politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » NO moves up 4 to take a 14% lead in latest ICM Scottish IndyRef YES poll
There’s further polling confirmation this morning that support for a YES vote in the Scottish Independence referendum on September 18th is stalling with the July survey of voters north of the border by ICM for Scotland on Sunday.
Sorry to be late to the party, however I think this from the header sums it up:
We saw this already ahead of the May 22nd Euros. Labour barely mentioned anything about the EU but focused almost entirely on anti-CON and anti-LD messages
And in consequence became the first principal party of opposition to fail to win a European election since 1984.
It is no longer good enough to simply not be the other lot. An anti-Tory vote in not inevitably a pro-Labour one; even an anti-(Tory+LD) vote isn't necessarily a pro-Labour one. And of course the reverse also holds. True, if you can reduce the other side's total, it makes your life easier even if you don't increase your vote by that one, unless the third party is also in contention
Under PR, no. Under FPTP, yes. Westminster elections are still basically a zero-sum game between two parties, and one less vote for the other side is just as good as one more vote for you.
This is an exceedingly bad way to choose a government, which is why electoral reformers have been banging on about PR for all these years.
Westminster elections have been diverging from a zero-sum game between two parties since about 1970 and that link is reaching breaking point. It only works (and FPTP only really works) when two large parties (or alliances) dominate the political landscape. In theory, tactical voting should push voters towards that; in practice, they've been moving in the opposite direction and negative campaigning is one of the main reasons that's been so.
At the moment, the gap between the second party and the third is still sufficiently large for the two-party game to remain in place as far as Westminster is concerned but if Labour does win and starts upsetting its 2015 voters? We've seen from the Lib Dems how voters can react if they feel betrayed by the party they voted for. 6-8% of Labour's *current* support is from exactly that source: take them away and you're down to the mid-twenties before you even get to more natural Labour support. Add in deficit reduction, cuts and the other challenges of office and you can comfortably knock off the same again for a mid-term score. That simply won't be enough to keep them in the first division.
Based on this and other recent polls, it seems that a combination bet on Ladbrokes' 5% bands either side of a 40% Yes vote is likely to capture the winning result. The two bands in question could be staked as follows to produce an equalised profit of 0.88/1 (1.88 decimal) should one or other element prove successful:
To me, at least, this appears a safer proposition than betting above or below the Yes Vote line, pitched by the bookies at between 42.5% - 43.5% which provides winning odds similar to those above, but as ever DYOR.
I have been fiddling with my moving average YouGov charts, which now reflect the polls from the last 12 months, as opposed to from January. To my mind there are some trends afoot, although these probably tell us what we already know.
The (until recent) decline in Labour support does not mirror, but seems compatible with UKIP's ascent, whereas their recent uptick seems to mirror a decline in LibDem support.
Conservative support has waxed and waned over 12 months, but has otherwise had a consistency. Much of the waxing and waning seems to mirror the UKIP equivalent.
I am guessing that the recent fall off in UKIP support reflects the party being out of the limelight of late.
"The Tory Prime Minister is said to have held a meeting with a rising star, who was tipped for promotion, and told him: “You have to clean up your sexual act”"
Baffled that the ‘Don’t Knows’ are as high as 21% - it’s a straight yes/no answer ffs.
It may be a function of the way the question is asked. Usual VI questions are "if there was a General Election tomorrow" while on SINDYREF most pollsters are asking people how they intend to vote on September 18......
Butler-Sloss running the inquiry is going to look like more of the same even if it's not.
The titular head at least should be one of the people who've been pushing for this like Stuart Syvret from Jersey or the ex-plod who did the investigating for the Saville documentaries.
Based on this and other recent polls, it seems that a combination bet on Ladbrokes' 5% bands either side of a 40% Yes vote is likely to capture the winning result. The two bands in question could be staked as follows to produce an equalised profit of 0.88/1 (1.88 decimal) should one or other element prove successful:
To me, at least, this appears a safer proposition than betting above or below the Yes Vote line, pitched by the bookies at between 42.5% - 43.5% which provides winning odds similar to those above, but as ever DYOR.
That post confirms something that has been obvious for a long time: non-Scots, even poilitically knowledgable ones, are in for a shock on 19 September.
Backed Karlovic to beat Hewitt 2-0 in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at 3.5 (Betfair).
Had initially planned to back him for the win at evens, but upon checking saw that every time he's beaten Hewitt (against whom he has a 4:1 record) in a best of three match he's done so without dropping a seat. His recent history shows very few instances of winning whilst dropping sets as well.
"The Tory Prime Minister is said to have held a meeting with a rising star, who was tipped for promotion, and told him: “You have to clean up your sexual act”"
Baffled that the ‘Don’t Knows’ are as high as 21% - it’s a straight yes/no answer ffs.
It may be a function of the way the question is asked. Usual VI questions are "if there was a General Election tomorrow" while on SINDYREF most pollsters are asking people how they intend to vote on September 18......
Cheers Carlotta - that may explain it, but I have my doubts. Quite honestly I'd expect NO to be the default position of most DKs, until convinced otherwise and with only 2 months to go would expect DK to be much lower if not single figures by now.
It will be interesting to see if the figure shrinks, closer to the actual vote. Perhaps PfP is correct in that quite a few don't care, rather than don't know.
Todays You Gov LAB 354 CON 249 LD 21 Other 26 (ukpr)
Ed is crap is PM. Every poll in June and July has EICIPM 9.75 months to go.
Betfair Lab most seats shortening from 1.95 to 1.88. Price on Ed is crap is next PM is evs. on Betfair
Indeed so, a number of bookies already have Labour at 4/5 (1.8) and a couple go even lower. It looks like large wads of notes have recently been slapped down.
Based on this and other recent polls, it seems that a combination bet on Ladbrokes' 5% bands either side of a 40% Yes vote is likely to capture the winning result. The two bands in question could be staked as follows to produce an equalised profit of 0.88/1 (1.88 decimal) should one or other element prove successful:
To me, at least, this appears a safer proposition than betting above or below the Yes Vote line, pitched by the bookies at between 42.5% - 43.5% which provides winning odds similar to those above, but as ever DYOR.
That post confirms something that has been obvious for a long time: non-Scots, even poilitically knowledgable ones, are in for a shock on 19 September.
The polls are all wrong. Yep, heard that before...
Are the 21% Don't Knows more likely to break for YES or for NO?
It is my belief that the majority of those who still do not know at this stage, are simply unconvinced by the radicalism of separation, and will therefore either vote No, or will not vote at all.
Based on this and other recent polls, it seems that a combination bet on Ladbrokes' 5% bands either side of a 40% Yes vote is likely to capture the winning result. The two bands in question could be staked as follows to produce an equalised profit of 0.88/1 (1.88 decimal) should one or other element prove successful:
To me, at least, this appears a safer proposition than betting above or below the Yes Vote line, pitched by the bookies at between 42.5% - 43.5% which provides winning odds similar to those above, but as ever DYOR.
That post confirms something that has been obvious for a long time: non-Scots, even poilitically knowledgable ones, are in for a shock on 19 September.
The polls are all wrong. Yep, heard that before...
