DavidL said:

There is a long and fine tradition of hat eating but if turnout in any of the Scottish regions reaches 80% after this lacklustre campaign I will join them.

The_Taxman said:

John McDonnell is a far superior performer to Jeremy Corbyn.

I have up until today been a staunch Conservative voter, however since voting Conservative for the last time in the 2015 General Election I have slowly but surely moved toward the Labour party. I voted Labour in the local elections and Labour as my first choice for PPC, I chose the Lib Dems for my second vote.

The Conservatives under Cameron and Osborne are not One Nation Conservatives but rather Thatcherites of the most extreme order. The punitive cost of their administration on the poor and vulnerable has forced me to cross the Rubicon from Tory voter to Labour supporter despite the Corbyn takeover. I don’t like Corbyn’s defence policy or his immigration free for all. However, I thought voting Labour sends a better signal to the two chumps in Downing street than spoiling my ballot.

So, I took the bull by the horns today and thought in my own way to mount a solitary signal to Cameron and Osborne, which is F**k You! You have failed and are useless pair who need to be removed asap.

I did think about saving my protest until the European referendum, however I see no advantage in exit so I thought I would get my little protest in first and vote to remain in the EU later.

Democracy is a beautiful thing!

matt said:

I'm sure that the last paragraph's correct re the selectorate but are there enough willing MPs who will act as nominee for McDonnell? One for Nick Palmer, perhaps.

The final sentence is the faintest of praise as well.

AndyJS said:

Have any Tories conceded they haven't won the London mayoral election yet?

TCPoliticalBetting said:

Sandpit said:

The_Taxman said:

Floater said:

The_Taxman said:

John McDonnell is a far superior performer to Jeremy Corbyn.

LOL - of course mate, of course.

I kid you not Floater and Tyson, I did vote Labour for the first time today. I have found that my income has been frozen by the Tory government until 2019 and the much vaunted reduction in social rents that Cameron keeps boasting about means I have to pay the 1 % change as my social landlord increased the amount I am liable for so stuff Cameron is my view! People might say I am a nutter for doing this because ideologically I am a Tory but I wanted to get my protest in now as I don't think Cameron is going to be around long.

Have you not benefitted from the doubling of the personal allowance since 2010?

Does not earn enough to benefit?

That is correct. My circumstances are I am not in work. I am just making the point that even someone who was once a staunch conservative can be repelled into voting Labour because of government actions.

I mean if Cameron has the money to cut Capital gains tax in the last budget, why did they have to freeze my income till 2019? I don't want to go any further into my circumstances but I am in the lower quintile of income. Maybe I am going against the grain and I do think Labour would be a sad failure in government with Corbyn at the helm. But I was not voting for a government today, just some monkey spanker who would have got in anyway on the local council and a PCC I voted for whose name I don't even know?! What can go wrong when I am protest voting.

Ave_it said:

Not as exciting as this time last year!

Will the polls be wrong?

Will CON get an overall majority in London?!

AlastairMeeks said:

Welcome @The_Taxman

In case you're new to the site:

I'll tell you how it's going to be, it's one for Remain, 19 for Leave.

HYUFD said:

RobD said:

Dixie said:

Will there be an exit poll on TV at 10 pm does anyone know?

I don't think there will be an exit poll.

No, you will start to get projected voteshares come out as the first results come in from 11pm

stodge said:

Evening all

Remember the Golden Rule of PoliticalBetting.com:

Anyone who posts between 10pm and 6am is SAD
Anyone who posts between 6am and 2pm is MAD
Anyone who posts between 2pm and 10pm is BAD

Scott_P said:

AndyJS said:

Have any Tories conceded they haven't won the London mayoral election yet?

You mean counting our 33/1 winnings?

AlastairMeeks said:

Welcome @The_Taxman

In case you're new to the site:

I'll tell you how it's going to be, it's one for Remain, 19 for Leave.

Ave_it said:

Liverpool!

4th team in premier league feeling worried now!

(Do Liverpool get the nod in CL over the 4th place team if they win Europa Cop?)

foxinsoxuk said:

stodge said:

Evening all

Remember the Golden Rule of PoliticalBetting.com:

Anyone who posts between 10pm and 6am is SAD
Anyone who posts between 6am and 2pm is MAD
Anyone who posts between 2pm and 10pm is BAD

Oh dear. Trebly qualified :-(

tyson said:

Yes

Ave_it said:

Liverpool!

4th team in premier league feeling worried now!

(Do Liverpool get the nod in CL over the 4th place team if they win Europa Cop?)

tlg86 said:

tyson said:

Yes

Ave_it said:

Liverpool!

4th team in premier league feeling worried now!

(Do Liverpool get the nod in CL over the 4th place team if they win Europa Cop?)

