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Starmer edging up in the next PM betting – politicalbetting.com

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  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662
    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Love him or loathe him... he's that .. je ne sais quoi.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,528
    Foxy said:

    pm215 said:

    Cases rising again, this is just like what was happening last summer and then seemingly out of nowhere we had a problem, despite lots of us warning that we were in trouble.

    Around here they never really seemed to fall in the first place: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases?areaType=ltla&areaName=Cambridge -- bouncing around about 60 cases a day since the beginning of June. Some of that I guess is end of university term reducing the population of young asymptomatic-but-tested-anyway people at about the point where we would otherwise have seen more of a peak the way the UK wide figures do. But it does leave me wondering whether looking at the all-UK graph is a representative picture, or if different parts of the country are seeing notably different local situations...
    It is a fairly consistent uptick across regions:
    I think it would be useful to have the context of absolute numbers. From memory over 50s cases aren't massive in the first place.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,401
    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Who would have thunk it? Farage has a hard core following of whackos who will watch him for an hour a night berating RNLI lifeboat sailors.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,080
    We have to be careful, because the LOESS smooth used is sensitive to endpoints, and so the shape of the trendline for the most recent period may yet change, but it's interesting that the Labour score is increasing more quickly than the Tory score is declining.

    That has rarely been the case since Labour were pushed out of government. What/s mostly happened is that, whenever the Tories have lost support, that has fractured several ways between Labour, UKIP/similar, Lib Dems, etc. This is indicative of an opposition that has failed to grab the mantle of being the Opposition, and of being seen by the electorate as the means by which to gain vengeance on a reviled government.

    If this has changed, as suggested by the recent movement in the trend lines, and support is instead coalescing around Labour, then it would be a much more difficult political situation for the government. It surprises me, because my view of Starmer is pretty similar to Nabavi's, so I wouldn't expect opposition to coalesce around Labour at all.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662
    ydoethur said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    *Edited for reasons of pubic decency.*

    Do you mind? Some of us have just eaten.
    Please clarify...
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,401
    Selebian said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    At least it wasn't "let's do porn"!
    When the ratings slide it will be.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,513
    tlg86 said:

    Apparently David Cameron made £7m out of Greensill Capital. They didn’t get much for their money.

    They weren’t exactly careful with it.
    Or anyone else’s, by all accounts.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,154

    ydoethur said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    *Edited for reasons of pubic decency.*

    Do you mind? Some of us have just eaten.
    Please clarify...
    I shall just have to suck on that.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,080
    ydoethur said:

    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton
    ·
    28m
    Johnson vs. Starmer (9 Aug):

    Johnson Scores Best In:
    Can build a strong economy 43%
    Stands up for UK 42%
    Can bring British people together 41%

    Starmer Scores Best In:
    Good physical & mental health 39%
    Willing to work with other parties 37%

    https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1424782676503011332?s=20

    I suppose it is possible that one day his admirers will have a Damascene conversion and the country will unite in hatred for him.

    Otherwise...that’s got to be people having a laugh.
    I think most of these questions basically boil down to: Do I like him? Do I think he's on my side?

    If you generally have a positive feeling about a politician you'll end up ascribing all sorts of qualities to them, regardless of any objective reality. What this means is that these questions are mostly redundant - except for where they are notably different - as with, say, "Good physical & mental health".
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,154

    ydoethur said:

    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton
    ·
    28m
    Johnson vs. Starmer (9 Aug):

    Johnson Scores Best In:
    Can build a strong economy 43%
    Stands up for UK 42%
    Can bring British people together 41%

    Starmer Scores Best In:
    Good physical & mental health 39%
    Willing to work with other parties 37%

    https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1424782676503011332?s=20

    I suppose it is possible that one day his admirers will have a Damascene conversion and the country will unite in hatred for him.

    Otherwise...that’s got to be people having a laugh.
    I think most of these questions basically boil down to: Do I like him? Do I think he's on my side?

    If you generally have a positive feeling about a politician you'll end up ascribing all sorts of qualities to them, regardless of any objective reality. What this means is that these questions are mostly redundant - except for where they are notably different - as with, say, "Good physical & mental health".
    The answer to the second question is ‘no.’ Regardless of party, a politician is first, last and altogether on their own side.
  • MaxPB said:

    Foxy said:

    pm215 said:

    Cases rising again, this is just like what was happening last summer and then seemingly out of nowhere we had a problem, despite lots of us warning that we were in trouble.

    Around here they never really seemed to fall in the first place: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases?areaType=ltla&areaName=Cambridge -- bouncing around about 60 cases a day since the beginning of June. Some of that I guess is end of university term reducing the population of young asymptomatic-but-tested-anyway people at about the point where we would otherwise have seen more of a peak the way the UK wide figures do. But it does leave me wondering whether looking at the all-UK graph is a representative picture, or if different parts of the country are seeing notably different local situations...
    It is a fairly consistent uptick across regions:
    I think it would be useful to have the context of absolute numbers. From memory over 50s cases aren't massive in the first place.
    Cases have been falling for the last four days.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,456

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    As opposed to David Cameron, whose only fans are you and Richard Nabavi.
    There's plenty of us still about judging by the WhatsApp groups I'm part of.

    Currently we're like the Jedi in exile after the Revenge of the Sith.

    But we will be back.
    Just like those Blair supporters ...
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,691
    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    It's ridiculous that he's not in the Lord's.

    He's clearly second only to Maggie in importance in the last 50 years.
  • jonny83jonny83 Posts: 1,270
    MaxPB said:

    jonny83 said:

    Not surprised cases are rising. In my local area you are seeing less and less masks and distancing. The initial 'i will keep wearing them for a bit' seems to have worn off.

    A number of my colleagues vaccinated at the same time as me: December for first dose and March second dose are coming down with the Covid. Nobody seriously unwell, but alarming that I am seeing colleagues around me getting it for the first time despite being double vaccinated.

    Busy times at work, Flu and Booster preparation well under way.

    Isn't it better to get the COVID cases out of the way now rather than have them in November and December? If we end up 4m cases+vaccines in the next 8 weeks the pandemic is over. We'll be at herd immunity.
    In theory it makes sense to do so, no guarantee however that we will have an easier winter. Hopefully getting it out of the way now is better, but it's possible we could be heading into November with rising cases and the perfect conditions for another wave.

    There appears to be increasing talk that Herd immunity might be incredibly difficult to achieve with Delta. Breakthrough infections on the rise due to the high viral load of this variant.

  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,123

    tlg86 said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    As opposed to David Cameron, whose only fans are you and Richard Nabavi.
    There's plenty of us still about judging by the WhatsApp groups I'm part of.

    Currently we're like the Jedi in exile after the Revenge of the Sith.

    But we will be back.
    Who will be your next Tory leader?
    Jeremy Hunt if I'm lucky.
    Presumably he’ll take Godalming and Ash rather than Farnham and Bordon as that one could be a tricky hold.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662

    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Who would have thunk it? Farage has a hard core following of whackos who will watch him for an hour a night berating RNLI lifeboat sailors.
    Before you whack yourself... how long would anyone listen to Ed bore me to death Davey.
  • DeClareDeClare Posts: 483

    DeClare said:

    Labour almost caught up with the Tories in December, but the vaccine rollout soon put paid to that. I can't think of any reason for Labour's latest mini spike but history teaches us that the opposition should be well ahead at this point in the cycle if they are to have any chance of winning.
    With the large Tory majority, Labour would have to miles clear now to overturn it and win in 2024.
    Back in 2003. Blair's New Labour still had a huge majority but they were well behind in the polls and although the Tories gained a lot of seats, Blair still won comfortably enough in 2005.

