Mr. Dair, perhaps. Certainly a significantly long Twitter event. Whether it matters beyond that remains to be seen.
It's the gift that keeps on giving...by the way if Ed does get a chance to put up his plinth in the gardens of No 10 then it would be the first erection seen there since John Major had a cabinet meeting with Edwina Currie.
My 'late' observations from the QT Leaders debate. David Cameron looked far more comfortable than the other two and actually seemed to enjoy it. EdM looked like a fish out of water, he was clearly uncomfortable. As a northern MP, I'm surprised, as he should have known we northerners call a spade a spade. NIck Clegg always reverts to peevishness when under pressure. The real losers of the night, were the main stream 'metropolitan' media. The good folk of Yorkshire really showed them up and they got more answers from the politicians than any other programme I have seen. The Media are overrated and overpaid In my view. Their coverage of this campaign, has been absolutely dire.
Did you read AA Gill in the ST today?
"I watched the Question Time Debate and thought: "My God, but they're frightful." They don't listen, they trot out the same guff and they ooze insincerity, with their dismissive body language and phonily chummy first-name thing. They are entranced by the sound of their own voices. By the end I was simply grateful I didn't live next to any of them. By comparison, Cameron, Miliband and Clegg seemed quite nice."
Slightly predictable punch line perhaps but also quite amusing.
Should you not be trawling aroud the carse looking for tacticals? Fairweather canvasser.
Tbh, I agree with the PBTories that it would be suicide for Labour to try to form a minority government if they're WAY behind the Tories on seats,
Tbh, I still don't see what would be so bad about allowing the Tories to have a super-minority government. Most Labour people don't have such an irrational hatred of the Tories that they're depserate for them as people to be gotten rid of, we just want them stripped of their power to do more nasty things. In a super-hung parliament Labour would get an absolute veto in parliament over anything the Tories propose (including any further austerity). They could even pass votes of no confidence in individual ministers like Osborne and IDS.
Yep, I could happily live with a Tory-led government that was unable to implement Tory policy. The added bonus would be that the Tory right would find it totally intolerable, with all the fun and games that would lead to.
Exactly, a minority Tory government that can't do anything Tory sounds absolutely ideal. The ravers & droolers would be beside themselves with fury, no EU referendum either. What's not to like.
Mr. Dair, perhaps. Certainly a significantly long Twitter event. Whether it matters beyond that remains to be seen.
Given the echo chamber like nature of twitter, I place next to nothing if something is trending, how long it trends for etc etc etc, despite how over excited the MSM get over it.
Seems sensible. I wouldn't be surprised if a mock up of the slab is used as a paper front page to keep things going a bit longer, but trending on twitter means little, except that we've had nothing fun to mock in politics for the whole campaign so everyone's getting it out of their systems.
I suppose we might also get some articles about how it proved Ed is not worthy of being PM, not that being worthy is a criteria for the job.
Depends if a) front pages mock it tomorrow and b) the story continues to dominate the broadcasters.
But, Ed's public events are extremely managed and - rarely - does Q&A with the media.
Difficult to tell potential damage/effect on voting intention.
It is incrediblw (and pretty sad for democracy) given the length of the campaign just how little the leaders have actually met the general public. Six weeks of being shuttled from one staged managed event to the next, it is akin to being some sort of prisoner.
I wish the media had really really gone big on this, rather than just some passing bylines, and shown up Cameron and Miliband in a big way.
I also think that either one would have got a decent amount of credit if they had done the soap box thing, and probably more so if some raving loon did go postal at them. If the politician remain calm, polite and agrees to disagree, I think they can gain a lot of positives from it.
Tbh, I agree with the PBTories that it would be suicide for Labour to try to form a minority government if they're WAY behind the Tories on seats,
Tbh, I still don't see what would be so bad about allowing the Tories to have a super-minority government. Most Labour people don't have such an irrational hatred of the Tories that they're depserate for them as people to be gotten rid of, we just want them stripped of their power to do more nasty things. In a super-hung parliament Labour would get an absolute veto in parliament over anything the Tories propose (including any further austerity). They could even pass votes of no confidence in individual ministers like Osborne and IDS.
Yep, I could happily live with a Tory-led government that was unable to implement Tory policy. The added bonus would be that the Tory right would find it totally intolerable, with all the fun and games that would lead to.
