politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » LAB’s GE17 candidate selection process makes it look amateuris

System

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » LAB’s GE17 candidate selection process makes it look amateurish, sloppy and is damaging

This story by @MrHarryCole requires a lot of mind bleach.https://t.co/8E6cBX4INm

Read the full story here

RobD

First!

RobD

and 2020 rather than 2021, surely?

FrancisUrquhart

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

Wait until you hear about some of the actual content...it is very much an 18+ game (even from a franchise not exactly known as family friendly).

MikeSmithson

RobD said:

and 2020 rather than 2021, surely?

Thanks. Corrected

Theuniondivvie

'Now the seat has an MP who apparently can’t be arsed to do what most MPs regard as the norm – holding regular constituency surgeries'

Hmm.

ydoethur

O'Mara rather than O'Omara as well.

I agree, and made this point a couple of days ago - that Labour were a shambles and an unexpectedly good campaign didn't change that. Didn't make me terribly popular with a certain poster, but it's true.

Question is, will they learn from this mistake the way Corbyn (to his credit) has learned from other errors he's made?

AndyJS

I wonder why Oliver Coppard wasn't the Labour candidate again.

Essexit

ydoethur said:

O'Mara rather than O'Omara as well.

I agree, and made this point a couple of days ago - that Labour were a shambles and an unexpectedly good campaign didn't change that. Didn't make me terribly popular with a certain poster, but it's true.

Question is, will they learn from this mistake the way Corbyn (to his credit) has learned from other errors he's made?

Genuine question: what other errors has Corbyn made and learned from?

PClipp

AndyJS said:

I wonder why Oliver Coppard wasn't the Labour candidate again.

A very good question. I understood he went for it in 2015 hammer and tongs. Did he end up in 2017 as a candidate in more promising seat?

kle4

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

I am intrigued what could be so controversial, particularly in a medium which (among the endless variety games allow) is known for visual and narrative excess.

TheScreamingEagles

https://twitter.com/AllieHBNews/status/923662042556485635

HYUFD

Well unless he stands down or is found guilty of anything criminal he can stay as effectively an independent MP until the next general election, collecting the £74 000 a year pay cheque for an MP plus expenses even if he continues to fail to contribute to any parliamentary debates or hold a regular constituency surgery.

Not a bad gig all in all for a job he got without interview and barely any checks of his CV and mainly because he was not Nick Clegg.

AramintaMoonbeamQC

PClipp said:

AndyJS said:

I wonder why Oliver Coppard wasn't the Labour candidate again.

A very good question. I understood he went for it in 2015 hammer and tongs. Did he end up in 2017 as a candidate in more promising seat?

No, he did some work with the Remain campaign, but is working outside politics now. He seemed a strong candidate, quite surprising. Perhaps his face didn't fit in the brave new world of Corbynism.

TheScreamingEagles

HYUFD said:

Well unless he stands down or is found guilty of anything criminal he can stay as effectively an independent MP until the next general election, collecting the £74 000 a year pay cheque for an MP plus expenses even if he continues to fail to contribute to any parliamentary debates or hold a regular constituency surgery.

Not a bad gig all in all for a job he got without interview and barely any checks of his CV and mainly because he was not Nick Clegg.

He can be found of lots of thing criminal and still remain an MP.

Alistair

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

I am intrigued what could be so controversial, particularly in a medium which (among the endless variety games allow) is known for visual and narrative excess.

The alt-right see this as a vicious attack against them, the alt-right infest various gamer communities


Wolfenstein II is a game set in an American taken over by Nazis. The game is generating massive word of mouth amongst people who would never play a first person shooter bit are strongly attacted to ads like

https://twitter.com/wolfenstein/status/919684333207568385

kle4

I would contest that being sloppy and amateurish in such matters is damaging in anything other than very localised ways. O'Mara seems to be an arse, and even in a rush it is silly to make a decision about a candidate on nothing but the application submitted, but what's the worst that can happen? That he costs them the seat in the next election? Sure, that would be bad, but it sometimes has to take a really good or really bad candidate to overcome the national party fortunes. Granted this is not a safe seat, so him being an arse may be more problematic, but realistically how many even of those chosen in such a way will be so personally disagreeable? For all we like to moan about MPs, not without reason, most seem to be decent people and I find it hard to believe there are swathes of O'Maras out there. More common are the ones who are just incompetent, and interviews won't always stop that, particular since ideology has to be a key factor I presume.

And as for 'if they cannot do x how can they run the country?', well, unfortunately parties, governments and oppositions often do things than raise that sort of question.

Really though it does seem like Hallam would have been better off with Clegg.

kle4

Alistair said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

I am intrigued what could be so controversial, particularly in a medium which (among the endless variety games allow) is known for visual and narrative excess.

The alt-right see this as a vicious attack against them, the alt-right infest various gamer communities


Wolfenstein II is a game set in an American taken over by Nazis. The game is generating massive word of mouth amongst people who would never play a first person shooter bit are strongly attacted to ads like

https://twitter.com/wolfenstein/status/919684333207568385

It's a good ad, I must say. I never played the original Wolfenstein games, but I had intended to pick up the New Order, which I heard was good.

TwistedFireStopper

£65 grand a year plus expenses must be a hell of an incentive for the lad to cling on for the next few years. If he plays his cards right, he'll be set up for life once he gets his redundo package.

rcs1000

TwistedFireStopper said:

£65 grand a year plus expenses must be a hell of an incentive for the lad to cling on for the next few years. If he plays his cards right, he'll be set up for life once he gets his redundo package.

