Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Worth noting too here that it's not Donald Trump who gets to decide if we sign a trade deal with the US, it's Congress. Pelosi has already warned that the Democrats will veto any deal that flouts the Good Friday agreement due to America's role as a guarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
Personally I would doubt it. The optics would be terrible. 'Look! He's so fearful of a bad result he daren't even take his own seat for granted.' I'll think he would have to stand, lose and fight a by-election, a la m.
“he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner”: I’m not convinced. I think every time his daft face appears on telly another former Con voter jumps ship. He is a repellent.
So is Corbyn. Doesn't stop him being a highly effective campaigner.
I always think the term "brilliant campaigner" is often an after the fact explanation for performance rather than a causal phenomenon. You're a "brilliant campaigner" until, well, you're not. Blair was a "brilliant campaigner" until he became personally unpopular. Boris' reputation as a "brilliant campaigner" rests largely on his two London mayoral campaigns against a flawed and tired opponent, and were pre-Brexit Boris - when he could plausibly cast himself as the Tory it was ok for people who disliked Tories to vote for. That's just not the case now.
As for Corbyn, we remember his leadership campaigns and the 2017 GE but forget his dismal failure in the referendum and every other election. You can talk about his love of a rally, but as we saw this week, that's not necessarily the same thing as "good campaigning". The key to whether Labour can pull off a similar feat in a potential GE19 as to 17, is not Corbyn's alleged campaigning skills, but whether the underlying politics are the same. If they're not, and he's now about as welcome outside his core supporters as a cup of cold sick, then the stuff hailed as "good campaigning" last time will be used as an example of his delusions and failure as a campaigner rather than an asset.
There are also diminishing returns, unless the campaigner continually works on their messages and methods. A good example would be Rory, who caught our attention by wandering the streets with his selfie camera. If there’s another leadership election and he does exactly the same, it won’t have nearly the same impact. Similarly if Corbyn fights the next GE as a straight rerun of the last.
Rory has already said that if there were another leadership campaign he would not do his walks-selfie shtick but something different.
There are no statistics given to show this, when it would be easy enough to do so.
For example, the Wellcome Trust or Research Councils could provide statistics on number of applications for their Fellowships over the last five years.
If there was a gradual drop-off in applicants, then that would be hard evidence of a Brexit Effect.
It is disappointing when a scientific body does not see the value of providing statistical data to show the strength (or otherwise) of its arguments.
That would be much more convincing than a vapid "I am afraid some damage has already been done ..."
Mr. Seal, the Athenians also massacred almost their entire military leadership, in the middle of a war, having just won a battle.
If MPs want a second referendum, that's a legitimate position to hold. What isn't legitimate is this idiocy voting to endorse the decision to leave, then voting repeatedly against the deal, then complaining we're leaving with no deal.
No shit, Sherlock. That's precisely what the majority of MPs have voted for. You can't vote to leave with no deal and then complain we're leaving with no deal.
Indeed. The Ancient Greeks did some batshit crazy things. So do we - such as hounding to death the man who helped us win the war and essentially founded modern computer science for loving the wrong type of people just as the technological and information revolution was beginning. History is full of Europeans insanely killing their brightest and best just when they were needed most (see Stalin killing his generals in the face of a fascist threat, Hitler massacring Germany’s most creative and productive people, the French Revolutionary Terror).
Whatever crazy other shit they did, the Athenians invented Western Democracy. You can say the precedent is not binding, but you cannot say it is not persuasive.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Worth noting too here that it's not Donald Trump who gets to decide if we sign a trade deal with the US, it's Congress. Pelosi has already warned that the Democrats will veto any deal that flouts the Good Friday agreement due to America's role as a guarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
Is there a realistic chance that PM BJ could stand in a different constituency at the next GE? In which case, where? On paper, his result in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last time was not very convincing, and Baxter has it down as a very narrow Con Hold, with Labour only requiring a further 1.9 point swing to take it.
Shadsy has a price up that he will stand in a different seat: 10/1. Tempting?
Result GE17: Con (BJ) 23,716 Lab 18,682 LD 1,835 UKIP 1,577 Grn 884
Personally I would doubt it. The optics would be terrible. 'Look! He's so fearful of a bad result he daren't even take his own seat for granted.' I'll think he would have to stand, lose and fight a by-election, a la Balfour, under those circumstances.
A more pertinent problem might be if he's so nervous of his constituency he has to spend a lot of time in it. That would certainly hurt the Tories because with all his faults he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner and nobody could stand in for him.
“he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner”: I’m not convinced. I think every time his daft face appears on telly another former Con voter jumps ship. He is a repellent.
So is Corbyn. Doesn't stop him being a highly effective campaigner.
Jeremy Thorpe, another excellent campaigner, had to keep running back to his constituency in 1966 and ended holding it after a recount.
Thorpe was the precedent I was thinking of. It may not have been decisive in the Liberal reverses that year but I imagine it was distinctly unhelpful.
Well in that case, we have one more item under the Weaknesses category in our Con swot analysis: leader distracted by seat worry. Mind you, the LD swot analysis has the same item.
I think that LD leaders have pretty much always had that problem.
Feeble points as it's only the original brands of both are exclusively made there, generics aplenty elsewhere, and what happens to the Irish pharma industry when were reduce corporation tax to 5% won't be pretty either.
Incidentally it seems viagra was invented in England but tested in Wales, which seems to me a major slight on Welsh manhood.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
The reality of No Deal is that we will not have any kind of free trade agreement with either of our two biggest export markets - as well as much lower access than we do at the moment to dozens of other markets. It is not a sustainable situation. But it looks like we will have to find that out the hard way. It will be a humiliating, impoverishing experience, but one the English nationalist hard right will have full ownership of. That is literally the only consolation I can think of. Johnson and the other loons are laying the seeds for their evisceration.
Is there a realistic chance that PM BJ could stand in a different constituency at the next GE? In which case, where? On paper, his result in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last time was not very convincing, and Baxter has it down as a very narrow Con Hold, with Labour only requiring a further 1.9 point swing to take it.
Shadsy has a price up that he will stand in a different seat: 10/1. Tempting?
Result GE17: Con (BJ) 23,716 Lab 18,682 LD 1,835 UKIP 1,577 Grn 884
Given the LDs won Islington North in the European Parliament elections but the Brexit Party, not Labour, won Uxbridge and Hillingdon, arguably Jeremy Corbyn is more at risk of losing his seat to the LDs now than Boris is of losing his seat to Labour (though Boris could lose Uxbridge to the Brexit Party if he fails to deliver Brexit)
Is there a realistic chance that PM BJ could stand in a different constituency at the next GE? In which case, where? On paper, his result in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last time was not very convincing, and Baxter has it down as a very narrow Con Hold, with Labour only requiring a further 1.9 point swing to take it.
Shadsy has a price up that he will stand in a different seat: 10/1. Tempting?
Result GE17: Con (BJ) 23,716 Lab 18,682 LD 1,835 UKIP 1,577 Grn 884
Personally I would doubt it. The optics would be terrible. 'Look! He's so fearful of a bad result he daren't even take his own seat for granted.' I'll think he would have to stand, lose and fight a by-election, a la Balfour, under those circumstances.
A more pertinent problem might be if he's so nervous of his constituency he has to spend a lot of time in it. That would certainly hurt the Tories because with all his faults he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner and nobody could stand in for him.
“he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner”: I’m not convinced. I think every time his daft face appears on telly another former Con voter jumps ship. He is a repellent.
