An odd feature of recent British politics is that a previously obscure, 'not to everyone's taste' trader on the Metal Exchange has managed, in spite of never winning a Parliamentary seat, has become a significant figure in British politics.
Helps when the head of BBC Westminster is favourable to the cause
Isn't it time for the major GB parties to start standing in Northern Ireland? Even if they do badly initially it would help NI on its journey to reconciliation instead of division by accidents of birth. I am surprised this is so rarely discussed, I think a party aiming for national government should stand across the nation.
There's no point because Ireland is going to be free in a decade or two.
It may well be reunited in a decade or two but to say that any part of Ireland is not free now is as daft as saying that Britain is not a free country because it is a member of the EU.
The anti-Farage/Brexit vote will be split so many ways we're at risk of losing count. I think there's another novelty anti-Brexit candidate standing and being enthusiastically supported by people on Facebook who don't understand the D'Hondt implications.
The Remain side are going to be bleating so hard about how unfair PR is when they look at the vote totals and seat totals after this election.
Absolutely brilliant if Lord Buckethead made it to the EU parliament
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
Well done G and good luck in reaching your final goal and a long and healthy life.
Leavers are looking to conduct a purge of anyone in the party who disagrees with them over Brexit.
We are not looking to purge the party of Remainers. We would simply like candidates that respect the result of the referendum, whatever their prior stance, and that will work towards delivering it rather than obstructing it or countermanding it through a second referendum.
The man you have quoted wants a second referendum, directly contrary to the verdict of the electorate and our manifesto. On what basis should he be a Conservative candidate?
That sounds an awful lot like purging people who disagree over Brexit.
Isn't it time for the major GB parties to start standing in Northern Ireland? Even if they do badly initially it would help NI on its journey to reconciliation instead of division by accidents of birth. I am surprised this is so rarely discussed, I think a party aiming for national government should stand across the nation.
There's no point because Ireland is going to be free in a decade or two.
Following on from the discussion earlier, it’s difficult to see how Britain can be a power in the world when even retired officers from the armed forces don’t believe in the nation’s territorial integrity. I suppose it’s representative of the civil service more broadly and our MPs.
Leavers are looking to conduct a purge of anyone in the party who disagrees with them over Brexit.
We are not looking to purge the party of Remainers. We would simply like candidates that respect the result of the referendum, whatever their prior stance, and that will work towards delivering it rather than obstructing it or countermanding it through a second referendum.
The man you have quoted wants a second referendum, directly contrary to the verdict of the electorate and our manifesto. On what basis should he be a Conservative candidate?
That sounds an awful lot like purging people who disagree over Brexit.
The phrase ‘distinction without a difference’ might apply here.
Leavers are looking to conduct a purge of anyone in the party who disagrees with them over Brexit.
We are not looking to purge the party of Remainers. We would simply like candidates that respect the result of the referendum, whatever their prior stance, and that will work towards delivering it rather than obstructing it or countermanding it through a second referendum.
The man you have quoted wants a second referendum, directly contrary to the verdict of the electorate and our manifesto. On what basis should he be a Conservative candidate?
It didn't say in the referendum "and we don't want another referendum." If you say there was an implied term to that effect, if we're allowed implied terms there was another one saying "provided that the execution of our leaving is not entrusted to a lot of pea-brained wazzocks who couldn't find their own arseholes in the dark without google maps and a torch." Much the same applies to the poxy manifesto you couldn't win a majority on.
An odd feature of recent British politics is that a previously obscure, 'not to everyone's taste' trader on the Metal Exchange has managed, in spite of never winning a Parliamentary seat, has become a significant figure in British politics.
Helps when the head of BBC Westminster is favourable to the cause
Hm. Thanks for that. Information check when I meet my source again.
Leavers are looking to conduct a purge of anyone in the party who disagrees with them over Brexit.
We are not looking to purge the party of Remainers. We would simply like candidates that respect the result of the referendum, whatever their prior stance, and that will work towards delivering it rather than obstructing it or countermanding it through a second referendum.
The man you have quoted wants a second referendum, directly contrary to the verdict of the electorate and our manifesto. On what basis should he be a Conservative candidate?
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
I have lost 9kg since the beginning of January and my health scares. I aim to lose another 6kg yet which will probably take another couple of months. Driven by more exercise, less fatty meats, less alcohol. It’s a lifestyle change and like you I can’t go back. I do feel better for it, I suppose.
As an appropriate PB Easter celebration, we should perhaps consider the Easter Act 1928, which remains enacted, but has never come into force. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Act_1928
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
Though I'd also expect the Change UK/ LD axis to do well.
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
I have lost 9kg since the beginning of January and my health scares. I aim to lose another 6kg yet which will probably take another couple of months. Driven by more exercise, less fatty meats, less alcohol. It’s a lifestyle change and like you I can’t go back. I do feel better for it, I suppose.
Porridge every morning has been one of my main changes in last year or so. Keeps you full for hours.
Also really cutting down on pasta, bread, potato (all of which I love - so been hard). I would rather eat carbs than sweet stuff so I've not had an issue cutting out the biscuits, cakes, desserts etc.
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
If you follow the polls, there are currently more Remain votes out there than. Will Farage beat the Revoke petition? He wasn't close in 2014.
As an appropriate PB Easter celebration, we should perhaps consider the Easter Act 1928, which remains enacted, but has never come into force. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Act_1928
That is delightfully obscure, even for PB. Well done!
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
If you follow the polls, there are currently more Remain votes out there than. Will Farage beat the Revoke petition? He wasn't close in 2014.
