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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Caught in the backwash. The SNP subsides and the Conservatives

SystemSystem Posts: 11,702
edited April 2017 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Caught in the backwash. The SNP subsides and the Conservatives surge

In 2010, not a single seat in Scotland changed hands.  Electoral politics north of the border has got a bit more dynamic since then.  2017 will not be as wild as 2015 but the polls suggest a fair amount of movement.

Read the full story here


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Comments

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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,989
    First, glorious first!
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,989
    A Scottish Tory Surge thread? Am I in heaven??
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    Third! Like SLAB......
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    The polls this month are suggesting a 10 to 12% swing from the Conservatives to the SNP. (shome mishtake shurely? - ed.)
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    Agree with Mr Meeks - in addition Mr Gravity has exerted his inevitable pull on Ms Sturgeon's previously stratospheric leadership ratings - and while still good - have suffered an over 50 point fall from their peak.
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,989

    The polls this month are suggesting a 10 to 12% swing from the Conservatives to the SNP. (shome mishtake shurely? - ed.)

    Maybe scotslass was the subeditor? :)
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,989
    Off topic, but I hope the BBC have learned from CNN's election coverage in 2016. We want more maps/numbers than talking heads.
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    AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    edited April 2017
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    RobD said:

    The polls this month are suggesting a 10 to 12% swing from the Conservatives to the SNP. (shome mishtake shurely? - ed.)

    Maybe scotslass was the subeditor? :)
    Nah.....not enough.....

    https://twitter.com/NicolaSturgoen/status/856589811171373057
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    I doubt they read the Scottish Daily Mail in Bute House anyway....

    https://twitter.com/AgentP22/status/858077448235352065
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,989
    AndyJS said:
    Fascinating. Thanks for linking them!
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    AndyJS said:
    Fascinating!

    The most 'British' place is in Oldham - where 43% were born outside the UK.

    The least 'British' place is in Dundee - where only 4% were born outside the UK, but it is strongly SNP with "education and economic indicators significantly below average"
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    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    Morning all.

    Cheers Mr Meeks, it’s a marvel that we are seeing such a thread on PB so soon after the 2015 wipe-out, despite the lack of plum betting opportunities it appears to have provided.
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,989
    edited April 2017
    AndyJS said:
    I enjoy the fact that the Lib Dem heartland looks like a desolate wilderness... :D (probably unfair of me on the beautiful scenery up there!!)
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    GeoffMGeoffM Posts: 6,071
    The wonderful Milo has announced a new news, book and social media venture.

    “This isn’t some vanity nameplate on a personal blog. This is a fully tooled-up talent factory and management company dedicated to the destruction of political correctness and the progressive left. I will spend every waking moment of the rest of my life making the lives of journalists, professors, politicians, feminists, Black Lives Matter activists and other professional victims a living hell. Free speech is back — and it is fabulous.”

    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10208971036928639&id=1097887344

    Last night I was up until some daft hour watching Milo's speech at the University of New Mexico on YouTube and tonight I've watched the UC - Colorado Springs talk (again). Really recommended.

    "MILO, Inc. will bring laughter and war to every corner of America in dozens of different formats. I will fight harder and look hotter than anyone else on the political right. And I will do more damage to the political left than anyone else in American culture.

    "I'd like to say thank you to my haters for this great gift. Your furious tweets will heat my pool."


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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    The Sun lists 5 Tory targets in Scotland:

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3441400/theresa-may-unveils-bold-plea-to-oust-scottish-national-party/

    Expectations management? Diversionary tactics? What's going on......?
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    Jeremy's week just got better:

    JEREMY Corbyn and his top shadow ministers have been accused of being in bed with shamed tank chasing lawyers accused of hounding British troops.

    A damning dossier was published that details the Labour boss and three of his top team’s close links to two under fire firms.


    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3441517/jeremy-corbyn-and-minister-emily-thornberry-accused-of-close-links-with-tank-chasing-lawyers/
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    rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 7,916
    GeoffM said:

    The wonderful Milo has announced a new news, book and social media venture.

    “This isn’t some vanity nameplate on a personal blog. This is a fully tooled-up talent factory and management company dedicated to the destruction of political correctness and the progressive left. I will spend every waking moment of the rest of my life making the lives of journalists, professors, politicians, feminists, Black Lives Matter activists and other professional victims a living hell. Free speech is back — and it is fabulous.”

    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10208971036928639&id=1097887344

    Last night I was up until some daft hour watching Milo's speech at the University of New Mexico on YouTube and tonight I've watched the UC - Colorado Springs talk (again). Really recommended.

    "MILO, Inc. will bring laughter and war to every corner of America in dozens of different formats. I will fight harder and look hotter than anyone else on the political right. And I will do more damage to the political left than anyone else in American culture.

    "I'd like to say thank you to my haters for this great gift. Your furious tweets will heat my pool."


    Are you giving him money?
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    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    Would someone kindly turn down the deafening volume of the Scottish Tory klaxon as Mrs JackW is still enjoying her beauty sleep and my finances require considerable peace and quiet after receiving open wallet surgery from the good lady single handedly attempting to improve France's retail numbers !!
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    tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,205
    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.
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    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300

    Jeremy's week just got better:

    JEREMY Corbyn and his top shadow ministers have been accused of being in bed with shamed tank chasing lawyers accused of hounding British troops.

    A damning dossier was published that details the Labour boss and three of his top team’s close links to two under fire firms.


