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It is an old tradition. This was Bob Dylan in the early 60soxfordsimon said:Having just seen this article in the Standard, it is amazing that they are letting Ed out at the moment. Anyone with any knowledge of how things work would never allow a political leader to be seen eating like this in public.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband-tucks-into-a-bacon-sandwich-on-a-morning-trip-to-buy-flowers-for-his-wife-9407561.html
There is no way to look dignified when scoffing a sarnie - and the photos make it look even worse!
Now, the man on the stand he wants my vote
He's a-runnin' for office on the ballot note
He's out there preachin' in front of the steeple
Tellin' me he loves all kinds-a people
(He's eatin' bagels
He's eatin' pizza
He's eatin' chitlins).
The trick is not to look as if it is making you sick. Not quite there yet, is he?
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UKIP's campaign finale, public meeting in Eastleigh is on YouTube. Mr Farage's speech starts 37m into the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk5lo08hVK4&feature=share&t=37m02s0 -
London local election results also show the impact of gentrification of Inner London, and de-gentrification of some suburbs.
A typical map of party control by ward 25 years ago would show a red core (minus a small blue bit in the West End) surrounded by blue suburbs. Now the blue bit in Inner London has expanded into North Kensington, Hammersmith & Fulham, Battersea and Tooting. At the same time, blue suburbs, in places like North Croydon, Edmonton, Ilford, have turned red.0 -
Mr. Bond, Miliband's on the record as saying he's not Jewish in a religious sense, so I don't see why him eating bacon sarnie is a story.
Worth recalling he was wittering on nonsensically about being the first Jewish prime minister if he wins next year (forgetting the chap whose slogan he adopted), which was a bit odd, but there really isn't a story there.
Not a Miliband fan, but there are plenty of legitimate grounds to kick him over.
The Michael Howard ads were dubious, but we must remember, as Diane Abbott told us, white people like to divide and rule.0 -
Apologies for the multiple posts, I tried to add this as an edit to my last post without success. In short, I wonder if the argument you are making @SouthamObserver is:
* There may be voters who regard themselves as naturally conservative, but could not bring themselves to vote for the party due to a belief they were 'nasty' who may now see a supposedly 'nastier' option in UKIP and thus feel less worried about a Conservative Party vote.
* While there are those who do not regard themselves as natural conservatives, but in seeing a party notionally to the right of the Conservative Party (questionable based on some UKIP policies) they again feel more comfortable voting Conservative, as they are not the most 'right-wing' party.
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Plenty of Jews like bacon sandwiches. In Israel, pork is marketed to Russian Jews as "white steak."Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
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Pulpstar/TSE/isam, talk me through the result you are hoping for. Though this polling may help, I just can't see it at all (though I appreciate you don't need to see much at 100/1). I was one of those thinking the price should have been 1000/1 [prior to this polling].
On this polling and at the current time the value looks like a Conservative Minority @ 13/2 (or take "Other" with WH @ 5/1). However I am increasingly throwing my lot in with Hodges and have reduced my liability on a Tory maj (I have been solidly backing NOM).
http://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/next-uk-general-election/next-government0 -
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.
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If the Tories can pass the "nasty party" baton over to UKIP, a party which seems very intent on taking it, they have a chance to connect with a lot of people who have instinctively seen themselves as anti-Tory because of the rhetoric and language the Tories so often use - especially when chasing UKIP votes. The opportunity for a Tory party that keeps its nerve is to find a new way of communicating with the electorate while leaving it to UKIP to focus on enemies within and without. "We're not nasty like UKIP, we're not naive and left-wing like Labour; we're realistic, pragmatic, reasonable and pro-aspiration" is a pretty good selling point. I won't buy it because I just don't see the world in a Tory way - I am a redistributionist, not a trickle-downer - but I think a lot of people could. I have found it very refreshing to see on here and elsewhere Tories condemning the language that UKIP uses about immigrants.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.0 -
Funny photos are good link-bait. Instagram was sold for USD 1 billion in 2012.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
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This morning's thread has prompted me to ask rcs1000 whether we can expect to see an all-singing, all-dancing updated version of VIPA his election seat prediction model which caused quite a degree of excitement in the run up to the 2010 GE and iirc ultimately proved to be quite accurate.0
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So much for that Jewish heritage...oxfordsimon said:Having just seen this article in the Standard, it is amazing that they are letting Ed out at the moment. Anyone with any knowledge of how things work would never allow a political leader to be seen eating like this in public.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband-tucks-into-a-bacon-sandwich-on-a-morning-trip-to-buy-flowers-for-his-wife-9407561.html
There is no way to look dignified when scoffing a sarnie - and the photos make it look even worse!0 -
Do many people have one big overriding issue? I that the number of people who think in those terms is very, very small. I would suspect that if I sat down with, say, Mssrs Observer, Brooke and Antifrank (or indeed an other three commentators here) we would very quickly agree on a list of the big issues that face the country. Where we would have difficulty in reaching agreement (though less I suspect than any of us might think) is the best way of tackling those issues.DavidL said:
That's a slightly narrower definition than I had in mind.antifrank said:An extreme Eurosceptic is one that believes that Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem politicians should be hanged by the neck until dead, and that their voters are guilty of aiding and abetting treason.
