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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Why LEAVE needs to neutralise PROJECT FEAR if it is to win

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    Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,320

    Roger said:

    HYUFD said:

    Cameron, Paddy Ashdown and Neil Kinnock man a 'Vote Remain' phonebank together
    https://twitter.com/montie/status/720550604515487744

    That photo is toxic to Cameron.

    Whose idea was that?

    At the very least he shouldn't have been sitting next to them in a row.
    Not toxic at all. Quite the reverse. It tells me all the leading parties support Remain. If that spooks you wait until the 48 sheets come out with Redwood-Gove-IDS-Farage-Johnson-Galloway.
    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.
    Yes, it's a curious phenomenon. A few years ago in the right-wing press everything, and I mean literally everything - from the sacking of Owen Paterson to Grant Shapps's bingo tweet - was proclaimed as being absolutely brilliantly wondrous news for UKIP. (Invariably accompanying would be a photo of Nigel Farage grinning like a hippo.) Who thinks like this? Why?
  • Options
    PolruanPolruan Posts: 2,083

    On topic, we won't get Project Fear we'll get Project Terror.

    Only positive thing on that is that the various broadsides in March and April don't appear to have had any net impact yet on voting *intention* but they have, anecdotally, scared a few regular posters on here as well as a few of my friends.

    As, of course, it's designed to..

    If you're a natural Leaver, don't let yourself be played by it: straighten up, batten down the hatches and face up.

    Don't let the heavy incoming fire force you to retreat and abandon your position.

    If we vote Remain, the EU will force us to introduce a directive limiting the number of metaphors in use at any one time.

    I'm in.
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,403

    On topic, we won't get Project Fear we'll get Project Terror.

    Only positive thing on that is that the various broadsides in March and April don't appear to have had any net impact yet on voting *intention* but they have, anecdotally, scared a few regular posters on here as well as a few of my friends.

    As, of course, it's designed to..

    If you're a natural Leaver, don't let yourself be played by it: straighten up, batten down the hatches and face up.

    Don't let the heavy incoming fire force you to retreat and abandon your position.

    fyi the British never retreat, they withdraw.
  • Options
    PolruanPolruan Posts: 2,083

    Roger said:

    HYUFD said:

    Cameron, Paddy Ashdown and Neil Kinnock man a 'Vote Remain' phonebank together
    https://twitter.com/montie/status/720550604515487744

    That photo is toxic to Cameron.

    Whose idea was that?

    At the very least he shouldn't have been sitting next to them in a row.
    Not toxic at all. Quite the reverse. It tells me all the leading parties support Remain. If that spooks you wait until the 48 sheets come out with Redwood-Gove-IDS-Farage-Johnson-Galloway.
    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.
    Yes, it's a curious phenomenon. A few years ago in the right-wing press everything, and I mean literally everything - from the sacking of Owen Paterson to Grant Shapps's bingo tweet - was proclaimed as being absolutely brilliantly wondrous news for UKIP. (Invariably accompanying would be a photo of Nigel Farage grinning like a hippo.) Who thinks like this? Why?
    Mostly those prone to caricaturing the positions of their opponents, I'd say.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    Roger said:

    A very salient point. As Carlotta said the other day it's the lack of clarity that makes it seem risky. The problem is that if clarity is a group of letters (EEA/EFTA) then the fear will become real.

    There just isn't the time to explain concepts like these to an apathetic electorate. Whatever voters tell pollsters now they will not vote for something they don't trust and understand. The best they can hope for is abstentions

    A basic tenet of advertising is you can't change what people believe. That takes too long. You have to persuade them that what you are selling is something they trust. As an experiment try to persuade people the EU is lightly regulated. Then try to persuade them that though intrusive the regulation has saved XXXXX lives. The second can be done the first can't

    If they are obliged to get into 'EEA's and EFTA's' then they're in trouble and it's why Cummings is hoping to do the opposite and persuade people that the unknown is on the other side. But like I said such a counterintuitive idea that's going to be a very difficult sell.

    I think that you are right. People need to be onside that euro-regulations are of benefit, whether the EWTD, part time workers rights, environmental regulation for clean beaches etc. That is before we get to the more complex discussions about how standardised regulations are part and parcel of the extension of the single market into services.
  • Options
    geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,176

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    :smiley:
    Polruan said:

    On topic, we won't get Project Fear we'll get Project Terror.

    Only positive thing on that is that the various broadsides in March and April don't appear to have had any net impact yet on voting *intention* but they have, anecdotally, scared a few regular posters on here as well as a few of my friends.

    As, of course, it's designed to..

    If you're a natural Leaver, don't let yourself be played by it: straighten up, batten down the hatches and face up.

    Don't let the heavy incoming fire force you to retreat and abandon your position.

    If we vote Remain, the EU will force us to introduce a directive limiting the number of metaphors in use at any one time.

    I'm in.
  • Options
    AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670

    Alistair said:

    tlg86 said:

    Did we have these statistics for Scottish Independence? Given that the position of the young and old were reversed in that debate it would be interesting to see the perception of risk that they had.

    We do. Well we have a Lord Ashcroft poll post Indyref.

    Yes won every age group except 55 year old onwards

    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Lord-Ashcroft-Polls-Referendum-day-poll-summary-1409191.pdf
    There's also the longer term Scottish Referendum Study http://www.scottishreferendumstudy.com/
    http://www.scottishreferendumstudy.com/files/2015/01/RHUL-slides.pdf
    http://centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Scottish Referendum Study 27 March 2015.pdf

    Image and video hosting by TinyPic

    I presume the bump in 20-24 is due to RUK Students. There is some perception of risk anaylse in the first set of slides but not broekn down by age group.
    Cheers for that, I might do a thread on that.
    Threads are improved with a big picture of a spider crawling over someone's face.
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    No guarantee for that, bad news can always knock confidence and have a "cling to nurse for fear of worse" effect.
  • Options
    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    SeanT said:

    Roger said:

    A very salient point. As Carlotta said the other day it's the lack of clarity that makes it seem risky. The problem is that if clarity is a group of letters (EEA/EFTA) then the fear will become real.

    There just isn't the time to explain concepts like these to an apathetic electorate. Whatever voters tell pollsters now they will not vote for something they don't trust and understand. The best they can hope for is abstentions

    A basic tenet of advertising is you can't change what people believe. That takes too long. You have to persuade them that what you are selling is something they trust. As an experiment try to persuade people the EU is lightly regulated. Then try to persuade them that though intrusive the regulation has saved XXXXX lives. The second can be done the first can't

    If they are obliged to get into 'EEA's and EFTA's' then they're in trouble and it's why Cummings is hoping to do the opposite and persuade people that the unknown is on the other side. But like I said such a counterintuitive idea that's going to be a very difficult sell.

    I think that you are right. People need to be onside that euro-regulations are of benefit, whether the EWTD, part time workers rights, environmental regulation for clean beaches etc. That is before we get to the more complex discussions about how standardised regulations are part and parcel of the extension of the single market into services.
    And yet, for all the "power" of Project Fear, and all the "incoherence" of LEAVE, it is LEAVE who have the momentum, and the overall polling shows an absolute dead heat.


    http://whatukthinks.org/eu/

    50 LEAVE v 50 REMAIN is, I am damn sure, not where Cameron expected to be 2 months before the vote. He wouldn't have called this referendum if he'd honestly expected it to be this close.
    The polls haven't noticeably budged in the last month, nor have the betting markets not even Jacks ARSE.

    Momentum? What momentum?

    And thats for those who believe in the polls.
  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,517

    On topic, we won't get Project Fear we'll get Project Terror.

    Only positive thing on that is that the various broadsides in March and April don't appear to have had any net impact yet on voting *intention* but they have, anecdotally, scared a few regular posters on here as well as a few of my friends.

    As, of course, it's designed to..

    If you're a natural Leaver, don't let yourself be played by it: straighten up, batten down the hatches and face up.

    Don't let the heavy incoming fire force you to retreat and abandon your position.

