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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » In the TMay successor betting Gove replaces Raab as second fav
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » In the TMay successor betting Gove replaces Raab as second favourite – Johnson still clear favourite
There have now been two working days since TMay announced her exit programme and there has been quite a lot of movement on the Betfair exchange where £0.75m has been gambled in the past week.
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Too repulsive to be PM.
TGOHF said:
> @williamglenn said:
> > @TGOHF said:
> > > @williamglenn said:
> > > Is Sajid Javid getting paid by the SNP to be so tone deaf?
> >
> > Scotland is falling apart - education, crime , poverty, university admissions.
> >
> > Nicola is throwing the same squirrel over and over - why do the weak minded keep ignoring her falling level of support ?
> >
> >
>
> It’s the UK that’s falling apart.
Former FM and the "father of losing referendums" pending trial for sex offences....
You Tory boys don't like it that SNP after 12 years in power just get more popular. Really sticks in your craw. Especially the Toom tabard versions.
TGOHF said:
> @williamglenn said:
> Is Sajid Javid getting paid by the SNP to be so tone deaf?
Scotland is falling apart - education, crime , poverty, university admissions.
Nicola is throwing the same squirrel over and over - why do the weak minded keep ignoring her falling level of support ?
LOL, Scotland is just fine, crime is very low , not seen or heard of anyone I know being involved in one in nearly 50 years, tuition is free , poverty is less than England and SNP are covering some of the worst Tory policies , and we get free prescriptions, home care for the elderly, they are building hundreds of new centres for childcare, and so it goes on and on, despite the Tories best efforts.
Think you have been gone too long Harry and the green cheese is getting the better of you, maybe a visit to Scotland would help you with truth and reality.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1feCjt98HJcY9tlc5Zx78ZoSOC2fN-j0vRVFD5eUTbUE/edit#gid=0
> When is Boris going to launch his campaign? Has he done anything yet?
Sounds like he is from the May school of thought, starting a campaign well in the lead means no campaigning is required. Worked out well for her....
> Gove is OK as an ideas man but he should be kept in a back room in Downing St so the public hardly ever set eyes on him...
>
> Too repulsive to be PM.<
+++++
"Repulsive"?!?!
He's not a young Leonardo DiCaprio, but then Leonardo DiCaprio is not a young Leonardo DiCaprio, not any more.
Gove has a slightly goofy face, but by the (very low) standards of parliamentary pulchritude, he is OK. Modestly presentable.
Or do you mean his views are repulsive? But then again I struggle to agree. He's quite moderate in most things. And has some sensible ideas.
Rory Stewart is the one who does look quite eerie and ghoulish sometimes. (Tho according to Twitter he is fancied by a certain kind of woman)
> FPT
> TGOHF said:
>
> > @williamglenn said:
>
> > > @TGOHF said:
>
> > > > @williamglenn said:
>
> > > > Is Sajid Javid getting paid by the SNP to be so tone deaf?
>
> > >
>
> > > Scotland is falling apart - education, crime , poverty, university admissions.
>
> > >
>
> > > Nicola is throwing the same squirrel over and over - why do the weak minded keep ignoring her falling level of support ?
>
> > >
>
> > >
>
> >
>
> > It’s the UK that’s falling apart.
>
>
>
> Former FM and the "father of losing referendums" pending trial for sex offences....
>
> You Tory boys don't like it that SNP after 12 years in power just get more popular. Really sticks in your craw. Especially the Toom tabard versions.
Not this tory boy Malc. I have considerable respect for her devotion to doing the best for Scotland though I do not agree on Independence
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1133766250797178880
The same Jo Johnson who thinks we need to stay in the EU?
> > @GIN1138 said:
> > Gove is OK as an ideas man but he should be kept in a back room in Downing St so the public hardly ever set eyes on him...
> >
> > Too repulsive to be PM.<
>
> +++++
>
> "Repulsive"?!?!
>
> He's not a young Leonardo DiCaprio, but then Leonardo DiCaprio is not a young Leonardo DiCaprio, not any more.
>
> Gove has a slightly goofy face, but by the (very low) standards of parliamentary pulchritude, he is OK. Modestly presentable.
>
> Or do you mean his views are repulsive? But then again I struggle to agree. He's quite moderate in most things. And has some sensible ideas.
