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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » It’s the economy, stupid. And Team Corbyn aren’t stupid.

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  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,278
    SeanT said:

    EU position papers on money and people have been published.

    They want the scope of acquired rights to apply to anyone who has resided (plus family members) or worked in the UK or EU27 respectively at any time prior to withdrawal.

    https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/draft-eu-position-papers-article-50-negotiations_en

    At first glance, that's a recipe for Crash Brexit. They've gone for the maximum financial demand (e.g. they really do want us to pay for the agencies to move, and for their new buildings, etc), and permanent ECJ supremacy over UK law, for EU citizens in the UK, until death.

    No way TMay can agree to this. We're crashing out.

    Buckle up.
    That is where they start negotiations after 2 years both sides may be prepared to compromise a bit on payments to the EU and a job offer requirement while guaranteeing rights for EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU but clearly we are leaving the single market and no FTA is likely in 2 years either, at most it will be bilateral agreements
  • MonikerDiCanioMonikerDiCanio Posts: 5,792

    Nicola being interviewed on Sky from Lossiemouth clearly stating she wants an alliance with labour to keep the Tories out.

    Perfect timing for tonight's debates. Theresa May's coalition of chaos just became real

    Labour might be prepared to collaborate with the IRA but the SNP are beyond the pale.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,209
    Yorkcity said:

    kle4 said:

    Jason said:

    More proof, if you ever needed it, that Corbyn is a deranged terrorsit sympathiser -

    https://order-order.com/2017/05/29/corbyn-attended-terror-conference-honouring-munich-killer/

    Already priced in? We'll see.

    I'd prefer the polls to reflect that people notice and care.
    https://twitter.com/election_data/status/868779279659790338
    You must be over 75 ?
    By a long way I reckon
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 122,278
    rkrkrk said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Corbyn won the pound would plunge the day after as would the FTSE so fat chance
    Doubtless this would be welcomed by Brexiteers who have long said pound is due a devaluation and that this will help our exports?
    It is already down, just it would be matched by a share price crash too
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    How is the SNP campaign in Edinburgh South West going?

    Oh.

    https://twitter.com/milesbriggsmsp/status/869170966521421824
  • FerdecheFerdeche Posts: 9
    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Ferdeche said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    tlg86 said:

    kle4 said:


    However, in 2015 the Tories were campaigning in Colchester, a seat I thought rock-solid. It was a Con Gain.

    Granted, but we knew the LDs were taking a hammering from the polls, it was just expected in the seats they held they would do better, but they were clearly still worth going for. If the polls are right, and it is a big if, then Labour are surging, not collapsing, so expecting rock solid seats to switch makes less sense to focus on.
    But the surge, if real, is largely coming from 18-24. Unless those safe seats have a large proportion of 18-24 then they are vulnerable to a swing to the Conservatives. Bolsover doesn't have a particularly young demographic IIRC.
    If the surge is comeing from 18 to 24 year olds, then surely Clegg and Mulholland are toast.
    Have backed Labour in Leeds NW. If the youth are heading to the polls, he's gone.
    The turnout in the four Leeds NW wards in 2015 was:

    Otley 12174
    Adel 12003
    Weetwood 10705
    Headingley 8241

    I think that Labour would need to squeeze the Green vote more as well as increase turnout in the student parts of Headingly and Weetwood.

    But what should also worry Mulholland is that he's unlikely to get the 3000 Conservative tactical votes which he did in 2015.

    While if Otley returns to its traditional voting patterns, ie not dissimilar to the other commuter towns north of Leeds and Bradford, they'll be a big boost for the Conservatives.

    Its clear though that Clegg's betrayal on tuition fees has really damaged the LibDems.
    Otley is definitely "natural" Tory territory.
    Especially in this election.
    Hmmm. Not so sure...

    https://www.otleytowncouncil.gov.uk/news/otley-town-council-election-results/
    See Eastleigh
    The more I think of it the more I think Mulholland's in deep trouble.

    Lab 9/2 Bet365
    Con 12/1 Betfair

    are both good value IMO.
    I have £25 on Labour and a fiver on the Tories both at 10-1. A Labour surge in the more urban parts combined with a few more Tories in the leafier parts should see Labour over the line I think.
    The seat hasn't voted Tory since 1992 (under different boundaries I believe) and I doubt it will now. It is Labour vs. LDs and I think Headingley will advance the Labour cause while the other three edge away from the LDs.
  • Ishmael_ZIshmael_Z Posts: 8,981
    SeanT said:

    Scott_P said:

    rkrkrk said:

    Doubtless this would be welcomed by Brexiteers who have long said pound is due a devaluation and that this will help our exports?