    Don't know why you're campaigning on here. Hopeful of persuading Richard Nabavi? Engaging in the battle for TSE's soul?
  • Options
    geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,176

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    No guarantee for that, bad news can always knock confidence and have a "cling to nurse for fear of worse" effect.
    What, for example, would be "bad news for Out"?
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,127

    tlg86 said:

    Did we have these statistics for Scottish Independence? Given that the position of the young and old were reversed in that debate it would be interesting to see the perception of risk that they had.

    We do. Well we have a Lord Ashcroft poll post Indyref.

    Yes won every age group except 55 year old onwards

    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Lord-Ashcroft-Polls-Referendum-day-poll-summary-1409191.pdf
    Yougov had 51% of 16 to 24s voting No
    http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13181487.Full_indyref_survey_reveals_young_voters_voted_No_and_only_25_39_age_group_said_Yes/
  • Options
    Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,320

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
  • Options

    On topic, we won't get Project Fear we'll get Project Terror.

    Only positive thing on that is that the various broadsides in March and April don't appear to have had any net impact yet on voting *intention* but they have, anecdotally, scared a few regular posters on here as well as a few of my friends.

    As, of course, it's designed to..

    If you're a natural Leaver, don't let yourself be played by it: straighten up, batten down the hatches and face up.

    Don't let the heavy incoming fire force you to retreat and abandon your position.

    Hoe long before Project fear/ Dave deploy tanks to Heathrow like Tony did just before the Iraq invasion?
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1422243/Blair-sent-in-tanks-after-chilling-threat.html
  • Options
    Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,320
    If the migrant crisis is over then I expect Remain to start creeping up in the polls again once the nonsense about Dave's tax payments fades from the collective consciousness. Dave really is the luckiest of generals - swarms of migrants over the summer was meant to be his undoing.
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    HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    @Patrick

    "I've gone right off Dave and think he's a slimy little &*^%$£! "

    Luke 15:7, shame it took you so long though.
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    Shadsy has as much fun with choice of pics as Mike and I do

    https://twitter.com/LadPolitics/status/720598129146519552
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,059

    Pulpstar said:

    Wow - West Ham have got use of the Olympic Stadium incredibly cheaply.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36043808

    £15m upfront and then £2.5 million a year !! Heating, lighting, turnstyle operators and cleaners included in the price.

    Cost to turn into a Prem stadium was £272 Mn.

    No doubt they got it cheap, the London Development people's other options were even worse.
    I still wished they'd gone for Emirates Overspill Plan, with Arsenal games being shown on big screens to 100,000s of happy fans.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,059
    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
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    ParistondaParistonda Posts: 1,819
    How likely is it that Corbyn's new more full-on approach to Remain could swing some wavering Tories to Leave? Particularly championing workers rights/socialist case for the EU etc? He'll be campaigning on aspects that enthuse Labour voters but likely repel Tory ones I imagine - already not enthused by the EU.

    (Hello all, by the way)
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    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,289
    @Paristonda Welcome to PB.
  • Options
    Airport sniffer dogs find cheese and sausages – but fail to spot drugs

    Report into Manchester airport security reveals detector dogs found no heroin or cocaine in six months to June 2015

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/14/airport-sniffer-dogs-manchester-cheese-and-sausages-not-drugs?CMP=share_btn_tw
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,127

    How likely is it that Corbyn's new more full-on approach to Remain could swing some wavering Tories to Leave? Particularly championing workers rights/socialist case for the EU etc? He'll be campaigning on aspects that enthuse Labour voters but likely repel Tory ones I imagine - already not enthused by the EU.

    (Hello all, by the way)

    If you oppose workers' rights there is about 0% chance you are anything other than a Brexiteer anyway
  • Options
    PAWPAW Posts: 1,074
    edited April 2016
    Perhaps the leave campaign should hijack Cameron and Corbyn support by sending out leaflets with their photos and use their anti EU quotes.
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    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    SeanT said:

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
    I agree that could be crucially good news for Cameron. There were two black swans which must have spooked him - migration and terror. One has apparently croaked.
    The third is economic. Extreme measures in monetary policy are maintaining the illusion that Europe's economy is actually alive.

    If some event turned off the life support machine, it would rip a huge hole in remain's 'stability' argument.
  • Options
    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,291

    Airport sniffer dogs find cheese and sausages – but fail to spot drugs

    Report into Manchester airport security reveals detector dogs found no heroin or cocaine in six months to June 2015

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/14/airport-sniffer-dogs-manchester-cheese-and-sausages-not-drugs?CMP=share_btn_tw

    They need to employ Brian from Family Guy...
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,059
    edited April 2016
    taffys said:

    SeanT said:

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
    I agree that could be crucially good news for Cameron. There were two black swans which must have spooked him - migration and terror. One has apparently croaked.
    The third is economic. Extreme measures in monetary policy are maintaining the illusion that Europe's economy is actually alive.

    If some event turned off the life support machine, it would rip a huge hole in remain's 'stability' argument.
    Hmmm: it's worth remembering that both us and the UK were far more extreme in our use of QE than the EU has been. To put in context, QE as a proportion of GDP is:

    60% Japan
    35% USA
    25% UK
    18% Eurozone
  • Options
    Arron Banks won't seek a judicial review
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    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,403
    taffys said:

    SeanT said:

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
    I agree that could be crucially good news for Cameron. There were two black swans which must have spooked him - migration and terror. One has apparently croaked.
    The third is economic. Extreme measures in monetary policy are maintaining the illusion that Europe's economy is actually alive.

    If some event turned off the life support machine, it would rip a huge hole in remain's 'stability' argument.
    people in glass houses...
  • Options
    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    Pulpstar said:

    Wow - West Ham have got use of the Olympic Stadium incredibly cheaply.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36043808

    £15m upfront and then £2.5 million a year !! Heating, lighting, turnstyle operators and cleaners included in the price.

    Cost to turn into a Prem stadium was £272 Mn.

    Manchester City paid £2m a year, I believe.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Roger said:

    A very salient point. As Carlotta said the other day it's the lack of clarity that makes it seem risky. The problem is that if clarity is a group of letters (EEA/EFTA) then the fear will become real.

    There just isn't the time to explain concepts like these to an apathetic electorate. Whatever voters tell pollsters now they will not vote for something they don't trust and understand. The best they can hope for is abstentions

    A basic tenet of advertising is you can't change what people believe. That takes too long. You have to persuade them that what you are selling is something they trust. As an experiment try to persuade people the EU is lightly regulated. Then try to persuade them that though intrusive the regulation has saved XXXXX lives. The second can be done the first can't

    If they are obliged to get into 'EEA's and EFTA's' then they're in trouble and it's why Cummings is hoping to do the opposite and persuade people that the unknown is on the other side. But like I said such a counterintuitive idea that's going to be a very difficult sell.

    I think that you are right. People need to be onside that euro-regulations are of benefit, whether the EWTD, part time workers rights, environmental regulation for clean beaches etc. That is before we get to the more complex discussions about how standardised regulations are part and parcel of the extension of the single market into services.
    And yet, for all the "power" of Project Fear, and all the "incoherence" of LEAVE, it is LEAVE who have the momentum, and the overall polling shows an absolute dead heat.


    http://whatukthinks.org/eu/

    50 LEAVE v 50 REMAIN is, I am damn sure, not where Cameron expected to be 2 months before the vote. He wouldn't have called this referendum if he'd honestly expected it to be this close.
    The polls haven't noticeably budged in the last month, nor have the betting markets not even Jacks ARSE.

    Momentum? What momentum?

    And thats for those who believe in the polls.
    Also see here:

    https://twitter.com/StephenDFisher/status/719492680250744833
    It suits everyone to talk up a close race. The press and pollsters get a story, both sides motivate their supporters and campaigners.

    Nearly all votes are depicted as close or critical in the run up. Look at this polling on AV 2 months out:

    http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/av-referendum
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,403
    edited April 2016
    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    "good for the cause"?

