This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
On today's Panelbase poll there is a 0.25% swing from SNP to Scottish Conservative on the constituency vote since 2016
Much less than MOE then , that will surely make all the difference
SNP seats like Edinburgh Pentlands, Perthshire South and Kinrossshire and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine had an SNP vote under 40% in 2016 and would fall with that swing and even the smallest Labour and LD tactical voting for the Conservatives
Just for you HYFUD, given the numbers quoted are unweighted, here are the real numbers that will surely be confirmed soon. I wonder why they released unweighted numbers, very odd indeed.
Irrespective of the poll you like and the one you do not, it is clear this last week has been a PR disaster for Sturgeon and the mood music is changing
There is a lot more to come on this between now and May and the drip drip of incompetence and stitch ups are going to have a toll on both her and independence
Anyway politics off the agenda for the media today as they go way over the top with the Sussex's interview
Really who cares?
People always ask that but it sells papers and gets enough attention that media feel they need to do it. The answer is lots of people.
I wont bother to watch, but after such build up there better be something juicy out of it.
I won't be watching it either but I feel sorry for them.
The way they're being treated is like people who leave a cult getting shunned and ostracised by their own family.
They are the ones behaving appallingly. I just hope they stay in America, period. They are a busted flush on the UK.
Marrying an American never works.. there is history...
Confirmation bias does an awful lot of work here: those who are already republican or unsympathetic to the royal family are inclined to take Harry and Meghan's side, and vice-versa.
I've seen enough evidence to be fairly certain that (a) Meghan found it hard and wasn't prepared for the constraints and criticism that come with being a royal (b) she behaved with an exceptional sense of entitlement and treated many of her staff like a Hollywood diva, and her side doesn't deny that allegations of complaints exist (c) HMQ tried her best to find a solution that squared the circle, although she couldn't let them have their cake and eat it as that's not what being an active royal means or can mean (d) Harry has been torn and conflicted throughout but has sided with her as he genuinely loves her and much of the above played into his pre-existing fears and anxieties.
It seems to be they should have taken the middle ground solution, respecting Harry's difficult position, his friends and family in the UK, the impact on the wider institution, the need to give Meghan the flexibility and profile she wanted, and the Royals should have done their best to close down nasty snides and attacks from parts of the media at the same time, but it all fell apart and they seem to have gone nuclear instead.
Personally? I think Meghan has far more of her Dad in her than she'd care to admit.
New Panelbase poll has further bad news for Sturgeon with the SNP down 5% on the Scottish Parliament constituency vote and down 4% on the list vote and virtually unchanged on the 46.5% and 41% it got in 2016. Both the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour are up 3% each and the Greens are also down.
If true that means the SNP risks no majority at all in May
I had a look at the Twitter accounts of the more right-wing candidates who are trying to stand for Mayor. Fox is way out in front on followers.
Laurence Fox 265,000 on Twitter, The Reclaim Party 44,100 Shaun Bailey 76,600, Conservatives 511,600 David Kurten, 62,800, Heritage Party 5262 Brian Rose 19,700, @brianrose4mayor 1460, @LondonRealTV 166,000 Peter Gammons 807, UKIP 202,500, @UKIPLondon 404 Charlie Mullins 260
Reform UK are on 220,100 follows as a party and have indicated they will stand a candidate, but haven't picked someone yet.
I think all of them are lays on the current betting! Were there a bet possible on Fox vs. Rose vs. Kurten vs. Gammons, that might be interesting.
I await the Sun's outrage about this, of course they will treat a Labour MP and Tory MP with balance
Linkedin Premium is even more expensive than free engraving.
But MPs made a rod for their own back with this ludicrous expenses system. They should just change it to a fixed allowance like London weighting which they can spend on whatever they like, and have employment and IT handled by central authorities.
Mainly acknowledging reality and filling the £13 billion shortfall in already committed programs. There's a bit left over for a token effort in space and cyber.
This seems to happen every 5 years.
And then a new massive black hole emerges.
We won't have anything left in 20 years.
The MoD keeps doing massive vanity projects (Carriers, Vanguard/Trident) that hollow out every other capability.
They are about to do it again with Tempest. The F-35B buy is going to be cut from 138 to 48 to (partially) pay for it.
New Panelbase poll has further bad news for Sturgeon with the SNP down 5% on the Scottish Parliament constituency vote and down 4% on the list vote and virtually unchanged on the 46.5% and 41% it got in 2016. Both the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour are up 3% each and the Greens are also down.
If true that means the SNP risks no majority at all in May
And polling could be even worse as more is revealed
I do not expect Sturgeon is having a very happy weekend looking at the Scottish newspapers and polls
They are welcome but I'm not sure the polls are bad enough yet for SNP + Greens to lose their majority.
The future of the Union could really hinge on the maths of that.
Boris will refuse a legal indyref2 regardless and Union matters are reserved to Westminster, if the SNP lose seats and fail to even win a majority just means they cannot credibly hold an illegal referendum either and instead Sturgeon will face a revolt from Salmond loyalists
The big strategic error - IMHO and I'm a Labour guy so take it with your chosen amount of salt - was that the Tories really bigged up the NHS with the clapping and Johnson's personal thanks to them, etc. and that's why people see them differently to other workers.
Some Scots waking up to the fact the fact that the real nasty party is, and always has been, the SNP.
It is open door opportunity time for the other parties, thats for sure. The challenge for the other parties is that if they are campaigning on "the SNP are corrupt, vote for us", its a bit back to basics.
This is especially an issue for the Tories. Davidson's imminent chicken run to the Lords makes it hard to attack on democracy grounds. As for attacking on corruption or competence grounds, again difficult to do considering the Westminster government's shenanigans.
I can see turnout - lack of it - being the real change vs 2016.
For all those of you who regularly complain that London gets a disproportionate amount of resources over the rest of the country: want to take a crack at explaining the paucity of Mayoral candidates we get? This is the absolute most horrendous list I can imagine, and (other than Johnson (twice), and the few months we had to dream about Rory the ex-Tory) there's never been a candidate standing I could anything other than depressed about.
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
For all those of you who regularly complain that London gets a disproportionate amount of resources over the rest of the country: want to take a crack at explaining the paucity of Mayoral candidates we get? This is the absolute most horrendous list I can imagine, and (other than Johnson (twice), and the few months we had to dream about Rory the ex-Tory) there's never been a candidate standing I could anything other than depressed about.
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
I am actually fairly sympathetic to some of what Fox has to say. But he's far too bad at actually saying it for me to even consider supporting him - any germ of a point he might have tends to get lost via the obnoxious ways he tends to express it.