    Sterling’s Brexit-fuelled decline over the past year has been Britain’s “least successful” currency devaluation in history, an analysis of the latest growth figures has revealed.

    The UK’s trade balance has worsened by 1.8% of GDP since the final quarter of 2015 — before worries over the EU referendum began to hurt the pound. Rising exports have been outstripped by an even faster rise in imports, according to Samuel Tombs of consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics.

    The figures show that booming exports have so far failed to provide a silver lining to the pound’s slump, which has also driven up inflation and squeezed household spending.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pounds-fall-the-worst-devaluation-in-history-czkfwhznc
    Samuel Tombs, lol
    Pantheon Macroeconomics, lol in spades redoubled.


    Mind you, "In 2011, Samuel won the Society of Business Economists’ prestigious Rybczynski Prize for an article on quantitative easing in the UK." An expert, obv.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,209
    Scott_P said:

    There is no Kevin Pringle in the Palace of Sturgeon. The First Minister reigns over a lonely court, attended only by consort Peter Murrell, her husband and SNP chief executive, and deputy first minister John Swinney, an ex party leader and veteran Nationalist. Mr Swinney knows where the bodies are buried and he has the shovel to prove it. But there is no one with the courage to tell her she’s lost touch or the nous to help her get it back.

    The smell of desperation thickens the air. Yesterday, a Sunday newspaper which functions as the Murrell Family Round Robin splashed across its front page Miss Sturgeon’s dire warning: ‘Just ten days to save Scotland from the Tories’. Save us from what? Are they going to make Jackson Carlaw Sings the Best of Gilbert and Sullivan a mandatory unit in the Curriculum for Excellence? Or send Murdo Fraser round to rearrange everyone’s flower bed into the pattern of a Union Jack?

    The SNP has nothing left and so it is falling back on that old classic, The Tories Are Coming To Get You. We will find out on June 8 how much that dread tale still scares Scotland. Going around talking to voters, this does not feel like a frightened country. In the pubs and front rooms and work canteens of Scotland, fear is not the foremost emotion; in truth, it’s not even anger. It’s exasperation. Scots are fed up with a government that has the power to do almost anything but the will to do almost nothing. If it’s not independence, the First Minister doesn’t care and the voters are starting to catch on. The whole country is now Govanhill, a place Nicola Sturgeon vaguely knows, seldom visits, and no longer understands.


    https://stephendaisley.com/2017/05/29/the-snp-is-on-the-attack-because-it-has-nothing-to-defend/

    LOL desperation sets in completely, dumb and dumber team up, Big jessie loser prints drivel and numpty Tory drone regurgitates.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,470

    Pulpstar said:

    Ferdeche said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    tlg86 said:


    But the surge, if real, is largely coming from 18-24. Unless those safe seats have a large proportion of 18-24 then they are vulnerable to a swing to the Conservatives. Bolsover doesn't have a particularly young demographic IIRC.

    If the surge is comeing from 18 to 24 year olds, then surely Clegg and Mulholland are toast.
    Have backed Labour in Leeds NW. If the youth are heading to the polls, he's gone.
    The turnout in the four Leeds NW wards in 2015 was:

    Otley 12174
    Adel 12003
    Weetwood 10705
    Headingley 8241

    I think that Labour would need to squeeze the Green vote more as well as increase turnout in the student parts of Headingly and Weetwood.

    But what should also worry Mulholland is that he's unlikely to get the 3000 Conservative tactical votes which he did in 2015.

    While if Otley returns to its traditional voting patterns, ie not dissimilar to the other commuter towns north of Leeds and Bradford, they'll be a big boost for the Conservatives.

    Its clear though that Clegg's betrayal on tuition fees has really damaged the LibDems.
    Otley is definitely "natural" Tory territory.
    Especially in this election.
    Hmmm. Not so sure...

    https://www.otleytowncouncil.gov.uk/news/otley-town-council-election-results/
    See Eastleigh
    The more I think of it the more I think Mulholland's in deep trouble.

    Lab 9/2 Bet365
    Con 12/1 Betfair

    are both good value IMO.
    2016 local election in Leeds NW:

    LibD 33%
    Lab 28%
    Con 23%

    That was in a year where the national figures were:

    Lab 31%
    Con 30%
    LibD 15%

    Now if we extrapolate those Leeds NW local results to a national picture of 45:35:10 we would get:

    Con 38%
    Lab 32%
    LibD 28%

    The betting value is with the Conservatives and then Labour in Leeds NW.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Do you know you'll be out of a job in a couple of weeks?

