Mind you the sanctimonius twat in the audience just made her look good
There does seem to be a disconnect between the main parties trying not to look like they are dismissing UKIP, and thus look like they are dismissing the concerns of the millions who voted for them (or suggesting they were too dumb to know what they did), and the more passionate anti-UKIP folk, who are much more direct in going 'No need to be circumspect - just say they are racist and get on with it' and the like. The latter position is easily dismissed and only strengthens UKIP's anti-establishment feeling, and the former comes across as being woolly.
Screw UKIP and QT - I've found a problem with the Amazon Kindle.
Got mine a week back and took it to the gym today. Propped it up on the treadmill and just kept reading as I was walking away - next thing I knew I'd been going for an hour!
So this thing will either make me fit as a fiddle or kill me.
Of course he does, he actually lives in the real world.
Willetts and the Labour woman don't realise that their monotonous replies are exactly the reason why people are sick to death of politicians. All they do is walk the walk, then do nothing.
We hit 400mm of rainfall for the year today in Leamington. Reservoirs are at 95% of capacity. It's going to be a lush, bountiful summer. Damp shadows under heavy trees. With a bit of sun between now and September the blackberries will be historic. England is good.
It's disgusting. I've seen the sun once, for about an hour, since I got back from Asia.
What was that brilliant Bill Bryson quote? Living in Britain is like living inside a translucent grey tupperware box in the fridge.
Mind you the sanctimonius twat in the audience just made her look good
You should have put up Suzanne or Nige - both top TV performers
I agree the Kipper is not the best calibre debater, but she is learning on the job, also she is not showing signs of nerves, all good pointers for the future.
My cat would make a better chairman of this group than Dimbleby.
He's brought everyone in for reasonable time, asked for clarifications of all of them and made sure to get more UKIP voices from the audience to balance things out, yes terrible Chairing.
Mind you the sanctimonius twat in the audience just made her look good
You should have put up Suzanne or Nige - both top TV performers
No harm in trying to blood in some new faces - UKIP's stock has never been higher, so even a disastrous performance by an individual would not harm their overall momentum, and best case scenario they do well and UKIP have another steady performer to call upon.
Mind you the sanctimonius twat in the audience just made her look good
You should have put up Suzanne or Nige - both top TV performers
I agree the Kipper is not the best calibre debater, but she is learning on the job, also she is not showing signs of nerves, all good pointers for the future.
Mind you the sanctimonius twat in the audience just made her look good
You should have put up Suzanne or Nige - both top TV performers
I agree the Kipper is not the best calibre debater, but she is learning on the job, also she is not showing signs of nerves, all good pointers for the future.
Yes it is her first time on there, and she is a bit carried away with the momentum I guess.
Farage and Evans have both been on in the last month. Steven Woolfe is my tip for the next Kipper to shine.
We hit 400mm of rainfall for the year today in Leamington. Reservoirs are at 95% of capacity. It's going to be a lush, bountiful summer. Damp shadows under heavy trees. With a bit of sun between now and September the blackberries will be historic. England is good.
It's disgusting. I've seen the sun once, for about an hour, since I got back from Asia.
What was that brilliant Bill Bryson quote? Living in Britain is like living inside a translucent grey tupperware box in the fridge.
No, instead we have a ludicrous fake democracy with a fatuous voting system where we are governed by unelected bureucrats in a foreign country, sharing power with a metropolitan elite that everyone hates, who dictate everything that isn't already decided in Brussels.
That, and endless drizzle. That's modern Britain. No wonder the Scots want to break it up.
Screw UKIP and QT - I've found a problem with the Amazon Kindle.
Got mine a week back and took it to the gym today. Propped it up on the treadmill and just kept reading as I was walking away - next thing I knew I'd been going for an hour!
So this thing will either make me fit as a fiddle or kill me.
You're already looking after yourself enough to actually go to the gym, so I think you are probably healthy enough that you can probably survive your kindle's attempts to kill you.
Still, no need for depression about the early summer weather. In 3 weeks the nights start drawing in, and we can look forward to 8 months of winter.
I can't remember having to wear a fleece on 29th May before.
I had to wear a fleece in august 4-5 years back. Dreadful stuff.
People twisting themselves in knots over this chilcott stuff, unsurprisingly. Again, I'm surprised to find some agreement with Piers, though it's a tricky one.
It does seem that if the gist of a conversation is allowed and is accurate, then what additional harm would specific words have? The opinion, good, bad or neutral, is surely the more important bit.
Still, no need for depression about the early summer weather. In 3 weeks the nights start drawing in, and we can look forward to 8 months of winter.