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
Haven't you rather answered your own question? You may not like that answer.
For all those of you who regularly complain that London gets a disproportionate amount of resources over the rest of the country: want to take a crack at explaining the paucity of Mayoral candidates we get? This is the absolute most horrendous list I can imagine, and (other than Johnson (twice), and the few months we had to dream about Rory the ex-Tory) there's never been a candidate standing I could anything other than depressed about.
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
I am actually fairly sympathetic to some of what Fox has to say. But he's far too bad at actually saying it for me to even consider supporting him - any germ of a point he might have tends to get lost via the obnoxious ways he tends to express it.
This is a problem across the political spectrum at the moment - not least because our social media ecosystems encourage polarisation for clicks, but also on account of longer and deeper-rooted reasons too, I think.
The big strategic error - IMHO and I'm a Labour guy so take it with your chosen amount of salt - was that the Tories really bigged up the NHS with the clapping and Johnson's personal thanks to them, etc. and that's why people see them differently to other workers.
They made the bed, now they have to get into it.
I don't think that would have made much of a difference to be honest. Pay rises for nurses would always have been popular, and given the mood and people's usual attitude to the NHS Johnson could hardly do otherwise even if he wanted to (and there's no reason to think the thanks were not sincere).
If it is not a plan to at least concede to a rise that is managable, then it was a pretty lowball offer, but as an issue a conflict was probably unavoidable.
For all those of you who regularly complain that London gets a disproportionate amount of resources over the rest of the country: want to take a crack at explaining the paucity of Mayoral candidates we get? This is the absolute most horrendous list I can imagine, and (other than Johnson (twice), and the few months we had to dream about Rory the ex-Tory) there's never been a candidate standing I could anything other than depressed about.
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
If one person looks like they will very easily, credible candidates are both hard to find for the top opposition (though as a non-Londoner I don't know what about Bailey is so bad, but people seem to be agreed he is), and yet also will pop up as attention grabbing also rans, as there's no one for those bad candidates to rally behind.
For all those of you who regularly complain that London gets a disproportionate amount of resources over the rest of the country: want to take a crack at explaining the paucity of Mayoral candidates we get? This is the absolute most horrendous list I can imagine, and (other than Johnson (twice), and the few months we had to dream about Rory the ex-Tory) there's never been a candidate standing I could anything other than depressed about.
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
Given 55% of Londoners did not even vote in the last Mayoral and Assembly election even if you actively vote or spoil your ballot you will be more involved than most Londoners
Some Scots waking up to the fact the fact that the real nasty party is, and always has been, the SNP.
It is open door opportunity time for the other parties, thats for sure. The challenge for the other parties is that if they are campaigning on "the SNP are corrupt, vote for us", its a bit back to basics.
This is especially an issue for the Tories. Davidson's imminent chicken run to the Lords makes it hard to attack on democracy grounds. As for attacking on corruption or competence grounds, again difficult to do considering the Westminster government's shenanigans.
I can see turnout - lack of it - being the real change vs 2016.
Douglas Ross will lead the Holyrood campaign to be fair, but from a cast iron large majority in little over a week a poll this morning gives the SNP a majority of 1 and it should be also noted from the polling the Greens are losing a few points
Last week has opened the door to a different result in Holyrood than anyone thought before
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
On today's Panelbase poll there is a 0.25% swing from SNP to Scottish Conservative on the constituency vote since 2016
Much less than MOE then , that will surely make all the difference
SNP seats like Edinburgh Pentlands, Perthshire South and Kinrossshire and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine had an SNP vote under 40% in 2016 and would fall with that swing and even the smallest Labour and LD tactical voting for the Conservatives
Just for you HYFUD, given the numbers quoted are unweighted, here are the real numbers that will surely be confirmed soon. I wonder why they released unweighted numbers, very odd indeed.
47% Yes 42% No (Inc DK)
53% Yes 47% No (Excl DK)
POLLS are NOT real numbers .
I know that , I was merely pointing out to the deluded HYFUD that he was spouting his usual fake numbers.
Anyway politics off the agenda for the media today as they go way over the top with the Sussex's interview
Really who cares?
Hell hath no fury, like the Daily Mail scorned.
It will make the Daily Mail as mad as hell. For that I would like to give the happy couple credit.
My wife tells me today's Mail on Sunday has twelve (yes 12) pages on this stuff
They have lost all reason and sense and join the Express as a non serious gossip rag
Also I understand they have to publish a front page apology but no sign today
I think they're appealing the court ruling?
And I mean the media coverage today is a bit excessive but it's not every day the Queens grandson and granddaughter-in-law sits down with Oprah to throw the Royal Family under the bus... Media coverage/scrutiny was bound to intense...
Which makes the decision to do the interview quite odd given H&M are always going on about how they want to be private in their mansion in LA!
"They hide the training of marxist internationalism". This reminds me very much of their piece on Ralph Miliband, and by nudge-wink implication Ed Miliband, although this time without the antisemitic subtext as part of the whole sparkling package too.
Would anyone object to Williamson being bottom? ydoethur?
Wow, Bozo's doing well there isn't he? !!
I can’t remember a time it was so obvious a minister was going to be sacked in the reshuffle as it is with Williamson. He must be a complete lame duck when he meets people.
He might hang on. He's so bad at the moment that you know he can only improve. Ditching him now would probably end forever any aspirations he has, and if Boris lets him continue then he'll owe him pretty much undying loyalty. Given he was chief whip he's clearly going to have some influence.
So I think he's likely to go, but not certain.
'Given he was chief whip he's clearly going to have some influence. ' Or ability to blackmail?
Given our PM's ability to wriggle out of sticky situations he must have something pretty big on him!
Well yes. I had that somewhat in mind too.
Who knows when we'll get a reshuffle anyway - if I was Boris I simply wouldn't have one. I don't think they're ever really a good thing.
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
On today's Panelbase poll there is a 0.25% swing from SNP to Scottish Conservative on the constituency vote since 2016
Much less than MOE then , that will surely make all the difference
SNP seats like Edinburgh Pentlands, Perthshire South and Kinrossshire and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine had an SNP vote under 40% in 2016 and would fall with that swing and even the smallest Labour and LD tactical voting for the Conservatives
Just for you HYFUD, given the numbers quoted are unweighted, here are the real numbers that will surely be confirmed soon. I wonder why they released unweighted numbers, very odd indeed.
47% Yes 42% No (Inc DK)
53% Yes 47% No (Excl DK)
POLLS are NOT real numbers .
I know that , I was merely pointing out to the deluded HYFUD that he was spouting his usual fake numbers.