>
> Rory Stewart is the one who does look quite eerie and ghoulish sometimes. (Tho according to Twitter he is fancied by a certain kind of woman)
Gove was the one who said that after Brexit we would hold all the cards and choose our own course (or equally dim words to that effect). Either he was dissembling, in which case he is monumentally untrustworthy, or he really believed it, in which case he is monumentally stupid.
> Latest endorsements from Tory MPs:
>
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1feCjt98HJcY9tlc5Zx78ZoSOC2fN-j0vRVFD5eUTbUE/edit#gid=0
is there a histgoram function in Google sheets that returns the number of entries for a given category? That might be a nice way to tally the scores from both sources.
The return of Campbell will be the test as to whether the Labour is back under sane leadership.
> Maybe someone has an expose on Raab and steroids which is causing the drop?
>
> https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1133766250797178880<;
++++
Looks more like Sildenafil Citrate than Steroids, TBH
> Latest endorsements from Tory MPs:
>
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1feCjt98HJcY9tlc5Zx78ZoSOC2fN-j0vRVFD5eUTbUE/edit#gid=0
Interesting - a very wide geographic support for Boris, given that we keep being told here that his charm doesn't work outside the M25.....
>
> Gove was the one who said that after Brexit we would hold all the cards and choose our own course (or equally dim words to that effect). Either he was dissembling, in which case he is monumentally untrustworthy, or he really believed it, in which case he is monumentally stupid. <
+++++
That was quite dim. Or devious. And is a mark against him, for sure.
But the choice is very very poor. I'd reluctantly opt for Gove, as the best of a bad bunch, if I were a Tory member.
Hunt is Teresa May in much better trousers. Johnson is, well, Johnson. Raab is uninspiring, even if he is "hung like a mountain yak". Javid is disqualified by his terrible video, launching his campaign. Hancock is OK but banal. I like Cleverly, but he is too obscure, I fear. McVey is too No Dealy. Leadsom lacks oomph.
So Gove it is?
https://twitter.com/PJHeneghan/status/1133725842578792449
> Curse of the new thread:
> I thought that was a picture of Stuart.
>
> I've no idea either.....
> *looks at profile picture - realises he's not a communist*
> Maybe I should change mine.....
>
>
>
> Any suggestions for a good profile pic for a Scouser who doesn't support Liverpool, Everton or Labour (Or Tranmere or Marine AFC)?
Esther?!
That'll do.
Ed and David Miliband take note.
Or Boris is secretly telling people he would never exit with No Deal.
I mean how else has got Amber to back him.
> There we are. USS Reliant - NCC 1864
>
> That'll do.
Why not USS Valiant?
Never took to the Valiant. Crewed by numpty kids.
What happened to the crew of the Reliant by the way? I assume Enterprise did actually rescue them from Ceti Alpha 5?
> Jo Johnson is backing Boris?????
>
>
>
> The same Jo Johnson who thinks we need to stay in the EU?
>
> Blood is thicker than water.
>
> Ed and David Miliband take note.
>
> Or Boris is secretly telling people he would never exit with No Deal.
>
> I mean how else has got Amber to back him.
Is it Amber back the Malthouse Compromise as an alternative to the deal?
> Is there not some provision of the Mental Health Act they could make use of to reduce the number of candidates?
Not sure joking about mental health is the best idea
> Is there not some provision of the Mental Health Act they could make use of to reduce the number of candidates?
Or perhaps the Trade Descriptions Act to get rid of Cleverly at least?
> > @TheValiant said:
>
> > There we are. USS Reliant - NCC 1864
>
> >
>
> > That'll do.
>
>
>
> Why not USS Valiant?
>
> It got blew up.... oh wait....
> Never took to the Valiant. Crewed by numpty kids.
>
> What happened to the crew of the Reliant by the way? I assume Enterprise did actually rescue them from Ceti Alpha 5?
The star trek wiki says that they were rescued, and cites the movie. Not sure how accurate that is though; they could still be stranded there
> Curse of the new thread:
> I thought that was a picture of Stuart.
>
> I've no idea either.....
> *looks at profile picture - realises he's not a communist*
> Maybe I should change mine.....
>
>
>
> Any suggestions for a good profile pic for a Scouser who doesn't support Liverpool, Everton or Labour (Or Tranmere or Marine AFC)?
How can you not like Tranmere?
> Is there not some provision of the Mental Health Act they could make use of to reduce the number of candidates?