    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3441517/jeremy-corbyn-and-minister-emily-thornberry-accused-of-close-links-with-tank-chasing-lawyers/

    A damning dossier was published by whom?
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    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    edited April 2017
    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
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    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,941
    Morning all. Good piece as usual from @AlastairMeeks, shame there's no 50/1 bets that might come off in Scotland this time.

    One query though, second paragraph, surely the 10-12% swing is from the SNP to the Conservatives, rather than the other way around?
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    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,941

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    They're keeping Corbyn well away from anywhere marginal?
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    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351
    edited April 2017

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Labour are worried they no longer have any safe seats?

    Or perhaps they need to keep Corbyn away from the marginals?

    Or the local MP is a Blairite and they are trying to remove him/her?

    I don't know I'm just offering possible explanations.

    Edit - number three seems a possibility on Hillier's record. However, she must be an old acquaintance of Corbyn as she is a former mayor of Islington, so maybe it's just (2).
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Even Corbyn can't sink a 51% Majority?
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    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Even Corbyn can't sink a 51% Majority?
    Indeed, and conveniently only three stops on the tube from Jeremy’s front door.
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    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Even Corbyn can't sink a 51% Majority?
    That's a very bold statement!
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787

    Jeremy's week just got better:

    JEREMY Corbyn and his top shadow ministers have been accused of being in bed with shamed tank chasing lawyers accused of hounding British troops.

    A damning dossier was published that details the Labour boss and three of his top team’s close links to two under fire firms.


    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3441517/jeremy-corbyn-and-minister-emily-thornberry-accused-of-close-links-with-tank-chasing-lawyers/

    A damning dossier was published by whom?
    The Sun by the looks of it.....the Telegraph covered it over a year ago:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/12085895/Jeremy-Corbyn-condemmned-over-links-to-lawyers-who-accused-British-troops-of-abuse.html
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    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,144

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Maybe because he can cycle there?
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    edited April 2017

    AndyJS said:
    Fascinating!

    The most 'British' place is in Oldham - where 43% were born outside the UK.

    The least 'British' place is in Dundee - where only 4% were born outside the UK, but it is strongly SNP with "education and economic indicators significantly below average"
    Yes, great articles.

    Perhaps surprisingly to some, Muslims self describe as British more frequently than ethnic Britons (in part because many of those self descibe as one of the 4 nations). I find that encouraging.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/11/british-muslims-strong-sense-of-belonging-poll-homosexuality-sharia-law

    On a microgeographic level the divide between Leave and Remain is even more striking. Brexit Britain is Jaywick, Remain Britain is Brighton.

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    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351
    I wouldn't normally recommend anything by someone who thinks Sion Simon is a good candidate. However, take a look at this:

    http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2017/04/28/the-tory-taste-of-death/

    Not the article itself, which is the usual pompous and incoherent drivel (you can tell the author is a friend of Simon's) but the comments.

    If (if!) those two commentators are in any way representative of Labour's core support, then we should expect Labour to forfeit large numbers of seats in the North of England and possibly do even worse than expected in Wales.

    I still can't quite believe they'll dip to 15%, but everything looks incredibly ominous. And the campaign still isn't properly underway yet.
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Maybe because he can cycle there?
    En-route to the allotment?
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    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351
    It is perhaps also worth dragging up this leaflet from a long while back:

    https://leftfootforward.org/2010/10/southern-discomfort-is-now-labours-universal-discomfort/

    It is worth remembering that Labour's reputation has declined significantly since the disastrous days when 13% of people in the north thought they managed public services efficiently - a figure embarrassingly double that in the south.
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    Postal vote returns for local elections in my part of Lancashire much slower than in 2013.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    edited April 2017
    ydoethur said:

    I wouldn't normally recommend anything by someone who thinks Sion Simon is a good candidate. However, take a look at this:

    http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2017/04/28/the-tory-taste-of-death/

    Not the article itself, which is the usual pompous and incoherent drivel (you can tell the author is a friend of Simon's) but the comments.

    If (if!) those two commentators are in any way representative of Labour's core support, then we should expect Labour to forfeit large numbers of seats in the North of England and possibly do even worse than expected in Wales.

    I still can't quite believe they'll dip to 15%, but everything looks incredibly ominous. And the campaign still isn't properly underway yet.

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,419
    Is Betfair ever going to settle the date-of-election bets? You'd think HMQs formal decision would be sufficient.
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,374

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    That's where they seem to want to send him. Less damage that way and he finds people that agree with him which cheers him up. Which is nice.
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    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    Just a brief reminder that all three pollsters who have provided Scotland only polls significantly overstated the SNP's lead over the Tories at Holyrood 2016.

    You Gov overstated the gap by 4.5.
    Survation overstated the gap by 5.5.
    Panelbase overstated the gap by 7.5

    It would be worth knowing how they have adjusted weightings and methods in the interim.

    It is also worth noting that the Tories are level or leading with Survation and Panelbase 55+ demographic and Yougov's 50+.

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    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Very good bus connections from Islington. Maybe he's going clubbing tonight in Hoxton?
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    DavidL said:

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    That's where they seem to want to send him. Less damage that way and he finds people that agree with him which cheers him up. Which is nice.
    Yes, it seems a good plan to keep him in Islington. Many Labour MPs are much happier running as defacto Independent Labour.
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    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,941
    ydoethur said:

    I wouldn't normally recommend anything by someone who thinks Sion Simon is a good candidate. However, take a look at this:

    http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2017/04/28/the-tory-taste-of-death/

    Not the article itself, which is the usual pompous and incoherent drivel (you can tell the author is a friend of Simon's) but the comments.