Nothing fake about them, all the polls show a swing to No today and the Holyrood poll shows a swing against the SNP and Greens
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
On today's Panelbase poll there is a 0.25% swing from SNP to Scottish Conservative on the constituency vote since 2016
Much less than MOE then , that will surely make all the difference
SNP seats like Edinburgh Pentlands, Perthshire South and Kinrossshire and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine had an SNP vote under 40% in 2016 and would fall with that swing and even the smallest Labour and LD tactical voting for the Conservatives
Just for you HYFUD, given the numbers quoted are unweighted, here are the real numbers that will surely be confirmed soon. I wonder why they released unweighted numbers, very odd indeed.
Irrespective of the poll you like and the one you do not, it is clear this last week has been a PR disaster for Sturgeon and the mood music is changing
There is a lot more to come on this between now and May and the drip drip of incompetence and stitch ups are going to have a toll on both her and independence
People should note SNP is not same as INDEPENDENCE
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
Haven't you rather answered your own question? You may not like that answer.
He'd clearly make the best Mayor, in terms of how convincing he'd be at making statements, managing his office and fielding questions from the press and public. I'd just rather someone useless who's trying to do things I agree with/don't care about, than someone marginally competent (but basically only good at self-promotion) doing things I disagree with.
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
Haven't you rather answered your own question? You may not like that answer.
He'd clearly make the best Mayor, in terms of how convincing he'd be at making statements, managing his office and fielding questions from the press and public. I'd just rather someone useless who's trying to do things I agree with/don't care about, than someone marginally competent (but basically only good at self-promotion) doing things I disagree with.
Fair enough. If I were you then (and you aren't, and have no need to take any notice of me of course), I would vote for the candidate I agreed with and transfer to the best candidate. That's what I'd do.
It’s hysterically poor understanding what Marxism is. The author of this is so laughably uneducated on what they are commenting on. 😂
The Marxists are literally Young Hegelians. They were so bought in the mindset of Nation States from the liberal revolution of 1848 that their revolution was never going to get past bud and blossom to fruit.
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
Golly. How thick are you? Bye bye Union.
If you are so set on the Union, your answer should surely be to stand down Conservative candidates everywhere.
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
On today's Panelbase poll there is a 0.25% swing from SNP to Scottish Conservative on the constituency vote since 2016
Much less than MOE then , that will surely make all the difference
SNP seats like Edinburgh Pentlands, Perthshire South and Kinrossshire and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine had an SNP vote under 40% in 2016 and would fall with that swing and even the smallest Labour and LD tactical voting for the Conservatives
Just for you HYFUD, given the numbers quoted are unweighted, here are the real numbers that will surely be confirmed soon. I wonder why they released unweighted numbers, very odd indeed.
Irrespective of the poll you like and the one you do not, it is clear this last week has been a PR disaster for Sturgeon and the mood music is changing
There is a lot more to come on this between now and May and the drip drip of incompetence and stitch ups are going to have a toll on both her and independence
People should note SNP is not same as INDEPENDENCE
I’m glad someone had said that.
Why should the concept of Independence fluctuate so much based on the fortunes of SNP managing devolution well/badly? Fluctuate on a leader of SNP who has lost trust? It shouldn’t. Behind the polling it probably isn’t. When it comes down to campaign and vote on independence, it will boil down to pros and cons of the independence question for sure.
Some Scots waking up to the fact the fact that the real nasty party is, and always has been, the SNP.
Usual crap from you, back under your rock for another week or two please.
Stop Press! A Nat uses the word please!! Well done, keep going to the lessons, perhaps you might even learn to be a decent human being. Your next challenge will be to stop being a hate filled purveyor of false history, and avoid starting sentences in your head with "I don't really hate the English but.."
I guess it doesn't worry you at all that Nicola apologised to the women that who were “failed” by the botched probe? What does this mean? Either she is lying and we believe the women were lying conspirators or that Salmond was lying about them all lying? I guess it also doesn't bother you about the nationalist trolls and Charlie Kennedy?
Nasty party indeed! Nationalism is a poisonous creed, and the Scottish version is one of the most hate filled. Many of your posts prove this. Go on, your little angry man, Little Scotlander response will no doubt prove me right.
Anyway politics off the agenda for the media today as they go way over the top with the Sussex's interview
Really who cares?
People always ask that but it sells papers and gets enough attention that media feel they need to do it. The answer is lots of people.
I wont bother to watch, but after such build up there better be something juicy out of it.
I won't be watching it either but I feel sorry for them.
The way they're being treated is like people who leave a cult getting shunned and ostracised by their own family.
They are the ones behaving appallingly. I just hope they stay in America, period. They are a busted flush on the UK.
Marrying an American never works.. there is history...
Confirmation bias does an awful lot of work here: those who are already republican or unsympathetic to the royal family are inclined to take Harry and Meghan's side, and vice-versa.
I've seen enough evidence to be fairly certain that (a) Meghan found it hard and wasn't prepared for the constraints and criticism that come with being a royal (b) she behaved with an exceptional sense of entitlement and treated many of her staff like a Hollywood diva, and her side doesn't deny that allegations of complaints exist (c) HMQ tried her best to find a solution that squared the circle, although she couldn't let them have their cake and eat it as that's not what being an active royal means or can mean (d) Harry has been torn and conflicted throughout but has sided with her as he genuinely loves her and much of the above played into his pre-existing fears and anxieties.
It seems to be they should have taken the middle ground solution, respecting Harry's difficult position, his friends and family in the UK, the impact on the wider institution, the need to give Meghan the flexibility and profile she wanted, and the Royals should have done their best to close down nasty snides and attacks from parts of the media at the same time, but it all fell apart and they seem to have gone nuclear instead.
Personally? I think Meghan has far more of her Dad in her than she'd care to admit.
In a way I feel most sorry for Harry as he's had to change most, from a fairly unremarkable member of the Royals to a campaigner against the media bombarding his wife. I think he deserves a lot of credit.
As for Meghan, I like her (and didn't like Diana, who seemed to want a cult of herself, though it's hard to assess fairly) but in any case I think the Palace staff are remarkably ill-advised to make it into a briefing contest with the media. If they merely said "The Sussexes are now pursuing their own course and we wish them every success" the story would die away quickly. It takes two to have a feud.
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
On today's Panelbase poll there is a 0.25% swing from SNP to Scottish Conservative on the constituency vote since 2016
Much less than MOE then , that will surely make all the difference
SNP seats like Edinburgh Pentlands, Perthshire South and Kinrossshire and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine had an SNP vote under 40% in 2016 and would fall with that swing and even the smallest Labour and LD tactical voting for the Conservatives
Just for you HYFUD, given the numbers quoted are unweighted, here are the real numbers that will surely be confirmed soon. I wonder why they released unweighted numbers, very odd indeed.