    It all depends on your definition of comfortable. Labour's 36% share of the vote in 2005 was a one-off "comfortable".
    There will be boundary changes which will cost Labour and the LDs more seats but ignoring that for the moment, the last time such a large majority was overturned at the first time of asking was in 1964.

    Back then the world was at the start of the counterculture movement and Labour had just elected a new leader, the charismatic Harold Wilson, the Tories also needed a new leader after the Profumo scandal but opted for the crusty old Earl of Home.

    Even so, Labour only won a majority of four which included many gains in Scotland from the the Tories that can't happen again. So to win in 2024 Labour would have to do something that is unprecedented.

  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,154
    edited August 2021
    DeClare said:

    DeClare said:

    Labour almost caught up with the Tories in December, but the vaccine rollout soon put paid to that. I can't think of any reason for Labour's latest mini spike but history teaches us that the opposition should be well ahead at this point in the cycle if they are to have any chance of winning.
    With the large Tory majority, Labour would have to miles clear now to overturn it and win in 2024.
    Back in 2003. Blair's New Labour still had a huge majority but they were well behind in the polls and although the Tories gained a lot of seats, Blair still won comfortably enough in 2005.

    It all depends on your definition of comfortable. Labour's 36% share of the vote in 2005 was a one-off "comfortable".
    There will be boundary changes which will cost Labour and the LDs more seats but ignoring that for the moment, the last time such a large majority was overturned at the first time of asking was in 1964.

    Back then the world was at the start of the counterculture movement and Labour had just elected a new leader, the charismatic Harold Wilson, the Tories also needed a new leader after the Profumo scandal but opted for the crusty old Earl of Home.

    Even so, Labour only won a majority of four which included many gains in Scotland from the the Tories that can't happen again. So to win in 2024 Labour would have to do something that is unprecedented.

    Actually in 1970 the Tories overturned a majority of 98.

    Edit - in both 1964 and 1970 the third party was a very minor factor, with just 9 seats and 6 seats respectively. That meant the opposition had a large headline majority to face but were not nearly as far behind in terms of raw seats as Cameron was in 2010 or Starmer is now when the minor parties have 80 odd seats.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,190

    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Love him or loathe him... he's that .. je ne sais quoi.
    I see what you did there, great irony under the circumstances of Brexit, and no he doesn't have anything of the sort.

    ydoethur said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    *Edited for reasons of pubic decency.*

    Do you mind? Some of us have just eaten.
    Please clarify...
    The sight of an open-legged Farage is not an appropriate vision just before/after dinner is served.
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,162

    Cases rising again, this is just like what was happening last summer and then seemingly out of nowhere we had a problem, despite lots of us warning that we were in trouble.

    Difference is we have vaccinated a large proportion of the population now and the vaccines have broken the link between infection and hospitalisation/death
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,401
    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

  • Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 3,183
    ydoethur said:

    DeClare said:

    DeClare said:

    Labour almost caught up with the Tories in December, but the vaccine rollout soon put paid to that. I can't think of any reason for Labour's latest mini spike but history teaches us that the opposition should be well ahead at this point in the cycle if they are to have any chance of winning.
    With the large Tory majority, Labour would have to miles clear now to overturn it and win in 2024.
    Back in 2003. Blair's New Labour still had a huge majority but they were well behind in the polls and although the Tories gained a lot of seats, Blair still won comfortably enough in 2005.

    It all depends on your definition of comfortable. Labour's 36% share of the vote in 2005 was a one-off "comfortable".
    There will be boundary changes which will cost Labour and the LDs more seats but ignoring that for the moment, the last time such a large majority was overturned at the first time of asking was in 1964.

    Back then the world was at the start of the counterculture movement and Labour had just elected a new leader, the charismatic Harold Wilson, the Tories also needed a new leader after the Profumo scandal but opted for the crusty old Earl of Home.

    Even so, Labour only won a majority of four which included many gains in Scotland from the the Tories that can't happen again. So to win in 2024 Labour would have to do something that is unprecedented.

    Actually in 1970 the Tories overturned a majority of 98.

    Edit - in both 1964 and 1970 the third party was a very minor factor, with just 9 seats and 6 seats respectively. That meant the opposition had a large headline majority to face but were not nearly as far behind in terms of raw seats as Cameron was in 2010 or Starmer is now when the minor parties have 80 odd seats.
    Charismatic Edward Heath trounced crusty old Harold Wilson.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,401

    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Who would have thunk it? Farage has a hard core following of whackos who will watch him for an hour a night berating RNLI lifeboat sailors.
    Before you whack yourself... how long would anyone listen to Ed bore me to death Davey.
    Not long. But what has Ed Davey got to do with it?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,190
    edited August 2021
    DeClare said:

    DeClare said:

    Labour almost caught up with the Tories in December, but the vaccine rollout soon put paid to that. I can't think of any reason for Labour's latest mini spike but history teaches us that the opposition should be well ahead at this point in the cycle if they are to have any chance of winning.
    With the large Tory majority, Labour would have to miles clear now to overturn it and win in 2024.
    Back in 2003. Blair's New Labour still had a huge majority but they were well behind in the polls and although the Tories gained a lot of seats, Blair still won comfortably enough in 2005.

    It all depends on your definition of comfortable. Labour's 36% share of the vote in 2005 was a one-off "comfortable".
    There will be boundary changes which will cost Labour and the LDs more seats but ignoring that for the moment, the last time such a large majority was overturned at the first time of asking was in 1964.

    Back then the world was at the start of the counterculture movement and Labour had just elected a new leader, the charismatic Harold Wilson, the Tories also needed a new leader after the Profumo scandal but opted for the crusty old Earl of Home.

    Even so, Labour only won a majority of four which included many gains in Scotland from the the Tories that can't happen again. So to win in 2024 Labour would have to do something that is unprecedented.

    As it stands at the moment you are right, and Scotland is lost to Labour forever, so a majority is out of the question, a minority might not be however. Between now and the GE lots can happen. The economy remains intact and Sunak becomes leader, or Johnson wins a war against Argentina/ Spain/the combined forces of the EU. Alternatively, and this is my prediction, there could well be very choppy economic waters ahead.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,691

    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Who would have thunk it? Farage has a hard core following of whackos who will watch him for an hour a night berating RNLI lifeboat sailors.
    Before you whack yourself... how long would anyone listen to Ed bore me to death Davey.
    I find it literally incredible that anyone would vote LD with him in charge. Nothing wrong with him, but assuredly nothing right.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662

    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    Aah so he looks haggard now..
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662

    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Love him or loathe him... he's that .. je ne sais quoi.
    I see what you did there, great irony under the circumstances of Brexit, and no he doesn't have anything of the sort.

    ydoethur said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    *Edited for reasons of pubic decency.*

    Do you mind? Some of us have just eaten.
    Please clarify...
    The sight of an open-legged Farage is not an appropriate vision just before/after dinner is served.
    He gets your attention whatever he does..
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,503
    tlg86 said:

    tlg86 said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    As opposed to David Cameron, whose only fans are you and Richard Nabavi.
    There's plenty of us still about judging by the WhatsApp groups I'm part of.