    You sound a bit like those of both parties (most often and recently Lab) who seem as though they want bad economic news for the country as that will further their particular agenda.
  • Options
    Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 4,844

    How likely is it that Corbyn's new more full-on approach to Remain could swing some wavering Tories to Leave? Particularly championing workers rights/socialist case for the EU etc? He'll be campaigning on aspects that enthuse Labour voters but likely repel Tory ones I imagine - already not enthused by the EU.

    (Hello all, by the way)

    Welcome. It would have been pretty extraordinary had Corbyn not made a set piece speech on the EU referendum at some stage. Whether that constitutes a full-on approach beyond one day's news cycle remains to be seen.

    As a centrist, though not happy with everything, one thing I'm pretty relaxed about is that employment rights, business regulation and free trade all form legitimate parts of what the EU was set up to do, so if Corbyn wants to talk up one aspect and Cameron another, it's all good.
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    perdixperdix Posts: 1,806
    HYUFD said:

    How likely is it that Corbyn's new more full-on approach to Remain could swing some wavering Tories to Leave? Particularly championing workers rights/socialist case for the EU etc? He'll be campaigning on aspects that enthuse Labour voters but likely repel Tory ones I imagine - already not enthused by the EU.

    (Hello all, by the way)

    If you oppose workers' rights there is about 0% chance you are anything other than a Brexiteer anyway
    I don't oppose workers' rights but I do oppose them being set by the EU. One size does not fit all. Parliaments should decide eg the WTD.

  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    rcs1000 said:

    taffys said:

    SeanT said:

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
    I agree that could be crucially good news for Cameron. There were two black swans which must have spooked him - migration and terror. One has apparently croaked.
    The third is economic. Extreme measures in monetary policy are maintaining the illusion that Europe's economy is actually alive.

    If some event turned off the life support machine, it would rip a huge hole in remain's 'stability' argument.
    Hmmm: it's worth remembering that both us and the UK were far more extreme in our use of QE than the EU has been. To put in context, QE as a proportion of GDP is:

    60% Japan
    35% USA
    25% UK
    18% Eurozone
    Printing money is one thing, but negative interest rates are surely quite another. For me they are a very dangerous gamble.

    PLus evidence Europe is responding to the medicine? Hmmn.
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    perdixperdix Posts: 1,806

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
    Didn't the Italian Navvy pick up 4000 a couple of days ago in the Med? The Libyan route is growing again.

  • Options
    geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,176
    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    The migrant crisis writ large is not just about the numbers but also about the tensions boiling over within and between EU members caused by the million plus who have arrived, and about the EU bureaucracy's response. The scope for continuing bad news about that is still there.
    On the Greek crisis there is still no foreseeable resolution short of Grexit from the Euro. And bull-in-the-china-shop policy making between Berlin, Brussels and Frankfurt is a spectacle bound to impinge through the lens of our referendum.
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    Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 30,993

    Pulpstar said:

    Wow - West Ham have got use of the Olympic Stadium incredibly cheaply.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36043808

    £15m upfront and then £2.5 million a year !! Heating, lighting, turnstyle operators and cleaners included in the price.

    Cost to turn into a Prem stadium was £272 Mn.

    No doubt they got it cheap, the London Development people's other options were even worse.
    Not least the Spurs bid which involved going back on the promise made to the IOC that the stadium would remain usable as an athletics venue after the Olympics. Spurs wanted to basically trash it as an athletics venue completely.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,002
    Good afternoon, everyone.

    I wouldn't be complacent about the flood into the EU just yet. Good news it's reduced from that quarter, but it may be redirected. And, even if not, we've got a German satirist facing potentially five years in jail for being mean about Erdogan, women-only carriages, under-reported crimes, and over a million migrants in Germany alone.
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,059
    taffys said:

    rcs1000 said:

    taffys said:

    SeanT said:

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
    I agree that could be crucially good news for Cameron. There were two black swans which must have spooked him - migration and terror. One has apparently croaked.
    The third is economic. Extreme measures in monetary policy are maintaining the illusion that Europe's economy is actually alive.

    If some event turned off the life support machine, it would rip a huge hole in remain's 'stability' argument.
    Hmmm: it's worth remembering that both us and the UK were far more extreme in our use of QE than the EU has been. To put in context, QE as a proportion of GDP is:

    60% Japan
    35% USA
    25% UK
    18% Eurozone
    Printing money is one thing, but negative interest rates are surely quite another. For me they are a very dangerous gamble.

    PLus evidence Europe is responding to the medicine? Hmmn.
    Again, the Eurozone is less extreme than- for example- the Swiss or the Swedes
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,127
    perdix said:

    HYUFD said:

    How likely is it that Corbyn's new more full-on approach to Remain could swing some wavering Tories to Leave? Particularly championing workers rights/socialist case for the EU etc? He'll be campaigning on aspects that enthuse Labour voters but likely repel Tory ones I imagine - already not enthused by the EU.

    (Hello all, by the way)

    If you oppose workers' rights there is about 0% chance you are anything other than a Brexiteer anyway
    I don't oppose workers' rights but I do oppose them being set by the EU. One size does not fit all. Parliaments should decide eg the WTD.

    Yes but the vast majority who take that argument want the WTD overturned
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,517
    SeanT said:

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
    I agree that could be crucially good news for Cameron. There were two black swans which must have spooked him - migration and terror. One has apparently croaked.
    No. Crisis in all its forms favours the status quo. 'No time for change'. It's when people feel more secure that they have the confidence to vote against the status quo.
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,978
    Although I personally think Cameron wil be out by year's end, or close to it (unless it's leave, in which case he's gone this summer), my confidence was shaken by perhaps the most sensible, level headed person of my acquaintance saying they think he will last right through to 2020. Not that I'd mind that outcome hugely, except for the fact Leave would have lost, but I'm curious how he could rebuild so effectively.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    taffys said:

    rcs1000 said:

    taffys said:

    SeanT said:

    Good news is no news:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d4d4966-019b-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/brussels/feed//product#axzz45nm3NugT

    "Almost as suddenly as it began, the million-strong migration to Europe has become a trickle. There are now more Nato seamen patrolling Aegean Islands than migrants making the daily crossing from Turkey to Greece. An inflow of a several thousand a day has fallen to barely a hundred."

    I don't know if Leave should be happy about that or not. Surely it's destroyed their trump card.
    I agree that could be crucially good news for Cameron. There were two black swans which must have spooked him - migration and terror. One has apparently croaked.
    The third is economic. Extreme measures in monetary policy are maintaining the illusion that Europe's economy is actually alive.

    If some event turned off the life support machine, it would rip a huge hole in remain's 'stability' argument.
    Hmmm: it's worth remembering that both us and the UK were far more extreme in our use of QE than the EU has been. To put in context, QE as a proportion of GDP is:

    60% Japan
    35% USA
    25% UK
    18% Eurozone
    Printing money is one thing, but negative interest rates are surely quite another. For me they are a very dangerous gamble.

    PLus evidence Europe is responding to the medicine? Hmmn.
    The figures for growth across europe are pretty positive, Greece being the only one forcast to shrink, and even that is borderline.

    http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tec00115&plugin=1
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340

    Arron Banks won't seek a judicial review

    Smart decision. It would have been quixotic to prolong the Leave divisions.
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    Arron Banks won't seek a judicial review

    Smart decision. It would have been quixotic to prolong the Leave divisions.
    I like his bluster

    I have spent a lot of time and so much money, alongside many others, over the past few months and years making sure this referendum happened, and more than anything we wanted to make sure it happened fairly. We have raised well over £9 million and reached millions of people around this country.

    “What is clear now is that if we were to pursue a judicial review, according to legal experts, we would win. But this is a time to take a step back from the matter, and after consulting with leading campaigners on this issue, including UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage – we have decided to show the public how this process was stitched up, but not to pursue the judicial review any further.

    http://order-order.com/2016/04/14/arron-banks-wont-seek-judicial-review/
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    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,221

    Good afternoon, everyone.
    ....we've got a German satirist facing potentially five years in jail for being mean about Erdogan

    This would be in the country led by Angela Merkel who walked with President Hollande and many other world leaders in Paris last January to protest against the murder of cartoonists for being mean about Mohammed.

