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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Biden’s answer to those raising questions about his age – get

SystemSystem Posts: 12,169
edited August 2020 in General
imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Biden’s answer to those raising questions about his age – get quizzed by Fox News WHILE pedalling on his bike

Probably the biggest question over Joe Biden’s WH2020 bid and his greatest vulnerability is his age. If he does win on November 3rd he will be 78 years old on the day of inauguration on January 20th next year.

Read the full story here

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Comments

  • First ... yet again!
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002

    First ... yet again!

    A result as valid as a Russian election...
  • Scott_xP said:

    First ... yet again!

    A result as valid as a Russian election...
    Scott - do try not to take it so personally.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002

  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    I’m sure actuaries will be on hand to calculate the life expectancies of a sedentary overweight 74 year old versus an active slim 78 year old.....

    Interesting analysis:

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18639121.opinion-mark-smith-leaked-snp-email-shows-nicola-sturgeon-well/
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859
    Blimey, its quiet on here this morning. Is everyone really back at proper work?

    As for Biden he managed to look fairly sprightly for a man of his age but it is still a completely ridiculous age to be seeking a job as tough and demanding as POTUS. You just need to look at how the average President ages through their term, even no drama Obama, and apply that to Biden. The only sensible conclusion is that his VP will be the next POTUS after him without the need for an election.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859

    I’m sure actuaries will be on hand to calculate the life expectancies of a sedentary overweight 74 year old versus an active slim 78 year old.....

    Interesting analysis:

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18639121.opinion-mark-smith-leaked-snp-email-shows-nicola-sturgeon-well/

    Early next month is a significant birthday for my wife. I was wanting us to go away to mark it with a spa type weekend which she likes. Because of Sturgeon's ineptitude and indifference we cannot spend that money in Scotland because hotels cannot have their pools open until the 15th. So approximately £1000 is lost to the Scottish economy as we travel south of the border. Its a small indicator of the damage being done and the jobs put at risk.

    And as for her comments that she was minded to protest about the way the SQA had handled the exams fiasco....
  • That was quite a quick and funny reply in the circumstances to the follow up.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    Morning all.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    R4 Today 8.10 slot is all about OFQAL and the coming storm. At least OFQAL have published their methodology before they publish their results...
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,390
    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    R4 Today 8.10 slot is all about OFQAL and the coming storm. At least OFQAL have published their methodology before they publish their results...

    Daily Mail putting the boot in as well:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8609899/Thousands-level-pupils-face-race-against-time-win-appeals.html

    Not Johnson's greatest supporters, of course, but if they are hostile, a number of backbenchers will be calculating their next steps.
  • R4 Today 8.10 slot is all about OFQAL and the coming storm. At least OFQAL have published their methodology before they publish their results...

    Here's an answer:

    Let there be appeals but for every appeal successfully upgraded there has to be someone downgraded in return.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,222

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    Himself, of course.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    He was a travelling peddler.

    Amusing though that he was talking about running mates while cycling.

    At least he wasn't jogging (as I recall, that didn't end well for Jimmy Carter).
  • Thinking back to all the school, uni and professional exams I've ever taken.

    Sometimes I got good results, sometimes very good and sometimes not so good.

    But the only surprising results were always on the side of being better than I had expected.

    And when I got bad results the person to blame was myself, sometimes but only sometimes that blame could be shared with crap teachers.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Prof Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of Sage, said “reopening schools is one of the least risky things we can do”.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    Nigelb said:

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    Himself, of course.
    Has anyone else noticed that Viagra adverts have dominated the Test Match commercial breaks?

    Woakes and Buttler, in addition to forcing me to eat a vandalised pizza, also ruined a lovely joke I had prepared that if you want massive cock-ups all you need to do is watch England try to bat.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,805
    F1: Hamilton's 1.13 for the title on Betfair.

    I'm disinclined to sink money into relatively long term bets at odds that short, but that does look a bit long.

    Verstappen's 6.5 to win in Spain with Ladbrokes. Trying to decide whether to back that. It'll be hot, but slower so maybe the tyre wear won't be a problem for Mercedes. The agony of choice.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176
    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    Himself, of course.
    Has anyone else noticed that Viagra adverts have dominated the Test Match commercial breaks?

