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Keir and loathing in the Labour party – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited October 2021 in General
imageKeir and loathing in the Labour party – politicalbetting.com

Starmer faces defections pic.twitter.com/8whuJYlkds

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  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,398
    edited October 2021
    Hello!

    Wasn't expecting a First.

    Anyway, I'm feeling chuffed because I've just been to the local shop and got back home 2 minutes before it started chucking it down.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    Hello!

    More sort of ‘goodbye’ if the Daily Mail is telling the truth for once.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    edited October 2021
    Sounds like bollocks to me - unless the MPs in question are in a Red Wall doom scenario. And even then, switching parties is not that likely to save them...

    Plus everyone they have built their political career with turning their backs on them....

    Surely being punted to the Lords by Starmer would be a better bet?

    EDIT: Is there a market on Corbyn crossing the floor?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    edited October 2021

    Sounds like bollocks to me - unless the MPs in question are in a Red Wall doom scenario. And even then, switching parties is not that likely to save them...

    Plus everyone they have built their political career with turning their backs on them....

    Surely being punted to the Lords by Starmer would be a better bet?

    EDIT: Is there a market on Corbyn crossing the floor?

    If there is, cue the jokes about a trail of slime.

    Except if BJO is anything to go by his supporters have already defected.
  • eekeek Posts: 24,797
    Fpt
    Fishing said:

    tlg86 said:

    The message I got from the Boris interview is that the government are actively creating inflation. Higher wages,higher taxes on employment, companies, lots of new taxes, more spending by government.

    This would also indicate higher interest rates.

    Will this hit prior to the next general election?

    I might have missed it, but your point - a very reasonable one - was not raised by Marr. It’s almost as though the media have forgotten about monetary policy.
    I think the country as a whole has forgotten the economic lessons that Mrs Thatcher taught it very painfully in the 1980s, not just monetary policy, but also supply side. In particular, the only way to prosperity is higher productivity, and the best way to higher productivity is competitive markets.

    Partly it's a generational thing, partly it's a very left wing academic establishment and broadcast media, and partly it's an increased focus on trivia like trans rights or statues ffs.

    Either way, we'll have to have a new Mrs Thatcher in a few years, when our decline, as opposed to stagnation, becomes even more obvious than it already is.
    Outr lack of productivity has limit level to do with politics.

    A combination of short sightedness (3 -12 months profit growth requirements) made cheap imported Labour a safer choice than investment in productivity improvements.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,280

    Sounds like bollocks to me - unless the MPs in question are in a Red Wall doom scenario. And even then, switching parties is not that likely to save them...

    Plus everyone they have built their political career with turning their backs on them....

    Surely being punted to the Lords by Starmer would be a better bet?

    It's more likely to be long-serving MPs who were going to retire anyway at the next election.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,674
    FPT
    ydoethur said:

    » show previous quotes
    Unless you have left the UK energy market when I wasn’t looking that isn’t relevant.

    @ydoethur, your imperial colonial response highlights why we need independence. As a colony we provide the cheap electricity for The Imperial Masters and yet pay the most for it.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,836
    Andy_JS said:

    Sounds like bollocks to me - unless the MPs in question are in a Red Wall doom scenario. And even then, switching parties is not that likely to save them...

    Plus everyone they have built their political career with turning their backs on them....

    Surely being punted to the Lords by Starmer would be a better bet?

    It's more likely to be long-serving MPs who were going to retire anyway at the next election.
    So. Why go through the hassle?
    Especially when you can just go Indy if you have no career to think of.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,145
    malcolmg said:

    FPT
    ydoethur said:

    » show previous quotes
    Unless you have left the UK energy market when I wasn’t looking that isn’t relevant.

    @ydoethur, your imperial colonial response highlights why we need independence. As a colony we provide the cheap electricity for The Imperial Masters and yet pay the most for it.

    https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/opinion/columnists/campbell-gunn/3207658/net-zero-scotland-transmission-charges-campbell-gunn-opinion/
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,398
    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    malcolmg said:

    FPT
    ydoethur said:

    » show previous quotes
    Unless you have left the UK energy market when I wasn’t looking that isn’t relevant.

    @ydoethur, your imperial colonial response highlights why we need independence. As a colony we provide the cheap electricity for The Imperial Masters and yet pay the most for it.

    D’you mean the English? Because if so, a gentle reminder I am not English.

    Wales is probably the lowest proportion of renewables of any of the home nations, but do you know what? That doesn’t matter either, because I’m talking about UK figures and that’s what matters for (to come back to my main point) the cost of electricity.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.

    Is there anyone left alive who believes that?!!!
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Sounds like bollocks to me - unless the MPs in question are in a Red Wall doom scenario. And even then, switching parties is not that likely to save them...

    Plus everyone they have built their political career with turning their backs on them....