    That Germany, right?

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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,002
    Miss Cyclefree, yes, the same Germany that did its best to hide a thousand or so reported sexual assaults for political reasons.
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    PolruanPolruan Posts: 2,083
    kle4 said:

    Although I personally think Cameron wil be out by year's end, or close to it (unless it's leave, in which case he's gone this summer), my confidence was shaken by perhaps the most sensible, level headed person of my acquaintance saying they think he will last right through to 2020. Not that I'd mind that outcome hugely, except for the fact Leave would have lost, but I'm curious how he could rebuild so effectively.

    He'll fight another GE. Win or lose the referendum.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,986
    A moderate (6.2 -> 6.4) earthquake has hit Japan.
  • Options
    "Worry about the unknown (leaving the EU) is a great vote driver" or 'people don't care much about the EU as an issue'. Make your mind up, please.
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    SpeedySpeedy Posts: 12,100
    edited April 2016
    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    OOPS

    4000 refugees land in southern Italy in the past 48 hours.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3537705/Europe-s-refugee-crisis-rumbles-Macedonia-uses-tear-gas-migrants-trying-pull-border-fence-Italy-rescues-4-000-Mediterranean-past-two-days-sparking-fears-alarming-rise-illegal-sea-crossings.html

    The migrants have switched routes.
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    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,221

    Miss Cyclefree, yes, the same Germany that did its best to hide a thousand or so reported sexual assaults for political reasons.

    Splendid: free speech alive and well in Germany, then!

    Honestly, what utter garbage.
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    HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    Apropos of nothing much I went for a haircut and to do some light grocery shopping in my nearest town today.

    The barbers has been taken over by a new chap and I got the best haircut I have had for years, in fact I have never had such a good haircut in the UK. The last time I had such a treat was in the Oman. A real full works job; hair, eyebrows, ears and moustache (gone is my usual walrus, I now have the sort of clipped moustache that would have got an approving nod from my old RSM). Lots of work with an old fashioned razor and even the flaming ball banged against the ears (never seen that outside the ME). All done in silence and for £7 (plus a £3 tip that he tried to refuse). The barber? One Edrogan Tuyuz, a Turk recently settled in the UK.

    After that I went to Lidl, where a charming young lady with a very strong East European accent stopped me buying some bread products that were on the shelf because she had a new batch just coming out of the oven that would be fresher and nicer. I also bought sausages from Germany, cured meats from Italy and, of course, cheese from France. All at very reasonable prices. The efficient young lady at the checkout was from Latvia (I asked).

    From there to Waitrose for food for my cat (he loves their salmon flakes and will kill for a fresh roasted chicken). The jolly and helpful chap at the check-out was from South Africa.

    Finally, to a bar for a drinkie while I waited for the bus home. Owned by a Pole and the waitress was Greek. Friendly, impeccable service and acceptable booze (no Portuguese wine, though).

    All in a smallish town in darkest Sussex, the sort of place where Roger of this parish not long ago famously said on here that foreign voices are not heard without comment.

    I am still going to vote to leave the EU, mind, and I see no contradiction between that and my very pleasant experiences today.

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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,059
    Speedy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    OOPS

    4000 refugees land in southern Italy in the past 48 hours.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3537705/Europe-s-refugee-crisis-rumbles-Macedonia-uses-tear-gas-migrants-trying-pull-border-fence-Italy-rescues-4-000-Mediterranean-past-two-days-sparking-fears-alarming-rise-illegal-sea-crossings.html
    I'm sure that's true. But the numbers are still falling. Don't forget that we were getting 10,000 a few months ago.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,531
    Polruan said:

    On topic, we won't get Project Fear we'll get Project Terror.

    Only positive thing on that is that the various broadsides in March and April don't appear to have had any net impact yet on voting *intention* but they have, anecdotally, scared a few regular posters on here as well as a few of my friends.

    As, of course, it's designed to..

    If you're a natural Leaver, don't let yourself be played by it: straighten up, batten down the hatches and face up.

    Don't let the heavy incoming fire force you to retreat and abandon your position.

    If we vote Remain, the EU will force us to introduce a directive limiting the number of metaphors in use at any one time.

    I'm in.
    Genuinely funny!
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    PeterCPeterC Posts: 1,274
    kle4 said:

    Although I personally think Cameron wil be out by year's end, or close to it (unless it's leave, in which case he's gone this summer), my confidence was shaken by perhaps the most sensible, level headed person of my acquaintance saying they think he will last right through to 2020. Not that I'd mind that outcome hugely, except for the fact Leave would have lost, but I'm curious how he could rebuild so effectively.

    Cameron will be a desperately hard act to follow - as were Churchill, MacMillan, Wilson, Thatcher and Blair. All possible successors tick a few boxes only and all have significant negatives. Even if LEAVE win I wouldn't be surprised to see him stay. He will just reinvent himself and then fight 2020.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,531
    TOPPING said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    "good for the cause"?

    You sound a bit like those of both parties (most often and recently Lab) who seem as though they want bad economic news for the country as that will further their particular agenda.
    Robert's only 'agenda' is to regain sovereignty and self-governance for our nation and our people.

    Unlike yours.
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,059
    There's a French opinion poll from two weeks ago that I've just discovered here: http://www.ipsos.fr/sites/default/files/doc_associe/ipsos_cevipof_le_monde_-_rapport_complet.pdf

    The most interesting part of it is that support for Sarkozy among Les Republicans seems to be sharply on the wane, with his share of primary support dropping from 32% in January to 26% now. The big winners are Juppe (who is on 42%), and Bruno La Maire, who's up at 17% (rising 6%).

    If Sarkozy really gets less than a quarter of the vote in the Les Republicans primary, it's quite hard to imagine him managing to find a way to run for the Presidency.
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    ParistondaParistonda Posts: 1,819
    Pro_Rata said:

    How likely is it that Corbyn's new more full-on approach to Remain could swing some wavering Tories to Leave? Particularly championing workers rights/socialist case for the EU etc? He'll be campaigning on aspects that enthuse Labour voters but likely repel Tory ones I imagine - already not enthused by the EU.

    (Hello all, by the way)

    Welcome. It would have been pretty extraordinary had Corbyn not made a set piece speech on the EU referendum at some stage. Whether that constitutes a full-on approach beyond one day's news cycle remains to be seen.

    As a centrist, though not happy with everything, one thing I'm pretty relaxed about is that employment rights, business regulation and free trade all form legitimate parts of what the EU was set up to do, so if Corbyn wants to talk up one aspect and Cameron another, it's all good.
    True, but it's probably in his own interests to deny ammo for a coup of labour rebels by putting in a strong obvious showing for Remain, so I'd guess he will go all-in after the local elections.

    I wonder if more generally though that parallel 'left wing' and 'right wing' cases to stay in the EU can end up hurting each other, with confused overall messages. Better Together in sindyref was 1 single campaign that dominated the No narrative, so a consistent message. BSE seem less important at the moment than the respective party campaigns who won't share platforms.
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    Speedy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    OOPS

    4000 refugees land in southern Italy in the past 48 hours.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3537705/Europe-s-refugee-crisis-rumbles-Macedonia-uses-tear-gas-migrants-trying-pull-border-fence-Italy-rescues-4-000-Mediterranean-past-two-days-sparking-fears-alarming-rise-illemore Libygal-sea-crossings.html

    The migrants have switched routes.
    Ooh, Europe becomes more Libyan by the day - although onle (RCS) at the rate of 750,000 a year (and the mix may include West Africans)..
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,002
    Miss Cyclefree, that said, on the prior thread Mr. 1000 said there's apparently a German law which makes it illegal to insult foreign heads of state. Which is crazy.

