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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Timing is everything. A review of Theresa May’s speech

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  • Options
    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,370

    Haven't read through all comments, so not sure if this has been asked already, but:

    Why has this site descended to the point where drivel from Alastair Meeks is posted as site content, rather than merely appearing in the comments?

    I don't agree with Alastair Meeks but he writes thoughtful articles that are worth consideration.
    You say that but already @FormerToryOrange has, with his beautifully-wrought question, brought verve and acuity to our lives.
  • Options
    MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034

    Off-topic:

    London's largest-ever explosion occurred 100 years ago at 18.52 this evening.

    http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2017/01/silvertown-100.html

    Same year as this one:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

    Two ships collided in the harbour, the resultant explosion killed 2000 and injured 9000!
  • Options
    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    May is a bit like George Osborne in 2015
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Jonathan said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    May is a bit like George Osborne in 2015
    Within 18 months of the end of her political career ? A bold claim...
  • Options
    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    The country is clearly in favour of Sensible Brexit.

    What's more, the public believe the government are being sensible and reasonable, so the blame for problems is set to be laid at the door of the unreasonable EU.

    Not by 52-48, but by something like 75-25.

  • Options
    Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    edited January 2017
  • Options
    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    TGOHF said:

    Jonathan said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    May is a bit like George Osborne in 2015
    Within 18 months of the end of her political career ? A bold claim...
    Things are volatile. May could persist, but it's worth remembering that pretty recently others were settling in for a long stint at the top.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985

    Non-surprise of the day:

    twitter.com/politicshome/status/822149125583970304

    Yawn.

    Can we expect any more nuggets of wisdom like this today? :D
  • Options

    PlatoSaid said:

    Spiked
    Brendan O'Neill on how Obama got away with it https://t.co/sv9ThEmkUw

    Poor old Brendan - struggling to accept that Obama is leaving office with a 60% approval rating and the thanks of most Americans, while Trump enters the White House with a falling approval rating and most Americans opposed to him. Oh well, snowflakes will be snowflakes.

    I think a number of Trump supporters are struggling with this actually. The Obamas are leaving on a real high, with many people holding them in incredibly high esteem. Trump, if he carries on the way he has is could make 2020 a real battle for the White House.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    Jonathan said:



    Things are volatile. May could persist, but it's worth remembering that pretty recently others were settling in for a long stint at the top.

    The risk for her is indeed high. I wonder how she'll go down in history if the whole thing is a reasonable success.
  • Options
    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    RobD said:

    Jonathan said:



    Things are volatile. May could persist, but it's worth remembering that pretty recently others were settling in for a long stint at the top.

    The risk for her is indeed high. I wonder how she'll go down in history if the whole thing is a reasonable success.
    £5 note
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    edited January 2017
    Jonathan said:

    RobD said:

    Jonathan said:



    Things are volatile. May could persist, but it's worth remembering that pretty recently others were settling in for a long stint at the top.

    The risk for her is indeed high. I wonder how she'll go down in history if the whole thing is a reasonable success.
    £5 note
    The €5 note if things go less well... :p
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,370
    RobD said:

    Jonathan said:

    RobD said:

    Jonathan said:



    Things are volatile. May could persist, but it's worth remembering that pretty recently others were settling in for a long stint at the top.

    The risk for her is indeed high. I wonder how she'll go down in history if the whole thing is a reasonable success.
    £5 note
    The €5 note if things go less well... :p
    LOL
  • Options
    John_MJohn_M Posts: 7,503
    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
  • Options
    John_MJohn_M Posts: 7,503
    RobD said:

    Jonathan said:

    RobD said:

    Jonathan said:



    Things are volatile. May could persist, but it's worth remembering that pretty recently others were settling in for a long stint at the top.

    The risk for her is indeed high. I wonder how she'll go down in history if the whole thing is a reasonable success.
    £5 note
    The €5 note if things go less well... :p
    *applause* *crowd go wild*
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    Good for Yes? ;)
  • Options
    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    edited January 2017
    If things go badly you'll have Faage on the £5,000,000 note, which won't buy him a pint.
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    Only if you think Nicola is daft..

    Losing Sindy2 would set them back 30+ years.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    Jonathan said:

    If things go badly you'll have Faage on the £5,000,000 note, which won't buy him a pint.

    Imagine this on your money:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClsIZoqVEAAbZap.jpg

    As they say on Crimewatch, don't have nightmares!
  • Options
    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    edited January 2017
    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    The number of pro-EU Sindies is about 30%.

    70% of Scots oppose one or both of those positions.

    Is succumbing to diktat from Europe, with even less of a voice than at Westminster, worth risking it for?