So is Corbyn. Doesn't stop him being a highly effective campaigner.
Jeremy Thorpe, another excellent campaigner, had to keep running back to his constituency in 1966 and ended holding it after a recount.
Thorpe was the precedent I was thinking of. It may not have been decisive in the Liberal reverses that year but I imagine it was distinctly unhelpful.
Well in that case, we have one more item under the Weaknesses category in our Con swot analysis: leader distracted by seat worry. Mind you, the LD swot analysis has the same item.
I think that LD leaders have pretty much always had that problem.
Feeble points as it's only the original brands of both are exclusively made there, generics aplenty elsewhere, and what happens to the Irish pharma industry when were reduce corporation tax to 5% won't be pretty either.
Incidentally it seems viagra was invented in England but tested in Wales, which seems to me a major slight on Welsh manhood.
I think it's very sweet that you believe companies will relocate to the UK from Ireland for a 5% Corporation Tax when the UK will be surrounded by a hard border and devoid of any trade deals.
Is there a realistic chance that PM BJ could stand in a different constituency at the next GE? In which case, where? On paper, his result in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last time was not very convincing, and Baxter has it down as a very narrow Con Hold, with Labour only requiring a further 1.9 point swing to take it.
Shadsy has a price up that he will stand in a different seat: 10/1. Tempting?
Result GE17: Con (BJ) 23,716 Lab 18,682 LD 1,835 UKIP 1,577 Grn 884
Personally I would doubt it. The optics would be terrible. 'Look! He's so fearful of a bad result he daren't even take his own seat for granted.' I'll think he would have to stand, lose and fight a by-election, a la Balfour, under those circumstances.
A more pertinent problem might be if he's so nervous of his constituency he has to spend a lot of time in it. That would certainly hurt the Tories because with all his faults he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner and nobody could stand in for him.
“he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner”: I’m not convinced. I think every time his daft face appears on telly another former Con voter jumps ship. He is a repellent.
So is Corbyn. Doesn't stop him being a highly effective campaigner.
Jeremy Thorpe, another excellent campaigner, had to keep running back to his constituency in 1966 and ended holding it after a recount.
Thorpe was the precedent I was thinking of. It may not have been decisive in the Liberal reverses that year but I imagine it was distinctly unhelpful.
Well in that case, we have one more item under the Weaknesses category in our Con swot analysis: leader distracted by seat worry. Mind you, the LD swot analysis has the same item.
I think that LD leaders have pretty much always had that problem.
HS3 from Leeds to Manchester isn't the planned HS3 / Northern Powerhouse route. That extends from Newcastle to Liverpool (the transpenine express route) with extensions from Sheffield to Manchester and Hull to York... One point of it is that the Newcastle to Manchester time should take less time than Newcastle to London..
Is there a realistic chance that PM BJ could stand in a different constituency at the next GE? In which case, where? On paper, his result in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last time was not very convincing, and Baxter has it down as a very narrow Con Hold, with Labour only requiring a further 1.9 point swing to take it.
Shadsy has a price up that he will stand in a different seat: 10/1. Tempting?
Result GE17: Con (BJ) 23,716 Lab 18,682 LD 1,835 UKIP 1,577 Grn 884
Personally I would doubt it. The optics would be terrible. 'Look! He's so fearful of a bad result he daren't even take his own seat for granted.' I'll think he would have to stand, lose and fight a by-election, a la Balfour, under those circumstances.
A more pertinent problem might be if he's so nervous of his constituency he has to spend a lot of time in it. That would certainly hurt the Tories because with all his faults he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner and nobody could stand in for him.
“he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner”: I’m not convinced. I think every time his daft face appears on telly another former Con voter jumps ship. He is a repellent.
In a two way battle, perhaps. But in our current conditions, his ability to hang on to the base in the manner of Trump - a character even more repellent - may well be sufficient.
His constituency, of course, does seem to be a two way battle.
Incidentally, I’ve already taken the mattress route for a significant chunk of my savings. Except my particular safe haven is gold rather than bedroom furniture. However, I still have far too much in equities, so thank you for the reminder to sell more. Duck and cover.
It all hangs on whether and when Trump’s bubble bursts. He will keep the plates spinning as long as he can, hoping (insofar as he has thought about them) to leave the consequences for his successor. He just wants the good times to roll so he can bask in their glow, just as does our mini-Trump.
To be fair, this is what 99% of politicians of all stripes generally attempt to do.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
The German car makers will come to our rescue.
We hold all the cards, they need us more than we need them, repeat to fade.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
So she has become a #remainernow ? That is the way to prevent one.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Worth noting too here that it's not Donald Trump who gets to decide if we sign a trade deal with the US, it's Congress. Pelosi has already warned that the Democrats will veto any deal that flouts the Good Friday agreement due to America's role as a guarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Not true. Only about 7% of Americans self describe as English-Americans as opposed to 10% for Irish-Americans. Furthermore, see the voting record and comments of Rep Peter King (R-NY) to show how important it is for Republicans to keep Irish America on side. Americans of English origin in the South (where much of the immigration was from “Scots-Irish ie Ulster Protestants anyway) tend to self-describe as “American” in census returns. There is no “English-American” identity in the same way as there is Irish-American. I’m married to an Irish- American so I’ve some experience in this.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
So she has become a #remainernow ? That is the way to prevent one.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
I suggest you look at some of her earlier comments before she became a Minister in Johnson’s government.
She - and many others talking nonsense about Ireland - would do well to read the article by Tony Connelly referenced here the other day to understand the very real practical, legal and other issues caused for Ireland and Britain if there is a No Deal exit. They cannot be hand-waved away by simplistic statements.
Boris is - as far as the EU is concerned - behaving like the Syriza government in 2016. It will likely end in the same way . I hope there can be a sensible resolution. But I fear not because there is little sense to be seen in our current government.
Domestically, he is repeating what May did - lots of focus on the left behinds and initial popularity (or have people forgotten how popular May was when she first became PM? Far more so than Boris now is.) I suspect his trajectory will be similar to her’s.
There are no statistics given to show this, when it would be easy enough to do so.
For example, the Wellcome Trust or Research Councils could provide statistics on number of applications for their Fellowships over the last five years.
If there was a gradual drop-off in applicants, then that would be hard evidence of a Brexit Effect.
It is disappointing when a scientific body does not see the value of providing statistical data to show the strength (or otherwise) of its arguments.
That would be much more convincing than a vapid "I am afraid some damage has already been done ..."
Partial apologies to the Wellcome Trust.
Looking at the full text of the letter, there is a specific example of "a 50% drop in applicants from the European Union to study at the Sanger Institute in Cambridge."
That does have the look of a cherry-picked statistic, when it would be easy to do a good job.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth noting too here that it's not Donald Trump who gets to decide if we sign a trade deal with the US, it's Congress. Pelosi has already warned that the Democrats will veto any deal that flouts the Good Friday agreement due to America's role as a guarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Not true. Only about 7% of Americans self describe as English-Americans as opposed to 10% for Irish-Americans. Furthermore, see the voting record and comments of Rep Peter King (R-NY) to show how important it is for Republicans to keep Irish America on side. Americans of English origin in the South (where much of the immigration was from “Scots-Irish ie Ulster Protestants anyway) tend to self-describe as “American” in census returns. There is no “English-American” identity in the same way as there is Irish-American. I’m married to an Irish- American so I’ve some experience in this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes up at least 10% of the population in a large number of swing states and that no US politician would ever risk upsetting it. These facts pass him by because they are inconvenient. It is pointless to engage with him on this topic.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
The reality of No Deal is that we will not have any kind of free trade agreement with either of our two biggest export markets - as well as much lower access than we do at the moment to dozens of other markets. It is not a sustainable situation. But it looks like we will have to find that out the hard way. It will be a humiliating, impoverishing experience, but one the English nationalist hard right will have full ownership of. That is literally the only consolation I can think of. Johnson and the other loons are laying the seeds for their evisceration.
