Farage the best man for the job and has got the job
Great news for Ukip, bad news for everyone else.. Hence the anger from other party followers
Happy Monday!
I don't see any anger, more incredulity and laughter. In an "Ed is Crap" kind of way.
We PB Tories kept saying "Ed is Crap" - because he was. In the same way Farage is past his Best Before date. If UKIP had any credibility then "thank you for your service" would have been the reaction to Farage's reaction.
I agree with Richard, BOO is supposed to be bigger than one man. Is there nobody else that could have taken on the job? Just makes him and the party a joke. Something to point and laugh at now that Ed is Crap has gone.
Philip Thompson Rubbish, latest yougov polls already show In only has a 9% lead, even less than No won by in indyref, unlike the LDs UKIP are not in coalition with the government. Farage's strategy to win the EU Parliament elections and then get an EU referendum with as high an Out vote as possible follows Salmond's strategy of winning the Holyrood elections and then getting an independence referendum with as high a Yes vote as possible
Farage, like Salmond, is a marmite character, you either love him or hate him, but both have charisma undoubtedly
Well it's a YouGov poll. The only people who believe then are seriously deluded people like Ed Miliband.
Soory to be so rude.. but they have zero credibility.
The NEC also concluded that UKIP’s general election campaign had been a great success.
How the heck is a net loss of one MP a great success?
How is going from 3% to 13% not a success?
It is all about winning seats.
You had two incumbents, and Reckless, to quote someone here, was up against the inept Kelly Tolhurst
How did he manage to lose that.
For a fledgling party it's all about winning vote share, which will be transformed into seats at a later date.
How do you feel about UKIP being the only challengers to Labour in the North?
I nearly voted Tory for the first time, if I lived in a marginal I probably would have done, however arrogant egotistical twats like you are always there to remind me not to.
UKIP are the only challengers to Labour in the North eh?
If you ignore all those seats the Tories won, or are in second place to Labour.
And I love it when you get abusive, means you Kippers have lost the argument.
Funny coming from someone who is happy to get abusive on a regular basis. I presume this means that you are regularly losing the argument.
Oh and by the way you should be thanking UKIP. Without them taking all those votes off Labour we would have Miliband in No 10 now. The won you the election.
Didn't Labour's vote go up by 1.4% v. 2010?
Yep and it would have been far larger had not UKIP taken so many votes off them in crucial marginals. They by an and large negated the move of many Lib Dems back to Labour.
Silly, silly Nigel. Looks to me like he's scared someone else might do a really good job and take it away from him permanently. A great shame, now would have been a good time to go.
One thing that continues to astound me is (some of) the left's absolute hatred towards anyone who doesn't conform to their narrow, hfar left, no offense must ever, ever be caused to anyone mindset that manifests itself both in real life and online.
The NEC also concluded that UKIP’s general election campaign had been a great success.
How the heck is a net loss of one MP a great success?
How is going from 3% to 13% not a success?
It is all about winning seats.
You had two incumbents, and Reckless, to quote someone here, was up against the inept Kelly Tolhurst
How did he manage to lose that.
For a fledgling party it's all about winning vote share, which will be transformed into seats at a later date.
How do you feel about UKIP being the only challengers to Labour in the North?
I nearly voted Tory for the first time, if I lived in a marginal I probably would have done, however arrogant egotistical twats like you are always there to remind me not to.
UKIP are the only challengers to Labour in the North eh?
If you ignore all those seats the Tories won, or are in second place to Labour.
And I love it when you get abusive, means you Kippers have lost the argument.
Funny coming from someone who is happy to get abusive on a regular basis. I presume this means that you are regularly losing the argument.
Oh and by the way you should be thanking UKIP. Without them taking all those votes off Labour we would have Miliband in No 10 now. The won you the election.
Didn't Labour's vote go up by 1.4% v. 2010?
Yep and it would have been far larger had not UKIP taken so many votes off them in crucial marginals. They by an and large negated the move of many Lib Dems back to Labour.
Cant agree, the lib dems used to be the protest vote, thats how their vote collapsed so much and how they lost so many deposits. Its wasn't because of tuition fees. Lost of people used to vote Lib Dem as a protest against the big two. As soon as they went into Government the protest element was lost. It simply transfered to UKIP. If the tories had won a majority at the last election Nick Clegg would would be the Lib Dem leader with 80+ MPs and UKIP would be on 5%.
Philip Thompson Rubbish, latest yougov polls already show In only has a 9% lead, even less than No won by in indyref, unlike the LDs UKIP are not in coalition with the government. Farage's strategy to win the EU Parliament elections and then get an EU referendum with as high an Out vote as possible follows Salmond's strategy of winning the Holyrood elections and then getting an independence referendum with as high a Yes vote as possible
Farage, like Salmond, is a marmite character, you either love him or hate him, but both have charisma undoubtedly
You can not be serious. Incidentally Yes2AV started with massive majorities in the opinion polls but lost by 2 to 1 too.
EDIT: And to compare "winning the Euro elections" to winning the Holyrood elections and becoming the Scottish government is absurd. Salmond became Scottish First Minister - if Farage was EU President then things would be different.
I think that Farage made the pledge to resign because he thought he was an absolute certainty to win. You could see by his demeanour during the count just how angry he was at the thought of losing. I was chuffed that so many well known labour/lib dem mps lost their seats but was full of admiration for the way they handled themselves giving their losing speeches and generally in the respectful way that they behaved. Compare that to how Farage behaved.
I know on Friday morning when he said that he may stand again as UKIP leader that he was always going to carry on as I am certain that he would have stood again and have been re-elected. This decision today is just typical of the man. He just could not comtemplate someone else being in charge of his party or him being out of the public eye. He has become addicted to the fame.
I do not see how this will help with UKIPs prime reason for being, withdrawal from the EU. The public will see through him and a large majority will vote to stay in.
Nige has been infected with EU culture - ask a question enough times until you get the "right" answer.