    If (if!) those two commentators are in any way representative of Labour's core support, then we should expect Labour to forfeit large numbers of seats in the North of England and possibly do even worse than expected in Wales.

    I still can't quite believe they'll dip to 15%, but everything looks incredibly ominous. And the campaign still isn't properly underway yet.

    The first paragraph of that could have been writtten by @TheScreamingEagles. The comments underneath are brutal, I think the calling of the election has given Andy Street a huge boost in the West Midlands.
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    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,144

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Maybe because he can cycle there?
    En-route to the allotment?
    That would be a good use of his Bank Holiday weekend for all concerned.....
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,005
    Och aye tha noo, my fellow North Britons.

    Interesting article, Mr. Meeks. I've backed, with small sums, the Conservatives to make gains here and there, but avoided the 12 seat bet. I wouldn't be surprised if the SNP were still on 50+ (I'd be surprised if they hit low 40s), but we'll see.

    As we shall also see how the Ferraris perform in P3 and whether Mercedes can narrow the seeming gap.
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    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.

    There seem to be big risks in that approach to me. If we leave, and it makes little or no difference to our economy despite the threats, it seems likely other nations will quickly follow. If we leave and it causes a financial crash, the contagion could bring down Deutsche Bank and all bets on the euro's survival are off.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
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    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,941

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Maybe because he can cycle there?
    En-route to the allotment?
    That would be a good use of his Bank Holiday weekend for all concerned.....
    It would be a good use of the next six weeks to be honest. Outside his own little bit of North London, Labour MPs don't want him near their constituencies.
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,131
    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,374
    According to Electoral Calculus Pete Wishart is going to hold on in Perth and North Perthshire by 0.3%. I did some canvassing in that seat in 2015. We had quite a strong local candidate, Alex Stewart, who was a popular and hard working councillor in Perth. He is now an MSP. The Tory vote went up but not by nearly as much as Wishart's did and he got just over 50% of the vote.

    I would really like the Tories to be very close or even take this seat and I will be spending time there again myself but it seems remarkable to me that it is thought to be in play at all. I have met Ian Duncan, the MEP who is the candidate this time around. He is very bright, articulate and personable but frankly nowhere nearly as well known in the Constituency as Alex was.

    Alastair may be right in that this may be another wave election where the quality of the candidate doesn't really matter that much. I am not sure in a General Election, as opposed to a bye election, how important the candidate is anyway these days. Political campaigning seems to be ever more a series of photo-ops by the leaders and I really wonder how much good leaflets etc at local level do. That said, even though I find him irritating Wishart seems pretty popular and he is a lot more high profile than most of the 56 the SNP originally sent to Westminster.

    If I was betting on this seat it would be on the SNP. But I couldn't bring myself to do that.
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    archer101auarcher101au Posts: 1,612
    I think this is spot on. The EU are so blinded by their supposed greatness that they can't see the huge risk they are taking - it may turn out that the single market is not so massively valuable after all. If the UK leaves on WTO terms and does not suffer badly, it will be carte blanche for anyone else to leave. Tactically, they should have treated the UK as a special case and quietly and quickly settled it and moved on.

    I think that the EU just can't contemplate that the UK will leave without a deal because they are so insular in their thinking, so they assume that we will take a crap deal at the last minute and that will be bad enough to scare off other countries from leaving.

    I strongly suspect that the UK public will support the Government in rejecting a deal that is obviously unequal regardless of the supposed consequences. Then the EU are in a huge gamble if it turns out that we do not crash after all.

    So the question is whether May wants a big majority to execute a no-deal exit, or to cave into a bad deal. I don't see a reasonable deal as even a remote possibility.
    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.

    There seem to be big risks in that approach to me. If we leave, and it makes little or no difference to our economy despite the threats, it seems likely other nations will quickly follow. If we leave and it causes a financial crash, the contagion could bring down Deutsche Bank and all bets on the euro's survival are off.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
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    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,061
    Off-topic:

    My FB feed is getting entertaining at the moment. A fair few of my friends are Labour supporters, and are in no way hesitant to say so.

    One meme that's coming up is the BBC being biased to the Conservatives (i.e. the old refrain of "they're not reporting the news how I'd like it to be reported.")

    This includes the following: "The BBC is so biased, the Tories should be forced to declare our TV licences as election expenses."

    LOL. Labour are going to get crushed.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,991
    Aberdeen makes sense, Aberdeen South and WAK are both top targets.
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    MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034
    Sandpit said:

    ydoethur said:

    I wouldn't normally recommend anything by someone who thinks Sion Simon is a good candidate. However, take a look at this:

    http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2017/04/28/the-tory-taste-of-death/

    Not the article itself, which is the usual pompous and incoherent drivel (you can tell the author is a friend of Simon's) but the comments.

    If (if!) those two commentators are in any way representative of Labour's core support, then we should expect Labour to forfeit large numbers of seats in the North of England and possibly do even worse than expected in Wales.

    I still can't quite believe they'll dip to 15%, but everything looks incredibly ominous. And the campaign still isn't properly underway yet.