  • Options
    Meanwhile, on the subject of Trump I just read this article: http://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/1/18/14300952/donald-trump-vote-regret

    It's very interesting. I wonder how many Trump voters will come to feel the same as Underwood in the next four years.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    Speaking of faces on money, glad to see HM up and about and looking healthy. No doubt she is looking forward to the upcoming speech from the throne.
  • Options
    SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095
    Mr Meeks musings of late have been of the glass half empty variety.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    edited January 2017

    PlatoSaid said:

    Spiked
    Brendan O'Neill on how Obama got away with it https://t.co/sv9ThEmkUw

    Poor old Brendan - struggling to accept that Obama is leaving office with a 60% approval rating and the thanks of most Americans, while Trump enters the White House with a falling approval rating and most Americans opposed to him. Oh well, snowflakes will be snowflakes.

    I think a number of Trump supporters are struggling with this actually. The Obamas are leaving on a real high, with many people holding them in incredibly high esteem. Trump, if he carries on the way he has is could make 2020 a real battle for the White House.
    Trump will have a fairly golden inheritance rather like Blair in 97, which takes a while to squander. Despite all Trump's rhetoric, job creation and wages have fared well under Obama despite the GFC.

    I reckon on a couple of years before the damage really shows from his tax cuts for the rich and tarrifs.
  • Options
    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,193
    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.
  • Options
    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,216
    edited January 2017
    Turns out there's another right wing nutter who wants MPs to meet their 'miserable ends at the hands of the Britain First movement'. Thank goodness there's only the two of them, and that they're entirely unconnected to any wider political movements.

    "Britain First leader issues threat to 'traitor' MPs upon jail release: 'You will all meet your miserable ends'"

    http://tinyurl.com/hqfnux8
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
  • Options
    Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669

    PlatoSaid said:

    Spiked
    Brendan O'Neill on how Obama got away with it https://t.co/sv9ThEmkUw

    Poor old Brendan - struggling to accept that Obama is leaving office with a 60% approval rating and the thanks of most Americans, while Trump enters the White House with a falling approval rating and most Americans opposed to him. Oh well, snowflakes will be snowflakes.

    I think a number of Trump supporters are struggling with this actually. The Obamas are leaving on a real high, with many people holding them in incredibly high esteem. Trump, if he carries on the way he has is could make 2020 a real battle for the White House.
    Trump will have a fairly golden inheritance rather like Blair in 97, which takes a while to squander. Despite all Trump's rhetoric, job creation and wages have fared well under Obama despite the GFC.

    I reckon on a couple of years before the damage really shows from his tax cuts for the rich and tarrifs.
    So you'll be pleased to know that the weather forecast for tomorrow in DC is heavy rain. The Park Service has relented and allowed collapsible umbrellas for the inauguration. They maintained the ban on selfie sticks however.
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    Have you been at the magic mushrooms , you seem to have got hysterical recently and lost the plot completely.
  • Options
    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    Have you been at the magic mushrooms , you seem to have got hysterical recently and lost the plot completely.
    Glam Colm
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062
    chestnut said:

    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    The number of pro-EU Sindies is about 30%.

    70% of Scots oppose one or both of those positions.

    Is succumbing to diktat from Europe, with even less of a voice than at Westminster, worth risking it for?

    For sure, in Europe we would retain 90%+ of the powers as opposed to next to nothing and even those can be removed if we are seen to not be doffing our cap often enough.
  • Options
    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    Have you been at the magic mushrooms , you seem to have got hysterical recently and lost the plot completely.
    Tessy has driven him mad with desire.
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062
    TGOHF said:

    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    Only if you think Nicola is daft..

    Losing Sindy2 would set them back 30+ years.
    LOL, intelligent riposte as ever
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062
    Yawn , daily occurence , bellend
  • Options
    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,193
    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
  • Options

    PlatoSaid said:

    Spiked
    Brendan O'Neill on how Obama got away with it https://t.co/sv9ThEmkUw

    Poor old Brendan - struggling to accept that Obama is leaving office with a 60% approval rating and the thanks of most Americans, while Trump enters the White House with a falling approval rating and most Americans opposed to him. Oh well, snowflakes will be snowflakes.

    I think a number of Trump supporters are struggling with this actually. The Obamas are leaving on a real high, with many people holding them in incredibly high esteem. Trump, if he carries on the way he has is could make 2020 a real battle for the White House.
    Trump willhave a fairly golden inheritance rather like Blair in 97, which takes a while to squander. Despite all Trump's rhetoric, job creation and wages have fared well under Obama despite the GFC.

