Wonder if BBC will alter their election guide photo set.
order-order.com/#_@/Yldl7D_F9UDVKg
Now that Guido highlights the pencil over Labour.
Sure it is not just a shot of your typical beeboid filling in their postal voting slip posted by accident? They know what side their bread is buttered on....and I think there will be champagne corking popping aplenty in broadcasting house, with the knowledge the telly tax will be safe.
Ooer those lib dems look awfully close to Ukip in the last few polls!
At least if I lose my vote match bets I get to moan that I was clear for 18 months only to fall short in the final furlong... Who doesn't love a good hard luck story?
no chance. look how far ahead they are with panelbase and survation. The fact the libs havent been ahead of ukip in any polls in weeks plus the shy kipper idea should keep them 2 or 3% ahead.
Ooer those lib dems look awfully close to Ukip in the last few polls!
At least if I lose my vote match bets I get to moan that I was clear for 18 months only to fall short in the final furlong... Who doesn't love a good hard luck story?
no chance. look how far ahead they are with panelbase and survation. The fact the libs havent been ahead of ukip in any polls in weeks plus the shy kipper idea should keep them 2 or 3% ahead.
Well of course I hope you are right, but this is squeaky bum time!
I feel much more confident of my bets in Thurrock, Thanet and over 2.5 seats than beating the lib dems and getting 10%
ye kipper of little faith! 12 or 13% nailed on. A significant achievement given both the media attacks and sidelining at the expense of the 3 'big parties'. I'm feeling strangely confident about Castle Point, but Thanet is the big one.
Spoke to two kipper campaign people in last 24 hours... They both said Thurrock is in the bag as is Thanet
I've been telling here in dag and rainham and 8/12 people so far have said Ukip (obv I haven't asked I am just taking numbers)
lmao. yeah yeah. every election we get this kinda garbage. usually from people who are in trouble.
MORI, ComRes and Opinium and TNS give it to the blues by one, Panelbase to Lab by two, all others tied with Panelbase way below both Lab and Con predictions for total. Just ICMs final tally to come.... MORI shows late firming up of Labour vote, but 20% May change their mind!!
Tomorrow are politicians going to carry on pretending that they can run an effective government without a coalition? I suppose they said all that stuff about minority govt and confidence+supply because they were desperate, but surely someone is going to have to climb down? It's insanity to try to run the country for more than a month without a majority government of some kind. It would create endless waves of insecurity in organisations, businesses and the markets, as well as being a living hell for the politicians themselves. If a coalition is not possible there will surely have to be another election within the year.
Yep, if you cant win convincingly then you haven't really won at all.
I don't get this thought that David Miliband would walk it. He was useless foreign secretary, remember they had to fly out Mandleson to stop WWIII breaking out. He was weak when he had the chance to get rid of Brown, dithering about what to do. The banana....it was Ed's bacon sandwich...
He would likely not to have got on the business bashing approach of Ed, but we aren't in 1997 now, Blairite business is good, getting rich is good, comfortable about the filthy rich is fine....it is popular to bash all of that and is why Cameron is also in trouble, he is fighting the 2015 like Blair would 2001.
Did you watch Newsnight last night? It was a profile of Ed, but David was in it briefly, and even in those short clips you could see how much better a candidate he would have been.
Yes, he was a crap Foreign Secretary, but he wasn't as bad at that as Ed was at Energy (and will be at anything else)
Ooer those lib dems look awfully close to Ukip in the last few polls!
At least if I lose my vote match bets I get to moan that I was clear for 18 months only to fall short in the final furlong... Who doesn't love a good hard luck story?
no chance. look how far ahead they are with panelbase and survation. The fact the libs havent been ahead of ukip in any polls in weeks plus the shy kipper idea should keep them 2 or 3% ahead.
Ooer those lib dems look awfully close to Ukip in the last few polls!
At least if I lose my vote match bets I get to moan that I was clear for 18 months only to fall short in the final furlong... Who doesn't love a good hard luck story?
no chance. look how far ahead they are with panelbase and survation. The fact the libs havent been ahead of ukip in any polls in weeks plus the shy kipper idea should keep them 2 or 3% ahead.
Well of course I hope you are right, but this is squeaky bum time!
