable in his own skin (& what he clothes it in).
This is exactly what I thought. Sky wasn't around when he was in his teens.
Andrew Neil @afneil · 3h I launched Sky TV in 1989, by which time Starmer was 27 — so obviously he didn’t have Sky growing up. Nobody his age did since it didn’t exist. Also, as the first Executive Chairman of Sky I can tell you with authority that working class families were the first to adopt it.
Not sure what the point is here.
It's Sunak who said he didn't have Sky in his teens.
Sunak was born in May 1980. Sky TV launched in Feb 1989 so he would have been 8 at the time.
Live Premier League on Sky began in Aug 1992 when Sunak was 12.
It was a trap he shouldn’t have fallen into. His point - essentially that he didn’t have a spoiled childhood - is a perfectly reasonable one; even if his parents were comfortably off, there are plenty of children from such backgrounds who don’t get everything they want.
But the journalist knew that pushing for a specific example of something he didn’t get would generate a story, since any one thing he cited would sound ridiculous when matched up to the experience of children growing up in genuine poverty or neglect. A more able political would have managed to avoid being specific and retreated to the general.
Sunak manages to turn what is quite a positive story, immigrant family does well, first generation offspring incredibly successful, akin to American Dream, into looking like an out of touch plonker.
Isn't that effectively match fixing (or at least attempted fixing) as opposed to insider betting?
There is a key distinction there. One is interfering in the event being bet on, whereas the other is being party to information that others don't have.
There's not much point here as the odds of anyone other than Labour winning are not far off Bootle territory.
I don't know if @Dumbosaurus has seen many posters in his part of the seat but nothing at all round my part. Safe labour seat.
Lots of stuff on twitter of Luke Akehurst campaigning and eating his way around North Durham. Little else.
You wouldn't know there was an election on if you didn't know !!!
Lots of Labour and LibDem posters up in Didcot and Wantage, supposedly a safe Tory seat which both parties have as long-shot possibilities. I've yet to see a Tory poster.
If they're both working it then a very strong chance Tories come through the middle.
Yep. There's a disaster unfolding there because neither will seemingly back down. I know the seat very well and friends are perplexed about who to vote for. The MRP says the Libs are in the box seat, so Labour should probably back down.
Same thing in my Newton Abbot constituency. If they could sort it they would easily unseat the incumbent tory (Anne Morris)
It really is silly behaviour. They need to sort it out.
Newton Abbot is an obvious Lib Dem target and they were second in 2019 and control Teignbridge council. I think in most cases like this voters will know the right answer.
Thanks for this Tim.
Despite the boundary changes, you’re right although it has been genuinely confusing until the last few days.
I pointed this out to Heathener way back toward the beginning of the year. It’s obvious that the LibDems are the challengers there.
This is exactly what I thought. Sky wasn't around when he was in his teens.
Andrew Neil @afneil · 3h I launched Sky TV in 1989, by which time Starmer was 27 — so obviously he didn’t have Sky growing up. Nobody his age did since it didn’t exist. Also, as the first Executive Chairman of Sky I can tell you with authority that working class families were the first to adopt it.
Not sure what the point is here.
It's Sunak who said he didn't have Sky in his teens.
Sunak was born in May 1980. Sky TV launched in Feb 1989 so he would have been 8 at the time.
Live Premier League on Sky began in Aug 1992 when Sunak was 12.
It was a trap he shouldn’t have fallen into. His point - essentially that he didn’t have a spoiled childhood - is a perfectly reasonable one; even if his parents were comfortably off, there are plenty of children from such backgrounds who don’t get everything they want. Many well off parents restrict their children’s access to phones and computer games and TV.
But the journalist knew that pushing for a specific example of something he didn’t get would generate a story, since any one thing he cited would sound ridiculous when considered against the experience of children growing up in genuine poverty or neglect. A more able political would have managed to avoid being specific and retreated to the general.
Not sure about that, if he had avoided any specifics then the interviewer would start saying, “are you not telling us anything in particular because you actually didn’t miss out on anything”. He couldn’t win, he was straightforward (I thought we wanted that in politicians) and so he gets pilloried.
Say nothing “Rishi had everything as a kid”, say something “oh poor little Rishi didn’t have x, well we didn’t have x or y or z”.