36 of the SNP's 56 seats were won with more than 50% of the vote Biggest win - Dundee East 61.91% (I got on this at 2/5) Smallest vote share - Edinburgh South 33.79% Smallest vote share to win a seat - Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk 36.6% (They lost Orkeny & Shetland and Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale with a higher percentage of the vote. The SNP got less than 40% in only 5 seats.
The Cybernits are still in meltdown mode trying to rejig the numbers every which way, to try and cling on to some form of success:
I think the fact that they were able to only hold onto 3 seats by relying on tactical voting is a sad indictment of how low the 3 "mainstream parties" have fallen.
Farage the best man for the job and has got the job
Great news for Ukip, bad news for everyone else.. Hence the anger from other party followers
Happy Monday!
I don't see any anger, more incredulity and laughter. In an "Ed is Crap" kind of way.
We PB Tories kept saying "Ed is Crap" - because he was. In the same way Farage is past his Best Before date. If UKIP had any credibility then "thank you for your service" would have been the reaction to Farage's reaction.
I agree with Richard, BOO is supposed to be bigger than one man. Is there nobody else that could have taken on the job? Just makes him and the party a joke. Something to point and laugh at now that Ed is Crap has gone.
There are plenty of people who could take on the job of leading an out campaign both inside UKIP and out. The trouble is that UKIP are seen as the party of Out and as such will be given a large slice of the media time, money and various Electoral Commission rulings when the referendum approaches. With the right person in charge this would not necessarily be a bad thing. The BOO campaign could form up around a UKIP core and there is plenty of talent outside of the party who could help. Unfortunately with Farage in charge not only will many of them not help but Farage will alienate large swathes of the potential vote.
Just as importantly there is a basic problem with UKIP's current position on post exit status. We need to have a position that we will move to EEA/EFTA membership at least in the short term. This would greatly reassure business and would give the public a clear picture of what a post Brexit relationship with Europe would look like. As long as UKIP hold a position that we will not join EFTA then we are going to struggle to persuade voters that Brexit is the right move.
Philip Thompson Rubbish, latest yougov polls already show In only has a 9% lead, even less than No won by in indyref, unlike the LDs UKIP are not in coalition with the government. Farage's strategy to win the EU Parliament elections and then get an EU referendum with as high an Out vote as possible follows Salmond's strategy of winning the Holyrood elections and then getting an independence referendum with as high a Yes vote as possible
Farage, like Salmond, is a marmite character, you either love him or hate him, but both have charisma undoubtedly
Well it's a YouGov poll. The only people who believe then are seriously deluded people like Ed Miliband.
Soory to be so rude.. but they have zero credibility.
I see David Miliband has ruled himself out of the leadership, while saying both Brown and his brother failed to meet the values of voters for 'aspiration and inclusion'
36 of the SNP's 56 seats were won with more than 50% of the vote Biggest win - Dundee East 61.91% (I got on this at 2/5) Smallest vote share - Edinburgh South 33.79% Smallest vote share to win a seat - Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk 36.6% (They lost Orkeny & Shetland and Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale with a higher percentage of the vote. The SNP got less than 40% in only 5 seats.
The Cybernits are still in meltdown mode trying to rejig the numbers every which way, to try and cling on to some form of success:
I think the fact that they were able to only hold onto 3 seats by relying on tactical voting is a sad indictment of how low the 3 "mainstream parties" have fallen.
Jill Stephenson and the rest of the cyberunionist thugs are just hilarious.
Most of them are doing the "multiply the turnout by the vote share" to claim SNP not legitimate representatives due to only getting 35.5% of the vote.
Quite ironic when the Tory Government only got 36.8% and that turns into 24.3%.
The NEC also concluded that UKIP’s general election campaign had been a great success.
How the heck is a net loss of one MP a great success?
How is going from 3% to 13% not a success?
It is all about winning seats.
You had two incumbents, and Reckless, to quote someone here, was up against the inept Kelly Tolhurst
How did he manage to lose that.
For a fledgling party it's all about winning vote share, which will be transformed into seats at a later date.
How do you feel about UKIP being the only challengers to Labour in the North?
I nearly voted Tory for the first time, if I lived in a marginal I probably would have done, however arrogant egotistical twats like you are always there to remind me not to.
UKIP are the only challengers to Labour in the North eh?
If you ignore all those seats the Tories won, or are in second place to Labour.
And I love it when you get abusive, means you Kippers have lost the argument.
Funny coming from someone who is happy to get abusive on a regular basis. I presume this means that you are regularly losing the argument.
Oh and by the way you should be thanking UKIP. Without them taking all those votes off Labour we would have Miliband in No 10 now. The won you the election.
Didn't Labour's vote go up by 1.4% v. 2010?
Yep and it would have been far larger had not UKIP taken so many votes off them in crucial marginals. They by an and large negated the move of many Lib Dems back to Labour.
Cant agree, the lib dems used to be the protest vote, thats how their vote collapsed so much and how they lost so many deposits. Its wasn't because of tuition fees. Lost of people used to vote Lib Dem as a protest against the big two. As soon as they went into Government the protest element was lost. It simply transfered to UKIP. If the tories had won a majority at the last election Nick Clegg would would be the Lib Dem leader with 80+ MPs and UKIP would be on 5%.
PhilipThompson The Out campaign, like the Yes campaign, are both populist campaigns driven by working and lower middle class voters which start behind in the polls and then get closer come referendum day. The AV referendum was a campaign driven by the metropolitan elite and the liberal upper middle classes which started ahead in the polls and managed to lose, a totally different story
SeanF Indeed, but the EU referendum is obviously potentially as good a marketing event for UKIP as the Scottish independence referendum was for the SNP, like the SNP their best result would probably be a reasonably close defeat, a big In vote would obviously set back their campaign, an Out vote would effectively mean they had no reason to exist
The EU referendum will do as many favours to UKIP as AV did for the Lib Dems.
A bigger problem is that leaving the referendum should be a means to an end in itself (the end being leaving the EU), not a stepping stone to the success of yet another political party.
