Nearly half of voters say they are less likely to vote Tory after the budget.
Precisely what I forecast would be the case since the Chancellor sat down after delivering his budget. Hammond has done serious damage to the Tories' election prospects, compounded by TMay's support of him. Didn't it occur to the fools that they were attacking their own grass root support? This problem isn't going away without corrective action - May needs to sort it, even if this means dumping her Chancellor.
Considering that MaxPB had a similar meltdown I will speculate that there's a London vs Rest of the Country split on this issue.
The frothing by the media supports this theory.
Max lives in Zurich.
But he's only recently moved from North London.
There's sometimes an anti-London attitude on show where people blame the place and its residents - and former residents - for anything they don't like!
Pointing out that different places might have different ideas is not casting blame its merely trying to get a better understanding of what is happening.
The fact is that the people most upset about the NI changes appear to be London connected.
I know in the climate of 'isn't the May government rubbish' polling evidence is suddenly unfashionable.....
Increasing the amount of National Insurance paid by self-employed people from 9% to 11%, the same level as employees Net 'good idea': London: -3 R.o.South: +19 Mid/Wal: +16 North: +10 Scot: +20
PAYE EMPLOYEES EFFECTIVELY ARE CHARGED 25.8% ON EARNINGS, NOT 11%.
Indeed - any comparison between "an employee earning £30k" and "a self-employed person making £30k" is automatically spurious. And "holiday pay" is included in salary too, for that matter - when an employer offers a salary they do know that it is for c. 225 days of actual work.
As for the b.s. Telegraph poll (and article), Laurence Janta-Lipinski (ex-YouGov) rightly terms "more or less likely to vote for..." the worst question in political research. twitter.com/jantalipinski/status/840341995403001856
If I may interject for a moment. You may recall that some weeks ago I moved £5K into USD. Over the last few weeks I have managed to assemble another £5K and I need to work out what to do with it.
Over the last two weeks GBP has, dropped against USD, moving from about $1.27 to about $1.21. Theresa May is predicted to execute Order 66...er, Article 50 on Tuesday and presumably her invocation will cause another GBP/USD move. What I need to know from your massive PB brains is...move in which direction? Will the value of GBP rise next week (buy on the rumour, sell on the fact) or will it fall (Brexit instability plus a Fed rise indicates further to fall)?
If GBP is going to fall, then I can buy USD on the weekend and be smug. If not, well there's always an ISA.
So guys & gals, GBP: will it rise next week, or fall?
It has fallen this week and I would not expect a rise on serving A50 but at the same time not a dramatic fall. Some commentators believe the pound is undervalued and that it is likely to rise in the medium term.
However, I am not an economist and am very wary of speculating on currencies in these strange times. I do track the Canadian dollar as my eldest son and his wife live in Vancouver and I shall be spending a fair amount on Canadian dollars when my wife and I visit them in May. I have not bought any currency to date as I am hoping by May it may just have risen a bit
I did point out that the NIC stuff was toxic just as Hammond sat down, but I must say I'm surprised at a) how much dissent there is from her own right flank - and b) how badly they've handled the media fallout.
Journos & backbenchers have smelt blood. Up to this point, everyone has been projecting onto May & Hammond what they want them to be.
Just wait until Brexit.
May's strength is an illusion, she's very very weak - I think it's more likely than not that she won't be PM in 2021.
While I am neutral about the White Van Tax I agree that May is a weak PM. Her support is a mile wide, and an inch deep. Labour must WAKE UP.
So if her support was really strong, she'd be leading by 30%, rather than a measly 19%?
I'm surprised she isn't leading by more, given the opposition.
30% is virtually impossible. The ceiling for any party in a true multiparty democracy is 45-50%, and in the case of GB, both main parties have a floor of 20-25% tribal voters who they can rely on in any and all circumstances.
I don't think that's true any more. Not long ago we'd certainly have said that Scottish Labour's floor was top-side of 25%. A recent sub-sample had them on 11% and they've consistently been mid-teens at best.
