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What were punters thinking when they bet on the Tories in Chesham at 1/20 – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 12,162
edited June 2021 in General
imageWhat were punters thinking when they bet on the Tories in Chesham at 1/20 – politicalbetting.com

As PB regulars will know I spent the last five weeks here saying that the odds available on the LDs in the by-election offered great value for money. What I cannot work out was what those on the other side of the bets were thinking when they took the risk of effectively rating the Tory chances of victory as a 95% chance.

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Comments

  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,812
    Just having a wild stab at this but my guess is that they were thinking that the Tories were going to win. And fairly easily at that. As did I. Wrong again.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    I thought about it at 1/10, thankfully didn’t take the risk in the end. Great tip Mike.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,812
    kle4 said:

    DavidL said:

    Just having a wild stab at this but my guess is that they were thinking that the Tories were going to win. And fairly easily at that. As did I. Wrong again.

    You're doing this all wrong, you're supposed to act as though you were right all along and not taken by surprise by the outcome.

    Or just sidestep that you thought the Tories would win and not mention it. *cough*
    Wrong again again.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021
    Million Miliband charity...

    The International Rescue Committee reinforces “white supremacy culture”, staff have alleged, with the aid organization subsequently hiring a law firm to review its policies relating to discrimination, harassment and retaliation, the Guardian can reveal.

    https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/19/david-miliband-charity-international-rescue-committee-white-supremacy-allegations

    "Reinforces" insert bad things..sounds a lot like "my truth" and "alt -right adjacent" smears.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,812
    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589
    I suspect the internet allows a lot of people to bet money on things they know little about.

    And so they go by 'national trends' or 'headline numbers'.

    Whereas the reality is that there can be great variation in political betting.

    And the money is to be made when you can get odds against in a bet where local factors might be different to 'national trends'.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589

    I suspect the internet allows a lot of people to bet money on things they know little about.

    And so they go by 'national trends' or 'headline numbers'.

    Whereas the reality is that there can be great variation in political betting.

    And the money is to be made when you can get odds against in a bet where local factors might be different to 'national trends'.

    Or to put in another way I've made a lot of money on constituency bets from 2010 onwards but just about the only long odds on bets I've backed were Sheffield Hallam in 2010 (1/7) and Norwich South on election day 2017 (1/4).

    Now quite a few of the odds against bets I've had were losses but they've been more than made up for by the wins.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,890
    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,812

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Here's a radical idea, why not just have one and ask for applications and base it on merit...
    Merit?? Good grief, I don't think that you get this at all.

    One of my son's favourite teachers explained to those going for Oxbridge that you are not standing for any of the senior prefect positions, you just don't have time. She was absolutely right. Lots of meetings trying to make sense of the latest nonsense from the Scottish government trying to convert that into a school that could actually operate was exactly what they didn't need.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,249

    ” Tony Blair is mulling a return to Westminster, and he is said to believe he would do a better job as PM now than when he first occupied the post”

    https://twitter.com/gabriel_pogrund/status/1406179274441334787

    Don't subscribe to the Thunderer so can't read the article. Of which party is he considering a return with? He would struggle to get selected with Labour and certainly wouldn't be elected its leader. I assume he isn't going to join the LibDems. He isn't a Tory.

    So the only thing that makes sense is him forming a new centre party. He would need to win the support of the WWC who backed him previously AND the support of remainer shire Tories fed up with Johnsonism.

    An utterly impossible task. Surely. For anyone who isn't Blair...
    He could take a leaf out of Emmanuel Macron's book with En Marche and create a party around his initials. How about "The Believers"?
    The TB party - "You think you have recovered from what nearly killed you, then years latter it comes back...."
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,714
    supposedly “Independent” Sage includes two Labour donors, two communists (one former, one practising), a handful of Corbynistas and a Momentum activist. No one on the committee appears to have voted for Boris Johnson or Brexit.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/19/scare-tactics-owe-socialism-science/
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,553

    I suspect the internet allows a lot of people to bet money on things they know little about.

    And so they go by 'national trends' or 'headline numbers'.

    Whereas the reality is that there can be great variation in political betting.

    And the money is to be made when you can get odds against in a bet where local factors might be different to 'national trends'.

    More opportunities for those who do their research.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Here's a radical idea, why not just have one and ask for applications and base it on merit...
    Merit?? Good grief, I don't think that you get this at all.

    One of my son's favourite teachers explained to those going for Oxbridge that you are not standing for any of the senior prefect positions, you just don't have time. She was absolutely right. Lots of meetings trying to make sense of the latest nonsense from the Scottish government trying to convert that into a school that could actually operate was exactly what they didn't need.
    Luckily i was too much of a naughty boy / wagged off school to ever be considered for such positions and get in the way of my oxbridge application.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,890
    From the Mail link, it is not quite that clear:-
    The senior pupil was known as head of school for decades after St Paul's Girls was founded in 1904.