Completely inappropriate attempt at humour.
> > @GIN1138 said:
> > Gove is OK as an ideas man but he should be kept in a back room in Downing St so the public hardly ever set eyes on him...
> >
> > Too repulsive to be PM.<
>
> +++++
>
> "Repulsive"?!?!
>
> He's not a young Leonardo DiCaprio, but then Leonardo DiCaprio is not a young Leonardo DiCaprio, not any more.
>
> Gove has a slightly goofy face, but by the (very low) standards of parliamentary pulchritude, he is OK. Modestly presentable.
>
> Or do you mean his views are repulsive? But then again I struggle to agree. He's quite moderate in most things. And has some sensible ideas.
>
> Rory Stewart is the one who does look quite eerie and ghoulish sometimes. (Tho according to Twitter he is fancied by a certain kind of woman)
Well he's no looker granted but "repulsive" in that the whole Gove package (from demenour to views to looks) is just a huge turn off.
He plots. He schemes. He seems to live his life as though its a neverending episode of Games Of Thrones. He seems to be entirely disingenuous. He's hated by large sections of the electorate. His wife is a Daily Mail columnist etc etc etc.
https://twitter.com/kitmalthouse/status/1133750309896040448
> > @Chris said:
> > Is there not some provision of the Mental Health Act they could make use of to reduce the number of candidates?
>
> Not sure joking about mental health is the best idea
Who's joking? I really think some of these people are making a case for politicians undergoing a psychiatric examination before being allowed to take office.
It also occured to me today that there will be wide number of offers on the table to win the prize and the viewers response to both the candidates and their ideas will be a wonderful opportunity for those planning the next manifesto to include eye catching and popular suggestions
Additionally how on earth are the Lib Dems going to get coverage for their leadership race
> Apropos of nothing very much, if you Google "most stupid Labour MP", it takes you to the Wiki entry for Diane Abbot......<
+++++
And so it does. Hah. A Blairite having a bit of fun at Google Towers?
> > @Chris said:
> > Is there not some provision of the Mental Health Act they could make use of to reduce the number of candidates?
>
> Completely inappropriate attempt at humour.
I am fine with it, after a lifetime of major depressive disorder plus autism. And it's actually quite funny.
I think it's time we took this "betting odds are predictive" malarky out behind the shed and shoot it. How many elections since 2010 has it gotten wrong?
> What's the betting something stupid happens like a tie for second place.
It provides in the Conservative Party Constitution that a tie will be settled by a game of Real Tennis.
Probably.
> > @Big_G_NorthWales said:
> > > @Chris said:
> > > Is there not some provision of the Mental Health Act they could make use of to reduce the number of candidates?
> >
> > Not sure joking about mental health is the best idea
>
> Who's joking? I really think some of these people are making a case for politicians undergoing a psychiatric examination before being allowed to take office.
Just plain silly and no respect for those with mental health issues
> > @RH1992 said:
> > Maybe someone has an expose on Raab and steroids which is causing the drop?
> >
> > https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1133766250797178880<;
>
> ++++
>
> Looks more like Sildenafil Citrate than Steroids, TBH
Truly a hard-Brexiteer.
> Maybe someone has an expose on Raab and steroids which is causing the drop?
>
> https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1133766250797178880
Well that will get Gab-A-Cocky (formally of the Parish) attention!
> With so many standing it does raise the question how do broadcasters put them all under scrutiny in a two hour programme.
>
> It also occured to me today that there will be wide number of offers on the table to win the prize and the viewers response to both the candidates and their ideas will be a wonderful opportunity for those planning the next manifesto to include eye catching and popular suggestions
>
> Additionally how on earth are the Lib Dems going to get coverage for their leadership race
Do they really need it Big_G? Whoever is the next LD will just pick up the successful Bollocks to Brexit slogan and carry on mopping up votes from Labour and Tory Remainers.
> > @Big_G_NorthWales said:
> > With so many standing it does raise the question how do broadcasters put them all under scrutiny in a two hour programme.
> >
> > It also occured to me today that there will be wide number of offers on the table to win the prize and the viewers response to both the candidates and their ideas will be a wonderful opportunity for those planning the next manifesto to include eye catching and popular suggestions
> >
> > Additionally how on earth are the Lib Dems going to get coverage for their leadership race
>
> Do they really need it Big_G? Whoever is the next LD will just pick up the successful Bollocks to Brexit slogan and carry on mopping up votes from Labour and Tory Remainers.
