Unite faces new seat-rigging allegations The Unite union has been dragged back into the row over seat-rigging in Falkirk after it emerged the son of a prospective Labour MP was signed up to vote on the party's candidate choice despite living in Glasgow.
Doesn't the polling suggest that Southam Observer is correct, the anti-Tory vote is back with a vengence, after a combination of Brown, and Cameron's "detox", reduced its impact in 2010?
The very fact that Labour's share is so stable thanks to 2010 Lib + Lab.
And the way non-Tory voters in marginals are behaving, as Mike points out (more likely than average to be supporting the Tory challenger, whether LD or Lab)
There is great excitement about why the Treasury has decided to do this now. But one very simple explanation is that payday loans have only in the past few weeks moved from the Business department to the Treasury’s remit. This is still rather amusing as they were the domain of Lib Dems Jo Swinson and Vince Cable and now a Conservative chancellor is slapping them with more regulation. But the change of policy has as much to do with administration rather than a Damascene conversion forced by Labour.
@FraserNelson: Let me get this straight: restraining rip-off energy companies=socialism. But restraining rip-off payday loans companies='on your side'.
During the Omnishambles any backbenchers defending Osbornes positions learned they would see the policy they had been defending changed an hour later, here we go again
I know its a little complex for you, but Miliband's Madness (tm) wrt the energy companies is more than 'restraining'.
Also, energy is of vital national interest. Payday loans are not.
We've tried educating you enough times, but you still don't seem to be able to understand.
@FraserNelson: Let me get this straight: restraining rip-off energy companies=socialism. But restraining rip-off payday loans companies='on your side'.
During the Omnishambles any backbenchers defending Osbornes positions learned they would see the policy they had been defending changed an hour later, here we go again
Boringly bad point, different trades have always been subject to different levels of regulation. There's already legislation against credit bargains at unconscionable rates of interest. There isn't about unconscionable domestic energy prices.
On energy bills, another outing for Ed the Consistent's well judged remarks in 2010:
"There are a whole variety of people who are sceptical, but who they are is less important than what they are saying, and what they are saying is profoundly dangerous,' he said. The danger of climate scepticism, he said, was that it would foster dissent against unpopular decisions such increases in energy bills and investment in wind turbines, which are essential to tackle environmental issues."
Don't worry he gets a bit of state control of the labour market in for you too.
A month ago it was going to cause a bubble - now you are against it because it is political - make your mind up..
I'd thought you'd have agreed with Randall, you would have done if it'd been a Labour Chancellor introducing it.
Only a fool wouldn't agree with Randall - this is not for economic reasons it is for political reasons - the govt wants more people to own their homes rather than buy to let landlords.
It's a bit like the NHS tim - it's not there for economic reasons - its political.
"Labour Party Properties Ltd secured a loan of £3.8m from the bank at 2.88% interest, with a commercial property broker quoted by the paper claiming the party had paid "half the rate of interest that the rest of us would pay."
What it shows is that the state can and does interfere in the workings of the free market; so rendering the argument that Ed Miliband has been proposing extreme left-wing policies utterly absurd. Though anyone with half a brain knew that already.
Trotty is also a massive spurs fan but that's the least of his issues by the sounds of it.
Great great player.
I don't think there was anything wrong with what Warner said. He said Trott looked "weak" and "scared". He did. I'd look scared on a bouncy pitch facing 93mph bowling.
England players and commentators may have been a bit more subtle about it but in 2009 they were basically laughing at Mitchell Johnson. They weren't at the Gabba.
I like Warner's honesty. I like a bit of confrontation. It's much more inspiring that then usual PC, prosaic answers given by sportsmen. Compared to the stuff they say to eachother on pitch (heard through the stump mic's) it was nothing. England are whingeing.
Trott is a very good player but he does struggle against the short ball. Australia have exploited that, got him out cheaply and let him know they have his number. That's good cricket in my book.
The mental illness story is very sad but I hope Warner doesn't apologise. I like the spice in sport - makes it much more fun.
Poor team whinging about getting stuffed, it shows the continual decline of the country, they cannot even lose at sport like gentleman nowadays, start crying for their mummy.
@FraserNelson: Let me get this straight: restraining rip-off energy companies=socialism. But restraining rip-off payday loans companies='on your side'.
During the Omnishambles any backbenchers defending Osbornes positions learned they would see the policy they had been defending changed an hour later, here we go again
I know its a little complex for you, but Miliband's Madness (tm) wrt the energy companies is more than 'restraining'.
Also, energy is of vital national interest. Payday loans are not.
We've tried educating you enough times, but you still don't seem to be able to understand.
Shouldn't you stick to explaining how to tie a reef knot or something.
Thus showing you've lot the argument. Well done!
(I also like the fact that you think that having a skill - such as your invented one of being able to tie knots - is in some way an insult).
Even by Labour's smear standards, it's laughable.
Nick Palmer did a much better one when he accused me of being a stalker. Which he has still not apologised for ...
On topic: We need to be very careful not to double-count. Nick P has been making the argument that the LibDem switchers - some 5% of voters - give a boost to Labour which makes it very likely that Labour will win the election, at least in terms of most seats and perhaps a majority.
Well, maybe. But if that is so, then isn't it very odd that the Labour lead in the polls isn't much bigger? Those LibDem switchers are already in the Labour lead, which by historic standards is very low for this point in the parliamentary term. Hopi Sen is quite right to point out that a substantial proportion of 2010 LibDem voters (and, for that matter, of 2010 Labour and Conservative voters) are currently Don't Knows or Not Sures. No doubt also some people who are currently expressing a preference will change their minds, or not actually get round to voting, or will vote tactically when push comes to shove.