    Surely being punted to the Lords by Starmer would be a better bet?

    It's more likely to be long-serving MPs who were going to retire anyway at the next election.
    So. Why go through the hassle?
    Especially when you can just go Indy if you have no career to think of.
    Yes - what's in for them, in that case? Burn their boats with the Labour party, making a post politics career harder... all their contacts will be in the wrong party...

    No chance of a peerage, unless they get a deal from Boris.....

    All they would achieve is a kick at Starmer, in return for binning everything.... For about 2 news cycles. Then they would be forgotten.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,145
    ydoethur said:

    malcolmg said:

    FPT
    ydoethur said:

    » show previous quotes
    Unless you have left the UK energy market when I wasn’t looking that isn’t relevant.

    @ydoethur, your imperial colonial response highlights why we need independence. As a colony we provide the cheap electricity for The Imperial Masters and yet pay the most for it.

    D’you mean the English? Because if so, a gentle reminder I am not English.

    Wales is probably the lowest proportion of renewables of any of the home nations, but do you know what? That doesn’t matter either, because I’m talking about UK figures and that’s what matters for (to come back to my main point) the cost of electricity.
    Malky is actually right - there is some really weird pricing by distance in the supposedly uniforn UK electricity market. See the posting just below.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    edited October 2021
    This piece is wrong, three at once would not be extraordinary, it would be astonishingly, incalculably extraordinary. The most surprising thing for me was that Con to Lab defections have been as rare as Lab to Con, with only one more and neither making it past a handful.

    I'm not sure what odds would make a bet on any defecting attractive in fairness.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,398
    ydoethur said:

    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.

    Is there anyone left alive who believes that?!!!
    To be fair to Starmer, he was trying to make that point in his speech. As I noted at the time, a refreshing change from bedroom tax and foodbanks.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    ydoethur said:

    malcolmg said:

    FPT
    ydoethur said:

    » show previous quotes
    Unless you have left the UK energy market when I wasn’t looking that isn’t relevant.

    @ydoethur, your imperial colonial response highlights why we need independence. As a colony we provide the cheap electricity for The Imperial Masters and yet pay the most for it.

    D’you mean the English?
    What?! You've kept that hidden, ydoethur.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    kle4 said:

    This piece is wrong, three at once would not be extraordinary, it would be astonishingly, incalculably extraordinary.

    I'm not sure what odds would make a bet on any defecting attractive in fairness.

    Maybe - three MPs are heavily invested in the betting market. When the time is right, they defect. And win enough at the bookies to start their own party.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    I have to say, Diane Abbott defecting to the Conservatives would be just about the funniest thing I could imagine happening (other than Boris being swallowed by a whale, of course). I can't image the contortions that would be needed by people on both sides trying to condemn/justify that particular move.

    File under "never going to happen, life just isn't that sweet"
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,836
    edited October 2021

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Sounds like bollocks to me - unless the MPs in question are in a Red Wall doom scenario. And even then, switching parties is not that likely to save them...

    Plus everyone they have built their political career with turning their backs on them....

    Surely being punted to the Lords by Starmer would be a better bet?

    It's more likely to be long-serving MPs who were going to retire anyway at the next election.
    So. Why go through the hassle?
    Especially when you can just go Indy if you have no career to think of.
    Yes - what's in for them, in that case? Burn their boats with the Labour party, making a post politics career harder... all their contacts will be in the wrong party...

    No chance of a peerage, unless they get a deal from Boris.....

    All they would achieve is a kick at Starmer, in return for binning everything.... For about 2 news cycles. Then they would be forgotten.
    Go Indy. Get a cushy quango post on retirement. Or a peerage and an "adviser". Like John Woodcock, or John Mann, for example.
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,279
    edited October 2021

    kle4 said:

    This piece is wrong, three at once would not be extraordinary, it would be astonishingly, incalculably extraordinary.

    I'm not sure what odds would make a bet on any defecting attractive in fairness.

    Maybe - three MPs are heavily invested in the betting market. When the time is right, they defect. And win enough at the bookies to start their own party.
    Misread that last paragraph as "Maybe - three MPs are heavily invested in the betting market. When the time is right, they defect. And win enough at the bookies to shaft their own party."
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    Farooq said:

    I have to say, Diane Abbott defecting to the Conservatives would be just about the funniest thing I could imagine happening (other than Boris being swallowed by a whale, of course). I can't image the contortions that would be needed by people on both sides trying to condemn/justify that particular move.

    File under "never going to happen, life just isn't that sweet"

    Boris would love it, just for the epic trolling it would involve.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    dixiedean said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Sounds like bollocks to me - unless the MPs in question are in a Red Wall doom scenario. And even then, switching parties is not that likely to save them...

    Plus everyone they have built their political career with turning their backs on them....