Labour under Brown polled 18% at one point and in the 2009 Euros, won just 16% of the vote - and that was before the loss of Scotland and with a leader who at least knew what the job was supposed to be about, even if he wasn't great at it.
The Tories haven't faced the same existential threats but i don't think there's any real difference. A lot of Tory voters go Blue because it's the only centre-right party with a chance of winning; indeed, for many, the only centre-right party at all. But that can't be relied on to last.
Again, pre-2010, we might have said that the LD's core vote was about 12%. In fact, given that no more than about half the 2015GE LDs have stuck with the party since then, we can be sure that it's no higher than 4%.
The true number of tribal voters on all sides is greatly exaggerated.
If I may interject for a moment. You may recall that some weeks ago I moved £5K into USD. Over the last few weeks I have managed to assemble another £5K and I need to work out what to do with it.
Over the last two weeks GBP has, dropped against USD, moving from about $1.27 to about $1.21. Theresa May is predicted to execute Order 66...er, Article 50 on Tuesday and presumably her invocation will cause another GBP/USD move. What I need to know from your massive PB brains is...move in which direction? Will the value of GBP rise next week (buy on the rumour, sell on the fact) or will it fall (Brexit instability plus a Fed rise indicates further to fall)?
If GBP is going to fall, then I can buy USD on the weekend and be smug. If not, well there's always an ISA.
So guys & gals, GBP: will it rise next week, or fall?
It has fallen this week and I would not expect a rise on serving A50 but at the same time not a dramatic fall. Some commentators believe the pound is undervalued and that it is likely to rise in the medium term.
However, I am not an economist and am very wary of speculating on currencies in these strange times. I do track the Canadian dollar as my eldest son and his wife live in Vancouver and I shall be spending a fair amount on Canadian dollars when my wife and I visit them in May. I have not bought any currency to date as I am hoping by May it may just have risen a bit
A couple of months ago, I exchanged half of my POTUS winnings for shares in indian companies, selected by the hopefully well informed (or at least, very well paid) people at Goldman Sachs.
Knowing the Indian stock exchange, it could well crash by 50% - or I could have my assets expropriated by the Indian government, or whatever - but that's a risk I'm willing to take given the long term potential.
I wanted to put half of my unlikely bonus away for (probably) 10 years in a thing that wasn't affected by brexit and was insulated from trump. And in an economy that is almost guaranteed to grow.
In 2027 I'll do the calculation vs a FTSE 100 tracker - and a basic UK interest paying savings account - and see if I made the right call.
It's gone up 10% already which is nice (but probably temporary!)
I did point out that the NIC stuff was toxic just as Hammond sat down, but I must say I'm surprised at a) how much dissent there is from her own right flank - and b) how badly they've handled the media fallout.
Journos & backbenchers have smelt blood. Up to this point, everyone has been projecting onto May & Hammond what they want them to be.
Just wait until Brexit.
May's strength is an illusion, she's very very weak - I think it's more likely than not that she won't be PM in 2021.
While I am neutral about the White Van Tax I agree that May is a weak PM. Her support is a mile wide, and an inch deep. Labour must WAKE UP.
So if her support was really strong, she'd be leading by 30%, rather than a measly 19%?
I'm surprised she isn't leading by more, given the opposition.
30% is virtually impossible. The ceiling for any party in a true multiparty democracy is 45-50%, and in the case of GB, both main parties have a floor of 20-25% tribal voters who they can rely on in any and all circumstances.
I don't think that's true any more. Not long ago we'd certainly have said that Scottish Labour's floor was top-side of 25%. A recent sub-sample had them on 11% and they've consistently been mid-teens at best.
Labour under Brown polled 18% at one point and in the 2009 Euros, won just 16% of the vote - and that was before the loss of Scotland and with a leader who at least knew what the job was supposed to be about, even if he wasn't great at it.
The Tories haven't faced the same existential threats but i don't think there's any real difference. A lot of Tory voters go Blue because it's the only centre-right party with a chance of winning; indeed, for many, the only centre-right party at all. But that can't be relied on to last.
