politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Chances are that following the betting on by-election days won’t tell you anything and could be costly
Above is a chart showing the Betfair exchange prices on the day of December’s Richmond Park by-election. As can be seen those who were following the betting for their inspiration would have got it wrong until about 11:30 p.m.
Betting markets tell you what gamblers think is going to happen, not what is going to happen.
I'd be inclined to take a little more notice of price movements in Stoke Central, which is a relatively easy seat for parties to get a handle on owing to its compact size, than Copeland, which is the reverse. But I won't be taking very much notice of either.
I'll mainly be looking out for off-the-record comments by Lib Dems.
interesting that the Dunfermline by-election of February 2007 (actually Dunfermline and West Fife in February 2006) went from Lib Dems getting 35%+ in 2006 and 2010 to LOSING THEIR DEPOSITS in 2015. #BigLeagueLosers
Lots of people who thought they'd get away with it are moaning like crazy now.
"A total of 214 people involved in protests on Inauguration Day in downtown Washington have been indicted on felony rioting charges. A grand jury in D.C. charged five individuals Tuesday with felony rioting in addition to the 209 other defendants indicted on felony rioting charges earlier in February, CNN reported.
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Well, it's nice to have moved on from isnttheweatherbadbutwenorthernersaretough.com
A tale of two constituencies and racecourses:
Huntingdon (former MP John Major) - racing today abandoned due to strong winds. Sedgefield (former MP Tony Blair) - racing goes ahead.
30 years ago (roughly), I was pounding the streets of Greenwich in the rain working for Rosie Barnes. Thoroughly miserable day but it all ended well as the Conservative vote disintegrated - in truth, Labour's vote didn't fall that much from 1983 but the Conservatives (who had run Labour close back then) slumped to a deposit-losing third (I think it was still 12.5%).
It seemed at the time to be a big event and with the Truro by election a couple of weeks later famously got Norman Tebbit so flustered he spent a whole day attacking the Alliance which only increased the party's poll numbers.
In the end, of course, it made no difference at all. The Alliance's own contradictions tore it apart, Margaret Thatcher won a second landslide and Rosie Barnes sank into obscurity along with the rest of the SDP though the diaspora found their way into and eventually took over both the Labour parties (Blair via the likes of David Marquand) and the Conservatives (David Cameron via the likes of Chris Grayling and Danny Finkelstein).
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
McIRA must be just about as electorally poisonous at Jezza ?
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
McIRA must be just about as electorally poisonous at Jezza ?
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
McIRA must be just about as electorally poisonous at Jezza ?
He's Jezza minus the 'nice old man who grows his own veg' act that seems to have some people fooled.
If they're after sub-20% poll ratings, McDonnell's the man to do it.
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
McIRA must be just about as electorally poisonous at Jezza ?
Yes. But he's a bit more competent than Corbyn.
Yes. He might shore up confidence in general ability, even if he has his own demons for any GE.
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
McIRA must be just about as electorally poisonous at Jezza ?
Yes. But he's a bit more competent than Corbyn.
Not nearly as loved by the general membership though.
If Corbyn was to agree a deal to put him in by May, the moderates would have a decent chance of toppling McDonnell in 2019 say.
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
McIRA must be just about as electorally poisonous at Jezza ?
He's Jezza minus the 'nice old man who grows his own veg' act that seems to have some people fooled.
If they're after sub-20% poll ratings, McDonnell's the man to do it.
The fact there is even vaguely serious talk of McIRA leading Labour shows what a state the Labour Party is in. A terrorist supporting Marxist enterist leading the Labour party, the sort of people Kinnock fought to rid the party of and a million miles from the electoral successful sensible sounding Blarites.
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
Please be McIRA, please. Think how well he'd go down in Birmingham, Warrington, Manchester...
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
McIRA must be just about as electorally poisonous at Jezza ?
Yes. But he's a bit more competent than Corbyn.
True, but the next election campaign with him as leader writes itself. Photos with Adams, photos with Livingstone, videos of quoting Mao at Osborne and throwing the little red book, uncharitable references to being in jail after Greenham Common marches, and to crown it all "It's about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table. The peace we have now is due to the action of the IRA."
Well, yes, but this is a party leader who refused to stand down when two-thirds of his MPs and most of his shadow cabinet said they had no confidence in him. So a little by-election loss in a county far away of which he knows nothing, and on a low turnout during a storm, is unlikely to shift him.
Much depends on how well-organised his party opponents are this time.
So he's almost certainly safe.
I think his opponents might have changed. Yes I'm looking at you John McDonnell.
Please be McIRA, please. Think how well he'd go down in Birmingham, Warrington, Manchester...