No, we get five places if Liverpool win it. Fourth place was only in danger if City won the Champions League, Liverpool won the Europa League and both finished outside the Top 4.

tyson said:

Great stuff Nick. I need to think of a different excuse when I haven't done something..the dog ate it doesn't quite cut it....

I can still think back to this time a year ago, back in Beeston, Broxtowe....happy times, well sort of.... if you get the result to the back of your mind. Provided I do not go down with dementia, it'll count as a lifelong memory.

BTW- did you get news of Peter the Punter?

Plato_Says said:

another_richard said:

Scott_P said:

The_Taxman said:

John McDonnell is a far superior performer to Jeremy Corbyn.

I have up until today been a staunch Conservative voter

Phil "Us Blues" Roberts is dead. Long live "The Taxman"

I see I wasn't the only person to remember the infamous Phil Roberts.

A true legend.

Alanbrooke said:

SeanT said:

ON topic, I've just spent four days in Lyon and the Beaujolais, the "gastronomic capital" of France. I did five Michelin-starred restaurants in that time

The wine was very agreeable, the landscapes are heavenly, the history absorbing, the people surprisingly friendly, like Geordies in the sun.

BUT JESUS HOW FUCKING SHIT IS FRENCH FOOD, NOW?

It's like it's stuck in some late 80s time warp of crap fusion foods and stupid complicated food and grotesquely over-elaborate bollocks that a savvy Brit would laugh to scorn. I've had several dishes which were outright disgusting on this trip. And this is the "gastronomic capital" of the country. And I'm eating in "top" restaurants.

If this trip is anything to go by, I wouldn't put France in my top five global cuisines. The food in Spain and Italy is infiinitely better, likewise Japan and Thailand, the food in Britain is better, the food in London is miles better, the food in fecking Ireland was better when I went there last year.

Desole. Just had to vent. Can't do it anywhere else as it would seem ungrateful.


But it is true. France is gripped by some weird malaise and now it's so bad it's seriously affecting the FOOD

It's not just the food it's the whole country. France is stagnating. It's stuck somewhere in 1985

murali_s said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Sky rather than bbc, nothing to do with political bias, quality & speed of coverage has been far better since the dreaded BBC 2010 GE coverage with their cruise of the demented. Sky has trasher who is far more on the ball.

I, like many in this country, love the BBC but I actually though their 2015 coverage was worse. Think Dimbleby is the problem...

FrancisUrquhart said:

Sky rather than bbc, nothing to do with political bias, quality & speed of coverage has been far better since the dreaded BBC 2010 GE coverage with their cruise of the demented. Sky has trasher who is far more on the ball.

Alanbrooke said:

SeanT said:

ON topic, I've just spent four days in Lyon and the Beaujolais, the "gastronomic capital" of France. I did five Michelin-starred restaurants in that time

The wine was very agreeable, the landscapes are heavenly, the history absorbing, the people surprisingly friendly, like Geordies in the sun.

BUT JESUS HOW FUCKING SHIT IS FRENCH FOOD, NOW?

It's like it's stuck in some late 80s time warp of crap fusion foods and stupid complicated food and grotesquely over-elaborate bollocks that a savvy Brit would laugh to scorn. I've had several dishes which were outright disgusting on this trip. And this is the "gastronomic capital" of the country. And I'm eating in "top" restaurants.

If this trip is anything to go by, I wouldn't put France in my top five global cuisines. The food in Spain and Italy is infiinitely better, likewise Japan and Thailand, the food in Britain is better, the food in London is miles better, the food in fecking Ireland was better when I went there last year.

Desole. Just had to vent. Can't do it anywhere else as it would seem ungrateful.


But it is true. France is gripped by some weird malaise and now it's so bad it's seriously affecting the FOOD

It's not just the food it's the whole country. France is stagnating. It's stuck somewhere in 1985

FrancisUrquhart said:

Phil Roberts that's a blast the past along with Martin day (who wasn't called Martin or day)

Ave_it said:

#zac

Sandpit said:

Fenster said:

tyson said:

Yes- or no. Someone explained it to me but at that stage Man City were still in the CL and could have slipped out of the top 4, despite winning the CL. Help please...

Ave_it said:

Liverpool!

4th team in premier league feeling worried now!

(Do Liverpool get the nod in CL over the 4th place team if they win Europa Cop?)

Man Utd are only 4 points behind them in the league with a game in hand..one slip and City might not finish Top 4

But Ciy can't win the CL any more. The top 4 will all qualify for next year's CL, as will Liverpool if they win the UEFA final in a couple of weeks

Scott_P said:

@SkyNewsBreak: Sky Sources: Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham is considering running for Manchester mayor

AlastairMeeks said:

French cuisine, like Italian cuisine, is stifled by the idea that things are right or wrong, not traditional or innovative. Other cultures with a less strong heritage are less afraid to experiment.

