Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
To be blunt, BigG, although I agree with you on the need short of an absolutely sensational result it’s damned difficult to see any government being formed that doesn’t include Labour.
I think Tories - most seats but a Labour-Plaid-Green (if any) coalition government would be a reasonable bet. The snag is that unless the Tories or Plaid win an outright majority, one of which is out of the question and the other of which is extremely unlikely, then Plaid will almost certainly back Labour ahead of the Tories.
There is a big, and to the Chinese government hugely frustrating, contradiction on the status of Taiwan. China's position is that Taiwan is integral to its territory. In other words it doesn't matter a tiny bit what the people of Taiwan think, although the Chinese don't actually want to send the troops in. Taiwan doesn't object to reunification in principle although it distrusts the Chinese government in practice, Their point is that legitimacy comes from the people and it is entirely up to the people of Taiwan what they do.
To be fair on this issue, China position of territorial integrity no matter what people in that territory think, is legally the same as many other countries. The United States for example.
It's my view that the course of action the government has pursued will cause a great depression that will be an order of magnitude more harmful than the virus. Here's a professor from Bristol University saying just that:
"If the countermeasures we take reduce our life expectancy by more than 3 months, then because there are so many of us in the country, that means we will actually suffer more loss of life than we will from the epidemic itself".
I'm not arguing against lockdown because I'm bored and fancy a pint with my mates, I'm arguing against it because I think it's a calamitous policy that will ultimately hurt more than it helps.
Broadly speaking I'm a utilitarian - if something benefits a lot of people at the expense of a few people, I tend to be in favour unless it's outrageously unfair. But the Bristol Prof's view goes too far - effectively he says that we should accept the imminent death of N people in order to give the rest of us 3 months' longer lifespans. No. I'll take 3 months' less life rather than subscribe to sacrificing 100,000 lives to avoid it. If that's the choice.
The Prof is also assuming - without any hard evidence at all - that avoiding taking countermeasures would not have resulted in a similar depression.
So he's effectively suggesting sacrificing a number of lives for an outcome which might be no better.
Yes, I think the 'grand bargain' thing is off beam re this crisis. The virus without restrictions so severe as to wreck the economy and impinge on personal freedoms would have wrecked the economy and impinged on personal freedoms.
But I am interested in the general concept. For example, one I floated a while back, which sounds a bit silly but IMO isn't, since it illustrates the point well.
If a million people having a harmless but uncomfortable nosebleed for 60 minutes prevents a 75 year old man in Basildon* dropping dead of a heart attack, is this a good trade for the nation?
* he doesn't have to be in Basildon.
The genuine differences seem to be between countries with proactive/competent and reactive/dialling-it-in governments. The lockdown/no lockdown debate is a distraction.
Exactly right. It's about competence not some great philosophical weighing up of elderly lives against younger ones or of lives generally against money. Also it's very different for the developed world c.f. poorer nations without advanced healthcare.
Though some poorer nations with effective public health systems are doing relatively well too.
I saw a story second hand about Senegal doing incredibly well. Lots of chloroquin around as they already have it for Malaria. Simple treatments. No frills.
So why is Nadine Dorries sharing far right fake news when she's a health minister during a pandemic?
Should we consider the possibility it’s because she’s a useless twat?
I think it does show the different perils for those MPs who use twitter because in public life they feel they have to, and those who are genuinely into using it and thus much more likely to make an arse of themselves.
No gratitude for the fact we did not impose transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries in 2004 as Germany for instance did for 7 years
Was that fact that you're requesting gratitude for really some sort of sacrifice made by the UK to its own detriment, or was it more a case of the UKG making the decision to do its own economy a favour, by, on the one hand, attracting 'the best and the brightest' for its financial services and other high-value industries, and, on the other hand, attracting less - but still sufficiently - skilled workers for production plants, construction sites, hospitals and nursing homes, etc., because the UK workforce was not prepared or inclined to fill these more menial roles?
The development of unemployment numbers doesn't seem to indicate that net migration had driven the British out of their jobs, and it seems fairly arguable whether the widely percieved, but hardly measurable, wage suppression was more an effect of net migration or post-GFC wage austerity.
That decision undoubtedly suppressed wages for the lower skilled and added to pressure on housing and public services and was a key reason for the Leave vote in 2016
Nope, the key reason for the Leave vote was most that voted that way were just xenophobic. You don't need to worry though, because though you have sucked up to the loony right ever since, you voted Remain, and are only therefore xenophobic by association.
The UKIP vote rose from 6% in 1999 to 16% in 2009 on the European elections due to uncontrolled immigration from Eastern Europe. With proper transition controls like Germany had Brexit would have remained the pet hobby of obsessives like Cash, Farage and Hannan.
ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination prevents SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in rhesus macaques https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.13.093195v1 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 20191,2 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic3. Vaccines are an essential countermeasure urgently needed to control the pandemic4. Here, we show that the adenovirus-vectored vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, encoding the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, is immunogenic in mice, eliciting a robust humoral and cell-mediated response. This response was not Th2 dominated, as demonstrated by IgG subclass and cytokine expression profiling. A single vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 induced a humoral and cellular immune response in rhesus macaques. We observed a significantly reduced viral load in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and respiratory tract tissue of vaccinated animals challenged with SARS-CoV-2 compared with control animals, and no pneumonia was observed in vaccinated rhesus macaques. Importantly, no evidence of immune-enhanced disease following viral challenge in vaccinated animals was observed. ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is currently under investigation in a phase I clinical trial. Safety, immunogenicity and efficacy against symptomatic PCR-positive COVID-19 disease will now be assessed in randomised controlled human clinical trials.
The vaccinated animals did show viral shedding from the upper respiratory tract, but this was a very high dosage viral challenge trial, likely well in excess of any normal human exposure.
And contrast with similar studies for the original SARS virus vaccines, which...resulted in immunopathology after vaccination and challenge, with more severe disease in vaccinated animals than in controls...
Thanks, once again, Nigel for posting this. Very promising indeed.
No problem. I'm always happier posting good news.
Was on a very interesting call with a synthetic biology biosecurity crowd on Tuesday - a mixture of academics, entrepreneurs, angel investors, law enforcement, military and intelligence types (Chatham House rules).
