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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Local By-Election Results : September 25th 2014

SystemSystem Posts: 11,691
edited September 2014 in General

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Local By-Election Results : September 25th 2014

Epping, Hemnal on Epping Forest (Conservative Defence)
Result: Liberal Democrats 607 (43% +7%), Conservatives 386 (28% -14%), UKIP 339 (24% +16%), Green 69 (5% +1%)
Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative with a majority of 221 (15%) on a swing of 10.5% from Con to Lib Dem

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • Options
    First .... again!
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    MonksfieldMonksfield Posts: 2,203
    Strange set of results. 2 LD gains in Tory strongholds and 1 Tory gain in a LD stronghold. Scratches head...
  • Options
    LibDems 2-1 Tories?
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    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    edited September 2014
    Now all the LDs have to do is replicate their 45% swing in Guildford across the country and it will be Clegg waving goodbye to Dave from the steps of Downing street.
  • Options
    JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,014
    edited September 2014
    FPT @ HurstLlama
    ... No poncing about, you either fight a war or you don't. "

    Surely Parliament has a role in making sure the government takes one of the two options, but if HMG is going for the first than it spells out its war aims and commits the necessary resources to achieve them. It looks to me that Parliament has failed yet again. We are off to war, don't know why, don't know how, don't know when it will stop, don't know how we can win. We will just bomb some places for a few years.
    Indeed, we seem to have lost the stomach for a fight. I can see why the Coalition has been cutting the Armed Forces so hard: they have seen the future: there is no way we will commit them to do anything useful.

    They have killed at least one British hostage already: I suggest we should be seeking brutal and bloody vengeance for that alone.
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    TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 114,514
    edited September 2014
    Update added a cartoon from Marf
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    Update added a cartoon from Marf

    That's a classic. I am tempted to add it to my collection
  • Options
    Ah, so this must be the thread on Canadian politics.... well it is for me - first chance to post since I got back.

    The view from Quebec: most people seem to think that another referendum is inevitable. Two factors make Yes less likely - increasing inward migration - migrants disproportionately No (they've come to be Canucks, not Quebecers), and today's young generation not having the same separatist passion as their parents' generation did in 95.

    I found myself watching the BBC's coverage of the Indy Ref on a Canadian channel - but dubbed into French. Somewhat surreal.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,952
    Nelson Cook (@N3LTR0N)
    26/09/2014 19:53
    Let's hope British Bombs dropped from 10,000 feet are "smart" enough to distinguish between "Jihadi John" and Alan Henning. #ISIL #Iraq
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    LabourList report that Iain McKenzie has been sacked as PPS for Coaker and Curran because of his No vote today.
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    MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053

    Strange set of results. 2 LD gains in Tory strongholds and 1 Tory gain in a LD stronghold. Scratches head...

    The voters should have gone to Specsavers. ;)
  • Options
    The national picture: It isn't the economy stupid - it's Harper. He's becoming more and more unpopular, and seems to be a drag on the Tories. My contact(!) in the Liberals reckons that if the Tories are still behind in the polls as we approach the election, Harper might quit. If there is a market on next PM, might be worth covering a couple of Tories.

    Trudeau is criticised for being a pretty boy and/or an empty suit - so far that is working with the voters, but the Lib's support may fall when he comes under more scrutiny during the campaign proper.

    NDP trailing in third have taken the radical step of starting to announce policies - and slagging off the other two parties' leaders. They'll need a big bounce to get back into the top two.

    Basically, a 14 month election campaign has just started, and it's the pretty boy's to lose.
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Following on from FPT re Kippers and anti-aspiration rhetoric, this was interesting from the DT blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100287887/ukip-vs-the-free-market-britains-immigration-debate-gets-interesting/
    UPDATE:

    Since posting this, I've seen reports from the Ukip conference in Doncaster that Ukip is now joining several trade unions in campaigning against elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a US-EU trade deal. The point of contention is the treaty's provisions relating to healthcare. Critics say the text as drafted could encourage private provision in the NHS. Leaving aside the daft argument about the NHS and private provision (What do think GP practices are?) and the transparent politics of the Ukip move (reach out to working-class Labour-inclined voters), I think this is a potentially significant, suggesting that Ukip is tilting ever more towards protectionism.

    Reading the comments beneath Ukip-related posts here, and in conversation with Ukip supporters, I'm often struck by the hostility expressed towards big business. I don't think the idea of Ukip as anti-business party is reported enough, possibly because a lot of journalists tend to assume that Ukip is right-of-centre and must therefore be pro-market, pro-business. But the recent business/free market reaction to some Ukip-driven policies, and Ukip's own embrace of anti-trade protectionism over TTIP, strongly suggest that assumption is mistaken. Ukip is looking more and more like the enemy of big business. How will big business respond?
  • Options
    Scrapheap - you can't claim the great game of golf for the Tories!

    Rooting for Spurs tomorrow, but don't give you much hope.
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    Finally, an anecdote on why Quebec is falling behind the rest of the country. Chatting to young woman who has opened a cafe in Montreal. She wanted to put a couple of tables outside, so paid for a permit from the city authorities. An inspector visited, and told her to remove the tables as she did not have a permit - apparently the permit she had only gave her the right to apply for (and pay for) another permit, which would then allow her to place the tables outside. At that point she gave up. Telling comment (paraphrased) "I've come here and opened a business - I thought the city would want to help me!"

    She then gave me a free doughnut!
  • Options
    I noticed some comments on women's tattoos on the previous thread - reminded me of the following:

    I once met a woman who had a letter W tattooed onto each buttock. When she bent over - WOW!
  • Options

    Update added a cartoon from Marf

    Nice cartoon, Marf, one of hour best! But I'm thinking, would military backpacks count as "handbags" to accessorise the "boots"?

    :)
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    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Ha!

    I noticed some comments on women's tattoos on the previous thread - reminded me of the following:

    I once met a woman who had a letter W tattooed onto each buttock. When she bent over - WOW!

  • Options

    I noticed some comments on women's tattoos on the previous thread - reminded me of the following:

    I once met a woman who had a letter W tattooed onto each buttock. When she bent over - WOW!

    W? As in Jack W? As in ARSE?

    :)
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    YBarddCwscYBarddCwsc Posts: 7,172
    Why should Quebec leave Canada ?

    Quebec has far, far more power than Scotland. In fact, it has more power than the UK to control its own destiny.

    For example, immigration to Quebec is completely under the control of the Gouvernement du Quebec.