I feel much more confident of my bets in Thurrock, Thanet and over 2.5 seats than beating the lib dems and getting 10%
ye kipper of little faith! 12 or 13% nailed on. A significant achievement given both the media attacks and sidelining at the expense of the 3 'big parties'. I'm feeling strangely confident about Castle Point, but Thanet is the big one.
Spoke to two kipper campaign people in last 24 hours... They both said Thurrock is in the bag as is Thanet
I've been telling here in dag and rainham and 8/12 people so far have said Ukip (obv I haven't asked I am just taking numbers)
lmao. yeah yeah. every election we get this kinda garbage. usually from people who are in trouble.
lets wait and see.
Just telling the truth you utter cretin
Or am I? Have to see? Could go either way! Exciting.
An Ipsos MORI survey exclusively for the Evening Standard finds the Conservatives on 36 per cent and Labour on 35 per cent. Ukip is on 11 per cent and Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats are in fourth place with eight per cent.
Probably EMMPBPMBMNB (Ed Miliband Might Possibly Be Prime Minister But Might Not Be)
EWSHSTTDIOTBPMOHFRWDWHBFN
Ed, getting rich is good, comfortable about the filthy rich is fine....it is popular to bash all of that and is why Cameron is also in trouble, he is fighting the 2015 like Blair would 2001.
details...wonkish details...
Think about the image problems avoided, the appetite the public has for a samey-type bloke in a dark suit, etc.
He could have surrounded himself with able policy types.
He lost all credibility when he failed to get rid of Brown.
After that, he was no longer an option. He wouldn't have been able to surround himself with anybody worthwhile.
I wonder if there's a small amount of complacency among Tories - just a random thought from speaking to one person in my office who said "ooh yeah Tories will get back in, they've done a good job considering the mess...."
Ooer those lib dems look awfully close to Ukip in the last few polls!
At least if I lose my vote match bets I get to moan that I was clear for 18 months only to fall short in the final furlong... Who doesn't love a good hard luck story?
no chance. look how far ahead they are with panelbase and survation. The fact the libs havent been ahead of ukip in any polls in weeks plus the shy kipper idea should keep them 2 or 3% ahead.
Ooer those lib dems look awfully close to Ukip in the last few polls!
At least if I lose my vote match bets I get to moan that I was clear for 18 months only to fall short in the final furlong... Who doesn't love a good hard luck story?
no chance. look how far ahead they are with panelbase and survation. The fact the libs havent been ahead of ukip in any polls in weeks plus the shy kipper idea should keep them 2 or 3% ahead.
Well of course I hope you are right, but this is squeaky bum time!
I feel much more confident of my bets in Thurrock, Thanet and over 2.5 seats than beating the lib dems and getting 10%
ye kipper of little faith! 12 or 13% nailed on. A significant achievement given both the media attacks and sidelining at the expense of the 3 'big parties'. I'm feeling strangely confident about Castle Point, but Thanet is the big one.
Spoke to two kipper campaign people in last 24 hours... They both said Thurrock is in the bag as is Thanet
I've been telling here in dag and rainham and 8/12 people so far have said Ukip (obv I haven't asked I am just taking numbers)
lmao. yeah yeah. every election we get this kinda garbage. usually from people who are in trouble.
lets wait and see.
Just telling the truth you utter cretin
your not, your giving their opinion. they don't know if its in the bag & anyone who convinces you otherwise, well guess the word you threw out is pretty spot on.
Mr. Tabman, quite. The psychological pressure on Miliband to claim victory is enormous.
On polls: what if they got the vote share right but the seat forecasts utterly wrong?
The Newsnight profile on EdM was a real eye-opener - the conclusion being that Miliband Pere was the major influence on Ed and that defending his father's legacy against what he aw as the drift rightwards by the Blairite David (not to mention patronising big brother stuff) was what drove him to stand.
I'm not sure if I have the fortune or misfortune of being GMT+12 so get to watch the results sober on a Friday lunchtime; in the past I really enjoyed election night parties. '97 in Glasgow lives long in the memory for it's ridiculous over the top debauchery, if only we'd known how it would all end..............
I was in deepest, darkest Texas for the 97 election results. There was no coverage at all, of course, and it cost a fortune back then to phone, so it was one call at around 10 pm from a bar in San Antonio to find out what had happened. I missed the party and it upsets me still.
I watched 97 on bbc news channel in a hotel in Krakow. Very excitng
At one point wasn't it said that you took the best Tory score and the worst Labour score in these final polls? If that holds true (and I don't think for a second think it will), Rod prediction of Tories by +4 would be about right.
