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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The big one: Cyclefree announces her Political Awards for 2017
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The big one: Cyclefree announces her Political Awards for 2017
It is perhaps inevitable in a country with a government which thinks that the colour of its passport matters that the British Army should have spent money on trying to change its “Be the Best” motto. To what, one wonders? “Be Mediocre”, perhaps or “Best at Being Third-Rate”, maybe. Still, a workforce can only be regarded as sufficiently diverse if a significant proportion is unsuitable for the job.
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Time to proscribe UKIP like we do with Combat 18,
Though I wonder if Jared O'Mara might have got an award - the Magic Money Tree Award for Getting Something for Nothing perhaps, as he continues to claim his MP's salary and not turn up.
If the people vote for them, then they get their dosh no matter what a waste of space they are.
I had a conversation with my PT some years ago about what motivates people to go to the gym and why people might get a personal trainer. PTs often imagine that what motivates them is what motivates their potential customers. But customers at the bottom of the hill can't imagine committing to the kind of regime required and will not pick a trainer who has what they consider unrealistic or unattainable expectations of them. "Best" is unattainable for many, but "Better" is something we can all feel we can aim for, whatever "Better" might mean for each of us. He has "Be Better" on the back of his business cards and he does very good business indeed.
UKIP is deeply unpleasant, as is the BNP, but neither should be proscribed. Combat 18's leadership have been directly implicated in violence and, in some cases, murder.
The shock for many people is that politicians are also people. Which means the good the bad and the downright awful get elected to parliament. It can be easy for partisan people to make partisan comments about how certain awful MPs reflect on their party, but in reality there is good and bad in all parties.
That said, I do think we should have a special award not for Jared O'Mara (whose sins appear to be being a "bloke") but to the people who were supposed to have vetted Jared O'Mara. The party now finds itself in the problematic position of having snatched Sheffield Hallam for the first time from the Tories (ok Clegg, same difference) has a sitting MP it should remove, but in doing so would likely lose the hard won seat. Hemce the need for a special award to the officials who did such a brilliant job. The Albatross award perhaps...
If the military commanders, presumably guided by data from their marketing department believe that a new slogan would be more effective in achieving their objectives it's not for a mere politician to overrule them
Back to the straight-line versus great-circle defence-debate.
Cook I can just about account for - Australia are a bowler down, and this pitch most resembles the ones in India which Cook loves to bat forever on - but Broad ... ? A fantastic effort from two out of form players, though.
Also kudos to Boycott's powers of prognostication - he commented at the start of play that our bowling looked as though it was going to make something happen for a change.
In any event, we look a much better team when the senior players fire - though I fear it's possible we might regret the lack of a wicket taking spinner like Rashid if Australia should be trying to bat out the draw in their second innings.
Prince Harry editing the Today programme this morning.
The Women and Equalities Committee remains the most ironically and stupidly named of committees. It's all about equality. And one gender.
Whatever conflict comes next (and, as Frank Kitson noted, it will be an unforeseen one) we need to face it as best prepared as possible.
And if that means with soldiers who were attracted to the idea of being, and have tried to be the best, then so much the better.
An excellent year end thread from Ms Cyclefree, up to her usual high standard and well worth reflecting on for politicians of all stripes. We definitely need a proper recall system for MPs to deal with those who don’t treat the job with the respect it deserves and the honour of representing their constituents.
Harry sounding pretty sensible on the wireless.
Now, I don't mind if they do change it, but I really struggle to see the outrage here - it's precisely the sort of thing a politician can weigh in on without too much worry, it's not US politicians ordering tanks the army don't want as it creates jobs in their districts. Certainly calling it shabby seems unfair on Williamson, be if the right or wrong decision.
The logical endpoint would be that everyone must do what market researchers tell them to do, no matter what, because who are any of us to say otherwise.
Really not feeling the outrage at a politician daring to make such a minor call, and one geared around marketing at that.
Hyperbole about the military is one thing; when it is demonstrably ineffective, then retaining it to gratify some overpromoted politician's ego is quite indefensible.
I’m against all forms of anti-Semitism.
Suddenly, I'm not so sure again. The obstinate refusal to take Rashid never looked justifiable and now looks a dreadful blunder. Hales and Buttler instead of Vince and Balance would have stiffened the batting. Enough? Probably not, but who outside the england Selectors preferred the two that went to the two left behind? Not many.
The selectors could now do English cricket a great service by dropping themselves. It's not going to happen though and I suspect that any success the team now enjoys will be used to gloss over the inadequacies in both the process and the personnel involved in selection.
It is also the job of elected officials to take advice from professionals and then make a decision, it's not shabby to come to a different conclusion if they failed to convince, especially when, again, it's only an argument from market research, not military strategy.
Sigh, and now time for work.
I was trying to think of some more positive awards for politicians.
Possibly the Lazarus award for Ruth Davidson (part 2) in reviving the moribund Scottish Tories.
The human decency award to Doug Jones and the people of Alabama (just).