Agreed entirely. The comparisons to the SNP result seem to indicate a lack of confidence or expectation to actually win the referendum. The SNATs at least were confident of victory even if it was misguided. This is another reason I think this isn't going to end up being even close in the end.
If there isn't a serious desire to win an out vote, it isn't going to happen. It won't even be close. The mindset shouldn't be "do as good as possible and build from there" it should exclusively be "what do we do to ensure we win".
36 of the SNP's 56 seats were won with more than 50% of the vote Biggest win - Dundee East 61.91% (I got on this at 2/5) Smallest vote share - Edinburgh South 33.79% Smallest vote share to win a seat - Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk 36.6% (They lost Orkeny & Shetland and Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale with a higher percentage of the vote. The SNP got less than 40% in only 5 seats.
The Cybernits are still in meltdown mode trying to rejig the numbers every which way, to try and cling on to some form of success:
I think the fact that they were able to only hold onto 3 seats by relying on tactical voting is a sad indictment of how low the 3 "mainstream parties" have fallen.
Jill Stephenson and the rest of the cyberunionist thugs are just hilarious.
Most of them are doing the "multiply the turnout by the vote share" to claim SNP not legitimate representatives due to only getting 35.5% of the vote.
Quite ironic when the Tory Government only got 36.8% and that turns into 24.3%.
I feel sorry for the poor souls who try and point out facts like this to Jill, they just get shouted down, she certainly deserves the title of the Cybernat Slayer.
PhilipThompson Farage effectively became leader of the UK delegation of MEPs to the European Parliament, he was not seeking to become UK PM or EU President, Salmond became First Minister and effectively leader of the Scottish delegation of MPs at Westminster, he was not seeking to become UK PM either
PhilipThompson The Out campaign, like the Yes campaign, are both populist campaigns driven by working and lower middle class voters which start behind in the polls and then get closer come referendum day. The AV referendum was a campaign driven by the metropolitan elite and the liberal upper middle classes which started ahead in the polls and managed to lose, a totally different story
Farage and Carswell are metropolitan not working or lower class. Might have had a bigger chance of being viewed as working class if Farage went.
AV started ahead and still lost. EU Out is starting behind and planning on loss it seems. That isn't a recipe for success.
PhilipThompson Farage effectively became leader of the UK delegation of MEPs to the European Parliament, he was not seeking to become UK PM or EU President, Salmond became First Minister and effectively leader of the Scottish delegation of MPs at Westminster, he was not seeking to become UK PM either
Salmond was running his government, Farage is not. The two are not the same at all.
Plus Salmond and his supporters did everything they could to win. They weren't planning on losing. SNP supporters weren't on here saying "yes but after we lose this vote ..."
Chris Deerin @chrisdeerin By demonising the Tories in Scotland, 'Labour fed the Nationalist tiger and last Thursday they were eaten' - Lord Forsyth bang on
36 of the SNP's 56 seats were won with more than 50% of the vote Biggest win - Dundee East 61.91% (I got on this at 2/5) Smallest vote share - Edinburgh South 33.79% Smallest vote share to win a seat - Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk 36.6% (They lost Orkeny & Shetland and Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale with a higher percentage of the vote. The SNP got less than 40% in only 5 seats.
The Cybernits are still in meltdown mode trying to rejig the numbers every which way, to try and cling on to some form of success:
I think the fact that they were able to only hold onto 3 seats by relying on tactical voting is a sad indictment of how low the 3 "mainstream parties" have fallen.
Jill Stephenson and the rest of the cyberunionist thugs are just hilarious.
Most of them are doing the "multiply the turnout by the vote share" to claim SNP not legitimate representatives due to only getting 35.5% of the vote.
Quite ironic when the Tory Government only got 36.8% and that turns into 24.3%.
PhilipThompson Farage effectively became leader of the UK delegation of MEPs to the European Parliament, he was not seeking to become UK PM or EU President, Salmond became First Minister and effectively leader of the Scottish delegation of MPs at Westminster, he was not seeking to become UK PM either
Not quite true. Farage is not actually leader of the UKIP MEPs in the European Parliament. That job is done by Roger Helmer.
36 of the SNP's 56 seats were won with more than 50% of the vote Biggest win - Dundee East 61.91% (I got on this at 2/5) Smallest vote share - Edinburgh South 33.79% Smallest vote share to win a seat - Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk 36.6% (They lost Orkeny & Shetland and Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale with a higher percentage of the vote. The SNP got less than 40% in only 5 seats.
The Cybernits are still in meltdown mode trying to rejig the numbers every which way, to try and cling on to some form of success:
I think the fact that they were able to only hold onto 3 seats by relying on tactical voting is a sad indictment of how low the 3 "mainstream parties" have fallen.
Jill Stephenson and the rest of the cyberunionist thugs are just hilarious.
Most of them are doing the "multiply the turnout by the vote share" to claim SNP not legitimate representatives due to only getting 35.5% of the vote.
Quite ironic when the Tory Government only got 36.8% and that turns into 24.3%.
I feel sorry for the poor souls who try and point out facts like this to Jill, they just get shouted down, she certainly deserves the title of the Cybernat Slayer.
Shouldn't a slayer occasionally, like, slay. Or at least win the odd battle/argument.
The title Dockside Hooker for the Cybernats might be more accurate.
Farage the best man for the job and has got the job
Great news for Ukip, bad news for everyone else.. Hence the anger from other party followers
Happy Monday!
I don't see any anger, more incredulity and laughter. In an "Ed is Crap" kind of way.
We PB Tories kept saying "Ed is Crap" - because he was. In the same way Farage is past his Best Before date. If UKIP had any credibility then "thank you for your service" would have been the reaction to Farage's reaction.
I agree with Richard, BOO is supposed to be bigger than one man. Is there nobody else that could have taken on the job? Just makes him and the party a joke. Something to point and laugh at now that Ed is Crap has gone.
