There's tweets out there saying there's a poll in the Stoke Sentinel showing UKIP winning the by election. It's a voodoo poll conducted on the Stoke Sentinel website.
On THE big story. Pie-gate is everything that's wrong about modern life, sport and media.
absolute;y agree. I was there. It was fun; the atmosphere was fun. The pitch invasion was fun; everyone was laughing about before and afterwards. Media are doom mongers.
On THE big story. Pie-gate is everything that's wrong about modern life, sport and media.
absolute;y agree. I was there. It was fun; the atmosphere was fun. The pitch invasion was fun; everyone was laughing about before and afterwards. Media are doom mongers.
Doesn't the fact it was all staged make it less fun for you?
Baseballcrank Note that Trump lost ground for the GOP in nearly all the states gaining population, gained in most of the losers. https://t.co/dWze4DJVkj
To me that looks like he gained ground in four of the six states gaining in population/votes in 2020?
Am local, my feeling Labour comfortable, Cons or Lib Dem second/fourth either way, UKIP poor third. PS Bully for Jean-Claude, we get what wee deserve after the mistake we made at the Referendum. There is always a price to pay for recklessness..
Who cares what that drunken buffoon says?
Always highly intelligent to dish out gratuitous insults to your negotiating partner, which is why the last meetings have ended in shouting matches. The UK had better grow up or it will not just get "salt" but a whipping with the cat beforehand. You cannot get WTO without approval from Russia, which is why there is now genuine panic in Brussels that the UK could do themselves incredible harm. Even the French are now deeply concerned that the Brits are going to smash themselves up so badly that the EU will face a failed state.
You do your case no favours with hyperbole like "failed state." You ought to have realised that from the Referendum campaign.
The UK is a failed state. What other developed country is facing a second bid within 5 years from within to break up the country?
Presumably you're leaving for somewhere more successful, then?
I'm staying for somewhere more successful - the Kingdom of England as a full member state of the EU.
I couldn't decide between:
Vapid bilge Total delusion
Or
Over my dead body.
So I've gone for all three.
We have crossed swords recently, but thanks for reminding me of Vapid Bilge
Am local, my feeling Labour comfortable, Cons or Lib Dem second/fourth either way, UKIP poor third. PS Bully for Jean-Claude, we get what wee deserve after the mistake we made at the Referendum. There is always a price to pay for recklessness..
Who cares what that drunken buffoon says?
Always highly intelligent to dish out gratuitous insults to your negotiating partner, which is why the last meetings have ended in shouting matches. The UK had better grow up or it will not just get "salt" but a whipping with the cat beforehand. You cannot get WTO without approval from Russia, which is why there is now genuine panic in Brussels that the UK could do themselves incredible harm. Even the French are now deeply concerned that the Brits are going to smash themselves up so badly that the EU will face a failed state.
You do your case no favours with hyperbole like "failed state." You ought to have realised that from the Referendum campaign.
The UK is a failed state. What other developed country is facing a second bid within 5 years from within to break up the country?
Presumably you're leaving for somewhere more successful, then?
I'm staying for somewhere more successful - the Kingdom of England as a full member state of the EU.
I couldn't decide between:
Vapid bilge Total delusion
Or
Over my dead body.
So I've gone for all three.
We have crossed swords recently, but thanks for reminding me of Vapid Bilge
It's a bizarre world. I stood next to John Bercow for an hour last night at the Footie and today I stood next to Jamie Rednapp and Freddie Flintoff for an hour at a funeral.
As you were standing, did you watch Sutton v Arsenal?
yes, as I could see over Bercow's head! he was with an 8 year old, hard to tell them apart! He was jolly all night.
The PB haters had a hard on and were posting that he wasn't at Hillsborough. Why don't they check their sources before posting lies? Sad.
