politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Quantifying the great cultural divide: those wanting blunt lea

Mr. Jessop, cheers for that link. I'd heard of that but never seen it. The livery reminded me of almost graphical camouflage blocks sometimes used in modern armies (apparently it's harder to spot than the traditional splotches).

Edited extra bit: maybe a team should've used vanta black

Let's face it, 'bluntness' is only appreciated when it's in line with what the hearer agrees with. Anna Soubry is probably the bluntest speaker in British politics at the moment, though she doesn't get much thanks for it from the eurospectic Right, who are forever accusing her of betrayal and telling her to push of to the Lib Dems.

I once lived in a flat the estate agents claimed was North Kelvinside. It was Maryhill, it was North of Maryhill Road.

DavidL said:

This is a vaguely interesting example of the application of the frustration lying behind the questions in the thread to business: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43107500

Basically it was pretty obvious to investors who had the money and resources to do a proper analysis of Carillion's accounts from 2015 onwards that the company was heading towards the precipice. A simplistic reading of the accounts, however, painted a very different picture, a picture that the directors largely got away with trying to maintain even after liquidation when giving evidence to MPs.

What we will find is that the way that the accountants and auditors of the company reported matters was compliant with the incredibly complicated reporting standards which resulted in the accounts giving something less than a true and fair view of the company's position and prospects. These standards, which have developed to prevent misrepresentation, have themselves become a source of misunderstanding and deception for those who do not have the expertise to read carefully between the lines.

So in public life generally we see acceptable parameters of what can and cannot be said controlling what people can say to the point where many feel that simple and obvious truths cannot be said or addressed resulting in the underlying problems not being addressed.

I am with you until the last sentence. The truth is rarely pure and never simple, as Oscar Wilde put it. Things are typically the way they are for a complex mix of reasons. Simplistic solutions that ignore those reasons will usually cause a lot of damage while making those underlying problems worse.

The answer of course is to tackle those underlying problems in an informed and systematic way. We don't seem to be good at that.

Morris_Dancer said:

King Cole, ......

That's fine. I support the right of people in a free society to hold different views. Even if they're tasteless, heretical views that clearly indicate such people are bedfellows of Satan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lXwT7mxmf8

Edited extra bit

Short but sweet - on my CD album it's only 1:19 long.

Luckily the UK has a hamster with an intermittently working calculator in the china shop, so win win.

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Meeks, to be fair, the coalition deal is not done yet. We'll discover the state of things in just under a fortnight.

People getting excited about German politics miss the two essential points. Any conceivable government will be led by the CDU. The Chancellor will be Angela Merkel unless the CDU decide otherwise.

Theuniondivvie said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

SouthamObserver said:

Looks like right wing English nationalist loons have finally twigged that the Good Friday Agreement precludes the kind of extreme Brexit they crave. Therefore, the Good Friday Agreement has to go. And some people call them patriots :-D

Unfortunately it is that sort of argument which led to the execution of Erskine Childers because the British regarded him as a 'traitor'. I suppose because I am in favour of a united Ireland you would condemn me in the same way. Surprised to see you making such idiotic arguments.

Eh?
It was the Irish Free State that executed Childers

Under direct pressure from the British and particularly from Churchill who considered him a traitor.

"No man has done more harm or shown more genuine malice or endeavoured to bring a greater curse upon the common people of Ireland than this strange being, actuated by a deadly and malignant hatred for the land of his birth"

In fact one of Childer's arguments at the time of the 1920 negotiations was that he had a great affection for Britain but that it was soiling its own name by its actions over Ireland. Given that Churchill had previously praised Childers for his forewarning of the German naval threat it seems a particularly malicious action by him to work for his execution.

Stark_Dawning said:

Let's face it, 'bluntness' is only appreciated when it's in line with what the hearer agrees with. Anna Soubry is probably the bluntest speaker in British politics at the moment, though she doesn't get much thanks for it from the eurospectic Right, who are forever accusing her of betrayal and telling her to push of to the Lib Dems.

I'd put Farage and Soubry into the same

Doesn't mind giving offence/Plain speaking quadrant

Boris Johnson and McDonnell into the

Doesn't mind giving offence/Beats around the bush

Theresa May into the

Beats around the bush/Goes out of way not to offend quadrant

Meeks' "golden quadrant" of plain speaking/Doesn't offend is a tricky one to identify politicians into

Michael Gove/Frank Field maybe ?