There are plenty of people who could take on the job of leading an out campaign both inside UKIP and out. The trouble is that UKIP are seen as the party of Out and as such will be given a large slice of the media time, money and various Electoral Commission rulings when the referendum approaches. With the right person in charge this would not necessarily be a bad thing. The BOO campaign could form up around a UKIP core and there is plenty of talent outside of the party who could help. Unfortunately with Farage in charge not only will many of them not help but Farage will alienate large swathes of the potential vote.
Just as importantly there is a basic problem with UKIP's current position on post exit status. We need to have a position that we will move to EEA/EFTA membership at least in the short term. This would greatly reassure business and would give the public a clear picture of what a post Brexit relationship with Europe would look like. As long as UKIP hold a position that we will not join EFTA then we are going to struggle to persuade voters that Brexit is the right move.
I agree with everything except the logic of EEA/EFTA. If you do that then why bother leaving the EU in the first place, you still have to follow most of the rules but don't get a say in writing them. That's the worst of all worlds.
The main reason UKIP say we should leave is to stop the free movement of people. Free movement extends to the EEA/EFTA too and not just the EU. In which case that argument is lost.
And this is another reason Out will lose. There are too many different views on "what happens next" that become impossible to reconcile.
MadasFish Pulpstar The final yougov for indyref had No ahead, and Kellner was predicting Tories largest party if not with a majority
The binary outcome polling remains quite reliable, hence Scotland was predicted quite accurately and so was Indyref. The current polling methodology for the UK cannot and does not cope with regional and multi-party variations.
Mike, completely disagree with regards to your header.
Whatever you think of Farage there's no doubting his efforts, and his commitment to his views. He's given a voice (albeit incoherent at times) to a lot of peoples feelings.
Within 2.5 years we'll have a referendum, and that'll be a big moment for UKIP - I can quite easily understand that they may feel Farage is the best person to express their views in the period up to that time.
UKIP politics isn't terribly finessed, but I can happily believe that there's some heart-on-sleeve about it.
For what it's worth I imagine both Clegg and Farage will find a decent write up in history books, and in both instances I'm pretty proud of them being members of our political class. There are many piss-poor politicians, and they are not amongst their number.
Well, I've done my GE2015 betting accounts, and I will present them to the appropriate authority this evening. Let's just say that I am very confident that she will renew my Licence to Carry On Political Betting.
I agree with everything except the logic of EEA/EFTA. If you do that then why bother leaving the EU in the first place, you still have to follow most of the rules but don't get a say in writing them. That's the worst of all worlds.
But it's an easy way to get round the economic illiterates like Farage and their dog-whistles like "70% of our Laws are set in Brussels". It changes nothing but the soundbites. But in a good way.
Philip Thompson Farage lives in rural Kent, Carswell represents Clacton, it is hardly Islington is it? Most of the Out voters will live in villages, small towns and suburbs, not the metropolitan big cities, the only areas which voted Yes to AV were in London, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh and Glasgow, all cities
Chris Deerin @chrisdeerin By demonising the Tories in Scotland, 'Labour fed the Nationalist tiger and last Thursday they were eaten' - Lord Forsyth bang on
Labour have spent the last decade demonizing the SNP and Salmond in particular. I think they have tried to turn the nationalist brand toxic and don't get why it isn't working.
Think if all the PBers that were going to vote Ukip under a new leader but now will have to stick with their old party! #missedopportunity
No-one's saying it will be a huge number. But it is fairly clear - given his continued inability to win a seat with vast amounts of money and effort thrown into it - that we have reached Peak Farage.
Peak Kipper is probably higher and a new leader might take it higher. But it's still not going to be a lot higher than it is now.
I agree with everything except the logic of EEA/EFTA. If you do that then why bother leaving the EU in the first place, you still have to follow most of the rules but don't get a say in writing them. That's the worst of all worlds.
The main reason UKIP say we should leave is to stop the free movement of people. Free movement extends to the EEA/EFTA too and not just the EU. In which case that argument is lost.
And this is another reason Out will lose. There are too many different views on "what happens next" that become impossible to reconcile.
Not so. There is a huge difference between EFTA and EU membership - one reason why the Norwegians and Icelandics are so opposed to EU membership.
The actual membership cost is much lower, the burden of regulation is a fraction of what we currently endure, CAP and CFP membership are excluded, political interference and the move towards political union is ended. And of course EFTA has much better trade links with the rest of the world than the EU.
The free movement of people is indeed an issue but countries like Norway are able to have controls to right to settlement (as opposed to just right to work) that are not available to EU countries. Not least the requirement to learn Norwegian.
MadasFish Pulpstar The final yougov for indyref had No ahead, and Kellner was predicting Tories largest party if not with a majority
When did Kellner predict a Tory majority?
He was consistently writing in the Sunday Times in the weeks before polling, explaining why he would adjust the YouGov figures in the Tories' favour on polling day - he generally had the Tories about 3-4 points ahead of Labour on the day, so I don't think he ever went as far as saying a majority was possible, unless he was saying that 6-12 months ago when it might have reasonably been assumed there would be a concerted move back to the Tories.
I'm still not sure the polls were necessarily wrong, at the time they were taken, it's just that folk on the day either changed their mind or undecideds went Tory.
Although of course the YouGov "exit poll" was still a clog out at 280ish for the Tories IIRC?
Well, I've done my GE2015 betting accounts, and I will present them to the appropriate authority this evening. Let's just say that I am very confident that she will renew my Licence to Carry On Political Betting.
I sort of lost track, was just plonking down on safeish looking Conservative constituencies in the end. Have asked bookies to send me lifetime deposits and withdrawals and they look decent enough tbh now. My total stakes were a fair bit higher than I realised ^^; but I've done fine.
While walking down the street one day a Member of Parliament is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter.
'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'
'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.
'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'
'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.
'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he went down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he found himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and dressed in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it's time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and wave whilst the elevator rises....
The elevator rises and the door opens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
'Now it's time to visit heaven.'
So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'
The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down down to hell.
When the doors open he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ' I don't understand,' stammers the MP.