Good job none are journalists of any sort
"Police released a statement saying that the Ukip leader had spoken to investigators. It said: “Operation Resolve can confirm that yesterday we spoke to Mr Nuttall and have taken a witness statement from him. Our role is to investigate the causes of the Hillsborough disaster and to establish whether any individual or organisation is criminally culpable and, in that context, Mr Nuttall met criteria for taking a statement. It would be inappropriate for us to comment any further.”"
On THE big story. Pie-gate is everything that's wrong about modern life, sport and media.
absolute;y agree. I was there. It was fun; the atmosphere was fun. The pitch invasion was fun; everyone was laughing about before and afterwards. Media are doom mongers.
Doesn't the fact it was all staged make it less fun for you?
No. It's was a laugh. The best bit on the night was 2 fans brought their cameras in and pretended to be official photographers. They got a bird's eye view of the game. A few fans knew what was going on. When the fake chaps were found out they hit the deck and rolled around pretending to be on an army maneuver. Then they ran into the crowd and escaped. Comical. So was the stripper, skinny bloke, pants and boots. The reserve keeper who ate the pie was pre-match messing around in goal pretending to miss the ball because he was too fat. It was fun fun fun. And fans were smoking and swearing and laughing. Watching Arsenal at The Emirates is dull. That's why it is called The Library. Non-league is where it is at!
I reckon Ukip will stay just where they are in the opinion polls, regardless of the outcome in Stoke. ~12% may actually be their floor now.
HOWEVER... if I'm wrong and support for Ukip begins to decline, does anyone have any real idea of where those voters will go - if they back any other party at all? There could just be a fall in turnout and a significant rise in support for the Stay-at-Homes...
On THE big story. Pie-gate is everything that's wrong about modern life, sport and media.
absolute;y agree. I was there. It was fun; the atmosphere was fun. The pitch invasion was fun; everyone was laughing about before and afterwards. Media are doom mongers.
Doesn't the fact it was all staged make it less fun for you?
No. It's was a laugh. The best bit on the night was 2 fans brought their cameras in and pretended to be official photographers. They got a bird's eye view of the game. A few fans knew what was going on. When the fake chaps were found out they hit the deck and rolled around pretending to be on an army maneuver. Then they ran into the crowd and escaped. Comical. So was the stripper, skinny bloke, pants and boots. The reserve keeper who ate the pie was pre-match messing around in goal pretending to miss the ball because he was too fat. It was fun fun fun. And fans were smoking and swearing and laughing. Watching Arsenal at The Emirates is dull. That's why it is called The Library. Non-league is where it is at!
"Watching Arsenal at The Emirates is dull. That's why it is called The Library. Non-league is where it is at"
I agree with that. I never go now, watching Premiership football live is for corporate morons, all seater stadia to blame. Non league or league 2 is more old school, I prefer it.
But the fact that the keeper ate the pie because he was told to makes it crap, not heartwarming.
EDIT: Is it called the Library? I thought that was Highbury?
Jeremy Corbyn has blamed the media for Labour's consistently bad opinion poll ratings. The Labour leader said his party was more successful at getting its message across on social media sites instead.
Mainly because Twitter/ Facebook are playthings of the left and are actively censoring sensible views.
Some of us pb coffin-dodgers can remember a time when David Cameron roamed the Earth and Conservative election success was credited to the party's mastery of social media.
That was then - Trump's victory in the USA has stirred a hornet's nest in the lat-left camp. As I have said before, social media is killing the left - it is providing positive feedback whereby all their more ludicrous ideas gain sufficient traction to become mainstream. Labour support is nosediving and the Democrats currently are wandering witless in the wilderness of USA politics.
Trump's victory -- by 3 million fewer votes than Hillary stacked up btw -- has discombobulated the right wing more than the left. For a start, he routed the GOP Establishment and for an encore, the Tea Party GOPpers. It turns out that support for the Tea Party was down to their NOTA status; not because of support for their wilder policies. On many social issues, I doubt you could get a fag paper between Hillary and the Donald. He seems relaxed about abortion and gays, and even wants Obamacare reformed and replaced rather than abolished. If he is to be impeached, it will be Republicans not Democrats.
