The Cons have abandoned austerity, they have u-turned time and again (and in fact have u-turned for the past seven years on any contentious policy).
If Lab (HUUUUUUUUUGE IF) had any kind of credible leadership, and JMcD does give it a go sometimes, they would be whumping the Cons in the polls.
As for Brexit, they are, politically, golden. On record, sort of, as opposing it, but seen now as determined to do the best they can for the UK.
As for the IRA video, if it exists, again, a competent leader could point to the GFA and say look what we have now. Historically economic with the actualite but an effective counter.
But it comes back to Jezza again. All that turns to ashes with him at the helm.
McDonnell credible? Vous avez une girafe, m'sieur. And how does "On record, sort of, as opposing it, but seen now as determined to do the best they can for the UK" apply more to Labour than it does to Con?
I feel like someone will link to his 'I have the best words' moment as rebuttal, but yeah, whatever his actual intellect may or may not be, and whether or not his communication is effective or not, articulate it ain't.
Liberal ? Democratic ? Is Farron still stamping his feet because the people didn't vote the way he wanted.
Those of us who think Brexit is a huge mistake deserve representation as much as anyone else. In anticipation of the possible question you may want to ask of me: Yes, personally I accept the referendum result. Hate it with all my being, yes, but accept it.
I still think it will be a Le Pen v Macron runoff but that Fillon will run Macron close for second
The main centre right party has outperformed the polls almost everywhere in Europe in the last few years (UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands), so maybe Fillon sneaks into the final two.
Agreed it will be tight for the second runoff spot
The French centre-right have made a complete mess of an election they should have won at a hack canter.
Fillon's only hope is he polls 37% among those aged 65 or more - it's an extraordinary figure and in complete contrast to his much lower figures among younger voters.
The reverse is true for Marine Le Pen who polls only 14% among the over 65s. Macron's vote is much more uniform across the age groups.
A strong Fillon vote comes mainly at Le Pen's expense so could it be a Macron-Fillon run off ?
The Cons have abandoned austerity, they have u-turned time and again (and in fact have u-turned for the past seven years on any contentious policy).
If Lab (HUUUUUUUUUGE IF) had any kind of credible leadership, and JMcD does give it a go sometimes, they would be whumping the Cons in the polls.
As for Brexit, they are, politically, golden. On record, sort of, as opposing it, but seen now as determined to do the best they can for the UK.
As for the IRA video, if it exists, again, a competent leader could point to the GFA and say look what we have now. Historically economic with the actualite but an effective counter.
But it comes back to Jezza again. All that turns to ashes with him at the helm.
McDonnell credible? Vous avez une girafe, m'sieur. And how does "On record, sort of, as opposing it, but seen now as determined to do the best they can for the UK" apply more to Labour than it does to Con?
FFS. Everyone accepts that Brexit will knock the British economy (I expected it to knock it much more than it has). We're having a baby, it sags yer tits and you get stretch marks. Plus there are enemas.
I quite agree with this Estonian. If I were looking for a country to invest in, right now, it might not be the UK, because of uncertainty. But this uncertainty will pass, and in the end you will have a proud, free, capitalist, quite Tory country, which dared to take back its sovereignty, while maintaining the eternal verities and stability of English Common Law, trading freely around the world, largely untrammelled by the bureaucratic lunacies than spew out of Brussels with increasing force.
Suddenly, the UK and London will seem very attractive all over again.
We're having a baby. The first months are grim. But then.... that first smile. And so forth.
At the moment, it's new investment not existing jobs that are going elsewhere. We can survive five years of that.
Yes, I was looking at these numbers - turnout among those 18-35 is 58%, but 72% for those aged over 35. Yes, the 65+ cohort has the most likely to vote (75%) but the rest of the 35+ age group is broadly as likely to vote so Fillon's lead among the b65+ age group is negated to a considerable extent by his poor performance among the 35-64 demographic.
SeanT's comment notwithstanding, Le Pen is toxic among the oldest voters yet nearly a third of Fillon's supporters would vote for her in Round 2.
I think Macron would beat Fillon in a second round run off.
Yes, I was looking at these numbers - turnout among those 18-35 is 58%, but 72% for those aged over 35. Yes, the 65+ cohort has the most likely to vote (75%) but the rest of the 35+ age group is broadly as likely to vote so Fillon's lead among the b65+ age group is negated to a considerable extent by his poor performance among the 35-64 demographic.
SeanT's comment notwithstanding, Le Pen is toxic among the oldest voters yet nearly a third of Fillon's supporters would vote for her in Round 2.
I think Macron would beat Fillon in a second round run off.
He may but more likely based on the 35+ cohort Macron will be fighting off Fillon to face Le Pen, on today's IFOP assuming he does it would be Macron 58.5% Le Pen 41.5%
I still think it will be a Le Pen v Macron runoff but that Fillon will run Macron close for second
The main centre right party has outperformed the polls almost everywhere in Europe in the last few years (UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands), so maybe Fillon sneaks into the final two.
Agreed it will be tight for the second runoff spot
The French centre-right have made a complete mess of an election they should have won at a hack canter.
Fillon's only hope is he polls 37% among those aged 65 or more - it's an extraordinary figure and in complete contrast to his much lower figures among younger voters.
The reverse is true for Marine Le Pen who polls only 14% among the over 65s. Macron's vote is much more uniform across the age groups.
A strong Fillon vote comes mainly at Le Pen's expense so could it be a Macron-Fillon run off ?
Young French people are seriously rightwing (outside central Paris, and the liberal West). I've noticed this on my travels.
If the adage that people get more right wing as they age holds true in France, then we can expect a hard right or Fascist government in France within a decade or so.
Re younger generation - Is it not claimed that this is true in the UK as well?
FFS. Everyone accepts that Brexit will knock the British economy (I expected it to knock it much more than it has). We're having a baby, it sags yer tits and you get stretch marks. Plus there are enemas.
Can I trade her in for a nubile Corbynista with pert bits?
I still think it will be a Le Pen v Macron runoff but that Fillon will run Macron close for second
The main centre right party has outperformed the polls almost everywhere in Europe in the last few years (UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands), so maybe Fillon sneaks into the final two.
Agreed it will be tight for the second runoff spot
The French centre-right have made a complete mess of an election they should have won at a hack canter.
Fillon's only hope is he polls 37% among those aged 65 or more - it's an extraordinary figure and in complete contrast to his much lower figures among younger voters.
The reverse is true for Marine Le Pen who polls only 14% among the over 65s. Macron's vote is much more uniform across the age groups.