'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened? '
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ' Yesterday we were campaigning..
PhilipThompson Salmond won the Holyrood elections, Farage won the European Parliament elections, the same principle applies, just there is no bauble for Farage for leading the largest UK Parliament delegation. No Out campaigners will be planning to lose, as Yes campaigners were not, anti EU campaigners are as fanatical as pro Scottish independence campaigners
Doubt it/hope not. He's helped to run an extremely successful ground op as well as set up team 2015 which helped to move the important seats away from Labour.
Well, I've done my GE2015 betting accounts, and I will present them to the appropriate authority this evening. Let's just say that I am very confident that she will renew my Licence to Carry On Political Betting.
I sort of lost track, was just plonking down on safeish looking Conservative constituencies in the end. Have asked bookies to send me lifetime deposits and withdrawals and they look decent enough tbh now. My total stakes were a fair bit higher than I realised ^^; but I've done fine.
What is really irritating is bookies who don't let you see old bets. I can't find any way of seeing Betfair bets placed more than 3 months ago, which is ridiculous.
SeanF Indeed, but the EU referendum is obviously potentially as good a marketing event for UKIP as the Scottish independence referendum was for the SNP, like the SNP their best result would probably be a reasonably close defeat, a big In vote would obviously set back their campaign, an Out vote would effectively mean they had no reason to exist
I do not see any comparison. As for the reason for its existence - it is making that up as it goes along. It currently has debased the purpose of its original founders.
The Out campaign would be mad to be led by Farage. It needs to bind together Conservative, Labour, Scots and English. They probably won't win anyway, but just being UKIP writ large will limit their prospects. Don't ask me who would be the best leader as I'm not intending to vote Out unless DC is completely stonewalled, which I can't see happening. The Outer I do admire, however, is Hannan, though he's probably not well known enough.
Philip Thompson Rubbish, latest yougov polls already show In only has a 9% lead, even less than No won by in indyref, unlike the LDs UKIP are not in coalition with the government. Farage's strategy to win the EU Parliament elections and then get an EU referendum with as high an Out vote as possible follows Salmond's strategy of winning the Holyrood elections and then getting an independence referendum with as high a Yes vote as possible
Farage, like Salmond, is a marmite character, you either love him or hate him, but both have charisma undoubtedly
Agree and he definitely brightens up politics compared to the standard drones.
I agree with everything except the logic of EEA/EFTA. If you do that then why bother leaving the EU in the first place, you still have to follow most of the rules but don't get a say in writing them. That's the worst of all worlds.
The main reason UKIP say we should leave is to stop the free movement of people. Free movement extends to the EEA/EFTA too and not just the EU. In which case that argument is lost.
And this is another reason Out will lose. There are too many different views on "what happens next" that become impossible to reconcile.
Not so. There is a huge difference between EFTA and EU membership - one reason why the Norwegians and Icelandics are so opposed to EU membership.
The actual membership cost is much lower, the burden of regulation is a fraction of what we currently endure, CAP and CFP membership are excluded, political interference and the move towards political union is ended. And of course EFTA has much better trade links with the rest of the world than the EU.
The free movement of people is indeed an issue but countries like Norway are able to have controls to right to settlement (as opposed to just right to work) that are not available to EU countries. Not least the requirement to learn Norwegian.
I'm not saying there's no material difference but those are all very technical differences. The ability to end the free movement of people is a very crystal clear change - while still having free movement but somewhat different is unclear. It makes it harder to give a compelling message as to why we should change. Plus the In campaign would make hay over the fact that if we went out (but into EFTA) we'd still have to obey rules the EU wrote but had no say over their writing. Referendums are typically won by the status quo if they can create fear and the arguments over that just write themselves.
Think if all the PBers that were going to vote Ukip under a new leader but now will have to stick with their old party! #missedopportunity
For all the stick Farage is getting for being reinstated at the behest of the money men )and I think he should stay out) I have seen little criticism of Ed Balls alleged grubby attempt to get back in.
Would be odd for the Tory Chairman to lose his job after they get back in with an unexpected majority, wouldn't it?
(Though how much of the campaign organisation was genuinely down to Shapps I wouldn't like to say!)
Being both a spindoctor and an MP is a poisoned challice. Look at Mandelson and Campbell. Campbell was untouchable (and probably earned a lot more money) because he didn't have the egotistical desire to also be an MP. As soon as you accept the public role, the papers have open season on you and your personal image actually matters for the party.
Shapps would be much happier if he left parliament and just plotted behind the scenes. But his Ego probably wouldn't allow that.
The Out campaign would be mad to be led by Farage. It needs to bind together Conservative, Labour, Scots and English. They probably won't win anyway, but just being UKIP writ large will limit their prospects. Don't ask me who would be the best leader as I'm not intending to vote Out unless DC is completely stonewalled, which I can't see happening. The Outer I do admire, however, is Hannan, though he's probably not well known enough.
Hannan would be a pretty good choice; I doubt they could find a Labourite (though they should try). Realistically they need 90% of UKIP, 60% of the Tories, 30% of Labour and 15% of everyone else to come with them.
It's quite extraordinary how many Labour people apparently knew all along that Ed was crap. One can only wonder why none of them said so at the time.
Yes...well... the leftie backlash is beginning. I have seen stories floating around from The Guardian and The Independent that now that the Tories are in charge we can expect all freedom to evaporate in a few weeks. They make it sound like serfdom will be established by summer.
As for Nigel's unresignation... well UK politics needs a comedy turn.
The Out campaign would be mad to be led by Farage. It needs to bind together Conservative, Labour, Scots and English. They probably won't win anyway, but just being UKIP writ large will limit their prospects. Don't ask me who would be the best leader as I'm not intending to vote Out unless DC is completely stonewalled, which I can't see happening. The Outer I do admire, however, is Hannan, though he's probably not well known enough.