Irrespective of the poll you like and the one you do not, it is clear this last week has been a PR disaster for Sturgeon and the mood music is changing
There is a lot more to come on this between now and May and the drip drip of incompetence and stitch ups are going to have a toll on both her and independence
People should note SNP is not same as INDEPENDENCE
I’m glad someone had said that.
Why should the concept of Independence fluctuate so much based on the fortunes of SNP managing devolution well/badly? Fluctuate on a leader of SNP who has lost trust? It shouldn’t. Behind the polling it probably isn’t. When it comes down to campaign and vote on independence, it will boil down to pros and cons of the independence question for sure.
Without an SNP majority there will be no indyref2 anyway, even one without Westminster consent
Terrible idea. Kids don't learn more by being at school longer, just as people don't get more work done by being at work longer
Actually KIPP programme in the US showed it has, they have longer days, shorter holidays, has produced fantastic results for underprivileged kids, who I believe are ~90% from minority background.
They aren't necessarily sitting in a classroom doing traditional lessons for longer, rather giving them a wider range of experiences and knowledge. They use the extra time to target extra help based on which areas kids are struggling and giving them access to sports / music / other activities they probably wouldn't get otherwise.
It is based off academic research that has shown the longer holidays disadvantage already disadvantaged kids further.
Anyway politics off the agenda for the media today as they go way over the top with the Sussex's interview
Really who cares?
Hell hath no fury, like the Daily Mail scorned.
It will make the Daily Mail as mad as hell. For that I would like to give the happy couple credit.
My wife tells me today's Mail on Sunday has twelve (yes 12) pages on this stuff
They have lost all reason and sense and join the Express as a non serious gossip rag
Also I understand they have to publish a front page apology but no sign today
I think they're appealing the court ruling?
And I mean the media coverage today is a bit excessive but it's not every day the Queens grandson and granddaughter-in-law sits down with Oprah to throw the Royal Family under the bus... Media coverage/scrutiny was bound to intense...
Which makes the decision to do the interview quite odd given H&M are always going on about how they want to be private in their mansion in LA!
Yes they should just sit back and let the ghouls of Buckingham Pally hurl turds at them. Turn the other cheek.
New Panelbase poll has further bad news for Sturgeon with the SNP down 5% on the Scottish Parliament constituency vote and down 4% on the list vote and virtually unchanged on the 46.5% and 41% it got in 2016. Both the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour are up 3% each and the Greens are also down.
If true that means the SNP risks no majority at all in May
And polling could be even worse as more is revealed
I do not expect Sturgeon is having a very happy weekend looking at the Scottish newspapers and polls
They are welcome but I'm not sure the polls are bad enough yet for SNP + Greens to lose their majority.
The future of the Union could really hinge on the maths of that.
It's just possible now that Boris could be the lucky general again, and get a result in Scotland which allows him at the very least to say 'No clear mandate for a referendum' until after the next General Election - which is a bridge to cross as and when. That would be enough for now.
Yes. Time for the Tories to wake up from their wet dream. 🙂
I think you will find the government won’t get any lasting credit for beating COVID, politicians are held in too low esteem for this to happen - like a reverse of the last financial crash, was it the banks responsibility (who should have been more risk adverse and diligent with customers deposits) or the the Labour Government? Extremely easy to stitch up politicians on watch for making calls and fail to give them credit because they are held in low esteem.
Which brings us neatly to what destroys this Tory government. One thing that is true, and not arguable really, austerity 2.0 doesn’t run the same course as the first, 2.0 picks up where 1.0 left off. From the start everyone knows, when it comes to pain under a Tory government we won’t all be in it together.
They have to do it, but no amount of leafleting or swish presentation will avoid blame for doing it.
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
On today's Panelbase poll there is a 0.25% swing from SNP to Scottish Conservative on the constituency vote since 2016
Much less than MOE then , that will surely make all the difference
SNP seats like Edinburgh Pentlands, Perthshire South and Kinrossshire and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine had an SNP vote under 40% in 2016 and would fall with that swing and even the smallest Labour and LD tactical voting for the Conservatives
Just for you HYFUD, given the numbers quoted are unweighted, here are the real numbers that will surely be confirmed soon. I wonder why they released unweighted numbers, very odd indeed.
Irrespective of the poll you like and the one you do not, it is clear this last week has been a PR disaster for Sturgeon and the mood music is changing
There is a lot more to come on this between now and May and the drip drip of incompetence and stitch ups are going to have a toll on both her and independence
People should note SNP is not same as INDEPENDENCE
I’m glad someone had said that.
Why should the concept of Independence fluctuate so much based on the fortunes of SNP managing devolution well/badly? Fluctuate on a leader of SNP who has lost trust? It shouldn’t. Behind the polling it probably isn’t. When it comes down to campaign and vote on independence, it will boil down to pros and cons of the independence question for sure.
Without an SNP majority there will be no indyref2 anyway, even one without Westminster consent
Yes. I concede that.
But you concede as soon as one does happen, it’s voted on the pros and con’s of the question, any playing of the SNP party or leadership not the ball would if anything be counter productive?
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
Why do you always take the wrong side in every debate and argument?
A large body of evidence suggests that the 12-week hiatus can have a lasting negative impact on kids’ educational outcomes. “The Summer Slide” results in several lost months of reading and math skills, particularly among children who come from lower-income households. Children from affluent families experience similar declines in their math skills, though some research indicates that, thanks to their parents’ emphasis on summer reading, such students may actually make slight gains in their language-arts skills during the summer months. In other words, the 12-week vacation may exacerbate income-based inequality in school achievement.
The research on the academic benefits of an extended school year is mixed and inconclusive, in part because so few schools use a longer calendar; according to the nonprofit National Center on Time and Learning, only 170 schools nationwide, most of them charters, use extended calendars. Charter schools such as those run by the Knowledge Is Power Program, or KIPP, often attribute some of their academic successes to their calendar, which at KIPP runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with extra schooling in the summer and on some Saturdays. KIPP students spend 600 more hours a year in school than children who attend traditional schools....
A longer school year does not necessarily require traditional classroom programming. In June and July, schools could, say, provide in-depth music, art, and athletic classes with just an hour or two spent on academics. Instruction could be provided by volunteers, parents, or other members of the community. Schools could supplement their budgets with contributions from localities and parents. Attendance could be voluntary to provide flexibility for different family needs. These programs might even create income for a school district, if they attracted tuition-paying children from nearby communities.