I wouldn't bet on it. They will always blame somebody else, and there will be plenty of English people willing to believe them, no doubt egged on by our wonderful free press.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
So she has become a #remainernow ? That is the way to prevent one.
Seems quite the Damascene conversion!
I think they mean a digital border.
The digital border that can be in place in November, but cannot be in place after backstop?
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
I suggest you look at some of her earlier comments before she became a Minister in Johnson’s government.
She - and many others talking nonsense about Ireland - would do well to read the article by Tony Connelly referenced here the other day to understand the very real practical, legal and other issues caused for Ireland and Britain if there is a No Deal exit. They cannot be hand-waved away by simplistic statements.
Boris is - as far as the EU is concerned - behaving like the Syriza government in 2016. It will likely end in the same way . I hope there can be a sensible resolution. But I fear not because there is little sense to be seen in our current government.
Domestically, he is repeating what May did - lots of focus on the left behinds and initial popularity (or have people forgotten how popular May was when she first became PM? Far more so than Boris now is.) I suspect his trajectory will be similar to her’s.
If he promises to build 20 garden bridges, is there a chance one might actually end up getting built?
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth noting too here that it's not Donald Trump who gets to decide if we sign a trade deal with the US, it's Congress. Pelosi has already warned that the Democrats will veto any deal that flouts the Good Friday agreement due to America's role as a guarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Not true. Only about 7% of Americans self describe as English-Americans as opposed to 10% for Irish-Americans. Furthermore, see the voting record and comments of Rep Peter King (R-NY) to show how important it is for Republicans to keep Irish America on side. Americans of English origin in the South (where much of the immigration was from “Scots-Irish ie Ulster Protestants anyway) tend to self-describe as “American” in census returns. There is no “English-American” identity in the same way as there is Irish-American. I’m married to an Irish- American so I’ve some experience in this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes up at least 10% of the population in a large number of swing states and that no US politician would ever risk upsetting it. These facts pass him by because they are inconvenient. It is pointless to engage with him on this topic.
I see. It’s hard to shoehorn the words “Diehard Remainer” into the topic so I can see why he would be confused.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media.....
Did the Mogg not instruct his acolytes to refrain from the use of "due to" ?
Is there a realistic chance that PM BJ could stand in a different constituency at the next GE? In which case, where? On paper, his result in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last time was not very convincing, and Baxter has it down as a very narrow Con Hold, with Labour only requiring a further 1.9 point swing to take it.
Shadsy has a price up that he will stand in a different seat: 10/1. Tempting?
Result GE17: Con (BJ) 23,716 Lab 18,682 LD 1,835 UKIP 1,577 Grn 884
Personally I would doubt it. The optics would be terrible. 'Look! He's so fearful of a bad result he daren't even take his own seat for granted.' I'll think he would have to stand, lose and fight a by-election, a la m.
“he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner”: I’m not convinced. I think every time his daft face appears on telly another former Con voter jumps ship. He is a repellent.
So is Corbyn. Doesn't stop him being a highly effective campaigner.
I always think the term "brilliant campaigner" is often an after the fact explanation for performance rather than a causal phenomenon. You're a "brilliant campaigner" until, well, you're not. .
There are also diminishing returns, unless the campaigner continually works on their messages and methods. A good example would be Rory, who caught our attention by wandering the streets with his selfie camera. If there’s another leadership election and he does exactly the same, it won’t have nearly the same impact. Similarly if Corbyn fights the next GE as a straight rerun of the last.
Indeed - although I think what's more important is the context. In 2017 Corbyn was a no hoper or outsider who elicited a degree of sympathy because Labour's target voters didn't much like those punching down at him. Now he just isn't that, to many of those same voters he's part of the problem. The rallies of adoring fans that looked good in news clips in 2017, could look badly like vanity and preaching to the converted, especially when the Lib Dems and whatever remain alliance they put together will be putting on their own shows that he'll be seen as avoiding. We're as likely to get a news clip of Jeremy losing his temper when confronted by the disillusioned as we are the inevitable Momentum videos of him hugging 'random members of the public'.
The great example is Clegg. His widely praised campaigning style in 2010 wasn't much good in 2015 when people largely saw it as a sham.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than should we want to.
Worth noting too here that it's not Donald Trump who gets to decide if we sign a trade deal with the US, it's Congress. Pelosi has already warned that the Democrats will veto any deal that flouts the Good Friday agreement due to America's role as a guarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Not true. Only about 7% of Americans self describe as English-Americans as opposed to 10% for Irish-Americans. Furthermore, see the voting record and comments of Rep Peter King (R-NY) to show how important it is for Republicans to keep Irish America on side. Americans of English origin in the South (where much of the immigration was from “Scots-Irish ie Ulster Protestants anyway) tend to self-describe as “American” in census returns. There is no “English-American” identity in the same way as there is Irish-American. I’m married to an Irish- American so I’ve some experience in this.
That 10% figure for Irish Americans includes large numbers of Scotch Ulster Protestant Irish who would have more relatives in Northern Ireland who are DUP voters so actually there are not more Irish Catholics sympathetic to the Republic of Ireland than English Americans.
Of states with the highest number of English voters, including Utah, the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania etc many voted for Trump and many vote Republican for Congress too.
States with the highest number of Irish Americans e.g. Massachusetts and New York are almost universally democratic at Preaidential and Congressional level with Pete King being one of the last GOP Congressmen there.
There are votes for Democrats from Irish Americans but Republicans now get more votes from English Americans
Is there a realistic chance that PM BJ could stand in a different constituency at the next GE? In which case, where? On paper, his result in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last time was not very convincing, and Baxter has it down as a very narrow Con Hold, with Labour only requiring a further 1.9 point swing to take it.
Shadsy has a price up that he will stand in a different seat: 10/1. Tempting?
Result GE17: Con (BJ) 23,716 Lab 18,682 LD 1,835 UKIP 1,577 Grn 884
Personally I would doubt it. The optics would be terrible. 'Look! He's so fearful of a bad result he daren't even take his own seat for granted.' I'll think he would have to stand, lose and fight a by-election, a la Balfour, under those circumstances.
A more pertinent problem might be if he's so nervous of his constituency he has to spend a lot of time in it. That would certainly hurt the Tories because with all his faults he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner and nobody could stand in for him.
“he is undoubtedly a brilliant campaigner”: I’m not convinced. I think every time his daft face appears on telly another former Con voter jumps ship. He is a repellent.
In a two way battle, perhaps. But in our current conditions, his ability to hang on to the base in the manner of Trump - a character even more repellent - may well be sufficient.
His constituency, of course, does seem to be a two way battle.