The losing SLAB/SLID candidates still seem to be in a state of shock, I think many of them were expecting some swingback and extensive tactical voting to save them, just shows you shouldn't believe everything you read in the MSM !! - One of the losing SLAB candidates was in the Scotsman today:
Rather depressingly he is still asking the question why has this fate befallen us? To give him my perspective as a ex-champagne socialist (there's a 1980s term for you) who spent 20 years working in the City before returning to Scotland:
- SLAB support levels were around 45% in 2010. They lost the first 10% in Holyrood 2011 and didn't even notice. That's when they lost my wife and I.
- SLAB then lost another 10% of it's support base in the run up to the referendum. What SLAB should have done was run both a official NO and YES campaign, reflecting the fact that a chunk of it's support base were YES voters.
- Allowing themselves to be the shock troops at the forefront of the Better Together Project Fear is what lost them the second chunk of voters, some of whom may well have returned if SLAB had not allowed themselves to be played like a bunch of numpties by the BT Tories.
- The appointment of Jim Murphy, the Westminster elite/MSM candidate, was the final nail in SLABs coffin. Given my champagne socialist credentials I should have been brought back in line by the appointment of possibly most right wing Labour MP.
- SLAB to revive its fortunes needs to completely break from the past, they need to clear out Murphy and his crew, as their constant degeneration of the SNP and Scotland is just downright embarrassing, they need to be held to account and sacked before the party can start to try and recover.
- When SLAB refuses to even disclose its membership figures, how can it ever hope to regain any of its support.
The Out campaign would be mad to be led by Farage. It needs to bind together Conservative, Labour, Scots and English. They probably won't win anyway, but just being UKIP writ large will limit their prospects. Don't ask me who would be the best leader as I'm not intending to vote Out unless DC is completely stonewalled, which I can't see happening. The Outer I do admire, however, is Hannan, though he's probably not well known enough.
Who leads the campaign officially and who is seen to be leading are not the same thing.
Farage will dominate the debate, be invited on the TV and regularly be used for soundbites.
How many people know that the Chief Executive of Yes Scotland was Blair Jenkins and the Chairman was Dennis Canavan - both chosen specifically because they weren't SNP.
Alex Salmond was not even a member of the advisory board.
PhilipThompson Salmond won the Holyrood elections, Farage won the European Parliament elections, the same principle applies, just there is no bauble for Farage for leading the largest UK Parliament delegation. No Out campaigners will be planning to lose, as Yes campaigners were not, anti EU campaigners are as fanatical as pro Scottish independence campaigners
Yeah you're right, Farage winning 26.6% of votes in 2014 and taking no office afterwards is absolutely identical to Salmond winning 45.4% of votes in 2011 and continuing to lead his countries government that he's running.
Farage the best man for the job and has got the job
Great news for Ukip, bad news for everyone else.. Hence the anger from other party followers
Happy Monday!
....
There are plenty of people who could take on the job of leading an out campaign both inside UKIP and out. ...
Just as importantly there is a basic problem with UKIP's current position on post exit status. We need to have a position that we will move to EEA/EFTA membership at least in the short term. This would greatly reassure business and would give the public a clear picture of what a post Brexit relationship with Europe would look like. As long as UKIP hold a position that we will not join EFTA then we are going to struggle to persuade voters that Brexit is the right move.
I agree with everything except the logic of EEA/EFTA. If you do that then why bother leaving the EU in the first place, you still have to follow most of the rules but don't get a say in writing them. That's the worst of all worlds.
The main reason UKIP say we should leave is to stop the free movement of people. Free movement extends to the EEA/EFTA too and not just the EU. In which case that argument is lost.
And this is another reason Out will lose. There are too many different views on "what happens next" that become impossible to reconcile.
Correct. If we leave the political part of the EU and join (or stay in the EEA) then this is the trade deal that would be on offer. And in terms of the single market it would not change where we are now.
Dair Indeed, Frank Field and Philip Hammond would be likely figures to be chairman and chief executive of the Out campaign, but it will be Farage, like Salmond, who becomes the frontman
Think if all the PBers that were going to vote Ukip under a new leader but now will have to stick with their old party! #missedopportunity
For all the stick Farage is getting for being reinstated at the behest of the money men )and I think he should stay out) I have seen little criticism of Ed Balls alleged grubby attempt to get back in.
If he had won Thanet South by 1 vote and UKIP had got 8% you would have been happy for him to stay?
Basically unless Carswell wanted the job, it was going to be a non MP, so Farage's reason for stepping down (not being in Westminster) was bogus.. as it stands he is the best man for the job, and he is in he job
PhilipThompson Salmond won the Holyrood elections, Farage won the European Parliament elections, the same principle applies, just there is no bauble for Farage for leading the largest UK Parliament delegation. No Out campaigners will be planning to lose, as Yes campaigners were not, anti EU campaigners are as fanatical as pro Scottish independence campaigners
Yeah you're right, Farage winning 26.6% of votes in 2014 and taking no office afterwards is absolutely identical to Salmond winning 45.4% of votes in 2011 and continuing to lead his countries government that he's running.
Philip , you need to get over your fixation on Salmond, just accept how great he is and enjoy him kicking butt in Westminster, chill out and relax.
Well, I've done my GE2015 betting accounts, and I will present them to the appropriate authority this evening. Let's just say that I am very confident that she will renew my Licence to Carry On Political Betting.
I sort of lost track, was just plonking down on safeish looking Conservative constituencies in the end. Have asked bookies to send me lifetime deposits and withdrawals and they look decent enough tbh now. My total stakes were a fair bit higher than I realised ^^; but I've done fine.
What is really irritating is bookies who don't let you see old bets. I can't find any way of seeing Betfair bets placed more than 3 months ago, which is ridiculous.
Yeah, I can't work out what my loss was on the Indy Ref was at Betfair, I know I've made back more than I lost with the GE2015 bets but I don't know my final position.
While walking down the street one day a Member of Parliament is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter.
'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'
'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.
'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'
'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.
'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he went down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he found himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and dressed in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it's time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and wave whilst the elevator rises....
The elevator rises and the door opens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
'Now it's time to visit heaven.'