    Currently we're like the Jedi in exile after the Revenge of the Sith.

    But we will be back.
    Who will be your next Tory leader?
    Jeremy Hunt if I'm lucky.
    Presumably he’ll take Godalming and Ash rather than Farnham and Bordon as that one could be a tricky hold.
    You reckon? We think Farnham and Borden is slightly safer.
  • tlg86 said:

    tlg86 said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    As opposed to David Cameron, whose only fans are you and Richard Nabavi.
    There's plenty of us still about judging by the WhatsApp groups I'm part of.

    Currently we're like the Jedi in exile after the Revenge of the Sith.

    But we will be back.
    Who will be your next Tory leader?
    Jeremy Hunt if I'm lucky.
    Presumably he’ll take Godalming and Ash rather than Farnham and Bordon as that one could be a tricky hold.
    I keep on meaning to do a piece on top politicians facing tricky battles because of the boundary changes.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,190

    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    Aah so he looks haggard now..
    All that saving the planet is taking its toll. Besides which, he's knocking on. It would be true to say I no longer look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, old age happens.
  • CiceroCicero Posts: 3,062


    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton

    At this moment, which of the following individuals do you think would be the better Prime Minister for the United Kingdom? (9 Aug):

    Boris Johnson: 43% (-1)
    Keir Starmer: 32% (+4)

    Changes +/- 2 Aug

    Still a healthy gap
    The polls are tightening but if you monitor the local election results labour's performances to date have been dire and little sign of improvement
    On the other hand the Lib Dems are sharply up... The Tories point to the need for an unprecedented swing to Labour, but there is alo the possibility of a pincer movement where voters will rally to the most likely candidate of any party to beat the Tory... the return of tactical voting. Revenge of Remain?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,190

    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Love him or loathe him... he's that .. je ne sais quoi.
    I see what you did there, great irony under the circumstances of Brexit, and no he doesn't have anything of the sort.

    ydoethur said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    *Edited for reasons of pubic decency.*

    Do you mind? Some of us have just eaten.
    Please clarify...
    The sight of an open-legged Farage is not an appropriate vision just before/after dinner is served.
    He gets your attention whatever he does..
    Not really, he's best ignored, he is a reason why I no longer watch GBNews, that and it being televisual ordure, that too.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,154

    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    I suppose not asking global warming to sit down and negotiate is progress of a sort when it comes to official statements.
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527

    Can the psephologists out there tell us: is it not fairly standard that a leader of the Opposition needs a whacking great mid term lead to have the faintest hope of winning the subsequent GE?

    Even Howard had a lead at some point didn’t he?

    Starmer hasn’t even come close.

    In terms of party vote shares, we saw quite a few Labour leads Autumn 2020 - January 2021.
    If you are referring to leader ratings, Heath was npt leading Wilson in the late 1960s = despite a huge Tory poll lead at the time.I don't believe Gaitskell was leading Macmillan in mid - 1961 - nor was Thatcher leading Callaghan in 1978.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662

    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    Aah so he looks haggard now..
    All that saving the planet is taking its toll. Besides which, he's knocking on. It would be true to say I no longer look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, old age happens.
    Yes but its a personal attackif you cant attack the message, attack the messenger....
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,123

    tlg86 said:

    tlg86 said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    As opposed to David Cameron, whose only fans are you and Richard Nabavi.
    There's plenty of us still about judging by the WhatsApp groups I'm part of.

    Currently we're like the Jedi in exile after the Revenge of the Sith.

    But we will be back.
    Who will be your next Tory leader?
    Jeremy Hunt if I'm lucky.
    Presumably he’ll take Godalming and Ash rather than Farnham and Bordon as that one could be a tricky hold.
    You reckon? We think Farnham and Borden is slightly safer.
    Funnily enough, so does my dad. I guess local election results might point the way but I just assumed that the seat with the bigger area might be a bit safer.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,080

    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:

    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    It's notable that he's talking about things - the end of coal, and switching to electric cars - that the UK has either already done, or is in the process of doing, without the government having to take any difficult choices in the future. A leadership role would be a bit more credible if the UK were to commit to achieving something a bit more challenging.
  • DeClareDeClare Posts: 483

    DeClare said:

    DeClare said:

    Labour almost caught up with the Tories in December, but the vaccine rollout soon put paid to that. I can't think of any reason for Labour's latest mini spike but history teaches us that the opposition should be well ahead at this point in the cycle if they are to have any chance of winning.
    With the large Tory majority, Labour would have to miles clear now to overturn it and win in 2024.
    Back in 2003. Blair's New Labour still had a huge majority but they were well behind in the polls and although the Tories gained a lot of seats, Blair still won comfortably enough in 2005.

    It all depends on your definition of comfortable. Labour's 36% share of the vote in 2005 was a one-off "comfortable".
    There will be boundary changes which will cost Labour and the LDs more seats but ignoring that for the moment, the last time such a large majority was overturned at the first time of asking was in 1964.

    Back then the world was at the start of the counterculture movement and Labour had just elected a new leader, the charismatic Harold Wilson, the Tories also needed a new leader after the Profumo scandal but opted for the crusty old Earl of Home.

    Even so, Labour only won a majority of four which included many gains in Scotland from the the Tories that can't happen again. So to win in 2024 Labour would have to do something that is unprecedented.

    As it stands at the moment you are right, and Scotland is lost to Labour forever, so a majority is out of the question, a minority might not be however. Between now and the GE lots can happen. The economy remains intact and Sunak becomes leader, or Johnson wins a war against Argentina/ Spain/the combined forces of the EU. Alternatively, and this is my prediction, there could well be very choppy economic waters ahead.
    It doesn't matter even if Labour could make gains in Scotland that won't make any from the government it would just be opposition parties swapping seats.

    A hung parliament with a Lab/SNP/LD majority can only happen accidentally if they tried to campaign for it they'd get hammered, what kind of Englishman would vote to be bossed around by the SNP?
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    The only thing more pointless than getting excited about mid term polls is getting excited about holiday season mid term polls
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,190

    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    Aah so he looks haggard now..
    All that saving the planet is taking its toll. Besides which, he's knocking on. It would be true to say I no longer look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, old age happens.
    Yes but its a personal attackif you cant attack the message, attack the messenger....
    Don't you think it is simply an observation?

    A 55 plus year old man with a very young (possibly physically) demanding wife with a baby and another on the way looks like, well a 55 plus year old man with a very young (possibly physically) demanding wife with a baby and another on the way.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662
    edited August 2021
    Charles said:

    The only thing more pointless than getting excited about mid term polls is getting excited about holiday season mid term polls
    Is Redfield Wilton the new Angus Reed.?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,080

    Charles said:

    The only thing more pointless than getting excited about mid term polls is getting excited about holiday season mid term polls
    Is Redfield Wilton the new Angus Reed.?
    Certainly not. The Angus Reid polls were far more entertaining.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,190
    .
    DeClare said:

    DeClare said:

    DeClare said:

    Labour almost caught up with the Tories in December, but the vaccine rollout soon put paid to that. I can't think of any reason for Labour's latest mini spike but history teaches us that the opposition should be well ahead at this point in the cycle if they are to have any chance of winning.
    With the large Tory majority, Labour would have to miles clear now to overturn it and win in 2024.
    Back in 2003. Blair's New Labour still had a huge majority but they were well behind in the polls and although the Tories gained a lot of seats, Blair still won comfortably enough in 2005.