I don’t follow them in much detail
I don’t think it’s worth comparing petitions that can be signed by anyone several times to votes in elections, fair enough if you do I’m not going to argue.
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
Though I'd also expect the Change UK/ LD axis to do well.
They have to compete with Labour for the Remain vote though, whereas i reckon Tories will vote BP
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
If you follow the polls, there are currently more Remain votes out there than. Will Farage beat the Revoke petition? He wasn't close in 2014.
I don’t follow them in much detail
I don’t think it’s worth comparing petitions that can be signed by anyone several times to votes in elections, fair enough if you do I’m not going to argue.
Well it's an easy comeback if Farage claims any significance from his EU vote.
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
If you follow the polls, there are currently more Remain votes out there than. Will Farage beat the Revoke petition? He wasn't close in 2014.
I don’t follow them in much detail
I don’t think it’s worth comparing petitions that can be signed by anyone several times to votes in elections, fair enough if you do I’m not going to argue.
Well it's an easy comeback if Farage claims any significance from his EU vote.
Yeah of course, but that kind of nonsense is just point scoring
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
If you follow the polls, there are currently more Remain votes out there than. Will Farage beat the Revoke petition? He wasn't close in 2014.
I don’t follow them in much detail
I don’t think it’s worth comparing petitions that can be signed by anyone several times to votes in elections, fair enough if you do I’m not going to argue.
Well it's an easy comeback if Farage claims any significance from his EU vote.
Yeah of course, but that kind of nonsense is just point scoring
Farage's politics is all about nonsense and point scoring.
With Labours most high profile candidate telling Brexiteers not to vote Labour, & the Conservatives having made a mess of the whole thing, these Euros should really be a shoo in for Farage. I’d be disappointed with less than 30% of the vote if I were him
If you follow the polls, there are currently more Remain votes out there than. Will Farage beat the Revoke petition? He wasn't close in 2014.
I don’t follow them in much detail
I don’t think it’s worth comparing petitions that can be signed by anyone several times to votes in elections, fair enough if you do I’m not going to argue.
Well it's an easy comeback if Farage claims any significance from his EU vote.
Yeah of course, but that kind of nonsense is just point scoring
Farage's politics is all about nonsense and point scoring.
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
Well done G and good luck in reaching your final goal and a long and healthy life.
Thanks Malc. Bonnie day here in North Wales, trust it is similar on the Ayrshire coast
The man's an utter fool. Leaving aside the fact that letting light in from the ceiling would not only cost a fortune in heating bills and render it impossible to appreciate the stained glass windows properly, does he actually not grasp that the vaulted ceiling is designed as a counterbrace to the flying buttresses and without it the walls would fall down?
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
I have lost 9kg since the beginning of January and my health scares. I aim to lose another 6kg yet which will probably take another couple of months. Driven by more exercise, less fatty meats, less alcohol. It’s a lifestyle change and like you I can’t go back. I do feel better for it, I suppose.
Well done David. The health benefits outweigh the downsides
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
I have lost 9kg since the beginning of January and my health scares. I aim to lose another 6kg yet which will probably take another couple of months. Driven by more exercise, less fatty meats, less alcohol. It’s a lifestyle change and like you I can’t go back. I do feel better for it, I suppose.
Well done David. The health benefits outweigh the downsides
As an appropriate PB Easter celebration, we should perhaps consider the Easter Act 1928, which remains enacted, but has never come into force. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Act_1928
That is delightfully obscure, even for PB. Well done!
Sounds like it’s ripe for repeal.
Not necessarily - there’s some support within the various Churches for rationalising the date of Easter, the determination of which has been something of a kludge from the start.
As an appropriate PB Easter celebration, we should perhaps consider the Easter Act 1928, which remains enacted, but has never come into force. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Act_1928
That is delightfully obscure, even for PB. Well done!
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
I have lost 9kg since the beginning of January and my health scares. I aim to lose another 6kg yet which will probably take another couple of months. Driven by more exercise, less fatty meats, less alcohol. It’s a lifestyle change and like you I can’t go back. I do feel better for it, I suppose.
Well done David. The health benefits outweigh the downsides
Well done both of you
Agreed.
And on that note, I’ve even found a vaguely palatable tofu recently.
Presumably he would want to get rid of the stone vaulting that is under where the wooden roof was. I don’t see that as structurally or aesthetically viable.
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
I have lost 9kg since the beginning of January and my health scares. I aim to lose another 6kg yet which will probably take another couple of months. Driven by more exercise, less fatty meats, less alcohol. It’s a lifestyle change and like you I can’t go back. I do feel better for it, I suppose.
Well done David. The health benefits outweigh the downsides
The man's an utter fool. Leaving aside the fact that letting light in from the ceiling would not only cost a fortune in heating bills and render it impossible to appreciate the stained glass windows properly, does he actually not grasp that the vaulted ceiling is designed as a counterbrace to the flying buttresses and without it the walls would fall down?
This is worse than the 1940s plan to remove the stone from Tower Bridge and reclad it in steel and glass ...
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
Well done G and good luck in reaching your final goal and a long and healthy life.
Thanks Malc. Bonnie day here in North Wales, trust it is similar on the Ayrshire coast
Grand day in N Essex, too. Well done Mr G, and everyone else, who've changed their lifestyle to gain health. Couple of years ago I started going to the gym again, and now, prevented from doing so, due my recent operation, I find I miss it. I'm looking forward to getting back.
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
I have lost 9kg since the beginning of January and my health scares. I aim to lose another 6kg yet which will probably take another couple of months. Driven by more exercise, less fatty meats, less alcohol. It’s a lifestyle change and like you I can’t go back. I do feel better for it, I suppose.
