The disconnect between the betting markets – politicalbetting.com
Over the last few days I’ve highlighted how Nigel Farage has become the favourite to be the next Prime Minister which I felt was wrong on a number of levels and the most seats betting market is further proof.
"The only way I could see Farage becoming Prime Minister after the next general election is if Reform won the most seats"
The other way is if Labour are so despised that the Conservatives and Reform merge to get rid of them and Farage is somehow elected leader. And then wins the election of course.
Both are stranger-things-have-happened contingencies, but I think that way is slightly more probable.
Something like half of Reform's support is a direct personal vote for Farridge. I can not understand why he is so popular....i just want to punch him (or at least throw milkshake at him)
Something like half of Reform's support is a direct personal vote for Farridge. I can not understand why he is so popular....i just want to punch him (or at least throw milkshake at him)
Farage is a very divisive figure.some are besotted with him, but a greater number loathe him.
It's why Reform have a low ceiling as well as a high floor.
I see that Donald Trump has launched a new fragrance line, which is just the sort of thing that a busy incoming president should be spending his time on and not a massive grift. I’m guessing the last thread discussed his NBC interview? Ukraine should expect less aid. He will seek criminal charges against political opponents. He’ll get rid of birthright citizenship, he says, which would require a constitutional amendment and seems unlikely.
I see that Donald Trump has launched a new fragrance line, which is just the sort of thing that a busy incoming president should be spending his time on and not a massive grift. I’m guessing the last thread discussed his NBC interview? Ukraine should expect less aid. He will seek criminal charges against political opponents. He’ll get rid of birthright citizenship, he says, which would require a constitutional amendment and seems unlikely.
The scent of Trump: filled nappy, fake tan and Big Mac processed cheese.
Morning all! Not on here at a lot at the moment as I am preposterously busy.
I think the Farage thing is being caused by the bullshit bubble on Twitter. I read the "For You" feed to see what FUD is being served up to people, and its astonishing. If you read the For You feed you will KNOW that Starmer is a squatter, illegitimate and undemocratic. Farage is the clear choice of the British public and an election must be declared so that the Nigel can sweep to power with a majority of 704.
Perhaps the betting markets are being played by people eating FUD.
The disillusion with the established parties and voters’ flirting with Reform reminds me of the early days of the SDP. Lots of people telling pollsters they will vote for them, much of it simply because they are new, and lots of politically clueless folk signing up as members. Followed by some dramatic parliamentary by-elections, relatively disappointing progress in local government elections and ultimately falling well short in the next GE, hugely hindered by our voting system.
My default scenario right now is that the future will rhyme with the history.
African democracy is increasingly embedded, particularly in Anglophone Africa. Its one of the unsung success of recent decades. Same goes for Latin America, which used also to be full of dictators and coups.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Littler. Turned up at the World Darts last December as an unseeded unknown (to anyone who doesn't follow youth darts...). Demolished 3 world champions in that tournament to reach the final. Romped his way through the European and World tours. Won multiple titles including the Premier League and the Player's Championship, and looks set to become World Number 2 by the end of his first year.
And he is just 17 years old. Has transformed Darts in a way that promoters can barely believe. And despite all that he appears to be a nice kid, rooted in reality, not acting like he owns the place etc.
Morning all! Not on here at a lot at the moment as I am preposterously busy.
I think the Farage thing is being caused by the bullshit bubble on Twitter. I read the "For You" feed to see what FUD is being served up to people, and its astonishing. If you read the For You feed you will KNOW that Starmer is a squatter, illegitimate and undemocratic. Farage is the clear choice of the British public and an election must be declared so that the Nigel can sweep to power with a majority of 704.
Perhaps the betting markets are being played by people eating FUD.
I see that Donald Trump has launched a new fragrance line, which is just the sort of thing that a busy incoming president should be spending his time on and not a massive grift. I’m guessing the last thread discussed his NBC interview? Ukraine should expect less aid. He will seek criminal charges against political opponents. He’ll get rid of birthright citizenship, he says, which would require a constitutional amendment and seems unlikely.
The scent of Trump: filled nappy, fake tan and Big Mac processed cheese.
He apparently reposted a MAGA whacko tweet with a picture of Obama in an orange jump suit, so things could very 'interesting' when his new "legal" team at DoJ/attorney get behind their desks.
Between martial law in South Korea and the rapidity of the fall of Assad, you'd have to Eurmillions level odds of both being in anyone's prediction card for 2024.
Just to deal with the apparent western sophisticates who go on about Assad being better than other options or because he was in theory, a non religious nut job, he might be a better bet.
You are full of absolute shit.
The guy is a mass murderer and his entire regime and that of his equally mass murderer father was built on sectarian grounds. As ever when it came to it not that many people in his own country really supported him, they hated him. Ipso facto the world is better shot of his regime. As uncertain as the future may be, it is no excuse for one arsehole of a dictator surviving.
The dipshits in the West who thought 'well he might kind be kind of like us really, or 'he's a doctor who trained in Europe once' spent decades thinking they could somehow turn him into some kind Western oriented bloke. They failed miserably because, revelation everyone, he wasn't and they kept pushing that bullshit right up, believe it or not, to recent weeks. Yep, there were still US & European diplomats trying to pull a stroke that if he booted out the Iranian/Hezbollah influence, we'd cut him a bit of slack. These big brains completely missed the fact that those backers had already been absolutely battered by the Israelis so there wasnt much influence left.
They also forgot all those prisoners he got rid of to send to Iraq to fight US forces and the nascient Iraqi government (something many Iraqis havent forgot). Well Bashar, some of them came home and were involved in booting you out, you clown.
He should have been hung from one of da's statues.