£75k plus expenses.

AndyJS

What happened to the idea of recalling MPs via petition?

kle4

TwistedFireStopper said:

£65 grand a year plus expenses must be a hell of an incentive for the lad to cling on for the next few years. If he plays his cards right, he'll be set up for life once he gets his redundo package.

Leaving aside that and any genuine desire to do some good work, Labour have no reason to encourage him to do if they might lose the seat, MPs with the whip withdrawn usually stick around even if suspended long term, and I would imagine privately many MPs who would not be unhappy if he were not there would still be reluctant for a member of the house to set a precedent wherein arse like but non-illegal behaviour led to a resignation. People would come out of the woodwork to explain the past ill comments of dozens of members, and papers trawling for stories on if they've done anything in more recent times which makes that relevant, and then they'd be hounded.

TwistedFireStopper

rcs1000 said:

TwistedFireStopper said:

£65 grand a year plus expenses must be a hell of an incentive for the lad to cling on for the next few years. If he plays his cards right, he'll be set up for life once he gets his redundo package.

£75k plus expenses.

I forgot that MPs reluctantly accepted that 10 grand payrise that was forced upon them, while us poor plebs are stuck with the year on year real term paycut!

Sunil_Prasannan

TwistedFireStopper said:

£65 grand a year plus expenses must be a hell of an incentive for the lad to cling on for the next few years. If he plays his cards right, he'll be set up for life once he gets his redundo package.

"The Grabbing Hands grab all they can
Everything Counts in large amounts"

kle4

AndyJS said:

What happened to the idea of recalling MPs via petition?

Dropped by one Nick Clegg MP

Mr Clegg said he had settled for a "modest" version because of "Conservative Party resistance"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27705901

I confess I had forgotten whether any form of recall had been passed into law.

Personally I'm not sold on the idea. The principle that it's up to the electorate to judge at the next election is flawed, given the strength of partisan voting and distance from any wrongdoing, but if not careful it seems like a system which can easily be abused.

TheScreamingEagles

AndyJS said:

What happened to the idea of recalling MPs via petition?

Introduced by Clegg in 2015.

The Bill provides for a recall petition to be triggered if a Member is sentenced to a prison term or is suspended from the House for at least 21 sitting days. If either occurred, the Speaker would give notice to a petition officer, who in turn would give notice to parliamentary electors in the constituency.

A petition would then be open for signing for eight weeks. If at the end of that period at least 10 per cent of eligible electors had signed the petition, the seat would be declared vacant and a by-election would follow. The Member who was recalled could stand in the by-election.

The Bill also introduces rules on the conduct of the recall petition, including campaign spending limits for those supporting and opposing recalling the Member.

https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2014-15/recallofmps.html

Sunil_Prasannan

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

I am intrigued what could be so controversial, particularly in a medium which (among the endless variety games allow) is known for visual and narrative excess.

The alt-right see this as a vicious attack against them, the alt-right infest various gamer communities


Wolfenstein II is a game set in an American taken over by Nazis. The game is generating massive word of mouth amongst people who would never play a first person shooter bit are strongly attacted to ads like

https://twitter.com/wolfenstein/status/919684333207568385

It's a good ad, I must say. I never played the original Wolfenstein games, but I had intended to pick up the New Order, which I heard was good.

I have a soft spot for both the 1990s vintage "Wolfenstein 3D" and 2001's "Return to Castle Wolfenstein".

TwistedFireStopper

Sunil_Prasannan said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

I am intrigued what could be so controversial, particularly in a medium which (among the endless variety games allow) is known for visual and narrative excess.

The alt-right see this as a vicious attack against them, the alt-right infest various gamer communities


Wolfenstein II is a game set in an American taken over by Nazis. The game is generating massive word of mouth amongst people who would never play a first person shooter bit are strongly attacted to ads like

https://twitter.com/wolfenstein/status/919684333207568385

It's a good ad, I must say. I never played the original Wolfenstein games, but I had intended to pick up the New Order, which I heard was good.

I have a soft spot for both the 1990s vintage "Wolfenstein 3D" and 2001's "Return to Castle Wolfenstein".

I'll admit the same liking for those vintage games, and also Doom.

david_herdson

"He’s the only one of the 650 MPs elected on June 8th who has yet to speak in the House"

This surprises me. I must have missed the Sinn Fein contributions.

kle4

david_herdson said:

"He’s the only one of the 650 MPs elected on June 8th who has yet to speak in the House"

This surprises me. I must have missed the Sinn Fein contributions.

Oh, they probably said hi to someone in the lobby when they pop in for a visit.

In all seriousness, if it is really true he is the only one (bar Sinn Fein MPs) not to speak and doesn't hold regular surgeries, he seems not only an arse but a lazy arse at that. Does he at least vote often?

Edit:
Has voted in 76.92% of votes in this Parliament with this affiliation — well below average amongst MPs

TheScreamingEagles

TwistedFireStopper said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

I am intrigued what could be so controversial, particularly in a medium which (among the endless variety games allow) is known for visual and narrative excess.

The alt-right see this as a vicious attack against them, the alt-right infest various gamer communities


Wolfenstein II is a game set in an American taken over by Nazis. The game is generating massive word of mouth amongst people who would never play a first person shooter bit are strongly attacted to ads like

https://twitter.com/wolfenstein/status/919684333207568385

It's a good ad, I must say. I never played the original Wolfenstein games, but I had intended to pick up the New Order, which I heard was good.

I have a soft spot for both the 1990s vintage "Wolfenstein 3D" and 2001's "Return to Castle Wolfenstein".