    The first paragraph of that could have been writtten by @TheScreamingEagles. The comments underneath are brutal, I think the calling of the election has given Andy Street a huge boost in the West Midlands.
    Interesting to see Madasafish, formerly of this parish, commenting there.
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    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
    That will be difficult if the EU itself refuses to negotiate, which is what I am expecting. There's just too big a gap between what the government here can put forward and what they would be willing to even discuss.
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    IcarusIcarus Posts: 908
    "We have to fight for our MPs because they are the talent pool from which a future Labour Party capable of winning and governing will need to emerge."

    This from Luke Akehurst's article unwittingly neatly sets out Labour's problem!
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
    The next time Europe's second biggest economy, nuclear power and security council member wants to walk out then 'Brexit' will be irrelevant - because that will be France and the whole game will be up. Much as the French learned 'pour encourager les autres' from the British, I think our EU friends are drawing the wrong lesson. What they appear to be proposing sounds awfully like the forbidden 'cherry picking'.....which only is forbidden if we want to do it.....I do hope the Tory manifesto has half a dozen Fisheries patrol vessels in it to concentrate continental minds.....
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    Sandpit said:

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    Maybe because he can cycle there?
    En-route to the allotment?
    That would be a good use of his Bank Holiday weekend for all concerned.....
    It would be a good use of the next six weeks to be honest. Outside his own little bit of North London, Labour MPs don't want him near their constituencies.

    I loved the snarky Labour HQ Press Release yesterday saying 'At the Labour Party HQ Jeremy said Theresa May should be getting out meeting people..."
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,131
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
    That will be difficult if the EU itself refuses to negotiate, which is what I am expecting. There's just too big a gap between what the government here can put forward and what they would be willing to even discuss.
    May's political bubble would burst very quickly if she walked away with 18 months still on the clock and nothing agreed. All indications are that the government does not have the capacity to prepare for such an outcome.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.

    There seem to be big risks in that approach to me. If we leave, and it makes little or no difference to our economy despite the threats, it seems likely other nations will quickly follow. If we leave and it causes a financial crash, the contagion could bring down Deutsche Bank and all bets on the euro's survival are off.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
    I don't particularly want another Brexit thread, but the EU is right that Brexit is punishment enough. They are simply agreeing that Brexit means Brexit, and accepting of the referendum result.

    Britain will survive, but it will change the country, quite possibly break it up. Britain will look more like Jaywick and less like Brighton, but that is a feature not a bug.

  • Options
    Fat_SteveFat_Steve Posts: 361

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    That is slightly extraordinary. Hackney and Shoreditch is indeed very Labour, and probably (from feel) pretty Corbynite already.
    But maybe that's just Jeremy Corbyn's style - Visit an area where everyone agrees with you, and assure them that they're quite right, and everybody goes home feeling warm. Rather than deal with the awful people who aren't yet as enlightened as you.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
    That will be difficult if the EU itself refuses to negotiate, which is what I am expecting. There's just too big a gap between what the government here can put forward and what they would be willing to even discuss.
    May's political bubble would burst very quickly if she walked away with 18 months still on the clock and nothing agreed. All indications are that the government does not have the capacity to prepare for such an outcome.
    Which is why she needs a safe majority before it happens.
  • Options
    Fat_SteveFat_Steve Posts: 361

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.

    There seem to be big risks in that approach to me. If we leave, and it makes little or no difference to our economy despite the threats, it seems likely other nations will quickly follow. If we leave and it causes a financial crash, the contagion could bring down Deutsche Bank and all bets on the euro's survival are off.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
    I don't particularly want another Brexit thread, but the EU is right that Brexit is punishment enough. They are simply agreeing that Brexit means Brexit, and accepting of the referendum result.

    Britain will survive, but it will change the country, quite possibly break it up. Britain will look more like Jaywick and less like Brighton, but that is a feature not a bug.

    Swings and roundabouts. I don;t want to be more like Jaywick, but less like Brighton is fine by me. There's only so much vegan carrot cake a man can eat.
  • Options
    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,005
    Mr. Au, I broadly agree, except that I think it's possible May will feel political pressure for a 'win' (in this instance, that being a deal). Hopefully we won't find out, as the alternatives there are a bad deal and no deal.
  • Options
    SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
    That will be difficult if the EU itself refuses to negotiate, which is what I am expecting. There's just too big a gap between what the government here can put forward and what they would be willing to even discuss.
    May's political bubble would burst very quickly if she walked away with 18 months still on the clock and nothing agreed. All indications are that the government does not have the capacity to prepare for such an outcome.
    : are u always this negative?
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,374
    Pulpstar said:

    Aberdeen makes sense, Aberdeen South and WAK are both top targets.

    If the Tories don't take WAK it will have been an extremely disappointing night for them in Scotland once again. I think it is pretty nailed on.

    Aberdeen is a very unhappy place these days on the back of the oil crash. The difference in Union Street is palpable with a good number of the best restaurants (and Jamie Oliver) gone. 3 years ago when I was staying there overnight for a Court case getting change out of £150 a night was difficult. Recently I got an aparthotel in the centre for £80. Speaking to locals the perception seems to be that the SNP are far more interested in the central belt than them (this is a recurring theme throughout the north east) and have done too little to help. It would not surprise me if Aberdeen South is in play.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    DavidL said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Aberdeen makes sense, Aberdeen South and WAK are both top targets.

    If the Tories don't take WAK it will have been an extremely disappointing night for them in Scotland once again. I think it is pretty nailed on.