A strong Fillon vote comes mainly at Le Pen's expense so could it be a Macron-Fillon run off ?
Young French people are seriously rightwing (outside central Paris, and the liberal West). I've noticed this on my travels.
If the adage that people get more right wing as they age holds true in France, then we can expect a hard right or Fascist government in France within a decade or so.
Re younger generation - Is it not claimed that this is true in the UK as well?
It depends what you class as rightwing, in France younger voters are going for the far right not the centre right ie Le Pen not Fillon (who the oldest voters prefer) while in the UK there is little evidence the young back UKIP just as they were less likely to vote for Brexit
He may but more likely based on the 35+ cohort Macron will be fighting off Fillon to face Le Pen, on today's IFOP assuming he does it would be Macron 58.5% Le Pen 41.5%
No, my friend, you're missing the salient point of the IFOP data.
Among the over 65s, Fillon polls 37%, Le Pen 14%. Macron's number, 24%, is about the same as his overall number.
A disproportionately high turnout from the over 65s hurts Le Pen far more than Macron even as it boosts Fillon. It would be more likely Fillon would edge Le Pen out than Macron.
However, there doeesn't look to be that disproportionate turnout at this time - 55-64s are as likely to turn out as 65+ voters.
Fillon has voter loyalty but he needs it - there is the 30% undecided vote as well to consider.
My argument after looking at IFOP is that a Macron-Fillon run off can't be discounted.
FFS. Everyone accepts that Brexit will knock the British economy (I expected it to knock it much more than it has). We're having a baby, it sags yer tits and you get stretch marks. Plus there are enemas.
I quite agree with this Estonian. If I were looking for a country to invest in, right now, it might not be the UK, because of uncertainty. But this uncertainty will pass, and in the end you will have a proud, free, capitalist, quite Tory country, which dared to take back its sovereignty, while maintaining the eternal verities and stability of English Common Law, trading freely around the world, largely untrammelled by the bureaucratic lunacies than spew out of Brussels with increasing force.
Suddenly, the UK and London will seem very attractive all over again.
We're having a baby. The first months are grim. But then.... that first smile. And so forth.
Economically it will be a tough decade with trade with the UK leaving the single market as well as the EU but we will end free movement and restore some sovereignty and cut our contribution to the EU, after which if Labour eventually return to power we may well return to the single market and restore free movement but still free of the full EU
He may but more likely based on the 35+ cohort Macron will be fighting off Fillon to face Le Pen, on today's IFOP assuming he does it would be Macron 58.5% Le Pen 41.5%
No, my friend, you're missing the salient point of the IFOP data.
Among the over 65s, Fillon polls 37%, Le Pen 14%. Macron's number, 24%, is about the same as his overall number.
A disproportionately high turnout from the over 65s hurts Le Pen far more than Macron even as it boosts Fillon. It would be more likely Fillon would edge Le Pen out than Macron.
However, there doeesn't look to be that disproportionate turnout at this time - 55-64s are as likely to turn out as 65+ voters.
Fillon has voter loyalty but he needs it - there is the 30% undecided vote as well to consider.
My argument after looking at IFOP is that a Macron-Fillon run off can't be discounted.
It can't be discounted but as you say there is little difference between over 35 and over 65 turnout and amongst over 35s Le Pen is first with Macron just behind and Fillon just behind him so the race should be between Macron and Fillon for the runoff spot to face Le Pen
Interesting proposal for corporation tax... Rather than trying to take a share of the profits and trying to close loopholes etc... Government should just take 25% non voting shares in companies.
Liberal ? Democratic ? Is Farron still stamping his feet because the people didn't vote the way he wanted.
Those of us who think Brexit is a huge mistake deserve representation as much as anyone else. In anticipation of the possible question you may want to ask of me: Yes, personally I accept the referendum result. Hate it with all my being, yes, but accept it.
There's a lot of options in Leaving, we don't have to meekly accept May's Brexit choices.
"Two suspects from the Islamist spectrum have become the focus of our investigation. Both of their apartments were searched, and one of the two has been detained."
German media are reporting that the suspect detained is a 25-year-old Iraqi, and the second suspect is a 28-year-old German.
Interesting proposal for corporation tax... Rather than trying to take a share of the profits and trying to close loopholes etc... Government should just take 25% non voting shares in companies.
"Two suspects from the Islamist spectrum have become the focus of our investigation. Both of their apartments were searched, and one of the two has been detained."
German media are reporting that the suspect detained is a 25-year-old Iraqi, and the second suspect is a 28-year-old German.
"Two suspects from the Islamist spectrum have become the focus of our investigation. Both of their apartments were searched, and one of the two has been detained."
German media are reporting that the suspect detained is a 25-year-old Iraqi, and the second suspect is a 28-year-old German.
Again the German authorities and media, it is like pulling teeth for them to actually just name the individuals / give full details.
I love "the Islamist spectrum", is it like autism? Do you get high-functioning Islamists, and are they geniuses at chess?
Can't say I've seen that as a phrase used before, but I suppose you do get different flavours of islamist. Do they go from your level 1 islamists, peacefully pushing for an islamic system, to your level 6 islamists, well, you know.
Interesting proposal for corporation tax... Rather than trying to take a share of the profits and trying to close loopholes etc... Government should just take 25% non voting shares in companies.
Liberal ? Democratic ? Is Farron still stamping his feet because the people didn't vote the way he wanted.
Those of us who think Brexit is a huge mistake deserve representation as much as anyone else. In anticipation of the possible question you may want to ask of me: Yes, personally I accept the referendum result. Hate it with all my being, yes, but accept it.
There's a lot of options in Leaving, we don't have to meekly accept May's Brexit choices.
Indeed not and as a LEAVE voter, I resent being told I have to accept whatever half-baked Brexit Messrs May, Johnson, Davis and Fox choose to serve up.
I fully accept they are trying to get "the best deal for Britain" though what that means is open to interpretation. We will have to wait and see - I think it would have been better if there had been a more inclusive approach to the negotiation from the UK side and a wider discussion aimed at reaching a position of national concensus in advance which would have offered the Government greater leverage in negotiation.
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present. There is no candidate remotely competent or qualified who is acceptable to the membership. FFS, they are even canvassing vacuous morons like Angela Rayner or fluent liars like Cat Smith as possible leaders. That's how desperate matters are. Yvette Cooper might be a competent PM. However, she hasn't the rhetorical skill, imagination or energy require to be a Leader of the Opposition. Keir Starmer is an urbane version of Gordon Brown. That's it.