You just paraded an entire regiment of straw men
At one point the choice was Assad or ISIS. That was the choice. Evil or even greater evil
Evil is superior to even greater evil; and plenty of us are concerned that Assad will now be replaced by an even greater evil - something truly horrific for syrias many minorities - Christians, Druze, Alawites - and also horrific for women if the reports of Taliban style beliefs are true
It seems the Americans feel the same way as they are busy liquidating ISIS on the ground with great urgency. I hope they take out every last one
The choice was not solely between Assad and IS at any point. How many opposition groups were involved over the last decade, do you know?
One of the great Russian propaganda coups of the last decade was to make people believe that anyone in Syria who was not with Assad was ISIS.
What people didnt notice was that Assad wasnt half as keen on eliminating IS as people would have you believe. He supported them plenty.
1. Syria was a conduit for IS fighters going Iraq, not just the ones Assad let out jail, but imports that travelled via Syria without interference 2. Anyone who looks as the Syrian , Iranian and Russian military effort during the civil war will notice that IS dominated areas got off fairly lightly. Others where IS was not in play in a sigificant capacity were the focus. Why was that, if the threat was seen as IS? 3. There was a also a good commercial trading relationship between the Assad government and IS, to the tune of hundreds of millions going to IS over the years
In fact, it was the Americans and aligned Syrian opposition fighters, again who did most of the work against IS. Does anyone remember the SAA, or the Russians or the Iranians liberating Raqqa from IS? No, they didn't lift a finger and had no interest in doing so
Assad's regime was also the biggest drug dealer in the Mediterranean.
Not just the Med, but the Gulf as well. They’ve been flooding the entire region with literally tonnes of amphetamine pills, and don’t care how many get picked up by customs and police. It’s been the biggest single social issue in many Gulf states and was proving very difficult to eradicate completely, despite life sentences and worse being handed out to anyone caught in the trade.
Business Confidence has fallen to its lowest level in almost 2 years after the budget as businesses face rising costs and falling customer confidence and declining orders.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Littler. Turned up at the World Darts last December as an unseeded unknown (to anyone who doesn't follow youth darts...). Demolished 3 world champions in that tournament to reach the final. Romped his way through the European and World tours. Won multiple titles including the Premier League and the Player's Championship, and looks set to become World Number 2 by the end of his first year.
And he is just 17 years old. Has transformed Darts in a way that promoters can barely believe. And despite all that he appears to be a nice kid, rooted in reality, not acting like he owns the place etc.
The darts makes more money to Matchroom than the boxing, the Littler final was the most watched non-football sporting event ever on sky, and the tv deal is coming up fir renewal soon....
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Luke the Nuke for me.
He's got a personality for one unlike a few of the others.
His story is also fantastic.
I am pretty keen on my sports but I had to google him to find out he's a darts player. We have seen very keen groups, cyclists in particular, punching way above their weight in the past but does darts have enough of a following?
Has to be Keely Hodgkinson for me despite Joe Root's 6 (!!) centuries in this calendar year.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Littler. Turned up at the World Darts last December as an unseeded unknown (to anyone who doesn't follow youth darts...). Demolished 3 world champions in that tournament to reach the final. Romped his way through the European and World tours. Won multiple titles including the Premier League and the Player's Championship, and looks set to become World Number 2 by the end of his first year.
And he is just 17 years old. Has transformed Darts in a way that promoters can barely believe. And despite all that he appears to be a nice kid, rooted in reality, not acting like he owns the place etc.
The darts makes more money to Matchroom than the boxing, the Littler final was the most watched non-football sporting event ever on sky, and the tv deal is coming up fir renewal soon....
Barry Hearn is keen to take the World Championship to Saudi Arabia too.
Once they sort out a drinks exemption then it is on.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Luke the Nuke for me.
He's got a personality for one unlike a few of the others.
His story is also fantastic.
Trouble is, the 17-year-old Luke Littler, who would normally gain votes from young women who want to marry him and older women who want to mother him, looks about 50.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Luke the Nuke for me.
He's got a personality for one unlike a few of the others.
His story is also fantastic.
I am pretty keen on my sports but I had to google him to find out he's a darts player. We have seen very keen groups, cyclists in particular, punching way above their weight in the past but does darts have enough of a following?
Has to be Keely Hodgkinson for me despite Joe Root's 6 (!!) centuries in this calendar year.
Definitely Keely Hodgkinson, she was great in Line of Duty.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Luke the Nuke for me.
He's got a personality for one unlike a few of the others.
His story is also fantastic.
I am pretty keen on my sports but I had to google him to find out he's a darts player. We have seen very keen groups, cyclists in particular, punching way above their weight in the past but does darts have enough of a following?
Has to be Keely Hodgkinson for me despite Joe Root's 6 (!!) centuries in this calendar year.
I doubt the Darts has sufficient following to get him over the line.
Littler got alot of publicity at the start of the year with the Worlds and the Premier League, but the regular slog of the Players tour and the Euro tour really is only of interest to darts fans like myself and it is relatively minor interest.
It is good for darts though for him to be on the list and he will be on the show which helps the publicity.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Littler. Turned up at the World Darts last December as an unseeded unknown (to anyone who doesn't follow youth darts...). Demolished 3 world champions in that tournament to reach the final. Romped his way through the European and World tours. Won multiple titles including the Premier League and the Player's Championship, and looks set to become World Number 2 by the end of his first year.
And he is just 17 years old. Has transformed Darts in a way that promoters can barely believe. And despite all that he appears to be a nice kid, rooted in reality, not acting like he owns the place etc.
The darts makes more money to Matchroom than the boxing, the Littler final was the most watched non-football sporting event ever on sky, and the tv deal is coming up fir renewal soon....
Barry Hearn is keen to take the World Championship to Saudi Arabia too.
