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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » For Politicalbetting’s 15th anniversary today – a special cart

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  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,814
    F1: just some idle musing.

    A week to go, ish, until Bahrain. The biggest question for me is how well Red Bull (specifically Verstappen, Gasly really needs to improve on his rather unlucky and weak debut) can do in qualifying and race. That's perhaps the greatest variable at the sharp end, although how Bearded Bottas follows up a flawless victory is another question (some suspect Bearded Bottas is actually the evil twin of the original driver, who has escaped captivity and locked up Clean-Shaven Bottas in an attic somewhere).

    Midfield looks hyper-competitive this year. Only Williams look full-blown woeful. Sad to see. Was about five years ago they were the closest to Mercedes (I think it was Austria they ended up with something like a front row lockout in qualifying).
  • ydoethur said:

    May I add my birthday congratulations to all those involved over the years with this wonderful site

    Should I add mine? I've only been here since April 2007...
    That was before I retired in 2009. PB is an amazing source of information and political discourse

    I have learnt a lot from so many and my politics are being influenced greatly
  • JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    ydoethur said:

    JackW said:

    malcolmg said:

    JackW said:

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    A bit harsh on home bound England football fans but then again think of Scots returning from Kazakhstan !!
    Jack, just watch us thrash San Marino tomorrow and top our group.
    Are we playing the San Marino Under 13 second XI ?!?
    San Marino has 22 boys under the age of 13?
    Absolutely.

    Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid a visit to San Marino in 2005 and held several bunga bunga parties and rest is, as they say, (9 month) history
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,497
    JackW said:

    I'm not entirely sure, Dr F, that things have gone as well as they should. Nor, very apologetically, is the surgeon. However the last thing I recall before the anaesthetic took effect was a cheerful conversation with the very pleasant anaethestist about someone for whom she'd been SHO, and hadn't liked, and whom I had known as a distinctly eccentric requirer of pharmacy services when we'd all worked at the same hospital.
    The nursing and other staff were very good though.
    The situation was complicated by Mrs C developing gall bladder problems the night before my operation, which mean that we were both in hospital together, albeit in different wards. My elder son has been dashing about between Essex and Kent. Fortunately he's in a postion where he can either work from home or take some time off.

    Best wishes to you and Mrs OKC.

    Thank you. Appreciated.

  • RecidivistRecidivist Posts: 4,679

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    The people are out on the streets, but the elites are just sneering condescendingly at them to put it another way.
  • ydoethur said:

    Foxy said:

    JackW said:

    15 years old !!!!! .... is that all .... JackW is 127 .... :smiley:

    Fifteen - PB - the spotty adolescent of the political world. At times full of angst, hormones and regular betting wet dreams. Intense friendships are formed, first love blossoms and party political onanism must be curbed. Yes we've had it all :

    Fantastic tips, exclusive reports, robust debate, banning orders, rescinded orders, wonderful threads and that's just TSE's wardrobe !! .... Some of the old and bold have gone to the great betting site in the sky and OGH clings to the memory of folicular resplendence whilst counting his winnings. Pineapple pizza is the staple diet of the masses and yet PB cruises through the years.

    All hail Admiral Mike Smithson and God bless the good ship PB and all who sail in her.

    Good to see you back Mr W. Trust all is well with you and yours.
    How's your back? I hope my colleagues treated you well.
    I'm not entirely sure, Dr F, that things have gone as well as they should. Nor, very apologetically, is the surgeon. However the last thing I recall before the anaesthetic took effect was a cheerful conversation with the very pleasant anaethestist about someone for whom she'd been SHO, and hadn't liked, and whom I had known as a distinctly eccentric requirer of pharmacy services when we'd all worked at the same hospital.
    The nursing and other staff were very good though.
    The situation was complicated by Mrs C developing gall bladder problems the night before my operation, which mean that we were both in hospital together, albeit in different wards. My elder son has been dashing about between Essex and Kent. Fortunately he's in a postion where he can either work from home or take some time off.
    Tough times. Hope you both get well soon - not a nice situation to be in. Hope your son bears up as well.
    Thanks; might yet need to call on other family members for help.
    May I just send my best wishes to your wife, yourself and your son in these difficult times

    Both my wife and I have had medical issues recently but at our age it is par for the course, though, we have both experienced serious inefficiencies in the Wales NHS that are not financial but sloppy adminstration and slow responses to IT advances
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    _Anazina_ said:

    Carlotta

    Regarding Matthew Goodwin, the responses to his post say it all. But we have been here umpteen times and you really should have grasped it by now.

    Compromise.

    One person's 'compromise' is another person's 'capitulation'.

    Good luck selling continued FoM as 'Leaving the EU'.
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,331
    edited March 2019
    Scott_P said:
    'It would be a meltdown in our politics'. You mean there isn't a 'meltdown' now?.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,426
    JackW said:

    ydoethur said:

    JackW said:

    malcolmg said:

    JackW said:

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    A bit harsh on home bound England football fans but then again think of Scots returning from Kazakhstan !!
    Jack, just watch us thrash San Marino tomorrow and top our group.
    Are we playing the San Marino Under 13 second XI ?!?
    San Marino has 22 boys under the age of 13?
    Absolutely.

    Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid a visit to San Marino in 2005 and held several bunga bunga parties and rest is, as they say, (9 month) history
    Was he having one of his Turkish diplomat in Moscow moments?
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,914
    edited March 2019
    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious self inflicted wound
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Roger said:

    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious

    https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1109374756682379264
  • mattmatt Posts: 3,789
    edited March 2019
    Roger said:

    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious

    Being rejected generally changes people. I suspect that you would not have been so kind were he still Chancellor. Although I agree that was a catastrophic error and one I would think was pushed by people who did May’s thinking for her.

    Addendum- Michael Portillo remains for me the best example of rejection and change. Albeit I think he is a wooden and suboptimal television presenter, it’s clear that I’m in the minority.
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,331
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584

    About to hit the 4 million mark.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,293
    Good morning PB,

    It's now 6 days until GIN1138 leaves the EU deal or no deal (whatever the clowns at Westminster say)

    Have a lovely day all. :D
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,871
    edited March 2019
    Roger said:

    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious

    Yep, he as good as suggested she isn't up to what lies ahead and should step down. Without being unnecessarily rude about it.

    Meanwhile the petition (which he has signed) should achieve 4,000,000 very soon. Oddly the only previous petition that just passed four million also did so on the Saturday of an anti-Brexit demonstration, if a much smaller one.
  • JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    ydoethur said:

    JackW said:

    ydoethur said:

    JackW said:

    malcolmg said:

    JackW said:

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    A bit harsh on home bound England football fans but then again think of Scots returning from Kazakhstan !!
    Jack, just watch us thrash San Marino tomorrow and top our group.
    Are we playing the San Marino Under 13 second XI ?!?
    San Marino has 22 boys under the age of 13?
    Absolutely.

    Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid a visit to San Marino in 2005 and held several bunga bunga parties and rest is, as they say, (9 month) history
    Was he having one of his Turkish diplomat in Moscow moments?
    I'm sure Silvio would claim Mr K as a kindred spirit if not a close family member save for the awkward fact that the Turk was "Johnny Foreigner".
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,871

    Scott_P said:
    'It would be a meltdown in our politics'. You mean there isn't a 'meltdown' now?.
    Zahawi resigning is hardly a meltdown. He rarely answers a straight question and is almost as much on pre-programmed autopilot as his mistress.
  • _Anazina__Anazina_ Posts: 1,810

    JackW said:

    I'm not entirely sure, Dr F, that things have gone as well as they should. Nor, very apologetically, is the surgeon. However the last thing I recall before the anaesthetic took effect was a cheerful conversation with the very pleasant anaethestist about someone for whom she'd been SHO, and hadn't liked, and whom I had known as a distinctly eccentric requirer of pharmacy services when we'd all worked at the same hospital.
    The nursing and other staff were very good though.
    The situation was complicated by Mrs C developing gall bladder problems the night before my operation, which mean that we were both in hospital together, albeit in different wards. My elder son has been dashing about between Essex and Kent. Fortunately he's in a postion where he can either work from home or take some time off.

    Best wishes to you and Mrs OKC.

    Thank you. Appreciated.

    Hope things improve for you and yours, King Cole.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,871

    ydoethur said:

    Foxy said:

    JackW said:

    15 years old !!!!! .... is that all .... JackW is 127 .... :smiley:

    Fifteen - PB - the spotty adolescent of the political world. At times full of angst, hormones and regular betting wet dreams. Intense friendships are formed, first love blossoms and party political onanism must be curbed. Yes we've had it all :

    Fantastic tips, exclusive reports, robust debate, banning orders, rescinded orders, wonderful threads and that's just TSE's wardrobe !! .... Some of the old and bold have gone to the great betting site in the sky and OGH clings to the memory of folicular resplendence whilst counting his winnings. Pineapple pizza is the staple diet of the masses and yet PB cruises through the years.

    All hail Admiral Mike Smithson and God bless the good ship PB and all who sail in her.

    Good to see you back Mr W. Trust all is well with you and yours.
    How's your back? I hope my colleagues treated you well.
    I'm not entirely sure, Dr F, that things have gone as well as they should. Nor, very apologetically, is the surgeon. However the last thing I recall before the anaesthetic took effect was a cheerful conversation with the very pleasant anaethestist about someone for whom she'd been SHO, and hadn't liked, and whom I had known as a distinctly eccentric requirer of pharmacy services when we'd all worked at the same hospital.
    The nursing and other staff were very good though.
    The situation was complicated by Mrs C developing gall bladder problems the night before my operation, which mean that we were both in hospital together, albeit in different wards. My elder son has been dashing about between Essex and Kent. Fortunately he's in a postion where he can either work from home or take some time off.
    Tough times. Hope you both get well soon - not a nice situation to be in. Hope your son bears up as well.
    Thanks; might yet need to call on other family members for help.
    Yes, good luck, and stick with the exercises as best you can; ultimately the back depends on the muscles around it.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,426
    JackW said:

    ydoethur said:

    JackW said:

    ydoethur said:

    JackW said:

    malcolmg said:

    JackW said:

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    A bit harsh on home bound England football fans but then again think of Scots returning from Kazakhstan !!
    Jack, just watch us thrash San Marino tomorrow and top our group.
    Are we playing the San Marino Under 13 second XI ?!?
    San Marino has 22 boys under the age of 13?
    Absolutely.

    Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid a visit to San Marino in 2005 and held several bunga bunga parties and rest is, as they say, (9 month) history
    Was he having one of his Turkish diplomat in Moscow moments?
    I'm sure Silvio would claim Mr K as a kindred spirit if not a close family member save for the awkward fact that the Turk was "Johnny Foreigner".
    He has no delight in the Turkish? Not even their women? I thought he was fairly indiscriminate in that regard...
  • RecidivistRecidivist Posts: 4,679
    matt said:

    Roger said:

    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious

    Being rejected generally changes people. I suspect that you would not have been so kind were he still Chancellor. Although I agree that was a catastrophic error and one I would think was pushed by people who did May’s thinking for her.

    Addendum- Michael Portillo remains for me the best example of rejection and change. Albeit I think he is a wooden and suboptimal television presenter, it’s clear that I’m in the minority.
    That's a good point about the thinkers. Her regime was pretty bad when she had a poor set of people around her doing the thinking. Then she got rid of them and did the thinking herself and it got worse.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    IanB2 said:

    Zahawi resigning is hardly a meltdown. He rarely answers a straight question and is almost as much on pre-programmed autopilot as his mistress.

    He was a Brexiteer during the campaign. He invited BoZo and the bus for a local rally.

    He would be no loss...
  • _Anazina__Anazina_ Posts: 1,810
    The big news of the day is that Uri Geller has intervened to stop Brexit. The nation’s spoons are a small price to pay to stop this crazy madness.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,426

    matt said:

    Roger said:

    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious

    Being rejected generally changes people. I suspect that you would not have been so kind were he still Chancellor. Although I agree that was a catastrophic error and one I would think was pushed by people who did May’s thinking for her.

    Addendum- Michael Portillo remains for me the best example of rejection and change. Albeit I think he is a wooden and suboptimal television presenter, it’s clear that I’m in the minority.
    That's a good point about the thinkers. Her regime was pretty bad when she had a poor set of people around her doing the thinking. Then she got rid of them and did the thinking herself and it got worse.
    What is the difference between a political optimist and a political pessimist?

    A pessimist says, 'Things are so bad now, they can't possibly get any worse.'

    The optimist replies, 'They will, they really will.'
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,871
    GIN1138 said:

    Good morning PB,

    It's now 6 days until GIN1138 leaves the EU deal or no deal (whatever the clowns at Westminster say)

    Have a lovely day all. :D

    Enjoy your travels.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,814
    Mr. Anazina, we've reached a fork in the road. The nation's future is balanced on the edge of a knife.
  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 5,005

    Congratulations on hitting 15 years. :) I've followed and posted here since sometime in 2004 (under previous IDs).

    Back in 2004 I was a moderate (though solid) Conservative voter in my late 20s... over these 15 years I've transitioned (via becoming a floating voter) through to my present status as an active member of my local Liberal Democrat branch in my mid 40s. Although national events would have taken me on this political journey anyway; I don't hesitate to credit the discussions here with helping in some small way to refine and modify my outlook. :)

    Are you literally me under another name?
    That's almost exactly my story as well (albeit my only previous ID was simply "Andy" when the site was much smaller)
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    Congratulations Mike and Robert. I’m pretty sure I predate Nick Palmer then-MP and Mr Herdson, both fine writers. I miss some of the former contributors, and was sorry to hear of the passing away of Mark Senior. Never an easy man to cross swords with, he was an astonishingly talented and well-informed advocate for his cause. I’m only popping in cos the provocative SeanT happened to say something nice about me, in passing, a few months ago. Another successful poke, or boot, from the bon viveur. Politicalbetting.com has, like all media outlets, it’s strengths and weaknesses, and I’m not sure that you two are fully aware of what they are. But on a personal level, the wise Mr Meeks (then Antifrank) once said something accurate about the world being full of transmitters and receivers, and that I was most definitely a transmitter. One of the strengths of PB is that it has nudged me a little way along the continuum to being a receiver. A minor achievement for you, but a bit of an eye-opener for me.
  • GF2GF2 Posts: 14
    Congratulations, from a long-time lurker and (very) occasional poster! I first heard of pb.com when it featured on a Lib Dem leaflet in the Leicester South by-election (July 2004?), quoted as predicting a Lib Dem win, or something of the sort. I assumed the site had been about for ages, rather than about three months...
  • RecidivistRecidivist Posts: 4,679
    Incidentally I think Corbyn has really dropped a clanger by not being on the march today. Quite apart from the fact it might well be the biggest march in UK history, there will be a huge amount of networking between activists going on. The mood of his party as much as any of the others will be affected by what happens today. The public in general won't notice his absence but the envelope stuffers on whom Corbyn relies for his power base certainly will.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,814
    Welcome back, Mr. Dickson :)

    Welcome back, Mr. GF2.

