politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The real answer to the “shy Tories” phenomenon is Boris
A lot has been written in the past week about so-called “shy Tories” who are reluctant to tell pollsters on the phone or when they complete online questionnaires that they’ll support the blues.
@bbcquestiontime: Also on #bbcqt, Labour's Tristram Hunt says he is “interested in the leadership,” but stops short of confirming that he is a candidate.
I get so confused with these things. I understand the idea that Labour were 'Tory-lite' and that that angers their traditional supporters, but I don't understand how that translates into the Tories winning while keeping the 'mustn't move to the centre' message. People staying home in anger at Labour not being Left enough wouldn't explain the margin of victory, surely, so what they are saying is 'Labour were not Left enough for their supporters, so a significant number of those supporters voted Tory instead', which doesn't make any sense.
It is AV though; so the sisters could wind up on top.
Leave PBers be, foxinsoxuk. Right now, the 1000 year Tory Reich is nailed on is PB world.
Ha. It does make me wonder what the first event to knock the newfound confidence will be. An early backbench rebellion? A Labour leadership candidate revealing hitherto unseen depths? As late as the first blows of the fight over Europe?
@bbcquestiontime: Also on #bbcqt, Labour's Tristram Hunt says he is “interested in the leadership,” but stops short of confirming that he is a candidate.
Tristam may be that rarity. A candidate worse than Chuka.
I don't know how many pb-ers have been to Palmyra, in Syria, but I have. It is one of the haunting and extraordinary survivals of human culture, a Persio-Roman city in the desert, complete with glorious pillared roads, and an entire Temple of Baal. I've been around the world and seen many great sites, but Palmyra is one of the loftiest.
And now ISIS are close to devouring it, and they will, inevitably, destroy it. That's like bombing Oxford into dust, or levelling Angkor Wat.
ISIS is a snake, close to the heart of what it means to be human. We need to get our fucking shit together, and kill them.
Nuclear weapons are the only thing that can do the trick, but cannot be politically used. Also no western government will lift a finger against ISIS, they think they need them as a scarecrow to keep the voters in line and they are not an actual threat.
@bbcquestiontime: Also on #bbcqt, Labour's Tristram Hunt says he is “interested in the leadership,” but stops short of confirming that he is a candidate.
Either confirm or shut up, Tristram. The campaign started immediately, there was no peaceful interregnum and not confirming you are standing doesn't aid you any.
ISIS is a snake, close to the heart of what it means to be human. We need to get our fucking shit together, and kill them.
That, be it through pure commitment to their ideology or other more complex and mundane reasons, significant numbers of people are active and enthusiastic supporters of ISIS and its aims, is one of the more depressing things to reflect upon I feel. Much the same when examining the often intense ordinariness of people involved in some of the most despicable groups and actions in history of course.
The absurd demonisation of the Tories by the left leads some people being reluctanct to admit they'd vote Tory.
It's very hard to demonise Boris, with his affable persona (whether you believe it's genuine or not is beside the point). It was very easy to demonise Ken, however.
And that's the answer to the 'discrepancy' in Mike's piece. You're welcome.
Boris polls ahead of Cameron, but while the former underperforms the latter overperforms? The choice, as they say, is clear...
In 2030 as David Cameron stands down from his 4th term, people will look around and ask how the hell he managed it as no-one has admitted intending to vote for the man in 10 years.
@bbcquestiontime: Also on #bbcqt, Labour's Tristram Hunt says he is “interested in the leadership,” but stops short of confirming that he is a candidate.
Tristam may be that rarity. A candidate worse than Chuka.
The absurd demonisation of the Tories by the left leads some people being reluctanct to admit they'd vote Tory.
It's very hard to demonise Boris, with his affable persona (whether you believe it's genuine or not is beside the point). It was very easy to demonise Ken, however.
And that's the answer to the 'discrepancy' in Mike's piece. You're welcome.
The labour left really can work themselves up into a lather. The Tories will privatise the NHS is the major one. Cut pensions is a common one. End the welfare state, kick you out onto the streets, close the schools down etc etc.
@bbcquestiontime: Also on #bbcqt, Labour's Tristram Hunt says he is “interested in the leadership,” but stops short of confirming that he is a candidate.
