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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Extraordinary. The betting odds on both Biden and Trump now lo

SystemSystem Posts: 12,169
edited September 2020 in General
imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Extraordinary. The betting odds on both Biden and Trump now longer than evens

Above are the the overnight odds on the £70m “Next President” market on the Betfair exchange.

Read the full story here

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Comments

  • Scooped! I had just noticed the same thing and was typing it up for the last thread.

    I'm not sure what to read into it, if anything. There has been no decisive move for either of the VP candidates as you'd expect if anyone had inside information.
  • btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.
  • USA President betting

    Biden 2.02
    Dem 1.95

    Trump 2.04
    Rep 2.04

    Comparing the prices on the named candidates with those on their parties shows it is still Biden who carries the risk premium.
  • USA President betting

    Biden 2.02
    Dem 1.95

    Trump 2.04
    Rep 2.04

    Comparing the prices on the named candidates with those on their parties shows it is still Biden who carries the risk premium.

    Yesterday I took a fair chunk at 1.99 but today at 2.02 there is the worry the price is too good to be true, yet the market shows no sign Biden will pull out apart from the long-standing risk premium having widened slightly to 7 basis points and now Kamala Harris being nibbled from 200 into 150, which hardly screams inside information.
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,222

    USA President betting

    Biden 2.02
    Dem 1.95

    Trump 2.04
    Rep 2.04

    Comparing the prices on the named candidates with those on their parties shows it is still Biden who carries the risk premium.

    Yesterday I took a fair chunk at 1.99 but today at 2.02 there is the worry the price is too good to be true, yet the market shows no sign Biden will pull out apart from the long-standing risk premium having widened slightly to 7 basis points and now Kamala Harris being nibbled from 200 into 150, which hardly screams inside information.
    Laying Trump at 2.04 is best bet IMO.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    Boris Johnson has declined to meet members of a campaign group representing families bereaved by coronavirus, despite appearing to promise to do so on live TV last week.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    I see yesterday the value of Apple passed the value of the entire FTSE100.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    edited September 2020
    Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice James Kelly quits shadow cabinet in protest against Richard Leonard

    In a shock resignation letter, Kelly said: “I have no confidence in your ability to shape the party’s message, strategy and organisation.

    “I know that this is a view shared by other parliamentarians, party members and indeed many members of the public.”

    A senior Labour source said: “Richard has to go, for the good of the party. His time is up. We will be wiped out if he stays.”

    Another Labour insider said: “Their time has passed. They have had their years of self-indulgence and they need to go before it’s too late.”

    Leonard said: “It is deeply disappointing that disgruntled MSPs who never supported my leadership would choose the day when the Scottish Government finally accepted a Labour policy demand of ten years - for a National Care Service - to try and wage an internal war.”

    https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/5996588/scots-labour-james-kelly-quit-richard-leonard/
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599
    IanB2 said:

    I see yesterday the value of Apple passed the value of the entire FTSE100.

    Tech stocks have gone nuts in the past few weeks. Tesla are now worth much the same as the top 10 car makers combined!

    The worlds richest woman is now McKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, who was gifted 4% of Amazon as part of her divorce settlement.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    edited September 2020
    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    Sandpit said:

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
    Raising the interesting outside possibility that one of them ‘wins’ the election in November but can’t be elected by the College in December?
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599
    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
    Raising the interesting outside possibility that one of them ‘wins’ the election in November but can’t be elected by the College in December?
    Yes, there could be faithless electors who switch sides or abstain.

    Imagine the chaos if that happens in a close race, and the winner changes as a result. The Supreme Court would have to rule on whether electors are allowed in practice to vote for whoever they want, even when their state has instructed them to vote a certain way.

    It could also be that neither candidate gets 270 actual votes in the actual electoral college, in which case it goes back to the state delegations of Representatives.

    Betfair will pay out on who is *supposed* to have won, even if they are not actually elected!
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Definitely a mistake to kowtow to the holiday companies and airlines. They should have imposed a mandatory 14 day quarantine on all incomers, with a buyout clause of a negative (private) test after seven days for those who really needed to get back to work.

    The constantly changing guidance can’t be popular with anyone at this point.
    Though that would at least be clearer and more consistent, it's really being done just for want of doing something; a tacit admission that we should have done this back in February and March when it would have mattered.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
    Raising the interesting outside possibility that one of them ‘wins’ the election in November but can’t be elected by the College in December?
    Yes, there could be faithless electors who switch sides or abstain.

    Imagine the chaos if that happens in a close race, and the winner changes as a result. The Supreme Court would have to rule on whether electors are allowed in practice to vote for whoever they want, even when their state has instructed them to vote a certain way.

    It could also be that neither candidate gets 270 actual votes in the actual electoral college, in which case it goes back to the state delegations of Representatives.

    Betfair will pay out on who is *supposed* to have won, even if they are not actually elected!
    I was thinking more of the health of the candidates.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176
    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Definitely a mistake to kowtow to the holiday companies and airlines. They should have imposed a mandatory 14 day quarantine on all incomers, with a buyout clause of a negative (private) test after seven days for those who really needed to get back to work.

    The constantly changing guidance can’t be popular with anyone at this point.
    Though that would at least be clearer and more consistent, it's really being done just for want of doing something; a tacit admission that we should have done this back in February and March when it would have mattered.
    Given the nonsense about getting back to the office, I am now of the opinion that the government tried to give the pandemic every chance of not being that bad. I think the calculation made was, "if we lockdown and people start working from home, that will be that and it will economically catastrophic."

    Perhaps they were right to be worried about it. Perhaps this time next year when property prices have crashed, repossessions have gone through the roof and the banks have been bailed out, we'll be able to have more sympathy with the decision faced by the government. But the need to lockdown looked inevitable by the beginning of March, and the government really ought to have accepted that change was coming whether they liked it or not.
  • IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
    Raising the interesting outside possibility that one of them ‘wins’ the election in November but can’t be elected by the College in December?
    Yes, there could be faithless electors who switch sides or abstain.

    Imagine the chaos if that happens in a close race, and the winner changes as a result. The Supreme Court would have to rule on whether electors are allowed in practice to vote for whoever they want, even when their state has instructed them to vote a certain way.

    It could also be that neither candidate gets 270 actual votes in the actual electoral college, in which case it goes back to the state delegations of Representatives.

    Betfair will pay out on who is *supposed* to have won, even if they are not actually elected!
    I was thinking more of the health of the candidates.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/01/donald-trump-denies-suffering-mini-strokes-amid-reports-pence/
  • Sandpit said:

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
    But are we? My understanding is we are betting on the number of ECVs racked up by each side, and has nothing to do with waiting to see who they actually vote for. To complicate matters, there is a real possibility that if Trump or Biden is a late withdrawal, the EC electors will have to vote for someone else anyway, and presumably Pence or Harris as appropriate.