    Woakes and Buttler, in addition to forcing me to eat a vandalised pizza, also ruined a lovely joke I had prepared that if you want massive cock-ups all you need to do is watch England try to bat.
    Probably a reflection of which companies still have some money to s***k up the wall on advertising.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,222
    ydoethur said:

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    He was a travelling peddler.

    Amusing though that he was talking about running mates while cycling.

    At least he wasn't jogging (as I recall, that didn't end well for Jimmy Carter).
    Just keep him away from vicious rabbits.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,222
    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    Himself, of course.
    Has anyone else noticed that Viagra adverts have dominated the Test Match commercial breaks?

    Woakes and Buttler, in addition to forcing me to eat a vandalised pizza, also ruined a lovely joke I had prepared that if you want massive cock-ups all you need to do is watch England try to bat.
    Though England were standing tall at the end...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    Nigelb said:

    ydoethur said:

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    He was a travelling peddler.

    Amusing though that he was talking about running mates while cycling.

    At least he wasn't jogging (as I recall, that didn't end well for Jimmy Carter).
    Just keep him away from vicious rabbits.
    I once got a Year 12 student to narrate the details of the rabbit incident.

    She couldn't get to the finish because she was laughing so much.

    So were the rest of them!
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,222
    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:

    ydoethur said:

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    He was a travelling peddler.

    Amusing though that he was talking about running mates while cycling.

    At least he wasn't jogging (as I recall, that didn't end well for Jimmy Carter).
    Just keep him away from vicious rabbits.
    I once got a Year 12 student to narrate the details of the rabbit incident.

    She couldn't get to the finish because she was laughing so much.

    So were the rest of them!
    Would be dismissed as fake news today, I suspect.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    Nigelb said:
    I wonder what the Hong Kong Courts’ conviction rate is and how it compares with Mainland China (99%+)
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,131
    Nigelb said:
    The CCP are nearly completely victorious. Its depressing how successful the regime is.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,704
    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,720

    Nigelb said:
    I wonder what the Hong Kong Courts’ conviction rate is and how it compares with Mainland China (99%+)
    Under the new imposition people can be arrested in HK and tried in Mainland China I believe.

  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,222
    kle4 said:

    Nigelb said:
    The CCP are nearly completely victorious. Its depressing how successful the regime is.
    I suspect it contains the seeds of its own downfall, but it could be a very unpleasant decade ahead. For the whole world.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    edited August 2020
    It is worth pointing out that on almost every major education issue of the last seven years, and especially in the three years he has chaired the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon has made an absolutely right call.

    I know there have been questions about his judgement in other fields, but his judgement on education has been impeccable.

    Here's what he had to say on the substitute assessment system last month.

    We are unconvinced that safeguards—such as additional guidance and practical recommendations—put in place by Ofqual will be sufficient to protect against bias and inaccuracy in calculated grades.

    https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/1834/documents/17976/default/

    It's worth noting, in that report, he criticises OFQUAL and quotes the Royal Statistical Society, saying that OFQUAL were concealing key parts of their methodology.

    And here's what he's saying today.

    'Our select committee report predicted a potential Wild West system which favours the well-heeled and the sharp-elbowed, and doesn’t appear fair.'

    In a sense, whatever happens on results day is now secondary, because this process has already failed. Nobody will have confidence in the results because it has become apparent that the process was flawed, chaotic and ill-conceived.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    Nigelb said:

    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:

    ydoethur said:

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    He was a travelling peddler.

    Amusing though that he was talking about running mates while cycling.

    At least he wasn't jogging (as I recall, that didn't end well for Jimmy Carter).
    Just keep him away from vicious rabbits.
    I once got a Year 12 student to narrate the details of the rabbit incident.

    She couldn't get to the finish because she was laughing so much.

    So were the rest of them!
    Would be dismissed as fake news today, I suspect.
    Oh no. The real irony of the rabbit story was that Carter's own team put it out.

    Why they thought that a smart idea remains a mystery.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,222

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
  • DavidL said:

    Blimey, its quiet on here this morning. Is everyone really back at proper work?

    I'm not sure about "proper" work but this is my first full week of work since the beginning of June. And having collected the family from the airport at half one this morning its going to be a good week to be drinking coffee...

  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002
    Nigelb said:

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.