    And of course, the oil is in Alberta. It is not in Quebec. Quebec benefits from cheaper oil by being in Canada.
  • Options
    manofkent2014manofkent2014 Posts: 1,543
    edited September 2014
    Plato said:

    Following on from FPT re Kippers and anti-aspiration rhetoric, this was interesting from the DT blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100287887/ukip-vs-the-free-market-britains-immigration-debate-gets-interesting/

    UPDATE:

    Since posting this, I've seen reports from the Ukip conference in Doncaster that Ukip is now joining several trade unions in campaigning against elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a US-EU trade deal. The point of contention is the treaty's provisions relating to healthcare. Critics say the text as drafted could encourage private provision in the NHS. Leaving aside the daft argument about the NHS and private provision (What do think GP practices are?) and the transparent politics of the Ukip move (reach out to working-class Labour-inclined voters), I think this is a potentially significant, suggesting that Ukip is tilting ever more towards protectionism.

    Reading the comments beneath Ukip-related posts here, and in conversation with Ukip supporters, I'm often struck by the hostility expressed towards big business. I don't think the idea of Ukip as anti-business party is reported enough, possibly because a lot of journalists tend to assume that Ukip is right-of-centre and must therefore be pro-market, pro-business. But the recent business/free market reaction to some Ukip-driven policies, and Ukip's own embrace of anti-trade protectionism over TTIP, strongly suggest that assumption is mistaken. Ukip is looking more and more like the enemy of big business. How will big business respond?
    UKIP is more 'perfect market' than 'free market' (not that many markets are anywhere close to 'free'). After all how can global corporate monopolies and cartels be any better than nationalised monopolies and cartels.
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    TheWatcherTheWatcher Posts: 5,262
    edited September 2014
    Jonathan said:

    Now all the LDs have to do is replicate their 45% swing in Guildford across the country and it will be Clegg waving goodbye to Dave from the steps of Downing street.

    Issues over building on Green Belt. Local council being a bunch of tools.
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    TykejohnnoTykejohnno Posts: 7,362

    LibDems 2-1 Tories?

    I see the labour IDS mark 2 leader voted for the bombing,must make you proud comrade ;-)

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    isamisam Posts: 40,952
    Dave Cameroon (@DaveCamm)
    26/09/2014 09:08
    Glad to see there's no terror alerts on London subway - only New York & Paris. Must be because we haven't bombed Iraq.... Yet. Oh. #ISIL
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    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @carrieapples: William Hague on AQ: "Yes, we all forget things but usually where we've put the car keys, not a plan for how to deal with the deficit"
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    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @NicoHines: What happens when a black journo goes to UKIP? RT @stephenkb A lot of: "Where are you from?" "London." "No, where are you really from?""
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    MarkSeniorMarkSenior Posts: 4,699
    The Conservative vote in Frome was in fact 1,111
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    stodgestodge Posts: 12,873
    Evening all :)

    I put the Lovelace numbers through Baxter and came up with the following:

    Liberal Democrat 613
    Labour 18
    Irish MPs 18
    Nationalist 1

    So that's an LD majority of 576 which should be enough to be going on with.

    I'm sure we'd all be happy with that outcome next May.
  • Options
    Off-topic, but may be of note to some on here:

    Vauxhall warn owners of 3,000 Adam and Corsa cars registered from May 2014 not to drive them due to steering problem

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29387561
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,952
    Scott_P said:

    @NicoHines: What happens when a black journo goes to UKIP? RT @stephenkb A lot of: "Where are you from?" "London." "No, where are you really from?""

    That's northerners for you

    5/6 each of two whether that or the Iraq bombing will get most headlines

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    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    I do wonder at times
    Police were called to the South Norwood Leisure Centre in Croydon, pictured, after local residents reported groups of people surrounding a toddler and chanting 'Get the demon out'.
    dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2770907/Police-investigating-child-exorcisms-carried-dawn-group-adults-chanting-demon-toddler.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
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    isam said:

    Scott_P said:

    @NicoHines: What happens when a black journo goes to UKIP? RT @stephenkb A lot of: "Where are you from?" "London." "No, where are you really from?""

    That's northerners for you

    5/6 each of two whether that or the Iraq bombing will get most headlines

    I always found that tricky when I worked in London. Black people will get together and ask each other where their families are from. As a white person... I always found it difficult, despite the fact that I was interested, without it sounding like there was a "why don't you go back" subtext. Maybe I just never found the right way of asking.

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    Scott_P said:

    @carrieapples: William Hague on AQ: "Yes, we all forget things but usually where we've put the car keys, not a plan for how to deal with the deficit"

    AQ? Surely that's his comment on EM?

    (Why is Al Qaeda abbreviated AQ? You normally do not abbreviate the word for "the", so it should just be Q.)

  • Options
    Plato said:

    I do wonder at times

    Police were called to the South Norwood Leisure Centre in Croydon, pictured, after local residents reported groups of people surrounding a toddler and chanting 'Get the demon out'.
    dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2770907/Police-investigating-child-exorcisms-carried-dawn-group-adults-chanting-demon-toddler.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490Have you met any toddlers recently?

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    LibDems 2-1 Tories?

    I see the labour IDS mark 2 leader voted for the bombing,must make you proud comrade ;-)

    My vote could - I say could - go one of three ways in May :)
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    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,014
    Isn’t a significant part of UKIP Poujadist. To quote something from a distant and almost forgotten past!
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    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,014
    Just been onto the Guardian site and seen this

    "NHS England has agreed to fund proton beam therapy for Ashya (King) under the reciprocal healthcare arrangements that exist within the EU, on the basis that the five-year-old needs a course of radiotherapy as a matter of urgency and, if he is to recover, he must have it now in Prague, where he has been taken by his family.”

    Which of the several cans of worms will be opened first?
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    isamisam Posts: 40,952
    edited September 2014

    isam said:

    Scott_P said:

    @NicoHines: What happens when a black journo goes to UKIP? RT @stephenkb A lot of: "Where are you from?" "London." "No, where are you really from?""

    That's northerners for you

    5/6 each of two whether that or the Iraq bombing will get most headlines

    I always found that tricky when I worked in London. Black people will get together and ask each other where their families are from. As a white person... I always found it difficult, despite the fact that I was interested, without it sounding like there was a "why don't you go back" subtext. Maybe I just never found the right way of asking.

    Sounds to me most likely that some people who come from a part of the country that is overwhelmingly white clumsily tried to be friendly to a black person... The only response is national shame
  • Options
    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    LOL

    I'm crap with teenagers - but oddly I can almost always get kids from about 8mth-5yrs to stop grizzling/being a pain by treating them as I'd address a young dog or cat.