    Aberdeen is a very unhappy place these days on the back of the oil crash. The difference in Union Street is palpable with a good number of the best restaurants (and Jamie Oliver) gone. 3 years ago when I was staying there overnight for a Court case getting change out of £150 a night was difficult. Recently I got an aparthotel in the centre for £80. Speaking to locals the perception seems to be that the SNP are far more interested in the central belt than them (this is a recurring theme throughout the north east) and have done too little to help. It would not surprise me if Aberdeen South is in play.
    The combination of the oil price crash and the fisheries in the NE of Scotland is the best place to look for anti SNP swings.

    I am not at all sure there is much value left though, and that seems to be Mr Meeks conclusion too.
  • Options
    ToryJimToryJim Posts: 3,454
    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    He hasn't got the right type of beard for shoreditch.
  • Options
    Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    Fat_Steve said:

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    Why? Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency most be one of Labour’s safest seats.
    That is slightly extraordinary. Hackney and Shoreditch is indeed very Labour, and probably (from feel) pretty Corbynite already.
    But maybe that's just Jeremy Corbyn's style - Visit an area where everyone agrees with you, and assure them that they're quite right, and everybody goes home feeling warm. Rather than deal with the awful people who aren't yet as enlightened as you.
    It is entirely consistent with the Labour Party's rumoured campaign strategy: send Jeremy either to Conservative-held marginals (which nobody outside of his faction thinks are likely to be taken) or to Labour seats with such enormous majorities that not even he can contrive to lose them. He's to be kept, insofar as possible, away from Labour's vulnerable defences. Which, in this election, probably means at least the top 75 most endangered Labour-held marginals, possibly more.

    The Conservatives, meanwhile, think their leader might be able to help them win Aberdeen S and AW&K from the SNP, which is not inconceivable. Such are the times in which we live.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    ToryJim said:

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    He hasn't got the right type of beard for shoreditch.
    Hipster chic is all about "authenticity", hence the adoption of artisan bread, craft beer, tattoos, lumberjack shirts etc. Jezza actually fits this well, but really because he politically dates from a Seventies counter-culture hybridisation of "The Good Life" and "Citizen Smith". I am not so sure that he would be friends with Margot Leadbetter though.
  • Options
    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,144


    Interesting article, Mr. Meeks. I've backed, with small sums, the Conservatives to make gains here and there, but avoided the 12 seat bet. I wouldn't be surprised if the SNP were still on 50+ (I'd be surprised if they hit low 40s), but we'll see.

    We'll have to wait on the results. Beware anyone at the counts reporting "glum looking SNP faces" - how could they possibly tell?

    (Getting my cheap shot at malc in early for the day....)
  • Options
    chestnutchestnut Posts: 7,341
    edited April 2017

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
    That will be difficult if the EU itself refuses to negotiate, which is what I am expecting. There's just too big a gap between what the government here can put forward and what they would be willing to even discuss.
    May's political bubble would burst very quickly if she walked away with 18 months still on the clock and nothing agreed. All indications are that the government does not have the capacity to prepare for such an outcome.
    Are Europe prepared?

    My guess, using the eurozone and the migrant crisis as precedents, is probably no.

    One of the underpinning characteristics of any european related issue seems to be that they have almost always failed to put the correct foundations in place for anything.

    This will be the same.

    They never imagined anyone walking away. They will misread and mishandle it, damaging themselves in the process.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
    That will be difficult if the EU itself refuses to negotiate, which is what I am expecting. There's just too big a gap between what the government here can put forward and what they would be willing to even discuss.
    May's political bubble would burst very quickly if she walked away with 18 months still on the clock and nothing agreed. All indications are that the government does not have the capacity to prepare for such an outcome.
    Yes, very possibly true. But you're missing my point. I don't think she will have the option of walking away because I think from early indications the EU are getting ready to storm out first. Which as I have set out above is a position reckless to the point of insanity, so we probably shouldn't be surprised that Verhfostadt and Juncker are enthusiastically preparing for it.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    Fat_Steve said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.

    There seem to be big risks in that approach to me. If we leave, and it makes little or no difference to our economy despite the threats, it seems likely other nations will quickly follow. If we leave and it causes a financial crash, the contagion could bring down Deutsche Bank and all bets on the euro's survival are off.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
    I don't particularly want another Brexit thread, but the EU is right that Brexit is punishment enough. They are simply agreeing that Brexit means Brexit, and accepting of the referendum result.

    Britain will survive, but it will change the country, quite possibly break it up. Britain will look more like Jaywick and less like Brighton, but that is a feature not a bug.

    Swings and roundabouts. I don;t want to be more like Jaywick, but less like Brighton is fine by me. There's only so much vegan carrot cake a man can eat.
    I am quite partial to carrot cake, but Leavers would be well advised to adopt the lifestyle of Remainers in terms of diet and exercise. Vegetarianism and hipster bikes keep you healthy.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351

    Fat_Steve said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.

    There seem to be big risks in that approach to me. If we leave, and it makes little or no difference to our economy despite the threats, it seems likely other nations will quickly follow. If we leave and it causes a financial crash, the contagion could bring down Deutsche Bank and all bets on the euro's survival are off.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
    I don't particularly want another Brexit thread, but the EU is right that Brexit is punishment enough. They are simply agreeing that Brexit means Brexit, and accepting of the referendum result.

    Britain will survive, but it will change the country, quite possibly break it up. Britain will look more like Jaywick and less like Brighton, but that is a feature not a bug.