I'll admit the same liking for those vintage games, and also Doom.

Anyone remember Operation Wolf?

Loved playing that on my Spectrum 128k +3

TheScreamingEagles

Just remember next time you complain about your MP, it could be worse and remember Jared O'Mara is my MP.

HYUFD

Depends on the sentence, under the Representation of the People Act any MP detained in prison in the UK for more than a year is disqualified from membership of the House of Commons and their seat is vacated.

kle4

TheScreamingEagles said:

Just remember next time you complain about your MP, it could be worse and remember Jared O'Mara is my MP.

My MP is really growing on me - he self published a novel about the civil war involving a fictional west country solider, MP and regicide.

kle4

TwistedFireStopper said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

I am intrigued what could be so controversial, particularly in a medium which (among the endless variety games allow) is known for visual and narrative excess.

The alt-right see this as a vicious attack against them, the alt-right infest various gamer communities


Wolfenstein II is a game set in an American taken over by Nazis. The game is generating massive word of mouth amongst people who would never play a first person shooter bit are strongly attacted to ads like

https://twitter.com/wolfenstein/status/919684333207568385

It's a good ad, I must say. I never played the original Wolfenstein games, but I had intended to pick up the New Order, which I heard was good.

I have a soft spot for both the 1990s vintage "Wolfenstein 3D" and 2001's "Return to Castle Wolfenstein".

I'll admit the same liking for those vintage games, and also Doom.

The good thing is that the wave of nostalgia that has seen a return for old style platformers and isometric RPGs has now also reached the old style fast, fun FPS genre. The new Doom is great.

slade

HYUFD said:

Well unless he stands down or is found guilty of anything criminal he can stay as effectively an independent MP until the next general election, collecting the £74 000 a year pay cheque for an MP plus expenses even if he continues to fail to contribute to any parliamentary debates or hold a regular constituency surgery.

Not a bad gig all in all for a job he got without interview and barely any checks of his CV and mainly because he was not Nick Clegg.

He will never get called at PMQs now and he would be howled down if he tried to speak in a debate. I suspect he will stay on for 5 years as a zombie MP.

TwistedFireStopper

TheScreamingEagles said:

TwistedFireStopper said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

kle4 said:

Alistair said:

The advertising for the new Wolfenstein game is amazing.

Who would have thought a game about punching and/or shooting Nazis could ever have that central premise be considered controversial.

I am intrigued what could be so controversial, particularly in a medium which (among the endless variety games allow) is known for visual and narrative excess.

The alt-right see this as a vicious attack against them, the alt-right infest various gamer communities


Wolfenstein II is a game set in an American taken over by Nazis. The game is generating massive word of mouth amongst people who would never play a first person shooter bit are strongly attacted to ads like

https://twitter.com/wolfenstein/status/919684333207568385

It's a good ad, I must say. I never played the original Wolfenstein games, but I had intended to pick up the New Order, which I heard was good.

I have a soft spot for both the 1990s vintage "Wolfenstein 3D" and 2001's "Return to Castle Wolfenstein".

I'll admit the same liking for those vintage games, and also Doom.

Anyone remember Operation Wolf?

Loved playing that on my Spectrum 128k +3

That too. The arcade version had 2 uzi machine pistols on the cabinet. Pure class! My favourite games were Commando and Choplifter. Proper video games with limited lives and saves. None of the modern restarting where you died malarkey. If you were crap, you never got more than a couple of minutes for your 10p!

RobD

slade said:

HYUFD said:

Well unless he stands down or is found guilty of anything criminal he can stay as effectively an independent MP until the next general election, collecting the £74 000 a year pay cheque for an MP plus expenses even if he continues to fail to contribute to any parliamentary debates or hold a regular constituency surgery.

Not a bad gig all in all for a job he got without interview and barely any checks of his CV and mainly because he was not Nick Clegg.

He will never get called at PMQs now and he would be howled down if he tried to speak in a debate. I suspect he will stay on for 5 years as a zombie MP.

PMQs isn't the only time new MPs speak. Are any maiden speeches done at PMQs?

Edit: My bad - you were talking about PMQs and debates separately!

kle4

HYUFD said:

Depends on the sentence, under the Representation of the People Act any MP detained in prison in the UK for more than a year is disqualified from membership of the House of Commons and their seat is vacated.

I've often wondered about that - who was the last MP sentenced to less than a year but who didn't resign anyway?

HYUFD

slade said:

HYUFD said:

Well unless he stands down or is found guilty of anything criminal he can stay as effectively an independent MP until the next general election, collecting the £74 000 a year pay cheque for an MP plus expenses even if he continues to fail to contribute to any parliamentary debates or hold a regular constituency surgery.

Not a bad gig all in all for a job he got without interview and barely any checks of his CV and mainly because he was not Nick Clegg.

He will never get called at PMQs now and he would be howled down if he tried to speak in a debate. I suspect he will stay on for 5 years as a zombie MP.

So basically a rather posher version of Benefits Street then, with a rather larger paycheque!

RobD

I'm watching a blockquote disaster unfolding before my very eyes...

HYUFD

kle4 said:

HYUFD said:

Depends on the sentence, under the Representation of the People Act any MP detained in prison in the UK for more than a year is disqualified from membership of the House of Commons and their seat is vacated.

'I've often wondered about that - who was the last MP sentenced to less than a year but who didn't resign anyway?'

Chris Huhne was jailed for 8 months but did resign as did most of the expenses scandal MPs.

Bobbie Sands was elected from prison which was why the original law was passed.