Very interesting presentations on empirical analysis of measures taken vs trust in government, and on information flows.
In short, there seems to be no correlation between measures espoused and outcomes, but fairly strong correlation with trust in government and good outcomes. In other words, the actual strategy for combatting COVID does not seem that important, it is the degree of implementation. So the Swedish model could well work in Sweden, but not in the UK. And the Vietnam model could work there, but not in the US. And so on.
And on the information side, the Economist model of "democracies do better because of free flow of information" seems just wrong - too much information without screening for quality or actionability (US, UK) is not useful; moderated and directed access to information in a more centralized manner (Vietnam) seems to have been more effective; and, as one would expect, telling people what they can do, rather than what they should not, is also more effective.
If you're interested, I'll dig out the papers to send.
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
On that basis: UK worst nation in Europe for covid 19 deaths... UK needs to throw the Tories out in 2024.
You do not know that at this stage but we do know on today's figures shown on ITV Wales that Wales is behind all regions in England
We have suffered from labour for years with failing health service, and my family have had serious issues with it, and failing schooling
Labour and Drakeford has to go
LOL. The corollary of the paper I have just discussed, is that the failures in the UK and the US in dealing with COVID have more to do with our societal culture of questioning authority - our very high level of individualism which is the core of our capitalist successes - than with the decisions of our governments. We are to blame, not our governments.
Having dropped that bomb, I am going to sit back and enjoy the show ...
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
To be blunt, BigG, although I agree with you on the need short of an absolutely sensational result it’s damned difficult to see any government being formed that doesn’t include Labour.
I think Tories - most seats but a Labour-Plaid-Green (if any) coalition government would be a reasonable bet. The snag is that unless the Tories or Plaid win an outright majority, one of which is out of the question and the other of which is extremely unlikely, then Plaid will almost certainly back Labour ahead of the Tories.
It largely depends if Starmer stabilises labour in Wales
That election was over a decade before I was born. I wonder what the cut off is for it to no longer be considered "in modern times"?
It's strange to think but 1970 now is comparably long ago as the Great Depression period before before WWII was when I was in primary school.
If you ever want to feel old, subtract your age from your birth, and then look at what was happening in that year. Most people consider things that happened during their lives as relatively recent, and exaggerate just how far back "history" is
That election was over a decade before I was born. I wonder what the cut off is for it to no longer be considered "in modern times"?
It's strange to think but 1970 now is comparably long ago as the Great Depression period before before WWII was when I was in primary school.
If you ever want to feel old, subtract your age from your birth, and then look at what was happening in that year. Most people consider things that happened during their lives as relatively recent, and exaggerate just how far back "history" is
That election was over a decade before I was born. I wonder what the cut off is for it to no longer be considered "in modern times"?
It's strange to think but 1970 now is comparably long ago as the Great Depression period before before WWII was when I was in primary school.
If you ever want to feel old, subtract your age from your birth, and then look at what was happening in that year. Most people consider things that happened during their lives as relatively recent, and exaggerate just how far back "history" is
Not many people are inclined to look this directly in the face but it happens to be a bit of a quirky time obsession of mine. In two months time I reach the age of 66 - and I am conscious that was the average UK male expectancy in 1960. By my calculation, I have just reached what was normal male life expectancy in April 1959. I was young at the time but do have vivid memories of those years. I still see 1959 as being in the 'Modern World'. More strikingly, I tell myself that living beyond 80 cannot be assumed at all. I am faced with the reality that I am as close to 80 as to March 2006 - by which time Cameron had already been Tory leader for three months!
The Telegraph reporting the World Health Org saying we should be preparing for the second wave, rather than celebrating the end of the first
How depressing. I really feel for the vulnerable people patiently waiting indoors. No light at the end of the tunnel, things may never be the same again. Akin to a loss of innocence, the eating of the apple
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
There are plenty of bends left in this particular road. We're not in a position at present to know whether it was a disastrous move by Arlene or not.
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
Little sympathy to be had for the DUP. They had a great position holding the whip hand over the May government, and one of two things happened - either they enjoyed it too much and caused it to implode and then midjudged Johnson, or they they acted as they did toward May out of genuine principle and therefore deserve no sympathy for suffering worse afterwards, as they surely accepted the potential consequence whilst acting on their principles so don't need sympathy.
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
I thought the Japanese pre-emptively attacked the American fleet to break the blockade that America had placed on trade with Japan. In which case it makes sense, albeit a very high risk move. No such justification for the DUP's Brexit move.
That poll is old and was taken before Boris Johnson's government confirmed they had sold out the Norn Irish and put a border down the Irish Sea, something they had said they wouldn't.
Ted Heath's majority of 31 in 1970 included 8 Ulster Unionists still taking the Tory Whip. Without them , his majority was just 15 - reduced to 13 a year later following the Bromsgove by-election - and to just 11 in December 1972 after their loss of Sutton & Cheam.
In 1951 there were around 15-20 Liberal Nationals,* without whom Churchill didn’t have a majority at all. Your point being?
*Identifying Liberal Nationals is an inexact science, as some identified as Liberals, some as Liberals and Conservatives, some as Liberals and Unionists and some as Liberal Nationals. It is safe to say however that Churchill’s majority was dependent on them and the nine Ulster Unionists in a way that Eden’s or Macmillan’s was not.
To a large extent - if not totally - the National Liberals had been swallowed by the Tories by the early 1950s. I know they still had their own Chief Whip at that time, but in reality they had lost much of the seperate identity they had had under John Simon in the 1930s. I think of Gwilym Lloyd George - though I believe he was elected as a Liberal & Conservative in 1951 , having lost Pembroke to Labour against the national swing in 1950. Of course, Heseltine was originally a National Liberal - and John Nott.
Gwilym Lloyd George was a funny one from that point of view (I had a long and rather unproductive argument about him with our own dear Hyufd only the other week). He described himself as a Liberal in every election he fought - even though he lost the Liberal whip after joining the Conservative front bench under Churchill. But after switching to NuTN he was supported by Central Office, so was described by others including The Times as a ‘Liberal and Conservative.’ This didn’t sit well with the local Tory association, who on at least one occasion put up a candidate against him (I think it was in 1951).
I think it was only after he became a peer in 1957 that he actually joined the Conservatives.