    Surely being punted to the Lords by Starmer would be a better bet?

    It's more likely to be long-serving MPs who were going to retire anyway at the next election.
    So. Why go through the hassle?
    Especially when you can just go Indy if you have no career to think of.
    Yes - what's in for them, in that case? Burn their boats with the Labour party, making a post politics career harder... all their contacts will be in the wrong party...

    No chance of a peerage, unless they get a deal from Boris.....

    All they would achieve is a kick at Starmer, in return for binning everything.... For about 2 news cycles. Then they would be forgotten.
    Go Indy. Get a cushy quango post on retirement. Or a peerage and an "adviser". Like John Woodcock, or John Mann, for example.
    And going Indy would be a much better sell to their friends and contacts in the Labour Party - "I have temporarily left, due to my anger and disillusionment with the party I have loved my whole live...."
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    dr_spyn said:

    kle4 said:

    This piece is wrong, three at once would not be extraordinary, it would be astonishingly, incalculably extraordinary.

    I'm not sure what odds would make a bet on any defecting attractive in fairness.

    Maybe - three MPs are heavily invested in the betting market. When the time is right, they defect. And win enough at the bookies to start their own party.
    Misread that last paragraph as "Maybe - three MPs are heavily invested in the betting market. When the time is right, they defect. And win enough at the bookies to shaft their own party."
    Hey, that works too....
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    Farooq said:

    I have to say, Diane Abbott defecting to the Conservatives would be just about the funniest thing I could imagine happening (other than Boris being swallowed by a whale, of course). I can't image the contortions that would be needed by people on both sides trying to condemn/justify that particular move.

    File under "never going to happen, life just isn't that sweet"

    Boris would love it, just for the epic trolling it would involve.
    Probably. But there's a certain - ahem - class of voter that Boris has attracted who would be appalled beyond measure.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,280
    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.
  • Wee Doogie making an all-out pitch for the red gone yellow wall? Pretty sure the unspoken adjective in all these references is 'white'.

    Paul Hutcheon
    @paulhutcheon
    59m
    Douglas Ross making an all-out pitch to Labour voters in his Tory conference speech by referring to “working people”, “working Scotland” and “working class”.

    Says: “In May’s election, more working-class Scots voted Scottish Conservatives than Labour.”
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,087
    edited October 2021
    FPT:

    dixiedean said:

    Toms said:

    Toms said:

    felix said:

    Lol.


    Fun that the loudest shouts for needing fuel are coming from London and SE England. You know, that place where they have a vast tube, railway, bus, taxi and Uber network.

    Those households that have two or more cars: do they concentrate their fuel hoarding worries on one car or do they multiply them by a factor??
    We have 2 cars but my wife only does about 160 miles a year !!!!!
    When I grew up we had one car (renewed every ten years or so) and we three boys could use it too as we got our licenses. He never cleaned it having better things to do and knowing full well that it was just a tool and anyway rotting from inside and underneath.

    P/S We walked to school. I believe many kids still do there.
    From secondary, many children in London take public transport, if they can't walk to school.

    There is a whole thing about arranging with friends, who is going to be in which Tube carriage...
    Around half, including First School, are bussed in round here. Quite a number walk.
    Near me, there is a small park. In the mornings, there is a whole row of mini buses/min coaches (5 or 6 of them( taking children to the various private schools. Some are quite a distance away.

    Yet, I remember people saying that school buses were impossible in this country.....
    Memories.

    When I was at an Indendepent Day School in Nottingham:

    1 - Such pupils were banned by the County Council from being in the County Youth Orchestra.
    2 - Such pupils were banned from having bus passes.
    3 - Non local authority bus companies were banned from transporting anyone on journeys within Nottingham City boundary.

    That's how they worked out their petty politics on children.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,068
    ydoethur said:

    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.

    Is there anyone left alive who believes that?!!!
    It's true though. Labour is the party of the workers, Tories of the retired.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    I would imagine if any Labour MPs were to defect they would be in seats where the Tory + BXP vote was significantly bigger than the Labour majority in 2019 ie Red wall seats similar to Hartlepool
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,836
    edited October 2021
    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 38,851
    edited October 2021
    "As Mike Smithson has consistently pointed out it wasn’t Brexit that cost Labour the 2019 general election but Corbyn’s leadership.

    This overeggs it. The 'Get Brexit Done' election versus "Boris" was unwinnable for Labour under any leader. The Corbyn effect was to turn the inevitable defeat into a thrashing.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    edited October 2021

    Wee Doogie making an all-out pitch for the red gone yellow wall? Pretty sure the unspoken adjective in all these references is 'white'.

    Paul Hutcheon
    @paulhutcheon
    59m
    Douglas Ross making an all-out pitch to Labour voters in his Tory conference speech by referring to “working people”, “working Scotland” and “working class”.