FrancisUrquhart

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

kle4

RobD said:

slade said:

HYUFD said:

Well unless he stands down or is found guilty of anything criminal he can stay as effectively an independent MP until the next general election, collecting the £74 000 a year pay cheque for an MP plus expenses even if he continues to fail to contribute to any parliamentary debates or hold a regular constituency surgery.

Not a bad gig all in all for a job he got without interview and barely any checks of his CV and mainly because he was not Nick Clegg.

He will never get called at PMQs now and he would be howled down if he tried to speak in a debate. I suspect he will stay on for 5 years as a zombie MP.

PMQs isn't the only time new MPs speak. Are any maiden speeches done at PMQs?

Things are more relaxed now, but since you don't make speeches there, I doubt it. Erskine May notes custom (not absolute rule) that a new Member should not participate in proceedings in the Chamber (for example asking a question) before making a maiden speech, but that this is now up to them to observe, and they may choose to wait to make such a speech before speaking at all in the Chamber or Westminster Hall, might ask questions but not make a speech until a traditional maiden speech, or just participate fully without making one at all.

kle4

HYUFD said:

Chris Huhne was jailed for 8 months but did resign as did most of the expenses scandal MPs.

Bobbie Sands was elected from prison which was why the original law was passed.

Indeed - so really since that law was passed we've not had anyone bold enough to test public and party willingness to given them another chance by continuing to serve, while also serving at her majesty's pleasure.

Sunil_Prasannan

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

I read that the German version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein had the Nazi references replaced by a so-called "Order of the Wolf".

TwistedFireStopper

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

I think I remember reading somewhere that swastikas and the like are prohibited from pretty much everything in Germany, so I guess they have to have a bit of editing done on them before the games get released there.

kle4

Sunil_Prasannan said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

I read that the German version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein had the Nazi references replaced by a so-called "Order of the Wolf".

With suspiciously familiar red and black themed aesthetics?

HYUFD

kle4 said:

HYUFD said:

Chris Huhne was jailed for 8 months but did resign as did most of the expenses scandal MPs.

Bobbie Sands was elected from prison which was why the original law was passed.

Indeed - so really since that law was passed we've not had anyone bold enough to test public and party willingness to given them another chance by continuing to serve, while also serving at her majesty's pleasure.

Even if elected they could not serve if they were sent to prison for more than a year unless the law is changed. However if they got a 1 to 11 month sentence in theory they could stand and be re elected.

MikeSmithson

CORRECTION I was wrong to say that he was the only one of the 650 MPs elected on June 8th not to speak. The Sinn Fein contingent did not take their seats.

RobD

MikeSmithson said:

CORRECTION I was wrong to say that he was the only one of the 650 MPs elected on June 8th not to speak. The Sinn Fein contingent did not take their seats.

Still pretty damning if he's the only MP who has taken their oath not to speak.

HYUFD

Alex Salmond says he rates David Davis and he is 'able' on Question Time.

RobD

kle4 said:

RobD said:

slade said:

HYUFD said:

Well unless he stands down or is found guilty of anything criminal he can stay as effectively an independent MP until the next general election, collecting the £74 000 a year pay cheque for an MP plus expenses even if he continues to fail to contribute to any parliamentary debates or hold a regular constituency surgery.

Not a bad gig all in all for a job he got without interview and barely any checks of his CV and mainly because he was not Nick Clegg.

He will never get called at PMQs now and he would be howled down if he tried to speak in a debate. I suspect he will stay on for 5 years as a zombie MP.

PMQs isn't the only time new MPs speak. Are any maiden speeches done at PMQs?

Things are more relaxed now, but since you don't make speeches there, I doubt it. Erskine May notes custom (not absolute rule) that a new Member should not participate in proceedings in the Chamber (for example asking a question) before making a maiden speech, but that this is now up to them to observe, and they may choose to wait to make such a speech before speaking at all in the Chamber or Westminster Hall, might ask questions but not make a speech until a traditional maiden speech, or just participate fully without making one at all.

I hope you enjoyed reading through the book! I am quite jealous.

kle4

RobD said:

MikeSmithson said:

CORRECTION I was wrong to say that he was the only one of the 650 MPs elected on June 8th not to speak. The Sinn Fein contingent did not take their seats.

Still pretty damning if he's the only MP who has taken their oath not to speak.

Particularly if he is not incredible active locally and in other work to make up for it.

Rhubarb

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

AFAIR Half Life got robots and green 'liquid' instead of soldiers.

kle4

RobD said:

kle4 said:

RobD said:

slade said:

HYUFD said:

Well unless he stands down or is found guilty of anything criminal he can stay as effectively an independent MP until the next general election, collecting the £74 000 a year pay cheque for an MP plus expenses even if he continues to fail to contribute to any parliamentary debates or hold a regular constituency surgery.

Not a bad gig all in all for a job he got without interview and barely any checks of his CV and mainly because he was not Nick Clegg.

He will never get called at PMQs now and he would be howled down if he tried to speak in a debate. I suspect he will stay on for 5 years as a zombie MP.

PMQs isn't the only time new MPs speak. Are any maiden speeches done at PMQs?

Things are more relaxed now, but since you don't make speeches there, I doubt it. Erskine May notes custom (not absolute rule) that a new Member should not participate in proceedings in the Chamber (for example asking a question) before making a maiden speech, but that this is now up to them to observe, and they may choose to wait to make such a speech before speaking at all in the Chamber or Westminster Hall, might ask questions but not make a speech until a traditional maiden speech, or just participate fully without making one at all.

