Cough. As I said on here yesterday. After my Euros home run (vs WrongCrosby) you can just call me Nostradamus.
Why are you trying to rewrite history? Rod said there may be value in betting that Labour could come third. He didn't make a prediction, he pointed out the value in a bet. That bet failed to come off by a narrow margin. What you do is carp after the event.
Absolute rubbish. Check the thread on the night. Even Rod himself has freely admitted on here he made an in-play UNS bet which was wrong. I stuck to my guns.
Sorry, bet=forecast I don't know whether he actually bet on it.
And so you reveal your ignorance of UNS.
I explained it all clearly on the night. After the first result, UNS showed Labour coming third, narrowly. I told people to keep an eye on the running aggregate vote changes, to see if this held. It was nip and tuck for a while. I informed people when the forecast showed Labour ahead again.
I've done this kind of thing for as long as I've been posting on PB. It's not a firm forecast, more a running public information service.
And it wasn't that somehow I'd forgotten Scotland and London were strong Labour areas (look up the meaning of UNS again), but rather that those areas had large increases in turnout, which finally cemented Labour's small national vote lead versus the Tories.
This is FPP. There is no point wasting resources on unwinnable seats. It really is that simple.
This is a by-election. By-elections are different. They are a chance to really put pressure on the Government. They are a chance to demonstrate in a real election that your party is a winner.
I'm not arguing that Labour is doomed if they don't manage to win the seat, but they need to put on a good show - and then they can forget about Newark for the general election.
Labour don't really want to cede all the media space to yet another good electoral performance by UKIP.
As mentioned down thread, Labour List has published an article suggesting that they are putting some effort into fighting for the seat.
Which seems at odds with what has been posted here.
Expectation management gone mad
It's a mash up of policies. They've decided on the '35% Nation'.
Perhaps Labour want UKIP to triumph nationwide. They clearly aren't in a position to win in 2015, so perhaps they prefer UKIP to the Tories. Their core vote certainly seem to.
This is FPP. There is no point wasting resources on unwinnable seats. It really is that simple.
This is a by-election. By-elections are different. They are a chance to really put pressure on the Government. They are a chance to demonstrate in a real election that your party is a winner.
I'm not arguing that Labour is doomed if they don't manage to win the seat, but they need to put on a good show - and then they can forget about Newark for the general election.
Labour don't really want to cede all the media space to yet another good electoral performance by UKIP.
As mentioned down thread, Labour List has published an article suggesting that they are putting some effort into fighting for the seat.
Which seems at odds with what has been posted here.
Expectation management gone mad
It's a mash up of policies. They've decided on the '35% Nation'.
It's a 2 nation strategy. The Socialist republics of London and Scotland they are after
This is FPP. There is no point wasting resources on unwinnable seats. It really is that simple.
This is a by-election. By-elections are different. They are a chance to really put pressure on the Government. They are a chance to demonstrate in a real election that your party is a winner.
I'm not arguing that Labour is doomed if they don't manage to win the seat, but they need to put on a good show - and then they can forget about Newark for the general election.
Labour don't really want to cede all the media space to yet another good electoral performance by UKIP.
Then again Labour finishing third and getting 2% and 2.7% in the Newbury and Christchurch by-elections in 1993 whilst the Lib Dems won didn't impede them in 1997.
Good point - except that Labour started on 6.0% in Newbury in the 1992GE and on 12.1% in Christchurch. Both very clear third places.
In Newark, at the 2010GE - a historically bad election for Labour - they still managed to come second with 22.3%, with the Lib Dems - that famed source of new voters for Miliband's Labour party - on a tempting 20.0%, ripe for squeezing.
The comparison to make is with somewhere like Wirral South by-election. If Labour had left the field clear for the Lib Dems to win that by-election from third then it would be equivalent to Labour soft-pedalling in Newark.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Lib Dem crisis: Scotland Yard urged to probe Lord Oakeshott's cash-for-peerages claims
Scotland Yard was today urged to investigate a bombshell claim by a Liberal Democrat peer that his party has been embroiled in a cash-for-peerages scandal.
Lord Oakeshott made the extraordinary allegation as he stormed out of the Lib-Dems yesterday after a failed bid to spark a coup to topple Nick Clegg.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
It would be great if I got to live in the Cotswolds. But thems the breaks.
This is FPP. There is no point wasting resources on unwinnable seats. It really is that simple.
This is a by-election. By-elections are different. They are a chance to really put pressure on the Government. They are a chance to demonstrate in a real election that your party is a winner.
I'm not arguing that Labour is doomed if they don't manage to win the seat, but they need to put on a good show - and then they can forget about Newark for the general election.
Labour don't really want to cede all the media space to yet another good electoral performance by UKIP.
Then again Labour finishing third and getting 2% and 2.7% in the Newbury and Christchurch by-elections in 1993 whilst the Lib Dems won didn't impede them in 1997.
Good point - except that Labour started on 6.0% in Newbury in the 1992GE and on 12.1% in Christchurch. Both very clear third places.
In Newark, at the 2010GE - a historically bad election for Labour - they still managed to come second with 22.3%, with the Lib Dems - that famed source of new voters for Miliband's Labour party - on a tempting 20.0%, ripe for squeezing.
The comparison to make is with somewhere like Wirral South by-election. If Labour had left the field clear for the Lib Dems to win that by-election from third then it would be equivalent to Labour soft-pedalling in Newark.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Relocate them to Liverpool, one of the least culturally diverse places in the UK, and spread the magic around. It would provide a welcome, and much needed boost to the local education standards as well.
This is FPP. There is no point wasting resources on unwinnable seats. It really is that simple.