Crikey is the glass even half full? You're alive, healthy and successful. Everything else is just tinsel, nice but unnecessary,
I'm perfectly content. Just spent a great night in the pub (sober! (driving)), with some old friends, I have an intriguing new romantic liaison, and financially I thrive doing a job I love.
I am ludicrously, ludicrously lucky
But there's no denying the fact that Britain can be a bloody dreary place in weather like this. Almost anywhere else seems preferable. As I may have mentioned, this is my explanation for Britain's martial prowess and imperial aggression: we got so hacked off with the rain we invaded the rest of the world in a desperate hunt for reliable sunshine.
Without weather like this we'd no longer be a green and pleasant land. As an amateur photographer I love weather like this far more atmospheric than gay sunshine and the like.
I might be missing something, but this poll doesn't seem to be moving the odds very much. Are the Tories really still as nailed on as the bookies say. I'm unconvinced this is great news, given how UKIP have shown a tendency to surge in the week leading up to by-elections.
It does seem that if the gist of a conversation is allowed and is accurate, then what additional harm would specific words have? The opinion, good, bad or neutral, is surely the more important bit.
It's the difference between "The President hailed the Prime Minister with a hearty greeting", and "Yo, Blair!"
It does seem that if the gist of a conversation is allowed and is accurate, then what additional harm would specific words have? The opinion, good, bad or neutral, is surely the more important bit.
It's the difference between "The President hailed the Prime Minister with a hearty greeting", and "Yo, Blair!"
Ah yes, the Minuting effect.
Heathrow runway arguments? I look forward the classic NIMBY 'Need to increase capacity but not here, in someone elses area', 'Not enough research/consultation (no matter how much is done)' arguments.
Very physical speaker, this UKIP lady, lots of talking with the hands.
That awkward moment when you realise a UKIP person has made the point you agree with most out of a whole hour of Question Time (her thing about Heathrow and the arrogant assumption that everything should happen in London).
Well worth reading. The burqa is not some sort of exotic balaclava. It's an aggressive f*** you to Western society by those determined to destroy it or undermine it and ensure that its freedoms and values are not available to all its citizens.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
Only inasmuch as it impacts on how far they are from where they want to get to in the capital or elsewhere, I would guess. It just takes so long to sort out, it seems like nothing will get done in time, which is frustrating for those who won't be affected one way or another but do think the need is there.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
Only inasmuch as it impacts on how far they are from where they want to get to in the capital or elsewhere, I would guess. It just takes so long to sort out, it seems like nothing will get done in time, which is frustrating for those who won't be affected one way or another but do think the need is there.
Piers made it sound like people are taking holidays at the airport.
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
Still, no need for depression about the early summer weather. In 3 weeks the nights start drawing in, and we can look forward to 8 months of winter.
Crikey is the glass even half full? You're alive, healthy and successful. Everything else is just tinsel, nice but unnecessary,
I'm perfectly content. Just spent a great night in the pub (sober! (driving)), with some old friends, I have an intriguing new romantic liaison, and financially I thrive doing a job I love.
I am ludicrously, ludicrously lucky
But there's no denying the fact that Britain can be a bloody dreary place in weather like this. Almost anywhere else seems preferable. As I may have mentioned, this is my explanation for Britain's martial prowess and imperial aggression: we got so hacked off with the rain we invaded the rest of the world in a desperate hunt for reliable sunshine.
Without weather like this we'd no longer be a green and pleasant land. As an amateur photographer I love weather like this far more atmospheric than gay sunshine and the like.
It's also very good for gardeners. My garden is blooming and lush and gorgeous.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
I much prefer Gatwick, with the caveat that I haven't been through Heathrow since the late 90s when it was truly appalling in every way. Also until recently Delta only flew into gatwick.
My favorite airport is manchester, because these days I rarely need to go anywhere outside Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
Only inasmuch as it impacts on how far they are from where they want to get to in the capital or elsewhere, I would guess. It just takes so long to sort out, it seems like nothing will get done in time, which is frustrating for those who won't be affected one way or another but do think the need is there.
Piers made it sound like people are taking holidays at the airport.
Well, despite me agreeing with him a surprising amount tonight, he is still a tit.
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
Well worth reading. The burqa is not some sort of exotic balaclava. It's an aggressive f*** you to Western society by those determined to destroy it or undermine it and ensure that its freedoms and values are not available to all its citizens.
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
Yeah, Gatwick's a dump in Sussex.
Nah, Pulpstar's right - I fly in and out all the time and which airport is a detail. Just got back from Stansted, but could equally well have been Heathrow or Gatwick, who cares about an extra 20 minutes or whatever if you've got a book or a laptop.