KIPP schools provide a safe, structured, and nurturing environment with minimal distractions and more time for both academics and extracurriculars, so our students love school and maximize their learning.
To gain this extra time, KIPP schools feature a longer school day (typically from 7:30am until 4:00pm), as well as summer school. This extra time allows KIPP schools to offer a strong academic program along with art, music and other extracurriculars as part of the school day.
Mainly acknowledging reality and filling the £13 billion shortfall in already committed programs. There's a bit left over for a token effort in space and cyber.
This seems to happen every 5 years.
And then a new massive black hole emerges.
We won't have anything left in 20 years.
The MoD keeps doing massive vanity projects (Carriers, Vanguard/Trident) that hollow out every other capability.
They are about to do it again with Tempest. The F-35B buy is going to be cut from 138 to 48 to (partially) pay for it.
I saw one of those new aircraft carriers sail by in the fog last week, so hopefully they have at least manage to stop it leaking.
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
Yes. Time for the Tories to wake up from their wet dream. 🙂
I think you will find the government won’t get any lasting credit for beating COVID, politicians are held in too low esteem for this to happen - like a reverse of the last financial crash, was it the banks responsibility (who should have been more risk adverse and diligent with customers deposits) or the the Labour Government? Extremely easy to stitch up politicians on watch for making calls and fail to give them credit because they are held in low esteem.
Which brings us neatly to what destroys this Tory government. One thing that is true, and not arguable really, austerity 2.0 doesn’t run the same course as the first, 2.0 picks up where 1.0 left off. From the start everyone knows, when it comes to pain under a Tory government we won’t all be in it together.
They have to do it, but no amount of leafleting or swish presentation will avoid blame for doing it.
It could have been worse - they could have taken your advice and given our vaccines away to the EU for the sake of Christianity, or something.
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
On today's Panelbase poll there is a 0.25% swing from SNP to Scottish Conservative on the constituency vote since 2016
Much less than MOE then , that will surely make all the difference
SNP seats like Edinburgh Pentlands, Perthshire South and Kinrossshire and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine had an SNP vote under 40% in 2016 and would fall with that swing and even the smallest Labour and LD tactical voting for the Conservatives
Just for you HYFUD, given the numbers quoted are unweighted, here are the real numbers that will surely be confirmed soon. I wonder why they released unweighted numbers, very odd indeed.
Irrespective of the poll you like and the one you do not, it is clear this last week has been a PR disaster for Sturgeon and the mood music is changing
There is a lot more to come on this between now and May and the drip drip of incompetence and stitch ups are going to have a toll on both her and independence
People should note SNP is not same as INDEPENDENCE
I’m glad someone had said that.
Why should the concept of Independence fluctuate so much based on the fortunes of SNP managing devolution well/badly? Fluctuate on a leader of SNP who has lost trust? It shouldn’t. Behind the polling it probably isn’t. When it comes down to campaign and vote on independence, it will boil down to pros and cons of the independence question for sure.
People are irrational. Some claim to have voted for Brexit because they didn't like Cameron's government.
We cannot on the one hand have some people claim Boris Johnson as PM makes Sindy more likely where another PM would not, as many do, and also that what happens in terms of SNP leadership and thus the party's personal fortunes is irrelevant.
Now, I don't think the impact will be major, and it may not be sustained since, as noted, the core arguments for and against are the same regardless. But individuals leading specific parties and how well those parties do does have at least some impact.
Siri, can you me something more needle dicked than flying a small plane over Scotland's two largest cities with a banner saying "Resign Sturgeon" hanging off its arse?
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
Haven't you rather answered your own question? You may not like that answer.
He'd clearly make the best Mayor, in terms of how convincing he'd be at making statements, managing his office and fielding questions from the press and public. I'd just rather someone useless who's trying to do things I agree with/don't care about, than someone marginally competent (but basically only good at self-promotion) doing things I disagree with.
Porritt is intelligent and capable, if light on age and experience.
This pol and the other one yesterday offer a great opportunity for Unionist parties to fight effectively agsinst the SNP. However, I doubt whether either the LDs or Labour have it in them to play their part of the bargain and vote Tory where they are the challengers. In failing they could well bring the Union down.
Works both ways of course, in many places.
That is my point - the Tories have shown willing at both party and voter level. Not so the other two.
Of course. You have misunderstood the situation. We have it on the authority of HY no less, that the top priority for Conservatives is to defeat the SNP. It follows that Conservatives will vote for Lib Dem or Labour candidates if they have a good chance of defeating an SNP candidate.
On the other hand, most normal Labour and Lib Dem voters strongly dislike the Tories, and even more so under the leadership of the present shower. There is nothing I want to see as much as Conservative candidates defeated. I could even be persuaded to consider voting SNP (were the conditions right), so much do I detest and despise the present government.
That is really stretching it , if the Tories great hopes are based on these two insignificant wards in Lanarkshire , where we saw a swing to SNP in reality.
Look, when I've been thirsting in the desert I'd grasp at any provision of water, even if it was in a toilet bowl!
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
Why do you always take the wrong side in every debate and argument?
Oh gee my sincere apologies for not hating that uppity black succubus. She should have known her place and fucked off never to be heard from again.
I had a look at the Twitter accounts of the more right-wing candidates who are trying to stand for Mayor. Fox is way out in front on followers.
Laurence Fox 265,000 on Twitter, The Reclaim Party 44,100 Shaun Bailey 76,600, Conservatives 511,600 David Kurten, 62,800, Heritage Party 5262 Brian Rose 19,700, @brianrose4mayor 1460, @LondonRealTV 166,000 Peter Gammons 807, UKIP 202,500, @UKIPLondon 404 Charlie Mullins 260
Reform UK are on 220,100 follows as a party and have indicated they will stand a candidate, but haven't picked someone yet.
I think all of them are lays on the current betting! Were there a bet possible on Fox vs. Rose vs. Kurten vs. Gammons, that might be interesting.
Can you imagine the sort of government we would get if only twatters were able to vote?
Siri, can you me something more needle dicked than flying a small plane over Scotland's two largest cities with a banner saying "Resign Sturgeon" hanging off its arse?
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
New Panelbase poll has further bad news for Sturgeon with the SNP down 5% on the Scottish Parliament constituency vote and down 4% on the list vote and virtually unchanged on the 46.5% and 41% it got in 2016. Both the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour are up 3% each and the Greens are also down.
If true that means the SNP risks no majority at all in May
And polling could be even worse as more is revealed
I do not expect Sturgeon is having a very happy weekend looking at the Scottish newspapers and polls
They are welcome but I'm not sure the polls are bad enough yet for SNP + Greens to lose their majority.
