If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
He's one of the more sensible Cabinet Ministers around - spoke very well at a function I hosted back end of last year.
I might even rejoin the party to vote for him ;-)
My Mum would join the Tories if he became leader and she hates the Tories.
My Mum just despairs of them. Although she did get to run one of their open primaries, precisely because she is a well-known non-Tory :-)
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
I agree completely - but when it comes to a scenario where conservative party members are sitting at home pondering their postal ballot, I'm just not sure Javid can really win.
Sorry to say it!
Nah - the ones whose pens would hover have all gone to UKIP.....
Following on from my stunning 9/1 winning bet on England's 2-0 victory this evening, I'd now like to share another attractive betting opportunity with fellow PBers. If, like SeanT, you believe there is every prospect of Cameron resigning in the event of a YES result in the referendum, then it's well worth having a close look at the bookies' "Next Prime Minister" market. The key attraction here is that neither of the two leading candidates, Ed Miliband priced at 4/5 and Boris available at 6/1 are eligible. The market then goes 16/1 bar these two ...... are you getting my drift? Those of a nervous disposition might like to back 2 or 3 leading Tory lights in an attempt to capture the ultimate winner of the resulting leadership contest and thereby the next PM. Personally I favour Philip Hammond on offer at 33/1 with Corals. Others include Theresa May at 16/1 (Corals), George Osborne 25/1 (Paddy Power), William Hague - yes he is retiring but could probably be persuaded to hold the fort until the next GE 56/1 (Betfair), etc, etc. Of course should Cameron not resign as a result of a lost referendum then your bet would remain live until he is eventually succeeded. DYOR.
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
"I think it will lead eventually to a more "federalized" country (old counties perhaps?), and the political shift will be far more complex"
Depending on what you'd devolve, it doesn't make much sense to federalize down to that level. Should Essex really have it's own education system, for example?
Kent and Buckinghamshire do. Why discriminate against Essex?
Can I post a load of Essex Girls jokes?
That will explain why
What do you call an Essex Girl with two brain cells?
Go on.
Pregnant
I've realised all my Essex girls jokes are more x-rated than my Jam joke, and I'm barred from posting that on PB.
OGH Rather than stating what we need now are face to face polls, then what we need are the telephone polls would it not have been simpler to state the obvious this is too close to call which is why Devomax is looming and the pound and shares are plunging
He's toast, after a YES. He might just try and cling on but the tide will utterly overwhelm him.
We should, however, consider the alternative. Such is the bile being spat at Cameron and Osborne, if he now gets a NO, his position will be enhanced, and he might even get a big boost in the polls.
It's double or quits.
The FT, that hasn't supported the tories since 1992?
The one where the editor, a old boy of Dulwich College, has a personal dislike for the Tories and all that they stand for?
Speaking as a journalist, I can assure you that, should Cameron lose the Union, every single ne
He's over, if it is YES. He knows this. Indeed he admitted this, at first, before he realised that saying this gave Scots another reason to vote YES.
Put your money where your gob is, matey. Shall we say £200 evens that he stays?
NO. I make a profit if either side wins, and I am assured champagne and dinner if YES wins.
Thought so. On this one you are a total tosser. Sorry. But there it is.
You seem a little rattled, old boy. Get out the BIG tube of Anusol.
I'm utterly serene. You remain a tosser.
And yet you become all potty-mouthed, which I have never witnessed before. Odd.
OK. For weeks now you have been declaiming in ever more vivid and hysterical language that Cameron will resign if yes prevails. I think you are spouting nonsense and have challenged you with a higher bet than usual (but still hardly excessive) to demonstrate your commitment in hard cash. You immediately chicken out and decline. Without reverting to (really very mild) 'potty' talk, I think you have neglible credibility.
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
Anyone got Penny Mordaunt down as a future leader ?
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
Anyone who opposes mass immigration is a bigot? You must live in London! #starbores
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Did that a while back, but I think mine is "before the election" rather than 2014. Not sure what the odds were though, longish iirc.
I got on Hammond at 33/1 at Coral just now if anyone else is interested.
Essex girls are pretty warm and sweet as a rule. I have no idea why they get such a bad press - there is a lifestyle in Essex that you should make the best of yourself and enjoy life. Perhaps it is that which irritates people from other counties.
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Howard announced he was quitting in May but Cameron wasnt elected leader until December. Admittedly part of that was down to a deliberate decision to drag it out and the Tories will need a leader asap to face the GE but there has to be a little risk that given the nature of the ballot (postal vote of members after an indeterminate number of rounds of MPs voting) and proximity to Xmas that Cameron remains as PM until the New Year?
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
I agree. The 16/1 is definitely the best value bet out there to cover a post-indy-yes/post-clacton resignation scenario. You're on the money there isam.
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
Where did you get that she was "scared" and "unwelcoming"? All I got was an expression implying she was shocked at the scale, and resentment that you couldn't complain about it without being called a bigot:
"You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're … but all these eastern European what are coming in, where are they flocking from?"
I think we can see a common theme emerging regarding the early years of the Blair government:
1) Brown introduces his tripartite financial regulation system. Peter Lilley, Opposition spokesman, warns it will be a 'charter for spivs' and leave no-one in charge of ensuring the integrity of the banking system. He is ignored. A decade later, he is proven spectacularly right.
2) The Euro is created. William Hague warns it will be like being in a burning building without an exit. He is derided for this as a 'Little Englander'. A few years later he is proven spectacularly right.