There's a clear mark of intent. I think it's more likely than not that it would be counted.
Surely its a clearly identifiable vote so would be void, plus the language battered wife etc - joking about domestic abuse on a ballot paper is surely like joking about bombs in the airport. Has to be a spoilt ballot surely.
There's no law against jokes in bad taste and as the comment doesn't run against the actual vote then I don't think it should be invalid for uncertainty.
As for being identifiable, it's only if the voter him- or herself is identifiable that would render the ballot invalid, which isn't the case here.
I thought the whole purpose of laws against identifiable votes were to prevent corruption - to stop people signing the votes a certain way and then being paid for that vote. If you can sign it with a text, what's to stop people using a certain unique password code and then being paid for that vote?
It may not be the case, but any text other than the vote should be a spoilt ballot. Since there's a significant proportion of spoilt ballots each year, I'd imagine one referencing criminal coercion would be.
If someone did use a codeword to identify themselves then that would be illegal as you suggest. However, I very much doubt that's the case here.
As for criminal coercion, I doubt it would be practically possible. For it to work, you'd need (at least) hundreds of such papers, which clearly would show up at the count and should make the returning officer and police suspicious. Furthermore, the corrupt party would then need to mark off each codeword so s/he knew which voters to pay out to, which might itself attract attention at the count!
That's correct. I've been to counts - more than once. There are dozens of counters all assiduously watched by prowling eagle-eyed representatives of each party, supervising the counting. There are also counter supervisors and the returning officer arbitrating any complaints, the election agents and a few coppers. Usually.
The counting happens so fast, and under so many eyes, there's no time or mechanism for any funny business. There is usually a 'funny ballot' pile and those votes are scrutinised at the end by the agents of all candidates.
If it's close, and someone suspects funny business, a recount can be requested by any of the candidates.
There are weaknesses in our voting system, for sure, but I'm not sure the counting process is one of them.
Tomorrow are politicians going to carry on pretending that they can run an effective government without a coalition? I suppose they said all that stuff about minority govt and confidence+supply because they were desperate, but surely someone is going to have to climb down? It's insanity to try to run the country for more than a month without a majority government of some kind. It would create endless waves of insecurity in organisations, businesses and the markets, as well as being a living hell for the politicians themselves. If a coalition is not possible there will surely have to be another election within the year.
"Strikingly, a third of Ukippers say they may change their mind, compared with a fifth of people currently minded to back one of the other big parties. That will boost Tory hopes of a late switch from Mr Farage to Mr Cameron."
Well, I ended up voting LD (despite being, unknown to myself, a secret Tory apparently) - at the end of the day their message of moderating the big two strikes me as the best, as I don't like any of the big two enough to want them to have unfettered rule.
Nevertheless, I don't think they will have enough seats to enter into an agreement with Lab without the SNP.
A surprisingly easy Labour plurality predicted though.
Been a lot of talk about how rubbish the campaign have been, especially Tories. This reads like what the Tories campaign briefing notes should have said, not the Lyton Crosby WEIRD ED, LABOUR SNP memo.
Cheers for the article, Mr. Nutbrown. Although I do expect the SNP to top 50 seats, I don't think the index price is that much out of whack. Only a total clean sweep or sub-40 would be a surprise result at this stage.
Miss Cyclefree, you poker of hornet nests'!
I know: I am being a mischievous minx. Delicious, though!
Anyway, to continue my jeu d'esprit:-
1. It would likely stop Scottish independence. 2. If UKIP are a busted flush tomorrow, he wouldn't have to fear much on that score. 3. The Tories would be in the politicial equivalent of a psychiatric ward. 4. The Lib Dems would be on side. 5. He could get some token back from the EU enabling him to say that he had achieved something by contrast with the Tories. 6. The City wouldn't care that much provided they can carry on making money and being the leading financial centre. 6. It would be vv difficult to reverse so he would go down in history. 7. And a relatively strong British economy might be the fillip the EZ needs.
I'm not putting my personal views here. Just putting forward a madcap idea since we need some fun on a day like this.
But if it happens I will be an unparalleled political seer and will be available to offer my services since I will no doubt be unemployed following the Terror of the Milliband Tax Regime.
On a more serious point, a small Q at my polling station and I made one of the officers laugh by saying that we had a choice between the Cr*p and the Complacent.