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
Yeah, I was just saying TSE spins things ad nauseum, I know it's his job to do that. Does it really matter how the Tories and Labour have tried to spin these elections? Unless there's a major shock and UKIP take Stoke and the Tories take Copeland, they'll be forgotten about by the end of next week. Richmond faded after a couple of days.
The fact there is even vaguely serious talk of McIRA leading Labour shows what a state the Labour Party is in. A terrorist supporting Marxist enterist leading the Labour party, the sort of people Kinnock fought to rid the party of and a million miles from the electoral successful sensible sounding Blarites.
Tipped at 50/1 by me when Jeremy Corbyn first took office:
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
UKIP just say they think they'll win! #honestpolitics
You can see how inexperienced canvassers might get that impression. Lots of people open the door when you knock, talk to you pleasantly and say they are going to vote for you. You walk away with a warm feeling, and they got you off their doorstep in the shortest possible time, and can go back to the telly.
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
UKIP just say they think they'll win! #honestpolitics
UKIP telling me they've lost. Actually they don't have the data, but they get the feeling. They don't have a postal vote operation. PVs can be as high as 40%
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
UKIP just say they think they'll win! #honestpolitics
UKIP telling me they've lost. Actually they don't have the data, but they get the feeling. They don't have a postal vote operation. PVs can be as high as 40%
Well Banks, Farage and one other senior Kipper are saying they think they'll win, but I wasn't particularly talking about Stoke but the Euros, Clacton, Rochester and some GE seats, Farage just said I reckon we will win... and he bets on the results too!
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
Yeah, I was just saying TSE spins things ad nauseum, I know it's his job to do that. Does it really matter how the Tories and Labour have tried to spin these elections? Unless there's a major shock and UKIP take Stoke and the Tories take Copeland, they'll be forgotten about by the end of next week. Richmond faded after a couple of days.
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Jack Dromey calling Stoke Central a very tight marginal ?
What does it matter? He could call it anything he likes. Most sensible people know it's a safe Labour seat. I guess if people keep saying Labour have run some kind of brilliant deception, then I guess the 'spin' must work. As your comments demonstrate.
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
Yeah, I was just saying TSE spins things ad nauseum, I know it's his job to do that. Does it really matter how the Tories and Labour have tried to spin these elections? Unless there's a major shock and UKIP take Stoke and the Tories take Copeland, they'll be forgotten about by the end of next week. Richmond faded after a couple of days.
Spin is constant, but some spin is more blatant and in need of calling out than others. Calling Stoke a tight marginal, when by any assessment of its history and composition it should be safe when Lab are in opposition in particular, is especially egregious an example of spin, and any attempt to portray it a triumph under difficult circumstances the same.
It's relevant for the Tories because if they overplay their hand and fail, it will puncture their own narrative - in itself nothing so small is significant, but it adds to the cumulative narrative of politics in both cases.
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Jack Dromey calling Stoke Central a very tight marginal ?
What does it matter? He could call it anything he likes. Most sensible people know it's a safe Labour seat. I guess if people keep saying Labour have run some kind of brilliant deception, then I guess the 'spin' must work. As your comments demonstrate.
The vast majority of the non politically obsessed probably have no idea what the usual vote is in either constituency, if someone in a suit appears on the TV and says that its a marginal seat, they will probably believe him absent someone else yelling "Liar" around the same time.
The fact there is even vaguely serious talk of McIRA leading Labour shows what a state the Labour Party is in. A terrorist supporting Marxist enterist leading the Labour party, the sort of people Kinnock fought to rid the party of and a million miles from the electoral successful sensible sounding Blarites.
He's the favoured successor of the young middle class hobby socialist.
Our famiily YMCHS was somewhat surprised when his grandmother explained that his track record IRO Northern Ireland would mean those who lived through the PIRA bombing campaign of the 70s and 80s (i.e. anyone over 45) would be disinclined to vote for him.
Actually, his granny is from Lancashire, so she put it a great deal less politely than that. And she's a Liberal Democrat.
Harry Cole Wow, not a single Labour backbencher has bothered to turn up to the Commons debate about historic prosecutions of British troops. https://t.co/XMFgPeUEto
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Jack Dromey calling Stoke Central a very tight marginal ?
What does it matter? He could call it anything he likes. Most sensible people know it's a safe Labour seat.
So why are the party pretending otherwise? What word other than spin would you prefer, its the managed presentation of fact and opinion in order to advance a particular view or cause (eg, trying to encourage any waverers that they had better come out or else UKIP might snatch it).