I was unaware that Gwilym ever joined the Tories.At Pembroke he had no Tory opponent at the 1945 and 1950 elections, but by the latter his ever closer association with the Tories alienated enough Red-leaning Liberals to hand the seat narrowly to Labour's Desmond Donnelly!
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
The DUP will back Starmer next time if they have the balance of power and EEA for the whole UK.
Boris therefore must win a majority of again next time to stay PM as unlike Cameron or May the LDs and DUP will not prop him up
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
It's great, also confirmed that Dave (pbuh) was right about what Brexit would do the Union.
That poll is old and was taken before Boris Johnson's government confirmed they had sold out the Norn Irish and put a border down the Irish Sea, something they had said they wouldn't.
Nope, it was taken in February 2020 after Boris got his Withdrawal Agreement with a border in the Irish Sea and after he won a majority.
The DUP may hate it but most Northern Irish voters are fine with no hard border with the Republic of Ireland and still technically part of the UK
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
Little sympathy to be had for the DUP. They had a great position holding the whip hand over the May government, and one of two things happened - either they enjoyed it too much and caused it to implode and then midjudged Johnson, or they they acted as they did toward May out of genuine principle and therefore deserve no sympathy for suffering worse afterwards, as they surely accepted the potential consequence whilst acting on their principles so don't need sympathy.
The key point, obvious to everyone apart from themselves it seems, is that Unionists are the party of the status quo. Brexit threatens the status quo so they should oppose it with the Red Hand of Ulster.
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
It's great, also confirmed that Dave (pbuh) was right about what Brexit would do the Union.
Northern Ireland and Scotland still part of the UK after Brexit has been delivered?
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
It's great, also confirmed that Dave (pbuh) was right about what Brexit would do the Union.
Northern Ireland and Scotland still part of the UK after Brexit has been delivered?
That poll is old and was taken before Boris Johnson's government confirmed they had sold out the Norn Irish and put a border down the Irish Sea, something they had said they wouldn't.
Nope, it was taken in February 2020 after Boris got his Withdrawal Agreement with a border in the Irish Sea and after he won a majority.
The DUP may hate it but most Northern Irish voters are fine with no hard border with the Republic of Ireland and still technically part of the UK
That's spinning it somewhat. Most Northern Irish, push come to shove, will take a border in the Irish Sea if it avoids the even worse land border. But only extremists are happy with either border.
France doesn't collect data on ethnic minorities and the UK data is 9 years old.
Brexit will change the face of the European Union in many ways. For one, it will make it a lot whiter.
In a bloc that hasn’t placed much focus on increasing the political representation of minorities, the U.K. stands out. Its history of conversations about race relations is wholly different from most of Europe. It’s home to some of the most extensive anti-discrimination legislation and scholarly discussions around race. And it tracks and actively promotes minority leadership in politics and businesses through government-funded programs.
Activists and some politicians in Brussels have called for U.K.-esque policies to be implemented in the EU for years — but Brexit makes that far less likely.
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
To be blunt, BigG, although I agree with you on the need short of an absolutely sensational result it’s damned difficult to see any government being formed that doesn’t include Labour.
I think Tories - most seats but a Labour-Plaid-Green (if any) coalition government would be a reasonable bet. The snag is that unless the Tories or Plaid win an outright majority, one of which is out of the question and the other of which is extremely unlikely, then Plaid will almost certainly back Labour ahead of the Tories.
It largely depends if Starmer stabilises labour in Wales
But for the sake of Wales we need labour out
Even if Starmer does not stabilise things - and I think he will - while I can see the Tories creeping to 24 seats in a good year, I cannot see them getting any nearer 30. And without 30 seats in the absence of the Liberal Democrats they have no hope of forming a coalition. Plaid will not back them. Not even under Adam Price. So it would be a huge upset to see them take power.
And while Plaid might get 20 seats in a good year, that is pretty much their ceiling.
We could see Tory - 23, Labour - 22 Plaid - 15. Or, perhaps more likely, Labour - 25 Tory - 20. But whichever way around it is, who will Plaid back? And they will be the kingmakers.
The only way that might be averted is if the Tories agreed to a flipped coalition with Price as FM, but that seems even more unlikely. Perhaps a respected figure from outside the party leadership - Rhun ab Iorwerth or Janet Finch Saunders or evening Kirsty Williams if by some miracle she survives - might be put forward as a figurehead, but I don’t think it would work. Too many tensions and strains.
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
It's great, also confirmed that Dave (pbuh) was right about what Brexit would do the Union.
Northern Ireland and Scotland still part of the UK after Brexit has been delivered?
But long term?
Secure, Boris has banned indyref2 for the rest of his term and if Starmer gets in as PM the UK will return to the single market and any threat to the Union disappears
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
It's great, also confirmed that Dave (pbuh) was right about what Brexit would do the Union.
Northern Ireland and Scotland still part of the UK after Brexit has been delivered?
You are being deliberately obtuse.
You can make your point with some certainty in five or ten years assuming the status quo remains.
Very little discussion of this. It was the first ten mins of News at Ten last night. The presenter was almost in tears. It seemed like I was watching a magazine type programme rather than News.
"Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) medics and healthcare workers say "systemic discrimination" on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak may be a factor in the disproportionate number of their colleagues who have died after contracting the virus.
In the biggest survey of its kind, ITV News asked the UK's BAME healthcare community - respondents were of different ethnicity and roles in the NHS - why they thought more of their BAME colleagues are dying than their white counterparts.
The government has not published an official breakdown of NHS deaths by ethnicity, but ITV News' analysis found that the number of BAME NHS staff who died in England, was seven times higher than white workers."
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
To be blunt, BigG, although I agree with you on the need short of an absolutely sensational result it’s damned difficult to see any government being formed that doesn’t include Labour.
I think Tories - most seats but a Labour-Plaid-Green (if any) coalition government would be a reasonable bet. The snag is that unless the Tories or Plaid win an outright majority, one of which is out of the question and the other of which is extremely unlikely, then Plaid will almost certainly back Labour ahead of the Tories.
It largely depends if Starmer stabilises labour in Wales
But for the sake of Wales we need labour out
Even if Starmer does not stabilise things - and I think he will - while I can see the Tories creeping to 24 seats in a good year, I cannot see them getting any nearer 30. And without 30 seats in the absence of the Liberal Democrats they have no hope of forming a coalition. Plaid will not back them. Not even under Adam Price. So it would be a huge upset to see them take power.