Once they sort out a drinks exemption then it is on.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Littler. Turned up at the World Darts last December as an unseeded unknown (to anyone who doesn't follow youth darts...). Demolished 3 world champions in that tournament to reach the final. Romped his way through the European and World tours. Won multiple titles including the Premier League and the Player's Championship, and looks set to become World Number 2 by the end of his first year.
And he is just 17 years old. Has transformed Darts in a way that promoters can barely believe. And despite all that he appears to be a nice kid, rooted in reality, not acting like he owns the place etc.
The darts makes more money to Matchroom than the boxing, the Littler final was the most watched non-football sporting event ever on sky, and the tv deal is coming up fir renewal soon....
Barry Hearn is keen to take the World Championship to Saudi Arabia too.
Once they sort out a drinks exemption then it is on.
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Between martial law in South Korea and the rapidity of the fall of Assad, you'd have to Eurmillions level odds of both being in anyone's prediction card for 2024.
Just to deal with the apparent western sophisticates who go on about Assad being better than other options or because he was in theory, a non religious nut job, he might be a better bet.
You are full of absolute shit.
The guy is a mass murderer and his entire regime and that of his equally mass murderer father was built on sectarian grounds. As ever when it came to it not that many people in his own country really supported him, they hated him. Ipso facto the world is better shot of his regime. As uncertain as the future may be, it is no excuse for one arsehole of a dictator surviving.
The dipshits in the West who thought 'well he might kind be kind of like us really, or 'he's a doctor who trained in Europe once' spent decades thinking they could somehow turn him into some kind Western oriented bloke. They failed miserably because, revelation everyone, he wasn't and they kept pushing that bullshit right up, believe it or not, to recent weeks. Yep, there were still US & European diplomats trying to pull a stroke that if he booted out the Iranian/Hezbollah influence, we'd cut him a bit of slack. These big brains completely missed the fact that those backers had already been absolutely battered by the Israelis so there wasnt much influence left.
They also forgot all those prisoners he got rid of to send to Iraq to fight US forces and the nascient Iraqi government (something many Iraqis havent forgot). Well Bashar, some of them came home and were involved in booting you out, you clown.
He should have been hung from one of da's statues.
You just paraded an entire regiment of straw men
At one point the choice was Assad or ISIS. That was the choice. Evil or even greater evil
Evil is superior to even greater evil; and plenty of us are concerned that Assad will now be replaced by an even greater evil - something truly horrific for syrias many minorities - Christians, Druze, Alawites - and also horrific for women if the reports of Taliban style beliefs are true
It seems the Americans feel the same way as they are busy liquidating ISIS on the ground with great urgency. I hope they take out every last one
The choice was not solely between Assad and IS at any point. How many opposition groups were involved over the last decade, do you know?
One of the great Russian propaganda coups of the last decade was to make people believe that anyone in Syria who was not with Assad was ISIS.
What people didnt notice was that Assad wasnt half as keen on eliminating IS as people would have you believe. He supported them plenty.
1. Syria was a conduit for IS fighters going Iraq, not just the ones Assad let out jail, but imports that travelled via Syria without interference 2. Anyone who looks as the Syrian , Iranian and Russian military effort during the civil war will notice that IS dominated areas got off fairly lightly. Others where IS was not in play in a sigificant capacity were the focus. Why was that, if the threat was seen as IS? 3. There was a also a good commercial trading relationship between the Assad government and IS, to the tune of hundreds of millions going to IS over the years
In fact, it was the Americans and aligned Syrian opposition fighters, again who did most of the work against IS. Does anyone remember the SAA, or the Russians or the Iranians liberating Raqqa from IS? No, they didn't lift a finger and had no interest in doing so
Assad's regime was also the biggest drug dealer in the Mediterranean.
Not just the Med, but the Gulf as well. They’ve been flooding the entire region with literally tonnes of amphetamine pills, and don’t care how many get picked up by customs and police. It’s been the biggest single social issue in many Gulf states and was proving very difficult to eradicate completely, despite life sentences and worse being handed out to anyone caught in the trade.
Hopefully with the fall of Assad this will finally come to an end.
Possibly. OTOH, the economy is devastated, and it's a big hard currency earner, so it will take a determined new government to shut it down.
One small reason for hope is that the rebels have not made the mistake of Iraq, and trashed existing state institutions. Rather than stringing up the PM from the nearest lamp post, they've negotiated what seems to be an orderly handover of power, and have forbidden looting of the various ministries. (Assad's palace seems to have been allowed as fair game.)
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
It is extraordinary, and I think it reflects the fact that no one has been taking Reform seriously enough to highlight the factors that will prevent them from coming anywhere near taking power.
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
I see that Donald Trump has launched a new fragrance line, which is just the sort of thing that a busy incoming president should be spending his time on and not a massive grift. I’m guessing the last thread discussed his NBC interview? Ukraine should expect less aid. He will seek criminal charges against political opponents. He’ll get rid of birthright citizenship, he says, which would require a constitutional amendment and seems unlikely.
Are you sure it was a new line in fragrance, and not flagrance?
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Luke the Nuke for me.
He's got a personality for one unlike a few of the others.
His story is also fantastic.
I am pretty keen on my sports but I had to google him to find out he's a darts player. We have seen very keen groups, cyclists in particular, punching way above their weight in the past but does darts have enough of a following?
Has to be Keely Hodgkinson for me despite Joe Root's 6 (!!) centuries in this calendar year.
Definitely Keely Hodgkinson, she was great in Line of Duty.
No, that was Adrian Dunbar. The two are frequently confused. )
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Starmer on his travels again. It feels like he is out of the country every week, I wonder how his global trotting stacks up against previous PMs?
It only matters if Starmer goes by helicopter.