    You hum the first few bars, I'll pick it up...

    https://twitter.com/milesbriggsmsp/status/869100210840109056
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 77,894
    Ferdeche said:


    The seat hasn't voted Tory since 1992 (under different boundaries I believe) and I doubt it will now. It is Labour vs. LDs and I think Headingley will advance the Labour cause while the other three edge away from the LDs.

    Yup, hence the staking
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,209
    Scott_P said:

    malcolmg said:

    I normally go ferry nowadays , Newcastle - Amsterdam. You can fill the car up with as much luggage as you want and far less hassle, nice night on the ferry, good foood, drink etc and waken up fresh next day.

    +1
    Scott, I am amazed we agree on something
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    SeanT said:

    If we agreed to it, EU citizens in the UK would have - as far as I can tell - considerably greater rights (re spousal reunion etc etc etc) than UK citizens.

    Well done Sean, you have FINALLY figured out that voting for Brexit means UK citizens have voted away rights they currently enjoy as EU citizens.

    Slowest hand-clap in the history of PB...
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,209
    Scott_P said:

    malcolmg said:

    people are not some kind of idiots to be whipped up by your hysterical "rabid xenophobia"

    Earlier this week, an SNP activist in Cowie, Stirling filmed herself following Tory campaigners as they delivered leaflets to voters. The Nationalist stalked them from her car, blasting music, and shouting ‘get out of Scotland’ and warned she would be ‘coming after’ them if they returned to the village. Another SNP leading light attacked Christine Jardine, the Lib Dem candidate in Edinburgh West, in a cruel and callous Twitter rant. This troll, a Nationalist council candidate just last month, accused Jardine of campaigning during the post-Manchester election truce. In fact, she was burying her husband that day but her pleas for decency went unheeded by Nicola Sturgeon’s boot boy.

    https://stephendaisley.com/2017/05/29/the-snp-is-on-the-attack-because-it-has-nothing-to-defend/
    I can only say LOL and not the ha ha one
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,470
    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Ferdeche said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    tlg86 said:

    kle4 said:


    However, in 2015 the Tories were campaigning in Colchester, a seat I thought rock-solid. It was a Con Gain.

    Granted, but we knew the LDs were taking a hammering from the polls, it was just expected in the seats they held they would do better, but they were clearly still worth going for. If the polls are right, and it is a big if, then Labour are surging, not collapsing, so expecting rock solid seats to switch makes less sense to focus on.
    But the surge, if real, is largely coming from 18-24. Unless those safe seats have a large proportion of 18-24 then they are vulnerable to a swing to the Conservatives. Bolsover doesn't have a particularly young demographic IIRC.
    If the surge is comeing from 18 to 24 year olds, then surely Clegg and Mulholland are toast.
    Have backed Labour in Leeds NW. If the youth are heading to the polls, he's gone.
    The turnout in the four Leeds NW wards in 2015 was:

    Otley 12174
    Adel 12003
    Weetwood 10705
    Headingley 8241

    I think that Labour would need to squeeze the Green vote more as well as increase turnout in the student parts of Headingly and Weetwood.

    But what should also worry Mulholland is that he's unlikely to get the 3000 Conservative tactical votes which he did in 2015.

    While if Otley returns to its traditional voting patterns, ie not dissimilar to the other commuter towns north of Leeds and Bradford, they'll be a big boost for the Conservatives.

    Its clear though that Clegg's betrayal on tuition fees has really damaged the LibDems.
    Otley is definitely "natural" Tory territory.
    Especially in this election.
    Hmmm. Not so sure...

    https://www.otleytowncouncil.gov.uk/news/otley-town-council-election-results/
    See Eastleigh
    The more I think of it the more I think Mulholland's in deep trouble.

    Lab 9/2 Bet365
    Con 12/1 Betfair

    are both good value IMO.
    I have £25 on Labour and a fiver on the Tories both at 10-1. A Labour surge in the more urban parts combined with a few more Tories in the leafier parts should see Labour over the line I think.
    I think Labour will struggle to match its national total in Leeds NW - the northern half of the constituency really isn't good Corbyn territory IMO.
  • scotslassscotslass Posts: 912
    Scott P

    The trouble with Daisley world view is that some viewers will have watched Ms Sturgeon effortlessly see off Andrew Neil last evening and compared it with the, at best, faltering efforts of May and Corbyn.

