That's absurd. The reason we have sky-high fares and railways are so expensive to build and operate are due to the union strangehold. And service reliability suffers too whenever a single rostered member of staff is out of the line.
If we had unions everywhere, like the 70s, we'd have national stoppages and strikes in every sector you could think of (imagine Sainsbury's and Waitrose being empty due to regular lorrymen strikes) higher prices as a result, poorer choice as corporatism and consolidation occurred to counter the unions, and a sclerotic and unpredictable economy making it impossible for businesses to confidently invest. Everyone would be poorer and more miserable. It'd be an industrial relations masterclass in the tragedy of the commons.
And have you met many train drivers by the way, particularly in TfL? They are some of the most miserable people on the planet, despite having superb pay and benefits.
Maybe because people like you constantly shout and scream at them.
Good evening all.
CorrectHorseBattery, do you support Labour's proposals to end the ban on secondary strikes?
That isn't a Labour policy is it, is it in the manifesto?
Not sure Boris's plan to ban rail strikes is such a good idea. A lot of commuters actually sympathize with the staff and see them as heroically defying the greedy and incompetent privatization fat cats. This could be seen as Boris just making life easier for his friends.
If I was a commuter I would be relieved that someone is taking on the RMT
It would be a crazy announcement, unnecessary class war announcement, a circle the wagons klaxon for the labour tribe, a patriotic war where it doesn’t matter your opinion of the czar you are fighting for,* and cost Tories a majority in the seconds it takes to announce it.
Such as the Decembrists and Freemasons fighting for the Russian Caesar against napoleon
That is a bit over the top
Consider the Tories 3.1 up at half time, all they need in second half is to see it out not start a fight.
Every Labour poster to this site is praying tonight for strike banning announcements in tomorrow’s manifesto. Every Labour MP in trouble needs the Tories to start a sort of ideological patriotic war where it doesn’t matter your opinion of the czar you are fighting for.
Game changer.
Quite right. Boris just needs to keep his head down and count the days - he will then be delivered triumphantly to Downing Street on a golden cloud. A reckless über-Thatcherite move such as banning industrial action could be his dementia-tax moment.
That's absurd. The reason we have sky-high fares and railways are so expensive to build and operate are due to the union strangehold. And service reliability suffers too whenever a single rostered member of staff is out of the line.
If we had unions everywhere, like the 70s, we'd have national stoppages and strikes in every sector you could think of (imagine Sainsbury's and Waitrose being empty due to regular lorrymen strikes) higher prices as a result, poorer choice as corporatism and consolidation occurred to counter the unions, and a sclerotic and unpredictable economy making it impossible for businesses to confidently invest. Everyone would be poorer and more miserable. It'd be an industrial relations masterclass in the tragedy of the commons.
And have you met many train drivers by the way, particularly in TfL? They are some of the most miserable people on the planet, despite having superb pay and benefits.
Maybe because people like you constantly shout and scream at them.
Good evening all.
CorrectHorseBattery, do you support Labour's proposals to end the ban on secondary strikes?
That isn't a Labour policy is it, is it in the manifesto?
Don't know about the manifesto, but MacDonnell I believe said in a radio interview this week that they'd lift the ban.
Looking at the BBC news website front page there is s picture of Jezza wrapped up in a scarf and the story is that he is defending his neutral stance.
Together with the story he looks nothing more than an irrelevant, perhaps kindly, old bloke. Certainly not a leader of the type i think is what we want right now.
We need a Strong Man you reckon? Get the trains running on time etc?
Absolutely.
There's a large man that runs a watch shop near Romford station, do you think he could be a candidate?
Postal voting packs were being delivered today and some ballot slips will have already been posted back, any polls after today will start to become partial exit polls.
Does anyone know what the percentage postal votes was last time? More interestingly, do we have any guesstimates on how quickly they get sent back?
I know that in my district ward it is 22% and that is indicative of the constituency as a whole. However, that is the base of permanent ones before the new applications for this election. In my ward there are two of the eight parishes where voters would benefit more from PVs but they have markedly lower rates of PVs - I presume they want the polling business for their village halls in both cases.
That’s something I have wondered about. Are polling station locations paid to host? And do they volunteer or are they voluntold?
That's absurd. The reason we have sky-high fares and railways are so expensive to build and operate are due to the union strangehold. And service reliability suffers too whenever a single rostered member of staff is out of the line.
If we had unions everywhere, like the 70s, we'd have national stoppages and strikes in every sector you could think of (imagine Sainsbury's and Waitrose being empty due to regular lorrymen strikes) higher prices as a result, poorer choice as corporatism and consolidation occurred to counter the unions, and a sclerotic and unpredictable economy making it impossible for businesses to confidently invest. Everyone would be poorer and more miserable. It'd be an industrial relations masterclass in the tragedy of the commons.
And have you met many train drivers by the way, particularly in TfL? They are some of the most miserable people on the planet, despite having superb pay and benefits.
Maybe because people like you constantly shout and scream at them.
Good evening all.
CorrectHorseBattery, do you support Labour's proposals to end the ban on secondary strikes?
That isn't a Labour policy is it, is it in the manifesto?
Don't know about the manifesto, but MacDonnell I believe said in a radio interview this week that they'd lift the ban.
I don't think he did. I think he said he supported the idea but Labour wasn't implementing it.
Not sure Boris's plan to ban rail strikes is such a good idea. A lot of commuters actually sympathize with the staff and see them as heroically defying the greedy and incompetent privatization fat cats. This could be seen as Boris just making life easier for his friends.