Rather than focus on one segment - 2010 LibDems - we need to look at the whole picture, which is best summed up by the headline voting intention figures of reputable pollsters. These figures are mildly encouraging for Labour in that they have a steady lead, but it's a small lead compared with the typical shifts you get over 18 months leading up to an election. Nothing is cast in stone, there's a year and a half to go, and historically polls this far out are a poor indicator of the final result.
Trotty is also a massive spurs fan but that's the least of his issues by the sounds of it.
Great great player.
I don't think there was anything wrong with what Warner said. He said Trott looked "weak" and "scared". He did. I'd look scared on a bouncy pitch facing 93mph bowling.
England players and commentators may have been a bit more subtle about it but in 2009 they were basically laughing at Mitchell Johnson. They weren't at the Gabba.
I like Warner's honesty. I like a bit of confrontation. It's much more inspiring that then usual PC, prosaic answers given by sportsmen. Compared to the stuff they say to eachother on pitch (heard through the stump mic's) it was nothing. England are whingeing.
Trott is a very good player but he does struggle against the short ball. Australia have exploited that, got him out cheaply and let him know they have his number. That's good cricket in my book.
The mental illness story is very sad but I hope Warner doesn't apologise. I like the spice in sport - makes it much more fun.
Poor team whinging about getting stuffed, it shows the continual decline of the country, they cannot even lose at sport like gentleman nowadays, start crying for their mummy.
In fairness, they don't have as much practice at losing as the Scots....as Alex Massie recently observed "Scotland was lucky to get nil".
Meanwhile, your attitude to mental illness remains, distinctive.......
Trotty is also a massive spurs fan but that's the least of his issues by the sounds of it.
Great great player.
I don't think there was anything wrong with what Warner said. He said Trott looked "weak" and "scared". He did. I'd look scared on a bouncy pitch facing 93mph bowling.
England players and commentators may have been a bit more subtle about it but in 2009 they were basically laughing at Mitchell Johnson. They weren't at the Gabba.
I like Warner's honesty. I like a bit of confrontation. It's much more inspiring that then usual PC, prosaic answers given by sportsmen. Compared to the stuff they say to eachother on pitch (heard through the stump mic's) it was nothing. England are whingeing.
Trott is a very good player but he does struggle against the short ball. Australia have exploited that, got him out cheaply and let him know they have his number. That's good cricket in my book.
The mental illness story is very sad but I hope Warner doesn't apologise. I like the spice in sport - makes it much more fun.
Poor team whinging about getting stuffed, it shows the continual decline of the country, they cannot even lose at sport like gentleman nowadays, start crying for their mummy.
In fairness, they don't have as much practice at losing as the Scots....as Alex Massie recently observed "Scotland was lucky to get nil".
Meanwhile, your attitude to mental illness remains, distinctive.......
We can take losing , unlike England, it is a whinge fest every time. Poor losers. Your usual hatred of Scotland showing through as ever.
Trotty is also a massive spurs fan but that's the least of his issues by the sounds of it.
Great great player.
I don't think there was anything wrong with what Warner said. He said Trott looked "weak" and "scared". He did. I'd look scared on a bouncy pitch facing 93mph bowling.
England players and commentators may have been a bit more subtle about it but in 2009 they were basically laughing at Mitchell Johnson. They weren't at the Gabba.
I like Warner's honesty. I like a bit of confrontation. It's much more inspiring that then usual PC, prosaic answers given by sportsmen. Compared to the stuff they say to eachother on pitch (heard through the stump mic's) it was nothing. England are whingeing.
Trott is a very good player but he does struggle against the short ball. Australia have exploited that, got him out cheaply and let him know they have his number. That's good cricket in my book.
The mental illness story is very sad but I hope Warner doesn't apologise. I like the spice in sport - makes it much more fun.
Poor team whinging about getting stuffed, it shows the continual decline of the country, they cannot even lose at sport like gentleman nowadays, start crying for their mummy.
In fairness, they don't have as much practice at losing as the Scots....as Alex Massie recently observed "Scotland was lucky to get nil".
Meanwhile, your attitude to mental illness remains, distinctive.......
We can take losing , unlike England, it is a whinge fest every time. Poor losers. Your usual hatred of Scotland showing through as ever.
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Don't worry he gets a bit of state control of the labour market in for you too.
A month ago it was going to cause a bubble - now you are against it because it is political - make your mind up..
I'd thought you'd have agreed with Randall, you would have done if it'd been a Labour Chancellor introducing it.
Only a fool wouldn't agree with Randall - this is not for economic reasons it is for political reasons - the govt wants more people to own their homes rather than buy to let landlords.
If the government seriously wanted to tilt the market in favour of owner occupiers it would ban interest-only mortgages. At the moment landlords can get these but those who actually want to live in the property can't. Take the example of a £250k property on which a buyer has a deposit of £50k. A mortgage of £200k will be required. A landlord could get an interest-only deal at say 4% - the monthly payment on that would be about £650. An owner-occupier, however, would have to take the loan on a repayment basis and the cost of that would be about £1100 - nearly twice as much. It's hardly surprising, therefore, that estate agents in the area of London where I live say that pretty much all property at the lower end of the market is bought by landlords. HTB will not change this.
Bugger, Farage in Thanet South bets could be going for a Burton
Tim Gatt @TimGattITV MT @LauraSandysMP: It is with great sadness that I'm announcing today that I will not be standing at the next general election in 2015
I get the thing about how UKIP would enjoy taking down a rare Tory Europhile, but as far as actually getting elected goes isn't an open seat better than one with an incumbent?
The suspect is among eight people – including five officers – who were arrested and questioned following a row between Downing Street protection officers and former Government chief whip Andrew Mitchell last year.
The suspects are due to answer bail this week when, according to sources, at least one will be informed of criminal charges.
Although the Crown Prosecution Service has not formally notified Scotland Yard of its decision, colleagues of the officers suspected of wrongdoing are ‘resigned’ to at least one person standing trial.