The future of the Union could really hinge on the maths of that.
It's just possible now that Boris could be the lucky general again, and get a result in Scotland which allows him at the very least to say 'No clear mandate for a referendum' until after the next General Election - which is a bridge to cross as and when. That would be enough for now.
Schumer is apparently not moving forward on Puerto Rican statehood despite their referendum as it was not clear enough support (yes I know it is also more complicated than that), so easy to see Boris going for that.
Yes. Time for the Tories to wake up from their wet dream. 🙂
I think you will find the government won’t get any lasting credit for beating COVID, politicians are held in too low esteem for this to happen - like a reverse of the last financial crash, was it the banks responsibility (who should have been more risk adverse and diligent with customers deposits) or the the Labour Government? Extremely easy to stitch up politicians on watch for making calls and fail to give them credit because they are held in low esteem.
Which brings us neatly to what destroys this Tory government. One thing that is true, and not arguable really, austerity 2.0 doesn’t run the same course as the first, 2.0 picks up where 1.0 left off. From the start everyone knows, when it comes to pain under a Tory government we won’t all be in it together.
They have to do it, but no amount of leafleting or swish presentation will avoid blame for doing it.
Rishi’s “being honest with people” budget was stunningly dishonest in hiding the yawning financial gap inder a load of optimistic assumptions and even more optimistic (from the government’s view) hidden future budget cuts, whilst ducking all the big questions of future taxation and funding for health, education and social care.
In France, there's no escape from Covid vaccine sceptics. What would Pasteur think?
While Britons have been giving their right and left arms for a Covid-19 vaccine, here in still-sceptical France, people are actually turning it down. And not just the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca jab, though it hasn’t helped that after being given such an unjustified bad press, this is the one being delivered to GPs.
Disinformation, distrust and rumours that are downright bonkers have turned what should have been a fairly routine operation into an organisational nightmare. Doctors like mine who have been allocated just 10 doses of AstraZeneca a week – all of which have to be administered in a 48-hour time frame – are spending valuable time and energy trying to drum up just 10 willing patients.
Siri, can you me something more needle dicked than flying a small plane over Scotland's two largest cities with a banner saying "Resign Sturgeon" hanging off its arse?
Siri, can you me something more needle dicked than flying a small plane over Scotland's two largest cities with a banner saying "Resign Sturgeon" hanging off its arse?
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
Crikey, I mean the Monster Raving Loonies nearly won the 2019 general election as they only finished just 43%. behind the Tories.
Sometimes in HY’s post a difference of just a per cent or two is highly significant. His analysis depends mostly on his predetermined conclusion and only tangentially on the numbers!
I had a look at the Twitter accounts of the more right-wing candidates who are trying to stand for Mayor. Fox is way out in front on followers.
Laurence Fox 265,000 on Twitter, The Reclaim Party 44,100 Shaun Bailey 76,600, Conservatives 511,600 David Kurten, 62,800, Heritage Party 5262 Brian Rose 19,700, @brianrose4mayor 1460, @LondonRealTV 166,000 Peter Gammons 807, UKIP 202,500, @UKIPLondon 404 Charlie Mullins 260
Reform UK are on 220,100 follows as a party and have indicated they will stand a candidate, but haven't picked someone yet.
I think all of them are lays on the current betting! Were there a bet possible on Fox vs. Rose vs. Kurten vs. Gammons, that might be interesting.
Farage should 100% stand as the Reform Candidate. He won't win but I'd be interested to see the % he got. London was 40% Leave after all, he might nick second and would rattle Khan. He is much more "one of the lads than" Laurence Fox, who comes across as a typical smart arse, luvvie Remainer in his manner
Yes. Time for the Tories to wake up from their wet dream. 🙂
I think you will find the government won’t get any lasting credit for beating COVID, politicians are held in too low esteem for this to happen - like a reverse of the last financial crash, was it the banks responsibility (who should have been more risk adverse and diligent with customers deposits) or the the Labour Government? Extremely easy to stitch up politicians on watch for making calls and fail to give them credit because they are held in low esteem.
Which brings us neatly to what destroys this Tory government. One thing that is true, and not arguable really, austerity 2.0 doesn’t run the same course as the first, 2.0 picks up where 1.0 left off. From the start everyone knows, when it comes to pain under a Tory government we won’t all be in it together.
They have to do it, but no amount of leafleting or swish presentation will avoid blame for doing it.
Rishi’s “being honest with people” budget was stunningly dishonest in hiding the yawning financial gap inder a load of optimistic assumptions and even more optimistic (from the government’s view) hidden future budget cuts, whilst ducking all the big questions of future taxation and funding for health, education and social care.
It's like that Yes, Prime Minister episode. If you're changing everything, play Bach or Elgar. If you're changing nothing, play Stravinsky. The less honest you are, the more you have to go on about being honest.
"They hide the training of marxist internationalism". This reminds me very much of their piece on Ralph Miliband, and by nudge-wink implication Ed Miliband, although this time without the antisemitic subtext as part of the whole sparkling package too.
From Churchill writing in the 20s to current dumbos going on about cultural Marxism, the subtext of antisemitism is never far away from Karl Marx is under your bed takes.
Anyone who thinks Meghan is the issue here is so bent out of shape that they don't realise how pathetic it looks to outsiders. Everything that is wrong with the Royals and their sycophants.
Little snippet from the Sunday Times for those who think Meghan was just a victim:
I posted it last night - my Girlfriend's ex next door neighbour knows a lot of staff at Buck House, and he more or less told her the content of that article about two and a half years ago. She told me at the time but I forgot
Yes. Time for the Tories to wake up from their wet dream. 🙂
I think you will find the government won’t get any lasting credit for beating COVID, politicians are held in too low esteem for this to happen - like a reverse of the last financial crash, was it the banks responsibility (who should have been more risk adverse and diligent with customers deposits) or the the Labour Government? Extremely easy to stitch up politicians on watch for making calls and fail to give them credit because they are held in low esteem.
Which brings us neatly to what destroys this Tory government. One thing that is true, and not arguable really, austerity 2.0 doesn’t run the same course as the first, 2.0 picks up where 1.0 left off. From the start everyone knows, when it comes to pain under a Tory government we won’t all be in it together.
They have to do it, but no amount of leafleting or swish presentation will avoid blame for doing it.
Rishi’s “being honest with people” budget was stunningly dishonest in hiding the yawning financial gap inder a load of optimistic assumptions and even more optimistic (from the government’s view) hidden future budget cuts, whilst ducking all the big questions of future taxation and funding for health, education and social care.