Again, pre-2010, we might have said that the LD's core vote was about 12%. In fact, given that no more than about half the 2015GE LDs have stuck with the party since then, we can be sure that it's no higher than 4%.
The true number of tribal voters on all sides is greatly exaggerated.
Yougov's latest poll has Labour back at 25% in Scotland - for what that is worth!
Nearly half of voters say they are less likely to vote Tory after the budget.
Precisely what I forecast would be the case since the Chancellor sat down after delivering his budget. Hammond has done serious damage to the Tories' election prospects, compounded by TMay's support of him. Didn't it occur to the fools that they were attacking their own grass root support? This problem isn't going away without corrective action - May needs to sort it, even if this means dumping her Chancellor.
So much damage, the Conservatives have their biggest lead in government since the 1930's.
Nearly half of voters say they are less likely to vote Tory after the budget.
Precisely what I forecast would be the case since the Chancellor sat down after delivering his budget. Hammond has done serious damage to the Tories' election prospects, compounded by TMay's support of him. Didn't it occur to the fools that they were attacking their own grass root support? This problem isn't going away without corrective action - May needs to sort it, even if this means dumping her Chancellor.
Considering that MaxPB had a similar meltdown I will speculate that there's a London vs Rest of the Country split on this issue.
The frothing by the media supports this theory.
Max lives in Zurich.
But he's only recently moved from North London.
There's sometimes an anti-London attitude on show where people blame the place and its residents - and former residents - for anything they don't like!
Pointing out that different places might have different ideas is not casting blame its merely trying to get a better understanding of what is happening.
The fact is that the people most upset about the NI changes appear to be London connected.
I know in the climate of 'isn't the May government rubbish' polling evidence is suddenly unfashionable.....
Increasing the amount of National Insurance paid by self-employed people from 9% to 11%, the same level as employees Net 'good idea': London: -3 R.o.South: +19 Mid/Wal: +16 North: +10 Scot: +20
That does suggest things are different in London.
Why would they be most against. All the analysis I've seen is rural areas have highest proportion of people self employed. Prehaps they are most likely to consume most of their media from national bews
I did point out that the NIC stuff was toxic just as Hammond sat down, but I must say I'm surprised at a) how much dissent there is from her own right flank - and b) how badly they've handled the media fallout.
Journos & backbenchers have smelt blood. Up to this point, everyone has been projecting onto May & Hammond what they want them to be.
Just wait until Brexit.
May's strength is an illusion, she's very very weak - I think it's more likely than not that she won't be PM in 2021.
While I am neutral about the White Van Tax I agree that May is a weak PM. Her support is a mile wide, and an inch deep. Labour must WAKE UP.
So if her support was really strong, she'd be leading by 30%, rather than a measly 19%?
I'm surprised she isn't leading by more, given the opposition.
30% is virtually impossible. The ceiling for any party in a true multiparty democracy is 45-50%, and in the case of GB, both main parties have a floor of 20-25% tribal voters who they can rely on in any and all circumstances.
I don't think that's true any more. Not long ago we'd certainly have said that Scottish Labour's floor was top-side of 25%. A recent sub-sample had them on 11% and they've consistently been mid-teens at best.
Labour under Brown polled 18% at one point and in the 2009 Euros, won just 16% of the vote - and that was before the loss of Scotland and with a leader who at least knew what the job was supposed to be about, even if he wasn't great at it.
The Tories haven't faced the same existential threats but i don't think there's any real difference. A lot of Tory voters go Blue because it's the only centre-right party with a chance of winning; indeed, for many, the only centre-right party at all. But that can't be relied on to last.
Again, pre-2010, we might have said that the LD's core vote was about 12%. In fact, given that no more than about half the 2015GE LDs have stuck with the party since then, we can be sure that it's no higher than 4%.
The true number of tribal voters on all sides is greatly exaggerated.