2) In some ways, the fact that Labour have got the geriatric apologist for mass murder in place obscures the depth of the doodoo they are in. By 2020, precisely one Labour leader in fifty years will have polled above 40% in a general election, and even then only once - Tony Blair in 1997 (he got almost exactly 40% in 2001). Worse, since 1979 they have polled below 30% in two elections, and barely above it in two more. Their traditional bedrock of support is withering as unions decline and chronic unemployment causes people who used to vote Labour to desert politics altogether, or to depart to superficially radical and attractive alternatives (like the SNP).
3) To survive they need to rebuild support. How? They are fresh out of ideas. One reason Corbyn won is because the others were so shell-shocked by Tory success that they turned themselves into clones of the enemy. What new thinking did they offer? What would they do to make life better for a single mother in a one-bed council flat in Bury? How do they solve the housing crisis? What to do about the national finances? Fair play, Balls and Miliband actually did try to come up with answers to those questions, but in a kack-handed and ineffective way. The later lot - Burnham etc.? Don't make me laugh. Why should you vote for Labour? Heck, the Tories nick their good ideas leaving them spluttering with only the bad ones. Corbyn at least is different. The minor detail that he is different because he is stupid and insane does not excuse the culpability of the old guard.
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
4) The electoral system is heavily against them - as I pointed out earlier, the Tories if the boundaries go through have a huge number of very safe seats and it is hard to see a scenario where they are not the largest party by an enormous margin. Even if they don't go through the loss of Scotland makes winning an election problematic for Labour - had it not been for Scotland, Labour would have lost in 1964 and there is a serious school of thought (one I will admit I find unconvincing) that suggests they would have lost the following election too under those circumstances as they would not have controlled the timing. To win in a England and Wales alone they need to win 50 seats in straight fights (assuming no Tory gains in Scotland or Wales). That's a big ask.
Labour are probably too strong to be killed off, although my view keeps changing on that (after every crisis, I think, 'Surely this is rock bottom now' and then they get the jackhammers out and start digging). They should win around 160 seats in any given election. But it's hard to see them being strong enough to win an election in less than twelve years from here.
No. It's just the case. TSE knows that I am personally friendly to him, and bear him no ill will. Quite the contrary. From what I know of him online he seems, largely, a very likeable and sensible dude.
But the fact is, the West is now in a kind of war with large elements of Islam, somewhat like the Cold War, but also with resemblances to the war with Nazism.
During the lead up to the war with Nazism, we were forced to mistrust all Germans, even though only a small percentage of them actively agreed with Hitlerism, and, surely, only the tiniest percentage avowed things like the Holocaust.
But Germans allowed Nazism to take over German Nationalism, and Muslims are allowing Islamism to take over the hitherto quite admirable religion of Islam, so we are forced to mistrust them all, of necessity, however cruel it is to the individual.
That's my position, and it is obvious and logical, indeed undeniably sensible - however sad.
We are all dealing with the facts of life now - and I'm sure the vast majority of muslims are as horrified as the rest of us about what's being done in their name.
There was an unattended bag on the Tube yesterday and I got off to report it (several others were staring at it with some alarm but doing nothing). I can assure you "it's radical jews!" or "It's them bloody Irish again" wasn't going through anyone's minds.
And this is the thing - it's the limbic reactions we can't stop, the reaction to shrink away from anyone in a headscarf or a dark skinned person sweating on the tube in a backpack, who may have just been to the gym for all we know.
Our rational brains don't approve of the reaction, but it's there, and it's going to be there for as long as there are Islamist attacks on what is now a weekly basis - Dortmund, Stockholm, London, and so on.
On a tangent, the main reason I visit this site is its wide range of posters from all political viewpoints who, by and large, manage to debate the issues of the day politely. On the internet, this is a unicorn in terms of rarity. An oasis in the desert. A single port of calm in a (shit)storm of social media.
I would hate to see that change for any reason, whether that be people being handed bans, or people leaving the site due to perceived hostility.
No. It's just the case. TSE knows that I am personally friendly to him, and bear him no ill will. Quite the contrary. From what I know of him online he seems, largely, a very likeable and sensible dude.
But the fact is, the West is now in a kind of war with large elements of Islam, somewhat like the Cold War, but also with resemblances to the war with Nazism.
During the lead up to the war with Nazism, we were forced to mistrust all Germans, even though only a small percentage of them actively agreed with Hitlerism, and, surely, only the tiniest percentage avowed things like the Holocaust.
But Germans allowed Nazism to take over German Nationalism, and Muslims are allowing Islamism to take over the hitherto quite admirable religion of Islam, so we are forced to mistrust them all, of necessity, however cruel it is to the individual.
That's my position, and it is obvious and logical, indeed undeniably sensible - however sad.
Le Pen 23.5% Macron 22.5% Fillon 19.0% Mélenchon 18.5%
The graph on their poll link is very telling, if you follow the lines showing the fall of Macron and Le Pen and the rise of Fillon and Melenchon over the past 10 days and extend those lines for the next ten days, you would get all four of them converging over 10 days we have left before they vote.
Movement in this poll since their 30 March - 3rd April poll:
People still do that?! I could understand it 3-4 years ago maybe.
Interestingly, France has two of the most geologically interesting on-shore basins in Europe from an oil and gas perspective. It could be a major oil producer.
This rather limits the likelihood of them being exploited.
One of them is a serious matter. No way could we manage to lose such an important place.
But for the other one - would we really miss Paris?
@kle4 - she says 'Latin America' but it's clear where she means. Remember, to most true believers Venezuela hasn't gone belly up because of corruption, mismanagement, greed and criminality of a venal ruling elite - it was destroyed by a US conspiracy backed by the world's banks. It's an early example of 'alternative facts'.
But maybe I'm being generous and it's as simple as she does want to utterly destroy France. She does also mention Iceland and Greece as examples to follow...
Why frack the Paris basin for gas when you can extract geothermal heat on a longer-term basis? http://www.energia.gr/geofar/page.asp?p_id=54 I'm not sure how much geothermal heat Bordeaux obtains but I can't see that it would disrupt the important business on the surface.
Liberal ? Democratic ? Is Farron still stamping his feet because the people didn't vote the way he wanted.
Those of us who think Brexit is a huge mistake deserve representation as much as anyone else. In anticipation of the possible question you may want to ask of me: Yes, personally I accept the referendum result. Hate it with all my being, yes, but accept it.