    Mr. Recidivist, interesting that Tom Watson's there. Whilst the Conservatives are split, Labour are hardly united either.
  • CiceroCicero Posts: 3,084
    Certainly has been a great site to follow this last decade and a half so thanks to Mike, Robert and the whole crew.

    Can't get to London today, but I will certainly be there in spirit. The removal of the catastrophic Mrs. May should not be long delayed...

    Have fun everyone!
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,208
    It's a fair point. May's Deal is Blind Brexit with red lines attached. There's no practical impediment to removing those red lines. The issue is a political. May pretends her deal sorts Brexit and there is no other arrangement on offer. In fact there will be years of negotiations and painful trade offs still to come.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    Happy Birthday congratulations and thank you to the whole team. And of course to @AndyJS who will forever be a hero after referendum night.

  • LucyJonesLucyJones Posts: 651
    edited March 2019
    Just to add my congratulations to pbdotcom for 15 years and thanks to Mike, all the thread writers and moderators and all those who comment. I mostly lurk, with small flurries of posting activity, but have been around since 2009.

    I think I heard someone on TV saying how the best people to ask about politics were those who bet on politics, because they put their money where their mouth is. I thought I should check this out, see if he was correct or not and, overall, I think he probably was.
  • JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    _Anazina_ said:

    The big news of the day is that Uri Geller has intervened to stop Brexit. The nation’s spoons are a small price to pay to stop this crazy madness.

    Mr. Anazina, we've reached a fork in the road. The nation's future is balanced on the edge of a knife.

    You made a hash (spoon) of that comment.

  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,163
    Congrats
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,814
    Miss Jones, that was partly my thinking too.

    At the time, I was worried Brown would call a snap election and we'd have the woe of ID cards (and the database) inflicted upon us. Scouted about for lots of political blogs but the only one I ended up following was this one.

    Never used to gamble, either.
  • Happy birthday PB! I didn't start posting here until 2005 but where have the years gone?
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,497

    ydoethur said:

    Foxy said:

    JackW said:

    15 years old !!!!! .... is that all .... JackW is 127 .... :smiley:

    Fifteen - PB - the spotty adolescent of the political world. At times full of angst, hormones and regular betting wet dreams. Intense friendships are formed, first love blossoms and party political onanism must be curbed. Yes we've had it all :

    Fantastic tips, exclusive reports, robust debate, banning orders, rescinded orders, wonderful threads and that's just TSE's wardrobe !! .... Some of the old and bold have gone to the great betting site in the sky and OGH clings to the memory of folicular resplendence whilst counting his winnings. Pineapple pizza is the staple diet of the masses and yet PB cruises through the years.

    All hail Admiral Mike Smithson and God bless the good ship PB and all who sail in her.

    Good to see you back Mr W. Trust all is well with you and yours.
    How's your back? I hope my colleagues treated you well.
    I'm not entirely sure, Dr F, that things have gone as well as they should. Nor, very apologetically, is the surgeon. However the last thing I recall before the anaesthetic took effect was a cheerful conversation with the very pleasant anaethestist about someone for whom she'd been SHO, and hadn't liked, and whom I had known as a distinctly eccentric requirer of pharmacy services when we'd all worked at the same hospital.
    The nursing and other staff were very good though.
    The situation was complicated by Mrs C developing gall bladder problems the night before my operation, which mean that we were both in hospital together, albeit in different wards. My elder son has been dashing about between Essex and Kent. Fortunately he's in a postion where he can either work from home or take some time off.
    Tough times. Hope you both get well soon - not a nice situation to be in. Hope your son bears up as well.
    Thanks; might yet need to call on other family members for help.
    May I just send my best wishes to your wife, yourself and your son in these difficult times

    Both my wife and I have had medical issues recently but at our age it is par for the course, though, we have both experienced serious inefficiencies in the Wales NHS that are not financial but sloppy adminstration and slow responses to IT advances
    Many, many thanks Mr G. As you say it's par for the course at around 80. Quite impressed by the IT advances evident in our local hospital since I retired from it's nearest neighbour in 2003.
    Still confidently expect to be holidaying with younger son and his family in N W Wales in July!
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    @OKC very sorry to hear of the sub optimal op. Sadly not a unique story.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,914
    Even the most primitive leaders realize that they are not just leaders for the half that voted for them but also the half that didn't. Even Mrs Thatcher paid lip service to it

    Mrs May has done everything to alienate the 16,5 million who voted Remain and this alone is why she's now such a dismal failure.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,293
    Congratulations Mike and Robert and happy birthday PB. :)
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,871
    4,000,239
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,426
    Roger said:

    Even the most primitive leaders realize that they are not just leaders for the half that voted for them but also the half that didn't. Even Mrs Thatcher paid lip service to it

    Mrs May has done everything to alienate the 16,5 million who voted Remain and this alone is why she's now such a dismal failure.

    And yet, Corbyn is as noted upthread even now trying to alienate not just his opponents but his own diehard supporters.