Either confirm or shut up, Tristram. The campaign started immediately, there was no peaceful interregnum and not confirming you are standing doesn't aid you any.
ISIS is a snake, close to the heart of what it means to be human. We need to get our fucking shit together, and kill them.
That, be it through pure commitment to their ideology or other more complex and mundane reasons, significant numbers of people are active and enthusiastic supporters of ISIS and its aims, is one of the more depressing things to reflect upon I feel. Much the same when examining the often intense ordinariness of people involved in some of the most despicable groups and actions in history of course.
That reminds me of the imploding campaign of Jeb Bush. First he unveils that George W. Bush is his closest middle east advisor, then he says that he would have invaded Iraq even if he knew what we know now, and finally he accidentally declared his candidacy yesterday.
I don't know how many pb-ers have been to Palmyra, in Syria, but I have. It is one of the haunting and extraordinary survivals of human culture, a Persio-Roman city in the desert, complete with glorious pillared roads, and an entire Temple of Baal. I've been around the world and seen many great sites, but Palmyra is one of the loftiest.
And now ISIS are close to devouring it, and they will, inevitably, destroy it. That's like bombing Oxford into dust, or levelling Angkor Wat.
ISIS is a snake, close to the heart of what it means to be human. We need to get our fucking shit together, and kill them.
The absurd demonisation of the Tories by the left leads some people being reluctanct to admit they'd vote Tory.
It's very hard to demonise Boris, with his affable persona (whether you believe it's genuine or not is beside the point). It was very easy to demonise Ken, however.
And that's the answer to the 'discrepancy' in Mike's piece. You're welcome.
Nope, "shy Tory voters" never existed. In 1992 it was wrong demographic weightings. In 2015 it was wrong turnout weightings.
In both occasions the mistake was that the pollsters had the recipe wrong not that people were lying to them.
The absurd demonisation of the Tories by the left leads some people being reluctanct to admit they'd vote Tory.
It's very hard to demonise Boris, with his affable persona (whether you believe it's genuine or not is beside the point). It was very easy to demonise Ken, however.
And that's the answer to the 'discrepancy' in Mike's piece. You're welcome.
Nope, "shy Tory voters" never existed. In 1992 it was wrong demographic weightings. In 2015 it was wrong turnout weightings.
In both occasions the mistake was that the pollsters had the recipe wrong not that people were lying to them.
The absurd demonisation of the Tories by the left leads some people being reluctanct to admit they'd vote Tory.
It's very hard to demonise Boris, with his affable persona (whether you believe it's genuine or not is beside the point). It was very easy to demonise Ken, however.
And that's the answer to the 'discrepancy' in Mike's piece. You're welcome.
Nope, "shy Tory voters" never existed. In 1992 it was wrong demographic weightings. In 2015 it was wrong turnout weightings.
In both occasions the mistake was that the pollsters had the recipe wrong not that people were lying to them.
Maybe there isn't a systemic problem with the polling; maybe they're just not very good and the way in which they're not very good varies from election to election?
Don't understand the point of this thread to be honest?
There doesn't seem to be an actual thesis. But I agree with Anorak - the London failure was probably "shy Ken". To expect any formula to work every time without regard to the nature of the campaign is foolhardy.
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
ISIS is a snake, close to the heart of what it means to be human. We need to get our fucking shit together, and kill them.
I would very much like to see Palmyra but I am reluctant to travel anywhere near the Middle East. I do not know what the solution for ISIS is, but killing rarely works and cold-blooded extermination of them is likely to work even less.
I can only see a long term way forward and that is to break the misogynistic cultures that exist in that part of the world by continually pushing for the liberation and education of women in those cultures.
Just catching up from the previous thread regarding the Labour Leadership battle.
Some really interesting points made but a few comments / questions.
- 2010 Diane Abbot was included because they "needed" a female candidate-in 2015 I cannot see how Chuka-the only non-white candidate can fail to get the required support to go through. But he will be as popular in Lancashire as a Yorkshireman and wont win.
-AB is is the only obvious "Northern" (better still Lancastrian) candidate-he goes through
-S
You have 3 women fighting it out for realistically 2 places (although I accept mathematically there are are potentially a further 3 places)
I think YC and MC are the most likely to go through.