    Mr. Tonda, welcome to pb.com.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    Cyclefree said:

    Miss Cyclefree, yes, the same Germany that did its best to hide a thousand or so reported sexual assaults for political reasons.

    Splendid: free speech alive and well in Germany, then!

    Honestly, what utter garbage.
    Think the whole point of the comedians poem was to raise the issue of free speech.

    Insulting foreign heads of state is not the only speech-crime in the German legal code, and it has been around for decades too.

    http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/germanys-unfunny-attack-on-the-freedom-to-mock/18241#.Vw-gl_dwbqA
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    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Roger said:

    A very salient point. As Carlotta said the other day it's the lack of clarity that makes it seem risky. The problem is that if clarity is a group of letters (EEA/EFTA) then the fear will become real.

    There just isn't the time to explain concepts like these to an apathetic electorate. Whatever voters tell pollsters now they will not vote for something they don't trust and understand. The best they can hope for is abstentions

    A basic tenet of advertising is you can't change what people believe. That takes too long. You have to persuade them that what you are selling is something they trust. As an experiment try to persuade people the EU is lightly regulated. Then try to persuade them that though intrusive the regulation has saved XXXXX lives. The second can be done the first can't

    If they are obliged to get into 'EEA's and EFTA's' then they're in trouble and it's why Cummings is hoping to do the opposite and persuade people that the unknown is on the other side. But like I said such a counterintuitive idea that's going to be a very difficult sell.

    I think that you are right. People need to be onside that euro-regulations are of benefit, whether the EWTD, part time workers rights, environmental regulation for clean beaches etc. That is before we get to the more complex discussions about how standardised regulations are part and parcel of the extension of the single market into services.
    And yet, for all the "power" of Project Fear, and all the "incoherence" of LEAVE, it is LEAVE who have the momentum, and the overall polling shows an absolute dead heat.


    http://whatukthinks.org/eu/

    50 LEAVE v 50 REMAIN is, I am damn sure, not where Cameron expected to be 2 months before the vote. He wouldn't have called this referendum if he'd honestly expected it to be this close.
    The polls haven't noticeably budged in the last month, nor have the betting markets not even Jacks ARSE.

    Momentum? What momentum?

    And thats for those who believe in the polls.
    Also see here:

    https://twitter.com/StephenDFisher/status/719492680250744833
    How did Fisher perform at the 2015 General Election? Has he made lots of money on backing his predictions?
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,059

    Speedy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    OOPS

    4000 refugees land in southern Italy in the past 48 hours.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3537705/Europe-s-refugee-crisis-rumbles-Macedonia-uses-tear-gas-migrants-trying-pull-border-fence-Italy-rescues-4-000-Mediterranean-past-two-days-sparking-fears-alarming-rise-illemore Libygal-sea-crossings.html

    The migrants have switched routes.
    Ooh, Europe becomes more Libyan by the day - although onle (RCS) at the rate of 750,000 a year (and the mix may include West Africans)..
    The really fascinating bit is how Spain - despite having the shortest sea (or, indeed, land) distance to Africa - has only received about 400 migrants this year. It'd be interesting to know how they've managed to keep the numbers down.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,002
    Mr. 1000, some say they've hired enormo-haddock to patrol the seas...
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    I'm sure this will be well-received by all posters:

    @BBCBreaking · 59s59 seconds ago

    Lloyds Banking Group warns UK leaving EU would cause 'economic uncertainty' in short term

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    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,927
    SeanT said:

    Public verdict on tax furore: Dave not so dodgy

    British people tend to say David Cameron has not really done anything wrong in terms of his tax and investments – but are strongly in favour of making politicians publish their tax returns

    https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/04/14/nothing-dodgy-about-dave/

    Amazing to think that this forum was awash with frothing about Dave's resignation only a week ago. (Of course, we've heard such frothing on 10,000 previous occasions.) I'm beginning to think that Dave is politically invincible.
    His ratings are in freefall.
    Currently he's preferred to Corbyn (!) as PM by 32/25%. At the end of last year, it was 49/23%.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    I'm sure this will be well-received by all posters:

    @BBCBreaking · 59s59 seconds ago

    Lloyds Banking Group warns UK leaving EU would cause 'economic uncertainty' in short term

    Hardly a surprise though. Even the Leave campaigns anticipate a short term hit to the economy.
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    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,927
    rcs1000 said:

    Speedy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    OOPS

    4000 refugees land in southern Italy in the past 48 hours.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3537705/Europe-s-refugee-crisis-rumbles-Macedonia-uses-tear-gas-migrants-trying-pull-border-fence-Italy-rescues-4-000-Mediterranean-past-two-days-sparking-fears-alarming-rise-illemore Libygal-sea-crossings.html

    The migrants have switched routes.
    Ooh, Europe becomes more Libyan by the day - although onle (RCS) at the rate of 750,000 a year (and the mix may include West Africans)..
    The really fascinating bit is how Spain - despite having the shortest sea (or, indeed, land) distance to Africa - has only received about 400 migrants this year. It'd be interesting to know how they've managed to keep the numbers down.
    Spain had an influx of boat people a few years ago, from West Africa. They made a point of returning them to their countries of origin, and provided the relevant governments with funding to facilitate this.
  • Options
    You Gov poll - by 45% to 35% the British people have said David Cameron has not done anything wrong in terms of tax and investments but are strongly in favour of politicians publishing their tax returns. Only labour had more thinking he had done wrong than less
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Roger said:

    A very salient point. As Carlotta said the other day it's the lack of clarity that makes it seem risky. The problem is that if clarity is a group of letters (EEA/EFTA) then the fear will become real.

    There just isn't the time to explain concepts like these to an apathetic electorate. Whatever voters tell pollsters now they will not vote for something they don't trust and understand. The best they can hope for is abstentions

    A basic tenet of advertising is you can't change what people believe. That takes too long. You have to persuade them that what you are selling is something they trust. As an experiment try to persuade people the EU is lightly regulated. Then try to persuade them that though intrusive the regulation has saved XXXXX lives. The second can be done the first can't

    If they are obliged to get into 'EEA's and EFTA's' then they're in trouble and it's why Cummings is hoping to do the opposite and persuade people that the unknown is on the other side. But like I said such a counterintuitive idea that's going to be a very difficult sell.

    I think that you are right. People need to be onside that euro-regulations are of benefit, whether the EWTD, part time workers rights, environmental regulation for clean beaches etc. That is before we get to the more complex discussions about how standardised regulations are part and parcel of the extension of the single market into services.
    And yet, for all the "power" of Project Fear, and all the "incoherence" of LEAVE, it is LEAVE who have the momentum, and the overall polling shows an absolute dead heat.


    http://whatukthinks.org/eu/

    50 LEAVE v 50 REMAIN is, I am damn sure, not where Cameron expected to be 2 months before the vote. He wouldn't have called this referendum if he'd honestly expected it to be this close.
    The polls haven't noticeably budged in the last month, nor have the betting markets not even Jacks ARSE.

    Momentum? What momentum?

    And thats for those who believe in the polls.
    Also see here:

    https://twitter.com/StephenDFisher/status/719492680250744833
    How did Fisher perform at the 2015 General Election? Has he made lots of money on backing his predictions?
    https://twitter.com/SamCoatesTimes/status/596212487445446656?s=09

    Ed is PM
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,927
    WRT Saftey First, there doesn't seem to be much in it.

    42% think it's safer to Remain; 35% think it's safer to Leave.
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    geoffw said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    No guarantee for that, bad news can always knock confidence and have a "cling to nurse for fear of worse" effect.
    What, for example, would be "bad news for Out"?
    I'm not psychic. Any news could be either good or bad for Out depending upon how people react.

    Those who claim to know for certain are generally showing how they think rather than how the nation does. A very large proportion of people's reaction to news is actually to have that confirm their pre-existing gut instinct - meaning that what is good for one side for one voter could be bad for another.
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062

    tlg86 said:

    Did we have these statistics for Scottish Independence? Given that the position of the young and old were reversed in that debate it would be interesting to see the perception of risk that they had.