Exactly, a minority Tory government that can't do anything Tory sounds absolutely ideal. The ravers & droolers would be beside themselves with fury, no EU referendum either. What's not to like.
It's what a lot of people would like I guess - Cameron would be in charge, but only able to do something most in the Commons wanted, eg not Tory stuff.
Utter white elephant. The nearest major cities to Stranraer are two hours away or more: Glasgow and, er, Carlisle. So the leisure demand will be roughly zero on top of what's already on the ferry, and there is not enough commerce to make up the balance.
Mr. Dair, perhaps. Certainly a significantly long Twitter event. Whether it matters beyond that remains to be seen.
Given the echo chamber like nature of twitter, I place next to nothing if something is trending, how long it trends for etc etc etc, despite how over excited the MSM get over it.
Think about the Labour campaign with the get Cameron out hash tag that ran for weeks on end, effect basically nothing.
Twitter downgrades the effect of Trends compared to how much traffic is generated in the current period compared to previous periods. As such, it takes a hell of a lot of interest in a topic to keep it trending for this length of time. You can (with an obscure enough hashtag and moderate support) trend number one with a few thousand people using the hashtag in a short period.
It's still on the worldwide top ten. It is probably the most consequential trend of the campaign so far.
Even Chelsea winning the Premiership is struggling to knock #EdStone back. Considering how long #EdStone has been trending (over 4 hours now?) that's pretty remarkable and shows that #EdStone is a significant moment in this campaign.
John Terry #EdStone MK Dons Congratulations Chelsea Palace Willian #SamkingftwYouTube Mikel #ontopictalkshow Notts County
Really.This shows the PB Nats are as mad as the PB Tories.
@LadPolitics: Where will the Labour stone plinth be after the election? 10/1 Labour Hq 5/4 Downing Street Rose Gardens 4/5 Anywhere else! #EdStone
Maybe they can turn it into a giant kitchen table...Ed could have it in his kitchen, oh no wait, that won't work. He could have it a coffee table, somewhere to put the limited edition racist mugs.
It will be found in The Edward Miliband sanctuary for freed owls.
Tbh, I agree with the PBTories that it would be suicide for Labour to try to form a minority government if they're WAY behind the Tories on seats,
Tbh, I still don't see what would be so bad about allowing the Tories to have a super-minority government. Most Labour people don't have such an irrational hatred of the Tories that they're depserate for them as people to be gotten rid of, we just want them stripped of their power to do more nasty things. In a super-hung parliament Labour would get an absolute veto in parliament over anything the Tories propose (including any further austerity). They could even pass votes of no confidence in individual ministers like Osborne and IDS.
Yep, I could happily live with a Tory-led government that was unable to implement Tory policy. The added bonus would be that the Tory right would find it totally intolerable, with all the fun and games that would lead to.
Exactly, a minority Tory government that can't do anything Tory sounds absolutely ideal. The ravers & droolers would be beside themselves with fury, no EU referendum either. What's not to like.
It's what a lot of people would like I guess - Cameron would be in charge, but only able to do something most in the Commons wanted, eg not Tory stuff.
I could live with that and Dave would be able to Chillax most of the time so it won't be too onerous or boring for him. Perfect solution!
Moving on from the boring GE campaign that no one cares apart from party workers these days, to the more exciting circus of the 2016 US Presidential race. This week 2 Republican candidates had legal troubles:
I'm surprised there is not some law that exempts Downing Street from regular planning rules, to be honest.
@EricPickles: What other listed buildings would Labour wreck with leftie propaganda? #EdStone
Where has Eric Pickles been during this campaign?
I would have thought it would be rather sensible to have him fairly visible, as he does seem to be able to use his "Northern charms" to at least get a hearing with a certain section of the electorate.
The Tories campaign seems to be Cameron....Cameron...Cameron..Osborne...Cameron...place the rest under house arrest.
The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It connects Knight's Key (part of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is one of the many bridges on US 1 in the Keys, where the road is called the Overseas Highway.
There are two bridges in this location. The older bridge, originally known as the Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge, was constructed from 1909 to 1912 under the direction of Henry Flagler as part of the Florida East Coast Railway's Key West Extension, also known as the Overseas Railroad.