This is a by-election. By-elections are different. They are a chance to really put pressure on the Government. They are a chance to demonstrate in a real election that your party is a winner.
I'm not arguing that Labour is doomed if they don't manage to win the seat, but they need to put on a good show - and then they can forget about Newark for the general election.
Labour don't really want to cede all the media space to yet another good electoral performance by UKIP.
Then again Labour finishing third and getting 2% and 2.7% in the Newbury and Christchurch by-elections in 1993 whilst the Lib Dems won didn't impede them in 1997.
Good point - except that Labour started on 6.0% in Newbury in the 1992GE and on 12.1% in Christchurch. Both very clear third places.
In Newark, at the 2010GE - a historically bad election for Labour - they still managed to come second with 22.3%, with the Lib Dems - that famed source of new voters for Miliband's Labour party - on a tempting 20.0%, ripe for squeezing.
The comparison to make is with somewhere like Wirral South by-election. If Labour had left the field clear for the Lib Dems to win that by-election from third then it would be equivalent to Labour soft-pedalling in Newark.
It all smacks of shoring up and not losing ground, not aiming for power.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Relocate them to Liverpool, one of the least culturally diverse places in the UK, and spread the magic around. Would provide a welcome, and much needed boost to the education standards as well.
Good idea, might cheer the miserable scousers up a bit too, always whining about this and that.
This is FPP. There is no point wasting resources on unwinnable seats. It really is that simple.
This is a by-election. By-elections are different. They are a chance to really put pressure on the Government. They are a chance to demonstrate in a real election that your party is a winner.
I'm not arguing that Labour is doomed if they don't manage to win the seat, but they need to put on a good show - and then they can forget about Newark for the general election.
Labour don't really want to cede all the media space to yet another good electoral performance by UKIP.
Then again Labour finishing third and getting 2% and 2.7% in the Newbury and Christchurch by-elections in 1993 whilst the Lib Dems won didn't impede them in 1997.
Good point - except that Labour started on 6.0% in Newbury in the 1992GE and on 12.1% in Christchurch. Both very clear third places.
In Newark, at the 2010GE - a historically bad election for Labour - they still managed to come second with 22.3%, with the Lib Dems - that famed source of new voters for Miliband's Labour party - on a tempting 20.0%, ripe for squeezing.
The comparison to make is with somewhere like Wirral South by-election. If Labour had left the field clear for the Lib Dems to win that by-election from third then it would be equivalent to Labour soft-pedalling in Newark.
There's also quite a difference between stepping aside for the Lib Dems, who at the time were certainly 'Labour Lite', and stepping aside for UKIP.
If this were 1996 Labour would probably be winning Newark in a by-election (though, as NickP has noted, not actually winning it in 1997, since the seat Fiona Jones won was different).
It's patently not 1996; so what Labour should do here is very nuanced, given the conflicting issues surrounding UKIP, the chance to possibly hit the Tories (though they're 80%ish and rising to hold the seat), Tory morale, Labour morale etc.
In the end it looks like they're going to do neither one thing nor the other, which may well help the Tories to win, but is probably the best way to hold the conflicting parts of the Shadow Cabinet together and maintain their own morale.
So, ed, you're predicted to get 15.7% in our exit poll for this critical GE, where do you go from here?
Well, David, we have moved up considerably from our performance in the 2009 European elections and I think this shows the people are hungry for change. Right up and down the country hard working squeezed middle persons have told me they want to see a Labour government in their great grandchildren's lifetime. I take comfort in that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be photographed eating soup with my fingers.
Perhaps Labour want UKIP to triumph nationwide. They clearly aren't in a position to win in 2015, so perhaps they prefer UKIP to the Tories. Their core vote certainly seem to.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Relocate them to Liverpool, one of the least culturally diverse places in the UK, and spread the magic around. Would provide a welcome, and much needed boost to the education standards as well.
Liverpool invented cultural diversity, nincompoop.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Relocate them to Liverpool, one of the least culturally diverse places in the UK, and spread the magic around. Would provide a welcome, and much needed boost to the education standards as well.
Liverpool invented cultural diversity, nincompoop.
Of course you did , you took all those slaves to The Americas.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Relocate them to Liverpool, one of the least culturally diverse places in the UK, and spread the magic around. Would provide a welcome, and much needed boost to the education standards as well.
Liverpool invented cultural diversity, nincompoop.
Everton and Liverpool supporters do not count as separate cultures.
But if you mean the centuries of sectarianism, then fair point.
Why do we still think Ed is crap? Ed is most certainly NOT crap and I put it to you that the reason he is so vilified by the evil right-wing media is that he is merely misunderstood!
Ed is magnificently charismatic and eloquent. He is a splendidly inspiring and passionate standard-bearer for the Progressive tradition in our great nation. Yes, indeed! One Nation! He is a magnificent orator, and his performance at Conference last year must surely have been the greatest by any Labour Party leader, or indeed, any party leader. And his repertoire of jokes would put even Harry Hill to shame!
Yes, we all knew that UKIP would win the Euro election, ahead of the glorious Labour Party, but that is UKIP's raison d'etre - a protest vote against the European status quo. Contrast, however, with the Local Elections held the same day. Under Ed's fabulous stewardship, Labour added hundreds of Council seats, even outside London!
Ed is a breath of fresh air, a refreshing, progressive alternative to that smarmy, posh-boy Cameron!
Vince Cable not having a great time, is he? A particularly unhelpful picture of him on the main BBC news front page today, looking about as shifty as it is possible to look.
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
Vince Cable not having a great time, is he? A particularly unhelpful picture of him on the main BBC news front page today, looking about as shifty as it is possible to look.
