politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The great EURef phone/online polling divide continues as two new phone polls have 18-21% REMAIN leads
This morning we’ve got the EU referendum phone polls for two months and as can be seen in the table, they have numbers which are totally out of line with with all the online surveys.
OT: Can anyone point me towards an online video archive of Sky News Channel newspaper reviews. I think I heard a comment from one of the reviewers last night that I want to check.
The site selling the board game, dudeiwantthat.com, reads: "Cat-Opoly is a Monopoly for people who really, really, really like cats. And cat videos, cat memes, cat selfies, cat forums, cat Reddit threads..." The aim of the game is to buy as many cats as you can.
She's already borrowed £25k and decided it was a waste of time and wants to have a career change where she can borrow some more money and then decide at the end of it whether she wants another career change.
Don't we have an NHS Winter Crisis every year? It certainly seems that way.
I'm surprised the organisation hasn't been officially rebranded NHSinWC
You'd think after years of practice, they'd have dealt with the problem by now. "Oh look Winter's approaching, shall we do some planning, or just wait until the last minute and have a good old fashioned crisis?"
Like you, I can go back half a century to when the Labour party was a different beast.
There was a sort of unwritten law that the middle class intellectuals (along with a few of the proper working class) would run the party for the benefit of the working classes. What has changed?
A much larger middle class, and from that has evolved a group of people who are convinced they know best.
Old Labour were patriotic and proud of their country (many had fought in the war) and their aim was equality of opportunity.
But Jezza is one of these nouveau, know-it-alls. The important things are Marxism (of sorts) with an emphasis on diversity, and doing down the Dastardly Septics, who along with old-fashioned patriots are responsible for all the ills of the world.
They are the shouty, media types whose views are so self-evidently correct, they must have been born to rule. Those with differing opinions must be marginalised or know their place.
The site selling the board game, dudeiwantthat.com, reads: "Cat-Opoly is a Monopoly for people who really, really, really like cats. And cat videos, cat memes, cat selfies, cat forums, cat Reddit threads..." The aim of the game is to buy as many cats as you can.
What a ridiculous idea. You can't buy a cat. You can invite a cat into your home, and, if on inspection the premises are of satisfactory quality and the staff are suitable, then the cat may decide to accept the invitation.
Snap PMQs Verdict: A comfortable win for Corbyn. It is unusual for Labour to lose on health at PMQs, but Corbyn was well beyond competent. His questions were sharp and relevant, he used humour well and he responded graciously to a jibe from Cameron about his supposedly not being able to wish people Happy Christmas. Cameron does have answers on the NHS, although his figures for the increasing volume of NHS activity are really just a recognition of growth (the volume of NHS activity is almost always going up), Corbyn is right about the problems with the social care precept, and Cameron’s repeated attempts to change the subject, onto unemployment, came across as symptomatic of weakness, not strength.
Don't we have an NHS Winter Crisis every year? It certainly seems that way.
I'm surprised the organisation hasn't been officially rebranded NHSinWC
You'd think after years of practice, they'd have dealt with the problem by now. "Oh look Winter's approaching, shall we do some planning, or just wait until the last minute and have a good old fashioned crisis?"
A bit like Railtrack and autumn in years gone past.
The site selling the board game, dudeiwantthat.com, reads: "Cat-Opoly is a Monopoly for people who really, really, really like cats. And cat videos, cat memes, cat selfies, cat forums, cat Reddit threads..." The aim of the game is to buy as many cats as you can.
What a ridiculous idea. You can't buy a cat. You can invite a cat into your home, and, if on inspection the premises are of satisfactory quality and the staff are suitable, then the cat may decide to accept the invitation.
The Guardian seeing PMQs a little differently to the PB commentariat:
Snap PMQs Verdict: A comfortable win for Corbyn. It is unusual for Labour to lose on health at PMQs, but Corbyn was well beyond competent. His questions were sharp and relevant, he used humour well and he responded graciously to a jibe from Cameron about his supposedly not being able to wish people Happy Christmas. Cameron does have answers on the NHS, although his figures for the increasing volume of NHS activity are really just a recognition of growth (the volume of NHS activity is almost always going up), Corbyn is right about the problems with the social care precept, and Cameron’s repeated attempts to change the subject, onto unemployment, came across as symptomatic of weakness, not strength.