Tbh, I agree with the PBTories that it would be suicide for Labour to try to form a minority government if they're WAY behind the Tories on seats,
Tbh, I still don't see what would be so bad about allowing the Tories to have a super-minority government. Most Labour people don't have such an irrational hatred of the Tories that they're depserate for them as people to be gotten rid of, we just want them stripped of their power to do more nasty things. In a super-hung parliament Labour would get an absolute veto in parliament over anything the Tories propose (including any further austerity). They could even pass votes of no confidence in individual ministers like Osborne and IDS.
Yep, I could happily live with a Tory-led government that was unable to implement Tory policy. The added bonus would be that the Tory right would find it totally intolerable, with all the fun and games that would lead to.
Exactly, a minority Tory government that can't do anything Tory sounds absolutely ideal. The ravers & droolers would be beside themselves with fury, no EU referendum either. What's not to like.
I think this shows the lunacy of Labour abstaining the Queen's speech. If they do that they need to abstain every budget and so forth or we're going to have Governmental paralysis for 5 years due to the FTPA.
The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It connects Knight's Key (part of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is one of the many bridges on US 1 in the Keys, where the road is called the Overseas Highway.
There are two bridges in this location. The older bridge, originally known as the Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge, was constructed from 1909 to 1912 under the direction of Henry Flagler as part of the Florida East Coast Railway's Key West Extension, also known as the Overseas Railroad.
You do realise the North Channel is 150 metres deep as opposed to 20-30 metres, as well as being a dumping ground for WWII munitions?
No problem with todays technology, if you have deep sea oil platforms that is nothing. Labour and the UUP had a deal for an oil pipeline in 1979 during the vote of confidence.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster. That would mean that scotland would comprise mostly of Glasgow and the Highlands, we can call it Glasgowland for fun.
Tbh, I agree with the PBTories that it would be suicide for Labour to try to form a minority government if they're WAY behind the Tories on seats,
Tbh, I still don't see what would be so bad about allowing the Tories to have a super-minority government. Most Labour people don't have such an irrational hatred of the Tories that they're depserate for them as people to be gotten rid of, we just want them stripped of their power to do more nasty things. In a super-hung parliament Labour would get an absolute veto in parliament over anything the Tories propose (including any further austerity). They could even pass votes of no confidence in individual ministers like Osborne and IDS.
Yep, I could happily live with a Tory-led government that was unable to implement Tory policy. The added bonus would be that the Tory right would find it totally intolerable, with all the fun and games that would lead to.
Exactly, a minority Tory government that can't do anything Tory sounds absolutely ideal. The ravers & droolers would be beside themselves with fury, no EU referendum either. What's not to like.
I think this shows the lunacy of Labour abstaining the Queen's speech. If they do that they need to abstain every budget and so forth or we're going to have Governmental paralysis for 5 years due to the FTPA.
Not paralysis. The Tories would just have to come forward with economic policies which Labour could support.
Greenwich Mean Time (@GreenwichMean) 18/04/2015 22:58 It's 10:58pm. Immediately pointing it out when someone writes 'your' instead of 'you're' is the closest you get to sex
Greenwich Mean Time (@GreenwichMean) 18/04/2015 22:58 It's 10:58pm. Immediately pointing it out when someone writes 'your' instead of 'you're' is the closest you get to sex
Stalker ! I didn't realise a kipper was such a softie !
Depends if a) front pages mock it tomorrow and b) the story continues to dominate the broadcasters.
But, Ed's public events are extremely managed and - rarely - does Q&A with the media.
Difficult to tell potential damage/effect on voting intention.
It is incrediblw (and pretty sad for democracy) given the length of the campaign just how little the leaders have actually met the general public. Six weeks of being shuttled from one staged managed event to the next, it is akin to being some sort of prisoner.
I wish the media had really really gone big on this, rather than just some passing bylines, and shown up Cameron and Miliband in a big way.
I also think that either one would have got a decent amount of credit if they had done the soap box thing, and probably more so if some raving loon did go postal at them. If the politician remain calm, polite and agrees to disagree, I think they can gain a lot of positives from it.
If I'm honest I was expecting to see the Cameron Direct tour back on during the election - similar to Question Time, he's good at the format, is well practiced at it and seems to engage well with this sort of public forum.
Dave is well aware of his reputation as not relating to 'ordinary people' so there's obviously reasons behind the decision, as I imagine he would want to take the opportunity if he could.
My guess as to why it's not happened - a combination of security concerns meaning it was difficult to organise, and a high chance of a well-networked bunch of lefties or Kippers determined to cause the wrong sort of trouble for him.