3) Labour introduce the devolution legislation. Michael Ancram, Conservative Constitutional Affairs Spokesman, says in the Commons:
The Government's proposals carry within them the virus that will begin to eat away, and eventually cause to unravel, the bonds that hold the United Kingdom together. It is not written into the White Paper, but the virus is there. The proposals are the first step on the way to an independent Scotland and the break-up of the United Kingdom. Conservative Members know that and the Scottish National party knows that, too. That is why it decided last weekend to support the double yes campaign. We must ask the Secretary of State whether he really believes that, if he was right in his assertion that these measures protect the Union—that is the case he made today and on previous occasions—the SNP would be campaigning alongside him. It would not. He must know, as I know, that a Scottish Parliament will never be satisfied with the powers and resources that it is given. The dynamic of devolution will always ensure that it seeks more of both, and when it does not get them, it will always blame this Parliament at Westminster.
Eighteen years of propaganda have created enormously high expectations of a Scottish Parliament. Were one to come about, it would not take long for those expectations to be dashed. When schools did not improve, when hospital provision did not get better, when new housing did not appear, the Scottish Parliament would not take the blame—it would lay the blame on Westminster. When Scottish taxes were higher than those south of the border, that would be blamed on a parsimonious Westminster. To an ever-increasing extent, Westminster would be the whipping boy for the perceived failures of a Scottish Parliament.
Not a bad record, is it? Spectacularly right on all three big questions.
Population of Greater Manc is far higher than many cantons in the very rich and well ran federal country that is Switzerland. Quite clearly possible to have devolution to regions of about 2-3m people.
Sorry, I may have not have made myself clear. The question is not whether "is it possible to identify a coherent area to which powers can be devolved?" because the answer to that is "obviously, yes". I acknowledged that by my mention of Yorkshire, Cornwall and Northumbria, which are large enough and coherent enough to form a demos (come to that, there's Essex and the Posh Stans...sorry, the Home Counties). The problem is identifying a stable coherent set of (very) approximately equal sized areas that cover the whole of England that people identify with enough to vote for.
The reason for that problem is that in Britain, (unlike USA states and Poland voivodships) the borders follow the population, not the other way around - as people move, the boundaries and the administrations move with them. People have an idea of the "county" as something that has existed since time immemorial, that were only recently changed, and which if we only changed them back everything would be OK. But the old county boundaries, names and number were always changing and as the population grew, they only changed the faster. We currently have three-hundred-and-blah local authorities in England and Wales and their borders and numbers change about once every 18 months: welding them together into twenty-odd subdivisions of 2-3million each wouldn't really achieve much.
Some progress has been made in establishing stable subdivisions: the lieutenancies and ceremonial counties have the ancestral appeal that people seem to like, and although the NUTS regions (and their predecessors, the Statistical Regions) are not loved by anybody other than statisticians, they do enable statistics to be produced - a non-trivial result.
And I personally would like to see some kind of stable coherent subdivision of the realm: if you consider Anglican dioceses (Bath and Wells!), Chapman counties, Watsonian vice-counties, they'd probably work too. Hell, these days I just cut to the chase and use postcode areas - they're good enough if you lump the London ones together and it makes Northern Ireland[1] so much simpler and non-lethal. Which is nice.
But ultimately this is working against the grain of the British state. It's not "define area" then "devolve powers to it", it's the other way around, namely "what powers do we need to exercise and what is the cheapest area we can set up to do it?".
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Howard announced he was quitting in May but Cameron wasnt elected leader until December. Admittedly part of that was down to a deliberate decision to drag it out and the Tories will need a leader asap to face the GE but there has to be a little risk that given the nature of the ballot (postal vote of members after an indeterminate number of rounds of MPs voting) and proximity to Xmas that Cameron remains as PM until the New Year?
Hmm maybe but then you should back 8/1 he isn't leader at the GE instead?
If he says he is resigning the day after the indyref I am pretty sure you'd get paid out .. if you pick more than one to be next leader you are almost certainly taking under 16/1and could still be on a losing bet
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
She was scared? That makes her a bigot?? And she wasn't unwelcoming of foreigners, she was worried - as is about 80% of the country - that too many foreigners are coming here. Which is unsurprising as we are experiencing historically unprecedented levels of immigration.
And for this you condemn her as a racist. You are, as I said, a repulsive cretin. And all-too-typical of the Modern British Lefty.
I hope, after a YES vote, that you and your kin all go to live in the socialist sewage works they are building up north, so we can enjoy a more fragrant life down here in England.
'Socialist sewage works' - what a turn of phrase - bravo SeanT!
I feel like the 33-1 on Hammond as next PM deserves a thread, he is surely the prime "under the bus" candidate should Cameron resign as a matter of principle. Osborne is voter poison, May has yet to live down her "nasty party" comments and none of the other Cabinet members are credible enough in terms of experience, though I would love for the lefty "coconut" jibes aimed at Javid were he to get in an unexpected twist of fate.
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
That makes me a bigot then,the mass unskilled immigration from eastern Europe in the last 2/3 years in my area is leading to preasures to health services/housing/schools/transport,I could go on.
With social services been cut,I better not complain,it makes me a bigot.
By the way,do you live in a high immigration area ?
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
Where did you get that she was "scared" and "unwelcoming"? All I got was an expression implying she was shocked at the scale, and resentment that you couldn't complain about it without being called a bigot:
"You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're … but all these eastern European what are coming in, where are they flocking from?"
She didn't seem to know much about them other than they were foreigners. Not even their nationalities.