Theuniondivvie said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

SouthamObserver said:

Looks like right wing English nationalist loons have finally twigged that the Good Friday Agreement precludes the kind of extreme Brexit they crave. Therefore, the Good Friday Agreement has to go. And some people call them patriots :-D

Unfortunately it is that sort of argument which led to the execution of Erskine Childers because the British regarded him as a 'traitor'. I suppose because I am in favour of a united Ireland you would condemn me in the same way. Surprised to see you making such idiotic arguments.

Eh?
It was the Irish Free State that executed Childers

Presumably Richard's a de Valera-ite.

Richard_Tyndall said:

SouthamObserver said:

Looks like right wing English nationalist loons have finally twigged that the Good Friday Agreement precludes the kind of extreme Brexit they crave. Therefore, the Good Friday Agreement has to go. And some people call them patriots :-D

Unfortunately it is that sort of argument which led to the execution of Erskine Childers because the British regarded him as a 'traitor'. I suppose because I am in favour of a united Ireland you would condemn me in the same way. Surprised to see you making such idiotic arguments.

Nope, I would not condemn anyone who wants a united Ireland as a traitor. I merely question the patriotism of those who want to scrap the Good Friday Agreement because it is incompatible with the extreme form of Brexit they wish to inflict on the people of Britain and Ireland.

RobD said:

Performance enhancing drugs... for curling. I've now heard everything.

It's not really that surprising - drugs help every form of physical activity.

Hell, players even drug themselves in purely mental sports like chess.

Richard_Tyndall said:

Stark_Dawning said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

SouthamObserver said:

Looks like right wing English nationalist loons have finally twigged that the Good Friday Agreement precludes the kind of extreme Brexit they crave. Therefore, the Good Friday Agreement has to go. And some people call them patriots :-D

Unfortunately it is that sort of argument which led to the execution of Erskine Childers because the British regarded him as a 'traitor'. I suppose because I am in favour of a united Ireland you would condemn me in the same way. Surprised to see you making such idiotic arguments.

Eh?
It was the Irish Free State that executed Childers

Presumably Richard's a de Valera-ite.

Broadly yes. Although my particular admiration has always been for Childers himself. I find his influence on pre WW1 British strategic thinking - and particularly his influence on Churchill - to be fascinating.

Always more of a Cosgrave man myself. Considering the absolutely terrible situation he inherited, creating one of the very few functioning democracies of Europe in the 1930s was no mean feat (admittedly de Valera deserves some credit as well).

It's even more impressive when you consider how many other post-colonial states with - on paper - a better system than Ireland's did slide into dictatorship in one way or another as well, e.g. India under Indira Gandhi.

A much underrated man I think - not least, in Ireland.

rottenborough said:

One for OGH?

“Bedford is a shithole,”

https://briefingsforbrexit.com/the-ethics-of-a-second-brexit-referendum-equality-trust-honesty/

Bedford is considerably more prosperous than average AFAIK.

AndyJS said:

"Exclusive: The Conservative Party Board is set to fire the starting gun for candidate selections in target seats — Mark Wallace"

https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2018/01/exclusive-the-conservative-party-board-is-set-to-fire-the-starting-gun-for-candidate-selections-in-target-seats.html

Preparing for another snap election?

So Tories shaft students for yrs by tripling tuition fees to £9250 a yr, Saddle them with crippling debts of £50,000 & extortionate interest of 6% when rates are only 0.5% & then conduct a review into how much they’ve shafted them?

Winner

JosiasJessop said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Meeks, to be fair, the coalition deal is not done yet. We'll discover the state of things in just under a fortnight.

Edited extra bit: and here's the Red Bull:
https://twitter.com/RachelBrookesTV/status/965513526784733184

Thanks for that. It looks almost razzle dazzle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage

Yes that looks rather like a car they want to camouflage, rather than one they expect the TV audience to notice. There’s either a load of very new stuff on it, or a load of last year’s stuff they hope no-one notices. It’ll likely look very different by Australia.

AndyJS said:

"Exclusive: The Conservative Party Board is set to fire the starting gun for candidate selections in target seats — Mark Wallace"

https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2018/01/exclusive-the-conservative-party-board-is-set-to-fire-the-starting-gun-for-candidate-selections-in-target-seats.html

Interesting, given the boundary reforms haven’t been finalised yet. Preparation for another quick election, trying to smoke out possible retirees, or something else?