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
Well done G and good luck in reaching your final goal and a long and healthy life.
Thanks Malc. Bonnie day here in North Wales, trust it is similar on the Ayrshire coast
Grand day in N Essex, too. Well done Mr G, and everyone else, who've changed their lifestyle to gain health. Couple of years ago I started going to the gym again, and now, prevented from doing so, due my recent operation, I find I miss it. I'm looking forward to getting back.
Yes - you have indeed been on a health journey and all the best for your recovery
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Congrats Big G.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Congrats Big G.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
Thanks Gin. It is true about choocolate but I do like and enjoy all fruit
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Congrats Big G.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
Thanks Gin. It is true about choocolate but I do like and enjoy all fruit
99% cocoa chocolate, and rye sourdough bread are ok I think, and taste nice IMO
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Congrats Big G.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Congrats Big G.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Congrats Big G.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
Not Quite so Big G surely?
Well done!
Surely he’s not going to end up lower case like malcolm ?
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
I have lost 9kg since the beginning of January and my health scares. I aim to lose another 6kg yet which will probably take another couple of months. Driven by more exercise, less fatty meats, less alcohol. It’s a lifestyle change and like you I can’t go back. I do feel better for it, I suppose.
At the moment ironically May and Corbyn are preventing British politics dividing totally on Leave v Remain lines as Northern Ireland is divided on Unionist v Nationalist lines. On Brexit at least May and Corbyn are not that far apart, both support leaving the EU with the backstop and staying in some form of Customs Union with the EU, the only difference for the moment being if that is temporary or permanent though even May might concede on that. It is the Brexit Party and UKIP and CUK and the LDs representing the Brexit extremes.
If and when May and Corbyn goes though there is a strong possibility Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer will succeed them and will push hard Brexit and revoke Brexit/EUref2 respectively
Why would Momentum and the unions put up with Starmer?
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Congrats Big G.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
Hawaiian "Ice Cream" bananas are terrific. I once ate 6 at NS Pearl Harbour and gave myself the skitters.
The anti-Farage/Brexit vote will be split so many ways we're at risk of losing count. I think there's another novelty anti-Brexit candidate standing and being enthusiastically supported by people on Facebook who don't understand the D'Hondt implications.
The Remain side are going to be bleating so hard about how unfair PR is when they look at the vote totals and seat totals after this election.
"don't understand the D'Hondt implications", "bleating so hard about how unfair PR is" Aren't you contradicting yourself? D'Hondt isn't PR.
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Excellent news Big_G. Well done. Been down the same road myself with blood sugar.
Thank you. I have been surprised how relatively easy it has been but as my wife says I stopped smoking altogether one day 15 years ago and that was pergatory but now I cannot stand the smell of cigarettes
Congrats Mr G! I am always inspired by such stories. 10kg in 5 weeks is significant, and implies major calorie reduction, did you do the “Blood Sugar Diet”?
Thank you. My diet cut out bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all fizzy drinks and included reduced portions. No snacking and just tea, coffee and water to drink, though I have had a couple of glasses of red wine. I am fortunate I like all fruits and vegetables and it has not been too difficult. Certainly my diabetes sugar levels were rising and the additional weight brings other problems with blood pressure, my copd , and arthritis so losing weight was no longer optional but the difference in my health in just 5 weeks is amazing with further to go, but of course this is now a permanent change to my diet as going back to my old ways would be very unwise
Well done G and good luck in reaching your final goal and a long and healthy life.
Thanks Malc. Bonnie day here in North Wales, trust it is similar on the Ayrshire coast
Grand day in N Essex, too. Well done Mr G, and everyone else, who've changed their lifestyle to gain health. Couple of years ago I started going to the gym again, and now, prevented from doing so, due my recent operation, I find I miss it. I'm looking forward to getting back.
Yes - you have indeed been on a health journey and all the best for your recovery
Thanks Mr G; in very little pain now, and the hole in my back seems to have healed. Walking is much better now and I'm impatient to start driving again.
The anti-Farage/Brexit vote will be split so many ways we're at risk of losing count. I think there's another novelty anti-Brexit candidate standing and being enthusiastically supported by people on Facebook who don't understand the D'Hondt implications.
The Remain side are going to be bleating so hard about how unfair PR is when they look at the vote totals and seat totals after this election.
"don't understand the D'Hondt implications", "bleating so hard about how unfair PR is" Aren't you contradicting yourself? D'Hondt isn't PR.
? I know STV is close but isn't, I know AV isn't, but I thought D'Hondt was. Explanation please?
An excellent article - as always. However, I do not share the underlying assumption that party allegiance will be determined by views on Brexit.The commentariat is consumed by the issue , but as a result it is seriously misreading the public mood of desperately wishing to move on . The cries of 'Betrayal' or 'Revoke' have taken root with relatively few, and whilst people will respond to pollsters when invited to express opinions, there are not many for whom the issue in particularly salient in determining voting behaviour. On the centre-left,in particular, I find it difficult to imagine many voters who support greater state intervention and increased public spending opting to vote Tory or for Farage simply because they had voted Leave in the June 2016 Referendum . Other issues will invariably override that - indeed attitudes towards Corbyn are likely to be more important. In Tory ranks, I can see the issue being more difficult to read - simply because Europe has divided the party for so long. Nevertheless, I suspect that much of the antagonism currently being experienced by their canvassers owes a great deal to the obvious confusion and lack of competence with which the issue has been managed - and the strong sense that Theresa May has repeatedly failed to deliver on her promise that 'Brexit means Brexit'.I am far from persuaded ,however, that the widespread frustration at the consequences of parliamentary arithmetic herald a significant underlying political realignment.