    The other problem is with Daisley, the ultimate "nae pals", writing a piece with the word "lonely" in it!
  • FerdecheFerdeche Posts: 9

    Ferdeche said:



    The choice is narrowing by the day.

    Its May or Corbyn.

    Now who do the residents of Otley go for ?



    In a forced choice it looks like they would opt for Corbyn, along with Headingley. Adel (and Wharfedale) and Weetwood would go for May. But it is not a forced choice, as Mulholland is still on the ballot paper. Admittedly not an accurate yardstick, but the number of Labour posters and signs in the town far exceeds previous elections. There are NO Tory signs anywhere.

    From parish council results you now shift to poster counting.

    Double LOL

    And few people who have been to Otley will think that it would chose Corbyn over May.
    I know neither are accurate reflections. But I think you are making the argument far too simplistic - it is not a forced choice. It may not matter whether they would opt for Corbyn or May, they have an alternative that they have already returned three times already in Mulholland.

    I think he will lose it to Sobel, but I don't see it being a large swing.

  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    scotslass said:

    some viewers will have watched Ms Sturgeon effortlessly see off Andrew Neil last evening

    https://twitter.com/johnrentoul/status/868915918767783940
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,302
    SeanT said:

    Seriously. Everyone should read those documents linked by williamglenn

    If we agreed to it, EU citizens in the UK would have - as far as I can tell - considerably greater rights (re spousal reunion etc etc etc) than UK citizens.

    It would create two tiers of UK citizenship. Brits would be 2nd class. And these rights would be enforced by the ECJ in the UK.

    I can't see the EU budging from this, and I can't see any Tory PM agreeing = Crash Brexit.

    Don't worry, German car manufacturers will force Merkel to give us a good deal.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 77,894
    edited May 2017
    @another_richard Personally I think Labour (Leeds NW) have a better chance than the Tories, but seeing as you and I disagree the idea of any sort of tactical vote goes out the window.

    Sheffield Hallam is the one constituency where I am very sure a Tory vote helps Labour.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,774
    NEW THREAD
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,470
    Ferdeche said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Ferdeche said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    tlg86 said:


    But the surge, if real, is largely coming from 18-24. Unless those safe seats have a large proportion of 18-24 then they are vulnerable to a swing to the Conservatives. Bolsover doesn't have a particularly young demographic IIRC.

    If the surge is comeing from 18 to 24 year olds, then surely Clegg and Mulholland are toast.
    Have backed Labour in Leeds NW. If the youth are heading to the polls, he's gone.
    The turnout in the four Leeds NW wards in 2015 was:

    Otley 12174
    Adel 12003
    Weetwood 10705
    Headingley 8241

    I think that Labour would need to squeeze the Green vote more as well as increase turnout in the student parts of Headingly and Weetwood.

    But what should also worry Mulholland is that he's unlikely to get the 3000 Conservative tactical votes which he did in 2015.

    While if Otley returns to its traditional voting patterns, ie not dissimilar to the other commuter towns north of Leeds and Bradford, they'll be a big boost for the Conservatives.

    Its clear though that Clegg's betrayal on tuition fees has really damaged the LibDems.
    Otley is definitely "natural" Tory territory.
    Especially in this election.
    Hmmm. Not so sure...

    https://www.otleytowncouncil.gov.uk/news/otley-town-council-election-results/
    See Eastleigh
    The more I think of it the more I think Mulholland's in deep trouble.

    Lab 9/2 Bet365
    Con 12/1 Betfair

    are both good value IMO.
    I have £25 on Labour and a fiver on the Tories both at 10-1. A Labour surge in the more urban parts combined with a few more Tories in the leafier parts should see Labour over the line I think.
    The seat hasn't voted Tory since 1992 (under different boundaries I believe) and I doubt it will now. It is Labour vs. LDs and I think Headingley will advance the Labour cause while the other three edge away from the LDs.
    The boundaries are little changed since 1992 - slightly better for the Conservatives if anything.

    It seems that you're relying on a LibDem being immune from the national polling - we saw in 2015 that that rarely happens.

    Reality can be painful at times.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    SeanT said:

    No, we just won't agree to their terms.

    Their terms are that EU citizens should enjoy the rights they currently do, and UK citizens should forego the ones they voted away.

    Like you.
  • Cyan said:

    Sturgeon's quandary is that whereas her administration can get its hands on a lot more dosh if they form a coalition with Labour, that would require giving up the idea of a referendum in the near future. Which would make sense, because Corbyn promises to keep Britain in the single market and customs union, therefore the ostensible need for another referendum so that Scotland can support anyone who isn't England, thereby demonstrating internationalism would be obviated.