And while Plaid might get 20 seats in a good year, that is pretty much their ceiling.
We could see Tory - 23, Labour - 22 Plaid - 15. Or, perhaps more likely, Labour - 25 Tory - 20. But whichever way around it is, who will Plaid back? And they will be the kingmakers.
The only way that might be averted is if the Tories agreed to a flipped coalition with Price as FM, but that seems even more unlikely. Perhaps a respected figure from outside the party leadership - Rhun ab Iorwerth or Janet Finch Saunders or evening Kirsty Williams if by some miracle she survives - might be put forward as a figurehead, but I don’t think it would work. Too many tensions and strains.
I would agree.
I have known Janet and her family for years and she is an excellent AM
At the time of the 1970 General Election I was living in Blackheath. I voted Liberal in the Greenwich seat. The candidate was unusual - she was English but had converted to Sikhism. On election day she was the front page news story in a Sikh newspaper. She did not win.
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
On that basis: UK worst nation in Europe for covid 19 deaths... UK needs to throw the Tories out in 2024.
You do not know that at this stage but we do know on today's figures shown on ITV Wales that Wales is behind all regions in England
We have suffered from labour for years with failing health service, and my family have had serious issues with it, and failing schooling
Labour and Drakeford has to go
One minute your against party political attacks, then you’re not. 🤷♂️
This is the fact of living in labour Wales and suffering in the failing health and education systems
Our local hospital concealed 84 covid deaths from the stats, yes 84
And Drakeford is a Corbynista and I have never agreed a truce with anyone who is a Corbynista
What a hypocrite
Cannot be a hypocrite for opposing all and everything to do with toxic Corbyn
And how about condemning our hospital concealing 84 deaths
In the interest of accuracy BigG, I take it that they concealed the cause of death, not the fact of it? Bearing in mind ‘concealing a death’ is an extremely serious criminal offence even if it has to be tried under the peculiar formula of ‘preventing a lawful and decent burial.’
I'd need more detail on that first question. Immediately return or return soon? A few weeks here or there could make a big difference on how I answer depending on what other areas are reducing restrictions.
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
Little sympathy to be had for the DUP. They had a great position holding the whip hand over the May government, and one of two things happened - either they enjoyed it too much and caused it to implode and then midjudged Johnson, or they they acted as they did toward May out of genuine principle and therefore deserve no sympathy for suffering worse afterwards, as they surely accepted the potential consequence whilst acting on their principles so don't need sympathy.
The key point, obvious to everyone apart from themselves it seems, is that Unionists are the party of the status quo. Brexit threatens the status quo so they should oppose it with the Red Hand of Ulster.
Eurosceptic propaganda did a good job of presenting Leave as the status quo option, and the EU as a burning building we needed to escape from.
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
It's great, also confirmed that Dave (pbuh) was right about what Brexit would do the Union.
Northern Ireland and Scotland still part of the UK after Brexit has been delivered?
But long term?
Secure, Boris has banned indyref2 for the rest of his term and if Starmer gets in as PM the UK will return to the single market and any threat to the Union disappears
Ultimately anything other than a close rule-taking relationship with the EU is going to be hard work. Not sure it will save the Union, though, and it's problematic in other ways.
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Surely the more amusing irony is that they hurled May under a bus claiming her deal was no good, only to get ruthlessly screwed over by Johnson who imposed a much worse one, indeed, one on the EU’s terms?
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
Little sympathy to be had for the DUP. They had a great position holding the whip hand over the May government, and one of two things happened - either they enjoyed it too much and caused it to implode and then midjudged Johnson, or they they acted as they did toward May out of genuine principle and therefore deserve no sympathy for suffering worse afterwards, as they surely accepted the potential consequence whilst acting on their principles so don't need sympathy.
The key point, obvious to everyone apart from themselves it seems, is that Unionists are the party of the status quo. Brexit threatens the status quo so they should oppose it with the Red Hand of Ulster.
Eurosceptic propaganda did a good job of presenting Leave as the status quo option, and the EU as a burning building we needed to escape from.
I had forgotten that. Remain somehow wasn't the status quo.
Brexit will be status quo in short order. Indyref is harder to win if there's not free and open and frictionless trade with the rest of Europe. You can create enough doubt in people's minds just because the land border for Scotland is with England, not the EU. The SNP abstained on a lot of the meaningful votes, but voted against Customs Union, and I think that will come back to bite them.
That election was over a decade before I was born. I wonder what the cut off is for it to no longer be considered "in modern times"?
It's strange to think but 1970 now is comparably long ago as the Great Depression period before before WWII was when I was in primary school.
If you ever want to feel old, subtract your age from your birth, and then look at what was happening in that year. Most people consider things that happened during their lives as relatively recent, and exaggerate just how far back "history" is
Eek, I see what you mean. That takes me back to 1880!
That election was over a decade before I was born. I wonder what the cut off is for it to no longer be considered "in modern times"?
It's strange to think but 1970 now is comparably long ago as the Great Depression period before before WWII was when I was in primary school.
If you ever want to feel old, subtract your age from your birth, and then look at what was happening in that year. Most people consider things that happened during their lives as relatively recent, and exaggerate just how far back "history" is
Eek, I see what you mean. That takes me back to 1880!
It takes me back to 1888 - but it tends make me see the 1880s as not so far back after all!
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
On that basis: UK worst nation in Europe for covid 19 deaths... UK needs to throw the Tories out in 2024.
You do not know that at this stage but we do know on today's figures shown on ITV Wales that Wales is behind all regions in England
We have suffered from labour for years with failing health service, and my family have had serious issues with it, and failing schooling
Labour and Drakeford has to go
I think Drakeford is a dick, and he wouldn't be my choice as first Minister. That said Drakeford, and it might come back to bite him has played a more consistent game than Johnson over Covid-19. Testing in Wales was off to a better start than England although chaos did follow. I admire Drakeford for ploughing his own furrow over the lockdown, he may pay a heavy price for that, but I believe he stuck by the science. I am not sure Boris did
Granted I live in the opposite end of Wales to you but I don't recognise the country of which you regularly complain. To be honest BigG. your lapdog love for Boris and criticism for everyone else is very tiresome.