    We really don't...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421

    DavidL said:

    Blimey, its quiet on here this morning. Is everyone really back at proper work?

    I'm not sure about "proper" work but this is my first full week of work since the beginning of June. And having collected the family from the airport at half one this morning its going to be a good week to be drinking coffee...

    Just coffee?

    Looks like you picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,400

    Thinking back to all the school, uni and professional exams I've ever taken.

    Sometimes I got good results, sometimes very good and sometimes not so good.

    But the only surprising results were always on the side of being better than I had expected.

    And when I got bad results the person to blame was myself, sometimes but only sometimes that blame could be shared with crap teachers.

    If only that was the case on Thursday when the reason for your bad result may well be a crap teacher who has fired a year ago due to bad results in 2019...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    eek said:

    Thinking back to all the school, uni and professional exams I've ever taken.

    Sometimes I got good results, sometimes very good and sometimes not so good.

    But the only surprising results were always on the side of being better than I had expected.

    And when I got bad results the person to blame was myself, sometimes but only sometimes that blame could be shared with crap teachers.

    If only that was the case on Thursday when the reason for your bad result may well be a crap teacher who has fired a year ago due to bad results in 2019...
    I don't think a teacher would ever be fired solely for bad results. They tend to go on to a career in OFSTED instead.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,400
    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    Thinking back to all the school, uni and professional exams I've ever taken.

    Sometimes I got good results, sometimes very good and sometimes not so good.

    But the only surprising results were always on the side of being better than I had expected.

    And when I got bad results the person to blame was myself, sometimes but only sometimes that blame could be shared with crap teachers.

    If only that was the case on Thursday when the reason for your bad result may well be a crap teacher who has fired a year ago due to bad results in 2019...
    I don't think a teacher would ever be fired solely for bad results. They tend to go on to a career in OFSTED instead.
    OFQUAL surely?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    eek said:

    ydoethur said:

    eek said:

    Thinking back to all the school, uni and professional exams I've ever taken.

    Sometimes I got good results, sometimes very good and sometimes not so good.

    But the only surprising results were always on the side of being better than I had expected.

    And when I got bad results the person to blame was myself, sometimes but only sometimes that blame could be shared with crap teachers.

    If only that was the case on Thursday when the reason for your bad result may well be a crap teacher who has fired a year ago due to bad results in 2019...
    I don't think a teacher would ever be fired solely for bad results. They tend to go on to a career in OFSTED instead.
    OFQUAL surely?
    Ofqual don't hire teachers AFAIK.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,315
    Anthony Lester QC has died. Helped write the Equal Pay Act all those years ago.

    I worked with him. Liked him too.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    ydoethur said:

    It is worth pointing out that on almost every major education issue of the last seven years, and especially in the three years he has chaired the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon has made an absolutely right call.

    I know there have been questions about his judgement in other fields, but his judgement on education has been impeccable.

    Here's what he had to say on the substitute assessment system last month.

    We are unconvinced that safeguards—such as additional guidance and practical recommendations—put in place by Ofqual will be sufficient to protect against bias and inaccuracy in calculated grades.

    https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/1834/documents/17976/default/

    It's worth noting, in that report, he criticises OFQUAL and quotes the Royal Statistical Society, saying that OFQUAL were concealing key parts of their methodology.

    And here's what he's saying today.

    'Our select committee report predicted a potential Wild West system which favours the well-heeled and the sharp-elbowed, and doesn’t appear fair.'

    In a sense, whatever happens on results day is now secondary, because this process has already failed. Nobody will have confidence in the results because it has become apparent that the process was flawed, chaotic and ill-conceived.

    Just googled Halfon.

    Now there's an "interesting" career path.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    Scott_xP said:
    Tomorrow's headline:

    Pope is Catholic.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:
    Tomorrow's headline:

    Pope is Catholic.
    “Exclusive Revelation” at least....
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,036
    Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002
    Future academic studies of the spread of Coronavirus in England might name this the "Cummings Effect"...

    https://twitter.com/ailsa_henderson/status/1292715137506381824
  • Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.

    And just how many jobs will be lost by not returning to the office
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    Scott_xP said:
    Interestingly the comments aren't particularly sympathetic
  • R4 Today 8.10 slot is all about OFQAL and the coming storm. At least OFQAL have published their methodology before they publish their results...