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
Time for the LDs to shuffle their pack ?
Promote Danny to biz secretary to raise his profile and try and save his seat ?
Who knows he might even achieve something in the role - so far Vince has done nowt.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Relocate them to Liverpool, one of the least culturally diverse places in the UK, and spread the magic around. Would provide a welcome, and much needed boost to the education standards as well.
Liverpool invented cultural diversity, nincompoop.
A quick trawl of the web; Bristol 77.9% White British, Nottingham 65.4% White British, Leeds 81.1% White British, Manchester 66.7% White British E&OE
Vince Cable not having a great time, is he? A particularly unhelpful picture of him on the main BBC news front page today, looking about as shifty as it is possible to look.
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
I've never really understood the Cable phenomenon, it seems to date from his notorious Stalin reference which wasn't particularly funny or inciteful and yet as a result Cable has been elevated into some variety of political Titan. I mean he has shown time and again that he is a duplicitous rogue whose only loyalty is to his own hyper inflated ego.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Relocate them to Liverpool, one of the least culturally diverse places in the UK, and spread the magic around. Would provide a welcome, and much needed boost to the education standards as well.
Liverpool invented cultural diversity, nincompoop.
It certainly played its part in ensuring that the Southern parts of North America did not become a sterile white monoculture.
Vince Cable not having a great time, is he? A particularly unhelpful picture of him on the main BBC news front page today, looking about as shifty as it is possible to look.
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
I've never really understood the Cable phenomenon
I've never understood the Cable-hating often seen on pbc!
"Whilst 44% of people aged 65 and over say they could see themselves voting Ukip in a European Parliament election, only 33% say they would do the same in a General Election, according an ITV News poll carried out by ComRes."
"The data suggests that many older voters will switch away from the eurosceptic party in 2015 with less than three quarters of Ukip voters in the 2014 European elections saying they could see themselves doing the same in a General Election."
"ComRes interviewed 2,060 British adults online between 23rd and 26th May - this data was weighted to be representative of all GB adults aged 18 and over."
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Vince Cable not having a great time, is he? A particularly unhelpful picture of him on the main BBC news front page today, looking about as shifty as it is possible to look.
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
I've never really understood the Cable phenomenon
I've never understood the Cable-hating often seen on pbc!
Perhaps a list of Vince's stunning achievements as biz secretary would placate the doubters ?
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Troublin' times for our liberal-left masters.
Liberal-right masters, surely?
The right is in government, and runs most of the media including the BBC. As William Hague wondered about Tony Blair, that Oxford-educated ex-barrister Prime Minister, "who does he think is the Establishment?"
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
More faces than Toom Turnip, couldn't lead a conga around the town clock etc
Vince Cable not having a great time, is he? A particularly unhelpful picture of him on the main BBC news front page today, looking about as shifty as it is possible to look.
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
I've never really understood the Cable phenomenon
I've never understood the Cable-hating often seen on pbc!
It does surprise because in a wider sense Cable has ensured that the SDP wing of the LibDems have not only stayed on board the Coalition project but were enthusiastic about it from the start. Indeed it was Cable who effectively vetoed any potential coalition with Labour during their short lived negotiations in May 2010.
Others in the Cable orbit like Steve Webb have also been highly prominent Coalition stalwarts as has, to much surprise, Simon Hughes both before and after he joined the government.
Promote Danny to biz secretary to raise his profile and try and save his seat ?
Who knows he might even achieve something in the role - so far Vince has done nowt.
Get rid of Ed Davey while they are at it. He is UKIP's best recruiting sergeant in the south-west, with his personal crusade to stick a wind turbine on every hilltop. He could go and spend more time with his constituency. It looks like it needs a bit of nurturing.... ;-)
Ed.s going through the motions a little with ex-Labour Ukip voters ... "Yes, we're listening and we understand your pain, but ..."
Listening is OK, but Gordon Listened to Mrs Duffy, and as soon as she was out of earshot ... "She's a bigoted woman."
Probably a step forward to listen but not likely to be too effective on its own. So I suspect it will soon be back to demonisation. Interesting times indeed.
Surprised more hasnt been made of this from Sadiq Khan
...
internal conflicts. the blue labour people are being outvoted (or outscreeched).
Vince Cable not having a great time, is he? A particularly unhelpful picture of him on the main BBC news front page today, looking about as shifty as it is possible to look.
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
I've never really understood the Cable phenomenon
I've never understood the Cable-hating often seen on pbc!
Perhaps a list of Vince's stunning achievements as biz secretary would placate the doubters ?
Supporters of tuition fees and Royal Mail privatisation should be cheering for Vince from here until election day!
WIND - Whimsical Independent News Division JNN - Jacobite News Network ARSE - Anonymous Random Selection of Electors
Very interesting Jack - on these numbers, compared with the the 2010 GE result, the Tories win a net 11 seats, Labour win a net 10 seats and the LibDems lose a net 25 seats.
Unless I'm missing something, these figures only work if the net loss of Tory seats to Labour is limited to around a mere handful.
As I've suggested before, such an outcome appears to provide a whole range of attractive betting opportunities on would-be held Tory seats, always assuming Ladbrokes re-introduce their constituency markets at odds akin to those previously on offer.
- "always assuming Ladbrokes re-introduce their constituency markets at odds akin to those previously on offer."
Not gonna happen.
Probably not, although as the BBC would say "prices from other bookmakers are available".