    It's most peculiar. I assume there's some very basic psychology at play here. I'm very good with truculent/nervous animals - guess it's all the same thing underneath.

    Plato said:

    I do wonder at times

    Police were called to the South Norwood Leisure Centre in Croydon, pictured, after local residents reported groups of people surrounding a toddler and chanting 'Get the demon out'.
    dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2770907/Police-investigating-child-exorcisms-carried-dawn-group-adults-chanting-demon-toddler.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
    Have you met any toddlers recently?



  • Options
    Thin end of the wedge / mission creep. Cammo wants to bomb IS inside Syria too:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29366007

    But I doubt he will call a vote on it.
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    SmarmeronSmarmeron Posts: 5,099
    The malaise of Stafford is alive and well

    "Patients are being neglected, hygiene is inadequate and staffing problems are affecting care at the only NHS hospital run by a private company, the health service care watchdog has found."

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/26/care-quality-commission-hinchingbrooke-hospital
  • Options

    Off-topic, but may be of note to some on here:

    Vauxhall warn owners of 3,000 Adam and Corsa cars registered from May 2014 not to drive them due to steering problem

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29387561

    What is one supposed to do ..... push it to the nearest dealership?
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    CD13CD13 Posts: 6,351
    A few years back in a Liverpool pub ...

    "Where are you from, mate?"

    I explained I lived in Liverpool.

    "No, where are you really from?"

    I'm white but they're not familiar with a Lincolnshire accent.

    Is that racist?
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    Scott_P said:

    @carrieapples: William Hague on AQ: "Yes, we all forget things but usually where we've put the car keys, not a plan for how to deal with the deficit"

    AQ? Surely that's his comment on EM?

    (Why is Al Qaeda abbreviated AQ? You normally do not abbreviate the word for "the", so it should just be Q.)

    Wasn't Q a character in Star Trek?
  • Options

    The national picture: It isn't the economy stupid - it's Harper. He's becoming more and more unpopular, and seems to be a drag on the Tories. My contact(!) in the Liberals reckons that if the Tories are still behind in the polls as we approach the election, Harper might quit. If there is a market on next PM, might be worth covering a couple of Tories.

    Trudeau is criticised for being a pretty boy and/or an empty suit - so far that is working with the voters, but the Lib's support may fall when he comes under more scrutiny during the campaign proper.

    NDP trailing in third have taken the radical step of starting to announce policies - and slagging off the other two parties' leaders. They'll need a big bounce to get back into the top two.

    Basically, a 14 month election campaign has just started, and it's the pretty boy's to lose.

    The tar sands issue keeps coming over the Atlantic and Neil Young has just released some new material to back up his recent campaign to highlight the devastation.Do we want Canada's dirty tar sands oil?

  • Options
    Plato said:

    Following on from FPT re Kippers and anti-aspiration rhetoric, this was interesting from the DT blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100287887/ukip-vs-the-free-market-britains-immigration-debate-gets-interesting/

    UPDATE:

    Since posting this, I've seen reports from the Ukip conference in Doncaster that Ukip is now joining several trade unions in campaigning against elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a US-EU trade deal. The point of contention is the treaty's provisions relating to healthcare. Critics say the text as drafted could encourage private provision in the NHS. Leaving aside the daft argument about the NHS and private provision (What do think GP practices are?) and the transparent politics of the Ukip move (reach out to working-class Labour-inclined voters), I think this is a potentially significant, suggesting that Ukip is tilting ever more towards protectionism.

    Reading the comments beneath Ukip-related posts here, and in conversation with Ukip supporters, I'm often struck by the hostility expressed towards big business. I don't think the idea of Ukip as anti-business party is reported enough, possibly because a lot of journalists tend to assume that Ukip is right-of-centre and must therefore be pro-market, pro-business. But the recent business/free market reaction to some Ukip-driven policies, and Ukip's own embrace of anti-trade protectionism over TTIP, strongly suggest that assumption is mistaken. Ukip is looking more and more like the enemy of big business. How will big business respond?
    This isn't news. This is Farage from January.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYn0lTeFNV4
    The MSM are just trying this on as an attack line. If it doesn't work they'll be back to 'once owned a golliwog in 1972' revelations.
  • Options
    TheWatcherTheWatcher Posts: 5,262

    Scott_P said:

    @carrieapples: William Hague on AQ: "Yes, we all forget things but usually where we've put the car keys, not a plan for how to deal with the deficit"

    AQ? Surely that's his comment on EM?

    (Why is Al Qaeda abbreviated AQ? You normally do not abbreviate the word for "the", so it should just be Q.)

    Wasn't Q a character in Star Trek?
    AQ = Any Questions on Radio 4.
  • Options
    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,351
    Just got back from the UKIP conference (only stayed for the one day as everyone who wants to sign animal welfare petitions will have done so). Certainly well attended and more diverse than last year - at a glance about 40% women and maybe 3-5% from ethnic minorities, despite the journalist's unpleasant experience. Generally affable air and fewer obviously bonkers people like the chap last year who was convinced that the NHS was a Nazi concept.

    I had a number of thoughtful conversations on this and that with delegates, who were happy to chat even when I mentioned my private Labour activities - as in the Tory conference, mild amusement is the usual reaction. It still felt somewhat less professional and focused on winning than the Labour conference, but it was notably more mainstream than last year.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,952

    Plato said:

    Following on from FPT re Kippers and anti-aspiration rhetoric, this was interesting from the DT blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100287887/ukip-vs-the-free-market-britains-immigration-debate-gets-interesting/

    UPDATE:

    Since posting this, I've seen reports from the Ukip conference in Doncaster that Ukip is now joining several trade unions in campaigning against elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a US-EU trade deal. The point of contention is the treaty's provisions relating to healthcare. Critics say the text as drafted could encourage private provision in the NHS. Leaving aside the daft argument about the NHS and private provision (What do think GP practices are?) and the transparent politics of the Ukip move (reach out to working-class Labour-inclined voters), I think this is a potentially significant, suggesting that Ukip is tilting ever more towards protectionism.

    Reading the comments beneath Ukip-related posts here, and in conversation with Ukip supporters, I'm often struck by the hostility expressed towards big business. I don't think the idea of Ukip as anti-business party is reported enough, possibly because a lot of journalists tend to assume that Ukip is right-of-centre and must therefore be pro-market, pro-business. But the recent business/free market reaction to some Ukip-driven policies, and Ukip's own embrace of anti-trade protectionism over TTIP, strongly suggest that assumption is mistaken. Ukip is looking more and more like the enemy of big business. How will big business respond?
    This isn't news. This is Farage from January.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYn0lTeFNV4
    The MSM are just trying this on as an attack line. If it doesn't work they'll be back to 'once owned a golliwog in 1972' revelations.