    The school said their decision-making was a result of senior pupils considering themselves young women rather than 'girls' but acknowledged the 'binary connotations' were also a factor.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,401
    I suspect that the Internet is to blame here. Folk with little knowledge get a little information and think they can make a few Bob. Without twigging there are thousands of others in the same boat. The markets for Hartlepool were super unrealistic until the first poll. And in C+A right through.
    Herd mentality and groupthink seem to be getting worse.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021

    supposedly “Independent” Sage includes two Labour donors, two communists (one former, one practising), a handful of Corbynistas and a Momentum activist. No one on the committee appears to have voted for Boris Johnson or Brexit.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/19/scare-tactics-owe-socialism-science/

    Michie interviewed for unherd was particularly worrisome in my opinion, calling for radical societial change (in the name of protecting against a future pandemic, not because she is a communist)
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,714

    supposedly “Independent” Sage includes two Labour donors, two communists (one former, one practising), a handful of Corbynistas and a Momentum activist. No one on the committee appears to have voted for Boris Johnson or Brexit.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/19/scare-tactics-owe-socialism-science/

    Michie interviewed for unherd was particularly worrisome in my opinion, calling for radical societial change (in the name of protecting against a future pandemic, not because she is a communist)
    Beyond me how someone who is employed as a scientist and so presumably spends all day designing experiments, weighing up results and drawing conclusions, can think that communism is a viable solution to the world's problems.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021



    supposedly “Independent” Sage includes two Labour donors, two communists (one former, one practising), a handful of Corbynistas and a Momentum activist. No one on the committee appears to have voted for Boris Johnson or Brexit.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/19/scare-tactics-owe-socialism-science/

    Michie interviewed for unherd was particularly worrisome in my opinion, calling for radical societial change (in the name of protecting against a future pandemic, not because she is a communist)
    Beyond me how someone who is employed as a scientist and so presumably spends all day designing experiments, weighing up results and drawing conclusions, can think that communism is a viable solution to the world's problems.
    Well some might argue she isn't a proper scientist....

    More seriously there are plenty of very religious people in the "hard" sciences. That also requires a leap of faith
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,175
    I was sceptical about the test championship concept, but this has been some very good cricket so far.
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,241

    alex_ said:


    Eleanor Langford
    @eleanormia
    Squared newExclusive polling for
    @politicshome
    found that 62% of UK adults would back delaying lockdown past 19 July if necessary

    Older womanOlder age groups were much more likely to back the delay, with 75% of 55-64s in favour compared to 54% of 18-24s

    With the 75% of 55-64s ignoring any restrictions they don't like.
    You say that a lot, but do you have any non-anecdotal evidence? My (anecdotal!) impression is that the 55+ group are zealously masking and social distancing.
    Possibly. But it's also that there aren't many activities engaged in on a widespread basis by the 55+ age group that are restricted under current rules.
    Going to the pub? I have certainly been to a couple that haven't been following the rules to the letter. As long as it's calm and fairly socially distanced I'm OK with it. I certainly wouldn't go to a pub showing a football match though, having heard reports from one of my locals
    Why not? Aren’t you double-jabbed?
    That's a good point and made me question my own motives. I can think of perhaps three reasons.

    One is a precautionary principle. Vaccination has reduced my personal risk by at least 95% but I see no reason to put myself in what I see as a high-risk environment. Similarly, I live on a quiet cul-de-sac where the risk of getting run over is virtually nil, but I still look both ways before tossing the road.

    There is also the risk of catching it and passing it on to others, even if you are not ill yourself, and having to self-isolate which, having got used to socialising again, I'd rather not do.

    And I wouldn't want to support a business than is flouting the rules in what I regard as a risky way. I want the restrictions to be lifted on 19 July and feel we should all avoid things that could speed up the spread.

    In the end it's an easy decision for me to make as I don't really enjoy crowds of noisy people.
  • FrankBoothFrankBooth Posts: 9,826

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    I'd like to believe that he would never have made it to head boy at my school. As much as I thought it a bit stuffy I see now why certain boys were not considered prefect material.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 12,496
    To answer the question posed in the header. Could it be an age thing? To me it was never impossible (and I am up a very modest few bob) because I have lived through a number of by elections where the result bears little relation to the trend of national polling, and winning them is a bit of an Lib/SDP/LD speciality especially in turbulent times.

    But there have been very few in recent years where LDs have taken from the Tories. But right now seems just such a time in any southern seat where LDs came second.

    If you haven't lived through lots of them, simply looking at the 2019 vote and adding in current polling - the LDs nowhere - you would understandably say the Tories were an absolute banker.

    As to predicting the B&S - Tories by a short nose, but I wouldn't risk twopence on it at current odds.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,625

    ” Tony Blair is mulling a return to Westminster, and he is said to believe he would do a better job as PM now than when he first occupied the post”

    https://twitter.com/gabriel_pogrund/status/1406179274441334787

    Don't subscribe to the Thunderer so can't read the article. Of which party is he considering a return with? He would struggle to get selected with Labour and certainly wouldn't be elected its leader. I assume he isn't going to join the LibDems. He isn't a Tory.

    So the only thing that makes sense is him forming a new centre party. He would need to win the support of the WWC who backed him previously AND the support of remainer shire Tories fed up with Johnsonism.

    An utterly impossible task. Surely. For anyone who isn't Blair...
    He could take a leaf out of Emmanuel Macron's book with En Marche and create a party around his initials. How about "The Believers"?
    The TB party - "You think you have recovered from what nearly killed you, then years latter it comes back...."
    “Our policies promote consumption”
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    Derek Draper now has the unenviable record as the longest surviving covid patient in the UK

    https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uks-longest-known-covid-patient-was-begged-by-wife-not-to-end-treatment-before-he-died-12336139
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,561

    Million Miliband charity...

    The International Rescue Committee reinforces “white supremacy culture”, staff have alleged, with the aid organization subsequently hiring a law firm to review its policies relating to discrimination, harassment and retaliation, the Guardian can reveal.

    https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/19/david-miliband-charity-international-rescue-committee-white-supremacy-allegations

    "Reinforces" insert bad things..sounds a lot like "my truth" and "alt -right adjacent" smears.