So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'
The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down down to hell.
When the doors open he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ' I don't understand,' stammers the MP.
'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened? '
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ' Yesterday we were campaigning.. Today you voted.
Think if all the PBers that were going to vote Ukip under a new leader but now will have to stick with their old party! #missedopportunity
For all the stick Farage is getting for being reinstated at the behest of the money men )and I think he should stay out) I have seen little criticism of Ed Balls alleged grubby attempt to get back in.
If he had won Thanet South by 1 vote and UKIP had got 8% you would have been happy for him to stay?
Basically unless Carswell wanted the job, it was going to be a non MP, so Farage's reason for stepping down (not being in Westminster) was bogus.. as it stands he is the best man for the job, and he is in he job
Rejoice!
I just think he needs a break, he has taken the fight to the establishment for 20 years now, has done a superb job but looks weary, which is no surprise. He could be just as effective if someone like Woolfe, Nuttall or Evans took over with appearances on QT, Newsnight etc
He should step out of the limelight for a period, recharge his batteries then come back for the good fight.
The losing SLAB/SLID candidates still seem to be in a state of shock, I think many of them were expecting some swingback and extensive tactical voting to save them, just shows you shouldn't believe everything you read in the MSM !! - One of the losing SLAB candidates was in the Scotsman today:
The sense of entitlement oozes from every work Kenny Young says is just beyond belief. I hope this sort of approach typifies Labour for the next year. It will ensure their utter demise in 2016. With the infighting, the clamour for the top list spot, the back-stabbing and the smearing, sticking with this failed attitude and sense of entitlement could take them well below 20% and that means in at least three regions they won't even get a List MSP.
Think if all the PBers that were going to vote Ukip under a new leader but now will have to stick with their old party! #missedopportunity
For all the stick Farage is getting for being reinstated at the behest of the money men )and I think he should stay out) I have seen little criticism of Ed Balls alleged grubby attempt to get back in.
If he had won Thanet South by 1 vote and UKIP had got 8% you would have been happy for him to stay?
Basically unless Carswell wanted the job, it was going to be a non MP, so Farage's reason for stepping down (not being in Westminster) was bogus.. as it stands he is the best man for the job, and he is in he job
Rejoice!
I just think he needs a break, he has taken the fight to the establishment for 20 years now, has done a superb job but looks weary, which is no surprise. He could be just as effective if someone like Woolfe, Nuttall or Evans took over with appearances on QT, Newsnight etc
He should step out of the limelight for a period, recharge his batteries then come back for the good fight.
He should have taken 2 months out , and then they could have had a coronation and welcomed back the prodigal son. Much more dramatic.
Robin Brant @robindbrant 42s42 seconds ago very senior @UKIP fig tells bbc @Nigel_Farage decision to stay 'was a mistake', which would undermine his record for straight talking.
No prizes for guessing who that 'very senior figure' is.
Return ticket to Clacton ?
Robin Brant made up news during the election campaign and he's still making it up.
MikeK - have sent you a vanilla message..
How does one send a vanilla message? You can send me details via #rcs1000 if you like.
You got my address, right? (Sent by PM/vanilla message)
I just think he needs a break, he has taken the fight to the establishment for 20 years now, has done a superb job but looks weary, which is no surprise. He could be just as effective if someone like Woolfe, Nuttall or Evans took over with appearances on QT, Newsnight etc
He should step out of the limelight for a period, recharge his batteries then come back for the good fight.
Why should it be such hard work? It's hardly much of an effort for Farage to take the fight to the estasblishment. He's firmly rooted at the heart of it.
Comments
We PB Tories kept saying "Ed is Crap" - because he was. In the same way Farage is past his Best Before date. If UKIP had any credibility then "thank you for your service" would have been the reaction to Farage's reaction.
I agree with Richard, BOO is supposed to be bigger than one man. Is there nobody else that could have taken on the job? Just makes him and the party a joke. Something to point and laugh at now that Ed is Crap has gone.
Soory to be so rude.. but they have zero credibility.
Mark Ferguson who runs it LL acts like a stalinist with all humour and intelligence.removed..:-)
See: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/11/alan-sugar-resigns-from-labour-party-over-shift-to-left for another example.
You can not be serious. Incidentally Yes2AV started with massive majorities in the opinion polls but lost by 2 to 1 too.
EDIT: And to compare "winning the Euro elections" to winning the Holyrood elections and becoming the Scottish government is absurd. Salmond became Scottish First Minister - if Farage was EU President then things would be different.
Nige has been infected with EU culture - ask a question enough times until you get the "right" answer.
Unusually it includes a hug between the Labour and Tory candidates:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCycz6RHIzY
https://twitter.com/Historywoman
I think the fact that they were able to only hold onto 3 seats by relying on tactical voting is a sad indictment of how low the 3 "mainstream parties" have fallen.
Just as importantly there is a basic problem with UKIP's current position on post exit status. We need to have a position that we will move to EEA/EFTA membership at least in the short term. This would greatly reassure business and would give the public a clear picture of what a post Brexit relationship with Europe would look like. As long as UKIP hold a position that we will not join EFTA then we are going to struggle to persuade voters that Brexit is the right move.
Most of them are doing the "multiply the turnout by the vote share" to claim SNP not legitimate representatives due to only getting 35.5% of the vote.
Quite ironic when the Tory Government only got 36.8% and that turns into 24.3%.
EDIT: Did I just press "send"???
If there isn't a serious desire to win an out vote, it isn't going to happen. It won't even be close. The mindset shouldn't be "do as good as possible and build from there" it should exclusively be "what do we do to ensure we win".
Labour MP Wes Streeting: 'I won but I felt gutted':
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32672234
AV started ahead and still lost. EU Out is starting behind and planning on loss it seems. That isn't a recipe for success.
Plus Salmond and his supporters did everything they could to win. They weren't planning on losing. SNP supporters weren't on here saying "yes but after we lose this vote ..."