Snap PMQs Verdict: A comfortable win for Corbyn. It is unusual for Labour to lose on health at PMQs, but Corbyn was well beyond competent. His questions were sharp and relevant, he used humour well and he responded graciously to a jibe from Cameron about his supposedly not being able to wish people Happy Christmas. Cameron does have answers on the NHS, although his figures for the increasing volume of NHS activity are really just a recognition of growth (the volume of NHS activity is almost always going up), Corbyn is right about the problems with the social care precept, and Cameron’s repeated attempts to change the subject, onto unemployment, came across as symptomatic of weakness, not strength.
I see that Natalie Bennett's Christmas card features a map of the UK with proper county boundaries. If their reinstatement is official party policy, I might have to defect...
The Guardian seeing PMQs a little differently to the PB commentariat:
Snap PMQs Verdict: A comfortable win for Corbyn. It is unusual for Labour to lose on health at PMQs, but Corbyn was well beyond competent. His questions were sharp and relevant, he used humour well and he responded graciously to a jibe from Cameron about his supposedly not being able to wish people Happy Christmas. Cameron does have answers on the NHS, although his figures for the increasing volume of NHS activity are really just a recognition of growth (the volume of NHS activity is almost always going up), Corbyn is right about the problems with the social care precept, and Cameron’s repeated attempts to change the subject, onto unemployment, came across as symptomatic of weakness, not strength.
The site selling the board game, dudeiwantthat.com, reads: "Cat-Opoly is a Monopoly for people who really, really, really like cats. And cat videos, cat memes, cat selfies, cat forums, cat Reddit threads..." The aim of the game is to buy as many cats as you can.
What a ridiculous idea. You can't buy a cat. You can invite a cat into your home, and, if on inspection the premises are of satisfactory quality and the staff are suitable, then the cat may decide to accept the invitation.
As a dog person I find it slightly surreal that one can buy a dog just like a kettle.
I see that Natalie Bennett's Christmas card features a map of the UK with proper county boundaries. If their reinstatement is official party policy, I might have to defect...
Another reason not to vote Green. Ted Heath's second greatest achievement was taking Middlesbrough out of Yorkshire.
Winter is arriving bloody late this year, feels like a dark, wet and murky autumn still tbh.
I think it's remarkably mild. My alchemilla mollis is still growing as is my salvia super trouper. Some spring bulbs planted in earlier years are already growing strongly and the snowdrops are, as usual, out.
Don't we have an NHS Winter Crisis every year? It certainly seems that way.
I'm surprised the organisation hasn't been officially rebranded NHSinWC
You'd think after years of practice, they'd have dealt with the problem by now. "Oh look Winter's approaching, shall we do some planning, or just wait until the last minute and have a good old fashioned crisis?"
LOL!!!!
A tremendous amount of planning goes into winter preparedness. The vast, vast majority of people are still being seen, treated and shown the door within 4 hours of arriving at A&E despite historic levels of demand. Unless you think the answer is to build and recruit extra hospitals, nurses, doctors and GPs to only operate in the winter, we are always going to have to put measures in place and you can't stop respiratory illnesses in the elderly. The only solutions are to try and make the system more slick, and commissioners are throwing the kitchen sink at it.... but if you are going to slice and dice Social Care of course you are going to have delayed discharges (of which there are also record numbers).
Delayed discharges equals full hospitals equals queuing ambulances equals people waiting hours after a 999 call.
Of course if the NHS was really as dire as PB Tories say, the vulnerable elderly wouldn't be around to be admitted - and that would take the edge off winter....
I see that Natalie Bennett's Christmas card features a map of the UK with proper county boundaries. If their reinstatement is official party policy, I might have to defect...
Another reason not to vote Green. Ted Heath's second greatest achievement was taking Middlesbrough out of Yorkshire.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
"Hospitals seem to be having a particular problem with discharging patients. The most vulnerable patients - mainly elderly, frail people - need to have support in place in the community from council care teams and community nursing before they can be released, even though they may be medically fit to leave hospital. When this cannot be found, the patients are classed as a delayed discharge. The number of delays has now reached the highest level since record-keeping began in 2010. Reports suggest some hospitals may have a fifth of their beds taken up by patients who should not be there."
Winter is arriving bloody late this year, feels like a dark, wet and murky autumn still tbh.
