If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which have little power these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
I agree with a lot of what you say, but has apathy actually increased? For instance, at my council's last elections turnout was up on last time, and by-elections had comparable turnout. Perhaps that is an outlier compared to other places, but do we have hard evidence the general apathetic nature of local elections has actually gotten worse?
You're not asking me to back my beautiful gut feelings with actual facts and figures, I hope?
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
Unlike the supine UK the French are still able to walk upright and do not act like sheeple when their politicians stiff them. If only they could sell the UK some backbones.
Everyone gets my puns on doors, but not my awesome puns about the French being always at it! Very annoying.
They missed my puns about the bangs on Nelson's Column as well.
Did you know the story about the lions at Nelson’s Column? It would appeal to your sense of humour...
No. Did they suck?
If you’ve ever looked closely at them there’s something a little ... odd ... about them
Landseer was commissioned to design them. Problem was he had never been to Africa or seen a lion so he had no idea what they looked like. Fortunately (albeit not for the lion) one at London Zoo had recently died so he had them send over the remains.
Now this was obviously a very important commission so he was keen to get it just right. However he took so long about the sketches that the lion began to decompose and the hind quarters fell off before he’d drawn them. In a panic he did the only thing he could think of and used his pet Labrador as a model for the lion’s legs and back....
I guess that shows you have to be careful when working with a deadline.
Did this dog his later career? Or did it just tail off?
I’ll ig-gnaw that barking remark.
I'd be lion if I said I didn't admire the puns, but I still think you're being a big catty.
Why of course. Cats voted Leave
Well that's another reason to annul the referendum result - how many of those 17.4m were cats?!
You need to paws for thought!
I did once canvass someone who had put his dog on the electoral register. In the days before IER, of course.
Did you get the dog's vote?
No, but he did get the dog's boll[That's enough - Ed]
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
Old white men have a greater tendency to be redder in the face and have a reddened gammon look, as blood pressure issues are more common. People who voted to leave the EU are demographically more likely to fit into this category.
By calling someone a gammon you can immediately denounce anyone who holds those physiological characteristics. If the term as used about any other demographic it would have been long since banned on here.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
Old white men have a greater tendency to be redder in the face and have a reddened gammon look, as blood pressure issues are more common. People who voted to leave the EU are demographically more likely to fit into this category.
By calling someone a gammon you can immediately denounce anyone who holds those physiological characteristics. If the term as used about any other demographic it would have been long since banned on here.
Says more about the person using the expression really. Just unnecessary
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which have little power these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
I agree with you that Local Government has on the whole been forced into an ineffectual cul-de-sac. I think the inability of councils to increase Taxes or Spending above limits imposed by Central Government is wrong. Local Councillors can of course be surcharged for inappropriate decisions but I am not sure if profligate spending or increased taxation to a point of diminishing returns qualifies for penalties to be implemented.
Councillors can no longer be surcharged. That was stopped some time ago.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
Generally affluent overweight middle-aged gentlemen with a strikingly florid complexion, their distinctive cured-pork facial aspect fuelled by high blood pressure from extreme anger at the modern world (despite having basically dominated politics for decades) and anything foreign, exacerbated by excessive meat and alcohol intake. All of the above funded by generous final salary pensions from a time when such things still existed.
Unlike the supine UK the French are still able to walk upright and do not act like sheeple when their politicians stiff them. If only they could sell the UK some backbones.
Everyone gets my puns on doors, but not my awesome puns about the French being always at it! Very annoying.
They missed my puns about the bangs on Nelson's Column as well.
Did you know the story about the lions at Nelson’s Column? It would appeal to your sense of humour...
No. Did they suck?
If you’ve ever looked closely at them there’s something a little ... odd ... about them
Landseer was commissioned to design them. Problem was he had never been to Africa or seen a lion so he had no idea what they looked like. Fortunately (albeit not for the lion) one at London Zoo had recently died so he had them send over the remains.
Now this was obviously a very important commission so he was keen to get it just right. However he took so long about the sketches that the lion began to decompose and the hind quarters fell off before he’d drawn them. In a panic he did the only thing he could think of and used his pet Labrador as a model for the lion’s legs and back....
I guess that shows you have to be careful when working with a deadline.
Did this dog his later career? Or did it just tail off?
I’ll ig-gnaw that barking remark.
I'd be lion if I said I didn't admire the puns, but I still think you're being a big catty.
Why of course. Cats voted Leave
Well that's another reason to annul the referendum result - how many of those 17.4m were cats?!
You need to paws for thought!
I did once canvass someone who had put his dog on the electoral register. In the days before IER, of course.