Charles is nearer it in pointing out for the extreme Eurosceptic this is the dominating issue and for most of us it just isn't. Doesn't mean it is not important, doesn't mean we are happy with the status quo, doesn't mean we even rule out the idea of leaving the EU if it did not develop to our advantage. Just not the big overriding issue.
For me, whether to stay in or leave the EU fits into the second category of conversation. It belongs in potential solutions box and not the problems box. The problem with politics in the UK is that has moved away from parties competing against each other on the basis of alternative solutions to agreed problems to parties saying whatever they think will help them get power. Thus we have Tony Blair in 1997 saying (correctly) the fundamental issue in determining the UKs future prosperity is its education system and then in office his administration debasing that system even further in order to make it look like it was improving.0 -
H Samuel was in fact part of the Ratner Group, although I'm not sure that was widely recognised at the timeTheScreamingEagles said:
IIRC HM Samuel and Argos experienced a boost after Gerald Ratner described his own products as a bit Ed Miliband crapSouthamObserver said:I am fascinated by brands and wonder if there is any example in other walks of life beyond politics of a brand that got a boost by default because it was looked at more positively in comparison to another?
Ryanair and Easyjet?0 -
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
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Yougov's tables are up, showing that among those certain to vote, the scores are UKIP 30%, Labour 25%, Conservative 21%, Lib Dem 11%, Green 7%.0
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You would think that after yesterday's problems, his press team might have rethought this little jaunt.anotherDave said:Funny photos are good link-bait. Instagram was sold for USD 1 billion in 2012.
It would seem that the Labour press team have not come close to changing the narrative about their leader.
Yes, it is funny to see someone struggling to eat a bacon sarnie - but the impression it makes (on top of the mistakes of yesterday) is not good. A decent press team would have not let it happen.0 -
many of us would consider that is exactly what is happening now. A small band of Cameroons holding the rest of the party to ransom over the EU question. It is clear that the majority of the party membership do not hold the pro-EU views of the leadership and yet they are being held to ransom with the threat of a Labour government if they do not support the leadership's minority position.DavidL said:
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.0 -
Mercedes and Jaguar (in the bad old days).TheScreamingEagles said:
IIRC HM Samuel and Argos experienced a boost after Gerald Ratner described his own products as a bit Ed Miliband crapSouthamObserver said:I am fascinated by brands and wonder if there is any example in other walks of life beyond politics of a brand that got a boost by default because it was looked at more positively in comparison to another?
Ryanair and Easyjet?0 -
Indeed. And while the big, multi-million pound homes house 4 or 5 people, those tower blocks are home to hundreds. And they are often tucked away, so it's only the houses that people notice.Sean_F said:WRT Camden et al, one of the curious features of Inner London is the existence of council-owned tower blocks, adjoining multi-million pound houses.
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oxfordsimon said:
Having just seen this article in the Standard, it is amazing that they are letting Ed out at the moment. Anyone with any knowledge of how things work would never allow a political leader to be seen eating like this in public.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband-tucks-into-a-bacon-sandwich-on-a-morning-trip-to-buy-flowers-for-his-wife-9407561.html
There is no way to look dignified when scoffing a sarnie - and the photos make it look even worse!
Man eats sandwich shock. Political dynamite.0 -
Yes, TP. I too am finding it very difficult to see where the value lies.Tissue_Price said:Pulpstar/TSE/isam, talk me through the result you are hoping for. Though this polling may help, I just can't see it at all (though I appreciate you don't need to see much at 100/1). I was one of those thinking the price should have been 1000/1 [prior to this polling].
On this polling and at the current time the value looks like a Conservative Minority @ 13/2 (or take "Other" with WH @ 5/1). However I am increasingly throwing my lot in with Hodges and have reduced my liability on a Tory maj (I have been solidly backing NOM).
http://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/next-uk-general-election/next-government
Looking at that market is a bit like looking at a tricky eleven runner handicap. The more you study the form the more you are inclined towards 'no bet'. If pushed, I would opt for the Conservative minority but frankly there are better 13/2 chances running at Kempton this evening - Thumper in the 5.50pm, for example.