Exactly, it's October 2012 all over again with the Mitt Romney 'shippers.
It's just people unwilling to face the truth; the polling is legion and the results failry static, "no" retains a solid lead.
"The Tory Prime Minister is said to have held a meeting with a rising star, who was tipped for promotion, and told him: “You have to clean up your sexual act”"
"Victims of alleged child abuse 'raped by MPs in exclusive flats near House of Commons'"
Given that there is now to be an enquiry, the public interest would be better served by reporting these allegations there - with names - rather than propping up sales with sensational but utterly unverifiable claims. I doubt it is a coincidence that every person named in the piece in connection with the allegation is now dead.
Sorry to be late to the party, however I think this from the header sums it up:
We saw this already ahead of the May 22nd Euros. Labour barely mentioned anything about the EU but focused almost entirely on anti-CON and anti-LD messages
And in consequence became the first principal party of opposition to fail to win a European election since 1984.
It is no longer good enough to simply not be the other lot. An anti-Tory vote in not inevitably a pro-Labour one; even an anti-(Tory+LD) vote isn't necessarily a pro-Labour one. And of course the reverse also holds. True, if you can reduce the other side's total, it makes your life easier even if you don't increase your vote by that one, unless the third party is also in contention
Under PR, no. Under FPTP, yes. Westminster elections are still basically a zero-sum game between two parties, and one less vote for the other side is just as good as one more vote for you.
This is an exceedingly bad way to choose a government, which is why electoral reformers have been banging on about PR for all these years.
Westminster elections have been diverging from a zero-sum game between two parties since about 1970 and that link is reaching breaking point. It only works (and FPTP only really works) when two large parties (or alliances) dominate the political landscape. In theory, tactical voting should push voters towards that; in practice, they've been moving in the opposite direction and negative campaigning is one of the main reasons that's been so.
At the moment, the gap between the second party and the third is still sufficiently large for the two-party game to remain in place as far as Westminster is concerned but if Labour does win and starts upsetting its 2015 voters? We've seen from the Lib Dems how voters can react if they feel betrayed by the party they voted for. 6-8% of Labour's *current* support is from exactly that source: take them away and you're down to the mid-twenties before you even get to more natural Labour support. Add in deficit reduction, cuts and the other challenges of office and you can comfortably knock off the same again for a mid-term score. That simply won't be enough to keep them in the first division.
Absolutely right. Broadly speaking, the (English) electorate is one-half right of centre, one-third left of centre ad one sixth seriously apolitical.
Based on this and other recent polls, it seems that a combination bet on Ladbrokes' 5% bands either side of a 40% Yes vote is likely to capture the winning result. The two bands in question could be staked as follows to produce an equalised profit of 0.88/1 (1.88 decimal) should one or other element prove successful:
To me, at least, this appears a safer proposition than betting above or below the Yes Vote line, pitched by the bookies at between 42.5% - 43.5% which provides winning odds similar to those above, but as ever DYOR.
That post confirms something that has been obvious for a long time: non-Scots, even poilitically knowledgable ones, are in for a shock on 19 September.
The polls are all wrong. Yep, heard that before...
Exactly, it's October 2012 all over again with the Mitt Romney 'shippers.
It's just people unwilling to face the truth; the polling is legion and the results failry static, "no" retains a solid lead.
The polls are the polls.
I have just had a quick scan of Ladbrokes. Shadsys over/under line of 42.5 seems spot on to me. I would not find it easy to know which side of that line to back. Probably over. The 40-45% band is 9/4 and possibly worth considering, Shadsy is rarely far off.
Yes backer can have 7/1 on 50-55% which seems better value than 9/2 on Yes. In the unlikely event of a yes win it would surely fall into this band.
Baffled that the ‘Don’t Knows’ are as high as 21% - it’s a straight yes/no answer ffs.
It may be a function of the way the question is asked. Usual VI questions are "if there was a General Election tomorrow" while on SINDYREF most pollsters are asking people how they intend to vote on September 18......
Indeed. The only time I've been polled was just after Major had called the 1992 election. I told her "there isn't going to be a General Election to-morrow. There's going to be one on 9 April. I can't tell you how I'm going to vote in an election we both know isn't going to take place, can I? And you don't want to know how I'm going to vote in the real one..."
She was not amused, but even though I've stopped drinking in the meantime (and long before pb.com was thought of) I would say the same thing to-day.
Baffled that the ‘Don’t Knows’ are as high as 21% - it’s a straight yes/no answer ffs.
It may be a function of the way the question is asked. Usual VI questions are "if there was a General Election tomorrow" while on SINDYREF most pollsters are asking people how they intend to vote on September 18......
Indeed. The only time I've been polled was just after Major had called the 1992 election. I told her "there isn't going to be a General Election to-morrow. There's going to be one on 9 April. I can't tell you how I'm going to vote in an election we both know isn't going to take place, can I? And you don't want to know how I'm going to vote in the real one..."
She was not amused, but even though I've stopped drinking in the meantime (and long before pb.com was thought of) I would say the same thing to-day.
Polling only looks easy.
I spot a theme here.. yesterday you were trying to tell us what we ought to in registering on PB, now we find you were trying to tell a pollster how to do her job..
No wonder she wasn't pleased.
Is this how you conduct life generally, telling other people that either they are wrong and/or how to do it right?
Stan James where some of my money is "invested" still has Labour most seats at 1.91. Tories most seats is terrible value compared to elsewhere at 1.91 too.
With the LibDems set to win say 35 seats and "Others" set to win a combined say 30 seats, together winning therefore around 65 seats, this would leave Con + Lab winning the remaining 585 seats. To win "most seats" therefore requires a tally of approx 293 seats, which is therefore 33 seats short of winning an overall majority of at least 326 seats. With the odds on Labour winning "most seats", best-priced at 0.836/1 net with Betfair's exchange platform, my attention has turned instead to the overall majority market, where the same firm's odds are a best-priced 2.23/1 net, therefore offering a 167% better Return on Investment if successful. DYOR.
Butler-Sloss running the inquiry is going to look like more of the same even if it's not.
The titular head at least should be one of the people who've been pushing for this like Stuart Syvret from Jersey or the ex-plod who did the investigating for the Saville documentaries.
Do they have judicial experience?
If not there would be a very high risk of a miscarriage of justice, especially in such a high profile and emotive case such as this.
Perhaps the polling question should be on the lines of 'who do you think you will vote for when the general election is called?' But 5 years out that is as silly as 'if there was an election tomorrow'. Given that the question is trying to gauge current opinion then it should be framed to reflect that. However this issue does seem to put into question the ability of polls to reflect an election result several months and years out.
What this Government is chasing is not public security, it is protection from blame if anything goes wrong. Those are not the same thing. One person’s loss of freedom is everybody’s loss of freedom, one person’s loss of privacy is everybody’s loss of privacy. We must stand up for our rights and not succumb to the politics of fear. Otherwise we give those who hate our civilisation an easy victory, without a shot being fired.
"The Tory Prime Minister is said to have held a meeting with a rising star, who was tipped for promotion, and told him: “You have to clean up your sexual act”"
Butler-Sloss running the inquiry is going to look like more of the same even if it's not.