    Says: “In May’s election, more working-class Scots voted Scottish Conservatives than Labour.”

    There are 2 Conservative BME MSPs, Pam Gosal and Sandesh Gulhane, a higher percentage than the percentage of SNP BME MSPs
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    Foxy said:

    ydoethur said:

    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.

    Is there anyone left alive who believes that?!!!
    It's true though. Labour is the party of the workers, Tories of the retired.
    The Tories have as big a lead among the 45-65 age group as they do among the 65+ group.

    https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2019-election
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    Foxy said:

    ydoethur said:

    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.

    Is there anyone left alive who believes that?!!!
    It's true though. Labour is the party of the workers, Tories of the retired.
    The Tories have as big a lead among the 45-65 age group as they do among the 65+ group.

    https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2019-election
    Not "as big", surely?
    45-54 = +18
    55-64 = +22
    65+ = +47
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    edited October 2021
    Foxy said:

    ydoethur said:

    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.

    Is there anyone left alive who believes that?!!!
    It's true though. Labour is the party of the workers, Tories of the retired.
    Not true under Cameron, who won all voters over 35 in 2015 and all voters over 25 in 2010.

    Truer under Boris and May but then while they only won voters over 45 post Brexit they also won pensioners by more than Cameron
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,398
    HYUFD said:

    I would imagine if any Labour MPs were to defect they would be in seats where the Tory + BXP vote was significantly bigger than the Labour majority in 2019 ie Red wall seats similar to Hartlepool

    Ed Miliband, Yvette Cooper and A N Other?
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,836

    Foxy said:

    ydoethur said:

    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.

    Is there anyone left alive who believes that?!!!
    It's true though. Labour is the party of the workers, Tories of the retired.
    The Tories have as big a lead among the 45-65 age group as they do among the 65+ group.

    https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2019-election
    That article doesn’t back up your assertion.
    And, even if it did, it would be had, not have, being as how it is nearly two years old.
  • dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,124
    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    Farooq said:

    Foxy said:

    ydoethur said:

    Who would defect? Surely not Blairites as the purple hair crowd keep telling us they now run the party.

    Surely not Corbynites. If they are going to defect it would be to the SWP or some other fringe outfit.

    I can only think that it could possibly be Blue Labourites. The sort of people who think that a person with a penis and testicles is a man. Or that Labour is the party of working people.

    Is there anyone left alive who believes that?!!!
    It's true though. Labour is the party of the workers, Tories of the retired.
    The Tories have as big a lead among the 45-65 age group as they do among the 65+ group.

    https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2019-election
    Not "as big", surely?
    45-54 = +18
    55-64 = +22
    65+ = +47
    Oops, I was looking at the wrong data. Nevertheless it's a big lead among a large number of working age people.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,836
    edited October 2021

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Apparently it is made up by the education establishment to disguise their incompetence.
    I know.

    In an online column in January 2009, Stringer denied the existence of dyslexia, calling it "a cruel fiction" invented by "the education establishment" to divert blame for illiteracy from "their eclectic and incomplete methods for instruction".[5] The charities Dyslexia Action and the British Dyslexia Association criticised Stringer's claims.[6]
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    why?
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,165
    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    I’ve always been sceptical of dyslexia and I’m not the only one:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/sep/17/battle-over-dyslexia-warwickshire-staffordshire

    I never understood the extra time in exams. You don’t get special treatment in the big bad world.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Call me when you find a Real Denier. Someone who denies the existence of Australia, for instance.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    Farooq said:

    I have to say, Diane Abbott defecting to the Conservatives would be just about the funniest thing I could imagine happening (other than Boris being swallowed by a whale, of course). I can't image the contortions that would be needed by people on both sides trying to condemn/justify that particular move.

    File under "never going to happen, life just isn't that sweet"

    Why do you dislike whales so much?
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,280
    edited October 2021
    Renewables generating about two-thirds of UK energy atm.

    https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    @ragipsoylu
    The crisis between Algeria and France is escalating.

    France is no longer allowed to fly over Algerian territory with its military aircraft – which it was doing as part of Operation Barkhane to reach northern Mali, according to Le Figaro


    https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1444652595591753731
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    I’ve always been sceptical of dyslexia and I’m not the only one:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/sep/17/battle-over-dyslexia-warwickshire-staffordshire

    I never understood the extra time in exams. You don’t get special treatment in the big bad world.
    Except you do get special treatment in the big bad world. Hence induction loops, wheelchair ramps, disabled toilets, special paving tiles at pedestrian crosses, and so on.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    ydoethur said:

    Farooq said:

    I have to say, Diane Abbott defecting to the Conservatives would be just about the funniest thing I could imagine happening (other than Boris being swallowed by a whale, of course). I can't image the contortions that would be needed by people on both sides trying to condemn/justify that particular move.