    Bookmakers' rules will vary. Betfair rules for the named president include:
    This market will be settled according to the candidate that has the most projected Electoral College votes won at the 2020 presidential election. Any subsequent events such as a ‘faithless elector’ will have no effect on the settlement of this market. In the event that no Presidential candidate receives a majority of the projected Electoral College votes, this market will be settled on the person chosen as President in accordance with the procedures set out by the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599
    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
    Raising the interesting outside possibility that one of them ‘wins’ the election in November but can’t be elected by the College in December?
    Yes, there could be faithless electors who switch sides or abstain.

    Imagine the chaos if that happens in a close race, and the winner changes as a result. The Supreme Court would have to rule on whether electors are allowed in practice to vote for whoever they want, even when their state has instructed them to vote a certain way.

    It could also be that neither candidate gets 270 actual votes in the actual electoral college, in which case it goes back to the state delegations of Representatives.

    Betfair will pay out on who is *supposed* to have won, even if they are not actually elected!
    I was thinking more of the health of the candidates.
    It’s quite possible that either candidate could withdraw on the grounds of ill health, at any point up until Inauguration Day on 20th January. How they’d sort that one out is anyone’s guess!
  • Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    I see yesterday the value of Apple passed the value of the entire FTSE100.

    Tech stocks have gone nuts in the past few weeks. Tesla are now worth much the same as the top 10 car makers combined!

    The worlds richest woman is now McKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, who was gifted 4% of Amazon as part of her divorce settlement.
    Musk now third richest, moves ahead of Zuckerberg.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599
    edited September 2020

    Sandpit said:

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
    But are we? My understanding is we are betting on the number of ECVs racked up by each side, and has nothing to do with waiting to see who they actually vote for. To complicate matters, there is a real possibility that if Trump or Biden is a late withdrawal, the EC electors will have to vote for someone else anyway, and presumably Pence or Harris as appropriate.

    Bookmakers' rules will vary. Betfair rules for the named president include:
    This market will be settled according to the candidate that has the most projected Electoral College votes won at the 2020 presidential election. Any subsequent events such as a ‘faithless elector’ will have no effect on the settlement of this market. In the event that no Presidential candidate receives a majority of the projected Electoral College votes, this market will be settled on the person chosen as President in accordance with the procedures set out by the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    Correct. I’m agreeing with you. The Betfair market is based on who the 538 electoral college members *should* vote for when they meet - purely based on the certified results from the States, not on the actual EC meeting.
  • USA President betting

    Biden 2.02
    Dem 1.95

    Trump 2.04
    Rep 2.04

    Comparing the prices on the named candidates with those on their parties shows it is still Biden who carries the risk premium.

    Trump is now favourite. And the market still thinks this is not a two-horse race.

    Biden 2.04
    Trump 2.02
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    edited September 2020
    The government’s initial response to the Covid-19 crisis was hampered by the absence of a long-term strategy, lack of clarity about who was responsible for what and its poor use of evidence.

    This report examines decisions made in three areas: economic support, Covid-19 testing and the lockdown.

    It highlights the chancellor’s economic support measures as an example of policy based on clear objectives and developed after working closely with scheme users.......

    ....The report also identifies how:

    - The government needed to be clearer about the role of science advice and its limitations, particularly in the early stages of the crisis when it looked to its scientists to generate policy, not just advise on it

    - Government decisions were influenced too much by concerns over NHS capacity rather than by controlling the spread of the virus

    - Senior officials distanced themselves from the decision to reach 100,000 tests a day, and it was unclear who was responsible for different aspects of the testing regime, which made it difficult to assign responsibility for remedying gaps and failures

    - The government did not think about some of the most important aspects of how it would implement its policies until after it had announced them, leaving many public services, in particular schools and the police, playing catch up.


    https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/decision-making-crisis-coronavirus

    Another key finding: saving the NHS was not a good enough proxy for the goal of saving lives.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,836
    edited September 2020
    tlg86 said:

    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Definitely a mistake to kowtow to the holiday companies and airlines. They should have imposed a mandatory 14 day quarantine on all incomers, with a buyout clause of a negative (private) test after seven days for those who really needed to get back to work.

    The constantly changing guidance can’t be popular with anyone at this point.
    Though that would at least be clearer and more consistent, it's really being done just for want of doing something; a tacit admission that we should have done this back in February and March when it would have mattered.
    Given the nonsense about getting back to the office, I am now of the opinion that the government tried to give the pandemic every chance of not being that bad. I think the calculation made was, "if we lockdown and people start working from home, that will be that and it will economically catastrophic."

    Perhaps they were right to be worried about it. Perhaps this time next year when property prices have crashed, repossessions have gone through the roof and the banks have been bailed out, we'll be able to have more sympathy with the decision faced by the government. But the need to lockdown looked inevitable by the beginning of March, and the government really ought to have accepted that change was coming whether they liked it or not.
    Incredible how lockdown was "inevitable" at the start of March yet the first national lockdown globally was Italy on the 9 March. Perhaps it wasnt looking as inevitable as early as you (and many others) remember.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_lockdowns
  • coachcoach Posts: 250
    Could it be that the key factor in the US election has become law and order?

    If that's the case Biden has blown it.

    I can't remember a politician as despised as Trump, if he manages to win twice that is a truly remarkable achievement
  • The economic support package
    Decisions on the economic support package – the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS, or ‘furlough’), the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) were taken very quickly. For instance, the CJRS was designed and announced within 48 hours, with the SEISS coming days later. The schemes were rolled out ahead of schedule and with remarkably few problems, preventing the immediate wave of job losses the government had feared. In large part, this was thanks to the steps taken by ministers and officials:
    • Decision makers were clear that delivering fast financial support to the vast majority of affected workers and businesses was preferable to taking the time to cater to every individual circumstance.
    • The government worked closely with business and union groups, which helped secure a positive public reception when the policies were announced.
    • Delivery was factored in from the start. Treasury ministers and officials worked closely with HMRC officials, who would be responsible for implementing key measures, and choices about how the schemes would work were guided by what could be done quickly.


    https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/decision-making-crisis.pdf
  • Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,599

    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    I see yesterday the value of Apple passed the value of the entire FTSE100.

    Tech stocks have gone nuts in the past few weeks. Tesla are now worth much the same as the top 10 car makers combined!

    The worlds richest woman is now McKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, who was gifted 4% of Amazon as part of her divorce settlement.
    Musk now third richest, moves ahead of Zuckerberg.
    I think Facebook are in relative trouble. They’re going to take a lot of flak for the election, and they’re under fire over privacy concerns from all sides.