Johnson's majority will go up. People like having the PM as their MP. I suspect that HYUFD is partially right - Corbyn's vote will go down in Islington North quite substantially, but he'll hold on easily enough. The one to look out for is Emily Thornberry. I think she may have a real fight on her hands. My guess is that is what explains her going off piste so regularly over the past few months.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth noting too here that it's not Donald Trump who gets to decide if we sign a trade deal with the US, it's Congress. Pelosi has already warned that the Democrats will veto any deal that flouts the Good Friday agreement due to America's role as a guarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Not true. Only about 7% of Americans self describe as English-Americans as opposed to 10% for Irish-Americans. Furthermore, see the voting record and comments of Rep Peter King (R-NY) to show how important it is for Republicans to keep Irish America on side. Americans of English origin in the South (where much of the immigration was from “Scots-Irish ie Ulster Protestants anyway) tend to self-describe as “American” in census returns. There is no “English-American” identity in the same way as there is Irish-American. I’m married to an Irish- American so I’ve some experience in this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes up at least 10% of the population in a large number of swing states and that no US politician would ever risk upsetting it. These facts pass him by because they are inconvenient. It is pointless to engage with him on this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she will only back a FTA with the backstop.
The Republican base though is much more Protestant and English based especially in areas like the South and Utah, hence Trump and Republican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
So she has become a #remainernow ? That is the way to prevent one.
Seems quite the Damascene conversion!
I think they mean a digital border.
The digital border that can be in place in November, but cannot be in place after backstop?
This is the key point that so may people lose sight of. In economic terms, the Irish border is entirely inconsequential for the UK. Whether it is hard or soft makes very little difference. The borders that do matter are the sea and air ones that the mainland has. They will be hard borders almost from Day One.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than should we want to.
Worthguarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Not true. Only about 7% of Americans self describe as English-Americans as opposed to 10% for Irish-Americans. Furthermore, see the voting record and comments of Rep Peter King (R-NY) to show how important it is for Republicans to keep Irish America on side. Americans of English origin in the South (where much of the immigration was from “Scots-Irish ie Ulster Protestants anyway) tend to self-describe as “American” in census returns. There is no “English-American” identity in the same way as there is Irish-American. I’m married to an Irish- American so I’ve some experience in this.
That 10% figure for Irish Americans includes large numbers of Scotch Ulster Protestant Irish who would have more relatives in Northern Ireland who are DUP voters so actually there are not more Irish Catholics sympathetic to the Republic of Ireland than English Americans.
Of states with the highest number of English voters, including Utah, the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania etc many voted for Trump and many vote Republican for Congress too.
States with the highest number of Irish Americans e.g. Massachusetts and New York are almost universally democratic at Preaidential and Congressional level with Pete King being one of the last GOP Congressmen there.
There are votes for Democrats from Irish Americans but Republicans now get more votes from English Americans
Yes, can’t move in America for the number of Americans self identifying their ancestry as “English”.
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Not this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes up at least 10% of the population in a large number of swing states and that no US politician would ever risk upsetting it. These facts pass him by because they are inconvenient. It is pointless to engage with him on this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she will only back a FTA with the backstop.
The Republican base though is much more Protestant and English based especially in areas like the South and Utah, hence Trump and Republican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. The hitherto unknown, swing English-American vote. I am just amazed it has taken a Young Tory in the SE of England to identify it when it has been overlooked by politicians and political scientists in the US for decades. Congratulations - you are going to make an absolute fortune.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Does Parliament have the power to reconvene early, without the assent of the Government? Not that they will, but theoretically.
The Republicans need votes in Blue Collar Irish-American communities in Pennsylvania for example. Your argument makes no sense. Further, English-Americans have no organisations, lobby groups, in the same way Irish-America does. Pissing of Ireland means we screw our chances of getting anything from the States.
Put simply Irish-America cares more about Ireland than English-America cares about us. Washington was an English-American. As was Jefferson. Didn’t help us.
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
1. English is the lingua franca in any serious academic and corporate R&D operation these days - look at the percentage of scientific papers now published in English.
2. Yes, our universities are world class. That does not mean they will continue to be.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far re
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
So she has become a #remainernow ? That is the way to prevent one.
Seems quite the Damascene conversion!
I think they mean a digital border.
The digital border that can be in place in November, but cannot be in place after backstop?
This is the key point that so may people lose sight of. In economic terms, the Irish border is entirely inconsequential for the UK. Whether it is hard or soft makes very little difference. The borders that do matter are the sea and air ones that the mainland has. They will be hard borders almost from Day One.
I would not deny the social, cultural and political importance of the Irish border, but economically it is marginal. The importance of frictionless trade is on our other borders.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of East
Not this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes him on this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she epublican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. The hitherto unknown, swing English-American vote. I am just amazed it has taken a Young Tory in the SE of England to identify it when it has been overlooked by politicians and political scientists in the US for decades. Congratulations - you are going to make an absolute fortune.
English-American (or indeed Irish Protestant American) voters are much more likely to be Republican voters and live in the South or West (bar a few states in the North East like Maine or New Hampshire which were Republican until the last few years) than Irish Catholic voters who tend to be more Democratic and live in the North East in Democratic states like New York or Massachusetts or Democratic leaning Midwestern states like Illinois or Minnesota or Wisconsin (though the latter narrowly voted Trump the last Republican presidential candidate to win it was Reagan)
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As fthe buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far re
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
Priti Patel has said there will be no hard border in Ireland under Boris
So she has become a #remainernow ? That is the way to prevent one.
Seems quite the Damascene conversion!
I think they mean a digital border.
The digital border that can be in place in November, but cannot be in place after backstop?
This is the key point that so may people lose sight of. In economic terms, the Irish border is entirely inconsequential for the UK. Whether it is hard or soft makes very little difference. The borders that do matter are the sea and air ones that the mainland has. They will be hard borders almost from Day One.
I would not deny the social, cultural and political importance of the Irish border, but economically it is marginal. The importance of frictionless trade is on our other borders.
Yep. The Irish border is an issue in realpolitik terms because the other borders are so important to the UK's economic well-being.
There are votes for Democrats from Irish Americans but Republicans now get more votes from English Americans
Have you ever been to the USA? I am pretty confident I have never heard an American identify themselves as 'English American' but met many, many Irish Americans.
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
There are more Americans of East
Not this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes up at least 10% of the population in a large number of swing states and that no US politician would ever risk upsetting it. These facts pass him by because they are inconvenient. It is pointless to engage with him on this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she epublican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. The hitherto unknown, swing English-American vote. I am just amazed it has taken a Young Tory in the SE of England to identify it when it has been overlooked by politicians and political scientists in the US for decades. Congratulations - you are going to make an absolute fortune.
English-American (or indeed Irish Protestant American) voters are much more likely to be Republican voters and live in the South or West (bar a few states in the North East like Maine or New Hampshire which were Republican until the last few years) than Irish Catholic voters who tend to be more Democratic and live in the North East or Democratic leaning Midwestern states like Illinois or Minnesota or Wisconsin (though the latter narrowly voted Trump the last Republican presidential candidate to win it was Reagan)
As a political bloc English-America does not exist.
The Republicans need votes in Blue Collar Irish-American communities in Pennsylvania for example. Your argument makes no sense. Further, English-Americans have no organisations, lobby groups, in the same way Irish-America does. Pissing of Ireland means we screw our chances of getting anything from the States.
Put simply Irish-America cares more about Ireland than English-America cares about us. Washington was an English-American. As was Jefferson. Didn’t help us.
A majority of Irish Americans now identify as Protestant, many have more in common with the DUP than they do with Sinn Fein
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
1. English is the lingua franca in any serious academic and corporate R&D operation these days - look at the percentage of scientific papers now published in English.
2. Yes, our universities are world class. That does not mean they will continue to be.
3. Yes, up to now that has been the case.
So, you have no evidence to present in favour of your argument.
All you can say is the future may be different to the past and the present. And you take a grim and utterly unrelentingly pessimistic view of the future.