    File under "never going to happen, life just isn't that sweet"

    Why do you dislike whales so much?
    I don't, but one of them can take a hit for the team.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,165
    edited October 2021

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Call me when you find a Real Denier. Someone who denies the existence of Australia, for instance.
    It’s all bullshit. Those roo things? Just made up by a lot of sailors who needed to explain their exotic new STDs.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,836
    Farooq said:

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    I’ve always been sceptical of dyslexia and I’m not the only one:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/sep/17/battle-over-dyslexia-warwickshire-staffordshire

    I never understood the extra time in exams. You don’t get special treatment in the big bad world.
    Except you do get special treatment in the big bad world. Hence induction loops, wheelchair ramps, disabled toilets, special paving tiles at pedestrian crosses, and so on.
    Not to mention private members clubs.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia
  • felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    Nope, I was regularly called Tory scum, the 2015 Tory conference in Manchester was
    a particularly nasty affair.

    A Tory activist friend got gobbed on.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,165
    ydoethur said:

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia
    And how common is that as opposed to dyslexia?
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,145
    ydoethur said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Call me when you find a Real Denier. Someone who denies the existence of Australia, for instance.
    It’s all bullshit. Those roo things? Just made up by a lot of sailors who needed to explain their exotic new STDs.
    Wrong continent (pair of continents actually). You mean llamas and armadillos and so on.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    tlg86 said:

    ydoethur said:

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia
    And how common is that as opposed to dyslexia?
    Good question, because fewer resources are used to diagnose it so it may often just be written off as people being a bit slow with numbers.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,287
    Farooq said:

    I have to say, Diane Abbott defecting to the Conservatives would be just about the funniest thing I could imagine happening (other than Boris being swallowed by a whale, of course). I can't image the contortions that would be needed by people on both sides trying to condemn/justify that particular move.

    File under "never going to happen, life just isn't that sweet"

    The Tories would not accept her, not if they have any sense that is....
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,039
    Andy_JS said:

    Renewables generating about two-thirds of UK energy atm.

    https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk

    Wind is back. Yay!
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    tlg86 said:

    ydoethur said:

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia
    And how common is that as opposed to dyslexia?
    I mean, there is a prevalence figure on the article, and a link from that article to dyslexia that also has a prevalence figure. It takes about 20 seconds to check.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    Farooq said:

    I have to say, Diane Abbott defecting to the Conservatives would be just about the funniest thing I could imagine happening (other than Boris being swallowed by a whale, of course). I can't image the contortions that would be needed by people on both sides trying to condemn/justify that particular move.

    File under "never going to happen, life just isn't that sweet"

    The Tories would not accept her, not if they have any sense that is....
    So they would accept her?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    ydoethur said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Call me when you find a Real Denier. Someone who denies the existence of Australia, for instance.
    It’s all bullshit. Those roo things? Just made up by a lot of sailors who needed to explain their exotic new STDs.
    Yeah - a place where there are Black Swans? A national animal consisting of a duck ducktaped to an otter? A mammal with venomous spikes that lays eggs?
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    Farooq said:

    I have to say, Diane Abbott defecting to the Conservatives would be just about the funniest thing I could imagine happening (other than Boris being swallowed by a whale, of course). I can't image the contortions that would be needed by people on both sides trying to condemn/justify that particular move.

    File under "never going to happen, life just isn't that sweet"

    The Tories would not accept her, not if they have any sense that is....
    I agree, but the idea was raised in the article above and deserves some kind of response.
  • dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Call me when you find a Real Denier. Someone who denies the existence of Australia, for instance.
    ROS (mournfully): Not even England. I don't believe in it anyway.
    GUIL: What?
    ROS: England.
    GUIL: Just a conspiracy of cartographers, you mean?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    I’ve always been sceptical of dyslexia and I’m not the only one:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/sep/17/battle-over-dyslexia-warwickshire-staffordshire

    I never understood the extra time in exams. You don’t get special treatment in the big bad world.
    Would you believe me if I told you it certainly exists, and I have taught highly intelligent pupils who suffered badly from it?

    That doesn’t mean that there are not a significant number of pupils who are given somewhat dubious diagnoses at the prompting of parents unwilling to accept that their offspring are perhaps not quite as bright as that think they are.
    I spend an awful lot of my time preparing resources with the right coloured backgrounds for those with that aspect of dyslexia.

    It became slightly interesting when some dull twat moved a boy who needed blue backgrounds into the same class as a girl who need yellow ones.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Call me when you find a Real Denier. Someone who denies the existence of Australia, for instance.
    ROS (mournfully): Not even England. I don't believe in it anyway.
    GUIL: What?
    ROS: England.
    GUIL: Just a conspiracy of cartographers, you mean?
    https://westwing.fandom.com/wiki/Organization_of_Cartographers_for_Social_Equality
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,145
    edited October 2021
    ydoethur said:

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia
    "Difficulty stating which of two numbers is larger"
    "A "warped" sense of spatial awareness, or an understanding of shapes, distance, or volume that seems more like guesswork than actual comprehension"

    I do wonder about some of us.