There's a lot of options in Leaving, we don't have to meekly accept May's Brexit choices.
For the foreseeable future the Tories are going to push for controls on free movement and reductions in contributions to the EU as part of Brexit, especially with UKIP pushing for hard Brexit and that means leaving the single market. Return to the single market is only likely with a future Labour government, perhaps supported by the LDs and SNP. Return to the full EU would probably require Tim Farron to win the next election and is off the cards
Islamist terrorists came within a hair's breadth of massacring one of Europe’s top football teams when they detonated three bombs close to a team bus, German authorities have revealed.
The three devices which exploded next to Borussia Dortmund’s coach were studded with metal shrapnel and pins, one of which pierced a window and embedded itself in a head rest.
The blast, which injured a player and a policeman, had a radius of more than 100 yards and federal prosecutors said it was lucky the toll was not more severe.
Detectives believe that only the strength of the team coach prevented the bombs causing mass casualties.
No. It's just the case. TSE knows that I am personally friendly to him, and bear him no ill will. Quite the contrary. From what I know of him online he seems, largely, a very likeable and sensible dude.
But the fact is, the West is now in a kind of war with large elements of Islam, somewhat like the Cold War, but also with resemblances to the war with Nazism.
During the lead up to the war with Nazism, we were forced to mistrust all Germans, even though only a small percentage of them actively agreed with Hitlerism, and, surely, only the tiniest percentage avowed things like the Holocaust.
But Germans allowed Nazism to take over German Nationalism, and Muslims are allowing Islamism to take over the hitherto quite admirable religion of Islam, so we are forced to mistrust them all, of necessity, however cruel it is to the individual.
That's my position, and it is obvious and logical, indeed undeniably sensible - however sad.
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
Interesting that you didn't quote this bit:
“I think the UK government gets it, but I am not so sure other countries do,” said Guy Platten, the chief executive officer.
Islamist terrorists came within a hair's breadth of massacring one of Europe’s top football teams when they detonated three bombs close to a team bus, German authorities have revealed.
The three devices which exploded next to Borussia Dortmund’s coach were studded with metal shrapnel and pins, one of which pierced a window and embedded itself in a head rest.
The blast, which injured a player and a policeman, had a radius of more than 100 yards and federal prosecutors said it was lucky the toll was not more severe.
Detectives believe that only the strength of the team coach prevented the bombs causing mass casualties.
Liberal ? Democratic ? Is Farron still stamping his feet because the people didn't vote the way he wanted.
Those of us who think Brexit is a huge mistake deserve representation as much as anyone else. In anticipation of the possible question you may want to ask of me: Yes, personally I accept the referendum result. Hate it with all my being, yes, but accept it.
There's a lot of options in Leaving, we don't have to meekly accept May's Brexit choices.
Indeed not and as a LEAVE voter, I resent being told I have to accept whatever half-baked Brexit Messrs May, Johnson, Davis and Fox choose to serve up.
I fully accept they are trying to get "the best deal for Britain" though what that means is open to interpretation. We will have to wait and see - I think it would have been better if there had been a more inclusive approach to the negotiation from the UK side and a wider discussion aimed at reaching a position of national consensus in advance which would have offered the Government greater leverage in negotiation.
Leave wouldn't have won if they had tried to set out a common position. Which was my big mistake in calling the referendum. I thought a (bare) majority would realise the Leave promoters didn't have a workable idea for Brexit.
So the current lot have to make it up as they go along.
Liberal ? Democratic ? Is Farron still stamping his feet because the people didn't vote the way he wanted.
Those of us who think Brexit is a huge mistake deserve representation as much as anyone else. In anticipation of the possible question you may want to ask of me: Yes, personally I accept the referendum result. Hate it with all my being, yes, but accept it.
Well thank God you accept it, I hate to think of the constitutional crisis which would ensue if you didn't.
Any Remainer who failed to get off his/her arse and get out and actively campaign in the referendum itself must be regarded as politically speaking a dickless eunuch from here on in. Why do you deserve representation if you can't be bothered to lift a finger when given the once in a lifetime chance to affect outcomes directly rather than via a representative?
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
Interesting that you didn't quote this bit:
“I think the UK government gets it, but I am not so sure other countries do,” said Guy Platten, the chief executive officer.
He means the UK government gets that it will be an absolute catastrophe. The others don't care.
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
Interesting that you didn't quote this bit:
“I think the UK government gets it, but I am not so sure other countries do,” said Guy Platten, the chief executive officer.
He means the UK government gets that it will be an absolute catastrophe. The others don't care.
It goes against the narrative often posted on here that the UK government is acting like a headless chicken.
Can someone confirm that this isn't a spoof website?
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
Her activities were exposed as a result of an RAF Police investigation which centred on a man identified as organising a bizarre sex party at which owners watched their dogs having sex with women and then went on to have sex themselves with the women.
Can someone confirm that this isn't a spoof website?
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
Her activities were exposed as a result of an RAF Police investigation which centred on a man identified as organising a bizarre sex party at which owners watched their dogs having sex with women and then went on to have sex themselves with the women.
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
2) In some ways, the fact that Labour have got the geriatric apologist for mass murder in place obscures the depth of the doodoo they are in.
This is true, but I was only referring to someone doing better than Corbyn, not necessarily completely fixing the issues Labour has at present.
As a unionist it is deeply sad that the quickest way for Labour to become a more relevant opposition would be for Scotland to go Indy, since while they are not going great in England right now, they have done in the past and are more likely to rebound there, should things go their way, than in Scotland.
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
3) To survive they need to rebuild support. How? They are fresh out of ideas.
They keep trying, day by day. The Tories are still not super popular, and there will be troubel on the horizon. Right leader, in the right moment, and Labour don't even need new ideas, though it would help.
Yes, it is a big ask. At present, like you, I see Labour as too strong to die but too weak to mount a challenge any time soon, even without Corbyn. But that is the first step that is needed, and hopefully they'll make it in the next year or so.
I cannot see it happening before then - locals are locals, who gives a crap, his people will spin it away - although a Gorton loss would be harder to explain away (though not impossible, particularly if Galloway does well). Though I do not expect the question to arise.
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
I'm surprised that the environmental and climate warriors haven't picked up on the quadrupling of lorries arriving at Dover in the last twenty five years.
Three million additional lorries are trundling around the garden of England each year. EU and environmentalism? They're 'avin a larf.
Can someone confirm that this isn't a spoof website?