The say the right thing award to Sajid Javid in the aftermath of Grenfell Tower.
Best performance at a rock festival to Jeremy Corbyn?
I know you like Buttler, but he is a wicketkeeper who can bat not a batsman.
I agree about Vince and Hales.
There's probably not that much between the batting lineups however (I don't think Smith, for instance, would look quite so Bradmanesque were he facing up to his own pace trio) as both teams have significant weaknesses.
But I am of course trying to think logically, which is why I would be no good as an England selector.
Perhaps a slight modification to that award might be in order ?
We have had batting collapses but they are an inevitable consequence of the scoreboard pressure England have so relentlessly been under. I am a fan of Hales but Stoneman has done well as has Ballance. Only Vince has really failed to shine amongst the new boys. Root has disappointed hugely and seems to be finding the captaincy a strain. Cook has been terrible until now but has got an unbeaten century.
The real mystery has been Ali. Last summer he was vying with Ben Stokes and the captain for our most valuable player but he has failed with ball and bat in quite an epic way. Really not sure what is wrong there given the success of Lyon.
The problem is that this method doesn't travel well. This is a somewhat weaker batting lineup than the one Stuart Broad carved up for 60 on an otherwise innocuous pitch at Trent Bridge two years ago when the ball moved. The reason I say it is weaker is that their new opener Bancroft averaged 25 over two seasons in the second division of the Championship - not much more than half what his opening partner Chris Dent did in the same time.
Their bowlers also looked short of ideas when the ball wasn't bouncing high. They don't seem to have the guile of McGrath or Gillespie (or Donald or Ambrose for the matter of that).
A great side wins at home and away. This is a very good side, but it is far from a great one.
Although it claims Sergeant's death means they cannot follow procedures, I do not find their claims convincing. A police inquiry would be different.
Buses are useful for identifying failures in life.
Cf Mrs Thatcher’s reputed comments on bus users. Even if she didn’t say it, the sentiment was right.
The absence of another credible spinner on the tour is inexcusable.
I’m a touch sceptical of marketing gurus. I’d have though that poor pay and poor housing might be greater deterrents to recruitment than a motto.
But I am an unashamed elitist not in the sense of being a snob (I hope) but in the sense of believing that everyone has some talent, some skill and everyone can, if they try, aim to do whatever they do, as well as possible. People who care for old people at the end of life, who sit with them, who clean them and tend to them, who sit with them and show infinite kindness and patience are doing their best, are an elite and are admirable. They are an elite and should be proud of what they do. And so should we.
There is nothing wrong with aiming for the best. Having low expectations of people is self-fulfilling. That was the point I was trying to make. The army has often been good at taking young men with perhaps not much to recommend them and helped them make something of themselves. Take one example from today: Prince Harry - not an academic and a bit lost but turned out, by all reports, to be a good officer.
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”
Edmund Burke
Perhaps the Army could use this.
Seriously though, if ever a party needed ten years in opposition it's Welsh Labour. They are in a dreadful mess and it's getting worse not better. However, with the opposition so divided that just isn't going to happen.
On the cricket, I backed 5-0 and then (via Betfair) took some profit a few days ago.
Here are the relevant factors.
1) England lost their best all rounder. You simply can't replace Stokes.
2) Home advantage is 'bigger' in cricket than any other sport due to the ability to prepare wickets to suit. Smith and the Aus pace attack are much much stronger on the hard bouncy wickets in Aus compared to elsewhere..
Now though there are a couple of factors working for England..
3) Teams can take their foot slightly off the gas with a won series - subconsciously it often happens.
4) Starc is fragile and probably was never going to last the full series.
4-1 most likely now on the basis England will probably relax a bit too having avoided the whitewash; and draws are unlikely
https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/945422834679021568
https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/945419132568260608
https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/945418970651295745
https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/945418590861381632
Just one example. Plenty more. Emily Thornberry gets it. A pity her leader doesn’t.
And that is the crux of the matter. It's not so much errors in individual selections, it's the whole process. It is incoherent.
I come from an Army family on my dad's side - my cousin Anthony was Deputy Chief of Staff - and I think they do produce excellent performance from the pool of recruits that they get (and Anthony was always hostile to conscription in peacetime - "just as you've trained them up, they leave, what's the point?"), but widening the pool is a good idea and politicians should hesitate before scoring pointsoff them for trying.
In any normal country, he would be facing the wrath of a disgruntled electorate.
Unfortunately, the Welsh Tory leader is a buffoon. Plaid Cymru -- despite being presented with a text-book example of how to dethrone an entrenched Labour party -- have failed to understand the lesson of Scotland. The sole LibDem in the Assembly has been handed a poisoned chalice and drunk deeply of it. And finally, we have Neil Mostyn Hamilton in charge of UKIP.
And, despite this litany of failure & disgrace, the main thrust of the Welsh Assembly right now is to increase the number of AMs from 60 to 100.