Is Khan responsible for the Crossrail delay, which seems to be a pretty significant part of that thread argument ? (A genuine question, as I have no idea of the answer to that, but I'm fairly sure we have someone here who knows.)
No, this is silly. Crossrail requires that we run trains which can cope with the signalling systems from three (or possibly four - I forget which) different tracks and switch seamlessly from one to the next as they cross between them. It’s getting this part to run correctly that has run drastically over time & one of the main reasons for that is the difficulty in finding the time to run test trains across the network - it turns out there are very few time-slots where you can run a train all the way through and test every part. This has drastically slowed the test->find problems->fix problems->test again cycle and meant that fixing the (inevitable) teething problems has taken much, much longer than anyone expected. Like many modern projects, Crossrail is also a software project & sometimes those take a lot longer than you expect.
The idea that Crossrail was "on time under Boris" but "delayed by Khan" is simply wrong. Crossrail was delayed under Boris too, we just didn’t know it yet.
In 1970 we were just back from Singapore and living in Carnoustie. It was my first general election (I was 9) and I remember delivering leaflets for the Tory candidate who won South Angus by a landslide but (without my help) lost it 4 years later to the SNP. It was the start of a regular swing in the constituency which again switched back from Tory to SNP in 2019.
My main recollection is going out for a celebratory tea the next day with my somewhat bemused parents who couldn't really understand my interest.
Brexit will be status quo in short order. Indyref is harder to win if there's not free and open and frictionless trade with the rest of Europe. You can create enough doubt in people's minds just because the land border for Scotland is with England, not the EU. The SNP abstained on a lot of the meaningful votes, but voted against Customs Union, and I think that will come back to bite them.
I have a little secret. The SNP voting against a Customs Union (not sure which vote that was) won't bite the SNP one bit.
If it comes to a referendum, I'm not sure how voters will put their crosses. I think it could go to independence. At the moment we can say that Brexit is putting a lot of strain on the Union, not least by the irredentist approach to Brexit by the UKIPped Tory Party.
Brexit will be status quo in short order. Indyref is harder to win if there's not free and open and frictionless trade with the rest of Europe. You can create enough doubt in people's minds just because the land border for Scotland is with England, not the EU. The SNP abstained on a lot of the meaningful votes, but voted against Customs Union, and I think that will come back to bite them.
I have a little secret. The SNP voting against a Customs Union (not sure which vote that was) won't bite the SNP one bit.
If it comes to a referendum, I'm not sure how voters will put their crosses. I think it could go to independence. At the moment we can say that Brexit is putting a lot of strain on the Union, not least by the irredentist approach to Brexit by the UKIPped Tory Party.
The increasingly noticeable noises against devolution almost seem like a deliberate attempt to blow up the union.
Not many people are inclined to look this directly in the face but it happens to be a bit of a quirky time obsession of mine. In two months time I reach the age of 66 - and I am conscious that was the average UK male expectancy in 1960. By my calculation, I have just reached what was normal male life expectancy in April 1959. I was young at the time but do have vivid memories of those years. I still see 1959 as being in the 'Modern World'. More strikingly, I tell myself that living beyond 80 cannot be assumed at all. I am faced with the reality that I am as close to 80 as to March 2006 - by which time Cameron had already been Tory leader for three months!
I like this technique and I'm going to look it right in the face alongside you. The time you have left in this world is quite likely similar to the time that has elapsed between DC becoming Tory leader and today. Gulp.
But you never know - it could also be more like the time elapsed looking back from now to when "Our Friends In The North" was on*. Now that feels better, am I right?
There is a big, and to the Chinese government hugely frustrating, contradiction on the status of Taiwan. China's position is that Taiwan is integral to its territory. In other words it doesn't matter a tiny bit what the people of Taiwan think, although the Chinese don't actually want to send the troops in. Taiwan doesn't object to reunification in principle although it distrusts the Chinese government in practice, Their point is that legitimacy comes from the people and it is entirely up to the people of Taiwan what they do.
To be fair on this issue, China position of territorial integrity no matter what people in that territory think, is legally the same as many other countries. The United States for example.
"Taiwan has been a part of China's territory since time immemoral" is a rather strong claim - I knew a Chinese-descent but pro-independence Taiwanese person who'd have argued strongly against that. The indigenous population was Austronesian (ie related to Polynesians, Indonesians/Malays, Filipino, Madagascans etc) and in fact the island is believed to be the place of origin of the entire Austronesian language group, from Malagasy in Madegascar to Hawaiian and Maori...).
Though it was home to a small number of Han traders by the time the Europeans arrived, it went through 38 years of Dutch colonial rule (and in some places Spanish, with several Japanese expeditions having failed) before the Chinese conquered the island - initially in 1661, in alliance with anti-Dutch indigenous Formosans, by Ming loyalists fleeing the Manchu onslaught who were looking to set up a kind of "rebel province" they could use to recapture the rest of the country, in an odd foreshadowing of the KMT retreat to Taiwan. In 1683 they surrendered to the Qing dynasty, who seriously considered abandoning the island and withdrawing all ethnic Chinese to the mainland. After a change of imperial heart, the island was administered as part of China but largely leaving the old Dutch system of rule over the Formosans intact, and migration restrictions leaving the island with just a few thousands ethnic Chinese.
Again foreshadowing Tibet and Xinjiang, the decision was made in 1760 to populate the island with millions of Chinese migrants, and the Formosans became a small minority. From 1895-1945 the Japanese controlled the island, then shortly after that the KMT retreat to Taiwan brought a lot of new mainlanders with them. Something which I've been told irked Taiwanese about the first few decades of KMT rule was that they effectively ran the place like just another colonialist - in their fantasy, the island was just a stepping stone to regaining control of the mainland again, and the political leadership was dominated by mainlander exiles rather than the Taiwanese-born. That, combined with their brutality and the increasingly obvious implausibility of their fantasy to reunite China under KMT rule, produced considerable dissent. The CCP's governance of the mainland from Xinjiang to HK hardly makes KMT's currently preferred "one country, two areas" appealing either and there are a considerable number of Taiwanese who would prefer independence as a long-term goal.