It’s the wankery of political interviews that people should have a bigger problem with.
I've just realised that as I don't have a TV Licence, I don't think I can legally really get involved in any election discussions. I can't watch any debates, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. I can't watch any election night programmes, even if the broadcasters stream them live on YouTube. So, unless you fund the BBC, the election is difficult to follow. Obviously, there's a thing called the internet, but the TV Licence is a bar to easy political news access.
You can’t watch the BBC iPlayer without a licence, and you can’t livestream Sky, ITV etc. without one, but you can watch Sky or ITV on demand/catch-up, I believe.
Absolutely. Anything that's not BBC/iPlayer or anything broadcast live via a recognisably a TV broadcaster is fine, so any catch up or on demand is fine, but not +1. I'm just commenting that you can't really legally watch live politics. Same as if there's a national emergency, and you wanted to watch the news to keep abreast of it or get public service announcements, legally you couldn't watch it. I just find it a bit grim that you have to fund the BBC to watch a live party leader debate on Sky News. That just seems unfair.
I don’t see any need to watch live politics. You are not less informed about the candidates because you watched a debate 2 hours later.
If there was a national emergency, there would be free, live streams on GOV.UK to watch.
But what if you don't have access to the Internet? I know, I know, "radio".
This is exactly what I thought. Sky wasn't around when he was in his teens.
Andrew Neil @afneil · 3h I launched Sky TV in 1989, by which time Starmer was 27 — so obviously he didn’t have Sky growing up. Nobody his age did since it didn’t exist. Also, as the first Executive Chairman of Sky I can tell you with authority that working class families were the first to adopt it.
Not sure what the point is here.
It's Sunak who said he didn't have Sky in his teens.
Sunak was born in May 1980. Sky TV launched in Feb 1989 so he would have been 8 at the time.
Live Premier League on Sky began in Aug 1992 when Sunak was 12.
It was a trap he shouldn’t have fallen into. His point - essentially that he didn’t have a spoiled childhood - is a perfectly reasonable one; even if his parents were comfortably off, there are plenty of children from such backgrounds who don’t get everything they want. Many well off parents restrict their children’s access to phones and computer games and TV.
But the journalist knew that pushing for a specific example of something he didn’t get would generate a story, since any one thing he cited would sound ridiculous when considered against the experience of children growing up in genuine poverty or neglect. A more able political would have managed to avoid being specific and retreated to the general.
Not sure about that, if he had avoided any specifics then the interviewer would start saying, “are you not telling us anything in particular because you actually didn’t miss out on anything”. He couldn’t win, he was straightforward (I thought we wanted that in politicians) and so he gets pilloried.
Say nothing “Rishi had everything as a kid”, say something “oh poor little Rishi didn’t have x, well we didn’t have x or y or z”.
It’s the wankery of political interviews that people should have a bigger problem with.
We are just in the age of gotcha interviews. That's all we get. Gotchas or interrupt-atons.
It is why Eddie Spheriods and Squeaky Osborne type podcasts are interesting.
The thing I would say Liz Truss interview with Triggernometry was far more insightful, not in a good way, as the more they let her speak, the more crazy she sounded.
Ultimately it was still Sunak's decision, and at that point, Sunak could still have had second thoughts and changed his mind.
I agree it looks bad, and that it looks as though Sunak's inner circle are more concerned with finding petty ways to enrich themselves, rather than fighting the election.
If you were a Tory canvasser in Godalming, and you thought your canvass returns were better than the opinion polls, and you placed a bet on Hunt to hold his seat - would that be "insider betting"? If you were a Tory MP who knew how to count, and had spent years in the Commons tea rooms talking with your colleagues, and you placed a bet on the next Conservative Party leader - would that be "insider betting"? If you were on a relatively obscure political betting website (less than 10K views on most threads, how many of those are me and Scott?) and a Tory canvasser shares their view that it's going to be a terrrrible night for the Tories - would that be "insider betting"?
I think we want to be careful before we kick up a fuss about this, and give the gambling companies a reason to cancel winning bets. They already have a lot stacked in their favour.
Knowing something for sure isn’t at all comparable to those situations.