    That's already started, see down thread
  • Options
    MonksfieldMonksfield Posts: 2,203
    Plato said:

    Following on from FPT re Kippers and anti-aspiration rhetoric, this was interesting from the DT blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100287887/ukip-vs-the-free-market-britains-immigration-debate-gets-interesting/

    UPDATE:

    Since posting this, I've seen reports from the Ukip conference in Doncaster that Ukip is now joining several trade unions in campaigning against elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a US-EU trade deal. The point of contention is the treaty's provisions relating to healthcare. Critics say the text as drafted could encourage private provision in the NHS. Leaving aside the daft argument about the NHS and private provision (What do think GP practices are?) and the transparent politics of the Ukip move (reach out to working-class Labour-inclined voters), I think this is a potentially significant, suggesting that Ukip is tilting ever more towards protectionism.

    Reading the comments beneath Ukip-related posts here, and in conversation with Ukip supporters, I'm often struck by the hostility expressed towards big business. I don't think the idea of Ukip as anti-business party is reported enough, possibly because a lot of journalists tend to assume that Ukip is right-of-centre and must therefore be pro-market, pro-business. But the recent business/free market reaction to some Ukip-driven policies, and Ukip's own embrace of anti-trade protectionism over TTIP, strongly suggest that assumption is mistaken. Ukip is looking more and more like the enemy of big business. How will big business respond?
    Er, weren't you earlier mocking McCluskey's appeal to UKIP to reject TTIP? I think the word 'golly' might have been used. Looks like you misread. Alot of UKIP support is from people old and young who have not benefited from globalisation. Farage obviously understands this, whereas those who only see them as an alternative Tory party clearly don't?
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    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    What piffle. Apart from the fact that I can't imagine many would say "where are you really from" at all... it's a question about heritage.

    If I was in India and someone asked me where I was from, even if I was born there - I'd say England. It's not racist or anything else - it's simply a statement of cultural links not geographical birth certificate.

    My uncle Bart was from Sierra Leone. My cousins when asked where they were from replied Cresswell, and then Sierra Leone to explain their family background.

    I just get so ticked off with the silly and IMO OTT PCness about this. Own it, live it, love it... and join our gang in the UK.
    isam said:

    isam said:

    Scott_P said:

    @NicoHines: What happens when a black journo goes to UKIP? RT @stephenkb A lot of: "Where are you from?" "London." "No, where are you really from?""

    That's northerners for you

    5/6 each of two whether that or the Iraq bombing will get most headlines

    I always found that tricky when I worked in London. Black people will get together and ask each other where their families are from. As a white person... I always found it difficult, despite the fact that I was interested, without it sounding like there was a "why don't you go back" subtext. Maybe I just never found the right way of asking.

    Sounds to me most likely that some people who come from a part of the country that is overwhelmingly white clumsily tried to be friendly to a black person... The only response is national shame
  • Options
    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    Smarmeron said:

    The malaise of Stafford is alive and well

    "Patients are being neglected, hygiene is inadequate and staffing problems are affecting care at the only NHS hospital run by a private company, the health service care watchdog has found."

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/26/care-quality-commission-hinchingbrooke-hospital

    7 of the last 13 inspections of the publicly funded NHS trusts by the CQC are rated "requires improvement".

    Still, at least the Guardian is good for confirmation bias, eh?
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    "The Liberal Democrats have chosen local councillor Josh Mason to stand as the party's candidate for Redcar at the 2015 General Election."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-29376288

    So after May, he'll be able to concentrate full time on his role as a councillor.
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    Off-topic, but may be of note to some on here:

    Vauxhall warn owners of 3,000 Adam and Corsa cars registered from May 2014 not to drive them due to steering problem

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29387561

    What is one supposed to do ..... push it to the nearest dealership?
    As it's the steering that's faulty, pushing may not be wise, either.

    A slingshot's the best method. Or perhaps Mr Dancer's space cannon can be targeted on Eisenach.

    I don't religiously usually follow such things, but this is the first time I can remember a do-not-drive notice being given. Whatever the problem is, it must be serious. But probably not as tragically awful as the GM ignition problems ...
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    SmarmeronSmarmeron Posts: 5,099
    @chestnut
    And by the looks of it, 100% of the privately run ones?
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    Smarmeron said:

    The malaise of Stafford is alive and well

    "Patients are being neglected, hygiene is inadequate and staffing problems are affecting care at the only NHS hospital run by a private company, the health service care watchdog has found."

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/26/care-quality-commission-hinchingbrooke-hospital

    The fact it's run by a private company is irrelevant. The client is the NHS. Top down funding = perverted priorities. Bottom up funding = efficiency and effectiveness. If the customer were the general public, and shit treatment meant no patients, thus no money, this sort of thing wouldn't happen.
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    Isn’t a significant part of UKIP Poujadist. To quote something from a distant and almost forgotten past!

    Yes, from the demographics I've suspected for a while that the poujadists would win out over their libertarian segment. Funny how even "small" parties can be formed of such diverse coalitions.
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    SmarmeronSmarmeron Posts: 5,099
    @Luckyguy1983
    Of course....What is Santa Clause bringing you this year?
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    Smarmeron said:

    @chestnut
    And by the looks of it, 100% of the privately run ones?

    Anecdotally, we've attended Hinchinbrooke quite a few times this year, and the service has been first class.

    Also note that this is a leak of an early-stage report, before the hospital has had a chance to respond. Let's see the reports at the same stage from all hospitals, eh?

    (That is said semi-seriously. The longer reports are kept hidden, the greater the chance that the defects will be hidden).
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    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    edited September 2014
    Smarmeron said:

    @chestnut
    And by the looks of it, 100% of the privately run ones?

    "— the Circle Partnership, which is co-owned and run by doctors and nurses.
    In 2011, Hinchingbrooke was failing, having had three notices served because of ‘inadequate’ results in accident and emergency, colorectal and breast cancer treatment"
    So, what's it to be?

    It's rubbish because the doctors and nurses are actually clueless?
    It's rubbish because it was always rubbish even in the public sector?
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    Isn’t a significant part of UKIP Poujadist. To quote something from a distant and almost forgotten past!