    BUT once she has stirred up rabid xenophobia in her supporters she can't wind it back down again with a snap of the fingers. So she can't say she'd form a coalition with Labour but not with the Tories. At least I will be very surprised if she says before the election that a Labour government and continued British membership of the SM would mean no need for a referendum. Of course she can easily say that after the election, wrapping it in "Look how much money and power we've won for our party Scotland".

    Even to suggest she might go in coalition with Labour is helpful to Ruth - and she did that very nicely yesterday even if she said exactly the opposite.

    Of course she could ONLY actually go in coalition with the Tories to support an otherwise NOM administration - which isn't going to happen in any case.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,302

    NEW THREAD

  • AndrewAndrew Posts: 2,900
    felix said:


    Yep stable at another 20% down against all major currencies!

    Parity with the dollar within a week.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,470
    Pulpstar said:

    @another_richard Personally I think Labour (Leeds NW) have a better chance than the Tories, but seeing as you and I disagree the idea of any sort of tactical vote goes out the window.

    Sheffield Hallam is the one constituency where I am very sure a Tory vote helps Labour.

    I agree with you about Hallam.

    I'd like to know what the Leeds Conservatives are thinking - they've go to be active somewhere, Elmet is safe, Leeds NE is harder than it looks and I doubt the local Tories ever bought into Leeds East being a target.
  • NemtynakhtNemtynakht Posts: 2,329

    Pulpstar said:

    Ferdeche said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    tlg86 said:

    kle4 said:


    However, in 2015 the Tories were campaigning in Colchester, a seat I thought rock-solid. It was a Con Gain.

    Granted, but we knew the LDs were taking a hammering from the polls, it was just expected in the seats they held they would do better, but they were clearly still worth going for. If the polls are right, and it is a big if, then Labour are surging, not collapsing, so expecting rock solid seats to switch makes less sense to focus on.
    But the surge, if real, is largely coming from 18-24. Unless those safe seats have a large proportion of 18-24 then they are vulnerable to a swing to the Conservatives. Bolsover doesn't have a particularly young demographic IIRC.
    If the surge is comeing from 18 to 24 year olds, then surely Clegg and Mulholland are toast.
    Have backed Labour in Leeds NW. If the youth are heading to the polls, he's gone.
    The turnout in the four Leeds NW wards in 2015 was:

    Otley 12174
    Adel 12003
    Weetwood 10705
    Headingley 8241

    I think that Labour would need to squeeze the Green vote more as well as increase turnout in the student parts of Headingly and Weetwood.

    But what should also worry Mulholland is that he's unlikely to get the 3000 Conservative tactical votes which he did in 2015.

    While if Otley returns to its traditional voting patterns, ie not dissimilar to the other commuter towns north of Leeds and Bradford, they'll be a big boost for the Conservatives.

    Its clear though that Clegg's betrayal on tuition fees has really damaged the LibDems.
    Otley is definitely "natural" Tory territory.
    Especially in this election.
    Hmmm. Not so sure...

    https://www.otleytowncouncil.gov.uk/news/otley-town-council-election-results/
    See Eastleigh
    The more I think of it the more I think Mulholland's in deep trouble.

    Lab 9/2 Bet365
    Con 12/1 Betfair

    are both good value IMO.
    The only thing I would caution is that the last election took place during term time and lots of students will have left by June 8.

  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    MaxPB said:

    TW1R64 said:

    This Alex Cruz has turned flying with BA from mildly pleasurable to absolutely horrendous. He came from Vueling which has to be the worst airline I have ever flown with. He must go he"a a disaster!

    Yep - Vueling is a shocker. I flew Ryanair to Barcelona last week. You know what you are paying for and you get it. That is a lot better than being sold a what is supposed to be a premium product and being given something third rate. Even in business class - which I fly now and again with BA - you can see the decline. But it's still not as bad as the US carriers. They are utterly awful in every way imaginable.

    Agreed. I've been flying BA club class for about 6 years, when I started they were really ahead of the game, the business bed was a revolutionary idea and they had begun to put AC sockets in business seats which was extremely handy, no other airline had these options, not even the heavily subsidised Arab ones. BA were pioneering and full of ideas. Nothing has changed since then, if anything it's gone backwards. No food/drink on economy short haul (which is a real irritation given how often I fly to and from London), the business bed has been adopted by all but the American carriers, AC sockets are standard on economy on the Arab carriers, the food in club class is appreciably worse this year than last year, the wine choices are more limited.