I think it's remarkably mild. My alchemilla mollis is still growing as is my salvia super trouper. Some spring bulbs planted in earlier years are already growing strongly and the snowdrops are, as usual, out.
I was walking down Pattison Road yesterday, and the mild weather has totally thrown the trees off. They are all showing spring blossom.
I see that Natalie Bennett's Christmas card features a map of the UK with proper county boundaries. If their reinstatement is official party policy, I might have to defect...
Another reason not to vote Green. Ted Heath's second greatest achievement was taking Middlesbrough out of Yorkshire.
Don't we have an NHS Winter Crisis every year? It certainly seems that way.
I'm surprised the organisation hasn't been officially rebranded NHSinWC
You'd think after years of practice, they'd have dealt with the problem by now. "Oh look Winter's approaching, shall we do some planning, or just wait until the last minute and have a good old fashioned crisis?"
LOL!!!!
A tremendous amount of planning goes into winter preparedness. The vast, vast majority of people are still being seen, treated and shown the door within 4 hours of arriving at A&E despite historic levels of demand. Unless you think the answer is to build and recruit extra hospitals, nurses, doctors and GPs to only operate in the winter, we are always going to have to put measures in place and you can't stop respiratory illnesses in the elderly. The only solutions are to try and make the system more slick, and commissioners are throwing the kitchen sink at it.... but if you are going to slice and dice Social Care of course you are going to have delayed discharges (of which there are also record numbers).
Delayed discharges equals full hospitals equals queuing ambulances equals people waiting hours after a 999 call.
Of course if the NHS was really as dire as PB Tories say, the vulnerable elderly wouldn't be around to be admitted - and that would take the edge off winter....
Great to hear that the NHS is operating to plan, as one assumes.
So why do Labour continually bang on about a health service in crisis?
Don't we have an NHS Winter Crisis every year? It certainly seems that way.
I'm surprised the organisation hasn't been officially rebranded NHSinWC
You'd think after years of practice, they'd have dealt with the problem by now. "Oh look Winter's approaching, shall we do some planning, or just wait until the last minute and have a good old fashioned crisis?"
LOL!!!!
A tremendous amount of planning goes into winter preparedness. The vast, vast majority of people are still being seen, treated and shown the door within 4 hours of arriving at A&E despite historic levels of demand. Unless you think the answer is to build and recruit extra hospitals, nurses, doctors and GPs to only operate in the winter, we are always going to have to put measures in place and you can't stop respiratory illnesses in the elderly. The only solutions are to try and make the system more slick, and commissioners are throwing the kitchen sink at it.... but if you are going to slice and dice Social Care of course you are going to have delayed discharges (of which there are also record numbers).
Delayed discharges equals full hospitals equals queuing ambulances equals people waiting hours after a 999 call.
Of course if the NHS was really as dire as PB Tories say, the vulnerable elderly wouldn't be around to be admitted - and that would take the edge off winter....
What we really need is cross-border A&E doctors, who work the winters in both the UK and New Zealand.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
My Tory MP in Fareham is Suella Fernandez, I believe of Goan extraction.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
Not sure about the exact numbers but yes, it's quite balanced now. On current form the Conservatives look like they will avoid becoming the angry white people party.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
Kwasi Kwarteng is outstanding.
(Disclaimer: he's a friend of mine, so I'm totally biased.)
I see that Natalie Bennett's Christmas card features a map of the UK with proper county boundaries. If their reinstatement is official party policy, I might have to defect...
Another reason not to vote Green. Ted Heath's second greatest achievement was taking Middlesbrough out of Yorkshire.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
My Tory MP in Fareham is Suella Fernandez, I believe of Goan extraction.
I see that Natalie Bennett's Christmas card features a map of the UK with proper county boundaries. If their reinstatement is official party policy, I might have to defect...
Another reason not to vote Green. Ted Heath's second greatest achievement was taking Middlesbrough out of Yorkshire.
Is Hull still in Yorkshire ?
'umberside
If there's anywhere that needs the added cachet of being in a real county it's Hull.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
Kwasi Kwarteng is outstanding.
(Disclaimer: he's a friend of mine, so I'm totally biased.)
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
Don't we have an NHS Winter Crisis every year? It certainly seems that way.
I'm surprised the organisation hasn't been officially rebranded NHSinWC
You'd think after years of practice, they'd have dealt with the problem by now. "Oh look Winter's approaching, shall we do some planning, or just wait until the last minute and have a good old fashioned crisis?"