    But seriously, it does sound a real problem.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 14,878

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Astonishingly high rate of students who need extra time in exams at my gaff. If I were a cynic, I’d suggest gaming the system for extra time.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    Carnyx said:

    ydoethur said:

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia
    "Difficulty stating which of two numbers is larger"
    "A "warped" sense of spatial awareness, or an understanding of shapes, distance, or volume that seems more like guesswork than actual comprehension"

    I do wonder about some of us.

    But seriously, it does sound a real problem.
    Borismania and dyscalculia are different disorders.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,248
    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    They definitely exist. As does dyspraxia, I had a longtime girlfriend with dyspraxia, she kept dropping things and falling over, sometimes to an infuriating extent. Smashing five wine glasses in an evening and so on. It also affected her education as she was incapable of organising notes and revision. Even tho she was super bright.

    A strange syndrome. Luckily for her she was also sexy and funny so everyone forgave the broken glassware and crockery. I still have a stain on my living room ceiling from when she managed to cover it with mustard opening a jar. The CEILING
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,165

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    I’ve always been sceptical of dyslexia and I’m not the only one:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/sep/17/battle-over-dyslexia-warwickshire-staffordshire

    I never understood the extra time in exams. You don’t get special treatment in the big bad world.
    Would you believe me if I told you it certainly exists, and I have taught highly intelligent pupils who suffered badly from it?

    That doesn’t mean that there are not a significant number of pupils who are given somewhat dubious diagnoses at the prompting of parents unwilling to accept that their offspring are perhaps not quite as bright as that think they are.
    If it does exist, I’m not sure why we should differentiate between the two.

    You make it sound like there are some pupils who deserve to be good at everything.

    Disclosure: in my year 9 SATS (they’re coming back, apparently), I got an 8 in maths, a 7 in science and a 5 in English. I felt like a failure, but I certainly wasn’t going to hide behind any condition.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    edited October 2021

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    Nope, I was regularly called Tory scum, the 2015 Tory conference in Manchester was
    a particularly nasty affair.

    A Tory activist friend got gobbed on.
    I expect some of the more aggressive Labour members have now returned to the Socialist Workers Party or TUSC or Leninist Peoples' Front or the Greens now their hero Corbyn has gone and 'Tory lite' Starmer is in charge.

    Hopefully will therefore be a little more civilised as fewer of them can be bothered to go to the conferences to cheer for Keir than Jezza and harass the blues
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Call me when you find a Real Denier. Someone who denies the existence of Australia, for instance.
    ROS (mournfully): Not even England. I don't believe in it anyway.
    GUIL: What?
    ROS: England.
    GUIL: Just a conspiracy of cartographers, you mean?
    ROS: Oh no - we've been voting Conservative for as long as I remember.
    GUIL: How long is that?
    ROS: I forget. Mind you - eighty-five times!
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    Leon said:

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    They definitely exist. As does dyspraxia, I had a longtime girlfriend with dyspraxia, she kept dropping things and falling over, sometimes to an infuriating extent. Smashing five wine glasses in an evening and so on. It also affected her education as she was incapable of organising notes and revision. Even tho she was super bright.

    A strange syndrome. Luckily for her she was also sexy and funny so everyone forgave the broken glassware and crockery. I still have a stain on my living room ceiling from when she managed to cover it with mustard opening a jar. The CEILING
    Is this a euphemism for her falling off at the wrong moment, Leon? When you were, umm, using your real equipment not a flint dildo?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    Incidentally, a question for Cyclefree.

    Isn't it high time someone did an audit on James Bond? Civil servant on a middle rank salary. Access to lots of secret information. "Loses" or "Destroys" vast quantities of expensive, secret equipment on a regular basis. Spends like a drunk sailor. Claims to make up the difference by wining in Casinos...

    Isn't that *all* the pointers to criminal behaviour?
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 4,746
    This doesn't add up - how you could go through the whole Corbyn thing - and only now (when Starmer is dealing with the left); you defect to the Tories?

  • Is 1/2 in decimal betting 1.5 or 1.67?

    I'm not sure what formula the maths uses for conversions?
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,124
    Farooq said:

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    why?
    I am a Tory and I don't consider it acceptable to be described generically in that manner in a thread header.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,145

    Incidentally, a question for Cyclefree.

    Isn't it high time someone did an audit on James Bond? Civil servant on a middle rank salary. Access to lots of secret information. "Loses" or "Destroys" vast quantities of expensive, secret equipment on a regular basis. Spends like a drunk sailor. Claims to make up the difference by wining in Casinos...