If I was a commuter I would be relieved that someone is taking on the RMT
It would be a crazy announcement, unnecessary class war announcement, a circle the wagons klaxon for the labour tribe, a patriotic war where it doesn’t matter your opinion of the czar you are fighting for,* and cost Tories a majority in the seconds it takes to announce it.
Such as the Decembrists and Freemasons fighting for the Russian Caesar against napoleon
That is a bit over the top
Consider the Tories 3.1 up at half time, all they need in second half is to see it out not start a fight.
Every Labour poster to this site is praying tonight for strike banning announcements in tomorrow’s manifesto. Every Labour MP in trouble needs the Tories to start a sort of ideological patriotic war where it doesn’t matter your opinion of the czar you are fighting for.
Game changer.
Quite right. Boris just needs to keep his head down and count the days - he will then be delivered triumphantly to Downing Street on a golden cloud. A reckless über-Thatcherite move such as banning industrial action could be his dementia-tax moment.
That's absurd. The reason we have sky-high fares and railways are so expensive to build and operate are due to the union strangehold. And service reliability suffers too whenever a single rostered member of staff is out of the line.
If we had unions everywhere, like the 70s, we'd have national stoppages and strikes in every sector you could think of (imagine Sainsbury's and Waitrose being empty due to regular lorrymen strikes) higher prices as a result, poorer choice as corporatism and consolidation occurred to counter the unions, and a sclerotic and unpredictable economy making it impossible for businesses to confidently invest. Everyone would be poorer and more miserable. It'd be an industrial relations masterclass in the tragedy of the commons.
And have you met many train drivers by the way, particularly in TfL? They are some of the most miserable people on the planet, despite having superb pay and benefits.
Maybe because people like you constantly shout and scream at them.
Good evening all.
CorrectHorseBattery, do you support Labour's proposals to end the ban on secondary strikes?
That isn't a Labour policy is it, is it in the manifesto?
Don't know about the manifesto, but MacDonnell I believe said in a radio interview this week that they'd lift the ban.
I don't think he did. I think he said he supported the idea but Labour wasn't implementing it.
My apologies if I'm wrong. Just as a matter of interest do you support the idea?
I think you're rather over estimating the testimony. Pretty much all of them have said they personally saw or heard nothing that was a quid pro quo or that military aid would be withheld pending Biden being investigated. And, of course, in any Senate trial the Bidens will have to testify as proceedings are under the control of the (republican) senate who absolutely wont vote to convict (no Republicans supported impeachment hearings in the house). Biden is on thin ice and the Burisma affair could end his presidential run. Schiff will also find himself being questioned over his fake transcript that kicked this off. The FBI have expressed an interest in questioning the whistleblower. Finally the polling amongst independents has turned against impeachment, it has become a wholly partisan issue and we have the whistleblowers attorney (Zaid) tweeting in Jan 2017 'the coup has begun, impeachment will follow later'.
Now, I'm soft on the Donald and hard on the Dems so my comments need to be seen in that light, but the coverage is heavily skewed by the anti trump msm and the dems having complete control over the process whilst it's in the house. All that changes if it goes to a full trial, and an acquittal will inevitably look bad on the Dems for pursuing an attempt to remove a sitting president, much as the Republicans attempt to oust Clinton did.
I wouldn't waste money on anyone being president that isn't the Donald before the election.
Losing the Senate vote is not necessarily to the Democrats’ disadvantage. If they can make a solid case against Trump, but the GOP simply ignore it, then the Dems can run on a “the White House is not enough, we have to win the Senate too” line to appeal to their base, donors and appalled independents (of which there will be many).
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
That's absurd. The reason we have sky-high fares and railways are so expensive to build and operate are due to the union strangehold. And service reliability suffers too whenever a single rostered member of staff is out of the line.
If we had unions everywhere, like the 70s, we'd have national stoppages and strikes in every sector you could think of (imagine Sainsbury's and Waitrose being empty due to regular lorrymen strikes) higher prices as a result, poorer choice as corporatism and consolidation occurred to counter the unions, and a sclerotic and unpredictable economy making it impossible for businesses to confidently invest. Everyone would be poorer and more miserable. It'd be an industrial relations masterclass in the tragedy of the commons.
And have you met many train drivers by the way, particularly in TfL? They are some of the most miserable people on the planet, despite having superb pay and benefits.
Maybe because people like you constantly shout and scream at them.
Thank you.
I think we'll take that as conceding the point then.
No I'm not conceding anything. I just think you personally attacking train drivers as being miserable is not relevant and just makes you look like an angry old person. I'm sure you're not like that at all - but I couldn't let that go unchallenged.
In Germany they have wide collective bargaining, very high union membership and the result is very reliable trains, efficient public services and good wages.
"Back to the 70s" is the most boring and oft-repeated attack I see on this site. There is not one policy from Labour that would do that, it's as ridiculous as me calling Boris Johnson a facist.
You've failed to engage with the argument and gone for the personal instead, which shows how weak you know your ground is.
And in case you'd forgetten I've worked with TfL for the last six years and know quite a bit about what I'm talking about.
I suggest you change the subject or log off before you embarrass yourself further.
That's absurd. The reason we have sky-high fares and railways are so expensive to build and operate are due to the union strangehold. And service reliability suffers too whenever a single rostered member of staff is out of the line.
If we had unions everywhere, like the 70s, we'd have national stoppages and strikes in every sector you could think of (imagine Sainsbury's and Waitrose being empty due to regular lorrymen strikes) higher prices as a result, poorer choice as corporatism and consolidation occurred to counter the unions, and a sclerotic and unpredictable economy making it impossible for businesses to confidently invest. Everyone would be poorer and more miserable. It'd be an industrial relations masterclass in the tragedy of the commons.