The titular head at least should be one of the people who've been pushing for this like Stuart Syvret from Jersey or the ex-plod who did the investigating for the Saville documentaries.
Do they have judicial experience?
If not there would be a very high risk of a miscarriage of justice, especially in such a high profile and emotive case such as this.
that's what i mean by titular (probably not the right word) Tribune-ish
"The Tory Prime Minister is said to have held a meeting with a rising star, who was tipped for promotion, and told him: “You have to clean up your sexual act”"
Butler-Sloss running the inquiry is going to look like more of the same even if it's not.
The titular head at least should be one of the people who've been pushing for this like Stuart Syvret from Jersey or the ex-plod who did the investigating for the Saville documentaries.
Do they have judicial experience?
If not there would be a very high risk of a miscarriage of justice, especially in such a high profile and emotive case such as this.
Stuart Syvret has recent experience of the Criminal,Justice system....which is not quite the same thing.....
That post confirms something that has been obvious for a long time: non-Scots, even poilitically knowledgable ones, are in for a shock on 19 September.
What this Government is chasing is not public security, it is protection from blame if anything goes wrong. Those are not the same thing. One person’s loss of freedom is everybody’s loss of freedom, one person’s loss of privacy is everybody’s loss of privacy. We must stand up for our rights and not succumb to the politics of fear. Otherwise we give those who hate our civilisation an easy victory, without a shot being fired.
Baffled that the ‘Don’t Knows’ are as high as 21% - it’s a straight yes/no answer ffs.
It may be a function of the way the question is asked. Usual VI questions are "if there was a General Election tomorrow" while on SINDYREF most pollsters are asking people how they intend to vote on September 18......
Indeed. The only time I've been polled was just after Major had called the 1992 election. I told her "there isn't going to be a General Election to-morrow. There's going to be one on 9 April. I can't tell you how I'm going to vote in an election we both know isn't going to take place, can I? And you don't want to know how I'm going to vote in the real one..."
She was not amused, but even though I've stopped drinking in the meantime (and long before pb.com was thought of) I would say the same thing to-day.
Polling only looks easy.
I spot a theme here.. yesterday you were trying to tell us what we ought to in registering on PB, now we find you were trying to tell a pollster how to do her job..
No wonder she wasn't pleased.
Is this how you conduct life generally, telling other people that either they are wrong and/or how to do it right?
If it is, i'll bet you are popular.
I promise you, SR, that if you say to-day is Monday, I'll let you know the problem. Are you by any chance a salesman?
Given that the question is trying to gauge current opinion then it should be framed to reflect that.
Many people can be quite fickle with their real vote; hence I imagine they will be even more playful with the pollsters, irrespective of how the question is laid.
That said, some of that fickleness seems to disappear when things get serious, such as the economy going west, or the prospect of separation.
Backed Karlovic to beat Hewitt 2-0 in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at 3.5 (Betfair).
Had initially planned to back him for the win at evens, but upon checking saw that every time he's beaten Hewitt (against whom he has a 4:1 record) in a best of three match he's done so without dropping a seat. His recent history shows very few instances of winning whilst dropping sets as well.
Morris - this looks likes a great spot - Henryesque indeed in its style .... I'm on!
Are the 21% Don't Knows more likely to break for YES or for NO?
IMHO for NO - because voting to leave is a positive affirmative act. 'Don't know' is a passive indecisive nothingness.
Trend so far has been more Don't Knows go to YES than no.
John Curtice, today:
However some doubt is cast by today’s poll on the degree to which the undecideds are inclining towards a Yes vote. The Yes side’s claims about how voters are gradually moving in their direction have been based in part at least on what they say is the pattern of responses they have obtained when voters have been asked to indicate their attitude towards independence on a scale from 1 to 10 – with 1 meaning they are completely against independence and 10 that they are completely for it. The detailed evidence upon which this claim is based has never been published by Yes Scotland, but the question has now been replicated in today’s poll.
Two points stand out. First, not that many voters are apparently on the cusp of becoming potential Yes supporters. Just 7% place themselves at point 5 on the scale. Even if every single one of them were to be won over (a demanding proposition), the Yes side would still be a point away from victory.
Second, not only are as many as three-quarters of undecided voters willing and able to put themselves on this scale, but, as one might anticipate, nearly two-thirds of those that do put themselves somewhere towards the middle of the scale, that is somewhere between 4 and 7. However, the balance of inclination amongst the undecideds is clearly tilted towards opposition to rather than support for independence. Twice as many put themselves at between 1 and 5 on the scale as position themselves at between 6 and 10. It seems that even on the evidence of its own measure, the Yes side still have a lot of persuading left to do.
What this Government is chasing is not public security, it is protection from blame if anything goes wrong. Those are not the same thing. One person’s loss of freedom is everybody’s loss of freedom, one person’s loss of privacy is everybody’s loss of privacy. We must stand up for our rights and not succumb to the politics of fear. Otherwise we give those who hate our civilisation an easy victory, without a shot being fired.
After any terrorist attack The Daily Wail would be the first to blame the government.
yes - and being in government is about grown up management of risk - or at least it should be. There will be another terrorist attack. Whether or not this legislation goes through.
Baffled that the ‘Don’t Knows’ are as high as 21% - it’s a straight yes/no answer ffs.
It may be a function of the way the question is asked. Usual VI questions are "if there was a General Election tomorrow" while on SINDYREF most pollsters are asking people how they intend to vote on September 18......
Indeed. The only time I've been polled was just after Major had called the 1992 election. I told her "there isn't going to be a General Election to-morrow. There's going to be one on 9 April. I can't tell you how I'm going to vote in an election we both know isn't going to take place, can I? And you don't want to know how I'm going to vote in the real one..."
She was not amused, but even though I've stopped drinking in the meantime (and long before pb.com was thought of) I would say the same thing to-day.
Polling only looks easy.
I spot a theme here.. yesterday you were trying to tell us what we ought to in registering on PB, now we find you were trying to tell a pollster how to do her job..
No wonder she wasn't pleased.
Is this how you conduct life generally, telling other people that either they are wrong and/or how to do it right?
If it is, i'll bet you are popular.
I promise you, SR, that if you say to-day is Monday, I'll let you know the problem. Are you by any chance a salesman?
Hell no.. salesmen/women try and tell you what you ought to do .I guess you must be one.
Devo-Max: Should Scotland become a Dominion of the English Crown as opposed to a faux Kingdom? Dominionism [sic] worked well for Oz, Canuckland and Kiwiland (though less well for India and the Saffers)....
Are the 21% Don't Knows more likely to break for YES or for NO?
IMHO for NO - because voting to leave is a positive affirmative act. 'Don't know' is a passive indecisive nothingness.
Trend so far has been more Don't Knows go to YES than no.
John Curtice, today:
However some doubt is cast by today’s poll on the degree to which the undecideds are inclining towards a Yes vote. The Yes side’s claims about how voters are gradually moving in their direction have been based in part at least on what they say is the pattern of responses they have obtained when voters have been asked to indicate their attitude towards independence on a scale from 1 to 10 – with 1 meaning they are completely against independence and 10 that they are completely for it. The detailed evidence upon which this claim is based has never been published by Yes Scotland, but the question has now been replicated in today’s poll.