    What other organisations have a policy on "retaliation"? NATO?
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    dixiedean said:

    I suspect that the Internet is to blame here. Folk with little knowledge get a little information and think they can make a few Bob. Without twigging there are thousands of others in the same boat. The markets for Hartlepool were super unrealistic until the first poll. And in C+A right through.
    Herd mentality and groupthink seem to be getting worse.

    Had a look at the Dow Jones or FTSE recently? The herd mentality and groupthink of which you speak are going to ruin a lot of nesteggs in the near future.

    Astute independent thinkers should be looking at alternatives, and I don’t mean Bitcoin.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585

    Derek Draper now has the unenviable record as the longest surviving covid patient in the UK

    https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uks-longest-known-covid-patient-was-begged-by-wife-not-to-end-treatment-before-he-died-12336139

    Draper’s story really is horrible, and there’s dozens more similar cases out there that we don’t hear about.

    I do wonder if one of the worst cases being a journalist married to a TV a presenter, has been a contributing factor to the high vaccination take up, when it’s regularly discussed just how bad Covid can be.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585

    dixiedean said:

    I suspect that the Internet is to blame here. Folk with little knowledge get a little information and think they can make a few Bob. Without twigging there are thousands of others in the same boat. The markets for Hartlepool were super unrealistic until the first poll. And in C+A right through.
    Herd mentality and groupthink seem to be getting worse.

    Had a look at the Dow Jones or FTSE recently? The herd mentality and groupthink of which you speak are going to ruin a lot of nesteggs in the near future.

    Astute independent thinkers should be looking at alternatives, and I don’t mean Bitcoin.
    It’s about $1,800 an ounce at the moment.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,401
    Decent start by Hungary. Having a go at least. Suspect they'll get skinned on the break mind.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    Sandpit said:

    dixiedean said:

    I suspect that the Internet is to blame here. Folk with little knowledge get a little information and think they can make a few Bob. Without twigging there are thousands of others in the same boat. The markets for Hartlepool were super unrealistic until the first poll. And in C+A right through.
    Herd mentality and groupthink seem to be getting worse.

    Had a look at the Dow Jones or FTSE recently? The herd mentality and groupthink of which you speak are going to ruin a lot of nesteggs in the near future.

    Astute independent thinkers should be looking at alternatives, and I don’t mean Bitcoin.
    It’s about $1,800 an ounce at the moment.
    A 20 year high, so why it is a different sort of bubble from the dow etc is anyone's guess.

    Barbarous relic.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,908
    In answer to your question " What were the punters thinking when they bet 1/20 in Chesham? "

    They read the Spectator! Their typically well researched piece goes like this;

    “Hopefully we can stop hearing any rubbish about how the Lib Dems are set to tear down the Conservatives’ ‘blue wall’ in the Home Counties.......As the campaign has demonstrated, the Lib Dems are miles away from being able to cause such an upset..... the Lib Dems will lose on Thursday, most likely fairly badly, and they will have no one to blame but themselves.”


  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589
    Re France reaching the vaccine demand wall.

    First doses during w/e 17/06 1.879m
    First doses during w/e 10/06 2.337m
    First doses during w/e 03/06 2.437m
    First doses during w/e 27/05 2.473m

    https://covidtracker.fr/vaccintracker/

    If that decline continues then first doses in France will be around ten million fewer than in the UK.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991

    Re France reaching the vaccine demand wall.

    First doses during w/e 17/06 1.879m
    First doses during w/e 10/06 2.337m
    First doses during w/e 03/06 2.437m
    First doses during w/e 27/05 2.473m

    https://covidtracker.fr/vaccintracker/

    If that decline continues then first doses in France will be around ten million fewer than in the UK.

    Its like they have a problem with anti-vaxxers in France or something....
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589
    Sandpit said:

    Derek Draper now has the unenviable record as the longest surviving covid patient in the UK

    https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uks-longest-known-covid-patient-was-begged-by-wife-not-to-end-treatment-before-he-died-12336139

    Draper’s story really is horrible, and there’s dozens more similar cases out there that we don’t hear about.

    I do wonder if one of the worst cases being a journalist married to a TV a presenter, has been a contributing factor to the high vaccination take up, when it’s regularly discussed just how bad Covid can be.
    Jeffrey James Hall (7 September 1929 – 4 April 1959) was an English footballer who played as a right back for Birmingham City and England.

    It was the death of Hall – a young, fit, international footballer – from polio which helped to kick-start widespread public acceptance in Britain of the need for vaccination. Though the disease was generally feared and the Salk vaccine was available, takeup had been slow. In the weeks following Hall's death, and after his widow, Dawn, spoke on television about her loss, demand for immunisation rocketed. Emergency vaccination clinics had to be set up and supplies of the vaccine flown in from the United States to cope with demand.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Hall_(footballer)
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589

    Re France reaching the vaccine demand wall.

    First doses during w/e 17/06 1.879m
    First doses during w/e 10/06 2.337m
    First doses during w/e 03/06 2.437m
    First doses during w/e 27/05 2.473m

    https://covidtracker.fr/vaccintracker/

    If that decline continues then first doses in France will be around ten million fewer than in the UK.

    Its like they have a problem with anti-vaxxers in France or something....
    Not surprising given that vaccines are quasi ineffective.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,860
    I wouldn't have taken the odds myself, but it isn't hard to understand. There are plenty of punters - some on this site - who look for opportunities to make what they see as safe returns by backing very low odds near certainties. They make their money because punters, being gamblers by definition, tend to back high odds long shots, and there always seem to be some who will back even very unlikely outcomes.