Perhaps you would prefer if he'd been more honest and given the NHS a pay freeze ?
Some Scots waking up to the fact the fact that the real nasty party is, and always has been, the SNP.
It is open door opportunity time for the other parties, thats for sure. The challenge for the other parties is that if they are campaigning on "the SNP are corrupt, vote for us", its a bit back to basics.
This is especially an issue for the Tories. Davidson's imminent chicken run to the Lords makes it hard to attack on democracy grounds. As for attacking on corruption or competence grounds, again difficult to do considering the Westminster government's shenanigans.
I can see turnout - lack of it - being the real change vs 2016.
Douglas Ross will lead the Holyrood campaign to be fair, but from a cast iron large majority in little over a week a poll this morning gives the SNP a majority of 1 and it should be also noted from the polling the Greens are losing a few points
Last week has opened the door to a different result in Holyrood than anyone thought before
If the drop in the Greens support is genuine, does that mean a reduction in the desire for independence or a reaction building against wokeness?
Yes. Time for the Tories to wake up from their wet dream. 🙂
I think you will find the government won’t get any lasting credit for beating COVID, politicians are held in too low esteem for this to happen - like a reverse of the last financial crash, was it the banks responsibility (who should have been more risk adverse and diligent with customers deposits) or the the Labour Government? Extremely easy to stitch up politicians on watch for making calls and fail to give them credit because they are held in low esteem.
Which brings us neatly to what destroys this Tory government. One thing that is true, and not arguable really, austerity 2.0 doesn’t run the same course as the first, 2.0 picks up where 1.0 left off. From the start everyone knows, when it comes to pain under a Tory government we won’t all be in it together.
They have to do it, but no amount of leafleting or swish presentation will avoid blame for doing it.
Rishi’s “being honest with people” budget was stunningly dishonest in hiding the yawning financial gap inder a load of optimistic assumptions and even more optimistic (from the government’s view) hidden future budget cuts, whilst ducking all the big questions of future taxation and funding for health, education and social care.
It's like that Yes, Prime Minister episode. If you're changing everything, play Bach or Elgar. If you're changing nothing, play Stravinsky. The less honest you are, the more you have to go on about being honest.
The public saw right through it though, by rating it the fairest Budget in over a decade. That showed Rishi what they thought of his honesty, all right!
"They hide the training of marxist internationalism". This reminds me very much of their piece on Ralph Miliband, and by nudge-wink implication Ed Miliband, although this time without the antisemitic subtext as part of the whole sparkling package too.
Very Daily Mail, isn't it? Wrong conclusions built on a leaning tower of mainly false assumptions, wound up to be as sensationalist / sh*tstirring as possible, garnished with a pile of falsehoods, and an occasional nugget of factual truth to try and disarm the reader.
Suspect that Merkel's dad's ability to travel East / West was because he was a Lutheran Clergyman who had come from the West in the 1950s. Interesting family, however - grandparent was a Senator in Free Danzig (ie Gdansk).
To my eye, far from swallowing Marxist whatever, her experience in E. Germany seems to have significantly inured her against it. For which we can be grateful.
I had a look at the Twitter accounts of the more right-wing candidates who are trying to stand for Mayor. Fox is way out in front on followers.
Laurence Fox 265,000 on Twitter, The Reclaim Party 44,100 Shaun Bailey 76,600, Conservatives 511,600 David Kurten, 62,800, Heritage Party 5262 Brian Rose 19,700, @brianrose4mayor 1460, @LondonRealTV 166,000 Peter Gammons 807, UKIP 202,500, @UKIPLondon 404 Charlie Mullins 260
Reform UK are on 220,100 follows as a party and have indicated they will stand a candidate, but haven't picked someone yet.
I think all of them are lays on the current betting! Were there a bet possible on Fox vs. Rose vs. Kurten vs. Gammons, that might be interesting.
Can you imagine the sort of government we would get if only twatters were able to vote?
Comments
There is a lot more to come on this between now and May and the drip drip of incompetence and stitch ups are going to have a toll on both her and independence
And you go back to your house & you lock and shutter it & you evacuate your family to the best emergency safe space you can find.
Because the tsunami is coming.
Monday morning, we will all be full fathom five deep in Merkle-mania.
The future of the Union could really hinge on the maths of that.
Starmer can’t believe his luck.
But MPs made a rod for their own back with this ludicrous expenses system. They should just change it to a fixed allowance like London weighting which they can spend on whatever they like, and have employment and IT handled by central authorities.
https://twitter.com/leonardocarella/status/1368518270484160513?s=21
They are about to do it again with Tempest. The F-35B buy is going to be cut from 138 to 48 to (partially) pay for it.
They made the bed, now they have to get into it.
This is especially an issue for the Tories. Davidson's imminent chicken run to the Lords makes it hard to attack on democracy grounds. As for attacking on corruption or competence grounds, again difficult to do considering the Westminster government's shenanigans.
I can see turnout - lack of it - being the real change vs 2016.
Sadiq Khan is genuinely the best candidate on the list by miles, and I hate absolutely everything he stands for. For the first time in my life, I have no clue who to vote for.
Terrible idea. Kids don't learn more by being at school longer, just as people don't get more work done by being at work longer
If it is not a plan to at least concede to a rise that is managable, then it was a pretty lowball offer, but as an issue a conflict was probably unavoidable. If one person looks like they will very easily, credible candidates are both hard to find for the top opposition (though as a non-Londoner I don't know what about Bailey is so bad, but people seem to be agreed he is), and yet also will pop up as attention grabbing also rans, as there's no one for those bad candidates to rally behind.
Last week has opened the door to a different result in Holyrood than anyone thought before
And I mean the media coverage today is a bit excessive but it's not every day the Queens grandson and granddaughter-in-law sits down with Oprah to throw the Royal Family under the bus... Media coverage/scrutiny was bound to intense...
Which makes the decision to do the interview quite odd given H&M are always going on about how they want to be private in their mansion in LA!
Who knows when we'll get a reshuffle anyway - if I was Boris I simply wouldn't have one. I don't think they're ever really a good thing.
After school clubs and activities work well for those that do it.
I don't think there's anything magical about the current length of the school day.
That's what I'd do.
What would the head of Ofsted know? We've had enough of experts
The Marxists are literally Young Hegelians. They were so bought in the mindset of Nation States from the liberal revolution of 1848 that their revolution was never going to get past bud and blossom to fruit.
How come Williamson knows better?
Why should the concept of Independence fluctuate so much based on the fortunes of SNP managing devolution well/badly? Fluctuate on a leader of SNP who has lost trust? It shouldn’t. Behind the polling it probably isn’t. When it comes down to campaign and vote on independence, it will boil down to pros and cons of the independence question for sure.