The measure is of course what he is gaining for the UK from these trips. But it feels like he on his travels a lot more than previous PMs, might also just be that all these events have coincided such that it has meant the schedule is very travel heavy regardless of who is it or it might actually be that this is the norm when Cameron / Blair were in charge.
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Starmer on his travels again. It feels like he is out of the country every week, I wonder how his global trotting stacks up against previous PMs?
It only matters if Starmer goes by helicopter.
The measure is of course what he is gaining for the UK from these trips. But it feels like he on his travels a lot more than previous PMs, might also just be that all these events have coincided such that it has meant the schedule is very travel heavy regardless of who is it or it might actually be that this is the norm when Cameron / Blair were in charge.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
No Harry Brook?
An utter disgrace that the best batsman since Bradman isn't on that list.
Chris Tavare ?
Lol! Glad I'm not the only one who remembers Droopy. Even Kent supporters didn't like him...and I have a story.
His father was a High Court judge and one day a young cricket-loving barrister noted the name and asked whether the excellent cricketer, Chris Tavare, might be his son. The old boy replied stuffily 'I have four sons. They are all good cricketers. Which one do you mean?'
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Starmer on his travels again. It feels like he is out of the country every week, I wonder how his global trotting stacks up against previous PMs?
It only matters if Starmer goes by helicopter.
The measure is of course what he is gaining for the UK from these trips. But it feels like he on his travels a lot more than previous PMs, might also just be that all these events have coincided such that it has meant the schedule is very travel heavy regardless of who is it or it might actually be that this is the norm when Cameron / Blair were in charge.
I think anyone with a Global perspective on so many domestic and international issues would be very perplexed why at the start of a 5 year term he isn't or wouldn't be making a concerted effort to put THE NEW UK after 1 4 years of Tory Governemt at the forefront of other Nations Leaders field of vision.
Puerile attempts to demean him are just that pathetic puerile comments...particularly from Badenoch who basically traveled the globe to sign crap deals that were either worse than what she was seeking to replace or of benefit only to the other nation and certainly not the UK
Woiuld ANYONE care to argur that point with factual evidence of a Badenoch deal that is actually worthwhile under scrutiny??...
'Paper after paper spells out how vulnerable we are to internet-induced brain rot. “High levels of internet usage and heavy media multitasking are associated with decreased grey matter in prefrontal regions,” finds one. People with internet addiction exhibit “structural brain changes” and “reduced gray [sic] matter”.'
Yes for Farage to become PM Reform would need to win most seats, in which case Kemi would reluctantly give him confidence and supply. Otherwise if the Tories won most seats it would end up Farage giving confidence and supply to Kemi.
While if Labour still won most seats Starmer would stay PM with likely confidence and supply from Davey and the LDs
Something like half of Reform's support is a direct personal vote for Farridge. I can not understand why he is so popular....i just want to punch him (or at least throw milkshake at him)
Farage is a very divisive figure.some are besotted with him, but a greater number loathe him.
It's why Reform have a low ceiling as well as a high floor.
spot on
Contrast with the Tories who have a high celing but an increasingly low floor
Internecine warfare between the two over the next 18 months in the meantime Mr Pragmatist Starmer goes what he is best at...and in 18-24 months time both Farage (to the US) and Badenoch (to Turfton St) will be gone
It is extraordinary, and I think it reflects the fact that no one has been taking Reform seriously enough to highlight the factors that will prevent them from coming anywhere near taking power.
This is true I am sure, as is the opposite proposition. I am even now highlighting in my mind the factors which prevent Assad being toppled in Syria. Or the factors which make it impossible for the French to elect a parliament incaapable of forming a government.
This is an opportunity for GCC (or at least UAE/Saudi) to step in as peacekeepers. No military objectives other than keeping US/Israel/Turkey out and discouraging local militias. Then start rebuilding country.
Agreed and as I wrote yesterday the Area MUST be overseen by Arab States and Muslims.
The news that Isreal has annexed the Golan Heights and Isreal and US allegedly bombing areas in outskirts of Damascus is highly dangerous.
Netanyahu, Biden and Trump are as big a risk to Syria as Putin and Assad.
I really don't see that. It's also curious that you don't mention the one country that is *really* interfering in Syria; Turkey.
My perspective is that Turkey is as much an Arab State as it is a European State.
Which direction they focus on may well be determined from what influence they want lookin Eastwards as opposed to this side of the Bospherous
Why do you suggest that Turkey is an Arab state?
They are not, for example, members of the Arab league.
AIUI they would be Turkic - along with Azerbaijan etc. *
Just as Iran are not Arab, being Persian.
* Checking, Turkey has an Arab minority of around 2%.
Something like half of Reform's support is a direct personal vote for Farridge. I can not understand why he is so popular....i just want to punch him (or at least throw milkshake at him)
Farage is a very divisive figure.some are besotted with him, but a greater number loathe him.
It's why Reform have a low ceiling as well as a high floor.
spot on
Contrast with the Tories who have a high celing but an increasingly low floor
Internecine warfare between the two over the next 18 months in the meantime Mr Pragmatist Starmer goes what he is best at...and in 18-24 months time both Farage (to the US) and Badenoch (to Turfton St) will be gone
Labour are already polling at their lowest level since 1983, the idea Starmer will see off Badenoch and Farage is for the birds, indeed they may well see off him before the next GE
"The only way I could see Farage becoming Prime Minister after the next general election is if Reform won the most seats"
The other way is if Labour are so despised that the Conservatives and Reform merge to get rid of them and Farage is somehow elected leader. And then wins the election of course.
Both are stranger-things-have-happened contingencies, but I think that way is slightly more probable.
Unless Reform overtake the Tories on votes and seats Reform and the Conservatives will never merge and even then if a Labour and LD government switched to PR the Tories might still be able to survive as an independent party
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
No Harry Brook?
