I'll agree with you about A&E and indeed the NHS generally. I am not sure it is too much of a mystery though. A rapidly increasing population, more elderly people, new treatments becoming available, GP services especially out of hours getting worse. I don't think it's exactly rocket science.
You seem to think the Conservatives have been doing a good job, I am not sure they have and find myself attracted to alternatives. I'm not saying more than that.
Anecdote: sitting peacefully translating and posting on PB, I suddenly got a stabbing pain in my knee, which has recurred whenever I get up or go up or down stairs. It's got a bit better after 2 days but I rang for a GP appointment as it's not really going away. I was quoted an appointment time of two weeks, which is way more than any previous experience. On the other hand, I was offered a phone chat with a GP in half an hour, which I had and was a perfectly good substitute (probably minor inflammation, apply Volterol and see what happens in a few days).
So I'll cautiously buy into the idea that waiting times are getting worse, but also think that phone consultations are in principle a good evasive option for simple cases. In this case I don't think that actually attending would have made any difference.
Get checked to see if you're diabetic. Undiagnosed diabetes can cause circulation problems.
Yep. I have just had a diabetes and circulation full checkup as I had some pains in legs which the doc was worried about. Turns out I was fine - the Doc thinks I am suffering from stress (no shit Sherlock) but well worth getting in checked.
Other signs are blurred vision, dry mouth, thirst and increased urination.
You could be right, but don't advertise it to those immigration sensitive Brexiters, they might just twig what that actually implies for post-Brexit Britain!
On my own account, I myself must be slightly racist, as I've just momentarily mistaken the gherkin, in a small, leaden skied shot of London, to a woman in a burkha :O
I'll agree with you about A&E and indeed the NHS generally. I am not sure it is too much of a mystery though. A rapidly increasing population, more elderly people, new treatments becoming available, GP services especially out of hours getting worse. I don't think it's exactly rocket science.
You seem to think the Conservatives have been doing a good job, I am not sure they have and find myself attracted to alternatives. I'm not saying more than that.
Anecdote: sitting peacefully translating and posting on PB, I suddenly got a stabbing pain in my knee, which has recurred whenever I get up or go up or down stairs. It's got a bit better after 2 days but I rang for a GP appointment as it's not really going away. I was quoted an appointment time of two weeks, which is way more than any previous experience. On the other hand, I was offered a phone chat with a GP in half an hour, which I had and was a perfectly good substitute (probably minor inflammation, apply Volterol and see what happens in a few days).
So I'll cautiously buy into the idea that waiting times are getting worse, but also think that phone consultations are in principle a good evasive option for simple cases. In this case I don't think that actually attending would have made any difference.
Nick, waiting times have gotten worse, at least at my surgery, there can be absolutely no doubt about that. To see my GP now takes about two weeks, in 1998 it was a maximum of three days. However, they do have measures in place for "emergency" appointments and telephone consultations are on offer in certain circumstances (though they don't like the over 60s using them - they want to get a look at you and get that blood pressure checked).
On my own account, I myself must be slightly racist, as I've just momentarily mistaken the gherkin, in a small, leaden skied shot of London, to a woman in a burkha :O
Why aren't our learned colleagues on this site investing every penny they have for this once in a lifetime value bet?
I have £500@5/2 and £250@4/2 on LEAVE. It took me 3 months to raise that money: I don't actually like betting and getting that done hurt. Much as people like to fantasise about putting it all on black, it is b****y difficult to do that, both emotionally and in converting fixed to liquid assets. So that's the best I can do, sorry
I'm small fry! The most I can lose is £24. I've bet £60 in total.
We are but tiddlers in a ginormous pond. I think there are at least 3 individuals (4?) on this site who can afford to bet thousands without missing it, and an additional one who (given the discrepancy between the currency he is paid in and the currency his mortgage is paid in) should be betting on LEAVE winning, if only to cover his post-Brexit loss.
So far, it's the usual "Remain" stump speech, about how he believes the EU strengthens the UK. I'm wondering if it's building up to something though -- he said at the beginning it was going to be a "very personal statement".