    It all depends on your definition of comfortable. Labour's 36% share of the vote in 2005 was a one-off "comfortable".
    There will be boundary changes which will cost Labour and the LDs more seats but ignoring that for the moment, the last time such a large majority was overturned at the first time of asking was in 1964.

    Back then the world was at the start of the counterculture movement and Labour had just elected a new leader, the charismatic Harold Wilson, the Tories also needed a new leader after the Profumo scandal but opted for the crusty old Earl of Home.

    Even so, Labour only won a majority of four which included many gains in Scotland from the the Tories that can't happen again. So to win in 2024 Labour would have to do something that is unprecedented.

    As it stands at the moment you are right, and Scotland is lost to Labour forever, so a majority is out of the question, a minority might not be however. Between now and the GE lots can happen. The economy remains intact and Sunak becomes leader, or Johnson wins a war against Argentina/ Spain/the combined forces of the EU. Alternatively, and this is my prediction, there could well be very choppy economic waters ahead.
    It doesn't matter even if Labour could make gains in Scotland that won't make any from the government it would just be opposition parties swapping seats.

    A hung parliament with a Lab/SNP/LD majority can only happen accidentally if they tried to campaign for it they'd get hammered, what kind of Englishman would vote to be bossed around by the SNP?
    If you say so.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    Can the psephologists out there tell us: is it not fairly standard that a leader of the Opposition needs a whacking great mid term lead to have the faintest hope of winning the subsequent GE?

    Even Howard had a lead at some point didn’t he?

    Starmer hasn’t even come close.

    David Cameron's Tories didn't have one opinion poll lead between 18 March 2012 & 9 May 2014
  • nico679nico679 Posts: 6,200

    nico679 said:

    nico679 said:

    Christopher Snowdon
    @cjsnowdon
    ·
    1h
    Anti-vaccine radio host in Florida dies of Covid-19 at age 65

    Good riddance , got what he deserved.
    Are you really celebrating someone's death

    Words fail me no matter how wrong he was
    He spread lies about vaccines and contributed to the deaths of others by using his position as a radio host so I won’t apologize for saying good riddance to him.
    All I can repeat is words fail me no matter how much you disagree with him

    Not one of us should celebrate the death of anyone
    I’m not celebrating it . Simply I do not care and have zero sympathy for people who use a position as a radio dj to put out anti vaccine propaganda which results in people dieing.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662

    Charles said:

    The only thing more pointless than getting excited about mid term polls is getting excited about holiday season mid term polls
    Is Redfield Wilton the new Angus Reed.?
    Certainly not. The Angus Reid polls were far more entertaining.
    🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    isam said:

    isam said:

    Can the psephologists out there tell us: is it not fairly standard that a leader of the Opposition needs a whacking great mid term lead to have the faintest hope of winning the subsequent GE?

    Even Howard had a lead at some point didn’t he?

    Starmer hasn’t even come close.

    Yes, he’s like Ed Miliband, without the poll leads

    When it comes to the campaign, Boris will extend his lead/reduce the deficit if there is one, so Sir Keir’s party best have a 6-7 point lead by then
    In retrospect, Miliband was great! That is, in comparison with Johnson, Starmer, Corbyn, May and Cameron.

    The only other leader of the Westminster duopoly who I also think more warmly of with the passing of time is John Major. Last decent Tory. Did bloody well in Scotland I seem to recall. Didn’t interfere too much in the affairs of the Scottish Office. Old school.
    "Britain faces a simple and inescapable choice - stability and strong Government with me, or chaos with Ed Miliband." David Cameron, 4th May 2015.

    Thank goodness Britain opted for stability and strong Government, otherwise the past six years would've been a total sh1t-show.
    Although had it been NOM, we would have the chaos of Cameron promising a referendum, the Lib Dem’s saying no, Ed saying Hell No, and UKIP demanding one.
    Cameron won his majority by shafting the LD's.He actually lost seats to Labour, although only a net of 1. What upset Milliband's applecart was the losses to the SNP.
    They'll be running that one again, I'd imagine. What do you want, Middle England, strong government with Boris continuing to Get Things Done, or weak and feeble Starmer in the pocket of that frightful, strident Scottish woman?
    Thing is that this time round, a fair few people would look at that and think "that's not a bad idea..."
    I'd hope so, yes. I'm feeling quite bullish now (over 50%) about the Con majority going come the election. There was a compelling reason why they were elected in 2019. Can't see that there will be next time.
    A 37% GB vote share for Labour is not at all bad - and is 1% higher than achieved under Blair in 2005. In terms of England & Wales it is actually better than that in that the 2015 shift in Scotland effectively chipped circa 2% off Labour's GB vote share.Thus, were Labour still at 40% in Scotland we would be looking at a GB vote share of 39%.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947

    kinabalu said:

    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton
    ·
    28m
    Johnson vs. Starmer (9 Aug):

    Johnson Scores Best In:
    Can build a strong economy 43%
    Stands up for UK 42%
    Can bring British people together 41%

    Starmer Scores Best In:
    Good physical & mental health 39%
    Willing to work with other parties 37%

    https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1424782676503011332?s=20

    So, Starmer is fit and available. Sounds good to me.
    Depends what he is fit and available for to be honest !!!!!!
    You can scoff but the basics are crucial. Brando, On The Waterfront, etc, the de minimus for a day's work on the docks was that a man must be fit and available. Lots has superficially changed but it hasn't really. Same applies for some work as PM today. If you're fit and available you have a decent chance. Otherwise forget it. And Keir is both. He's very fit. And he's very available. That's the big takeaway from that polling.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,513

    eek said:

    Completely offtopic but how the BBC Salford studio was done for the Tokyo Olympics

    https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-08-09-as-the-olympics-concludes-bbc-tours-its-unreal-engine-powered-studio

    Short overview, green screen and the Unreal Game engine powering the scenario, all in all a cheap version of how the Mandalorin was done.

    Not really comparable to Mandalorin tech. Like saying an Indy game is a cheap version of the latest AAA game.
    I thought everyone was doing that these days ?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eQz7orIi8Q
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527

    stodge said:


    A little harsh, Richard, I think.

    Had Covid happened with Labour in office and a new Conservative leader as LOTO, do you think such a leader would have done any better? Frankly, I don't - Starmer opted, wisely I think, to adopt the classic position of "constructive Opposition" in the spring of 2020 - supporting the Government at a time of national crisis.

    The alternative would have been to adopt a @contrarian like approach - opposing all lockdowns or similar. That would, to quote Sir Humphrey Appleby, have been "courageous" but it would have been a distinctive and largely credible position. However, the polls don't indicate it would have been popular.

    Perhaps I'm being a tad harsh, but I think I'm being realistic. It's not just Covid. On every policy area, he's all over the place. He has absolutely zero to say on relations with the EU - why for example is he not pointing out the disaster of the government's utterly brain-dead refusal to recognise CE marks, which will hit both our manufacturers and consumers badly when the grace period ends in a few months? Or indeed many other areas where the UK is engaging in huge self-harm. He is not making any effort to put Labour forward as having a coherent alternative to the disastrous implementation of Brexit. He has nothing to say on the economy. He has nothing to say on social care. He flips around on Covid, managing to mangle his messaging so much that he can't decide whether the latest removal of most restrictions was too reckless or not reckless enough. He doesn't seem to understand that he needs a team behind him. Where's the Shadow Chancellor? (Who's the Shadow Chancellor? I know the answer, but I bet most people, even quite well informed people, don't).