Maybe but they are going to be overshadowed
> Interesting that senior cabinet ministers with reasonable numbers of endorsements - Hunt, Javid and Hancock - are not rated at all in the betting market. That makes this leadership election really unusual. Perhaps that's a reason for the favourite to win this time?
>
> The odds on Lib Coalition winning the Australian Federal Election at the moment the polls closed was 10% according to Australian Betfair. They won.
>
> I think it's time we took this "betting odds are predictive" malarky out behind the shed and shoot it. How many elections since 2010 has it gotten wrong?
It would be inneressing to know which performs worse, bets or polls. I would have thought the shrewdie punters on here were more worth listening to than the betting lumpenproletariat whose bets determine what the odds are.
> Mother Leadsom seems to have drifted from this morning !
Wait till she points out that none of the other candidates are mothers, though!
> > @Benpointer said:
> > > @Big_G_NorthWales said:
> > > With so many standing it does raise the question how do broadcasters put them all under scrutiny in a two hour programme.
> > >
> > > It also occured to me today that there will be wide number of offers on the table to win the prize and the viewers response to both the candidates and their ideas will be a wonderful opportunity for those planning the next manifesto to include eye catching and popular suggestions
> > >
> > > Additionally how on earth are the Lib Dems going to get coverage for their leadership race
> >
> > Do they really need it Big_G? Whoever is the next LD will just pick up the successful Bollocks to Brexit slogan and carry on mopping up votes from Labour and Tory Remainers.
>
> Maybe but they are going to be overshadowed
I think the LDs are rather used to that
> Apropos of nothing very much, if you Google "most stupid Labour MP", it takes you to the Wiki entry for Diane Abbot......
Did someone program that into Google?
> > @Chris said:
> > > @Big_G_NorthWales said:
> > > > @Chris said:
> > > > Is there not some provision of the Mental Health Act they could make use of to reduce the number of candidates?
> > >
> > > Not sure joking about mental health is the best idea
> >
> > Who's joking? I really think some of these people are making a case for politicians undergoing a psychiatric examination before being allowed to take office.
>
> Just plain silly and no respect for those with mental health issues
I told you before I wasn't joking. Some of these people are seriously delusional and are advocating a course of action that would put large numbers of vulnerable people at risk.
If they were in any other walk of life a way would be found of restraining them from doing so. Maybe through Health and Safety legislation, rather than Mental Health, I don't know.
> Interesting that senior cabinet ministers with reasonable numbers of endorsements - Hunt, Javid and Hancock - are not rated at all in the betting market. That makes this leadership election really unusual. Perhaps that's a reason for the favourite to win this time?
>
> The odds on Lib Coalition winning the Australian Federal Election at the moment the polls closed was 10% according to Australian Betfair. They won.
>
> I think it's time we took this "betting odds are predictive" malarky out behind the shed and shoot it. How many elections since 2010 has it gotten wrong?
And how many has it got right?
A 10% chance should come in 10% of the time, not never.
> > @Byronic said:
>
> > > @GIN1138 said:
>
> > > Gove is OK as an ideas man but he should be kept in a back room in Downing St so the public hardly ever set eyes on him...
>
> > >
>
> > > Too repulsive to be PM.<
>
> >
>
> > +++++
>
> >
>
> > "Repulsive"?!?!
>
> >
>
> > He's not a young Leonardo DiCaprio, but then Leonardo DiCaprio is not a young Leonardo DiCaprio, not any more.< />
> >
>
> > Gove has a slightly goofy face, but by the (very low) standards of parliamentary pulchritude, he is OK. Modestly presentable.
>
> >
>
> > Or do you mean his views are repulsive? But then again I struggle to agree. He's quite moderate in most things. And has some sensible ideas.
>
> >
>
> > Rory Stewart is the one who does look quite eerie and ghoulish sometimes. (Tho according to Twitter he is fancied by a certain kind of woman)
>
>
>
> Gove was the one who said that after Brexit we would hold all the cards and choose our own course (or equally dim words to that effect). Either he was dissembling, in which case he is monumentally untrustworthy, or he really believed it, in which case he is monumentally stupid.
>
> But he knows now he was wrong so he’s not as stupid as others in the race and brace enough to change position even though it is embarrassing.