    Another truly special political talent.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,293
    edited March 2019
    Roger said:

    Even the most primitive leaders realize that they are not just leaders for the half that voted for them but also the half that didn't. Even Mrs Thatcher paid lip service to it

    Mrs May has done everything to alienate the 16,5 million who voted Remain and this alone is why she's now such a dismal failure.

    And now by cancelling Brexit on 29th she's pissed off the 17.4m who voted leave...
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,871
    edited March 2019
    Roger said:

    Even the most primitive leaders realize that they are not just leaders for the half that voted for them but also the half that didn't. Even Mrs Thatcher paid lip service to it

    Mrs May has done everything to alienate the 16,5 million who voted Remain and this alone is why she's now such a dismal failure.

    True. Going on TV to address a divided nation and trying to claim she was "on our side" made no sense at all. It was effectively a speech for hard leavers; indeed really she was abusing the privilege of her office to make a television address to Tory members.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,914

    Congratulations Mike and Robert. I’m pretty sure I predate Nick Palmer then-MP and Mr Herdson, both fine writers. I miss some of the former contributors, and was sorry to hear of the passing away of Mark Senior. Never an easy man to cross swords with, he was an astonishingly talented and well-informed advocate for his cause. I’m only popping in cos the provocative SeanT happened to say something nice about me, in passing, a few months ago. Another successful poke, or boot, from the bon viveur. Politicalbetting.com has, like all media outlets, it’s strengths and weaknesses, and I’m not sure that you two are fully aware of what they are. But on a personal level, the wise Mr Meeks (then Antifrank) once said something accurate about the world being full of transmitters and receivers, and that I was most definitely a transmitter. One of the strengths of PB is that it has nudged me a little way along the continuum to being a receiver. A minor achievement for you, but a bit of an eye-opener for me.

    Hi Stuart. Great post!
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,871
    _Anazina_ said:

    The big news of the day is that Uri Geller has intervened to stop Brexit. The nation’s spoons are a small price to pay to stop this crazy madness.

    Strictly, he said he was using mind power to stop Mrs May doing Brexit, which isn't quite the same thing.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,426
    GIN1138 said:

    Roger said:

    Even the most primitive leaders realize that they are not just leaders for the half that voted for them but also the half that didn't. Even Mrs Thatcher paid lip service to it

    Mrs May has done everything to alienate the 16,5 million who voted Remain and this alone is why she's now such a dismal failure.

    And now by cancelling Brexit on 29th she's pissed off the 17.4 who voted leave...
    We're currently lumbered with a right pair. Or at any rate, a very right-wing pair.

    If we get the governments we deserve, boy, we must be getting all of the UK's sins dumped on us at once in one epic blast of karma.
  • ydoethur said:

    Foxy said:

    JackW said:

    15 years old !!!!! .... is that all .... JackW is 127 .... :smiley:

    Fifteen - PB - the spotty adolescent of the political world. At times full of angst, hormones and regular betting wet dreams. Intense friendships are formed, first love blossoms and party political onanism must be curbed. Yes we've had it all :


    All hail Admiral Mike Smithson and God bless the good ship PB and all who sail in her.

    Good to see you back Mr W. Trust all is well with you and yours.
    How's your back? I hope my colleagues treated you well.
    I'm not entirely sure, Dr F, that things have gone as well as they should. Nor, very apologetically, is the surgeon. However the last thing I recall before the anaesthetic took effect was a cheerful conversation with the very pleasant anaethestist about someone for whom she'd been SHO, and hadn't liked, and whom I had known as a distinctly eccentric requirer of pharmacy services when we'd all worked at the same hospital.
    The nursing and other staff were very good though.
    The situation was complicated by Mrs C developing gall bladder problems the night before my operation, which mean that we were both in hospital together, albeit in different wards. My elder son has been dashing about between Essex and Kent. Fortunately he's in a postion where he can either work from home or take some time off.
    Tough times. Hope you both get well soon - not a nice situation to be in. Hope your son bears up as well.
    Thanks; might yet need to call on other family members for help.
    May I just send my best wishes to your wife, yourself and your son in these difficult times

    Both my wife and I have had medical issues recently but at our age it is par for the course, though, we have both experienced serious inefficiencies in the Wales NHS that are not financial but sloppy adminstration and slow responses to IT advances
    Many, many thanks Mr G. As you say it's par for the course at around 80. Quite impressed by the IT advances evident in our local hospital since I retired from it's nearest neighbour in 2003.
    Still confidently expect to be holidaying with younger son and his family in N W Wales in July!
    And you will receive a warm welcome and hope you take time to visit our Queen of Resorts here in Llandudno and enjoy all we have to offer both here and throughout North Wales
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,426
    Incidentally, when I was criticising Labour's policy on school fees and saying it would raise no money and inflict much higher costs on state schools, many people scoffed at me.

    They might benefit from reading this story:

    https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/burton/abbots-bromley-school-closure-2669716

    That is because of pension changes which have increased employer costs by 7%. It will not be the last school to close this summer as a result.

