In the previous thread a lot of Labour supporters were talking about wealth and inequality. If that's a crucial issue for voters, why do they think it is that the biggest swings from Labour to the Tories at the election are likely to be in less wealthy areas like Stoke-on-Trent, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, etc, whereas pretty wealthy constituencies like Chipping Barnet, Cambridge and Canterbury are likely to be pretty good for Labour?
It's a very good question.
Maybe poor voters don't care about the mega-rich. Maybe they don't believe anything can be done about it. Maybe they just don't like what Labour are proposing. Maybe they have been scared off progressive taxes by the mega-rich controlled press. I don't know.
But it is a good question.
It's been like that up to a point for a long time. There's a little estate in Broxtowe where people are really seriously poor. Lots of single parents, some elderly people down on their luck, some drug-dealers, nothing much to do. Most people living there are better off under Labour governments, but by and large they don't vote - life is rough, politics is for other people. What's changing is that a proportion of them voted Brexit and have now moved on to voting Tory.
It's a problem for the left that the people we think we're about helping are mostly disengaged. Just as in the US the Democrats look for votes from schoolteachers more thantrailer parks, in Britain Labour has rarely done much to try to mobilise the very poor, simply because it's so difficult - I often puzzled over it, and tried many times to interest that estate, but they were perfectly politely just not interested. At election time, it was always more promising to canvass an area with more people in work and getting something out of life.
I'm not proud of it, and one can argue that if the Tories win desperate Northern seats we had it coming. But I don't think they'll be happy with a Tory government either. A grim life is a grim life, and the differences that we all make are on the margins.
It would be interesting (from an election anorak point of view) to be in Australia on election day in a similar sort of place and watching almost everyone going to vote under their compulsory voting system.
On topic, fascinating digest by Cyclefree. Very very interesting. Thank you for writing it.
One point that struck me: in engaging with voters to challenge them interviewers have an important to interrogate, as well as politicians do to explain. But, interviewers need to understand that interrogation doesn’t mean going aggressively for a “gotcha” moment but to actually get them to clarify and explain all those arguments for the benefit of the viewers.
That means they too need to take their own agendas off the table and their egos out of the equation.
Completely agree with this. We have swung from, “Is there anything that you want to add, Minister?” to a level of hyper aggression where letting your interviewee get a word in edge ways is regarded as a weakness. It would be useful to hear what politicians actually think when not being harranged so we have some idea of what they would actually do if we elect them. The media have not had a good campaign.
Absolutely.
The media have been shocking and I do not watch the debates, other than Boris v Corbyn, just as I avoid question time as they just switch most sane people off
Marr was so bad last sunday v Boris my wife walked out in utter disgust at his constant harranguing. I wanted to see Boris put under pressure and hear his answers but in the end it was another example of the interviewer thinking it was all about them
Marr had a very bad day at the office last Sunday.
If I were Boris, I would now offer Andrew Neil a one hour interview in early January, to discuss all aspects of his programme in Government, his Cabinet, Brexit, the BBC - all in a calm post-election atmosphere where the need for gotcha moments has greatly diminshed - and they can actually get down to a meaningful talk.
Because the electorate really need that information after the election, right? Born to rule arrogance.
Amazing to hear the establishment fanboys say not only is Brexit the fault of remainers yesterday, but today we find out the reason we dont know what the PM thinks is because of Marr, not because he refuses to do serious interviews and debates, and when he does speak he invariably tells people what is to his advantage rather than his real thoughts.
You saying Marr is not a serious interview?
Id put facing him as about average. Maybe harder than Richard and Judy, much easier than Neill, Paxman, Ridge, Boulton, Burley or Sackur.
On topic, great piece @Cyclefree. While I disagree with Ken Clarke on the subject of the EU, I agree wholeheartedly with pretty much everything else he’s ever said.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
That's why I don't have a postal vote. On at least two occasions I have made my decision on the day (1992 GE and EURef). I think we should have early voting in person like in some American states
On topic, fascinating digest by Cyclefree. Very very interesting. Thank you for writing it.
One point that struck me: in engaging with voters to challenge them interviewers have an important to interrogate, as well as politicians do to explain. But, interviewers need to understand that interrogation doesn’t mean going aggressively for a “gotcha” moment but to actually get them to clarify and explain all those arguments for the benefit of the viewers.
That means they too need to take their own agendas off the table and their egos out of the equation.
Completely agree with this. We have swung from, “Is there anything that you want to add, Minister?” to a level of hyper aggression where letting your interviewee get a word in edge ways is regarded as a weakness. It would be useful to hear what politicians actually think when not being harranged so we have some idea of what they would actually do if we elect them. The media have not had a good campaign.
Absolutely.
The media have been shocking and I do not watch the debates, other than Boris v Corbyn, just as I avoid question time as they just switch most sane people off
Marr was so bad last sunday v Boris my wife walked out in utter disgust at his constant harranguing. I wanted to see Boris put under pressure and hear his answers but in the end it was another example of the interviewer thinking it was all about them
Disagree. It was a horrible interview, but because Boris deliberately filibusters Marr had no choice but to interrupt.
