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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Perhaps Leave really are going to win this referendum

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  • Options
    Turnout for 1975 referendum = 65%
    Turnout for Oct 1974 GE = 72.8%
    A drop of more than 1/10th.
    Turnout for GE2015 = 66.4% therefore 1/10th lower brings the referendum in at around 60%.
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    welshowlwelshowl Posts: 4,460
    ydoethur said:


    taffys said:

    On immigration, Voters are like football fans. They don;t care where the F the person comes from, what colour/religion/race he is, as long as he gives 110% , doesn;t get sent off too often and turns up to sign autographs at the local children's hospital every now and then.

    I've never seen an immigrant turn up to a children's hospital to sign autographs...

    Not saying they don't, just that I've not seen it.
    Marcin Waselewski and Christian Fuchs were doing autographs in the Leicester Childrens hospital the other week. Very popular they were too.
    Yes, but they are footballers...

    Sorry perhaps I should have been clearer, I have not seen or heard of non celebrity immigrants doing autographs in hospitals. That would be odd. Just like non celebrity locals...
    Many of our non-celebrity immigrants write autographs in hospitals all the time: in the medical notes, in the nursing care plan, on prescriptions etc etc :-)

    On the subject of the Turkish hordes I see the the lineup has been announced for tonights "friendly".

    A short drone strike may be in order to keep Jonny Turk off the sacred English turf of the Emirates *.Stadium

    * (note: sounds suspiciously foreign; best check that it is in England)
    A bit late for that; Özil regularly plays there for Arsenal.
    Apparently it is at the Etihad. Sounds a lot more English the the Emirates!

    Wasn't St Etihad a saxon king?
    Do you mean Aethelred? He wasn't a saint, he was just Unready.
    Actually he was a pun. Ethel meant noble (like modern German "edel") and red was "advise" ( modern German "raten"). So he was "well advised, badly advised".

    How the long winter nights must simply have flown by in the 11th century mead hall with such wit.
  • Options
    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,294
    surprised that goalpost didn't break.
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    BromptonautBromptonaut Posts: 1,113
    God, but you're tedious. Give it a rest.
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    weejonnieweejonnie Posts: 3,820
    England making this a very realistic European Championship match - practising missing penalties
  • Options
    AnnaAnna Posts: 59
    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 68,332
    welshowl said:

    ydoethur said:


    taffys said:

    On immigration, Voters are like football fans. They don;t care where the F the person comes from, what colour/religion/race he is, as long as he gives 110% , doesn;t get sent off too often and turns up to sign autographs at the local children's hospital every now and then.

    I've never seen an immigrant turn up to a children's hospital to sign autographs...

    Not saying they don't, just that I've not seen it.
    Marcin Waselewski and Christian Fuchs were doing autographs in the Leicester Childrens hospital the other week. Very popular they were too.
    Yes, but they are footballers...

    Sorry perhaps I should have been clearer, I have not seen or heard of non celebrity immigrants doing autographs in hospitals. That would be odd. Just like non celebrity locals...
    Many of our non-celebrity immigrants write autographs in hospitals all the time: in the medical notes, in the nursing care plan, on prescriptions etc etc :-)

    On the subject of the Turkish hordes I see the the lineup has been announced for tonights "friendly".

    A short drone strike may be in order to keep Jonny Turk off the sacred English turf of the Emirates *.Stadium

    * (note: sounds suspiciously foreign; best check that it is in England)
    A bit late for that; Özil regularly plays there for Arsenal.
    Apparently it is at the Etihad. Sounds a lot more English the the Emirates!

    Wasn't St Etihad a saxon king?
    Do you mean Aethelred? He wasn't a saint, he was just Unready.
    Actually he was a pun. Ethel meant noble (like modern German "edel") and red was "advise" ( modern German "raten"). So he was "well advised, badly advised".

    How the long winter nights must simply have flown by in the 11th century mead hall with such wit.
    I was trying to make a pun of my own about his being Unready therefore presumably maintaining one of the traditional qualifications for sainthood. Clearly the long summer evening is dragging...
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    weejonnieweejonnie Posts: 3,820
    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    Glastonbury attendees are more likely to be Remainers. (Young, naïve, left-wing) - keep quiet.
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    NeilVWNeilVW Posts: 729
    edited May 2016
    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht
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    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 50,010
    2-1 to England - to atone for the missed penalty!
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    Turnout for 1975 referendum = 65%
    Turnout for Oct 1974 GE = 72.8%
    A drop of more than 1/10th.
    Turnout for GE2015 = 66.4% therefore 1/10th lower brings the referendum in at around 60%.

    This is not 75, the EU did not exist in 75 and is not the same vote.

    I'd be surprised if turnout is not at at least 65%.
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    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 50,010
    weejonnie said:

    England making this a very realistic European Championship match - practising missing penalties

    6 years since the last missed England penalty (as oppose to a save).
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    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 68,332
    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    Genuine question. Is there a rule about members of the public not voting while under the influence of narcotics? Because if so that's another factor t consider for the Glastonbury thousands.

    They also need to get their place of residence sorted out as well, of course, given that some may have been registered in their university maugre their consent...
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    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 50,010

    God, but you're tedious. Give it a rest.
    Too right - REMAIN should give it a rest :lol:
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    TBF how many of that 100k are even registered to vote, let alone would vote if the vote was on a non-Glasto day anyway?
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    RogerRoger Posts: 19,240
    edited May 2016

    Roger said:

    Just when I thought some Leavers couldn't sink any lower

    A Brexit campaign backed by Nigel Farage targeted National Front supporters with adverts on Facebook.

    The white nationalists were among a range of political groups hit with paid-for advertising earlier this year on behalf of Leave.EU.

    The group's message showed a British bulldog chewing up the EU flag with the message: "Help us win our country back".

    Leave.EU said the far-right group, along with the BNP, EDL and Britain First, was chosen by an external agency which had been briefed to find people right across the political spectrum.

    But a campaign spokesman admitted the briefing was "perhaps naive" and said: "It was probably a mistake."

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nigel-farage-backed-brexit-group-8025489

    To be cynical, it was a mistake because those groups are almost certainly already in the bag.
    You can tell by those on this site
    Really? You think those voting leave on this site are BNP or National Front voters?

    If so, can you canvas for Remain please? Leave needs all the help it can get at the moment.
    Not all or even most. There was an article by Nick Cohen where he said when you get to know people's views on certain issues you can fill in the blanks on several others. I agree with him. When you've read 10- 20,000 posts from the same posters filling the blanks is pretty easy
  • Options
    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,472
    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    I'm hoping for early exit for England courtesy of a dreadful refereeing decision preferably by a French or German ref.

    Seriously, I think turnout is really difficult to call. When we were asked to give our predictions I think I went something like 72% - it will almost certainly be lower than that. One of the things I find hardest to comprehend is that some people just don't vote. I get that at any one election circumstances might mean someone happens not to vote, but there is a big chunk of the population who just don't bother.
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    ydoethur said:

    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    Genuine question. Is there a rule about members of the public not voting while under the influence of narcotics? Because if so that's another factor t consider for the Glastonbury thousands.