Chris Deerin @chrisdeerin
By demonising the Tories in Scotland, 'Labour fed the Nationalist tiger and last Thursday they were eaten' - Lord Forsyth bang on
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/05/revealed-why-nigel-farage-is-still-ukip-leader/
Couldn't manage the full 40?
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 4:1-11
The title Dockside Hooker for the Cybernats might be more accurate.
The main reason UKIP say we should leave is to stop the free movement of people. Free movement extends to the EEA/EFTA too and not just the EU. In which case that argument is lost.
And this is another reason Out will lose. There are too many different views on "what happens next" that become impossible to reconcile.
https://twitter.com/GuidoFawkes/status/597809968650268672
Whatever you think of Farage there's no doubting his efforts, and his commitment to his views. He's given a voice (albeit incoherent at times) to a lot of peoples feelings.
Within 2.5 years we'll have a referendum, and that'll be a big moment for UKIP - I can quite easily understand that they may feel Farage is the best person to express their views in the period up to that time.
UKIP politics isn't terribly finessed, but I can happily believe that there's some heart-on-sleeve about it.
For what it's worth I imagine both Clegg and Farage will find a decent write up in history books, and in both instances I'm pretty proud of them being members of our political class. There are many piss-poor politicians, and they are not amongst their number.
Farage next leader of Ukip 4/6... Nailed on
Hope you were all on x
Peak Kipper is probably higher and a new leader might take it higher. But it's still not going to be a lot higher than it is now.
The actual membership cost is much lower, the burden of regulation is a fraction of what we currently endure, CAP and CFP membership are excluded, political interference and the move towards political union is ended. And of course EFTA has much better trade links with the rest of the world than the EU.
The free movement of people is indeed an issue but countries like Norway are able to have controls to right to settlement (as opposed to just right to work) that are not available to EU countries. Not least the requirement to learn Norwegian.
I'm still not sure the polls were necessarily wrong, at the time they were taken, it's just that folk on the day either changed their mind or undecideds went Tory.
Although of course the YouGov "exit poll" was still a clog out at 280ish for the Tories IIRC?
While walking down the street one day a Member of Parliament is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter.
'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'
'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.
'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'
'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.
'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he went down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he found himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and dressed in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it's time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and wave whilst the elevator rises....
The elevator rises and the door opens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
'Now it's time to visit heaven.'
So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'
The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down down to hell.
When the doors open he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ' I don't understand,' stammers the MP.
'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened? '
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ' Yesterday we were campaigning..
Today you voted.
(Though how much of the campaign organisation was genuinely down to Shapps I wouldn't like to say!)
Sunil I said he was predicting leader of largest party, not a majority
It needs to bind together Conservative, Labour, Scots and English. They probably won't win anyway, but just being UKIP writ large will limit their prospects.
Don't ask me who would be the best leader as I'm not intending to vote Out unless DC is completely stonewalled, which I can't see happening.
The Outer I do admire, however, is Hannan, though he's probably not well known enough.
He is Continuity Nigel Farage.
Shapps would be much happier if he left parliament and just plotted behind the scenes. But his Ego probably wouldn't allow that.
I was only kidding anyway, just in a happy mood.. what larks!
And Lab and Lib have set the bar for looking stupid quite a lot higher than that in the past 96 hours anyway.
As for Nigel's unresignation... well UK politics needs a comedy turn.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/kenny-young-no-rash-changes-for-scottish-labour-1-3768996
Rather depressingly he is still asking the question why has this fate befallen us? To give him my perspective as a ex-champagne socialist (there's a 1980s term for you) who spent 20 years working in the City before returning to Scotland:
- SLAB support levels were around 45% in 2010. They lost the first 10% in Holyrood 2011 and didn't even notice. That's when they lost my wife and I.
- SLAB then lost another 10% of it's support base in the run up to the referendum. What SLAB should have done was run both a official NO and YES campaign, reflecting the fact that a chunk of it's support base were YES voters.
- Allowing themselves to be the shock troops at the forefront of the Better Together Project Fear is what lost them the second chunk of voters, some of whom may well have returned if SLAB had not allowed themselves to be played like a bunch of numpties by the BT Tories.
- The appointment of Jim Murphy, the Westminster elite/MSM candidate, was the final nail in SLABs coffin. Given my champagne socialist credentials I should have been brought back in line by the appointment of possibly most right wing Labour MP.
- SLAB to revive its fortunes needs to completely break from the past, they need to clear out Murphy and his crew, as their constant degeneration of the SNP and Scotland is just downright embarrassing, they need to be held to account and sacked before the party can start to try and recover.
- When SLAB refuses to even disclose its membership figures, how can it ever hope to regain any of its support.
He's an absolute gift to Labour.
I think I recall that she and Yvette didn't get on for example. Jack Dromey backed EdM, and thus it's not unreasonable to suppose that she did too.
I'm fairly sure that her views are the most important driver in this process, although I imagine the result will be much more open than she'd hope.
Farage will dominate the debate, be invited on the TV and regularly be used for soundbites.
How many people know that the Chief Executive of Yes Scotland was Blair Jenkins and the Chairman was Dennis Canavan - both chosen specifically because they weren't SNP.
Alex Salmond was not even a member of the advisory board.
My GE Betting
Stake 4461.62
Return 1759.03
Profit -2682.59
ROI -60%
Last weeks football betting
Stake 68409.59
Return 74595.91
Profit 6186.32
ROI 9%
Basically unless Carswell wanted the job, it was going to be a non MP, so Farage's reason for stepping down (not being in Westminster) was bogus.. as it stands he is the best man for the job, and he is in he job
Rejoice!
He should step out of the limelight for a period, recharge his batteries then come back for the good fight.
The sense of entitlement oozes from every work Kenny Young says is just beyond belief. I hope this sort of approach typifies Labour for the next year. It will ensure their utter demise in 2016. With the infighting, the clamour for the top list spot, the back-stabbing and the smearing, sticking with this failed attitude and sense of entitlement could take them well below 20% and that means in at least three regions they won't even get a List MSP.