I seem to remember you arguing that there shouldn't be interference in the payday loan market, before Osborne changed his mind.
No, I don't think I've ever said that. As any fule no, there is already very tight state regulation of all financial institutions. By law any payday lender, like any other lender, has had to be licensed by the FCA or its predecessor the FSA.
What I have said is that quoting APR figures for very short-term loans is extremely misleading.
The payday loan actions do seem a bit silly to me.
(1) APR isn't a reliable indicator of cost for two-week loans (2) Why is there a demand for payday loans
Item (2) is what should be addressed.
I've discussed this recently with Stella and with a senior BIS civil servant. You're clearly right that, as with food banks, the underlying issue is "why are people in such need?" more than "interesting that people are in need, we'd better alleviate it a little bit". But Britain is unusual in tolerating unlimited interest rates and other countries do manage to cap the total cost without it producing an explosion of illegal lending, apparently because the rates of interest are not really market-led but set more at whatever rate the limited number of this type of lender think they can get away with. I've not seen the details of the Government proposals yet, though.
Indeed. And Osborne clearly read your article on Friday and decided to act on Monday. Are you claiming credit for his u-turn?
Bugger, Farage in Thanet South bets could be going for a Burton
Tim Gatt @TimGattITV MT @LauraSandysMP: It is with great sadness that I'm announcing today that I will not be standing at the next general election in 2015
I get the thing about how UKIP would enjoy taking down a rare Tory Europhile, but as far as actually getting elected goes isn't an open seat better than one with an incumbent?
I'll bet the Tories choose a fruitcake deliberately. But I guess it could go either way.
I doubt they'll be able to out-fruitcake UKIP with an unknown candidate. If they want to beat UKIP on their own turf they'll have to run somebody who's both politically incorrect and well-known, like Jeremy Clarkson or someone.
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Wouldn't it be a bit weird not to hate mental illness? I can assure you it's quite possible (most of the time) to love and feel compassion for someone with a mental illness while hating the condition.
Bugger, Farage in Thanet South bets could be going for a Burton
Tim Gatt @TimGattITV MT @LauraSandysMP: It is with great sadness that I'm announcing today that I will not be standing at the next general election in 2015
I get the thing about how UKIP would enjoy taking down a rare Tory Europhile, but as far as actually getting elected goes isn't an open seat better than one with an incumbent?
Selection process will be interesting - an open primary might be jolly fun.
It's disgraceful! Poor Paul Flowers - the victim of smears too!
Paul Flowers: Disgraced former Co-op bank chairman claims he's VICTIM of a nasty sting His self-pitying defence was revealed as further shocking sex and drugs allegations emerged against the 63-year-old
Doesn't sound like South Thanet will be continuing the recent bunch of open selections (at least for the Tories)?
Richard Rowson, Chair of the South Thanet Conservative Association:
...
The normal selection process for our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate will shortly be underway, and I am confident that this Association will soon have in place a first rate candidate who will be able to carry forward Laura’s brilliant work on behalf of the people of Thanet.
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Wouldn't it be a bit weird not to hate mental illness? I can assure you it's quite possible (most of the time) to love and feel compassion for someone with a mental illness while hating the condition.
I love MalcolmG whose anglophobia is veering from neurotic to psychotic.
Nick Sommerlad @NickSommerlad 43m Huge and welcome Govt u-turn. Mirror has campaigned for this for 3yrs. RT New law to cap payday loan interest http://bbc.in/1aLxs3f
Genuinely terrifying left wing extremism. It's back to the 1970s. I am taking steps to move my investments out of Britain. We might as well be in the Soviet Union.
Alternatively, of course, it is yet more evidence that this Coalition gives more of a damn about poorer people than new Labour ever did.
Of greater interest is the changes that Osborne is apparently having to make to the patent box. If you have recovered from the disasters of the weekend I would be genuinely interested to read your comments on that.
What it shows is that the state can and does interfere in the workings of the free market; so rendering the argument that Ed Miliband has been proposing extreme left-wing policies utterly absurd. Though anyone with half a brain knew that already.
As for the Patent Box, I am not sure if anything concrete has actually happened. This is our latest report on it from about a month ago:
On topic, wouldn't a large number of the don't know / won't votes from the 2010 LD's be those who were breifly and superficially attracted by Clegg during the debates? Yes, they did vote in 2010 but many of them hadn't voted much before and haven't voted since. We shouldn't assume that they'll necessarily vote next time either. If they do, their most likely destintation is whoever appears most superficially attractive and credible in the 3 weeks before polling day.
Trotty is also a massive spurs fan but that's the least of his issues by the sounds of it.
Great great player.
I don't think there was anything wrong with what Warner said. He said Trott looked "weak" and "scared". He did. I'd look scared on a bouncy pitch facing 93mph bowling.
England players and commentators may have been a bit more subtle about it but in 2009 they were basically laughing at Mitchell Johnson. They weren't at the Gabba.
I like Warner's honesty. I like a bit of confrontation. It's much more inspiring that then usual PC, prosaic answers given by sportsmen. Compared to the stuff they say to eachother on pitch (heard through the stump mic's) it was nothing. England are whingeing.
Trott is a very good player but he does struggle against the short ball. Australia have exploited that, got him out cheaply and let him know they have his number. That's good cricket in my book.
The mental illness story is very sad but I hope Warner doesn't apologise. I like the spice in sport - makes it much more fun.
Poor team whinging about getting stuffed, it shows the continual decline of the country, they cannot even lose at sport like gentleman nowadays, start crying for their mummy.
In fairness, they don't have as much practice at losing as the Scots....as Alex Massie recently observed "Scotland was lucky to get nil".
Meanwhile, your attitude to mental illness remains, distinctive.......
We can take losing , unlike England, it is a whinge fest every time. Poor losers. Your usual hatred of Scotland showing through as ever.