That is pure bias. Marr has been widely condemned for his interview and I wanted Boris put under pressure but not by a hysterical interviewer
I would just like to put on record that I have great reservations about Boris and in common with the vast majority I wish the choice was not between Boris or Corbyn
Corbyn is the reason I support Boris and the only reason. It is greater than Brexit for me
I hope if Boris wins he introduces more liberal policies and depending on his majority agrees a sensible FTA and the country moves the dial past 24 x 7 Brexit controversies and Corbyn is consigned to history
Corbyn is awful. Boris is awful. Only Boris can win a majority and put in place his plan to devastate the economy via no deal. Corbyn never will have the numbers to turn us into a Russian satellite state.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
You know Maic, in years gone by I used to organise a xmas float going round town and it is a fact that in the council estates the families emptied their pockets into the collecting tins and in the wealthy areas most hid behind their curtains. It was the ordinary folk who could least afford it who gave the most
On topic, fascinating digest by Cyclefree. Very very interesting. Thank you for writing it.
One point that struck me: in engaging with voters to challenge them interviewers have an important to interrogate, as well as politicians do to explain. But, interviewers need to understand that interrogation doesn’t mean going aggressively for a “gotcha” moment but to actually get them to clarify and explain all those arguments for the benefit of the viewers.
That means they too need to take their own agendas off the table and their egos out of the equation.
Completely agree with this. We have swung from, “Is there anything that you want to add, Minister?” to a level of hyper aggression where letting your interviewee get a word in edge ways is regarded as a weakness. It would be useful to hear what politicians actually think when not being harranged so we have some idea of what they would actually do if we elect them. The media have not had a good campaign.
Absolutely.
The media have been shocking and I do not watch the debates, other than Boris v Corbyn, just as I avoid question time as they just switch most sane people off
Marr was so bad last sunday v Boris my wife walked out in utter disgust at his constant harranguing. I wanted to see Boris put under pressure and hear his answers but in the end it was another example of the interviewer thinking it was all about them
Marr had a very bad day at the office last Sunday.
If I were Boris, I would now offer Andrew Neil a one hour interview in early January, to discuss all aspects of his programme in Government, his Cabinet, Brexit, the BBC - all in a calm post-election atmosphere where the need for gotcha moments has greatly diminshed - and they can actually get down to a meaningful talk.
Because the electorate really need that information after the election, right? Born to rule arrogance.
Amazing to hear the establishment fanboys say not only is Brexit the fault of remainers yesterday, but today we find out the reason we dont know what the PM thinks is because of Marr, not because he refuses to do serious interviews and debates, and when he does speak he invariably tells people what is to his advantage rather than his real thoughts.
You saying Marr is not a serious interview?
Id put facing him as about average. Maybe harder than Richard and Judy, much easier than Neill, Paxman, Ridge, Boulton, Burley or Sackur.
Richard can be quite the terrier though. He won't let go of a point....
Current global meat production is undoubtedly bad for the planet. Without greatly reducing consumption, non-intensively farmed grass fed ruminants would not get anywhere near supplying current demand. At the moment, it’s increasing.
The "vegan" interior was a £3k option on my Taycan. Porsche know which way the wind is blowing.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
You know Maic, in years gone by I used to organise a xmas float going round town and it is a fact that in the council estates the families emptied their pockets into the collecting tins and in the wealthy areas most hid behind their curtains. It was the ordinary folk who could least afford it who gave the most
Silly sloganeering. If you have finite assets, to allocate more to those with less you necessarily have to take from those with more. There's local pockets across which that is not necessarily true, and special rules might temporarily apply to pretendy assets like money, but overall it cannot not be the case.
An interesting take, and I'd agree he comes across as an avuncular uncle-figure, but there was one telling sentence … "It was notable that Clarke admitted that his generation of politicians had been perhaps too smug and confident about what they were doing and had not noticed what was happening under their noses."
I may have missed it, but there was no mention of listening to the voters, only of convincing them. Politicians are convinced they are right, which makes them impervious to learning from mistakes. Even facts don't matter if they conflict with their world view.
It's a pity the media prefers partisan voices, and worse, angry ones. The other side is evil because they disagree. I think Corbyn means well at heart - he can't help being barmy. Scientist can be biased and often are, but their mistakes eventually come back to embarrass them.
Politicians never admit mistakes. If Brexit sees our economy race along, compared to the EU, Remainers will still claim it is lower than it would have been. If Jezza becomes PM and we turn into Venezuela, it will be the fault of the Tories, or the gnomes of Zurich, or Farmer Jones, or more likely, the USA. When you are perfect, you never make mistakes, do you?
With education has come cynicism and MPs have yet to catch up.
On topic, great piece @Cyclefree. While I disagree with Ken Clarke on the subject of the EU, I agree wholeheartedly with pretty much everything else he’s ever said. (Nice photo BTW).
Doesn't that make you stop and think?
LOL nope. Even the greatest politicians of their generation are allowed the occasional blind spot in their thinking.
Current global meat production is undoubtedly bad for the planet. Without greatly reducing consumption, non-intensively farmed grass fed ruminants would not get anywhere near supplying current demand. At the moment, it’s increasing.