I'm not going to link to it but Guido has a story about electoral practice in Birmingham which if true is deeply concerning in a "Tower Hamlets" fashion.
@guardian_clark: Watch this space for the final final ICM poll which I hope won't be too long coming, and provides one final twist @martinboon
Not a Labour lead????
Gawd. Don't. You could so easily be right.
But it really doesn't matter at this stage, does it? Voting is under way. All the polls are now showing Ed will be PM. We can just hope they are wrong (and I still believe they will be).
The value of matched bets on Betfair's "Most Seats" market is rapidly approaching £4 million. I wonder what it will have reached by midnight tonight ..... £8 million, £10 miilion or even more. What a terrific franchise this company has to print money, involving minimal competition and minimal risk. Small wonder that in its few short years it now has grown to the stage where it now has well over twice the market capitalisation of Ladbrokes.
Been a lot of talk about how rubbish the campaign have been, especially Tories. This reads like what the Tories campaign briefing notes should have said, not the Lyton Crosby WEIRD ED, LABOUR SNP memo.
I would've run a far more positive campaign, and I would've banged on and on about the undeniable fact that good public services can only be achieved from a good economy.
The Tories are either too polite, too arrogant, too ignorant or too distanced from regular punters to realise how much that point needs to be hammered home.
Cameron tries, but even he seems too polite to be aggressively persuasive.
@guardian_clark: Watch this space for the final final ICM poll which I hope won't be too long coming, and provides one final twist @martinboon
Not a Labour lead????
Gawd. Don't. You could so easily be right.
But it really doesn't matter at this stage, does it? Voting is under way. All the polls are now showing Ed will be PM. We can just hope they are wrong (and I still believe they will be).
While I'm not apopletic at the likely result, I am annoyed that Ed's hubris with the Edstone won't lead to any downfall. As funny as it was, and as much as it itself did and should not have impacted the final decisions of anyone, it's a much better story if such an arrogant gimmick was punished by the gods of fate.
I'm not going to link to it but Guido has a story about electoral practice in Birmingham which if true is deeply concerning in a "Tower Hamlets" fashion.
Been a lot of talk about how rubbish the campaign have been, especially Tories. This reads like what the Tories campaign briefing notes should have said, not the Lyton Crosby WEIRD ED, LABOUR SNP memo.
I would've run a far more positive campaign, and I would've banged on and on about the undeniable fact that good public services can only be achieved from a good economy.
The Tories are either too polite, too arrogant, too ignorant or too distanced from regular punters to realise how much that point needs to be hammered home.
Cameron tries, but even he seems too polite to be aggressively persuasive.
I'm not sure banging on about Ed being weird and the danger of letting those crazy Scots influence government could really be attributed to being "too polite"
@guardian_clark: Watch this space for the final final ICM poll which I hope won't be too long coming, and provides one final twist @martinboon
Not a Labour lead????
Gawd. Don't. You could so easily be right.
But it really doesn't matter at this stage, does it? Voting is under way. All the polls are now showing Ed will be PM. We can just hope they are wrong (and I still believe they will be).
As Elmbridge goes, so goes the nation!
So, at last you finally understand my sunny disposition.
(Although, as you know, at Council level, we only enjoy a narrow majority and have a number of must hold marginals. I'll be out and about later treating the antis to a magical mystery train journey).
And IF the Tories - by good fortune - do end up with a 4% lead, then pretty well all the pollsters can also claim victory! Isn't the average a 1% advantage?
Been a lot of talk about how rubbish the campaign have been, especially Tories. This reads like what the Tories campaign briefing notes should have said, not the Lyton Crosby WEIRD ED, LABOUR SNP memo.
I would've run a far more positive campaign, and I would've banged on and on about the undeniable fact that good public services can only be achieved from a good economy.
The Tories are either too polite, too arrogant, too ignorant or too distanced from regular punters to realise how much that point needs to be hammered home.
Cameron tries, but even he seems too polite to be aggressively persuasive.
I'm not sure banging on about Ed being weird and the danger of letting those crazy Scots influence government could really be attributed to being "too polite"
Had I been in control of the Tory campaign, I would have pledged that any reduction in interest payments due to the reduction of national debt would have gone directly to the NHS in addition to other commitments. That would have linked prosperity and extra services in the minds of the electorate.