-But as was mentioned below this is the most Left wing intake for a very long time-And I am assuming that MP's will have an influence on how their local party will vote-people talk etc. -I think therefore the most Left wing candidate will garner strong support in all voting sections in the later stages.
-The election is by STV so the order in which candidates fall out is very important. Therefore working out the winner is -in part-working through the the list in reverse order.
Chukka-goes early-possibly even first eviction
His support split mainly between YC and MC as they will come come from London Left -AB is a mildly Left wing man-question is will enough people vote FOR him? he could easily be the next out-or it could be the continuity candidate YC as the Party want a break from the past.
On the basis IF AB can stay in the race in the first 2 rounds I think he should win-if he doesn't Yvette should on the basis as the other candidates drop out their supporters revert to the mean-ie the middle ground. She has no USP other than she has been around a long time and is well known.
BUT MC could come through the outside on STV - if she can get a bedrock of 25%+ early on she will be hard to beat.
The danger for Labour in a tight race is that the 3rd or 4th placed candidate comes through the middle and "wins" and spends years justifying their position as "least worst candidate"
I am increasingly of the opinion that the leadership battle for Labour is not going to produce a happy outcome-none of the declared runners is either very good or very different.
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
I agree. Mr Finkelstein is 100% bang on the money as far as I can see. No intricate plotting or secret cabals to "keep Labour out", no Machiavellian manoeuvres - just simple, common, everyday apathy about politics.
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
We're talking about people who DID respond to pollsters on the phone or registered for an online panel, but said Don't Know.
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
Or simply that working people are too busy and tired to vote on a working day, that is why turnout was 10% lower than what the polls said. If you subtract 20% of those who said they would vote under the age of 65 you get closer to the actual result.
The voter turnout by age group of the voter was the only thing affecting the Labour, the Tory and the Green vote which the pollsters missed, while not affecting the LD and the UKIP vote which the pollsters got right.
Like in a Sherlock Holmes novel, the dog that didn't bark gave the solution.
Just catching up from the previous thread regarding the Labour Leadership battle.
Some really interesting points made but a few comments / questions.
- 2010 Diane Abbot was included because they "needed" a female candidate-in 2015 I cannot see how Chuka-the only non-white candidate can fail to get the required support to go through. But he will be as popular in Lancashire as a Yorkshireman and wont win.
-AB is is the only obvious "Northern" (better still Lancastrian) candidate-he goes through
-S
You have 3 women fighting it out for realistically 2 places (although I accept mathematically there are are potentially a further 3 places)
I think YC and MC are the most likely to go through.
-But as was mentioned below this is the most Left wing intake for a very long time-And I am assuming that MP's will have an influence on how their local party will vote-people talk etc. -I think therefore the most Left wing candidate will garner strong support in all voting sections in the later stages.
-The election is by STV so the order in which candidates fall out is very important. Therefore working out the winner is -in part-working through the the list in reverse order.
Chukka-goes early-possibly even first eviction
His support split mainly between YC and MC as they will come come from London Left -AB is a mildly Left wing man-question is will enough people vote FOR him? he could easily be the next out-or it could be the continuity candidate YC as the Party want a break from the past.
On the basis IF AB can stay in the race in the first 2 rounds I think he should win-if he doesn't Yvette should on the basis as the other candidates drop out their supporters revert to the mean-ie the middle ground. She has no USP other than she has been around a long time and is well known.
BUT MC could come through the outside on STV - if she can get a bedrock of 25%+ early on she will be hard to beat.
The danger for Labour in a tight race is that the 3rd or 4th placed candidate comes through the middle and "wins" and spends years justifying their position as "least worst candidate"
I am increasingly of the opinion that the leadership battle for Labour is not going to produce a happy outcome-none of the declared runners is either very good or very different.
I may be having a brain fade, but who the hell is MC?
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
He was right in the article, and it was the same sort of people who voted for Blair three times between 1997 and 2005.
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
Nailed it in one.
If you are hard at work you don't waste your day on a political blogging website
Although if your wife is watching some utter drivel on the TV you may log-on in the evening
The absurd demonisation of the Tories by the left leads some people being reluctanct to admit they'd vote Tory.
It's very hard to demonise Boris, with his affable persona (whether you believe it's genuine or not is beside the point). It was very easy to demonise Ken, however.
And that's the answer to the 'discrepancy' in Mike's piece. You're welcome.