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Given a choice, I will always opt for a sausage sandwich rather than bacon. No issues over nasty bits of rind, or the situation where you don't properly bite through the slice of bacon and it ends up flapping out of your mouth like a tongue.
Oh, and always brown sauce on a sausage sandwich (just in case Danny Baker is reading the site this morning!).0 -
The fact that anyone would think there was anything notable, newsworthy or politically embarrassing about the Leader of the Opposition eating a bacon sandwich - whether competently or not - says much about what is wrong with the political class and the political commentariat these days.0
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YouGov
Q. "Generally speaking, do you think news media coverage of the following political parties has been biased in their favour, biased against them, or basically fair and balanced?"
UKIP
Biased in their favour: 13%
Biased against them: 47%
Q. "Do you agree or disagree that there is "a political class, clubbing together, using their mates in the media and doing anything they can to stop the UKIP charge”?"
Strongly agree: 19%
Tend to agree: 35%
Total agree: 54%
http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/x5w1emey23/YG-Archive-140520-Farage-Bias.pdf0 -
Do they, and are they? I'd like to see your 'working out'.Richard_Tyndall said:
It is clear that the majority of the party membership do not hold the pro-EU views of the leadership and yet they are being held to ransom with the threat of a Labour government if they do not support the leadership's minority position.DavidL said:
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.
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To be fair, the Standard didn't make the anti-semetic link.Cyclefree said:
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
However, was does annoy me is that this was so clearly staged.
According to the Standard, Miliband went to Covent Garden at 6.30 to get the freshest possible flowers for Justine.
And he is then going straight on a 200 mile tour to promote small business.
So either (a) the flowers are going to sit in the back of the car all day - rather defeating the point of getting the freshest ones; or (b) somebody else will give them to Justine - rather defeating the point of buying flowers for your wife!0 -
A majority of the membership voted for Cameron.Richard_Tyndall said:
many of us would consider that is exactly what is happening now. A small band of Cameroons holding the rest of the party to ransom over the EU question. It is clear that the majority of the party membership do not hold the pro-EU views of the leadership and yet they are being held to ransom with the threat of a Labour government if they do not support the leadership's minority position.DavidL said:
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.0 -
Bacon-gate is a new low in the papers' election coverage. Is this what passes for news nowadays??
Tomorrow David Cameron 'caught' eating chips. Nick Clegg snatched munching crisps. Nigel Farage spotted with glass of wine.0 -
Hardly. The suggestion that he simply popped out to buy Mrs Milliband some flowers is laughable. He was on an arranged publicity tour of the market, and tried to eat a bacon sandwich to look more 'man of the people'.Cyclefree said:Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife.
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None of that BobaFett dismissiveness.BobaFett said:Bacon-gate is a new low in the papers' election coverage. Is this what passes for news nowadays??
Tomorrow David Cameron 'caught' eating chips. Nick Clegg snatched munching crisps. Nigel Farage spotted with glass of wine.
I remember tim et al being very excited about Osborne eat a burger0 -
I don't think the "press team" were on hand to intervene - we now live in an age of 'public media', were every man woman and child carries a camera with video recording ability (which is also sometimes used as a phone). - No politician or 'celebrity' for that matter is safe from going about their private life. - If Ed wants to go off piste, the best advice his team could give is teach him how to eat properly , without pulling weird faces.oxfordsimon said:
snipanotherDave said:Funny photos are good link-bait. Instagram was sold for USD 1 billion in 2012.
Yes, it is funny to see someone struggling to eat a bacon sarnie - but the impression it makes (on top of the mistakes of yesterday) is not good. A decent press team would have not let it happen.0 -
Actually he was doing neither. He was doing a photo-shoot.Cyclefree said:EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
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UK elections are pretty much always won on the centre ground. The 1970s lefties lost the plot and Maggie was the sensible alternative. In 1997 the Tories looked tired and sleazy and Blair looked (and sounded) like a sensible alternative. In 2010 Labour was bankrupt (literally and policy-wise) and Dave looked like the sensible alternative.
And 2015? Labour have, unimaginably, decided to go all hard-lefty, utterly abandoning the middle ground. And UKIP whose tanks were mustering at the edge of the middle ground have got a bit of a monstering lately and gone all nasty and extremist (whether true or not it's the perceptions that count). There is, I think, also a yellow party that nobody votes for but I forgot their name.
