...and Redward is even more a member of the political class than Dave...
He's ahead by default not on the back of some positive choice for him or for Labour.
What we're witnessing is the wholesale rejection of our political class by the man on the Clapham Omnibus. Maybe UKIP will do alot better in 2015 than we think.
Daniel Hannan wrote a very interesting and intelligent article on this the other day saying that selecting candidates via primaries for EVERY election would remove the problem. No more safe seats, no more chumocracy, no more disconnect between MPs and their electorate. I tend to agree. Requiring candidates for every seat to be selected / reselected every time by primary would be a truly liberating move.
On Cameron: the Conservatives are, through stupidity, making a mistake akin to that Labour did with Brown (only even more stupid because there were one or two credible alternatives to Brown and Cameron's an electoral asset). They're continually him and the party in the public eyes, but slowly, and not sufficiently to force him out and replace him. Nobody gains from this except their opponents.
Mr. Patrick, that does sound good, but the downsides must be that certain areas (very strong for the opposing party) could deliberately influence the vote to get bad candidates selected, and wouldn't the cost be prohibitive?
I know all tele blog comments should be treated with extreme caution however a recent one states 'Muslim's are burning Stockholm'. Any shred of veracity in this?
" I think Dave's whole strategy was based on an assumption that there was nowhere else for voters of the right to go "
Its the 'let them eat cake' arrogance of the aristocrat towards the peasantry.
To the Cameroons Conservative activists and voters aren't to be listened to or shown any loyalty. To do so would be to admit that they are equals whereas the whole mentality of Cameroonism is "we are superior, you are inferior, therefore we will decide and you will obey".
And it is absolutely WAY too hard for a normal person to become an MP. The system pretty much excludes all but the nerdiest lifelong geeks from getting a chance. Candidate selection is a problem.
BTW has any other PBer been watching Sky News ? I tuned in at just before 6.00am and at 8.05am there has still not been any other televised report than the Oklahoma tornado story.
" I think Dave's whole strategy was based on an assumption that there was nowhere else for voters of the right to go "
Its the 'let them eat cake' arrogance of the aristocrat towards the peasantry.
To the Cameroons Conservative activists and voters aren't to be listened to or shown any loyalty. To do so would be to admit that they are equals whereas the whole mentality of Cameroonism is "we are superior, you are inferior, therefore we will decide and you will obey".
I feel that this is an affliction that is affecting all three main parties but where do disaffected LD's and Labs go?
I know all tele blog comments should be treated with extreme caution however a recent one states 'Muslim's are burning Stockholm'. Any shred of veracity in this?
BTW has any other PBer been watching Sky News ? I tuned in at just before 6.00am and at 8.05am there has still not been any other televised report than the Oklahoma tornado story.
I agree. I gave up in disgust after the news recycled after about 30 mins. Even the beeb had more 'normal' news than Sky this morning.
Thing is - the plebs can outvote the snobs. So being a snob is a surefire losing strategy in the long run. Best to emulate her Magginess and keep them onside. Wisdom of crowds and all that....Dave has yet to learn.
Sky News appear to invested plenty of staff and money to the story and clearly want a return. But they are going round in circles interviewing every man and his dog to the exclusion of every other home and international story.
Sky News appear to invested plenty of staff and money to the story and clearly want a return. But they are going round in circles interviewing every man and his dog to the exclusion of every other home and international story.
I wonder if they mobilised their troops after the death toll reportedly leapt from 51 to 90+ and the thought was that this was going to be a major tragedy. Now the number of victims has dropped to mid 20's they have all the troops on the ground and nothing really to report apart from material destruction.
Thing is - the plebs can outvote the snobs. So being a snob is a surefire losing strategy in the long run. Best to emulate her Magginess and keep them onside. Wisdom of crowds and all that....Dave has yet to learn.
The inevitable consequence of outspokeness among the plebs is the snobs revealing their hatred of them.
So in this month alone we've had "clowns", "life's losers" and "swivel eyed loons".