Why would they (Dems) impeach him when they have a much higher chance of winning back Congress and the Presidency with Trump in charge than Mike Pence.
I reckon Ukip will stay just where they are in the opinion polls, regardless of the outcome in Stoke. ~12% may actually be their floor now.
HOWEVER... if I'm wrong and support for Ukip begins to decline, does anyone have any real idea of where those voters will go - if they back any other party at all? There could just be a fall in turnout and a significant rise in support for the Stay-at-Homes...
Aren't the immigration numbers out on Thursday? If they are no better than usual it should help the Kippers.
We could leave the EU and still have mass immigration if the government want it. If they do, UKIP will stay, if not they should die really.
The Sentinel alleged poll is hardly worth considering. It says it was taken over the last fortnight , not this weekend, says 30% are others or not vote when we expect maybe 70% to simply not vote. It is googled over the internet, seems little or no methodology or anything presumably. Very strange thing to do, especially from a reputable paper.
On THE big story. Pie-gate is everything that's wrong about modern life, sport and media.
absolute;y agree. I was there. It was fun; the atmosphere was fun. The pitch invasion was fun; everyone was laughing about before and afterwards. Media are doom mongers.
Doesn't the fact it was all staged make it less fun for you?
No. It's was a laugh. The best bit on the night was 2 fans brought their cameras in and pretended to be official photographers. They got a bird's eye view of the game. A few fans knew what was going on. When the fake chaps were found out they hit the deck and rolled around pretending to be on an army maneuver. Then they ran into the crowd and escaped. Comical. So was the stripper, skinny bloke, pants and boots. The reserve keeper who ate the pie was pre-match messing around in goal pretending to miss the ball because he was too fat. It was fun fun fun. And fans were smoking and swearing and laughing. Watching Arsenal at The Emirates is dull. That's why it is called The Library. Non-league is where it is at!
"Watching Arsenal at The Emirates is dull. That's why it is called The Library. Non-league is where it is at"
I agree with that. I never go now, watching Premiership football live is for corporate morons. Non league or league 2 is more old school, I prefer it.
But the fact that the keeper ate the pie because he was told to makes it crap, not heartwarming.
EDIT: Is it called the Library? I thought that was Highbury?
Nope. Never heard of them, is that a Depeche mode tribute act of some description?
Sadio Mane almost became a Tottenham player before joining Liverpool, only for Spurs' strict wage structure to scupper the deal.
The Senegalese forward left Southampton for Anfield in a £34million move in the summer but not before he had visited Spurs' Enfield training ground to discuss a move, The Times reports.
However, chairman Daniel Levy - notoriously a man to drive a hard bargain - needed to be convinced that it was worth meeting Mane's wage demands. And in the end, that proved impossible.
Am local, my feeling Labour comfortable, Cons or Lib Dem second/fourth either way, UKIP poor third. PS Bully for Jean-Claude, we get what wee deserve after the mistake we made at the Referendum. There is always a price to pay for recklessness..
Who cares what that drunken buffoon says?
Always highly intelligent to dish out gratuitous insults to your negotiating partner, which is why the last meetings have ended in shouting matches. The UK had better grow up or it will not just get "salt" but a whipping with the cat beforehand. You cannot get WTO without approval from Russia, which is why there is now genuine panic in Brussels that the UK could do themselves incredible harm. Even the French are now deeply concerned that the Brits are going to smash themselves up so badly that the EU will face a failed state.
You do your case no favours with hyperbole like "failed state." You ought to have realised that from the Referendum campaign.
The UK is a failed state. What other developed country is facing a second bid within 5 years from within to break up the country?
Presumably you're leaving for somewhere more successful, then?
I'm staying for somewhere more successful - the Kingdom of England as a full member state of the EU.
I couldn't decide between:
Vapid bilge Total delusion
Or
Over my dead body.