And have you met many train drivers by the way, particularly in TfL? They are some of the most miserable people on the planet, despite having superb pay and benefits.
Maybe because people like you constantly shout and scream at them.
Good evening all.
CorrectHorseBattery, do you support Labour's proposals to end the ban on secondary strikes?
That isn't a Labour policy is it, is it in the manifesto?
Don't know about the manifesto, but MacDonnell I believe said in a radio interview this week that they'd lift the ban.
I don't think he did. I think he said he supported the idea but Labour wasn't implementing it.
My apologies if I'm wrong. Just as a matter of interest do you support the idea?
I don't know enough about it to make a comment, to be honest. I support the right to strike though and I like the idea of stronger trade unions. Perhaps you can conclude from that if I would support it or not.
Around 37% of voter registrations were duplicates in 2017. So something to bear in mind .
Yesterday’s 300,000 figure is the fourth largest ever recorded, the record was on deadline day in 2017 with 622,000 .
The question is is the *share* of young people more than 2017 not if there are more young people registering. I don't doubt for a minute there are more young people registering to vote.
But are they keeping up with older people such that their share of new * young* registrants is higher than older new registrants.
Around 37% of voter registrations were duplicates in 2017. So something to bear in mind .
Yesterday’s 300,000 figure is the fourth largest ever recorded, the record was on deadline day in 2017 with 622,000 .
The question is is the *share* of young people more than 2017 not if there are more young people registering. I don't doubt for a minute there are more young people registering to vote.
But are they keeping up with older people such that their share of new * young* registrants is higher than older new registrants.
I think it is yes, a lot higher in terms of people registering to vote. If they all voted, I don't doubt it would be a Hung Parliament.
Around 37% of voter registrations were duplicates in 2017. So something to bear in mind .
Yesterday’s 300,000 figure is the fourth largest ever recorded, the record was on deadline day in 2017 with 622,000 .
I'm never convinced by these figures. when you 'add' up them all it probably comes to more than the total electorate!
Most of them are already likely to be registered.
The 37 figure is the amount of duplicates for 2017 so I’d use that as a good yardstick . Current registrations even allowing for likely duplicates are running well ahead of 2017 and that’s also taking into account the last campaign was longer .
Around 37% of voter registrations were duplicates in 2017. So something to bear in mind .
Yesterday’s 300,000 figure is the fourth largest ever recorded, the record was on deadline day in 2017 with 622,000 .
I'm never convinced by these figures. when you 'add' up them all it probably comes to more than the total electorate!
Most of them are already likely to be registered.
The 37 figure is the amount of duplicates for 2017 so I’d use that as a good yardstick . Current registrations even allowing for likely duplicates are running well ahead of 2017 and that’s also taking into account the last campaign was longer .
And we didn't have a surge in one day like we did last time.
Around 37% of voter registrations were duplicates in 2017. So something to bear in mind .
Yesterday’s 300,000 figure is the fourth largest ever recorded, the record was on deadline day in 2017 with 622,000 .
The question is is the *share* of young people more than 2017 not if there are more young people registering. I don't doubt for a minute there are more young people registering to vote.
But are they keeping up with older people such that their share of new * young* registrants is higher than older new registrants.
I think it is yes, a lot higher in terms of people registering to vote. If they all voted, I don't doubt it would be a Hung Parliament.
Postal voting packs were being delivered today and some ballot slips will have already been posted back, any polls after today will start to become partial exit polls.
Does anyone know what the percentage postal votes was last time? More interestingly, do we have any guesstimates on how quickly they get sent back?
I know that in my district ward it is 22% and that is indicative of the constituency as a whole. However, that is the base of permanent ones before the new applications for this election. In my ward there are two of the eight parishes where voters would benefit more from PVs but they have markedly lower rates of PVs - I presume they want the polling business for their village halls in both cases.
That’s something I have wondered about. Are polling station locations paid to host? And do they volunteer or are they voluntold?
They are paid, but it's not big money and I don't think they can be forced to do it, that's why councils try to use their own buildings such as schools, libraries etc.
I think you're rather over estimating the testimony. Pretty much all of them have said they personally saw or heard nothing that was a quid pro quo or that military aid would be withheld pending Biden being investigated. And, of course, in any Senate trial the Bidens will have to testify as proceedings are under the control of the (republican) senate who absolutely wont vote to convict (no Republicans supported impeachment hearings in the house). Biden is on thin ice and the Burisma affair could end his presidential run. Schiff will also find himself being questioned over his fake transcript that kicked this off. The FBI have expressed an interest in questioning the whistleblower. Finally the polling amongst independents has turned against impeachment, it has become a wholly partisan issue and we have the whistleblowers attorney (Zaid) tweeting in Jan 2017 'the coup has begun, impeachment will follow later'.
Now, I'm soft on the Donald and hard on the Dems so my comments need to be seen in that light, but the coverage is heavily skewed by the anti trump msm and the dems having complete control over the process whilst it's in the house. All that changes if it goes to a full trial, and an acquittal will inevitably look bad on the Dems for pursuing an attempt to remove a sitting president, much as the Republicans attempt to oust Clinton did.
I wouldn't waste money on anyone being president that isn't the Donald before the election.
Losing the Senate vote is not necessarily to the Democrats’ disadvantage. If they can make a solid case against Trump, but the GOP simply ignore it, then the Dems can run on a “the White House is not enough, we have to win the Senate too” line to appeal to their base, donors and appalled independents (of which there will be many).