Speaking as a journalist, I can assure you that, should Cameron lose the Union, every single newspaper will be demanding his resignation, from the Sun (Murdoch) to the Mail (never liked him) to the Telegraph (do the honourable thing), my guess is that even the Times will sighingly make a solemn call for him to go.
Of course all the Lib Dem and left wing papers will demand he walk the plank.
He will have zero media support, plus the Queen deliberately making him sit on whoopee cushions at Buck House.
He's over, if it is YES. He knows this. Indeed he admitted this, at first, before he realised that saying this gave Scots another reason to vote YES.
If there really is the chaos you predict after a YES, then why would Cameron resign? After all, it would be no time for a novice.
He feels it is his duty?
Lloyd George did not resign when the Irish Free State was formed, but he was in favour, of course.
I feel like the 33-1 on Hammond as next PM deserves a thread, he is surely the prime "under the bus" candidate should Cameron resign as a matter of principle. Osborne is voter poison, May has yet to live down her "nasty party" comments and none of the other Cabinet members are credible enough in terms of experience, though I would love for the lefty "coconut" jibes aimed at Javid were he to get in an unexpected twist of fate.
I'll try and do one for tomorrow or Wednesday, assuming Mike publishes it, or doesn't do one himself
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
Anyone who opposes mass immigration is a bigot? You must live in London! #starbores
So anyone who is open minded about immigration must be from London?
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Howard announced he was quitting in May but Cameron wasnt elected leader until December. Admittedly part of that was down to a deliberate decision to drag it out and the Tories will need a leader asap to face the GE but there has to be a little risk that given the nature of the ballot (postal vote of members after an indeterminate number of rounds of MPs voting) and proximity to Xmas that Cameron remains as PM until the New Year?
Hmm maybe but then you should back 8/1 he isn't leader at the GE instead?
If he says he is resigning the day after the indyref I am pretty sure you'd get paid out .. if you pick more than one to be next leader you are almost certainly taking under 16/1and could still be on a losing bet
If the wording is not PM in 2014, then the bookies wouldn't pay out until someone else lives in No 10, plus it could take a vote of no confidence from Tory MPs and Brady may need some convincing which adds time.
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Howard announced he was quitting in May but Cameron wasnt elected leader until December. Admittedly part of that was down to a deliberate decision to drag it out and the Tories will need a leader asap to face the GE but there has to be a little risk that given the nature of the ballot (postal vote of members after an indeterminate number of rounds of MPs voting) and proximity to Xmas that Cameron remains as PM until the New Year?
Hmm maybe but then you should back 8/1 he isn't leader at the GE instead?
If he says he is resigning the day after the indyref I am pretty sure you'd get paid out ..
I think 16/1 on leaving in 2014 is the better of those two bets. I just thought it worth highlighting a potential factor that might influence views of value at the margins.
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
England fans? Not UK fans?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
The one thing, on all of you betting on next Tory Leader/Next PM assuming Dave goes after a Yes vote should remember one thing.
1) A Tory leadership contest takes two to three months
2) This close to an election, and with a financial crisis hovering, the Tories can't afford to fanny around for 3 months
3) So the next Tory leader will be coronated
4) The one who would vote to leave the EU would be the best option, to appeal to the Kippers,
5) I present you Phil Hammond who fits 4) at 16/1
6) Yes, I'm aware that I've posted six things instead of one
No, anyone who thinks that should back that he stops being PM in 2014 at 16/1
Was a mistake on my part, you can get Phil Hammond at 33/1 as next PM, he's 16/1 as next Tory Leader
The 16/1 next tory leader is a much better bet than the 33/1 next PM IMO.
The 33/1 Hammond as next PM doesn't make sense, as it's largely contingent on an indy-yes, then post-indy-yes-dave-resignation. What are the odds of that scenario happening? 10/1?
No, the 16/1 Hammond-next-tory-leader is a much better value bet which covers many many more scenarios. Chances are you'll be glad you're holding that betting slip in June 2015, even if the indy-yes/clacton-ukip storm blows over.
She didn't seem to know much about them other than they were foreigners. Not even their nationalities.
So you're now changing your argument from her bigotry being evidenced from being "scared" and "unwelcoming" to it being evidenced by the fact she didn't know their nationalities?
Even if she didn't know much about them, how does that make her a bigot? There's a bunch of Eastern Europeans that work in the barber shop I go to. I don't know all their nationalities. Does that make me a bigot?
And how do we know she didn't even know their nationalities? Maybe she did know they were mainly, say, Polish and Lithuanian in her area and she just grouped them together as "Eastern European"?
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Yes, unless preferring to back one outsider at huge odds, then Laddies 16/1 on Cameron "leaving the post of Prime Minister during 2014" is clearly the bet to go for. Even if he stayed on until his successor was selected, this shouldn't take more than 4/5 weeks, i.e. he'd be gone by end October or thereabouts.
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
Anyone who opposes mass immigration is a bigot? You must live in London! #starbores
So anyone who is open minded about immigration must be from London?
No just kidding... But I don't think people who oppose any restrictions and call those that don't agree "bigots" are being open minded myself
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
England fans? Not UK fans?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
Yeah England fans (and Wales fan too as it the England & Wales team)
Scottish cricket went independent a few years ago, and has it own team
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
Anyone who opposes mass immigration is a bigot? You must live in London! #starbores
So anyone who is open minded about immigration must be from London?
You weren't open minded at all. You automatically assumed someone who had a different view on the subject was a bigot.