    BA are in serial decline, they need to invest massively in updating their fleet and the cabins. The staff are the only thing that keeps this airline running and keeps me coming back. Always 100% first rate service, but everything else is falling to pieces.

    Yep - BA staff are a cut above. But they are treated like crap by management, too. The club class service has definitely declined. People notice these things. What BA does have going for it - for now, at least - is a relatively generous Points package. I reckon it's that which keeps a lot of the premium customers coming back.

    It's things like the separate security with direct access to the lounge that makes a real difference - no queues or walking
  • AndyJS said:

    Pulpstar said:

    AndyJS said:

    Betfair Exchange odds for size of Con maj:

    NOM: 8.2 / 9
    1-24 seats: 15 / 16
    25-49 seats: 10 / 11
    50-74 seats: 7.4 / 7.8
    75-99 seats: 8.6 / 8.8
    100-124 seats: 7.2 / 7.8
    125-149 seats: 10 / 10.5
    150-174 seats: 9.2 / 9.4
    175-199 seats: 16 / 16.5
    200-224 seats: 23 / 24

    https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.131146542

    Lol noone has any idea do they. That's an incredibly flat path from nom to 200+
    Betting on both the 75-99 and 100-124 bands seems like the obvious thing to do, looking at these numbers.
    A sane voice at last ! For you to be wrong polling has to be so screwed as to have no meaningful basis in fact. A long time ago I used to believe Bob Worcester when he said there was a proportionate link between polling and election results. That was obviously rubbish and I was a fool to be taken in. Then I thought there was a mathematical relationship - neither linear nor proportionate - but discoverable by analysis. That is the basis of opinion analysis.

    I now believe only that the relationship exists but I doubt how discoverable it is. However I suspect CCHQ and Labour HQ have a stronger understanding of the relationship than they admit in public. Paddy Ashdown either showed the LDs don't or he is one hell of an actor.

    The rest is bullshitting.

    I think 125-149 is good value. My head says 136 but my guts say 15 less.
  • David_EvershedDavid_Evershed Posts: 6,506
    SeanT said:

    They don't like it up 'em.
  • firstlight40firstlight40 Posts: 69
    edited May 2017
    Charles said:

    MaxPB said:

    TW1R64 said:

    This Alex Cruz has turned flying with BA from mildly pleasurable to absolutely horrendous. He came from Vueling which has to be the worst airline I have ever flown with. He must go he"a a disaster!

    Yep - Vueling is a shocker. I flew Ryanair to Barcelona last week. You know what you are paying for and you get it. That is a lot better than being sold a what is supposed to be a premium product and being given something third rate. Even in business class - which I fly now and again with BA - you can see the decline. But it's still not as bad as the US carriers. They are utterly awful in every way imaginable.

    Agreed. I've been flying BA club class for about 6 years, when I started they were really ahead of the game, the business bed was a revolutionary idea and they had begun to put AC sockets in business seats which was extremely handy, no other airline had these options, not even the heavily subsidised Arab ones. BA were pioneering and full of ideas. Nothing has changed since then, if anything it's gone backwards. No food/drink on economy short haul (which is a real irritation given how often I fly to and from London), the business bed has been adopted by all but the American carriers, AC sockets are standard on economy on the Arab carriers, the food in club class is appreciably worse this year than last year, the wine choices are more limited.

    BA are in serial decline, they need to invest massively in updating their fleet and the cabins. The staff are the only thing that keeps this airline running and keeps me coming back. Always 100% first rate service, but everything else is falling to pieces.

    Yep - BA staff are a cut above. But they are treated like crap by management, too. The club class service has definitely declined. People notice these things. What BA does have going for it - for now, at least - is a relatively generous Points package. I reckon it's that which keeps a lot of the premium customers coming back.

    It's things like the separate security with direct access to the lounge that makes a real difference - no queues or walking


    At Heathrow only if you are travelling in first class or are a oneworld emerald...

  • Don, its all very well, but, mouthing off for 35 years in praise of killers most people detest, is NOT clever. The Tories will crucify the fool.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,359

    Anyway, it's National Biscuit Day today. I mourn the passing of the Abbey Crunch. The Ginger Snap is now my number one.


    The original Cafe Noir biscuit seems to have been replaced by a poor immitation a year or so back. Sad.
    What happened to the Abbey Crunch? Did somebody eat them all?
    The Abbot ate them all.

    Diane Abbot.
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