There is that, yes. I guess if they can get a couple of Republicans to vote for conviction it strengthens their hand a bit on that front. As I said though, the polling from indies has turned against impeachment. On the dem nomination front, Lindsay Graham has opened an investigation into Bidens conduct in office. Again, this is going to be seen as a partisan move but it may have a material effect on the race as the Burisma affair (and dealings in China on a similar vein) stink irrespective of Trumps actions subsequently.
Not sure Boris's plan to ban rail strikes is such a good idea. A lot of commuters actually sympathize with the staff and see them as heroically defying the greedy and incompetent privatization fat cats. This could be seen as Boris just making life easier for his friends.
Boris has always been loyal to his friends. Witness Darius Guppy
I think you're rather over estimating the testimony. Pretty much all of them have said they personally saw or heard nothing that was a quid pro quo or that military aid would be withheld pending Biden being investigated. And, of course, in any Senate trial the Bidens will have to testify as proceedings are under the control of the (republican) senate who absolutely wont vote to convict (no Republicans supported impeachment hearings in the house). Biden is on thin ice and the Burisma affair could end his presidential run. Schiff will also find himself being questioned over his fake transcript that kicked this off. The FBI have expressed an interest in questioning the whistleblower. Finally the polling amongst independents has turned against impeachment, it has become a wholly partisan issue and we have the whistleblowers attorney (Zaid) tweeting in Jan 2017 'the coup has begun, impeachment will follow later'.
Now, I'm soft on the Donald and hard on the Dems so my comments need to be seen in that light, but the coverage is heavily skewed by the anti trump msm and the dems having complete control over the process whilst it's in the house. All that changes if it goes to a full trial, and an acquittal will inevitably look bad on the Dems for pursuing an attempt to remove a sitting president, much as the Republicans attempt to oust Clinton did.
I wouldn't waste money on anyone being president that isn't the Donald before the election.
How have you managed to avoid all the first hand testimony detailing the quid pro quo?
As I heard it live, the first hand testimony of quid pro quo was all in relation to there being a general quid for a White House meeting without stipulating specifically that the quid was investigation into the Bidens, and that everyone understood that to be the quid from their personal assumptions given Rudy's involvement. Even Sondland said explicitly that he did not hear that quid from Trump. And Sondland added that of course there was a quid for the White House meeting, because all White House meetings come with a quid.
It is correct that this is not how it is being reported in the MSM. It is absolutely true that this has been a very bad week for Trump, but it has been nowhere near the 'smoking gun' that the GOP in the Senate will need to convict, no matter how much CNN, MSNBC and myself would like it to be. There is IMO a preponderance of circumstantial evidence that Trump's quid was the Biden investigations until the whistleblower, but that is not enough for it to stick in the Senate - yet.
Lest you accuse me of being a Trump nit, I've been and anyone but Trumper from the get go, and support his impeachment, removal from office and prosecution.
That's absurd. The reason we have sky-high fares and railways are so expensive to build and operate are due to the union strangehold. And service reliability suffers too whenever a single rostered member of staff is out of the line.
If we had unions everywhere, like the 70s, we'd have national stoppages and strikes in every sector you could think of (imagine Sainsbury's and Waitrose being empty due to regular lorrymen strikes) higher prices as a result, poorer choice as corporatism and consolidation occurred to counter the unions, and a sclerotic and unpredictable economy making it impossible for businesses to confidently invest. Everyone would be poorer and more miserable. It'd be an industrial relations masterclass in the tragedy of the commons.
And have you met many train drivers by the way, particularly in TfL? They are some of the most miserable people on the planet, despite having superb pay and benefits.
Maybe because people like you constantly shout and scream at them.
Thank you.
I think we'll take that as conceding the point then.
No I'm not conceding anything. I just think you personally attacking train drivers as being miserable is not relevant and just makes you look like an angry old person. I'm sure you're not like that at all - but I couldn't let that go unchallenged.
In Germany they have wide collective bargaining, very high union membership and the result is very reliable trains, efficient public services and good wages.
"Back to the 70s" is the most boring and oft-repeated attack I see on this site. There is not one policy from Labour that would do that, it's as ridiculous as me calling Boris Johnson a facist.
German trains do not run time and are not efficient. My mum was shocked last year when she went there at how bad the service was.
Has anyone worked out how much the Lib Dem vote would need to be squeezed in order to close the polling gap?
The average gap looks so large that it's only going to close completely through a substantial amount of direct Con to Lab switching. The Lib Dems would need to be crushed down to Green levels of support, with all those voters defecting en masse to Lab, for Lib Dem defections alone to do the trick.
I am afraid that Labour will make some further improvement, and I don't think that the Lib Dems will finish as high as 15%, but the Tory vote share is almost bound to be greater than Labour's. The question, of course, is whether or not the difference will be great enough to secure some sort of majority.
Theresa May finished 2.4% ahead in 2017 and came close enough to a working majority to be able to get across the finishing line with DUP votes. Arguably if Boris Johnson doesn't win some form of working majority (even a small one) from this position, then the 2019 result would be a bigger shock than the 2017 one.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
I wonder if Boris's plan to ban rail strikes has something psychological about it - a way of finally exorcizing the ghost of all the humiliations he suffered at the hands of Bob Crow. If so it might come across as petty, vindictive and mean. Dangerous times for the Tories. They seem to be getting carried away with the myth of their own invincibility.
Postal voting packs were being delivered today and some ballot slips will have already been posted back, any polls after today will start to become partial exit polls.
Does anyone know what the percentage postal votes was last time? More interestingly, do we have any guesstimates on how quickly they get sent back?