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
England fans? Not UK fans?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
Yeah England fans (and Wales fan too as it the England & Wales team)
Scottish cricket went independent a few years ago, and has it own team
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Howard announced he was quitting in May but Cameron wasnt elected leader until December. Admittedly part of that was down to a deliberate decision to drag it out and the Tories will need a leader asap to face the GE but there has to be a little risk that given the nature of the ballot (postal vote of members after an indeterminate number of rounds of MPs voting) and proximity to Xmas that Cameron remains as PM until the New Year?
Hmm maybe but then you should back 8/1 he isn't leader at the GE instead?
If he says he is resigning the day after the indyref I am pretty sure you'd get paid out .. if you pick more than one to be next leader you are almost certainly taking under 16/1and could still be on a losing bet
If the wording is not PM in 2014, then the bookies wouldn't pay out until someone else lives in No 10, plus it could take a vote of no confidence from Tory MPs and Brady may need some convincing which adds time.
Its "leaves the post of PM in 2014"... so if he resigns the day after reckon that's a winner
She didn't seem to know much about them other than they were foreigners. Not even their nationalities.
So you're now changing your argument from her bigotry being evidenced from being "scared" and "unwelcoming" to it being evidenced by the fact she didn't know their nationalities?
Even if she didn't know much about them, how does that make her a bigot? There's a bunch of Eastern Europeans that work in the barber shop I go to. I don't know all their nationalities. Does that make me a bigot?
And how do we know she didn't even know their nationalities? Maybe she did know they were mainly, say, Polish and Lithuanian in her area and she just grouped them together as "Eastern European"?
You're not the one complaining about them working in your hairdressers. "all these foreigners in the barbers shop where are they flocking in from?"
Why did she not ask them where they are from, rather than asking the PM? She might even have got to know them.
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
England fans? Not UK fans?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
Yeah England fans (and Wales fan too as it the England & Wales team)
Scottish cricket went independent a few years ago, and has it own team
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
@cathynewman: Enjoyed interviewing Gordon Brown tonight, though he walked off with our mic. We managed to catch him before he called me a bigoted woman...
I think that joke is well past its sell by date. FWIW the woman he called a bigot was a bigot.
That he afterwards said she wasn't, that he had mistaken her comments, somewhat undermines the ability to make that argument even if it is true, and means the joke's legs continue on.
Then he was wrong to revise his view. She was a bigot.
On what basis do you form that opinion? Do you know her personally? She was worried about Eastern Europeans "flocking here", and she has a right to be concerned, given that northern England, in particular, has recently experienced some of the highest and most dramatic levels of immigration in British history.
You are a repulsive cretin.
Er thanks!
Still waiting to hear how you "know" this woman is a "bigot".
Do tell.
I'm going to regret getting dragged into this I suspect as you don't seem to be in a reasonable mood. She was scared and unwelcoming of foreigners. What about that made you think she was not a bigot?
Anyone who opposes mass immigration is a bigot? You must live in London! #starbores
So anyone who is open minded about immigration must be from London?
No,them who call other people bigots and live white Indigenous area's,to me,are just thick as pig sh!t.
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Howard announced he was quitting in May but Cameron wasnt elected leader until December. Admittedly part of that was down to a deliberate decision to drag it out and the Tories will need a leader asap to face the GE but there has to be a little risk that given the nature of the ballot (postal vote of members after an indeterminate number of rounds of MPs voting) and proximity to Xmas that Cameron remains as PM until the New Year?
Hmm maybe but then you should back 8/1 he isn't leader at the GE instead?
If he says he is resigning the day after the indyref I am pretty sure you'd get paid out .. if you pick more than one to be next leader you are almost certainly taking under 16/1and could still be on a losing bet
If the wording is not PM in 2014, then the bookies wouldn't pay out until someone else lives in No 10, plus it could take a vote of no confidence from Tory MPs and Brady may need some convincing which adds time.
Its "leaves the post of PM in 2014"... so if he resigns the day after reckon that's a winner
Nope, he would still be PM, until the moment he resigned to the Queen, and she called for his successor, ie the day of the change of PM.
We had a similar situation when Blair announced in 2006, that he was quitting in 2007.
Bookies didn't pay out until the day he ceased being PM in 2007
I feel like the 33-1 on Hammond as next PM deserves a thread, he is surely the prime "under the bus" candidate should Cameron resign as a matter of principle. Osborne is voter poison, May has yet to live down her "nasty party" comments and none of the other Cabinet members are credible enough in terms of experience, though I would love for the lefty "coconut" jibes aimed at Javid were he to get in an unexpected twist of fate.
Theresa May never called the Tory Party nasty! She suggested that other parties regarded the party as nasty!
She didn't seem to know much about them other than they were foreigners. Not even their nationalities.
So you're now changing your argument from her bigotry being evidenced from being "scared" and "unwelcoming" to it being evidenced by the fact she didn't know their nationalities?
Even if she didn't know much about them, how does that make her a bigot? There's a bunch of Eastern Europeans that work in the barber shop I go to. I don't know all their nationalities. Does that make me a bigot?
And how do we know she didn't even know their nationalities? Maybe she did know they were mainly, say, Polish and Lithuanian in her area and she just grouped them together as "Eastern European"?
You're not the one complaining about them working in your hairdressers. "all these foreigners in the barbers shop where are they flocking in from?"
Why did she not ask them where they are from, rather than asking the PM? She might even have got to know them.
You clearly have never spoken to someone from the north of England. She wasn't literally asking which countries they were from. She was remarking about the scale. It's akin to saying to a child that ate a lot of food "Goodness gracious me. Where did you put all that food!?"