    They also need to get their place of residence sorted out as well, of course, given that some may have been registered in their university maugre their consent...
    I thought that can't happen anymore since individual registration was introduced.
  • Options
    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 50,010

    Roger said:

    Just when I thought some Leavers couldn't sink any lower

    A Brexit campaign backed by Nigel Farage targeted National Front supporters with adverts on Facebook.

    The white nationalists were among a range of political groups hit with paid-for advertising earlier this year on behalf of Leave.EU.

    The group's message showed a British bulldog chewing up the EU flag with the message: "Help us win our country back".

    Leave.EU said the far-right group, along with the BNP, EDL and Britain First, was chosen by an external agency which had been briefed to find people right across the political spectrum.

    But a campaign spokesman admitted the briefing was "perhaps naive" and said: "It was probably a mistake."

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nigel-farage-backed-brexit-group-8025489

    To be cynical, it was a mistake because those groups are almost certainly already in the bag.
    You can tell by those on this site
    Really? You think those voting leave on this site are BNP or National Front voters?

    If so, can you canvas for Remain please? Leave needs all the help it can get at the moment.
    Yeah, Priti and I are closet BNP members :lol:
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    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    NeilVW said:

    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht

    That's an interesting tool. If turnout is lower than 50% looks like leave. With this level of negative campaigning likely to drive turnout down you have to wonder what Cameron's plan was?

    Could it be that he wants to thow it in such a way as to look like he meant to win but didn't?
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    NeilVW said:

    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht

    That's an interesting tool. If turnout is lower than 50% looks like leave. With this level of negative campaigning likely to drive turnout down you have to wonder what Cameron's plan was?

    Could it be that he wants to thow it in such a way as to look like he meant to win but didn't?
    If turnout is lower tha 50% then the Remain ABs will walk it.
  • Options
    weejonnieweejonnie Posts: 3,820

    weejonnie said:

    England making this a very realistic European Championship match - practising missing penalties

    6 years since the last missed England penalty (as oppose to a save).
    I'm sure you'll correct me - but have there been any?
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    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    Roger said:

    Roger said:

    Just when I thought some Leavers couldn't sink any lower

    A Brexit campaign backed by Nigel Farage targeted National Front supporters with adverts on Facebook.

    The white nationalists were among a range of political groups hit with paid-for advertising earlier this year on behalf of Leave.EU.

    The group's message showed a British bulldog chewing up the EU flag with the message: "Help us win our country back".

    Leave.EU said the far-right group, along with the BNP, EDL and Britain First, was chosen by an external agency which had been briefed to find people right across the political spectrum.

    But a campaign spokesman admitted the briefing was "perhaps naive" and said: "It was probably a mistake."

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nigel-farage-backed-brexit-group-8025489

    To be cynical, it was a mistake because those groups are almost certainly already in the bag.
    You can tell by those on this site
    Really? You think those voting leave on this site are BNP or National Front voters?

    If so, can you canvas for Remain please? Leave needs all the help it can get at the moment.
    Not all or even most. There was an article by Nick Cohen where he said when you get to know people's views on certain issues you can fill in the blanks on several others. I agree with him. When you've read 10- 20,000 posts from the same posters filling the blanks is pretty easy
    In my experience that isn't the case. I find it an odd argument to make as well. You can believe it if you wish, but please please canvas for Remain.
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    NeilVW said:

    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht

    Great stuff.
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    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 50,010
    Believe in ENGLAND*!

    Be LEAVE!


    * just for tonight :)
  • Options

    NeilVW said:

    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht

    That's an interesting tool. If turnout is lower than 50% looks like leave. With this level of negative campaigning likely to drive turnout down you have to wonder what Cameron's plan was?

    Could it be that he wants to thow it in such a way as to look like he meant to win but didn't?
    If turnout is lower tha 50% then the Remain ABs will walk it.
    Brave.
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    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    SeanT said:

    POINTLESS TRIVIAL COUNTER-INTUITIVE ANECDOTE ALERT

    Some of the firmly LEAVE Cornish family members have started to wobble. My brother in law, a resolute (and surprising) LEAVER, has started equivocating.

    On the other hand: I went passed a REMAIN stall in East Finchley, N London, yesterday. The REMAINIAC campaigners looked thoroughly disheartened, as a lot of people were bluntly refusing the leaflets.

    In theory Cornwall should be as good for OUT as North London is for IN.

    My Nojam predix remain the same:

    REMAIN 56
    LEAVE 44

    Interesting. The leavers were doing well in Mid Sussex the other day which will no doubt please the local MP.
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    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,536

    SeanT said:

    POINTLESS TRIVIAL COUNTER-INTUITIVE ANECDOTE ALERT

    Some of the firmly LEAVE Cornish family members have started to wobble. My brother in law, a resolute (and surprising) LEAVER, has started equivocating.

    On the other hand: I went passed a REMAIN stall in East Finchley, N London, yesterday. The REMAINIAC campaigners looked thoroughly disheartened, as a lot of people were bluntly refusing the leaflets.

    In theory Cornwall should be as good for OUT as North London is for IN.

    My Nojam predix remain the same:

    REMAIN 56
    LEAVE 44

    Interesting. The leavers were doing well in Mid Sussex the other day which will no doubt please the local MP.
    The cows in south Devon are solidly LEAVE. They have put up loads of posters in their fields...

    Yet to see a REMAIN poster. Anywhere..
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    NeilVW said:

    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht

    That's an interesting tool. If turnout is lower than 50% looks like leave. With this level of negative campaigning likely to drive turnout down you have to wonder what Cameron's plan was?

    Could it be that he wants to thow it in such a way as to look like he meant to win but didn't?
    If turnout is lower tha 50% then the Remain ABs will walk it.
    Brave.
    Not really since I'm backing Leave. ABs vote if the turnout is so low then their vote will disproportionately count.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944

    SeanT said:

    POINTLESS TRIVIAL COUNTER-INTUITIVE ANECDOTE ALERT

    Some of the firmly LEAVE Cornish family members have started to wobble. My brother in law, a resolute (and surprising) LEAVER, has started equivocating.

    On the other hand: I went passed a REMAIN stall in East Finchley, N London, yesterday. The REMAINIAC campaigners looked thoroughly disheartened, as a lot of people were bluntly refusing the leaflets.

    In theory Cornwall should be as good for OUT as North London is for IN.

    My Nojam predix remain the same:

    REMAIN 56
    LEAVE 44

    Interesting. The leavers were doing well in Mid Sussex the other day which will no doubt please the local MP.
    The cows in south Devon are solidly LEAVE. They have put up loads of posters in their fields...