Two points stand out. First, not that many voters are apparently on the cusp of becoming potential Yes supporters. Just 7% place themselves at point 5 on the scale. Even if every single one of them were to be won over (a demanding proposition), the Yes side would still be a point away from victory.
Second, not only are as many as three-quarters of undecided voters willing and able to put themselves on this scale, but, as one might anticipate, nearly two-thirds of those that do put themselves somewhere towards the middle of the scale, that is somewhere between 4 and 7. However, the balance of inclination amongst the undecideds is clearly tilted towards opposition to rather than support for independence. Twice as many put themselves at between 1 and 5 on the scale as position themselves at between 6 and 10. It seems that even on the evidence of its own measure, the Yes side still have a lot of persuading left to do.
Butler-Sloss has conducted a child abuse related inquiry before, into Cleveland, in the late 80s. That experience does make her an obvious candidate for this new inquiry, but only if people are satisfied with the way she handled Cleveland.
Are they, or could Labour and the media use the Cleveland conclusions to attack her suitability for this inquiry? Are there any current political figures who might be embarrassed by reminders of Cleveland, ones who were working in the relevant departments at the time?
Are the 21% Don't Knows more likely to break for YES or for NO?
IMHO for NO - because voting to leave is a positive affirmative act. 'Don't know' is a passive indecisive nothingness.
Trend so far has been more Don't Knows go to YES than no.
John Curtice, today:
However some doubt is cast by today’s poll on the degree to which the undecideds are inclining towards a Yes vote. The Yes side’s claims about how voters are gradually moving in their direction have been based in part at least on what they say is the pattern of responses they have obtained when voters have been asked to indicate their attitude towards independence on a scale from 1 to 10 – with 1 meaning they are completely against independence and 10 that they are completely for it. The detailed evidence upon which this claim is based has never been published by Yes Scotland, but the question has now been replicated in today’s poll.
Two points stand out. First, not that many voters are apparently on the cusp of becoming potential Yes supporters. Just 7% place themselves at point 5 on the scale. Even if every single one of them were to be won over (a demanding proposition), the Yes side would still be a point away from victory.
Second, not only are as many as three-quarters of undecided voters willing and able to put themselves on this scale, but, as one might anticipate, nearly two-thirds of those that do put themselves somewhere towards the middle of the scale, that is somewhere between 4 and 7. However, the balance of inclination amongst the undecideds is clearly tilted towards opposition to rather than support for independence. Twice as many put themselves at between 1 and 5 on the scale as position themselves at between 6 and 10. It seems that even on the evidence of its own measure, the Yes side still have a lot of persuading left to do.
Butler-Sloss has conducted a child abuse related inquiry before, into Cleveland, in the late 80s. That experience does make her an obvious candidate for this new inquiry, but only if people are satisfied with the way she handled Cleveland.
Are they, or could Labour and the media use the Cleveland conclusions to attack her suitability for this inquiry? Are there any current political figures who might be embarrassed by reminders of Cleveland, ones who were working in the relevant departments at the time?
It's not about Labour or Cleveland or even whether Dame EBS would do a bang-up job. Rather, and more importantly, it is about whether the wider public will perceive a conflict of interest given her brother's role as Attorney General in the 1980s government.
Just an aside, but for people who bet on F1 I can recommend playing the recent videogames (I've got a couple but haven't bought one since 2012, on the basis that I don't have that much money/cash to spare and have gotten some good stuff out of the games already).
They're excellent for giving a far better picture (compared to TV) of track undulation and width. That, in turn, helps to convey how easy/hard overtaking is and where accidents are more likely to happen.
@Charles, re: 'I'd strongly recommend Robert Blake's 'The Conservative Party from Peel to Thatcher'. It'll give you a good basic understanding of that which you speak.
There have been multiple attempts to set up a right wing challenger to the Conservatives. Not one of them has survived.
Thanks for the recommendation; I'll check it out. I studied 19th century political history at A level -so I'm not starting from ground zero on this, though I'll admit there are gaps in my knowledge.
UKIP has already gone past the survival stage. It will never be assimilated back into the Conservative party; which has been the party's key strength. It will be like the DUP and UUP. No point in having the diet version when you can have the real thing.
What this Government is chasing is not public security, it is protection from blame if anything goes wrong. Those are not the same thing. One person’s loss of freedom is everybody’s loss of freedom, one person’s loss of privacy is everybody’s loss of privacy. We must stand up for our rights and not succumb to the politics of fear. Otherwise we give those who hate our civilisation an easy victory, without a shot being fired.
Butler-Sloss running the inquiry is going to look like more of the same even if it's not.
The titular head at least should be one of the people who've been pushing for this like Stuart Syvret from Jersey or the ex-plod who did the investigating for the Saville documentaries.
Do they have judicial experience?
If not there would be a very high risk of a miscarriage of justice, especially in such a high profile and emotive case such as this.
Stuart Syvret has recent experience of the Criminal,Justice system....which is not quite the same thing.....
Are the 21% Don't Knows more likely to break for YES or for NO?
IMHO for NO - because voting to leave is a positive affirmative act. 'Don't know' is a passive indecisive nothingness.
Trend so far has been more Don't Knows go to YES than no.
Please supply evidence to support your assertion
Go and look for it yourself, I am not your dogsbody
Just dogs-bodied this year's ICMs...
24/01 - No 44 - Yes 37 - DK 19 21/02 - No 49 - Yes 37 - DK 14 21/03 - No 46 - Yes 39 - DK 15 16/04 - No 42 - Yes 39 - DK 19 15/05 - No 46 - Yes 34 - DK 20 12/06 - No 43 - Yes 36 - DK 21 11/07 - No 45 - Yes 34 - DK 21
I don't see any evidence of Don't Knows switching to anybody. Their numbers only declined between January and February, and the No share increased by the same amount.
Just off to a day on the doorstep so no time for details, but YouGov has some interesting subsidiaries as usual on Sunday. Confidence in the economy has slipped - possibly just an odd sample - and although people are clearly very concerned about the paedophile reports the questions suggest that they aren't reacting quite as violently as one might expect. Lots of don't knows, a reasonable number feeling the Government has responded OK (though as usual in such questions more disagreeing - 34-41). It's not as unambiguous as after the expenses scandal - e.g. 46% think the issue is being examined in a proportionate way vs 29% who think it's overblown, 9% think neither (these are perhaps feeling more should be done) and 16% don't know.
I personally think it's very serious and needs to be completely cleared up if at all possible. But the public don't seem quite as engaged.
Butler-Sloss running the inquiry is going to look like more of the same even if it's not.
The titular head at least should be one of the people who've been pushing for this like Stuart Syvret from Jersey or the ex-plod who did the investigating for the Saville documentaries.
Do they have judicial experience?