Nope, "shy Tory voters" never existed. In 1992 it was wrong demographic weightings. In 2015 it was wrong turnout weightings.
In both occasions the mistake was that the pollsters had the recipe wrong not that people were lying to them.
I wonder why there are countless articles on the topic, and handwringing from all quarters, when they could just have asked you
The absurd demonisation of the Tories by the left leads some people being reluctanct to admit they'd vote Tory.
It's very hard to demonise Boris, with his affable persona (whether you believe it's genuine or not is beside the point). It was very easy to demonise Ken, however.
And that's the answer to the 'discrepancy' in Mike's piece. You're welcome.
Nope, "shy Tory voters" never existed. In 1992 it was wrong demographic weightings. In 2015 it was wrong turnout weightings.
In both occasions the mistake was that the pollsters had the recipe wrong not that people were lying to them.
Off the top of my head, the "shy" adjustments were made in the elections between those, and weren't always in favour of the Tories.
So you can't boil it down to two elections, or simply a demonisation of the Tories.
We're talking about people who DID respond to pollsters on the phone or registered for an online panel, but said Don't Know.
Surely Mr Finklestein's argument is that by refusing to speak to pollsters - or disclose their opinions - these people removed themselves from the pool of respondees thus inflating the effect of those who did speak to the pollsters and resulting in an overstatement of the Labour position.
This would assume that Labour people are not shy to tell the pollster their opinions. In my experience very few Labour supporters are shy in telling someone that they support Labour and that Labour's policies are the most fair and just. Lefties just seem to be more politically motivated.
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
We're talking about people who DID respond to pollsters on the phone or registered for an online panel, but said Don't Know.
The Fink's argument is that polls just aren't representative of the population (sampling issue)
Just catching up from the previous thread regarding the Labour Leadership battle.
Some really interesting points made but a few comments / questions.
- 2010 Diane Abbot was included because they "needed" a female candidate-in 2015 I cannot see how Chuka-the only non-white candidate can fail to get the required support to go through. But he will be as popular in Lancashire as a Yorkshireman and wont win.
-AB is is the only obvious "Northern" (better still Lancastrian) candidate-he goes through
-S
You have 3 women fighting it out for realistically 2 places (although I accept mathematically there are are potentially a further 3 places)
I think YC and MC are the most likely to go through.
-But as was mentioned below this is the most Left wing intake for a very long time-And I am assuming that MP's will have an influence on how their local party will vote-people talk etc. -I think therefore the most Left wing candidate will garner strong support in all voting sections in the later stages.
-The election is by STV so the order in which candidates fall out is very important. Therefore working out the winner is -in part-working through the the list in reverse order.
Chukka-goes early-possibly even first eviction
His support split mainly between YC and MC as they will come come from London Left -AB is a mildly Left wing man-question is will enough people vote FOR him? he could easily be the next out-or it could be the continuity candidate YC as the Party want a break from the past.
On the basis IF AB can stay in the race in the first 2 rounds I think he should win-if he doesn't Yvette should on the basis as the other candidates drop out their supporters revert to the mean-ie the middle ground. She has no USP other than she has been around a long time and is well known.
BUT MC could come through the outside on STV - if she can get a bedrock of 25%+ early on she will be hard to beat.
The danger for Labour in a tight race is that the 3rd or 4th placed candidate comes through the middle and "wins" and spends years justifying their position as "least worst candidate"
I am increasingly of the opinion that the leadership battle for Labour is not going to produce a happy outcome-none of the declared runners is either very good or very different.
I may be having a brain fade, but who the hell is MC?
FPT SeanT is spot on, in terms of identity the next Labour leader has a huge advantage if they're one of two things; northern, or a woman (or both of course). They of course need to have the tactical nous and attributes to win on top of that.
On Burnham, he probably was the right leader in 2010 - there's far more to him than people give him credit for on here. He finished fourth because he was seen as a Blairite and those who would've been his base were firmly in the David M camp. Would've provided more of a contrast with Cameron as non-metropolitan and would've almost certainly been more in touch with what was going on on the ground than was the case. Mid-Staffs would've undoubtedly been banged on about by the Tories, but as Burnham ordered an enquiry not long after becoming health secretary it wasn't something he was personally tied to (Alan Johnson, many people's dream ticket could be more criticsised). In 2015 however he's lost the element of being new broom that he'd have provided and will be still be hammered by the Tories as Labour retreating into its past. Whether he wins, and whether he'll be any good is dependent on whether he can transform himself again from the SHS beloved by the party to a purveyor of hard truths.