Incidentally, having recently introduced his own political betting blog, it's odd that Shadsy hasn't as yet reinstated Ladbrokes' constituency markets .... perhaps he's broken his abacus. Although in this computer driven age one would have thought that it would be possible to alter odds by a few percentage points, or whatever in all of about a thousandth of a second.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
Remember that London has a far greater population than Scotland, fannies or not.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
Relies on an American news aggregator and watches baseball.
Vince Cable not having a great time, is he? A particularly unhelpful picture of him on the main BBC news front page today, looking about as shifty as it is possible to look.
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
Time for the LDs to shuffle their pack ?
Promote Danny to biz secretary to raise his profile and try and save his seat ?
Who knows he might even achieve something in the role - so far Vince has done nowt.
It's just polishing a turd, though, isn't it?
Surely the point is that only about one in every 5 to 6,000 or so MPs is a really impressive leader. In the 20th century we had Thatcher and Churchill, and that was it. We had ~20 parliaments x ~600 MPs, so of 12,000 who sat in Parliament over those 100 years we got 2 really effective party leaders (or maybe 3 if you include Blair on the basis of meretricious appeal rather than actual worth).
The moral of this is that really outstanding party leaders are vanishingly rare. For that rare individual to manifest among a party that like the LibDems has only 50 or so MPs is something that would happen around 50/6000ths of the time, i.e. it's a 1 in 100 to 120 Parliaments event / prospect.
A figure of Thatcher's gravitas can thus be expected to occur among the LibDems roughly every 600 years.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
Relies on an American news aggregator and watches baseball.
His 'One Nation' would appear to be the USA.
Perhaps he wishes he was his brother and living in the US :-)
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Troublin' times for our liberal-left masters.
Liberal-right masters, surely?
The right is in government, and runs most of the media including the BBC. As William Hague wondered about Tony Blair, that Oxford-educated ex-barrister Prime Minister, "who does he think is the Establishment?"
Washington correspondent Justin Webb said that the BBC is so biased against America that deputy director general Mark Byford had secretly agreed to help him to 'correct', it in his reports. Webb added that the BBC treated America with scorn and derision and gave it 'no moral weight'.
Former BBC business editor Jeff Randall said he complained to a 'very senior news executive', about the BBC's pro-multicultural stance but was given the reply: 'The BBC is not neutral in multiculturalism: it believes in it and it promotes it.'
Anti-American and pro-multiculturalism are of course, centre-left views, not centre-right views. If you have further doubts, you can ask Peter Sissons:
"I am in no doubt that the majority of BBC staff vote for political parties of the Left. But it’s impossible to do anything but guess at the numbers whose beliefs are on the Right or even Centre-Right. This is because the one thing guaranteed to damage your career prospects at the BBC is letting it be known that you are at odds with the prevailing and deep-rooted BBC attitude towards Life, the Universe, and Everything."
A quick trawl of the web; Bristol 77.9% White British, Nottingham 65.4% White British, Leeds 81.1% White British, Manchester 66.7% White British E&OE
And Liverpool's what, 91%?
Liverpool has the balance right, now.
But historically, Liverpool was the most diverse place in the Kingdom. The oldest black community in the country. The oldest Chinese in Europe. 25% Irish by 1850. More Welsh than in Cardiff by 1900. Scots, Scandinavians, Jews, Germans, Greeks, Americans, Portuguese.
"All the races of mankind were there, wonderfully mixed. Imagine an infants class of half-castes, quadroons, octaroons, with all the latitudes and longitudes confused in them...We could see them down there, like a miniature League of Nations assembly gone mad...Although they had mostly been begotten, born and reared in the most pitifully sordid circumstances, nearly all of them were unusually attractive in appearance, like most of oddly mixed blood...Looking at them, you did not think of the riff-raff of the stokeholds and the slatterns of the slums who had served as their parents: they seemed like charming exotic fruits, which indeed they were, of some profound anthropological experiment." JB Priestley - English Journey (1933)
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Troublin' times for our liberal-left masters.
Liberal-right masters, surely?
The right is in government, and runs most of the media including the BBC. As William Hague wondered about Tony Blair, that Oxford-educated ex-barrister Prime Minister, "who does he think is the Establishment?"
Washington correspondent Justin Webb said that the BBC is so biased against America that deputy director general Mark Byford had secretly agreed to help him to 'correct', it in his reports. Webb added that the BBC treated America with scorn and derision and gave it 'no moral weight'.
Former BBC business editor Jeff Randall said he complained to a 'very senior news executive', about the BBC's pro-multicultural stance but was given the reply: 'The BBC is not neutral in multiculturalism: it believes in it and it promotes it.'
Anti-American and pro-multiculturalism are of course, centre-left views, not centre-right views. If you have further doubts, you can ask Peter Sissons:
"I am in no doubt that the majority of BBC staff vote for political parties of the Left. But it’s impossible to do anything but guess at the numbers whose beliefs are on the Right or even Centre-Right. This is because the one thing guaranteed to damage your career prospects at the BBC is letting it be known that you are at odds with the prevailing and deep-rooted BBC attitude towards Life, the Universe, and Everything."
The right runs most of the media including the BBC. Your claims about bias, even if correct, are irrelevant to that. You say anti-Americanism is of the left, yet Blair, Brown and now Ed Miliband were all slated for being too pro-American. Are they not of the "centre-left"?
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Presumably the limit would also apply to Scotch refugees?
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
More faces than Toom Turnip, couldn't lead a conga around the town clock etc
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
Sounds like he doesn't read newspapers either. One wonders if he watches any news/current affairs shows? Maybe he gets all his news from PB?!