    We do. Well we have a Lord Ashcroft poll post Indyref.

    Yes won every age group except 55 year old onwards

    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Lord-Ashcroft-Polls-Referendum-day-poll-summary-1409191.pdf
    As per Scotland the scared cowardly pensioners will turn out in droves and vote REMAIN in case their pension is in danger , no thought for their children's futures etc , just naked self seeking. England is about to get a large dose of what Scotland got last year, held back and ruined by old fuddy duddies scared of being a few quid worse off.
  • Options
    runnymederunnymede Posts: 2,536

    SeanT said:

    SeanT said:

    Roger said:

    A very salient point. As Carlotta said the other day it's the lack of clarity that makes it seem risky. The problem is that if clarity is a group of letters (EEA/EFTA) then the fear will become real.

    There just isn't the time to explain concepts like these to an apathetic electorate. Whatever voters tell pollsters now they will not vote for something they don't trust and understand. The best they can hope for is abstentions

    A basic tenet of advertising is you can't change what people believe. That takes too long. You have to persuade them that what you are selling is something they trust. As an experiment try to persuade people the EU is lightly regulated. Then try to persuade them that though intrusive the regulation has saved XXXXX lives. The second can be done the first can't

    If they are obliged to get into 'EEA's and EFTA's' then they're in trouble and it's why Cummings is hoping to do the opposite and persuade people that the unknown is on the other side. But like I said such a counterintuitive idea that's going to be a very difficult sell.

    I think that you are right. People need to be onside that euro-regulations are of benefit, whether the EWTD, part time workers rights, environmental regulation for clean beaches etc. That is before we get to the more complex discussions about how standardised regulations are part and parcel of the extension of the single market into services.
    And yet, for all the "power" of Project Fear, and all the "incoherence" of LEAVE, it is LEAVE who have the momentum, and the overall polling shows an absolute dead heat.


    http://whatukthinks.org/eu/

    50 LEAVE v 50 REMAIN is, I am damn sure, not where Cameron expected to be 2 months before the vote. He wouldn't have called this referendum if he'd honestly expected it to be this close.
    The polls haven't noticeably budged in the last month, nor have the betting markets not even Jacks ARSE.

    Momentum? What momentum?

    And thats for those who believe in the polls.
    Also see here:

    https://twitter.com/StephenDFisher/status/719492680250744833
    How did Fisher perform at the 2015 General Election? Has he made lots of money on backing his predictions?
    https://twitter.com/SamCoatesTimes/status/596212487445446656?s=09

    Ed is PM
    The Tories are doing less well to the Lib Dems in LD/Con seats.

    Great prediction that.

    Behind all the fancy models, the same groupthink
  • Options
    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,291
    Documents about Germany's Juelich nuclear research centre were found at Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam's Brussels flat, reports say.

    The suspect, captured four days before the Brussels bombings, had internet print-outs and photos of the centre's boss, media network RND said.

    However, German intelligence officials have insisted the report is incorrect.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36042877
  • Options
    malcolmg said:

    tlg86 said:

    Did we have these statistics for Scottish Independence? Given that the position of the young and old were reversed in that debate it would be interesting to see the perception of risk that they had.

    We do. Well we have a Lord Ashcroft poll post Indyref.

    Yes won every age group except 55 year old onwards

    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Lord-Ashcroft-Polls-Referendum-day-poll-summary-1409191.pdf
    As per Scotland the scared cowardly pensioners will turn out in droves and vote REMAIN in case their pension is in danger , no thought for their children's futures etc , just naked self seeking. England is about to get a large dose of what Scotland got last year, held back and ruined by old fuddy duddies scared of being a few quid worse off.
    You may make light of pensioners concerns but they do not have means to increase their income and any threat to their pensions security will frighten them.
  • Options
    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,002
    Mr. G, perhaps. I am a bit surprised the polls are as they are.

    As an aside, I do find those who want Scotland out of the UK but in the EU a bit perplexing. Whilst I disagree with your view on separation, it's entirely coherent. The SNP's view, on the other hand, is mad as a box of frogs.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,370
    TOPPING said:

    Indigo said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Even if what you say were true, and I don't believe it is, then...

    .

    .
    With a common currency the EZ is pretty much federalised already. Once you take monetary policy (let's call it "sovereignty" for short) away from a country, you are already some way down the path to federalism. Add in elements of the banking union and you are further still.

    Using your arguments, if they are going to marginalise us if we are inside the EU then they sure as hell will marginalise us if we are outside. Now people such as @DavidL and I'm sure others on here will say: yes that's exactly it, we are marginalised but we don't get all the cr*p straight banana directives also. And that is a reasonable point. But there are certain toys eg. EUR-denominated clearing that would be taken away instantly.

    But that is where the deal comes into play*. It insulates us from ECU and as you say formalises EZ/non-EZ non-discrimination. So it is in a sense the best of all worlds. No Euro, no discrimination, no ECU, no banking union, and yet we retain, as an EU member, vital benefits and safeguards from the single market (eg. EUR clearing, to pick an example more recent than 1994).

    *I have always said that if you believe, as you seem to, that the other 27 heads of state were lying through their teeth and will renege or the ECJ will strike down the agreement, then of course you must vote Leave.
    More dollars are bought and sold in London every day than in New York. More Euros are bought and sold than in the whole of the EZ put together. Do you really think that is going to be magically taken away from us if we leave? I mean really? If it was that simple why have the Americans not done it? The euro is a tradable currency and London is where the trade happens.

    And the EZ is not already federalised. It has a common currency, monetary policy and interest rate but tax and spend is currently decided at national level subject to absolute crises like Greece. This needs to change. The quid pro quo of a single currency is that governments can't spend what they like because it is someone else's money.

    But economic policy cannot be decided by the ECB under German domination. They need a multinational democratic institution to hold the bank to account. But at the moment it can't because the closer co-operation allowed by Lisbon does not allow the use of EU institutions like the Parliament. If I was Italian, Greek, Spanish or Portuguese I would be incredibly frustrated with this. Brexit will allow this to change.

  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,221

    Miss Cyclefree, that said, on the prior thread Mr. 1000 said there's apparently a German law which makes it illegal to insult foreign heads of state. Which is crazy.

    Mr. Tonda, welcome to pb.com.

    So when that satirist did some rude sketches about our Queen, the German authorities rushed to arrest him, did they?

    Or is it only foreign heads of state who make a fuss, have the Germans by the balls or lead a country where some people think that an insult should lead to a prison sentence or worse that the Germans worry about?

  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,059
    Sean_F said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Speedy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    OOPS

    4000 refugees land in southern Italy in the past 48 hours.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3537705/Europe-s-refugee-crisis-rumbles-Macedonia-uses-tear-gas-migrants-trying-pull-border-fence-Italy-rescues-4-000-Mediterranean-past-two-days-sparking-fears-alarming-rise-illemore Libygal-sea-crossings.html

    The migrants have switched routes.
    Ooh, Europe becomes more Libyan by the day - although onle (RCS) at the rate of 750,000 a year (and the mix may include West Africans)..
    The really fascinating bit is how Spain - despite having the shortest sea (or, indeed, land) distance to Africa - has only received about 400 migrants this year. It'd be interesting to know how they've managed to keep the numbers down.
    Spain had an influx of boat people a few years ago, from West Africa. They made a point of returning them to their countries of origin, and provided the relevant governments with funding to facilitate this.
    Very sensible.
    (In fact, over the last five years I've found myself more and more impressed by the Spanish.)
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,531
    Sean_F said:

    SeanT said:

    Public verdict on tax furore: Dave not so dodgy

    British people tend to say David Cameron has not really done anything wrong in terms of his tax and investments – but are strongly in favour of making politicians publish their tax returns

    https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/04/14/nothing-dodgy-about-dave/

    Amazing to think that this forum was awash with frothing about Dave's resignation only a week ago. (Of course, we've heard such frothing on 10,000 previous occasions.) I'm beginning to think that Dave is politically invincible.
    His ratings are in freefall.
    Currently he's preferred to Corbyn (!) as PM by 32/25%. At the end of last year, it was 49/23%.
    He's destroying himself.