I know that in my district ward it is 22% and that is indicative of the constituency as a whole. However, that is the base of permanent ones before the new applications for this election. In my ward there are two of the eight parishes where voters would benefit more from PVs but they have markedly lower rates of PVs - I presume they want the polling business for their village halls in both cases.
That’s something I have wondered about. Are polling station locations paid to host? And do they volunteer or are they voluntold?
For village halls in very small communities, under 200 voters it is the best gig of the year - by far. They are paid according to their hire rates. But even for a large community 2000 voters most will buy out existing commitments. Having said that one community in my ward is not having polling at the usual location as it is hosting the village school's nativity play. There is some unhappiness about this as the alternative venue is considered by some less disabled friendly.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
Whereas now we have 50 yr old Pacers and Northern Rail bleeding the tax payer dry whilst providing an even more grossly unreliable and inefficient service at a massively inflated cost.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
You obviously have no experience of BR with its underfunded and unionised work force.
Not sure Boris's plan to ban rail strikes is such a good idea. A lot of commuters actually sympathize with the staff and see them as heroically defying the greedy and incompetent privatization fat cats. This could be seen as Boris just making life easier for his friends.
If I was a commuter I would be relieved that someone is taking on the RMT
It would be a crazy announcement, unnecessary class war announcement, a circle the wagons klaxon for the labour tribe, a patriotic war where it doesn’t matter your opinion of the czar you are fighting for,* and cost Tories a majority in the seconds it takes to announce it.
Such as the Decembrists and Freemasons fighting for the Russian Caesar against napoleon
That is a bit over the top
Consider the Tories 3.1 up at half time, all they need in second half is to see it out not start a fight.
Every Labour poster to this site is praying tonight for strike banning announcements in tomorrow’s manifesto. Every Labour MP in trouble needs the Tories to start a sort of ideological patriotic war where it doesn’t matter your opinion of the czar you are fighting for.
Game changer.
Are you sure? Millions over the country have been bad effected by the RMT calling the guards on strike for what for nearly everyone are ludicrous reasons ie stopping the train driver operating the doors just like they do on the same trains on different networks.
Zero love for the RMT defending their labour monopoly across the UK.
Out canvassing in Chingford this afternoon and had Momentum canvassing on the other side of the street at the same time. They even appeared when one of our canvassers was chatting with a resident and were politely told it was a Tory household. Good number of IDS window posters appearing though a few for Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen too
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
Not sure Boris's plan to ban rail strikes is such a good idea. A lot of commuters actually sympathize with the staff and see them as heroically defying the greedy and incompetent privatization fat cats. This could be seen as Boris just making life easier for his friends.
If I was a commuter I would be relieved that someone is taking on the RMT
I might want someone to take on the RMT, but a serial charlatan who has promised to take on the RMT before and then not even tried, would bring no relief whatsoever.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
Whereas now we have 50 yr old Pacers and Northern Rail bleeding the tax payer dry whilst providing an even more grossly unreliable and inefficient service at a massively inflated cost.
No wonder want the railways Nationalising
The trains being used are entirely down to the rules the DfT set franchises, ie the already nationalised part.
Not sure Boris's plan to ban rail strikes is such a good idea. A lot of commuters actually sympathize with the staff and see them as heroically defying the greedy and incompetent privatization fat cats. This could be seen as Boris just making life easier for his friends.
If I was a commuter I would be relieved that someone is taking on the RMT
I might want someone to take on the RMT, but a serial charlatan who has promised to take on the RMT before and then not even tried, would bring no relief whatsoever.
He also managed to get a new deal by going to the EU, begging and then dropping May's red lines.
Boris Johnson is not a good negotiator, he's weak and hopeless.
Out canvassing in Chingford this afternoon and had Momentum canvassing on the other side of the street at the same time. They even appeared when one of our canvassers was chatting with a resident and were politely told it was a Tory household. Good number of IDS window posters appearing though a few for Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen too
I haven't seen a poster, a canvasser or anything to indicate a GE either in my village or anywhere I have been in Llandudno and this is less than 3 weeks to polling
That's absurd. The reason we have sky-high fares and railways are so expensive to build and operate are due to the union strangehold. And service reliability suffers too whenever a single rostered member of staff is out of the line.
If we had unions everywhere, like the 70s, we'd have national stoppages and strikes in every sector you could think of (imagine Sainsbury's and Waitrose being empty due to regular lorrymen strikes) higher prices as a result, poorer choice as corporatism and consolidation occurred to counter the unions, and a sclerotic and unpredictable economy making it impossible for businesses to confidently invest. Everyone would be poorer and more miserable. It'd be an industrial relations masterclass in the tragedy of the commons.
And have you met many train drivers by the way, particularly in TfL? They are some of the most miserable people on the planet, despite having superb pay and benefits.
Maybe because people like you constantly shout and scream at them.
Thank you.
I think we'll take that as conceding the point then.
No I'm not conceding anything. I just think you personally attacking train drivers as being miserable is not relevant and just makes you look like an angry old person. I'm sure you're not like that at all - but I couldn't let that go unchallenged.
In Germany they have wide collective bargaining, very high union membership and the result is very reliable trains, efficient public services and good wages.
"Back to the 70s" is the most boring and oft-repeated attack I see on this site. There is not one policy from Labour that would do that, it's as ridiculous as me calling Boris Johnson a facist.
German trains do not run time and are not efficient. My mum was shocked last year when she went there at how bad the service was.
I would agree, but the UK is so, so, so much worse, and costs roughly twice the price. I know as I have lots of experiencce with train travel in both countries.