Cooper - ditto, would've made a strong leader in 2010, now it's fairly clear Labour need to build from scratch to win over people who still think of the party as the 2005-2010 government they've rejected. Unfair, but if Lynton's back in 2020 you can see the smiling Mr Cooper in front of No. 10 daubed on posters now.
Liz Kendall - untested but early signs seem promising, sounds human and seems to have the gift of articulating the right of the Labour party's positions without sounding like she's pining for a lost world or in the wrong party. Midlands MP from outer London so gets the areas Labour needs to improve in. Although once a SPAD, didn't fall out of Oxbridge into a party job. All in all, if she gets big name backing and momentum and isn't squeezed out by Cooper could be the one to beat Burnham.
Ummuna - Nope. Might be a decent appointment as S Chancellor - the role doesn't require the human touch and seems to be popular with business.
Creagh - Surely running to raise her profile, have a good campaign and get a good job. Decent but lacks star quality.
Hunt - Maybe in the days when a 'Tristram' was playing against type, but given that two of the groups of people Labour has to win are specifically annoyed at Labour's perceived poshness, a non-starter (Scots and working class former Lab voters).
Others: Surprised Caroline Flint isn't having a pop. Come too early for Stella Creasy, which is a shame - probably the best candidate for Dep Leader given her campaigning successes, amiability and media qualities.
ISIS is a snake, close to the heart of what it means to be human. We need to get our fucking shit together, and kill them.
I would very much like to see Palmyra but I am reluctant to travel anywhere near the Middle East. I do not know what the solution for ISIS is, but killing rarely works and cold-blooded extermination of them is likely to work even less.
I can only see a long term way forward and that is to break the misogynistic cultures that exist in that part of the world by continually pushing for the liberation and education of women in those cultures.
"In retrospect, the 1992 election came just a few weeks too soon for the pollsters. Shortly after Major’s victory, the key findings of the 1991 census were published. These showed that Britain had changed since the previous, 1981, census far more than anybody – well, any social scientist – had realised.
In that Thatcher decade, there had been a sharp reduction in the Labour-inclined working classes and faster growth in the mainly-Tory middle classes. Pollsters all used much the same sampling design, and failed to take adequate account of all this. Had they known what was in the 1991 census, their election figures would not have led them, or us, so far astray. (In retrospect, the 1987 election should have flashed warning signals. The Eighties economic and social revolution was under way, and most polls understated Tory support, probably because the pollsters’ social mix had started to diverge from reality.)"
Or simply that working people are too busy and tired to vote on a working day, that is why turnout was 10% lower than what the polls said. If you subtract 20% of those who said they would vote under the age of 65 you get closer to the actual result.
The voter turnout by age group of the voter was the only thing affecting the Labour, the Tory and the Green vote which the pollsters missed, while not affecting the LD and the UKIP vote which the pollsters got right.
Like in a Sherlock Holmes novel, the dog that didn't bark gave the solution.
I haven't seen the figures but how did postal votes in 2010 compare to 2015-I wonder if the tighter rules had an impact on the Postal vote factories??
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
We're talking about people who DID respond to pollsters on the phone or registered for an online panel, but said Don't Know.
The Fink's argument is that polls just aren't representative of the population (sampling issue)
But under that theory wouldn't they have got better as we got to election time and these people "looked around"?
John O'Farrell @mrjohnofarrell 1m1 minute ago If @bbcquestiontime was on ITV, Farage could resign at the end of each segment & be leader again by the time they came back after the break
Daniel Finkelstein had a very good argument earlier this week.
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
We're talking about people who DID respond to pollsters on the phone or registered for an online panel, but said Don't Know.
The Fink's argument is that polls just aren't representative of the population (sampling issue)
But under that theory wouldn't they have got better as we got to election time and these people "looked around"?
@camillalong: "We can’t afford as a party to waste 3 months of our time on a leadership contest where frankly we know result already." Stay classy, Farage
I hope Shadsy has taken lots of bets on Chuka at the ludicrously short odds he's been offering. We need Ladbrokes to continue offering political markets.