The fact that he apparently believed it in the first place surely places a very large question mark on his judgement. (And I think he did believe it - there is something unworldy about him, he seems unable to put himself in the position of those on the other side of the negotiating table, this came out also in his dealings with the teachers, he could not understand why they all hated him). I can't see him getting a good deal for the UK in any post-Brexit negotiations.
> > @MarqueeMark said:
> > Apropos of nothing very much, if you Google "most stupid Labour MP", it takes you to the Wiki entry for Diane Abbot......
>
> Did someone program that into Google?
I did wonder. Nothing similar for a Conservative/Tory MP.
Anyway, clearly wrong while ever Richard Burgon is still an MP....!
> > @MarqueeMark said:
>
> > Apropos of nothing very much, if you Google "most stupid Labour MP", it takes you to the Wiki entry for Diane Abbot......
>
>
>
> Did someone program that into Google?
>
> It's unfair, anyway. For all I have no particular regard for Diane Abbott, while Burgon, Pidcock, Williamson, Long Bailey and Lavery breathe air she is not the stupidest Labour MP.
Dawn Butler !!!!
Edit - or Kate Osamor?
> Apropos of nothing very much, if you Google "most stupid Labour MP", it takes you to the Wiki entry for Diane Abbot......
Algorithms reflect the prejudices of the societies that create them. Abbott is not my cup of tea, but the amount of abuse she gets is absurd, and the extent and frequency is related to her gender and ethnicity.
And yes, once again, it's not racist or sexist to criticise her. Before I get a tonne of "well actually"s.
> > @MarqueeMark said:
> > Apropos of nothing very much, if you Google "most stupid Labour MP", it takes you to the Wiki entry for Diane Abbot......<
>
>
> +++++
>
> And so it does. Hah. A Blairite having a bit of fun at Google Towers?
No, algorithms based on the associations "out there" on the internet and in the aggregated search histories of the world.
* The advantages of the betting markets is that they smooth out the poll variation, so overall the success rate of betting markets are higher than polls, but I have caveats: for example bets are probabilistic predictions, polls are deterministic (assuming you ignore margin of error), so comparing them is an arse.
> > @Byronic said:
> > > @MarqueeMark said:
> > > Apropos of nothing very much, if you Google "most stupid Labour MP", it takes you to the Wiki entry for Diane Abbot......<
> >
> >
> > +++++
> >
> > And so it does. Hah. A Blairite having a bit of fun at Google Towers?
>
> No, algorithms based on the associations "out there" on the internet and in the aggregated search histories of the world.
I just searched for "most evil Tory MP". The first MP named in the Google result was Daniel Kawczynski. Very disturbingly, one of the top results on Duck Duck Go was "List of British Jewish politicians - Wikipedia"
> Latest endorsements from Tory MPs:
>
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1feCjt98HJcY9tlc5Zx78ZoSOC2fN-j0vRVFD5eUTbUE/edit#gid=0
Surely Nick Boles no longer has a vote!
> > @ydoethur said:
>
> > > @MarqueeMark said:
>
> >
>
> > > Apropos of nothing very much, if you Google "most stupid Labour MP", it takes you to the Wiki entry for Diane Abbot......
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > Did someone program that into Google?
>
> >
>
> > It's unfair, anyway. For all I have no particular regard for Diane Abbott, while Burgon, Pidcock, Williamson, Long Bailey and Lavery breathe air she is not the stupidest Labour MP.
>
>
>
> Dawn Butler !!!!
>
> Or indeed Corbyn himself. Abbott has a degree from Cambridge and Corb failed a course at Norh London Polytechnic.
>
> Edit - or Kate Osamor?
I've met quite a few stupid people with Oxbridge degrees, although unlike Abbot most of them got to Oxbridge via their parents' wealth and an expensive public school.
> > @AndyJS said:
> > Latest endorsements from Tory MPs:
> >
> > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1feCjt98HJcY9tlc5Zx78ZoSOC2fN-j0vRVFD5eUTbUE/edit#gid=0
>
> Surely Nick Boles no longer has a vote!
Not sure on that
> I wonder how those three idiots who joined CUK are feeling at the moment with no say in who becomes PM and no chance of influencing which are the final two candidates.
------
Careful... It only takes another three idiots to prevent the person chosen by the Conservative party becoming PM.