    Swings and roundabouts. I don;t want to be more like Jaywick, but less like Brighton is fine by me. There's only so much vegan carrot cake a man can eat.
    I am quite partial to carrot cake, but Leavers would be well advised to adopt the lifestyle of Remainers in terms of diet and exercise. Vegetarianism and hipster bikes keep you healthy.
    The only problem with that logic is that at my school the teachers (who have virtually no time to exercise) were solidly Remain, and the most prominent Leaver was the superfit and rigorous dietician that is the football coach!
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,374

    DavidL said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Aberdeen makes sense, Aberdeen South and WAK are both top targets.

    If the Tories don't take WAK it will have been an extremely disappointing night for them in Scotland once again. I think it is pretty nailed on.

    Aberdeen is a very unhappy place these days on the back of the oil crash. The difference in Union Street is palpable with a good number of the best restaurants (and Jamie Oliver) gone. 3 years ago when I was staying there overnight for a Court case getting change out of £150 a night was difficult. Recently I got an aparthotel in the centre for £80. Speaking to locals the perception seems to be that the SNP are far more interested in the central belt than them (this is a recurring theme throughout the north east) and have done too little to help. It would not surprise me if Aberdeen South is in play.
    The combination of the oil price crash and the fisheries in the NE of Scotland is the best place to look for anti SNP swings.

    I am not at all sure there is much value left though, and that seems to be Mr Meeks conclusion too.
    I agree. Such value as there is is probably identifying where the Tories are likely to fall short (like Perth) and betting accordingly, a bit like Labour seats in England.
  • Options
    ydoethurydoethur Posts: 67,351
    edited April 2017
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Aberdeen makes sense, Aberdeen South and WAK are both top targets.

    If the Tories don't take WAK it will have been an extremely disappointing night for them in Scotland once again. I think it is pretty nailed on.

    Aberdeen is a very unhappy place these days on the back of the oil crash. The difference in Union Street is palpable with a good number of the best restaurants (and Jamie Oliver) gone. 3 years ago when I was staying there overnight for a Court case getting change out of £150 a night was difficult. Recently I got an aparthotel in the centre for £80. Speaking to locals the perception seems to be that the SNP are far more interested in the central belt than them (this is a recurring theme throughout the north east) and have done too little to help. It would not surprise me if Aberdeen South is in play.
    The combination of the oil price crash and the fisheries in the NE of Scotland is the best place to look for anti SNP swings.

    I am not at all sure there is much value left though, and that seems to be Mr Meeks conclusion too.
    I agree. Such value as there is is probably identifying where the Tories are likely to fall short (like Perth) and betting accordingly, a bit like Labour seats in England.
    Hooray, thank you for steering us back to topic!

    Out of curiosity, why do you think the Tories will fall short in Perth?
  • Options
    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,005
    Dr. Foxinsox, I thought hipster chic was all about being a pretentious twit.

    But there we are. I'm just a grizzled morris dancer from Yorkshire who finds the concept of a shop selling sticks, within walking distance of a park, bloody ridiculous.
  • Options
    Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905
    DavidL said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Aberdeen makes sense, Aberdeen South and WAK are both top targets.

    If the Tories don't take WAK it will have been an extremely disappointing night for them in Scotland once again. I think it is pretty nailed on.

    Aberdeen is a very unhappy place these days on the back of the oil crash. The difference in Union Street is palpable with a good number of the best restaurants (and Jamie Oliver) gone. 3 years ago when I was staying there overnight for a Court case getting change out of £150 a night was difficult. Recently I got an aparthotel in the centre for £80. Speaking to locals the perception seems to be that the SNP are far more interested in the central belt than them (this is a recurring theme throughout the north east) and have done too little to help. It would not surprise me if Aberdeen South is in play.
    *IF* (and it's still a big if, of course,) the independence drive goes off the boil and we get more of a return to politics as usual in Scotland, then one possible end point is that the electoral map goes all the way back to the 70s or 80s, only with the SNP taking the place of Labour. That being the case, the SNP would remain the largest party, but with its strength predominantly concentrated in the central belt. The Tories and Lib Dems would carve up the rest of the country between them, with the SNP being driven back into 3 or 4 redoubts, perhaps fewer. You can see them being left with nothing north of Fife, save for Dundee. But that remains to be seen, of course.
  • Options
    Fat_SteveFat_Steve Posts: 361

    Fat_Steve said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.

    There seem to be big risks in that approach to me. If we leave, and it makes little or no difference to our economy despite the threats, it seems likely other nations will quickly follow. If we leave and it causes a financial crash, the contagion could bring down Deutsche Bank and all bets on the euro's survival are off.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
    I don't particularly want another Brexit thread, but the EU is right that Brexit is punishment enough. They are simply agreeing that Brexit means Brexit, and accepting of the referendum result.

    Britain will survive, but it will change the country, quite possibly break it up. Britain will look more like Jaywick and less like Brighton, but that is a feature not a bug.

    Swings and roundabouts. I don;t want to be more like Jaywick, but less like Brighton is fine by me. There's only so much vegan carrot cake a man can eat.
    I am quite partial to carrot cake, but Leavers would be well advised to adopt the lifestyle of Remainers in terms of diet and exercise. Vegetarianism and hipster bikes keep you healthy.
    Well I had a craft beer not long ago, not a thousand miles from Shoreditch, and something in it was still alive. I was ropey for 3 days.
    You can overdo the authenticity.
  • Options

    Dr. Foxinsox, I thought hipster chic was all about being a pretentious twit.