Cheers for the article, Mr. Nutbrown. Although I do expect the SNP to top 50 seats, I don't think the index price is that much out of whack. Only a total clean sweep or sub-40 would be a surprise result at this stage.
Miss Cyclefree, you poker of hornet nests'!
I know: I am being a mischievous minx. Delicious, though!
Anyway, to continue my jeu d'esprit:-
1. It would likely stop Scottish independence. 2. If UKIP are a busted flush tomorrow, he wouldn't have to fear much on that score. 3. The Tories would be in the politicial equivalent of a psychiatric ward. 4. The Lib Dems would be on side. 5. He could get some token back from the EU enabling him to say that he had achieved something by contrast with the Tories. 6. The City wouldn't care that much provided they can carry on making money and being the leading financial centre. 6. It would be vv difficult to reverse so he would go down in history. 7. And a relatively strong British economy might be the fillip the EZ needs.
I'm not putting my personal views here. Just putting forward a madcap idea since we need some fun on a day like this.
But if it happens I will be an unparalleled political seer and will be available to offer my services since I will no doubt be unemployed following the Terror of the Milliband Tax Regime.
On a more serious point, a small Q at my polling station and I made one of the officers laugh by saying that we had a choice between the Cr*p and the Complacent.
A move to join the Euro would trigger a referendum. We'd also have to join ERM II and meet the convergence criteria.
Been a lot of talk about how rubbish the campaign have been, especially Tories. This reads like what the Tories campaign briefing notes should have said, not the Lyton Crosby WEIRD ED, LABOUR SNP memo.
I would've run a far more positive campaign, and I would've banged on and on about the undeniable fact that good public services can only be achieved from a good economy.
The Tories are either too polite, too arrogant, too ignorant or too distanced from regular punters to realise how much that point needs to be hammered home.
Cameron tries, but even he seems too polite to be aggressively persuasive.
I'm not sure banging on about Ed being weird and the danger of letting those crazy Scots influence government could really be attributed to being "too polite"
The problem is that the Tories are detached in a lot of instances from people who rely on these services and could not pay / go privately the School or hospital let them down. If they did they would go on about good management of the economy means money for public services. The perception problem is that they will cut taxes and services rather than protect them. They haven't done enough of the blame management. As services were cut they needed to pin that on Labour, and then any reorganisation should have been to restructure services to reinvest. Both the Tories and lib dem have been bad at retail offer management.
I wonder if there's a small amount of complacency among Tories - just a random thought from speaking to one person in my office who said "ooh yeah Tories will get back in, they've done a good job considering the mess...."
I guess this is the downside to the Tories' whole SNP messaging, which pushed on the idea that Ed Miliband: 1) Wasn't himself very frightening. 2) Wouldn't get many votes on his own.
If the cons are that far ahead in the midlands and SE & SW, could it be just that labour are hardening/piling up votes in safe northern seats and maybe at lot of LAB>UKIP switchers are coming home in safe labour seats? this certainly does not look like a uniform national swing
I commented as much yesterday. If you consider that the Sw Wales figures will have the Labour vote in Wales and then the cities in Sw, then the Tory vote is very strong.
One-party state numbers in the likes of Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle....Parts of London. Elsewhere? Balanced on a knife-edge.
Can you really make sense out of those regional splits? They mostly look terrible for Labour yet for E&W they are only 2 behind. Tories in North are better than Labour in Scotland AND Wales&SW... Look at that Green vote.
As a man involved in film you will I am sure remember the specs advert with the (Nixon lookalike) police chief who is reading the wrong notice board ... ''I don't get it, I just don't get it'' then he walks into the broom cup'd. Just who is short sighted here - us, the polls or the politicians?
Been a lot of talk about how rubbish the campaign have been, especially Tories. This reads like what the Tories campaign briefing notes should have said, not the Lyton Crosby WEIRD ED, LABOUR SNP memo.
I would've run a far more positive campaign, and I would've banged on and on about the undeniable fact that good public services can only be achieved from a good economy.
The Tories are either too polite, too arrogant, too ignorant or too distanced from regular punters to realise how much that point needs to be hammered home.
Cameron tries, but even he seems too polite to be aggressively persuasive.
I'm not sure banging on about Ed being weird and the danger of letting those crazy Scots influence government could really be attributed to being "too polite"
Had I been in control of the Tory campaign, I would have pledged that any reduction in interest payments due to the reduction of national debt would have gone directly to the NHS in addition to other commitments. That would have linked prosperity and extra services in the minds of the electorate.