I hope you enjoyed reading through the book! I am quite jealous.

Admittedly I have not read the entire thing, it is over 1000 pages! (and even then should relaly be longer, as quite often it does not, for brevit's sake, go into past procedure). But thank god it is well indexed.

I am hoping, in the interests of equality, a male MP defies the rules and wears a hat in the chamber (lady's may wear hats, you see).

MikeL

Is O'Mara turning up to vote?

Potentially important - Con / DUP majority is 13.

I think they can afford to lose 3 by-elections and continue in office (ie majority of 7).

Lose 4 by-elections and majority is 5 which is then just too unstable (for any period of time) with risk of random events causing votes to be lost.

But if O'Mara isn't turning up, then they can lose 4 by-elections, rather than 3.

FrancisUrquhart

MikeL said:

Is O'Mara turning up to vote?

Potentially important - Con / DUP majority is 13.

I think they can afford to lose 3 by-elections and continue in office (ie majority of 7).

Lose 4 by-elections and majority is 5 which is then just too unstable (for any period of time) with risk of random events causing votes to be lost.

But if O'Mara isn't turning up, then they can lose 4 by-elections, rather than 3.

I don't see any reason why he wouldn't.

kle4

MikeL said:

Is O'Mara turning up to vote?

Potentially important - Con / DUP majority is 13.

I think they can afford to lose 3 by-elections and continue in office (ie majority of 7).

Lose 4 by-elections and majority is 5 which is then just too unstable (for any period of time) with risk of random events causing votes to be lost.

But if O'Mara isn't turning up, then they can lose 4 by-elections, rather than 3.

Below average, apparently, but for the big stuff I'm sure they make certainhe is there.

kle4

As a point of interest, the index to Erskine May does have an entry for Bribery, but I can confirm it does not give details of a minimum bribe level a la Blackadder.

david_herdson

MikeSmithson said:

CORRECTION I was wrong to say that he was the only one of the 650 MPs elected on June 8th not to speak. The Sinn Fein contingent did not take their seats.

I apologise for my pedantry. My consolation is that I give people a weekly opportunity to get their own back.

FrancisUrquhart

Look over there...a pink elephant...

President Donald Trump has ordered the release of nearly 3,000 files on John F Kennedy assassination. But he blocked the release of other files, citing national security concerns.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41771923

TwistedFireStopper

kle4 said:

MikeL said:

Is O'Mara turning up to vote?

Potentially important - Con / DUP majority is 13.

I think they can afford to lose 3 by-elections and continue in office (ie majority of 7).

Lose 4 by-elections and majority is 5 which is then just too unstable (for any period of time) with risk of random events causing votes to be lost.

But if O'Mara isn't turning up, then they can lose 4 by-elections, rather than 3.

Below average, apparently, but for the big stuff I'm sure they make certainhe is there.

He's got 75000+ reasons a year to at least appear to be interested in being an MP for the next few years.

bigjohnowls

TheScreamingEagles said:

Just remember next time you complain about your MP, it could be worse and remember Jared O'Mara is my MP.

You gave your vote to Pulpstar though

RobD

FrancisUrquhart said:

Look over there...a pink elephant...

President Donald Trump has ordered the release of nearly 3,000 files on John F Kennedy assassination. But he blocked the release of other files, citing national security concerns.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41771923

I doubt the conspiracy nuts will be satisfied given that they are withholding a subset.

TheWhiteRabbit

Rhubarb said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

AFAIR Half Life got robots and green 'liquid' instead of soldiers.

Yes, it's definitely censored (n.b. not the latest)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27488254

IanB2

With all the fuss about his abusiveness, his indolence appears to have received relatively little attention?

viewcode

@rcs1000

rcs1000 said:

It's quiet tonight.

Let's spice things up.

There are two gubernatorial races in the US this November, New Jersey (where Chris Christie is time limited) and Virginia (ditto for Terry McAuliffe).

New Jersey: I would be staggered if the Dems didn't take it at a canter.

Virginia is a much harder call. I'd reckon the Dems will hold it, but it'll probably be very close.

Any one else have a view?

I noticed this a week or two ago. The Republican candidate in Virginia is Ed
Gillespie. His vote has been creeping up over the past few months and PaddyPower has him at 5/2, in from 3/1 a few weeks ago http://www.paddypower.com/bet/politics/other-politics/us-politics?ev_oc_grp_ids=3768456

If I had world enough and time, I'd do a proper Bayesian workup (which would involve me looking up "Bayesian workup" - it's been a while... ) with polls in similar states and previous polls. But I don't, so I'm reduced to running my finger down the Wikipedia table and drawing graphs. So please take this with a big pinch of salt. But 5/2 does seem like value in this case

TheWhiteRabbit

RobD said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Look over there...a pink elephant...

President Donald Trump has ordered the release of nearly 3,000 files on John F Kennedy assassination. But he blocked the release of other files, citing national security concerns.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41771923

I doubt the conspiracy nuts will be satisfied given that they are withholding a subset.

Rob, I take a compromise position. JFK was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, but the other people in the car were shot by the CIA.

RobD

TheWhiteRabbit said:

Rhubarb said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

AFAIR Half Life got robots and green 'liquid' instead of soldiers.