    What do people think will happen if costs rise by 20%?
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006
    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    Wasn’t the polling stations only open for 13 hours?
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    The people are out on the streets, but the elites are just sneering condescendingly at them to put it another way.
    The sore losers you mean.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,497
    TOPPING said:

    @OKC very sorry to hear of the sub optimal op. Sadly not a unique story.

    Given the difficulty and the potential complexity sub-optimals are going to happen. I just wish it hadn't happened to me. The choice I has was the operation now or a wheelchair before too long.
    Mind I've always fancied one of those little mobility scooters.
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 4,502
    Great site . A big thank you to all that make it possible .
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,469
    notme2 said:

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    Wasn’t the polling stations only open for 13 hours?
    It’s a petition mate.
  • TM is nearing the end of the road let down by brexiteers with an unrealistic agenda and remainers who never accepted the result

    She attempted a compromise that is a good deal and respects the vote without completely destoying business and would have generated goodwill throughout Europe if it had passed first time

    TM has many flaws but I doubt anyone could have achieved a harmonious departure from the EU

    I cannot see the point in her going now but she must be running out of time and I expect a successor election from May, with a new PM by summer with a GE to follow fairly soon after
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,498
    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,677
    https://ukaviation.news/uk-signs-deal-for-5-e-7-wedgetail-early-warning-aircraft/

    The Fireplace Salesman actually gets something right. I take it all back. Although the involvement of Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge is a worry after their part in the ZD949 Trishaw fiasco.
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
    Yup. The mask has totally slipped.
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006

    notme2 said:

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    Wasn’t the polling stations only open for 13 hours?
    It’s a petition mate.

    It’s presented by those who wish to overturn the vote as a viable reason to do so.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,871

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
    We await your own made-up numbers with eager anticipation
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,498
    kjh said:

    Congratulations Mike and the team.

    Probably a good point to remember those who are no longer here to post. I remember fondly the posts of SBS or was it SDS (sorry) who posts were insightful and with humour, Mark Senior who was forthright and dedicated and Plato who certainly livened up the site. There will be more I have forgotten, or we just don't know about.

    I joined just about at the beginning, but can't remember how I found out about the site. I was a very regular poster then, but for many years after just became a lurker.

    My fondest memories are the laughs. You are all so entertaining and write so well, but specifically getting a smile from JackW for a joke ( a true tribute), having an argument with SeanT about the existence of God and not being insulted (I guess that was a failure) and being subtlety outed by someone who worked out who I was and having never been able to work out who he/she is.

    Keep it up everyone.

    Now off to my very first protest march at the age of 64.

    And no doubt you will be on here to help exaggerate the numbers later.
  • RecidivistRecidivist Posts: 4,679

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
    You are proposing that they have made up the numbers before the march has even assembled? Maybe a bit of a closed mind there?
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,469
    edited March 2019
    notme2 said:

    notme2 said:

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    Wasn’t the polling stations only open for 13 hours?
    It’s a petition mate.

    It’s presented by those who wish to overturn the vote as a viable reason to do so.
    Course it is. Brexit is a stupid idea. Blind Brexit even more so.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,498
    IanB2 said:

    Roger said:

    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious

    Yep, he as good as suggested she isn't up to what lies ahead and should step down. Without being unnecessarily rude about it.

    Meanwhile the petition (which he has signed) should achieve 4,000,000 very soon. Oddly the only previous petition that just passed four million also did so on the Saturday of an anti-Brexit demonstration, if a much smaller one.
    The biggest petition ever was the one in June 2016, straight after the Leave vote, demanding an immediate re-run.

    Sore losers then. Bitter losers now.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,772
    Happy 15th!

    Well done to Mike, Robert, TSE and the rest of the gang, who keep us in infrastructure. Many thanks.
  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 5,005
    And happy birthday PB.com and congratulations to our great host and his helpers.
    Well done Mike and Robert Smithson.
  • Ishmael_ZIshmael_Z Posts: 8,981
    notme2 said:

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    The people are out on the streets, but the elites are just sneering condescendingly at them to put it another way.
    The sore losers you mean.
    Do fuck off, you silly little man. Do you really think, looking around you, that leave has anything to be triumphalist about just now?
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006
    Dura_Ace said:

    https://ukaviation.news/uk-signs-deal-for-5-e-7-wedgetail-early-warning-aircraft/

    The Fireplace Salesman actually gets something right. I take it all back. Although the involvement of Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge is a worry after their part in the ZD949 Trishaw fiasco.

    You say “fireplace salesman” others might say managing director of a ceramics company.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 21,298
    edited March 2019

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
    How’s the Brexit petition and march going?
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 4,502

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
    Sorry this is tosh . Many Remainers want a second vote not a revocation . I won’t support the latter . And you’re trashing the petition even when it has a lot more safeguards to stop double voting .
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,469
    The ‘losers’ are going to be all of us if a no deal Brexit happens.
  • DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    IanB2 said:

    _Anazina_ said:

    The big news of the day is that Uri Geller has intervened to stop Brexit. The nation’s spoons are a small price to pay to stop this crazy madness.