Mr. City, did I also forget that Labour opposed the Coalition increasing fees?

I would have thought that the best politicians would be both honest, blunt and diplomatic and careful with language at the same time. There is a subtle difference between not being afraid to offend and being gratuitiously offensive. Labour prime minister Jim Callaghan was a good example of that -blunt, plain talking but never offensive.

Compare that with the vile current shadow chancellor John McDonnell who talks of lynching female politicians, who says that ex Tory prime ministers should be assassinated.

I had to smile at the alleged preference among remainers for not causing offence. Are these the same remainers who have described leavers as "fascists", "racists" "stupid" and old people who dont really matter because they will soon die?

Sunil_Prasannan said:

Morris_Dancer said:

King Cole, ......

That's fine. I support the right of people in a free society to hold different views. Even if they're tasteless, heretical views that clearly indicate such people are bedfellows of Satan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lXwT7mxmf8

Edited extra bit

Short but sweet - on my CD album it's only 1:19 long.

That’s a DJ’s nightmare, you’d better have the next track in the playlist cued up very quickly!

“Song 2” by Blur, is so named because it’s two minutes long - 1’59” on some CDs, always used to catch me out when I used to DJ two decades ago.

AndyJS said:

Sandpit said:

AndyJS said:

"Exclusive: The Conservative Party Board is set to fire the starting gun for candidate selections in target seats — Mark Wallace"

https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2018/01/exclusive-the-conservative-party-board-is-set-to-fire-the-starting-gun-for-candidate-selections-in-target-seats.html

Interesting, given the boundary reforms haven’t been finalised yet. Preparation for another quick election, trying to smoke out possible retirees, or something else?

Perhaps they don't want to be caught out by a snap election, like Labour were in 2017.

Interesting decision by Gavin Barwell. Does he really fancy another parliament in CCHQ? Or out of politics altogether?

MarqueeMark said:

AndyJS said:

Sandpit said:

AndyJS said:

"Exclusive: The Conservative Party Board is set to fire the starting gun for candidate selections in target seats — Mark Wallace"

https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2018/01/exclusive-the-conservative-party-board-is-set-to-fire-the-starting-gun-for-candidate-selections-in-target-seats.html

Interesting, given the boundary reforms haven’t been finalised yet. Preparation for another quick election, trying to smoke out possible retirees, or something else?

Perhaps they don't want to be caught out by a snap election, like Labour were in 2017.

Yes, having to cobble together a Manifesto on no notice, having been caught by surprise on the election, then it crashing and burning did them -

My bad, that was the Tories.

Not next time though.

If labour was panicked into a moderate mainstream manifesto in 2017, presumably in 2022 we can expect Corbyn to draw up a hard left Corbynista manifesto. Or doesnt he have the guts or honesty?

MikeSmithson said:

JosiasJessop said:

OldKingCole said:

rottenborough said:

One for OGH?

“Bedford is a shithole,”

https://briefingsforbrexit.com/the-ethics-of-a-second-brexit-referendum-equality-trust-honesty/

Clearly the author has never walked along the river there.

I have, including a few weeks ago (as part of my campaign along the Ouse Valley Way). Aside from a few hundred metres near the A6 bridge, it is a dump. It makes Northampton look salubrious.

Even where it has a potential gem - such as the riverside park to the east - it does not take advantage. And as for the decaying pyramid (apparently a swimming pool or somesuch) - whoever designed and commissioned it should be put atop a spike in front of it as a warning to future urban planners.

I don't know which party traditionally runs the town, but whichever it has, has let the population down. And I'm unsure how it can be fixed without wholesale demolition.

Which is a shame, as there are some very picturesque villages to the west and north.

Next time you are going to be here get in touch. I'll be delighted to show you round.

The author of the article is an Oxford academic who seeks to make assertions about a town based on the fact that he has to wait a few minutes when his bus stop at the bus station.

Having lived in both Oxford and Bedford I could show him parts of the former that are considerably worse.

St Annes, for a start.

