Jezza blanking the media...He doesn't get or care that he looks a twat doing some weird smile and refusing to say anything. Rather than just do a 30s piece to camera with a few prepared lines.
I'm on him at 20s (Oct 2015), 22s (March 2016), and 25s (June 2016). And now 33s (May 2017) - thanks for the heads up.
Almost a cast iron certainty, therefore, that he will pull out and become head of the World Bank, or somesuch.
Kinnock is surely, surely doing this as a proxy for some other candidate or candidates. He's just not credible as a successor to Corbyn. Any sensible, genuine candidate will be keeping their head down until June 9th.
I don't know, maybe he has just got so fed up of waiting for somebody, anybody, to put there head above the parapet, and have a go at Corbyn.
Swing from LAB to CON running at about 7%. Suggests a similar national margin for the Tories as in 1982, which was during the Falklands War
That means high single digits or low double digits, depending on later results, turnout patterns, and so on...
That sounds plausible, but we'll have a lot more data today. The results so far are actually better than the 15-20-point lead in polls, especially in most of Wales despite expectations. But the West Country result is great for the Torie and clearly Destroy UKIP is working very well in their favour.
On the last thread, IanB2 said Labour tended to do better in local elections than national. Is that actually correct? The LibDems do, but Labour?
There certainly used to be an established pattern where some people would vote for their council to spend more and the government to tax less, going back to the days of two-party politics. I haven't analysed more recent data to see if this still applies, but my guess is that Labour will poll worse in a GE than in the locals. Corbyn this time will make this more likely, as local voters at least didn't have to worry about letting Corbyn run their local council.
It varies across the country. Labour tends to underperform in Birmingham at Local Elections compared with a General Election - same story in Wandsworth.
Plenty of people warned idiots like her that Corbyn was bad news. And they were roundly poo-poohed. So tough shit for morons like her who waste newsprint parading their empty-headed self-righteousness and presumed - and unjustified - self-claimed moral superiority over the rest of us.
Perhaps if people like her had actually bothered to look into what Corbyn said and believed over the years and compared it to the values she claims to believe in, Labour might not now be in such a mess. I have very little sympathy for self-indulgent nitwits like her.
For those who - like SO - would like a decent social democratic/left of centre party to vote for, rather more so. Rather a lot in fact. We all lose out by not having a viable opposition party.
I hope the revenge - when it comes - on the Corbynites and their fellow travellers is so savage that they slink off into the darkest recesses where far left groupuscules are usually found, never to be heard of again.
If these local elections had been held before TM called the election I'm sure at this moment we'd be counting the hours till Corbyn resigned.
Even now I'm not convinced he'll carry on. The pressure of knowing he's the main cause of this humiliation you'd hope would be weighing heavily.
I've no idea what the mechanism is but there will be some very angry Labour people who have just lost their jobs or who are about to who will surely do something. Even Momentum can't now say it'll be alright on the night.
Is there any mechanism when Parliament is dissolved and there aren't any Labour MPs?
Drunker being a twat again. I am surprised may didn't hit him with her handbag when they had that dinner.
What's he done now
He is at a conference and announced he would speak in French rather than (as expected) English, but English is now losing importance, followed by a big smirk.
I can see the time coming when Theresa May halts all talks until he is removed from the process
Barnier is the negotiating contact for the EU. Halting all talks with the clock ticking towards hard Brexit is pretty certain to hasten an unplanned hard Brexit.
Isn't the whole point of Brexit to cease to be involved in the internal aspects of the EU? so what does it matter in choice of internal language used there
So be it - Junckers is a disgrace and needs to be taken out of the negotiations. Furthermore the idea that Theresa May can only deal with Barnier is for the birds.
Mr. Rex, I listened to the audio commentary (Chinese, with subtitles) of House of Flying Daggers, with the director and female lead (Zhang Ziyi, I think). She dipped occasionally into English, the word that stood out for me was 'gentlemen'. It was a bit like Welsh radio, when a wall of incomprehensible words suddenly has a familiar one, before returning to unfamiliar sounds.
Many many years ago I had a welsh room mate. I was astounded to hear him talking in Welsh on the phone and suddenly saying 'greenhouse heater'!
Pobol Y Cwm is well worth watching for things like that. I distinctly remember somebody talking about having to live in a "cardboard bocs" (Welsh not having a letter X).
Mr. Rex, I listened to the audio commentary (Chinese, with subtitles) of House of Flying Daggers, with the director and female lead (Zhang Ziyi, I think). She dipped occasionally into English, the word that stood out for me was 'gentlemen'. It was a bit like Welsh radio, when a wall of incomprehensible words suddenly has a familiar one, before returning to unfamiliar sounds.