    Isn't that *all* the pointers to criminal behaviour?

    The murders don't count so much as the receipts, or lack thereof?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,751
    darkage said:

    This doesn't add up - how you could go through the whole Corbyn thing - and only now (when Starmer is dealing with the left); you defect to the Tories?

    Being saying for years Johnson and Corbyn are two cheeks of the same arse.

    And BJO has said the same.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    felix said:

    Farooq said:

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    why?
    I am a Tory and I don't consider it acceptable to be described generically in that manner in a thread header.
    And the quotes would help with that?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    Incidentally, a question for Cyclefree.

    Isn't it high time someone did an audit on James Bond? Civil servant on a middle rank salary. Access to lots of secret information. "Loses" or "Destroys" vast quantities of expensive, secret equipment on a regular basis. Spends like a drunk sailor. Claims to make up the difference by wining in Casinos...

    Isn't that *all* the pointers to criminal behaviour?

    Often goes incommunicado whilst on suspiciously frequent expensive foreign trips.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    edited October 2021

    Is 1/2 in decimal betting 1.5 or 1.67?

    I'm not sure what formula the maths uses for conversions?

    1.5 (on Betfair anyway). 1.67 would be 2/3
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,124

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    Nope, I was regularly called Tory scum, the 2015 Tory conference in Manchester was
    a particularly nasty affair.

    A Tory activist friend got gobbed on.
    Then why would you legitimise the phrase in a thread header?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    edited October 2021
    felix said:

    Farooq said:

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    why?
    I am a Tory and I don't consider it acceptable to be described generically in that manner in a thread header.
    I always used to enjoy reflecting the insults back to people. Somehow they don't like their own words applied to themselves.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,039
    iain watson
    @iainjwatson
    ·
    1h
    Former
    @Conservatives
    cabinet minister Lord Willetts - now President of the
    @resfoundation
    - warns that if the government goes ahead with the #universalcredit cut 'it will own the living standards challenge'
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,398

    Andy_JS said:

    Renewables generating about two-thirds of UK energy atm.

    https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk

    Wind is back. Yay!
    I remind everyone that natural gas demand for heating is way higher than electricity demand. This graph illustrates the point...

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513004655#f0005

    Gas demand shoots up when it gets colder to a much greater extent than when the wind drops off.
  • felix said:

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    Nope, I was regularly called Tory scum, the 2015 Tory conference in Manchester was
    a particularly nasty affair.

    A Tory activist friend got gobbed on.
    Then why would you legitimise the phrase in a thread header?
    I'm not, it is a lived experience for me.

    Don't be a snowflake.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,165
    I know why dyslexia is a thing, there is a bigger stigma around reading and writing. Far more people struggle with even basic maths, so it doesn’t matter nearly as much.
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 7,461

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    I’ve always been sceptical of dyslexia and I’m not the only one:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/sep/17/battle-over-dyslexia-warwickshire-staffordshire

    I never understood the extra time in exams. You don’t get special treatment in the big bad world.
    Would you believe me if I told you it certainly exists, and I have taught highly intelligent pupils who suffered badly from it?

    That doesn’t mean that there are not a significant number of pupils who are given somewhat dubious diagnoses at the prompting of parents unwilling to accept that their offspring are perhaps not quite as bright as that think they are.
    Spot on. Dyslexia is very real. But it's also over-diagnosed; mainly because middle and upper class parents push for the diagnosis when their little darlings are poor at spelling and/or other aspects of English. Educational psychologists are on occasion complicit in this over-diagnosis.
  • kjhkjh Posts: 10,458

    @MarqueeMark who said 'Fun that the loudest shouts for needing fuel are coming from London and SE England. You know, that place where they have a vast tube, railway, bus, taxi and Uber network.'

    Have to call out this bollocks. As discussed the other day although this might be true for London, it is not at all true for the SE. There is no tube, nearly all train lines are to and from London for commuters and useless for anything else and buses are non existent in most places.

    I haven't complained about the fuel shortage at all but to try and put that argument forward as a dig at the SE is beyond preposterous.
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,124

    felix said:

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    Nope, I was regularly called Tory scum, the 2015 Tory conference in Manchester was
    a particularly nasty affair.

    A Tory activist friend got gobbed on.
    Then why would you legitimise the phrase in a thread header?
    I'm not, it is a lived experience for me.

    Don't be a snowflake.
    Farooq said:

    felix said:

    Farooq said:

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    why?
    I am a Tory and I don't consider it acceptable to be described generically in that manner in a thread header.
    And the quotes would help with that?
    By emphasising it's links to those who use the term in common conversation.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    kle4 said:

    Incidentally, a question for Cyclefree.