An excellent article - as always. However, I do not share the underlying assumption that party allegiance will be determined by views on Brexit.The commentariat is consumed by the issue , but as a result it is seriously misreading the public mood of desperately wishing to move on . The cries of 'Betrayal' or 'Revoke' have taken root with relatively few, and whilst people will respond to pollsters when invited to express opinions, there are not many for whom the issue in particularly salient in determining voting behaviour. On the centre-left,in particular, I find it difficult to imagine many voters who support greater state intervention and increased public spending opting to vote Tory or for Farage simply because they had voted Leave in the June 2016 Referendum . Other issues will invariably override that - indeed attitudes towards Corbyn are likely to be more important. In Tory ranks, I can see the issue being more difficult to read - simply because Europe has divided the party for so long. Nevertheless, I suspect that much of the antagonism currently being experienced by their canvassers owes a great deal to the obvious confusion and lack of competence with which the issue has been managed - and the strong sense that Theresa May has repeatedly failed to deliver on her promise that 'Brexit means Brexit'.I am far from persuaded ,however, that the widespread frustration at the consequences of parliamentary arithmetic herald a significant underlying political realignment.
There is a lot of Brexit weariness. Some of the desire for No Deal is just to get it over with. The look of horror on faces when you point out that No Deal is the beginning rather than the end of negotiations. Imagine that Brexit boot stamping on your face forever.
There is a lot of Brexit weariness. Some of the desire for No Deal is just to get it over with. The look of horror on faces when you point out that No Deal is the beginning rather than the end of negotiations. Imagine that Brexit boot stamping on your face forever.
It's the alternative to the EU integration boot stamping on your face forever. The salient difference in terms of weariness is the degree of hyperbole from the media and political class. Would that difference hold once we have left in name?
An excellent article - as always. However, I do not share the underlying assumption that party allegiance will be determined by views on Brexit.The commentariat is consumed by the issue , but as a result it is seriously misreading the public mood of desperately wishing to move on . The cries of 'Betrayal' or 'Revoke' have taken root with relatively few, and whilst people will respond to pollsters when invited to express opinions, there are not many for whom the issue in particularly salient in determining voting behaviour. On the centre-left,in particular, I find it difficult to imagine many voters who support greater state intervention and increased public spending opting to vote Tory or for Farage simply because they had voted Leave in the June 2016 Referendum . Other issues will invariably override that - indeed attitudes towards Corbyn are likely to be more important. In Tory ranks, I can see the issue being more difficult to read - simply because Europe has divided the party for so long. Nevertheless, I suspect that much of the antagonism currently being experienced by their canvassers owes a great deal to the obvious confusion and lack of competence with which the issue has been managed - and the strong sense that Theresa May has repeatedly failed to deliver on her promise that 'Brexit means Brexit'.I am far from persuaded ,however, that the widespread frustration at the consequences of parliamentary arithmetic herald a significant underlying political realignment.
There is a lot of Brexit weariness. Some of the desire for No Deal is just to get it over with. The look of horror on faces when you point out that No Deal is the beginning rather than the end of negotiations. Imagine that Brexit boot stamping on your face forever.
So is Theresa May's deal. Deal or No Deal is just the start.
The anti-Farage/Brexit vote will be split so many ways we're at risk of losing count. I think there's another novelty anti-Brexit candidate standing and being enthusiastically supported by people on Facebook who don't understand the D'Hondt implications.
The Remain side are going to be bleating so hard about how unfair PR is when they look at the vote totals and seat totals after this election.
"don't understand the D'Hondt implications", "bleating so hard about how unfair PR is" Aren't you contradicting yourself? D'Hondt isn't PR.
? I know STV is close but isn't, I know AV isn't, but I thought D'Hondt was. Explanation please?
d'Hondt is extremely proportional if applied to a sufficiently large area (e.g. the whole country) to enable small parties to get their proportions - Denmark, Sweden and Israel are examples (though the first two do have thresholds to get in). The problem in Britain is that we've chosen to apply it in relatively small regions with only a few seats in each, so you can get say 4% everywhere and never get a single person elected, whereas with a national list you'd get 4% of the seats.
Interesting article as usual from David. It's clearly true up to a point, but there are still lots of voters - probably a majority - who don't think the EU is an interesting topic. They reluctantly accept that Brexit needs to be addressed (in some non-disastrous way), but they really want something else dealt with - schools, roads, taxes, health, whatever.
The perception (nourished by the media, who are only able to focus on one thing at a time) is that the parties are ignoring all this because they only care about Brexit. Both major parties produce policies on other things and Corbyn talks about them more than May - hence the incredulity when he spends a PMQs talking about buses or benefits - but everything sinks without trace after 24 hours, whether it's Javid on knives or Rayner on SATs.
That's different from Ulster, where my understanding is that the great majority really do see the sectarian division as an important matter and the first thing to consider when casting your vote.
IMO Labour is rather better-prepared for a post-Brexit era, as from Corbyn down most of the leading Labour people aren't that interested in Brexit either, and are bursting to talk about other things; the Tories, with a few exceptions (Gove and Javid and...er...), seem entirely obsessed with two things: Brexit, and party leadership.
Good news this morning. Have lost 10kg in 5 weeks following my raised sugar levels. Have cut out bread, biscuits, chocolates, all fizzy drinks, stopped snacking and smaller portions
Feel much better and have no problem with eating fruit and veg instead.