    By now he should be ahead in the polls and beginning to build up some credibility as a possible government-in-waiting. These things can't be turned around at the last minute.
    But Labour was ahead for several months last Autumn - much earlier than Gaitskell managed in the 1959 Parliament - or Kinnock in the 1987 Parliament.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Westminster voting intention:

    CON: 40% (-1)
    LAB: 37% (+3)
    GRN: 6% (-)
    REFUK: 3% (-)

    via @RedfieldWilton, 09 Aug
    Chgs. w/ 02 Aug
    https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/latest-gb-voting-intention-9-august-2021/#love-from-britain-elects

    I still cannot believe Nigel Farage’s ego trip party chose a name that shortens to Refuck.
    why not, he did it to the country first time.
    Well, exactly. It’s such an admission that I can’t understand what he was thinking.

    Assuming he thinks...
    Or he’s not talking to people who worry about things like that?
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,513
    LBC’s James O’Brien wins Ofcom battle with Institute of Economic Affairs
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/09/lbcs-james-obrien-wins-ofcom-battle-with-institute-of-economic-affairs
    The Institute of Economic Affairs has lost a two-year battle with LBC radio presenter James O’Brien over claims the registered charity is a politically motivated lobbying organisation funded by “dark money”.

    The IEA complained to media regulator Ofcom that the radio station had made a series of inaccurate and unfair suggestions that the organisation is a professional lobby group of “questionable provenance, with dubious ideas and validity” staffed by people who are not proper experts on their topic.

    The free market thinktank particularly objected to O’Brien’s dismissive description of an IEA representative as “some Herbert”, as well as guest Peter Geoghegan’s suggestion that the IEA was “politically biased” during a discussion on the funding of thinktanks.…


    LOL.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,528
    Nigelb said:

    LBC’s James O’Brien wins Ofcom battle with Institute of Economic Affairs
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/09/lbcs-james-obrien-wins-ofcom-battle-with-institute-of-economic-affairs
    The Institute of Economic Affairs has lost a two-year battle with LBC radio presenter James O’Brien over claims the registered charity is a politically motivated lobbying organisation funded by “dark money”.

    The IEA complained to media regulator Ofcom that the radio station had made a series of inaccurate and unfair suggestions that the organisation is a professional lobby group of “questionable provenance, with dubious ideas and validity” staffed by people who are not proper experts on their topic.

    The free market thinktank particularly objected to O’Brien’s dismissive description of an IEA representative as “some Herbert”, as well as guest Peter Geoghegan’s suggestion that the IEA was “politically biased” during a discussion on the funding of thinktanks.…


    LOL.

    Oh good. Hopefully someone has a go at the IFS as well. Another think tank that likes to pass itself off as politically neutral and is anything but.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton
    ·
    28m
    Johnson vs. Starmer (9 Aug):

    Johnson Scores Best In:
    Can build a strong economy 43%
    Stands up for UK 42%
    Can bring British people together 41%

    Starmer Scores Best In:
    Good physical & mental health 39%
    Willing to work with other parties 37%

    https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1424782676503011332?s=20

    So, Starmer is fit and available. Sounds good to me.
    Depends what he is fit and available for to be honest !!!!!!
    You can scoff but the basics are crucial. Brando, On The Waterfront, etc, the de minimus for a day's work on the docks was that a man must be fit and available. Lots has superficially changed but it hasn't really. Same applies for some work as PM today. If you're fit and available you have a decent chance. Otherwise forget it. And Keir is both. He's very fit. And he's very available. That's the big takeaway from that polling.
    But could he have been a contender?
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527
    DeClare said:

    Labour almost caught up with the Tories in December, but the vaccine rollout soon put paid to that. I can't think of any reason for Labour's latest mini spike but history teaches us that the opposition should be well ahead at this point in the cycle if they are to have any chance of winning.
    With the large Tory majority, Labour would have to miles clear now to overturn it and win in 2024.
    Back in 2003. Blair's New Labour still had a huge majority but they were well behind in the polls and although the Tories gained a lot of seats, Blair still won comfortably enough in 2005.

    Blair lost circa 50 seats in 2005.
    Labour was not ahead in mid - 1961 but still did win the 1964 election.
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,851
    Omnium said:

    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    It's ridiculous that he's not in the Lord's.

    He's clearly second only to Maggie in importance in the last 50 years.
    rubbish
  • kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton
    ·
    28m
    Johnson vs. Starmer (9 Aug):

    Johnson Scores Best In:
    Can build a strong economy 43%
    Stands up for UK 42%
    Can bring British people together 41%

    Starmer Scores Best In:
    Good physical & mental health 39%
    Willing to work with other parties 37%

    https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1424782676503011332?s=20

    So, Starmer is fit and available. Sounds good to me.
    Depends what he is fit and available for to be honest !!!!!!
    You can scoff but the basics are crucial. Brando, On The Waterfront, etc, the de minimus for a day's work on the docks was that a man must be fit and available. Lots has superficially changed but it hasn't really. Same applies for some work as PM today. If you're fit and available you have a decent chance. Otherwise forget it. And Keir is both. He's very fit. And he's very available. That's the big takeaway from that polling.
    I was jesting but fair comment
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 70,513
    .
    MaxPB said:

    Nigelb said:

    LBC’s James O’Brien wins Ofcom battle with Institute of Economic Affairs
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/09/lbcs-james-obrien-wins-ofcom-battle-with-institute-of-economic-affairs
    The Institute of Economic Affairs has lost a two-year battle with LBC radio presenter James O’Brien over claims the registered charity is a politically motivated lobbying organisation funded by “dark money”.

    The IEA complained to media regulator Ofcom that the radio station had made a series of inaccurate and unfair suggestions that the organisation is a professional lobby group of “questionable provenance, with dubious ideas and validity” staffed by people who are not proper experts on their topic.

    The free market thinktank particularly objected to O’Brien’s dismissive description of an IEA representative as “some Herbert”, as well as guest Peter Geoghegan’s suggestion that the IEA was “politically biased” during a discussion on the funding of thinktanks.…


    LOL.

    Oh good. Hopefully someone has a go at the IFS as well. Another think tank that likes to pass itself off as politically neutral and is anything but.
    Plenty have.
    AFAIK, they’re a bit more open about their funding ?
  • Cicero said:


    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton

    At this moment, which of the following individuals do you think would be the better Prime Minister for the United Kingdom? (9 Aug):

    Boris Johnson: 43% (-1)
    Keir Starmer: 32% (+4)

    Changes +/- 2 Aug

    Still a healthy gap
    The polls are tightening but if you monitor the local election results labour's performances to date have been dire and little sign of improvement
    On the other hand the Lib Dems are sharply up... The Tories point to the need for an unprecedented swing to Labour, but there is alo the possibility of a pincer movement where voters will rally to the most likely candidate of any party to beat the Tory... the return of tactical voting. Revenge of Remain?
    Revenge of remain as you say may see some seats go Lib Dem but more importantly which party is going to come out to rejoin and when
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    Aah so he looks haggard now..
    All that saving the planet is taking its toll. Besides which, he's knocking on. It would be true to say I no longer look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, old age happens.
    Yes but its a personal attackif you cant attack the message, attack the messenger....
    So what's this irrefutable message that Johnson is putting out? I don't care what his message is on any particular topic, it surely matters more that he is a fat, lazy, self-regarding, lying, duplicitous, and, if you insist, haggard, slob?
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    edited August 2021
    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?
  • Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    Aah so he looks haggard now..
    All that saving the planet is taking its toll. Besides which, he's knocking on. It would be true to say I no longer look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, old age happens.
    Yes but its a personal attackif you cant attack the message, attack the messenger....
    Don't you think it is simply an observation?