    Yes, from the demographics I've suspected for a while that the poujadists would win out over their libertarian segment. Funny how even "small" parties can be formed of such diverse coalitions.
    If think a bigger chunk of their following might better (and more charitably) be characterised as "nostalgist", though.
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    isamisam Posts: 40,952
    Plato said:

    What piffle. Apart from the fact that I can't imagine many would say "where are you really from" at all... it's a question about heritage.

    If I was in India and someone asked me where I was from, even if I was born there - I'd say England. It's not racist or anything else - it's simply a statement of cultural links not geographical birth certificate.

    My uncle Bart was from Sierra Leone. My cousins when asked where they were from replied Cresswell, and then Sierra Leone to explain their family background.

    I just get so ticked off with the silly and IMO OTT PCness about this. Own it, live it, love it... and join our gang in the UK.

    isam said:

    isam said:

    Scott_P said:

    @NicoHines: What happens when a black journo goes to UKIP? RT @stephenkb A lot of: "Where are you from?" "London." "No, where are you really from?""

    That's northerners for you

    5/6 each of two whether that or the Iraq bombing will get most headlines

    I always found that tricky when I worked in London. Black people will get together and ask each other where their families are from. As a white person... I always found it difficult, despite the fact that I was interested, without it sounding like there was a "why don't you go back" subtext. Maybe I just never found the right way of asking.

    Sounds to me most likely that some people who come from a part of the country that is overwhelmingly white clumsily tried to be friendly to a black person... The only response is national shame
    Well the journo is from London, and his parents were probably from London.. I just think that if you are asked by a northern pensioner "where are you really from", you have to have some understanding of why they might ask rather than compare it to Londoners not asking

    Admittedly I am assuming it was northern pensioners that asked him six times, but it was a ukip meeting up North... If it was the UKIP youth wing, which seem to me to be youngish Chelsea types then it's a bit worrying!


  • Options

    Off-topic, but may be of note to some on here:

    Vauxhall warn owners of 3,000 Adam and Corsa cars registered from May 2014 not to drive them due to steering problem

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29387561

    What is one supposed to do ..... push it to the nearest dealership?

    Off-topic, but may be of note to some on here:

    Vauxhall warn owners of 3,000 Adam and Corsa cars registered from May 2014 not to drive them due to steering problem

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29387561

    What is one supposed to do ..... push it to the nearest dealership?
    The wipers on my S Max have packed up, cost to get them fixed?

    £700.

    I'm still in shock.
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    Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091

    "The Liberal Democrats have chosen local councillor Josh Mason to stand as the party's candidate for Redcar at the 2015 General Election."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-29376288

    So after May, he'll be able to concentrate full time on his role as a councillor.

    That is one place where I'd expect a HUGE number of Lib Dem voters to go UKIP.
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    "Scattered throughout the #UkipConf14 programme are these "Leaving Labour" slots. Not one for Tories --->"

    twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/515168620490797058
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    Smarmeron said:

    @Luckyguy1983
    Of course....What is Santa Clause bringing you this year?

    A better comeback than that hopefully.
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    Danny565 said:

    "The Liberal Democrats have chosen local councillor Josh Mason to stand as the party's candidate for Redcar at the 2015 General Election."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-29376288

    So after May, he'll be able to concentrate full time on his role as a councillor.

    That is one place where I'd expect a HUGE number of Lib Dem voters to go UKIP.
    Care to explain your thinking? To my mind they are all Labour voters on holiday, and will be mostly back in the fold next May.
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    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    edited September 2014
    I'm a Geordie. So were my cousins. And they were very black - and a huge novelty back in the 70s in my locale.

    I've a visceral dislike of identity politics. And race card playing. The enormous number of new arrivals has skewed the whole issue. AFAIC, if you want to live here, then accept being British. Not some quasi-subset that enables you to claim to be British-XXX instead.

    The US is chockful of those who want to posture as some Roots throw-back, and pretend to be Chicken George. It's risible and I want none of this here. Youths calling the coppers here *Feds* is just laughable and a very sad state of affairs.
    isam said:

    Plato said:

    What piffle. Apart from the fact that I can't imagine many would say "where are you really from" at all... it's a question about heritage.

    If I was in India and someone asked me where I was from, even if I was born there - I'd say England. It's not racist or anything else - it's simply a statement of cultural links not geographical birth certificate.

    My uncle Bart was from Sierra Leone. My cousins when asked where they were from replied Cresswell, and then Sierra Leone to explain their family background.

    I just get so ticked off with the silly and IMO OTT PCness about this. Own it, live it, love it... and join our gang in the UK.

    isam said:

    isam said:

    Scott_P said:

    @NicoHines: What happens when a black journo goes to UKIP? RT @stephenkb A lot of: "Where are you from?" "London." "No, where are you really from?""

    That's northerners for you

    5/6 each of two whether that or the Iraq bombing will get most headlines

    I always found that tricky when I worked in London. Black people will get together and ask each other where their families are from. As a white person... I always found it difficult, despite the fact that I was interested, without it sounding like there was a "why don't you go back" subtext. Maybe I just never found the right way of asking.

    Sounds to me most likely that some people who come from a part of the country that is overwhelmingly white clumsily tried to be friendly to a black person... The only response is national shame
    Well the journo is from London, and his parents were probably from London.. I just think that if you are asked by a northern pensioner "where are you really from", you have to have some understanding of why they might ask rather than compare it to Londoners not asking

    Admittedly I am assuming it was northern pensioners that asked him six times, but it was a ukip meeting up North... If it was the UKIP youth wing, which seem to me to be youngish Chelsea types then it's a bit worrying!


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    Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    edited September 2014

    Danny565 said:

    "The Liberal Democrats have chosen local councillor Josh Mason to stand as the party's candidate for Redcar at the 2015 General Election."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-29376288

    So after May, he'll be able to concentrate full time on his role as a councillor.

    That is one place where I'd expect a HUGE number of Lib Dem voters to go UKIP.
    Care to explain your thinking? To my mind they are all Labour voters on holiday, and will be mostly back in the fold next May.
    I think the anger at Labour over the steelworks closure is too raw for them to go back en masse. A lot of room for a big none-of-the-above vote there imo.

    Labour will still probably win the seat back, though.
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    MonksfieldMonksfield Posts: 2,203

    Danny565 said:

    "The Liberal Democrats have chosen local councillor Josh Mason to stand as the party's candidate for Redcar at the 2015 General Election."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-29376288

    So after May, he'll be able to concentrate full time on his role as a councillor.