Is Cameron going to announce he'll resign if we Leave??
Doubt it, that would be a reason for 10,000s of Labour voters to vote Leave. Few Conservatives voting Leave, will be unlikely to change their vote to Remain to 'Save Dave'.
I'll agree with you about A&E and indeed the NHS generally. I am not sure it is too much of a mystery though. A rapidly increasing population, more elderly people, new treatments becoming available, GP services especially out of hours getting worse. I don't think it's exactly rocket science.
You seem to think the Conservatives have been doing a good job, I am not sure they have and find myself attracted to alternatives. I'm not saying more than that.
Anecdote: sitting peacefully translating and posting on PB, I suddenly got a stabbing pain in my knee, which has recurred whenever I get up or go up or down stairs. It's got a bit better after 2 days but I rang for a GP appointment as it's not really going away. I was quoted an appointment time of two weeks, which is way more than any previous experience. On the other hand, I was offered a phone chat with a GP in half an hour, which I had and was a perfectly good substitute (probably minor inflammation, apply Volterol and see what happens in a few days).
So I'll cautiously buy into the idea that waiting times are getting worse, but also think that phone consultations are in principle a good evasive option for simple cases. In this case I don't think that actually attending would have made any difference.
Nick, waiting times have gotten worse, at least at my surgery, there can be absolutely no doubt about that. To see my GP now takes about two weeks, in 1998 it was a maximum of three days. However, they do have measures in place for "emergency" appointments and telephone consultations are on offer in certain circumstances (though they don't like the over 60s using them - they want to get a look at you and get that blood pressure checked).
An appointment in two weeks for something like that is actually the right answer, since in that time it will either proved to have been 'on of those things' that just goes away, or a meniscus/cartilage problem that wont get better by itself, so GP will send you off for X-ray and potentially a spot of keyhole repair...
I'm so glad Dave is finally telling us how he feels about the EU - the way he's had us all on tenterhooks with this trappist silence on the issue has been very difficult for us all.
Thinking about the most recent Survation and most recent YouGov, both show Leave in a better position then their previous polls, which were also post-Jo. Could we be seeing a last minute counter-swing to leave?
Thank goodness Cameron got his renegotiation or we'd have lost all of this.
I'm being facetious and I suppose I'm not really helping my own side. But this whole rotten business can't end soon enough. The idea of Trump arriving and the events in Trafalgar Sq fill me with dread.
The Kent Messaenger polled the 17 Kent seats. Most inclined to Brexit were Sittingbourne and Sheppey with 62% Out followed by Thanet North at 58% and Chatham & Aylesford at 57%. Most Remain friendly were the three wealthiest constituencies in the county ie Tunbridge Wells at 55% In , Sevenoaks at 54% and Tonbridge & Malling at 50%.
That's actually not quite as good as I expected for Leave in Kent.
Yes, given that (apart from Sevenoaks) they are mostly away from London's direct influence, this is actually very positive news for Remain. If the core home counties come in with results like this then London, Scotland, the ex pats and Remain's target list of cities and large towns should be enough to swing it.
IMO, 57% for Kent *as a whole* is fairly positive for Leave.
No it really isn't. Not that I believe the poll is accurate.
Is there any basis for suggesting the poll is/isn't accurate? Otherwise I share your assessment that this isn't really positive for leave - general consensus and voting data such as it is suggests that North Kent should be up there among the top handful of Leave-voting areas along with Lincolnshire, the Essex/London borderlands and the South Coast waiting rooms?
The Medway towns and Kent coast and east coast will vote Leave, they are poorer and full of retirees but wealthier west Kent which is full of commuters may vote Remain
Thinking about the most recent Survation and most recent YouGov, both show Leave in a better position then their previous polls, which were also post-Jo. Could we be seeing a last minute counter-swing to leave?
Tiny movements though. I don't think it tells us anything except that it's on a knife-edge.