    Yet to see a REMAIN poster. Anywhere..
    Winning here? (Hope it doesn't work out like that)
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    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 50,010
    weejonnie said:

    weejonnie said:

    England making this a very realistic European Championship match - practising missing penalties

    6 years since the last missed England penalty (as oppose to a save).
    I'm sure you'll correct me - but have there been any?
    Um, I'm just going by what the ITV commentators said.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 57,074

    God, but you're tedious. Give it a rest.
    Lol.
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    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 57,074

    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    TBF how many of that 100k are even registered to vote, let alone would vote if the vote was on a non-Glasto day anyway?
    Eddie Izzard is going to sort that out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36352671
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    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,682
    edited May 2016
    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.
  • Options

    NeilVW said:

    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht

    That's an interesting tool. If turnout is lower than 50% looks like leave. With this level of negative campaigning likely to drive turnout down you have to wonder what Cameron's plan was?

    Could it be that he wants to thow it in such a way as to look like he meant to win but didn't?
    If turnout is lower tha 50% then the Remain ABs will walk it.
    Brave.
    Not really since I'm backing Leave. ABs vote if the turnout is so low then their vote will disproportionately count.
    Are pensioners AB or E in your model?
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,682

    NeilVW said:

    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht

    That's an interesting tool. If turnout is lower than 50% looks like leave. With this level of negative campaigning likely to drive turnout down you have to wonder what Cameron's plan was?

    Could it be that he wants to thow it in such a way as to look like he meant to win but didn't?
    If turnout is lower tha 50% then the Remain ABs will walk it.
    Brave.
    Not really since I'm backing Leave. ABs vote if the turnout is so low then their vote will disproportionately count.
    Are pensioners AB or E in your model?
    Depends on the pensioner!
  • Options
    dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,294

    Believe in ENGLAND*!

    Be LEAVE!


    * just for tonight :)

    Not with that bunch of defenders.
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 57,074

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 59,210

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    There's probably a privacy setting page where you can stop your location being posted.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,682

    SeanT said:

    POINTLESS TRIVIAL COUNTER-INTUITIVE ANECDOTE ALERT

    Some of the firmly LEAVE Cornish family members have started to wobble. My brother in law, a resolute (and surprising) LEAVER, has started equivocating.

    On the other hand: I went passed a REMAIN stall in East Finchley, N London, yesterday. The REMAINIAC campaigners looked thoroughly disheartened, as a lot of people were bluntly refusing the leaflets.

    In theory Cornwall should be as good for OUT as North London is for IN.

    My Nojam predix remain the same:

    REMAIN 56
    LEAVE 44

    Interesting. The leavers were doing well in Mid Sussex the other day which will no doubt please the local MP.
    The cows in south Devon are solidly LEAVE. They have put up loads of posters in their fields...

    Yet to see a REMAIN poster. Anywhere..
    I've seen about two dozen "Better In" posters in London, mostly around Hampstead and St John's Wood. Of course, it's likely that the people in those homes are American, Spanish or French, so I wouldn't read too much into it.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    1. The currency union can't work. It's like the Gold Standard.

    2. The EU doesn't appear to want to reform and its people are beginning to resent that.

    Leaving will at least give the reformers a chance to insist on reform. However until they work out a way to ditch the Euro the EU will face years of stagnation.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
  • Options
    NeilVWNeilVW Posts: 729

    NeilVW said:

    Don't think this has been posted, YouGov article on differential turnout in the EURef:
    http://tinyurl.com/jrcp5qh

    They also have an interactive tool to show how turnout by different groups could affect the result:
    http://tinyurl.com/h7rekht

    That's an interesting tool. If turnout is lower than 50% looks like leave. With this level of negative campaigning likely to drive turnout down you have to wonder what Cameron's plan was?

    Could it be that he wants to thow it in such a way as to look like he meant to win but didn't?
    If turnout is lower tha 50% then the Remain ABs will walk it.
    Brave.
    Not really since I'm backing Leave. ABs vote if the turnout is so low then their vote will disproportionately count.
    According to the tool, using an raw 4-point Remain lead and the self-reported likelihood to vote by the various social classes and age groups as measured by YouGov, Leave wins on a turnout of 53% or less. It's 50/50 between 54% and 69% turnout.
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 57,074
    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    Leave need to pick apart examples of regulations and directives that hold our economy back, IMHO, and make these real to ordinary voters in £££ lost, IMHO.
  • Options
    EPGEPG Posts: 6,329

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
    Typical low-level Cybernat abuse of unionists. Oh, wait a minute, wrong referendum...
  • Options
    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 57,074

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
    Begs the question why Vote Leave haven't been plastering it all over the news, and getting him to speak up and out.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    RobD said:

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    There's probably a privacy setting page where you can stop your location being posted.
    Well, at least it will confuse the stalkers! :)
  • Options
    RogerRoger Posts: 19,240
    edited May 2016

    Roger said:

    Roger said:

    Just when I thought some Leavers couldn't sink any lower

    A Brexit campaign backed by Nigel Farage targeted National Front supporters with adverts on Facebook.

    The white nationalists were among a range of political groups hit with paid-for advertising earlier this year on behalf of Leave.EU.

    The group's message showed a British bulldog chewing up the EU flag with the message: "Help us win our country back".

    Leave.EU said the far-right group, along with the BNP, EDL and Britain First, was chosen by an external agency which had been briefed to find people right across the political spectrum.

    But a campaign spokesman admitted the briefing was "perhaps naive" and said: "It was probably a mistake."

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nigel-farage-backed-brexit-group-8025489

    To be cynical, it was a mistake because those groups are almost certainly already in the bag.
    You can tell by those on this site
    Really? You think those voting leave on this site are BNP or National Front voters?

    If so, can you canvas for Remain please? Leave needs all the help it can get at the moment.
    Not all or even most. There was an article by Nick Cohen where he said when you get to know people's views on certain issues you can fill in the blanks on several others. I agree with him. When you've read 10- 20,000 posts from the same posters filling the blanks is pretty easy
    In my experience that isn't the case. I find it an odd argument to make as well. You can believe it if you wish, but please please canvas for Remain.
    This is the article. The first paragraph in particular. I think it's uncomfortably true.

    http://www.theguardian.com/politics/commentisfree/2016/apr/30/labour-antisemitism-ken-livingstone-george-galloway
  • Options
    EPGEPG Posts: 6,329
    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    PB is full of clever, right-wing, intellectual people who are motivated by the legal and philosophical case for Brexit.

    However, out in the country as a whole, the only majority for LEAVE involves people who are agitated by Muslims and foreigners, and who can be convinced that Muslims are a more clear and present danger than what the boffins say about the economy. It is a low-return and high-risk strategy, but perhaps that means it is the only one that can possibly work.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    Leave need to pick apart examples of regulations and directives that hold our economy back, IMHO, and make these real to ordinary voters in £££ lost, IMHO.
    That's actually quite easy. The mortgages one is bonkers. New mortgages need to pass an affordability test (not against but would rather it was set locally) but that also applies to re-mortgaging to a cheaper mortgage which still fails the test unless it is with the same lender which is unlikely as you are more likely to get competition between lenders.