As long as outright lies are not told there's nothing disreputable about it particularly, but it is known parties try to make by-elections seem more significant than they are all the time - claiming a win in a safe seat says something about the country - and claiming they are not sure they will win is therefore noteworthy.
The rumours could have been spread by Labour to make sure Tories who don't like the look of the weather say 'Oh well no need to bother as its 4,000 lead'.
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Jack Dromey calling Stoke Central a very tight marginal ?
What does it matter? He could call it anything he likes. Most sensible people know it's a safe Labour seat.
So why are the party pretending otherwise? What word other than spin would you prefer, its the managed presentation of fact and opinion in order to advance a particular view or cause (eg, trying to encourage any waverers that they had better come out or else UKIP might snatch it).
As long as outright lies are not told there's nothing disreputable about it particularly, but it is known parties try to make by-elections seem more significant than they are all the time - claiming a win in a safe seat says something about the country - and claiming they are not sure they will win is therefore noteworthy.
Sensible people can discern the difference, that's all I'm saying.
The rumours could have been spread by Labour to make sure Tories who don't like the look of the weather say 'Oh well no need to bother as its 4,000 lead'.
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
Yeah, I was just saying TSE spins things ad nauseum, I know it's his job to do that. Does it really matter how the Tories and Labour have tried to spin these elections? Unless there's a major shock and UKIP take Stoke and the Tories take Copeland, they'll be forgotten about by the end of next week. Richmond faded after a couple of days.
Spin is constant, but some spin is more blatant and in need of calling out than others. Calling Stoke a tight marginal, when by any assessment of its history and composition it should be safe when Lab are in opposition in particular, is especially egregious an example of spin, and any attempt to portray it a triumph under difficult circumstances the same.
It's relevant for the Tories because if they overplay their hand and fail, it will puncture their own narrative - in itself nothing so small is significant, but it adds to the cumulative narrative of politics in both cases.
TBF, there was one in Cameron's early days, where they hammered the by-election and lost badly. It was in the news for a week, but now I'm struggling to remember which one it was.
Campaign manager’s press briefings are for entertainment only, they are not a betting guide.
LOL. good point. MY Tory and UKIP friends are top of the party and they wouldn't bullshit me. Neither think they will win. I will let you know if they change opinion.
Quite a clever place to do this. Heat sources will be well screened from thermal cameras etc.
They probably got erm.. grassed.. up by the electric company, those big lights use a ton of power, and cycling them to match a day/night cycle is a bit obvious, and one of the thing electric companies are asked to look out for.
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
Yeah, I was just saying TSE spins things ad nauseum, I know it's his job to do that. Does it really matter how the Tories and Labour have tried to spin these elections? Unless there's a major shock and UKIP take Stoke and the Tories take Copeland, they'll be forgotten about by the end of next week. Richmond faded after a couple of days.
Spin is constant, but some spin is more blatant and in need of calling out than others. Calling Stoke a tight marginal, when by any assessment of its history and composition it should be safe when Lab are in opposition in particular, is especially egregious an example of spin, and any attempt to portray it a triumph under difficult circumstances the same.
It's relevant for the Tories because if they overplay their hand and fail, it will puncture their own narrative - in itself nothing so small is significant, but it adds to the cumulative narrative of politics in both cases.
TBF, there was one in Cameron's early days, where they hammered the by-election and lost badly. It was in the news for a week, but now I'm struggling to remember which one it was.
Harry Cole Wow, not a single Labour backbencher has bothered to turn up to the Commons debate about historic prosecutions of British troops. https://t.co/XMFgPeUEto
They hardly ever turn up to any defence-related debates.
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
The only spinning I see is from you, TSE.
You missed Labours campaign coordinator calling stoke a tight marginal?
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
Yeah, I was just saying TSE spins things ad nauseum, I know it's his job to do that. Does it really matter how the Tories and Labour have tried to spin these elections? Unless there's a major shock and UKIP take Stoke and the Tories take Copeland, they'll be forgotten about by the end of next week. Richmond faded after a couple of days.
Spin is constant, but some spin is more blatant and in need of calling out than others. Calling Stoke a tight marginal, when by any assessment of its history and composition it should be safe when Lab are in opposition in particular, is especially egregious an example of spin, and any attempt to portray it a triumph under difficult circumstances the same.
It's relevant for the Tories because if they overplay their hand and fail, it will puncture their own narrative - in itself nothing so small is significant, but it adds to the cumulative narrative of politics in both cases.
TBF, there was one in Cameron's early days, where they hammered the by-election and lost badly. It was in the news for a week, but now I'm struggling to remember which one it was.