Considering the demographics of the UK, where just over 87% of the population are White British, it implies that Liverpool is more balanced and representative of the UK as a whole than the other cities listed.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
Sounds like he doesn't read newspapers either. One wonders if he watches any news/current affairs shows? Maybe he gets all his news from PB?!
I think he's fed the mcnuggets by his advisors, I doubt they let him near the real meat.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
Sounds like he doesn't read newspapers either. One wonders if he watches any news/current affairs shows? Maybe he gets all his news from PB?!
He's going to be a narked at the next thread that should be going up soon.
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
Remember that London has a far greater population than Scotland, fannies or not.
8.1m vs 5.3m (last census-ish) - greater yes, but 'far'?
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
Sounds like he doesn't read newspapers either. One wonders if he watches any news/current affairs shows? Maybe he gets all his news from PB?!
I think he's fed the mcnuggets by his advisors, I doubt they let him near the real meat.
Mrs Thatcher was the same. Bernard Ingham suggested John Major's problems stemmed from his insistence on reading the papers and reacting to headlines.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Indeed..that would be of concern to me.
The paper/website I read most of all is the Guardian, because it challenges my views, rather than always agreeing with them.
It sounds a bit statist for people that are supposed to be libertarians.. although I have never said I was one, and we shouldnt let dogma get in the way of whats best for social harmony
Yes, that was my instinct a little bit too. On the other hand, it would just be a "nudge" incentive rather than compulsion. I also wondered how open it was to abuse to people pretending to be one ethnic group or another. How do they verify ethnicity in things like minority scholarships in the US?
IF councils were only allowed a max of 5% of social housing for refugees, there would be more refugees in places like Witney and less in the inner cities. Maybe then we really would start being "One Nation" and politicians could say what they think is best for the whole country, rather than pandering to the ethnic or social backgrounds of particular constituencies ....
Yes, but are you going to say that refugees once settled can never move? If not what is to stop them once they have their right to remain ticket upping sticks and joining the compatriots in another area of the country (and claiming housing benefit there).
A nice idea, but it wouldn't work.
Well if they had he money to rent in the private market then nothing to stop them at all. But if they are in social housing then they would have to apply like anyone else.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Presumably the limit would also apply to Scotch refugees?
Many Scots regard export of the golden nectar as nothing short of a scandal but I've never heard those wonderful bottles called "Scotch refugees" !!
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
Sounds like he doesn't read newspapers either. One wonders if he watches any news/current affairs shows? Maybe he gets all his news from PB?!
He's going to be a narked at the next thread that should be going up soon.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
Sounds like he doesn't read newspapers either. One wonders if he watches any news/current affairs shows? Maybe he gets all his news from PB?!
He's going to be a narked at the next thread that should be going up soon.
Having some datawrapper issues, grrr
Can we have a Scottish thread please ?
I'm saving that for the weekend, rumour has it there's a couple of polls out in the field.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
To add to the mystery, how does ho know that 'Polls go up and down' if he is shielded from the daily information that masquerades as news?
Relying on loyal employees to tell you the truth when it is easier to tell you what you want to hear is a debatable strategy and not one that will allow you to absorb all the wisdom that is hidden under the shouty headlines and personality driven trivia.
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Troublin' times for our liberal-left masters.
Liberal-right masters, surely?
The right is in government, and runs most of the media including the BBC. As William Hague wondered about Tony Blair, that Oxford-educated ex-barrister Prime Minister, "who does he think is the Establishment?"
Washington correspondent Justin Webb said that the BBC is so biased against America that deputy director general Mark Byford had secretly agreed to help him to 'correct', it in his reports. Webb added that the BBC treated America with scorn and derision and gave it 'no moral weight'.
Former BBC business editor Jeff Randall said he complained to a 'very senior news executive', about the BBC's pro-multicultural stance but was given the reply: 'The BBC is not neutral in multiculturalism: it believes in it and it promotes it.'
Anti-American and pro-multiculturalism are of course, centre-left views, not centre-right views. If you have further doubts, you can ask Peter Sissons:
"I am in no doubt that the majority of BBC staff vote for political parties of the Left. But it’s impossible to do anything but guess at the numbers whose beliefs are on the Right or even Centre-Right. This is because the one thing guaranteed to damage your career prospects at the BBC is letting it be known that you are at odds with the prevailing and deep-rooted BBC attitude towards Life, the Universe, and Everything."
The right runs most of the media including the BBC. Your claims about bias, even if correct, are irrelevant to that. You say anti-Americanism is of the left, yet Blair, Brown and now Ed Miliband were all slated for being too pro-American. Are they not of the "centre-left"?
Slated from those even further left, thus confirming my point.
You also seem immune to evidence. A senior political figure in the BBC says that expressing centre-right views dooms your career at the organisation. How is that the right "running" it?
@philiph Exactly I wouldn't want to spend hours at it but I'd want to ensure I had all the information not just that filtered through my cheerleaders.
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
Sounds like he doesn't read newspapers either. One wonders if he watches any news/current affairs shows? Maybe he gets all his news from PB?!
I think he's fed the mcnuggets by his advisors, I doubt they let him near the real meat.
Mrs Thatcher was the same. Bernard Ingham suggested John Major's problems stemmed from his insistence on reading the papers and reacting to headlines.
I think you have to strike a balance. You don't want to a leader that's reacting to headlines every five minutes, but at the same time you don't want a leader that's completely cut off from public opinion.
Mrs Thatcher may not have took any notice of headlines, but she had a fine, in-built political antenna and most importantly she understood the aspirational working classes. Of course in the end her political antenna deserted her and she lost touch with the aspirational achievers who took her to power...