Depends if a) front pages mock it tomorrow and b) the story continues to dominate the broadcasters.
But, Ed's public events are extremely managed and - rarely - does Q&A with the media.
Difficult to tell potential damage/effect on voting intention.
It is incrediblw (and pretty sad for democracy) given the length of the campaign just how little the leaders have actually met the general public. Six weeks of being shuttled from one staged managed event to the next, it is akin to being some sort of prisoner.
I wish the media had really really gone big on this, rather than just some passing bylines, and shown up Cameron and Miliband in a big way.
I also think that either one would have got a decent amount of credit if they had done the soap box thing, and probably more so if some raving loon did go postal at them. If the politician remain calm, polite and agrees to disagree, I think they can gain a lot of positives from it.
If I'm honest I was expecting to see the Cameron Direct tour back on during the election - similar to Question Time, he's good at the format, is well practiced at it and seems to engage well with this sort of public forum.
Dave is well aware of his reputation as not relating to 'ordinary people' so there's obviously reasons behind the decision, as I imagine he would want to take the opportunity if he could.
My guess as to why it's not happened - a combination of security concerns meaning it was difficult to organise, and a high chance of a well-networked bunch of lefties or Kippers determined to cause the wrong sort of trouble for him.
I suppose it goes without saying that a man crazy enough to erect an 8' stone with his election promises chiseled on it should not be allowed anywhere near 'ordinary people'.
Depends if a) front pages mock it tomorrow and b) the story continues to dominate the broadcasters.
But, Ed's public events are extremely managed and - rarely - does Q&A with the media.
Difficult to tell potential damage/effect on voting intention.
It is incrediblw (and pretty sad for democracy) given the length of the campaign just how little the leaders have actually met the general public. Six weeks of being shuttled from one staged managed event to the next, it is akin to being some sort of prisoner.
I wish the media had really really gone big on this, rather than just some passing bylines, and shown up Cameron and Miliband in a big way.
I also think that either one would have got a decent amount of credit if they had done the soap box thing, and probably more so if some raving loon did go postal at them. If the politician remain calm, polite and agrees to disagree, I think they can gain a lot of positives from it.
If I'm honest I was expecting to see the Cameron Direct tour back on during the election - similar to Question Time, he's good at the format, is well practiced at it and seems to engage well with this sort of public forum.
Dave is well aware of his reputation as not relating to 'ordinary people' so there's obviously reasons behind the decision, as I imagine he would want to take the opportunity if he could.
My guess as to why it's not happened - a combination of security concerns meaning it was difficult to organise, and a high chance of a well-networked bunch of lefties or Kippers determined to cause the wrong sort of trouble for him.
I suppose it goes without saying that a man crazy enough to erect an 8' stone with his election promises chiseled on it should not be allowed anywhere near 'ordinary people'.
Why is that crazy? Anyone can write whatever one likes on almost anything as long as it's his own. A politician can write his pledges on anything reasonable apart from toilet paper I guess.
The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It connects Knight's Key (part of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is one of the many bridges on US 1 in the Keys, where the road is called the Overseas Highway.
There are two bridges in this location. The older bridge, originally known as the Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge, was constructed from 1909 to 1912 under the direction of Henry Flagler as part of the Florida East Coast Railway's Key West Extension, also known as the Overseas Railroad.
You do realise the North Channel is 150 metres deep as opposed to 20-30 metres, as well as being a dumping ground for WWII munitions?
No problem with todays technology, if you have deep sea oil platforms that is nothing. Labour and the UUP had a deal for an oil pipeline in 1979 during the vote of confidence.
The MoD also blocked commercial oil exploration in the adjoining Firth of Clyde to protect exit routes for the polaris/tridemnt subs at Faslane.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
Moving on from the boring GE campaign that no one cares apart from party workers these days, to the more exciting circus of the 2016 US Presidential race. This week 2 Republican candidates had legal troubles:
I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away."
Greenwich Mean Time (@GreenwichMean) 18/04/2015 22:58 It's 10:58pm. Immediately pointing it out when someone writes 'your' instead of 'you're' is the closest you get to sex
Stalker ! I didn't realise a kipper was such a softie !
Your definition of a stalker is someone who disagrees with you on the internet?
Fixed links to Ireland, whether from Stranraer, Holyhead or Pembrokeshire would go some way to providing economic development away from the SE.
A bridge from Wales to Dublin would have been a good idea 100 years ago, not today though, so we are left with a bridge from Scotland to Belfast.