    Apple are also fighting them, with new privacy functionality in IOS14, which is wildly popular with their customers but severely restricts what Facebook and Google can do to track you around the Internet.
    https://apple.slashdot.org/story/20/08/30/1720246/are-apples-privacy-changes-hypocritical-unfair-to-facebook-and-advertising-companies
  • IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    When you implement a system of the quarantined countries changing according to numbers, and the quarantined countries change according to numbers, I don't see how that's farcical. People clearly travel to those countries at their own risk.
    Travelling back on a Thursday seems advisable if going somewhere on the current safe list.
  • kamskikamski Posts: 5,191

    Sandpit said:

    btw punters should bear in mind we are betting on the November election and not the January inauguration.

    Strictly speaking, we are betting of the results of the electoral college, as the members *should* vote following the formal state declarations. The emphasis on should, is so to ignore any potential faithless electors.

    The states have until this meeting to certify their results, and last time out this was on 19th December - so be prepared to wait wait a month to get paid out, possibly even longer if we end up in court. Bush v Gore was decided on 12th December 2000.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2016_United_States_presidential_election
    But are we? My understanding is we are betting on the number of ECVs racked up by each side, and has nothing to do with waiting to see who they actually vote for. To complicate matters, there is a real possibility that if Trump or Biden is a late withdrawal, the EC electors will have to vote for someone else anyway, and presumably Pence or Harris as appropriate.

    Bookmakers' rules will vary. Betfair rules for the named president include:
    This market will be settled according to the candidate that has the most projected Electoral College votes won at the 2020 presidential election. Any subsequent events such as a ‘faithless elector’ will have no effect on the settlement of this market. In the event that no Presidential candidate receives a majority of the projected Electoral College votes, this market will be settled on the person chosen as President in accordance with the procedures set out by the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    Betfair rules are not totally clear - what does "projected" mean? If they mean Electoral College votes as certified by the states why not write that?
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    IanB2 said:

    Boris Johnson has declined to meet members of a campaign group representing families bereaved by coronavirus, despite appearing to promise to do so on live TV last week.

    Given that he has 15 working hours in the day, what would this meeting achieve?
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,222

    Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.

    The way I look at it is:

    1) Some that voted Trump will not vote for him this time (they may vote Biden or more likely abstain)
    2) He has virtually no new constituency from which to draw new votes
    3) Biden is much more palatable to many than Clinton
    4) Anti-Trumpers who didn`t bother voting last time will be super motivated to vote this time. (I think turnout differentials are generally more significant in elections than floating voters.)

    I can`t see a flaw in the logic in any of the above, and cannot see any other result than a significant Biden win.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,357
    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Boris Johnson has declined to meet members of a campaign group representing families bereaved by coronavirus, despite appearing to promise to do so on live TV last week.

    Given that he has 15 working hours in the day, what would this meeting achieve?
    I doubt he works 15 hours in a week
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,717
    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Boris Johnson has declined to meet members of a campaign group representing families bereaved by coronavirus, despite appearing to promise to do so on live TV last week.

    Given that he has 15 working hours in the day, what would this meeting achieve?
    Perhaps he could double up and do the meeting at one of his fancy dress photo stunts?
  • coachcoach Posts: 250
    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Boris Johnson has declined to meet members of a campaign group representing families bereaved by coronavirus, despite appearing to promise to do so on live TV last week.

    Given that he has 15 working hours in the day, what would this meeting achieve?
    It would give people the opportunity to shout at it him. Their distress is understandable, holding Boris to account (bearing in mind he nearly died himself) is unreasonable.
  • IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Definitely a mistake to kowtow to the holiday companies and airlines. They should have imposed a mandatory 14 day quarantine on all incomers, with a buyout clause of a negative (private) test after seven days for those who really needed to get back to work.

    The constantly changing guidance can’t be popular with anyone at this point.
    Though that would at least be clearer and more consistent, it's really being done just for want of doing something; a tacit admission that we should have done this back in February and March when it would have mattered.
    It matters more now. By March the virus was already prevalent in the UK. Keeping it contained now is key to getting back to normal.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Well your choices are:

    A) no restrictions
    B) blanket ban
    C) flexible restrictions which change as the facts change

    C) seems like a logical approach to me

    Why is your data better than the people reviewing the information and making the decision on behalf of the government?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859

    The government’s initial response to the Covid-19 crisis was hampered by the absence of a long-term strategy, lack of clarity about who was responsible for what and its poor use of evidence.

    This report examines decisions made in three areas: economic support, Covid-19 testing and the lockdown.

    It highlights the chancellor’s economic support measures as an example of policy based on clear objectives and developed after working closely with scheme users.......

    ....The report also identifies how:

    - The government needed to be clearer about the role of science advice and its limitations, particularly in the early stages of the crisis when it looked to its scientists to generate policy, not just advise on it

    - Government decisions were influenced too much by concerns over NHS capacity rather than by controlling the spread of the virus

    - Senior officials distanced themselves from the decision to reach 100,000 tests a day, and it was unclear who was responsible for different aspects of the testing regime, which made it difficult to assign responsibility for remedying gaps and failures

    - The government did not think about some of the most important aspects of how it would implement its policies until after it had announced them, leaving many public services, in particular schools and the police, playing catch up.


    https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/decision-making-crisis-coronavirus

    Another key finding: saving the NHS was not a good enough proxy for the goal of saving lives.

    Pretty much what a lot of people were saying on PB in real time rather than with hindsight. I would particularly highlight the "following the science" nonsense without any appreciation of what the science was measuring and what the consequences of their recommendations would be outwith the narrow target they were given.

    Once again top marks to the Treasury.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,717
    Stocky said:

    Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.

    The way I look at it is:

    1) Some that voted Trump will not vote for him this time (they may vote Biden or more likely abstain)
    2) He has virtually no new constituency from which to draw new votes
    3) Biden is much more palatable to many than Clinton
    4) Anti-Trumpers who didn`t bother voting last time will be super motivated to vote this time. (I think turnout differentials are generally more significant in elections than floating voters.)

    I can`t see a flaw in the logic in any of the above, and cannot see any other result than a significant Biden win.
    The only fly in the ointment is the increasingly abusive voter suppression tactics of the Trumpers, but otherwise I agree.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176

    tlg86 said:

    IanB2 said:

    Sandpit said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Definitely a mistake to kowtow to the holiday companies and airlines. They should have imposed a mandatory 14 day quarantine on all incomers, with a buyout clause of a negative (private) test after seven days for those who really needed to get back to work.