    Strictly, he said he was using mind power to stop Mrs May doing Brexit, which isn't quite the same thing.
    To be fair to Uri Geller, it seems to be working so far. Betfair's market on whether we leave by the 29th of March is Yes 31, No 1.02 (with £38,000 available so one deep-pocketed layer is relying on Geller taking a snooze or Parliament buggering things up so we fall out by mistake).
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,253
    Yes, a very good site this is. Both for betting and for bickering. Congrats on such longevity. 15 years for an internet enterprise is an eternity.

    Brexit, I detect a move towards what is so clearly the logical resolution that IMO it is almost certain to occur -

    Uncouple the WA and the PD.
    Pass the WA and leave on 22/5.
    Tories pick new leader.
    GE in the summer - winner revisits PD and negotiates the Future Relationship.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,498

    ydoethur said:

    Foxy said:

    JackW said:

    15 years old !!!!! .... is that all .... JackW is 127 .... :smiley:

    Fifteen - PB - the spotty adolescent of the political world. At times full of angst, hormones and regular betting wet dreams. Intense friendships are formed, first love blossoms and party political onanism must be curbed. Yes we've had it all :

    Fantastic tips, exclusive reports, robust debate, banning orders, rescinded orders, wonderful threads and that's just TSE's wardrobe !! .... Some of the old and bold have gone to the great betting site in the sky and OGH clings to the memory of folicular resplendence whilst counting his winnings. Pineapple pizza is the staple diet of the masses and yet PB cruises through the years.

    All hail Admiral Mike Smithson and God bless the good ship PB and all who sail in her.

    Good to see you back Mr W. Trust all is well with you and yours.
    How's your back? I hope my colleagues treated you well.
    I'm not entirely sure, Dr F, that things have gone as well as they should. Nor, very apologetically, is the surgeon. However the last thing I recall before the anaesthetic took effect was a cheerful conversation with the very pleasant anaethestist about someone for whom she'd been SHO, and hadn't liked, and whom I had known as a distinctly eccentric requirer of pharmacy services when we'd all worked at the same hospital.
    The nursing and other staff were very good though.
    The situation was complicated by Mrs C developing gall bladder problems the night before my operation, which mean that we were both in hospital together, albeit in different wards. My elder son has been dashing about between Essex and Kent. Fortunately he's in a postion where he can either work from home or take some time off.
    Tough times. Hope you both get well soon - not a nice situation to be in. Hope your son bears up as well.
    Thanks; might yet need to call on other family members for help.
    Wishing you all the best for a full recovery.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,186
    edited March 2019
    Boost for PM Scott Morrison in Australia ahead of national elections later this year as his Liberal National coalition are projected to have won in New South Wales' state election this morning and held onto power.

    Currently the LNP are forecast to have won 45 seats , Labor 31 and Others 8

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/nsw/2019/results
  • BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 8,621
    Can I add my congratulations to Mike, Robert, TSE and the many contributors. This site has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

    It is unique in its combination of diverse, knowledgeable, thoughtful, colourful, supportive, argumentative but generally courteous characters. Well done everyone.

    I've been to four or five get-togethers so I know some of you personally. But for the most part I carry an image of each of the more prolific posters based on their contributions and snippets that they give away of their history, age and so on. The latest addition to my library of images is @Dura_Ace revelation last night that he has a George V beard!

  • Ishmael_Z said:

    notme2 said:

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    The people are out on the streets, but the elites are just sneering condescendingly at them to put it another way.
    The sore losers you mean.
    Do fuck off, you silly little man. Do you really think, looking around you, that leave has anything to be triumphalist about just now?
    Typical remainer attitude - how NOT to win friends and influence people.
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006

    The ‘losers’ are going to be all of us if a no deal Brexit happens.

    Well get your MP to vote for the WA.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,541

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
    It hasn’t even started yet. How can they be making up numbers? And you’re not doing a very good job of ignoring it.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,469
    notme2 said:

    The ‘losers’ are going to be all of us if a no deal Brexit happens.

    Well get your MP to vote for the WA.
    No thanks mate. Revoke all the way. Only way to end this thing.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,541
    edited March 2019
    GIN1138 said:

    Roger said:

    Even the most primitive leaders realize that they are not just leaders for the half that voted for them but also the half that didn't. Even Mrs Thatcher paid lip service to it

    Mrs May has done everything to alienate the 16,5 million who voted Remain and this alone is why she's now such a dismal failure.

    And now by cancelling Brexit on 29th she's pissed off the 17.4m who voted leave...
    More of a postponement than a cancellation surely?
  • ranierranier Posts: 10
    Happy birthday to PB. Discovered the site in the run-up to the Glasgow East by-election in 2008 with my first and only successful political bet.