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Strange word to use , I wonder where you get that idea from, just because I am not simpering etc. He was either ill before he went and so stupid in going in the first place or getting beaten made him ill and he should not have been there in the first place. Appreciate people get ill but it is used far too much nowadays as an excuse for not being up to the job. Both the selectors and he himself should have known before this that he was not up to it and acted accordingly.
Ladbrokes (allowing for 3% over round) make it a 28% chance... Considering they got >3% in 2010 with no here near the coverage they've had since, I reckon it must be more of a 4/z shot...
Anyone fancy an Even money bet?
I will take 10% & over, you have 5% or under, 5.1-9.9% VOID BET
This is the seat Nigel Farage is thinking of contesting.
Sandys is not Churchill's granddaughter. She is her father (Duncan Sandys)'s daughter by his second marriage. It was his first marriage that was to Churchill's daughter.
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Wouldn't it be a bit weird not to hate mental illness?
Malcolm appears to hate those who suffer from it - see his repeated denigrations posted today.....
You are sick in the head, where did I say I hated people with mental illness. It said he had stress illness, over hitting a ball about so hardly a mental illness. Methinks you are a tad tired and emotional.
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Wouldn't it be a bit weird not to hate mental illness?
Malcolm appears to hate those who suffer from it - see his repeated denigrations posted today.....
You are sick in the head, where did I say I hated people with mental illness. It said he had stress illness, over hitting a ball about so hardly a mental illness. Methinks you are a tad tired and emotional.
So now I'm mentally ill and drunk....really classy malcolm......anyone would think you were not looking forward to wee Eck's 'magic book of answers to any possible question you might have' tomorrow.....
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Wouldn't it be a bit weird not to hate mental illness? I can assure you it's quite possible (most of the time) to love and feel compassion for someone with a mental illness while hating the condition.
I love MalcolmG whose anglophobia is veering from neurotic to psychotic.
Ooooh you got to use some fancy words there Monica, another tired and emotional specimen suffering from victim mode trauma
AIUI the Iran deal is going to allow them to sell another 800K bpd on the international markets. Given the lack of capital investment in recent years this may be a logistical challenge for a while. Current world output is 89m bpd so this is slightly less than 1%.
I really would not be putting off filling the car on the back of this deal. The movements in the oil market are either unrelated or an overreaction. They show how the market is a speculators' paradise who trade news rather than anything to do with something as prosaic as supply or demand.
If oil futures 5 years down the track are no more than the current real price that probably tells us that there are more pessimists about the worlds' economic outlook than you might think reading the Telegraph. That is interesting but they have been wrong before.
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Wouldn't it be a bit weird not to hate mental illness?
Malcolm appears to hate those who suffer from it - see his repeated denigrations posted today.....
You are sick in the head, where did I say I hated people with mental illness. It said he had stress illness, over hitting a ball about so hardly a mental illness. Methinks you are a tad tired and emotional.
So now I'm mentally ill and drunk....really classy malcolm......anyone would think you were not looking forward to wee Eck's 'magic book of answers to any possible question you might have' tomorrow.....
Ah so now we see, it is your vitrolic hatred of Eck and the SNP that makes you tired and emotional, not enough bad news on Eck and the SNP over the weekend has made you all Bitter Together on Monday.
Ladbrokes (allowing for 3% over round) make it a 28% chance... Considering they got >3% in 2010 with no here near the coverage they've had since, I reckon it must be more of a 4/z shot...
Anyone fancy an Even money bet?
I will take 10% & over, you have 5% or under, 5.1-9.9% VOID BET
He [Jonathan Trott] was either ill before he went and so stupid in going in the first place or getting beaten made him ill and he should not have been there in the first place. Appreciate people get ill but it is used far too much nowadays as an excuse for not being up to the job. Both the selectors and he himself should have known before this that he was not up to it and acted accordingly.
I think this is a bit simplistic, really. Like any health condition that is being managed, it can worsen when one is under strain / stress. Perhaps Trott himself and / or the selectors have been unduly optimistic as to how he would deal with the rigours of going on tour. But perhaps they all did everything reasonable to assess his fitness, decided he was indeed fit and likely to be able to deal with everything that a long tour entails.
Just because he's now not fit to take part, doesn't automatically mean the decision was wrong. To say the decision was wrong is to speak with the benefit of hindsight, which isn't a helpful thing to do, ISTM.
What I don't understand is your hatred of mental illness....
Wouldn't it be a bit weird not to hate mental illness?
Malcolm appears to hate those who suffer from it - see his repeated denigrations posted today.....
You are sick in the head, where did I say I hated people with mental illness. It said he had stress illness, over hitting a ball about so hardly a mental illness. Methinks you are a tad tired and emotional.
So now I'm mentally ill and drunk....really classy malcolm......anyone would think you were not looking forward to wee Eck's 'magic book of answers to any possible question you might have' tomorrow.....
Ah so now we see, it is your vitrolic hatred of Eck and the SNP that makes you tired and emotional, not enough bad news on Eck and the SNP over the weekend has made you all Bitter Together on Monday.
The only 'vitriolic hatred' on show is yours dear.....but there may be hope if you can see that there was bad news for Eck over the weekend...not all hope is lost.....
If Trott was not fit, and they aré saying that they knew he wasn't, why on earth did they play him?
Perhaps in their simplistic (aka dumb) way they thought thrashing a weak Australian side would be the best medicine? That went well.
Is it just my imagination, but do cricketers suffer a disproportionate amount of mental/psychological/depressive problems?
Yes, they do. The number of suicides of former players is notoriously high.
Top-level cricket is a sport where players can be away from home for 250+ days per year (and when they are 'home', may be out from morning to mid-evening). Holding down relationships in those circumstances can't be easy, or even keeping some recognition of what 'normality' is. Making the transition from playing to retirement even harder for those who are already predisposed to mental illness.