    The constantly changing guidance can’t be popular with anyone at this point.
    Though that would at least be clearer and more consistent, it's really being done just for want of doing something; a tacit admission that we should have done this back in February and March when it would have mattered.
    Given the nonsense about getting back to the office, I am now of the opinion that the government tried to give the pandemic every chance of not being that bad. I think the calculation made was, "if we lockdown and people start working from home, that will be that and it will economically catastrophic."

    Perhaps they were right to be worried about it. Perhaps this time next year when property prices have crashed, repossessions have gone through the roof and the banks have been bailed out, we'll be able to have more sympathy with the decision faced by the government. But the need to lockdown looked inevitable by the beginning of March, and the government really ought to have accepted that change was coming whether they liked it or not.
    Incredible how lockdown was "inevitable" at the start of March yet the first national lockdown globally was Italy on the 9 March. Perhaps it wasnt looking as inevitable as early as you (and many others) remember.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_lockdowns
    Doesn't that ignore what had happened in China? Once it was spreading in Northern Italy it was only a matter of time before it got here. Perhaps the government was only out by a week - work from home from 9 March and lockdown from 16 March might have been about right.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,357
    coach said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Boris Johnson has declined to meet members of a campaign group representing families bereaved by coronavirus, despite appearing to promise to do so on live TV last week.

    Given that he has 15 working hours in the day, what would this meeting achieve?
    It would give people the opportunity to shout at it him. Their distress is understandable, holding Boris to account (bearing in mind he nearly died himself) is unreasonable.
    :D
  • Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Boris Johnson has declined to meet members of a campaign group representing families bereaved by coronavirus, despite appearing to promise to do so on live TV last week.

    Given that he has 15 working hours in the day, what would this meeting achieve?
    The Group have involved solicitors, as soon as they did that there was no way that he would meet them.
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    Two things about quarantine:

    1) all the focus is on Brits going abroad - sometimes forgotten is on the foreigners coming here (who are on balance less affected by the sudden changes).

    2) the numbers game is ridiculous - one would hope there was more serious underlying analysis but there seems little evidence of that. The policy basically arbitrarily penalises travellers to and from countries that, all things being equal, do an enormous amount of testing and rewards those that do very little. It’s not based on a serious risk assessment to the country. In what basis is the level of “20 per 100k” set when the 20 represents not an accurate level of real infection, but simply reflects testing and reporting protocols in other countries?
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    malcolmg said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Boris Johnson has declined to meet members of a campaign group representing families bereaved by coronavirus, despite appearing to promise to do so on live TV last week.

    Given that he has 15 working hours in the day, what would this meeting achieve?
    I doubt he works 15 hours in a week
    Note I said “has 15 working hours” not “works 15 hours”..,

    😉
  • coachcoach Posts: 250
    Stocky said:

    Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.

    The way I look at it is:

    1) Some that voted Trump will not vote for him this time (they may vote Biden or more likely abstain)
    2) He has virtually no new constituency from which to draw new votes
    3) Biden is much more palatable to many than Clinton
    4) Anti-Trumpers who didn`t bother voting last time will be super motivated to vote this time. (I think turnout differentials are generally more significant in elections than floating voters.)

    I can`t see a flaw in the logic in any of the above, and cannot see any other result than a significant Biden win.
    In which case you'll never find a better bet at around evens. Fill ya boots.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,463
    Foxy said:

    Stocky said:

    Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.

    The way I look at it is:

    1) Some that voted Trump will not vote for him this time (they may vote Biden or more likely abstain)
    2) He has virtually no new constituency from which to draw new votes
    3) Biden is much more palatable to many than Clinton
    4) Anti-Trumpers who didn`t bother voting last time will be super motivated to vote this time. (I think turnout differentials are generally more significant in elections than floating voters.)

    I can`t see a flaw in the logic in any of the above, and cannot see any other result than a significant Biden win.
    The only fly in the ointment is the increasingly abusive voter suppression tactics of the Trumpers, but otherwise I agree.
    Agree with Dr F, although given the low turnouts in American elections, motivating people who didn't vote last time but now don't like what they see would help.

    And Good Morning one and all!
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,222
    alex_ said:

    Two things about quarantine:

    1) all the focus is on Brits going abroad - sometimes forgotten is on the foreigners coming here (who are on balance less affected by the sudden changes).

    2) the numbers game is ridiculous - one would hope there was more serious underlying analysis but there seems little evidence of that. The policy basically arbitrarily penalises travellers to and from countries that, all things being equal, do an enormous amount of testing and rewards those that do very little. It’s not based on a serious risk assessment to the country. In what basis is the level of “20 per 100k” set when the 20 represents not an accurate level of real infection, but simply reflects testing and reporting protocols in other countries?

    I agree. It feels like Johnson has a dart board in No 10 with countries on it. Chuck a dart and satisfy a baying mob/the media.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859
    coach said:

    Could it be that the key factor in the US election has become law and order?

    If that's the case Biden has blown it.

    I can't remember a politician as despised as Trump, if he manages to win twice that is a truly remarkable achievement

    Ronald Reagan was pretty much despised at the time, certainly by our media. It was only in hindsight that he got that respect that he has now. I remember many convinced at the time that the Iran Contra scandal was going to result in him being impeached. It arguably should have done and was a far more blatantly criminal act than I can immediately attribute to Trump.

    Not sure Trump will look any better in retrospect than he does right now, however.
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,677
    It's interesting that Johnson has to take the Snake with him as a human (or elapid) shield.
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,222
    edited September 2020
    coach said:

    Stocky said:

    Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.

    The way I look at it is:

    1) Some that voted Trump will not vote for him this time (they may vote Biden or more likely abstain)
    2) He has virtually no new constituency from which to draw new votes
    3) Biden is much more palatable to many than Clinton
    4) Anti-Trumpers who didn`t bother voting last time will be super motivated to vote this time. (I think turnout differentials are generally more significant in elections than floating voters.)

    I can`t see a flaw in the logic in any of the above, and cannot see any other result than a significant Biden win.
    In which case you'll never find a better bet at around evens. Fill ya boots.
    Already have. Biggest bet by a large margin. (I wish I`d followed Kinabalu and Alastair in taking profits in running though. Then bet again now. But hey ho.)
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859
    eristdoof said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Well your choices are:

    A) no restrictions
    B) blanket ban
    C) flexible restrictions which change as the facts change

    C) seems like a logical approach to me

    Why is your data better than the people reviewing the information and making the decision on behalf of the government?
    I'm with Charles on this one. Everyone knows that travelling abroad at the moment carries the risk of restrictions changing and at short notice. If you are not prepared to take the risk that you might need to isolate at the end of the trip, or worse cut the trip short, you should not be undertaking foreign travel, not at the moment.
    Exactly. I have absolutely zero sympathy for those caught by a change in the regulations. They have taken a very obvious gamble and lost. Tough. The only reasonable alternative is the blanket ban (by which I mean no travel without quarantine) which would be simpler to administer.
  • Stocky said:

    Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.