Yougov's latest poll has Labour back at 25% in Scotland - for what that is worth!
Most Scottish polls have had Labour in the mid-teens though. I only mentioned the 11% as exceptional. I suspect the 25% one is too, likewise the one that gave the Tories 31% (I think): mid-20s, perhaps; thirty-plus? No.
Nearly half of voters say they are less likely to vote Tory after the budget.
Precisely what I forecast would be the case since the Chancellor sat down after delivering his budget. Hammond has done serious damage to the Tories' election prospects, compounded by TMay's support of him. Didn't it occur to the fools that they were attacking their own grass root support? This problem isn't going away without corrective action - May needs to sort it, even if this means dumping her Chancellor.
So much damage, the Conservatives have their biggest lead in government since the 1930's.
Polling was never exact and in the current climate I would treat figures like UKIP on 12-14% with massive scepticism.
The best I read from it is that the Tories are strong, Labour are weak and the others are all unknowns - the increased tendency for voters to vote outside of party loyalty (ie a Labour REMAIN voter, or a soft UKIP voter) means almost anything is possible. Turnout will be everything in the future as I sense a weariness from voters about being asked things (call it voter fatigue) in which case party organisation and morale among workers/volunteers could throw up some unusual results (think Trump). Until then it is like counting fairies on pinheads. The grey vote appears all powerful at the moment and factors such as that will decide results.
All those asaying they are less likely to vote Tory in that telegraph poll because of NI increase obviously aren't aware of labours tax plans..60p a week more, more like 60p a second more.
A couple of months ago, I exchanged half of my POTUS winnings for shares in indian companies, selected by the hopefully well informed (or at least, very well paid) people at Goldman Sachs.
Knowing the Indian stock exchange, it could well crash by 50% - or I could have my assets expropriated by the Indian government, or whatever - but that's a risk I'm willing to take given the long term potential.
I wanted to put half of my unlikely bonus away for (probably) 10 years in a thing that wasn't affected by brexit and was insulated from trump. And in an economy that is almost guaranteed to grow.
In 2027 I'll do the calculation vs a FTSE 100 tracker - and a basic UK interest paying savings account - and see if I made the right call.
It's gone up 10% already which is nice (but probably temporary!)
We'll see.
Crashing by 50% is perfectly possible though possibly imperfect! A couple of years ago the Indian stock market doubled in a year... and if it can go north that way, it can clearly go south.
Not sure a FTSE 100 is a good comparison personally. A FTSE All Share tracker might be more representative, but if you're investing for the longer-haul and wanted to out-source your selection strategy to someone other than a vampire squid on your face, then a fairer comparison might be to a Vanguard Lifestrategy or similar, or alternatively if you specifically wanted to see whether your south Asian hunches were noticeably better than any other hot emerging market, to a developing world tracker. (Am not qualified to give financial advice. Just felt these might be more informative comparisons.)
Don't think you can ever really insulate yourself from Brexit effects, if you live in Britain and earn/spend in pounds. Invest in foreign markets - or indeed a domestic index dominated by multinational companies - and you can't escape the exchange rate issues. The weaker pound post-Brexit has made me embarrassingly richer, but that had very little to do with the sagacity of my investments (though India has done me rather well over recent years!) and rather more to do with me blithely accepting the currency risks, and getting lucky.
Er...well, yes. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan has written a book about his first 100 days as French president. It sounds as though it's akin to a memoir. Published three days ago, it includes a fake tweet from Donald Trump:
"Just met new French President @dupontaignan in my office. Hard talks great deal. Love that dude. France gets its b...s back again at last"
Er...well, yes. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan has written a book about his first 100 days as French president. It sounds as though it's akin to a memoir. Published three days ago, it includes a fake tweet from Donald Trump:
"Just met new French President @dupontaignan in my office. Hard talks great deal. Love that dude. France gets its b...s back again at last"
Nearly half of voters say they are less likely to vote Tory after the budget.