    I reckon on a couple of years before the damage really shows from his tax cuts for the rich and tarrifs.
    Re Trump's rhetoric, I remember watching a video of Rachel Maddow talking about a PPP poll, and how it showed just how differently Trump supporters saw the world in comparison to everyone else. Sadly, I can't find the Rachel Maddow video (which is pretty lengthy, given that Maddow loves to give her viewers a history lesson). But I did find this video which pretty much explains the findings of the poll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fza5GxjVu4

  • Options
    MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034
    For those who have taken the time to read the CETA, if the UK just asked for that, and negotiated something reasonable re the City, what would be the areas where the UK suffered the most from withdrawing from the Single Market?
  • Options
    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    Have you been at the magic mushrooms , you seem to have got hysterical recently and lost the plot completely.
    Just stating the fact and check todays yougov poll today re Scots support for TM - and the conservatives 17% lead
  • Options
    tysontyson Posts: 6,050
    @Big G NorthWales

    I saw your very kind reply to my apology the other day. It is one thing to apologise, it is another to accept it so graciously.



    Re: Italy....terrible events in Abbruzzo last night...truly horrible and terrifying for those involved.
  • Options
    IcarusIcarus Posts: 907
    Surely having a successor who is absolutely awful is just about the perfect end to a presidency!
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    Thanks... seems they are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
  • Options

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    Have you been at the magic mushrooms , you seem to have got hysterical recently and lost the plot completely.
    Tessy has driven him mad with desire.
    UNIONISTS 55%
    BRAVEHEARTS 45%

    :innocent:
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062
    edited January 2017

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    Have you been at the magic mushrooms , you seem to have got hysterical recently and lost the plot completely.
    Just stating the fact and check todays yougov poll today re Scots support for TM - and the conservatives 17% lead
    Any poll that says Scots support Tories is absolutely and guaranteed bogus. They are hated by the majority.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,856
    Scott_P said:

    @DavidHughesPA: Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness has told @PA he is quitting frontline politics to concentrate on recovering from "a very serious illness".

    Nothing trivial, I hope.
  • Options

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    Have you been at the magic mushrooms , you seem to have got hysterical recently and lost the plot completely.
    Tessy has driven him mad with desire.
    You are being silly - she has impressed a whole lot of people this week and on the World stage in Davos.

    You may find it hard to believe that we have someone in charge of this Country who is gaining popular support day by day
  • Options
    TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    Any polling on Scots and their enthusiasm to take up the Euro as a currency.

    No silly answers about new currencies...
  • Options
    Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    malcolmg said:

    Yawn , daily occurence , bellend
    oooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo, stroppy!

    So, anyway, when's indyref2 happening?
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,952

    malcolmg said:

    MaxPB said:

    TGOHF said:

    EU infighting has started already ... oh dear..

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/19/europes-ideological-civil-war-laid-bare-davos/

    "Europe's leaders lashed out at each other in Davos in an inflamed dispute over how to stop the EU collapsing, laying bare the festering divisions that will plague the European project long after British withdrawal."

    ""The whole idea of an ever-closer Europe has gone, it's buried," said Dutch premier Mark Rutte, dismissing calls for full political union as a dangerous romantic fantasy.

    "The fastest way to dismantle the EU is to continue talking about a step-by-step move towards some sort of superstate," he said at the World Economic Forum."

    In the end, though it's not my most favoured solution, the move to leave the single market is strategically sound and the clarity offered by this position is better than the alternative of promising something that isn't within the gift of the government to deliver.

    All in all, having had a couple of days to mull it over, I understand why the PM has moved to take the UK out of the single market. I also think that if a country leaves the single market and exceeds expectations then the single market is doomed in the long term. It doesn't hold any value if a nation can leave and prosper more out of it than within it.
    Theresa May seems to have become an overnight success with her London and Davos speeches wildly acclaimed and she is suddenly looking like a World leader just as Obama leaves the stage.

    The poll today supporting her leaving the single market and her negotiating stance is supported in all regions of the Country including Scotland and surprisingly London.

    There is a tide moving her way and it looks as if those who want to remain will need to realise that we have passed the tipping point of staying in the single market and move on themselves.
    Have you been at the magic mushrooms , you seem to have got hysterical recently and lost the plot completely.
    Tessy has driven him mad with desire.
    You are being silly - she has impressed a whole lot of people this week and on the World stage in Davos.

    You may find it hard to believe that we have someone in charge of this Country who is gaining popular support day by day
    "TM the PM" You heard it here first
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    Tim_B said:

    PlatoSaid said:

    Spiked
    Brendan O'Neill on how Obama got away with it https://t.co/sv9ThEmkUw

    Poor old Brendan - struggling to accept that Obama is leaving office with a 60% approval rating and the thanks of most Americans, while Trump enters the White House with a falling approval rating and most Americans opposed to him. Oh well, snowflakes will be snowflakes.