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
Total: 4,189,922
Does anyone know what the counting areas are going to be a week on Thursday? Am I correct in assuming that it will go off the Scottish parliament constituency areas, rather than the Westminster constituency boundaries?
Brady doesnt get to decide whether there is a no confidence vote - it is triggered automatically by the letters from MPs.
You seem to be taking an almost unhealthy interest in the innermost workings of the Conservative Party. Can I interest you in a subscription? It will go straight to the Hersham Branch.
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Howard announced he was quitting in May but Cameron wasnt elected leader until December. Admittedly part of that was down to a deliberate decision to drag it out and the Tories will need a leader asap to face the GE but there has to be a little risk that given the nature of the ballot (postal vote of members after an indeterminate number of rounds of MPs voting) and proximity to Xmas that Cameron remains as PM until the New Year?
Hmm maybe but then you should back 8/1 he isn't leader at the GE instead?
If he says he is resigning the day after the indyref I am pretty sure you'd get paid out .. if you pick more than one to be next leader you are almost certainly taking under 16/1and could still be on a losing bet
If the wording is not PM in 2014, then the bookies wouldn't pay out until someone else lives in No 10, plus it could take a vote of no confidence from Tory MPs and Brady may need some convincing which adds time.
Its "leaves the post of PM in 2014"... so if he resigns the day after reckon that's a winner
Nope, he would still be PM, until the moment he resigned to the Queen, and she called for his successor, ie the day of the change of PM.
We had a similar situation when Blair announced in 2006, that he was quitting in 2007.
Bookies didn't pay out until the day he ceased being PM in 2007
If he announces he is resigning next week, what price he is still in No10 on Jan 1st?
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
Total: 4,189,922
Does anyone know what the counting areas are going to be a week on Thursday? Am I correct in assuming that it will go off the Scottish parliament constituency areas, rather than the Westminster constituency boundaries?
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
England fans? Not UK fans?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
Yeah England fans (and Wales fan too as it the England & Wales team)
Scottish cricket went independent a few years ago, and has it own team
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
Total: 4,189,922
Does anyone know what the counting areas are going to be a week on Thursday? Am I correct in assuming that it will go off the Scottish parliament constituency areas, rather than the Westminster constituency boundaries?
It's going to be the 32 council areas listed above.
Brady doesnt get to decide whether there is a no confidence vote - it is triggered automatically by the letters from MPs.
You seem to be taking an almost unhealthy interest in the innermost workings of the Conservative Party. Can I interest you in a subscription? It will go straight to the Hersham Branch.
Surely the money would be better spend as a donation towards removing some of the many roundabouts on the A24 around there!! (Horsham!). That is a pain of a road when driving up to Gatwick!
Guido wearing a Yes twibbon on Twitter, arguing in favour of a currency union with Iain Martin.
Strange times.
Iirc Guido was a Progressive Democrat (RIP) supporter. Nothing would surprise me of a Progressive Democrat supporter. Except, perhaps, progressiveness.
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
England fans? Not UK fans?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
Yeah England fans (and Wales fan too as it the England & Wales team)
Scottish cricket went independent a few years ago, and has it own team
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
Total: 4,189,922
Does anyone know what the counting areas are going to be a week on Thursday? Am I correct in assuming that it will go off the Scottish parliament constituency areas, rather than the Westminster constituency boundaries?
It's going to be the 32 council areas listed above.
Thanks for that. A shame in a way, I would have liked to see it broken down by Scottish parliamentary constituency personally!
She didn't seem to know much about them other than they were foreigners. Not even their nationalities.
So you're now changing your argument from her bigotry being evidenced from being "scared" and "unwelcoming" to it being evidenced by the fact she didn't know their nationalities?
Even if she didn't know much about them, how does that make her a bigot? There's a bunch of Eastern Europeans that work in the barber shop I go to. I don't know all their nationalities. Does that make me a bigot?
And how do we know she didn't even know their nationalities? Maybe she did know they were mainly, say, Polish and Lithuanian in her area and she just grouped them together as "Eastern European"?
You're not the one complaining about them working in your hairdressers. "all these foreigners in the barbers shop where are they flocking in from?"
Why did she not ask them where they are from, rather than asking the PM? She might even have got to know them.
You clearly have never spoken to someone from the north of England. She wasn't literally asking which countries they were from. She was remarking about the scale. It's akin to saying to a child that ate a lot of food "Goodness gracious me. Where did you put all that food!?"
I'm from the North. She reminds me of many people in my own family.
Brady doesnt get to decide whether there is a no confidence vote - it is triggered automatically by the letters from MPs.
You seem to be taking an almost unhealthy interest in the innermost workings of the Conservative Party. Can I interest you in a subscription? It will go straight to the Hersham Branch.
I think I can best serve your party by ensuring it's Hersham representatives always get the right train home after a cocktail party.
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
Sad to see Westminster folk and PB regulars already playing the blame game when there is still 10 days to go. Since when did people go all wobbly?
If Scotland does vote YES, all Westminster parties will be responsible. The Tories provided the Why and Labour provided the How by losing so badly in 2011.
But either way, the fat lady hasn't even got out of the dressing room yet. So cant it wait?
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
Total: 4,189,922
Does anyone know what the counting areas are going to be a week on Thursday? Am I correct in assuming that it will go off the Scottish parliament constituency areas, rather than the Westminster constituency boundaries?