Odds: will move tomorrow, I suspect. Survation's unproven record of being helpful to UKIP in its assumptions may make people a bit cautious about 4-1 on them, but the 34-1 against Labour is now a silly price (both bwin but others have similar odds).
We are not arguing with the Government about the scale of the challenge. But we do differ significantly on the best way to confront it. George Osborne has had his five years to eradicate the deficit. I am determined that we finish that task on which he has failed.
That truly will be a boon for Labour. They did not promise to eliminate the deficit in four-five years if they won in 2010, so would always have planned to do so sometime in the next partliament. Now the Tories are also planning to do that, but as they promised to do it in five initially, when Labour in government (as I believe they will be) achieve it as the economy has a few years of reasonable growth behind it, they can get the plaudits for the entire deficit reduction, while the Tories attempting to argue they did the hard bit by getting it started and deserve credit will be shot down with 'your plan failed, so you went onto theirs' or some such.
Arrived at City Airport for the first time (from Stockholm) last week. Unfortunately there was an enormous queue at passport control which took about 35 minutes to get through. A bit disappointed, because I've always heard how efficient it is.
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
About as believable as Miliband knows how to eat a bacon sarnie.
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
As last week's elections showed, the public want the realistic prospect of change, not just more of the same. And they want Labour to focus relentlessly on how it would deliver those changes
Is that what last week's elections showed? That people want Labour specifically to deliver changes that we need? I know they won the locals, but that seems a bit of a leap. Ah, politics.
Arrived at City Airport for the first time (from Stockholm) last week. Unfortunately there was an enormous queue at passport control which took about 35 minutes to get through. A bit disappointed, because I've always heard how efficient it is.
"(even if the boundaries have changed since then)." I value this site for intelligent debate on political issues. How then can sensible debate take place unless people accept that comparisons MUST be based on a like for like basis or they mean nothing. We need the details and date of the changes and a weighted basis for comparisons with 1997 or it is meaningless.
Arrived at City Airport for the first time (from Stockholm) last week. Unfortunately there was an enormous queue at passport control which took about 35 minutes to get through. A bit disappointed, because I've always heard how efficient it is.
As last week's elections showed, the public want the realistic prospect of change, not just more of the same. And they want Labour to focus relentlessly on how it would deliver those changes
Is that what last week's elections showed? That people want Labour specifically to deliver changes that we need? I know they won the locals, but that seems a bit of a leap. Ah, politics.
Any political sentence that starts in the format "As X showed" usually results in the shoehorning of facts to fit a narrative and is always utter crap.
Sounds like an open challenge to all the other Telegraph contributors to top that. Lord Tebbit gets comments into the thousands with some regularity, the right topic could manage it for him.
On topic, I hope this poll lengthens the Tory price a bit so I can pile on. I can't see the anti-Tory vote organising efficiently enough to push Lab or Kip past the post.
With two independents, the Monster Raving Loonies, The Bus-Pass Elvis Party, Common Good Party, Greens, and Patriotic Socialists, there's an awful lot of opportunities for the LDs to be embarrassed and beaten into 4th.
We are not arguing with the Government about the scale of the challenge. But we do differ significantly on the best way to confront it. George Osborne has had his five years to eradicate the deficit. I am determined that we finish that task on which he has failed.
That truly will be a boon for Labour. They did not promise to eliminate the deficit in four-five years if they won in 2010, so would always have planned to do so sometime in the next partliament. Now the Tories are also planning to do that, but as they promised to do it in five initially, when Labour in government (as I believe they will be) achieve it as the economy has a few years of reasonable growth behind it, they can get the plaudits for the entire deficit reduction, while the Tories attempting to argue they did the hard bit by getting it started and deserve credit will be shot down with 'your plan failed, so you went onto theirs' or some such.
There would be no plaudits for Labour even if they did eliminate the entire deficit, because no-one outside the Westminster bubble cares about whether we have a deficit or not.
I love your comments on this. Clearly, as a Labour supporter, it doesn't even occur to you that anyone might even ask whether the policy was a good one or one could actually be delivered: if it polls well, promise it, eh?
Has it never occurred to you that there might be a tiny bit of a problem with that in the unfortunate event that Labour gets to form the next government?
With two independents, the Monster Raving Loonies, The Bus-Pass Elvis Party, Common Good Party, Greens, and Patriotic Socialists, there's an awful lot of opportunities for the LDs to be embarrassed and beaten into 4th.
On topic, I hope this poll lengthens the Tory price a bit so I can pile on. I can't see the anti-Tory vote organising efficiently enough to push Lab or Kip past the post.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
I much prefer Gatwick, with the caveat that I haven't been through Heathrow since the late 90s when it was truly appalling in every way. Also until recently Delta only flew into gatwick.