Many many years ago I had a welsh room mate. I was astounded to hear him talking in Welsh on the phone and suddenly saying 'greenhouse heater'!
A friend of mine was in a pub in north Wales when the football was on. He asked one of the regulars why, if they all spoke Welsh, they were swearing at the referee in English. The response delivered with a pitying look was "Because if we swore at him in Welsh he wouldn't bloody understand us, would he?"
Last week in a car in Sweden the driver was having a conversation over the phone.
..... context ...... is one bit I remember as English words crept into the conversation...
Young people in many countries now speak an englished version of their own language. Where English words, sentences and idioms are slipped in to the dialogue. Sometimes they simply switch to English.
It's fascinating to overhear. I've experienced it round the world. Especially with rich people
You see it on European tv programmes as well and the ads....That always gets me that the ads so often mix native language with some slogans or tag line in English.
For the first time in my life I experienced it in France last week. On a train. A group of average but affluent young mums dropping entire English sentences into their speech. No eyelids batted.
I think it's partly the internet. It's just so powerful and overwhelming. And so dominated by English - people get used to posting and tweeting on social media in English, and it carries over into real life.
Bad news for Norman Lamb in North Norfolk is that there are 8,300 UKIP votes for the Tories to plunder.... I think he has gone.
One of the best MPs in parliament, I reckon. He'd make a superb SoS for Health.
Would be a sad loss.
Norman Lamb was one of a small handful of Top Quality Lib Dem ministers in the last election. and the sort of person that makes me much more incline to support them.
Drunker being a twat again. I am surprised may didn't hit him with her handbag when they had that dinner.
What's he done now
He is at a conference and announced he would speak in French rather than (as expected) English, but English is now losing importance, followed by a big smirk.
I can see the time coming when Theresa May halts all talks until he is removed from the process
Barnier is the negotiating contact for the EU. Halting all talks with the clock ticking towards hard Brexit is pretty certain to hasten an unplanned hard Brexit.
Isn't the whole point of Brexit to cease to be involved in the internal aspects of the EU? so what does it matter in choice of internal language used there
So be it - Junckers is a disgrace and needs to be taken out of the negotiations. Furthermore the idea that Theresa May can only deal with Barnier is for the birds.
Mrs May can only deal with whoever the EU says she can deal with. They *do* get to pick their team just as we get to choose ours.
BethRigby: Interesting: Abbott mentions West Mids in Mayor race patter but briefing notes don't. Lab source says too early to say. Did she "misspeak?" twitter.com/jessicaelgot/s…
@abowie4WAK: Only 1 SNP elected @Aberdeenshire ward Troup as @ScotTories romp home with 1555 votes- over 50% of the vote. Mark Findlater wins hands down.
@bbclaurak: Hearing fears at Labour HQ about blame game that's started already from the leadership
Obviously the Party is not far enough to the left to attract voters. Time to purge those pesky moderates? (Or time for those pesky moderates to purge themselves?)
Don't forget it's a rigged system and the Zionist run media are biased against them (including the guardian and the mirror).
Absolutely! When the revolution comes, the media will be the first against the wall.
Mr. Rex, I listened to the audio commentary (Chinese, with subtitles) of House of Flying Daggers, with the director and female lead (Zhang Ziyi, I think). She dipped occasionally into English, the word that stood out for me was 'gentlemen'. It was a bit like Welsh radio, when a wall of incomprehensible words suddenly has a familiar one, before returning to unfamiliar sounds.
Many many years ago I had a welsh room mate. I was astounded to hear him talking in Welsh on the phone and suddenly saying 'greenhouse heater'!
Pobol Y Cwm is well worth watching for things like that. I distinctly remember somebody talking about having to live in a "cardboard bocs" (Welsh not having a letter X).
Swearing too. I remember hearing a Welsh conversation in a shop in Llandeilo with the words "f***ing parking charges" inserted in the middle. But English is well known to be the best language to swear in.
Drunker being a twat again. I am surprised may didn't hit him with her handbag when they had that dinner.
What's he done now
He is at a conference and announced he would speak in French rather than (as expected) English, but English is now losing importance, followed by a big smirk.
I can see the time coming when Theresa May halts all talks until he is removed from the process
Barnier is the negotiating contact for the EU. Halting all talks with the clock ticking towards hard Brexit is pretty certain to hasten an unplanned hard Brexit.