    Here's an answer:

    Let there be appeals but for every appeal successfully upgraded there has to be someone downgraded in return.
    Or perhaps a small sample of pupils should take the exams now and have their results compared to those predicted.

    That might lead to some interesting findings.

    Alternatively we could save a lot of time and money by giving out 99% A grades (leaving the 1% B for Eton etc whose pupils will do well in any case).

    After all how many people would chose an honest grade over a higher grade ?

    So the maximum number would be happy.

    Until in a few years they discovered that their grades and the self-regard that sometimes comes with it are not always viewed similarly by the rest of the world.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,468

    Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.

    And just how many jobs will be lost by not returning to the office
    Jobs in catering and transport do you mean?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381
    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
  • Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.

    And just how many jobs will be lost by not returning to the office
    Jobs in catering and transport do you mean?
    Across the spectrum
  • Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,481
    Biden on his bike draws attention to his age as a negative. As does his dodgy facelift.

    Where's the confidence in his age and experience? In his achievements? He's not facing a younger, green opponent, but he's facing someone very inexperienced politically, which his years of experience contrast favourably with. I would be trying to sell him as a slick operator - a professional. No school like the old school. Instead they seem to be dubiously trying to reclaim lost vigour.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859
    kle4 said:

    Nigelb said:
    The CCP are nearly completely victorious. Its depressing how successful the regime is.
    The SNP are not much better!
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,390
    For anybody interested, I think this is an interesting and excellent piece on the demise of the USA. Scary, but I found it pretty hard to argue with most of it.
    https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/covid-19-end-of-american-era-wade-davis-1038206/
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,594
    edited August 2020
    Scott_xP said:

    Future academic studies of the spread of Coronavirus in England might name this the "Cummings Effect"...

    https://twitter.com/ailsa_henderson/status/1292715137506381824

    Let me guess: Woke-ists saying Scotland good / England bad, Canada good / USA bad, New Zealand good / Australia bad. How original and predictable.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 9,877

    Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.

    And just how many jobs will be lost by not returning to the office
    Jobs in catering and transport do you mean?
    Across the spectrum
    You seem to have this back to front

    People are not there to support businesses, businesses are there to support people both in terms of services and jobs. If the business isn't where it needs to be then the business should move to people not the other way round. Cafe's etc will still be in the same demand just where they need to be has altered
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
  • Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
    IDS isn't Boris's brother as well, is he? That might explain a lot.
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 5,751

    For anybody interested, I think this is an interesting and excellent piece on the demise of the USA. Scary, but I found it pretty hard to argue with most of it.
    https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/covid-19-end-of-american-era-wade-davis-1038206/

    A glib piece written by someone who I doubt has ventured deeper into China than the buffet breakfast cart of the Shanghai Mandarin Oriental.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    Only 26% of teachers have confidence in OFQUAL's methods.

    And that was before this story broke.

    https://www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-just-26-teachers-see-level-and-gcse-grading-fair
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002
    Andy_JS said:

    Let me guess: Woke-ists saying Scotland good / England bad, Canada good / USA bad, New Zealand good / Australia bad. How original and predictable.

    You could try reading it before dismissing it.

    Just a thought...
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    RAF flying up & down at 450’ over the Straits of Dover:



    Though since it’s our side, not sure what good it can do. The solution lies in catching and prosecuting the people smugglers in France.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,720

    R4 Today 8.10 slot is all about OFQAL and the coming storm. At least OFQAL have published their methodology before they publish their results...

    Here's an answer:

    Let there be appeals but for every appeal successfully upgraded there has to be someone downgraded in return.
    Get a small number of pupils for each school to sit the actual exam. They should be willing volunteers who are chosen by the school. The small number should mean their exams can be held safely. Then a benchmarking exercise can be transparently conducted which isolates a "school effect" and a "prelims/mock exam effect". The result would hold for each candidate that took the exam. Each candidate who did not sit the exam would be given a provisional result combining these effects. The main point of the exercise is to be a filter for university/college entrance. As university and college places will have become more easily available with the absence of large numbers of foreign students this year, the entry conditions would be more lenient across the board and this year's unfortunate cohort less penalised for something outwith their control.

  • Pagan2 said:

    Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.