An utter disgrace that the best batsman since Bradman isn't on that list.
Chris Tavare ?
Lol! Glad I'm not the only one who remembers Droopy. Even Kent supporters didn't like him...and I have a story.
His father was a High Court judge and one day a young cricket-loving barrister noted the name and asked whether the excellent cricketer, Chris Tavare, might be his son. The old boy replied stuffily 'I have four sons. They are all good cricketers. Which one do you mean?'
I think it's disrespectful to the actual reigning darts world champion for the runner up to get nominated for SPoTY.
I backed Bellingham at 180 hoping he might be quite a bit shorter once the nominations were announced. No such luck.
It’s Sports Personality and Luke Littler is the media personality of darts. And while he didn’t win the world championship back in January he had won an awful lot since
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
Yes, that was the reason, allegedly, why Lester Piggott never won it despite being arguably this country's greatest ever sportsman. (It may also have reflected a certain antipathy at the Beeb towards horseracing, but that's another story.)
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
Yes, that was the reason, allegedly, why Lester Piggott never won it despite being arguably this country's greatest ever sportsman. (It may also have reflected a certain antipathy at the Beeb towards horseracing, but that's another story.)
One problem now is most major sports people letting your personality be public is very difficult. Both what with concerns over what will social media and will it harm your brand, the requirements to actually make it at the elite level and also the way their lives are managed e.g. Rashford goes for one weekend on the lash in Ireland and its all end of the world stuff.
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Starmer on his travels again. It feels like he is out of the country every week, I wonder how his global trotting stacks up against previous PMs?
It only matters if Starmer goes by helicopter.
The measure is of course what he is gaining for the UK from these trips. But it feels like he on his travels a lot more than previous PMs, might also just be that all these events have coincided such that it has meant the schedule is very travel heavy regardless of who is it or it might actually be that this is the norm when Cameron / Blair were in charge.
Strangely he prefers to stay close to witless adulation and canapés rather than brickbats and collapsing poll ratings. Many leaders have followed a similar path, though usually far later into their Prime Ministerial careers.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Quite why the list needs to be so short, I have never understood. They could surely manage 12? Some huge names/performances missing, Jasmine Paris for one.
Something like half of Reform's support is a direct personal vote for Farridge. I can not understand why he is so popular....i just want to punch him (or at least throw milkshake at him)
Farage is a very divisive figure.some are besotted with him, but a greater number loathe him.
It's why Reform have a low ceiling as well as a high floor.
spot on
Contrast with the Tories who have a high celing but an increasingly low floor
Internecine warfare between the two over the next 18 months in the meantime Mr Pragmatist Starmer goes what he is best at...and in 18-24 months time both Farage (to the US) and Badenoch (to Turfton St) will be gone
Labour are already polling at their lowest level since 1983, the idea Starmer will see off Badenoch and Farage is for the birds, indeed they may well see off him before the next GE
The cabinet are unwilling members of a sort of a betting tontine where they have to guage their exit just right. The first two to resign on the grounds the government is little short of unhinged will never be Prime Minister. But, once two or three have resigned then the rest must follow PDQ. The next Labour leader will be chosen from the six who are first to resign from Hotel Starmer apart from the first two. I would have thought the danger times for Starmer are next February when the kids in Australia and NZ are going back to school and the middle of May after the local election losses.
'Paper after paper spells out how vulnerable we are to internet-induced brain rot. “High levels of internet usage and heavy media multitasking are associated with decreased grey matter in prefrontal regions,” finds one. People with internet addiction exhibit “structural brain changes” and “reduced gray [sic] matter”.'
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
No Harry Brook?
An utter disgrace that the best batsman since Bradman isn't on that list.
Too early to say that. Marnus Labuschagne entered test cricket with some huge scores but is declining now and is averaging under 50 now (still top level, but no Bradman). Brook is currently at 62 from 23 tests. If he keeps that going, then yes I'll agree.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
I don't thinks this is true. The 'personality' is doing the job of sportsman/sportswoman. They are not suggesting you have to be a good fun person too.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
No Harry Brook?
An utter disgrace that the best batsman since Bradman isn't on that list.
Chris Tavare ?
Lol! Glad I'm not the only one who remembers Droopy. Even Kent supporters didn't like him...and I have a story.
His father was a High Court judge and one day a young cricket-loving barrister noted the name and asked whether the excellent cricketer, Chris Tavare, might be his son. The old boy replied stuffily 'I have four sons. They are all good cricketers. Which one do you mean?'
Case dismissed.
Did the barrister win or lose?
Be lucky if we even have stumps up yet. This is a really sad report.
'Usher, whose office examines deaths in custody and complaints from prisoners, said: “I have met prisoners who have said to me they’ve been waiting for three or four years for a trial, and they are going to change their plea to guilty.
“They have been advised by their lawyer that as soon as they get a trial for the offence for which they’re in prison, they will be released if they plead guilty, because there is no way they are going to get a sentence longer than they’ve been waiting.”'
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
Yes, that was the reason, allegedly, why Lester Piggott never won it despite being arguably this country's greatest ever sportsman. (It may also have reflected a certain antipathy at the Beeb towards horseracing, but that's another story.)
One problem now is most major sports people letting your personality be public is very difficult. Both what with concerns over what will social media and will it harm your brand, the requirements to actually make it at the elite level and also the way their lives are managed e.g. Rashford goes for one weekend on the lash in Ireland and its all end of the world stuff.
One reason I liked him so much is that he really didn't give a shit what people thought about him. He also had a mordant wit.
When asked by a breathless US journalist after winning the Washington, D.C. International Stakes (on Karabas, 1969) 'At what point did you know you had the race won?' he replied 'About two weeks ago.'