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I never knew it was illegal to stand in more than one constituency. Seems a bit much.
Electoral commission cites 1983 edition of Representation of the People Act.
Note that in 1918 general election, Eamon de Valera ran for and was elected SF MP for East Clare (his home seat which he was still representing as FF TD until 1959 when he was elected President) and also Mayo East, where he defeated John Dillon who was leader (briefly) of the rival (and soon defunct) Irish Parliamentary Party.
I know you and I have each been following the Irish local elections this weekend - where plural candidacies are very much a thing.
https://www.rte.ie/news/elections-2024/2024/0610/1454032-election-2024-south-dublin-co-council-results-round-up/ "Former MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter and Independent Councillor Patrick Holohan enjoyed huge success, topping the vote in Tallaght South and claiming a second seat in Tallaght Central. This creates an interesting situation for South Dublin Council, as Mr Holohan will now have the option to co-opt someone to occupy the seat he chooses not to take. However, they will have to be ratified by their fellow councillors."
This is exactly what I thought. Sky wasn't around when he was in his teens.
Andrew Neil @afneil · 3h I launched Sky TV in 1989, by which time Starmer was 27 — so obviously he didn’t have Sky growing up. Nobody his age did since it didn’t exist. Also, as the first Executive Chairman of Sky I can tell you with authority that working class families were the first to adopt it.
Not sure what the point is here.
It's Sunak who said he didn't have Sky in his teens.
Sunak was born in May 1980. Sky TV launched in Feb 1989 so he would have been 8 at the time.
Live Premier League on Sky began in Aug 1992 when Sunak was 12.
It was a trap he shouldn’t have fallen into. His point - essentially that he didn’t have a spoiled childhood - is a perfectly reasonable one; even if his parents were comfortably off, there are plenty of children from such backgrounds who don’t get everything they want. Many well off parents restrict their children’s access to phones and computer games and TV.
But the journalist knew that pushing for a specific example of something he didn’t get would generate a story, since any one thing he cited would sound ridiculous when considered against the experience of children growing up in genuine poverty or neglect. A more able political would have managed to avoid being specific and retreated to the general.
To be fair, Rishi would have been one of the poorer pupils at Winchester. Not skint, but more like Oliver Quick in Saltburn
Indeed the more I think of it, Saltburn is a very prophetic allegory. A grand old pile full of languid aristocrats who meet their fates when a social climber infiltrates their establishment. The final scene starring Sunak doesn't bear thinking about.
Just looked at the voting results of my local commune in France at the Euros. I have some interesting neighbours.
The French party names are hilarious. Not only do they change constantly, but they give themselves special ones for Euro elections.
Fortunately RN (aka "La France Revient!") didn't come first, that was Macron's lot ("Besoin d'Europe") with 23% (16 votes), then the socialists on 22% (15), but Marine was third (8) then the Liste Asselineau-Frexit (6), and after the Greens and Melenchon's Corbynistas, even Zemmour ("La France Fiere") got 4 votes.
So there are at least 18 people in our little collection of hamlets who opted for populist right or far right parties. And 6 who want France to leave the EU!
One sole voter opted for the totally normal sounding "Pour un monde sans frontieres ni patrons, urgence revolution!" party. I'd love to know who that was.
Here's the interactive map so you can explore. The sea of brown over France is where the RN won.
Green Party Manifesto 2024 Part 3 Making work fair
Workers being exploited. Repeal anti-union legislation. 10:1 pay ratio for all private and public sector organisations.
Minimum wage of £15, employment allowance to 10k, full employment rights day one
Pay gap protections
Support 4 day weeks
Giving everyone a fairer, greener deal
Universal credit up 40 a week
End 5 week wait for benefits
Abolish 2 child benefit gap
Carers increased at least 10% a month
Scrap bedroom tax
‘long term’ push for universal basic income
A fairer and greener approach to public finances
Investment income taxed same rate as earned income.