    A 55 plus year old man with a very young (possibly physically) demanding wife with a baby and another on the way looks like, well a 55 plus year old man with a very young (possibly physically) demanding wife with a baby and another on the way.
    You could have said that about me when I was 30 to be fair, wife with a baby and another one on the way
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,528
    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 4,042
    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I mean, may I introduce you every corner of politics Twitter? Confirmation bias, misinformation, simple lies, no political bubble is safe.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,480
    Omnium said:

    isam said:

    I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my days.



    Which one of them is the expert interviewee?
    The cheap and easy answer is Nigel Farage because he's such a wanker.

    I mean see his comments about the RNLI or AIDS sufferers.
    ...and he's spanking SkyNews's arses on tv every weekday at 7pm
    Who would have thunk it? Farage has a hard core following of whackos who will watch him for an hour a night berating RNLI lifeboat sailors.
    Before you whack yourself... how long would anyone listen to Ed bore me to death Davey.
    I find it literally incredible that anyone would vote LD with him in charge. Nothing wrong with him, but assuredly nothing right.
    Ed Davey is a rather intelligent and thoughtful fellow, with real empathy. Makes quite a USP amongst pary leaders.
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527
    Cicero said:


    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton

    At this moment, which of the following individuals do you think would be the better Prime Minister for the United Kingdom? (9 Aug):

    Boris Johnson: 43% (-1)
    Keir Starmer: 32% (+4)

    Changes +/- 2 Aug

    Still a healthy gap
    The polls are tightening but if you monitor the local election results labour's performances to date have been dire and little sign of improvement
    On the other hand the Lib Dems are sharply up... The Tories point to the need for an unprecedented swing to Labour, but there is alo the possibility of a pincer movement where voters will rally to the most likely candidate of any party to beat the Tory... the return of tactical voting. Revenge of Remain?
    In fact the polls do not show the LDs up at all. Today's poll has the party at 9% - compared with 11.8% in 2019. It implies 4 LD gains because the Tories have dropped to 40% from 44.7% , but also strongly suggests that Chesham & Amersham owed a great deal to local factors.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    Johnson looks very rough and haggard here to me:




    Boris Johnson
    @BorisJohnson

    United Kingdom government official
    · 1h
    The @IPCC_CH report couldn’t be clearer: humans are causing potentially catastrophic climate change. The world must act together @COP26 to avoid incalculable damage in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1424776319833944064

    Aah so he looks haggard now..
    All that saving the planet is taking its toll. Besides which, he's knocking on. It would be true to say I no longer look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, old age happens.
    Yes but its a personal attackif you cant attack the message, attack the messenger....
    Don't you think it is simply an observation?

    A 55 plus year old man with a very young (possibly physically) demanding wife with a baby and another on the way looks like, well a 55 plus year old man with a very young (possibly physically) demanding wife with a baby and another on the way.
    As someone in the same boat, it doesn’t have to take its toll, looks wise 😊

    I’ve seen a lot older looking mid 50s aged men than Boris, though
  • tlg86 said:

    tlg86 said:

    Let us not forget that Nigel Farage has his own OnlyFans account.

    As opposed to David Cameron, whose only fans are you and Richard Nabavi.
    There's plenty of us still about judging by the WhatsApp groups I'm part of.

    Currently we're like the Jedi in exile after the Revenge of the Sith.

    But we will be back.
    Who will be your next Tory leader?
    Jeremy Hunt if I'm lucky.
    Presumably he’ll take Godalming and Ash rather than Farnham and Bordon as that one could be a tricky hold.
    You reckon? We think Farnham and Borden is slightly safer.
    Electoral Calculus think 11,638 maj in Godalming and Ash and 12,085 for Farnham and Borden both safer than the existing SW Surrey.

    The first consultation period for England has now ended and the submissions will be published later this year. I know that for Surrey/Hants one alternative being put forward is to put Farnham with Aldershot and Ash. You can then have a SW Surrey seat with the rest of Waverley plus a couple of rural Guildford Borough wards.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    I actually swallowed the desperate lie that it was all to do with Brexit, but a simple google proved that to be nonsense in less than a minute, when I bothered to check.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662
    edited August 2021
    MaxPB said:

    Nigelb said:

    LBC’s James O’Brien wins Ofcom battle with Institute of Economic Affairs
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/09/lbcs-james-obrien-wins-ofcom-battle-with-institute-of-economic-affairs
    The Institute of Economic Affairs has lost a two-year battle with LBC radio presenter James O’Brien over claims the registered charity is a politically motivated lobbying organisation funded by “dark money”.

    The IEA complained to media regulator Ofcom that the radio station had made a series of inaccurate and unfair suggestions that the organisation is a professional lobby group of “questionable provenance, with dubious ideas and validity” staffed by people who are not proper experts on their topic.

    The free market thinktank particularly objected to O’Brien’s dismissive description of an IEA representative as “some Herbert”, as well as guest Peter Geoghegan’s suggestion that the IEA was “politically biased” during a discussion on the funding of thinktanks.…


    LOL.

    Oh good. Hopefully someone has a go at the IFS as well. Another think tank that likes to pass itself off as politically neutral and is anything but.
    Its not as tho O'Brien isn't completely up his own fundament. I put him in the same bracket in terms of loathability as Jeremy Kyle and Gordon Brown.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662
    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    Have you been talking to Scott xp
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,947
    IshmaelZ said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Redfield & Wilton Strategies
    @RedfieldWilton
    ·
    28m
    Johnson vs. Starmer (9 Aug):

    Johnson Scores Best In:
    Can build a strong economy 43%
    Stands up for UK 42%
    Can bring British people together 41%

    Starmer Scores Best In:
    Good physical & mental health 39%
    Willing to work with other parties 37%

    https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1424782676503011332?s=20

    So, Starmer is fit and available. Sounds good to me.
    Depends what he is fit and available for to be honest !!!!!!
    You can scoff but the basics are crucial. Brando, On The Waterfront, etc, the de minimus for a day's work on the docks was that a man must be fit and available. Lots has superficially changed but it hasn't really. Same applies for some work as PM today. If you're fit and available you have a decent chance. Otherwise forget it. And Keir is both. He's very fit. And he's very available. That's the big takeaway from that polling.
    But could he have been a contender?
    He damn well IS a contender. He's getting the title shot in the ballpark.
  • NorthofStokeNorthofStoke Posts: 1,758
    MaxPB said:

    Nigelb said:

    LBC’s James O’Brien wins Ofcom battle with Institute of Economic Affairs
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/09/lbcs-james-obrien-wins-ofcom-battle-with-institute-of-economic-affairs
    The Institute of Economic Affairs has lost a two-year battle with LBC radio presenter James O’Brien over claims the registered charity is a politically motivated lobbying organisation funded by “dark money”.

    The IEA complained to media regulator Ofcom that the radio station had made a series of inaccurate and unfair suggestions that the organisation is a professional lobby group of “questionable provenance, with dubious ideas and validity” staffed by people who are not proper experts on their topic.