Did you get the dog's vote?
The owner said both he and the dog were going to vote the same way - but they hadn't decided yet. But he gave him a pointer.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
Generally affluent overweight middle-aged gentlemen with a strikingly florid complexion, their distinctive cured-pork facial aspect fuelled by high blood pressure from extreme anger at the modern world (despite having basically dominated politics for decades) and anything foreign, exacerbated by excessive meat and alcohol intake. All of the above funded by generous final salary pensions from a time when such things still existed.
Or assigning a set of political values to some,one due to their racial characteristics. We have words for that.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
Generally affluent overweight middle-aged gentlemen with a strikingly florid complexion, their distinctive cured-pork facial aspect fuelled by high blood pressure from extreme anger at the modern world (despite having basically dominated politics for decades) and anything foreign, exacerbated by excessive meat and alcohol intake. All of the above funded by generous final salary pensions from a time when such things still existed.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
The continuing emasculation of local government, which have little power these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
I agree with a lot of what you say, but has apathy actually increased? For instance, at my council's last elections turnout was up on last time, and by-elections had comparable turnout. Perhaps that is an outlier compared to other places, but do we have hard evidence the general apathetic nature of local elections has actually gotten worse?
You're not asking me to back my beautiful gut feelings with actual facts and figures, I hope?
Well it is not necessary, this is the internet, but I was curious if the general sense of increased apathy was in fact evidenced somewhere. It feels true, but it might be one of those things that is not.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
To be honest I have not come across the word. Can you explain it's meaning ?
Generally affluent overweight middle-aged gentlemen with a strikingly florid complexion, their distinctive cured-pork facial aspect fuelled by high blood pressure from extreme anger at the modern world (despite having basically dominated politics for decades) and anything foreign, exacerbated by excessive meat and alcohol intake. All of the above funded by generous final salary pensions from a time when such things still existed.
Or assigning a set of political values to some,one due to their racial characteristics. We have words for that.
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
Some might see that as a flaw. 365 day electioneering
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
Brenda - "you're not serious are you?"
Deadly.
I also think this would allow feeling against unpopular policies - like, for example, the Lisbon Treaty to be expressed more efficiently, rather than only being an issue in three or four years.
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
Brenda - "you're not serious are you?"
Deadly.
I also think this would allow feeling against unpopular policies - like, for example, the Lisbon Treaty to be expressed more efficiently, rather than only being an issue in three or four years.
I’m on board, providing we can also legislate for @AndyJS to be official spreadsheet provider for each of these annual elections.
While he's at it tomorrow regarding Theresa May's alleged contempt of the Commons, Keir Starmer could also ask for a copy of any relevant legal advice she received when she was Home Secretary before she blocked the investigation into Arron Banks. It's hard to believe that the market at Betfair assesses the probability of her remaining PM into April at above 40%.
This reminds me of something that almost happened to me about a year ago. I was travelling on a train from London to Bristol to watch a women's cricket world cup match between England and South Africa and at one point on the journey I stuck my head out of the window to get a better view of one of the ancient white horses. Just at that moment a train came in the other direction and it must have only just missed hitting me. I spent the rest of the journey sitting on the floor in a bit of a state. The thing is that most of the trains I travel on don't have windows you can open so I was slightly discombobulated by the fact that these London to Bristol trains do have windows you can open. RIP to the woman in this report.
Old white men have a greater tendency to be redder in the face and have a reddened gammon look, as blood pressure issues are more common. People who voted to leave the EU are demographically more likely to fit into this category
Older people of both sexes and all ethnicities are also more likely to take painkillers regularly, which might make them more susceptible to stories in the Daily Mail suggesting that Brexit might endanger the availability of such medication, should Geordie Greig run such stories, which he won't. I decided a while back that the spectre of food shortages was not as powerful a driver as xenophobia. (In Britain, that is.) But the prospect of painkillers running out is another matter. People who are on painkillers usually have direct personal knowledge of what pain is, and they would be more concerned with avoiding it than with the skin colour of their neighbours.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
Brenda - "you're not serious are you?"
Deadly.
I also think this would allow feeling against unpopular policies - like, for example, the Lisbon Treaty to be expressed more efficiently, rather than only being an issue in three or four years.
Would that that mean we only have 160 constituencies? With 5 'local' MPs per constituency but an electorate of 300k per constituency? Or would you mean we have 800 constituencies but 4/5 election years we don't get a vote?
Seems the global passport ranking list has just been published for 2018 and apparently the United Arab Emirates now has the 'most valuable' passport in the world as it grants you visa free travel for tourism to 167 countries.