Congrats Big G.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
Hawaiian "Ice Cream" bananas are terrific. I once ate 6 at NS Pearl Harbour and gave myself the skitters.
There's a tiny mango in Bangladesh that has a very short season. Exquisite.
They are so good that Bangladeshis returning to the UK brought big boxes of them. However, they were invariably packed in rickety wooden boxes. That would break on the carousel at Manchester airpport. Turning it - and everybody's luggage - into a sticky, sweet fruity mess.....
The Abbott breaking the law story is small beer (or rather small can of mojito), however this made me chuckle...
A mental health campaigner, Sam Thomas, said: “Why should you be sorry? We are all free to the freedom of choice. If you choose to drink on the underground, it’s fine. Meanwhile, for the serious crime that it isn’t, far worse atrocities are being committed.”
Thanks Mr G; in very little pain now, and the hole in my back seems to have healed. Walking is much better now and I'm impatient to start driving again.
Excellent! It's always great to hear of treatment actually improving the condition instead of just holding it at bay. Happy Easter!
The anti-Farage/Brexit vote will be split so many ways we're at risk of losing count. I think there's another novelty anti-Brexit candidate standing and being enthusiastically supported by people on Facebook who don't understand the D'Hondt implications.
The Remain side are going to be bleating so hard about how unfair PR is when they look at the vote totals and seat totals after this election.
"don't understand the D'Hondt implications", "bleating so hard about how unfair PR is" Aren't you contradicting yourself? D'Hondt isn't PR.
? I know STV is close but isn't, I know AV isn't, but I thought D'Hondt was. Explanation please?
d'Hondt is extremely proportional if applied to a sufficiently large area (e.g. the whole country) to enable small parties to get their proportions - Denmark, Sweden and Israel are examples (though the first two do have thresholds to get in). The problem in Britain is that we've chosen to apply it in relatively small regions with only a few seats in each, so you can get say 4% everywhere and never get a single person elected, whereas with a national list you'd get 4% of the seats.
True, but that's a function of the number of seats in an area, not d'Hondt (a seat distribution method)
The anti-Farage/Brexit vote will be split so many ways we're at risk of losing count. I think there's another novelty anti-Brexit candidate standing and being enthusiastically supported by people on Facebook who don't understand the D'Hondt implications.
The Remain side are going to be bleating so hard about how unfair PR is when they look at the vote totals and seat totals after this election.
"don't understand the D'Hondt implications", "bleating so hard about how unfair PR is" Aren't you contradicting yourself? D'Hondt isn't PR.
D'Hondt certainly is PR.
If Change, Lib Dems, and Greens can each poll 10% plus, they'll get proportionate representation. But, those extra votes would have to come from Labour, making it likely that Farage's party would come first.
At the moment ironically May and Corbyn are preventing British politics dividing totally on Leave v Remain lines as Northern Ireland is divided on Unionist v Nationalist lines. On Brexit at least May and Corbyn are not that far apart, both support leaving the EU with the backstop and staying in some form of Customs Union with the EU, the only difference for the moment being if that is temporary or permanent though even May might concede on that. It is the Brexit Party and UKIP and CUK and the LDs representing the Brexit extremes.
Mr H makes an interesting case, and like some others I think it is truer on the Tory side than the Labour side. I'm a Labourite who happened to vote Leave, not a Brexiteer.
My vote in the Euros will not be based on the Brexit position of the parties or candidates. There are much more important issues to consider.
There is a lot of Brexit weariness. Some of the desire for No Deal is just to get it over with. The look of horror on faces when you point out that No Deal is the beginning rather than the end of negotiations. Imagine that Brexit boot stamping on your face forever.
It's the alternative to the EU integration boot stamping on your face forever. The salient difference in terms of weariness is the degree of hyperbole from the media and political class. Would that difference hold once we have left in name?
“boot stamping on your face forever” isn’t hyperbole ?
An interesting, if not entirely convincing lead. Neither party is really prepared to face the implications of its changing support base for its approach, offer, and policies, and the Tories seem particularly unprepared. Not least because many of the leavers who tend to become Tory MPs are very different in motivation from most of the voters who are leavers. Peddling cultural war to working class voters won't be as easy here as it is in the US, without the religious dimension.
The assumption that the Tories will automatically be led by hard Leaver is open to challenge. Remember Corbyn got elected effectively by accident, a few MPs assuming he didn't stand a chance. Tory MPs will do what they can to ensure a similar accident doesn't put a bad choice before their members, even if constrained by the scarcity of apparent good choices. If they do end up with a hard Leaver it is hard to see a route to majority government (other than a complete fragmentation of the Remain vote coupled with an absence of tactical voting) so the Tories would be volunteering for a long spell in opposition. Which to be fair given Brexit may well be inevitable now anyway.
If the Tories do not end up with a hard Leaver on current polls and if we are still in the EU by the next general election the danger is the Tories get overtaken by the Brexit Party and are not even the main opposition let alone not even a majority Government. Your comments show a complete lack of awareness on the left and the Remainer liberal left especially about how failing to deliver Brexit will damage the Tories and boost the hard and far right (similar ironically to how many Tories failed to appreciate the dangers of the rise of Corbyn).
It may take a Brexit Party victory in the European elections as Yougov suggests to finally wake you up
But there are very many people who are prepared to vote for Farage or UKIP at an election which they consider pretty inconsequential who would not consider them at all at a General Election. UKIP's performance at the 2015 election - a big increase in vote share though it was - fell well short of what it managed at the 2014 EU elections. Much of that support is fleeting and based on protest - the LibDems and Greens experience surges of support in a similar way. Regardless of what happens on the Brexit front, I see no way that the Brexit Party will be seen as a seious contender for government at the next General Election.