No increase in basic rate of income tax
Rejecting ‘straitjacket of conventional fiscal rules’ (note – sounds like something Truss would say)
Wealth tax – 1% for those with assets above 10m, 2% for those over a billion
Reform inheritance tax to be more fair (note – no idea what this means in practice)
Green party always opposed council tax – long term goal land value tax
Windfall tax increase for oil and gas
Carbon tax – 120 per tonne, to 500 per tonne within 10 years – ‘deliberately’ to make it cheaper to reduce emissions than pay tax. Estimate it will raise £80bn by end of parliament
‘never allow an obsession with fiscal rules to stop us investing’ (note - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So basically if something looks like a bad idea, never mind)
Brining nature back to life
Nature more than just its economic value.
Water privtisation a disaster.
New right to nature act – legal personhood to nature (note – and that helps things how? – says cannot be exploited for financial gain, does that mean farming is out?)
30% land and seas set aside
everyone can live 15 minutes from a nature rich green space
3bn annually to support returning to nature
Protecting animals
Commission on animal protection
ban on all blood suports
new laws to tackle when companion animals are stolen (note - gimmick, why is a new law needed?)
'work toward' ban on lab monkey testing
oppose badger culling
push for ban on bottom trawling
There's some more sensible stuff in there (like taxing investment income at the same rate as earned income), alongside some things which are simply bonkers.
Green Party Manifesto Part 5 Sharing a fairer green welcome
Fast and fair asylum process – and permitted to work during process
Abolish ten year route to settlement
End to migration detention as migration is not a criminal offence under any circumstances (note – so…no limit on migration at all?)
All visa holding residents have right to vote in all elections (note – why? Does any country do this?)
Dismantle home office and create department of migration (note why? If you can’t detain illegal migrants why have any rules?)
Remove minimum income requirements
Access to art sport and culture for all
5bn investment in community support
Reinstate second part of Leveson review
Exempt cultural events from VAT
Enable local authorities to maintain key sporting infrastructure including pools (note – they already can, they just don’t have money for it)
No individual or company to own more than 20% of media market
Bringing Justice to crime and policing
2.5bn on courts (note – good idea)
End to routine stop and search
Not scrapping PCCs like LDs
Restorative justice
Misogyny to be a hate crime
Decriminalise sex work
11bn in ministry of justice – legal aid, repair court buildings, more judges
Building a fairer, greener, safer world
Support Ukraine (note – genuinely surprised me)
Immediate bilateral ceasefire in Gaza (permanent one, not sure how that is enforced)
Recognise state of Palestine
End uk arms exports and cooperation with Israel
High share of historic global emissions means uK has responsibility to support others
1% GDP on aid by 2033
Law against ecocide
Ensure people of the global south take lead on how aid is spent (and direct support to populations not corrupt governments). (note – what if the global south have different ideas about things?)
Supports reparations for slave trade
Rejoin the EU ‘as soon as domestic political situation is favourable and EU member states are willing’ (note – oddly coy – this is a theoretical Green government, why would it not be the right time)
Dismantle nuclear weapons
Does NOT commit to leave NATO, but to reform its operations.
Coda
Brief ‘statistical index’ (note – always makes me feel better) and an epilogue
Just looked at the voting results of my local commune in France at the Euros. I have some interesting neighbours.
The French party names are hilarious. Not only do they change constantly, but they give themselves special ones for Euro elections.
Fortunately RN (aka "La France Revient!") didn't come first, that was Macron's lot ("Besoin d'Europe") with 23% (16 votes), then the socialists on 22% (15), but Marine was third (8) then the Liste Asselineau-Frexit (6), and after the Greens and Melenchon's Corbynistas, even Zemmour ("La France Fiere") got 4 votes.
So there are at least 18 people in our little collection of hamlets who opted for populist right or far right parties. And 6 who want France to leave the EU!
One sole voter opted for the totally normal sounding "Pour un monde sans frontieres ni patrons, urgence revolution!" party. I'd love to know who that was.
Here's the interactive map so you can explore. The sea of brown over France is where the RN won.
I was wondering where the Labour activists in East London would go given there aren't too many marginal seats in the vicinity (apart from East Ham and its 33,000 majority of course).
Would they go to Romford or to Hornchurch & Upminster?
It seems not - the Newham Mayor and the Labour candidates for Stratford & Bow and West Ham & Beckton have headed to Colchester.
James Cracknell, the new Conservative candidate, is defending a 9,400 majority - Labour needs a swing of 8.8% to take the seat so should be quite achievable on current numbers. It is the 136th most marginal Conservvative seat (or the 236th safest if you prefer).