From where we are, Wales probably needs a Macron-like candidate to make a new party to carry out some of the necessary changes.
Just a pity about the rehashed plot and the banality of the script. It reminded me somewhat of Tomorrow Never Dies.
I accept that most politicians are industrious, but the parties are too slack and indulgent of thosecwho are not.
It's not impossible, but I think derision at the idea of the decision from Williamson woukd be unfair, even if indeed he did not weigh up all considerations before making the call.
Though I think his main challenge for re election will not come from the centre right or far right but the old Left led by Melenchon who are the biggest challenge to his Blairite agenda for France
Perhaps most significantly, there is little possibility of action, and what actions are likely in the future. There is not the same drive to fight when the people we fight alongside (the European mainland) are being made out to be our enemies.
BREXITERS and remainers set aside their differences yesterday for a festive football match which then descended into a foul mouthed argument.
The two teams emerged from behind their computer screens around midday to shake hands and sing carols before the friendly kick about.
Remainer Tom Logan said: “The tweets and the Facebook posts fell silent. We climbed out of our entrenched views, looked into the face of the enemy and realised that they are just like us after all.
“But then there was a disputed free kick and one of the Brexiters called me a ‘remoaner’ and I said that the very fact that Brexiters invented the word ‘remoaner’ proves what complete fucking imbeciles they really are.
“Then the Brexiter said that half of our team probably wasn’t even British and I called him a fat, Nazi bastard.”
All 22 players then scurried back home to their laptops to continue insulting each other.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/war/brexiters-and-remainers-celebrate-christmas-truce-with-football-match-which-then-goes-horribly-wrong-20171223141356
Given an open impression is not the same - or should not be the same - as suggesting that being second-rate or mediocre is good enough. Everyone should aim high. “You too can be the best.”
Perhaps they could get soldiers who come from a less traditional background to go out and speak to possible recruits. Role models are more effective than slogans.
But, IMO, there is too much willingness to accept the second-rate and lower standards in an attempt to widen access. The two need not be in conflict. The aim should be to get the best people from wherever not just a limited pool. I agree on that. But it should not be at the expense of lowering standards, expectations or effectiveness.
As the independent somewhat wryly noted - his other actions have included intervening to stop two military dogs being put down and that row with Hammond over plane costs. He’s definitely on manoeuvres.
It is therefore doubly disappointing to see the likes of Jared O'Mara treating his voters with utter contempt, or Emma Dent Coad speaking more or less only outside the Commons and having a poor attendance record despite living so close by, or Laura Pidcock deciding to miss a crucial vote on a welfare matter she claimed was close to her heart because it was her thirtieth birthday and she and her boyfriend decided to go to Italy for a week. (I worked right through my thirtieth birthday and for several weeks afterwards for literally a fraction of her pay. So do most people in low paid jobs. Her excuse was ridiculous and she shouldn't even have bothered to give it because she merely looked even smugger than usual.)
One reason why I expect Corbynism to burn out post-Corbyn is because even allowing for his faults the next generation of lefties are truly pathetic and not worth the effort of voting for (OK, I know Coad is old but O'Mara, Pidcock, Smith, Long-Bailey - they are young). Not, it should be said, that the other parties are better.
It's not that you have to have had a privileged background to excel, just that they need to avoid the impression that everyone is excelling already so don't bother, mate. The best caseworker I ever had was a former assembly line worker who had been spending years fitting mirrors on cars - scrupulous, tactful, realistic, resourceful and incredibly hard-working, he absolutely blossomed in the job, but he was originally surprised I asked him to do it as it was outside his expected range of possibilities (I'd seen him in action as a borough councillor).
When I lost, he lost his job automatically (people who are sorry for MPs who lose should give a thought to their staff, who get shoved out at a month's notice), and phlegmatically went to work in a shop, where he quietly gives the same standard of service to customers.
I see the grumpy old sods on here are out and about early - so much for the Christmas spirit.
I'll join in.
I've spent my whole life listening to the "I never took a day off in 35 years working" brigade. Yes, you just came in, performed well under par and infected half your colleagues with whatever illness you were carrying.
Perhaps that's our productivity issue in a nutshell - people report for work when manifestly unfit and incapable, spend the whole day telling everyone what martyrs they are and go home early. I do realise for many people no work means no pay and that can be a huge issue in terms of paying rent, eating and keeping warm.
You hear them and see them on the Tube - full of cold or flu or worse but going to work because they have no choice. It's no surprise people are disillusioned with capitalism and want an alternative.
And the one time I seriously considered taking time off I went in anyway because all my colleagues had been ill and if I hadn't gone in there would have been nobody to set cover.
Edit - in terms of teaching, oddly, taking days off also usually means extra work later to sort out the tangle created. So you do get more productivity going in unless you are absolutely unable to.
Politicians are respobsible for strategy and big picture stuff not for minor operational details.
It's also because I know Williamson's type. He doesn't give a fig fir what's good for the army - just what the headline looks like
That's a great big warning sign that they have faulty judgement.