    Have had many years of happy lurking and very rarely commenting under various names

    Thanks to those who make it happen!
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006
    edited March 2019
    Ishmael_Z said:

    notme2 said:

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    The people are out on the streets, but the elites are just sneering condescendingly at them to put it another way.
    The sore losers you mean.
    Do fuck off, you silly little man. Do you really think, looking around you, that leave has anything to be triumphalist about just now?
    People who didn’t want to leave are still stamping their feet’s. Of course i’ll be triumphant. No Conservative prime minister is going to offer a second referendum, the only question is on how we will leave, leave will be done. The stamping of feet is so pleasurable to see, the impotence is so utterly delicious that it makes the whole monstrous nightmare worth while just to expose these people.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,498
    nico67 said:

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
    Sorry this is tosh . Many Remainers want a second vote not a revocation . I won’t support the latter . And you’re trashing the petition even when it has a lot more safeguards to stop double voting .
    4 million have signed a petition to revoke article 50. 4 million signed the petition in June 2016 for a second referendum.

    The Venn diagram overlap between the two isn’t far off 1:1 (in fact, I think analysis has shown it’s a 0.93 correlation) and plenty of regular posters on here and key PV advocates on Twitter have admitted signing it, who previously advocated a PV.

    The mask has slipped. The PV is a charade for what they really want - to cancel Brexit. They are completely unbothered by how.

    The message of today’s march should be competely rejected.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,426
    notme2 said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    https://ukaviation.news/uk-signs-deal-for-5-e-7-wedgetail-early-warning-aircraft/

    The Fireplace Salesman actually gets something right. I take it all back. Although the involvement of Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge is a worry after their part in the ZD949 Trishaw fiasco.

    You say “fireplace salesman” others might say managing director of a ceramics company.
    It's a shame that definition has not been widely adopted, because it means we can't make awesome puns about the military going to pot on his watch.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,218
    When Brexit is revoked, will a consensus be sought by the winners as to our future direction within Europe ?
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 42,008
    edited March 2019
    matt said:

    Roger said:

    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious

    Being rejected generally changes people. I suspect that you would not have been so kind were he still Chancellor. Although I agree that was a catastrophic error and one I would think was pushed by people who did May’s thinking for her.

    Addendum- Michael Portillo remains for me the best example of rejection and change. Albeit I think he is a wooden and suboptimal television presenter, it’s clear that I’m in the minority.
    I think Portillo's rejection & change story is probably why he (slightly mystifyingly to me) is quite popular. Pastel coloured jackets and occasional self-deprecation go some way to obliterating the memory of his ghastly, onanistic SAS speech.
  • Ishmael_ZIshmael_Z Posts: 8,981

    Ishmael_Z said:

    notme2 said:

    I have just remembered there is going to be a smorgasbord of smugness snaking its way through the streets of London today.

    The people are out on the streets, but the elites are just sneering condescendingly at them to put it another way.
    The sore losers you mean.
    Do fuck off, you silly little man. Do you really think, looking around you, that leave has anything to be triumphalist about just now?
    Typical remainer attitude - how NOT to win friends and influence people.
    Not a remainer, I am neutral between remain and a competently executed leave. So there's something else you can't get right.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,469
    Revoke is the only thing that returns control of the situation to us.

    ‘Take back control.’
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,498
    IanB2 said:

    IanB2 said:

    4,000,239

    It’s quite funny how the “people’s vote” march today has been overtaken by those who want to skip that step and jump straight to unilateral revocation.

    And they are precisely the same people.

    We can ignore their march today just as we can ignore their made-up numbers.
    We await your own made-up numbers with eager anticipation
    My numbers aren’t made up there are completely factually based.

    I urge everyone to be very alert today to PV spin and propaganda. Because it will be coming.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,186

    TM is nearing the end of the road let down by brexiteers with an unrealistic agenda and remainers who never accepted the result

    She attempted a compromise that is a good deal and respects the vote without completely destoying business and would have generated goodwill throughout Europe if it had passed first time

    TM has many flaws but I doubt anyone could have achieved a harmonious departure from the EU

    I cannot see the point in her going now but she must be running out of time and I expect a successor election from May, with a new PM by summer with a GE to follow fairly soon after

    The Agreement has to be passed by April so a GE achieves nothing except maybe resolving the future relationship, the key point is Parliament takes control next week and will try and shift the future relationship towards BINO and if the WA passes it will be with that change to the PD
  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 5,005

    IanB2 said:

    Roger said:

    George O is VERY good on radio 4. When the history of Mrs May's many mistakes comes to be written her firing of him might come to be though of as her most egregious

    Yep, he as good as suggested she isn't up to what lies ahead and should step down. Without being unnecessarily rude about it.

    Meanwhile the petition (which he has signed) should achieve 4,000,000 very soon. Oddly the only previous petition that just passed four million also did so on the Saturday of an anti-Brexit demonstration, if a much smaller one.
    The biggest petition ever was the one in June 2016, straight after the Leave vote, demanding an immediate re-run.

    Sore losers then. Bitter losers now.
    The one set up by Leavers in advance of the vote because they thought they were going to lose?
    That one?
  • TrèsDifficileTrèsDifficile Posts: 1,729
    "But Tony Blair’s actions have not looked like those of a man looking forward to an early retirement. His controversial but strategically brilliant move agreeing to the Euro referendum in April has really taken the edge of the Tory threat and has left Michael Howard without the anti-European rhetoric to deflect the continuing differences over the EU within the Conservative Party."
    Mike Smithson June 2004

    How times have changed!
This discussion has been closed.