A very thin excuse for a jolly if you ask me, Stodge.
Colchester can be pretty wild on a Wednesday night.
You seem to speak from experience.
I wouldn't know - one place I wouldn't be next Wednesday is Ascot. I can't remember if Flat racing was your interest or whether it was the jumps.
It'll be a welcome break from the election to do some proper punting.
To me the flat was always just a way of passing time through the summer until the proper stuff started.
Always hated Ascot. The rebuild was a disaster. For flat racing, you can't see anything unless you are in the Royal Box. Perversely it wasn't so bad for the jumps because you had such small crowds you could easily find a decent spot. They always treated us jumps fans as plebs though, so I generally avoided the place.
I was always a Sandown man. Has everything, although it is probably due for a rebuild soon.
Police say they are aware an internet prankster has seemingly been registered to stand as a general election candidate in multiple constituencies.
The name of YouTuber Niko Omilana, who stood in the London mayoral election three years ago, is on the ballot as an independent in at least 11 constituencies.
I never knew it was illegal to stand in more than one constituency. Seems a bit much.
Electoral commission cites 1983 edition of Representation of the People Act.
Note that in 1918 general election, Eamon de Valera ran for and was elected SF MP for East Clare (his home seat which he was still representing as FF TD until 1959 when he was elected President) and also Mayo East, where he defeated John Dillon who was leader (briefly) of the rival (and soon defunct) Irish Parliamentary Party.
I know you and I have each been following the Irish local elections this weekend - where plural candidacies are very much a thing.
https://www.rte.ie/news/elections-2024/2024/0610/1454032-election-2024-south-dublin-co-council-results-round-up/ "Former MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter and Independent Councillor Patrick Holohan enjoyed huge success, topping the vote in Tallaght South and claiming a second seat in Tallaght Central. This creates an interesting situation for South Dublin Council, as Mr Holohan will now have the option to co-opt someone to occupy the seat he chooses not to take. However, they will have to be ratified by their fellow councillors."
What happens if an Independent councilor dies? By-election or does some randomer get co-opted in?
Comments
EDIT: Ah - it is indeed illegal - but as the article says, he might have got 10 people to change their names to his - which is harder to check of course
Colchester can be pretty wild on a Wednesday night.
It's not the only reason that I won't vote Labour of course.
In the more distant past, when elections were held over a period of time, it was relatively common to stand in multiple seats in the same election.
(The existence of something called Gardener's World requires our household to have a licence).
https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/policies/betting-rules
https://www.solegal.co.uk/insights/sports-law-gambling-and-insider-trading-english-football
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2024/jan/13/ivan-toney-is-back-but-nothing-has-changed-gambling-is-embedded-in-football
I wouldn't know - one place I wouldn't be next Wednesday is Ascot. I can't remember if Flat racing was your interest or whether it was the jumps.
It'll be a welcome break from the election to do some proper punting.
Andrew Neil
@afneil
·
3h
I launched Sky TV in 1989, by which time Starmer was 27 — so obviously he didn’t have Sky growing up. Nobody his age did since it didn’t exist.
Also, as the first Executive Chairman of Sky I can tell you with authority that working class families were the first to adopt it.
He is a great presenter though.
Or is it 2017-redux. No - because those voters are not rallying to Mr Sunak. Every poll shows the Con share still sliding except for MIC who have it flat-lining at the stratospheric level of 25%.
How about 2010? Well maybe. Can the Cons persuade those voters currently rallying to Reform to complete the journey home? This is where the shambolic campaign and especially D-Day really bites them in the posterior
https://youtu.be/h6mJw50OdZ4?feature=shared
I'm just commenting that you can't really legally watch live politics. Same as if there's a national emergency, and you wanted to watch the news to keep abreast of it or get public service announcements, legally you couldn't watch it.
I just find it a bit grim that you have to fund the BBC to watch a live party leader debate on Sky News. That just seems unfair.
A greener and fairer food and farming system
- Ultra processed food is bad. Climate change threatens food supply.
- Support farmers to transition to nature friendly farming
- Improve soil health
- Offer sustainable employment, decent livelihoods, food conditions, to those growing food (note – how?)