Will there be any reduction? I thought it would just be a stabilisation. What if interest rates go up?
Probably EMMPBPMBMNB (Ed Miliband Might Possibly Be Prime Minister But Might Not Be)
EWSHSTTDIOTBPMOHFRWDWHBFN
Ed will sell his soul to the devil to be PM otherwise his fratricidal rift with David will have been for nothing
while not disputing the acronym is a good 'un, the amusing thing is that if David M was in the seat, all this talk would be academic and Lab would be sitting on a 70-seat OM.
No chance. Scotland would be exactly the same (note the lack of progress by the great Blairite hope, Jim Murphy) and a lot of the voters who jumped ship over Iraq etc would never have got back on board.
Don't agree. A lot of the red liberals would have come back anyway to vote for the anti-tory party, whilst DM might also have attracted direct Con-Lab switchers, unlike Ed.
But you're forgetting that DM is absolutely useless at politics. He'd have found a way to feck it all up.
We were saying the same about Ed 6 months ago. You just don't know until they try.
Ted has spent 4 weeks walking round in suit and tie and standing behind a lectern or in front of a stone, trying not to look like Michael Foot. And meeting only activists. Whenever he has debated or interviewed he has not performed well. Well the interview in Estuary English with Brand was the best one I suppose. This may indeed be a definition of not being useless at politics, but its not mine. But I guess its whatever floats yer vote. Does being the Labour leader which lost Scotland count for much in these stakes?
Been a lot of talk about how rubbish the campaign have been, especially Tories. This reads like what the Tories campaign briefing notes should have said, not the Lyton Crosby WEIRD ED, LABOUR SNP memo.
I would've run a far more positive campaign, and I would've banged on and on about the undeniable fact that good public services can only be achieved from a good economy.
The Tories are either too polite, too arrogant, too ignorant or too distanced from regular punters to realise how much that point needs to be hammered home.
snip
I'm not sure banging on about Ed being weird and the danger of letting those crazy Scots influence government could really be attributed to being "too polite"
The problem is that the Tories are detached in a lot of instances from people who rely on these services and could not pay / go privately the School or hospital let them down. If they did they would go on about good management of the economy means money for public services. The perception problem is that they will cut taxes and services rather than protect them. They haven't done enough of the blame management. As services were cut they needed to pin that on Labour, and then any reorganisation should have been to restructure services to reinvest. Both the Tories and lib dem have been bad at retail offer management.
Thats rubbish and when Cameron points out his disabled son used the NHS and he is well aware of how important it is - then he is criticised (or rather 'smeared') for it.
Been a lot of talk about how rubbish the campaign have been, especially Tories. This reads like what the Tories campaign briefing notes should have said, not the Lyton Crosby WEIRD ED, LABOUR SNP memo.
I'm not sure banging on about Ed being weird and the danger of letting those crazy Scots influence government could really be attributed to being "too polite"
Had I been in control of the Tory campaign, I would have pledged that any reduction in interest payments due to the reduction of national debt would have gone directly to the NHS in addition to other commitments. That would have linked prosperity and extra services in the minds of the electorate.
The tories have promised to meet the NHS £8bn shortfall. Labour have not.
Mr. Tabman, quite. The psychological pressure on Miliband to claim victory is enormous.
On polls: what if they got the vote share right but the seat forecasts utterly wrong?
The Newsnight profile on EdM was a real eye-opener - the conclusion being that Miliband Pere was the major influence on Ed and that defending his father's legacy against what he aw as the drift rightwards by the Blairite David (not to mention patronising big brother stuff) was what drove him to stand.
Is that really news - ? Its what any serious people watcher could have told you.
Mozzarella cheese..Tomatoes..home grown Basil..home produced olive oil..bread..great local white wine..in the garden at 27 degrees...hmmm...now what is that other event taking place today...
Mozzarella cheese..Tomatoes..home grown Basil..home produced olive oil..bread..great local white wine..in the garden at 27 degrees...hmmm...now what is that other event taking place today...
Comments
lets wait and see.
I might. I just might. I see King at concerts (he's a big music lover). He's looking rather grey and worn these days. Doubt he fancies all-nighters any more.
Just ICMs final tally to come....
MORI shows late firming up of Labour vote, but 20% May change their mind!!