    The way I look at it is:

    1) Some that voted Trump will not vote for him this time (they may vote Biden or more likely abstain)
    2) He has virtually no new constituency from which to draw new votes
    3) Biden is much more palatable to many than Clinton
    4) Anti-Trumpers who didn`t bother voting last time will be super motivated to vote this time. (I think turnout differentials are generally more significant in elections than floating voters.)

    I can`t see a flaw in the logic in any of the above, and cannot see any other result than a significant Biden win.
    On the national vote, yes.

    It's the swing states I'm nervous about. That's why I think Biden should focus on WWC swing voters in those states.

    Forget taking the knee stuff and the Bernie bros sledging.
  • RattersRatters Posts: 1,076
    Looking at the polling averages (both RCP and 538), Trump has recovered from his lows of June/July, but hasn't risen above where he was earlier in the year. Likewise, Biden's vote had remained very stable at around 50%.

    Of course this could be part of a trend that will see the gap narrow from the current 6-7pts, but I think a more likely outcome is both candidates remain in the range they have been all year. And while either of Trump or Biden could outperform the polling average, it is hard to predict which direction that will be in.

    I'd also note that official US Covid-19 deaths will be over 200,0000 within a few weeks, and they'll likely be the worst effected developed nation per population (other than Belgium) by election day. So there's plenty of opportunity to attack Trump on how poorly he's managed the crisis between now and November 3rd.

    Of course Trump can still win, but it's not a c50% provability. I'm maxed out on Biden at his current price, but if continues to drift I'll top up more.
  • kamskikamski Posts: 5,191
    If Trump does win in the EC, but loses the national vote by 2-3%, how sustainable is this? In a national vote for a national president, with effectively a 2 party system, that the party that keeps getting millions fewer votes keeps winning?

    Add to that the gerrymandered House and Senate, and the highly political judiciary stuffed with increasingly out of touch with majority opinion ultra-conservative judges - isn't it a recipe for the disenfranchised majority getting extremely pissed off?
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,708
    edited September 2020
    coach said:

    Could it be that the key factor in the US election has become law and order?

    If that's the case Biden has blown it.

    That seems to be the current punditry consensus, and it's what I'd have expected if you'd described the situation a year ago and asked me where the voters would be. But it's not what the polling is showing. This is from August 27 to 28, that's pretty recent. There's loads of interesting stuff in here, but to pick a couple:

    Which of these approaches would help get things under control?
    Law and order 39%
    Bringing people together 61%

    Which comes closest to your view?
    Police departments don’t need to be reformed: 21%
    Police departments have a problem with race, but the problem can be fixed by reforming the existing system: 61%
    Police reform hasn’t worked. We need to defund police and reinvent our approach to public safety: 18%

    https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/trcdohan8j/20200828_yahoo_coronavirus_crosstabs.pdf

    The fact is that where Biden is is where the voters are.
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 5,065
    Stocky said:

    Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.

    The way I look at it is:

    1) Some that voted Trump will not vote for him this time (they may vote Biden or more likely abstain)
    2) He has virtually no new constituency from which to draw new votes
    3) Biden is much more palatable to many than Clinton
    4) Anti-Trumpers who didn`t bother voting last time will be super motivated to vote this time. (I think turnout differentials are generally more significant in elections than floating voters.)

    I can`t see a flaw in the logic in any of the above, and cannot see any other result than a significant Biden win.
    This has more or less been my opinion since December 2016.

    There are possibly two groups of people who might possibly move from non-voter or Dem-voter to Trump in 2020. The first are people (including their friends and families) who 4 years ago were unemployed or who had insecure jobs, but currently are in a more secure employment situation. This group was probably a reasonable size late last year. Covid will have scythed this down to negligible levels, and Trump has 2 months to get them back.
    The second are people who feel that if they are paying less tax now than 4 years ago. For a start most people in this group and might be swayed to Trump were probably "Don't like trump but I'll hold the nose and vote anyway Republicans" and so opportunity the potential gains are small. But also many who thought Trump would give them tax cuts found out that the middle classes got no tax cut, and it was the already rich who really benefitted. Many in the middle classes felt they had been fooled by the Republican tax changes.

    At the moment, I cannot see how these two groups get anywhere near cancelling out Stocky's 1)-4) groups above.
  • For as long as Biden is polling 50%+ he is next President and should be major odds on favourite.

    It's not enough that Trump will gain share from undecideds as so will Biden and if he's starting from 50% then it's effectively game over already.

    Just need to hope that Biden doesn't lose that share though. It's possible he can. But watch the shares not the lead.
  • kamski said:

    If Trump does win in the EC, but loses the national vote by 2-3%, how sustainable is this? In a national vote for a national president, with effectively a 2 party system, that the party that keeps getting millions fewer votes keeps winning?

    Add to that the gerrymandered House and Senate, and the highly political judiciary stuffed with increasingly out of touch with majority opinion ultra-conservative judges - isn't it a recipe for the disenfranchised majority getting extremely pissed off?

    It's entirely sustainable. The Democrats if that happens will need to target states other than California.

    That is the system working by design and not a flaw.
  • coach said:

    Could it be that the key factor in the US election has become law and order?

    If that's the case Biden has blown it.

    That seems to be the current punditry consensus, and it's what I'd have expected if you'd described the situation a year ago and asked me where the voters would be. But it's not what the polling is showing. This is from August 27 to 28, that's pretty recent. There's loads of interesting stuff in here, but to pick a couple:

    Which of these approaches would help get things under control?
    Law and order 39%
    Bringing people together 61%

    Which comes closest to your view?
    Police departments don’t need to be reformed: 21%
    Police departments have a problem with race, but the problem can be fixed by reforming the existing system: 61%
    Police reform hasn’t worked. We need to defund police and reinvent our approach to public safety: 18%

    https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/trcdohan8j/20200828_yahoo_coronavirus_crosstabs.pdf

    The fact is that where Biden is is where the voters are.
    Given we are so used to polarisation lately it's good to see a large majority of people choosing the sane centrist option.

    That Trump isn't one of them is not a shock.
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 5,065
    coach said:

    Could it be that the key factor in the US election has become law and order?

    If that's the case Biden has blown it.

    I can't remember a politician as despised as Trump, if he manages to win twice that is a truly remarkable achievement

    The signs are that the "law and order" campaign will just entrench existing Republicans into the "will definitely vote Trump" category and existing Democrats into the "will definitely vote Biden" category. It might make the end result closer, but this will not be the deciding factor. The deciding factor will be voter turnout in the swing states.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859
    I have been genuinely astonished by this to date. In May/June/July I was expecting 2008 on steroids with several million job losses and semi permanent damage to large sectors of our economy. What we now seem to be facing is a significant increase in our debt pile and an acceleration of existing trends combined with damage in travel, airlines and tourism.