Precisely what I forecast would be the case since the Chancellor sat down after delivering his budget. Hammond has done serious damage to the Tories' election prospects, compounded by TMay's support of him. Didn't it occur to the fools that they were attacking their own grass root support? This problem isn't going away without corrective action - May needs to sort it, even if this means dumping her Chancellor.
Considering that MaxPB had a similar meltdown I will speculate that there's a London vs Rest of the Country split on this issue.
The frothing by the media supports this theory.
Max lives in Zurich.
But he's only recently moved from North London.
There's sometimes an anti-London attitude on show where people blame the place and its residents - and former residents - for anything they don't like!
Pointing out that different places might have different ideas is not casting blame its merely trying to get a better understanding of what is happening.
The fact is that the people most upset about the NI changes appear to be London connected.
I know in the climate of 'isn't the May government rubbish' polling evidence is suddenly unfashionable.....
Increasing the amount of National Insurance paid by self-employed people from 9% to 11%, the same level as employees Net 'good idea': London: -3 R.o.South: +19 Mid/Wal: +16 North: +10 Scot: +20
PAYE EMPLOYEES EFFECTIVELY ARE CHARGED 25.8% ON EARNINGS, NOT 11%.
Indeed - any comparison between "an employee earning £30k" and "a self-employed person making £30k" is automatically spurious. And "holiday pay" is included in salary too, for that matter - when an employer offers a salary they do know that it is for c. 225 days of actual work.
This holiday pay nonsense is completely spurious. It comes from the employer and has nothing to do with government and/or taxes. The employee still pays tax on this pay.
Er...well, yes. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan has written a book about his first 100 days as French president. It sounds as though it's akin to a memoir. Published three days ago, it includes a fake tweet from Donald Trump:
"Just met new French President @dupontaignan in my office. Hard talks great deal. Love that dude. France gets its b...s back again at last"
*orders the book*
Obviously fake since he isn't yet president
Not much gets past you, eh, RobD? But the book is real.
NDA has huge confidence but without arrogance. He is also good-looking. I think his whole shtick may go down well with the ladies!
Er...well, yes. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan has written a book about his first 100 days as French president. It sounds as though it's akin to a memoir. Published three days ago, it includes a fake tweet from Donald Trump:
"Just met new French President @dupontaignan in my office. Hard talks great deal. Love that dude. France gets its b...s back again at last"
*orders the book*
Obviously fake since he isn't yet president
Not much gets past you, eh, RobD? But the book is real.
NDA has huge confidence but without arrogance. He is also good-looking. I think his whole shtick may go down well with the ladies!
If I may interject for a moment. You may recall that some weeks ago I moved £5K into USD. Over the last few weeks I have managed to assemble another £5K and I need to work out what to do with it.
Over the last two weeks GBP has, dropped against USD, moving from about $1.27 to about $1.21. Theresa May is predicted to execute Order 66...er, Article 50 on Tuesday and presumably her invocation will cause another GBP/USD move. What I need to know from your massive PB brains is...move in which direction? Will the value of GBP rise next week (buy on the rumour, sell on the fact) or will it fall (Brexit instability plus a Fed rise indicates further to fall)?
If GBP is going to fall, then I can buy USD on the weekend and be smug. If not, well there's always an ISA.
So guys & gals, GBP: will it rise next week, or fall?
It has fallen this week and I would not expect a rise on serving A50 but at the same time not a dramatic fall. Some commentators believe the pound is undervalued and that it is likely to rise in the medium term.
However, I am not an economist and am very wary of speculating on currencies in these strange times. I do track the Canadian dollar as my eldest son and his wife live in Vancouver and I shall be spending a fair amount on Canadian dollars when my wife and I visit them in May. I have not bought any currency to date as I am hoping by May it may just have risen a bit
Thinking about the issue about creating more Lords (not sure where the story comes from) but could this be Farage's great chance, also a consolation prize for Thanet South (and keep him from running? if it is re-run...) or even more controversial Doc - The Lord - Nuttall of Bootle?? Perhaps Aaron Banks fancies following Lord Sugar's elevation?