If Trott was not fit, and they aré saying that they knew he wasn't, why on earth did they play him?
Perhaps in their simplistic (aka dumb) way they thought thrashing a weak Australian side would be the best medicine? That went well.
Is it just my imagination, but do cricketers suffer a disproportionate amount of mental/psychological/depressive problems?
If I had to choose having a night out on the town with either the english bowlers or batsmen - well it is clear which group would be more fun.
Ian Bell or Stuart Broad as a wingman ? Graeme Swan or Alistair Cook to go out on the razz with. Jonahton Trott or Jimmy Anderson to pull a prank on someone ?
There is something undeniable in the make up of batsmen that means their personalities must necessarily be more self absorbed, less social. To be able to concentrate for hours on end with just your batting partner takes a certain type of mindset and personality. Requires alot of mental toughness, discipline and a certain amount of arrogance and self absorption.
The bowler on the other hand is a much more social animal, setting the field, being out there with all your team-mates and so forth. I'm not saying that depression can't happen in bowlers, but I'd have thought the rate of incidence in Batsmen is statistically significantly higher than both bowlers and the general population.
You can clearly see this if you compare the English Batsmen and bowlers.
And anything that is more rigid is liable to break more easily than a flexible item.
If Trott was not fit, and they aré saying that they knew he wasn't, why on earth did they play him?
Perhaps in their simplistic (aka dumb) way they thought thrashing a weak Australian side would be the best medicine? That went well.
Is it just my imagination, but do cricketers suffer a disproportionate amount of mental/psychological/depressive problems?
Yes, they do. The number of suicides of former players is notoriously high.
Top-level cricket is a sport where players can be away from home for 250+ days per year (and when they are 'home', may be out from morning to mid-evening). Holding down relationships in those circumstances can't be easy, or even keeping some recognition of what 'normality' is. Making the transition from playing to retirement even harder for those who are already predisposed to mental illness.
Jack Russell wrote about this subject in his autobiography. He mentioned that he thought about jumping out of a hotel window in the Caribbean during the 1994 tour after missing two important stumpings off Graeme Hick's bowling.
It should be remembered that current England player, Johnny Bairstow's father, David Bairstow, a former England wicket-keeper committed suicide when Johnny was eight.
Cricketers are lucky. The top players get endless summer. After a full summer here there's the awful prospect of three months in Aussie or, heaven forfend, the Caribbean. Plus, the only really bad place to tour (Pakistan) is now off limits.
For top rugby players its endless winter. After getting slapped around in the p8ssing rain for seven months up here, there's a further three months of it in far flung places like NZ or SA in our summer.
Tory Marxist State intervention good, Labour Marxist State intervention bad!
Seriously, what this does show is that the Tories are being forced onto Labour "home" territory over the whole Cost of Living thing. Which is not ideally where they would like to be.
'Just hope cap on pay day loans include bank charges for going a few pounds overdrawn. '
People these days speak about personal banking like its some kind of social service.
Banking is a business. If the Chancellor or anybody else thinks that capping interest rates will make payday lenders suddenly lend more cheaply to people who are very bad credit risks they are very much mistaken. They simply won't lend. This form of finance will simply disappear.
Or at least the legal form of it. Organized criminals must be jubilant as this business will now return to them.
If Payday loan companies can't charge what they like for loans, they will start to turn down the worst credits.
Which means that these folk won't be able to get quick cash anywhere. Not anywhere legal anyhow.
Not necessarily. When anyone is being made (or billed) to repay multiple times what they borrowed within months of taking out the loan, there's something wrong.
The lenders charge such huge rates partly because they have higher relative admin costs due to the short loan periods, which is fair, partly because they are high-risk borrowers they are lending to, which is also fair *on the assumption that some loans will go bad*, but seemingly partly simply because they can.
There is regulation required in relation to the extent of the fees that can be built up, particularly in relation to the size of the original loan and the borrower's ability to pay. This is a high-risk area of lending and the companies have to expect that a proportion of borrowers won't fully repay and build that into a legitimate business model.
There's an amazing spread of UKIP poll ratings - are they at 18% or 7%?
If there is one thing pollsters like, it is adjustments. Adjustments are made because they know people don't always say what they mean, and they can't always get balanced samples etc. If any party more than doubles (or halves) (UKIP/LD) in the polls their VI then I think the pollster's 'adjustments' are rendered far less effective to produce an accurate picture of what may happen at the next GE.
On topic, wouldn't a large number of the don't know / won't votes from the 2010 LD's be those who were breifly and superficially attracted by Clegg during the debates? Yes, they did vote in 2010 but many of them hadn't voted much before and haven't voted since. We shouldn't assume that they'll necessarily vote next time either. If they do, their most likely destintation is whoever appears most superficially attractive and credible in the 3 weeks before polling day.
I don't know how many times we have to debunk this myth that the debates had much effect.
The ICM's before the debates were
37/31/20 38/30/21 37/33/21 38/29/23
All within MOE of the final result, it's simply a Tory comfort blanket that their piss poor long campaign was actually OK and the debates ruined it.
Which is a nice theory except that it doesn't explain why there was a clear increase in the LD vote in seats they weren't targetting, particularly given that they hadn't (otherwise) the kind of national distinctiveness they had in 2005 due to Iraq.
''There is regulation required in relation to the extent of the fees that can be built up, particularly in relation to the size of the original loan and the borrower's ability to pay. ''
Well of course the payday lenders have to win big when they they do win, to cover the cost of the many losses/defaults/writeoffs/recovery expenses they must surely incur on the very bad personal credits they grant loans to.
It would be very interesting to get inside one of these businesses to see what the real P&L is.
If Payday loan companies can't charge what they like for loans, they will start to turn down the worst credits.
Which means that these folk won't be able to get quick cash anywhere. Not anywhere legal anyhow.