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
On that basis: UK worst nation in Europe for covid 19 deaths... UK needs to throw the Tories out in 2024.
You do not know that at this stage but we do know on today's figures shown on ITV Wales that Wales is behind all regions in England
We have suffered from labour for years with failing health service, and my family have had serious issues with it, and failing schooling
Labour and Drakeford has to go
I think Drakeford is a dick, and he wouldn't be my choice as first Minister. That said Drakeford, and it might come back to bite him has played a more consistent game than Johnson over Covid-19. Testing in Wales was off to a better start than England although chaos did follow. I admire Drakeford for ploughing his own furrow over the lockdown, he may pay a heavy price for that, but I believe he stuck by the science. I am not sure Boris did
Granted I live in the opposite end of Wales to you but I don't recognise the country of which you regularly complain. To be honest BigG. your lapdog love for Boris and criticism for everyone else is very tiresome.
Labour in Wales has been a disaster for years.
Drakeford is inept and my family have suffered over health and education issues for years. How about 86 weeks wait for my bi lateral hernia in 2017
Maybe using words like lap dog comfort you but if you have followed my posts recently I have been critical of HMG and expressed concern over Boris health
There is a big, and to the Chinese government hugely frustrating, contradiction on the status of Taiwan. China's position is that Taiwan is integral to its territory. In other words it doesn't matter a tiny bit what the people of Taiwan think, although the Chinese don't actually want to send the troops in. Taiwan doesn't object to reunification in principle although it distrusts the Chinese government in practice, Their point is that legitimacy comes from the people and it is entirely up to the people of Taiwan what they do.
To be fair on this issue, China position of territorial integrity no matter what people in that territory think, is legally the same as many other countries. The United States for example.
"Taiwan has been a part of China's territory since time immemoral" is a rather strong claim - I knew a Chinese-descent but pro-independence Taiwanese person who'd have argued strongly against that. The indigenous population was Austronesian (ie related to Polynesians, Indonesians/Malays, Filipino, Madagascans etc) and in fact the island is believed to be the place of origin of the entire Austronesian language group, from Malagasy in Madegascar to Hawaiian and Maori...).
Though it was home to a small number of Han traders by the time the Europeans arrived, it went through 38 years of Dutch colonial rule (and in some places Spanish, with several Japanese expeditions having failed) before the Chinese conquered the island - initially in 1661, in alliance with anti-Dutch indigenous Formosans, by Ming loyalists fleeing the Manchu onslaught who were looking to set up a kind of "rebel province" they could use to recapture the rest of the country, in an odd foreshadowing of the KMT retreat to Taiwan. In 1683 they surrendered to the Qing dynasty, who seriously considered abandoning the island and withdrawing all ethnic Chinese to the mainland. After a change of imperial heart, the island was administered as part of China but largely leaving the old Dutch system of rule over the Formosans intact, and migration restrictions leaving the island with just a few thousands ethnic Chinese.
Again foreshadowing Tibet and Xinjiang, the decision was made in 1760 to populate the island with millions of Chinese migrants, and the Formosans became a small minority. From 1895-1945 the Japanese controlled the island, then shortly after that the KMT retreat to Taiwan brought a lot of new mainlanders with them. Something which I've been told irked Taiwanese about the first few decades of KMT rule was that they effectively ran the place like just another colonialist - in their fantasy, the island was just a stepping stone to regaining control of the mainland again, and the political leadership was dominated by mainlander exiles rather than the Taiwanese-born. That, combined with their brutality and the increasingly obvious implausibility of their fantasy to reunite China under KMT rule, produced considerable dissent. The CCP's governance of the mainland from Xinjiang to HK hardly makes KMT's currently preferred "one country, two areas" appealing either and there are a considerable number of Taiwanese who would prefer independence as a long-term goal.
Interestingly (to me) pro-independence Taiwanese seem to picture themselves in a similar vein to Singapore - culturally Chinese, with protected minorities, but not "of China" - rather than trying to play up (valid) claims to cultural and historical distinctiveness, e.g. reviving and celebrating their Austronesian heritage. It's a contrast to the difficult birth of FYROM, which lacked history as an independent state in its current ethnic arrangement and whose culture was claimed by both Serb and Bulgarian nationalists as having no independent existence and being merely an extension of their own - the response being a period of pseudo-historical "Macedonian" culture- and nation-building around Alexander the Great, In contrast, whenever the KMT has power, it deliberately tries to grow cross-straits cultural and trade links in part to make separation more painful. I wonder if that drip-drip ratchet effect combined with the lack of a distinctively Taiwanese identity outside the Chinese cultural orbit will eventually suppress the drive towards separation within Taiwan. Obviously the geopolitics makes it an impractical dream anyway, but for now at least a lot of people feel torn between their desire for independence and the strategic reality.
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
On that basis: UK worst nation in Europe for covid 19 deaths... UK needs to throw the Tories out in 2024.
You do not know that at this stage but we do know on today's figures shown on ITV Wales that Wales is behind all regions in England
We have suffered from labour for years with failing health service, and my family have had serious issues with it, and failing schooling
Labour and Drakeford has to go
One minute your against party political attacks, then you’re not. 🤷♂️
This is the fact of living in labour Wales and suffering in the failing health and education systems
Our local hospital concealed 84 covid deaths from the stats, yes 84
And Drakeford is a Corbynista and I have never agreed a truce with anyone who is a Corbynista
What a hypocrite
Cannot be a hypocrite for opposing all and everything to do with toxic Corbyn
And how about condemning our hospital concealing 84 deaths
In the interest of accuracy BigG, I take it that they concealed the cause of death, not the fact of it? Bearing in mind ‘concealing a death’ is an extremely serious criminal offence even if it has to be tried under the peculiar formula of ‘preventing a lawful and decent burial.’
They failed to report the deaths but it has now come to light
No gratitude for the fact we did not impose transition controls on free movement from the new accession countries in 2004 as Germany for instance did for 7 years
Was that fact that you're requesting gratitude for really some sort of sacrifice made by the UK to its own detriment, or was it more a case of the UKG making the decision to do its own economy a favour, by, on the one hand, attracting 'the best and the brightest' for its financial services and other high-value industries, and, on the other hand, attracting less - but still sufficiently - skilled workers for production plants, construction sites, hospitals and nursing homes, etc., because the UK workforce was not prepared or inclined to fill these more menial roles?