    Either I seriously over estimated the risk or the Treasury has played an absolute blinder. It will be interesting to compare our experience with other countries to get a clue on that.
  • kamskikamski Posts: 5,191

    kamski said:

    If Trump does win in the EC, but loses the national vote by 2-3%, how sustainable is this? In a national vote for a national president, with effectively a 2 party system, that the party that keeps getting millions fewer votes keeps winning?

    Add to that the gerrymandered House and Senate, and the highly political judiciary stuffed with increasingly out of touch with majority opinion ultra-conservative judges - isn't it a recipe for the disenfranchised majority getting extremely pissed off?

    It's entirely sustainable. The Democrats if that happens will need to target states other than California.

    That is the system working by design and not a flaw.
    It IS a flaw, and plenty of Americans hate it quite understandably. The fact that you think it is a good system doesn't make it one. None of the better democracies use such a stupid system, and I don't see any country racing to copy it. That might tell you something.
  • kjhkjh Posts: 11,805
    DavidL said:

    eristdoof said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Well your choices are:

    A) no restrictions
    B) blanket ban
    C) flexible restrictions which change as the facts change

    C) seems like a logical approach to me

    Why is your data better than the people reviewing the information and making the decision on behalf of the government?
    I'm with Charles on this one. Everyone knows that travelling abroad at the moment carries the risk of restrictions changing and at short notice. If you are not prepared to take the risk that you might need to isolate at the end of the trip, or worse cut the trip short, you should not be undertaking foreign travel, not at the moment.
    Exactly. I have absolutely zero sympathy for those caught by a change in the regulations. They have taken a very obvious gamble and lost. Tough. The only reasonable alternative is the blanket ban (by which I mean no travel without quarantine) which would be simpler to administer.
    Agree, but it would be useful if the govt released its logic for its decisions. Similarly for the internal lockdown decisions. Today's Manchester decisions seem completely irrational. Presumably there are sensible reasons but who knows. It is also in the government's interest as currently they look incompetent.
  • Scott_xP said:
    Scott the Group have involved solicitors, they are looking for money, there is no way he can meet them now outside of a court, the Government lawyers simply would not let him. I realise that you know this..
  • For as long as Biden is polling 50%+ he is next President and should be major odds on favourite.

    It's not enough that Trump will gain share from undecideds as so will Biden and if he's starting from 50% then it's effectively game over already.

    Just need to hope that Biden doesn't lose that share though. It's possible he can. But watch the shares not the lead.

    You are right, but the share and lead being outside of margin of error.... And the assumption the polls still holding their 2018 accuracy.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002
    No 10 plans to create online “ID cards” for British citizens as Dominic Cummings tries to revolutionise the use of data across government.

    Under proposals announced yesterday each person will be assigned a unique digital identity to help them with such tasks as registering with a new GP.

    The details have yet to be finalised but it is understood that legislation could be amended to remove the need for landlords to check tenants’ immigration documents. Witnesses would no longer have to attend signings on property deals in person, and bar owners would be able to digitally verify drinkers’ ages.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/digital-id-cards-lead-the-dominic-cummings-data-revolution-v750fn3kt
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 5,065
    My problem with this graph is that all recessions have been set to start at 0 in month -1. In practice the economic situation is quite different in the lead up to different recessions. As the UK economy was in reasonable shape before Corona hit, it makes sense that the recovery is more of a bounce than a haul back up.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859
    kjh said:

    DavidL said:

    eristdoof said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Well your choices are:

    A) no restrictions
    B) blanket ban
    C) flexible restrictions which change as the facts change

    C) seems like a logical approach to me

    Why is your data better than the people reviewing the information and making the decision on behalf of the government?
    I'm with Charles on this one. Everyone knows that travelling abroad at the moment carries the risk of restrictions changing and at short notice. If you are not prepared to take the risk that you might need to isolate at the end of the trip, or worse cut the trip short, you should not be undertaking foreign travel, not at the moment.
    Exactly. I have absolutely zero sympathy for those caught by a change in the regulations. They have taken a very obvious gamble and lost. Tough. The only reasonable alternative is the blanket ban (by which I mean no travel without quarantine) which would be simpler to administer.
    Agree, but it would be useful if the govt released its logic for its decisions. Similarly for the internal lockdown decisions. Today's Manchester decisions seem completely irrational. Presumably there are sensible reasons but who knows. It is also in the government's interest as currently they look incompetent.
    I am equally bewildered by the new restrictions in Glasgow. I mean, as a general proposition shutting down large parts of Glasgow seems a step forward but the rationale for these particular restrictions escape me.

    It does help Nicola play mother of the nation once again I suppose but once again jobs will be lost.
  • kamski said:

    kamski said:

    If Trump does win in the EC, but loses the national vote by 2-3%, how sustainable is this? In a national vote for a national president, with effectively a 2 party system, that the party that keeps getting millions fewer votes keeps winning?

    Add to that the gerrymandered House and Senate, and the highly political judiciary stuffed with increasingly out of touch with majority opinion ultra-conservative judges - isn't it a recipe for the disenfranchised majority getting extremely pissed off?

    It's entirely sustainable. The Democrats if that happens will need to target states other than California.

    That is the system working by design and not a flaw.
    It IS a flaw, and plenty of Americans hate it quite understandably. The fact that you think it is a good system doesn't make it one. None of the better democracies use such a stupid system, and I don't see any country racing to copy it. That might tell you something.
    I never said I thought it was a good system, I said it was working by design. There's a difference. I personally don't support the system and am glad we don't have it in this country but I understand why America does.

    The other issue is that the method for changing the system requires smaller states to consent to handing away their powers to the larger states. That isn't going to happen.

    Oh and incidentally the EU has similar foibles in its voting systems too. They just get less attention as it's less apparent.
  • eekeek Posts: 28,400
    Scott_xP said:

    No 10 plans to create online “ID cards” for British citizens as Dominic Cummings tries to revolutionise the use of data across government.

    Under proposals announced yesterday each person will be assigned a unique digital identity to help them with such tasks as registering with a new GP.

    The details have yet to be finalised but it is understood that legislation could be amended to remove the need for landlords to check tenants’ immigration documents. Witnesses would no longer have to attend signings on property deals in person, and bar owners would be able to digitally verify drinkers’ ages.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/digital-id-cards-lead-the-dominic-cummings-data-revolution-v750fn3kt

    So I borrow someone's id number rather than driving license for underage drinking.