    I think a number of Trump supporters are struggling with this actually. The Obamas are leaving on a real high, with many people holding them in incredibly high esteem. Trump, if he carries on the way he has is could make 2020 a real battle for the White House.
    Trump will have a fairly golden inheritance rather like Blair in 97, which takes a while to squander. Despite all Trump's rhetoric, job creation and wages have fared well under Obama despite the GFC.

    I reckon on a couple of years before the damage really shows from his tax cuts for the rich and tarrifs.
    So you'll be pleased to know that the weather forecast for tomorrow in DC is heavy rain. The Park Service has relented and allowed collapsible umbrellas for the inauguration. They maintained the ban on selfie sticks however.
    Its not the rain, its the nuclear fallout that we have to fear!

    Not sure that my stock of tinned food and shotgun shells will last.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,942
    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    Seems a monstrous amount of money for a 4 bed. Has she considered moving oop north ?
  • Options
    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,193
    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    Thanks... seems they are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
    Interesting. Just heard the leader of SCC on Sky News and he intimated that by social care it doesn't just mean the elderly. He also mentioned those with special needs and, wait for it, children. Well I'm buggered if I'm handing over more of my money to pay for those on benefits. It aint happening.

    Jezza opposed to this, thinks Westminster should be responsible for it. My dad says he's voting for him!
  • Options
    MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    Jonathan said:

    If things go badly you'll have Faage on the £5,000,000 note, which won't buy him a pint.

    Probably a lot better than Corbyn on a £100,000,000 note, which may buy him a bag of crisps.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    If mostly wealthy Surrey is in the manure over the state of Social care, then just imagine how it is in more deprived counties and boroughs.
  • Options
    tyson said:

    @Big G NorthWales

    I saw your very kind reply to my apology the other day. It is one thing to apologise, it is another to accept it so graciously.



    Re: Italy....terrible events in Abbruzzo last night...truly horrible and terrifying for those involved.

    The one thing that we have in common is our love for Italy and our family sheds a tear for all the suffering that has happened in the earthquakes and now this dreadful avalanche

    The people and the Country are wonderful and a joy to visit
  • Options
    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,193
    Pulpstar said:

    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    Seems a monstrous amount of money for a 4 bed. Has she considered moving oop north ?
    I suppose she could work from home most of the time. My dad and I reckon Retford would be a good spot to be as it's pretty quick on the train to London if you need to go into the office.

    Our dream is buy back our grandfather's old house in Duckmanton, just down the road from you. But that's a long way off for us at the moment.
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062

    malcolmg said:

    Yawn , daily occurence , bellend
    oooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo, stroppy!

    So, anyway, when's indyref2 happening?
    no rush , rope is paying out nicely , will be when time is right, no need to be hasty.
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,370
    Can you imagine if every time @SeanT insulted someone he was as diligent and effusive with his subsequent apologies as @tyson. The poor boy would get nothing else done in his life.
  • Options


    You are being silly - she has impressed a whole lot of people this week and on the World stage in Davos.

    You may find it hard to believe that we have someone in charge of this Country who is gaining popular support day by day

    An odd interpretation, but a man infatuated will believe anything.

    https://twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/status/822069844782837760
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062
    Pulpstar said:

    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    Seems a monstrous amount of money for a 4 bed. Has she considered moving oop north ?
    Could get a couple of castles for that
  • Options
    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,193

    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    If mostly wealthy Surrey is in the manure over the state of Social care, then just imagine how it is in more deprived counties and boroughs.
    It sounds like Surrey are saying the Government has reduced the amount Surrey gets from central government. It's worth saying that a lot of Surrey isn't that wealthy, but because it's so popular with the wealthy (good train links from Woking and Guildford in particular), for the rest of us living here things are somewhat expensive.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,031
    MaxPB said:

    This is why the EU should have been ready to offer the UK absolutely anything to stay in, once we leave and show it's not the end of the world that trickle of small stones at the top of the mountain will turn into an unstoppable force. The problem for them is that May hasn't asked for anything particularly unreasonable, there is no way for the EU "punish" the UK by withholding single market membership since we don't want it.

    I disagree. Support for the EU has declined in the past 10 years because the economies have been shit (as they have been in the US and Japan, of course). People lash out at the established order when their lives worsen, whether they are to blame or not.

    The next 10 years are likely to see much higher developed world economic growth than the last, partly because these things are cyclical (the 70s were shit for almost everyone in the developed world, and the 80s and 90s were great), and partly because the enormous drag from higher energy and commodity prices is gone. (Indeed, I'd argue that cheap energy - whether oil, natural gas or new energy - is likely to be the big driver of the prosperity of the 2020s and 2030s.)

    People are insular. If their lives are OK, they won't want to rock the boat.
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,062
    TGOHF said:

    Any polling on Scots and their enthusiasm to take up the Euro as a currency.