- End unfair trade deals
- All children to have daily free school meal
- ‘rebalance power dynamic’ between big food manufacturers and local alternatives
- Putting small and family farms ‘back in the room’ to develop farming policy (note – eh?)
Creating a fairer green education system- 1.4bn per year in sure start centres
- Extend ‘outgoing government’s officer of 35 hours per week childcare
- 8bn for schools
- 2.5bn to tackle RAAC concrete scandal
- Ensure effective deliver of new natural history GCSE (note – oddly specific)
- Academies back to local authority control, remove charitable status of private schools
- 5bm in SEND provision
- 12bn in skills and lifelong learning
- Restore role of school nurse – all schools have on site medical professional
- ‘fully fund every higher education student, restore maintenance grants, and scrap undergraduate tuition fees. Long term plans to cancel graduate debt (note – this seems really, really, really expensive)
Investing in fairer greener transport- Air pollution leads to 40k deaths per year
- 19bn over 5 years to improve public transport
- Local authorities control over improved bus services
- 2,5bn a year in new cycleways and footpaths
- ‘approach to identifying’ rails lines which could be identified (note – guff)
- End to sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2027, end to use on the road by 2035
- 20mph default speed limit in built up areas
- Frequent flyer levy
- Halt to airport expansion
A fairer greener democracyETA: Ah, just the Belfast ones - highest was 68 in Belfast West: https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/issues/politics/election/2007nia/ra2007.htm
Labour leads Reform UK by 10% among those who primarily read the news from The Telegraph.
Westminster VI, Telegraph Readers (7-10 June):
Labour 36%
Reform UK 26%
Conservative 20%
Liberal Democrat 7%
Other 3%
Don't Know 7%
Pretty astonishing numbers. It's likely they will endorse a party who are 3rd amongst its own readers - unless they break for Reform!
It's Sunak who said he didn't have Sky in his teens.
Sunak was born in May 1980. Sky TV launched in Feb 1989 so he would have been 8 at the time.
Live Premier League on Sky began in Aug 1992 when Sunak was 12.
Still, all adds to the gaiety of the nation, I suppose.
If Mr. Williams was aware of the date of the election when he placed his bet then this feels to me like an obvious case of cheating in its "normal, everyday meaning".
I’ve switched to the Sky debate but suspect my patience will run thin very quickly
If you were a Tory MP who knew how to count, and had spent years in the Commons tea rooms talking with your colleagues, and you placed a bet on the next Conservative Party leader - would that be "insider betting"?
If you were on a relatively obscure political betting website (less than 10K views on most threads, how many of those are me and Scott?) and a Tory canvasser shares their view that it's going to be a terrrrible night for the Tories - would that be "insider betting"?
I think we want to be careful before we kick up a fuss about this, and give the gambling companies a reason to cancel winning bets. They already have a lot stacked in their favour.
Similarly Reform voters. They should not vote Tory unless they support Sunak.
Marie Le Conte
@youngvulgarian
·
10h
oh good, you've all been given an excuse to talk about your childhoods in relation to class, what a rare delight for British Twitter
https://x.com/youngvulgarian/status/1800806580138696723
I wonder when it became illegal? And whether Boaks’s double candidature was the reason?
Despite the boundary changes, you’re right although it has been genuinely confusing until the last few days.
Note that in 1918 general election, Eamon de Valera ran for and was elected SF MP for East Clare (his home seat which he was still representing as FF TD until 1959 when he was elected President) and also Mayo East, where he defeated John Dillon who was leader (briefly) of the rival (and soon defunct) Irish Parliamentary Party.
But the journalist knew that pushing for a specific example of something he didn’t get would generate a story, since any one thing he cited would sound ridiculous when considered against the experience of children growing up in genuine poverty or neglect. A more able political would have managed to avoid being specific and retreated to the general.
If there was a national emergency, there would be free, live streams on GOV.UK to watch.
Signs he has lost the audience already on trust.
He has zero political nous.
There is a key distinction there. One is interfering in the event being bet on, whereas the other is being party to information that others don't have.
The problem is he’s waffley.
What's that noise? Oh yeah, its Owen Jones shouting at his telly
"Keir, what do you really believe?"