But anyway, getting back to the current political scene, Ed Milliband clearly doesn't have Mrs Thatchers political antenna and given the number of "working class" Labour voters that are going to UKIP he obviously can't relate to the strivers (or maybe they can't relate to him)
So here we have a leader with no real political antenna, who can't relate instinctively to the voters and who is intent on cutting himself off from public opinion by ignoring the media.
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
Remember that London has a far greater population than Scotland, fannies or not.
8.1m vs 5.3m (last census-ish) - greater yes, but 'far'?
Presumably if YES win 60.45% against NO 39.55% you might consider that a "far greater" win than expected ?
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
Remember that London has a far greater population than Scotland, fannies or not.
8.1m vs 5.3m (last census-ish) - greater yes, but 'far'?
"Whilst 44% of people aged 65 and over say they could see themselves voting Ukip in a European Parliament election, only 33% say they would do the same in a General Election, according an ITV News poll carried out by ComRes."
"The data suggests that many older voters will switch away from the eurosceptic party in 2015 with less than three quarters of Ukip voters in the 2014 European elections saying they could see themselves doing the same in a General Election."
"ComRes interviewed 2,060 British adults online between 23rd and 26th May - this data was weighted to be representative of all GB adults aged 18 and over."
If UKIP maintain 3/4 of their vote in the general, that will be a fantastic result for them.
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
Remember that London has a far greater population than Scotland, fannies or not.
8.1m vs 5.3m (last census-ish) - greater yes, but 'far'?
Roughly 50% greater than Scotland.
Oh yes, a substantial difference. But 'far' to me is 2x or more. Anyway, lglad to know I'm not missing something important.
Appreciate that it's only Euro's and that people vote differently, but it is perhaps interesting to note that the Greens beat the Lib Dems in every borough except the following: (Brent, City of London, Kingston, Richmond, Sutton).
Ed Miliband doesn’t read British papers, has a “decidedly mixed record” with Twitter and on the whole prefers American political news.
In a frank interview, the Labour leader admitted that he tries to ignore the latest news from Westminster – instead relying on aides to brief him.
He doesn’t get newspapers delivered to his home and – unlike most politicians – doesn’t turn the television screen in his Westminster office on to rolling news channels.
Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
To add to the mystery, how does ho know that 'Polls go up and down' if he is shielded from the daily information that masquerades as news?
Aide to Ed - "Well, the latest poll puts you on 53%, a drop of 1% on yesterdays figures"
@philiph Exactly I wouldn't want to spend hours at it but I'd want to ensure I had all the information not just that filtered through my cheerleaders.
I don't know. Spending a few hours with cheerleaders doesn't sound all bad.
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Troublin' times for our liberal-left masters.
Liberal-right masters, surely?
The right is in government, and runs most of the media including the BBC. As William Hague wondered about Tony Blair, that Oxford-educated ex-barrister Prime Minister, "who does he think is the Establishment?"
Washington correspondent Justin Webb said that the BBC is so biased against America that deputy director general Mark Byford had secretly agreed to help him to 'correct', it in his reports. Webb added that the BBC treated America with scorn and derision and gave it 'no moral weight'.
Former BBC business editor Jeff Randall said he complained to a 'very senior news executive', about the BBC's pro-multicultural stance but was given the reply: 'The BBC is not neutral in multiculturalism: it believes in it and it promotes it.'
Anti-American and pro-multiculturalism are of course, centre-left views, not centre-right views. If you have further doubts, you can ask Peter Sissons:
"I am in no doubt that the majority of BBC staff vote for political parties of the Left. But it’s impossible to do anything but guess at the numbers whose beliefs are on the Right or even Centre-Right. This is because the one thing guaranteed to damage your career prospects at the BBC is letting it be known that you are at odds with the prevailing and deep-rooted BBC attitude towards Life, the Universe, and Everything."
The right runs most of the media including the BBC. Your claims about bias, even if correct, are irrelevant to that. You say anti-Americanism is of the left, yet Blair, Brown and now Ed Miliband were all slated for being too pro-American. Are they not of the "centre-left"?
Slated from those even further left, thus confirming my point.
You also seem immune to evidence. A senior political figure in the BBC says that expressing centre-right views dooms your career at the organisation. How is that the right "running" it?
On this very thread, you will find posters of the right condemning Miliband's Atlanticism. Even if you are right about anti-Americanism, it has nothing to do with the left.
Those you cite enjoyed (or endured) successful careers at the BBC, did they not? Lord Patten is a former Conservative minister. The BBC's political editor is a Conservative. The more nuanced criticism of the BBC these days seems to be that it is pro-Establishment or pro-government.
As a measure of how angry people are, out there, a lefty friend told me yesterday that if he lived in France he'd vote Front National - just to annoy the metropolitan elite.
Your lefty (London-based?) friend didnt think he might be part of the metropolitan elite himself?
Just another London fanny detached from the real world
Remember that London has a far greater population than Scotland, fannies or not.
8.1m vs 5.3m (last census-ish) - greater yes, but 'far'?
I have no idea why the size of Scotland's population got conflated with London fanny's not living in the real world.
Comments
In Newark, at the 2010GE - a historically bad election for Labour - they still managed to come second with 22.3%, with the Lib Dems - that famed source of new voters for Miliband's Labour party - on a tempting 20.0%, ripe for squeezing.
The comparison to make is with somewhere like Wirral South by-election. If Labour had left the field clear for the Lib Dems to win that by-election from third then it would be equivalent to Labour soft-pedalling in Newark.
It would be great for some Somalian refugees if they got to live in Oxfordshire or the Cotswolds by virtue of this policy I just thought up! I shouldnt think they would want to move
I have little doubt it would be better for an inclusive society as well
Scotland Yard was today urged to investigate a bombshell claim by a Liberal Democrat peer that his party has been embroiled in a cash-for-peerages scandal.