That was weird. No big end to it, just a five minute stump speech for Remain. He looked a little rattled. Maybe he's hoping to get on the news tonight.
Anyone reckon his private polls and postal vote returns show Leave ahead?
Someone should point out to Norman Smith that our closest intelligence relationship is with the US, and of the Five Eyes group just one (the UK) is in the EU.
You could be right, but don't advertise it to those immigration sensitive Brexiters, they might just twig what that actually implies for post-Brexit Britain!
On my own account, I myself must be slightly racist, as I've just momentarily mistaken the gherkin, in a small, leaden skied shot of London, to a woman in a burkha :O
I'm sure most Brexiters wouldn't object to limited immigration by skilled non-white workers. A Chinese accountant or an Indian doctor wouldn't depress the wages of working class British people.
The primary objection to EU immigration is that the British government has no control over who comes to the country. So, you end up large amounts of immigration by semi-skilled & unskilled workers who depress working class British wages.
For anyone who wants to bet on Leave, can I recommend selling the SpreadEx Remain vote share. It's currently 44-45, i.e. a 9% Remain lead at the midpoint.
He should have announced he was resigning. Wasted opportunity to make the thought of a Gove or Boris PM all too real in left wing voter's eyes, and bring them back from the brink.
It was literally nothing that he hasn't said a million times the last few weeks. Just "our economy is stronger", "as PM I've kept you safer as a result of the EU supporting us", "think of your grandchildren when you vote", "Brits don't quit", etcetc.
Why it was billed as a "significant statement" is beyond me.
If the Crisis is a little more serious than all the issues that have summoned COBRA, such as Ash Dieback and horsemeat, then the most important thing that Number 10 can do is call a press conference with the Prime Minister. David Cameron doesn’t do that many press conferences at all, despite promising in Opposition that he would hold a monthly one, and so when he summons hacks to the roof of a hotel at short notice, you know that there is a Crisis that the Prime Minister is taking Very Seriously indeed...
So the Crisis was that the Prime Minister had been watching the news last night. And presumably, that he had realised that the debate was indeed not on good turf for Remain, and that the polls were moving in favour of Leave.
I am shown three doors, behind one is a man trying to sweet talk an old granny, behind the other two are ways to waste five minutes of my life while feeling slightly uneasy.
I choose door three.
The host opens door one to reveal David Cameron outside No10 with a podium
For anyone who wants to bet on Leave, can I recommend selling the SpreadEx Remain vote share. It's currently 44-45, i.e. a 9% Remain lead at the midpoint.
1. Cameron looked emotional. 2. His speech was very hard-hitting. 3. He spoke directly into the camera, staring hard, in a surprisingly emotive way. 4. He implored the older voters to vote Remain. 5. He put his heart and soul into it and made it clear he is 100% Remain.
Corybyn gave an interesting answer to a question that's been raised several times on previous threads - if some new Tory leader wanted a snap election, would Labour agree?
"If the government cannot continue for ever and ends up deciding that it needs to somehow or other navigate around the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in order to have a general election a little sooner, all I can say is we are very, very ready for that."
Louise Mensch ongoing twitter bombardment & re-tweeted over and over and over content suggests a budding role for her as a UKIP PR rep.
I do find it baffling that she chose to quit as an MP, when (judging by her Twitter feed) she's spent the following 4 years just as immersed in British politics as ever.
She's not big on Trump either but sheesh, she must churn out a 1,000 tweets or retweets a day and most are the same article and a response from her followers - she'll then say something 'trolling', get a response from an opponent and then take that comment to tweet to everyone over again.
Last night for example based on the polling demographics she claimed 'the older you get, the wiser you are and so therefore you vote leave'... that got a few 'responses' which she then retweeted as summarising everyone in the remain camp....
I am shown three doors, behind one is a man trying to sweet talk an old granny, behind the other two are ways to waste five minutes of my life while feeling slightly uneasy.
I choose door three.
The host opens door one to reveal David Cameron outside No10 with a podium
Comments
Let alone the immigration issue. It's not going to go away.