    That is one place where I'd expect a HUGE number of Lib Dem voters to go UKIP.
    Care to explain your thinking? To my mind they are all Labour voters on holiday, and will be mostly back in the fold next May.
    I don't get it either. LD won Redcar because Baird abandoned her constituents over the steelworks closure. With the apparently well regarded LD retiring, the bleed will surely be back to Lab, provided their candidate makes the right noises.

    That said, given the steelworks partially reopened during this Parliament, if I was the LD candidate, I'd be trying to capitalise.
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    Scott_P said:

    @carrieapples: William Hague on AQ: "Yes, we all forget things but usually where we've put the car keys, not a plan for how to deal with the deficit"

    AQ? Surely that's his comment on EM?

    (Why is Al Qaeda abbreviated AQ? You normally do not abbreviate the word for "the", so it should just be Q.)

    Wasn't Q a character in Star Trek?
    AQ = Any Questions on Radio 4.
    Ah. I see. TY.

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    Thin end of the wedge / mission creep. Cammo wants to bomb IS inside Syria too:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29366007

    But I doubt he will call a vote on it.

    A strange comment from that article
    Downing Street has said a small number of troops could be sent to Iraq within hours if the Commons backs action.

    However, the prime minister's official spokesman emphasised the troops would not be in a combat role but would be used to guide air strikes by RAF fighters
    Since when has forward air control been a non-combat role?

    Not that I'm bothered, they can drop fuel-air bombs on them and bayonet what's left, as far as I'm concerned.
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    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,651
    edited September 2014

    Thin end of the wedge / mission creep. Cammo wants to bomb IS inside Syria too:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29366007

    But I doubt he will call a vote on it.

    A strange comment from that article
    Downing Street has said a small number of troops could be sent to Iraq within hours if the Commons backs action.

    However, the prime minister's official spokesman emphasised the troops would not be in a combat role but would be used to guide air strikes by RAF fighters
    Since when has forward air control been a non-combat role?

    Not that I'm bothered, they can drop fuel-air bombs on them and bayonet what's left, as far as I'm concerned.


    Just thinking - is this the first time the RAF has been given a mission to go and drop bombs on British citizens?
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    Thin end of the wedge / mission creep. Cammo wants to bomb IS inside Syria too:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29366007

    But I doubt he will call a vote on it.

    A strange comment from that article
    Downing Street has said a small number of troops could be sent to Iraq within hours if the Commons backs action.

    However, the prime minister's official spokesman emphasised the troops would not be in a combat role but would be used to guide air strikes by RAF fighters
    Since when has forward air control been a non-combat role?

    Not that I'm bothered, they can drop fuel-air bombs on them and bayonet what's left, as far as I'm concerned.


    That reminds me in Libya, where I remembered seeing on the tv coverage the final days of Gaddafi, where you would catch these random armed "blokes", who clearly weren't Libyan wandering around "discussing" with rebels. The report would say the rebels had met some resistance, but that had been sorted now. Magically no resistance anymore, only flattened areas.
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    audreyanneaudreyanne Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2014
    Fantastic to see a broad coalition that includes Arabic states and moderate Muslims. Without doubt the way forward for this world and the opposite of what a few bellicose right-wingers on here like SeanT tub thumped last night. This is how we build the future for this world and, once again, David Cameron has shown himself to be a master statesman.
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    Thin end of the wedge / mission creep. Cammo wants to bomb IS inside Syria too:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29366007

    But I doubt he will call a vote on it.

    A strange comment from that article
    Downing Street has said a small number of troops could be sent to Iraq within hours if the Commons backs action.

    However, the prime minister's official spokesman emphasised the troops would not be in a combat role but would be used to guide air strikes by RAF fighters
    Since when has forward air control been a non-combat role?

    Not that I'm bothered, they can drop fuel-air bombs on them and bayonet what's left, as far as I'm concerned.
    Just thinking - is this the first time the RAF has been given a mission to go and drop bombs on British citizens?Traitors.

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    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322
    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.
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    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322

    Fantastic to see a broad coalition that includes Arabic states and moderate Muslims. Without doubt the way forward for this world and the opposite of what a few bellicose right-wingers on here like SeanT tub thumped last night. This is how we build the future for this world and, once again, David Cameron has shown himself to be a master statesman.

    David Cameron is joining this effort a month late. I don't think he's done anything wrong, but clearly the coalition of Arab states was lined up by the Americans before we ever turned up.
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    Mail have been briefed with some Tory scheme for first time buyers. 100k homes to be built on brownfield sites and sold at less than market value (20% off is the claim), via excluding these houses from various taxes.

    I will believe it when I see it. All politicians seem to think they can just magic 100-200k homes out of thin air.
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    PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.
    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

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    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,288
    Cameron's defence cuts don't look very clever. He really is a shallow fool.
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    weejonnieweejonnie Posts: 3,820
    Is Yorkshire Going Purple?

    Looked at Populus opinion poll (19th - 21st September) and uncovered the following

    Tory: Unweighted: 437: Weighted: 462
    Labo: Unweighted:575: Weighted : 544
    Libs: Unweighted: 107: Weighted: 138
    UKIP: Unweighted: 347: Weighted: 175

    However looking at the Yorkshire Area we get:

    Tory: Weighted: 50; Unweighted : 47
    Labo: weighted: 48: Unweighted : 51
    Libs: Weighted: 23: Unweighted : 18
    UKIP: Weighted: 29: Unweighted : 58

    I hope I am right in that the unweighted vote is the actual people polled.
    Add in that UKIP is more popular (as a percentage of class voting intention) than Labour in the C2DE class and you may begin to realise why Labour is getting worried.
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    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322

    Plato said:

    Following on from FPT re Kippers and anti-aspiration rhetoric, this was interesting from the DT blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100287887/ukip-vs-the-free-market-britains-immigration-debate-gets-interesting/

    UPDATE:

    Since posting this, I've seen reports from the Ukip conference in Doncaster that Ukip is now joining several trade unions in campaigning against elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a US-EU trade deal. The point of contention is the treaty's provisions relating to healthcare. Critics say the text as drafted could encourage private provision in the NHS. Leaving aside the daft argument about the NHS and private provision (What do think GP practices are?) and the transparent politics of the Ukip move (reach out to working-class Labour-inclined voters), I think this is a potentially significant, suggesting that Ukip is tilting ever more towards protectionism.