    No silly answers about new currencies...

    You are a silly Billy for sure
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,031
    edited January 2017
    Re Davos.

    This is a fabulous time to go skiing in Davos. You drive to Klosters, leave the car in the station car park, and then ski the entire Klosters-Davos ski area, and there's barely a person on the slopes.

    It's much, much more fun than a bunch of dreary presentations.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,942
    malcolmg said:

    Pulpstar said:

    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    Seems a monstrous amount of money for a 4 bed. Has she considered moving oop north ?
    Could get a couple of castles for that
    I'm defo retiring to Scotland, hopefully still free movement for the English at that point !
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    tlg86 said:

    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    If mostly wealthy Surrey is in the manure over the state of Social care, then just imagine how it is in more deprived counties and boroughs.
    It sounds like Surrey are saying the Government has reduced the amount Surrey gets from central government. It's worth saying that a lot of Surrey isn't that wealthy, but because it's so popular with the wealthy (good train links from Woking and Guildford in particular), for the rest of us living here things are somewhat expensive.
    Everywhere has had tbeir funding reduced from Westminster. That is how austerity works.

    Surrey has its deprived parts, but much less than a lot of the country.
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    stodgestodge Posts: 12,877
    Evening all :)

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-38634038

    A little more background on the Surrey situation. The lack of funding means individuals don't have the budget to attend the Alzheimer's centres which have to close through lack of use.

    Madness in its way....
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    You are being silly - she has impressed a whole lot of people this week and on the World stage in Davos.

    You may find it hard to believe that we have someone in charge of this Country who is gaining popular support day by day

    An odd interpretation, but a man infatuated will believe anything.

    https://twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/status/822069844782837760
    No infatuation - dont do that at 73 - just stating the obvious and watch the polls show it over the coming weeks
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,031
    Yes, people in Wisconsin flocked to the polls because Brits had voted to leave the European Union.

    It's obvious, innit.
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    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,193

    tlg86 said:

    tlg86 said:

    RobD said:

    tlg86 said:

    Going by my Facebook friends, Surrey have their work cut out to win that referendum.

    I was trying to look into this earlier. Have they been raising council tax by the highest allowed amount each year since 2010? Seems odd to lump it all into one year.
    Yes they have (1.99% every year) and my dad is livid. For five years Cameron would appear on TV telling us that the Tories had frozen council tax. "Not in bloody Woking, you haven't" he would say. We had a councillor knock on our door last year and my dad took great pleasure in telling him where to go.

    I'm torn on the subject. I totally understand that we have an ageing population and we have to pay for social care. But I know this money won't be available for my parents should they need care as they own their own home. And I'm still furious about management of monetary policy in the last four years which has sent properties in Surrey through the roof. My sister's thinking about buying a four bed house for £625k and I've got to the point where I'm thinking she should do it because houses are only going to increase in value. As rcs1000 said this morning, we just can't put up interest rates.

    So I'm not sure how I'll vote, but I'm almost certain it will be rejected.
    If mostly wealthy Surrey is in the manure over the state of Social care, then just imagine how it is in more deprived counties and boroughs.
    It sounds like Surrey are saying the Government has reduced the amount Surrey gets from central government. It's worth saying that a lot of Surrey isn't that wealthy, but because it's so popular with the wealthy (good train links from Woking and Guildford in particular), for the rest of us living here things are somewhat expensive.
    Everywhere has had tbeir funding reduced from Westminster. That is how austerity works.

    Surrey has its deprived parts, but much less than a lot of the country.
    Is it more or less than everywhere else? I'd imagine that Surrey struggles to recruit carers and what not because it's so expensive to live here.
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496
    No evidence or sources for anything that's asserted in this header.
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    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    Nigel Farage: Trump told me Brexit won him the presidency #newsnight

    No fool like a gullible tool..
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    Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669

    Tim_B said:

    PlatoSaid said:

    Spiked
    Brendan O'Neill on how Obama got away with it https://t.co/sv9ThEmkUw

    Poor old Brendan - struggling to accept that Obama is leaving office with a 60% approval rating and the thanks of most Americans, while Trump enters the White House with a falling approval rating and most Americans opposed to him. Oh well, snowflakes will be snowflakes.

    I think a number of Trump supporters are struggling with this actually. The Obamas are leaving on a real high, with many people holding them in incredibly high esteem. Trump, if he carries on the way he has is could make 2020 a real battle for the White House.
    Trump will have a fairly golden inheritance rather like Blair in 97, which takes a while to squander. Despite all Trump's rhetoric, job creation and wages have fared well under Obama despite the GFC.