    But there we are. I'm just a grizzled morris dancer from Yorkshire who finds the concept of a shop selling sticks, within walking distance of a park, bloody ridiculous.

    Ingleborough hike today, not a stick insight. Just Yorkshire at its best and lots of exercise.
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    saddenedsaddened Posts: 2,245
    Can somebody explain something to me? If free movement of labour is such a massive benefit. Why doesn't the EU want to punish us by removing it from us?
  • Options
    JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,016

    ToryJim said:

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    He hasn't got the right type of beard for shoreditch.
    Hipster chic is all about "authenticity", hence the adoption of artisan bread, craft beer, tattoos, lumberjack shirts etc. Jezza actually fits this well, but really because he politically dates from a Seventies counter-culture hybridisation of "The Good Life" and "Citizen Smith". I am not so sure that he would be friends with Margot Leadbetter though.
    As a Leaver, I run (surely a far more paleo conservative activity than cycling) and am on a low carb high fat diet which is much better for me than all those carbohydrates, and suits my iconoclastic nature. And I get to eat bacon and egg for breakfast.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    Dr. Foxinsox, I thought hipster chic was all about being a pretentious twit.

    But there we are. I'm just a grizzled morris dancer from Yorkshire who finds the concept of a shop selling sticks, within walking distance of a park, bloody ridiculous.

    There is a lot of pretension in hipster fashion, but surely there is always pretension in fashion. A tattood, bearded webdesigner in lumberjack shirt is dressing like a mythological worker. Equally, working class fashion is pretension. Sportswear is hardly ever worn by any one other than overweight couch potatoes!
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    ToryJimToryJim Posts: 3,454
    Mr Dancer, I went to Shoreditch recently and you are broadly correct. It's depressing.
  • Options
    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
    That will be difficult if the EU itself refuses to negotiate, which is what I am expecting. There's just too big a gap between what the government here can put forward and what they would be willing to even discuss.
    May's political bubble would burst very quickly if she walked away with 18 months still on the clock and nothing agreed. All indications are that the government does not have the capacity to prepare for such an outcome.
    Yes, very possibly true. But you're missing my point. I don't think she will have the option of walking away because I think from early indications the EU are getting ready to storm out first.
    The 'exit bill' is one obvious issue - but I'm more concerned by this 'EU nationals benefitting from the ECJ and EU regulations indefinitely' - they can't seriously think we'll agree to two legal systems running in parallel and two classes of citizens can they?
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    JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,016
    Fat_Steve said:

    Fat_Steve said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.

    There seem to be big risks in that approach to me. If we leave, and it makes little or no difference to our economy despite the threats, it seems likely other nations will quickly follow. If we leave and it causes a financial crash, the contagion could bring down Deutsche Bank and all bets on the euro's survival are off.

    They are gambling that there will be a punishment severe enough to discourage others, yet not bad enough to destroy them. A very narrow window. But there, they seem so blinded by their obsessive love for their creation and hatred of those 52% who rejected their project that it hasn't occurred to them that they are risking everything to make a wholly unnecessary point.
    I don't particularly want another Brexit thread, but the EU is right that Brexit is punishment enough. They are simply agreeing that Brexit means Brexit, and accepting of the referendum result.

    Britain will survive, but it will change the country, quite possibly break it up. Britain will look more like Jaywick and less like Brighton, but that is a feature not a bug.

    Swings and roundabouts. I don;t want to be more like Jaywick, but less like Brighton is fine by me. There's only so much vegan carrot cake a man can eat.
    I am quite partial to carrot cake, but Leavers would be well advised to adopt the lifestyle of Remainers in terms of diet and exercise. Vegetarianism and hipster bikes keep you healthy.
    Well I had a craft beer not long ago, not a thousand miles from Shoreditch, and something in it was still alive. I was ropey for 3 days.
    You can overdo the authenticity.
    How much of it did you drink? Beer is supposed to be alive, it's called yeast.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,005
    Commander Shepard, must admit I've not been there, but did enjoy visiting Ilkley Moor as a child (and occasionally more recently). Splendid place to go for a walk.
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,787
    WilliamGlenn has competition in the optimism stakes:

    https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/858216126442065921
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,005
    edited April 2017
    Mr. Jim, one hopes you weren't contaminated by hipsterism. Symptoms include:
    over-groomed facial hair
    the sudden desire to serve food on pieces of slate or driftwood
    the confusion of pretentiousness for authenticity.

    Mr. Saddened, it's like the Bible Belt's view of sex. It's dirty and horrid and sinful and will damned you forever, and you should save it for your wife.

    Edited extra bit: damn*, obviously.
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,374
    ydoethur said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Aberdeen makes sense, Aberdeen South and WAK are both top targets.

    If the Tories don't take WAK it will have been an extremely disappointing night for them in Scotland once again. I think it is pretty nailed on.

    Aberdeen is a very unhappy place these days on the back of the oil crash. The difference in Union Street is palpable with a good number of the best restaurants (and Jamie Oliver) gone. 3 years ago when I was staying there overnight for a Court case getting change out of £150 a night was difficult. Recently I got an aparthotel in the centre for £80. Speaking to locals the perception seems to be that the SNP are far more interested in the central belt than them (this is a recurring theme throughout the north east) and have done too little to help. It would not surprise me if Aberdeen South is in play.
    The combination of the oil price crash and the fisheries in the NE of Scotland is the best place to look for anti SNP swings.