So I've gone for all three.
We have crossed swords recently, but thanks for reminding me of Vapid Bilge
Probably my one enduring contribution to pb.
Too modest. There's also those posters who long for your antifrank "golden era" as if your second incarnation is a let down to former glories!
Nope. Never heard of them, is that a Depeche mode tribute act of some description?
Sadio Mane almost became a Tottenham player before joining Liverpool, only for Spurs' strict wage structure to scupper the deal.
The Senegalese forward left Southampton for Anfield in a £34million move in the summer but not before he had visited Spurs' Enfield training ground to discuss a move, The Times reports.
However, chairman Daniel Levy - notoriously a man to drive a hard bargain - needed to be convinced that it was worth meeting Mane's wage demands. And in the end, that proved impossible.
DARK LORD RISES Labour grandee Peter Mandelson reveals he is working to undermine ‘manic’ Jeremy Corbyn every single day
The former spin chief said the party was on “life support” as the veteran socialist “literally has no idea in the 21st Century how to conduct himself as a leader of a party.”
Just going to do my final phoning session for Copeland and Stoke and lots of chic young French expats queuing round the block at Methodist Central Hall to hear Emmanuel Macron who is due to be speaking there this evening
Just going to do my final phoning session for Copeland and Stoke and lots of chic young French expats queuing round the block at Methodist Central Hall to hear Emmanuel Macron who is due to be speaking there this evening
I reckon Ukip will stay just where they are in the opinion polls, regardless of the outcome in Stoke. ~12% may actually be their floor now.
HOWEVER... if I'm wrong and support for Ukip begins to decline, does anyone have any real idea of where those voters will go - if they back any other party at all? There could just be a fall in turnout and a significant rise in support for the Stay-at-Homes...
Aren't the immigration numbers out on Thursday? If they are no better than usual it should help the Kippers.
We could leave the EU and still have mass immigration if the government want it. If they do, UKIP will stay, if not they should die really.
UKIP could survive as an anti-immigrant party post Brexit, as a sort of British FN, but that would probably be a minority interest.
I don't think migration figures will go below 200 000 net inflow per year post Brexit.
Perhaps the most common prediction error is predicting change. Things really do carry on much the same, most of the time. Just as Brexit has not crashed either our or the EU economy, it is probably not going to dent migration much either.
Just going to do my final phoning session for Copeland and Stoke and lots of chic young French expats queuing round the block at Methodist Central Hall to hear Emmanuel Macron who is due to be speaking there this evening
Are you phoning random numbers from the phonebook?
Just going to do my final phoning session for Copeland and Stoke and lots of chic young French expats queuing round the block at Methodist Central Hall to hear Emmanuel Macron who is due to be speaking there this evening
Still quite close but Fillon now has a lead yes. I think you are right it will probably be Fillon v Le Pen in the runoff and anything could happen though even if Macron does not win it this time I think he would have a very strong chance in 2022 against whichever of those two wins in May
Just going to do my final phoning session for Copeland and Stoke and lots of chic young French expats queuing round the block at Methodist Central Hall to hear Emmanuel Macron who is due to be speaking there this evening
Are you phoning random numbers from the phonebook?
Just going to do my final phoning session for Copeland and Stoke and lots of chic young French expats queuing round the block at Methodist Central Hall to hear Emmanuel Macron who is due to be speaking there this evening
Hope it goes well. Keep us informed. Is it really marginal?
Just going to do my final phoning session for Copeland and Stoke and lots of chic young French expats queuing round the block at Methodist Central Hall to hear Emmanuel Macron who is due to be speaking there this evening
Hope it goes well. Keep us informed. Is it really marginal?
Will give you a final broad overview later about to start now
We could leave the EU and still have mass immigration if the government want it. If they do, UKIP will stay, if not they should die really.
It's interesting that you support a political party whose only role you see as imposing constraints on the behaviour of mainstream government. All things considered you have a lot in common with Jean-Claude Juncker really.