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
Her activities were exposed as a result of an RAF Police investigation which centred on a man identified as organising a bizarre sex party at which owners watched their dogs having sex with women and then went on to have sex themselves with the women.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
"Two suspects from the Islamist spectrum have become the focus of our investigation. Both of their apartments were searched, and one of the two has been detained."
German media are reporting that the suspect detained is a 25-year-old Iraqi, and the second suspect is a 28-year-old German.
Interesting proposal for corporation tax... Rather than trying to take a share of the profits and trying to close loopholes etc... Government should just take 25% non voting shares in companies.
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
Interesting that you didn't quote this bit:
“I think the UK government gets it, but I am not so sure other countries do,” said Guy Platten, the chief executive officer.
He means the UK government gets that it will be an absolute catastrophe. The others don't care.
It goes against the narrative often posted on here that the UK government is acting like a headless chicken.
They are out of their depth and doing a nearly impossible job (in the time frame) pretty poorly, but I wouldn't say headless chickens, if you exclude Johnson and Fox.
Can someone confirm that this isn't a spoof website?
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
Her activities were exposed as a result of an RAF Police investigation which centred on a man identified as organising a bizarre sex party at which owners watched their dogs having sex with women and then went on to have sex themselves with the women.
It's been picked up by multiple tabloids. I'm fairly sure I saw it on the Beeb too but I can't find it and I'm wary of looking too hard for some reason.
Interesting proposal for corporation tax... Rather than trying to take a share of the profits and trying to close loopholes etc... Government should just take 25% non voting shares in companies.
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
Interesting that you didn't quote this bit:
“I think the UK government gets it, but I am not so sure other countries do,” said Guy Platten, the chief executive officer.
He means the UK government gets that it will be an absolute catastrophe. The others don't care.
It goes against the narrative often posted on here that the UK government is acting like a headless chicken.
They are out of their depth and doing a nearly impossible job (in the time frame) pretty poorly, but I wouldn't say headless chickens, if you exclude Johnson and Fox.
I doubt you'd ever think they were doing a good job!
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present.
Well it was a hypothetical. A good one would take points off May, we're just waiting to see if there is one.
There isn't. Indeed, some possible contenders are far worse than Corbyn (Abbot, Macdonnell).
My key point is as you yourself note, even if there was a new leader these other deadweights remain. Closing the gap a bit is all fine and dandy, but if it makes the difference between 150 seats and 190 seats it hasn't actually made much practical difference.
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present.
Well it was a hypothetical. A good one would take points off May, we're just waiting to see if there is one.
There isn't. Indeed, some possible contenders are far worse than Corbyn (Abbot, Macdonnell).
My key point is as you yourself note, even if there was a new leader these other deadweights remain. Closing the gap a bit is all fine and dandy, but if it makes the difference between 150 seats and 190 seats it hasn't actually made much practical difference.
It is basically Michael Howard to Corbyn's IDS, 190 seats was almost exactly the total Howard got in 2005
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present.
Well it was a hypothetical. A good one would take points off May, we're just waiting to see if there is one.
There isn't. Indeed, some possible contenders are far worse than Corbyn (Abbot, Macdonnell).
My key point is as you yourself note, even if there was a new leader these other deadweights remain. Closing the gap a bit is all fine and dandy, but if it makes the difference between 150 seats and 190 seats it hasn't actually made much practical difference.
It is basically Michael Howard to Corbyn's IDS, 190 seats was almost exactly the total Howard got in 2005
With this crucial difference. For Howard, that was a net gain of seats, the first significant net gain of seats for his party in 22 years. For X, it would still be a net less of 17% of the parliamentary party and the fifth consecutive net loss of seats. Merely being less of a disaster than Corbyn would still not be a help.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
He was allowed in because we have no legal recourse to prevent him. Free movement means free movement.
"Take back control" resonated for so many reasons. "Stronger in" meant nothing.
Carswell's £24k idea seems a great way forward IMO
Buh buh but, it also means you, too have the right to go live under a bridge in Romania!
What was Carswell's 24k idea? The minimum you should earn before being granted the right of free movement? Sounds very sensible to me. Though simply being able to deny people without a British passport the right to benefits, the right to the NHS, etc, would have much the same effect. Combine that with policing the vagrancy laws and insisting on the deportation of all foreign criminals charged with it and "free movement" by and large works.
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present.
Well it was a hypothetical. A good one would take points off May, we're just waiting to see if there is one.
There isn't. Indeed, some possible contenders are far worse than Corbyn (Abbot, Macdonnell).
My key point is as you yourself note, even if there was a new leader these other deadweights remain. Closing the gap a bit is all fine and dandy, but if it makes the difference between 150 seats and 190 seats it hasn't actually made much practical difference.
It is basically Michael Howard to Corbyn's IDS, 190 seats was almost exactly the total Howard got in 2005
With this crucial difference. For Howard, that was a net gain of seats, the first significant net gain of seats for his party in 22 years. For X, it would still be a net less of 17% of the parliamentary party and the fifth consecutive net loss of seats. Merely being less of a disaster than Corbyn would still not be a help.
If they put on the 33 seats Howard did though they would take Labour up to 265 seats, it is not impossible to imagine someone like Keir Starmer doing that and taking Labour up to the 32-33% Howard got, though May would still beat him
...even though only a small percentage of them actively agreed with Hitlerism, and, surely, only the tiniest percentage avowed things like the Holocaust...
This is kind of a modern myth, that everyday German civilians and German soldiers in the Heer (as opposed to the SS) were fighting a war of conquest as opposed to a war of extermination, and that the Holocaust was an aberration or a distraction. It is partially true: in any given citizenry there are people who are, thru stupidity or disinterest, entirely ignorant of their circumstances, and the fatalistics who accept the world as is. It is also true that German civilian standards of living during WW2 was quite high in terms of materialism - better than the Brits and infinitely better than the Western Russians, at least until AngloAmerican bombing really kicked in and the Russians went medieval on them.
But these are exceptions, not the rule: the plan throughout was explicitly a) invade, b) exterminate the indigines thru war and starvation, c) repopulate with Volkish colonists. The Army knew, because they were the ones charged with carrying it out and who damn nearly succeeded. The Holocaust wasn't an exception, it was the rule made machine flesh.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
He was allowed in because we have no legal recourse to prevent him. Free movement means free movement.
"Take back control" resonated for so many reasons. "Stronger in" meant nothing.
Carswell's £24k idea seems a great way forward IMO
Buh buh but, it also means you, too have the right to go live under a bridge in Romania!