Other signs are blurred vision, dry mouth, thirst and increased urination.
On my own account, I myself must be slightly racist, as I've just momentarily mistaken the gherkin, in a small, leaden skied shot of London, to a woman in a burkha :O
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36581659
I'm expecting Leave to win, though.
The weather is not cooperating.
He's desperate. And can still bugger off.
He's coming out as gay ?
He voted for Corbyn with his £3 ?
Using the trappings of office, to remind people he's the PM not just the leader of the Tory party
Ladbrokes looked very sure of a Remain win.
Abusing his position to get some airtime for a political broadcast without any pesky members of the public throwing a question his way.
Mr. Slackbladder, be intriguing to know if this were always planned, or if it's a recent decision.
I think..
I'm being facetious and I suppose I'm not really helping my own side. But this whole rotten business can't end soon enough. The idea of Trump arriving and the events in Trafalgar Sq fill me with dread.
"Please, older people, PLEASE vote to stay..."
He must be spooked.
Maybe he's hoping to get on the news tonight.
Anyone reckon his private polls and postal vote returns show Leave ahead?
1:30 am -
Salford (expected 50.2% Remain)
Merthyr Tydfil (expected 50.3% Remain)
2:00 am -
Hart (expected 49.8% Remain)
Denbighshire (expected 50.1% Remain)
2:30 am -
Enfield (expected 49.6% Remain)
Caerphilly (expected 49.8% Remain)
3:00 am -
Chesterfield (expected 49.6% Remain)
Epsom & Ewell (expected 49.7% Remain)
Durham (expected 49.7% Remain)
Welwyn Hatfield (expected 50.3% Remain)
Wirral (expected 50.2% Remain)
3:30 am -
Lancaster (expected 50.0% Remain)
Newport (expected 50.2% Remain)
But Exit Polls aren't illegal are they?
Of course neither will.
The primary objection to EU immigration is that the British government has no control over who comes to the country. So, you end up large amounts of immigration by semi-skilled & unskilled workers who depress working class British wages.
That's bonkers.
Why it was billed as a "significant statement" is beyond me.
If the Crisis is a little more serious than all the issues that have summoned COBRA, such as Ash Dieback and horsemeat, then the most important thing that Number 10 can do is call a press conference with the Prime Minister. David Cameron doesn’t do that many press conferences at all, despite promising in Opposition that he would hold a monthly one, and so when he summons hacks to the roof of a hotel at short notice, you know that there is a Crisis that the Prime Minister is taking Very Seriously indeed...
So the Crisis was that the Prime Minister had been watching the news last night. And presumably, that he had realised that the debate was indeed not on good turf for Remain, and that the polls were moving in favour of Leave.
I choose door three.
The host opens door one to reveal David Cameron outside No10 with a podium
Do I switch?
Mr. Slackbladder, he's complacent, or full of it. Or both.
Ceredigion and Cardiff both to vote remain, alot of Wales will be leave though.
2. His speech was very hard-hitting.
3. He spoke directly into the camera, staring hard, in a surprisingly emotive way.
4. He implored the older voters to vote Remain.
5. He put his heart and soul into it and made it clear he is 100% Remain.
And yet Ladbrokes make Leave a 24% chance?
Desperate? Does he know something we don't?
Or is he just leaving nothing to chance?
Senior Vote Leave sources unhappy about David Cameron appearing outside No.10 during purdah - "it breaks all the rules"
"If the government cannot continue for ever and ends up deciding that it needs to somehow or other navigate around the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in order to have a general election a little sooner, all I can say is we are very, very ready for that."
Bring it on! Insurgency vs Shambles.
Last night for example based on the polling demographics she claimed 'the older you get, the wiser you are and so therefore you vote leave'... that got a few 'responses' which she then retweeted as summarising everyone in the remain camp....
I think it's a reasonable interpretation to say that it's squeaky bum time in Number Ten.
It wouldn't surprise me if it was 60/40 Leave. Or more.