    Reading the comments beneath Ukip-related posts here, and in conversation with Ukip supporters, I'm often struck by the hostility expressed towards big business. I don't think the idea of Ukip as anti-business party is reported enough, possibly because a lot of journalists tend to assume that Ukip is right-of-centre and must therefore be pro-market, pro-business. But the recent business/free market reaction to some Ukip-driven policies, and Ukip's own embrace of anti-trade protectionism over TTIP, strongly suggest that assumption is mistaken. Ukip is looking more and more like the enemy of big business. How will big business respond?
    This isn't news. This is Farage from January.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYn0lTeFNV4
    The MSM are just trying this on as an attack line. If it doesn't work they'll be back to 'once owned a golliwog in 1972' revelations.

    I'm pretty strongly free trade, but it seems absurd to me that that means you shouldn't criticise any element of any trade agreement. There seem to be several concerning elements to the TTIP, particularly around data retention, and I'd like to hear the argument from both sides more. Sadly, to date, the mainstream media hasn't done the issue justice.
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    Plato said:

    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.

    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

    It can't be much of a surprise, Farage has been quite pro-Putin over the Ukraine. There seems to be a lot of Little Englander in their makeup, or at least non-interventionism. Although I did hear him interviewed and he seems to think the strategy is wrong - he seemed to say IS should be destroyed by the combined ground forces of neighbouring Arab states, and we could support that a bit if we liked.

    You do wonder why Saudi has all that military hardware.

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    GaiusGaius Posts: 227
    Plato said:

    Following on from FPT re Kippers and anti-aspiration rhetoric, this was interesting from the DT blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100287887/ukip-vs-the-free-market-britains-immigration-debate-gets-interesting/

    UPDATE:

    Since posting this, I've seen reports from the Ukip conference in Doncaster that Ukip is now joining several trade unions in campaigning against elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a US-EU trade deal. The point of contention is the treaty's provisions relating to healthcare. Critics say the text as drafted could encourage private provision in the NHS. Leaving aside the daft argument about the NHS and private provision (What do think GP practices are?) and the transparent politics of the Ukip move (reach out to working-class Labour-inclined voters), I think this is a potentially significant, suggesting that Ukip is tilting ever more towards protectionism.

    Reading the comments beneath Ukip-related posts here, and in conversation with Ukip supporters, I'm often struck by the hostility expressed towards big business. I don't think the idea of Ukip as anti-business party is reported enough, possibly because a lot of journalists tend to assume that Ukip is right-of-centre and must therefore be pro-market, pro-business. But the recent business/free market reaction to some Ukip-driven policies, and Ukip's own embrace of anti-trade protectionism over TTIP, strongly suggest that assumption is mistaken. Ukip is looking more and more like the enemy of big business. How will big business respond?
    Its not so much that UKIP is against big business but that UKIP supporters are against a lot of the quasi monopoly rights that big business get from govt. You might be surprised at how much small business supports UKIP, its an aweful lot.

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    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322
    @Plato

    I can only imagine it's a combination of (a) seeing everything through the lens of the 2003 Iraq War and overgeneralising the lessons from that, (b) being so anti-establishment they take up every anti-establishment cause and (c) feeling that if something's difficult we should just not get involved, in the misbelief that it then won't affect us.
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    EasterrossEasterross Posts: 1,915
    Evening all and have to say the more the Iraq/Syria problem becomes a problem the more I think the ultimate solution would be a thermo-nuclear device someone on the border between the two! Unfortunately too many civilians would be killed.

    As for those so called British citizens fighting for IS, reintroduction of High Treason and a long drop from a rope should be what awaits any who are stupid enough ever to return to the UK. However being a civilised country we will no doubt spend £millions giving them a trial, defended at public expense by the likes of that Gareth woman who defended all the IRA killers and then we will spend £50k+ a year keeping them in jail while all the money wasted on giving them justice could better be spent keeping thousands of loyal, hardworking elderly in greater comfort. Let's just hope most of those so called Brits fighting for IS are on the receiving end of US, UK and allied bombs.
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    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322

    Plato said:

    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.

    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

    It can't be much of a surprise, Farage has been quite pro-Putin over the Ukraine. There seems to be a lot of Little Englander in their makeup, or at least non-interventionism. Although I did hear him interviewed and he seems to think the strategy is wrong - he seemed to say IS should be destroyed by the combined ground forces of neighbouring Arab states, and we could support that a bit if we liked.

    You do wonder why Saudi has all that military hardware.

    I was appalled at the pro-Putin line he took on Ukraine. It almost sent me back to the Tories.
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    weejonnie said:

    Is Yorkshire Going Purple?

    Looked at Populus opinion poll (19th - 21st September) and uncovered the following

    Tory: Unweighted: 437: Weighted: 462
    Labo: Unweighted:575: Weighted : 544
    Libs: Unweighted: 107: Weighted: 138
    UKIP: Unweighted: 347: Weighted: 175

    However looking at the Yorkshire Area we get:

    Tory: Weighted: 50; Unweighted : 47
    Labo: weighted: 48: Unweighted : 51
    Libs: Weighted: 23: Unweighted : 18
    UKIP: Weighted: 29: Unweighted : 58

    I hope I am right in that the unweighted vote is the actual people polled.
    Add in that UKIP is more popular (as a percentage of class voting intention) than Labour in the C2DE class and you may begin to realise why Labour is getting worried.

    "...Labour MPs and councillors who know the area [Doncaster] a lot better than I do report alarming levels of voter flirtation with Ukip"

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/25/panic-over-ukip-spread-labour-ed-miliband-nigel-farage
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    SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,937
    edited September 2014
    I don't think I've ever met an American pretending to be Chicken George. And if someone asks a black Londoner where he comes from what else is he supposed to say except London? I agree with iSam that if pensioners struggle with that then they deserve a bit of leeway, but others? Not so much.
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    Socrates said:

    Plato said:

    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.

    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

    It can't be much of a surprise, Farage has been quite pro-Putin over the Ukraine. There seems to be a lot of Little Englander in their makeup, or at least non-interventionism. Although I did hear him interviewed and he seems to think the strategy is wrong - he seemed to say IS should be destroyed by the combined ground forces of neighbouring Arab states, and we could support that a bit if we liked.

    You do wonder why Saudi has all that military hardware.

    I was appalled at the pro-Putin line he took on Ukraine. It almost sent me back to the Tories.
    Socrates: not sure you got my question last night. Are there *any* circumstances you could see yourself voting Conservative next year rather than UKIP? For instance, in a tight Conservative/Labour marginal?

    The reason I ask, is that I've been struggling over a similar decision. However, I'm now sufficiently horrified by the prospect of what a Miliband government might mean that (if I had to pick) I'd pick the devil over the deep blue sea.