LOL!!!!
A tremendous amount of planning goes into winter preparedness. The vast, vast majority of people are still being seen, treated and shown the door within 4 hours of arriving at A&E despite historic levels of demand. Unless you think the answer is to build and recruit extra hospitals, nurses, doctors and GPs to only operate in the winter, we are always going to have to put measures in place and you can't stop respiratory illnesses in the elderly. The only solutions are to try and make the system more slick, and commissioners are throwing the kitchen sink at it.... but if you are going to slice and dice Social Care of course you are going to have delayed discharges (of which there are also record numbers).
Delayed discharges equals full hospitals equals queuing ambulances equals people waiting hours after a 999 call.
Of course if the NHS was really as dire as PB Tories say, the vulnerable elderly wouldn't be around to be admitted - and that would take the edge off winter....
What we really need is cross-border A&E doctors, who work the winters in both the UK and New Zealand.
I see that Natalie Bennett's Christmas card features a map of the UK with proper county boundaries. If their reinstatement is official party policy, I might have to defect...
Another reason not to vote Green. Ted Heath's second greatest achievement was taking Middlesbrough out of Yorkshire.
Is Hull still in Yorkshire ?
Yes - just like Middlesbrough.
I recall from my regular visits to Ayresome Park during the 1980s that whenever a team from south of the Trent visited their supporters would at some point start a chant of 'We hate Geordies'. Then following a collective sigh, the home fans would join in the chant, before concluding 'Tee-Tee-Teessider'.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
...If the last year has been difficult for UKIP, it has been disastrous for the Labour party. Not only did it lose the general election in May heavily (by two million votes) and get almost wiped out in Scotland, it lost some of its leading figures and ended up with an unelectable, anti-Western, far left leader who is in the process of driving the party off a cliff. Imagine if you had predicted, a year ago, that Jeremy Corbyn would today be Labour leader.
At PMQs today he was on the just okay side of dire, which shows how low expectations are. He had a decent issue in concerns about the NHS but he did nothing with it. Cameron, the victor of 2015, swatted him away time and again.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
The Labour list looks predominantly Muslim, the Tory list is more varies, a lot more African descent in there as well.
The site selling the board game, dudeiwantthat.com, reads: "Cat-Opoly is a Monopoly for people who really, really, really like cats. And cat videos, cat memes, cat selfies, cat forums, cat Reddit threads..." The aim of the game is to buy as many cats as you can.
What a ridiculous idea. You can't buy a cat. You can invite a cat into your home, and, if on inspection the premises are of satisfactory quality and the staff are suitable, then the cat may decide to accept the invitation.
As a dog person I find it slightly surreal that one can buy a dog just like a kettle.
...If the last year has been difficult for UKIP, it has been disastrous for the Labour party. Not only did it lose the general election in May heavily (by two million votes) and get almost wiped out in Scotland, it lost some of its leading figures and ended up with an unelectable, anti-Western, far left leader who is in the process of driving the party off a cliff. Imagine if you had predicted, a year ago, that Jeremy Corbyn would today be Labour leader.
At PMQs today he was on the just okay side of dire, which shows how low expectations are. He had a decent issue in concerns about the NHS but he did nothing with it. Cameron, the victor of 2015, swatted him away time and again.
At PMQs Cameron was red-faced, shouty, aggressive, repetitive and didn't answer the questions. Not a good look. Very off putting except to dedicated Tories.
In contrast Corbyn was dignified, respectful and asked detailed pertinent questions.
Dedicated Corbynistas would say Corbyn won hands down, but I suspect uncommitted voters would also say Corbyn came out the more attractive, whether you agree with his policies or not.
The site selling the board game, dudeiwantthat.com, reads: "Cat-Opoly is a Monopoly for people who really, really, really like cats. And cat videos, cat memes, cat selfies, cat forums, cat Reddit threads..." The aim of the game is to buy as many cats as you can.
What a ridiculous idea. You can't buy a cat. You can invite a cat into your home, and, if on inspection the premises are of satisfactory quality and the staff are suitable, then the cat may decide to accept the invitation.
As a dog person I find it slightly surreal that one can buy a dog just like a kettle.
Fascinating divergence between the methodologies of the polls but bearing in mind what happened at the GE you'd be foolish in disregarding phone polls.