The "vegan" interior was a £3k option on my Taycan. Porsche know which way the wind is blowing.
Conspicuous consumption Dura_Ace? I`m surprised at you. You winding us up?
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
You know Maic, in years gone by I used to organise a xmas float going round town and it is a fact that in the council estates the families emptied their pockets into the collecting tins and in the wealthy areas most hid behind their curtains. It was the ordinary folk who could least afford it who gave the most
My wife was talking about a school in the Dales last night. As an aside for those that don't know as it's essential to the story - school trips for an educational purpose can not request payment just ask for donations.
The trip is currently £400 short as all the poorer parents have paid but those with the fancier cars haven't. Let's just say it's not gone down well in the local villages.
Now this trip will go ahead but with that shortfall it will be the last one.
There was a time when Ken Clarke was strongly disliked by anyone who wasn't a Conservative, particularly when he was a cigar-smoking Health Secretary at a time when there was a big campaign to get people to stop smoking. He was also criticised for being overweight at that time as well IIRC.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
As I expected and asked last week, we’re now starting to get the luvvies (Hugh Grant and a couple of Lefty stand-up comics) standing up and saying we’re all going to hell in a handcart if we don’t kick the Tories out.
The Guardian letter can only be days away.
Dear Ashfield, Grimsby, West Bromwich, Stoke plebs,
I know in your ignorance you have already voted for Brexit please do not compound the problem by giving Boris Johnson a majority. Instead please vote for your left liberal woke candidate we approve of and go back to voting Labour like you usually do and then we can conveniently ignore you for the rest of the Parliament.
Yours sincerely,
Hugh Grant and other luvvies,
Islington, Hampstead etc
It clearly makes them feel better, if nothing else.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
You know Maic, in years gone by I used to organise a xmas float going round town and it is a fact that in the council estates the families emptied their pockets into the collecting tins and in the wealthy areas most hid behind their curtains. It was the ordinary folk who could least afford it who gave the most
My wife was talking about a school in the Dales last night. As an aside for those that don't know as it's essential to the story - school trips for an educational purpose can not request payment just ask for donations.
The trip is currently £400 short as all the poorer parents have paid but those with the fancier cars haven't. Let's just say it's not gone down well in the local villages.
Now this trip will go ahead but with that shortfall it will be the last one.
Just don't take the kids who's parents refused to pay?
Silly sloganeering. If you have finite assets, to allocate more to those with less you necessarily have to take from those with more. There's local pockets across which that is not necessarily true, and special rules might temporarily apply to pretendy assets like money, but overall it cannot not be the case.
'if you have finite assets' is the key. The point is if those with more generate more assets themselves, then cutting them down cuts everyone down.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
You know Maic, in years gone by I used to organise a xmas float going round town and it is a fact that in the council estates the families emptied their pockets into the collecting tins and in the wealthy areas most hid behind their curtains. It was the ordinary folk who could least afford it who gave the most
My wife was talking about a school in the Dales last night. As an aside for those that don't know as it's essential to the story - school trips for an educational purpose can not request payment just ask for donations.
The trip is currently £400 short as all the poorer parents have paid but those with the fancier cars haven't. Let's just say it's not gone down well in the local villages.
Now this trip will go ahead but with that shortfall it will be the last one.
As chairman of the PTA, years ago I should say, it was just the same
Squeaky bum time for the SNP? Black dashed is 2017, gold is 2019. National polls only so rounding is an issue!
Difficult to tell what the election is about up there. I have good friends up there, traditional labour but hating the SNP. They live in Glasgow. Where to go?
This might be showing that pollsters are doing a better job. In 2017 they got 3.1% nationally, and the latest Scottish polls show them to be in a similar position to last time.
@ RobD Thanks for the graphs you post. It struck me that a useful additional layer of analysis, rather than just looking at the voting intentions and the gap, might be a chart of the rate of Labour's closing the gap, 2017 vs now.
Makes Perth and north Perthshire look interesting.
Top tip: look at leader ratings rather than VI.
Hat-tip: OGH
Sturgeon: positive Swinson: negative Rennie: v negative Leonard: v negative SCon leader: none Johnson: extraordinarily negative Corbyn: extraordinarily negative
Silly sloganeering. If you have finite assets, to allocate more to those with less you necessarily have to take from those with more. There's local pockets across which that is not necessarily true, and special rules might temporarily apply to pretendy assets like money, but overall it cannot not be the case.
They seem to manage a more balanced society in the Nordic countries. Their rich people appear to be happy being just wealthy rather than wanting to have it all and have everybody else poor. The UK is a sh**hole.
That's why I don't have a postal vote. On at least two occasions I have made my decision on the day (1992 GE and EURef). I think we should have early voting in person like in some American states
I doubt it affects the result very much.
I agree with those who’ve said that early postal voters are usually the most committed core voters.
Those who are undecided wait until the day itself, and even agitate over the decision then.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
Marr had a very bad day at the office last Sunday.
If I were Boris, I would now offer Andrew Neil a one hour interview in early January, to discuss all aspects of his programme in Government, his Cabinet, Brexit, the BBC - all in a calm post-election atmosphere where the need for gotcha moments has greatly diminshed - and they can actually get down to a meaningful talk.