    What I wouldn't do is re-join the party, campaign for them or give them any money, though.
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    EasterrossEasterross Posts: 1,915
    Very amusing seeing the UKIP Scots MEP wearing a kilt today yet he couldn't vote last week because he doesn't live in Scotland!!
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    Socrates said:

    @Plato

    I can only imagine it's a combination of (a) seeing everything through the lens of the 2003 Iraq War and overgeneralising the lessons from that, (b) being so anti-establishment they take up every anti-establishment cause and (c) feeling that if something's difficult we should just not get involved, in the misbelief that it then won't affect us.

    The Scot nats are also very opposed to action. Maybe it's a nationalist thing.

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    Plato said:

    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.

    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

    Whilst I'm resigned to another intervention I really don't think its surprising at all that people are becoming less and less willing for this country to involve itself in what seems a never-ending procession of wars. The reasons are numerous

    1) People are war weary. It's been 45 years since this country was not facing a terrorist threat for any extended period.

    2) Iraq was a watershed after which the British Government could no longer be trusted to lead the nation into 'righteous wars'. It humiliated this country.

    3) This government's foreign policy is a mess. Libya is turning into a new Iraq, Syria was a farce and the interference in Ukraine is distinctly dubious.

    4) After almost 15 years in Afghanistan the Taliban are likely to return when the UK and US move out

    5) The decision to send in 6 jets only to bomb in Iraq sounds like a typical Cameron tokenist PR stunt. It is neither adequate nor reflective of prior UK responses. The proposal does not make sense and many have suggested it won't work.

    6) Too much blood and treasure has already been spent in the middle east region by this country

    7) People fear that there will be mission creep and we will become much heavily involved with further expending of blood and treasure
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    Plato said:

    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.

    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

    It can't be much of a surprise, Farage has been quite pro-Putin over the Ukraine. There seems to be a lot of Little Englander in their makeup, or at least non-interventionism. Although I did hear him interviewed and he seems to think the strategy is wrong - he seemed to say IS should be destroyed by the combined ground forces of neighbouring Arab states, and we could support that a bit if we liked.

    You do wonder why Saudi has all that military hardware.

    Perhaps it is that Farage like the many other people is looking at the previous interventions the West has made in the Middle East and North Africa and searching in vain for a single example that has ended in any way well.

    Whatever the fine (and I do not deny they are fine) intentions of our leaders when they embark on these adventures they never, ever end well. This will be no different.

    Oh and since you name Saudi it is worth mentioning that they are considered to be one of the main suppliers of support to ISIS and also the conduit for much of the black market oil that has been helping to keep ISIS running.
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    Thin end of the wedge / mission creep. Cammo wants to bomb IS inside Syria too:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29366007

    But I doubt he will call a vote on it.

    A strange comment from that article
    Downing Street has said a small number of troops could be sent to Iraq within hours if the Commons backs action.

    However, the prime minister's official spokesman emphasised the troops would not be in a combat role but would be used to guide air strikes by RAF fighters
    Since when has forward air control been a non-combat role?

    Not that I'm bothered, they can drop fuel-air bombs on them and bayonet what's left, as far as I'm concerned.
    Just thinking - is this the first time the RAF has been given a mission to go and drop bombs on British citizens?

    Depends what you mean by British citizens. Firstly, they are not being explicitly targeted: only those that adhere to or are part of IS.

    Secondly, yes, the RAF has deliberately targeted British subjects before in the name of peacekeeping. For example, rebels in Iraq and the North-West Frontier of India between the wars.
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    GaiusGaius Posts: 227
    Plato said:

    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.

    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

    Probably something to do with not wanting to waste blood and treasure on bongo land and not wanting our troops to come back in bodybags or with limbs missing.

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    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322
    Gaius said:

    Plato said:

    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.

    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

    Probably something to do with not wanting to waste blood and treasure on bongo land and not wanting our troops to come back in bodybags or with limbs missing.

    We're not putting in troops.
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    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322

    Plato said:

    What do you think is driving their views? Being contrary? Something else?

    I'd love to understand this better. I felt 6 months ago that I knew what Brand Kipper was - now I've no idea.

    Socrates said:

    The more I think about this military intervention the more I support it - and the more I'm feeling alienated from many Ukippers that seem to be knee jerk anti-war.

    It can't be much of a surprise, Farage has been quite pro-Putin over the Ukraine. There seems to be a lot of Little Englander in their makeup, or at least non-interventionism. Although I did hear him interviewed and he seems to think the strategy is wrong - he seemed to say IS should be destroyed by the combined ground forces of neighbouring Arab states, and we could support that a bit if we liked.

    You do wonder why Saudi has all that military hardware.

    Perhaps it is that Farage like the many other people is looking at the previous interventions the West has made in the Middle East and North Africa and searching in vain for a single example that has ended in any way well.
    Sierra Leone stands out pretty clearly. We saved that nation from hell.
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    To bomb, or not to bomb, that is the question........

    It's complex, but, I'm edging towards not just bombing ISIL, but going for a full on, boots on the ground, kick ass, shock and awe kill fest.
    But, then, I'm not the one who's going to be at the sharp end.
    I know a lot of forces people, a few of the Stopper clan are in various branches, including two young nephews who would expect to be at the tip of the spear, if it does escalate, and a close friend who can shoot the balls off a gnat from a mile away, after having crawled on his belly for 5 days to get in position. These are the people who will be playing out the policy that Whitehall, and the voting public, demanding something, anything, want actioning. Other people's sons, brothers, husbands, and yes, now daughters, wives, sisters. It's easy to be an armchair general.

    If we accept that we are at least partly responsible for the state of things in Iraq (cheers, Tony),what do we do about it? I think we have a duty to clear up the mess we made, and that is going to take a lot of blood and treasure. We also have to separate the crazy islamist psychopaths from the majority of muslims, but that is difficult, given that our actions tend to radicalise rather than create harmony. Maybe we have to accept that protecting ourselves will offend some people?

    Make no bones about it, it is going to be bloody. It's going to have to be a full on war, it needs to be a full on war. What my friends and family don't want, is a hands-tied-behind-their-back- police action, where they end up stuck in theatre, a war of attrition, to be maimed and killed by IEDs and suicide bombers and then to withdraw ignominiously a decade later. If they're to fight a war, let them fight it.

    It's the aftermath that will be the problem. Say we beat ISIL, what next? What Islamist group will spring up next, to take their place? Where wil we have to intervene next?
    But if we do nothing, what next?
    These things always always end in "next".
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