My favorite airport is manchester, because these days I rarely need to go anywhere outside Lancashire and Yorkshire.
With all respect, you're talking total bollocks (which, to be fair, you halfway admit)
I fly constantly in my job. Heathrow has been transformed beyond recognition in recent years. And the evidence isn't anecdotal: it recently entered the top ten airports in the world, in the most important list:
Yer out of date, dude. Heathrow is now an excellent airport, with peerless access to the great city it serves.
BUILD THE THIRD RUNWAY.
Right. People don't seem to grasp that the integration of the Heathrow site with rail and tube is world class. If you moved the hub, you'd have to hook it up from scratch. Would cost billions, take nearly a generation to build, and disrupt thousands of acres for something we already have.
With two independents, the Monster Raving Loonies, The Bus-Pass Elvis Party, Common Good Party, Greens, and Patriotic Socialists, there's an awful lot of opportunities for the LDs to be embarrassed and beaten into 4th.
Only 4th, it would be hilarious to see them finish behind OMRLP as it would have shades of the Bootle by-election in 1990.
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
I thought UKIP's approach was scorched earth everywhere except defence which would be hiked beyond all credibility, basically the GOP on steroids?
That's traditionally UKIP's policy (although recently they have been hinting at populist leftwing policies on the economy and public spending), but surely it's well-established by now that most people are not voting UKIP because they agree with their detailed domestic policies. There are loads of Lab->UKIP defectors here in the north who say they think Labour don't stand up for the working-class enough, very often because of immigration, occasionally because of the EU, but also because they think they didn't give enough jobs to people who were thrown onto the dole by Thatcher, that they didn't ensure people got good enough wages, that investment in town centres and public services wasn't high enough, and that they sucked up to rich fat-cats too much. I would wager that virtually none of those Lab->UKIP defectors did so because they think "Labour spent too much money".
On topic, I hope this poll lengthens the Tory price a bit so I can pile on. I can't see the anti-Tory vote organising efficiently enough to push Lab or Kip past the post.
I can't see Lab doing it. They'd have to move a big chunk back from Kip. Not going to happen because there aren't many leftie votes in there. The numbers suggest that the Lab score is pretty much 2010+Red Libs, the Kip uptick mostly comprised of former Tories.
UKIP voters are, as ever, more likely to vote than others. But surprisingly Labour voters are almost as eager, and decently more likely to than the Tories.
The subsample of 'Others' voters is tiny, but Paul Baggaley just about leads it.
It's not exactly a new phenomena, but the past vote recall of people is terrible.
It's a shame they only ask people if they would consider voting for UKIP. Would be much better if we could compare the parties on that one.
I love your comments on this. Clearly, as a Labour supporter, it doesn't even occur to you that anyone might even ask whether the policy was a good one or one could actually be delivered: if it polls well, promise it, eh?
Has it never occurred to you that there might be a tiny bit of a problem with that in the unfortunate event that Labour gets to form the next government?
Oh right. Never mind that the public don't want more cuts, they just don't understand enough so they'll have to lump it and take spending cuts anyway.
Some of you PBTories crack me up with your selective approach to "listening to the people". When it comes to immigration or an EU referendum, it's a scandal for Labour to not listen to the voices of the people who say they're against them. Yet, when it's proven time and time again that people also don't want spending cuts, their opinions don't matter, paying off some random guy on a trading floor in Shanghai is the most important thing rather than providing good lives for British people.
On topic, I hope this poll lengthens the Tory price a bit so I can pile on. I can't see the anti-Tory vote organising efficiently enough to push Lab or Kip past the post.
Still 34-1 at bwin (and UKIP 4-1), who I think are foreign-based and perhaps slower to react to UK polls. But kudos to richard N for getting on at 60-1!
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
I thought UKIP's approach was scorched earth everywhere except defence which would be hiked beyond all credibility, basically the GOP on steroids?
That's traditionally UKIP's policy (although recently they have been hinting at populist leftwing policies on the economy and public spending), but surely it's well-established by now that most people are not voting UKIP because they agree with their detailed domestic policies. There are loads of Lab->UKIP defectors here in the north who say they think Labour don't stand up for the working-class enough, very often because of immigration, occasionally because of the EU, but also because they think they didn't give enough jobs to people who were thrown onto the dole by Thatcher, that they didn't ensure people got good enough wages, that investment in town centres and public services wasn't high enough, and that they sucked up to rich fat-cats too much. I would wager that virtually none of those Lab->UKIP defectors did so because they think "Labour spent too much money".