    The free market thinktank particularly objected to O’Brien’s dismissive description of an IEA representative as “some Herbert”, as well as guest Peter Geoghegan’s suggestion that the IEA was “politically biased” during a discussion on the funding of thinktanks.…


    LOL.

    Oh good. Hopefully someone has a go at the IFS as well. Another think tank that likes to pass itself off as politically neutral and is anything but.
    All think tanks are politically motivated apart from the one that happens to align with my beliefs.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,585
    edited August 2021
    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    Wasn't the lefty, Boris hating Remainer Torygraph leading the ramping?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/08/army-standby-restock-britains-shelves-amid-truck-driver-shortage/
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 119,301
    edited August 2021
    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    There were quite a few missing items from my Sainsbury's shop last week.



    There were a few other things missing but haven't been able to get the rest of them on the screenshot.
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207
    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    Ben in 3 different chain food stores last few days - no noticeable gaps.

    One of my son's is friends with some people at local supermarket - a bunch of them have been off recently after being pinged and others have apparently been off with stress.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,528
    isam said:

    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    I actually swallowed the desperate lie that it was all to do with Brexit, but a simple google proved that to be nonsense in less than a minute, when I bothered to check.
    What really marked it out as nonsense from the beginning is that most major countries are having the same shipping and logistics problem. My mother-in-law was moaning about the shops in Switzerland not having everything in stock on the video chat this weekend and my best mate who has moved to Greece said full shelves are currently a bit of a myth for them but it's not a problem because his father-in-law is a farmer and they get fresh vegetables from the farm, wine and chicken.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,585

    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    There were quite a few missing items from my Sainsbury's shop last week.



    There were a few other things missing but haven't been able to get the rest of them on the screenshot.
    ...plus you wouldn't want to own up to ordering Hawaiian Pizza would you? :-)
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,657

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    Wasn't the lefty, Boris hating Remainer Torygraph leading the ramping?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/08/army-standby-restock-britains-shelves-amid-truck-driver-shortage/
    The Daily Mail is also up in arms.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9875253/Empty-shelves-supermarkets-lorry-chiefs-beg-100-000-delivery-drivers-ease-delays.html

    This is potentially deadly for Boris. Yes, a lot of Leavers adore the man for 'getting Brexit done', but if it takes hold that Boris's botched Brexit has led to famine then I can't see even them being that forgiving. Boris needs to call in the army, impose rationing, anything. But he must not let the population starve!
  • MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    There were quite a few missing items from my Sainsbury's shop last week.



    There were a few other things missing but haven't been able to get the rest of them on the screenshot.
    ...plus you wouldn't want to own up to ordering Hawaiian Pizza would you? :-)
    Fun fact, the week before, I couldn't even order pineapple as it was temporarily unavailable.

    Ended up ordering galia melons instead.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,662

    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    There were quite a few missing items from my Sainsbury's shop last week.



    There were a few other things missing but haven't been able to get the rest of them on the screenshot.
    ...plus you wouldn't want to own up to ordering Hawaiian Pizza would you? :-)
    If alyernatives had been chosen i doubt mich would be missing. I went i Sainsburys in Haywards Sunday pm about 3.30. A few nearly empty shelves but I got everything I wanted.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,585

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    Wasn't the lefty, Boris hating Remainer Torygraph leading the ramping?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/08/army-standby-restock-britains-shelves-amid-truck-driver-shortage/
    The Daily Mail is also up in arms.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9875253/Empty-shelves-supermarkets-lorry-chiefs-beg-100-000-delivery-drivers-ease-delays.html

    This is potentially deadly for Boris. Yes, a lot of Leavers adore the man for 'getting Brexit done', but if it takes hold that Boris's botched Brexit has led to famine then I can't see even them being that forgiving. Boris needs to call in the army, impose rationing, anything. But he must not let the population starve!
    Mind you, all those voters who starve in the great famine won't be voting for the opposition parties.
  • BalrogBalrog Posts: 207
    Waitrose in Guildford a bit short of organic fruit and no pomegranates at all (could be seen as a first world problem I guess)...

    More importantly, no postcrete available in shops anywhere in reasonable travelling distance, and price on Amazon is five times normal price. But apparently this is post lockdown construction boom rather than Brexit as cement is manufactured in the uk.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,895
    Nah

    Apparently if everybody just chants "It's not Brexit" over and over again, there is no problem...
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Scott_xP said:

    Nah

    Apparently if everybody just chants "It's not Brexit" over and over again, there is no problem...
    It’s not Brexit

    “ Unfilled jobs set to soar in 2021

    Transport companies however forecast driver shortages to intensify again in 2021 as economies recover and demand for transport services increases. European companies are expecting a 17% shortfall in drivers this year. This shortfall is expected to reach 18% in Mexico, 20% in Turkey, 24% in Russia, and almost one third in Uzbekistan.

    “Driver shortage threatens the functioning of road transport, supply chains, trade, the economy, and ultimately employment and citizens’ welfare. This is not an issue that can wait, action needs to be taken now,” said IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto.

    The IRU survey also investigated the reasons for driver shortage, finding that a lack of trained drivers was the main cause in all regions (38% of respondents). “


    https://trans.info/en/iru-survey-europe-s-driver-shortage-to-rise-by-10-in-2021-226644
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,050
    edited August 2021
    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    I actually swallowed the desperate lie that it was all to do with Brexit, but a simple google proved that to be nonsense in less than a minute, when I bothered to check.
    What really marked it out as nonsense from the beginning is that most major countries are having the same shipping and logistics problem. My mother-in-law was moaning about the shops in Switzerland not having everything in stock on the video chat this weekend and my best mate who has moved to Greece said full shelves are currently a bit of a myth for them but it's not a problem because his father-in-law is a farmer and they get fresh vegetables from the farm, wine and chicken.
    I haven't heard of any shortages in Athens so far where my wife is, but there are definintely problems in the Peloponnese at the moment where we have friends. Greece is facing logistical problems because of the fires at the moment, so the comparisons I would be most interested in are with France, Germany and Holland, and the most populous North-Western neighbours. I haven't heard of any shortages in these areas so far, but would be happy to be corrected if wrong.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,528
    Scott_xP said:

    Nah

    Apparently if everybody just chants "It's not Brexit" over and over again, there is no problem...
    So Brexit must be why my mother in law can't get fresh fruit. In Basel.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,585

    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    There were quite a few missing items from my Sainsbury's shop last week.



    There were a few other things missing but haven't been able to get the rest of them on the screenshot.
    ...plus you wouldn't want to own up to ordering Hawaiian Pizza would you? :-)
    Fun fact, the week before, I couldn't even order pineapple as it was temporarily unavailable.

    Ended up ordering galia melons instead.
    Ugh! Galia melons on pizza! 🤮

    Which fruits is it acceptable to put on a pizza? I'd say: tomatoes, olives, peppers, and chillies (but not all at once).
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    isam said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Nah

    Apparently if everybody just chants "It's not Brexit" over and over again, there is no problem...
    It’s not Brexit

    “ Unfilled jobs set to soar in 2021

    Transport companies however forecast driver shortages to intensify again in 2021 as economies recover and demand for transport services increases. European companies are expecting a 17% shortfall in drivers this year. This shortfall is expected to reach 18% in Mexico, 20% in Turkey, 24% in Russia, and almost one third in Uzbekistan.