The development of unemployment numbers doesn't seem to indicate that net migration had driven the British out of their jobs, and it seems fairly arguable whether the widely percieved, but hardly measurable, wage suppression was more an effect of net migration or post-GFC wage austerity.
That decision undoubtedly suppressed wages for the lower skilled and added to pressure on housing and public services and was a key reason for the Leave vote in 2016
Nope, the key reason for the Leave vote was most that voted that way were just xenophobic. You don't need to worry though, because though you have sucked up to the loony right ever since, you voted Remain, and are only therefore xenophobic by association.
The UKIP vote rose from 6% in 1999 to 16% in 2009 on the European elections due to uncontrolled immigration from Eastern Europe. With proper transition controls like Germany had Brexit would have remained the pet hobby of obsessives like Cash, Farage and Hannan.
The high UKIP vote in 2009 owed a very great deal to the Expenses Scandal and the resultant widespread disillusionment with the major parties.
The large number of people with Dementia that die, surely that is correlation not causation i.e. very old people die of this at a very high rate, very old people are much more likely to have dementia.
The large number of people with Dementia that die, surely that is correlation not causation i.e. very old people die of this at a very high rate, very old people are much more likely to have dementia.
Wales worst region by far in England and Wales for covid 19 infection rates
Wales needs to throw out labour in 2021
On that basis: UK worst nation in Europe for covid 19 deaths... UK needs to throw the Tories out in 2024.
You do not know that at this stage but we do know on today's figures shown on ITV Wales that Wales is behind all regions in England
We have suffered from labour for years with failing health service, and my family have had serious issues with it, and failing schooling
Labour and Drakeford has to go
I think Drakeford is a dick, and he wouldn't be my choice as first Minister. That said Drakeford, and it might come back to bite him has played a more consistent game than Johnson over Covid-19. Testing in Wales was off to a better start than England although chaos did follow. I admire Drakeford for ploughing his own furrow over the lockdown, he may pay a heavy price for that, but I believe he stuck by the science. I am not sure Boris did
Granted I live in the opposite end of Wales to you but I don't recognise the country of which you regularly complain. To be honest BigG. your lapdog love for Boris and criticism for everyone else is very tiresome.
Labour in Wales has been a disaster for years.
Drakeford is inept and my family have suffered over health and education issues for years. How about 86 weeks wait for my bi lateral hernia in 2017
Maybe using words like lap dog comfort you but if you have followed my posts recently I have been critical of HMG and expressed concern over Boris health
I too have personal experience of the health service in Wales, with mixed results. In 2011 my much loved mother was as good as executed through neglect during the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. It was a political scandal and the WAG needed to get a grip and turn things around. My father's last month's of care at the same hospital in 2017/18 were faultless. Throw me statistics but from my own experience they got a grip.
Both my son's had excellent primary and secondary educations in the state run sector. I have been involved with post16 education in Wales with an Estyn rated 'excellent' institution. It wasn't in the slightest bit excellent, but then I became involved with a similarly Ofsted rated 'excellent' institution in the West Midlands. It was probably worse.
I would be quite happy to see Adam Price as First Minister, but Paul Davies and his shower of no hopers? No thanks.
Comments
I think Tories - most seats but a Labour-Plaid-Green (if any) coalition government would be a reasonable bet. The snag is that unless the Tories or Plaid win an outright majority, one of which is out of the question and the other of which is extremely unlikely, then Plaid will almost certainly back Labour ahead of the Tories.
To be fair on this issue, China position of territorial integrity no matter what people in that territory think, is legally the same as many other countries. The United States for example.
Boris Johnson's government has admitted it will erect Brexit border control posts for goods crossing the Irish Sea.
https://www.businessinsider.com/brexit-government-admits-there-will-be-checks-on-goods-going-to-northern-ireland-2020-5?r=US&IR=T
I love Boris Johnson, he's sold out the DUP and the Norn Irish.
As strategic blunders go the DUP backing Brexit is up there with Japan attacking the Pacific fleet to keep the Americans out of WWII.
Very interesting presentations on empirical analysis of measures taken vs trust in government, and on information flows.
In short, there seems to be no correlation between measures espoused and outcomes, but fairly strong correlation with trust in government and good outcomes. In other words, the actual strategy for combatting COVID does not seem that important, it is the degree of implementation. So the Swedish model could well work in Sweden, but not in the UK. And the Vietnam model could work there, but not in the US. And so on.
And on the information side, the Economist model of "democracies do better because of free flow of information" seems just wrong - too much information without screening for quality or actionability (US, UK) is not useful; moderated and directed access to information in a more centralized manner (Vietnam) seems to have been more effective; and, as one would expect, telling people what they can do, rather than what they should not, is also more effective.
If you're interested, I'll dig out the papers to send.
We have suffered from labour for years with failing health service, and my family have had serious issues with it, and failing schooling
Labour and Drakeford has to go
Most disastrous act of political positioning since Felix Fauré’s unfortunate attempt to be Caesar...
Having dropped that bomb, I am going to sit back and enjoy the show ...
But for the sake of Wales we need labour out
More strikingly, I tell myself that living beyond 80 cannot be assumed at all. I am faced with the reality that I am as close to 80 as to March 2006 - by which time Cameron had already been Tory leader for three months!
I have this supposition that the death figures need some adjustment based on BAME populations.
How depressing. I really feel for the vulnerable people patiently waiting indoors. No light at the end of the tunnel, things may never be the same again. Akin to a loss of innocence, the eating of the apple
I'm looking for data sources like our gold standard ONS.
Boris therefore must win a majority of again next time to stay PM as unlike Cameron or May the LDs and DUP will not prop him up
Our local hospital concealed 84 covid deaths from the stats, yes 84
And Drakeford is a Corbynista and I have never agreed a truce with anyone who is a Corbynista
The DUP may hate it but most Northern Irish voters are fine with no hard border with the Republic of Ireland and still technically part of the UK
Also dementia and lung problems have a higher risk of dying
In a bloc that hasn’t placed much focus on increasing the political representation of minorities, the U.K. stands out. Its history of conversations about race relations is wholly different from most of Europe. It’s home to some of the most extensive anti-discrimination legislation and scholarly discussions around race. And it tracks and actively promotes minority leadership in politics and businesses through government-funded programs.