Obviously we have those who are committed LEAVE, those who are committed REMAIN and a number (including many on here) who will vote the way David Cameron tells them so until we know how he will jump it's far from clear where this is going.
PMQs - watched a few minutes. Neither man on top form I thought. If I were the Conservatives, I would suggest turning down the baying and shouting - Cameron always sounds best when he doesn't have to shout to make himself heard. Corbyn is learning and is better now than he was three months ago but he didn't really put Cameron too much on the defensive I thought but there will be other days.
The IPSOS MORI VI poll suggests perhaps a small sign of a "plague on both your houses" and at present neither Party sounds convincing. The Tories are getting bogged down in the detail as they often do but Labour, as they often do, are adept at picking the wrong battles.
None of this matters too much as we move into Christmas but January is always a difficult time for Governments as people go back to work in the bleak midwinter (or early autumn as it seems to be at the moment).
Don't we have an NHS Winter Crisis every year? It certainly seems that way.
I'm surprised the organisation hasn't been officially rebranded NHSinWC
You'd think after years of practice, they'd have dealt with the problem by now. "Oh look Winter's approaching, shall we do some planning, or just wait until the last minute and have a good old fashioned crisis?"
LOL!!!!
A tremendous amount of planning goes into winter preparedness. The vast, vast majority of people are still being seen, treated and shown the door within 4 hours of arriving at A&E despite historic levels of demand. Unless you think the answer is to build and recruit extra hospitals, nurses, doctors and GPs to only operate in the winter, we are always going to have to put measures in place and you can't stop respiratory illnesses in the elderly. The only solutions are to try and make the system more slick, and commissioners are throwing the kitchen sink at it.... but if you are going to slice and dice Social Care of course you are going to have delayed discharges (of which there are also record numbers).
Delayed discharges equals full hospitals equals queuing ambulances equals people waiting hours after a 999 call.
Of course if the NHS was really as dire as PB Tories say, the vulnerable elderly wouldn't be around to be admitted - and that would take the edge off winter....
The problem is that NHS bed occupancy runs at near 100% so cannot cope with peak demand.
Our admissions are up 10% on a year ago. Yet the plan is to cut several hundred beds in Leicester over the next five years to balance the books.
Yes, he was - a very dignified, gracious and well-judged speech.
More generally, I think he was by far the leading senior Labour politician of those standing for re-election in 2015. If he hadn't been defeated in Morley & Outwood he'd probably be Labour leader now - and Labour would be in a massively better place.
Don't we have an NHS Winter Crisis every year? It certainly seems that way.
I'm surprised the organisation hasn't been officially rebranded NHSinWC
You'd think after years of practice, they'd have dealt with the problem by now. "Oh look Winter's approaching, shall we do some planning, or just wait until the last minute and have a good old fashioned crisis?"
LOL!!!!
A tremendous amount of planning goes into winter preparedness. The vast, vast majority of people are still being seen, treated and shown the door within 4 hours of arriving at A&E despite historic levels of demand. Unless you think the answer is to build and recruit extra hospitals, nurses, doctors and GPs to only operate in the winter, we are always going to have to put measures in place and you can't stop respiratory illnesses in the elderly. The only solutions are to try and make the system more slick, and commissioners are throwing the kitchen sink at it.... but if you are going to slice and dice Social Care of course you are going to have delayed discharges (of which there are also record numbers).
Delayed discharges equals full hospitals equals queuing ambulances equals people waiting hours after a 999 call.
Of course if the NHS was really as dire as PB Tories say, the vulnerable elderly wouldn't be around to be admitted - and that would take the edge off winter....
What we really need is cross-border A&E doctors, who work the winters in both the UK and New Zealand.
Alternatively migratory old people.
Which is what basically happens in the US - 'snowbirds' to Florida etc.
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
What is BME?
Black / Minority Ethnic
Thanks, no idea why anybody thinks it's relevant to anything other than ghastly quotas I suppose.
I see that Natalie Bennett's Christmas card features a map of the UK with proper county boundaries. If their reinstatement is official party policy, I might have to defect...
Another reason not to vote Green. Ted Heath's second greatest achievement was taking Middlesbrough out of Yorkshire.
Is Hull still in Yorkshire ?
Depends on your definition of "Yorkshire"...