    Isn't it high time someone did an audit on James Bond? Civil servant on a middle rank salary. Access to lots of secret information. "Loses" or "Destroys" vast quantities of expensive, secret equipment on a regular basis. Spends like a drunk sailor. Claims to make up the difference by wining in Casinos...

    Isn't that *all* the pointers to criminal behaviour?

    Often goes incommunicado whilst on suspiciously frequent expensive foreign trips.
    Gone AWOL multiple times. On one occasion got mixed up with an international drug dealer and was seen depositing giant suitcases of cash in the said drug dealers personal bank.

    Good friends with senior members of secret services of countries hostile to the UK... Russia, China. One at least one occasion travelled on documents and with money provided by the Chinese secret service - while on the run from SIS!
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    Incidentally, a question for Cyclefree.

    Isn't it high time someone did an audit on James Bond? Civil servant on a middle rank salary. Access to lots of secret information. "Loses" or "Destroys" vast quantities of expensive, secret equipment on a regular basis. Spends like a drunk sailor. Claims to make up the difference by wining in Casinos...

    Isn't that *all* the pointers to criminal behaviour?

    He is on expenses every time we see him in action. Bought the Bentley cheap as a write-off. No suggestion he has a regular income as a gambler, gives away both sets of winnings in Goldfinger, refuses a dowry from Tracy's uber-rich criminal dad when they marry in OHMSS. As Kingsley Amis pointed out the medical report on him in Thunderball says he routinely drinks vodka at 65-70% proof, and that strength vodka is fairly non-fancy stuff, so he is cautious about spending his own money. No case to answer, in other words.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    I’ve always been sceptical of dyslexia and I’m not the only one:

    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/sep/17/battle-over-dyslexia-warwickshire-staffordshire

    I never understood the extra time in exams. You don’t get special treatment in the big bad world.
    Would you believe me if I told you it certainly exists, and I have taught highly intelligent pupils who suffered badly from it?

    That doesn’t mean that there are not a significant number of pupils who are given somewhat dubious diagnoses at the prompting of parents unwilling to accept that their offspring are perhaps not quite as bright as that think they are.
    Spot on. Dyslexia is very real. But it's also over-diagnosed; mainly because middle and upper class parents push for the diagnosis when their little darlings are poor at spelling and/or other aspects of English. Educational psychologists are on occasion complicit in this over-diagnosis.
    I think it is one of those things that people casually self diagnose (or diagnose for their little darling), like being 'a little OCD' or having Aspergers.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,398
    Leon said:

    tlg86 said:

    dixiedean said:

    Andy_JS said:

    On the VoteUK forum the MP for Blackley and Broughton's name has been mentioned a few times.

    Climate change and dyslexia (WTF?) denier. Strong Brexiter. Anti-lockdowner. Now that I can see. One wonders why he has been in Labour this long.
    Age 71.
    May be a touch right-wing for this Tory Party.
    Dyslexia denier? Not heard of that before.

    Dyslexia definitely exists and I have worked wit pupils for whom it was a crippling problem.

    If they were on about pupils whose parents pay for an ed-psych to give them a dyslexia diagnosis so they can get 25% more time in exams despite being no worse at spelling than I am, then I might be a bit more sympathetic.
    Do you think there is something specific that makes some - apparently bright children (as opposed to thickos) - struggle with reading and writing? We don’t do this with maths.
    They definitely exist. As does dyspraxia, I had a longtime girlfriend with dyspraxia, she kept dropping things and falling over, sometimes to an infuriating extent. Smashing five wine glasses in an evening and so on. It also affected her education as she was incapable of organising notes and revision. Even tho she was super bright.

    A strange syndrome. Luckily for her she was also sexy and funny so everyone forgave the broken glassware and crockery. I still have a stain on my living room ceiling from when she managed to cover it with mustard opening a jar. The CEILING
    "I still have a stain on my living room ceiling from when she..."

    I was wondering where that sentence was heading.
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,124

    felix said:

    felix said:

    "In my experience Labour Party members and MPs are most unlikely to defect to the Tory scum,."

    Are you not missing some inverted commas before the last 2 words there?

    Nope, I was regularly called Tory scum, the 2015 Tory conference in Manchester was
    a particularly nasty affair.

    A Tory activist friend got gobbed on.
    Then why would you legitimise the phrase in a thread header?
    I'm not, it is a lived experience for me.

    Don't be a snowflake.
    Not being a snowflake at all - we have enough unpleasant use of abusive terms on the site as it is, without normalising it in thread headers. But whatever.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    edited October 2021
    Lower attendance at Tory conference this year it seems, probably more Tory members drive and so it would cost more to travel and difficult with the petrol shortages and fewer can get time off work than Labour members plus fewer Tory than Labour students able to go to conference

    https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1444664023438569477?s=20
This discussion has been closed.