The UK passport offers visa free travel to 164 nations (only 3 less) so if the EU does decide to require tourist visas post Brexit there are over 130 other nations who will allow you visa free access!
What do we miss out on compared to the UAE - visa free travel to Niger, Chad, Mali, China, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iran. But unlike UAE nationals we get visa free travel to the USA, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Israel and South Africa.
Methinks perhaps this global ranking doesn't paint the full picture! If you love visiting brutal dictatorships then the UAE passport is clearly for you!!
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
Don't you think it's racist to use it?
Gammon is an insult, like most insults it is sort of mean but no it isn't racist. It might be ageist. Those who are just red in the face aren't generally grouped in the insult, it generally requires additional things.
It is a bit worse but it has a similarity to snowflakes in some ways as an insult which is can be used in an ageist way but generally in the opposite direction.
Whilst I generally don't join in with using the various group insults I don't think it is worth getting too sensitive about the low level ones, cultist on top of the ones mentioned for example.
Although as long as people are fairly consistent I don't mind, if you don't like it and complain about it then don't do it to your opponents.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
Don't you think it's racist to use it?
Racism = Power + Prejudice and white people have the power so no.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
Don't you think it's racist to use it?
Racism = Power + Prejudice and white people have the power so no.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
Don't you think it's racist to use it?
I don't get what's racist about "gammon". Most of us who use it are white.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
Don't you think it's racist to use it?
To be honest it's more ageist than racist. Broken veins and coarsening of the skin happen to us all regardless of colour, although the effect in white people is different to black or brown or sandy. If you strip out the sociological overlay of race and just look at people's skin, people do change colour over decades. And then there's things like neck thickness and loss of subcutaneous fat.
I possibly may have taken your question too seriously...
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
Don't you think it's racist to use it?
Racism = Power + Prejudice and white people have the power so no.
Even poor white people?
I would kill for a return to class-based analysis over identity-based analysis. We've forgotten about the poor so much we're reduced to wealthy Leavers telling us what the poor think, via the special poor-reading mind-rays they seem to have. I am devoid of such telepathic abilities and are forced to phone them up (or on bloody WhatsApp, grumble groan no i don't want to see another picture of your meal goddammit, what's wrong with you... )
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
This is weak and unambitious, if you've got 800 MPs you can give them two-and-a-bit-year terms, and elect one every day.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
Don't you think it's racist to use it?
To be honest it's more ageist than racist. Broken veins and coarsening of the skin happen to us all regardless of colour, although the effect in white people is different to black or brown or sandy. If you strip out the sociological overlay of race and just look at people's skin, people do change colour over decades. And then there's things like neck thickness and loss of subcutaneous fat.
I possibly may have taken your question too seriously...
In practice it's a combination of white + old + fat + angry.
I'm trying to think of a racist slur about another group that only applies to a subset of the race, of a particular disposition, and I came up short, but another one about white people would be "redneck". Like "redneck" I think it's borderline, could be racist depending how it's used.
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
This is weak and unambitious, if you've got 800 MPs you can give them two-and-a-bit-year terms, and elect one every day.
I think this would work better with some element of randomness. An MP can't know how long it will be until his next election. It might not be for a decade, or it might be the very next week.
I would suggest a weekly event at which the names of 3 constituencies are chosen at random. This kicks off a two week long campaign. So we would have 150 by-elections a year.
No MP would ever feel truly safe, as by-elections are inherently unpredictable, and their seat might be up the very next week...
Plus, this would give us something else to bet on.
OK. I've decided. We should abolish the House of Lords entirely, and become unicameral. There should be 800 First Past The Post seats of roughly equal size, with one fifth of them up for election every year.
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
This is weak and unambitious, if you've got 800 MPs you can give them two-and-a-bit-year terms, and elect one every day.
I think this would work better with some element of randomness. An MP can't know how long it will be until his next election. It might not be for a decade, or it might be the very next week.
I would suggest a weekly event at which the names of 3 constituencies are chosen at random. This kicks off a two week long campaign. So we would have 150 by-elections a year.
No MP would ever feel truly safe, as by-elections are inherently unpredictable, and their seat might be up the very next week...
Plus, this would give us something else to bet on.
Alternatively to encourage consensual politics and even things up a bit: When an MP loses, they get to choose the next guy up for election.
If local elections were ever a reliable indicator for general elections, I think the demographic changes in Tory and Labour voters over the years have made them steadily less so.