    Well meaning but very very flawed.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    EPG said:

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
    Typical low-level Cybernat abuse of unionists. Oh, wait a minute, wrong referendum...
    LOL! :) Soz...
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,682


    1. The currency union can't work. It's like the Gold Standard.

    2. The EU doesn't appear to want to reform and its people are beginning to resent that.

    Leaving will at least give the reformers a chance to insist on reform. However until they work out a way to ditch the Euro the EU will face years of stagnation.

    I'm afraid I don't agree with you - at least about 1. Over the past 400 years, there have been fixed currency arrangements - mostly tied to gold, but sometimes tied to each other - for far more time than there have been floating currency ones. China, Hong Kong, the Baltic States - the rock of each of their prosperity was based on the deliberate abrogation of monetary authority.

    The thing is with fixed currency arrangements is that they are hard. You need to have an economic model with high levels of labour market flexibility to allow prices to adjust. In other words, you need to be able to carry out an internal devaluation. What you can't have is high levels of labour market protection and a fixed currency. The economic models of Spain, Greece and Italy pre the Euro were based on inflexible labour markets combined with ever depreciating currencies. In other words, the exchange rate worked to eradicate the inflexibilities of the labour market. That was no longer possible in the Eurozone. And their relative wages soared. Spain has learned its lesson. It now has - from one of the most scloretic labour markets in Europe - one of the most flexible. Inward investment has flowed in, the economy is growing rapidly again, and employment is rising fast. (And the country is doing this while running a current account surplus. Believe it or not, Spain is now the second largest car maker in Europe after Germany.)

    The Eurozone may very well fail. But it won't fail because it's a fixed currency framework. It will fail because the polticians in many of the peripheral countries will not want to make their labour markets flexible enough to deal with the new environment.
  • Options
    AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    RodCrosby said:

    HYUFD said:

    NBC news poll

    Clinton 46 Trump 43
    Sanders 54 Trump 39

    'Trump and Clinton are currently the two most unpopular likely presidential nominees in the history of the NBC/WSJ poll.

    Thirty four percent of registered voters have a positive opinion of Clinton, versus 54 percent who have a negative opinion (-20) — a slight uptick from her minus-24 score last month.
    Trump’s rating is even worse than Clinton’s: Twenty nine percent have a positive opinion of him, while 58 percent have a negative opinion (-29) — an improvement from his minus-41 score in April.

    “This has never been matched, or even close to being matched,” Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff, says of these negative ratings for Trump and Clinton.

    Forty Seven Percent Would Consider a Third-Party Candidate
    Asked if they would consider a third-party candidate if Clinton and Trump were the major party nominees, 47 percent of registered voters say yes — a higher percentage than those who said yes on a similar question in 2008 and 2012.'
    http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/clinton-s-lead-over-trump-shrinks-3-points-new-nbc-n577726

    Trumped! (+2)

    ABC/Post 5/16 - 5/19
    829 Registered Voters
    Clinton 44 Trump 46
    Fascinating supplementals in the poll

    Q: (AMONG REGISTERED VOTERS) How about if the candidates were (Hillary Clinton, the Democrat), (Donald Trump, the Republican) and Mitt Romney, running as an independent candidate, for whom would you vote? Would you lean toward (Clinton), (Trump) or Romney?

    Clinton 37
    Trump 35
    Romney 22

  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
    Begs the question why Vote Leave haven't been plastering it all over the news, and getting him to speak up and out.
    Yes it does. 29K words on a directive on duck eggs? Bizarre.
  • Options
    RodCrosbyRodCrosby Posts: 7,737
    National trend to Trump filtering through to swing state polls.

    Clinton by just one point in Florida...

    5/16-5/19
    2016 Florida President
    Clinton 43% Trump 42%
    CBS/YouGov
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,682
    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    PB is full of clever, right-wing, intellectual people who are motivated by the legal and philosophical case for Brexit.

    However, out in the country as a whole, the only majority for LEAVE involves people who are agitated by Muslims and foreigners, and who can be convinced that Muslims are a more clear and present danger than what the boffins say about the economy. It is a low-return and high-risk strategy, but perhaps that means it is the only one that can possibly work.
    I have always felt that EFTA/EEA was a sensible destination. Contrary to the claims of many, it would enable sensible regulation of immigation (and through the price mechanism, rather than some absurd system of quotas). It would take us out of EU regulation of (for Sunil and Sandy) railways. It would preserve access to the Single Market and Passporting for financial services. And it would massively diminish the bills to the Treasury.

    In other words, it would be popular with small business because leaving would not entail much risk.

    Many of the x thousand pounds claims would simply not be possible if EFTA/EEA were the destination.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    Roger said:

    Roger said:

    Roger said:

    Just when I thought some Leavers couldn't sink any lower

    A Brexit campaign backed by Nigel Farage targeted National Front supporters with adverts on Facebook.

    The white nationalists were among a range of political groups hit with paid-for advertising earlier this year on behalf of Leave.EU.

    The group's message showed a British bulldog chewing up the EU flag with the message: "Help us win our country back".

    Leave.EU said the far-right group, along with the BNP, EDL and Britain First, was chosen by an external agency which had been briefed to find people right across the political spectrum.

    But a campaign spokesman admitted the briefing was "perhaps naive" and said: "It was probably a mistake."

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nigel-farage-backed-brexit-group-8025489

    To be cynical, it was a mistake because those groups are almost certainly already in the bag.
    You can tell by those on this site
    Really? You think those voting leave on this site are BNP or National Front voters?

    If so, can you canvas for Remain please? Leave needs all the help it can get at the moment.
    Not all or even most. There was an article by Nick Cohen where he said when you get to know people's views on certain issues you can fill in the blanks on several others. I agree with him. When you've read 10- 20,000 posts from the same posters filling the blanks is pretty easy
    In my experience that isn't the case. I find it an odd argument to make as well. You can believe it if you wish, but please please canvas for Remain.
    This is the article. The first paragraph in particular. I think it's uncomfortably true.

    http://www.theguardian.com/politics/commentisfree/2016/apr/30/labour-antisemitism-ken-livingstone-george-galloway
    What has any of that got to do with thinking the EU should leave the EU?

    (I don't dispute that the sort of people who look for Jews under the bed are not the sort a respectable person would invite around for tea...)
  • Options
    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    Robert - That's an entirely sensible position but unfortunately you're dealing with a LEAVE "leadership" who enjoy all the focus, solidarity and co-ordination of message of whoopee cushion on speed.
  • Options
    EPGEPG Posts: 6,329
    RodCrosby said:

    National trend to Trump filtering through to swing state polls.

    Clinton by just one point in Florida...