Quite a clever place to do this. Heat sources will be well screened from thermal cameras etc.
They probably got erm.. grassed.. up by the electric company, those big lights use a ton of power, and cycling them to match a day/night cycle is a bit obvious, and one of the thing electric companies are asked to look out for.
Odd thing, 3 teens of no fixed abode arrested at the site. Who put the money up for the equipment?
Quite a clever place to do this. Heat sources will be well screened from thermal cameras etc.
They probably got erm.. grassed.. up by the electric company, those big lights use a ton of power, and cycling them to match a day/night cycle is a bit obvious, and one of the thing electric companies are asked to look out for.
If that's how they've been caught then they are utter idiots. You bypass the meter, *not that I know anything about this*. EDIT to add, they should now be using LED's as they use much less power and produce far less heat.
Quite a clever place to do this. Heat sources will be well screened from thermal cameras etc.
They probably got erm.. grassed.. up by the electric company, those big lights use a ton of power, and cycling them to match a day/night cycle is a bit obvious, and one of the thing electric companies are asked to look out for.
Odd thing, 3 teens of no fixed abode arrested at the site. Who put the money up for the equipment?
A further three men, aged 27, 30 and 45, all from Somerset, were arrested on suspicion of cannabis production and human trafficking offences.
Quite a clever place to do this. Heat sources will be well screened from thermal cameras etc.
They probably got erm.. grassed.. up by the electric company, those big lights use a ton of power, and cycling them to match a day/night cycle is a bit obvious, and one of the thing electric companies are asked to look out for.
Odd thing, 3 teens of no fixed abode arrested at the site. Who put the money up for the equipment?
The large scale production is pretty much all tended to illegals immigrants who are trafficked to the UK and live at the grow, while the money men never go anywhere near the actual production locations.
They say teens, might be, might also be that if you are trafficked to the UK you will be told if you ever get arrested claim you are a teenager.
So these busts shut down that location, arrest a handful of illegals, and the cycle starts up again somewhere else.
Quite a clever place to do this. Heat sources will be well screened from thermal cameras etc.
They probably got erm.. grassed.. up by the electric company, those big lights use a ton of power, and cycling them to match a day/night cycle is a bit obvious, and one of the thing electric companies are asked to look out for.
Odd thing, 3 teens of no fixed abode arrested at the site. Who put the money up for the equipment?
A further three men, aged 27, 30 and 45, all from Somerset, were arrested on suspicion of cannabis production and human trafficking offences.
Quite a clever place to do this. Heat sources will be well screened from thermal cameras etc.
They probably got erm.. grassed.. up by the electric company, those big lights use a ton of power, and cycling them to match a day/night cycle is a bit obvious, and one of the thing electric companies are asked to look out for.
If that's how they've been caught then they are utter idiots. You bypass the meter, *not that I know anything about this*. EDIT to add, they should now be using LED's as they use much less power and produce far less heat.
I doubt this sort of facility shares supply with anyone else, it probably has its own substation, if its meant to be disused and someone maintaining the substation sees the meter going around, eyebrows might be raised.
Always assume the most obvious result will happen in politics.
interesting philosophy. Like Brexit and Trump and Tory majority you mean?
I got the Tory majority wrong (and learnt my lesson from that). Brexit and Trump were not in any way surprising results.
Except they were about 90% unlikely to happen at close of polling!
Betting odds are not predictors (as OGH has pointed out on numerous occasions). Polls always showed Brexit to be on a knife edge.
"Polls always showed Brexit to be on a knife edge"
Not really
Saying Brexit and Trump were "the obvious result" is crazy
There's a difference between "on a knife edge" and "the obvious result". The polls did show Brexit to be on a knife edge (especially during the postal vote period before the murder of Jo Cox) but people didn't believe the polls.
Comments
When Charles Kennedy and Mark Oaten ran for the leadership and the shit hit the erm fan.
I'd be inclined to take a little more notice of price movements in Stoke Central, which is a relatively easy seat for parties to get a handle on owing to its compact size, than Copeland, which is the reverse. But I won't be taking very much notice of either.
I'll mainly be looking out for off-the-record comments by Lib Dems.
OTOH @Shadsy 4-7 for Labour in Stoke looks good value.
#BigLeagueLosers
https://medium.com/@theobertram/the-copeland-test-labours-core-vote-ddac4fb8ee#.fzovnu9bz
"A total of 214 people involved in protests on Inauguration Day in downtown Washington have been indicted on felony rioting charges.