Lord Oakeshott made the extraordinary allegation as he stormed out of the Lib-Dems yesterday after a failed bid to spark a coup to topple Nick Clegg.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/lib-dem-crisis-scotland-yard-urged-to-probe-lord-oakeshotts-cashforpeerages-claims-9452216.html
It would be great if I got to live in the Cotswolds. But thems the breaks.
That's Fryent, Queensbury, Northwick Park, Kenton, Preston, Sudbury, Alperton, Stonebridge, Wembley Central, Tokyngton, and half of Welsh Harp.
If this were 1996 Labour would probably be winning Newark in a by-election (though, as NickP has noted, not actually winning it in 1997, since the seat Fiona Jones won was different).
It's patently not 1996; so what Labour should do here is very nuanced, given the conflicting issues surrounding UKIP, the chance to possibly hit the Tories (though they're 80%ish and rising to hold the seat), Tory morale, Labour morale etc.
In the end it looks like they're going to do neither one thing nor the other, which may well help the Tories to win, but is probably the best way to hold the conflicting parts of the Shadow Cabinet together and maintain their own morale.
Well, David, we have moved up considerably from our performance in the 2009 European elections and I think this shows the people are hungry for change. Right up and down the country hard working squeezed middle persons have told me they want to see a Labour government in their great grandchildren's lifetime. I take comfort in that.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be photographed eating soup with my fingers.
But if you mean the centuries of sectarianism, then fair point.
Ed is magnificently charismatic and eloquent. He is a splendidly inspiring and passionate standard-bearer for the Progressive tradition in our great nation. Yes, indeed! One Nation! He is a magnificent orator, and his performance at Conference last year must surely have been the greatest by any Labour Party leader, or indeed, any party leader. And his repertoire of jokes would put even Harry Hill to shame!
Yes, we all knew that UKIP would win the Euro election, ahead of the glorious Labour Party, but that is UKIP's raison d'etre - a protest vote against the European status quo. Contrast, however, with the Local Elections held the same day. Under Ed's fabulous stewardship, Labour added hundreds of Council seats, even outside London!
Ed is a breath of fresh air, a refreshing, progressive alternative to that smarmy, posh-boy Cameron!
Time to back a Tory win in Twickenham on the basis that the 163 year old Cable will call it a day in 2015....?
Promote Danny to biz secretary to raise his profile and try and save his seat ?
Who knows he might even achieve something in the role - so far Vince has done nowt.
And Liverpool's what, 91%?
"Whilst 44% of people aged 65 and over say they could see themselves voting Ukip in a European Parliament election, only 33% say they would do the same in a General Election, according an ITV News poll carried out by ComRes."
"The data suggests that many older voters will switch away from the eurosceptic party in 2015 with less than three quarters of Ukip voters in the 2014 European elections saying they could see themselves doing the same in a General Election."
"ComRes interviewed 2,060 British adults online between 23rd and 26th May - this data was weighted to be representative of all GB adults aged 18 and over."
Lab maj : 3.25
Con maj : 3.9
NOM : 2.22
The right is in government, and runs most of the media including the BBC. As William Hague wondered about Tony Blair, that Oxford-educated ex-barrister Prime Minister, "who does he think is the Establishment?"
Others in the Cable orbit like Steve Webb have also been highly prominent Coalition stalwarts as has, to much surprise, Simon Hughes both before and after he joined the government.
http://footballtaxhavens.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/shadow-secretary-of-state-for-scotland-margaret-curran-creates-a-shadow-over-transfer-of-wsha-public-land-to-celtic/
good
Incidentally, having recently introduced his own political betting blog, it's odd that Shadsy hasn't as yet reinstated Ladbrokes' constituency markets .... perhaps he's broken his abacus. Although in this computer driven age one would have thought that it would be possible to alter odds by a few percentage points, or whatever in all of about a thousandth of a second.
http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/ed-miliband-its-always-a-good-idea-not-to-read-the-newspapers-9452549.html Totally out of touch & depending on aides to tell him the "truth" - geez
Is this worth one of Avery's yellow boxes :-)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/10861170/Drugs-and-prostitution-add-10bn-a-year-to-UK-economy.html
Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick 35m
Tories v worried over numbers at autumn conf - Shapps urging members "bring a friend" or relative to conference "even if not a Party member"
Grant Shapps MP @grantshapps 12m
@MichaelLCrick In fact twice the members coming compared to same time last year, but keen for more - thx for advert http://www.conservativepartyconference.org.uk/confhome.aspx
Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick 5m
@grantshapps Great. Perhaps you could bring your old friend Corinne Stockheath. We're all dying to meet her
Relies on an American news aggregator and watches baseball.
His 'One Nation' would appear to be the USA.
Surely the point is that only about one in every 5 to 6,000 or so MPs is a really impressive leader. In the 20th century we had Thatcher and Churchill, and that was it. We had ~20 parliaments x ~600 MPs, so of 12,000 who sat in Parliament over those 100 years we got 2 really effective party leaders (or maybe 3 if you include Blair on the basis of meretricious appeal rather than actual worth).
The moral of this is that really outstanding party leaders are vanishingly rare. For that rare individual to manifest among a party that like the LibDems has only 50 or so MPs is something that would happen around 50/6000ths of the time, i.e. it's a 1 in 100 to 120 Parliaments event / prospect.
A figure of Thatcher's gravitas can thus be expected to occur among the LibDems roughly every 600 years.
His 'One Nation' would appear to be the USA.