    The LibDems haven't been on the by-election form OGH mentions in the lead for nearly twenty years, and last won a landslide like C&A precisely twenty one years ago, in Romsey. Which in political terms was another era.

    I thought the LibDems would pick up votes and come a decent second; and still suspect a late swing arising from some mix of an effective local LibDem campaign (especially exploiting May's comments on the planning reforms), the government wobbles around Cummings and the cancellation of freedom day, was wot won it for the LibDems.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    It’s because by the age of 18 pupils refer to themselves as “young women” not “girls”.

    I’m surprised that the Mail didn’t use Harriet Harman as their example alumnus
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    A million people booked in a day when they opened it to younger people a couple of weeks ago. We could have done them a month ago.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    A million people booked in a day when they opened it to younger people a couple of weeks ago. We could have done them a month ago.
    Did we have an extra million Pfizer and Moderna two weeks earlier ?
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585

    Re France reaching the vaccine demand wall.

    First doses during w/e 17/06 1.879m
    First doses during w/e 10/06 2.337m
    First doses during w/e 03/06 2.437m
    First doses during w/e 27/05 2.473m

    https://covidtracker.fr/vaccintracker/

    If that decline continues then first doses in France will be around ten million fewer than in the UK.

    Its like they have a problem with anti-vaxxers in France or something....
    Not surprising given that vaccines are quasi ineffective.
    Well they seem to be doing a bloody good job at breaking the link between cases and hospitalisations. Only the young are getting it now.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    A million people booked in a day when they opened it to younger people a couple of weeks ago. We could have done them a month ago.
    Did we have an extra million Pfizer and Moderna two weeks earlier ?
    No, but we have 7 million AZN spare.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    A million people booked in a day when they opened it to younger people a couple of weeks ago. We could have done them a month ago.
    Did we have an extra million Pfizer and Moderna two weeks earlier ?
    No, but we have 7 million AZN spare.
    Which was declared not suitable for the under 30s.

    Changing the advice would likely have been far more trouble than it was worth.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    Nah - it’s because the Eton Community is governed by triumvirates.

    The boys are led by the Captain of School (who is Head of College) and the Captain of the Oppidans (who is the Head of the Select) plus the Captain of Boats.

    They select an individual, usually but not always the Captain of School, who represents the boys’ interests on the triumvirate comprising the Head Man, the Lower Master and the [Captain of School] that manages the school day to day

    That triumvirate is overseen by a triumvirate comprising the Provost (who represents the Queen), the Conduct (representing the Bishop of Lincoln) and the Head Man (representing the boys and the beaks)
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589
    Sandpit said:

    Re France reaching the vaccine demand wall.

    First doses during w/e 17/06 1.879m
    First doses during w/e 10/06 2.337m
    First doses during w/e 03/06 2.437m
    First doses during w/e 27/05 2.473m

    https://covidtracker.fr/vaccintracker/

    If that decline continues then first doses in France will be around ten million fewer than in the UK.

    Its like they have a problem with anti-vaxxers in France or something....
    Not surprising given that vaccines are quasi ineffective.
    Well they seem to be doing a bloody good job at breaking the link between cases and hospitalisations. Only the young are getting it now.
    The key issue each country will have to face now is the number of unvaccinated over 50s.
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,679
    Charles said:

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    Nah - it’s because the Eton Community is governed by triumvirates.

    The boys are led by the Captain of School (who is Head of College) and the Captain of the Oppidans (who is the Head of the Select) plus the Captain of Boats.

    They select an individual, usually but not always the Captain of School, who represents the boys’ interests on the triumvirate comprising the Head Man, the Lower Master and the [Captain of School] that manages the school day to day

    That triumvirate is overseen by a triumvirate comprising the Provost (who represents the Queen), the Conduct (representing the Bishop of Lincoln) and the Head Man (representing the boys and the beaks)
    I switched off with all that.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    A million people booked in a day when they opened it to younger people a couple of weeks ago. We could have done them a month ago.
    Did we have an extra million Pfizer and Moderna two weeks earlier ?
    No, but we have 7 million AZN spare.
    Which was declared not suitable for the under 30s.

    Changing the advice would likely have been far more trouble than it was worth.
    No several month ago it was deemed that the risk outweighed the public health situation at the time, rollout going well, low case numbers, Kent variant.

    Now we have a new variant and had exponential growth in cases. Furthermore, JVCI caveated it saying as long as it didn't slow down the rollout, which is exactly what we have seen over the past two months.

    We have been completely hamstrung of only been able to do 100-150k first does for a long time now.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,723
    Charles said:

    It’s because by the age of 18 pupils refer to themselves as “young women” not “girls”.

    I’m surprised that the Mail didn’t use Harriet Harman as their example alumnus
    You mean Harperson..in fact this nickname seems so apt.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    A million people booked in a day when they opened it to younger people a couple of weeks ago. We could have done them a month ago.
    Did we have an extra million Pfizer and Moderna two weeks earlier ?
    No, but we have 7 million AZN spare.
    Which was declared not suitable for the under 30s.

    Changing the advice would likely have been far more trouble than it was worth.
    No several month ago it was deemed that the risk outweighed the public health situation at the time, rollout going well, low case numbers, Kent variant.

    Now we have a new variant and had exponential growth in cases. Furthermore, JVCI caveated it saying as long as it didn't slow down the rollout, which is exactly what we have seen over the past two months.
    Has it been slowed ?

    It seems to have finished earlier as the take-up has reduced.