Just backed Philip Hammond, Theresa May and George Osborne for next PM in case Cameron resigns. I see all three as decent "under the bus" candidates. Hammond could even assume the John Major role and win a majority against the odds in 2015. He may be a bit charisma free, but he is state educated, comes from a modest background, has had a significant career outside of politics and is absolutely not a toff. He is wealthy, but AIUI he is a self-made millionaire. Better yet he is not a wet liberal fool like Cameron so he may give the Tories some well needed backbone. Happily he also has the longest odds of the three names.
This is madness!! If you think he resigns after the indyref just back the 16/1 he stops being PM in 2014
Howard announced he was quitting in May but Cameron wasnt elected leader until December. Admittedly part of that was down to a deliberate decision to drag it out and the Tories will need a leader asap to face the GE but there has to be a little risk that given the nature of the ballot (postal vote of members after an indeterminate number of rounds of MPs voting) and proximity to Xmas that Cameron remains as PM until the New Year?
Hmm maybe but then you should back 8/1 he isn't leader at the GE instead?
If he says he is resigning the day after the indyref I am pretty sure you'd get paid out .. if you pick more than one to be next leader you are almost certainly taking under 16/1and could still be on a losing bet
If the wording is not PM in 2014, then the bookies wouldn't pay out until someone else lives in No 10, plus it could take a vote of no confidence from Tory MPs and Brady may need some convincing which adds time.
Its "leaves the post of PM in 2014"... so if he resigns the day after reckon that's a winner
Nope, he would still be PM, until the moment he resigned to the Queen, and she called for his successor, ie the day of the change of PM.
We had a similar situation when Blair announced in 2006, that he was quitting in 2007.
Bookies didn't pay out until the day he ceased being PM in 2007
If he announces he is resigning next week, what price he is still in No10 on Jan 1st?
Quite high, the Tory leadership election can take 3 months plus.
William Hague resigned as Tory leader on June 7th 2001, and IDS was elected 3 months later on September 11th 2001
So Dave quits September 19th, 3 months later it is just before Christmas
With it being a postal vote, and Christmas, the Tory party would probably extend the deadline for postal votes until after the new year.
Brady doesnt get to decide whether there is a no confidence vote - it is triggered automatically by the letters from MPs.
You seem to be taking an almost unhealthy interest in the innermost workings of the Conservative Party. Can I interest you in a subscription? It will go straight to the Hersham Branch.
Surely the money would be better spend as a donation towards removing some of the many roundabouts on the A24 around there!! (Horsham!). That is a pain of a road when driving up to Gatwick!
Horsham...ghastly and grubby Hersham...radiant and rustic
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
England fans? Not UK fans?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
Yeah England fans (and Wales fan too as it the England & Wales team)
Scottish cricket went independent a few years ago, and has it own team
Are people always as obtuse and reactionary on here as today?
No, only a handful of posters like to obtusely call innocent old ladies bigots.
She isn't innocent - and was bigoted. She may have revised her views but at the time she was being bigoted.
No, she wasn't. She asked a rhetorical question expressing her surprise at the scale of immigration, and criticised the fact that you weren't allowed to question it. That doesn't make her a bigot.
Has Ave It had his two penneth on here about a week on Thursday? You'd think all the wild action of the past week would be just up his street for exaggeration!
Some figures for the electorates of the 32 Scottish council areas. These aren't official figures; I calculated them from the 2011 census population data.
City of Aberdeen 178,234 Aberdeenshire 202,378 Angus 92,782 Argyll and Bute 70,533 Clackmannanshire 41,154 Dumfries and Galloway 121,059 City of Dundee 117,814 East Ayrshire 98,214 East Dunbartonshire 84,021 East Lothian 79,774 East Renfrewshire 72,459 City of Edinburgh 381,301 Falkirk 124,792 Fife 292,158 City of Glasgow 474,596 Highland 185,706 Inverclyde 65,188 Midlothian 66,550 Moray 74,636 Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147 North Ayrshire 110,517 North Lanarkshire 270,182 Orkney Islands 17,079 Perth and Kinross 117,322 Renfrewshire 139,926 Scottish Borders 91,096 Shetland Islands 18,534 South Ayrshire 90,239 South Lanarkshire 251,064 Stirling 72,198 West Dunbartonshire 72,576 West Lothian 93,694
Total: 4,189,922
Does anyone know what the counting areas are going to be a week on Thursday? Am I correct in assuming that it will go off the Scottish parliament constituency areas, rather than the Westminster constituency boundaries?
It's going to be the 32 council areas listed above.
Thanks for that. A shame in a way, I would have liked to see it broken down by Scottish parliamentary constituency personally!
You never know, they might realise the data according to ward or constituency at a later date. They do this for the London Assembly elections. A spreadsheet appears online with ward breakdowns a few days after the results are announced.
If Dave goes and the Tories want to show the country they aren't a bunch of posh Buller boys, what better than electing the Northern working class Muslim son of an immigrant
Hence why Sajid is a good bet
Hmm. I'd like to think you were right, but I very much doubt he'd get the grass roots support.
He would.
Remember our discussion on the booing of Moeen Ali?
'Munir Ali, Moeen’s father, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are very disappointed with what happened. It should have been a special day: Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The whole family was looking forward to it and we thought he would receive a warm welcome.
“Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful." '
They should stop focussing on the negatives, no England fan gives a rats arse that he is a Muslim or of Pakistani Heritage.
That should be a sign of great pride for him and the country.
England fans? Not UK fans?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
Yeah England fans (and Wales fan too as it the England & Wales team)
Scottish cricket went independent a few years ago, and has it own team
She didn't seem to know much about them other than they were foreigners. Not even their nationalities.