What was Carswell's 24k idea? The minimum you should earn before being granted the right of free movement? Sounds very sensible to me. Though simply being able to deny people without a British passport the right to benefits, the right to the NHS, etc, would have much the same effect. Combine that with policing the vagrancy laws and insisting on the deportation of all foreign criminals charged with it and "free movement" by and large works.
How many foeign workers in the agricultural , hotel and care home industries earn £ 24K a year ?
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present.
Well it was a hypothetical. A good one would take points off May, we're just waiting to see if there is one.
There isn't. Indeed, some possible contenders are far worse than Corbyn (Abbot, Macdonnell).
My key point is as you yourself note, even if there was a new leader these other deadweights remain. Closing the gap a bit is all fine and dandy, but if it makes the difference between 150 seats and 190 seats it hasn't actually made much practical difference.
It is basically Michael Howard to Corbyn's IDS, 190 seats was almost exactly the total Howard got in 2005
With this crucial difference. For Howard, that was a net gain of seats, the first significant net gain of seats for his party in 22 years. For X, it would still be a net less of 17% of the parliamentary party and the fifth consecutive net loss of seats. Merely being less of a disaster than Corbyn would still not be a help.
If they put on the 33 seats Howard did though they would take Labour up to 265 seats, it is not impossible to imagine someone like Keir Starmer doing that and taking Labour up to the 32-33% Howard got, though May would still beat him
There I disagree. Labour will need far more than 33% to get 265, and the fact is that they are not even close to that right now anyway. 250 would be a fantastic, break the champagne out result for Labour. Indeed anything over 200 would be good. As for Starmer, he's made a limited success in a very specific role. But that's a far cry from being a leader and his record of muddle, dither and error at the CPS doesn't fill me with confidence he could sort this mess out - even if the members voted for him.
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present.
Well it was a hypothetical. A good one would take points off May, we're just waiting to see if there is one.
There isn't. Indeed, some possible contenders are far worse than Corbyn (Abbot, Macdonnell).
My key point is as you yourself note, even if there was a new leader these other deadweights remain. Closing the gap a bit is all fine and dandy, but if it makes the difference between 150 seats and 190 seats it hasn't actually made much practical difference.
It's easier to climb out of a 4ft pit than an 8ft pit, that's a practical difference - it makes the recovery job less daunting.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
He was allowed in because we have no legal recourse to prevent him. Free movement means free movement.
"Take back control" resonated for so many reasons. "Stronger in" meant nothing.
Carswell's £24k idea seems a great way forward IMO
Buh buh but, it also means you, too have the right to go live under a bridge in Romania!
What was Carswell's 24k idea? The minimum you should earn before being granted the right of free movement? Sounds very sensible to me. Though simply being able to deny people without a British passport the right to benefits, the right to the NHS, etc, would have much the same effect. Combine that with policing the vagrancy laws and insisting on the deportation of all foreign criminals charged with it and "free movement" by and large works.
How many foeign workers in the agricultural , hotel and care home industries earn £ 24K a year ?
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
He was allowed in because we have no legal recourse to prevent him. Free movement means free movement.
"Take back control" resonated for so many reasons. "Stronger in" meant nothing.
Carswell's £24k idea seems a great way forward IMO
Buh buh but, it also means you, too have the right to go live under a bridge in Romania!
What was Carswell's 24k idea? The minimum you should earn before being granted the right of free movement? Sounds very sensible to me. Though simply being able to deny people without a British passport the right to benefits, the right to the NHS, etc, would have much the same effect. Combine that with policing the vagrancy laws and insisting on the deportation of all foreign criminals charged with it and "free movement" by and large works.
How many foeign workers in the agricultural , hotel and care home industries earn £ 24K a year ?
It is better than the £35k 'Leave means Leave' were suggesting but personally I would set it at £20k in London and £15k elsewhere
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
I'm surprised that the environmental and climate warriors haven't picked up on the quadrupling of lorries arriving at Dover in the last twenty five years.
Three million additional lorries are trundling around the garden of England each year. EU and environmentalism? They're 'avin a larf.
Isn't that function of both increased trade and containerisation, irrespective of who it's with? I suspect that there is a similar (or larger) increase in lorries coming out of Felixstowe docks too.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
He was allowed in because we have no legal recourse to prevent him. Free movement means free movement.
"Take back control" resonated for so many reasons. "Stronger in" meant nothing.
Carswell's £24k idea seems a great way forward IMO
Buh buh but, it also means you, too have the right to go live under a bridge in Romania!
What was Carswell's 24k idea? The minimum you should earn before being granted the right of free movement? Sounds very sensible to me. Though simply being able to deny people without a British passport the right to benefits, the right to the NHS, etc, would have much the same effect. Combine that with policing the vagrancy laws and insisting on the deportation of all foreign criminals charged with it and "free movement" by and large works.
How many foeign workers in the agricultural , hotel and care home industries earn £ 24K a year ?
I agree, which is why I think a much simpler solution would be to make the marginal cost to a foreign employee or an employer recruiting a foreigner higher would be a more effective way - you could do this easily by denying them in work benefits, by insisting on a flat £100 per month NHS tax and so on. The tax could be raised or lowered depending on supply and demand for jobs and exempted entirely for certain professions - eg nurses and so on.
The point is taking back control. The right to decide who comes in and how many people come in, whether that's a million migrant workers or ten.
Unfortunately, people get the vote without having to gain your approval first. It's obviously a shame and no doubt only temporary until your suzerainty is acknowledged, but there it is.
A good leader could challenge her better and perhaps help turn some of those positive numbers.
Would s/he? I'm not so sure.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present.
Well it was a hypothetical. A good one would take points off May, we're just waiting to see if there is one.
There isn't. Indeed, some possible contenders are far worse than Corbyn (Abbot, Macdonnell).
My key point is as you yourself note, even if there was a new leader these other deadweights remain. Closing the gap a bit is all fine and dandy, but if it makes the difference between 150 seats and 190 seats it hasn't actually made much practical difference.
It is basically Michael Howard to Corbyn's IDS, 190 seats was almost exactly the total Howard got in 2005
With this crucial difference. For Howard, that was a net gain of seats, the first significant net gain of seats for his party in 22 years. For X, it would still be a net less of 17% of the parliamentary party and the fifth consecutive net loss of seats. Merely being less of a disaster than Corbyn would still not be a help.