Because the electorate really need that information after the election, right? Born to rule arrogance.
Amazing to hear the establishment fanboys say not only is Brexit the fault of remainers yesterday, but today we find out the reason we dont know what the PM thinks is because of Marr, not because he refuses to do serious interviews and debates, and when he does speak he invariably tells people what is to his advantage rather than his real thoughts.
You saying Marr is not a serious interview?
Id put facing him as about average. Maybe harder than Richard and Judy, much easier than Neill, Paxman, Ridge, Boulton, Burley or Sackur.
Richard can be quite the terrier though. He won't let go of a point....
That’s fair, he’s very good at the unexpectedly difficult question and knows a crap politician’s non-answer when he hears it - I believe he was a serious journalist in a previous life. See also Emma Barnett for a similar style. Neither are of the calibre of Andrew Neil or Stephen Sackur though.
Silly sloganeering. If you have finite assets, to allocate more to those with less you necessarily have to take from those with more. There's local pockets across which that is not necessarily true, and special rules might temporarily apply to pretendy assets like money, but overall it cannot not be the case.
'if you have finite assets' is the key. The point is if those with more generate more assets themselves, then cutting them down cuts everyone down.
As I said, generating more assets only happens in limited space/time environments.
And I'd be interested to see what percentage of billionaires really generate assets anyway. Mobutu, Epstein, oligarchs? Whereas your sole poster boy is probably a pedlar of overpriced and inferior Henry substitutes.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
You know Maic, in years gone by I used to organise a xmas float going round town and it is a fact that in the council estates the families emptied their pockets into the collecting tins and in the wealthy areas most hid behind their curtains. It was the ordinary folk who could least afford it who gave the most
My wife was talking about a school in the Dales last night. As an aside for those that don't know as it's essential to the story - school trips for an educational purpose can not request payment just ask for donations.
The trip is currently £400 short as all the poorer parents have paid but those with the fancier cars haven't. Let's just say it's not gone down well in the local villages.
Now this trip will go ahead but with that shortfall it will be the last one.
As chairman of the PTA, years ago I should say, it was just the same
As a school Governor it was the same. One person was so bad I joked that if he paid enough I would say it was sponsored by his company. As it was a tax deductible item he did actually pay for an entire trip (which allowed us to write what was previously owed off).
It's well worth watching this brief Michael Crick report on Claire Wright in East Devon. Apart from anything else, it indicates how savvy people are now on Tactical Voting. This will be one of THE stories of this election.
Just listen to yourself. When this election is over, whether right or left win or a combination, the climate will still be a central issue and everyone needs to listen and change.
Challenging candidates with awkward questions is democracy (and activism) at its best. Hysterical shrieking to drown out opponents in a public forum may provide the hard of thinking with a fleeting hit of dopamine but will alienate the 99.9% who aren't obsessing about the subject. View the protesters getting pasted round the tube platform by commuters the other week as a case in point.
And ironically they’re not that interested in science either. I’ve certainly learnt over the last year or so, especially since the IPCC special report and the hysteria following it is that many of those claiming to be environmentalists are often very poorly informed, and when their assumptions are challenged react in a way a devoted religious person reacts when you poke holes in what they see as their core belief system.
Indeed, including the new religion of Veganism. The BBC surprised me by publishing this well-balanced piece including passages from some very respected scientists and analysts who cast serious doubt on the “meat is bad for the environment” orthodoxy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/meat_environment
Current global meat production is undoubtedly bad for the planet. Without greatly reducing consumption, non-intensively farmed grass fed ruminants would not get anywhere near supplying current demand. At the moment, it’s increasing.
It’s far more complex than that, and really orientated around all 10 billion people in the world moving to a very similar (western skewed) diet.
Instead, we should take far greater interest in the vernacular. For example, here in the UK, moderate amounts of grass-fed lamb and beef from Welsh and Scottish uplands, and the English north, isn’t really a problem whereas we should probably be flying in a few less daily planeloads of avocados and creating pressure in Malaysia and Brazil to clear rainforest for soy.
It's well worth watching this brief Michael Crick report on Claire Wright in East Devon. Apart from anything else, it indicates how savvy people are now on Tactical Voting. This will be one of THE stories of this election.
It's well worth watching this brief Michael Crick report on Claire Wright in East Devon. Apart from anything else, it indicates how savvy people are now on Tactical Voting. This will be one of THE stories of this election.
Current global meat production is undoubtedly bad for the planet. Without greatly reducing consumption, non-intensively farmed grass fed ruminants would not get anywhere near supplying current demand. At the moment, it’s increasing.
The "vegan" interior was a £3k option on my Taycan. Porsche know which way the wind is blowing.
Optioning Porsches to maximise their residual value is a fine art; it's very easy to over or under option them. The vegan interior ones are going to command a premium just for the novelty value - see also getting the "Mission E" wheels. I also object to hooning around in an inside out cow on ethical grounds.