At some point the plebs either reach for their pitchforks or just leave.
Remember the plantation in Gone With The Wind when all the slaves have gone and the O'Hara girls having to pick their cotton themselves.
That could be the equivalent of the Conservatives by 2015.
Nick Clegg could hardly say much else so far as the main headline is concerned, but he is explicitly going to rule out something that has been much-touted on here:
"He will suggest that claims it would be in either or both parties' interests to "prematurely pull the plug" are wrong.
Voters "will not forgive either party if we call time ahead of the election that has been legislated for in 2015 - destabilising the nation in the vague hope of short-term political gain", Mr Clegg will say.
It would not work for the Lib Dems to try to "pull the wool over people's eyes" and win back critics of the coalition deal by quitting six months early.
"And, frankly, that isn't what we want. The Liberal Democrats look forward to fighting the next election as a party of government, on our record in government, and with a distinct vision of our own for the next government - having seen this one through until the end." "
Seems that people generally are unimpressed. It may go over better with those who are very casual gamers or like more integrated systems, but more than one person has derisively noted that the new Xbox will enable people to watch TV on their TV.
And it is absolutely WAY too hard for a normal person to become an MP. The system pretty much excludes all but the nerdiest lifelong geeks from getting a chance. Candidate selection is a problem.
Not sure that's true. You don't really have to be an obsessed geek, but you do need to be persistent when you go for it. It's like any other job would be for which there are only say 50-100 vacancies in the whole of Britain (seats winnable for your party that don't have a sitting MP/candidate). When you're ready to go, you systematically apply for every seat in turn, and hope to get lucky.
I'd done very little politically before 1997 - a token effort in 1983, then got distracted by love, IT career, family issues, etc. I applied to 18 seats in 1995, came nowhere in the first 14, 3rd in a couple, 2nd in Newark, and then got Broxtowe for no particular reason except that my speech worked on the night. I had zero connections either in the party or the constituency, but many Labour members are quite open-minded and willing to consider keen newcomers and I doubt if the other parties are really that different.
Have you tried? I bet you could at least get on your local council if you put your mind to it. (Whether you'd enjoy it is another matter!)
Sky News appear to invested plenty of staff and money to the story and clearly want a return. But they are going round in circles interviewing every man and his dog to the exclusion of every other home and international story.
I wonder if they mobilised their troops after the death toll reportedly leapt from 51 to 90+ and the thought was that this was going to be a major tragedy. Now the number of victims has dropped to mid 20's they have all the troops on the ground and nothing really to report apart from material destruction.
Quite so. I'd also endorse "antifranks" comment on griefhawks. Sky News clearly know their market and pander accordingly.
" I think Dave's whole strategy was based on an assumption that there was nowhere else for voters of the right to go "
Its the 'let them eat cake' arrogance of the aristocrat towards the peasantry.
To the Cameroons Conservative activists and voters aren't to be listened to or shown any loyalty. To do so would be to admit that they are equals whereas the whole mentality of Cameroonism is "we are superior, you are inferior, therefore we will decide and you will obey".
I feel that this is an affliction that is affecting all three main parties but where do disaffected LD's and Labs go?
Imagine how much fun it would be if, just for this week only, Geoffrey Dickens, Nicholas Fairbairn and Dame Elaine Kellett-Bowman were still MPs. The possibility that they might explode with paroxysms of apoplexy in the middle of the debate would be a sight to behold.
Definitely miss Nicky Fairburn! Mind you it depends which one turned up. Sober, he was so sharp that you didn’t feel the stilletto passing through your ribs. Personally, I think he was wasted (no pun intended) in Westminster but then again there was not a lot left to do in Scotland for him.
He was liked and respected in Scotland, by friend and foe alike which takes some doing.
Comments
He's ahead by default not on the back of some positive choice for him or for Labour.
What we're witnessing is the wholesale rejection of our political class by the man on the Clapham Omnibus. Maybe UKIP will do alot better in 2015 than we think.