Not necessarily. When anyone is being made (or billed) to repay multiple times what they borrowed within months of taking out the loan, there's something wrong.
The lenders charge such huge rates partly because they have higher relative admin costs due to the short loan periods, which is fair, partly because they are high-risk borrowers they are lending to, which is also fair *on the assumption that some loans will go bad*, but seemingly partly simply because they can.
There is regulation required in relation to the extent of the fees that can be built up, particularly in relation to the size of the original loan and the borrower's ability to pay. This is a high-risk area of lending and the companies have to expect that a proportion of borrowers won't fully repay and build that into a legitimate business model.
Wonga reject 80% of all loan applications iirc (Source - their own figures) which proves there is a massive demand for these products. Wonga obviously only want the best risks (Their p&l suggests they do pick out the good risks generally), so what are the 80% of customers that Wonga rejects doing ?!
LATEST:Stevens review calls for police and crime commissioners to be abolished for system giving more powers to local councillors.
Copper calls for less police accountability - shock. Who'd have thought that the ACPO club would like to return to the cosy world of local councillors signing off whatever the Chief Constable proposed.
Anyone who wants to set up a cheaper payday lending firm is free to do so, as long as they can convince the state regulator that they are sound and reputable businesses and go through the regulatory hoops required to become authorised lenders.
Inasmuch as they are not doing so, there are only two possibilities: either it's not such a wonderful business that there are easy profits to be made, or the state regulator is actively preventing new entrants into the market.
Mental illness is horrible, both for those suffering from it and their families, having to watch someone suffer. It is not a joking matter nor something to be sneered at.
I know nothing about cricket and care even less but if this Trott fellow is suffering, sympathy for him and those close to him is the only decent response.
Anyone who wants to set up a cheaper payday lending firm is free to do so, as long as they can convince the state regulator that they are sound and reputable businesses and go through the regulatory hoops required to become authorised lenders.
Inasmuch as they are not doing so, there are only two possibilities: either it's not such a wonderful business that there are easy profits to be made, or the state regulator is actively preventing new entrants into the market.
LATEST:Stevens review calls for police and crime commissioners to be abolished for system giving more powers to local councillors.
Copper calls for less police accountability - shock. Who'd have thought that the ACPO club would like to return to the cosy world of local councillors signing off whatever the Chief Constable proposed.
Following a careful evaluation of the evidence, the Commission concludes that the PCC model is systemically flawed as a method of democratic governance and should be discontinued in its present form at the end of the term of office of the 41 serving PCCs.
Indeed. Why can't people see direct election is 'systemically flawed' and not 'democratic governance'?
LATEST:Stevens review calls for police and crime commissioners to be abolished for system giving more powers to local councillors.
Copper calls for less police accountability - shock. Who'd have thought that the ACPO club would like to return to the cosy world of local councillors signing off whatever the Chief Constable proposed.
Well, quite. You might have added 'copper appointed by Labour to write a review'.
After all, the old system worked wonderfully, didn't it? Hillsborough, Cleveland, De Menezes, Plebgate, the extraordinary behaviour of the police which Leveson uncovered, and thousands of less widely-publicised cases of police corruption or just plain weird priorities.
Anyone who wants to set up a cheaper payday lending firm is free to do so, as long as they can convince the state regulator that they are sound and reputable businesses and go through the regulatory hoops required to become authorised lenders.
Inasmuch as they are not doing so, there are only two possibilities: either it's not such a wonderful business that there are easy profits to be made, or the state regulator is actively preventing new entrants into the market.
There are several hundred payday loan companies and many have been set up quite recently . Myjar are currently the cheapest for very short term loans ..
There are several hundred payday loan companies and many have been set up quite recently . Myjar are currently the cheapest for very short term loans ..
Great, in that case competition will drive down prices much more effectively than any government action, as it would in any sector.
Of course, it might be that we don't want this sector of the industry to exist at all, given that by its nature it can never be anything other than extremely expensive credit. That's a slightly different point.
There are several hundred payday loan companies and many have been set up quite recently . Myjar are currently the cheapest for very short term loans ..
Great, in that case competition will drive down prices much more effectively than any government action, as it would in any sector.
Of course, it might be that we don't want this sector of the industry to exist at all, given that by its nature it can never be anything other than extremely expensive credit. That's a slightly different point.
You are assuming that these companies will act in competition rather than as a cartel .
Mental illness is horrible, both for those suffering from it and their families, having to watch someone suffer. It is not a joking matter nor something to be sneered at.
I know nothing about cricket and care even less but if this Trott fellow is suffering, sympathy for him and those close to him is the only decent response.
Not seen anybody sneering and neither on how ill he is etc. Just a one liner saying he is off home due to stress does not constitute mental illness. It only shows he is not fit to play cricket , which is not the end of the world. Lots of speculation , perhaps he jsut just misses his family is not suited to the rigours of test cricket abroad , hardly a pronouncement that he is mentally ill.
You are assuming that these companies will act in competition rather than as a cartel .
You can't have a cartel if it's easy for new companies to enter the market, as it would immediately be competed out of existence. You only get cartels when it's hard for competitors to come into the market.
In any case it would be illegal for them to act as a cartel, and they are already heavily regulated and have to be authorised.
The debates did have an effect but it was temporary and soon dissipated. I actually predicted this on here at the time (and I claim no talent at political betting). Someone asked me for evidence for my prediction - a little odd as it was purely based on gut feeling.
I don't believe that the three week election campaign makes a lot of difference. I voted LD last time because I thought Brown was totally wrong for the job. Instead of picking someone half-sensible, Labour have chosen a fruitcake, fruitcakey enough to make Ukip jealous, so they're out.
I may well hold my nose and vote LD again,despite disliking some of their policies, because they seem to mean well. But it's nice to dislike everyone, it means I don't get worked up about smears, and I can vote UKip at the Euros just for fun.