Nobody in the UK has been banned for speeding in an electric vehicle yet. Challenge accepted. 🕶️
It's well worth watching this brief Michael Crick report on Claire Wright in East Devon. Apart from anything else, it indicates how savvy people are now on Tactical Voting. This will be one of THE stories of this election.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
You know Maic, in years gone by I used to organise a xmas float going round town and it is a fact that in the council estates the families emptied their pockets into the collecting tins and in the wealthy areas most hid behind their curtains. It was the ordinary folk who could least afford it who gave the most
My wife was talking about a school in the Dales last night. As an aside for those that don't know as it's essential to the story - school trips for an educational purpose can not request payment just ask for donations.
The trip is currently £400 short as all the poorer parents have paid but those with the fancier cars haven't. Let's just say it's not gone down well in the local villages.
Now this trip will go ahead but with that shortfall it will be the last one.
As chairman of the PTA, years ago I should say, it was just the same
As a school Governor it was the same. One person was so bad I joked that if he paid enough I would say it was sponsored by his company. As it was a tax deductible item he did actually pay for an entire trip (which allowed us to write what was previously owed off).
I contribute to several charities but I make sure the charity gets the relevant tax relief by giving standing order, I rarely give anything to chuggers.(poppy collection excepted)
Giving to a roadside collection is no indication of someone's charitable kindness.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
For once, (and it is very rare!), I am on HYUFDs side, at least kind of. Why should the rich in the UK recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the UK if the rich in the world (i.e. the median in UK) arent willing to recognise their fortune and responsibilities to the poor in the world.
That is just puerile bollox, WTF does "recognise" mean. You halfwit , I bet the 14M give more to charity than the 6 tossers.
You know Maic, in years gone by I used to organise a xmas float going round town and it is a fact that in the council estates the families emptied their pockets into the collecting tins and in the wealthy areas most hid behind their curtains. It was the ordinary folk who could least afford it who gave the most
My wife was talking about a school in the Dales last night. As an aside for those that don't know as it's essential to the story - school trips for an educational purpose can not request payment just ask for donations.
The trip is currently £400 short as all the poorer parents have paid but those with the fancier cars haven't. Let's just say it's not gone down well in the local villages.
Now this trip will go ahead but with that shortfall it will be the last one.
As chairman of the PTA, years ago I should say, it was just the same
That's why the rich need to be taxed, you'd never get them to part with their filthy lucre otherwise.
Squeaky bum time for the SNP? Black dashed is 2017, gold is 2019. National polls only so rounding is an issue!
Difficult to tell what the election is about up there. I have good friends up there, traditional labour but hating the SNP. They live in Glasgow. Where to go?
This might be showing that pollsters are doing a better job. In 2017 they got 3.1% nationally, and the latest Scottish polls show them to be in a similar position to last time.
@ RobD Thanks for the graphs you post. It struck me that a useful additional layer of analysis, rather than just looking at the voting intentions and the gap, might be a chart of the rate of Labour's closing the gap, 2017 vs now.
@TimT - not sure what you mean by this. You want the derivative of the lead curve?
Silly sloganeering. If you have finite assets, to allocate more to those with less you necessarily have to take from those with more. There's local pockets across which that is not necessarily true, and special rules might temporarily apply to pretendy assets like money, but overall it cannot not be the case.
'if you have finite assets' is the key. The point is if those with more generate more assets themselves, then cutting them down cuts everyone down.
This sounds rather reminiscent of an inversion of the trickle-down theory. This model of understanding has not worked, as US and UK social and economic data show since the 1980s compared to Germany and Scandinavia.
It's well worth watching this brief Michael Crick report on Claire Wright in East Devon. Apart from anything else, it indicates how savvy people are now on Tactical Voting. This will be one of THE stories of this election.
Thanks, interesting video. The other Michael Crick election videos are also informative.
They are.
It's getting wearisome the way in which some Tories on here are just jumping on anything and everything without first engaging their brains. It's disappointing for a site like this at which the standards are normally high.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
An interesting take, and I'd agree he comes across as an avuncular uncle-figure, but there was one telling sentence … "It was notable that Clarke admitted that his generation of politicians had been perhaps too smug and confident about what they were doing and had not noticed what was happening under their noses."
I may have missed it, but there was no mention of listening to the voters, only of convincing them. Politicians are convinced they are right, which makes them impervious to learning from mistakes. Even facts don't matter if they conflict with their world view.
It's a pity the media prefers partisan voices, and worse, angry ones. The other side is evil because they disagree. I think Corbyn means well at heart - he can't help being barmy. Scientist can be biased and often are, but their mistakes eventually come back to embarrass them.
Politicians never admit mistakes. If Brexit sees our economy race along, compared to the EU, Remainers will still claim it is lower than it would have been. If Jezza becomes PM and we turn into Venezuela, it will be the fault of the Tories, or the gnomes of Zurich, or Farmer Jones, or more likely, the USA. When you are perfect, you never make mistakes, do you?
With education has come cynicism and MPs have yet to catch up.
The problem with listening to voters is that we want better services and less taxation, we want localisation but no postcode lottery, sometimes we have to be led and convinced about what is practical not just desirable. Johnson has gone for the listening approach, managing by opinion poll and promising what people want to hear. We shall see if it is successful but I think it will be a disaster.