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Quite why the list needs to be so short, I have never understood. They could surely manage 12? Some huge names/performances missing, Jasmine Paris for one.
To have only two Olympians and a single Paralympian does seem awfully stingy this year.
Suspect that it probably goes to Keely from that list, she’s photogenic and does actually have a personality as well as a gold medal.
Would be great if all the darts fans put down their pints and got it for Luke though, he’s the best thing to happen to that sport in decades.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
No Harry Brook?
An utter disgrace that the best batsman since Bradman isn't on that list.
Chris Tavare ?
Lol! Glad I'm not the only one who remembers Droopy. Even Kent supporters didn't like him...and I have a story.
His father was a High Court judge and one day a young cricket-loving barrister noted the name and asked whether the excellent cricketer, Chris Tavare, might be his son. The old boy replied stuffily 'I have four sons. They are all good cricketers. Which one do you mean?'
Case dismissed.
Did the barrister win or lose?
Be lucky if we even have stumps up yet. This is a really sad report.
'Usher, whose office examines deaths in custody and complaints from prisoners, said: “I have met prisoners who have said to me they’ve been waiting for three or four years for a trial, and they are going to change their plea to guilty.
“They have been advised by their lawyer that as soon as they get a trial for the offence for which they’re in prison, they will be released if they plead guilty, because there is no way they are going to get a sentence longer than they’ve been waiting.”'
The Conservatives have much to answer for in respect of their 13 years in charge. The decay of the Criminal Justice System features high in the list.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
I don't thinks this is true. The 'personality' is doing the job of sportsman/sportswoman. They are not suggesting you have to be a good fun person too.
May I refer you to my earlier post about Lester Piggott.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
I don't thinks this is true. The 'personality' is doing the job of sportsman/sportswoman. They are not suggesting you have to be a good fun person too.
May I refer you to my earlier post about Lester Piggott.
Again - that's not evidence that the term sports personality is mean to be a reference to how nice they are. AIUI the term is a catchall for sportsman/sportswoman.
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
I don't thinks this is true. The 'personality' is doing the job of sportsman/sportswoman. They are not suggesting you have to be a good fun person too.
May I refer you to my earlier post about Lester Piggott.
Again - that's not evidence that the term sports personality is mean to be a reference to how nice they are. AIUI the term is a catchall for sportsman/sportswoman.
His public reputation suggested he had all the charm of a three month old cadaver. The reality,as ever, was much more complex, but he certainly gave not a jot for what the public thought. It would certainly have been embarrassing for the Beeb if he had won the bauble. His speech would probably have consisted of the usual barely audible grunt.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
Quite why the list needs to be so short, I have never understood. They could surely manage 12? Some huge names/performances missing, Jasmine Paris for one.
To have only two Olympians and a single Paralympian does seem awfully stingy this year.
Suspect that it probably goes to Keely from that list, she’s photogenic and does actually have a personality as well as a gold medal.
Would be great if all the darts fans put down their pints and got it for Luke though, he’s the best thing to happen to that sport in decades.
Going through the other gold medallists one by one
Swimming (Men's 4 x 200); rowing Quad sculls; lightweight double sculls; equestrian; men's eight; women's sprint (Cycling) - All team golds
Trap, women's kite (Sailing) - low profile for SPOTY tbh
Toby Roberts - some stunning climbing achievements including gold at Olympics, 2 world cup lead wins and tough routes but climbing is one of those sports like ultra long distance running and mountaineering that exists in it's own sphere. See Jasmin Paris not getting in too.
Cross country cycling - Pidcock. Bit unlucky to miss out perhaps.
In addition to his Olympic gold:
2024 (5) 1st Cross-country, Olympic Games UCI XCO World Cup 1st Nové Město 1st Crans-Montana UCI XCC World Cup 1st Crans-Montana Shimano Super Cup 1st La Nucia
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Starmer on his travels again. It feels like he is out of the country every week, I wonder how his global trotting stacks up against previous PMs?
It only matters if Starmer goes by helicopter.
The measure is of course what he is gaining for the UK from these trips. But it feels like he on his travels a lot more than previous PMs, might also just be that all these events have coincided such that it has meant the schedule is very travel heavy regardless of who is it or it might actually be that this is the norm when Cameron / Blair were in charge.
I think anyone with a Global perspective on so many domestic and international issues would be very perplexed why at the start of a 5 year term he isn't or wouldn't be making a concerted effort to put THE NEW UK after 1 4 years of Tory Governemt at the forefront of other Nations Leaders field of vision.
Puerile attempts to demean him are just that pathetic puerile comments...particularly from Badenoch who basically traveled the globe to sign crap deals that were either worse than what she was seeking to replace or of benefit only to the other nation and certainly not the UK
Woiuld ANYONE care to argur that point with factual evidence of a Badenoch deal that is actually worthwhile under scrutiny??...
We are really entering an age of enlightenment and we must consider ourselves lucky to have SKS as our inspirational visionary leader.
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
I don't thinks this is true. The 'personality' is doing the job of sportsman/sportswoman. They are not suggesting you have to be a good fun person too.
Yes it doesn't mean 'personality' in that sense. It means the award is about impact made not just the bare stats of sporting achievement.
A word of caution: if researching the darts prodigy, note that both top darts players are named Luke.
Last year's world championships. Littler progresses to play against former multiple world champion Raymond van Barneveld. Littler's childhood hero - insert family video of small child throwing darts and doing the Barney celebration.
One of those stories in sport that makes you smile. Barney is long past his peak but still a formidable player. 16-year old Luke utterly demolishes him. Unplayable. Barney is very gracious in defeat and tells the media that Littler will conquer the sport.
We will all get very very bored with Littler. But for now, he is THE sports phenomenon of the year. Who else is in the running who has achieved so much so quickly so young?