I hope Shadsy has taken lots of bets on Chuka at the ludicrously short odds he's been offering. We need Ladbrokes to continue offering political markets.
Isn't that basically saying you want other people to subsidise your lifestyle?
@faisalislam: I think Farage just said there shouldn't be a UKIP leadership election because wd be a waste, as he already knows that he would win it...
@faisalislam: I think Farage just said there shouldn't be a UKIP leadership election because wd be a waste, as he already knows that he would win it...
Right now he needs one to reaffirm his authority or to get out.
My wife is in the medical profession and has proved many times over the years to be worryingly accurate in her analysis of these matters and she was of the opinion that Mr Farage is not a healthy man.
Seems to me Farage would have been better to have done what he did before. Give up the leadership, let somebody make a total balls up of it and then come riding to the rescue.
Good lord... Suzanne Evans is v nice but as a replacement for Farage? Ludicrous
Genuine question. Must people interested in politics, ie people that post on here, are on twitter and will be following political news. Why do you post them on here as if it's some kind of scoop or a service you are providing?
Genuine question. Must people interested in politics, ie people that post on here, are on twitter and will be following political news. Why do you post them on here as if it's some kind of scoop or a service you are providing?
Scott's posts are very useful. They save having to trawl though Twitter as well as PB.
Good lord... Suzanne Evans is v nice but as a replacement for Farage? Ludicrous
Genuine question. Must people interested in politics, ie people that post on here, are on twitter and will be following political news. Why do you post them on here as if it's some kind of scoop or a service you are providing?
I'm not on twitter. I find @Scott_P's posts helpful
Genuine question. Must people interested in politics, ie people that post on here, are on twitter and will be following political news. Why do you post them on here as if it's some kind of scoop or a service you are providing?
Scott's posts are very useful. They save having to trawl though Twitter as well as PB.
Would be useful if they were access to things that we couldn't all get anyway.
They're just the same thing said a dozen different ways most of the time and often the first one is a repeat if you're on twitter
It does show a remarkable lack of self-awareness on Tristram Hunt's part, that he hasn't ruled himself out already. How hard can it be to figure out that (a) he hasn't got a snowflake's chance in hell of getting the leadership, and (b) even if the snowflake miraculously passed through the fires of hell without melting, he'd still be absolutely hopeless in the job?
I have no idea if the rules allow it but if they do then there should be a coup against Farage and he should be replaced as UKIP leader. Even if they lose one or two of their financial backers there will be more along to support them and if they can prove themselves and make a complete break from the Farage era then they may well win back some of the supporters and senior members who were driven out by Farage.
If they don't then they will drift and the referendum will be lost because the Out side will be fatally fractured.
Good lord... Suzanne Evans is v nice but as a replacement for Farage? Ludicrous
Genuine question. Must people interested in politics, ie people that post on here, are on twitter and will be following political news. Why do you post them on here as if it's some kind of scoop or a service you are providing?
I'm not on twitter. I find @Scott_P's posts helpful
The fact that Tristram Hunt is even being discussed as a Leadership Candidate shows the utter lack of quality in the challengers who have so far come forward.
IF AB already has 70 nominations of support then clearly he is the man to beat-but do 70+-ie 25% + of the PLP think AB is the Leader and Solution to their problems???
If they do, the PLP is up shit creek with no paddle and no map.
Comments
Also no western government will lift a finger against ISIS, they think they need them as a scarecrow to keep the voters in line and they are not an actual threat.
The absurd demonisation of the Tories by the left leads some people being reluctanct to admit they'd vote Tory.
It's very hard to demonise Boris, with his affable persona (whether you believe it's genuine or not is beside the point). It was very easy to demonise Ken, however.
And that's the answer to the 'discrepancy' in Mike's piece. You're welcome.
This comment is not entirely serious.
First he unveils that George W. Bush is his closest middle east advisor, then he says that he would have invaded Iraq even if he knew what we know now, and finally he accidentally declared his candidacy yesterday.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/jeb-bush-mideast-israeli-adviser-george-w-bush-117829.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/note-jeb-bush-days-answers-iraq/story?id=31037863
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/13/us-usa-election-bush-idUSKBN0NY2I620150513
Many are wondering now if Jeb Bush is not actually the smartest of the brothers.