Yes, he was a crap Foreign Secretary, but he wasn't as bad at that as Ed was at Energy (and will be at anything else)
Or am I? Have to see? Could go either way! Exciting.
The counting happens so fast, and under so many eyes, there's no time or mechanism for any funny business. There is usually a 'funny ballot' pile and those votes are scrutinised at the end by the agents of all candidates.
If it's close, and someone suspects funny business, a recount can be requested by any of the candidates.
There are weaknesses in our voting system, for sure, but I'm not sure the counting process is one of them.
foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/06/the-election-that-brings-europe-to-britain-westminster/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=%2AEditors%20Picks&utm_campaign=2014_EditorsPicksRS5%2F6&wp_login_redirect=0
Needs registration, but is free.
"Strikingly, a third of Ukippers say they may change their mind, compared with a fifth of people currently minded to back one of the other big parties. That will boost Tory hopes of a late switch from Mr Farage to Mr Cameron."
Nevertheless, I don't think they will have enough seats to enter into an agreement with Lab without the SNP.
A surprisingly easy Labour plurality predicted though.
http://www.sunnation.co.uk/voting-tory-was-right-for-the-economy-in-2010-and-its-right-in-2015-too/
Anyway, to continue my jeu d'esprit:-
1. It would likely stop Scottish independence.
2. If UKIP are a busted flush tomorrow, he wouldn't have to fear much on that score.
3. The Tories would be in the politicial equivalent of a psychiatric ward.
4. The Lib Dems would be on side.
5. He could get some token back from the EU enabling him to say that he had achieved something by contrast with the Tories.
6. The City wouldn't care that much provided they can carry on making money and being the leading financial centre.
6. It would be vv difficult to reverse so he would go down in history.
7. And a relatively strong British economy might be the fillip the EZ needs.
I'm not putting my personal views here. Just putting forward a madcap idea since we need some fun on a day like this.
But if it happens I will be an unparalleled political seer and will be available to offer my services since I will no doubt be unemployed following the Terror of the Milliband Tax Regime.
On a more serious point, a small Q at my polling station and I made one of the officers laugh by saying that we had a choice between the Cr*p and the Complacent.
I wonder what it will have reached by midnight tonight ..... £8 million, £10 miilion or even more.
What a terrific franchise this company has to print money, involving minimal competition and minimal risk. Small wonder that in its few short years it now has grown to the stage where it now has well over twice the market capitalisation of Ladbrokes.
The Tories are either too polite, too arrogant, too ignorant or too distanced from regular punters to realise how much that point needs to be hammered home.
Cameron tries, but even he seems too polite to be aggressively persuasive.
I have voted:
1992 & 1997 Cambridge
2001, 2005, 2010 & 2015 St Albans.
In 1997 I voted in the General Election in Cambridge only but both St Albans and Cambridge in the locals as I was on the electoral register in both.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-32621444
(Although, as you know, at Council level, we only enjoy a narrow majority and have a number of must hold marginals. I'll be out and about later treating the antis to a magical mystery train journey).
Could we have a single malt constituency spreadsheet instructing us which malt to drink with each constituency return?
Watch this space for the final final ICM poll which I hope won't be too long coming, and provides one final twist @martinboon
Cmon...can ICM reclaim the Gold Standard!!!
It's tipping it down here in Derby North too, so presumably is also in Erewash, Broxtowe etc.
Watch out for Erewash tonight. "As Erewash goes, so goes the nation".
Now back to ironing.
1) Wasn't himself very frightening.
2) Wouldn't get many votes on his own.
Maybe they should have done some demon eyes...
I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks. I've really enjoyed reading everyone's analysis / comments.
Look at that Green vote.
As a man involved in film you will I am sure remember the specs advert with the (Nixon lookalike) police chief who is reading the wrong notice board ... ''I don't get it, I just don't get it'' then he walks into the broom cup'd.
Just who is short sighted here - us, the polls or the politicians?
Whenever he has debated or interviewed he has not performed well. Well the interview in Estuary English with Brand was the best one I suppose.
This may indeed be a definition of not being useless at politics, but its not mine. But I guess its whatever floats yer vote. Does being the Labour leader which lost Scotland count for much in these stakes?
I'd swap a Labour win for that
http://order-order.com/2015/05/07/computer-says-no-last-minute-tory-campaign-software-fail/