The trouble is at some point they will have to reveal their hand at which point half their supporter base is gonna have a hissy. If they stick to the bonkers scorched earth nonsense the Lab-kip switchers will fly away. If they go full on left wing populism the scorched earth nutters will fly away plus every one else will kick the crap out of them for the intellectual dishonesty. They can't face two ways simultaneously or at least they can't in the way the Lib Dems did by being wooly centrist mongers. So at some point they are going to shatter their coalition of the angry and possibly scupper their USP at the same time.
With two independents, the Monster Raving Loonies, The Bus-Pass Elvis Party, Common Good Party, Greens, and Patriotic Socialists, there's an awful lot of opportunities for the LDs to be embarrassed and beaten into 4th.
Only 4th, it would be hilarious to see them finish behind OMRLP as it would have shades of the Bootle by-election in 1990.
I love your comments on this. Clearly, as a Labour supporter, it doesn't even occur to you that anyone might even ask whether the policy was a good one or one could actually be delivered: if it polls well, promise it, eh?
Has it never occurred to you that there might be a tiny bit of a problem with that in the unfortunate event that Labour gets to form the next government?
Oh right. Never mind that the public don't want more cuts, they just don't understand enough so they'll have to lump it and take spending cuts anyway.
Some of you PBTories crack me up with your selective approach to "listening to the people". When it comes to immigration or an EU referendum, it's a scandal for Labour to not listen to the voices of the people who say they're against them. Yet, when it's proven time and time again that people also don't want spending cuts, their opinions don't matter, paying off some random guy on a trading floor in Shanghai is the most important thing rather than providing good lives for British people.
Nothing wrong with spending money you earn. But when you're in debt - as the UK is - it's the creditor who decides what you can spend. If people won't lend the money to us,we can't spend no matter how much we might want to. Debtors have very little choice - and we are a heavily indebted nation.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
I much prefer Gatwick, with the caveat that I haven't been through Heathrow since the late 90s when it was truly appalling in every way. Also until recently Delta only flew into gatwick.
My favorite airport is manchester, because these days I rarely need to go anywhere outside Lancashire and Yorkshire.
With all respect, you're talking total bollocks (which, to be fair, you halfway admit)
I fly constantly in my job. Heathrow has been transformed beyond recognition in recent years. And the evidence isn't anecdotal: it recently entered the top ten airports in the world, in the most important list:
Yer out of date, dude. Heathrow is now an excellent airport, with peerless access to the great city it serves.
BUILD THE THIRD RUNWAY.
Right. People don't seem to grasp that the integration of the Heathrow site with rail and tube is world class. If you moved the hub, you'd have to hook it up from scratch. Would cost billions, take nearly a generation to build, and disrupt thousands of acres for something we already have.
Not just rail and tube - road as well. The M25 is two minutes away, likewise the M5, M4, M3.
Heathrow is actually in pretty much the PERFECT position for a London airport that wants to be a national and global hub. Anywhere else is inferior, especially when you take into account the vast expense and time it would take to shift it all.
e,g. There are rumours that they are going to expand Gatwick instead. Sheer stupidity. Gatwick is south of London making it a nightmare for anyone who is coming from north of London (i.e, most of the UK). Similarly, east of London is seriously suboptimal for a British/global hub.
The strange thing is that while we have dithered, Heathrow has turned itself into a massively successful international airport, admired across the world (as these prizes show). It would be an act of self harm not to expand it (if we have to expand, which we do). Are we that stupid? Possibly.
LHR3 is the way to go. But no party seems to want to touch it.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
I much prefer Gatwick, with the caveat that I haven't been through Heathrow since the late 90s when it was truly appalling in every way. Also until recently Delta only flew into gatwick.
My favorite airport is manchester, because these days I rarely need to go anywhere outside Lancashire and Yorkshire.
With all respect, you're talking total bollocks (which, to be fair, you halfway admit)
I fly constantly in my job. Heathrow has been transformed beyond recognition in recent years. And the evidence isn't anecdotal: it recently entered the top ten airports in the world, in the most important list:
Yer out of date, dude. Heathrow is now an excellent airport, with peerless access to the great city it serves.
BUILD THE THIRD RUNWAY.
I think I more than halfway admiited I was talking bollocks! :-)
I'm more than happy to accept that Heathrow has come on like gang busters since the awful place it was 15-18 years ago. All power to it.
Unfortunately I have no need of it, as my trips to the UK involve the north of England, and I can just drive on those occasions when I need to go south.