    And just how many jobs will be lost by not returning to the office
    Jobs in catering and transport do you mean?
    Across the spectrum
    You seem to have this back to front

    People are not there to support businesses, businesses are there to support people both in terms of services and jobs. If the business isn't where it needs to be then the business should move to people not the other way round. Cafe's etc will still be in the same demand just where they need to be has altered
    It is not that simple. If hundreds of people come to work in one office block, that means hundreds of people will want to eat lunch or drink coffee at the same time in the same place. If these same people are working from home, they will be scattered over a much wider area, and many of them will have their own coffee and cheese toastie-making facilities at home, so the critical mass of caffeine-starved customers needed to support Starbucks is never achieved.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
    IDS isn't Boris's brother as well, is he? That might explain a lot.
    I am hoping for in excess of 60 of Johnson's siblings to be elevated to the HoL in his resignation honours request, sometime after May 2nd, 2024.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,421
    geoffw said:

    R4 Today 8.10 slot is all about OFQAL and the coming storm. At least OFQAL have published their methodology before they publish their results...

    Here's an answer:

    Let there be appeals but for every appeal successfully upgraded there has to be someone downgraded in return.
    Get a small number of pupils for each school to sit the actual exam. They should be willing volunteers who are chosen by the school. The small number should mean their exams can be held safely. Then a benchmarking exercise can be transparently conducted which isolates a "school effect" and a "prelims/mock exam effect". The result would hold for each candidate that took the exam. Each candidate who did not sit the exam would be given a provisional result combining these effects. The main point of the exercise is to be a filter for university/college entrance. As university and college places will have become more easily available with the absence of large numbers of foreign students this year, the entry conditions would be more lenient across the board and this year's unfortunate cohort less penalised for something outwith their control.

    Or just get the schools to submit some evidence in support of their gradings.

    Which would have been the solution of a fairly bright ten year old but was apparently beyond the combined wit of OFQUAL and the exam boards.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,137
    Biden is probably the least intellectual Democratic nominee for president since LBJ but stunts like this do show he has more of the common touch than Hillary and the likes of Kerry and Gore had
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,836
    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:

    I enjoyed the typo in the header. One can only speculate, but I wonder what exactly Joe was peddling on his bike. Viagra?

    Himself, of course.
    Has anyone else noticed that Viagra adverts have dominated the Test Match commercial breaks?

    Woakes and Buttler, in addition to forcing me to eat a vandalised pizza, also ruined a lovely joke I had prepared that if you want massive cock-ups all you need to do is watch England try to bat.
    Not since they introduced their new technology personalising the adverts to the user......
  • Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
    Time for the HOL to be abolished
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    Very likely IDS will be retiring in 2024.
  • Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
    IDS isn't Boris's brother as well, is he? That might explain a lot.
    I am hoping for in excess of 60 of Johnson's siblings to be elevated to the HoL in his resignation honours request, sometime after May 2nd, 2024.
    It's Boris's sister I feel sorry for. Why hasn't Rachel been made a lady lord? She gave Boris his first job as a writer by commissioning him to write a chapter in The Oxford Myth (btw speaking of myths is it true friends of Boris snapped up every copy they could find when he became Prime Minister?).
  • justin124 said:

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    Very likely IDS will be retiring in 2024.
    Most probably.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381
    justin124 said:

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    Very likely IDS will be retiring in 2024.
    Jumping before he is pushed. The weasel won't even allow us the satisfaction of seeing him humiliated a la Portillo.

    So go straight to the HoL, and take the £200 as he passed Go!
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 9,877

    Pagan2 said:

    Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.

    And just how many jobs will be lost by not returning to the office
    Jobs in catering and transport do you mean?
    Across the spectrum
    You seem to have this back to front

    People are not there to support businesses, businesses are there to support people both in terms of services and jobs. If the business isn't where it needs to be then the business should move to people not the other way round. Cafe's etc will still be in the same demand just where they need to be has altered
    It is not that simple. If hundreds of people come to work in one office block, that means hundreds of people will want to eat lunch or drink coffee at the same time in the same place. If these same people are working from home, they will be scattered over a much wider area, and many of them will have their own coffee and cheese toastie-making facilities at home, so the critical mass of caffeine-starved customers needed to support Starbucks is never achieved.
    Which while true is not a valid reason to make everyone trek an hour each way into the office to support a cafe. Working from home as I am now I actually goto a cafe at lunch time to stretch my legs and get out the house and I now have 50£ extra in my pocket each week to spend there. Something I never did at the office so its swings and roundabouts you gain some you lose some.