Well ROI is our #1 export market. And would be a quick route to Belfast too. I'd build bridges to everywhere - Clacton to Ostend would be a belter. I might write to the local MP.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Ulster didn't want to join an independent Ireland, and so much that they were prepared to fight against it with force of arms, the election of 1918 provided a clear democratic mandate for that territory to stay in the UK.
I don't think Edinburgh, the Borders and the Shetlands want to join an independent Scotland as the referendum showed, if their people vote against then they should have the democratic right to refuse joining an independent Scotland like Ulster did.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
I reckon that whoever thought of the rock idea should step forward and receive the acclaim of a grateful nation..perhaps even a Knighthood..at least...It was the Rock wot Wunnit..
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Ulster didn't want to join an independent Ireland, and so much that they were prepared to fight against it with force of arms, the election of 1918 provided a clear democratic mandate for that territory to stay in the UK.
I don't think Edinburgh, the Borders and the Shetlands want to join an independent Scotland as the referendum showed, if their people vote against then they should have the democratic right to refuse joining an independent Scotland like Ulster did.
The people of the Borders voted against Scotland being separate from the United Kingdom - they didn't vote to be separate from Scotland.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
I reckon that whoever thought of the rock idea should step forward and receive the acclaim of a grateful nation..perhaps even a Knighthood..at least...It was the Rock that Wunnit..
Probably the same person who came up with the wording of "The Vow"
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
If they wanted such a vote of course they would have the right to vote on the matter.
But you are stark raving bonkers if you think they would vote for anything other than staying part of Scotland.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
If they wanted such a vote of course they would have the right to decide that.
But you are stark raving bonkers if you think they would vote for anything other than staying part of Scotland.
We will have to see about that in a referendum then. I can guess the foregone conclusion that the Shetlands will vote to leave Scotland in order to have all the North Sea oil for themselves.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
If they wanted such a vote of course they would have the right to decide that.
But you are stark raving bonkers if you think they would vote for anything other than staying part of Scotland.
We will have to see about that in a referendum then. I can guess the foregone conclusion that the Shetlands will vote to leave Scotland in order to have all the North Sea oil for themselves.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
It doesn't work like that. Borders is an integral part of Scotland. Borderers are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
It doesn't work like that. Borders is an integral part of Scotland. Borderers are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
Scotland is an integral part of the United Kingdom. Scots are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
Perhaps a week's holiday and living in an ultra-safe Labour seat affords me a slightly different perspective from those fighting the good fight and living from poll to poll in the hyper-marginals.
First, all this nonsense from David Cameron about clinging on to power if he has more votes and seats can be dismissed - had you asked him five years ago on the weekend before the last election whether he would do a deal with Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats, I don't expect he would have said "oh yes, we're not going to win a majority and I will make a full offer of talks to the Lib Dems on the day after the election".
In other words, the campaign rhetoric is just that - it's hyperbole meant to rally the troops. It's not meant to be taken seriously and shouldn't be by anyone with even a basic understanding of politics. Ed Miliband's dismissal of the SNP can be seen in a similar light/
I did expect the Conservatives to have opened a 3-5% lead across all polls and for the main three topics of conservation to be a) the ins and outs of the new Conservative Government, b) candidates for the Labour leadership election and c) the seats the Tories would be gaining from Labour.
Instead, little seems to have changed and Cowling's analysis on the BBC website seems reasonable - I expect the Conservatives to narrowly win the national vote but the seat picture remains unclear. The possibility of a Labour Government functioning with tacit SNP support of an informal S&C nature seems to be the most likely outcome as I suspect the Conservatives and Lib Dem attempts at Coalition 2.0 will come up well short.
I'm going to be controversial on topic and argue the 8th May at 5/1 is the bet here. It will be obvious by Friday lunchtime if the Conservatives have done well enough to hold on and for all the rhetoric, Cameron won't want to prolong the agony especially if, as I suspect, it becomes clear the Labour/SNP option is going to be a starter and will have a majority (given PC and a few of the Irish will support and the rump of the LDs and the DUP won't oppose).
Just finished a day canvassing a hyper marginal north west con held seat with labour chasing. Canvassing those who either undecided or have not had contact with. I have to say the undecided are falling to the Cons more than Lab.
It is now becoming very clear that the Con support in this constituency is now a few percent above that which was won in 2010.