If not there would be a very high risk of a miscarriage of justice, especially in such a high profile and emotive case such as this.
that's what i mean by titular (probably not the right word) Tribune-ish
Isn't the NSPCC head on the panel - setting aside the controversy about Butler-Sloss (which I think is unfounded) the composition seems pretty sensible. you can't have anyone too involved in the situation (as a victim, accused, or advocate) on the panel.
What this Government is chasing is not public security, it is protection from blame if anything goes wrong. Those are not the same thing. One person’s loss of freedom is everybody’s loss of freedom, one person’s loss of privacy is everybody’s loss of privacy. We must stand up for our rights and not succumb to the politics of fear. Otherwise we give those who hate our civilisation an easy victory, without a shot being fired.
After any terrorist attack The Daily Wail would be the first to blame the government.
Why are you arguing against your own privacy? Bizarre.
Your privacy operates opn the same principal now as it has always done. Content of correspondence requires a couirt order. The law going through parliament simply replaces an EU directive agreed by Labour in 2006. The fact that this is not now Europe wide is in fact to our detriment.
On the subject of UKIP surviving - you seem to miss the point that it exists as a single issue protest party and has no coherence beyond that. It has yet to be proved it can win parliamentary seats where its individual candidates rather than its loud mouthed and swaggering leader are put under the spotlight. You say you studied 19thC politics. You might be better advised to look into the history of the Labour Party. The Labour Representation Committee was formed in 1900, later that year it had 2 MPs; by 1906 it had 29. It had ministers in govt by 1915. UKIP only exist on the back of a single millionaires funding who is himself obsessed with the EU.
Isn't is nice that a Coalition government is bring the paedophile-scandal out into the open? What is your take on the last mob's (assisted by the Cur of the Met) cover-up (c.f. Operation Ore)...?
Butler-Sloss running the inquiry is going to look like more of the same even if it's not.
The titular head at least should be one of the people who've been pushing for this like Stuart Syvret from Jersey or the ex-plod who did the investigating for the Saville documentaries.
Do they have judicial experience?
If not there would be a very high risk of a miscarriage of justice, especially in such a high profile and emotive case such as this.
that's what i mean by titular (probably not the right word) Tribune-ish
Isn't the NSPCC head on the panel - setting aside the controversy about Butler-Sloss (which I think is unfounded) the composition seems pretty sensible. you can't have anyone too involved in the situation (as a victim, accused, or advocate) on the panel.
I guess that's the intention and maybe that'll be fine. Hard to say. I'm guessing that an inquiry into the possibility of an establishment cover-up can't look too establishment but who knows where the cut-off point is.
edit: not as important as immunity from the official secrets act for evidence solely related to the inquiry though.
@Charles, re: 'I'd strongly recommend Robert Blake's 'The Conservative Party from Peel to Thatcher'. It'll give you a good basic understanding of that which you speak.
There have been multiple attempts to set up a right wing challenger to the Conservatives. Not one of them has survived.
Thanks for the recommendation; I'll check it out. I studied 19th century political history at A level -so I'm not starting from ground zero on this, though I'll admit there are gaps in my knowledge.
UKIP has already gone past the survival stage. It will never be assimilated back into the Conservative party; which has been the party's key strength. It will be like the DUP and UUP. No point in having the diet version when you can have the real thing.
That's what the Ditchers or the anti-Catholics thought.
The party may not, but its members and supporters will
Looking back the YES score (excluding don’t knows) in ICM’s monthly Scottish polls this year have been 46%, 43%, 46%, 48%, 43%, 46% and now 43%. That looks to me like just random variation.
After any terrorist attack The Daily Wail would be the first to blame the government.
Why are you arguing against your own privacy? Bizarre.
Your privacy operates opn the same principal now as it has always done. Content of correspondence requires a couirt order. The law going through parliament simply replaces an EU directive agreed by Labour in 2006. The fact that this is not now Europe wide is in fact to our detriment.
On the subject of UKIP surviving - you seem to miss the point that it exists as a single issue protest party and has no coherence beyond that. It has yet to be proved it can win parliamentary seats where its individual candidates rather than its loud mouthed and swaggering leader are put under the spotlight. You say you studied 19thC politics. You might be better advised to look into the history of the Labour Party. The Labour Representation Committee was formed in 1900, later that year it had 2 MPs; by 1906 it had 29. It had ministers in govt by 1915. UKIP only exist on the back of a single millionaires funding who is himself obsessed with the EU.
Labour only had MPs because the Liberals took Labour under their wing. Until 1918, they didn't even have a national policy platform. Labour was in effect a majority-owned subsidiary of the Liberal Party until the later stages of WWI.
As it turned out, giving Labour so much breathing space turned out to be a gross strategic error for the Liberals - but only because they themselves split, firstly between Asquithites and LG supporters and then on the formation of the National Government, so giving Labour the main chance to become the main opposition. The Liberals' strategy had been to seek to amalgamate them within their coalition, rather at the Conservatives did with first the Liberal Unionists and later the National Liberals; a strategy that wasn't of itself fundamentally flawed.
Will UKIP survive beyond and above the political fringe? That depends on many things, two of which are how the UK's relationship with the EU develops over the next five or ten years, and whether UKIP can establish themselves as a meaningful party beyond their European context. It also requires other parties giving them enough space to prosper. It would be foolish to be too confident either way.
Are the 21% Don't Knows more likely to break for YES or for NO?
IMHO for NO - because voting to leave is a positive affirmative act. 'Don't know' is a passive indecisive nothingness.
Trend so far has been more Don't Knows go to YES than no.
John Curtice, today:
However some doubt is cast by today’s poll on the degree to which the undecideds are inclining towards a Yes vote. The Yes side’s claims about how voters are gradually moving in their direction have been based in part at least on what they say is the pattern of responses they have obtained when voters have been asked to indicate their attitude towards independence on a scale from 1 to 10 – with 1 meaning they are completely against independence and 10 that they are completely for it. The detailed evidence upon which this claim is based has never been published by Yes Scotland, but the question has now been replicated in today’s poll.
Two points stand out. First, not that many voters are apparently on the cusp of becoming potential Yes supporters. Just 7% place themselves at point 5 on the scale. Even if every single one of them were to be won over (a demanding proposition), the Yes side would still be a point away from victory.
Second, not only are as many as three-quarters of undecided voters willing and able to put themselves on this scale, but, as one might anticipate, nearly two-thirds of those that do put themselves somewhere towards the middle of the scale, that is somewhere between 4 and 7. However, the balance of inclination amongst the undecideds is clearly tilted towards opposition to rather than support for independence. Twice as many put themselves at between 1 and 5 on the scale as position themselves at between 6 and 10. It seems that even on the evidence of its own measure, the Yes side still have a lot of persuading left to do.
Are the 21% Don't Knows more likely to break for YES or for NO?
IMHO for NO - because voting to leave is a positive affirmative act. 'Don't know' is a passive indecisive nothingness.
Trend so far has been more Don't Knows go to YES than no.
John Curtice, today:
However some doubt is cast by today’s poll on the degree to which the undecideds are inclining towards a Yes vote. The Yes side’s claims about how voters are gradually moving in their direction have been based in part at least on what they say is the pattern of responses they have obtained when voters have been asked to indicate their attitude towards independence on a scale from 1 to 10 – with 1 meaning they are completely against independence and 10 that they are completely for it. The detailed evidence upon which this claim is based has never been published by Yes Scotland, but the question has now been replicated in today’s poll.