    Arguing people should do something unnecessary just so others have jobs which are only there because of those people doing the unnecessary thing is to my mind asking people to dig holes so you others have jobs filling them in

  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,836

    Pagan2 said:

    Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.

    And just how many jobs will be lost by not returning to the office
    Jobs in catering and transport do you mean?
    Across the spectrum
    You seem to have this back to front

    People are not there to support businesses, businesses are there to support people both in terms of services and jobs. If the business isn't where it needs to be then the business should move to people not the other way round. Cafe's etc will still be in the same demand just where they need to be has altered
    It is not that simple. If hundreds of people come to work in one office block, that means hundreds of people will want to eat lunch or drink coffee at the same time in the same place. If these same people are working from home, they will be scattered over a much wider area, and many of them will have their own coffee and cheese toastie-making facilities at home, so the critical mass of caffeine-starved customers needed to support Starbucks is never achieved.
    Whilst that is true, reality will be more complex. In many commuting villages it might be the marginal difference between the last pub standing being viable or closing, so rather than just coffee it would provide food and drink throughout the day to the village as well as being an important social hub. Less travel is also better for mental health and the environment.

    People are pretty adaptable and there is good and bad from most changes.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859

    For anybody interested, I think this is an interesting and excellent piece on the demise of the USA. Scary, but I found it pretty hard to argue with most of it.
    https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/covid-19-end-of-american-era-wade-davis-1038206/

    Do you think Trump should put him down as a maybe?

    Its well enough written but hopelessly partisan.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,381

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
    Time for the HOL to be abolished
    What can Boris offer his friends and family with no HoL. Do you really want to watch more celebrity TV gameshows stuffed with Johnson family and friends?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,481

    RAF flying up & down at 450’ over the Straits of Dover:



    Though since it’s our side, not sure what good it can do. The solution lies in catching and prosecuting the people smugglers in France.

    The solution really lies in eliminating the pull factor, and making it clear that whether or not you get here, sadly you won't get in.

    As I mentioned previously, our asylum processing centres should be overseas. I would suggest one in India, one in Africa, and one in Asia. These are easier for genuine asylum seekers to get to, and present no draw for non-genuine ones.
  • Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
    Time for the HOL to be abolished
    What can Boris offer his friends and family with no HoL. Do you really want to watch more celebrity TV gameshows stuffed with Johnson family and friends?
    The starting point for me is that I never watch gameshows and have no interest in celebrities whatsover
  • justin124 said:

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    Very likely IDS will be retiring in 2024.
    Jumping before he is pushed. The weasel won't even allow us the satisfaction of seeing him humiliated a la Portillo.

    So go straight to the HoL, and take the £200 as he passed Go!
    I think it is £300 a day
  • For anybody interested, I think this is an interesting and excellent piece on the demise of the USA. Scary, but I found it pretty hard to argue with most of it.
    https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/covid-19-end-of-american-era-wade-davis-1038206/

    Great piece, thanks for the link
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,137
    ydoethur said:

    It is worth pointing out that on almost every major education issue of the last seven years, and especially in the three years he has chaired the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon has made an absolutely right call.

    I know there have been questions about his judgement in other fields, but his judgement on education has been impeccable.

    Here's what he had to say on the substitute assessment system last month.

    We are unconvinced that safeguards—such as additional guidance and practical recommendations—put in place by Ofqual will be sufficient to protect against bias and inaccuracy in calculated grades.

    https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/1834/documents/17976/default/

    It's worth noting, in that report, he criticises OFQUAL and quotes the Royal Statistical Society, saying that OFQUAL were concealing key parts of their methodology.

    And here's what he's saying today.

    'Our select committee report predicted a potential Wild West system which favours the well-heeled and the sharp-elbowed, and doesn’t appear fair.'

    In a sense, whatever happens on results day is now secondary, because this process has already failed. Nobody will have confidence in the results because it has become apparent that the process was flawed, chaotic and ill-conceived.