    Osborne is already destroyed and on borrowed time.
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062

    Apropos of nothing much I went for a haircut and to do some light grocery shopping in my nearest town today.

    The barbers has been taken over by a new chap and I got the best haircut I have had for years, in fact I have never had such a good haircut in the UK. The last time I had such a treat was in the Oman. A real full works job; hair, eyebrows, ears and moustache (gone is my usual walrus, I now have the sort of clipped moustache that would have got an approving nod from my old RSM). Lots of work with an old fashioned razor and even the flaming ball banged against the ears (never seen that outside the ME). All done in silence and for £7 (plus a £3 tip that he tried to refuse). The barber? One Edrogan Tuyuz, a Turk recently settled in the UK.

    After that I went to Lidl, where a charming young lady with a very strong East European accent stopped me buying some bread products that were on the shelf because she had a new batch just coming out of the oven that would be fresher and nicer. I also bought sausages from Germany, cured meats from Italy and, of course, cheese from France. All at very reasonable prices. The efficient young lady at the checkout was from Latvia (I asked).

    From there to Waitrose for food for my cat (he loves their salmon flakes and will kill for a fresh roasted chicken). The jolly and helpful chap at the check-out was from South Africa.

    Finally, to a bar for a drinkie while I waited for the bus home. Owned by a Pole and the waitress was Greek. Friendly, impeccable service and acceptable booze (no Portuguese wine, though).

    All in a smallish town in darkest Sussex, the sort of place where Roger of this parish not long ago famously said on here that foreign voices are not heard without comment.

    I am still going to vote to leave the EU, mind, and I see no contradiction between that and my very pleasant experiences today.

    Hurst sounds like you had a very pleasant outing indeed.
  • Options
    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,002
    Miss Cyclefree, I'm unfamiliar with precisely how the kowtowing towards the Sublime Porte works in Germany.
  • Options
    runnymederunnymede Posts: 2,536
    DavidL said:

    TOPPING said:

    Indigo said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Even if what you say were true, and I don't believe it is, then...

    .

    .
    With a common currency the EZ is pretty much federalised already. Once you take monetary policy (let's call it "sovereignty" for short) away from a country, you are already some way down the path to federalism. Add in elements of the banking union and you are further still.

    Using your arguments, if they are going to marginalise us if we are inside the EU then they sure as hell will marginalise us if we are outside. Now people such as @DavidL and I'm sure others on here will say: yes that's exactly it, we are marginalised but we don't get all the cr*p straight banana directives also. And that is a reasonable point. But there are certain toys eg. EUR-denominated clearing that would be taken away instantly.

    But that is where the deal comes into play*. It insulates us from ECU and as you say formalises EZ/non-EZ non-discrimination. So it is in a sense the best of all worlds. No Euro, no discrimination, no ECU, no banking union, and yet we retain, as an EU member, vital benefits and safeguards from the single market (eg. EUR clearing, to pick an example more recent than 1994).

    *I have always said that if you believe, as you seem to, that the other 27 heads of state were lying through their teeth and will renege or the ECJ will strike down the agreement, then of course you must vote Leave.
    More dollars are bought and sold in London every day than in New York. More Euros are bought and sold than in the whole of the EZ put together. Do you really think that is going to be magically taken away from us if we leave? I mean really? If it was that simple why have the Americans not done it? The euro is a tradable currency and London is where the trade happens.

    And the EZ is not already federalised. It has a common currency, monetary policy and interest rate but tax and spend is currently decided at national level subject to absolute crises like Greece. This needs to change. The quid pro quo of a single currency is that governments can't spend what they like because it is someone else's money.

    But economic policy cannot be decided by the ECB under German domination. They need a multinational democratic institution to hold the bank to account. But at the moment it can't because the closer co-operation allowed by Lisbon does not allow the use of EU institutions like the Parliament. If I was Italian, Greek, Spanish or Portuguese I would be incredibly frustrated with this. Brexit will allow this to change.

    Yep we've had this discussion before. Unless we are going to get Eurozone exchange controls, which is fantastically unlikely, these kinds of warnings look like hot air.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    One of Britain Elects latest polls asks if it would be good for the NHS if Britain left the EU.

    By more than two to one, (32/14) the reply was 'good'.

    Remain have a big problem right here, especially when leave get their claws into this.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 117,127
    edited April 2016
    Sean_F said:

    SeanT said:

    Public verdict on tax furore: Dave not so dodgy

    British people tend to say David Cameron has not really done anything wrong in terms of his tax and investments – but are strongly in favour of making politicians publish their tax returns

    https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/04/14/nothing-dodgy-about-dave/

    Amazing to think that this forum was awash with frothing about Dave's resignation only a week ago. (Of course, we've heard such frothing on 10,000 previous occasions.) I'm beginning to think that Dave is politically invincible.
    His ratings are in freefall.
    Currently he's preferred to Corbyn (!) as PM by 32/25%. At the end of last year, it was 49/23%.
    By 2020 could we have left the EU and have Corbyn and McDonnell in No 10? Never mind DC and Brussels, our special relationship would now be with Moscow!
  • Options
    HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    malcolmg said:

    tlg86 said:

    Did we have these statistics for Scottish Independence? Given that the position of the young and old were reversed in that debate it would be interesting to see the perception of risk that they had.

    We do. Well we have a Lord Ashcroft poll post Indyref.

    Yes won every age group except 55 year old onwards

    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Lord-Ashcroft-Polls-Referendum-day-poll-summary-1409191.pdf
    As per Scotland the scared cowardly pensioners will turn out in droves and vote REMAIN in case their pension is in danger, no thought for their children's futures etc., just naked self seeking. England is about to get a large dose of what Scotland got last year, held back and ruined by old fuddy duddies scared of being a few quid worse off.
    Mr. G., I really must take issue with you over the motivation of pensioners. Of those of us who are still sentient (and quite a lot never really were) our concern is focused on the futures of our children and grandchildren not on our own pockets. The idea that I might vote because a party is promising to make me a few quid better off is, frankly, insulting.

    My vote, and the votes of pensioners like me, is far more likely to be swayed by a judgement as to the party offering the best set of solutions for the medium to long term.
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,221
    malcolmg said:

    Apropos of nothing much I went for a haircut and to do some light grocery shopping in my nearest town today.

    The barbers has been taken over by a new chap and I got the best haircut I have had for years, in fact I have never had such a good haircut in the UK. The last time I had such a treat was in the Oman. A real full works job; hair, eyebrows, ears and moustache (gone is my usual walrus, I now have the sort of clipped moustache that would have got an approving nod from my old RSM). Lots of work with an old fashioned razor and even the flaming ball banged against the ears (never seen that outside the ME). All done in silence and for £7 (plus a £3 tip that he tried to refuse). The barber? One Edrogan Tuyuz, a Turk recently settled in the UK.

    After that I went to Lidl, where a charming young lady with a very strong East European accent stopped me buying some bread products that were on the shelf because she had a new batch just coming out of the oven that would be fresher and nicer. I also bought sausages from Germany, cured meats from Italy and, of course, cheese from France. All at very reasonable prices. The efficient young lady at the checkout was from Latvia (I asked).

    From there to Waitrose for food for my cat (he loves their salmon flakes and will kill for a fresh roasted chicken). The jolly and helpful chap at the check-out was from South Africa.

    Finally, to a bar for a drinkie while I waited for the bus home. Owned by a Pole and the waitress was Greek. Friendly, impeccable service and acceptable booze (no Portuguese wine, though).

    All in a smallish town in darkest Sussex, the sort of place where Roger of this parish not long ago famously said on here that foreign voices are not heard without comment.

    I am still going to vote to leave the EU, mind, and I see no contradiction between that and my very pleasant experiences today.