Isn't the whole point of Brexit to cease to be involved in the internal aspects of the EU? so what does it matter in choice of internal language used there
So be it - Junckers is a disgrace and needs to be taken out of the negotiations. Furthermore the idea that Theresa May can only deal with Barnier is for the birds.
Mrs May can only deal with whoever the EU says she can deal with. They *do* get to pick their team just as we get to choose ours.
Not at all - she will deal with whoever she wants to
I think that after June it is going to be very difficult to characterise the Tories as an English party. Scottish and Welsh representation in the governing party will hopefully make the union more stable over time.
Drunker being a twat again. I am surprised may didn't hit him with her handbag when they had that dinner.
What's he done now
He is at a conference and announced he would speak in French rather than (as expected) English, but English is now losing importance, followed by a big smirk.
I can see the time coming when Theresa May halts all talks until he is removed from the process
Barnier is the negotiating contact for the EU. Halting all talks with the clock ticking towards hard Brexit is pretty certain to hasten an unplanned hard Brexit.
Isn't the whole point of Brexit to cease to be involved in the internal aspects of the EU? so what does it matter in choice of internal language used there
So be it - Junckers is a disgrace and needs to be taken out of the negotiations. Furthermore the idea that Theresa May can only deal with Barnier is for the birds.
Mrs May can only deal with whoever the EU says she can deal with. They *do* get to pick their team just as we get to choose ours.
Not at all - she will deal with whoever she wants to
Like Trump who allegedly asked Merkel 10 times for a trade deal with Germany before accepting that he could only deal with the European Commission?
@bbclaurak: Hearing fears at Labour HQ about blame game that's started already from the leadership
Obviously the Party is not far enough to the left to attract voters. Time to purge those pesky moderates? (Or time for those pesky moderates to purge themselves?)
Don't forget it's a rigged system and the Zionist run media are biased against them (including the guardian and the mirror).
Absolutely! When the revolution comes, the media will be the first against the wall.
And here I was getting ready to string up Remainers and lawyers...
Drunker being a twat again. I am surprised may didn't hit him with her handbag when they had that dinner.
What's he done now
He is at a conference and announced he would speak in French rather than (as expected) English, but English is now losing importance, followed by a big smirk.
I can see the time coming when Theresa May halts all talks until he is removed from the process
Barnier is the negotiating contact for the EU. Halting all talks with the clock ticking towards hard Brexit is pretty certain to hasten an unplanned hard Brexit.
Isn't the whole point of Brexit to cease to be involved in the internal aspects of the EU? so what does it matter in choice of internal language used there
So be it - Junckers is a disgrace and needs to be taken out of the negotiations. Furthermore the idea that Theresa May can only deal with Barnier is for the birds.
Mrs May can only deal with whoever the EU says she can deal with. They *do* get to pick their team just as we get to choose ours.
Not at all - she will deal with whoever she wants to
Like Trump who allegedly asked Merkel 10 times for a trade deal with Germany before accepting that he could only deal with the European Commission?
At the end of the day, nothing lasts forever. I believe we will get a Whig party back to counter the Tories made of mainstream Labour & Liberal Democrat MP's, with the rump Judean Peoples Popular Front keeping the assets of all those Labour Working mens clubs that will increasingly look like Pripyat save the odd Momentum friends of Palestine meeting and an invite to the South Armagh active service unit to celebrate their struggle. But by the time it has happened the dust will have settled, the UK will have signed its Free Trade agreements with Korea, Australia et all. And even if it survives the EU will look like its founders envisaged - a United States of Europe proudly waving its Star Spangled Sphincter and Bizantine Bureaucracy in the face of a World that has moved on from a Feather bedded populace.
Scorrio the football review show on S4C always made me chuckle on the occasions I saw it on family holidays. More English than welsh spoken despite it supposed to be a welsh language show.
On the BBC Prof John Curtice says early figures from the Scottish Borders council shows the Conservative vote up 19 points on 2012, when Scottish council elections were last held. That is consistent with what the opinion polls are saying about the Conservatives’s standing in Scotland, he says.
News for Clive Lewis watchers, Bowthorpe ward Labour hold with vote only down 1%. One of the areas the Tories would need to take strongly to dislodge him I think. Labour 50, Tory 30 and also rans
Really funny - the BBC have changed their panel but Thornberry is still there. Mind you they only have Abbott and McDonnell as subs. Apart from Stephen Kinnock I have not seen another labour MP
Drunker being a twat again. I am surprised may didn't hit him with her handbag when they had that dinner.
What's he done now
He is at a conference and announced he would speak in French rather than (as expected) English, but English is now losing importance, followed by a big smirk.