In 1992 it was wrong demographic weightings.
In 2015 it was wrong turnout weightings.
In both occasions the mistake was that the pollsters had the recipe wrong not that people were lying to them.
You can lay him at 3.05 on Betfair - Which I've just done, looks a touch short to me.
Ooh. Len on newsnight
These voters aren't shy Tories. They are people at work, busy living their lives, with no interest in politics, who won't answer a phone pollster or register for an online panel.
Come election time they look around. If they reckon the government (of whatever party) is doing a good job they vote to re-elect them. If they're not, then they vote for the other lot (provided they are credible. If the government and the opposition are both a bit shit they stay at home.
It really is that simple
I can only see a long term way forward and that is to break the misogynistic cultures that exist in that part of the world by continually pushing for the liberation and education of women in those cultures.
Just catching up from the previous thread regarding the Labour Leadership battle.
Some really interesting points made but a few comments / questions.
- 2010 Diane Abbot was included because they "needed" a female candidate-in 2015 I cannot see how Chuka-the only non-white candidate can fail to get the required support to go through.
But he will be as popular in Lancashire as a Yorkshireman and wont win.
-AB is is the only obvious "Northern" (better still Lancastrian) candidate-he goes through
-S
You have 3 women fighting it out for realistically 2 places (although I accept mathematically there are are potentially a further 3 places)
I think YC and MC are the most likely to go through.
-But as was mentioned below this is the most Left wing intake for a very long time-And I am assuming that MP's will have an influence on how their local party will vote-people talk etc.
-I think therefore the most Left wing candidate will garner strong support in all voting sections in the later stages.
-The election is by STV so the order in which candidates fall out is very important. Therefore working out the winner is -in part-working through the the list in reverse order.
Chukka-goes early-possibly even first eviction
His support split mainly between YC and MC as they will come come from London Left
-AB is a mildly Left wing man-question is will enough people vote FOR him? he could easily be the next out-or it could be the continuity candidate YC as the Party want a break from the past.
On the basis IF AB can stay in the race in the first 2 rounds I think he should win-if he doesn't Yvette should on the basis as the other candidates drop out their supporters revert to the mean-ie the middle ground. She has no USP other than she has been around a long time and is well known.
BUT MC could come through the outside on STV - if she can get a bedrock of 25%+ early on she will be hard to beat.
The danger for Labour in a tight race is that the 3rd or 4th placed candidate comes through the middle and "wins" and spends years justifying their position as "least worst candidate"
I am increasingly of the opinion that the leadership battle for Labour is not going to produce a happy outcome-none of the declared runners is either very good or very different.
I agree. Mr Finkelstein is 100% bang on the money as far as I can see. No intricate plotting or secret cabals to "keep Labour out", no Machiavellian manoeuvres - just simple, common, everyday apathy about politics.
We're talking about people who DID respond to pollsters on the phone or registered for an online panel, but said Don't Know.
If you subtract 20% of those who said they would vote under the age of 65 you get closer to the actual result.
The voter turnout by age group of the voter was the only thing affecting the Labour, the Tory and the Green vote which the pollsters missed, while not affecting the LD and the UKIP vote which the pollsters got right.
Like in a Sherlock Holmes novel, the dog that didn't bark gave the solution.
If you are hard at work you don't waste your day on a political blogging website
Although if your wife is watching some utter drivel on the TV you may log-on in the evening
Hunt getting pulled up for not answering... good response from Farage.
So you can't boil it down to two elections, or simply a demonisation of the Tories.
This would assume that Labour people are not shy to tell the pollster their opinions. In my experience very few Labour supporters are shy in telling someone that they support Labour and that Labour's policies are the most fair and just. Lefties just seem to be more politically motivated.
Was he in the Bullingdon Club along with Boris?
On Burnham, he probably was the right leader in 2010 - there's far more to him than people give him credit for on here. He finished fourth because he was seen as a Blairite and those who would've been his base were firmly in the David M camp. Would've provided more of a contrast with Cameron as non-metropolitan and would've almost certainly been more in touch with what was going on on the ground than was the case. Mid-Staffs would've undoubtedly been banged on about by the Tories, but as Burnham ordered an enquiry not long after becoming health secretary it wasn't something he was personally tied to (Alan Johnson, many people's dream ticket could be more criticsised). In 2015 however he's lost the element of being new broom that he'd have provided and will be still be hammered by the Tories as Labour retreating into its past. Whether he wins, and whether he'll be any good is dependent on whether he can transform himself again from the SHS beloved by the party to a purveyor of hard truths.