    Hurst sounds like you had a very pleasant outing indeed.
    My other half had a similar experience yesterday. He came back from where he has been working in Tottenham (on the Spurs football ground redevelopment) and remarked on how multicultural and nice he found where he was working and the area round about. The people in the office came from a range of nationalities, including British and the atmosphere was really pleasant. I don't think he expected that a multicultural office would not be nice rather that it was a surprise to have such a nice working environment and the fact of having people from all over may have contributed to that.



  • Options
    IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966

    I'm sure this will be well-received by all posters:

    @BBCBreaking · 59s59 seconds ago

    Lloyds Banking Group warns UK leaving EU would cause 'economic uncertainty' in short term

    Hardly a surprise though. Even the Leave campaigns anticipate a short term hit to the economy.
    Indeed, and I can see the Labour campaigners heading for the door with a handful of pamphlets at they thought... quick! a big bank is going to make a slightly less filth profit this year, man the barricades!
  • Options
    PolruanPolruan Posts: 2,083
    Cyclefree said:

    Miss Cyclefree, that said, on the prior thread Mr. 1000 said there's apparently a German law which makes it illegal to insult foreign heads of state. Which is crazy.

    Mr. Tonda, welcome to pb.com.

    So when that satirist did some rude sketches about our Queen, the German authorities rushed to arrest him, did they?

    Or is it only foreign heads of state who make a fuss, have the Germans by the balls or lead a country where some people think that an insult should lead to a prison sentence or worse that the Germans worry about?

    It's possible that they think of the Queen as a non-foreign head of state.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,927
    rcs1000 said:

    Sean_F said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Speedy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    blockquote>



    OOPS



    The migrants have switched routes.
    Ooh, Europe becomes more Libyan by the day - although onle (RCS) at the rate of 750,000 a year (and the mix may include West Africans)..
    The really fascinating bit is how Spain - despite having the shortest sea (or, indeed, land) distance to Africa - has only received about 400 migrants this year. It'd be interesting to know how they've managed to keep the numbers down.
    Spain had an influx of boat people a few years ago, from West Africa. They made a point of returning them to their countries of origin, and provided the relevant governments with funding to facilitate this.
    Very sensible.
    (In fact, over the last five years I've found myself more and more impressed by the Spanish.)
    rcs1000 said:

    Sean_F said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Speedy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis


    The migrants have switched routes.
    Ooh, Europe becomes more Libyan by the day - although onle (RCS) at the rate of 750,000 a year (and the mix may include West Africans)..
    blockquote>

    Spain had an influx of boat people a few years ago, from West Africa. They made a point of returning them to their countries of origin, and provided the relevant governments with funding to facilitate this.
    Very sensible.
    (In fact, over the last five years I've found myself more and more impressed by the Spanish.)
    Quite a contrast with the Merkel/Swedish madness.
  • Options
    David_EvershedDavid_Evershed Posts: 6,506

    I'm sure this will be well-received by all posters:

    @BBCBreaking · 59s59 seconds ago

    Lloyds Banking Group warns UK leaving EU would cause 'economic uncertainty' in short term

    On behalf of Lloyds Banking Group I can state that the company believes staying in the EU also means economic uncertainty in the short term; and that in the long term there will be economic uncertainty either way.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,927
    edited April 2016
    HYUFD said:

    Sean_F said:

    SeanT said:

    Public verdict on tax furore: Dave not so dodgy

    British people tend to say David Cameron has not really done anything wrong in terms of his tax and investments – but are strongly in favour of making politicians publish their tax returns

    https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/04/14/nothing-dodgy-about-dave/

    Amazing to think that this forum was awash with frothing about Dave's resignation only a week ago. (Of course, we've heard such frothing on 10,000 previous occasions.) I'm beginning to think that Dave is politically invincible.
    His ratings are in freefall.
    Currently he's preferred to Corbyn (!) as PM by 32/25%. At the end of last year, it was 49/23%.
    By 2020 could we have left the EU and have Corbyn and McDonnell in No 10? Never mind DC and Brussels, our special relationship would now be with Moscow!
    I expect that in 2020, if there is any chance that Corbyn could win, Con-UKIP switchers will return to the Conservatives, as they did in 2015.

    Edit, provided of course, that George Osborn isn't Conservative leader.
  • Options
    MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,618
    rcs1000 said:

    Sean_F said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Speedy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    There are two bits of news that would be good for the cause:

    1. A worsening of the migrant crisis
    2. The resumption of the Greek Crisis (is it Part III or Part IV)?

    I think we can discount 1, now. The volume of stories is declining, because the number of migrants has fallen sharply.

    2 is much more likely. The IMF is rowing with the EU about debt forgiveness. Unlike the economies of Spain and Ireland, which are roaring ahead, or even Portugal and Italy, which are improving slowly, Greece remains in meltdown.
    OOPS

    4000 refugees land in southern Italy in the past 48 hours.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3537705/Europe-s-refugee-crisis-rumbles-Macedonia-uses-tear-gas-migrants-trying-pull-border-fence-Italy-rescues-4-000-Mediterranean-past-two-days-sparking-fears-alarming-rise-illemore Libygal-sea-crossings.html

    The migrants have switched routes.
    Ooh, Europe becomes more Libyan by the day - although onle (RCS) at the rate of 750,000 a year (and the mix may include West Africans)..
    The really fascinating bit is how Spain - despite having the shortest sea (or, indeed, land) distance to Africa - has only received about 400 migrants this year. It'd be interesting to know how they've managed to keep the numbers down.
    Spain had an influx of boat people a few years ago, from West Africa. They made a point of returning them to their countries of origin, and provided the relevant governments with funding to facilitate this.
    Very sensible.
    (In fact, over the last five years I've found myself more and more impressed by the Spanish.)
    It's a policy that many of us advocated in the early stages of the migrant crisis. Take in the Syrians, send everyone else back to their nation of origin. Amazingly it worked for the Spanish and they have almost no migrant arriving any more.
  • Options
    IndigoIndigo Posts: 9,966

    geoffw said:

    geoffw said:

    You don't understand. In yet another parallel with the Scottish independence debate, every item of news without exception is viewed by Leave supporters as good news for Leave and bad news for Remain.

    In this case it is justified.
    The news that affects people's perception of the Leave-Remain question is the news from Europe. Bad news from Europe is bad for Remain. There is a preponderance of bad news from the EU. QED.

    No guarantee for that, bad news can always knock confidence and have a "cling to nurse for fear of worse" effect.
    What, for example, would be "bad news for Out"?
    I'm not psychic. Any news could be either good or bad for Out depending upon how people react.

    Those who claim to know for certain are generally showing how they think rather than how the nation does. A very large proportion of people's reaction to news is actually to have that confirm their pre-existing gut instinct - meaning that what is good for one side for one voter could be bad for another.
    It tends to have to be something pretty damn big and persistent, it never ceases to amaze how many people have no idea what it going on in their country. I live 8000 miles away most of the time and yet read most of an online newspaper every day, two at weekends, watch the evening news on BBC World and CNN and of course this invaluable resource.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,531
    Sean_F said:

    HYUFD said:

    Sean_F said:

    SeanT said:

    Public verdict on tax furore: Dave not so dodgy

    British people tend to say David Cameron has not really done anything wrong in terms of his tax and investments – but are strongly in favour of making politicians publish their tax returns

    https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/04/14/nothing-dodgy-about-dave/

    Amazing to think that this forum was awash with frothing about Dave's resignation only a week ago. (Of course, we've heard such frothing on 10,000 previous occasions.) I'm beginning to think that Dave is politically invincible.
    His ratings are in freefall.
    Currently he's preferred to Corbyn (!) as PM by 32/25%. At the end of last year, it was 49/23%.
    By 2020 could we have left the EU and have Corbyn and McDonnell in No 10? Never mind DC and Brussels, our special relationship would now be with Moscow!
    I expect that in 2020, if there is any chance that Corbyn could win, Con-UKIP switchers will return to the Conservatives, as they did in 2015.

    Edit, provided of course, that George Osborn isn't Conservative leader.
    Lol.
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