Heathrow may be much better, but the UK motorway system appears to have not changed much over 30 years. The M1, M4, M3, M6 etc are all the same size they were then.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
I much prefer Gatwick, with the caveat that I haven't been through Heathrow since the late 90s when it was truly appalling in every way. Also until recently Delta only flew into gatwick.
My favorite airport is manchester, because these days I rarely need to go anywhere outside Lancashire and Yorkshire.
G.
Meanwhile, Terminal 5 has been voted the Best Terminal IN THE WORLD for three years running.
Yer out of date, dude. Heathrow is now an excellent airport, with peerless access to the great city it serves.
BUILD THE THIRD RUNWAY.
Right. People don't seem to grasp that the integration of the Heathrow site with rail and tube is world class. If you moved the hub, you'd have to hook it up from scratch. Would cost billions, take nearly a generation to build, and disrupt thousands of acres for something we already have.
Not just rail and tube - Possibly.
LHR3 is the way to go. But no party seems to want to touch it.
All because of a handful of marginal constituencies in southwest London, and environs.
I reckon - maybe I just hope - that the next government will see sense - they will have no choice - and they will build LHR3.
Ironically, it might be the one positive outcome from a Labour victory. Labour don't depend on posh west London marginal seats, so they can make a rational and objective decision, in the national interest, which means expanding Heathrow.
They've got targets in places like Hounslow and Ealing...
Regarding Burqas, I think banning them would be shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted... the repercussions from angry extremists would be worse than the weird sight of women walking about, shut off from the world by creepy costumes
I would suggest that governments and influential moderate muslims went on the offensive in another way: an advertising campaign saying that it is ok to take off your burqa if you like, and make intimidating a woman into wearing one a crime
A future Labour government will not undo the hugely unpopular cuts imposed by the current coalition, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is expected to say.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
I thought UKIP's approach was scorched earth everywhere except defence which would be hiked beyond all credibility, basically the GOP on steroids?
That's traditionally UKIP's policy (although recently they have been hinting at populist leftwing policies on the economy and public spending), but surely it's well-established by now that most people are not voting UKIP because they agree with their detailed domestic policies. There are loads of Lab->UKIP defectors here in the north who say they think Labour don't stand up for the working-class enough, very often because of immigration, occasionally because of the EU, but also because they think they didn't give enough jobs to people who were thrown onto the dole by Thatcher, that they didn't ensure people got good enough wages, that investment in town centres and public services wasn't high enough, and that they sucked up to rich fat-cats too much. I would wager that virtually none of those Lab->UKIP defectors did so because they think "Labour spent too much money".
The trouble is at some point they will have to reveal their hand at which point half their supporter base is gonna have a hissy. If they stick to the bonkers scorched earth nonsense the Lab-kip switchers will fly away. If they go full on left wing populism the scorched earth nutters will fly away plus every one else will kick the crap out of them for the intellectual dishonesty. They can't face two ways simultaneously or at least they can't in the way the Lib Dems did by being wooly centrist mongers. So at some point they are going to shatter their coalition of the angry and possibly scupper their USP at the same time.
Very good post. Labour is and will be tied to the overall size of the Tory state, pretty much.
@SeanT I think the govt is unduly worried. Yes there'd be a bit of sound and fury and Zak would flounce off in a huff. Caroline Lucas would jump up and down spouting her rubbish about how we should all live in yurts made from organic fair traded flax eating mung bean casseroles and communing with Gaia but then it would simmer down and everyone would get on with it.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
I much prefer Gatwick, with the caveat that I haven't been through Heathrow since the late 90s when it was truly appalling in every way. Also until recently Delta only flew into gatwick.
My favorite airport is manchester, because these days I rarely need to go anywhere outside Lancashire and Yorkshire.
G.
Meanwhile, Terminal 5 has been voted the Best Terminal IN THE WORLD for three years running.
Yer out of date, dude. Heathrow is now an excellent airport, with peerless access to the great city it serves.
BUILD THE THIRD RUNWAY.
Right. People don't seem to grasp that the integration of the Heathrow site with rail and tube is world class. If you moved the hub, you'd have to hook it up from scratch. Would cost billions, take nearly a generation to build, and disrupt thousands of acres for something we already have.
Not just rail and tube - Possibly.
LHR3 is the way to go. But no party seems to want to touch it.
All because of a handful of marginal constituencies in southwest London, and environs.
I reckon - maybe I just hope - that the next government will see sense - they will have no choice - and they will build LHR3.
Ironically, it might be the one positive outcome from a Labour victory. Labour don't depend on posh west London marginal seats, so they can make a rational and objective decision, in the national interest, which means expanding Heathrow.