Cooper - ditto, would've made a strong leader in 2010, now it's fairly clear Labour need to build from scratch to win over people who still think of the party as the 2005-2010 government they've rejected. Unfair, but if Lynton's back in 2020 you can see the smiling Mr Cooper in front of No. 10 daubed on posters now.
Liz Kendall - untested but early signs seem promising, sounds human and seems to have the gift of articulating the right of the Labour party's positions without sounding like she's pining for a lost world or in the wrong party. Midlands MP from outer London so gets the areas Labour needs to improve in. Although once a SPAD, didn't fall out of Oxbridge into a party job. All in all, if she gets big name backing and momentum and isn't squeezed out by Cooper could be the one to beat Burnham.
Ummuna - Nope. Might be a decent appointment as S Chancellor - the role doesn't require the human touch and seems to be popular with business.
Creagh - Surely running to raise her profile, have a good campaign and get a good job. Decent but lacks star quality.
Hunt - Maybe in the days when a 'Tristram' was playing against type, but given that two of the groups of people Labour has to win are specifically annoyed at Labour's perceived poshness, a non-starter (Scots and working class former Lab voters).
Others: Surprised Caroline Flint isn't having a pop. Come too early for Stella Creasy, which is a shame - probably the best candidate for Dep Leader given her campaigning successes, amiability and media qualities.
http://www.lucidtalk.co.uk/yougovs-peter-kellner-on-the-uk-ge2015/
"In retrospect, the 1992 election came just a few weeks too soon for the pollsters. Shortly after Major’s victory, the key findings of the 1991 census were published. These showed that Britain had changed since the previous, 1981, census far more than anybody – well, any social scientist – had realised.
In that Thatcher decade, there had been a sharp reduction in the Labour-inclined working classes and faster growth in the mainly-Tory middle classes. Pollsters all used much the same sampling design, and failed to take adequate account of all this. Had they known what was in the 1991 census, their election figures would not have led them, or us, so far astray. (In retrospect, the 1987 election should have flashed warning signals. The Eighties economic and social revolution was under way, and most polls understated Tory support, probably because the pollsters’ social mix had started to diverge from reality.)"
It really is that simple
Or simply that working people are too busy and tired to vote on a working day, that is why turnout was 10% lower than what the polls said.
If you subtract 20% of those who said they would vote under the age of 65 you get closer to the actual result.
The voter turnout by age group of the voter was the only thing affecting the Labour, the Tory and the Green vote which the pollsters missed, while not affecting the LD and the UKIP vote which the pollsters got right.
Like in a Sherlock Holmes novel, the dog that didn't bark gave the solution.
I haven't seen the figures but how did postal votes in 2010 compare to 2015-I wonder if the tighter rules had an impact on the Postal vote factories??
I may be having a brain fade, but who the hell is MC?
Mary Creagh
If @bbcquestiontime was on ITV, Farage could resign at the end of each segment & be leader again by the time they came back after the break
In any other party he'd been an entirely busted flush... But in UKIP... He may just get away with it.
I thought you were supposed to be a Tory!
@iainmartin1: Peak Farage. He's had it. @bbcquestiontime
Worst outcome for Labour obviously.
Genuine question. Must people interested in politics, ie people that post on here, are on twitter and will be following political news. Why do you post them on here as if it's some kind of scoop or a service you are providing?
They're just the same thing said a dozen different ways most of the time and often the first one is a repeat if you're on twitter
If they don't then they will drift and the referendum will be lost because the Out side will be fatally fractured.
IF AB already has 70 nominations of support then clearly he is the man to beat-but do 70+-ie 25% + of the PLP think AB is the Leader and Solution to their problems???
If they do, the PLP is up shit creek with no paddle and no map.
1997: 26,662
2001: 17,170
2005: 14,760
2010: 12,605
2015: 12,220
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoke-on-Trent_Central_(UK_Parliament_constituency)#Elections_in_the_2010s
China and NAFTA are a bigger market that the EU.