So you're now changing your argument from her bigotry being evidenced from being "scared" and "unwelcoming" to it being evidenced by the fact she didn't know their nationalities?
Even if she didn't know much about them, how does that make her a bigot? There's a bunch of Eastern Europeans that work in the barber shop I go to. I don't know all their nationalities. Does that make me a bigot?
And how do we know she didn't even know their nationalities? Maybe she did know they were mainly, say, Polish and Lithuanian in her area and she just grouped them together as "Eastern European"?
You're not the one complaining about them working in your hairdressers. "all these foreigners in the barbers shop where are they flocking in from?"
Why did she not ask them where they are from, rather than asking the PM? She might even have got to know them.
You clearly have never spoken to someone from the north of England. She wasn't literally asking which countries they were from. She was remarking about the scale. It's akin to saying to a child that ate a lot of food "Goodness gracious me. Where did you put all that food!?"
I'm from the North. She reminds me of many people in my own family.
Building on my point earlier that the Tories have a majority in rUK could they have enough time to pass the boundary changes? Or do they still need a lot of work?
Brady doesnt get to decide whether there is a no confidence vote - it is triggered automatically by the letters from MPs.
You seem to be taking an almost unhealthy interest in the innermost workings of the Conservative Party. Can I interest you in a subscription? It will go straight to the Hersham Branch.
I think I can best serve your party by ensuring it's Hersham representatives always get the right train home after a cocktail party.
You passed that text with flying colours the last time round. But we still need your money and as Sean T is being stingy.
Comments
Does London Zoo have any spare elephant tranquiliser?
Following on from my stunning 9/1 winning bet on England's 2-0 victory this evening, I'd now like to share another attractive betting opportunity with fellow PBers.
If, like SeanT, you believe there is every prospect of Cameron resigning in the event of a YES result in the referendum, then it's well worth having a close look at the bookies' "Next Prime Minister" market. The key attraction here is that neither of the two leading candidates, Ed Miliband priced at 4/5 and Boris available at 6/1 are eligible. The market then goes 16/1 bar these two ...... are you getting my drift?
Those of a nervous disposition might like to back 2 or 3 leading Tory lights in an attempt to capture the ultimate winner of the resulting leadership contest and thereby the next PM.
Personally I favour Philip Hammond on offer at 33/1 with Corals. Others include Theresa May at 16/1 (Corals), George Osborne 25/1 (Paddy Power), William Hague - yes he is retiring but could probably be persuaded to hold the fort until the next GE 56/1 (Betfair), etc, etc.
Of course should Cameron not resign as a result of a lost referendum then your bet would remain live until he is eventually succeeded.
DYOR.
Is now open - entries close 11pm Wed 17th September:
http://www.electiongame.co.uk/scotland14/
New Zealand game
is also open - entries close 11pm Wed 17th September:
http://www.electiongame.co.uk/nz14/
Also available, both closing at 7pm on Saturday:
http://www.electiongame.co.uk/sweden14/
http://www.electiongame.co.uk/trading-2014/
Many thanks,
DC
(But I'm at Malpensa, so going to bed soon)
Anyone got Penny Mordaunt down as a future leader ?
1) A Tory leadership contest takes two to three months
2) This close to an election, and with a financial crisis hovering, the Tories can't afford to fanny around for 3 months
3) So the next Tory leader will be coronated
4) The one who would vote to leave the EU would be the best option, to appeal to the Kippers,
5) I present you Phil Hammond who fits 4) at 16/1
6) Yes, I'm aware that I've posted six things instead of one
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/09/scottish-independence-tns-poll-1-per-cent-gap-yes-no?CMP=twt_gu
I got on Hammond at 33/1 at Coral just now if anyone else is interested.
"You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're … but all these eastern European what are coming in, where are they flocking from?"
1) Brown introduces his tripartite financial regulation system. Peter Lilley, Opposition spokesman, warns it will be a 'charter for spivs' and leave no-one in charge of ensuring the integrity of the banking system. He is ignored. A decade later, he is proven spectacularly right.
2) The Euro is created. William Hague warns it will be like being in a burning building without an exit. He is derided for this as a 'Little Englander'. A few years later he is proven spectacularly right.
3) Labour introduce the devolution legislation. Michael Ancram, Conservative Constitutional Affairs Spokesman, says in the Commons:
The Government's proposals carry within them the virus that will begin to eat away, and eventually cause to unravel, the bonds that hold the United Kingdom together. It is not written into the White Paper, but the virus is there. The proposals are the first step on the way to an independent Scotland and the break-up of the United Kingdom. Conservative Members know that and the Scottish National party knows that, too. That is why it decided last weekend to support the double yes campaign. We must ask the Secretary of State whether he really believes that, if he was right in his assertion that these measures protect the Union—that is the case he made today and on previous occasions—the SNP would be campaigning alongside him. It would not. He must know, as I know, that a Scottish Parliament will never be satisfied with the powers and resources that it is given. The dynamic of devolution will always ensure that it seeks more of both, and when it does not get them, it will always blame this Parliament at Westminster.
Eighteen years of propaganda have created enormously high expectations of a Scottish Parliament. Were one to come about, it would not take long for those expectations to be dashed. When schools did not improve, when hospital provision did not get better, when new housing did not appear, the Scottish Parliament would not take the blame—it would lay the blame on Westminster. When Scottish taxes were higher than those south of the border, that would be blamed on a parsimonious Westminster. To an ever-increasing extent, Westminster would be the whipping boy for the perceived failures of a Scottish Parliament.