Unfortunately, Brexit plus Corbyn has reduced you to a professional bellyacher.
If this how the Remainers are going to run their GE campaign, they will lose again.
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
1. English is the lingua franca in any serious academic and corporate R&D operation these days - look at the percentage of scientific papers now published in English.
2. Yes, our universities are world class. That does not mean they will continue to be.
3. Yes, up to now that has been the case.
As someone who once worked in HE, I can remind people that it is not that long ago when good, young ambitious science and tech academics and post-docs often left for US and other places.
Often this was about money. Not so much for their own wallets but the money for carrying out the research. The differences in terms of scale of funding I was told about sometimes were staggering.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of East
Not this.
HYUFD this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she epublican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. ortune.
English-American (or indeed Irish Protestant American) are much more likely to be Republican voters and live in the South or West thsn Irish Catholic voters who tend to be more Democratic and live in the North East or Democratic leaning Midwestern states like Illinois or Minnesota or Wisconsin (though the latter narrowly voted Trump the last Republican presidential candidate to win it was Reagan)
Of course - that English-American vote is pivotal across the South and West.
The reality is that US politicians have not been in a position where they have directly had to choose between prioritising Irish or British interests. Soon that will have to. Let's see if the English-American vote comes out on top over the Irish-American one.
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
1. English is the lingua franca in any serious academic and corporate R&D operation these days - look at the percentage of scientific papers now published in English.
2. Yes, our universities are world class. That does not mean they will continue to be.
3. Yes, up to now that has been the case.
World's oldest university is Bologna, and it's rubbish.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Does Parliament have the power to reconvene early, without the assent of the Government? Not that they will, but theoretically.
I would like to know that too. Could become very important by middle August.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of East
Not this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes him on this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she epublican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. The hitherto unknown, swing English-American vote. I am just amazed it has taken a Young Tory in the SE of England to identify it when it has been overlooked by politicians and political scientists in the US for decades. Congratulations - you are going to make an absolute fortune.
English-American (or indeed Irish Protestant American) voters are much more likely to be Republican voters and live in the South or West (bar a few states in the North East like Maine or New Hampshire which were Republican until the last few years) than Irish Catholic voters who tend to be more Democratic and live in the North East in Democratic states like New York or Massachusetts or Democratic leaning Midwestern states like Illinois or Minnesota or Wisconsin (though the latter narrowly voted Trump the last Republican presidential candidate to win it was Reagan)
13% of those unimportant states like Ohio and Pennsylvania are Irish-American.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Does Parliament have the power to reconvene early, without the assent of the Government? Not that they will, but theoretically.
I would like to know that too. Could become very important by middle August.
Recall of Parliament Government's role When the House is not sitting, for example at the weekend, or during a recess, the Government can ask the Speaker to recall the House of Commons because of events of major national importance. Speaker's role When the Speaker of the House of Commons receives a request from the Government to recall the House of Commons, he must decide whether it is in the public interest to agree to that request. If the Speaker agrees to the request, he will then decide what day or days the House should sit during the recall. The Speaker cannot decide to recall the House of Commons without being asked to do so by the Government.
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
(i) The audiences for skilled scientists tend to know English just as well as the skilled scientists.
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
1. English is the lingua franca in any serious academic and corporate R&D operation these days - look at the percentage of scientific papers now published in English.
2. Yes, our universities are world class. That does not mean they will continue to be.
3. Yes, up to now that has been the case.
World's oldest university is Bologna, and it's rubbish.
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
1. English is the lingua franca in any serious academic and corporate R&D operation these days - look at the percentage of scientific papers now published in English.
2. Yes, our universities are world class. That does not mean they will continue to be.
3. Yes, up to now that has been the case.
So, you have no evidence to present in favour of your argument.
All you can say is the future may be different to the past and the present. And you take a grim and utterly unrelentingly pessimistic view of the future.
Unfortunately, Brexit plus Corbyn has reduced you to a professional bellyacher.
If this how the Remainers are going to run their GE campaign, they will lose again.
Mate, I spend much of my time talking to R&D professionals around the world at events that my company organises in the US, Asia and Europe. If you do not wish to believe me, the UK university sector and other major R&D organisations such as the Wellcome Trust, so be it.
HS3 from Leeds to Manchester isn't the planned HS3 / Northern Powerhouse route. That extends from Newcastle to Liverpool (the transpenine express route) with extensions from Sheffield to Manchester and Hull to York... One point of it is that the Newcastle to Manchester time should take less time than Newcastle to London..
I look forward to the idiots who want HS3 but didn't want HS2 to receive their own treatment back from the naysayers. They will reap what they have sown.
*) What? All that money to save 20 minutes? *) It doesn't help *my* town. *) I don't live in the area and don't use rail, but I know it's unnecessary. *) It'll cost £500 trillion (a number plucked out of my arse). *) High-speed rail is an environmental nightmare - I know, because I write this from my business-class seat on a flight to hols in Mauritius. *) There's this old woodland where a factory used to be. Who'll think of the trees? *) I'm a multi-millionaire property owner five miles away from the route, and I demand compensation! *) Build roads! *) Build a Maglev / hyperloop / massive trebuchet instead. Rail's the past, my scheme's the future, even if it's never been done before / abandoned by everyone who's tried it. *) I don't need to read any stinking reports, I *know* it's a bad idea.
etc, etc. You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh.
There are votes for Democrats from Irish Americans but Republicans now get more votes from English Americans
Have you ever been to the USA? I am pretty confident I have never heard an American identify themselves as 'English American' but met many, many Irish Americans.
Quite a few call themselves WASPs, standing for white anglo saxon Protestants, which means something similar I suppose.
There are votes for Democrats from Irish Americans but Republicans now get more votes from English Americans
Have you ever been to the USA? I am pretty confident I have never heard an American identify themselves as 'English American' but met many, many Irish Americans.
Indeed, the place teems with plastic paddies, often with folk memories of the Irish famine.
I went to High School for 4 years in Atlanta. The attitude to the English in the South is mostly derived from school teachings about English tyranny in the Revolutionary period. What anglophile tendencies are present tend to be more ivy league.
Quite a significant Irish Australian population too, and often with similar folk memories. It is one reason Australia resisted conscription in WW1.
I give you lots of lovely topics to talk about - but no, it’s wall-to-wall Brexit. Again. Bah!
I shall find my hat - a fetching purple number (which, cf @ReggieCide, no self-respecting tart would be seen dead wearing) - and venture to my favourite garden centre where they are having a summer sale.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As for the EU, let's see what it is saying in 2 months time. Simon Coveney let the cat out of the bag last weekend when he admitted that if Britain doesn't do as its told, the EU will insist either Ireland imposes border checks or Ireland will have to leave the single market. I hope Boris plays hardball and makes clear he is willing to see the Irish economy crumble if the EU doesn't come back to the discussion table. In the real world the buyer generally has more power than the seller and in our relationship with the EU, we are the buyers.
Globally the Irish have far more sympathy, and are generally more popular, than we are. Any action that has the purpose or effect of damaging the Irish economy will be spun as the evil Brits repeating the Famine in the States and elsewhere. Indeed, any action deliberately designed to damage a neighbouring economy will have far reaching negative repercussions for us given the neighbouring economy is part of a political union far stronger than us. We can’t piss far enough anymore to win that sort of contest and frankly, given our inglorious history in Ireland and it’s lethal outcomes, neither should we want to.