I can see the time coming when Theresa May halts all talks until he is removed from the process
Barnier is the negotiating contact for the EU. Halting all talks with the clock ticking towards hard Brexit is pretty certain to hasten an unplanned hard Brexit.
Isn't the whole point of Brexit to cease to be involved in the internal aspects of the EU? so what does it matter in choice of internal language used there
So be it - Junckers is a disgrace and needs to be taken out of the negotiations. Furthermore the idea that Theresa May can only deal with Barnier is for the birds.
Mrs May can only deal with whoever the EU says she can deal with. They *do* get to pick their team just as we get to choose ours.
Not at all - she will deal with whoever she wants to
Like Trump who allegedly asked Merkel 10 times for a trade deal with Germany before accepting that he could only deal with the European Commission?
She will deal with whoever she wants to
We do not get to choose their representatives any more than they get to choose ours.
The EU27 have chosen Barnier to represent them, and for no direct talks with individual countries. The EU27 have signed up to this unanimously. That is how a union works.
Bad news for Norman Lamb in North Norfolk is that there are 8,300 UKIP votes for the Tories to plunder.... I think he has gone.
I would agree. Had he won the leadership he might have clung on but looking at how UKIP in Norfolk look like going, he might be toast
I don't think North Norfolk wards have started declaring yet.
I agree that the UKIP collapse creates a problem for Lamb, but Tories have only just selected, and have gone for Michael Fallon's SPAD, which hardly seems an ideal candidate for the constituency. Tight, but I'd not write the obituary just yet.
@andydphilip: Seems Tories enjoying surge in Scotland on these early results. Neck and neck with SNP in Shettleston, SNP leader out in Fife. All change
FWIW when the county elections were held on the same day as the GE in 2005. The votes of county wards when summed pretty much equalled the parliamentary constituency.
Unless we have evidence for differential turnout this time, what we see today might be a good guide to next month.
Of course there is differential turnout. Tories always vote, in whatever election. There was a very low turnout yesterday. Do you think there is "evidence" that the proportion of those who would vote Tory who stayed at home and the corresponding proportion of those who would vote Labour were about equal?
No differential turnout isn't a Tory thing, it's usually against whoever is in government. Tories in , it helps labour, labour in helps conservatives. What's extraordinary is in a low turnout seven years into a Tory government and we are not seeing obliteration in local elections.
There are lots of things going on.
Firstly, we're seven years into a Tory government, but five of those were a coalition. This has somewhat 'freshened' up the government.
Secondly, we've a new PM. Thatcher left after ten or eleven years, Blair after nine. May's leadership has also freshened up the Conservative party *before* they got into the usual policy vacuum that a party suffers in its second or third term. With the perceived toffs gone, the government looks different.
Thirdly, Brexit. This has revitalised the political scene as well, and has anecdotally (according to me!) bought non-voters out where traditional Labour voters might be staying at home.
Fourthly, Corbyn. He is the antithesis of electoral gold-dust. Electoral cholera, perhaps? People are voting Labour in spite of his leadership, not because of it.
Fifthly: UKIP are dying, and many (most?) of their voters appear to be going to the Conservatives, regardless of which party they supported before UKIP.
These are really unusual elections, and I doubt we'll ever see such a conglomeration of circumstances favouring the governing party again.
Drunker being a twat again. I am surprised may didn't hit him with her handbag when they had that dinner.
What's he done now
He is at a conference and announced he would speak in French rather than (as expected) English, but English is now losing importance, followed by a big smirk.
I can see the time coming when Theresa May halts all talks until he is removed from the process
Barnier is the negotiating contact for the EU. Halting all talks with the clock ticking towards hard Brexit is pretty certain to hasten an unplanned hard Brexit.
Isn't the whole point of Brexit to cease to be involved in the internal aspects of the EU? so what does it matter in choice of internal language used there
So be it - Junckers is a disgrace and needs to be taken out of the negotiations. Furthermore the idea that Theresa May can only deal with Barnier is for the birds.
Mr. Rex, I listened to the audio commentary (Chinese, with subtitles) of House of Flying Daggers, with the director and female lead (Zhang Ziyi, I think). She dipped occasionally into English, the word that stood out for me was 'gentlemen'. It was a bit like Welsh radio, when a wall of incomprehensible words suddenly has a familiar one, before returning to unfamiliar sounds.
Many many years ago I had a welsh room mate. I was astounded to hear him talking in Welsh on the phone and suddenly saying 'greenhouse heater'!