I guess it doesn't worry you at all that Nicola apologised to the women that who were “failed” by the botched probe? What does this mean? Either she is lying and we believe the women were lying conspirators or that Salmond was lying about them all lying? I guess it also doesn't bother you about the nationalist trolls and Charlie Kennedy?
Nasty party indeed! Nationalism is a poisonous creed, and the Scottish version is one of the most hate filled. Many of your posts prove this. Go on, your little angry man, Little Scotlander response will no doubt prove me right.
As for Meghan, I like her (and didn't like Diana, who seemed to want a cult of herself, though it's hard to assess fairly) but in any case I think the Palace staff are remarkably ill-advised to make it into a briefing contest with the media. If they merely said "The Sussexes are now pursuing their own course and we wish them every success" the story would die away quickly. It takes two to have a feud.
That'll do it BoJo! Nice!
Do you know anything about the real world ?
Buckingham Palace to investigate claims that Meghan bullied Prince Andrew into having sex with teenage girls.
https://newsthump.com/2021/03/04/buckingham-palace-to-investigate-claims-that-meghan-bullied-prince-andrew-into-having-sex-with-teenage-girls/
They aren't necessarily sitting in a classroom doing traditional lessons for longer, rather giving them a wider range of experiences and knowledge. They use the extra time to target extra help based on which areas kids are struggling and giving them access to sports / music / other activities they probably wouldn't get otherwise.
It is based off academic research that has shown the longer holidays disadvantage already disadvantaged kids further.
Yes. Time for the Tories to wake up from their wet dream. 🙂
I think you will find the government won’t get any lasting credit for beating COVID, politicians are held in too low esteem for this to happen - like a reverse of the last financial crash, was it the banks responsibility (who should have been more risk adverse and diligent with customers deposits) or the the Labour Government? Extremely easy to stitch up politicians on watch for making calls and fail to give them credit because they are held in low esteem.
Which brings us neatly to what destroys this Tory government. One thing that is true, and not arguable really, austerity 2.0 doesn’t run the same course as the first, 2.0 picks up where 1.0 left off. From the start everyone knows, when it comes to pain under a Tory government we won’t all be in it together.
They have to do it, but no amount of leafleting or swish presentation will avoid blame for doing it.
I had no idea UKIP was putting up a candidate called Peter Gammons. And his Twitter handle is @Gammons4London.
Is this really true, or is it the funniest spoof in history?
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/entertainment/articles-reports/2020/10/28/royal-popularity-harry-and-meghan-drop
But you concede as soon as one does happen, it’s voted on the pros and con’s of the question, any playing of the SNP party or leadership not the ball would if anything be counter productive?
A large body of evidence suggests that the 12-week hiatus can have a lasting negative impact on kids’ educational outcomes. “The Summer Slide” results in several lost months of reading and math skills, particularly among children who come from lower-income households. Children from affluent families experience similar declines in their math skills, though some research indicates that, thanks to their parents’ emphasis on summer reading, such students may actually make slight gains in their language-arts skills during the summer months. In other words, the 12-week vacation may exacerbate income-based inequality in school achievement.
The research on the academic benefits of an extended school year is mixed and inconclusive, in part because so few schools use a longer calendar; according to the nonprofit National Center on Time and Learning, only 170 schools nationwide, most of them charters, use extended calendars. Charter schools such as those run by the Knowledge Is Power Program, or KIPP, often attribute some of their academic successes to their calendar, which at KIPP runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with extra schooling in the summer and on some Saturdays. KIPP students spend 600 more hours a year in school than children who attend traditional schools....
A longer school year does not necessarily require traditional classroom programming. In June and July, schools could, say, provide in-depth music, art, and athletic classes with just an hour or two spent on academics. Instruction could be provided by volunteers, parents, or other members of the community. Schools could supplement their budgets with contributions from localities and parents. Attendance could be voluntary to provide flexibility for different family needs. These programs might even create income for a school district, if they attracted tuition-paying children from nearby communities.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/the-case-for-a-shorter-summer/403531/
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KIPP schools provide a safe, structured, and nurturing environment with minimal distractions and more time for both academics and extracurriculars, so our students love school and maximize their learning.
To gain this extra time, KIPP schools feature a longer school day (typically from 7:30am until 4:00pm), as well as summer school. This extra time allows KIPP schools to offer a strong academic program along with art, music and other extracurriculars as part of the school day.
https://www.kipp.org/faq/
11,640 1st
7,891 2nd
Points to 360k UK wide.
Welsh-UK correlation is down to 0.477 though, so might be higher or lower.
Crikey, I mean the Monster Raving Loonies nearly won the 2019 general election as they only finished just 43%. behind the Tories.
We cannot on the one hand have some people claim Boris Johnson as PM makes Sindy more likely where another PM would not, as many do, and also that what happens in terms of SNP leadership and thus the party's personal fortunes is irrelevant.
Now, I don't think the impact will be major, and it may not be sustained since, as noted, the core arguments for and against are the same regardless. But individuals leading specific parties and how well those parties do does have at least some impact.
https://twitter.com/JimSpenceDundee/status/1368533306082533379?s=20
While Britons have been giving their right and left arms for a Covid-19 vaccine, here in still-sceptical France, people are actually turning it down. And not just the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca jab, though it hasn’t helped that after being given such an unjustified bad press, this is the one being delivered to GPs.
Disinformation, distrust and rumours that are downright bonkers have turned what should have been a fairly routine operation into an organisational nightmare. Doctors like mine who have been allocated just 10 doses of AstraZeneca a week – all of which have to be administered in a 48-hour time frame – are spending valuable time and energy trying to drum up just 10 willing patients.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/07/in-france-theres-no-escape-from-covid-vaccine-sceptics-what-would-pasteur-think
https://twitter.com/reformparty_uk/status/1368328587347116033?s=20
https://www.politico.eu/coronavirus-in-europe/
Why the roots of the EU’s vaccine catastrophe lie in Merkel’s shadowy past in Communist East Germany
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9334329/MARY-ELLEN-SYNON-EUs-vaccine-catastrophe-lie-Merkels-shadowy-past-Communist-East-Germany.html
Suspect that Merkel's dad's ability to travel East / West was because he was a Lutheran Clergyman who had come from the West in the 1950s. Interesting family, however - grandparent was a Senator in Free Danzig (ie Gdansk).
To my eye, far from swallowing Marxist whatever, her experience in E. Germany seems to have significantly inured her against it. For which we can be grateful.