According to national and regional sub samples this seat should be long lost to Labour. There is *no* swing against Con in constituency (though of course the configuration of those who arent voting Con coalescing around the lab candidate could be enough ).
Is there any betting on how many years till the next (Con/Lab/AN Other) parliamentary majority?
Depends on Friday's results. If Lab+SNP get in on Friday with the Tories on say 280 then I'd say no more than five year. Come 2020 either Scotland will be going/gone (in which case 280 already is an English majority and just 16 more needed for a UK majority) OR the Tories will be able to get the 46 seats needed for an overall majority.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
It doesn't work like that. Borders is an integral part of Scotland. Borderers are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
I'm going to be controversial on topic and argue the 8th May at 5/1 is the bet here. It will be obvious by Friday lunchtime if the Conservatives have done well enough to hold on and for all the rhetoric, Cameron won't want to prolong the agony especially if, as I suspect, it becomes clear the Labour/SNP option is going to be a starter and will have a majority (given PC and a few of the Irish will support and the rump of the LDs and the DUP won't oppose).
I thought DUP were vehemently against the SNP. The SNP represents by far the greatest threat to NI unionism of all major mainland parties.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
It doesn't work like that. Borders is an integral part of Scotland. Borderers are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
It doesn't work like that. Borders is an integral part of Scotland. Borderers are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
Scotland is an integral part of the United Kingdom. Scots are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
I agree that the principal of integrity has been shot by the SNP a long time ago. If Scotland can leave the UK, so can anyone from Scotland.
I thought DUP were vehemently against the SNP. The SNP represents by far the greatest threat to NI unionism of all major mainland parties.
The DUP are a pragmatic bunch. If Labour/SNP are in a position to form a majority (or to have more votes than any other combination) then the DUP will seek to get the best they can for Ulster from the new Government.
I see we have yet another canvasser claiming all the polls are wrong and their Party is doing much better than expected in some unnamed constituency (if I had a pound for every time I'd seen that on here, I'd need trousers with reinforced pockets).
There are fools, damn fools, people who bet odds on in novice chases and political canvassers.
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
If they wanted such a vote of course they would have the right to decide that.
But you are stark raving bonkers if you think they would vote for anything other than staying part of Scotland.
We will have to see about that in a referendum then. I can guess the foregone conclusion that the Shetlands will vote to leave Scotland in order to have all the North Sea oil for themselves.
If they went for full independence they would get all the lovely oil, if they decided to stay part of the UK they would be an island enclave and only get 12 mile territorial waters,
Just finished a day canvassing a hyper marginal north west con held seat with labour chasing. Canvassing those who either undecided or have not had contact with. I have to say the undecided are falling to the Cons more than Lab.
It is now becoming very clear that the Con support in this constituency is now a few percent above that which was won in 2010.
According to national and regional sub samples this seat should be long lost to Labour. There is *no* swing against Con in constituency (though of course the configuration of those who arent voting Con coalescing around the lab candidate could be enough ).
How visible was your party identification? Did you canvas the same areas in '10?
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
It doesn't work like that. Borders is an integral part of Scotland. Borderers are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
What about Cornwall? Or Monmouthshire? Are they an integral part of England/Wales respectively? Hmm.
More pertintently, what about Shetland and Orkney, they voted overwhemingly NO, they are not part of the Scottish mainland, and they have historically been part of the Nordic world, as much as the British Isles.
If Scotland voted 51/49 YES but Shetland voted 60/40 NO what would happen? I'm not sure anyone has the answer.
If they feel strongly enough about it they take up arms and to the victors the spoils, see the UVF and Ulster or the Donbass and the militia. Power flows from the barrel of a gun.
I don't think that the Anglo Saxon areas of Scotland feel that strongly about the Union (or that negatively towards other Scots).
What was it that was said about canvassers at the start? Something along the lines of if all canvassers reports are believed the big four parties will be winning about 1500 seats between them?
We will have to see about that in a referendum then. I can guess the foregone conclusion that the Shetlands will vote to leave Scotland in order to have all the North Sea oil for themselves.
'PE01516: Referenda for Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles
Number of signatures collected
1,177
5 August 2014: The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7'
EPG..The visitors would also have to go through Passport Control..when Scotland becomes the land of the Free
We can always break up scotland like we did with Ireland, keep the counties that are against independence in the UK like Ulster.
I'm not sure you quite grasp the history of how Ireland was partitioned.