I reckon Ukip will stay just where they are in the opinion polls, regardless of the outcome in Stoke. ~12% may actually be their floor now.
HOWEVER... if I'm wrong and support for Ukip begins to decline, does anyone have any real idea of where those voters will go - if they back any other party at all? There could just be a fall in turnout and a significant rise in support for the Stay-at-Homes...
Aren't the immigration numbers out on Thursday? If they are no better than usual it should help the Kippers.
We could leave the EU and still have mass immigration if the government want it. If they do, UKIP will stay, if not they should die really.
I'm not so sure. They seem to be filling a gap in the market for socially conservative voters who can't stomach Labour yet are deeply reluctant to back the Tories. Given the predilections of most of the Parliamentary Labour Party and the Labour membership alike, there seems little chance of this changing any time soon.
We could leave the EU and still have mass immigration if the government want it. If they do, UKIP will stay, if not they should die really.
It's interesting that you support a political party whose only role you see as imposing constraints on the behaviour of mainstream government. All things considered you have a lot in common with Jean-Claude Juncker really.
We could leave the EU and still have mass immigration if the government want it. If they do, UKIP will stay, if not they should die really.
It's interesting that you support a political party whose only role you see as imposing constraints on the behaviour of mainstream government. All things considered you have a lot in common with Jean-Claude Juncker really.
so you now see Juncker as someone who wishes to constrain mainstream governments
Can someone explain why the government is opposed to heterosexual couples having civil partnerships? Is there a cost associated with it? It seems bizarre to me.
Can someone explain why the government is opposed to heterosexual couples having civil partnerships? Is there a cost associated with it? It seems bizarre to me.
Can someone explain why the government is opposed to heterosexual couples having civil partnerships? Is there a cost associated with it? It seems bizarre to me.
A portion of the gay community groups are strongly opposed to civil partnerships including hetrosexual couples. To the extent that when the gay marriage bill went through, an amendment to allow hetrosexual couple to utilise civil partnerships was characterised as a wrecking amendment. Essentially they see civil partnerships as "their property".
So, any attempt to change the situation will stir up a fair amount of anger - including intimations that it is anti-gay.
Regulars will know I've followed previous updates in the public sector debt forecasts closely, and, (new job notwithstanding) this is no exception.
The ONS has revised government borrowing in the year to date down by a staggering FIVE BILLION. £3bn is attributable to changes in the way that government receipts are recorded, although it appears that the Exchequer has under-recorded receipts for ten years or more, so this isn't the sort of revision - like the housing association changes - where the debt was already there and has been brought onto the books. That still leaves and enormous £2.2bn revision to central government spending.
An apparent increase year-on-year in January ("other") spending (reducing +£2bn in receipts down to a surplus of just +£0.3bn) also looks suspect in light of recent revisions, i.e. things might be even better than the current numbers suggest.
Boosted by all of that the numbers look much healthier than they did yesterday.
2015/16 YTD £62.9bn (itself lower than we thought yesterday) 2016/17 YTD £49.3bn Reduction £13.6bn
2015/16 full year £71.7bn Reduction £13.6bn 2016/17 full year on this measure: £58.1bn (compared to current OBR forecast £68.1!) Plausible further recovery (and my working estimate): £56.1bn
Another note on the revisions: yesterday, we thought that the government had missed the OBR's full year forecast last year by £3.2bn. As we now are told, it actually hit it by £500m (but note the OBR revises its forecasts in year; so the original forecast will still have been missed). Insert @TSE comment about George here
Can someone explain why the government is opposed to heterosexual couples having civil partnerships? Is there a cost associated with it? It seems bizarre to me.
A portion of the gay community groups are strongly opposed to civil partnerships including hetrosexual couples. To the extent that when the gay marriage bill went through, an amendment to allow hetrosexual couple to utilise civil partnerships was characterised as a wrecking amendment. Essentially they see civil partnerships as "their property".