    I reckon on a couple of years before the damage really shows from his tax cuts for the rich and tarrifs.
    So you'll be pleased to know that the weather forecast for tomorrow in DC is heavy rain. The Park Service has relented and allowed collapsible umbrellas for the inauguration. They maintained the ban on selfie sticks however.
    Its not the rain, its the nuclear fallout that we have to fear!

    Not sure that my stock of tinned food and shotgun shells will last.
    Tinned shotgun shells - they can be problematic in the microwave :wink:
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    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    edited January 2017
    Harry Hayfield >>>
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,101
    rcs1000 said:

    Yes, people in Wisconsin flocked to the polls because Brits had voted to leave the European Union.

    It's obvious, innit.
    Proof that if Farage's ego had been sufficiently flattered 10 years ago, he might have been happy and stopped trying to bring down the EU.
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    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,856
    rcs1000 said:

    Re Davos.

    This is a fabulous time to go skiing in Davos. You drive to Klosters, leave the car in the station car park, and then ski the entire Klosters-Davos ski area, and there's barely a person on the slopes.

    It's much, much more fun than a bunch of dreary presentations.

    Surely people go to the Davos Summit to get pissed in lovely surroundings.
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    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,193
    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-38634038

    A little more background on the Surrey situation. The lack of funding means individuals don't have the budget to attend the Alzheimer's centres which have to close through lack of use.

    Madness in its way....

    My grandmother hand Alzheimers. Woking Borough Council told us to sell her house and give them the money so that they could look after her. My parents said no and instead we moved in with her and my mum (a former nurse) looked after her.

    Anyway, the Alzheimer's Society offered to look after her one day a week (or something like that) and so the bus picked her up to take her to the centre. Well, my grandmother was "very badly behaved" and so they told my parents that she wasn't welcome again, or as my mum put it, she'd been expelled. The incredulity from my parents was something to behold.

    Alzheimer's is often portrayed in the heartbreaking way of people losing their memory. This is very sad, but what isn't talked about is how difficult it is to look after someone who has advanced Alzheimer's. It's remarkable how physically strong my grandmother became. Caring for someone like that is very challenging

    Unfortunately the Alzheimer's Society were only interested in dealing with the easy cases where people would sit quietly and not cause them any trouble.
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    You just have to shake your head at this man. Jesus Christ.
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    perdixperdix Posts: 1,806
    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    Indyref2 cannot take place without the permission of the Westminster government. Sturgeon may decide to hold one but it would not have legal force.

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    MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    It's all coming apart.
    https://twitter.com/WantEnglandBack/status/822150246625083393
    Mr Meeks and Co's world coming to an end
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    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,758
    On the Indy / Brexit splits in Scotland in very rough numbers:

    About half, voting SNP or Green, support independence. Former Labour voters that support independence have now switched to the SNP and so aren't Labour avrg more.

    Labour, Conservative and Lib Dems making up the other half support the Union.

    About a third of SNP voters support Brexit. Scottish WWC voters have substantially switched to the SNP. The Labour rump and Lib Dems making up a quarter of the vote are enthusiastic Remainers and blame the Tories (another quarter) for Brexit. Tories were initially split but are now on board.

    Now for the next independence referendum. Regardless of how they voted for Brexit the Indy half will vote and campaign for independence with enthusiasm. The Tory quarter will vote and campaign for the Union with enthusiasm. The Labour and LD quarter may vote for the Union but they won't campaign with the Tories. This makes the Union campaign a Tory campaign, which isn't a good position for o it to be in
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    justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527
    edited January 2017
    perdix said:

    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    Indyref2 cannot take place without the permission of the Westminster government. Sturgeon may decide to hold one but it would not have legal force.

    Interesting crossbreak for Scotland in the Yougov poll - Con 26 Lab 19 SNP 41. If the SNP were to drop to 41% at the next Westminster election they stand to lose quite a few seats.
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    perdix said:

    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    Indyref2 cannot take place without the permission of the Westminster government. Sturgeon may decide to hold one but it would not have legal force.

    I would suggest the one way to make sure Scotland eventually votes for Independence is for Westminster to refuse to allow a referendum.
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    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    FF43 said:

    On the Indy / Brexit splits in Scotland in very rough numbers:

    About half, voting SNP or Green, support independence. Former Labour voters that support independence have now switched to the SNP and so aren't Labour avrg more.

    Labour, Conservative and Lib Dems making up the other half support the Union.

    About a third of SNP voters support Brexit. Scottish WWC voters have substantially switched to the SNP. The Labour rump and Lib Dems making up a quarter of the vote are enthusiastic Remainers and blame the Tories (another quarter) for Brexit. Tories were initially split but are now on board.