Until the news coverage of the libel story yesterday, I was completely unaware that Katie Hopkins had ever been a contestant on "The Apprentice".
When they mentioned it, I assumed they must have meant some sort of "Celebrity Apprentice" episode which I had somehow missed. But I discover that it was in the 2007 series (which is long before I started watching "The Apprentice" regularly) and that she was an actual normal real contestant in the actual real normal show.
I was first properly aware of Katie Hopkins only when she was in "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2015, and I was probably only vaguely aware of her existence before then (e.g. the "you named your child India" incident).
That I was so unaware of her existence for so long, I consider a blessing.
- - - - -
Meanwhile, irrepressible spontaneous demonstrations have broken out all over Oceania to celebrate the joyous news that the price of chocolate biscuits in Lidl has gone down from 59p for 400g to 44p for 300g - a reduction of a massive 0.57%! This has happened due to the long-term investment into economic growth and prosperity which has been successfully pursued by Big Sister Theresa May, despite the continual sabotage which has been perpetrated for thirty years by the Enemy of the people, Jeremy Corbstein.
Until the news coverage of the libel story yesterday, I was completely unaware that Katie Hopkins had ever been a contestant on "The Apprentice".
When they mentioned it, I assumed they must have meant some sort of "Celebrity Apprentice" episode which I had somehow missed. But I discover that it was in the 2007 series (which is long before I started watching "The Apprentice" regularly) and that she was an actual normal real contestant in the actual real normal show.
I was first properly aware of Katie Hopkins only when she was in "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2015, and I was probably only vaguely aware of her existence before then (e.g. the "you named your child India" incident).
That I was so unaware of her existence for so long, I consider a blessing.
- - - - -
Meanwhile, irrepressible spontaneous demonstrations have broken out all over Oceania to celebrate the joyous news that the price of chocolate biscuits in Lidl has gone down from 59p for 400g to 44p for 300g - a reduction of a massive 0.57%! This has happened due to the long-term investment into economic growth and prosperity which has been successfully pursued by Big Sister Theresa May, despite the continual sabotage which has been perpetrated for thirty years by the Enemy of the people, Jeremy Corbstein.
I don't remember her being very normal, John. As contestants go, she was unusual and stuck out even then. I think the apprentice does attract some people hoping to build a career out of the media exposure (which she has clearly done) rather than looking for the actual job/business opportunity.
Until the news coverage of the libel story yesterday, I was completely unaware that Katie Hopkins had ever been a contestant on "The Apprentice".
When they mentioned it, I assumed they must have meant some sort of "Celebrity Apprentice" episode which I had somehow missed. But I discover that it was in the 2007 series (which is long before I started watching "The Apprentice" regularly) and that she was an actual normal real contestant in the actual real normal show.
I was first properly aware of Katie Hopkins only when she was in "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2015, and I was probably only vaguely aware of her existence before then (e.g. the "you named your child India" incident).
That I was so unaware of her existence for so long, I consider a blessing.
- - - - -
Meanwhile, irrepressible spontaneous demonstrations have broken out all over Oceania to celebrate the joyous news that the price of chocolate biscuits in Lidl has gone down from 59p for 400g to 44p for 300g - a reduction of a massive 0.57%! This has happened due to the long-term investment into economic growth and prosperity which has been successfully pursued by Big Sister Theresa May, despite the continual sabotage which has been perpetrated for thirty years by the Enemy of the people, Jeremy Corbstein.
I don't remember her being very normal, John. As contestants go, she was unusual and stuck out even then. I think the apprentice does attract some people hoping to build a career out of the media exposure (which she has clearly done) rather than looking for the actual job/business opportunity.
James Max Saira Khan Michelle Dewberry Yasmina Siadatan Katie Hopkins
There are probably more, but they all launched media careers off the back of the show.