A grand jury in D.C. charged five individuals Tuesday with felony rioting in addition to the 209 other defendants indicted on felony rioting charges earlier in February, CNN reported.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/02/23/200-inauguration-day-protesters-indicted-rioting-charges/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
https://www.ncpolitics.uk/2017/02/copeland-turning-blue-would-be-more-historic-than-you-think.html/
Two Lab holds tonight and it will feel like the Blair landslide of 1997.
Well, it's nice to have moved on from isnttheweatherbadbutwenorthernersaretough.com
A tale of two constituencies and racecourses:
Huntingdon (former MP John Major) - racing today abandoned due to strong winds.
Sedgefield (former MP Tony Blair) - racing goes ahead.
30 years ago (roughly), I was pounding the streets of Greenwich in the rain working for Rosie Barnes. Thoroughly miserable day but it all ended well as the Conservative vote disintegrated - in truth, Labour's vote didn't fall that much from 1983 but the Conservatives (who had run Labour close back then) slumped to a deposit-losing third (I think it was still 12.5%).
It seemed at the time to be a big event and with the Truro by election a couple of weeks later famously got Norman Tebbit so flustered he spent a whole day attacking the Alliance which only increased the party's poll numbers.
In the end, of course, it made no difference at all. The Alliance's own contradictions tore it apart, Margaret Thatcher won a second landslide and Rosie Barnes sank into obscurity along with the rest of the SDP though the diaspora found their way into and eventually took over both the Labour parties (Blair via the likes of David Marquand) and the Conservatives (David Cameron via the likes of Chris Grayling and Danny Finkelstein).
"Imagine trying to get to Carlisle to give birth in these conditions, if the Tory candidate wins..."
So he's almost certainly safe.
If they're after sub-20% poll ratings, McDonnell's the man to do it.
If Corbyn was to agree a deal to put him in by May, the moderates would have a decent chance of toppling McDonnell in 2019 say.
I might wear it at the next PB meet.
"It's about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table. The peace we have now is due to the action of the IRA."
The Tories have overdone their changes, and Labour downplayed enormously, the spin has been immense.
"The enemy of you and me is my friend"
http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2015/10/03/antifranks-501-tip-to-be-next-labour-leader/
But not even my best-performing longshot for next Labour leader.
https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/834761791100026884
Contingency planning for the aftermath of failure is never a good sign.
It's relevant for the Tories because if they overplay their hand and fail, it will puncture their own narrative - in itself nothing so small is significant, but it adds to the cumulative narrative of politics in both cases.
"Turnout is hard to judge at this stage, but it could make all the difference to who wins and who loses.
Rumours are rife that the Conservatives think they will take the seat by 4,000 votes.....but we'll have to wait and see."
http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/HAPPENING-LIVE-The-latest-from-the-Copeland-by-election-c0781a8d-a1cf-4dc7-9a2d-d11fdbcf4028-ds
Our famiily YMCHS was somewhat surprised when his grandmother explained that his track record IRO Northern Ireland would mean those who lived through the PIRA bombing campaign of the 70s and 80s (i.e. anyone over 45) would be disinclined to vote for him.
Actually, his granny is from Lancashire, so she put it a great deal less politely than that. And she's a Liberal Democrat.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-39064526
Just for personal consumption officer...
Wow, not a single Labour backbencher has bothered to turn up to the Commons debate about historic prosecutions of British troops. https://t.co/XMFgPeUEto
Heat sources will be well screened from thermal cameras etc.
As long as outright lies are not told there's nothing disreputable about it particularly, but it is known parties try to make by-elections seem more significant than they are all the time - claiming a win in a safe seat says something about the country - and claiming they are not sure they will win is therefore noteworthy.
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/traffic-and-weather-live-storm-doris-arrives-in-north-staffordshire/story-30157738-detail/story.html
Otherwise it's a fresh approach to get people through the Trump presidency.
Jesus.
Ealing? "David Cameron's Conservative" ?
I'm sticking with Tory win for Copeland and narrow Lab hold for Stoke, but it could go anywhere.
CDU/CSU in a narrow lead and squeezing AfD hard
SPD a close 2nd and squeezing Greens and Linke hard
FDP stable at around 6 %
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ce9749dc-371d-11dc-9f6d-0000779fd2ac.html?ft_site=falcon&desktop=true#axzz4ZWCVc3ee
You bypass the meter, *not that I know anything about this*.
EDIT to add, they should now be using LED's as they use much less power and produce far less heat.
Labour in deep deep poo
Not really
Saying Brexit and Trump were "the obvious result" is crazy
They say teens, might be, might also be that if you are trafficked to the UK you will be told if you ever get arrested claim you are a teenager.
So these busts shut down that location, arrest a handful of illegals, and the cycle starts up again somewhere else.