So, any attempt to change the situation will stir up a fair amount of anger - including intimations that it is anti-gay.
I'm not aware of any substantial opposition from LGBT groups.
The main opposition comes from the christian right who are massively upset about allowing people with the same genitals to marry. They're worried providing a straight alternative to marriage would undermine their special, God given institution even further.
I'm not sure the opposition to straight civil partnerships is particularly fierce, nor the desire for them particularly widespread, though.
Can someone explain why the government is opposed to heterosexual couples having civil partnerships? Is there a cost associated with it? It seems bizarre to me.
A portion of the gay community groups are strongly opposed to civil partnerships including hetrosexual couples. To the extent that when the gay marriage bill went through, an amendment to allow hetrosexual couple to utilise civil partnerships was characterised as a wrecking amendment. Essentially they see civil partnerships as "their property".
So, any attempt to change the situation will stir up a fair amount of anger - including intimations that it is anti-gay.
Presumably while gays have civil partnership and straights have marriage, they can be seen as equal in a nice British fudge sort of way. If straights have civil partnerships as well, then there is a two-tier system and gays only have access to the lower tier. Is that right?
Can someone explain why the government is opposed to heterosexual couples having civil partnerships? Is there a cost associated with it? It seems bizarre to me.
A portion of the gay community groups are strongly opposed to civil partnerships including hetrosexual couples. To the extent that when the gay marriage bill went through, an amendment to allow hetrosexual couple to utilise civil partnerships was characterised as a wrecking amendment. Essentially they see civil partnerships as "their property".
So, any attempt to change the situation will stir up a fair amount of anger - including intimations that it is anti-gay.
Presumably while gays have civil partnership and straights have marriage, they can be seen as equal in a nice British fudge sort of way. If straights have civil partnerships as well, then there is a two-tier system and gays only have access to the lower tier. Is that right?
No, full same-sex marriage was introduced by the coalition under Cameron.
Can someone explain why the government is opposed to heterosexual couples having civil partnerships? Is there a cost associated with it? It seems bizarre to me.
A portion of the gay community groups are strongly opposed to civil partnerships including hetrosexual couples. To the extent that when the gay marriage bill went through, an amendment to allow hetrosexual couple to utilise civil partnerships was characterised as a wrecking amendment. Essentially they see civil partnerships as "their property".
So, any attempt to change the situation will stir up a fair amount of anger - including intimations that it is anti-gay.
Presumably while gays have civil partnership and straights have marriage, they can be seen as equal in a nice British fudge sort of way. If straights have civil partnerships as well, then there is a two-tier system and gays only have access to the lower tier. Is that right?
Civil partnerships for everyone should be the civic arrangement. Religious marriage, carrying no weight in law, for whosever the church wants to marry
Civil partnerships for everyone should be the civic arrangement.
That's what we have, except it's called 'marriage'. For some bizarre reason, some people don't like the word, and think that the law should be altered to accomodate their odd predilictions in vocabulary.
Comments
Others doing well
20 metro areas are home to six-in-ten unauthorized immigrants in U.S. https://t.co/n2VYmwBFFe https://t.co/Gp9z3C0B5j
https://twitter.com/peoplesmomentum/status/834034616205975552
https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/834089774252179456
Good job none are journalists of any sort
"Police released a statement saying that the Ukip leader had spoken to investigators. It said: “Operation Resolve can confirm that yesterday we spoke to Mr Nuttall and have taken a witness statement from him. Our role is to investigate the causes of the Hillsborough disaster and to establish whether any individual or organisation is criminally culpable and, in that context, Mr Nuttall met criteria for taking a statement. It would be inappropriate for us to comment any further.”"
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/21/paul-nuttall-says-he-has-spent-three-hours-giving-hillsborough-statement
HOWEVER... if I'm wrong and support for Ukip begins to decline, does anyone have any real idea of where those voters will go - if they back any other party at all? There could just be a fall in turnout and a significant rise in support for the Stay-at-Homes...