If they put on the 33 seats Howard did though they would take Labour up to 265 seats, it is not impossible to imagine someone like Keir Starmer doing that and taking Labour up to the 32-33% Howard got, though May would still beat him
There I disagree. Labour will need far more than 33% to get 265, and the fact is that they are not even close to that right now anyway. 250 would be a fantastic, break the champagne out result for Labour. Indeed anything over 200 would be good. As for Starmer, he's made a limited success in a very specific role. But that's a far cry from being a leader and his record of muddle, dither and error at the CPS doesn't fill me with confidence he could sort this mess out - even if the members voted for him.
Based on UNS 33% would see Labour gain 22 seats, 21 from the Tories and 1 from the LDs, so I was being a little bit optimistic for them but that would still take Labour over the 250 mark to 254 seats, so more MPs than Miliband but slightly less than Brown got http://www.electionpolling.co.uk/battleground/targets/labour
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Why in the flying f*ck should whether it's legal or not matter, lady?!
Ugh, I'd rather debate the open weeping sore that is the state of the Union.
I think that people who wish to have sex with animals must be insane.
I remember reading about a "Mr. Hands" of Seattle, who died from internal injuries after persuading a stallion to mount him.
Catherine the Great of Russia, of course, famously died after being pizzled by a prized stallion in some specially-designed sex-harness, having had her way with several hundred well-hung Russian princelings. ALLEGEDLY.
FWIW bestiality is not that uncommon a fetish, in my experience (though definitely not my cup of tea). Last year I dated a sexy American woman who was once propositioned by a Californian billionaire, his chat up line was that he'd give her $50,000 for the first date, as long as she signed up to his terms
The terms were that she agreed to have sex, on that first date, with his Great Dane dog. As he watched.
She declined.... reluctantly.
Well, I mean, you know. $50,000. For one date? How often have pb-ers been humped by over-eager dogs, trying to impregnate their legs? It's just a step beyond that....
It's just a step beyond that.?
We obviously have very different ideas as to what constitutes first and second base…
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Why in the flying f*ck should whether it's legal or not matter, lady?!
Ugh, I'd rather debate the open weeping sore that is the state of the Union.
I think that people who wish to have sex with animals must be insane.
I remember reading about a "Mr. Hands" of Seattle, who died from internal injuries after persuading a stallion to mount him.
Catherine the Great of Russia, of course, famously died after being pizzled by a prized stallion in some specially-designed sex-harness, having had her way with several hundred well-hung Russian princelings. ALLEGEDLY.
FWIW bestiality is not that uncommon a fetish, in my experience (though definitely not my cup of tea). Last year I dated a sexy American woman who was once propositioned by a Californian billionaire, his chat up line was that he'd give her $50,000 for the first date, as long as she signed up to his terms
The terms were that she agreed to have sex, on that first date, with his Great Dane dog. As he watched.
She declined.... reluctantly.
Well, I mean, you know. $50,000. For one date? How often have pb-ers been humped by over-eager dogs, trying to impregnate their legs? It's just a step beyond that....
It would have been embarrassing to give birth to puppies.
An EU migrant with several convictions in his home country, who was unemployed, and living under a bridge murdered a young Indian woman and was today sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
As a matter of interest, how are you going to check for criminal convictions for people coming into the UK? There is no international registry of convictions. When you do your Visa Waiver for the US, you declare whether you have a conviction, but the US government does not (and cannot) check if what you say is true or not.
FFS. Everyone accepts that Brexit will knock the British economy (I expected it to knock it much more than it has). We're having a baby, it sags yer tits and you get stretch marks. Plus there are enemas.
But to pursue that metaphor, not your tits, or your distended belly, or your invaded jacksie.
Can I just say, as someone without a dog in the fight, I really like that Lib Dem leaflet. Yes, it's brutal, but I think it might be rather effective.
I think it's a good one, though how effective I have a hard time believing 'Labour are doing a poor job with hundreds of MPs, we'll do better with 10' is that effective, even if it is funny.
Comments
McDonnell credible? Vous avez une girafe, m'sieur. And how does "On record, sort of, as opposing it, but seen now as determined to do the best they can for the UK" apply more to Labour than it does to Con?
http://dataviz.ifop.com:8080/IFOP_ROLLING/IFOP_12-04-2017.pdf
SeanT's comment notwithstanding, Le Pen is toxic among the oldest voters yet nearly a third of Fillon's supporters would vote for her in Round 2.
I think Macron would beat Fillon in a second round run off.
He deserves every moment of mortification his first name must have caused him.
Among the over 65s, Fillon polls 37%, Le Pen 14%. Macron's number, 24%, is about the same as his overall number.
A disproportionately high turnout from the over 65s hurts Le Pen far more than Macron even as it boosts Fillon. It would be more likely Fillon would edge Le Pen out than Macron.
However, there doeesn't look to be that disproportionate turnout at this time - 55-64s are as likely to turn out as 65+ voters.
Fillon has voter loyalty but he needs it - there is the 30% undecided vote as well to consider.
My argument after looking at IFOP is that a Macron-Fillon run off can't be discounted.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-baker-corporate-tax-20170410-story.html
The Met Police's figures showed there were 2,544 gun crime offences from April 2016 to April 2017 compared to 1,793 offences from 2015 until 2016.
Knife crime also increased by 24% with 12,074 recorded offences from 2016 to 2017.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39578500
German media are reporting that the suspect detained is a 25-year-old Iraqi, and the second suspect is a 28-year-old German.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39580594
Again the German authorities and media, it is like pulling teeth for them to actually just name the individuals / give full details.
I fully accept they are trying to get "the best deal for Britain" though what that means is open to interpretation. We will have to wait and see - I think it would have been better if there had been a more inclusive approach to the negotiation from the UK side and a wider discussion aimed at reaching a position of national concensus in advance which would have offered the Government greater leverage in negotiation.
1) There is no 'good leader' at present. There is no candidate remotely competent or qualified who is acceptable to the membership. FFS, they are even canvassing vacuous morons like Angela Rayner or fluent liars like Cat Smith as possible leaders. That's how desperate matters are. Yvette Cooper might be a competent PM. However, she hasn't the rhetorical skill, imagination or energy require to be a Leader of the Opposition. Keir Starmer is an urbane version of Gordon Brown. That's it.
2) In some ways, the fact that Labour have got the geriatric apologist for mass murder in place obscures the depth of the doodoo they are in. By 2020, precisely one Labour leader in fifty years will have polled above 40% in a general election, and even then only once - Tony Blair in 1997 (he got almost exactly 40% in 2001). Worse, since 1979 they have polled below 30% in two elections, and barely above it in two more. Their traditional bedrock of support is withering as unions decline and chronic unemployment causes people who used to vote Labour to desert politics altogether, or to depart to superficially radical and attractive alternatives (like the SNP).