    Once again the examples just don't justify the creation of an ID card - and I personally can see the benefits of issuing them. It's just that those benefits aren't outlined here.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,357
    Scott_xP said:
    Just what you would expect from him, all bluster and then run for the fridge.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,859
    kamski said:

    kamski said:

    If Trump does win in the EC, but loses the national vote by 2-3%, how sustainable is this? In a national vote for a national president, with effectively a 2 party system, that the party that keeps getting millions fewer votes keeps winning?

    Add to that the gerrymandered House and Senate, and the highly political judiciary stuffed with increasingly out of touch with majority opinion ultra-conservative judges - isn't it a recipe for the disenfranchised majority getting extremely pissed off?

    It's entirely sustainable. The Democrats if that happens will need to target states other than California.

    That is the system working by design and not a flaw.
    It IS a flaw, and plenty of Americans hate it quite understandably. The fact that you think it is a good system doesn't make it one. None of the better democracies use such a stupid system, and I don't see any country racing to copy it. That might tell you something.
    I do remember Blair winning a majority of English seats with a smaller vote share than the Tories but I tend to agree that is just another flaw.
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 5,065

    Stocky said:

    Punters have never been convinced on Biden. You could still get on him at 1.05 after he'd got all the delegates, and Hillary was still available at barely 100/1 on the very day he was officially nominated.

    They both have to survive nine weeks. I think they're going to manage that.

    One or either might fail (I've seen a rumour that some of Biden's senior aides are discussing if he should take the knee in the first presidential debate, for example, which would be a gift to Trump) but they will be the candidates fighting it out on polling day. No question.

    The way I look at it is:

    1) Some that voted Trump will not vote for him this time (they may vote Biden or more likely abstain)
    2) He has virtually no new constituency from which to draw new votes
    3) Biden is much more palatable to many than Clinton
    4) Anti-Trumpers who didn`t bother voting last time will be super motivated to vote this time. (I think turnout differentials are generally more significant in elections than floating voters.)

    I can`t see a flaw in the logic in any of the above, and cannot see any other result than a significant Biden win.
    On the national vote, yes.

    It's the swing states I'm nervous about. That's why I think Biden should focus on WWC swing voters in those states.

    Forget taking the knee stuff and the Bernie bros sledging.
    Instead of "taking the knee" he should be saying things like
    "I want to be very clear about all of this: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting. It's lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted. Violence will not bring change, it will only bring destruction. It's wrong in every way."

    ...oh I see he already has.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,717

    coach said:

    Could it be that the key factor in the US election has become law and order?

    If that's the case Biden has blown it.

    That seems to be the current punditry consensus, and it's what I'd have expected if you'd described the situation a year ago and asked me where the voters would be. But it's not what the polling is showing. This is from August 27 to 28, that's pretty recent. There's loads of interesting stuff in here, but to pick a couple:

    Which of these approaches would help get things under control?
    Law and order 39%
    Bringing people together 61%

    Which comes closest to your view?
    Police departments don’t need to be reformed: 21%
    Police departments have a problem with race, but the problem can be fixed by reforming the existing system: 61%
    Police reform hasn’t worked. We need to defund police and reinvent our approach to public safety: 18%

    https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/trcdohan8j/20200828_yahoo_coronavirus_crosstabs.pdf

    The fact is that where Biden is is where the voters are.
    Yes, these things don't necessarily break for those who want harsher treatment. For example several on here thought that the Manchester Arena bombing would destroy Corbyn in 2017. Instead the narrative was police cuts and it helped him. Similarly the poll tax riots and disorder led to Kinnock having a 25% lead over Thatcher.

    Grandpa Joes folksy Americana, harking back to a mythic age when Americans got on with each other hits the sweet spot on this issue.

    It is pretty impressive that 18% support defunding the police. That is a major loss of confidence by a big share of the population.


  • DavidL said:

    kjh said:

    DavidL said:

    eristdoof said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Well your choices are:

    A) no restrictions
    B) blanket ban
    C) flexible restrictions which change as the facts change

    C) seems like a logical approach to me

    Why is your data better than the people reviewing the information and making the decision on behalf of the government?
    I'm with Charles on this one. Everyone knows that travelling abroad at the moment carries the risk of restrictions changing and at short notice. If you are not prepared to take the risk that you might need to isolate at the end of the trip, or worse cut the trip short, you should not be undertaking foreign travel, not at the moment.
    Exactly. I have absolutely zero sympathy for those caught by a change in the regulations. They have taken a very obvious gamble and lost. Tough. The only reasonable alternative is the blanket ban (by which I mean no travel without quarantine) which would be simpler to administer.
    Agree, but it would be useful if the govt released its logic for its decisions. Similarly for the internal lockdown decisions. Today's Manchester decisions seem completely irrational. Presumably there are sensible reasons but who knows. It is also in the government's interest as currently they look incompetent.
    I am equally bewildered by the new restrictions in Glasgow. I mean, as a general proposition shutting down large parts of Glasgow seems a step forward but the rationale for these particular restrictions escape me.

    It does help Nicola play mother of the nation once again I suppose but once again jobs will be lost.
    I thought you couldn't meet friends at home, but could meet them in the pub?

    Swinney was on R4 saying this is because they're finding transmission is being driven by home visits.
  • kjh said:

    DavidL said:

    eristdoof said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Well your choices are:

    A) no restrictions
    B) blanket ban
    C) flexible restrictions which change as the facts change

    C) seems like a logical approach to me

    Why is your data better than the people reviewing the information and making the decision on behalf of the government?
    I'm with Charles on this one. Everyone knows that travelling abroad at the moment carries the risk of restrictions changing and at short notice. If you are not prepared to take the risk that you might need to isolate at the end of the trip, or worse cut the trip short, you should not be undertaking foreign travel, not at the moment.
    Exactly. I have absolutely zero sympathy for those caught by a change in the regulations. They have taken a very obvious gamble and lost. Tough. The only reasonable alternative is the blanket ban (by which I mean no travel without quarantine) which would be simpler to administer.
    Agree, but it would be useful if the govt released its logic for its decisions. Similarly for the internal lockdown decisions. Today's Manchester decisions seem completely irrational. Presumably there are sensible reasons but who knows. It is also in the government's interest as currently they look incompetent.
    I don't think that's possible in real time. The reason is that the decision making will be complicated. It won't be a simple metric with a pass or fail threshold.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002

    Scott the Group have involved solicitors, they are looking for money, there is no way he can meet them now outside of a court, the Government lawyers simply would not let him. I realise that you know this..

    No lawyer would let their client speak to anyone with another lawyer in the room?

    Bollocks.

    Also, if one of the bereaved happens to be a lawyer, they can never meet the PM?