    Now perhaps it could have been finished a week or two earlier but I'm not even sure that would have been a good thing - letting Delta seep through the country this summer has its advantages.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    A million people booked in a day when they opened it to younger people a couple of weeks ago. We could have done them a month ago.
    Did we have an extra million Pfizer and Moderna two weeks earlier ?
    No, but we have 7 million AZN spare.
    Which was declared not suitable for the under 30s.

    Changing the advice would likely have been far more trouble than it was worth.
    No several month ago it was deemed that the risk outweighed the public health situation at the time, rollout going well, low case numbers, Kent variant.

    Now we have a new variant and had exponential growth in cases. Furthermore, JVCI caveated it saying as long as it didn't slow down the rollout, which is exactly what we have seen over the past two months.
    Has it been slowed ?

    It seems to have finished earlier as the take-up has reduced.

    Now perhaps it could have been finished a week or two earlier but I'm not even sure that would have been a good thing - letting Delta seep through the country this summer has its advantages.
    Yes it has. You can say well the timetable is still on track, but the actual number of jabs in arms has slowed, and the first doses are clearly restricted. We were told there was going to be mass expansion of jabbing from mid May, it never happened.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,401
    Well, well. Good goal.
    Hungary ahead.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,032
    Hungary lead France
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,208
    edited June 2021
    Well done, Mike for calling this. Chesham and Amersham is one of those rare unexpected political results. The Lib Dems, apparently moribund and not having made a mark for years, overturned a safe seat with a huge majority the way it has always won a seat - house by house. Up there with Orpington in 1962, Hamilton in 1967 and Crosby in 1981
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    edited June 2021
    Andy Burnham tweets

    This seems unnecessary to me …

    … and it would have been nice if @NicolaSturgeon had contacted us beforehand to discuss it.

    Maybe the Scottish Government should try living by the same standards it frequently accuses the UK Government of lacking?

    #DoubleStandards


    https://twitter.com/andyburnhamgm/status/1406193369391550466?s=21
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,249

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    England data, NIMS Populations

    17th release vs 10th June release.

    Above 40 vaccinations are a trickle...

    Age Group 10th 17th Change
    Under 25 N/A 27.25% N/A
    25-29 21.64% 35.07% 13.43%
    30-34 47.06% 53.69% 6.63%
    35-39 60.23% 62.98% 2.74%
    40-44 71.50% 72.28% 0.78%
    45-49 78.66% 79.15% 0.48%
    50-54 84.73% 84.93% 0.21%
    55-59 87.60% 87.76% 0.16%
    60-64 89.80% 89.90% 0.10%
    65-69 91.93% 92.00% 0.07%
    70-74 94.25% 94.31% 0.06%
    75-79 95.26% 95.34% 0.08%
    80+ 95.00% 95.17% 0.18%
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    Sandpit said:

    dixiedean said:

    I suspect that the Internet is to blame here. Folk with little knowledge get a little information and think they can make a few Bob. Without twigging there are thousands of others in the same boat. The markets for Hartlepool were super unrealistic until the first poll. And in C+A right through.
    Herd mentality and groupthink seem to be getting worse.

    Had a look at the Dow Jones or FTSE recently? The herd mentality and groupthink of which you speak are going to ruin a lot of nesteggs in the near future.

    Astute independent thinkers should be looking at alternatives, and I don’t mean Bitcoin.
    It’s about $1,800 an ounce at the moment.
    Yepp. I’m very, very heavy on gold. I expect to be feeling like Mike Smithson after his by election win. But I pose the same question as him: what are stock market investors thinking?!?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,249

    ” Tony Blair is mulling a return to Westminster, and he is said to believe he would do a better job as PM now than when he first occupied the post”

    https://twitter.com/gabriel_pogrund/status/1406179274441334787

    Don't subscribe to the Thunderer so can't read the article. Of which party is he considering a return with? He would struggle to get selected with Labour and certainly wouldn't be elected its leader. I assume he isn't going to join the LibDems. He isn't a Tory.

    So the only thing that makes sense is him forming a new centre party. He would need to win the support of the WWC who backed him previously AND the support of remainer shire Tories fed up with Johnsonism.

    An utterly impossible task. Surely. For anyone who isn't Blair...
    He could take a leaf out of Emmanuel Macron's book with En Marche and create a party around his initials. How about "The Believers"?
    The TB party - "You think you have recovered from what nearly killed you, then years latter it comes back...."
    “Our policies promote consumption”
    Nice...

    "Our polices include an ethical foreign policy {cough} {cough} {cough}"
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518

    Andy Burnham tweets

    This seems unnecessary to me …

    … and it would have been nice if @NicolaSturgeon had contacted us beforehand to discuss it.

    Maybe the Scottish Government should try living by the same standards it frequently accuses the UK Government of lacking?

    #DoubleStandards


    https://twitter.com/andyburnhamgm/status/1406193369391550466?s=21

    How the hell are such things even legally enforceable?
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,679
    FF43 said:

    Well done, Mike for calling this. Chesham and Amersham is one of those rare unexpected political results. The Lib Dems, apparently moribund and not having made a mark for years, overturned a safe seat with a huge majority the way it has always won a seat - house by house. Up there with Orpington in 1962, Hamilton in 1967 and Crosby in 1981

    This result was seismic. Suddenly Boris looks hapless and his magic is gone. This could affect the Red Wall voters too - voting Tory when everyone else has decided it's a rum do isn't such an appealing prospect. Real emperors-new-clothes stuff.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021
    Hungary giving the old COVID third wave a good old try to get going....
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 17,208
    kle4 said:

    FF43 said:

    I wonder if the Tories are making a mistake with their Anti-Woke Cancel Culture agenda. What's coming across in the vox pops in Chesham & Amersham is that erstwhile and potential Conservative Party voters don't think the party in its current version is nice. I don't imagine many of them would ever "take the knee", but do believe people do these things for good motives. In any case it's not up to them to control how people think.
    I think it's a sound tactic, but less is more - let the ridiculousness of things speak for themselves, then critique the sillier bits with a long suffering common sense kind of style which will chime well for a lot of people. Go too hard too often and it looks obsessive.
    I think the Anti-Woke thing is more than obsessive. It's divisive, unpleasant and in extreme cases, sinister.