Comments
https://twitter.com/jantalipinski/status/840341995403001856
A pox on all their houses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canadian_Dollar_-_reverse.png
Labour under Brown polled 18% at one point and in the 2009 Euros, won just 16% of the vote - and that was before the loss of Scotland and with a leader who at least knew what the job was supposed to be about, even if he wasn't great at it.
The Tories haven't faced the same existential threats but i don't think there's any real difference. A lot of Tory voters go Blue because it's the only centre-right party with a chance of winning; indeed, for many, the only centre-right party at all. But that can't be relied on to last.
Again, pre-2010, we might have said that the LD's core vote was about 12%. In fact, given that no more than about half the 2015GE LDs have stuck with the party since then, we can be sure that it's no higher than 4%.
The true number of tribal voters on all sides is greatly exaggerated.
Knowing the Indian stock exchange, it could well crash by 50% - or I could have my assets expropriated by the Indian government, or whatever - but that's a risk I'm willing to take given the long term potential.
I wanted to put half of my unlikely bonus away for (probably) 10 years in a thing that wasn't affected by brexit and was insulated from trump. And in an economy that is almost guaranteed to grow.
In 2027 I'll do the calculation vs a FTSE 100 tracker - and a basic UK interest paying savings account - and see if I made the right call.
It's gone up 10% already which is nice (but probably temporary!)
We'll see.
He is the worst of the worst.
Keith VazJim the local washing machine salesman vs George...That is the definition of alien vs predator.The best I read from it is that the Tories are strong, Labour are weak and the others are all unknowns - the increased tendency for voters to vote outside of party loyalty (ie a Labour REMAIN voter, or a soft UKIP voter) means almost anything is possible. Turnout will be everything in the future as I sense a weariness from voters about being asked things (call it voter fatigue) in which case party organisation and morale among workers/volunteers could throw up some unusual results (think Trump). Until then it is like counting fairies on pinheads. The grey vote appears all powerful at the moment and factors such as that will decide results.
Not sure a FTSE 100 is a good comparison personally. A FTSE All Share tracker might be more representative, but if you're investing for the longer-haul and wanted to out-source your selection strategy to someone other than a vampire squid on your face, then a fairer comparison might be to a Vanguard Lifestrategy or similar, or alternatively if you specifically wanted to see whether your south Asian hunches were noticeably better than any other hot emerging market, to a developing world tracker. (Am not qualified to give financial advice. Just felt these might be more informative comparisons.)
Don't think you can ever really insulate yourself from Brexit effects, if you live in Britain and earn/spend in pounds. Invest in foreign markets - or indeed a domestic index dominated by multinational companies - and you can't escape the exchange rate issues. The weaker pound post-Brexit has made me embarrassingly richer, but that had very little to do with the sagacity of my investments (though India has done me rather well over recent years!) and rather more to do with me blithely accepting the currency risks, and getting lucky.
NDA has huge confidence but without arrogance. He is also good-looking. I think his whole shtick may go down well with the ladies!
You are right it does a look a bit odd though.
When they mentioned it, I assumed they must have meant some sort of "Celebrity Apprentice" episode which I had somehow missed. But I discover that it was in the 2007 series (which is long before I started watching "The Apprentice" regularly) and that she was an actual normal real contestant in the actual real normal show.
I was first properly aware of Katie Hopkins only when she was in "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2015, and I was probably only vaguely aware of her existence before then (e.g. the "you named your child India" incident).
That I was so unaware of her existence for so long, I consider a blessing.
- - - - -
Meanwhile, irrepressible spontaneous demonstrations have broken out all over Oceania to celebrate the joyous news that the price of chocolate biscuits in Lidl has gone down from 59p for 400g to 44p for 300g - a reduction of a massive 0.57%! This has happened due to the long-term investment into economic growth and prosperity which has been successfully pursued by Big Sister Theresa May, despite the continual sabotage which has been perpetrated for thirty years by the Enemy of the people, Jeremy Corbstein.
Saira Khan
Michelle Dewberry
Yasmina Siadatan
Katie Hopkins
There are probably more, but they all launched media careers off the back of the show.