    I am not at all sure there is much value left though, and that seems to be Mr Meeks conclusion too.
    I agree. Such value as there is is probably identifying where the Tories are likely to fall short (like Perth) and betting accordingly, a bit like Labour seats in England.
    Hooray, thank you for steering us back to topic!

    Out of curiosity, why do you think the Tories will fall short in Perth?
    See my comments at 7.13. It is a constituency I know fairly well.
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    ToryJim said:

    tlg86 said:

    So today the PM is going to Aberdeen and Jeremy Corbyn is going to Shoreditch.

    He hasn't got the right type of beard for shoreditch.
    Hipster chic is all about "authenticity", hence the adoption of artisan bread, craft beer, tattoos, lumberjack shirts etc. Jezza actually fits this well, but really because he politically dates from a Seventies counter-culture hybridisation of "The Good Life" and "Citizen Smith". I am not so sure that he would be friends with Margot Leadbetter though.
    As a Leaver, I run (surely a far more paleo conservative activity than cycling) and am on a low carb high fat diet which is much better for me than all those carbohydrates, and suits my iconoclastic nature. And I get to eat bacon and egg for breakfast.
    There are of course exceptions, but healthy behaviour strongly correlates with social class and voting in Britain, and the US too.

    Those interesting electoral maps earlier show a striking correlation between poor self reported health and voting Leave. It was why the £350 million per week for the NHS slogan was so effective, and why the Tories will need to honour it.

    As an aside, I am musing over my disgraced colleague convicted yesterday and its implications. He seems to have been another Harold Shipman, though mercifully not a killer.
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,067
    The Tories just cannot help from cheating
    Ruth Davidson caught breaking parliamentary rules to promote the Tory party
    http://www.thenational.scot/news/15253772.Ruth_Davidson_caught_breaking_parliamentary_rules_to_promote_the_Tory_party/
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    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,935

    WilliamGlenn has competition in the optimism stakes:

    https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/858216126442065921

    I don't think Labour will lose every seat.
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,067
    RobD said:

    A Scottish Tory Surge thread? Am I in heaven??

    More like fantasy land
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    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,935

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Interesting PS to the first comment:

    "PS – there won’t be any long-winded negotiations. You’re an idiot if you think so. We will be out in far less than 2 years, certainly before the next EU elections. May will make a couple of attempts at negotiating, announce it’s pointless due to EU intransigence and we will simply walk away."

    I agree that is a very likely outcome, and also why May wants such a big majority before it becomes obvious.

    Not so much likely as damn near certain. If they're going to start blaming us for their own complete inability to negotiate sensible leases, still more charge us for that failure, then it's clear they don't want to actually talk about anything at all.
    If May walks away from negotiations, we'll still be in the EU until 2019 and will be watching the clock waiting to go over the cliff edge.

    At some point she (or a new Prime Minister) will have to go back to the table.
    That will be difficult if the EU itself refuses to negotiate, which is what I am expecting. There's just too big a gap between what the government here can put forward and what they would be willing to even discuss.
    May's political bubble would burst very quickly if she walked away with 18 months still on the clock and nothing agreed. All indications are that the government does not have the capacity to prepare for such an outcome.
    Yes, very possibly true. But you're missing my point. I don't think she will have the option of walking away because I think from early indications the EU are getting ready to storm out first.
    The 'exit bill' is one obvious issue - but I'm more concerned by this 'EU nationals benefitting from the ECJ and EU regulations indefinitely' - they can't seriously think we'll agree to two legal systems running in parallel and two classes of citizens can they?
    If that's what they insist on, I can't see the negotiations lasting very long.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,005
    Mr. G, can imagine you drawing a political map - "Here there be Tories" :p
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,067
    RobD said:

    The polls this month are suggesting a 10 to 12% swing from the Conservatives to the SNP. (shome mishtake shurely? - ed.)

    Maybe scotslass was the subeditor? :)
    Reality will soon be resumed and Fitalaff and Toom tabard will be crying in their soup instead of wetting their pants
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    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,727
    Sean_F said:

    WilliamGlenn has competition in the optimism stakes:

    https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/858216126442065921

    I don't think Labour will lose every seat.
    MattBrookes‏ @MattBrookes3 7m7 minutes ago
    Replying to @DPJHodges
    Corbyn: "Labour will never again do what Blair did."

    That'll be 'win an election' then.
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 42,067

    I doubt they read the Scottish Daily Mail in Bute House anyway....

    https://twitter.com/AgentP22/status/858077448235352065

    Nobody in Scotland reads that , toilet paper or fish wrapping only
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    ToryJimToryJim Posts: 3,454

    Mr. Jim, one hopes you weren't contaminated by hipsterism. Symptoms include:
    over-groomed facial hair
    the sudden desire to serve food on pieces of slate or driftwood
    the confusion of pretentiousness for authenticity.

    Mr. Saddened, it's like the Bible Belt's view of sex. It's dirty and horrid and sinful and will damned you forever, and you should save it for your wife.

    Mr Dancer, I'm the least hipsterish person you'd ever meet. My razor rarely suffers under use. Also I find prefixing food items with the word 'artisan' to justify ridiculous overcharging complete nonsense. Finally skinny jeans, lumberjack shirt, sleeve tattoos, unkempt beard and baseball cap isn't a 'look' it's a cry for help.
This discussion has been closed.