Comments
Doesn't the polling suggest that Southam Observer is correct, the anti-Tory vote is back with a vengence, after a combination of Brown, and Cameron's "detox", reduced its impact in 2010?
The very fact that Labour's share is so stable thanks to 2010 Lib + Lab.
And the way non-Tory voters in marginals are behaving, as Mike points out (more likely than average to be supporting the Tory challenger, whether LD or Lab)
And there's the "likeability" polling.
A month ago it was going to cause a bubble - now you are against it because it is political - make your mind up..
Also, energy is of vital national interest. Payday loans are not.
We've tried educating you enough times, but you still don't seem to be able to understand.
On energy bills, another outing for Ed the Consistent's well judged remarks in 2010:
"There are a whole variety of people who are sceptical, but who they are is less important than what they are saying, and what they are saying is profoundly dangerous,' he said.
The danger of climate scepticism, he said, was that it would foster dissent against unpopular decisions such increases in energy bills and investment in wind turbines, which are essential to tackle environmental issues."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1247459/Ed-Miliband-declares-war-climate-change-sceptics.html#ixzz2leItHSyR
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
It's a bit like the NHS tim - it's not there for economic reasons - its political.
"Labour Party Properties Ltd secured a loan of £3.8m from the bank at 2.88% interest, with a commercial property broker quoted by the paper claiming the party had paid "half the rate of interest that the rest of us would pay."
http://www.politicshome.com/uk/story/38700/
A cat is a mammal.
A dog is a mammal.
You're saying that, therefore, a cat is a dog.
Labour really are turning into the big girls blouse cannot take it party.
"Miss Miss - George was smearing me - Miss ....."
Dave & Sam didn't "want to bomb Syria" - they wanted to leave the option on the table....
(I also like the fact that you think that having a skill - such as your invented one of being able to tie knots - is in some way an insult).
Even by Labour's smear standards, it's laughable.
Nick Palmer did a much better one when he accused me of being a stalker. Which he has still not apologised for ...
Well, maybe. But if that is so, then isn't it very odd that the Labour lead in the polls isn't much bigger? Those LibDem switchers are already in the Labour lead, which by historic standards is very low for this point in the parliamentary term. Hopi Sen is quite right to point out that a substantial proportion of 2010 LibDem voters (and, for that matter, of 2010 Labour and Conservative voters) are currently Don't Knows or Not Sures. No doubt also some people who are currently expressing a preference will change their minds, or not actually get round to voting, or will vote tactically when push comes to shove.
Rather than focus on one segment - 2010 LibDems - we need to look at the whole picture, which is best summed up by the headline voting intention figures of reputable pollsters. These figures are mildly encouraging for Labour in that they have a steady lead, but it's a small lead compared with the typical shifts you get over 18 months leading up to an election. Nothing is cast in stone, there's a year and a half to go, and historically polls this far out are a poor indicator of the final result.
Meanwhile, your attitude to mental illness remains, distinctive.......
http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/1bfm228376/YG-Archive-payday-loans-results-290713.pdf
The suspects are due to answer bail this week when, according to sources, at least one will be informed of criminal charges.
Although the Crown Prosecution Service has not formally notified Scotland Yard of its decision, colleagues of the officers suspected of wrongdoing are ‘resigned’ to at least one person standing trial.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2512937/At-police-officer-face-Plebgate-charges-Suspects-answer-bail-week.html
Good riddance. Never again.
What I have said is that quoting APR figures for very short-term loans is extremely misleading.
Indeed. And Osborne clearly read your article on Friday and decided to act on Monday. Are you claiming credit for his u-turn?
http://www.nottinghampost.com/Nick-Palmer-Actions-needed-payday-loans/story-20115881-detail/story.html
French spies and a neo-Nazi plot to kill Abu Hamza
Paris was so fed up with British inaction that plans were made to assassinate the Islamic hate cleric, a report claims
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10471056/French-spies-and-a-neo-Nazi-plot-to-kill-Abu-Hamza.html
Ed Miliband is Jonathan Trott?
Michael Savage @michaelsavage 15s
The next election, as imagined by @mortenmorland (not @BrookesTimes, as I suggested earlier): pic.twitter.com/Es6x4HK4e7
There's also the MP for Cardiff North...but he had a previous term between 1992 and 1997 and 2 terms as MEP
I can assure you it's quite possible (most of the time) to love and feel compassion for someone with a mental illness while hating the condition.
Paul Flowers: Disgraced former Co-op bank chairman claims he's VICTIM of a nasty sting
His self-pitying defence was revealed as further shocking sex and drugs allegations emerged against the 63-year-old
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paul-flowers-disgraced-former-co-op-2848491
Richard Rowson, Chair of the South Thanet Conservative Association:
...
The normal selection process for our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate will shortly be underway, and I am confident that this Association will soon have in place a first rate candidate who will be able to carry forward Laura’s brilliant work on behalf of the people of Thanet.
http://www.theguardian.com/profile/paul-flowers
Tory MP Laura Sandys (Churchill's granddaughter) is to stand down in Thanet South after one term:
http://telllaura.org.uk/news/laura-sandys-mp-to-step-down-in-2015
This is the seat Nigel Farage is thinking of contesting.
The 55,000 page hybrid bill for HS2 phase 1 to Birmingham is being released today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25077119
That's going to be one heck of a download...
In all seriousness: how can parliament or any committees properly review a bill that is so large?
He was either ill before he went and so stupid in going in the first place or getting beaten made him ill and he should not have been there in the first place. Appreciate people get ill but it is used far too much nowadays as an excuse for not being up to the job. Both the selectors and he himself should have known before this that he was not up to it and acted accordingly.
Ladbrokes (allowing for 3% over round) make it a 28% chance... Considering they got >3% in 2010 with no here near the coverage they've had since, I reckon it must be more of a 4/z shot...