Well said. The idea that a country should seek deliberately to harm a neighbour as part of a strop to get what it wants is disgraceful. That there are some British politicians who think this and that some of them are in government (Priti Patel) is - or ought to be - a matter of shame. Not self-congratulation.
You could argue that is exactly what Dublin has been doing.
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Of course, some do, but generally at the Masters level or beyond.
Over the last five years it's branched out into undergraduate as well. I had two students go to do engineering last year, one in Holland and one in Munich. They couldn't speak a word of Dutch or German, but their courses were in English so that didn't matter.
The Republicans need votes in Blue Collar Irish-American communities in Pennsylvania for example. Your argument makes no sense. Further, English-Americans have no organisations, lobby groups, in the same way Irish-America does. Pissing of Ireland means we screw our chances of getting anything from the States.
Put simply Irish-America cares more about Ireland than English-America cares about us. Washington was an English-American. As was Jefferson. Didn’t help us.
A majority of Irish Americans now identify as Protestant, many have more in common with the DUP than they do with Sinn Fein
My in-laws are Unitarians living in New Haven, CT. They are one stop short of being NORAID donors. They are definitely SF supporters. The fact that they self-identify as Irish American is, in and of itself, a measure of their sympathies rather than religious observance. Any action by the U.K. that harms Ireland will have pushback from US politicians that need Irish American support. That includes vital states like Ohio and Pennsylvania (both with Irish American populations above the national average) as well as the northern rust belt states so vital to Trump’s election. It is farcical to say otherwise.
Anyway, even taking your argument at fact value, there is no guarantee that the Democrats don’t control Congress and the Presidency when an FT treaty needs to be ratified. It takes roughly two years at least to negotiate and ratify these things.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth noting too here that it's not Donald Trump who gets to decide if we sign a trade deal with the US, it's Congress. Pelosi has already warned that the Democrats will veto any deal that flouts the Good Friday agreement due to America's role as a guarantor. With about 10% of the U.S. population (c. 33 million) counting themselves as Irish Americans, that's a lot of Congressmen and women with something to gain by siding with Ireland if things get nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Not true. Only about 7% of Americans self describe as English-Americans as
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes up at least 10% of the population in a large number of swing states and that no US politician would ever risk upsetting it. These facts pass him by because they are inconvenient. It is pointless to engage with him on this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she will only back a FTA with the backstop.
The Republican base though is much more Protestant and English based especially in areas like the South and Utah, hence Trump and Republican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Two things are different though, as others have pointed out, those with English ancestry just don't identify with the 'home country' in the same way as Irish-Americans. Secondly, the voters you identify are largely a write-off for the Democrats - that's not true of the Irish-American vote, who have in the past been a swing vote, and some of whom are a constituent part of a key target group for Republicans - white Democratic leaning voters in poorer parts of the north/rust belt.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of East
Not this.
HYUFD this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she epublican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. ortune.
English-American (or indeed Irish Protestant American) are much more likely to
Of course - that English-American vote is pivotal across the South and West.
The reality is that US politicians have not been in a position where they have directly had to choose between prioritising Irish or British interests. Soon that will have to. Let's see if the English-American vote comes out on top over the Irish-American one.
The Irish Catholic American vote which leans Democrat and is pro Sinn Fein and Republic of Ireland and is concentrated in Democratic states is far smaller than the combined English American and Irish Protestant American vote which leans Republican and is concentrated in the South and West and would be far more pro FTA with GB
Skilled scientists can choose where they wish to live. The UK decided long ago to make it extremely difficult for non-EU scientists to come here. Now we have decided to do the same with EU ones, too. So why bother with the UK when the world is your oyster?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough).
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
1. English is the lingua franca in any serious academic and corporate R&D operation these days - look at the percentage of scientific papers now published in English.
2. Yes, our universities are world class. That does not mean they will continue to be.
3. Yes, up to now that has been the case.
So, you have no evidence to present in favour of your argument.
All you can say is the future may be different to the past and the present. And you take a grim and utterly unrelentingly pessimistic view of the future.
Unfortunately, Brexit plus Corbyn has reduced you to a professional bellyacher.
If this how the Remainers are going to run their GE campaign, they will lose again.
Mate, I spend much of my time talking to R&D professionals around the world at events that my company organises in the US, Asia and Europe. If you do not wish to believe me, the UK university sector and other major R&D organisations such as the Wellcome Trust, so be it.
It's the uncertainty, not not being in the EU. Unless the same thing is happening to Canada, Botswana, Singapore etc. Entirely understandable.
I give you lots of lovely topics to talk about - but no, it’s wall-to-wall Brexit. Again. Bah!
I shall find my hat - a fetching purple number (which, cf @ReggieCide, no self-respecting tart would be seen dead wearing) - and venture to my favourite garden centre where they are having a summer sale.
Bye!!!
Do Ishmael and I making awesome bolognese puns not count?
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Of course, some do, but generally at the Masters level or beyond.
Over the last five years it's branched out into undergraduate as well. I had two students go to do engineering last year, one in Holland and one in Munich. They couldn't speak a word of Dutch or German, but their courses were in English so that didn't matter.
Out of interest what are the fees at those universities ?
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Yes the Britain Trump plan is becoming fairly clear.
1. No real attempt to negotiate with the EU. 2. Nothing done in Parliament that could be used to block Brexit. 3. General election timed to make no-deal Brexit unavoidable.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of East
Not this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes him on this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she epublican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. The hitherto unknown, swing English-American vote. I am just amazed it has taken a Young Tory in the SE of England to identify it when it has been overlooked by politicians and political scientists in the US for decades. Congratulations - you are going to make an absolute fortune.
English-American (or indeed Irish Protestant American) voters are much more mocratic leaning Midwestern states like Illinois or Minnesota or Wisconsin (though the latter narrowly voted Trump the last Republican presidential candidate to win it was Reagan)
13% of those unimportant states like Ohio and Pennsylvania are Irish-American.
Pennsylvania is 47% Protestant, 24% Catholic.
Ohio is 48% Protestant, 21% Catholic.
The Republic of Ireland is 78% Catholic, 4% Protestant.
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Of course, some do, but generally at the Masters level or beyond.
Over the last five years it's branched out into undergraduate as well. I had two students go to do engineering last year, one in Holland and one in Munich. They couldn't speak a word of Dutch or German, but their courses were in English so that didn't matter.
The only place I have been where senior R&D professionals struggle with English is China. And that is changing very quickly as a new generation moves into place. English is the global language of science and engineering.
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Of course, some do, but generally at the Masters level or beyond.
Over the last five years it's branched out into undergraduate as well. I had two students go to do engineering last year, one in Holland and one in Munich. They couldn't speak a word of Dutch or German, but their courses were in English so that didn't matter.
I think it is good idea to encourage your students to go to the Dutch universities (which are at the moment a great bargain).
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Of course, some do, but generally at the Masters level or beyond.
Over the last five years it's branched out into undergraduate as well. I had two students go to do engineering last year, one in Holland and one in Munich. They couldn't speak a word of Dutch or German, but their courses were in English so that didn't matter.
Out of interest what are the fees at those universities ?
Off hand I don't know, but I know they were cheaper than the UK equivalent which is why they went there.
Surprised you missed Summer 2016 Britain - The EU Referendum itself. The timing may not have been a shock but the result certainly was.
Clearly you weren't following the polling. My final prediction, on German TV at 2200 on June 22nd 2016 was that it was too close to call - which given the outcome was an pretty good prediction.
The idea that this wasn't forecast is a myth. Please stop repeating it.