> Jo Johnson is backing Boris?????
>
>
>
> The same Jo Johnson who thinks we need to stay in the EU?
>
> Shades of "stabbed his brother in the back" there if he doesn't.
Surely Jo would have to stand against Boris (and win) to qualify for a full Miliband?
https://twitter.com/romfordrecorder/status/1133774820104134658?s=21
https://twitter.com/PJHeneghan/status/1133732092066639873
But much though I dislike her, before her recent illness I have never heard suggestions Abbott was stupid.
Racist, hypocritical, a bully, physically unpreposssing - yes.
Stupid - no.
Cambridge - I'm not going to be so dogmatic for Oxford - take them if they're very bright, or absolutely filthy rich. She wasn't the second.
> Why becoming a hard Brexit party will lead to a Tory wipeout, in one table.
>
> https://twitter.com/PJHeneghan/status/1133732092066639873
I assume this was for the EU elections which cannot be used to assume would be replicated in a much bigger turnout in electing a UK government in a GE
> Why becoming a hard Brexit party will lead to a Tory wipeout, in one table.
>
> https://twitter.com/PJHeneghan/status/1133732092066639873
I think the table needs to be read with caution...
Take the 2nd entry: Mid Devon. Is a 24% increase in Remain parties vote bigger than the 13% increase in BP/UKIP?
https://twitter.com/lucyallan
And that doesn't alter the second point. Corbyn somehow failed a course at the old North London Poly because he wasn't up to it (he later claimed he was expelled for his radical politics but I don't think anyone believes that.)
That's extraordinary. It's the equivalent of being asked to leave The Brexit Party because you hate the EU too much.
In my world the only Tory in my world people are talking about is Rory. “He’s too nice/good/bright to be Tory leader” they say.
> Why becoming a hard Brexit party will lead to a Tory wipeout, in one table.
>
> https://twitter.com/PJHeneghan/status/1133732092066639873
Except there was differential turnout.
> Pardon my ignorance, but why can’t the killer be named? Under 18 yes, but weren’t the boys who killed little James Bulger?
>
> https://twitter.com/romfordrecorder/status/1133774820104134658
The judge made an exception in the Bulger case, a decision which annoyed a lot of people in the legal profession from what I've read.
> I've met quite a few stupid people with Oxbridge degrees, although unlike Abbot most of them got to Oxbridge via their parents' wealth and an expensive public school.
>
> That is a fair point.
>
> But much though I dislike her, before her recent illness I have never heard suggestions Abbott was stupid.
>
> Racist, hypocritical, a bully, physically unpreposssing - yes.
>
> Stupid - no.
>
> Cambridge - I'm not going to be so dogmatic for Oxford - take them if they're very bright, or absolutely filthy rich. She wasn't the second.
Physically unprepossessing? Wtf has that to do with anything?
I'd have expected better from you @ydoethur
> Take the 2nd entry: Mid Devon. Is a 24% increase in Remain parties vote bigger than the 13% increase in BP/UKIP?
Yes it is.
Compare 2014:
https://www.middevon.gov.uk/media/114905/european-election-2014-declaration-of-results.pdf
With 2019:
https://www.middevon.gov.uk/your-council/voting-elections/2019-elections/european-parliamentary-elections/
> > @AndyJS said:
> > Latest endorsements from Tory MPs:
> >
> > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1feCjt98HJcY9tlc5Zx78ZoSOC2fN-j0vRVFD5eUTbUE/edit#gid=0
>
> Surely Nick Boles no longer has a vote!
You've solved the mystery! I knew there was one name on there which shouldn't have been because there are 313 Tory MPs and this particular list had 314. Thanks.
> I've met quite a few stupid people with Oxbridge degrees, although unlike Abbot most of them got to Oxbridge via their parents' wealth and an expensive public school.
>
> That is a fair point.
>
> But much though I dislike her, before her recent illness I have never heard suggestions Abbott was stupid.
>
> Racist, hypocritical, a bully, physically unpreposssing - yes.
>
> Stupid - no.
>
> Cambridge - I'm not going to be so dogmatic for Oxford - take them if they're very bright, or absolutely filthy rich. She wasn't the second.
"The earliest blacks in Britain were probably black Roman centurions that came over hundreds of years before Christ." is pretty special coming from an historian, even if not an ancient historian, and even from Cambridge.