    Robert Halfon is a brilliant MP both on the Education Select Committee and in Harlow which he has turned from a marginal Blair won in 1997, 2001 and 2005 to a pretty safe Tory seat no longer even in the top 150 Labour target seats
  • eekeek Posts: 28,400
    Andy_JS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Future academic studies of the spread of Coronavirus in England might name this the "Cummings Effect"...

    https://twitter.com/ailsa_henderson/status/1292715137506381824

    Let me guess: Woke-ists saying Scotland good / England bad, Canada good / USA bad, New Zealand good / Australia bad. How original and predictable.
    I'm at a loss as to how Covid in Scotland has been handled any better or worse than in the rest of the UK

    I mean their care home scandal is worse as one of the owners had to ship people in from England to manage the home during the outbreak,
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,137
    edited August 2020

    justin124 said:

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    Very likely IDS will be retiring in 2024.
    Jumping before he is pushed. The weasel won't even allow us the satisfaction of seeing him humiliated a la Portillo.

    So go straight to the HoL, and take the £200 as he passed Go!
    IDS will be 70 in 2024 and yes he will likely retire but that is to be expected
  • nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
    Time for the HOL to be abolished
    What about the people who work there? And the makers of fancy dress costumes?
  • RAF flying up & down at 450’ over the Straits of Dover:



    Though since it’s our side, not sure what good it can do. The solution lies in catching and prosecuting the people smugglers in France.

    The solution really lies in eliminating the pull factor, and making it clear that whether or not you get here, sadly you won't get in.

    As I mentioned previously, our asylum processing centres should be overseas. I would suggest one in India, one in Africa, and one in Asia. These are easier for genuine asylum seekers to get to, and present no draw for non-genuine ones.
    A retired rear admiral on Sky this morning said they should be quarantined on one of the many cruise ships available, processed and where applicable allowed into the UK and where not, refused entry and returned to the first country that they arrived from that is safe
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    RAF flying up & down at 450’ over the Straits of Dover:



    Though since it’s our side, not sure what good it can do. The solution lies in catching and prosecuting the people smugglers in France.

    April 4th, 1984. Last night to the flicks. All war films. One very good one of a ship full of refugees being bombed somewhere in the Mediterranean. Audience much amused by shots of a great huge fat man trying to swim away with a helicopter after him, first you saw him wallowing along in the water like a porpoise, then you saw him through the helicopters gunsights, then he was full of holes and the sea round him turned pink and he sank as suddenly as though the holes had let in the water, audience shouting with laughter when he sank.
  • eek said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Future academic studies of the spread of Coronavirus in England might name this the "Cummings Effect"...

    https://twitter.com/ailsa_henderson/status/1292715137506381824

    Let me guess: Woke-ists saying Scotland good / England bad, Canada good / USA bad, New Zealand good / Australia bad. How original and predictable.
    I'm at a loss as to how Covid in Scotland has been handled any better or worse than in the rest of the UK

    I mean their care home scandal is worse as one of the owners had to ship people in from England to manage the home during the outbreak,
    It hasn't
  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 5,005

    RAF flying up & down at 450’ over the Straits of Dover:



    Though since it’s our side, not sure what good it can do. The solution lies in catching and prosecuting the people smugglers in France.

    The solution really lies in eliminating the pull factor, and making it clear that whether or not you get here, sadly you won't get in.

    As I mentioned previously, our asylum processing centres should be overseas. I would suggest one in India, one in Africa, and one in Asia. These are easier for genuine asylum seekers to get to, and present no draw for non-genuine ones.
    The Daily Mail doesn't help.
    I mean, if you're in the shoes of someone migrating across the continent and you pick up a paper saying "Anyone getting to the UK gets to stay and gets given free money," as per loads of their headlines, where would you head for?
  • Pagan2 said:

    Three in our office today. Nice to see the good folk of Yorkshire showing total disregard for the bollocks coming out of government.

    Higher take-up on the other side of the Pennines for some reason. Around 20 of them have gone in.