I refuse to go count the total number of surveys showing a remain or leave lead over a X time period before the referendum again. I just won't do it.
(the answer is it was exactly 50/50)
Have a look at the 12 months before the referendum was called rather than the days before the vote was counted.
Like the 2017 General Election. The result is much less shocking by comparing to final polls but the appropriate comparison IMO is not to final polls but to the polls befors the election was called. Then it is truly shocking.
In 2013 when Cameron announced there would be a referendum the next 16 opinion polls has 15 leave leads and a draw.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of East
Not this.
HYUFD this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she epublican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. ortune.
English-American (or indeed Irish Protestant American) are much more likely to
Of course - that English-American vote is pivotal across the South and West.
The reality is that US politicians have not been in a position where they have directly had to choose between prioritising Irish or British interests. Soon that will have to. Let's see if the English-American vote comes out on top over the Irish-American one.
The Irish Catholic American vote which leans Democrat and is pro Sinn Fein and Republic of Ireland and is concentrated in Democratic states is far smaller than the combined English American and Irish Protestant American vote which leans Republican and is concentrated in the South and West and would be far more pro FTA with GB
As I say, religion doesn’t come into it. That is a meaningless statistic divorced from the underlying issue. My wife’s mother is a Unitarian Irish-American and some of our Thanksgiving discussions have left me in no doubt as to her sympathies. In many ways she is quite Anglophilic, she loves coming to London and going to the West End, but politically it’s Ireland over the U.K. every time.
HS3 from Leeds to Manchester isn't the planned HS3 / Northern Powerhouse route. That extends from Newcastle to Liverpool (the transpenine express route) with extensions from Sheffield to Manchester and Hull to York... One point of it is that the Newcastle to Manchester time should take less time than Newcastle to London..
I look forward to the idiots who want HS3 but didn't want HS2 to receive their own treatment back from the naysayers. They will reap what they have sown.
*) What? All that money to save 20 minutes? *) It doesn't help *my* town. *) I don't live in the area and don't use rail, but I know it's unnecessary. *) It'll cost £500 trillion (a number plucked out of my arse). *) High-speed rail is an environmental nightmare - I know, because I write this from my business-class seat on a flight to hols in Mauritius. *) There's this old woodland where a factory used to be. Who'll think of the trees? *) I'm a multi-millionaire property owner five miles away from the route, and I demand compensation! *) Build roads! *) Build a Maglev / hyperloop / massive trebuchet instead. Rail's the past, my scheme's the future, even if it's never been done before / abandoned by everyone who's tried it. *) I don't need to read any stinking reports, I *know* it's a bad idea.
etc, etc. You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh.
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Of course, some do, but generally at the Masters level or beyond.
Over the last five years it's branched out into undergraduate as well. I had two students go to do engineering last year, one in Holland and one in Munich. They couldn't speak a word of Dutch or German, but their courses were in English so that didn't matter.
Out of interest what are the fees at those universities ?
Off hand I don't know, but I know they were cheaper than the UK equivalent which is why they went there.
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Of course, some do, but generally at the Masters level or beyond.
Over the last five years it's branched out into undergraduate as well. I had two students go to do engineering last year, one in Holland and one in Munich. They couldn't speak a word of Dutch or German, but their courses were in English so that didn't matter.
Out of interest what are the fees at those universities ?
Off hand I don't know, but I know they were cheaper than the UK equivalent which is why they went there.
They're cheaper.
But the greatest bargain in Europe is Edinburgh University (with its 'No English' signs).
A free education for a university that is clearly in the top 20 worldwide.
I actually don't understand why it is not overwhelmed with EU applicants.
(i) Skilled scientists normally speak English well, whereas they don't speak Cantonese or Dutch or even French. (Remember, you usually have to lecture in the language, so a bit of Eskervousavez ... is not enough)
WHich is one reason why so many Dutch, German and Italian universities offer undergraduate courses in English:
Of course, some do, but generally at the Masters level or beyond.
Over the last five years it's branched out into undergraduate as well. I had two students go to do engineering last year, one in Holland and one in Munich. They couldn't speak a word of Dutch or German, but their courses were in English so that didn't matter.
Out of interest what are the fees at those universities ?
For EU students usually very low.
I know several British doctors whose medical degrees were taught in Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands. Sometimes because they couldn't get in here, but as a bonus fees were a lot lower. This matters a lot to those with a first degree, as not eligible for loans.
HS3 from Leeds to Manchester isn't the planned HS3 / Northern Powerhouse route. That extends from Newcastle to Liverpool (the transpenine express route) with extensions from Sheffield to Manchester and Hull to York... One point of it is that the Newcastle to Manchester time should take less time than Newcastle to London..
I look forward to the idiots who want HS3 but didn't want HS2 to receive their own treatment back from the naysayers. They will reap what they have sown.
*) What? All that money to save 20 minutes? *) It doesn't help *my* town. *) I don't live in the area and don't use rail, but I know it's unnecessary. *) It'll cost £500 trillion (a number plucked out of my arse). *) High-speed rail is an environmental nightmare - I know, because I write this from my business-class seat on a flight to hols in Mauritius. *) There's this old woodland where a factory used to be. Who'll think of the trees? *) I'm a multi-millionaire property owner five miles away from the route, and I demand compensation! *) Build roads! *) Build a Maglev / hyperloop / massive trebuchet instead. Rail's the past, my scheme's the future, even if it's never been done before / abandoned by everyone who's tried it. *) I don't need to read any stinking reports, I *know* it's a bad idea.
etc, etc. You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh.
You forgot *) There's no capacity issue. I went on a train to London the other day at 2pm and there were empty seats.
The pertinent question is the impact of such tactics on the election outcome itself.
This means that the election needs to be forced before 31st Oct, which means as soon as the MPs are back on 3 or 4th September, Grieve and co and Labour must no confidence.
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
Morning all and just noticed last night's thread. I am DELIGHTED to see that JRM is fighting back against the bastardisation of our language due to sloppy, inadequate teaching standards for decades and a semi-illiterate media. I hope the new Education Secretary does likewise.
As .
Globally want to.
Worth nasty.
The Republicans still hold the Senate which must approve Treaties, though the House would need to approve funding.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of East
Not this.
HYUFD refuses to accept that the Irish-American lobby is powerful and influential. He does not understand that it makes him on this topic.
The Northeastern Catholic Irish American lobby is important to Democrats yes, hence Pelosi has gone full speed to say she epublican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
Marvellous. The hitherto unknown, swing English-American vote. I am just amazed it has taken a Young Tory in the SE of England to identify it when it has been overlooked by politicians and political scientists in the US for decades. Congratulations - you are going to make an absolute fortune.
English-American (or indeed Irish Protestant American) voters are much more mocratic leaning Midwestern states like Illinois or Minnesota or Wisconsin (though the latter narrowly voted Trump the last Republican presidential candidate to win it was Reagan)
13% of those unimportant states like Ohio and Pennsylvania are Irish-American.
Pennsylvania is 47% Protestant, 24% Catholic.
Ohio is 48% Protestant, 21% Catholic.
The Republic of Ireland is 78% Catholic, 4% Protestant.
Mr. glw, I wonder how the pro-EU (or, at least, anti-no deal) Conservative MPs who backed Boris are currently feeling.
It amazes me that any MP supports Boris, but you would think that the ones who don't want a no-deal Brexit would have realised that Boris was just about the last person you would choose for intensive diplomacy to rescue a deal between the UK and EU in what will be a matter of weeks.