    5/16-5/19
    2016 Florida President
    Clinton 43% Trump 42%
    CBS/YouGov

    If you believe in the "trend" then Trump will end up at about 65 per cent.
    It's more likely that he benefits from the reluctance of some primary voters to express support for their less-favoured candidates, which was strongly evident for Trump in places like Utah.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 118,060
    edited May 2016
    RodCrosby said:

    National trend to Trump filtering through to swing state polls.

    Clinton by just one point in Florida...

    5/16-5/19
    2016 Florida President
    Clinton 43% Trump 42%
    CBS/YouGov

    Ohio

    Clinton 44
    Trump 39
    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/battleground-poll-ohio-and-florida-show-tight-races-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7i&linkId=24754333
  • Options
    Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    The past week, I've had some of the first signs of anyone in "the real world" caring about the Referendum. I've seen two people wandering round Chester wearing "Vote Leave" tshirts.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,682

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
    Begs the question why Vote Leave haven't been plastering it all over the news, and getting him to speak up and out.
    Yes it does. 29K words on a directive on duck eggs? Bizarre.
    You do know that's not true, right?
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    rcs1000 said:


    1. The currency union can't work. It's like the Gold Standard.

    2. The EU doesn't appear to want to reform and its people are beginning to resent that.

    Leaving will at least give the reformers a chance to insist on reform. However until they work out a way to ditch the Euro the EU will face years of stagnation.

    I'm afraid I don't agree with you - at least about 1. Over the past 400 years, there have been fixed currency arrangements - mostly tied to gold, but sometimes tied to each other - for far more time than there have been floating currency ones. China, Hong Kong, the Baltic States - the rock of each of their prosperity was based on the deliberate abrogation of monetary authority.

    The thing is with fixed currency arrangements is that they are hard. You need to have an economic model with high levels of labour market flexibility to allow prices to adjust. In other words, you need to be able to carry out an internal devaluation. What you can't have is high levels of labour market protection and a fixed currency. The economic models of Spain, Greece and Italy pre the Euro were based on inflexible labour markets combined with ever depreciating currencies. In other words, the exchange rate worked to eradicate the inflexibilities of the labour market. That was no longer possible in the Eurozone. And their relative wages soared. Spain has learned its lesson. It now has - from one of the most scloretic labour markets in Europe - one of the most flexible. Inward investment has flowed in, the economy is growing rapidly again, and employment is rising fast. (And the country is doing this while running a current account surplus. Believe it or not, Spain is now the second largest car maker in Europe after Germany.)

    The Eurozone may very well fail. But it won't fail because it's a fixed currency framework. It will fail because the polticians in many of the peripheral countries will not want to make their labour markets flexible enough to deal with the new environment.
    OK... Argument accepted. Still, I don't think that many countries including France have joined up those dots and prefer to sing La La La La very loudly at the idea of internal reform. I also think it would be jolly jolly nice if they had been asked.
  • Options
    EPGEPG Posts: 6,329
    rcs1000 said:

    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    PB is full of clever, right-wing, intellectual people who are motivated by the legal and philosophical case for Brexit.

    However, out in the country as a whole, the only majority for LEAVE involves people who are agitated by Muslims and foreigners, and who can be convinced that Muslims are a more clear and present danger than what the boffins say about the economy. It is a low-return and high-risk strategy, but perhaps that means it is the only one that can possibly work.
    I have always felt that EFTA/EEA was a sensible destination. Contrary to the claims of many, it would enable sensible regulation of immigation (and through the price mechanism, rather than some absurd system of quotas). It would take us out of EU regulation of (for Sunil and Sandy) railways. It would preserve access to the Single Market and Passporting for financial services. And it would massively diminish the bills to the Treasury.

    In other words, it would be popular with small business because leaving would not entail much risk.

    Many of the x thousand pounds claims would simply not be possible if EFTA/EEA were the destination.
    And Cameron would say "we wouldn't get an inch more control over immigration".
  • Options
    VapidBilgeVapidBilge Posts: 412
    rcs1000 said:


    1. The currency union can't work. It's like the Gold Standard.

    2. The EU doesn't appear to want to reform and its people are beginning to resent that.

    Leaving will at least give the reformers a chance to insist on reform. However until they work out a way to ditch the Euro the EU will face years of stagnation.

    I'm afraid I don't agree with you - at least about 1. Over the past 400 years, there have been fixed currency arrangements - mostly tied to gold, but sometimes tied to each other - for far more time than there have been floating currency ones. China, Hong Kong, the Baltic States - the rock of each of their prosperity was based on the deliberate abrogation of monetary authority.

    The thing is with fixed currency arrangements is that they are hard. You need to have an economic model with high levels of labour market flexibility to allow prices to adjust. In other words, you need to be able to carry out an internal devaluation. What you can't have is high levels of labour market protection and a fixed currency. The economic models of Spain, Greece and Italy pre the Euro were based on inflexible labour markets combined with ever depreciating currencies. In other words, the exchange rate worked to eradicate the inflexibilities of the labour market. That was no longer possible in the Eurozone. And their relative wages soared. Spain has learned its lesson. It now has - from one of the most scloretic labour markets in Europe - one of the most flexible. Inward investment has flowed in, the economy is growing rapidly again, and employment is rising fast. (And the country is doing this while running a current account surplus. Believe it or not, Spain is now the second largest car maker in Europe after Germany.)

    The Eurozone may very well fail. But it won't fail because it's a fixed currency framework. It will fail because the polticians in many of the peripheral countries will not want to make their labour markets flexible enough to deal with the new environment.
    I dunno.

    There are at least three Spaniards at work I know, plus I am served coffee at the train station by an Eastern European and lunch by someone of Mediterranean origin.

    By labour market flexibility you may mean emigration.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 36,335
    rcs1000 said:


    1. The currency union can't work. It's like the Gold Standard.

    2. The EU doesn't appear to want to reform and its people are beginning to resent that.

    Leaving will at least give the reformers a chance to insist on reform. However until they work out a way to ditch the Euro the EU will face years of stagnation.

    I'm afraid I don't agree with you - at least about 1. Over the past 400 years, there have been fixed currency arrangements - mostly tied to gold, but sometimes tied to each other - for far more time than there have been floating currency ones. China, Hong Kong, the Baltic States - the rock of each of their prosperity was based on the deliberate abrogation of monetary authority.

    The thing is with fixed currency arrangements is that they are hard. You need to have an economic model with high levels of labour market flexibility to allow prices to adjust. In other words, you need to be able to carry out an internal devaluation. What you can't have is high levels of labour market protection and a fixed currency. The economic models of Spain, Greece and Italy pre the Euro were based on inflexible labour markets combined with ever depreciating currencies. In other words, the exchange rate worked to eradicate the inflexibilities of the labour market. That was no longer possible in the Eurozone. And their relative wages soared. Spain has learned its lesson. It now has - from one of the most scloretic labour markets in Europe - one of the most flexible. Inward investment has flowed in, the economy is growing rapidly again, and employment is rising fast. (And the country is doing this while running a current account surplus. Believe it or not, Spain is now the second largest car maker in Europe after Germany.)