Surely you'll be voting Labour, SeanT. They are the party of the metropolitan London ruling elite now, voting Tory or even UKIP must be completely beneath the residents of Primrose Hill now.
Do people seriously care which airport around London they come into ?
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
I much prefer Gatwick, with the caveat that I haven't been through Heathrow since the late 90s when it was truly appalling in every way. Also until recently Delta only flew into gatwick.
My favorite airport is manchester, because these days I rarely need to go anywhere outside Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Right. People don't seem to grasp that the integration of the Heathrow site with rail and tube is world class. If you moved the hub, you'd have to hook it up from scratch. Would cost billions, take nearly a generation to build, and disrupt thousands of acres for something we already have.
Not just rail and tube - road as well. The M25 is two minutes away, likewise the M5, M4, M3.
Heathrow is actually in pretty much the PERFECT position for a London airport that wants to be a national and global hub. Anywhere else is inferior, especially when you take into account the vast expense and time it would take to shift it all.
e,g. There are rumours that they are going to expand Gatwick instead. Sheer stupidity. Gatwick is south of London making it a nightmare for anyone who is coming from north of London (i.e, most of the UK). Similarly, east of London is seriously suboptimal for a British/global hub.
The strange thing is that while we have dithered, Heathrow has turned itself into a massively successful international airport, admired across the world (as these prizes show). It would be an act of self harm not to expand it (if we have to expand, which we do). Are we that stupid? Possibly.
LHR3 is the way to go. But no party seems to want to touch it.
LHR3 - This is what I don't understand. Here in Atlanta we have 5 runways. There are suburbs on both ends of the runways. Everyone understands the economic benefits of airport traffic growth, and there was litttle opposition to expansion.
Why is there such opposition in the UK? I remember KACAN in the 70s to protest at aircraft noise, but that's long gone now with the new jets.
Comments
Laws of physics do not fundamentally forbid the teleportation of large objects, including humans, professor says
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10863929/Beam-me-up-Scotty-teleportation-could-become-reality.html
Got mine a week back and took it to the gym today. Propped it up on the treadmill and just kept reading as I was walking away - next thing I knew I'd been going for an hour!
So this thing will either make me fit as a fiddle or kill me.
Willetts and the Labour woman don't realise that their monotonous replies are exactly the reason why people are sick to death of politicians. All they do is walk the walk, then do nothing.
And it's spring, not summer.
With the self-service check-in screens on view behind the panelists.
Farage and Evans have both been on in the last month. Steven Woolfe is my tip for the next Kipper to shine.
Meanwhile in the real world there is politics, which is why you are on this blog. Thais do not have politics, just coups.
People twisting themselves in knots over this chilcott stuff, unsurprisingly. Again, I'm surprised to find some agreement with Piers, though it's a tricky one.
It does seem that if the gist of a conversation is allowed and is accurate, then what additional harm would specific words have? The opinion, good, bad or neutral, is surely the more important bit.
Euro election, Birmingham:
Lab: 93,740
UKIP: 52,063
Con: 39,329
LD: 19,853
Green: 12,753
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/elections/european/2014
Heathrow runway arguments? I look forward the classic NIMBY 'Need to increase capacity but not here, in someone elses area', 'Not enough research/consultation (no matter how much is done)' arguments.
Very physical speaker, this UKIP lady, lots of talking with the hands.
Does it matter so much that people fly into Heathrow ? Are people really that vain ?!
The UKIP worm seems to have turned.
Well worth reading. The burqa is not some sort of exotic balaclava. It's an aggressive f*** you to Western society by those determined to destroy it or undermine it and ensure that its freedoms and values are not available to all its citizens.
Piers Morgan such a prick... hate that he is an Arsenal fan so much
My favorite airport is manchester, because these days I rarely need to go anywhere outside Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Oh, what a shock that is. Will they still attempt to give the impression they would, without explicitly promising to do so I wonder.
Jesus, they will really never learn.
Latest Ashcroft poll: 60% of people want no more cuts. Proportion among UKIP voters who want no more cuts is even higher.
http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ANP-summary-140527.pdf
kids need iodine for brain development and iodine comes from the sea mostly so
rain
grass
cows
milk
brains
went wrong when people stopped drinking as much milk
And at the moment we spend a Billion pounds per week on interest on our national debt. Jesus, they will really never learn.
Latest Ashcroft poll: 60% of people want no more cuts. Proportion among UKIP voters who want no more cuts is even higher.
http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ANP-summary-140527.pdf
Odds: will move tomorrow, I suspect. Survation's unproven record of being helpful to UKIP in its assumptions may make people a bit cautious about 4-1 on them, but the 34-1 against Labour is now a silly price (both bwin but others have similar odds).