    “Driver shortage threatens the functioning of road transport, supply chains, trade, the economy, and ultimately employment and citizens’ welfare. This is not an issue that can wait, action needs to be taken now,” said IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto.

    The IRU survey also investigated the reasons for driver shortage, finding that a lack of trained drivers was the main cause in all regions (38% of respondents). “


    https://trans.info/en/iru-survey-europe-s-driver-shortage-to-rise-by-10-in-2021-226644
    In line with the predictions from 2018

    “ TRUCK DRIVER SHORTAGE CRISIS NOW SPREADING ACROSS THE WHOLE OF EUROPE
    European road transport firms are racing towards a driver shortage crisis of 150,000 unfilled jobs, according to new research from Transport Intelligence.
    In a report released this week, European Road Freight Transport 2018, the supply chain analyst shows that in just six countries – the UK, Germany, France, Denmark Sweden and Norway – the shortage of drivers adds up to 127,500.

    The UK leads the way with a shortage of 52,000 drivers, but is closely followed by Germany at 45,000 vacancies – with predictions that this could increase by a staggering 28,000 each year.”


    https://www.bifa.org/news/articles/2018/dec/truck-driver-shortage-crisis-now-spreading-across-the-whole-of-europe

  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,895
    MaxPB said:

    So Brexit must be why my mother in law can't get fresh fruit. In Basel.

    Are the Swiss Army on standby? Knives at the ready...
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,657

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    Wasn't the lefty, Boris hating Remainer Torygraph leading the ramping?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/08/army-standby-restock-britains-shelves-amid-truck-driver-shortage/
    The Daily Mail is also up in arms.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9875253/Empty-shelves-supermarkets-lorry-chiefs-beg-100-000-delivery-drivers-ease-delays.html

    This is potentially deadly for Boris. Yes, a lot of Leavers adore the man for 'getting Brexit done', but if it takes hold that Boris's botched Brexit has led to famine then I can't see even them being that forgiving. Boris needs to call in the army, impose rationing, anything. But he must not let the population starve!
    Mind you, all those voters who starve in the great famine won't be voting for the opposition parties.
    So we've had the plague. Now famine. Come on Nicola! Call an illegal referendum so those tanks can roll into Scotland and give us the full set.
  • MrEdMrEd Posts: 5,578
    Slightly on the topic du jour re empty shelves.

    P&G had their results conference call recently. Said rising input costs i.e. commodity costs will add $1.8 billion to their costs for the upcoming year. Seeing freight rates up by 35% at the moment, adding an extra $100m of costs. Planning to increase prices from September, around the high single digit / low double-digit levels for a range of products. Said they upped the price of Ariel in Japan by 35%.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,822
    MaxPB said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Nah

    Apparently if everybody just chants "It's not Brexit" over and over again, there is no problem...
    So Brexit must be why my mother in law can't get fresh fruit. In Basel.
    Boris’ incompetence knows no bounds.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,585
    edited August 2021
    On the topic of pizzas...

    We're thinking of getting an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven. Looking at the Ooni Karu 16 (although there's a waiting list at the moment - no comment!).

    Does anyone have any recommendations? Cheers!
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,895
    MrEd said:

    Seeing freight rates up by 35% at the moment, adding an extra $100m of costs. Planning to increase prices from September, around the high single digit / low double-digit levels for a range of products. Said they upped the price of Ariel in Japan by 35%.

    The PB brain trust said paying more for transport was great news...
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,585

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    Wasn't the lefty, Boris hating Remainer Torygraph leading the ramping?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/08/army-standby-restock-britains-shelves-amid-truck-driver-shortage/
    The Daily Mail is also up in arms.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9875253/Empty-shelves-supermarkets-lorry-chiefs-beg-100-000-delivery-drivers-ease-delays.html

    This is potentially deadly for Boris. Yes, a lot of Leavers adore the man for 'getting Brexit done', but if it takes hold that Boris's botched Brexit has led to famine then I can't see even them being that forgiving. Boris needs to call in the army, impose rationing, anything. But he must not let the population starve!
    Mind you, all those voters who starve in the great famine won't be voting for the opposition parties.
    So we've had the plague. Now famine. Come on Nicola! Call an illegal referendum so those tanks can roll into Scotland and give us the full set.
    Don't forget the floods!
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,585
    edited August 2021
    Scott_xP said:

    MaxPB said:

    So Brexit must be why my mother in law can't get fresh fruit. In Basel.

    Are the Swiss Army on standby? Knives at the ready...
    William Tell's pinched all the apples?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,154

    MaxPB said:

    isam said:

    #Shelfwatch

    Roughed it in Upminster Aldi today, no empty shelves

    This isn't one of those lefty, Boris hating Remainer twitter memes that turns out to be nonsense, like 100k Covid cases a day, the HGV thing being down to Brexit, etc is it?

    I think there are some shortages, in Sainsbury's earlier this evening there were a few things unavailable but it was also 7pm. Really though, it's not as bad as everyone is saying and the twitter FBPE frothers are masturbating themselves into a frenzy that this will finally be what reverses Brexit.
    There were quite a few missing items from my Sainsbury's shop last week.



    There were a few other things missing but haven't been able to get the rest of them on the screenshot.
    ...plus you wouldn't want to own up to ordering Hawaiian Pizza would you? :-)
    Fun fact, the week before, I couldn't even order pineapple as it was temporarily unavailable.

    Ended up ordering galia melons instead.
    Ugh! Galia melons on pizza! 🤮

    Which fruits is it acceptable to put on a pizza? I'd say: tomatoes, olives, peppers, and chillies (but not all at once).
    As a very wise person once said: the difference between knowledge and wisdom is, knowledge is knowing tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 13,800
    I must confess it's often the case when I go shopping there's "something" not in stock - usually it's a discounted item which has been bought up.

    There can be occasions when outside factors intervene such as weather or traffic problems and I can quite appreciate there may be some logistical problems in Greece currently.

    The surprise is to see shortages of bottled water and milk - they aren't items with which you would expect a Tesco's or a Lidl to be struggling but both were short of these items last week.

    Crisis? Hardly, Unusual? Yes.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,798

    MaxPB said:

    Nigelb said:

    LBC’s James O’Brien wins Ofcom battle with Institute of Economic Affairs
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/09/lbcs-james-obrien-wins-ofcom-battle-with-institute-of-economic-affairs
    The Institute of Economic Affairs has lost a two-year battle with LBC radio presenter James O’Brien over claims the registered charity is a politically motivated lobbying organisation funded by “dark money”.

    The IEA complained to media regulator Ofcom that the radio station had made a series of inaccurate and unfair suggestions that the organisation is a professional lobby group of “questionable provenance, with dubious ideas and validity” staffed by people who are not proper experts on their topic.

    The free market thinktank particularly objected to O’Brien’s dismissive description of an IEA representative as “some Herbert”, as well as guest Peter Geoghegan’s suggestion that the IEA was “politically biased” during a discussion on the funding of thinktanks.…


    LOL.

    Oh good. Hopefully someone has a go at the IFS as well. Another think tank that likes to pass itself off as politically neutral and is anything but.
    Its not as tho O'Brien isn't completely up his own fundament. I put him in the same bracket in terms of loathability as Jeremy Kyle and Gordon Brown.
    Bet you're glad that there's not some lefty rooty whining every time you played the man/woman rather than the ball. That would be a lot of whining.
This discussion has been closed.