"Are you now just advocating policies you don't believe in - just to fit in with what the country wants?"
Say nothing “Rishi had everything as a kid”, say something “oh poor little Rishi didn’t have x, well we didn’t have x or y or z”.
It’s the wankery of political interviews that people should have a bigger problem with.
Daily Mail ffs? Daily Express! Daily Everything... and by a wide margin.
https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/westminster-voting-intention-by-media-consumption-7-10-june/
I know, I know, "radio".
It is why Eddie Spheriods and Squeaky Osborne type podcasts are interesting.
The thing I would say Liz Truss interview with Triggernometry was far more insightful, not in a good way, as the more they let her speak, the more crazy she sounded.
I agree it looks bad, and that it looks as though Sunak's inner circle are more concerned with finding petty ways to enrich themselves, rather than fighting the election.
https://www.rte.ie/news/elections-2024/2024/0610/1454032-election-2024-south-dublin-co-council-results-round-up/
"Former MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter and Independent Councillor Patrick Holohan enjoyed huge success, topping the vote in Tallaght South and claiming a second seat in Tallaght Central. This creates an interesting situation for South Dublin Council, as Mr Holohan will now have the option to co-opt someone to occupy the seat he chooses not to take. However, they will have to be ratified by their fellow councillors."
Indeed the more I think of it, Saltburn is a very prophetic allegory. A grand old pile full of languid aristocrats who meet their fates when a social climber infiltrates their establishment. The final scene starring Sunak doesn't bear thinking about.
Provided Democracy is sufficiently safeguarded, let these clowns, bullshitters and simplists try to govern.
I’m impressed.
Sharing a fairer green welcome
- Fast and fair asylum process – and permitted to work during process
- Abolish ten year route to settlement
- End to migration detention as migration is not a criminal offence under any circumstances (note – so…no limit on migration at all?)
- All visa holding residents have right to vote in all elections (note – why? Does any country do this?)
- Dismantle home office and create department of migration (note why? If you can’t detain illegal migrants why have any rules?)
- Remove minimum income requirements
Access to art sport and culture for all- 5bn investment in community support
- Reinstate second part of Leveson review
- Exempt cultural events from VAT
- Enable local authorities to maintain key sporting infrastructure including pools (note – they already can, they just don’t have money for it)
- No individual or company to own more than 20% of media market
- Bringing Justice to crime and policing
- 2.5bn on courts (note – good idea)
- End to routine stop and search
- Not scrapping PCCs like LDs
- Restorative justice
- Misogyny to be a hate crime
- Decriminalise sex work
- 11bn in ministry of justice – legal aid, repair court buildings, more judges
Building a fairer, greener, safer world- Support Ukraine (note – genuinely surprised me)
- Immediate bilateral ceasefire in Gaza (permanent one, not sure how that is enforced)
- Recognise state of Palestine
- End uk arms exports and cooperation with Israel
- High share of historic global emissions means uK has responsibility to support others
- 1% GDP on aid by 2033
- Law against ecocide
- Ensure people of the global south take lead on how aid is spent (and direct support to populations not corrupt governments). (note – what if the global south have different ideas about things?)
- Supports reparations for slave trade
- Rejoin the EU ‘as soon as domestic political situation is favourable and EU member states are willing’ (note – oddly coy – this is a theoretical Green government, why would it not be the right time)
- Dismantle nuclear weapons
- Does NOT commit to leave NATO, but to reform its operations.
CodaI’m not sure saying everything is fairer and greener makes it fairer and greener.
Much shorter manifesto, so more readable technically, but it felt longer.
Not as many promises and claims as others, but those it does make are huge.
Not much going after Labour, which is a surprise as going after same voters.
Mostly fine for what they are trying to do, but some very extreme stuff here and there.
Give it a D, niche but some people will love it being more fiery.
For me, it made me more extreme than I was on things like migration!
Always hated Ascot. The rebuild was a disaster. For flat racing, you can't see anything unless you are in the Royal Box. Perversely it wasn't so bad for the jumps because you had such small crowds you could easily find a decent spot. They always treated us jumps fans as plebs though, so I generally avoided the place.
I was always a Sandown man. Has everything, although it is probably due for a rebuild soon.