Yes, it's definitely censored (n.b. not the latest)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27488254

For half life:

Characters no longer bleed when injured, and they fade away when blown up rather than gib. The scientists and security guards do not collapse upon death. Instead, they calmly sit down on the floor and shake their head in disappointment when killed. The Marines were replaced with Robot Grunts and have their own unique lines delivered with robotic modulation. The death animation of the female assassin was altered so that her eyes remain covered by her night vision goggles rather than become visible after the goggles slide off. The assassin's breasts also do not bounce while walking. Barnacles vomit mechanical parts such as springs and cogs when killed due to the original human body part gibs being replaced. In the multiplayer portion of the game, the only available player model is Helmet. Despite all of these changes, corpses and blood decals already placed in the levels can be still be found throughout the campaign.

http://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Censored_versions_of_Half-Life

I did laugh at the 'calmly sit down' bit..

AndyJS

Four German pollsters have the CDU/CSU on 31%.

http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/

RobD

TheWhiteRabbit said:

RobD said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Look over there...a pink elephant...

President Donald Trump has ordered the release of nearly 3,000 files on John F Kennedy assassination. But he blocked the release of other files, citing national security concerns.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41771923

I doubt the conspiracy nuts will be satisfied given that they are withholding a subset.

Rob, I take a compromise position. JFK was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, but the other people in the car were shot by the CIA.

I was hoping to find out whether or not JFK was assassinated by the forces of zionism.

Rhubarb

RobD said:

TheWhiteRabbit said:

Rhubarb said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

AFAIR Half Life got robots and green 'liquid' instead of soldiers.

Yes, it's definitely censored (n.b. not the latest)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27488254

For half life:

Characters no longer bleed when injured, and they fade away when blown up rather than gib. The scientists and security guards do not collapse upon death. Instead, they calmly sit down on the floor and shake their head in disappointment when killed. The Marines were replaced with Robot Grunts and have their own unique lines delivered with robotic modulation. The death animation of the female assassin was altered so that her eyes remain covered by her night vision goggles rather than become visible after the goggles slide off. The assassin's breasts also do not bounce while walking. Barnacles vomit mechanical parts such as springs and cogs when killed due to the original human body part gibs being replaced. In the multiplayer portion of the game, the only available player model is Helmet. Despite all of these changes, corpses and blood decals already placed in the levels can be still be found throughout the campaign.

http://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Censored_versions_of_Half-Life

I did laugh at the 'calmly sit down' bit..

I wonder if you can use them for cover? Because that could change the dynamics of certain games quite a lot.

kle4

IanB2 said:

With all the fuss about his abusiveness, his indolence appears to have received relatively little attention?

Well it's only been a few months since the election and much of that in recess, it's not a great start but it would be too early to suggest he cannot improve that. Taken in line with his general twattishness, and it certainly doesn't help him.

FrancisUrquhart

We had been expecting more than 3000 documents that had never been seen before as well as more than 30,000 that had previously only been released with redactions.

Think of poor sods at various media outlets currently having to wade through all of this...Minions Interns assemble...

Jonathan

Brexession looming?

AndyJS

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

Only computer game that scared me. Played it on a Performa 630 Macintosh in about 1996.

kle4

Jonathan said:

Brexession looming?

Due for one anyway

FrancisUrquhart

AndyJS said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Always wondered....are the Wolfenstein games available in Germany (given their Nazi theme) ?

Only computer game that scared me. Played it on a Performa 630 Macintosh in about 1996.

You don't want to play the new one then....even ISIS fighters might be a bit squeamish of some of the scenes.

viewcode

TwistedFireStopper said:

That too. The arcade version had 2 uzi machine pistols on the cabinet. Pure class! My favourite games were Commando and Choplifter. Proper video games with limited lives and saves. None of the modern restarting where you died malarkey. If you were crap, you never got more than a couple of minutes for your 10p!

Oh dear god, we're doing arcade game nostalgia. OK, let's get it over with...

Asteroids, Battlezone, Missile Command, Tempest, Star Wars, Marble Madness, Gamesmaster, snarky mention of "purple joystick"...

foxinsoxuk

https://twitter.com/britainelects/status/923679826753531904

https://twitter.com/britainelects/status/923677917439291397

One for the aficionados. Loughborough is a marginal, and a bellwether for who forms a government.

The Hastings ward is the more WWC area of Loughborough, largely social housing and with little to do with the university. Town not gown.

foxinsoxuk

foxinsoxuk said:

twitter.com/britainelects/status/923679826753531904

twitter.com/britainelects/status/923677917439291397

One for the aficionados. Loughborough is a marginal, and a bellwether for who forms a government.

The Hastings ward is the more WWC area of Loughborough, largely social housing and with little to do with the university. Town not gown.

Close but no cigar for the LDs:

https://twitter.com/britainelects/status/923687563562487808

FrancisUrquhart

NHS trusts were left vulnerable in a major ransomware attack in May because cyber-security recommendations were not followed, a government report has said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41753022

AndyJS

"Trump Declares the Opioid Crisis a ‘Public Health Emergency’":

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/us/politics/trump-opioid-crisis.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Pulpstar

viewcode said:

TwistedFireStopper said:

That too. The arcade version had 2 uzi machine pistols on the cabinet. Pure class! My favourite games were Commando and Choplifter. Proper video games with limited lives and saves. None of the modern restarting where you died malarkey. If you were crap, you never got more than a couple of minutes for your 10p!

Oh dear god, we're doing arcade game nostalgia. OK, let's get it over with...

Asteroids, Battlezone, Missile Command, Tempest, Star Wars, Marble Madness, Gamesmaster, snarky mention of "purple joystick"...

I've gone back to the old school for my gaming at the moment. Playing through the original Metroid on a NES emulator on my PC and Legend of Zelda on my phone...