The anti-Farage/Brexit vote will be split so many ways we're at risk of losing count. I think there's another novelty anti-Brexit candidate standing and being enthusiastically supported by people on Facebook who don't understand the D'Hondt implications.
The Remain side are going to be bleating so hard about how unfair PR is when they look at the vote totals and seat totals after this election.
"don't understand the D'Hondt implications", "bleating so hard about how unfair PR is" Aren't you contradicting yourself? D'Hondt isn't PR.
? I know STV is close but isn't, I know AV isn't, but I thought D'Hondt was. Explanation please?
Its the wrong type of PR.
For some people the purpose of PR is to allow the LibDems to be in government forever.
The anti-Farage/Brexit vote will be split so many ways we're at risk of losing count. I think there's another novelty anti-Brexit candidate standing and being enthusiastically supported by people on Facebook who don't understand the D'Hondt implications.
The Remain side are going to be bleating so hard about how unfair PR is when they look at the vote totals and seat totals after this election.
"don't understand the D'Hondt implications", "bleating so hard about how unfair PR is" Aren't you contradicting yourself? D'Hondt isn't PR.
D'Hondt certainly is PR.
If Change, Lib Dems, and Greens can each poll 10% plus, they'll get proportionate representation. But, those extra votes would have to come from Labour, making it likely that Farage's party would come first.
"The D'Hondt method or the Jefferson method is a highest averages method for allocating seats, and is thus a type of party-list proportional representation. ... Empirical studies show that the D'Hondt method is one of the least proportional among the proportional representation methods." So, depends on how proportional you want as to whether you consider it as true PR. Also don't forget that the regions vary quite a lot in how many MEPs they return. 10% wouldn't get you much in Wales, North East England or Northern Ireland, for example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_constituencies_in_the_United_Kingdom
An interesting, if not entirely convincing lead. Neither party is really prepared to face the implications of its changing support base for its approach, offer, and policies, and the Tories seem particularly unprepared. Not least because many of the leavers who tend to become Tory MPs are very different in motivation from most of the voters who are leavers. Peddling cultural war to working class voters won't be as easy here as it is in the US, without the religious dimension.
The assumption that the Tories will automatically be led by hard Leaver is open to challenge. Remember Corbyn got elected effectively by accident, a few MPs assuming he didn't stand a chance. Tory MPs will do what they can to ensure a similar accident doesn't put a bad choice before their members, even if constrained by the scarcity of apparent good choices. If they do end up with a hard Leaver it is hard to see a route to majority government (other than a complete fragmentation of the Remain vote coupled with an absence of tactical voting) so the Tories would be volunteering for a long spell in opposition. Which to be fair given Brexit may well be inevitable now anyway.
If the Tories do not end up with a hard Leaver on current polls and if we are still in the EU by the next general election the danger is the Tories get overtaken by the Brexit Party and are not even the main opposition let alone not even a majority Government. Your comments show a complete lack of awareness on the left and the Remainer liberal left especially about how failing to deliver Brexit will damage the Tories and boost the hard and far right (similar ironically to how many Tories failed to appreciate the dangers of the rise of Corbyn).
It may take a Brexit Party victory in the European elections as Yougov suggests to finally wake you up
But there are very many people who are prepared to vote for Farage or UKIP at an election which they consider pretty inconsequential who would not consider them at all at a General Election. UKIP's performance at the 2015 election - a big increase in vote share though it was - fell well short of what it managed at the 2014 EU elections. Much of that support is fleeting and based on protest - the LibDems and Greens experience surges of support in a similar way. Regardless of what happens on the Brexit front, I see no way that the Brexit Party will be seen as a seious contender for government at the next General Election.
There is a lot of Brexit weariness. Some of the desire for No Deal is just to get it over with. The look of horror on faces when you point out that No Deal is the beginning rather than the end of negotiations. Imagine that Brexit boot stamping on your face forever.
It's the alternative to the EU integration boot stamping on your face forever. The salient difference in terms of weariness is the degree of hyperbole from the media and political class. Would that difference hold once we have left in name?
“boot stamping on your face forever” isn’t hyperbole ?
Of course, but that's a question of Foxy's imagination in the current febrile atmosphere.
An interesting, if not entirely convincing lead. Neither party is really prepared to face the implications of its changing support base for its approach, offer, and policies, and the Tories seem particularly unprepared. Not least because many of the leavers who tend to become Tory MPs are very different in motivation from most of the voters who are leavers. Peddling cultural war to working class voters won't be as easy here as it is in the US, without the religious dimension.
The assumption that the Tories will automatically be led by hard Leaver is open to challenge. Remember Corbyn got elected effectively by accident, a few MPs assuming he didn't stand a chance. Tory MPs will do what they can to ensure a similar accident doesn't put a bad choice before their members, even if constrained by the scarcity of apparent good choices. If they do end up with a hard Leaver it is hard to see a route to majority government (other than a complete fragmentation of the Remain vote coupled with an absence of tactical voting) so the Tories would be volunteering for a long spell in opposition. Which to be fair given Brexit may well be inevitable now anyway.
If the Tories do not end up with a hard Leaver on current polls and if we are still in the EU by the next general election the danger is the Tories get overtaken by the Brexit Party and are not even the main opposition let alone not even a majority Government. Your comments show a complete lack of awareness on the left and the Remainer liberal left especially about how failing to deliver Brexit will damage the Tories and boost the hard and far right (similar ironically to how many Tories failed to appreciate the dangers of the rise of Corbyn).