DavidL said:

FF43 said:

DavidL said:

This is a vaguely interesting example of the application of the frustration lying behind the questions in the thread to business: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43107500

Basically it was pretty obvious to investors who had the money and resources to do a proper analysis of Carillion's accounts from 2015 onwards that the company was heading towards the precipice. A simplistic reading of the accounts, however, painted a very different picture, a picture that the directors largely got away with trying to maintain even after liquidation when giving evidence to MPs.

What we will find is that the way that the accountants and auditors of the company reported matters was compliant with the incredibly complicated reporting standards which resulted in the accounts giving something less than a true and fair view of the company's position and prospects. These standards, which have developed to prevent misrepresentation, have themselves become a source of misunderstanding and deception for those who do not have the expertise to read carefully between the lines.

So in public life generally we see acceptable parameters of what can and cannot be said controlling what people can say to the point where many feel that simple and obvious truths cannot be said or addressed resulting in the underlying problems not being addressed.

I am with you until the last sentence. The truth is rarely pure and never simple, as Oscar Wilde put it. Things are typically the way they are for a complex mix of reasons. Simplistic solutions that ignore those reasons will usually cause a lot of damage while making those underlying problems worse.

The answer of course is to tackle those underlying problems in an informed and systematic way. We don't seem to be good at that.

I am not saying that the truth (if there is a single truth) is pure or simple. I am saying that the rules we have for public engagement are inhibiting the search for that truth rather than assisting it. An informed and systematic approach is not helped if there are a lot of things that simply can't be said, even if saying them opens them to challenge and proves them wrong.

Yes. However the more you open things to challenge and debate, the more muddied they become, even if it's potentially necessary to do so. Those wanting simplistic solutions aim to shut down the debate.

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. City, did I also forget that Labour opposed the Coalition increasing fees?

You have also forgotten of course that the Browne review was set up by Labour.

I have never quite understood why they thought a self-confessed perjurer was the best person to lead a review into HE funding, but I am not privy to the inner secrets of what passed for the minds of the last Labour government.

No party has clean hands on university funding, and they have all exploited it ruthlessly for partisan advantage. The notable exception are the Liberal Democrats who exploited it with skill and finesse for partisan disadvantage.

Jeremy Corbyn
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.@Theresa_May voted to triple tuition fees and saddle students with an average £40,000 in debt.

There's no need to "review" that. Labour will scrap fees, bring back maintenance grants and make education free.

Ishmael_Z said:

Sandpit said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

Morris_Dancer said:

King Cole, ......

That's fine. I support the right of people in a free society to hold different views. Even if they're tasteless, heretical views that clearly indicate such people are bedfellows of Satan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lXwT7mxmf8

Edited extra bit

Short but sweet - on my CD album it's only 1:19 long.

That’s a DJ’s nightmare, you’d better have the next track in the playlist cued up very quickly!

“Song 2” by Blur, is so named because it’s two minutes long - 1’59” on some CDs, always used to catch me out when I used to DJ two decades ago.

1:58, and evidence that songs don't need to be any longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQaUs5J2wdI

Bohemian Rhapsody wouldn't be much good at only 2 minutes.

MarqueeMark said:

NickPalmer said:

Casino_Royale said:

I prefer neither of those two.

I want a political leader who doesn't consider any subject off-limits, and does speak their mind, but does so reasonably, politely and respectfully.

Yes, that puts it well. I think we all more or less agree on this. The poll question wording is not ideal but it's got us discussing it anyway.

The real Trump question is perhaps more, "Do you prefer politicians who attack opponents bluntly, or politicians who put their case but don't attack others?" But that's loaded too. Really hard to get a balanced question.

Do you want politician who will tell you what you don't want to hear? Or do you want the pill to be sugar-coated?

That one is easy: voters will say in polls they want to hear straight, hard truths but will punish those who give them in the ballot box.

Mr. Owls, if Labour does that, does it want to reduce student levels to pre-1997 rates or keep them at circa 50%? The latter would cost the taxpayer a very significant sum. If that's so, where's the money coming from?

Mr. Royale, mostly true, but worth remembering Cameron and Osborne spoke of austerity before office, not after.

bigjohnowls said:

Jeremy Corbyn
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.@Theresa_May voted to triple tuition fees and saddle students with an average £40,000 in debt.

There's no need to "review" that. Labour will scrap fees, bring back maintenance grants and make education free.

Will he 'deal with' legacy debts at the same time as he promised to before?