* People who prefer the historic counties say "Yes" (or possibly "Yes, it's in the East Riding"). From memory, Richard Tyndall prefers them and may be able to assist you. * People who prefer the ceremonial counties (like me) say "Yes, it's in the East Riding of Yorkshire". * People who go by the local authority areas (mostly locals who go off what it says on their council tax form) say "No, it's in its own category"
Comments
http://www.comres.co.uk/eu-referendum-all-still-to-play-for-by-not-neck-and-neck/
Winston McKenzie has joined the English Democrats, some say he is the most influential Black English political figure today.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CWWFL6_XAAAKWsU.jpg:large
OT: Can anyone point me towards an online video archive of Sky News Channel newspaper reviews. I think I heard a comment from one of the reviewers last night that I want to check.
I do not have paid-for Sky.
Thanks
#PMQs
Winston vs Oink-A-Lot vs Lib Dems match bet maybe
She's already borrowed £25k and decided it was a waste of time and wants to have a career change where she can borrow some more money and then decide at the end of it whether she wants another career change.
http://labourlist.org/2015/12/what-does-labour-stand-for-when-it-is-no-longer-the-party-of-the-working-class/
Like you, I can go back half a century to when the Labour party was a different beast.
There was a sort of unwritten law that the middle class intellectuals (along with a few of the proper working class) would run the party for the benefit of the working classes. What has changed?
A much larger middle class, and from that has evolved a group of people who are convinced they know best.
Old Labour were patriotic and proud of their country (many had fought in the war) and their aim was equality of opportunity.
But Jezza is one of these nouveau, know-it-alls. The important things are Marxism (of sorts) with an emphasis on diversity, and doing down the Dastardly Septics, who along with old-fashioned patriots are responsible for all the ills of the world.
They are the shouty, media types whose views are so self-evidently correct, they must have been born to rule. Those with differing opinions must be marginalised or know their place.
Posh rules OK.
Snap PMQs Verdict: A comfortable win for Corbyn. It is unusual for Labour to lose on health at PMQs, but Corbyn was well beyond competent. His questions were sharp and relevant, he used humour well and he responded graciously to a jibe from Cameron about his supposedly not being able to wish people Happy Christmas. Cameron does have answers on the NHS, although his figures for the increasing volume of NHS activity are really just a recognition of growth (the volume of NHS activity is almost always going up), Corbyn is right about the problems with the social care precept, and Cameron’s repeated attempts to change the subject, onto unemployment, came across as symptomatic of weakness, not strength.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2015/dec/16/john-major-says-flirting-with-leaving-the-eu-very-dangerous-politics-live#block-5671558be4b0e9280677472f
Didn't see it that way myself - thought score-draw, or even Cameron ahead....
Snap PMQs Verdict: A comfortable win for Corbyn. It is unusual for Labour to lose on health at PMQs, but Corbyn was well beyond competent. His questions were sharp and relevant, he used humour well and he responded graciously to a jibe from Cameron about his supposedly not being able to wish people Happy Christmas. Cameron does have answers on the NHS, although his figures for the increasing volume of NHS activity are really just a recognition of growth (the volume of NHS activity is almost always going up), Corbyn is right about the problems with the social care precept, and Cameron’s repeated attempts to change the subject, onto unemployment, came across as symptomatic of weakness, not strength.
As a dog person I find it slightly surreal that one can buy a dog just like a kettle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcIkMMWWGw
A tremendous amount of planning goes into winter preparedness. The vast, vast majority of people are still being seen, treated and shown the door within 4 hours of arriving at A&E despite historic levels of demand.
Unless you think the answer is to build and recruit extra hospitals, nurses, doctors and GPs to only operate in the winter, we are always going to have to put measures in place and you can't stop respiratory illnesses in the elderly. The only solutions are to try and make the system more slick, and commissioners are throwing the kitchen sink at it.... but if you are going to slice and dice Social Care of course you are going to have delayed discharges (of which there are also record numbers).
Delayed discharges equals full hospitals equals queuing ambulances equals people waiting hours after a 999 call.
Of course if the NHS was really as dire as PB Tories say, the vulnerable elderly wouldn't be around to be admitted - and that would take the edge off winter....
I'm increasing noticing at PMQs that one can't assume they're Labour MPs. Ranil Jayawardena was very good - Tory for Hants NE. Very media friendly and eloquent.