    Bollocks. On stilts.
  • DavidL said:

    kjh said:

    DavidL said:

    eristdoof said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Well your choices are:

    A) no restrictions
    B) blanket ban
    C) flexible restrictions which change as the facts change

    C) seems like a logical approach to me

    Why is your data better than the people reviewing the information and making the decision on behalf of the government?
    I'm with Charles on this one. Everyone knows that travelling abroad at the moment carries the risk of restrictions changing and at short notice. If you are not prepared to take the risk that you might need to isolate at the end of the trip, or worse cut the trip short, you should not be undertaking foreign travel, not at the moment.
    Exactly. I have absolutely zero sympathy for those caught by a change in the regulations. They have taken a very obvious gamble and lost. Tough. The only reasonable alternative is the blanket ban (by which I mean no travel without quarantine) which would be simpler to administer.
    Agree, but it would be useful if the govt released its logic for its decisions. Similarly for the internal lockdown decisions. Today's Manchester decisions seem completely irrational. Presumably there are sensible reasons but who knows. It is also in the government's interest as currently they look incompetent.
    I am equally bewildered by the new restrictions in Glasgow. I mean, as a general proposition shutting down large parts of Glasgow seems a step forward but the rationale for these particular restrictions escape me.

    It does help Nicola play mother of the nation once again I suppose but once again jobs will be lost.
    I thought you couldn't meet friends at home, but could meet them in the pub?

    Swinney was on R4 saying this is because they're finding transmission is being driven by home visits.
    So Nicola is following Boris's lead now? Because that's what the NW lockdown looked like.

    I'm sure lots of people will be pointing out that Boris is leading the way here any second now.

    Any second now.

    *Crickets chirp*
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 5,065

    kamski said:

    kamski said:

    If Trump does win in the EC, but loses the national vote by 2-3%, how sustainable is this? In a national vote for a national president, with effectively a 2 party system, that the party that keeps getting millions fewer votes keeps winning?

    Add to that the gerrymandered House and Senate, and the highly political judiciary stuffed with increasingly out of touch with majority opinion ultra-conservative judges - isn't it a recipe for the disenfranchised majority getting extremely pissed off?

    It's entirely sustainable. The Democrats if that happens will need to target states other than California.

    That is the system working by design and not a flaw.
    It IS a flaw, and plenty of Americans hate it quite understandably. The fact that you think it is a good system doesn't make it one. None of the better democracies use such a stupid system, and I don't see any country racing to copy it. That might tell you something.
    I never said I thought it was a good system, I said it was working by design. There's a difference. I personally don't support the system and am glad we don't have it in this country but I understand why America does.

    The other issue is that the method for changing the system requires smaller states to consent to handing away their powers to the larger states. That isn't going to happen.

    Oh and incidentally the EU has similar foibles in its voting systems too. They just get less attention as it's less apparent.
    But the swing states are mostly mid-sized states. I don't think that people in Hawaii or Alaska think they get a good deal out of the EC system, even if numerically they do. By giving each voter the same weight then voters in Hawaii, Ohio and New York will know that their votes in the presidential election will have the same level of influence on the result.
  • kamskikamski Posts: 5,191
    DavidL said:

    kamski said:

    kamski said:

    If Trump does win in the EC, but loses the national vote by 2-3%, how sustainable is this? In a national vote for a national president, with effectively a 2 party system, that the party that keeps getting millions fewer votes keeps winning?

    Add to that the gerrymandered House and Senate, and the highly political judiciary stuffed with increasingly out of touch with majority opinion ultra-conservative judges - isn't it a recipe for the disenfranchised majority getting extremely pissed off?

    It's entirely sustainable. The Democrats if that happens will need to target states other than California.

    That is the system working by design and not a flaw.
    It IS a flaw, and plenty of Americans hate it quite understandably. The fact that you think it is a good system doesn't make it one. None of the better democracies use such a stupid system, and I don't see any country racing to copy it. That might tell you something.
    I do remember Blair winning a majority of English seats with a smaller vote share than the Tories but I tend to agree that is just another flaw.
    Absolutely another flaw, and although there is a bit more justification (compared to the absurd electoral college) for having this kind of FPTP representative democracy for electing parliament (although some form of PR is way more democratic), I think if the party that got fewer votes kept getting majorities in the UK parliament, that it would also be unsustainable - especially if the smaller (by vote share) party was governing in a very divisive manner.
  • Scott_xP said:

    Scott the Group have involved solicitors, they are looking for money, there is no way he can meet them now outside of a court, the Government lawyers simply would not let him. I realise that you know this..

    No lawyer would let their client speak to anyone with another lawyer in the room?

    Bollocks.

    Also, if one of the bereaved happens to be a lawyer, they can never meet the PM?

    Bollocks. On stilts.
    So what do you think the Attorney General would advise?
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002

    So what do you think the Attorney General would advise?

    I don't think she understands the law
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,717

    DavidL said:

    kjh said:

    DavidL said:

    eristdoof said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    Bozo’s Quarantine Hokey Cokey continues as Ministers are considering reimposing quarantine measures for those arriving in the UK from Portugal as coronavirus cases rise, sources have told the BBC.

    A change this Thursday would be the fifth affecting travellers and travel companies to Portugal since this whole sorry farce commenced.

    Well your choices are:

    A) no restrictions
    B) blanket ban
    C) flexible restrictions which change as the facts change

    C) seems like a logical approach to me

    Why is your data better than the people reviewing the information and making the decision on behalf of the government?
    I'm with Charles on this one. Everyone knows that travelling abroad at the moment carries the risk of restrictions changing and at short notice. If you are not prepared to take the risk that you might need to isolate at the end of the trip, or worse cut the trip short, you should not be undertaking foreign travel, not at the moment.
    Exactly. I have absolutely zero sympathy for those caught by a change in the regulations. They have taken a very obvious gamble and lost. Tough. The only reasonable alternative is the blanket ban (by which I mean no travel without quarantine) which would be simpler to administer.
    Agree, but it would be useful if the govt released its logic for its decisions. Similarly for the internal lockdown decisions. Today's Manchester decisions seem completely irrational. Presumably there are sensible reasons but who knows. It is also in the government's interest as currently they look incompetent.
    I am equally bewildered by the new restrictions in Glasgow. I mean, as a general proposition shutting down large parts of Glasgow seems a step forward but the rationale for these particular restrictions escape me.

    It does help Nicola play mother of the nation once again I suppose but once again jobs will be lost.
    I thought you couldn't meet friends at home, but could meet them in the pub?

    Swinney was on R4 saying this is because they're finding transmission is being driven by home visits.
    Its been like that in Leicester for a while. I cannot meet Fox jr in his garden, but can go to the pub to do so, or the cinema, or a meal deal, or even sit next to him for a flight...
This discussion has been closed.