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Starmer on his travels again. It feels like he is out of the country every week, I wonder how his global trotting stacks up against previous PMs?
It only matters if Starmer goes by helicopter.
The measure is of course what he is gaining for the UK from these trips. But it feels like he on his travels a lot more than previous PMs, might also just be that all these events have coincided such that it has meant the schedule is very travel heavy regardless of who is it or it might actually be that this is the norm when Cameron / Blair were in charge.
I think anyone with a Global perspective on so many domestic and international issues would be very perplexed why at the start of a 5 year term he isn't or wouldn't be making a concerted effort to put THE NEW UK after 1 4 years of Tory Governemt at the forefront of other Nations Leaders field of vision.
Puerile attempts to demean him are just that pathetic puerile comments...particularly from Badenoch who basically traveled the globe to sign crap deals that were either worse than what she was seeking to replace or of benefit only to the other nation and certainly not the UK
Woiuld ANYONE care to argur that point with factual evidence of a Badenoch deal that is actually worthwhile under scrutiny??...
We are really entering an age of enlightenment and we must consider ourselves lucky to have SKS as our inspirational visionary leader.
Thank you for getting the perspective correct.
You remind me of the opening lines of the speech given by the late John Prescott at the first Labour Party Conference after Blair had swept to power:
'Comrades....New Comrades. We are gathered here today in the presence of Our Leader....'
Starmer tells new Syrian leaders to renounce terror and violence
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
Starmer on his travels again. It feels like he is out of the country every week, I wonder how his global trotting stacks up against previous PMs?
It only matters if Starmer goes by helicopter.
The measure is of course what he is gaining for the UK from these trips. But it feels like he on his travels a lot more than previous PMs, might also just be that all these events have coincided such that it has meant the schedule is very travel heavy regardless of who is it or it might actually be that this is the norm when Cameron / Blair were in charge.
I think anyone with a Global perspective on so many domestic and international issues would be very perplexed why at the start of a 5 year term he isn't or wouldn't be making a concerted effort to put THE NEW UK after 1 4 years of Tory Governemt at the forefront of other Nations Leaders field of vision.
Puerile attempts to demean him are just that pathetic puerile comments...particularly from Badenoch who basically traveled the globe to sign crap deals that were either worse than what she was seeking to replace or of benefit only to the other nation and certainly not the UK
Woiuld ANYONE care to argur that point with factual evidence of a Badenoch deal that is actually worthwhile under scrutiny??...
We are really entering an age of enlightenment and we must consider ourselves lucky to have SKS as our inspirational visionary leader.
Thank you for getting the perspective correct.
Do you think he realises he is talking Starmer *down* ?
@BBCSport Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham ⭐ Keely Hodgkinson ⭐ Luke Littler ⭐ Joe Root ⭐ Sarah Storey ⭐ Alex Yee
SPotY is a 2-horse race in the betting.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
What?! Darts is only just about a sport.
The competition is also supposedly about personality.....quite a few winners certainly don't excel in that department.
I don't thinks this is true. The 'personality' is doing the job of sportsman/sportswoman. They are not suggesting you have to be a good fun person too.
Yes it doesn't mean 'personality' in that sense. It means the award is about impact made not just the bare stats of sporting achievement.
Yes,and it neatly sidesteps the problem of promoting an awkward sod like Piggott.
Comments
The other way is if Labour are so despised that the Conservatives and Reform merge to get rid of them and Farage is somehow elected leader. And then wins the election of course.
Both are stranger-things-have-happened contingencies, but I think that way is slightly more probable.
It's why Reform have a low ceiling as well as a high floor.
Here are the nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024!
⭐ Jude Bellingham
⭐ Keely Hodgkinson
⭐ Luke Littler
⭐ Joe Root
⭐ Sarah Storey
⭐ Alex Yee
An utter disgrace that the best batsman since Bradman isn't on that list.
I think the Farage thing is being caused by the bullshit bubble on Twitter. I read the "For You" feed to see what FUD is being served up to people, and its astonishing. If you read the For You feed you will KNOW that Starmer is a squatter, illegitimate and undemocratic. Farage is the clear choice of the British public and an election must be declared so that the Nigel can sweep to power with a majority of 704.
Perhaps the betting markets are being played by people eating FUD.
My default scenario right now is that the future will rhyme with the history.
He's got a personality for one unlike a few of the others.
His story is also fantastic.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/08/ghana-former-president-john-dramani-mahama-wins-election
African democracy is increasingly embedded, particularly in Anglophone Africa. Its one of the unsung success of recent decades. Same goes for Latin America, which used also to be full of dictators and coups.
And he is just 17 years old. Has transformed Darts in a way that promoters can barely believe. And despite all that he appears to be a nice kid, rooted in reality, not acting like he owns the place etc.
Brace America.
You asked for it, you got it.
Hiring rates lowest for four years following Reeves Budget.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/captagon/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/9/what-is-captagon-the-addictive-drug-mass-produced-in-syria
Hopefully with the fall of Assad this will finally come to an end.
https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/news/2024/business-confidence-falls-to-lowest-level-in-almost-two-years-as-output-drops-sharply
https://inews.co.uk/news/changes-workers-angela-rayner-employment-rights-law-3318450
Has to be Keely Hodgkinson for me despite Joe Root's 6 (!!) centuries in this calendar year.
Once they sort out a drinks exemption then it is on.
The WWE recently held a big even there too.
Littler got alot of publicity at the start of the year with the Worlds and the Premier League, but the regular slog of the Players tour and the Euro tour really is only of interest to darts fans like myself and it is relatively minor interest.
It is good for darts though for him to be on the list and he will be on the show which helps the publicity.
You can't have darts without pints.
Keely Hodgkinson (athletics) has been odds-on favourite since the Olympics, where she won the 800m gold medal.