As a school Governor it was the same. One person was so bad I joked that if he paid enough I would say it was sponsored by his company. As it was a tax deductible item he did actually pay for an entire trip (which allowed us to write what was previously owed off).
I contribute to several charities but I make sure the charity gets the relevant tax relief by giving standing order, I rarely give anything to chuggers.(poppy collection excepted)
Giving to a roadside collection is no indication of someone's charitable kindness.
Read what I wrote again - he wasn't willing to pay for school trips out of his money (and was willing to let other children miss out because of his stinginess),. Yet once I found a way to allow it to come from his company's marketing budget he was happy to pay.
Charity collection is another matter entirely. If a charity uses Chuggers or door to door salesman - that's the last time they see a penny from me.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
It is moving to the employed voting Labour and those on state benefits and social security voting Tory.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
If you actually think that I honestly feel sorry for you. I have never met a socialist who has anything other than a burning desire to end the scourge of poverty once and for all.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
It is moving to the employed voting Labour and those on state benefits and social security voting Tory.
Only in Britain's Berlusconian media-politics wonderland, and in Trump's America, could this happen, as William Davies writes well today.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
If you actually think that I honestly feel sorry for you. I have never met a socialist who has anything other than a burning desire to end the scourge of poverty once and for all.
Seems interesting that Labour's policies are so focused on the middle class rather than people in poverty.
PS: Cheek to call them party leaders when they are just region office managers of London parties, none of them exist as real political Scottish parties , they just steal the "Scottish" to pretend they have any Scottish content.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
Hence Tax Credits, where the majority of the population have to pay taxes then fill in forms to be allowed to get some of it back again. Far better to just reduce the tax rate in the first place.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
If you actually think that I honestly feel sorry for you. I have never met a socialist who has anything other than a burning desire to end the scourge of poverty once and for all.
8% unemployment in 2010, 4% now, wages also going up.
"The problem with listening to voters is that we want better services and less taxation, "
They do, but they are far more sensible then you imagine. They realise it has to be practicable. They also have biases, like politicians, and dislike being taken for fools. When politicians talk about communication with voters, they mean explaining why they are wrong. They may listen but they have no intention of hearing.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
If you actually think that I honestly feel sorry for you. I have never met a socialist who has anything other than a burning desire to end the scourge of poverty once and for all.
Seems interesting that Labour's policies are so focused on the middle class rather than people in poverty.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
It is moving to the employed voting Labour and those on state benefits and social security voting Tory.
No most private sector workers and those with private pensions and owner occupiers vote Tory, most on benefits and welfare dependent and most public sector workers vote Labour
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
If you actually think that I honestly feel sorry for you. I have never met a socialist who has anything other than a burning desire to end the scourge of poverty once and for all.
Seems interesting that Labour's policies are so focused on the middle class rather than people in poverty.
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
Hence Tax Credits, where the majority of the population have to pay taxes then fill in forms to be allowed to get some of it back again. Far better to just reduce the tax rate in the first place.
"The problem with listening to voters is that we want better services and less taxation, "
They do, but they are far more sensible then you imagine. They realise it has to be practicable. They also have biases, like politicians, and dislike being taken for fools. When politicians talk about communication with voters, they mean explaining why they are wrong. They may listen but they have no intention of hearing.
Voters arent sensible. Look at who we have chosen, our leaders on all sides are getting progressively worse. The changes we wanted, like electing party leaders one person one vote, rather than by those who know and work with them, have their career prospects in the hands of their leader, are all part of the journey we have been on making our politics and our country worse. I would much prefer leaders willing to lead and argue than politicians trying to please the crowd.
I think we might expect a ComRes poll tonight, if they are on a weekly schedule with the Telegraph. I thought MRP wasn't out until before the election?
Hence Tax Credits, where the majority of the population have to pay taxes then fill in forms to be allowed to get some of it back again. Far better to just reduce the tax rate in the first place.
Not really, you can't ask companies to collect detailed information about living (and caring) commitments to determine the amount of tax to be paid.
The only way around it would be to move towards a different tax system where income tax and NI was paid by the employee rather than deducted by the employer. As that approach is common in the EU I really can't see it being implemented by the Tories and HMRC like the way money is paid at the moment.
Current global meat production is undoubtedly bad for the planet. Without greatly reducing consumption, non-intensively farmed grass fed ruminants would not get anywhere near supplying current demand. At the moment, it’s increasing.
The "vegan" interior was a £3k option on my Taycan. Porsche know which way the wind is blowing.
You bought a Taycan, and paid extra to *not* have one of the best leather interiors this side of a Rolls Royce? ps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0vq6KEOIiMg
Optioning Porsches to maximise their residual value is a fine art; it's very easy to over or under option them. The vegan interior ones are going to command a premium just for the novelty value - see also getting the "Mission E" wheels. I also object to hooning around in an inside out cow on ethical grounds.