That truly will be a boon for Labour. They did not promise to eliminate the deficit in four-five years if they won in 2010, so would always have planned to do so sometime in the next partliament. Now the Tories are also planning to do that, but as they promised to do it in five initially, when Labour in government (as I believe they will be) achieve it as the economy has a few years of reasonable growth behind it, they can get the plaudits for the entire deficit reduction, while the Tories attempting to argue they did the hard bit by getting it started and deserve credit will be shot down with 'your plan failed, so you went onto theirs' or some such.
Speaking on Friday, Chris Leslie is to outline Labour’s “radical” policy plans, but will warn that the party is preparing to make some unpopular decisions and will not “be able to undo the cuts that the have been felt in recent years.”
About as believable as Miliband knows how to eat a bacon sarnie.
Latest Ashcroft poll: 60% of people want no more cuts. Proportion among UKIP voters who want no more cuts is even higher.
http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ANP-summary-140527.pdf
I thought UKIP's approach was scorched earth everywhere except defence which would be hiked beyond all credibility, basically the GOP on steroids?
Is that what last week's elections showed? That people want Labour specifically to deliver changes that we need? I know they won the locals, but that seems a bit of a leap. Ah, politics.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10860492/Are-we-all-racist-now.html
Good night all.
I can't work out what a fair price on Kipper is though,
Am on at 8-11 Tories right now..
Also Survation overestimated UKIP, underestimated Conservative slightly at Euros.
Has it never occurred to you that there might be a tiny bit of a problem with that in the unfortunate event that Labour gets to form the next government?
That's traditionally UKIP's policy (although recently they have been hinting at populist leftwing policies on the economy and public spending), but surely it's well-established by now that most people are not voting UKIP because they agree with their detailed domestic policies. There are loads of Lab->UKIP defectors here in the north who say they think Labour don't stand up for the working-class enough, very often because of immigration, occasionally because of the EU, but also because they think they didn't give enough jobs to people who were thrown onto the dole by Thatcher, that they didn't ensure people got good enough wages, that investment in town centres and public services wasn't high enough, and that they sucked up to rich fat-cats too much. I would wager that virtually none of those Lab->UKIP defectors did so because they think "Labour spent too much money".
UKIP voters are, as ever, more likely to vote than others. But surprisingly Labour voters are almost as eager, and decently more likely to than the Tories.
The subsample of 'Others' voters is tiny, but Paul Baggaley just about leads it.
It's not exactly a new phenomena, but the past vote recall of people is terrible.
It's a shame they only ask people if they would consider voting for UKIP. Would be much better if we could compare the parties on that one.
Some of you PBTories crack me up with your selective approach to "listening to the people". When it comes to immigration or an EU referendum, it's a scandal for Labour to not listen to the voices of the people who say they're against them. Yet, when it's proven time and time again that people also don't want spending cuts, their opinions don't matter, paying off some random guy on a trading floor in Shanghai is the most important thing rather than providing good lives for British people.
I think I'll be able to lay off the UKIP cash lower.
The trouble is at some point they will have to reveal their hand at which point half their supporter base is gonna have a hissy. If they stick to the bonkers scorched earth nonsense the Lab-kip switchers will fly away. If they go full on left wing populism the scorched earth nutters will fly away plus every one else will kick the crap out of them for the intellectual dishonesty. They can't face two ways simultaneously or at least they can't in the way the Lib Dems did by being wooly centrist mongers. So at some point they are going to shatter their coalition of the angry and possibly scupper their USP at the same time.
I'll lay at a hundred times that if you like.
I'm more than happy to accept that Heathrow has come on like gang busters since the awful place it was 15-18 years ago. All power to it.
Unfortunately I have no need of it, as my trips to the UK involve the north of England, and I can just drive on those occasions when I need to go south.
Heathrow may be much better, but the UK motorway system appears to have not changed much over 30 years. The M1, M4, M3, M6 etc are all the same size they were then.
I would suggest that governments and influential moderate muslims went on the offensive in another way: an advertising campaign saying that it is ok to take off your burqa if you like, and make intimidating a woman into wearing one a crime
Very good post. Labour is and will be tied to the overall size of the Tory state, pretty much.
I think the govt is unduly worried. Yes there'd be a bit of sound and fury and Zak would flounce off in a huff. Caroline Lucas would jump up and down spouting her rubbish about how we should all live in yurts made from organic fair traded flax eating mung bean casseroles and communing with Gaia but then it would simmer down and everyone would get on with it.
Why is there such opposition in the UK? I remember KACAN in the 70s to protest at aircraft noise, but that's long gone now with the new jets.
My arse.