    Now for the next independence referendum. Regardless of how they voted for Brexit the Indy half will vote and campaign for independence with enthusiasm. The Tory quarter will vote and campaign for the Union with enthusiasm. The Labour and LD quarter may vote for the Union but they won't campaign with the Tories. This makes the Union campaign a Tory campaign, which isn't a good position for o it to be in

    Some Scots are voting SNP because they are the closest thing to old Labour and most likely to pursue a particular social agenda within the UK, rather than in support of independence.

    According to this poll, a quarter of 2015 SNP voters do not support Scottish independence

    http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/ditypa75v5/TimesScotlandResults_161129_W.pdf
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    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496

    perdix said:

    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    Indyref2 cannot take place without the permission of the Westminster government. Sturgeon may decide to hold one but it would not have legal force.

    I would suggest the one way to make sure Scotland eventually votes for Independence is for Westminster to refuse to allow a referendum.
    Sturgeon won't call for one unless polling shows demand for one. And in my opinion, whilst many Scots like to think of themselves as pro-European; they're not actually particularly wedded to the EU. They will wait and see how it turns out.
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    justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527
    I voted for Brexit and have no regrets at having done so. Nevertheless it does occur to me that the objectives that Theresa May has in mind and any deal reached on the basis of them would not bind a future government. If the UK were to have a change of government in 2020 or 2025 there would be nothing to prevent that new Administration from then approaching the EU and saying 'We would now like to negotiate re-entry into the Single Market'.
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    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    edited January 2017
    justin124 said:

    I voted for Brexit and have no regrets at having done so. Nevertheless it does occur to me that the objectives that Theresa May has in mind and any deal reached on the basis of them would not bind a future government. If the UK were to have a change of government in 2020 or 2025 there would be nothing to prevent that new Administration from then approaching the EU and saying 'We would now like to negotiate re-entry into the Single Market'.

    And convince the public that it is worth £10bn a year, unlimited immigration, the loss of freedom to deal with the vast majority of the world and so on. It would also have to convince the public to ditch the pound.

    It seems fairly probable to me that we will see Norwegian levels of EU rejection not too long after departure. The extreme europhile tendency seems to be 25% at most.
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    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,758
    MTimT said:

    For those who have taken the time to read the CETA, if the UK just asked for that, and negotiated something reasonable re the City, what would be the areas where the UK suffered the most from withdrawing from the Single Market?

    I defy anyone to read the 1600 pages of CETA, most of those pages being restrictions and exceptions, much more on the Canadian side than the EU one. Although the delay in agreement nhas been presented as EU obstruction to Canadian reasonableness, Canada is actually quite protectionist. A lot of the protectionism is at the provincial level.

    If Britain says whatever, to a lot of the stuff Canada objected to, there's a possibility of bringing in the agreement quicker, although I can't see it being done in a two year timeframe. I suspect there will be several years at least where we are out of the EU but without a full-scale PTA in place. This will probably have a knock on our WTO schedule negotiations. I don't see a transition agreement covering it. There will be several uncomfortable years of uncertainty, I suspect.
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    justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527
    chestnut said:

    justin124 said:

    I voted for Brexit and have no regrets at having done so. Nevertheless it does occur to me that the objectives that Theresa May has in mind and any deal reached on the basis of them would not bind a future government. If the UK were to have a change of government in 2020 or 2025 there would be nothing to prevent that new Administration from then approaching the EU and saying 'We would now like to negotiate re-entry into the Single Market'.

    And convince the public that it is worth £10bn a year, unlimited immigration, the loss of freedom to deal with the vast majority of the world and so on. It would also have to convince the public to ditch the pound.
    It would not be bound to call another referendum. Entering the Single Market need not be dependent on adopting the Euro - any more than our continued membership post Brexit would require us to do that.
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    MarkHopkinsMarkHopkins Posts: 5,584

    new thread

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    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    edited January 2017

    perdix said:

    John_M said:

    Personally, I think this makes Indyref2 more likely.
    Indyref2 cannot take place without the permission of the Westminster government. Sturgeon may decide to hold one but it would not have legal force.

    I would suggest the one way to make sure Scotland eventually votes for Independence is for Westminster to refuse to allow a referendum.
    The latest polling implies that Scotland has referendum fatigue and really does not want the SNP to keep banging on about it, at least for a while.

    Coincidentally, Reuters ran a piece about it today: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-scotland-idUKKBN1532JB?il=0

    I'd be surprised if we saw a referendum in this parliament. Maybe 2020-2025 depending on the way Scotland votes in 2020. It seems reasonable to just wait and see what materialises first.
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    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,758
    chestnut said:

    FF43 said:

    On the Indy / Brexit splits in Scotland in very rough numbers:

    About half, voting SNP or Green, support independence. Former Labour voters that support independence have now switched to the SNP and so aren't Labour avrg more.

    Labour, Conservative and Lib Dems making up the other half support the Union.