Nobody in the UK has been banned for speeding in an electric vehicle yet. Challenge accepted. 🕶️
Ha, that true, at the top level the options can make or break a car when it comes to selling it on. Ask all the Dubai dealers who ordered new Phantoms without the £30k Starlight roof option and ended up running them through auctions. Also to those who bought the late 2000s supercars with manual ‘boxes, which are now worth double the price of the crappy automatics that 90% of the new buyers went with at the time.
Glad to see you got your licence back, good luck trying to keep it with the Taycan
Anyways, this isn’t Pistonheads, back to politics!
Betfair moving in again, that's now 10 points in a day. Have we missed a new poll or has somebody seen the YouGov MRP early?
It should move in everyday unless there is a new poll telling us differently. If nothing changes the default is a tightening of the tory majority price.
On topic, great piece @Cyclefree. While I disagree with Ken Clarke on the subject of the EU, I agree wholeheartedly with pretty much everything else he’s ever said. (Nice photo BTW).
Doesn't that make you stop and think?
LOL nope. Even the greatest politicians of their generation are allowed the occasional blind spot in their thinking.
The man who brought the Internal Market and GP Fundholding o the NHS...
He came to talk to us at school once. Yes, very, very slippery under questioning.
Hence Tax Credits, where the majority of the population have to pay taxes then fill in forms to be allowed to get some of it back again. Far better to just reduce the tax rate in the first place.
Not really, you can't ask companies to collect detailed information about living (and caring) commitments to determine the amount of tax to be paid.
The only way around it would be to move towards a different tax system where income tax and NI was paid by the employee rather than deducted by the employer. As that approach is common in the EU I really can't see it being implemented by the Tories and HMRC like the way money is paid at the moment.
I’d love to see a system where people have to pay their own taxes. Most people in the US have to write a cheque for the taxman every year, that should focus the mind somewhat towards what government does with the money. Employer NI needs to be scrapped, it’s quite literally a tax on jobs.
On topic, great piece @Cyclefree. While I disagree with Ken Clarke on the subject of the EU, I agree wholeheartedly with pretty much everything else he’s ever said. (Nice photo BTW).
Doesn't that make you stop and think?
LOL nope. Even the greatest politicians of their generation are allowed the occasional blind spot in their thinking.
The man who brought the Internal Market and GP Fundholding o the NHS...
He came to talk to us at school once. Yes, very, very slippery under questioning.
Didn't he claim (I don't know whether that was truthful) that he did that as a compromise to prevent Thatcher introducing real privatisation?
On topic, I don't think Clarke is a saint and I don't agree with all his views, but he is the sort of grown up politician that the past seemed to contain in greater number in positions of power and influence. You could have him in a TV debate and actually learn something and maybe change your mind. Maybe I'm looking at the past through rose tinted specs, but I don't think he was particularly outstanding in his cohort, but beats most of the front benches of either main party now (there were still plenty of good people on the backbenches in the last parliament).
Thats fallen a fair bit in the last few days from 1.5+ hasn't it. Realisation that the 2017 pattern isn't being followed?
Strangely we got the Sunday polls that weren't bad for the Tories and it drifted out to 1.54, we got new ones that were decent for Tories Monday a little movement in, but much increased liquidity. Now proper movement.
Current global meat production is undoubtedly bad for the planet. Without greatly reducing consumption, non-intensively farmed grass fed ruminants would not get anywhere near supplying current demand. At the moment, it’s increasing.
The "vegan" interior was a £3k option on my Taycan. Porsche know which way the wind is blowing.
Optioning Porsches to maximise their residual value is a fine art; it's very easy to over or under option them. The vegan interior ones are going to command a premium just for the novelty value - see also getting the "Mission E" wheels. I also object to hooning around in an inside out cow on ethical grounds.
Nobody in the UK has been banned for speeding in an electric vehicle yet. Challenge accepted. 🕶️
Re "Spreading the Wealth". There's some way to go.
The six (SIX!) wealthiest people in this country own more than the 13.9m poorest.
And those with median wealth in the UK are wealthier than 90% of the world's population, so what
Only a rich Tory could come out with crap like that
Very poor from HYUFD
Morning G, He is the type that give the Tories such a bad name.
We are in the same party but are very different, HYUFD is on the right, I am on the left of the party
He makes Attila the Hun look like a leftie, very sad. He better hope he does not hit a bump in life I doubt he could cope, one day he will realise that having money and despising the poor is not all life is about.
I don't despise the poor I want to make them richer, socialists love poverty as poorer welfare dependent voters vote Labour
It is moving to the employed voting Labour and those on state benefits and social security voting Tory.
No most private sector workers and those with private pensions and owner occupiers vote Tory, most on benefits and welfare dependent and most public sector workers vote Labour
I know you like your polls so ICM with the Tories leading 42-32 has:
Full time: Tory 33 Labour 30 Part time: Tory 27 Labour 33 Which makes combined working: Tory 31 Labour 31
It is retired (50:15) which gives Tories the big lead. Over 55% of social security goes to pensioners. The Tories are the party of state handouts for votes.
Comments
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0vq6KEOIiMg
An interesting take, and I'd agree he comes across as an avuncular uncle-figure, but there was one telling sentence … "It was notable that Clarke admitted that his generation of politicians had been perhaps too smug and confident about what they were doing and had not noticed what was happening under their noses."