When this cannot be found, the patients are classed as a delayed discharge. The number of delays has now reached the highest level since record-keeping began in 2010. Reports suggest some hospitals may have a fifth of their beds taken up by patients who should not be there."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35028372
So why do Labour continually bang on about a health service in crisis?
(Disclaimer: he's a friend of mine, so I'm totally biased.)
Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove)
Shailesh Vara (Cambridgeshire NW)
Suella Fernandes (Fareham)
Rehman Christie (Gillingham)
Ranil Jayawardena (Hampshire NE)
Alan Mak (Havant)
Helen Grant (Maidestone)
Alok Sharma (Reading W)
Rishi Sunak (Richomonds, York)
Seema Louise Ghiassi (South Ribble)
Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne)
Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford)
Sam Gyimah (Surray East)
Nusrat Ghani (Wealden)
Adam Afryie (Windsor)
Priti Patel (Witham)
Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green)
Shabana Mahmood (Ladywood)
Khalid Mahmood (Perry Barr)
Yasmine Qureshi (Bolton SE)
Imran Hussain (Bradford East)
Naseem Shah (Bradford West)
Dawn Butler (Brent Central)
Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West)
Rupa Huq (Ealing Central)
Virendra Sharma (Ealing Southall)
Kate Osamor (Edmonton)
Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston)
Diane Abbott (Hackney North)
Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn)
Keith Vaz (Leicester East)
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle Central)
Clive Lewis (Norwich South)
Mark Hendrick (Preston)
Chuka Umunna (Streatham)
Sadiq Khan (Tooting)
David Lammy (Tottenham)
Valerie Vaz (Walsall South)
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil)
*Innocent Face*
I guess means that all sorts of things are possible. Trump winning the presidency. Cameron losing the referendum.
Best bit of election night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FREMA0c1bTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66RuTjG1Vvk
Stuffed cats?
At PMQs Cameron was red-faced, shouty, aggressive, repetitive and didn't answer the questions. Not a good look. Very off putting except to dedicated Tories.
In contrast Corbyn was dignified, respectful and asked detailed pertinent questions.
Dedicated Corbynistas would say Corbyn won hands down, but I suspect uncommitted voters would also say Corbyn came out the more attractive, whether you agree with his policies or not.
There were a lot of dignified Labour losers on election night, both Jim Murphy and Douglas Alexander came out with their reputations enhanced.
I cringe at Mellorphant's response to losing in 1997
Even 30yrs on I can't think of him without laughing out loud. He was a feline monster with a significant personality disorder! Stuffed cats?
Fascinating divergence between the methodologies of the polls but bearing in mind what happened at the GE you'd be foolish in disregarding phone polls.
Obviously we have those who are committed LEAVE, those who are committed REMAIN and a number (including many on here) who will vote the way David Cameron tells them so until we know how he will jump it's far from clear where this is going.
PMQs - watched a few minutes. Neither man on top form I thought. If I were the Conservatives, I would suggest turning down the baying and shouting - Cameron always sounds best when he doesn't have to shout to make himself heard. Corbyn is learning and is better now than he was three months ago but he didn't really put Cameron too much on the defensive I thought but there will be other days.
The IPSOS MORI VI poll suggests perhaps a small sign of a "plague on both your houses" and at present neither Party sounds convincing. The Tories are getting bogged down in the detail as they often do but Labour, as they often do, are adept at picking the wrong battles.
None of this matters too much as we move into Christmas but January is always a difficult time for Governments as people go back to work in the bleak midwinter (or early autumn as it seems to be at the moment).
Our admissions are up 10% on a year ago. Yet the plan is to cut several hundred beds in Leicester over the next five years to balance the books.
I think there may be a flaw in that plan!
More generally, I think he was by far the leading senior Labour politician of those standing for re-election in 2015. If he hadn't been defeated in Morley & Outwood he'd probably be Labour leader now - and Labour would be in a massively better place.
* People who prefer the historic counties say "Yes" (or possibly "Yes, it's in the East Riding"). From memory, Richard Tyndall prefers them and may be able to assist you.
* People who prefer the ceremonial counties (like me) say "Yes, it's in the East Riding of Yorkshire".
* People who go by the local authority areas (mostly locals who go off what it says on their council tax form) say "No, it's in its own category"
It had to happen once in his life