It may take a Brexit Party victory in the European elections as Yougov suggests to finally wake you up
But there are very many people who are prepared to vote for Farage or UKIP at an election which they consider pretty inconsequential who would not consider them at all at a General Election. UKIP's performance at the 2015 election - a big increase in vote share though it was - fell well short of what it managed at the 2014 EU elections. Much of that support is fleeting and based on protest - the LibDems and Greens experience surges of support in a similar way. Regardless of what happens on the Brexit front, I see no way that the Brexit Party will be seen as a seious contender for government at the next General Election.
4.3m at the Euros and 3.9m at the GE. Quite good vote retention I'd say if the Euro's are just a protest
An interesting, if not entirely convincing lead. Neither party is really prepared to face the implications of its changing support base for its approach, offer, and policies, and the Tories seem particularly unprepared. Not least because many of the leavers who tend to become Tory MPs are very different in motivation from most of the voters who are leavers. Peddling cultural war to working class voters won't be as easy here as it is in the US, without the religious dimension.
The assumption that the Tories will automatically be led by hard Leaver is open to challenge. Remember Corbyn got elected effectively by accident, a few MPs assuming he didn't stand a chance. Tory MPs will do what they can to ensure a similar accident doesn't put a bad choice before their members, even if constrained by the scarcity of apparent good choices. If they do end up with a hard Leaver it is hard to see a route to majority government (other than a complete fragmentation of the Remain vote coupled with an absence of tactical voting) so the Tories would be volunteering for a long spell in opposition. Which to be fair given Brexit may well be inevitable now anyway.
If the Tories do not end up with a hard Leaver on current polls and if we are still in the EU by the next general election the danger is the Tories get overtaken by the Brexit Party and are not even the main opposition let alone not even a majority Government. Your comments show a complete lack of awareness on the left and the Remainer liberal left especially about how failing to deliver Brexit will damage the Tories and boost the hard and far right (similar ironically to how many Tories failed to appreciate the dangers of the rise of Corbyn).
It may take a Brexit Party victory in the European elections as Yougov suggests to finally wake you up
But there are very many people who are prepared to vote for Farage or UKIP at an election which they consider pretty inconsequential who would not consider them at all at a General Election. UKIP's performance at the 2015 election - a big increase in vote share though it was - fell well short of what it managed at the 2014 EU elections. Much of that support is fleeting and based on protest - the LibDems and Greens experience surges of support in a similar way. Regardless of what happens on the Brexit front, I see no way that the Brexit Party will be seen as a seious contender for government at the next General Election.
4.3m at the Euros and 3.9m at the GE. Quite good vote retention I'd say if the Euro's are just a protest
Amazing. Adonis, the Tories' great bogeyman, is singing HM's praises, while only a few weeks ago their political soulmate Lilico was calling for her abdication. The world has turned on its head.
An interesting, if not entirely convincing lead. Neither party is really prepared to face the implications of its changing support base for its approach, offer, and policies, and the Tories seem particularly unprepared. Not least because many of the leavers who tend to become Tory MPs are very different in motivation from most of the voters who are leavers. Peddling cultural war to working class voters won't be as easy here as it is in the US, without the religious dimension.
oupled with an absence of tactical voting) so the Tories would be volunteering for a long spell in opposition. Which to be fair given Brexit may well be inevitable now anyway.
If the Tories do not end up with a hard Leaver on current polls and if we are still in the EU by the next general election the danger is the Tories get overtaken by the Brexit Party and are not even the main opposition let alone not even a majority Government. Your comments show a complete lack of awareness on the left and the Remainer liberal left especially about how failing to deliver Brexit will damage the Tories and boost the hard and far right (similar ironically to how many Tories failed to appreciate the dangers of the rise of Corbyn).
It may take a Brexit Party victory in the European elections as Yougov suggests to finally wake you up
But there are very many people who are prepared to vote for Farage or UKIP at an election which they consider pretty inconsequential who would not consider them at all at a General Election. UKIP's performance at the 2015 election - a big increase in vote share though it was - fell well short of what it managed at the 2014 EU elections. Much of that support is fleeting and based on protest - the LibDems and Greens experience surges of support in a similar way. Regardless of what happens on the Brexit front, I see no way that the Brexit Party will be seen as a seious contender for government at the next General Election.
4.3m at the Euros and 3.9m at the GE. Quite good vote retention I'd say if the Euro's are just a protest
But a much higher turnout at the GE.
"...there are very many people who are prepared to vote for Farage or UKIP at an election which they consider pretty inconsequential who would not consider them at all at a General Election."
400,000 is a lot of people, but 90% retention doesn't really support your point in my opinion.
When everyone who can puts their wealth beyond reach what do they think will happen to the country?
There is a reason why economists predict a Corbyn Labour victory would do more harm than Brexit
Makes me wonder why I am bothering to work my arse off on a boiling Saturday afternoon...if the communists are just going to take my wealth because they don't like me.
The Abbott breaking the law story is small beer (or rather small can of mojito), however this made me chuckle...
A mental health campaigner, Sam Thomas, said: “Why should you be sorry? We are all free to the freedom of choice. If you choose to drink on the underground, it’s fine. Meanwhile, for the serious crime that it isn’t, far worse atrocities are being committed.”
An interesting, if not entirely convincing lead. Neither party is really prepared to face the implications of its changing support base for its approach, offer, and policies, and the Tories seem particularly unprepared. Not least because many of the leavers who tend to become Tory MPs are very different in motivation from most of the voters who are leavers. Peddling cultural war to working class voters won't be as easy here as it is in the US, without the religious dimension.
oupled with an absence of tactical voting) so the Tories would be volunteering for a long spell in opposition. Which to be fair given Brexit may well be inevitable now anyway.