Yes. Not exactly our finest hour as a nation. Unfortunately we have been paying for it off and on ever since. The idea of partitioning Scotland in the same way is ludicrous.
The idea that, say, the Borders would want to be separate from an independent Scotland is one of those things that doesn't even work as a joke.
If you are so confident then why not give them the right to democratically choose between joining an independent Scotland or remaining in the UK. Let the people decide.
It doesn't work like that. Borders is an integral part of Scotland. Borderers are bound to accept the will of their countrymen and women. If you start messing around with that principle where do you stop?
What about Cornwall? Or Monmouthshire? Are they an integral part of England/Wales respectively? Hmm.
More pertintently, what about Shetland and Orkney, they voted overwhemingly NO, they are not part of the Scottish mainland, and they have historically been part of the Nordic world, as much as the British Isles.
If Scotland voted 51/49 YES but Shetland voted 60/40 NO what would happen? I'm not sure anyone has the answer.
Fair point. But there's more to it than that from a reapolitik perspective. Cornwall can be in England or independent. I guess that's a call for the Cornish. Monmouthshire, the Borders - they can say no to independent Wales/Scotland, but that does not make them part of England. What do the English get out of taking them on - apart from extra expense? Shetland and Orkney, of course, are a different matter. They DO bring something to the table.
Comments
Fairweather canvasser.
But, Ed's public events are extremely managed and - rarely - does Q&A with the media.
Difficult to tell potential damage/effect on voting intention.
I suppose we might also get some articles about how it proved Ed is not worthy of being PM, not that being worthy is a criteria for the job.
I wish the media had really really gone big on this, rather than just some passing bylines, and shown up Cameron and Miliband in a big way.
I also think that either one would have got a decent amount of credit if they had done the soap box thing, and probably more so if some raving loon did go postal at them. If the politician remain calm, polite and agrees to disagree, I think they can gain a lot of positives from it.
It's still on the worldwide top ten. It is probably the most consequential trend of the campaign so far.
This week 2 Republican candidates had legal troubles:
Chris Christie:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/01/politics/chris-christie-bridgegate-investigation-charges/
1 Pleading Guilty, 2 more indicted.
Scott Walker:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/in-iowa-scott-walker-raps-john-doe-connected-raids-on-supporters-b99488324z1-301309161.html
Prosecutors fume over Walker's attack on them, threaten to criminally charge him for lying.
Note, one of the two prosecutors is a Republican.
I would have thought it would be rather sensible to have him fairly visible, as he does seem to be able to use his "Northern charms" to at least get a hearing with a certain section of the electorate.
The Tories campaign seems to be Cameron....Cameron...Cameron..Osborne...Cameron...place the rest under house arrest.
Why what happened?
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/07/22/article-2017721-0D1DEF0400000578-126_634x375.jpg
But only after the servant has washed it.
You do realise the North Channel is 150 metres deep as opposed to 20-30 metres, as well as being a dumping ground for WWII munitions?
https://twitter.com/Boothy380/status/594864704427810816/photo/1
http://www.tombstonebuilder.com/index.php
Oh the fun.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEFyr3HWoAA2SMA.jpg
No problem with todays technology, if you have deep sea oil platforms that is nothing.
Labour and the UUP had a deal for an oil pipeline in 1979 during the vote of confidence.
Lab +16.5 vs Tory 10/11
That would mean that scotland would comprise mostly of Glasgow and the Highlands, we can call it Glasgowland for fun.
18/04/2015 22:58
It's 10:58pm. Immediately pointing it out when someone writes 'your' instead of 'you're' is the closest you get to sex
Ouchies.
Dave is well aware of his reputation as not relating to 'ordinary people' so there's obviously reasons behind the decision, as I imagine he would want to take the opportunity if he could.
My guess as to why it's not happened - a combination of security concerns meaning it was difficult to organise, and a high chance of a well-networked bunch of lefties or Kippers determined to cause the wrong sort of trouble for him.
What odds to lay the draw?
Anyone can write whatever one likes on almost anything as long as it's his own.
A politician can write his pledges on anything reasonable apart from toilet paper I guess.
Labour and the UUP had a deal for an oil pipeline in 1979 during the vote of confidence.
The MoD also blocked commercial oil exploration in the adjoining Firth of Clyde to protect exit routes for the polaris/tridemnt subs at Faslane.