    Thinking about my relative who lives in a leafy suburb of an English town, just retired on a good final salary pension, member of the National Trust etc. As un-Woke as you can get but she absolutely despises wokery (the people calling it out) because she thinks it's mean and disrespectful.
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    https://twitter.com/reidepstein/status/1406222468788936706?s=19

    Genuinely thinking of getting in Trump right now. The notion of free and fair elections is done in the South.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    alex_ said:

    Andy Burnham tweets

    This seems unnecessary to me …

    … and it would have been nice if @NicolaSturgeon had contacted us beforehand to discuss it.

    Maybe the Scottish Government should try living by the same standards it frequently accuses the UK Government of lacking?

    #DoubleStandards


    https://twitter.com/andyburnhamgm/status/1406193369391550466?s=21

    How the hell are such things even legally enforceable?
    They’re not, unless you’re China and track everyone everywhere.

    Presumably the Scottish government will be paying any costs incurred by their people as a result of the policy?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021
    Why can't I watch the football in 4k or even full HD on via iPlayer on my PC....not acceptable in 2021.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    Charles said:

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    Nah - it’s because the Eton Community is governed by triumvirates.

    The boys are led by the Captain of School (who is Head of College) and the Captain of the Oppidans (who is the Head of the Select) plus the Captain of Boats.

    They select an individual, usually but not always the Captain of School, who represents the boys’ interests on the triumvirate comprising the Head Man, the Lower Master and the [Captain of School] that manages the school day to day

    That triumvirate is overseen by a triumvirate comprising the Provost (who represents the Queen), the Conduct (representing the Bishop of Lincoln) and the Head Man (representing the boys and the beaks)
    Barf.
  • tallsuktallsuk Posts: 8
    Thanks, Mike for yet another great tip. This site is easily the best tipster I have ever seen. It is very impressive.

    I think the 1/20 Tory bet is typical for so many political betting markets. Clearly, the major bookies don't have to worry much about political markets as these are just headline-makers for them. They are happy to offer 1.05 in these markets as they don't really have to attract new business. Why offer great prices when it just means unnecessary risk.

    I believe the gamblers are either people who know a huge amount about politics and very little about gambling or people who know how to gamble but don't know much about politics.

    Whenever I see your reminder that a tip is about the value, not the expected outcome, I always know that there is something worth looking at. The value in the political markets is the best you can find.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,926
    edited June 2021
    Sandpit said:

    alex_ said:

    Andy Burnham tweets

    This seems unnecessary to me …

    … and it would have been nice if @NicolaSturgeon had contacted us beforehand to discuss it.

    Maybe the Scottish Government should try living by the same standards it frequently accuses the UK Government of lacking?

    #DoubleStandards


    https://twitter.com/andyburnhamgm/status/1406193369391550466?s=21

    How the hell are such things even legally enforceable?
    They’re not, unless you’re China and track everyone everywhere.

    Presumably the Scottish government will be paying any costs incurred by their people as a result of the policy?
    That's what HM Treasury is for, surely? ;)
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,070
    Grim figures again in Brazil
    https://twitter.com/avidresearch/status/1405997938124406785

    Bolsanaro bears a heavy responsibility.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021
    Nigelb said:

    Grim figures again in Brazil
    https://twitter.com/avidresearch/status/1405997938124406785

    Bolsanaro bears a heavy responsibility.

    All across South America it isn't looking good. I believe put down to a Brazil variant.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,926

    Charles said:

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    Nah - it’s because the Eton Community is governed by triumvirates.

    The boys are led by the Captain of School (who is Head of College) and the Captain of the Oppidans (who is the Head of the Select) plus the Captain of Boats.

    They select an individual, usually but not always the Captain of School, who represents the boys’ interests on the triumvirate comprising the Head Man, the Lower Master and the [Captain of School] that manages the school day to day

    That triumvirate is overseen by a triumvirate comprising the Provost (who represents the Queen), the Conduct (representing the Bishop of Lincoln) and the Head Man (representing the boys and the beaks)
    Barf.
    No need to be disrespectful. Someone asked a question, and it was answered quite thoroughly.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Sandpit said:

    dixiedean said:

    I suspect that the Internet is to blame here. Folk with little knowledge get a little information and think they can make a few Bob. Without twigging there are thousands of others in the same boat. The markets for Hartlepool were super unrealistic until the first poll. And in C+A right through.
    Herd mentality and groupthink seem to be getting worse.

    Had a look at the Dow Jones or FTSE recently? The herd mentality and groupthink of which you speak are going to ruin a lot of nesteggs in the near future.

    Astute independent thinkers should be looking at alternatives, and I don’t mean Bitcoin.
    It’s about $1,800 an ounce at the moment.
    Yepp. I’m very, very heavy on gold. I expect to be feeling like Mike Smithson after his by election win. But I pose the same question as him: what are stock market investors thinking?!?
    Why is a stock market at record highs more of a wtf are you thinking prospect than a gold market at record highs? Especially given golds unprecedented vulnerability to bitcoin. I'd diversify if I were you.