If the Tories do not end up with a hard Leaver on current polls and if we are still in the EU by the next general election the danger is the Tories get overtaken by the Brexit Party and are not even the main opposition let alone not even a majority Government. Your comments show a complete lack of awareness on the left and the Remainer liberal left especially about how failing to deliver Brexit will damage the Tories and boost the hard and far right (similar ironically to how many Tories failed to appreciate the dangers of the rise of Corbyn).
It may take a Brexit Party victory in the European elections as Yougov suggests to finally wake you up
But there are very many people who are prepared to vote for Farage or UKIP at an election which they consider pretty inconsequential who would not consider them at all at a General Election. UKIP's performance at the 2015 election - a big increase in vote share though it was - fell well short of what it managed at the 2014 EU elections. Much of that support is fleeting and based on protest - the LibDems and Greens experience surges of support in a similar way. Regardless of what happens on the Brexit front, I see no way that the Brexit Party will be seen as a seious contender for government at the next General Election.
4.3m at the Euros and 3.9m at the GE. Quite good vote retention I'd say if the Euro's are just a protest
But a much higher turnout at the GE.
"...there are very many people who are prepared to vote for Farage or UKIP at an election which they consider pretty inconsequential who would not consider them at all at a General Election."
400,000 is a lot of people, but 90% retention doesn't really support your point in my opinion.
UKIP polled 26.6% in 2014 EU elections compared with 12.6% less than a year later at the 2015 GE.
Comments
https://twitter.com/royalfineart/status/1119395073475661836
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Act_1928
Also really cutting down on pasta, bread, potato (all of which I love - so been hard). I would rather eat carbs than sweet stuff so I've not had an issue cutting out the biscuits, cakes, desserts etc.
Sounds like it’s ripe for repeal.
I don’t think it’s worth comparing petitions that can be signed by anyone several times to votes in elections, fair enough if you do I’m not going to argue.
They have to compete with Labour for the Remain vote though, whereas i reckon Tories will vote BP
Anthony Parker
@AnthonyJSParker 1h1 hour ago
Replying to @RoyalFineArt
What the fuck is wrong with you?
1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
...and i think we can all get behind that.
And on that note, I’ve even found a vaguely palatable tofu recently.
Have a good day all.
https://leftoverlondon.wordpress.com/2016/08/04/tower-bridge-reimagined-in-1943-and-clad-in-glass/
(I think there was a different but similar plan to do the same in the 1960s, but my google-fu fails me.)
Couple of years ago I started going to the gym again, and now, prevented from doing so, due my recent operation, I find I miss it. I'm looking forward to getting back.
I went to a rail industry conference recently and found it far from diverse. One choice for breakfast: bacon rolls.
If only someone could come up with a fruit that's as nice as chocolate...
https://twitter.com/twcuddleston/status/1119377296400560135?s=21
Well done!
Anyway, really must be off.
Aren't you contradicting yourself? D'Hondt isn't PR.
On the centre-left,in particular, I find it difficult to imagine many voters who support greater state intervention and increased public spending opting to vote Tory or for Farage simply because they had voted Leave in the June 2016 Referendum . Other issues will invariably override that - indeed attitudes towards Corbyn are likely to be more important.
In Tory ranks, I can see the issue being more difficult to read - simply because Europe has divided the party for so long. Nevertheless, I suspect that much of the antagonism currently being experienced by their canvassers owes a great deal to the obvious confusion and lack of competence with which the issue has been managed - and the strong sense that Theresa May has repeatedly failed to deliver on her promise that 'Brexit means Brexit'.I am far from persuaded ,however, that the widespread frustration at the consequences of parliamentary arithmetic herald a significant underlying political realignment.
MG was playing the woman, not the ball. Sauce for goose/gander etc.
They are so good that Bangladeshis returning to the UK brought big boxes of them. However, they were invariably packed in rickety wooden boxes. That would break on the carousel at Manchester airpport. Turning it - and everybody's luggage - into a sticky, sweet fruity mess.....
A mental health campaigner, Sam Thomas, said: “Why should you be sorry? We are all free to the freedom of choice. If you choose to drink on the underground, it’s fine. Meanwhile, for the serious crime that it isn’t, far worse atrocities are being committed.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/20/diane-abbott-apologises-for-drinking-mojito-on-public-transport
Freedom of choice...erhhh its illegal.
If Change, Lib Dems, and Greens can each poll 10% plus, they'll get proportionate representation. But, those extra votes would have to come from Labour, making it likely that Farage's party would come first.
My vote in the Euros will not be based on the Brexit position of the parties or candidates. There are much more important issues to consider.
https://twitter.com/Telegraph/status/1119363818218577921
Off topic 2: some posters appear to have got the impression that I have an interest in railways - fair cop!
For some people the purpose of PR is to allow the LibDems to be in government forever.
So, depends on how proportional you want as to whether you consider it as true PR.
Also don't forget that the regions vary quite a lot in how many MEPs they return. 10% wouldn't get you much in Wales, North East England or Northern Ireland, for example.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_constituencies_in_the_United_Kingdom
https://twitter.com/AyoCaesar/status/1119569443703664640
If Sugar has any sense he will have sent the past few years squirrelling his wealth far away from the potential grasps of the "Literal Communists".
When everyone who can puts their wealth beyond reach what do they think will happen to the country?
There is a reason why economists predict a Corbyn Labour victory would do more harm than Brexit
400,000 is a lot of people, but 90% retention doesn't really support your point in my opinion.