I may have missed it, but there was no mention of listening to the voters, only of convincing them. Politicians are convinced they are right, which makes them impervious to learning from mistakes. Even facts don't matter if they conflict with their world view.
It's a pity the media prefers partisan voices, and worse, angry ones. The other side is evil because they disagree. I think Corbyn means well at heart - he can't help being barmy. Scientist can be biased and often are, but their mistakes eventually come back to embarrass them.
Politicians never admit mistakes. If Brexit sees our economy race along, compared to the EU, Remainers will still claim it is lower than it would have been. If Jezza becomes PM and we turn into Venezuela, it will be the fault of the Tories, or the gnomes of Zurich, or Farmer Jones, or more likely, the USA. When you are perfect, you never make mistakes, do you?
With education has come cynicism and MPs have yet to catch up.
Even the greatest politicians of their generation are allowed the occasional blind spot in their thinking.
The trip is currently £400 short as all the poorer parents have paid but those with the fancier cars haven't. Let's just say it's not gone down well in the local villages.
Now this trip will go ahead but with that shortfall it will be the last one.
Hat-tip: OGH
Sturgeon: positive
Swinson: negative
Rennie: v negative
Leonard: v negative
SCon leader: none
Johnson: extraordinarily negative
Corbyn: extraordinarily negative
I agree with those who’ve said that early postal voters are usually the most committed core voters.
Those who are undecided wait until the day itself, and even agitate over the decision then.
Neither are of the calibre of Andrew Neil or Stephen Sackur though.
And I'd be interested to see what percentage of billionaires really generate assets anyway. Mobutu, Epstein, oligarchs? Whereas your sole poster boy is probably a pedlar of overpriced and inferior Henry substitutes.
https://www.mailplus.co.uk/tv/the-michael-crick-report/781/our-man-visits-tory-held-exmouth-to-assess-the-threat-of-the-independents
Instead, we should take far greater interest in the vernacular. For example, here in the UK, moderate amounts of grass-fed lamb and beef from Welsh and Scottish uplands, and the English north, isn’t really a problem whereas we should probably be flying in a few less daily planeloads of avocados and creating pressure in Malaysia and Brazil to clear rainforest for soy.
Nobody in the UK has been banned for speeding in an electric vehicle yet. Challenge accepted. 🕶️
Giving to a roadside collection is no indication of someone's charitable kindness.
http://www.harvard-digital.co.uk/euro/pamphlet.htm
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1202009760528261120?s=20
https://twitter.com/chrbennike/status/1201835499318587393?s=20
It's getting wearisome the way in which some Tories on here are just jumping on anything and everything without first engaging their brains. It's disappointing for a site like this at which the standards are normally high.
I'm sure it will revert later this month.
Johnson has gone for the listening approach, managing by opinion poll and promising what people want to hear. We shall see if it is successful but I think it will be a disaster.
Charity collection is another matter entirely. If a charity uses Chuggers or door to door salesman - that's the last time they see a penny from me.
Report here: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/1904632/stv-debate-analysis-less-than-comfortable-experience-for-sturgeon-as-she-battles-scottish-rivals/
Labour's record speaks for itself
"The problem with listening to voters is that we want better services and less taxation, "
They do, but they are far more sensible then you imagine. They realise it has to be practicable. They also have biases, like politicians, and dislike being taken for fools. When politicians talk about communication with voters, they mean explaining why they are wrong. They may listen but they have no intention of hearing.
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.136297311
But I'm sure she can be relied on to tell readers what to think.
I would much prefer leaders willing to lead and argue than politicians trying to please the crowd.
The only way around it would be to move towards a different tax system where income tax and NI was paid by the employee rather than deducted by the employer. As that approach is common in the EU I really can't see it being implemented by the Tories and HMRC like the way money is paid at the moment.
Annual health report also found that millions are overweight and drink too much"
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/04/over-half-of-english-people-gambled-last-year-survey-finds
https://twitter.com/jamesdoleman/status/1202158196791664646?s=20
Glad to see you got your licence back, good luck trying to keep it with the Taycan
Anyways, this isn’t Pistonheads, back to politics!
He came to talk to us at school once. Yes, very, very slippery under questioning.
Employer NI needs to be scrapped, it’s quite literally a tax on jobs.
Has to be a rumour of a poll.
On topic, I don't think Clarke is a saint and I don't agree with all his views, but he is the sort of grown up politician that the past seemed to contain in greater number in positions of power and influence. You could have him in a TV debate and actually learn something and maybe change your mind. Maybe I'm looking at the past through rose tinted specs, but I don't think he was particularly outstanding in his cohort, but beats most of the front benches of either main party now (there were still plenty of good people on the backbenches in the last parliament).
Full time: Tory 33 Labour 30
Part time: Tory 27 Labour 33
Which makes combined working: Tory 31 Labour 31
It is retired (50:15) which gives Tories the big lead. Over 55% of social security goes to pensioners. The Tories are the party of state handouts for votes.
https://www.icmunlimited.com/our-work/icm-voting-intentions-poll-general-election-2019-3/