    The Eurozone may very well fail. But it won't fail because it's a fixed currency framework. It will fail because the polticians in many of the peripheral countries will not want to make their labour markets flexible enough to deal with the new environment.
    Whether they're right or wrong, currency unions represent an unattractive philosophy in this day and age. If wages rise too fast, then the workers need a sharp dose of unemployment to put things right.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 68,332
    Danny565 said:

    The past week, I've had some of the first signs of anyone in "the real world" caring about the Referendum. I've seen two people wandering round Chester wearing "Vote Leave" tshirts.

    Working for an estate agent in Rhyl perhaps?
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    rcs1000 said:

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
    Begs the question why Vote Leave haven't been plastering it all over the news, and getting him to speak up and out.
    Yes it does. 29K words on a directive on duck eggs? Bizarre.
    You do know that's not true, right?
    Sorry... No I didn't. I did assume he would have checked.

    I have read some stuff on EU regs that is bizarre though.

    So how many words in the duck egg directive?
  • Options
    VapidBilgeVapidBilge Posts: 412
    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.



    Many of the x thousand pounds claims would simply not be possible if EFTA/EEA were the destination.
    And Cameron would say "we wouldn't get an inch more control over immigration".
    And he would be telling the truth (more-or-less).
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 24,316
    rcs1000 said:

    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, saion work.

    PB is full of clever, right-wing, intellectual people who are motivated by the legal and philosophical case for Brexit.

    However, out in the country as a whole, the only majority for LEAVE involves people who are agitated by Muslims and foreigners, and who can be convinced that Muslims are a more clear and present danger than what the boffins say about the economy. It is a low-return and high-risk strategy, but perhaps that means it is the only one that can possibly work.
    I have always felt that EFTA/EEA was a sensible destination. Contrary to the claims of many, it would enable sensible regulation of immigation (and through the price mechanism, rather than some absurd system of quotas). It would take us out of EU regulation of (for Sunil and Sandy) railways. It would preserve access to the Single Market and Passporting for financial services. And it would massively diminish the bills to the Treasury.

    In other words, it would be popular with small business because leaving would not entail much risk.

    Many of the x thousand pounds claims would simply not be possible if EFTA/EEA were the destination.
    It does my head in that Leave can't get a coherent alternative.

    On the other hand it probably also does Remain's head in too. If leave said we want X we'd be bomabarded by nonsense that X means automatic death, penury and a Jimmy Savile in every home.

    Is wrestling fog harder to deal with than a clear position ?
  • Options
    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    Ohio - YouGov/CBS

    Clinton 44 .. Trump 39
    Sanders 48 .. Trump 39

    https://www.scribd.com/doc/313450292/CBS-News-2016-Battleground-Tracker-Ohio-May-22
  • Options
    AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 2,869
    ydoethur said:

    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    Genuine question. Is there a rule about members of the public not voting while under the influence of narcotics? Because if so that's another factor t consider for the Glastonbury thousands.

    They also need to get their place of residence sorted out as well, of course, given that some may have been registered in their university maugre their consent...
    Re narcotics: I don't see how there can be such a rule. If you have a postal vote, no-one knows whether you're under any influence at all. If you vote in person, surely the only thing that stands between you & your ballot paper is whether your behaviour is such as to get you removed.

    I've never noticed a breathalyser being used at a polling station either.

    Oh, and good evening everyone.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944

    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.



    Many of the x thousand pounds claims would simply not be possible if EFTA/EEA were the destination.
    And Cameron would say "we wouldn't get an inch more control over immigration".
    And he would be telling the truth (more-or-less).
    Well, in this referendum that'd be remarkable.
  • Options
    MP_SEMP_SE Posts: 3,642
    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    PB is full of clever, right-wing, intellectual people who are motivated by the legal and philosophical case for Brexit.

    However, out in the country as a whole, the only majority for LEAVE involves people who are agitated by Muslims and foreigners, and who can be convinced that Muslims are a more clear and present danger than what the boffins say about the economy. It is a low-return and high-risk strategy, but perhaps that means it is the only one that can possibly work.
    I have always felt that EFTA/EEA was a sensible destination. Contrary to the claims of many, it would enable sensible regulation of immigation (and through the price mechanism, rather than some absurd system of quotas). It would take us out of EU regulation of (for Sunil and Sandy) railways. It would preserve access to the Single Market and Passporting for financial services. And it would massively diminish the bills to the Treasury.

    In other words, it would be popular with small business because leaving would not entail much risk.

    Many of the x thousand pounds claims would simply not be possible if EFTA/EEA were the destination.
    And Cameron would say "we wouldn't get an inch more control over immigration".
    We would as the EEA allows for an emergency brake to be triggered unilaterally.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 36,335
    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    PB is full of clever, right-wing, intellectual people who are motivated by the legal and philosophical case for Brexit.

    However, out in the country as a whole, the only majority for LEAVE involves people who are agitated by Muslims and foreigners, and who can be convinced that Muslims are a more clear and present danger than what the boffins say about the economy. It is a low-return and high-risk strategy, but perhaps that means it is the only one that can possibly work.
    I have always felt that EFTA/EEA was a sensible destination. Contrary to the claims of many, it would enable sensible regulation of immigation (and through the price mechanism, rather than some absurd system of quotas). It would take us out of EU regulation of (for Sunil and Sandy) railways. It would preserve access to the Single Market and Passporting for financial services. And it would massively diminish the bills to the Treasury.

    In other words, it would be popular with small business because leaving would not entail much risk.

    Many of the x thousand pounds claims would simply not be possible if EFTA/EEA were the destination.
    And Cameron would say "we wouldn't get an inch more control over immigration".
    And he would do everything to ensure that was so.
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Sean_F said:

    rcs1000 said:


    1. The currency union can't work. It's like the Gold Standard.

    2. The EU doesn't appear to want to reform and its people are beginning to resent that.

    Leaving will at least give the reformers a chance to insist on reform. However until they work out a way to ditch the Euro the EU will face years of stagnation.

    I'm afraid I don't agree with you - at least about 1. Over the past 400 years, there have been fixed currency arrangements - mostly tied to gold, but sometimes tied to each other - for far more time than there have been floating currency ones. China, Hong Kong, the Baltic States - the rock of each of their prosperity was based on the deliberate abrogation of monetary authority.

    The thing is with fixed currency arrangements is that they are hard. You need to have an economic model with high levels of labour market flexibility to allow prices to adjust. In other words, you need to be able to carry out an internal devaluation. What you can't have is high levels of labour market protection and a fixed currency. The economic models of Spain, Greece and Italy pre the Euro were based on inflexible labour markets combined with ever depreciating currencies. In other words, the exchange rate worked to eradicate the inflexibilities of the labour market. That was no longer possible in the Eurozone. And their relative wages soared. Spain has learned its lesson. It now has - from one of the most scloretic labour markets in Europe - one of the most flexible. Inward investment has flowed in, the economy is growing rapidly again, and employment is rising fast. (And the country is doing this while running a current account surplus. Believe it or not, Spain is now the second largest car maker in Europe after Germany.)