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
http://wingsoverscotland.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/toryclarkston.jpg
Oddball
I don't think Edinburgh, the Borders and the Shetlands want to join an independent Scotland as the referendum showed, if their people vote against then they should have the democratic right to refuse joining an independent Scotland like Ulster did.
Let the people decide.
But you are stark raving bonkers if you think they would vote for anything other than staying part of Scotland.
I can guess the foregone conclusion that the Shetlands will vote to leave Scotland in order to have all the North Sea oil for themselves.
Well done Jos Buttler for a quick couple of dozen at the death, may make the difference.
You can't even find the words can you.
How do you know that?
You owe me a meal! When are we going for it?
Perhaps a week's holiday and living in an ultra-safe Labour seat affords me a slightly different perspective from those fighting the good fight and living from poll to poll in the hyper-marginals.
First, all this nonsense from David Cameron about clinging on to power if he has more votes and seats can be dismissed - had you asked him five years ago on the weekend before the last election whether he would do a deal with Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats, I don't expect he would have said "oh yes, we're not going to win a majority and I will make a full offer of talks to the Lib Dems on the day after the election".
In other words, the campaign rhetoric is just that - it's hyperbole meant to rally the troops. It's not meant to be taken seriously and shouldn't be by anyone with even a basic understanding of politics. Ed Miliband's dismissal of the SNP can be seen in a similar light/
I did expect the Conservatives to have opened a 3-5% lead across all polls and for the main three topics of conservation to be a) the ins and outs of the new Conservative Government, b) candidates for the Labour leadership election and c) the seats the Tories would be gaining from Labour.
Instead, little seems to have changed and Cowling's analysis on the BBC website seems reasonable - I expect the Conservatives to narrowly win the national vote but the seat picture remains unclear. The possibility of a Labour Government functioning with tacit SNP support of an informal S&C nature seems to be the most likely outcome as I suspect the Conservatives and Lib Dem attempts at Coalition 2.0 will come up well short.
I'm going to be controversial on topic and argue the 8th May at 5/1 is the bet here. It will be obvious by Friday lunchtime if the Conservatives have done well enough to hold on and for all the rhetoric, Cameron won't want to prolong the agony especially if, as I suspect, it becomes clear the Labour/SNP option is going to be a starter and will have a majority (given PC and a few of the Irish will support and the rump of the LDs and the DUP won't oppose).
Just finished a day canvassing a hyper marginal north west con held seat with labour chasing. Canvassing those who either undecided or have not had contact with. I have to say the undecided are falling to the Cons more than Lab.
It is now becoming very clear that the Con support in this constituency is now a few percent above that which was won in 2010.
According to national and regional sub samples this seat should be long lost to Labour. There is *no* swing against Con in constituency (though of course the configuration of those who arent voting Con coalescing around the lab candidate could be enough ).
If its Tory+LD on Friday then who knows.
Their countrymen are Britain.
Come on give us a clue to the seat.
If Scotland can leave the UK, so can anyone from Scotland.
I see we have yet another canvasser claiming all the polls are wrong and their Party is doing much better than expected in some unnamed constituency (if I had a pound for every time I'd seen that on here, I'd need trousers with reinforced pockets).
There are fools, damn fools, people who bet odds on in novice chases and political canvassers.
How visible was your party identification? Did you canvas the same areas in '10?
Not an Arsenal fan. Palace season ticket holder. We have proper support, which even Mourinho acknowledges
http://metro.co.uk/2015/05/03/jose-mourinho-appears-to-hit-out-at-sleeping-chelsea-fans-during-title-win-v-crystal-palace-5179227/#mv-b
Herald Scotland names 7.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/scottish-politics/labour-write-off-30-scottish-seats-and-double-down-on-saving-murphy-curra.124963056
"Other than Curran, Murphy and Alexander, Labour insiders are hopeful candidates Tom Greatrex, Tom Clarke, Willie Bain and Ian Murray will hold on."
I don't think that the Anglo Saxon areas of Scotland feel that strongly about the Union (or that negatively towards other Scots).
People don't care were politicians put their election pledges, as long as it's not toilet paper.
And I looked at the BBC's most read and watched and it's nowhere, the most interesting on the list was "Chernobyl Fox Makes Sandwich" on No.9.
Number of signatures collected
1,177
5 August 2014: The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7'
http://tinyurl.com/nwy6j29
If they want me to deliver those they can forget it.