    About a third of SNP voters support Brexit. Scottish WWC voters have substantially switched to the SNP. The Labour rump and Lib Dems making up a quarter of the vote are enthusiastic Remainers and blame the Tories (another quarter) for Brexit. Tories were initially split but are now on board.

    Now for the next independence referendum. Regardless of how they voted for Brexit the Indy half will vote and campaign for independence with enthusiasm. The Tory quarter will vote and campaign for the Union with enthusiasm. The Labour and LD quarter may vote for the Union but they won't campaign with the Tories. This makes the Union campaign a Tory campaign, which isn't a good position for o it to be in

    Some Scots are voting SNP because they are the closest thing to old Labour and most likely to pursue a particular social agenda within the UK, rather than in support of independence.

    According to this poll, a quarter of 2015 SNP voters do not support Scottish independence

    http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/ditypa75v5/TimesScotlandResults_161129_W.pdf
    23% supporting the SNP but not independence is very high. It's typically 10% to 15%, i.e.there's a 90% correlation between supporting independence and intending to vote SNP. This accords with the Holyrood voting intention figures in the same poll. Support for the SNP and independence fluctuate in step.Past voting doesn't guide you here.

    The 23% of Labour supporters who would vote for Brexit if they were asked again is much higher than I thought, and the same as for the SNP. I may need to adjust my analysis below.
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    Tor91Tor91 Posts: 3
    Sorry Alastair, not convinced.

    Firstly, what is the defeat that is being admitted? The message from Tory conference onward has been that we will leave the single market, and quite likely the customs union too. The PM has been clear on this for months; no aim has been surrendered so far. Don't really understand the amputation reference either - is Brexit supposed to be a wound? It flows relatively naturally from the June vote.

    Secondly, HSBC et al have a good track record of threatening job moves - remember the mooted plans to relocate HQ to Hong Kong a few years ago. I don't doubt that some jobs will move, but again this is the natural result of Brexit. The govt's approach doesn't make a lot of difference (unless there was a concerted push for a finance-friendly exit, but anything short of full EU membership is a poor outcome for banking).

    The third point re timing - please see rebuttal one above. Behind the stated objectives/principles all the main measures WERE known at Con conference. This speech was not "new" and as such didn't represent a delay. No organisation simply stands still for 3 months, and no senior level meetings decide nothing for 12 consecutive weeks running. Government and cabinet are no different. Maybe we are seeing movement now because there were internal disagreements to be ironed out; maybe it's because the feelers were being put out in Europe and elsewhere to gauge what might be on offer for trade and other areas. Whichever, that time certainly would not have been wasted.

    Finally, the mood with Europe has been icy since very shortly after June - and there aren't many counter factuals where that wouldn't be the case.

    But I am interested - what DO you want to see from negotiations and Brexit? Is it just something that preserves tribe status quo as much as possible, or is there a distinct vision you believe govt should (and might realistically) aim for?
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    surbitonsurbiton Posts: 13,549
    chestnut said:

    FF43 said:

    On the Indy / Brexit splits in Scotland in very rough numbers:

    About half, voting SNP or Green, support independence. Former Labour voters that support independence have now switched to the SNP and so aren't Labour avrg more.

    Labour, Conservative and Lib Dems making up the other half support the Union.

    About a third of SNP voters support Brexit. Scottish WWC voters have substantially switched to the SNP. The Labour rump and Lib Dems making up a quarter of the vote are enthusiastic Remainers and blame the Tories (another quarter) for Brexit. Tories were initially split but are now on board.

    Now for the next independence referendum. Regardless of how they voted for Brexit the Indy half will vote and campaign for independence with enthusiasm. The Tory quarter will vote and campaign for the Union with enthusiasm. The Labour and LD quarter may vote for the Union but they won't campaign with the Tories. This makes the Union campaign a Tory campaign, which isn't a good position for o it to be in

    Some Scots are voting SNP because they are the closest thing to old Labour and most likely to pursue a particular social agenda within the UK, rather than in support of independence.

    According to this poll, a quarter of 2015 SNP voters do not support Scottish independence

    http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/ditypa75v5/TimesScotlandResults_161129_W.pdf
    27% of those who voted Labour in GE2015 now says they will vote Tory. This is coming out of Labour indecision. You cannot be half-in , half-out.

    First we allowed the SNP on to our patch re: Left politics. Now, we have allowed the Tories to move in on Unionism. This is silliness in the extreme.

    There are two options: Hard centre-left politics and independence or,

    Hard centre-left politics and remaining part of the Union.

    But both are plausible. As long as it is carried out with conviction - not in a half hearted manner.

    I prefer the first even though there will be a fight with the SNP because these are the only people who will vote Labour.

    The Unionists will ultimately vote Tory.
This discussion has been closed.