    The Eurozone may very well fail. But it won't fail because it's a fixed currency framework. It will fail because the polticians in many of the peripheral countries will not want to make their labour markets flexible enough to deal with the new environment.
    Whether they're right or wrong, currency unions represent an unattractive philosophy in this day and age. If wages rise too fast, then the workers need a sharp dose of unemployment to put things right.
    Or for wages to be able to fall. It's noticeable that the USA for instance while a single nation actually has relatively very few labour regulations set by the Federal government. The idea of the US Federal Government passing regulations like the EU has in the Working Time Directive etc is a total non starter.

    Those who support the idea of a United States of Europe miss what it is that makes the United States of America successful in the first place.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 118,060
    edited May 2016
    weejonnie said:

    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    Glastonbury attendees are more likely to be Remainers. (Young, naïve, left-wing) - keep quiet.
    Remain are targeting Glastonbury goers it seems

    https://twitter.com/donteuleave/status/734065883354660864
  • Options
    VapidBilgeVapidBilge Posts: 412
    edited May 2016
    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    PB is full of clever, right-wing, intellectual people who are motivated by the legal and philosophical case for Brexit.

    However, out in the country as a whole, the only majority for LEAVE involves people who are agitated by Muslims and foreigners, and who can be convinced that Muslims are a more clear and present danger than what the boffins say about the economy. It is a low-return and high-risk strategy, but perhaps that means it is the only one that can possibly work.
    Well, Remain started this security meme and took it to absurd lengths (WWIII? ISIS would smile on Brexit?).

    So, Remain can hardly complain about being beaten at their own game.

    In fact, thanks to the Diyanet, I am optimistic over Turkish immigration, though my economic arguments still stand.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/20/world/europe/more-than-islam-origin-is-a-marker-for-terror-among-brussels-immigrants.html?_r=0
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    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341

    Just Alsergrund in Vienna to come and that's it for today, whole country counted in 2 hours after final polls close, thanks to polling station count and staggered poll close.

    TV projection still 50/50, but projecting Van der Bellen to win by 3K votes nationwide once postals counted - he will win Vienna, Vorarlberg, Tirol (projection after postals).

    Hofer wins Carinthia, Styria, Burgenland, Salzburg, Lower Austria. Upper Austria may flip to VdB after postals, currently Hofer 50.7%.

    Looks like Hofer is nearly 4% ahead with postals to come:

    image
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    RogerRoger Posts: 19,240
    edited May 2016
    Interesting little piece on Ireland. If Leave wins do we get new passport checks? As you would expect the only significant Northern politician in favour of Brexit is the leader of the DUP.

    Surprisingly the Irish Republic are said to be worried. I'd have thought they'd be the big winners. Companies leaving the UK would be falling over themselves to set up in Southern Ireland
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 24,316
    chestnut said:

    Just Alsergrund in Vienna to come and that's it for today, whole country counted in 2 hours after final polls close, thanks to polling station count and staggered poll close.

    TV projection still 50/50, but projecting Van der Bellen to win by 3K votes nationwide once postals counted - he will win Vienna, Vorarlberg, Tirol (projection after postals).

    Hofer wins Carinthia, Styria, Burgenland, Salzburg, Lower Austria. Upper Austria may flip to VdB after postals, currently Hofer 50.7%.

    Looks like Hofer is nearly 4% ahead with postals to come:

    image
    postals are expected to favour VdB

    Hofer needs to keep the difference to under 16%
  • Options
    AnnaAnna Posts: 59
    HYUFD said:

    weejonnie said:

    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    Glastonbury attendees are more likely to be Remainers. (Young, naïve, left-wing) - keep quiet.
    Remain are targeting Glastonbury goers it seems

    https://twitter.com/donteuleave/status/734065883354660864
    Would be interesting to know how main students going to Glastonbury know where their nearest post box is!
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,682
    edited May 2016

    rcs1000 said:

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
    Begs the question why Vote Leave haven't been plastering it all over the news, and getting him to speak up and out.
    Yes it does. 29K words on a directive on duck eggs? Bizarre.
    You do know that's not true, right?
    Sorry... No I didn't. I did assume he would have checked.

    I have read some stuff on EU regs that is bizarre though.

    So how many words in the duck egg directive?
    Here you go: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32009L0158&from=EN

    It covers all eggs (not just ducks) and also covers regulation of eggs coming into the EU, and it's 8,844 words.

    However, we in the UK outstrip this handily. The Red Lion Egg Code (found here) is 190 pages long, and is 42,000 words long.
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 24,316
    Roger said:

    Interesting little piece on Ireland. If Leave wins do we get new passport checks? As you would expect the only significant Northern politician in favour of Brexit is the leader of the DUP.

    Surprisingly the Irish Republic are said to be worried. I'd have thought they'd be the big winners. Companies leaving the UK would be falling over themselves to set up in Southern Ireland

    Who ?
  • Options
    RogerRoger Posts: 19,240
    edited May 2016
    chestnut said:

    Just Alsergrund in Vienna to come and that's it for today, whole country counted in 2 hours after final polls close, thanks to polling station count and staggered poll close.

    TV projection still 50/50, but projecting Van der Bellen to win by 3K votes nationwide once postals counted - he will win Vienna, Vorarlberg, Tirol (projection after postals).

    Hofer wins Carinthia, Styria, Burgenland, Salzburg, Lower Austria. Upper Austria may flip to VdB after postals, currently Hofer 50.7%.

    Looks like Hofer is nearly 4% ahead with postals to come:

    image
    Is that a real projection or one you have tampered with to get the result you're looking for?
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 24,316
    Roger said:

    chestnut said:

    Just Alsergrund in Vienna to come and that's it for today, whole country counted in 2 hours after final polls close, thanks to polling station count and staggered poll close.

    TV projection still 50/50, but projecting Van der Bellen to win by 3K votes nationwide once postals counted - he will win Vienna, Vorarlberg, Tirol (projection after postals).

    Hofer wins Carinthia, Styria, Burgenland, Salzburg, Lower Austria. Upper Austria may flip to VdB after postals, currently Hofer 50.7%.

    Looks like Hofer is nearly 4% ahead with postals to come:

    image
    Is that a real projection or one you have tampered with to get the result you're looking for?
    thats the current result prior to counting 900k postals tomorrow
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,682
    MP_SE said:


    We would as the EEA allows for an emergency brake to be triggered unilaterally.

    We would not need to pay benefits to any EU migrants (as Switzerland does not, for example).

    And you could require private health insurance for all non UK citizens resident for more than three months, which would have the effect of eliminating all but skilled immigration.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    2-1 to England - to atone for the missed penalty!

    Leicester's Jamie Vardy.