Two points stand out. First, not that many voters are apparently on the cusp of becoming potential Yes supporters. Just 7% place themselves at point 5 on the scale. Even if every single one of them were to be won over (a demanding proposition), the Yes side would still be a point away from victory.
Second, not only are as many as three-quarters of undecided voters willing and able to put themselves on this scale, but, as one might anticipate, nearly two-thirds of those that do put themselves somewhere towards the middle of the scale, that is somewhere between 4 and 7. However, the balance of inclination amongst the undecideds is clearly tilted towards opposition to rather than support for independence. Twice as many put themselves at between 1 and 5 on the scale as position themselves at between 6 and 10. It seems that even on the evidence of its own measure, the Yes side still have a lot of persuading left to do.
So why has the Yes vote risen over the last 9 months, is it due to DK's going to NO. What he is saying there is people who are still DK's, doh.
The question was about the remaining "Don't knows" - who are not trending to yes, according to Curtice.....
That famous unionist who can see into the future...............Yawn
ICM have replicated the methodology that YESNP have been using to claim that DK are breaking to Y - and found the reverse to be true - well, there's a surprise!
Daily Wail have an interesting story about Farage showing the tories a glimpse of ankle in terms of a deal. 'Give us free reign in 20 seats and we'll give you the rest'
Cameron won't go for it of course. He'd far rather get hammered on his own terms.
Looking back the YES score (excluding don’t knows) in ICM’s monthly Scottish polls this year have been 46%, 43%, 46%, 48%, 43%, 46% and now 43%. That looks to me like just random variation.
Exactly what I have been saying for months , Yes is and has been toast for ages , people made their minds up ages ago and the majority did so to reject Independence . Random poll variations suggesting movement one way or the other are just that random variations from a position showing a clear No win .
Daily Wail have an interesting story about Farage showing the tories a glimpse of ankle in terms of a deal. 'Give us free reign in 20 seats and we'll give you the rest'
Cameron won't go for it of course. He'd far rather get hammered on his own terms.
Cameron would be an idiot to go for it.
The worst thing he could do for the Conservative Party would be to give UKIP a clear run at winning seats. If they win 1 seat it can be laughed off as a flash in the pan. If they win 5 or 10 they are here to stay.
Daily Wail have an interesting story about Farage showing the tories a glimpse of ankle in terms of a deal. 'Give us free reign in 20 seats and we'll give you the rest'
Cameron won't go for it of course. He'd far rather get hammered on his own terms.
Kippers and Yes rampers both clutching at straws, while time ticks on to their electoral doom.
Looking back the YES score (excluding don’t knows) in ICM’s monthly Scottish polls this year have been 46%, 43%, 46%, 48%, 43%, 46% and now 43%. That looks to me like just random variation.
Exactly what I have been saying for months , Yes is and has been toast for ages , people made their minds up ages ago and the majority did so to reject Independence . Random poll variations suggesting movement one way or the other are just that random variations from a position showing a clear No win .
Salmond has engineered a No win situation because he's failed to make the economic case. It's the economy, Eck.
Kippers and Yes rampers both clutching at straws, while time ticks on to their electoral doom.
Yes I sensed there was a note of weakness from Farage there. But the tories probably do syphon off some votes in areas like Grimsby and Rotherham, that could make a difference, I suppose.
Daily Wail have an interesting story about Farage showing the tories a glimpse of ankle in terms of a deal. 'Give us free reign in 20 seats and we'll give you the rest'
Cameron won't go for it of course. He'd far rather get hammered on his own terms.
Cameron would be an idiot to go for it.
The worst thing he could do for the Conservative Party would be to give UKIP a clear run at winning seats. If they win 1 seat it can be laughed off as a flash in the pan. If they win 5 or 10 they are here to stay.
Perhaps he should give him free reign in 20 Labour strongholds?
Are the 21% Don't Knows more likely to break for YES or for NO?
IMHO for NO - because voting to leave is a positive affirmative act. 'Don't know' is a passive indecisive nothingness.
Trend so far has been more Don't Knows go to YES than no.
Please supply evidence to support your assertion
Go and look for it yourself, I am not your dogsbody
So you are admitting that what you are asserting is your false and hopeful wishes and not the truth tested by fact.
I am saying F Off and look it up yourself,
As usual, those you are just rude and blaspheme are actually revealing to all their total ignorance about the subject, Just keep taking the pills and yoi should get better.
Looking back the YES score (excluding don’t knows) in ICM’s monthly Scottish polls this year have been 46%, 43%, 46%, 48%, 43%, 46% and now 43%. That looks to me like just random variation.
Exactly what I have been saying for months , Yes is and has been toast for ages , people made their minds up ages ago and the majority did so to reject Independence . Random poll variations suggesting movement one way or the other are just that random variations from a position showing a clear No win .
Salmond has engineered a No win situation because he's failed to make the economic case. It's the economy, Eck.
The Scottish economy is better within the widr EU. It is better able to sustain the inevitable ups and downs (clearly the potential for big downs) as part of the UK. Above all how can it sustain an independent currency? Saying it would be a user of the pound or euro merely shoots the independence case in the foot. It has always and obviously been that way. Scotland is also understating the case for its defence costs. It has shipyards capable of building the entire RN, there is no work for them in an independent country. Who would design their ships. Where would they recruit and retain their officers and NCO's from? How would they maintain their airforce (Norway had 80+ fast jets and is proposing to buy the F35). They could but at what cost?
"Your privacy operates upon the same principal now as it has always done. Content of correspondence requires a court order"
If only that were true there wouldn't be half the fuss. Alas it is not true. Access to the content of correspondence does require a warrant, one issued by a government minister.
It is true that there is independent oversight post issue and the overseer has consistently issued reports giving the process a clean bill of health and, personally, am inclined to believe those reports. I'd still prefer to see independence in the process of issuing a warrant, and a nominated High court judge or two would be much preferable to a secretary of state.
It is the other side of the coin that seems to be completely out of control. Access to so-called metadata (who is talking to who) is open to just about any government agency, local central and quango, and requires no more authorisation than a nod from a nominated person (often quite junior) within the organisation. The new bill will we are told tighten up on this but nowhere near enough in my view.
That said, I should say that the Overseer in his last report seems to be satisfied that this element is also working well. I don't doubt his word but I do question whether he has done enough research to come to a properly justified conclusion (there are hundreds of thousands of these cases each year and some abuse will be going on). As a fine point of interest many "investigative" agencies do seem to use analysis of call data as a routine rather than a targeted tool in fact it sometimes it seems almost a displacement activity.
@Charles, re: 'I'd strongly recommend Robert Blake's 'The Conservative Party from Peel to Thatcher'. It'll give you a good basic understanding of that which you speak.
There have been multiple attempts to set up a right wing challenger to the Conservatives. Not one of them has survived.
Thanks for the recommendation; I'll check it out. I studied 19th century political history at A level -so I'm not starting from ground zero on this, though I'll admit there are gaps in my knowledge.