    Also you can't do the all my money is in gold thing in the internet, and sound sane. One or the other
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    alex_ said:

    Andy Burnham tweets

    This seems unnecessary to me …

    … and it would have been nice if @NicolaSturgeon had contacted us beforehand to discuss it.

    Maybe the Scottish Government should try living by the same standards it frequently accuses the UK Government of lacking?

    #DoubleStandards


    https://twitter.com/andyburnhamgm/status/1406193369391550466?s=21

    How the hell are such things even legally enforceable?
    They’re not, unless you’re China and track everyone everywhere.

    Presumably the Scottish government will be paying any costs incurred by their people as a result of the policy?
    That's what HM Treasury is for, surely? ;)
    I’m waiting for the almighty row that happens when Sturgeon and Drakeford want to keep restrictions in place that have been lifted in England, but there’s no furlough scheme and everyone unemployed gets pushed to UC.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,401
    This is turning into an intriguing game.
    France ought to be winning, and ought to win. But aren't.
    Hungary continue to have little flashes on the break. Not completely sitting back.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,070
    RobD said:

    Charles said:

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    Nah - it’s because the Eton Community is governed by triumvirates.

    The boys are led by the Captain of School (who is Head of College) and the Captain of the Oppidans (who is the Head of the Select) plus the Captain of Boats.

    They select an individual, usually but not always the Captain of School, who represents the boys’ interests on the triumvirate comprising the Head Man, the Lower Master and the [Captain of School] that manages the school day to day

    That triumvirate is overseen by a triumvirate comprising the Provost (who represents the Queen), the Conduct (representing the Bishop of Lincoln) and the Head Man (representing the boys and the beaks)
    Barf.
    No need to be disrespectful. Someone asked a question, and it was answered quite thoroughly.
    No need to respect what appears to be faintly ridiculous anachronism, either.
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,679
    RobD said:

    Charles said:

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    Nah - it’s because the Eton Community is governed by triumvirates.

    The boys are led by the Captain of School (who is Head of College) and the Captain of the Oppidans (who is the Head of the Select) plus the Captain of Boats.

    They select an individual, usually but not always the Captain of School, who represents the boys’ interests on the triumvirate comprising the Head Man, the Lower Master and the [Captain of School] that manages the school day to day

    That triumvirate is overseen by a triumvirate comprising the Provost (who represents the Queen), the Conduct (representing the Bishop of Lincoln) and the Head Man (representing the boys and the beaks)
    Barf.
    No need to be disrespectful. Someone asked a question, and it was answered quite thoroughly.
    I suspect his displeasure was aroused by the silliness described.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 26,589
    edited June 2021

    Long queues are building at football grounds in London that have opened as walk-in vaccination centres this weekend.

    We could and should have been doing this a month ago....

    Possibly but I don't think the demand was there.

    I suspect vaccine take up is going to be low among the young unless forced to do so by employers.
    A million people booked in a day when they opened it to younger people a couple of weeks ago. We could have done them a month ago.
    Did we have an extra million Pfizer and Moderna two weeks earlier ?
    No, but we have 7 million AZN spare.
    Which was declared not suitable for the under 30s.

    Changing the advice would likely have been far more trouble than it was worth.
    No several month ago it was deemed that the risk outweighed the public health situation at the time, rollout going well, low case numbers, Kent variant.

    Now we have a new variant and had exponential growth in cases. Furthermore, JVCI caveated it saying as long as it didn't slow down the rollout, which is exactly what we have seen over the past two months.
    Has it been slowed ?

    It seems to have finished earlier as the take-up has reduced.

    Now perhaps it could have been finished a week or two earlier but I'm not even sure that would have been a good thing - letting Delta seep through the country this summer has its advantages.
    Yes it has. You can say well the timetable is still on track, but the actual number of jabs in arms has slowed, and the first doses are clearly restricted. We were told there was going to be mass expansion of jabbing from mid May, it never happened.
    Look at Malmesbury's numbers.

    Fewer 50s want to be vaccinated than the 60s.
    Fewer 40s want to be vaccinated than the 50s.
    Fewer 30s want to be vaccinated than the 40s.
    Fewer 20s want to be vaccinated than the 30s.

    It doesn't matter how much vaccine you have available if the constraint becomes demand instead of supply.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,926
    edited June 2021

    RobD said:

    Charles said:

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    Nah - it’s because the Eton Community is governed by triumvirates.

    The boys are led by the Captain of School (who is Head of College) and the Captain of the Oppidans (who is the Head of the Select) plus the Captain of Boats.

    They select an individual, usually but not always the Captain of School, who represents the boys’ interests on the triumvirate comprising the Head Man, the Lower Master and the [Captain of School] that manages the school day to day

    That triumvirate is overseen by a triumvirate comprising the Provost (who represents the Queen), the Conduct (representing the Bishop of Lincoln) and the Head Man (representing the boys and the beaks)
    Barf.
    No need to be disrespectful. Someone asked a question, and it was answered quite thoroughly.
    I suspect his displeasure was aroused by the silliness described.
    That's a fair point. I retract my accusation of being disrespectful. Sorry, @StuartDickson
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207
    I see the Chinese to avoid saying they have breached safety limits for releases of gases at nuclear plants decided to double the limits that are deemed "safe" instead

  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    edited June 2021
    France bring on Dembele to have a player to run at defenders....England haven't given Sancho a minute on the pitch yet...
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,401
    Suspect this Kleinheiser won't be starting next season in the Croatian league for Osijek. He looks some player. Bloody everywhere.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,585
    Floater said:

    I see the Chinese to avoid saying they have breached safety limits for releases of gases at nuclear plants decided to double the limits that are deemed "safe" instead

    Thankfully it doesn’t look like a major incident, but it took the French company working there to raise the alarm, the Chinese were happy to say nothing - and probably would have said nothing even if it were a Chernobyl-sized incident.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,787
    Good afternoon, everyone.