The most significant being the stark and yawning age divide between those who vote Tory (overwhelmingly old) and Labour (overwhelmingly young). The latter are much more likely to come and out and vote in a General election than a local, and this differential turn-out is magnified further in local by-elections.
The continuing emasculation of local government, which has little power anywhere these days beyond deciding which vital service to cut deeper, has only increased this apathy.
So local elections have become pretty meaningless, both as predictors of the wider political landscape, or directly in terms of political power.
Basically the Tory gammon horde pouring out dutifully to cast their vote rain or shine in more or less meaningless local contests doesn't tell us much.
No, but your posts tell us you are a tw@.
Was it the G word again? Come on it's just a bit of fun. Gammon is just an inherently funny word. I admit I am being deliberately irritating in using it, don't get me wrong.
Don't you think it's racist to use it?
Racism = Power + Prejudice and white people have the power so no.
Even poor white people?
I would kill for a return to class-based analysis over identity-based analysis. We've forgotten about the poor so much we're reduced to wealthy Leavers telling us what the poor think, via the special poor-reading mind-rays they seem to have. I am devoid of such telepathic abilities and are forced to phone them up (or on bloody WhatsApp, grumble groan no i don't want to see another picture of your meal goddammit, what's wrong with you... )
One import we don't want from the US is the necessity to be already rich before entering politics. At least it is still possible here for ordinary people to do so, even of the route of becoming a party volunteer then Spad or charity worker isn't as worthwhile as the traditional one of having achieved something in business or a trade union first.
Comments
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6452343/Shamed-Labour-MP-banned-Wikipedia-repeatedly-editing-entry.html
By calling someone a gammon you can immediately denounce anyone who holds those physiological characteristics. If the term as used about any other demographic it would have been long since banned on here.
Councillors can no longer be surcharged. That was stopped some time ago.
As decorations go up you do have to wonder just where the Christmas spirit is this year.
However, my wonderful grandchildren remind me of that beautiful innocence
I hope everyone has a good nights rest
Good night folks
The increase in the number of seats will allow for the government payroll not to take up too much of the ranks of parliament. It will also - very modestly - increase the proportionality of the chamber.
In this way, we improve the accountability of the existing system. We remove the whole concept of "midterm", and we ensure that the make up of the House changes more slowly and organically, which will probably be a positive for governance.
Best of all, this allows us to have an election night every year.
I also think this would allow feeling against unpopular policies - like, for example, the Lisbon Treaty to be expressed more efficiently, rather than only being an issue in three or four years.
This reminds me of something that almost happened to me about a year ago. I was travelling on a train from London to Bristol to watch a women's cricket world cup match between England and South Africa and at one point on the journey I stuck my head out of the window to get a better view of one of the ancient white horses. Just at that moment a train came in the other direction and it must have only just missed hitting me. I spent the rest of the journey sitting on the floor in a bit of a state. The thing is that most of the trains I travel on don't have windows you can open so I was slightly discombobulated by the fact that these London to Bristol trains do have windows you can open. RIP to the woman in this report.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-46420317
The UK passport offers visa free travel to 164 nations (only 3 less) so if the EU does decide to require tourist visas post Brexit there are over 130 other nations who will allow you visa free access!
https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/uae-passport-most-powerful-passport-index-global-ranking-uk-blue-germany-japan-a8664076.html
What do we miss out on compared to the UAE - visa free travel to Niger, Chad, Mali, China, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iran. But unlike UAE nationals we get visa free travel to the USA, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Israel and South Africa.
Methinks perhaps this global ranking doesn't paint the full picture! If you love visiting brutal dictatorships then the UAE passport is clearly for you!!
It is a bit worse but it has a similarity to snowflakes in some ways as an insult which is can be used in an ageist way but generally in the opposite direction.
Whilst I generally don't join in with using the various group insults I don't think it is worth getting too sensitive about the low level ones, cultist on top of the ones mentioned for example.
Although as long as people are fairly consistent I don't mind, if you don't like it and complain about it then don't do it to your opponents.
I possibly may have taken your question too seriously...
I'm trying to think of a racist slur about another group that only applies to a subset of the race, of a particular disposition, and I came up short, but another one about white people would be "redneck". Like "redneck" I think it's borderline, could be racist depending how it's used.
https://medium.com/@s8mb/why-i-now-support-a-second-referendum-on-brexit-c4f32de6b0a0
I would suggest a weekly event at which the names of 3 constituencies are chosen at random. This kicks off a two week long campaign. So we would have 150 by-elections a year.
No MP would ever feel truly safe, as by-elections are inherently unpredictable, and their seat might be up the very next week...
Plus, this would give us something else to bet on.