A friend of mine was in a pub in north Wales when the football was on. He asked one of the regulars why, if they all spoke Welsh, they were swearing at the referee in English. The response delivered with a pitying look was "Because if we swore at him in Welsh he wouldn't bloody understand us, would he?"
Last week in a car in Sweden the driver was having a conversation over the phone.
..... context ...... is one bit I remember as English words crept into the conversation...
Young people in many countries now speak an englished version of their own language. Where English words, sentences and idioms are slipped in to the dialogue. Sometimes they simply switch to English.
It's fascinating to overhear. I've experienced it round the world. Especially with rich people
You see it on European tv programmes as well and the ads....That always gets me that the ads so often mix native language with some slogans or tag line in English.
For the first time in my life I experienced it in France last week. On a train. A group of average but affluent young mums dropping entire English sentences into their speech. No eyelids batted.
I think it's partly the internet. It's just so powerful and overwhelming. And so dominated by English - people get used to posting and tweeting on social media in English, and it carries over into real life.
English is the world language. Simples.
Variations on a theme of English perhaps. Singlish anyone?
Perth & Kinross: @C_MMackay First result of the day is Carse of Gowrie. Won by angus forbes, conservative. Also elected are Beth Pover, SNP and Alasdair Bailey, Lab.
That result means the first major casualty is the SNP's Douglas Pover, who loses his place on the council.
Comments
Would be a sad loss.
https://twitter.com/mrharrycole/status/860431759669944320
@bbclaurak: Tory share in Scottish Borders up 19 percent...
BethRigby: Interesting: Abbott mentions West Mids in Mayor race patter but briefing notes don't. Lab source says too early to say. Did she "misspeak?" twitter.com/jessicaelgot/s…
@murdo_fraser: Surge in @ScotTories vote in Carse of Gowrie. Congrats to @angusforbesphot our new councillor. Thanks to Tory transfers, Lab take SNP seat
@DPJHodges: Tory source texts me: "Watch Scotland. Massive shift to us".
https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/860432958251048960
More
Tory source texts me: "Watch Scotland. Massive shift to us".
It must be decades since the Conservatives got a councillor in Paisley.
https://twitter.com/chrisdeerin/status/860433108193116161
@bbclaurak: Labour source say Tories on course for huge increase in vote share in Scotland - whispers of lots of anti-SNP tactical voting
On the BBC Prof John Curtice says early figures from the Scottish Borders council shows the Conservative vote up 19 points on 2012, when Scottish council elections were last held. That is consistent with what the opinion polls are saying about the Conservatives’s standing in Scotland, he says.
Where is Malc when you want him
Kevin Lang (Lib Dem)
Louise Young (Lib Dem)
Graham Hutchison (Con)
Norrie Work (SNP)
George Osborne's High Noon approach to Scotland will backfire
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/17/george-osborne-approach-scotland-currency-union
Spurs are playing today and so are the England cricket team.
You know what that means!
The EU27 have chosen Barnier to represent them, and for no direct talks with individual countries. The EU27 have signed up to this unanimously. That is how a union works.
I agree that the UKIP collapse creates a problem for Lamb, but Tories have only just selected, and have gone for Michael Fallon's SPAD, which hardly seems an ideal candidate for the constituency. Tight, but I'd not write the obituary just yet.
@andydphilip: Seems Tories enjoying surge in Scotland on these early results. Neck and neck with SNP in Shettleston, SNP leader out in Fife. All change
Firstly, we're seven years into a Tory government, but five of those were a coalition. This has somewhat 'freshened' up the government.
Secondly, we've a new PM. Thatcher left after ten or eleven years, Blair after nine. May's leadership has also freshened up the Conservative party *before* they got into the usual policy vacuum that a party suffers in its second or third term. With the perceived toffs gone, the government looks different.
Thirdly, Brexit. This has revitalised the political scene as well, and has anecdotally (according to me!) bought non-voters out where traditional Labour voters might be staying at home.
Fourthly, Corbyn. He is the antithesis of electoral gold-dust. Electoral cholera, perhaps? People are voting Labour in spite of his leadership, not because of it.
Fifthly: UKIP are dying, and many (most?) of their voters appear to be going to the Conservatives, regardless of which party they supported before UKIP.
These are really unusual elections, and I doubt we'll ever see such a conglomeration of circumstances favouring the governing party again.
@C_MMackay
First result of the day is Carse of Gowrie.
Won by angus forbes, conservative.
Also elected are Beth Pover, SNP and Alasdair Bailey, Lab.
That result means the first major casualty is the SNP's Douglas Pover, who loses his place on the council.