Scott_P said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Scott_P said:

@paulwaugh: Blimey. If @andyburnhammp runs for Mayor of Manchester, something really could be up, coup wise

He will have probably changed his mind by tomorrow...

@STJamesl: "It is early days and no decision has been made" - Burnham spokesman on mayor of Manchester

Scott_P said:

@paulwaugh: Blimey. If @andyburnhammp runs for Mayor of Manchester, something really could be up, coup wise

Scott_P said:

@SkyNewsBreak: Sky Sources: Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham is considering running for Manchester mayor

AlastairMeeks said:

French cuisine, like Italian cuisine, is stifled by the idea that things are right or wrong, not traditional or innovative. Other cultures with a less strong heritage are less afraid to experiment.

AlastairMeeks said:

French cuisine, like Italian cuisine, is stifled by the idea that things are right or wrong, not traditional or innovative. Other cultures with a less strong heritage are less afraid to experiment.

tyson said:

Agreed. French food is horrible and strictly for carnivores. The wine is expensive. The food is expensive. They hate the English. I spent the two European football nights there last week watching the footie in bars alone as I was driving back home...Chamonix and Cambria...one night I got chatted up by some French notright who offered to fund me to spend the summer with him, the next I got set on by three French oiks.... Unpleasant.

SeanT said:

ON topic, I've just spent four days in Lyon and the Beaujolais, the "gastronomic capital" of France. I did five Michelin-starred restaurants in that time

The wine was very agreeable, the landscapes are heavenly, the history absorbing, the people surprisingly friendly, like Geordies in the sun.

BUT JESUS HOW FUCKING SHIT IS FRENCH FOOD, NOW?

It's like it's stuck in some late 80s time warp of crap fusion foods and stupid complicated food and grotesquely over-elaborate bollocks that a savvy Brit would laugh to scorn. I've had several dishes which were outright disgusting on this trip. And this is the "gastronomic capital" of the country. And I'm eating in "top" restaurants.

If this trip is anything to go by, I wouldn't put France in my top five global cuisines. The food in Spain and Italy is infiinitely better, likewise Japan and Thailand, the food in Britain is better, the food in London is miles better, the food in fecking Ireland was better when I went there last year.

Desole. Just had to vent. Can't do it anywhere else as it would seem ungrateful.


But it is true. France is gripped by some weird malaise and now it's so bad it's seriously affecting the FOOD

Hertsmere_Pubgoer said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Phil Roberts that's a blast the past along with Martin day (who wasn't called Martin or day)

TBF Martin Day was very close with his call on the LD's

MJW said:

HYUFD said:

MJW said:

david_herdson said:

Jonathan said:

Lisa Nandy. 20%? I don't get it. What has she done to be a contender? You can sort of, maybe, just about, see a case for Starmer or Jarvis. But even then, th

Starmer could probably cut it as a possible PM. Whether

.

No, it has to be a big hitter before the election, Nandy is not that and not in the front-rank of the Shadow Cabinet. McDonnell or Hilary Benn are the only alternatives to Corbyn pre-2020, most likely McDonnell

I disagree - the key group of voters in any future Labour leadership election are those who voted Corbyn not because they agree the wilder bits of his worldview but because they (misguidedly) wanted to shut the door on any whiff of Blair's third way politics. They likely still support him now, because although they know it's a doomed enterprise, but prefer the thrill of entertaining dreams than being lectured about electability and economic competence. To win them over any candidate has to be:

1. A fresh face who didn't serve under Blair or Brown and so can't be tainted by association.
2. From the left of the party and trusted to run on an anti-austerity program, even while junking the really mad bits of Corbynism.
3. For the above reasons, and to win over the unions excepting the PCS, a bit of a blank slate who people can project hopes on to.

If Corbyn is toppled there's surely room for a candidate to pitch themselves as the future of his left-wing platform over McDonnell who'd be a continuity candidate in a situation where the party was in turmoil and likely to split if he won. It would descend into a game of chicken, but if a candidate like Nandy wins it would allow both sides (excepting the zealots) to jump before the crash.

McDonnell v Benn, whoever wins the party splits - if its McDonnell moderates admit total defeat and look to set up a new party, its Benn the Momentumers go mad and basically do the same - probably with McDonnell given his past comments.

She's got more experience than Jarvis and Starmer and has an excellent media manner - we just don't see too much of her because she's not really staunchly in either camp.

Plus of course, remember what Ed's job was before he became leader and he beat the party's Shadow Foreign Sec, Schools minister and chief economic thinker, Shadow Health secretary, oh and Diane Abbott.