In any case as the Liberal Democrats will tell you it's not a proper pledge until he's been photographed carrying a placard!

bigjohnowls said:

Jeremy Corbyn
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.@Theresa_May voted to triple tuition fees and saddle students with an average £40,000 in debt.

There's no need to "review" that. Labour will scrap fees, bring back maintenance grants and make education free.

May really is absolutely crap at politics isn't she?

By half-agreeing with Labour that the system is broken, and then proposing some minor fudges, she's just about to move the Overton Window on HE funding firmly towards Jezza's position.

rottenborough said:

David_Evershed said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Meanwhile. in Germany: https://twitter.com/afneil/status/965499042510843904

The new SPD leader, I think, has backed the coalition deal. We find out the result on 4 March, which I think is also the date of the Italian election.

This polling with AfD on 25% and SPD on 14% will have a real impact on the way SPD members see the value of a coalition with Merkel/CDU. CDU are only on 26% themselves.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.

Bleak. Very bleak.

The new (permanent) SPD leader was the flagbearer of the deal - a good communicator and a more authentic voice than Schulz - before she became leader.

I don't think focussing on East Germany - where the SPD lose votes to Die Linke (The Left which for those not familiar is exactly what it sounds like)- is that helpful.

The question for the CDU is "we'll back the deal, but is Merkel the right leader" and the question for the SPD is "do we want a disaster of an election now or in five years".

Mr. Borough, it's a bit Brownian. She's a micromanager, but the PM has to be able to see the big picture.

bigjohnowls said:

So Tories shaft students for yrs by tripling tuition fees to £9250 a yr, Saddle them with crippling debts of £50,000 & extortionate interest of 6% when rates are only 0.5% & then conduct a review into how much they’ve shafted them?

Winner

My view is that the current student fees structure is politically unsustainable. But, Corbyn's policy is also financially and economically unsustainable.

rottenborough said:

David_Evershed said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Meanwhile. in Germany: https://twitter.com/afneil/status/965499042510843904

The new SPD leader, I think, has backed the coalition deal. We find out the result on 4 March, which I think is also the date of the Italian election.

This polling with AfD on 25% and SPD on 14% will have a real impact on the way SPD members see the value of a coalition with Merkel/CDU. CDU are only on 26% themselves.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.

Bleak. Very bleak.

A part of the problem is very much on topic with this thread. When you exclude significant percentages of the population to the right in AfD and to the left with Die Linke you are left with too narrow a view of what the centre is to create a comfortable majority, let alone 2 potential majorities to give a choice.

In this country, thankfully, the vast majority of UKIP supporters are now back supporting other mainstream parties but this has happened, particularly in the Tory case, by some of their agenda being taken on board. This is how democracy should evolve and remain inclusive. Excluding large chunks who are beyond the pail ultimately leads to disaster.

I want a pol who's not afraid to speak my own particular version of the truth. But as long as they agree with absolutely everything I agree with, I suppose that's ok.

bigjohnowls said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Owls, if Labour does that, does it want to reduce student levels to pre-1997 rates or keep them at circa 50%? The latter would cost the taxpayer a very significant sum. If that's so, where's the money coming from?

Mr. Royale, mostly true, but worth remembering Cameron and Osborne spoke of austerity before office, not after.

Mr Dancer

I would pay for it via a share transaction tax

Or maybe a PB Tory tax!!

Rubs off to Sainsburys

A share transaction tax to be imposed upon pension schemes too?

Ishmael_Z said:

Hertsmere_Pubgoer said:

Ishmael_Z said:

Sandpit said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

Morris_Dancer said:

King Cole, ......

That's fine. I support the right of people in a free society to hold different views. Even if they're tasteless, heretical views that clearly indicate such people are bedfellows of Satan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lXwT7mxmf8

Edited extra bit

Short but sweet - on my CD album it's only 1:19 long.

That’s a DJ’s nightmare, you’d better have the next track in the playlist cued up very quickly!

“Song 2” by Blur, is so named because it’s two minutes long - 1’59” on some CDs, always used to catch me out when I used to DJ two decades ago.

1:58, and evidence that songs don't need to be any longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQaUs5J2wdI

Bohemian Rhapsody wouldn't be much good at only 2 minutes.

It's actually 4 x 2 minute songs strung together.