Comments
For example, the Wellcome Trust or Research Councils could provide statistics on number of applications for their Fellowships over the last five years.
If there was a gradual drop-off in applicants, then that would be hard evidence of a Brexit Effect.
It is disappointing when a scientific body does not see the value of providing statistical data to show the strength (or otherwise) of its arguments.
That would be much more convincing than a vapid "I am afraid some damage has already been done ..."
Whatever crazy other shit they did, the Athenians invented Western Democracy. You can say the precedent is not binding, but you cannot say it is not persuasive.
Boris has promised not to impose a hard border in Ireland Deal or No Deal.
There are more Americans of English origin than Irish origin, especially in the more Republican held South and Georgia and the Carolinas, Americans if Irish origin tend to be based more in the Democratic held North East
Incidentally it seems viagra was invented in England but tested in Wales, which seems to me a major slight on Welsh manhood.
One point of it is that the Newcastle to Manchester time should take less time than Newcastle to London..
But in our current conditions, his ability to hang on to the base in the manner of Trump - a character even more repellent - may well be sufficient.
His constituency, of course, does seem to be a two way battle.
Seems quite the Damascene conversion!
She - and many others talking nonsense about Ireland - would do well to read the article by Tony Connelly referenced here the other day to understand the very real practical, legal and other issues caused for Ireland and Britain if there is a No Deal exit. They cannot be hand-waved away by simplistic statements.
Boris is - as far as the EU is concerned - behaving like the Syriza government in 2016. It will likely end in the same way . I hope there can be a sensible resolution. But I fear not because there is little sense to be seen in our current government.
Domestically, he is repeating what May did - lots of focus on the left behinds and initial popularity (or have people forgotten how popular May was when she first became PM? Far more so than Boris now is.) I suspect his trajectory will be similar to her’s.
Looking at the full text of the letter, there is a specific example of "a 50% drop in applicants from the European Union to study at the Sanger Institute in Cambridge."
That does have the look of a cherry-picked statistic, when it would be easy to do a good job.
Though the Irish border is not the only one:
https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1154761529516003328?s=19
Apostate.
The great example is Clegg. His widely praised campaigning style in 2010 wasn't much good in 2015 when people largely saw it as a sham.
Of states with the highest number of English voters, including Utah, the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania etc many voted for Trump and many vote Republican for Congress too.
States with the highest number of Irish Americans e.g. Massachusetts and New York are almost universally democratic at Preaidential and Congressional level with Pete King being one of the last GOP Congressmen there.
There are votes for Democrats from Irish Americans but Republicans now get more votes from English Americans
So be it.
The Republican base though is much more Protestant and English based especially in areas like the South and Utah, hence Trump and Republican Congressman are full speed ahead for a FTA
They have no choice now, as it seems the Johnson tactic is to just leave, even if it is the middle of a GE.
(ii) The UK Universities are the best in Europe. The only European University in the top 50 in most research league tables is not in the EU.
(iii) The UK (in many areas of science) punches well above weight and usually only the US is clearly and demonstrably ahead.
SNP - Remain
Lib Dems - Remain
Conservatives - Leave come what may
Labour - ?
https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmkm
The Republicans need votes in Blue Collar Irish-American communities in Pennsylvania for example. Your argument makes no sense. Further, English-Americans have no organisations, lobby groups, in the same way Irish-America does. Pissing of Ireland means we screw our chances of getting anything from the States.
Put simply Irish-America cares more about Ireland than English-America cares about us. Washington was an English-American. As was Jefferson. Didn’t help us.
2. Yes, our universities are world class. That does not mean they will continue to be.
3. Yes, up to now that has been the case.
https://www.medschool.it
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Americans
All you can say is the future may be different to the past and the present. And you take a grim and utterly unrelentingly pessimistic view of the future.
Unfortunately, Brexit plus Corbyn has reduced you to a professional bellyacher.
If this how the Remainers are going to run their GE campaign, they will lose again.
Often this was about money. Not so much for their own wallets but the money for carrying out the research. The differences in terms of scale of funding I was told about sometimes were staggering.
The reality is that US politicians have not been in a position where they have directly had to choose between prioritising Irish or British interests. Soon that will have to. Let's see if the English-American vote comes out on top over the Irish-American one.
Government's role
When the House is not sitting, for example at the weekend, or during a recess, the Government can ask the Speaker to recall the House of Commons because of events of major national importance.
Speaker's role
When the Speaker of the House of Commons receives a request from the Government to recall the House of Commons, he must decide whether it is in the public interest to agree to that request.
If the Speaker agrees to the request, he will then decide what day or days the House should sit during the recall.
The Speaker cannot decide to recall the House of Commons without being asked to do so by the Government.
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/occasions/recallparliament/
(ii) and (iii) You have pasta damning judgment there.
Having been employed by Universities in Switzerland and Quebec in my time, I had to give talks/lectures in German and in French.
Also, you will have to interact with the administration of the University or Research Insttute, which will always be in the local language.
*) What? All that money to save 20 minutes?
*) It doesn't help *my* town.
*) I don't live in the area and don't use rail, but I know it's unnecessary.
*) It'll cost £500 trillion (a number plucked out of my arse).
*) High-speed rail is an environmental nightmare - I know, because I write this from my business-class seat on a flight to hols in Mauritius.
*) There's this old woodland where a factory used to be. Who'll think of the trees?
*) I'm a multi-millionaire property owner five miles away from the route, and I demand compensation!
*) Build roads!
*) Build a Maglev / hyperloop / massive trebuchet instead. Rail's the past, my scheme's the future, even if it's never been done before / abandoned by everyone who's tried it.
*) I don't need to read any stinking reports, I *know* it's a bad idea.
etc, etc. You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh.
I went to High School for 4 years in Atlanta. The attitude to the English in the South is mostly derived from school teachings about English tyranny in the Revolutionary period. What anglophile tendencies are present tend to be more ivy league.
Quite a significant Irish Australian population too, and often with similar folk memories. It is one reason Australia resisted conscription in WW1.
I give you lots of lovely topics to talk about - but no, it’s wall-to-wall Brexit. Again. Bah!
I shall find my hat - a fetching purple number (which, cf @ReggieCide, no self-respecting tart would be seen dead wearing) - and venture to my favourite garden centre where they are having a summer sale.
Bye!!!
Anyway, even taking your argument at fact value, there is no guarantee that the Democrats don’t control Congress and the Presidency when an FT treaty needs to be ratified. It takes roughly two years at least to negotiate and ratify these things.
Also, Utah ain't very protestant.
1. No real attempt to negotiate with the EU.
2. Nothing done in Parliament that could be used to block Brexit.
3. General election timed to make no-deal Brexit unavoidable.
Ohio is 48% Protestant, 21% Catholic.
The Republic of Ireland is 78% Catholic, 4% Protestant.
Shocking that Leave won.
As I say, religion doesn’t come into it. That is a meaningless statistic divorced from the underlying issue. My wife’s mother is a Unitarian Irish-American and some of our Thanksgiving discussions have left me in no doubt as to her sympathies. In many ways she is quite Anglophilic, she loves coming to London and going to the West End, but politically it’s Ireland over the U.K. every time.
But the greatest bargain in Europe is Edinburgh University (with its 'No English' signs).
A free education for a university that is clearly in the top 20 worldwide.
I actually don't understand why it is not overwhelmed with EU applicants.
I know several British doctors whose medical degrees were taught in Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands. Sometimes because they couldn't get in here, but as a bonus fees were a lot lower. This matters a lot to those with a first degree, as not eligible for loans.