UKIP has already gone past the survival stage. It will never be assimilated back into the Conservative party; which has been the party's key strength. It will be like the DUP and UUP. No point in having the diet version when you can have the real thing.
That's what the Ditchers or the anti-Catholics thought.
The party may not, but its members and supporters will
Wishful thinking I'm afraid. The Conservative Party (the leadership, not the rank and file) have abandoned the idea of assimilating UKIP or its views, preferring the brilliant weeze of isolating them and letting them 'detoxify' the Tory brand. Sensible in the short run but disastrously short sighted in the long run -it allows UKIP space to thrive and grow. The Whigs/Liberals had a similar proud story of hundreds of years of survival -it didn't stop them being outflanked and ignominiously destroyed by Labour in the 20th century. You will notice it's always on the outside -you can't 'in-flank' something. The SDP will tell you that.
Daily Wail have an interesting story about Farage showing the tories a glimpse of ankle in terms of a deal. 'Give us free reign in 20 seats and we'll give you the rest'
Cameron won't go for it of course. He'd far rather get hammered on his own terms.
Kippers and Yes rampers both clutching at straws, while time ticks on to their electoral doom.
Thats how the Labour Party started, much good it did the Liberals. Farage seems a bit desperate. And of course it would nor work - the anti UKIP faction would vote against them.
Comments
At the moment, the gap between the second party and the third is still sufficiently large for the two-party game to remain in place as far as Westminster is concerned but if Labour does win and starts upsetting its 2015 voters? We've seen from the Lib Dems how voters can react if they feel betrayed by the party they voted for. 6-8% of Labour's *current* support is from exactly that source: take them away and you're down to the mid-twenties before you even get to more natural Labour support. Add in deficit reduction, cuts and the other challenges of office and you can comfortably knock off the same again for a mid-term score. That simply won't be enough to keep them in the first division.
40% - 45% Yes Vote ....... Stake 58% at 9/4 (3.25 decimal)
35% - 40% Tes Vote ....... Stake 42% at 7/2 (4.50 decimal)
To me, at least, this appears a safer proposition than betting above or below the Yes Vote line, pitched by the bookies at between 42.5% - 43.5% which provides winning odds similar to those above, but as ever DYOR.
2 days 1 hour 30 minutes
TheSunday Times :
"Police probe Fifa over $100m scam"
Are the top Honchos within that organisation simply untouchable?
Talk about Teflon, ducks' backs, etc., these guys are simply in a different league.
The (until recent) decline in Labour support does not mirror, but seems compatible with UKIP's ascent, whereas their recent uptick seems to mirror a decline in LibDem support.
Conservative support has waxed and waned over 12 months, but has otherwise had a consistency. Much of the waxing and waning seems to mirror the UKIP equivalent.
I am guessing that the recent fall off in UKIP support reflects the party being out of the limelight of late.
5-poll chart...
http://www.mediafire.com/view/j1hjxih417zpyu8/5-Poll_130714.jpg
10-poll chart...
http://www.mediafire.com/view/kr2bx5anbqshkn3/10-Poll_130714.jpg
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/margaret-thatcher-personally-covered-up-3848836
"The Tory Prime Minister is said to have held a meeting with a rising star, who was tipped for promotion, and told him: “You have to clean up your sexual act”"
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/victims-alleged-child-abuse-raped-3848589
"Victims of alleged child abuse 'raped by MPs in exclusive flats near House of Commons'"
Ed is crap is PM. Every poll in June and July has EICIPM 9.75 months to go.
Betfair Lab most seats shortening from 1.95 to 1.88. Price on Ed is crap is next PM is evs. on Betfair
The titular head at least should be one of the people who've been pushing for this like Stuart Syvret from Jersey or the ex-plod who did the investigating for the Saville documentaries.
What we don't yet know is if ICM have changed their methodology to introduce a "Shy No" upweighting of the No figure.
Hard to see Yes winning. But, other polls (well, one at least) has No with a much smaller lead. It's not a done deal.
FPT: Mr. Toms, sounds like an interesting book.
Mr. Freggles, cheers for that answer.
IMHO for NO - because voting to leave is a positive affirmative act. 'Don't know' is a passive indecisive nothingness.
Betting Post
Backed Karlovic to beat Hewitt 2-0 in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at 3.5 (Betfair).
Had initially planned to back him for the win at evens, but upon checking saw that every time he's beaten Hewitt (against whom he has a 4:1 record) in a best of three match he's done so without dropping a seat. His recent history shows very few instances of winning whilst dropping sets as well.
It will be interesting to see if the figure shrinks, closer to the actual vote. Perhaps PfP is correct in that quite a few don't care, rather than don't know.
It looks like large wads of notes have recently been slapped down.
That's really what "Don't Know" is this case: sympathetic to the concept, but the SNP really haven't managed to make a convincing case.
Not unlike betting, a nice aspect of politics is that there's (usually) a clear result, one way or the other.
It's just people unwilling to face the truth; the polling is legion and the results failry static, "no" retains a solid lead.
The polls are the polls.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/13/labour-peer-letters-boy-questions
A "witch hunt"........
In the context of cover up allegations.......
Yes backer can have 7/1 on 50-55% which seems better value than 9/2 on Yes. In the unlikely event of a yes win it would surely fall into this band.
I am already deep in the Lab most seats all at 1.91 to 1.95 so not tempted by the £11
She was not amused, but even though I've stopped drinking in the meantime (and long before pb.com was thought of) I would say the same thing to-day.
Polling only looks easy.
No wonder she wasn't pleased.
Is this how you conduct life generally, telling other people that either they are wrong and/or how to do it right?
If it is, i'll bet you are popular.
Better would be "who will be PM on 1st June 2015."
To win "most seats" therefore requires a tally of approx 293 seats, which is therefore 33 seats short of winning an overall majority of at least 326 seats.
With the odds on Labour winning "most seats", best-priced at 0.836/1 net with Betfair's exchange platform, my attention has turned instead to the overall majority market, where the same firm's odds are a best-priced 2.23/1 net, therefore offering a 167% better Return on Investment if successful. DYOR.
If not there would be a very high risk of a miscarriage of justice, especially in such a high profile and emotive case such as this.
But 5 years out that is as silly as 'if there was an election tomorrow'.
Given that the question is trying to gauge current opinion then it should be framed to reflect that.
However this issue does seem to put into question the ability of polls to reflect an election result several months and years out.
What this Government is chasing is not public security, it is protection from blame if anything goes wrong. Those are not the same thing.
One person’s loss of freedom is everybody’s loss of freedom, one person’s loss of privacy is everybody’s loss of privacy. We must stand up for our rights and not succumb to the politics of fear. Otherwise we give those who hate our civilisation an easy victory, without a shot being fired.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2690181/David-Davis-devastating-attack-loss-privacy-This-data-law-catching-terrorists-lust-power.html#ixzz37Kkv5zSu
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-15557742
That said, some of that fickleness seems to disappear when things get serious, such as the economy going west, or the prospect of separation.