DecrepitJohnL

As an aside, should we not remember that CCHQ brought forward its candidate selection before the general election that allegedly took the party by surprise?

RobD

DecrepitJohnL said:

As an aside, should we not remember that CCHQ brought forward its candidate selection before the general election that allegedly took the party by surprise?

Your point?

MTimT

viewcode said:

@rcs1000

rcs1000 said:

It's quiet tonight.

Let's spice things up.

There are two gubernatorial races in the US this November, New Jersey (where Chris Christie is time limited) and Virginia (ditto for Terry McAuliffe).

New Jersey: I would be staggered if the Dems didn't take it at a canter.

Virginia is a much harder call. I'd reckon the Dems will hold it, but it'll probably be very close.

Any one else have a view?

I noticed this a week or two ago. The Republican candidate in Virginia is Ed
Gillespie. His vote has been creeping up over the past few months and PaddyPower has him at 5/2, in from 3/1 a few weeks ago http://www.paddypower.com/bet/politics/other-politics/us-politics?ev_oc_grp_ids=3768456

If I had world enough and time, I'd do a proper Bayesian workup (which would involve me looking up "Bayesian workup" - it's been a while... ) with polls in similar states and previous polls. But I don't, so I'm reduced to running my finger down the Wikipedia table and drawing graphs. So please take this with a big pinch of salt. But 5/2 does seem like value in this case

There was a poll out yesterday with Gillespie up 8. Surprised me, particularly with the way VA has been trending.

FWIW, both sides are flooding the TV ad market with nasty negative attack ads (for both Governor and Attorney General votes). Hard to say which is the more effective - I have no liking for either candidate, but Gillespie has one ad that verges on the Willy Horton - accusing Northam of supporting the automatic restoration of rights of child sex offenders. Maybe that is what is boosting his number or, more likely, depressing Northam's.

rcs1000

MTimT said:

viewcode said:

@rcs1000

rcs1000 said:

It's quiet tonight.

Let's spice things up.

There are two gubernatorial races in the US this November, New Jersey (where Chris Christie is time limited) and Virginia (ditto for Terry McAuliffe).

New Jersey: I would be staggered if the Dems didn't take it at a canter.

Virginia is a much harder call. I'd reckon the Dems will hold it, but it'll probably be very close.

Any one else have a view?

I noticed this a week or two ago. The Republican candidate in Virginia is Ed
Gillespie. His vote has been creeping up over the past few months and PaddyPower has him at 5/2, in from 3/1 a few weeks ago http://www.paddypower.com/bet/politics/other-politics/us-politics?ev_oc_grp_ids=3768456

If I had world enough and time, I'd do a proper Bayesian workup (which would involve me looking up "Bayesian workup" - it's been a while... ) with polls in similar states and previous polls. But I don't, so I'm reduced to running my finger down the Wikipedia table and drawing graphs. So please take this with a big pinch of salt. But 5/2 does seem like value in this case

There was a poll out yesterday with Gillespie up 8. Surprised me, particularly with the way VA has been trending.

FWIW, both sides are flooding the TV ad market with nasty negative attack ads (for both Governor and Attorney General votes). Hard to say which is the more effective - I have no liking for either candidate, but Gillespie has one ad that verges on the Willy Horton - accusing Northam of supporting the automatic restoration of rights of child sex offenders. Maybe that is what is boosting his number or, more likely, depressing Northam's.

If the Republicans gain Virginia, that will be a great result for them.

MTimT

rcs1000 said:

MTimT said:

viewcode said:

@rcs1000

rcs1000 said:

It's quiet tonight.

Let's spice things up.

There are two gubernatorial races in the US this November, New Jersey (where Chris Christie is time limited) and Virginia (ditto for Terry McAuliffe).

New Jersey: I would be staggered if the Dems didn't take it at a canter.

Virginia is a much harder call. I'd reckon the Dems will hold it, but it'll probably be very close.

Any one else have a view?

I noticed this a week or two ago. The Republican candidate in Virginia is Ed
Gillespie. His vote has been creeping up over the past few months and PaddyPower has him at 5/2, in from 3/1 a few weeks ago http://www.paddypower.com/bet/politics/other-politics/us-politics?ev_oc_grp_ids=3768456

If I had world enough and time, I'd do a proper Bayesian workup (which would involve me looking up "Bayesian workup" - it's been a while... ) with polls in similar states and previous polls. But I don't, so I'm reduced to running my finger down the Wikipedia table and drawing graphs. So please take this with a big pinch of salt. But 5/2 does seem like value in this case

There was a poll out yesterday with Gillespie up 8. Surprised me, particularly with the way VA has been trending.

FWIW, both sides are flooding the TV ad market with nasty negative attack ads (for both Governor and Attorney General votes). Hard to say which is the more effective - I have no liking for either candidate, but Gillespie has one ad that verges on the Willy Horton - accusing Northam of supporting the automatic restoration of rights of child sex offenders. Maybe that is what is boosting his number or, more likely, depressing Northam's.

If the Republicans gain Virginia, that will be a great result for them.

It would, indeed. Have been working mostly from home the last few weeks, so have not ventured over the river into VA. But, ads aside, the race is not generating anywhere as much interest as either of the last two cycles.

The big news seems not to be the election, but the Board of Governors agonizing over how to rename J.E.B. Stuart High School.

When that is the level of a country's political debate, it clearly doesn't have too many real problems. Ain't America so lucky to be governed so well. Wait ...