Sandpit said:

LOL at Dan Hodges getting in a Twitter spat with Morus of this parish...
https://order-order.com/2018/02/19/hodges-v-hendopolis/

I think Hodges has a point. They showed the front page on the Marr show.

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Borough, it's a bit Brownian. She's a micromanager, but the PM has to be able to see the big picture.

Greening on HE:

https://www.justinegreening.co.uk/news/higher-education-options

ydoethur said:

bigjohnowls said:

Jeremy Corbyn
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.@Theresa_May voted to triple tuition fees and saddle students with an average £40,000 in debt.

There's no need to "review" that. Labour will scrap fees, bring back maintenance grants and make education free.

Will he 'deal with' legacy debts at the same time as he promised to before?

In any case as the Liberal Democrats will tell you it's not a proper pledge until he's been photographed carrying a placard!

He’ll just print another £100bn to deal with the legacy debts.
That, or more taxing of poor people to subsidise rich people.

bigjohnowls said:

Jeremy Corbyn
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.@Theresa_May voted to triple tuition fees and saddle students with an average £40,000 in debt.

There's no need to "review" that. Labour will scrap fees, bring back maintenance grants and make education free.

Point of order: education won't be "free". It'll be paid for by someone else

rottenborough said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Borough, it's a bit Brownian. She's a micromanager, but the PM has to be able to see the big picture.

Greening on HE:

https://www.justinegreening.co.uk/news/higher-education-options

Much though I admire Greening, my inner grammar Nazi began goose-stepping in a fashion even John Cleese would blench at when I read this line:

'Overwhelmingly, all degrees cost students £9k per year in fees...'

DecrepitJohnL said:

tlg86 said:

Sandpit said:

LOL at Dan Hodges getting in a Twitter spat with Morus of this parish...
https://order-order.com/2018/02/19/hodges-v-hendopolis/

I think Hodges has a point. They showed the front page on the Marr show.

The BBC showed the front page on the Marr show; is the headline tweeter the BBC (even if Guido conflates them)?

No, he is doing it in a personal capacity.

ydoethur said:

rottenborough said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Borough, it's a bit Brownian. She's a micromanager, but the PM has to be able to see the big picture.

Greening on HE:

https://www.justinegreening.co.uk/news/higher-education-options

Much though I admire Greening, my inner grammar Nazi began goose-stepping in a fashion even John Cleese would blench at when I read this line:

'Overwhelmingly, all degrees cost students £9k per year in fees...'

Yes. The "all" is not only superfluous but wrong. Maybe "each student" would be somewhat clearer too.

Charles said:

bigjohnowls said:

Jeremy Corbyn
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.@Theresa_May voted to triple tuition fees and saddle students with an average £40,000 in debt.

There's no need to "review" that. Labour will scrap fees, bring back maintenance grants and make education free.

Point of order: education won't be "free". It'll be paid for by someone else

That is Labour party policy. And not just in education.

DavidL said:

ydoethur said:

rottenborough said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. Borough, it's a bit Brownian. She's a micromanager, but the PM has to be able to see the big picture.

Greening on HE:

https://www.justinegreening.co.uk/news/higher-education-options

Much though I admire Greening, my inner grammar Nazi began goose-stepping in a fashion even John Cleese would blench at when I read this line:

'Overwhelmingly, all degrees cost students £9k per year in fees...'

Yes. The "all" is not only superfluous but wrong. Maybe "each student" would be somewhat clearer too.

I would have said it should be, 'Tuition fees for the overwhelming majority of courses are £9k per year.'

That would still be wrong, but it would be coherent.

rottenborough said:

DecrepitJohnL said:

tlg86 said:

Sandpit said:

LOL at Dan Hodges getting in a Twitter spat with Morus of this parish...
https://order-order.com/2018/02/19/hodges-v-hendopolis/

I think Hodges has a point. They showed the front page on the Marr show.

The BBC showed the front page on the Marr show; is the headline tweeter the BBC (even if Guido conflates them)?

No, he is doing it in a personal capacity.

I'd say that's an interesting question. It's a longstanding activity undertaken by BBC employees as a group who gain much of their cachet from their status as BBC employees and who mention that status in their Twitter bios. The BBC will have been well aware of this for some time and presumably has acquiesced in them carrying it out. You might try to argue that their Twitter presence is part of the BBC's devolved social media strategy and not a solely personal activity. The BBC gets some benefits from its employees being very visible on Twitter.