Perhaps he wishes he was his brother and living in the US :-)
Former BBC business editor Jeff Randall said he complained to a 'very senior news executive', about the BBC's pro-multicultural stance but was given the reply: 'The BBC is not neutral in multiculturalism: it believes in it and it promotes it.'
Anti-American and pro-multiculturalism are of course, centre-left views, not centre-right views. If you have further doubts, you can ask Peter Sissons:
"I am in no doubt that the majority of BBC staff vote for political parties of the Left. But it’s impossible to do anything but guess at the numbers whose beliefs are on the Right or even Centre-Right. This is because the one thing guaranteed to damage your career prospects at the BBC is letting it be known that you are at odds with the prevailing and deep-rooted BBC attitude towards Life, the Universe, and Everything."
US Q1 GDP (second reading) -1.0% q/q annualized vs -0.5% expected
3 minutes ago | May 29th, 2014 12:30:09 GMT
But historically, Liverpool was the most diverse place in the Kingdom.
The oldest black community in the country. The oldest Chinese in Europe. 25% Irish by 1850. More Welsh than in Cardiff by 1900. Scots, Scandinavians, Jews, Germans, Greeks, Americans, Portuguese.
"All the races of mankind were there, wonderfully mixed. Imagine an infants class of half-castes, quadroons, octaroons, with all the latitudes and longitudes confused in them...We could see them down there, like a miniature League of Nations assembly gone mad...Although they had mostly been begotten, born and reared in the most pitifully sordid circumstances, nearly all of them were unusually attractive in appearance, like most of oddly mixed blood...Looking at them, you did not think of the riff-raff of the stokeholds and the slatterns of the slums who had served as their parents: they seemed like charming exotic fruits, which indeed they were, of some profound anthropological experiment."
JB Priestley - English Journey (1933)
That is bizarre, he really does sound cocooned in an alternate reality bubble.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2642605/Mother-died-agonising-pain-days-forced-crawl-hands-knees-beg-painkillers-cries-help-went-unheard.html
Shameful. And it's Staffs again.
Bizarre? Not watching rolling TV news channels sounds completely normal to me and to be recommended to all politicians (and pbc-ers).
Liverpool has the balance right "now" at 91%.
Errr?
And that suits me just fine.
Sounds like he doesn't read newspapers either. One wonders if he watches any news/current affairs shows? Maybe he gets all his news from PB?!
http://londoneuroelections.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Borough-Voting-Figures-for-London-160KB-pdf.pdf
UKIP carried Havering, Sutton
I think he's fed the mcnuggets by his advisors, I doubt they let him near the real meat.
He's going to be a narked at the next thread that should be going up soon.
Having some datawrapper issues, grrr
#questionstoanswer
Mrs Thatcher was the same. Bernard Ingham suggested John Major's problems stemmed from his insistence on reading the papers and reacting to headlines.
Indeed..that would be of concern to me.
The paper/website I read most of all is the Guardian, because it challenges my views, rather than always agreeing with them.
Having some datawrapper issues, grrr
Can we have a Scottish thread please
I'm saving that for the weekend, rumour has it there's a couple of polls out in the field.
To add to the mystery, how does ho know that 'Polls go up and down' if he is shielded from the daily information that masquerades as news?
Relying on loyal employees to tell you the truth when it is easier to tell you what you want to hear is a debatable strategy and not one that will allow you to absorb all the wisdom that is hidden under the shouty headlines and personality driven trivia.
You also seem immune to evidence. A senior political figure in the BBC says that expressing centre-right views dooms your career at the organisation. How is that the right "running" it?
Exactly I wouldn't want to spend hours at it but I'd want to ensure I had all the information not just that filtered through my cheerleaders.
I think you have to strike a balance. You don't want to a leader that's reacting to headlines every five minutes, but at the same time you don't want a leader that's completely cut off from public opinion.
Mrs Thatcher may not have took any notice of headlines, but she had a fine, in-built political antenna and most importantly she understood the aspirational working classes. Of course in the end her political antenna deserted her and she lost touch with the aspirational achievers who took her to power...
But anyway, getting back to the current political scene, Ed Milliband clearly doesn't have Mrs Thatchers political antenna and given the number of "working class" Labour voters that are going to UKIP he obviously can't relate to the strivers (or maybe they can't relate to him)
So here we have a leader with no real political antenna, who can't relate instinctively to the voters and who is intent on cutting himself off from public opinion by ignoring the media.
It's a dangerous combination for Labour.
twitter.com/ThePoke/status/471980274587549696/photo/1
Alex Cameron and David Salmond. Bit of a stitch up.
East
http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/sites/chelmsford.gov.uk/files/files/files/documents/files/regional results breakdown.pdf
West Midlands
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/elections/european/2014
East Midlands
http://www.kettering.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/5993/european_elections_2014_-_east_midlands_region_detailed_results
NE
http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=15270&p=0&fsize=35kb&ftype=European Parliamentary Election 2014 results - North East region by counting area.PDF
Wales
http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=101,1580,2279&parent_directory_id=646#viewresults
South West
http://www.boroughofpoole.com/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=19042&type=full&servicetype=Attachment
I won't rise to that bait - but will congratulate you on your discernment re Scotch refugees. Such expressions need to be constantly monitored!
Aide to Ed - "Well, the latest poll puts you on 53%, a drop of 1% on yesterdays figures"
Those you cite enjoyed (or endured) successful careers at the BBC, did they not? Lord Patten is a former Conservative minister. The BBC's political editor is a Conservative. The more nuanced criticism of the BBC these days seems to be that it is pro-Establishment or pro-government.