3) To survive they need to rebuild support. How? They are fresh out of ideas. One reason Corbyn won is because the others were so shell-shocked by Tory success that they turned themselves into clones of the enemy. What new thinking did they offer? What would they do to make life better for a single mother in a one-bed council flat in Bury? How do they solve the housing crisis? What to do about the national finances? Fair play, Balls and Miliband actually did try to come up with answers to those questions, but in a kack-handed and ineffective way. The later lot - Burnham etc.? Don't make me laugh. Why should you vote for Labour? Heck, the Tories nick their good ideas leaving them spluttering with only the bad ones. Corbyn at least is different. The minor detail that he is different because he is stupid and insane does not excuse the culpability of the old guard.
The UK is facing an “absolute catastrophe” if it does not sort out a “frictionless and seamless” border at Dover and other ports, the shipping industry has warned.
Labour are probably too strong to be killed off, although my view keeps changing on that (after every crisis, I think, 'Surely this is rock bottom now' and then they get the jackhammers out and start digging). They should win around 160 seats in any given election. But it's hard to see them being strong enough to win an election in less than twelve years from here.
There was an unattended bag on the Tube yesterday and I got off to report it (several others were staring at it with some alarm but doing nothing). I can assure you "it's radical jews!" or "It's them bloody Irish again" wasn't going through anyone's minds.
And this is the thing - it's the limbic reactions we can't stop, the reaction to shrink away from anyone in a headscarf or a dark skinned person sweating on the tube in a backpack, who may have just been to the gym for all we know.
Our rational brains don't approve of the reaction, but it's there, and it's going to be there for as long as there are Islamist attacks on what is now a weekly basis - Dortmund, Stockholm, London, and so on.
On a tangent, the main reason I visit this site is its wide range of posters from all political viewpoints who, by and large, manage to debate the issues of the day politely. On the internet, this is a unicorn in terms of rarity. An oasis in the desert. A single port of calm in a (shit)storm of social media.
I would hate to see that change for any reason, whether that be people being handed bans, or people leaving the site due to perceived hostility.
http://www.energia.gr/geofar/page.asp?p_id=54
I'm not sure how much geothermal heat Bordeaux obtains but I can't see that it would disrupt the important business on the surface.
The three devices which exploded next to Borussia Dortmund’s coach were studded with metal shrapnel and pins, one of which pierced a window and embedded itself in a head rest.
The blast, which injured a player and a policeman, had a radius of more than 100 yards and federal prosecutors said it was lucky the toll was not more severe.
Detectives believe that only the strength of the team coach prevented the bombs causing mass casualties.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/12/borussia-dortmund-bus-bombing-police-probe-islamist-letter-referring/
Thank god for German engineering....
“I think the UK government gets it, but I am not so sure other countries do,” said Guy Platten, the chief executive officer.
So the current lot have to make it up as they go along.
Any Remainer who failed to get off his/her arse and get out and actively campaign in the referendum itself must be regarded as politically speaking a dickless eunuch from here on in. Why do you deserve representation if you can't be bothered to lift a finger when given the once in a lifetime chance to affect outcomes directly rather than via a representative?
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
A pensioner who had sex with three different breeds of dogs claimed she did not realise it was illegal.
Carol Bowditch, 64, was filmed having sex with a St Bernard, a black Labrador and an Alsatian.
Her activities were exposed as a result of an RAF Police investigation which centred on a man identified as organising a bizarre sex party at which owners watched their dogs having sex with women and then went on to have sex themselves with the women.
http://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/woman-who-had-sex-with-three-dogs-claimed-she-didn-t-know-it-was-wrong/story-30262649-detail/story.html
As a unionist it is deeply sad that the quickest way for Labour to become a more relevant opposition would be for Scotland to go Indy, since while they are not going great in England right now, they have done in the past and are more likely to rebound there, should things go their way, than in Scotland. They keep trying, day by day. The Tories are still not super popular, and there will be troubel on the horizon. Right leader, in the right moment, and Labour don't even need new ideas, though it would help. Yes, it is a big ask. At present, like you, I see Labour as too strong to die but too weak to mount a challenge any time soon, even without Corbyn. But that is the first step that is needed, and hopefully they'll make it in the next year or so.
I cannot see it happening before then - locals are locals, who gives a crap, his people will spin it away - although a Gorton loss would be harder to explain away (though not impossible, particularly if Galloway does well). Though I do not expect the question to arise.
Three million additional lorries are trundling around the garden of England each year. EU and environmentalism? They're 'avin a larf.
Why was he allowed into the UK?
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/jailed-for-life-immigrant-who-raped-and-murdered-a-hotel-housekeeper-a3
Ugh, I'd rather debate the open weeping sore that is the state of the Union.
But I like the idea of designing the system so ordinary shareholders are on the same side of the equation as the taxman.
So it seems to be genuine.
Edit - found it:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-38369026
My key point is as you yourself note, even if there was a new leader these other deadweights remain. Closing the gap a bit is all fine and dandy, but if it makes the difference between 150 seats and 190 seats it hasn't actually made much practical difference.
"Take back control" resonated for so many reasons. "Stronger in" meant nothing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7885918.stm
I remember reading about a "Mr. Hands" of Seattle, who died from internal injuries after persuading a stallion to mount him.
What was Carswell's 24k idea? The minimum you should earn before being granted the right of free movement? Sounds very sensible to me. Though simply being able to deny people without a British passport the right to benefits, the right to the NHS, etc, would have much the same effect. Combine that with policing the vagrancy laws and insisting on the deportation of all foreign criminals charged with it and "free movement" by and large works.
But these are exceptions, not the rule: the plan throughout was explicitly a) invade, b) exterminate the indigines thru war and starvation, c) repopulate with Volkish colonists. The Army knew, because they were the ones charged with carrying it out and who damn nearly succeeded. The Holocaust wasn't an exception, it was the rule made machine flesh.
You might want to read Clive James's well-argued if incomplete rebuttal of Goldhagen here.
The point is taking back control. The right to decide who comes in and how many people come in, whether that's a million migrant workers or ten.
Unfortunately, people get the vote without having to gain your approval first. It's obviously a shame and no doubt only temporary until your suzerainty is acknowledged, but there it is.
http://www.electionpolling.co.uk/battleground/targets/labour
We obviously have very different ideas as to what constitutes first and second base…