    Mr. Urquhart, I'm always dubious of people who want to rewrite the English language. Seems like wrongthink to me.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Nigelb said:

    Grim figures again in Brazil
    https://twitter.com/avidresearch/status/1405997938124406785

    Bolsanaro bears a heavy responsibility.

    Have they actually had any waves, or has it just been consistently high?
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,802

    France bring on Dembele to have a player to run at defenders....England haven't given Sancho a minute on the pitch yet...

    Forget that, just play Harry Kane in the number 10 role. He got golden boot in the Premier League this season in that role for a pretty rubbish Spurs team.

    Why play the nation's only truly world class player out of position?
  • tallsuktallsuk Posts: 8
    I think there is a similar value bet available on the NY Mayor democratic primary.

    Looking at the polling (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_New_York_City_mayoral_election#Opinion_polling) Adams is ahead by a bit but nothing that justifies the betting which is currently:

    Adams 1.53 1.55
    Garcia 5.4 5.7
    Wiley 16.5 18
    Yang 10 12.5

    Not sure why Yang is third fav when he is clearly 4th in the polls. I am in this market following another PB tip to lay him at 1.4 as he was running high in the early polling due to name recognition so thanks for that one as well.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,401

    Good afternoon, everyone.

    Mr. Urquhart, I'm always dubious of people who want to rewrite the English language. Seems like wrongthink to me.

    Like Orwell? ;)
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,401
    Hoofball gets the equaliser.
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    Hell of a large French contingent in Budapest. You can see why UEFA are eyeing up an excuse to move the finals there...
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Nigelb said:

    RobD said:

    Charles said:

    DavidL said:

    My son's former school (going to take a while to get used to that) they had 2 senior pupils, both boys this year. Both girls next. One of each was sexist, apparently.
    Wasn't Boris called Captain of School as a non-sexist way of saying Head Boy? Where Eton leads, the world follows.
    Nah - it’s because the Eton Community is governed by triumvirates.

    The boys are led by the Captain of School (who is Head of College) and the Captain of the Oppidans (who is the Head of the Select) plus the Captain of Boats.

    They select an individual, usually but not always the Captain of School, who represents the boys’ interests on the triumvirate comprising the Head Man, the Lower Master and the [Captain of School] that manages the school day to day

    That triumvirate is overseen by a triumvirate comprising the Provost (who represents the Queen), the Conduct (representing the Bishop of Lincoln) and the Head Man (representing the boys and the beaks)
    Barf.
    No need to be disrespectful. Someone asked a question, and it was answered quite thoroughly.
    No need to respect what appears to be faintly ridiculous anachronism, either.
    It’s faintly ridiculous but there is no “Eton School” as such.

    You have King Henry’s foundation (“Eton College”) with 70 boys.

    And then you have the boys in the private houses in the town (“Oppidans”)

    A lot of the structures are about coordinating between two different legal organisations, one of which is run according to a medieval Royal Charter.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,991
    alex_ said:

    Hell of a large French contingent in Budapest. You can see why UEFA are eyeing up an excuse to move the finals there...

    Covid waves....
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,860
    Hungary may fall apart now?
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,860
    EU member states have done a remarkable job of catching up. Since the start of this month, Germany, France and Italy have all administered more doses of vaccine on a seven-day average than Britain.

    While the UK remains ahead on fully vaccinated people in both absolute and relative terms, EU countries are catching up fast: Germany, which on Friday passed the milestone of having given a first shot to 50% of its entire population, is due to overtake the UK in the coming days in terms of the total number of people who have had at least one dose.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,070
    Sandpit said:

    Floater said:

    I see the Chinese to avoid saying they have breached safety limits for releases of gases at nuclear plants decided to double the limits that are deemed "safe" instead

    Thankfully it doesn’t look like a major incident, but it took the French company working there to raise the alarm, the Chinese were happy to say nothing - and probably would have said nothing even if it were a Chernobyl-sized incident.
    I don’t think the even the Chinese regime could or would keep a Chernobyl sized incident quiet. Paranoid, secretive, repressive and arrogant they are; stupid they are not.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,036
    edited June 2021

    I'd accept Brexit being THE issue in C & A if remain was something like 70% there. But I don't think it was.

    My own take and I'm not suggesting this was the only factor is that people are starting to understand the benefits of living in a marginal seat. They're tired of elections in their area being a foregone conclusion and the incentive if you live in a safe seat is to turn it into a marginal.

    In Hartlepool - if we vote Tory they'll start listening to us. In Chesham - if we stop voting Tory they'll start listening to us. A very transactional or mercenary approach to politics but it seems to be where we are.

    It's possible, except that there were so many similar by-election results in the 60s to the 90s - freak events inconsistent with the national picture that turned out to mean nothing and were forgotten very quickly - when political loyalties were much stronger. If the Conservatives win, or even come fairly close, in 12 days, C&A will be half forgotten by the end of the summer. Only if we have several more shocks like this, for instance in the locals next year, will C&A start to look like the beginning of a trend.
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