Luke Littler (darts) is around the 5/2 mark and the others are all 100+ on Betfair.
Sir Keir’s comments came as he arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for trade talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, its president, before flying on to Saudi Arabia for his first face-to-face meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, its leader, on Monday.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/12/08/starmer-welcomes-fall-bashar-al-assad-syria/
Starmer on his travels again. It feels like he is out of the country every week, I wonder how his global trotting stacks up against previous PMs?
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/5056203#Comment_5056203
A word of caution: if researching the darts prodigy, note that both top darts players are named Luke.
OTOH, the economy is devastated, and it's a big hard currency earner, so it will take a determined new government to shut it down.
One small reason for hope is that the rebels have not made the mistake of Iraq, and trashed existing state institutions.
Rather than stringing up the PM from the nearest lamp post, they've negotiated what seems to be an orderly handover of power, and have forbidden looting of the various ministries.
(Assad's palace seems to have been allowed as fair game.)
With Israel and the US and Turkey all intervening militarily, the risk is of renewed civil war.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/north-of-england-will-benefit-from-closer-ties-to-saudi-says-starmer-as-he-visits-middle-east/ar-AA1vv8In?ocid=BingNewsSerp
His father was a High Court judge and one day a young cricket-loving barrister noted the name and asked whether the excellent cricketer, Chris Tavare, might be his son. The old boy replied stuffily 'I have four sons. They are all good cricketers. Which one do you mean?'
Case dismissed.
Puerile attempts to demean him are just that pathetic puerile comments...particularly from Badenoch who basically traveled the globe to sign crap deals that were either worse than what she was seeking to replace or of benefit only to the other nation and certainly not the UK
Woiuld ANYONE care to argur that point with factual evidence of a Badenoch deal that is actually worthwhile under scrutiny??...
'Paper after paper spells out how vulnerable we are to internet-induced brain rot. “High levels of internet usage and heavy media multitasking are associated with decreased grey matter in prefrontal regions,” finds one. People with internet addiction exhibit “structural brain changes” and “reduced gray [sic] matter”.'
While if Labour still won most seats Starmer would stay PM with likely confidence and supply from Davey and the LDs
Contrast with the Tories who have a high celing but an increasingly low floor
Internecine warfare between the two over the next 18 months in the meantime Mr Pragmatist Starmer goes what he is best at...and in 18-24 months time both Farage (to the US) and Badenoch (to Turfton St) will be gone
Among old cottages, a Tudor watchtower, a cheese shop, and two boarding schools, Greggs has arrived in the upmarket market town of Bruton, Somerset. Locals have mixed opinions
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/britain-posh-town-bruton-somerset-reaction-greggs-3416287?ico=most_popular
They are not, for example, members of the Arab league.
AIUI they would be Turkic - along with Azerbaijan etc. *
Just as Iran are not Arab, being Persian.
* Checking, Turkey has an Arab minority of around 2%.
I backed Bellingham at 180 hoping he might be quite a bit shorter once the nominations were announced. No such luck.
And Root's not even the best English batsman right now !
Has to be Keely for me, gold in Rome and Paris in what is a genuinely tough event.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14171787/Shaurn-Thomas-plead-guilty-murder-Akeem-Edwards.html
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/dec/09/court-delays-driving-innocent-prisoners-to-plead-guilty-in-england-and-wales
'Usher, whose office examines deaths in custody and complaints from prisoners, said: “I have met prisoners who have said to me they’ve been waiting for three or four years for a trial, and they are going to change their plea to guilty.
“They have been advised by their lawyer that as soon as they get a trial for the offence for which they’re in prison, they will be released if they plead guilty, because there is no way they are going to get a sentence longer than they’ve been waiting.”'
When asked by a breathless US journalist after winning the Washington, D.C. International Stakes (on Karabas, 1969) 'At what point did you know you had the race won?' he replied 'About two weeks ago.'
Classic.
Suspect that it probably goes to Keely from that list, she’s photogenic and does actually have a personality as well as a gold medal.
Would be great if all the darts fans put down their pints and got it for Luke though, he’s the best thing to happen to that sport in decades.
Israel wasting no time annexing parts of southern Syria.
Wouldn’t you want to get away from it all too?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/dec/09/uk-politics-live-pat-mcfadden-labour-civil-service-reform-rachel-reeves-eu-relationship?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with:block-6756b3708f0896ed0c237c70#block-6756b3708f0896ed0c237c70
Might be a while.
Swimming (Men's 4 x 200); rowing Quad sculls; lightweight double sculls; equestrian; men's eight; women's sprint (Cycling) - All team golds
Trap, women's kite (Sailing) - low profile for SPOTY tbh
Toby Roberts - some stunning climbing achievements including gold at Olympics, 2 world cup lead wins and tough routes but climbing is one of those sports like ultra long distance running and mountaineering that exists in it's own sphere. See Jasmin Paris not getting in too.
Cross country cycling - Pidcock. Bit unlucky to miss out perhaps.
In addition to his Olympic gold:
2024 (5)
1st Cross-country, Olympic Games
UCI XCO World Cup
1st Nové Město
1st Crans-Montana
UCI XCC World Cup
1st Crans-Montana
Shimano Super Cup
1st La Nucia
Thank you for getting the perspective correct.
One of those stories in sport that makes you smile. Barney is long past his peak but still a formidable player. 16-year old Luke utterly demolishes him. Unplayable. Barney is very gracious in defeat and tells the media that Littler will conquer the sport.
We will all get very very bored with Littler. But for now, he is THE sports phenomenon of the year. Who else is in the running who has achieved so much so quickly so young?
'Comrades....New Comrades. We are gathered here today in the presence of Our Leader....'
He was a one-off.