Daniel Hannan wrote a very interesting and intelligent article on this the other day saying that selecting candidates via primaries for EVERY election would remove the problem. No more safe seats, no more chumocracy, no more disconnect between MPs and their electorate. I tend to agree. Requiring candidates for every seat to be selected / reselected every time by primary would be a truly liberating move.
Mr. Patrick, you failed to mention future Conservative leader Justine Greening. Most remiss of you.
*sighs* the 2 comments so far are spam, alas, but early discussion of Monaco is here: http://politicalbetting.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/monaco-early-discussion.html
I hope the spam doesn't persist.
On Cameron: the Conservatives are, through stupidity, making a mistake akin to that Labour did with Brown (only even more stupid because there were one or two credible alternatives to Brown and Cameron's an electoral asset). They're continually him and the party in the public eyes, but slowly, and not sufficiently to force him out and replace him. Nobody gains from this except their opponents.
My humble grovelling apologies! I shall bend over for a wifflesticking.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21346694
Its the 'let them eat cake' arrogance of the aristocrat towards the peasantry.
To the Cameroons Conservative activists and voters aren't to be listened to or shown any loyalty. To do so would be to admit that they are equals whereas the whole mentality of Cameroonism is "we are superior, you are inferior, therefore we will decide and you will obey".
You are all heart tim. Its no wonder GB never went down that line. And your hero wrote some toe curling stuff in his autobiography.....
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4-arrested-after-more-riots-stockholm-suburb
Thing is - the plebs can outvote the snobs. So being a snob is a surefire losing strategy in the long run. Best to emulate her Magginess and keep them onside. Wisdom of crowds and all that....Dave has yet to learn.
Sky News appear to invested plenty of staff and money to the story and clearly want a return. But they are going round in circles interviewing every man and his dog to the exclusion of every other home and international story.
So in this month alone we've had "clowns", "life's losers" and "swivel eyed loons".
At some point the plebs either reach for their pitchforks or just leave.
Remember the plantation in Gone With The Wind when all the slaves have gone and the O'Hara girls having to pick their cotton themselves.
That could be the equivalent of the Conservatives by 2015.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22613209
Nick Clegg could hardly say much else so far as the main headline is concerned, but he is explicitly going to rule out something that has been much-touted on here:
"He will suggest that claims it would be in either or both parties' interests to "prematurely pull the plug" are wrong.
Voters "will not forgive either party if we call time ahead of the election that has been legislated for in 2015 - destabilising the nation in the vague hope of short-term political gain", Mr Clegg will say.
It would not work for the Lib Dems to try to "pull the wool over people's eyes" and win back critics of the coalition deal by quitting six months early.
"And, frankly, that isn't what we want. The Liberal Democrats look forward to fighting the next election as a party of government, on our record in government, and with a distinct vision of our own for the next government - having seen this one through until the end." "
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22613948
Seems that people generally are unimpressed. It may go over better with those who are very casual gamers or like more integrated systems, but more than one person has derisively noted that the new Xbox will enable people to watch TV on their TV.
I'd done very little politically before 1997 - a token effort in 1983, then got distracted by love, IT career, family issues, etc. I applied to 18 seats in 1995, came nowhere in the first 14, 3rd in a couple, 2nd in Newark, and then got Broxtowe for no particular reason except that my speech worked on the night. I had zero connections either in the party or the constituency, but many Labour members are quite open-minded and willing to consider keen newcomers and I doubt if the other parties are really that different.
Have you tried? I bet you could at least get on your local council if you put your mind to it. (Whether you'd enjoy it is another matter!)
Did they play my favourite "Master and Servant"?
They've never played that all the times I've seen them.
This says it all about the XBox one
Sony stock jumps 9% after Xbox One reveal
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a483500/sony-stock-jumps-9-percent-after-xbox-one-reveal.html
I think Microsoft is down 0.5%.
I'm writing a blog piece about the consoles. They've all done something stupid, but Microsoft is the market leader.
He was liked and respected in Scotland, by friend and foe alike which takes some doing.