I agree with that. I never go now, watching Premiership football live is for corporate morons, all seater stadia to blame. Non league or league 2 is more old school, I prefer it.
But the fact that the keeper ate the pie because he was told to makes it crap, not heartwarming.
EDIT: Is it called the Library? I thought that was Highbury?
We could leave the EU and still have mass immigration if the government want it. If they do, UKIP will stay, if not they should die really.
Keeper is a genuine pie eater. Good luck to him
The Senegalese forward left Southampton for Anfield in a £34million move in the summer but not before he had visited Spurs' Enfield training ground to discuss a move, The Times reports.
However, chairman Daniel Levy - notoriously a man to drive a hard bargain - needed to be convinced that it was worth meeting Mane's wage demands. And in the end, that proved impossible.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4214574/Tottenham-signed-Sadio-Mane-instead-Liverpool.html
Not a bad a rick as the time Spurs turned down the opportunity to sign Luis Suarez because they thought he wasn't good enough.
The former spin chief said the party was on “life support” as the veteran socialist “literally has no idea in the 21st Century how to conduct himself as a leader of a party.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2920983/labour-grandee-peter-mandelson-reveals-he-is-working-to-undermine-manic-jeremy-corbyn-every-single-day/
http://www.lefigaro.fr/elections/presidentielles/2017/02/21/35003-20170221ARTFIG00254-presidentielle-fillon-repasse-devant-macron-dans-un-sondage.php
I don't think migration figures will go below 200 000 net inflow per year post Brexit.
Perhaps the most common prediction error is predicting change. Things really do carry on much the same, most of the time. Just as Brexit has not crashed either our or the EU economy, it is probably not going to dent migration much either.
Decision to lay Macron a little at 2.78 earlier today vindicated
Edited extra bit: he's still 3.5 on Ladbrokes, the others being 2.87.
Kipper
https://twitter.com/ashpin0794/status/834085412515803136
EnglishTories, just like every other unpopular thing that ever happens in Scotland...?http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/02/george-osborne-blame-business-rates-fiasco/
weve been telling you that all year
So, any attempt to change the situation will stir up a fair amount of anger - including intimations that it is anti-gay.
The ONS has revised government borrowing in the year to date down by a staggering FIVE BILLION. £3bn is attributable to changes in the way that government receipts are recorded, although it appears that the Exchequer has under-recorded receipts for ten years or more, so this isn't the sort of revision - like the housing association changes - where the debt was already there and has been brought onto the books. That still leaves and enormous £2.2bn revision to central government spending.
An apparent increase year-on-year in January ("other") spending (reducing +£2bn in receipts down to a surplus of just +£0.3bn) also looks suspect in light of recent revisions, i.e. things might be even better than the current numbers suggest.
Boosted by all of that the numbers look much healthier than they did yesterday.
2015/16 YTD £62.9bn (itself lower than we thought yesterday)
2016/17 YTD £49.3bn
Reduction £13.6bn
2015/16 full year £71.7bn
Reduction £13.6bn
2016/17 full year on this measure: £58.1bn (compared to current OBR forecast £68.1!)
Plausible further recovery (and my working estimate): £56.1bn
Another note on the revisions: yesterday, we thought that the government had missed the OBR's full year forecast last year by £3.2bn. As we now are told, it actually hit it by £500m (but note the OBR revises its forecasts in year; so the original forecast will still have been missed). Insert @TSE comment about George here
Today's news has brought forward quite considerably the day when the UK will be running a surplus.
The main opposition comes from the christian right who are massively upset about allowing people with the same genitals to marry. They're worried providing a straight alternative to marriage would undermine their special, God given institution even further.
I'm not sure the opposition to straight civil partnerships is particularly fierce, nor the desire for them particularly widespread, though.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/26/david-cameron-award-same-sex-marriage-pinknews
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