However some doubt is cast by today’s poll on the degree to which the undecideds are inclining towards a Yes vote. The Yes side’s claims about how voters are gradually moving in their direction have been based in part at least on what they say is the pattern of responses they have obtained when voters have been asked to indicate their attitude towards independence on a scale from 1 to 10 – with 1 meaning they are completely against independence and 10 that they are completely for it. The detailed evidence upon which this claim is based has never been published by Yes Scotland, but the question has now been replicated in today’s poll.
Two points stand out. First, not that many voters are apparently on the cusp of becoming potential Yes supporters. Just 7% place themselves at point 5 on the scale. Even if every single one of them were to be won over (a demanding proposition), the Yes side would still be a point away from victory.
Second, not only are as many as three-quarters of undecided voters willing and able to put themselves on this scale, but, as one might anticipate, nearly two-thirds of those that do put themselves somewhere towards the middle of the scale, that is somewhere between 4 and 7. However, the balance of inclination amongst the undecideds is clearly tilted towards opposition to rather than support for independence. Twice as many put themselves at between 1 and 5 on the scale as position themselves at between 6 and 10. It seems that even on the evidence of its own measure, the Yes side still have a lot of persuading left to do.
http://blog.whatscotlandthinks.org/2014/07/icm-views-on-the-issues-are-proving-difficult-to-shift/
Devo-Max: Should Scotland become a Dominion of the English Crown as opposed to a faux Kingdom? Dominionism [sic] worked well for Oz, Canuckland and Kiwiland (though less well for India and the Saffers)....
What he is saying there is people who are still DK's, doh.
Are they, or could Labour and the media use the Cleveland conclusions to attack her suitability for this inquiry? Are there any current political figures who might be embarrassed by reminders of Cleveland, ones who were working in the relevant departments at the time?
Not sure of the time. I'd guess the early hours tomorrow morning.
They're excellent for giving a far better picture (compared to TV) of track undulation and width. That, in turn, helps to convey how easy/hard overtaking is and where accidents are more likely to happen.
There have been multiple attempts to set up a right wing challenger to the Conservatives. Not one of them has survived.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Conservative-Party-Peel-Thatcher/dp/0006860036'
Thanks for the recommendation; I'll check it out. I studied 19th century political history at A level -so I'm not starting from ground zero on this, though I'll admit there are gaps in my knowledge.
UKIP has already gone past the survival stage. It will never be assimilated back into the Conservative party; which has been the party's key strength. It will be like the DUP and UUP. No point in having the diet version when you can have the real thing.
24/01 - No 44 - Yes 37 - DK 19
21/02 - No 49 - Yes 37 - DK 14
21/03 - No 46 - Yes 39 - DK 15
16/04 - No 42 - Yes 39 - DK 19
15/05 - No 46 - Yes 34 - DK 20
12/06 - No 43 - Yes 36 - DK 21
11/07 - No 45 - Yes 34 - DK 21
I don't see any evidence of Don't Knows switching to anybody. Their numbers only declined between January and February, and the No share increased by the same amount.
I personally think it's very serious and needs to be completely cleared up if at all possible. But the public don't seem quite as engaged.
On the subject of UKIP surviving - you seem to miss the point that it exists as a single issue protest party and has no coherence beyond that. It has yet to be proved it can win parliamentary seats where its individual candidates rather than its loud mouthed and swaggering leader are put under the spotlight. You say you studied 19thC politics. You might be better advised to look into the history of the Labour Party. The Labour Representation Committee was formed in 1900, later that year it had 2 MPs; by 1906 it had 29. It had ministers in govt by 1915.
UKIP only exist on the back of a single millionaires funding who is himself obsessed with the EU.
Isn't is nice that a Coalition government is bring the paedophile-scandal out into the open? What is your take on the last mob's (assisted by the Cur of the Met) cover-up (c.f. Operation Ore)...?
edit: not as important as immunity from the official secrets act for evidence solely related to the inquiry though.
The party may not, but its members and supporters will
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nkTLEvL8IRQ/UZNIT-qF2JI/AAAAAAAAADA/UCkjxcuCXyc/s1600/InfiniteStairs0260.jpg
Looking back the YES score (excluding don’t knows) in ICM’s monthly Scottish polls this year have been 46%, 43%, 46%, 48%, 43%, 46% and now 43%. That looks to me like just random variation.
http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/8895
As it turned out, giving Labour so much breathing space turned out to be a gross strategic error for the Liberals - but only because they themselves split, firstly between Asquithites and LG supporters and then on the formation of the National Government, so giving Labour the main chance to become the main opposition. The Liberals' strategy had been to seek to amalgamate them within their coalition, rather at the Conservatives did with first the Liberal Unionists and later the National Liberals; a strategy that wasn't of itself fundamentally flawed.
Will UKIP survive beyond and above the political fringe? That depends on many things, two of which are how the UK's relationship with the EU develops over the next five or ten years, and whether UKIP can establish themselves as a meaningful party beyond their European context. It also requires other parties giving them enough space to prosper. It would be foolish to be too confident either way.
Cameron won't go for it of course. He'd far rather get hammered on his own terms.
The worst thing he could do for the Conservative Party would be to give UKIP a clear run at winning seats. If they win 1 seat it can be laughed off as a flash in the pan. If they win 5 or 10 they are here to stay.
Yes I sensed there was a note of weakness from Farage there. But the tories probably do syphon off some votes in areas like Grimsby and Rotherham, that could make a difference, I suppose.
UKIP claim they take votes from everyone.
Scotland is also understating the case for its defence costs. It has shipyards capable of building the entire RN, there is no work for them in an independent country. Who would design their ships. Where would they recruit and retain their officers and NCO's from? How would they maintain their airforce (Norway had 80+ fast jets and is proposing to buy the F35). They could but at what cost?
"Your privacy operates upon the same principal now as it has always done. Content of correspondence requires a court order"
If only that were true there wouldn't be half the fuss. Alas it is not true. Access to the content of correspondence does require a warrant, one issued by a government minister.
It is true that there is independent oversight post issue and the overseer has consistently issued reports giving the process a clean bill of health and, personally, am inclined to believe those reports. I'd still prefer to see independence in the process of issuing a warrant, and a nominated High court judge or two would be much preferable to a secretary of state.
It is the other side of the coin that seems to be completely out of control. Access to so-called metadata (who is talking to who) is open to just about any government agency, local central and quango, and requires no more authorisation than a nod from a nominated person (often quite junior) within the organisation. The new bill will we are told tighten up on this but nowhere near enough in my view.
That said, I should say that the Overseer in his last report seems to be satisfied that this element is also working well. I don't doubt his word but I do question whether he has done enough research to come to a properly justified conclusion (there are hundreds of thousands of these cases each year and some abuse will be going on). As a fine point of interest many "investigative" agencies do seem to use analysis of call data as a routine rather than a targeted tool in fact it sometimes it seems almost a displacement activity.
short sighted in the long run -it allows UKIP space to thrive and grow. The Whigs/Liberals had a similar proud story of hundreds of years of survival -it didn't stop them being outflanked and ignominiously destroyed by Labour in the 20th century. You will notice it's always on the outside -you can't 'in-flank' something. The SDP will tell you that.