Had a Labour leaflet this afternoon - I can't recall them ever bothering before - but the local Lib Dems are doing their usual "only we can beat the tories" (with "polling" or more accurately a forecast) despite coming 3rd last time.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
Postal voting packs were being delivered today and some ballot slips will have already been posted back, any polls after today will start to become partial exit polls.
My postal vote was delivered on Thursday and obviously returned that evening.
Within the date range, every council’s ERO is allowed to set their own timetable. People who find out what is happening in their local area and then opine on here about PVs nationwide are spreading fake news.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Not sure Boris's plan to ban rail strikes is such a good idea. A lot of commuters actually sympathize with the staff and see them as heroically defying the greedy and incompetent privatization fat cats. This could be seen as Boris just making life easier for his friends.
If I was a commuter I would be relieved that someone is taking on the RMT
I might want someone to take on the RMT, but a serial charlatan who has promised to take on the RMT before and then not even tried, would bring no relief whatsoever.
He also managed to get a new deal by going to the EU, begging and then dropping May's red lines.
Boris Johnson is not a good negotiator, he's weak and hopeless.
can't wait to see Labours super new deal which they will then urge us to turn down.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Also, trains back before 1994 didn't cost half your income to get from A to B. Network Rail fly their staff around the UK because it saves on the ££££ of using trains. Train fares in this country are a national disgrace.
Out canvassing in Chingford this afternoon and had Momentum canvassing on the other side of the street at the same time. They even appeared when one of our canvassers was chatting with a resident and were politely told it was a Tory household. Good number of IDS window posters appearing though a few for Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen too
Canvassing for IDS as a Conservative must be the equivalent of canvassing for Diane Abbott for Labour; a battle to suppress the embarrassment of association with the candidate. It is a mystery why parties do not gently consign the useless to pastures new when they start being a drain on the reputation of the party.
Out canvassing in Chingford this afternoon and had Momentum canvassing on the other side of the street at the same time. They even appeared when one of our canvassers was chatting with a resident and were politely told it was a Tory household. Good number of IDS window posters appearing though a few for Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen too
I haven't seen a poster, a canvasser or anything to indicate a GE either in my village or anywhere I have been in Llandudno and this is less than 3 weeks to polling
Unless you are in the top 50 or so target seats for the Tories, Labour or LDs you are unlikely to see much activity. In Epping Forest we had the speaker car for Eleanor Laing out this morning and were in the high street in Epping and Theydon Bois and are getting out some calling cards and the election address but that is it other than posters in our usual sites and putting out some tellers on polling day outside the polling station.
Though given Aberconwy is 21st on the Labour target list surprising not more activity there
Postal voting packs were being delivered today and some ballot slips will have already been posted back, any polls after today will start to become partial exit polls.
Does anyone know what the percentage postal votes was last time? More interestingly, do we have any guesstimates on how quickly they get sent back?
I know that in my district ward it is 22% and that is indicative of the constituency as a whole. However, that is the base of permanent ones before the new applications for this election. In my ward there are two of the eight parishes where voters would benefit more from PVs but they have markedly lower rates of PVs - I presume they want the polling business for their village halls in both cases.
That’s something I have wondered about. Are polling station locations paid to host? And do they volunteer or are they voluntold?
They are paid, but it's not big money and I don't think they can be forced to do it, that's why councils try to use their own buildings such as schools, libraries etc.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Believe me it can and was under BR
Can you explain what could be worse for my train than being 15 minutes late, overcrowded (with a lot of people standing), dirty (I had what looked like a shit stain on my seat the other day) and with faulty doors that don't open?
Postal voting packs were being delivered today and some ballot slips will have already been posted back, any polls after today will start to become partial exit polls.
Does anyone know what the percentage postal votes was last time? More interestingly, do we have any guesstimates on how quickly they get sent back?
I know that in my district ward it is 22% and that is indicative of the constituency as a whole. However, that is the base of permanent ones before the new applications for this election. In my ward there are two of the eight parishes where voters would benefit more from PVs but they have markedly lower rates of PVs - I presume they want the polling business for their village halls in both cases.
That’s something I have wondered about. Are polling station locations paid to host? And do they volunteer or are they voluntold?
For village halls in very small communities, under 200 voters it is the best gig of the year - by far. They are paid according to their hire rates. But even for a large community 2000 voters most will buy out existing commitments. Having said that one community in my ward is not having polling at the usual location as it is hosting the village school's nativity play. There is some unhappiness about this as the alternative venue is considered by some less disabled friendly.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Probably because enough of us remember how absolutely crap they were when they were in public ownership. And we see how crap Network Rail is.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Also, trains back before 1994 didn't cost half your income to get from A to B. Network Rail fly their staff around the UK because it saves on the ££££ of using trains. Train fares in this country are a national disgrace.
If my train ticket was £100 and it was late, I wouldn't care so much. But I pay nearly £500 a month and it's been on time twice.
I get a "refund" of 3% if it's over 15 minutes late, so if it's around 10 minutes late as per normal, they keep my money and use it to fund the Hong Kong metro.
This isn't capitalism, it's an organised cartel. I as a consumer have no choice. It's absolutely ridiculous.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Believe me it can and was under BR
Can you explain what could be worse for my train than being 15 minutes late, overcrowded (with a lot of people standing), dirty (I had what looked like a shit stain on my seat the other day) and with faulty doors that don't open?
Krusty McCluskey calling a strike because it is discriminatory that the rest of the seats do not have shit stains?
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
You must be young - my journeys are generally on fairly new trains and they are generally clean.
When I first commuted the trains were awful
The biggest problem for delays has been that old perennial - suicide by train.