Recidivist

OT - Good summary of where we are on the business front of Brexit. http://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/times-running-out-economics-is-now.html

swing_voter

I dont buy the idea that Labour didnt view Sheffield Hallam as winnable at the start of 2017......Clegg had only held on in 2015 by a few thousand and that was as DPM and Party leader, the seat was winnable long before 2017 and its not as though Sheffield/South Yorks was full of marginals for Labour to fight. I am amazed that he was just parachuted in to such a high profile seat that was more than winnable. Thats not to say Clegg's defeat was not a surprise but it was hardly a 20,000 vote collapse, there is more to this, perhaps Sheffield Labour were busy worrying abour trees?

Pong

FrancisUrquhart said:

NHS trusts were left vulnerable in a major ransomware attack in May because cyber-security recommendations were not followed, a government report has said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41753022

Nope.

WannaCry was almost exclusively a GCHQ/NSA f*ckup.

OldKingCole

Recidivist said:

OT - Good summary of where we are on the business front of Brexit. http://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/times-running-out-economics-is-now.html

Thanks. Seems rrasonable, if alarming. I’d be interested to see a review of this from the Brexit side.

Pong

Pong said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

NHS trusts were left vulnerable in a major ransomware attack in May because cyber-security recommendations were not followed, a government report has said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41753022

Nope.

WannaCry was almost exclusively a GCHQ/NSA f*ckup.

Damage to the NHS could have been avoided if the former home secretary and current prime minister had done her job properly.

That she's appointed a replacement home secretary who doesn't even understand encryption indicates how far up sh*t creek we are.

The tories are a serious threat to national security.

TheScreamingEagles

Pong said:

Pong said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

NHS trusts were left vulnerable in a major ransomware attack in May because cyber-security recommendations were not followed, a government report has said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41753022

Nope.

WannaCry was almost exclusively a GCHQ/NSA f*ckup.

It could have been prevented if the former home secretary and current prime minister had done her job properly.

That she's appointed a replacement home secretary who doesn't even understand encryption indicates how far up sh*t creek we are.

The tories are a serious threat to national security.

You do realise the Foreign Secretary is responsible for GCHQ and not the Home Secretary?

rkrkrk

swing_voter said:

I dont buy the idea that Labour didnt view Sheffield Hallam as winnable at the start of 2017......Clegg had only held on in 2015 by a few thousand and that was as DPM and Party leader, the seat was winnable long before 2017 and its not as though Sheffield/South Yorks was full of marginals for Labour to fight. I am amazed that he was just parachuted in to such a high profile seat that was more than winnable. Thats not to say Clegg's defeat was not a surprise but it was hardly a 20,000 vote collapse, there is more to this, perhaps Sheffield Labour were busy worrying abour trees?

yes i thought that strange also.
possibly labour expectations were just very very low in 2017... they didn't really expect to be gaining seats.

TheScreamingEagles

rkrkrk said:

swing_voter said:

I dont buy the idea that Labour didnt view Sheffield Hallam as winnable at the start of 2017......Clegg had only held on in 2015 by a few thousand and that was as DPM and Party leader, the seat was winnable long before 2017 and its not as though Sheffield/South Yorks was full of marginals for Labour to fight. I am amazed that he was just parachuted in to such a high profile seat that was more than winnable. Thats not to say Clegg's defeat was not a surprise but it was hardly a 20,000 vote collapse, there is more to this, perhaps Sheffield Labour were busy worrying abour trees?

yes i thought that strange also.
possibly labour expectations were just very very low in 2017... they didn't really expect to be gaining seats.

He was selected start of May and around that time Labour were around 18% behind in the polls, some had Labour further behind.

So when he was selected as the Labour candidate the perception was Labour was in for a shellacking on June 8th, (net) seat gains weren’t on the agenda for them.

OldKingCole

TheScreamingEagles said:

Pong said:

Pong said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

NHS trusts were left vulnerable in a major ransomware attack in May because cyber-security recommendations were not followed, a government report has said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41753022

Nope.

WannaCry was almost exclusively a GCHQ/NSA f*ckup.

It could have been prevented if the former home secretary and current prime minister had done her job properly.

That she's appointed a replacement home secretary who doesn't even understand encryption indicates how far up sh*t creek we are.

The tories are a serious threat to national security.

You do realise the Foreign Secretary is responsible for GCHQ and not the Home Secretary?

So that’s Hague>Hammond>Johnson?
Hmmm.

TheScreamingEagles

OldKingCole said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Pong said:

Pong said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

NHS trusts were left vulnerable in a major ransomware attack in May because cyber-security recommendations were not followed, a government report has said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41753022

Nope.

WannaCry was almost exclusively a GCHQ/NSA f*ckup.

It could have been prevented if the former home secretary and current prime minister had done her job properly.

That she's appointed a replacement home secretary who doesn't even understand encryption indicates how far up sh*t creek we are.

The tories are a serious threat to national security.

You do realise the Foreign Secretary is responsible for GCHQ and not the Home Secretary?

So that’s Hague>Hammond>Johnson?
Hmmm.

Pong will have to show his workings.

As it looks like he’s just throwing mud and hope it sticks.

CarlottaVance

RobD said:

TheWhiteRabbit said:

RobD said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Look over there...a pink elephant...

President Donald Trump has ordered the release of nearly 3,000 files on John F Kennedy assassination. But he blocked the release of other files, citing national security concerns.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41771923

I doubt the conspiracy nuts will be satisfied given that they are withholding a subset.

Rob, I take a compromise position. JFK was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, but the other people in the car were shot by the CIA.

I was hoping to find out whether or not JFK was assassinated by the forces of zionism.

Someone should ask Ken......