Anyone fancy an Even money bet?
I will take 10% & over, you have 5% or under, 5.1-9.9% VOID BET
Methinks you are a tad tired and emotional.
Is it just my imagination, but do cricketers suffer a disproportionate amount of mental/psychological/depressive problems?
I really would not be putting off filling the car on the back of this deal. The movements in the oil market are either unrelated or an overreaction. They show how the market is a speculators' paradise who trade news rather than anything to do with something as prosaic as supply or demand.
If oil futures 5 years down the track are no more than the current real price that probably tells us that there are more pessimists about the worlds' economic outlook than you might think reading the Telegraph. That is interesting but they have been wrong before.
Just because he's now not fit to take part, doesn't automatically mean the decision was wrong. To say the decision was wrong is to speak with the benefit of hindsight, which isn't a helpful thing to do, ISTM.
https://mobile.twitter.com/ConorMcKenzie
Which means that these folk won't be able to get quick cash anywhere. Not anywhere legal anyhow.
Being away from the family for long periods must be difficult.
Cricketers also have a higher divorce rate
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/154914.html
Adam Smith beat Napoleon to 'nation of shopkeepers' by a couple of decades!
http://oupacademic.tumblr.com/tagged/misquotation-of-the-week
Top-level cricket is a sport where players can be away from home for 250+ days per year (and when they are 'home', may be out from morning to mid-evening). Holding down relationships in those circumstances can't be easy, or even keeping some recognition of what 'normality' is. Making the transition from playing to retirement even harder for those who are already predisposed to mental illness.
Ian Bell or Stuart Broad as a wingman ?
Graeme Swan or Alistair Cook to go out on the razz with.
Jonahton Trott or Jimmy Anderson to pull a prank on someone ?
There is something undeniable in the make up of batsmen that means their personalities must necessarily be more self absorbed, less social. To be able to concentrate for hours on end with just your batting partner takes a certain type of mindset and personality. Requires alot of mental toughness, discipline and a certain amount of arrogance and self absorption.
The bowler on the other hand is a much more social animal, setting the field, being out there with all your team-mates and so forth. I'm not saying that depression can't happen in bowlers, but I'd have thought the rate of incidence in Batsmen is statistically significantly higher than both bowlers and the general population.
You can clearly see this if you compare the English Batsmen and bowlers.
And anything that is more rigid is liable to break more easily than a flexible item.
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/09/cricket-and-depression/
For top rugby players its endless winter. After getting slapped around in the p8ssing rain for seven months up here, there's a further three months of it in far flung places like NZ or SA in our summer.
http://www.populus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Online_VI_25-11-2013_BPC.pdf
Seriously, what this does show is that the Tories are being forced onto Labour "home" territory over the whole Cost of Living thing. Which is not ideally where they would like to be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election#2012
People these days speak about personal banking like its some kind of social service.
Banking is a business. If the Chancellor or anybody else thinks that capping interest rates will make payday lenders suddenly lend more cheaply to people who are very bad credit risks they are very much mistaken. They simply won't lend. This form of finance will simply disappear.
Or at least the legal form of it. Organized criminals must be jubilant as this business will now return to them.
The lenders charge such huge rates partly because they have higher relative admin costs due to the short loan periods, which is fair, partly because they are high-risk borrowers they are lending to, which is also fair *on the assumption that some loans will go bad*, but seemingly partly simply because they can.
There is regulation required in relation to the extent of the fees that can be built up, particularly in relation to the size of the original loan and the borrower's ability to pay. This is a high-risk area of lending and the companies have to expect that a proportion of borrowers won't fully repay and build that into a legitimate business model.
That is my take on it anyway.
Well of course the payday lenders have to win big when they they do win, to cover the cost of the many losses/defaults/writeoffs/recovery expenses they must surely incur on the very bad personal credits they grant loans to.
It would be very interesting to get inside one of these businesses to see what the real P&L is.
Inasmuch as they are not doing so, there are only two possibilities: either it's not such a wonderful business that there are easy profits to be made, or the state regulator is actively preventing new entrants into the market.
I know nothing about cricket and care even less but if this Trott fellow is suffering, sympathy for him and those close to him is the only decent response.
Indeed. Why can't people see direct election is 'systemically flawed' and not 'democratic governance'?
http://www.labour.org.uk/uploads/483ff072-3022-68b4-65ed-e2f8e12021ee.pdf
After all, the old system worked wonderfully, didn't it? Hillsborough, Cleveland, De Menezes, Plebgate, the extraordinary behaviour of the police which Leveson uncovered, and thousands of less widely-publicised cases of police corruption or just plain weird priorities.
I think I've noticed a few changes, but these things are difficult to gauge I guess.
Of course, it might be that we don't want this sector of the industry to exist at all, given that by its nature it can never be anything other than extremely expensive credit. That's a slightly different point.
Think banning payday lenders would stop people taking out this type of loan? of course not. They would simply go to Big Ron of South London.
And Big Ron would use far worse methods than a legal company to get his money back
In any case it would be illegal for them to act as a cartel, and they are already heavily regulated and have to be authorised.
tim,
"this myth that the debates had much effect."
The debates did have an effect but it was temporary and soon dissipated. I actually predicted this on here at the time (and I claim no talent at political betting). Someone asked me for evidence for my prediction - a little odd as it was purely based on gut feeling.
I don't believe that the three week election campaign makes a lot of difference. I voted LD last time because I thought Brown was totally wrong for the job. Instead of picking someone half-sensible, Labour have chosen a fruitcake, fruitcakey enough to make Ukip jealous, so they're out.
I may well hold my nose and vote LD again,despite disliking some of their policies, because they seem to mean well. But it's nice to dislike everyone, it means I don't get worked up about smears, and I can vote UKip at the Euros just for fun.