Not sure how nationalising trains and expanding the power of unions (which history shows us will lead to more delay and disruption due to strikes) would stop that.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Probably because enough of us remember how absolutely crap they were when they were in public ownership. And we see how crap Network Rail is.
My train is always late, dirty, incredibly crowded (good luck getting a seat) and is £500 a month. How on Earth could it be any worse?
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Probably because enough of us remember how absolutely crap they were when they were in public ownership. And we see how crap Network Rail is.
My feeling is that neither privatization nor nationalization are the root of the crapness of our rail system. It's probably more to do with the confrontational style between management and unions. Blame to share on both side IMO
Out canvassing in Chingford this afternoon and had Momentum canvassing on the other side of the street at the same time. They even appeared when one of our canvassers was chatting with a resident and were politely told it was a Tory household. Good number of IDS window posters appearing though a few for Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen too
Canvassing for IDS as a Conservative must be the equivalent of canvassing for Diane Abbott for Labour; a battle to suppress the embarrassment of association with the candidate. It is a mystery why parties do not gently consign the useless to pastures new when they start being a drain on the reputation of the party.
IDS is quite a popular and hard-working local MP, saw more IDS window posters this afternoon than I have for most candidates I have canvassed for
Out canvassing in Chingford this afternoon and had Momentum canvassing on the other side of the street at the same time. They even appeared when one of our canvassers was chatting with a resident and were politely told it was a Tory household. Good number of IDS window posters appearing though a few for Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen too
I haven't seen a poster, a canvasser or anything to indicate a GE either in my village or anywhere I have been in Llandudno and this is less than 3 weeks to polling
Unless you are in the top 50 or so target seats for the Tories, Labour or LDs you are unlikely to see much activity. In Epping Forest we had the speaker car for Eleanor Laing out this morning and were in the high street in Epping and Theydon Bois and are getting out some calling cards and the election address but that is it other than posters in our usual sites and putting out some tellers on polling day outside the polling station.
I live in the Canterbury constituency. A questionnaire from the Tories at the start of October, and a Labour leaflet just after the election was called. A few Labour posters in Whitstable, in front windows (including a 'Remainers for Rosie'), and one for Anna Firth in a field on the edge of town. Seen no other activity.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Believe me it can and was under BR
Can you explain what could be worse for my train than being 15 minutes late, overcrowded (with a lot of people standing), dirty (I had what looked like a shit stain on my seat the other day) and with faulty doors that don't open?
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
You must be young - my journeys are generally on fairly new trains and they are generally clean.
When I first commuted the trains were awful
The biggest problem for delays has been that old perennial - suicide by train.
Not sure how nationalising trains and expanding the power of unions (which history shows us will lead to more delay and disruption due to strikes) would stop that.
I commute into London via SWR. My train is old, dirty, with faulty doors, incredibly overcrowded and with a cost of £500 a month. It couldn't be any worse.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Also, trains back before 1994 didn't cost half your income to get from A to B. Network Rail fly their staff around the UK because it saves on the ££££ of using trains. Train fares in this country are a national disgrace.
If my train ticket was £100 and it was late, I wouldn't care so much. But I pay nearly £500 a month and it's been on time twice.
I get a "refund" of 3% if it's over 15 minutes late, so if it's around 10 minutes late as per normal, they keep my money and use it to fund the Hong Kong metro.
This isn't capitalism, it's an organised cartel. I as a consumer have no choice. It's absolutely ridiculous.
"as a consumer I have no choice"
Yet you happy for Labour to nationalise whole sectors of economy.
Out canvassing in Chingford this afternoon and had Momentum canvassing on the other side of the street at the same time. They even appeared when one of our canvassers was chatting with a resident and were politely told it was a Tory household. Good number of IDS window posters appearing though a few for Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen too
I haven't seen a poster, a canvasser or anything to indicate a GE either in my village or anywhere I have been in Llandudno and this is less than 3 weeks to polling
Unless you are in the top 50 or so target seats for the Tories, Labour or LDs you are unlikely to see much activity. In Epping Forest we had the speaker car for Eleanor Laing out this morning and were in the high street in Epping and Theydon Bois and are getting out some calling cards and the election address but that is it other than posters in our usual sites and putting out some tellers on polling day outside the polling station.
Though given Aberconwy is 21st on the Labour target list surprising not more activity there
An indictment of how our voting system ignores the majority of the country straight from the Tory’s mouth.
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Believe me it can and was under BR
Can you explain what could be worse for my train than being 15 minutes late, overcrowded (with a lot of people standing), dirty (I had what looked like a shit stain on my seat the other day) and with faulty doors that don't open?
Trains that crash and kill lots of people?
What like under the privatised Railtrack, which went bust because of it?
Out canvassing in Chingford this afternoon and had Momentum canvassing on the other side of the street at the same time. They even appeared when one of our canvassers was chatting with a resident and were politely told it was a Tory household. Good number of IDS window posters appearing though a few for Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen too
I haven't seen a poster, a canvasser or anything to indicate a GE either in my village or anywhere I have been in Llandudno and this is less than 3 weeks to polling
Unless you are in the top 50 or so target seats for the Tories, Labour or LDs you are unlikely to see much activity. In Epping Forest we had the speaker car for Eleanor Laing out this morning and were in the high street in Epping and Theydon Bois and are getting out some calling cards and the election address but that is it other than posters in our usual sites and putting out some tellers on polling day outside the polling station.
Though given Aberconwy is 21st on the Labour target list surprising not more activity there
Those advocating nationalisation of the railways clearly cannot remember how bad British Rail was. Grossly unreliable and inefficient and prone to UK wide strikes paralysing the entire network.