    And just how many jobs will be lost by not returning to the office
    Jobs in catering and transport do you mean?
    Across the spectrum
    You seem to have this back to front

    People are not there to support businesses, businesses are there to support people both in terms of services and jobs. If the business isn't where it needs to be then the business should move to people not the other way round. Cafe's etc will still be in the same demand just where they need to be has altered
    It is not that simple. If hundreds of people come to work in one office block, that means hundreds of people will want to eat lunch or drink coffee at the same time in the same place. If these same people are working from home, they will be scattered over a much wider area, and many of them will have their own coffee and cheese toastie-making facilities at home, so the critical mass of caffeine-starved customers needed to support Starbucks is never achieved.
    Can I refer everyone back to the squeezed middle and cost of living crisis? So many things in this country cost £lots for no apparent reason - and a working culture that essentially heavily taxes people for the basics isn't sustainable. I've thought for a long time that the coffee explosion was unsustainable. People won't be able to afford the daft money the coffee shacks demand for coffee and a snack without taking the money out of another part of the economy. That so many coffee shacks have been surged up in such a short space of time is not a reason to sustain that part of the economy because jobs. What jobs did the people do before working for the 409th local branch of CoffeeShak? And in what businesses did their customers spend their money?

    Covid is a massive rapid realignment of the economy. It's already been brutal and its going to get much worse - the imbalance and instability was already there waiting for the black swan event to tip it over the edge. And very quickly we will see rapid change in the next piece of unsustainable lunacy - an army of zero hour workers scuttling around our towns making multiple repeat deliveries in diesel vans. Most of us have done a lot more direct to consumer shopping and we all need to stop.
  • nichomar said:

    Nigelb said:

    IDS says we should be ready to “reject the WA”:

    “ The WA was always work in progress as at the end of this year, the UK has a right to a comprehensive agreement, one which treats the UK as a sovereign partner. A failure to observe this must lead to a rejection of the WA.”

    https://twitter.com/mpiainds/status/1292705604612640770?s=21

    Another of Brexit’s negatives - we again have to pay attention to his maunderings.
    Not long to have to suffer IDS. Chingford goes red in 2024.

    P.S. I am still waiting for an apology for your assertion yesterday that I was both a Tory and a Brexiteer, after a post from Marquee Mark that related the Claire Fox issue to Brexit. It wasn't me guv'.
    IDS losing his seat would be very pleasing and as for HYUFDs comments I cannot wait
    His immediate elevation to the HoL would mean the joy is all too brief.
    Time for the HOL to be abolished
    What about the people who work there? And the makers of fancy dress costumes?
    There is no justification for the HOL
  • The people trying to no confidence Starmer in his own constituency are literally batshit insane.

    I think it’s time to call bullshit and kick them all out.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,468

    The people trying to no confidence Starmer in his own constituency are literally batshit insane.

    I think it’s time to call bullshit and kick them all out.

    What?! :D:D
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,935
    Scott_xP said:

    Future academic studies of the spread of Coronavirus in England might name this the "Cummings Effect"...

    https://twitter.com/ailsa_henderson/status/1292715137506381824

    Did cases rise after the Cummings news story broke or something?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 28,481

    RAF flying up & down at 450’ over the Straits of Dover:



    Though since it’s our side, not sure what good it can do. The solution lies in catching and prosecuting the people smugglers in France.

    The solution really lies in eliminating the pull factor, and making it clear that whether or not you get here, sadly you won't get in.

    As I mentioned previously, our asylum processing centres should be overseas. I would suggest one in India, one in Africa, and one in Asia. These are easier for genuine asylum seekers to get to, and present no draw for non-genuine ones.
    A retired rear admiral on Sky this morning said they should be quarantined on one of the many cruise ships available, processed and where applicable allowed into the UK and where not, refused entry and returned to the first country that they arrived from that is safe
    That seems ok as a stop gap solution.

    RAF flying up & down at 450’ over the Straits of Dover:



    Though since it’s our side, not sure what good it can do. The solution lies in catching and prosecuting the people smugglers in France.

    The solution really lies in eliminating the pull factor, and making it clear that whether or not you get here, sadly you won't get in.

    As I mentioned previously, our asylum processing centres should be overseas. I would suggest one in India, one in Africa, and one in Asia. These are easier for genuine asylum seekers to get to, and present no draw for non-genuine ones.
    The Daily Mail doesn't help.
    I mean, if you're in the shoes of someone migrating across the continent and you pick up a paper saying "Anyone getting to the UK gets to stay and gets given free money," as per loads of their headlines, where would you head for?
    That's daft. These people aren't getting their info from the DM.
This discussion has been closed.