Not a bad record, is it? Spectacularly right on all three big questions.
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1997/jul/31/scottish-devolution-1
"but a bank run at RBS might be more effective."
Who owns RBS these days?
The reason for that problem is that in Britain, (unlike USA states and Poland voivodships) the borders follow the population, not the other way around - as people move, the boundaries and the administrations move with them. People have an idea of the "county" as something that has existed since time immemorial, that were only recently changed, and which if we only changed them back everything would be OK. But the old county boundaries, names and number were always changing and as the population grew, they only changed the faster. We currently have three-hundred-and-blah local authorities in England and Wales and their borders and numbers change about once every 18 months: welding them together into twenty-odd subdivisions of 2-3million each wouldn't really achieve much.
Some progress has been made in establishing stable subdivisions: the lieutenancies and ceremonial counties have the ancestral appeal that people seem to like, and although the NUTS regions (and their predecessors, the Statistical Regions) are not loved by anybody other than statisticians, they do enable statistics to be produced - a non-trivial result.
And I personally would like to see some kind of stable coherent subdivision of the realm: if you consider Anglican dioceses (Bath and Wells!), Chapman counties, Watsonian vice-counties, they'd probably work too. Hell, these days I just cut to the chase and use postcode areas - they're good enough if you lump the London ones together and it makes Northern Ireland[1] so much simpler and non-lethal. Which is nice.
But ultimately this is working against the grain of the British state. It's not "define area" then "devolve powers to it", it's the other way around, namely "what powers do we need to exercise and what is the cheapest area we can set up to do it?".
Plus there's the One North East[2] debacle...:-(
[1] Northern Ireland has only one postcode area.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_England_devolution_referendums,_2004
If he says he is resigning the day after the indyref I am pretty sure you'd get paid out .. if you pick more than one to be next leader you are almost certainly taking under 16/1and could still be on a losing bet
With social services been cut,I better not complain,it makes me a bigot.
By the way,do you live in a high immigration area ?
I thought we were supposed to be "better together"?
And I read tonight it was an England team that beat Switzerland in Basel in the footy (huzzah, BTW!), not a UK team? Again, I thought were were supposed to be a "United" Kingdom?
The 33/1 Hammond as next PM doesn't make sense, as it's largely contingent on an indy-yes, then post-indy-yes-dave-resignation. What are the odds of that scenario happening? 10/1?
No, the 16/1 Hammond-next-tory-leader is a much better value bet which covers many many more scenarios. Chances are you'll be glad you're holding that betting slip in June 2015, even if the indy-yes/clacton-ukip storm blows over.
Even if she didn't know much about them, how does that make her a bigot? There's a bunch of Eastern Europeans that work in the barber shop I go to. I don't know all their nationalities. Does that make me a bigot?
And how do we know she didn't even know their nationalities? Maybe she did know they were mainly, say, Polish and Lithuanian in her area and she just grouped them together as "Eastern European"?
City of Aberdeen 178,234
Aberdeenshire 202,378
Angus 92,782
Argyll and Bute 70,533
Clackmannanshire 41,154
Dumfries and Galloway 121,059
City of Dundee 117,814
East Ayrshire 98,214
East Dunbartonshire 84,021
East Lothian 79,774
East Renfrewshire 72,459
City of Edinburgh 381,301
Falkirk 124,792
Fife 292,158
City of Glasgow 474,596
Highland 185,706
Inverclyde 65,188
Midlothian 66,550
Moray 74,636
Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 22,147
North Ayrshire 110,517
North Lanarkshire 270,182
Orkney Islands 17,079
Perth and Kinross 117,322
Renfrewshire 139,926
Scottish Borders 91,096
Shetland Islands 18,534
South Ayrshire 90,239
South Lanarkshire 251,064
Stirling 72,198
West Dunbartonshire 72,576
West Lothian 93,694
Total: 4,189,922
Scottish cricket went independent a few years ago, and has it own team
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_national_cricket_team
http://news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/news/291330-alex-salmond-grilled-by-bernard-ponsonby-in-referendum-interview/
Phil Hammond was 25/1 to be next PM then, and I backed him
http://www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2014/04/16/are-we-really-only-five-months-away-from-daves-resignation/
Why did she not ask them where they are from, rather than asking the PM? She might even have got to know them.
We had a similar situation when Blair announced in 2006, that he was quitting in 2007.
Bookies didn't pay out until the day he ceased being PM in 2007
No, sometimes we get really bad.
Guido wearing a Yes twibbon on Twitter, arguing in favour of a currency union with Iain Martin.
Strange times.
"Music by Jagger/Richards"
They actually won an award for "Bittersweet Symphony"... Richard Ashcroft said it was the best song they'd written in 20 years!
Separate Football!
Separate Rugby!
Separate Cricket!
We can't even play our three most popular team sports as a "United" Kingdom! So why not go the whole hog and get separate governance?
If Scotland does vote YES, all Westminster parties will be responsible. The Tories provided the Why and Labour provided the How by losing so badly in 2011.
But either way, the fat lady hasn't even got out of the dressing room yet. So cant it wait?
William Hague resigned as Tory leader on June 7th 2001, and IDS was elected 3 months later on September 11th 2001
So Dave quits September 19th, 3 months later it is just before Christmas
With it being a postal vote, and Christmas, the Tory party would probably extend the deadline for postal votes until after the new year.
Hersham...radiant and rustic
Look on it as a political "Christmas". The build up is fantastic, but the day itself will usually be a let down.