Activists and some politicians in Brussels have called for U.K.-esque policies to be implemented in the EU for years — but Brexit makes that far less likely.
http://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-diversity-exits-the-eu-brussels/amp/
And while Plaid might get 20 seats in a good year, that is pretty much their ceiling.
We could see Tory - 23, Labour - 22 Plaid - 15. Or, perhaps more likely, Labour - 25 Tory - 20. But whichever way around it is, who will Plaid back? And they will be the kingmakers.
The only way that might be averted is if the Tories agreed to a flipped coalition with Price as FM, but that seems even more unlikely. Perhaps a respected figure from outside the party leadership - Rhun ab Iorwerth or Janet Finch Saunders or evening Kirsty Williams if by some miracle she survives - might be put forward as a figurehead, but I don’t think it would work. Too many tensions and strains.
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/largest-ethnic-groups-in-germany.html
You can make your point with some certainty in five or ten years assuming the status quo remains.
"Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) medics and healthcare workers say "systemic discrimination" on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak may be a factor in the disproportionate number of their colleagues who have died after contracting the virus.
In the biggest survey of its kind, ITV News asked the UK's BAME healthcare community - respondents were of different ethnicity and roles in the NHS - why they thought more of their BAME colleagues are dying than their white counterparts.
The government has not published an official breakdown of NHS deaths by ethnicity, but ITV News' analysis found that the number of BAME NHS staff who died in England, was seven times higher than white workers."
https://www.itv.com/news/2020-05-13/discrimination-frontline-coronavirus-covid19-black-minority-ethnic-bame-deaths-nhs-racism/
I have known Janet and her family for years and she is an excellent AM
https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1260965041454669824?s=20
And how about condemning our hospital concealing 84 deaths
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_the_Vendée
Or perhaps, a drink. Would you like a Bourbon?
Although it’s hard to imagine they would have made a worse mess of things than Louis XVI or Charles X.
Granted I live in the opposite end of Wales to you but I don't recognise the country of which you regularly complain. To be honest BigG. your lapdog love for Boris and criticism for everyone else is very tiresome.
In fact, that’s a pretty good description of the entire project - it has been riddled with teething problems that have simply taken much longer to sort than management expected: https://www.londonreconnections.com/2019/crossrail-progressing-but-slipping/
The idea that Crossrail was "on time under Boris" but "delayed by Khan" is simply wrong. Crossrail was delayed under Boris too, we just didn’t know it yet.
My main recollection is going out for a celebratory tea the next day with my somewhat bemused parents who couldn't really understand my interest.
If it comes to a referendum, I'm not sure how voters will put their crosses. I think it could go to independence. At the moment we can say that Brexit is putting a lot of strain on the Union, not least by the irredentist approach to Brexit by the UKIPped Tory Party.
But you never know - it could also be more like the time elapsed looking back from now to when "Our Friends In The North" was on*. Now that feels better, am I right?
* amazing it's never been repeated.
Though it was home to a small number of Han traders by the time the Europeans arrived, it went through 38 years of Dutch colonial rule (and in some places Spanish, with several Japanese expeditions having failed) before the Chinese conquered the island - initially in 1661, in alliance with anti-Dutch indigenous Formosans, by Ming loyalists fleeing the Manchu onslaught who were looking to set up a kind of "rebel province" they could use to recapture the rest of the country, in an odd foreshadowing of the KMT retreat to Taiwan. In 1683 they surrendered to the Qing dynasty, who seriously considered abandoning the island and withdrawing all ethnic Chinese to the mainland. After a change of imperial heart, the island was administered as part of China but largely leaving the old Dutch system of rule over the Formosans intact, and migration restrictions leaving the island with just a few thousands ethnic Chinese.
Again foreshadowing Tibet and Xinjiang, the decision was made in 1760 to populate the island with millions of Chinese migrants, and the Formosans became a small minority. From 1895-1945 the Japanese controlled the island, then shortly after that the KMT retreat to Taiwan brought a lot of new mainlanders with them. Something which I've been told irked Taiwanese about the first few decades of KMT rule was that they effectively ran the place like just another colonialist - in their fantasy, the island was just a stepping stone to regaining control of the mainland again, and the political leadership was dominated by mainlander exiles rather than the Taiwanese-born. That, combined with their brutality and the increasingly obvious implausibility of their fantasy to reunite China under KMT rule, produced considerable dissent. The CCP's governance of the mainland from Xinjiang to HK hardly makes KMT's currently preferred "one country, two areas" appealing either and there are a considerable number of Taiwanese who would prefer independence as a long-term goal.
Drakeford is inept and my family have suffered over health and education issues for years. How about 86 weeks wait for my bi lateral hernia in 2017
Maybe using words like lap dog comfort you but if you have followed my posts recently I have been critical of HMG and expressed concern over Boris health
England: 35,100
UK: 33,400
NI: 29,400
Scotland: 26,400
Wales: 16,9000
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8320081/A-QUARTER-COVID-19-patients-died-hospitals-England-diabetes.html
Seems Starmer is taking green and lib dem votes
If you want to compare for what generations think when they turn 18 you need to compare with like-for-like polls from decades ago.
The 8th is the peak the 8th is the peak the 8th is the peak is the 8th is the 8th of the peak.
The 16th? Oh, that's just the highest day. I definetely wasn't wrong calling the 8th the peak despite hundreds of people telling me I was wrong.
Not enough people willing to actually pay apparently.
On the other hand - Foxy was talking about the vascular side the other day and that could link to dementia.
https://twitter.com/DrAdrianHeald/status/1260951024954638337?s=19
Think they might to need turn it off and on again.
the same hospital in 2017/18 were faultless. Throw me statistics but from my own experience they got a grip.
Both my son's had excellent primary and secondary educations in the state run sector. I have been involved with post16 education in Wales with an Estyn rated 'excellent' institution. It wasn't in the slightest bit excellent, but then I became involved with a similarly Ofsted rated 'excellent' institution in the West Midlands. It was probably worse.
I would be quite happy to see Adam Price as First Minister, but Paul Davies and his shower of no hopers? No thanks.