    A classic poachers goal.
  • Options
    AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 2,869
    edited May 2016
    EPG said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leave must leave the Turkey story behind, and move on to immigration. Why? Firstly, because it's not true. Secondly, every second that is spent on a non-story like this, is a second that is wasted by our campaign

    If we are going to win this, we need to be focused and disciplined. Turkey joining in 2026, presumably following Greece and Cyprus leaving the EU, is just not a story that resonates with voters.

    If we want to include it, say something like: "Of course, the expansion of the EU is not likely to end with Romania and Bulgaria. There are other countries, with larger and poorer populations, that could join in the longer term - such as Belorussia, Ukraine and Turkey." Which would at least have the benefit of being factually true.

    The core of my Brexit thesis has always been a simple one: we are not - and will never be - happy members of the EU club. Our legal and democratic systems, as well as our history and philosophy, are very different. Attempting to fit our culture into the EU system is never going to make us happy, and isn't going to work for the EU either.

    It would be better for both us and the EU if we were to leave. Not in rancour, but because our membership diminishes both us and the EU. We'll be better friends with the EU if we are not constantly chafing at its restrictions. And they'll be able to make the institutional reform needed to make their currency union work.

    PB is full of clever, right-wing, intellectual people who are motivated by the legal and philosophical case for Brexit.

    However, out in the country as a whole, the only majority for LEAVE involves people who are agitated by Muslims and foreigners, and who can be convinced that Muslims are a more clear and present danger than what the boffins say about the economy. It is a low-return and high-risk strategy, but perhaps that means it is the only one that can possibly work.
    I am not clever, not right-wing, not intellectual; and I have made up my mind to vote Leave.

    My decision has nothing to do with Muslims or foreigners or economics. I simply feel that, on balance, it's the right thing to do.

    @rcs1000 has articulated more or less what I can only feel.

    (edited to remove redundant word)
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 36,335
    Roger said:

    Interesting little piece on Ireland. If Leave wins do we get new passport checks? As you would expect the only significant Northern politician in favour of Brexit is the leader of the DUP.

    Surprisingly the Irish Republic are said to be worried. I'd have thought they'd be the big winners. Companies leaving the UK would be falling over themselves to set up in Southern Ireland

    However, the most significant politician in Northern Ireland *is* the leader of the DUP.

    Companies won't be leaving the UK to relocate in the Republic.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    Roger said:

    Interesting little piece on Ireland. If Leave wins do we get new passport checks? As you would expect the only significant Northern politician in favour of Brexit is the leader of the DUP.

    Surprisingly the Irish Republic are said to be worried. I'd have thought they'd be the big winners. Companies leaving the UK would be falling over themselves to set up in Southern Ireland

    No. Unless Ireland joins Schengen they stay in the UK Ireland free movement area.
  • Options
    BenedictWhiteBenedictWhite Posts: 1,944
    rcs1000 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    This seems to be a popular tweet of mine on Twitter... I have one of those as well as a blog :)

    https://twitter.com/BenedictMPWhite/status/734359489374216192

    Why does Twitter think I'm in Dewsbury? And why the hell does it think I would want to tell them where I was even if I was there?
    I didn't realise Digby Jones supports Brexit.

    As a former Director General of the CBI, I'd have thought that'd be huge news:

    http://www.digbylordjones.com/
    Yes he does but then he has a brain.
    Begs the question why Vote Leave haven't been plastering it all over the news, and getting him to speak up and out.
    Yes it does. 29K words on a directive on duck eggs? Bizarre.
    You do know that's not true, right?
    Sorry... No I didn't. I did assume he would have checked.

    I have read some stuff on EU regs that is bizarre though.

    So how many words in the duck egg directive?
    Here you go: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32009L0158&from=EN

    It covers all eggs (not just ducks) and also covers regulation of eggs coming into the EU, and it's 8,844 words.

    However, we in the UK outstrip this handily. The Red Lion Egg Code (found here) is 190 pages long, and is 42,000 words long.
    Which shows what is wrong with regulators.

    Bonkers. The lot of them. They should be taken out. And left there until the apologise.
  • Options
    kjohnwkjohnw Posts: 1,456
    Danny565 said:

    The past week, I've had some of the first signs of anyone in "the real world" caring about the Referendum. I've seen two people wandering round Chester wearing "Vote Leave" tshirts.

    Small anecdote I was at wirral rocks last night at tranmere rovers ground full stadium and the support band asked the audience if they were voting in or out virtually everyone shouted out. Either shy remainders or a clear majority for out and there were a few thousand there last night to watch quo
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    RogerRoger Posts: 19,240
    edited May 2016

    Roger said:

    Interesting little piece on Ireland. If Leave wins do we get new passport checks? As you would expect the only significant Northern politician in favour of Brexit is the leader of the DUP.

    Surprisingly the Irish Republic are said to be worried. I'd have thought they'd be the big winners. Companies leaving the UK would be falling over themselves to set up in Southern Ireland

    No. Unless Ireland joins Schengen they stay in the UK Ireland free movement area.
    And those landing in Dublin from Poland? They can enter the UK without passports then?
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    MP_SEMP_SE Posts: 3,642
    rcs1000 said:

    MP_SE said:


    We would as the EEA allows for an emergency brake to be triggered unilaterally.

    We would not need to pay benefits to any EU migrants (as Switzerland does not, for example).

    And you could require private health insurance for all non UK citizens resident for more than three months, which would have the effect of eliminating all but skilled immigration.
    It really is disappointing that Vote Leave decided to ignore EFTA+EEA as there are plenty of options which could limit immigration.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 118,060
    edited May 2016
    Anna said:

    HYUFD said:

    weejonnie said:

    Anna said:

    What impact on turnout do we think Euro 2016 will have? There are no matches on the 23rd, but surely the football will crowd out politics for a large segment of the population?

    Glastonbury as well means that 100,000 people need to get their postal votes sorted...

    Glastonbury attendees are more likely to be Remainers. (Young, naïve, left-wing) - keep quiet.
    Remain are targeting Glastonbury goers it seems

    https://twitter.com/donteuleave/status/734065883354660864
    Would be interesting to know how main students going to Glastonbury know where their nearest post box is!
    True but Remain have clearly realised this is a demographic they need to target
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 24,316
    edited May 2016
    Roger said:

    Roger said:

    Interesting little piece on Ireland. If Leave wins do we get new passport checks? As you would expect the only significant Northern politician in favour of Brexit is the leader of the DUP.

    Surprisingly the Irish Republic are said to be worried. I'd have thought they'd be the big winners. Companies leaving the UK would be falling over themselves to set up in Southern Ireland

    No. Unless Ireland joins Schengen they stay in the UK Ireland free movement area.
    And those landing in Dublin from Poland? They can enter the UK without passports then?
    Us Northerners can have both a UK and irish passport. So Brit cirizens and EU citizens at the same time. Needless to say if we Leave us Europeans will be voting to keep riffraff ad directors out of our country.
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