How have the Swiss railways apparently managed to do better than us over a really long period?
100% elec trains No Beeching closures Lower subsidy Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester) Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
The majority of railways are publicly owned and run. I don't see why the British seem to think we can do it better.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
Most of the British population do not believe the private sector can run the railways better than a state owned organisation.
They must be too young to remember the filthy dirty delayed 'services' that the British Railways Board used to operate between 1948-1994 what a nightmare!
A lot of us look at the trains now and can't imagine how it could be much worse. My train has been on time twice in the last month. Twice.
Also, trains back before 1994 didn't cost half your income to get from A to B. Network Rail fly their staff around the UK because it saves on the ££££ of using trains. Train fares in this country are a national disgrace.
If my train ticket was £100 and it was late, I wouldn't care so much. But I pay nearly £500 a month and it's been on time twice.
I get a "refund" of 3% if it's over 15 minutes late, so if it's around 10 minutes late as per normal, they keep my money and use it to fund the Hong Kong metro.
This isn't capitalism, it's an organised cartel. I as a consumer have no choice. It's absolutely ridiculous.
"as a consumer I have no choice"
Yet you happy for Labour to nationalise whole sectors of economy.
Wonderful stuff
I want the trains to be publicly owned yes. Because then at least the £500 I was paying wouldn't be funding the Hong Kong metro.
For a better return on the Tories take a look at the Conservative Vote percentage market on Betfair exchange.
Given the polling over the last few weeks, and how Brexit Party voters have moved, it's very unlikely the Tory vote will now drop below 40%. This didn't happen even in GE2017 with the clusterf*ck, and the stakes for the Tories are even higher now and the narrative far better.
Right now, you can back the Tories to clock 40.00-44.99% at 2.2. If you're really nervous, you can also back 45.00-49.99% as a saver too at 6.2 giving a 1.78 return on the combo (after Betfair commission).
Comments
Yesterday’s 300,000 figure is the fourth largest ever recorded, the record was on deadline day in 2017 with 622,000 .
Most of them are already likely to be registered.
And in case you'd forgetten I've worked with TfL for the last six years and know quite a bit about what I'm talking about.
I suggest you change the subject or log off before you embarrass yourself further.
It means little.
But are they keeping up with older people such that their share of new * young* registrants is higher than older new registrants.
In fact 4 postal votes sent back from chez BJO
On the dem nomination front, Lindsay Graham has opened an investigation into Bidens conduct in office. Again, this is going to be seen as a partisan move but it may have a material effect on the race as the Burisma affair (and dealings in China on a similar vein) stink irrespective of Trumps actions subsequently.
It is correct that this is not how it is being reported in the MSM. It is absolutely true that this has been a very bad week for Trump, but it has been nowhere near the 'smoking gun' that the GOP in the Senate will need to convict, no matter how much CNN, MSNBC and myself would like it to be. There is IMO a preponderance of circumstantial evidence that Trump's quid was the Biden investigations until the whistleblower, but that is not enough for it to stick in the Senate - yet.
Lest you accuse me of being a Trump nit, I've been and anyone but Trumper from the get go, and support his impeachment, removal from office and prosecution.
And this, from the Guardian, of all places...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/11/why-german-trains-dont-run-on-time-any-more
I am afraid that Labour will make some further improvement, and I don't think that the Lib Dems will finish as high as 15%, but the Tory vote share is almost bound to be greater than Labour's. The question, of course, is whether or not the difference will be great enough to secure some sort of majority.
Theresa May finished 2.4% ahead in 2017 and came close enough to a working majority to be able to get across the finishing line with DUP votes. Arguably if Boris Johnson doesn't win some form of working majority (even a small one) from this position, then the 2019 result would be a bigger shock than the 2017 one.
Doesn't mean that it can't happen though.
100% elec trains
No Beeching closures
Lower subsidy
Affordable fares (unlike a £150-200 return London-Manchester)
Extreme punctuality.
State-owned since 1902. BR was only nationalised in about 1947.
Even in NI the railways are entirely publicly owned.
No wonder want the railways Nationalising
Zero love for the RMT defending their labour monopoly across the UK.
https://mobile.twitter.com/andrealeadsom/status/1198292018302275584
https://twitter.com/martinboon/status/1198180361571913735
Boris Johnson is not a good negotiator, he's weak and hopeless.
Whatever Labour might poll before , that is a factor to add on .
Though given Aberconwy is 21st on the Labour target list surprising not more activity there
I get a "refund" of 3% if it's over 15 minutes late, so if it's around 10 minutes late as per normal, they keep my money and use it to fund the Hong Kong metro.
This isn't capitalism, it's an organised cartel. I as a consumer have no choice. It's absolutely ridiculous.
When I first commuted the trains were awful
The biggest problem for delays has been that old perennial - suicide by train.
Not sure how nationalising trains and expanding the power of unions (which history shows us will lead to more delay and disruption due to strikes) would stop that.
Looking forward to CK III
*returns to watered-down gruel*
Yet you happy for Labour to nationalise whole sectors of economy.
Wonderful stuff
For a better return on the Tories take a look at the Conservative Vote percentage market on Betfair exchange.
Given the polling over the last few weeks, and how Brexit Party voters have moved, it's very unlikely the Tory vote will now drop below 40%. This didn't happen even in GE2017 with the clusterf*ck, and the stakes for the Tories are even higher now and the narrative far better.
Right now, you can back the Tories to clock 40.00-44.99% at 2.2. If you're really nervous, you can also back 45.00-49.99% as a saver too at 6.2 giving a 1.78 return on the combo (after Betfair commission).
That seems very generous to me.
DYOR.