Dave has the entire middle ground to himself.0 -
In and of itself it is not political dynamite. But it is a series of photographs that a decent press minder would never have allowed to have been taken.HortenceWithering said:Man eats sandwich shock. Political dynamite.
No-one can look good eating like that. By allowing this to be a press event, it has made Miliband look odd. Now we know that this has been done before - the media love photos of a Miliband looking goofy. But on top of a media disaster yesterday, this should not have happened.
It shows a basic lack of competence in the Labour press team.
Miliband is not having a good week - and probably because those around him are not giving him the support, advice and briefings that someone in his position is entitled to expect.0 -
To be fair, Dave has already give us Guinness-gate and Bass-gate. I don't know why any of them bother. They always end up looking ridiculous. The only one who doesn't is Farage, because it is clear he really does like going to the pub and having the odd fag.BobaFett said:Bacon-gate is a new low in the papers' election coverage. Is this what passes for news nowadays??
Tomorrow David Cameron 'caught' eating chips. Nick Clegg snatched munching crisps. Nigel Farage spotted with glass of wine.
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So? There are many sensible reasons for criticising Ed M. The fact that he looks like most of us when eating a sandwich - and no-one looks good when eating - is not one of them.Richard_Nabavi said:
Actually he was doing neither. He was doing a photo-shoot.Cyclefree said:EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
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From the article -Charles said:
To be fair, the Standard didn't make the anti-semetic link.Cyclefree said:
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
However, was does annoy me is that this was so clearly staged.
According to the Standard, Miliband went to Covent Garden at 6.30 to get the freshest possible flowers for Justine.
And he is then going straight on a 200 mile tour to promote small business.
So either (a) the flowers are going to sit in the back of the car all day - rather defeating the point of getting the freshest ones; or (b) somebody else will give them to Justine - rather defeating the point of buying flowers for your wife!
'This morning’s visit was staged to promote Mr Miliband’s pledge to help small firms by cutting rates and reforming the banks.'0 -
Debout la République (Arise the Republic)
Wonderful article in EuroActiv France on how our older generation of politicians can inspire the young.
It relates the story of a young French girl inspired by two MEPs to stand for election on behalf of a far right party in France.
"At the time in 2007, I was working in a restaurant in Strasbourg. I met these two MEPs and we started talking about politics," she told EurActiv France.
"The two Brits have no hierarchy and neither of them comes from a political background," she explained.
Oh to have been a fly on the wall at this original chance encounter.
More here for the terminally curious: http://bit.ly/1lOXw0o0 -
We had the Cornish pasty sensation too. Perhaps we could have a thread header on the role of snack food in this Parliament.Charles said:
None of that BobaFett dismissiveness.BobaFett said:Bacon-gate is a new low in the papers' election coverage. Is this what passes for news nowadays??
Tomorrow David Cameron 'caught' eating chips. Nick Clegg snatched munching crisps. Nigel Farage spotted with glass of wine.
I remember tim et al being very excited about Osborne eat a burger0 -
Yep and that was when he was pushing Eurosceptic agenda. He has changed his tune since then.Charles said:
A majority of the membership voted for Cameron.Richard_Tyndall said:
many of us would consider that is exactly what is happening now. A small band of Cameroons holding the rest of the party to ransom over the EU question. It is clear that the majority of the party membership do not hold the pro-EU views of the leadership and yet they are being held to ransom with the threat of a Labour government if they do not support the leadership's minority position.DavidL said:
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.
Of course there is also the fact that Tory party membership has almost halved since that vote.0 -
Yes, that's a great photograph and there are more wonderful buildings planned. London is a truly stupendous city!SeanT said:Look at this photo of the Leadenhall Tower, aka the Cheesegrater.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/constructionchest/13464781935/
London has become beautiful. It has beautiful skyscrapers and an exhilarating skyline. And it's all happened in a decade and a half.0 -
But no-one is criticising Ed M for looking like a dork when he eats a bacon sandwich. They are expressing surprise that, on a pre-arranged photo-shoot, his minders gave the press an opportunity to photograph him looking like a dork when eating a bacon sandwich.Cyclefree said:So? There are many sensible reasons for criticising Ed M. The fact that he looks like most of us when eating a sandwich - and no-one looks good when eating - is not one of them.
Would never have happened in Alastair Campbell's day.
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@joeyjonessky: Milibacon Latest! Moving pix of butty on everyone's lips http://t.co/k8eZoEjxk4. Note Labour aides' vain attempts to shield from cameras.Richard_Nabavi said:
But no-one is criticising Ed M for looking like a dork when he eats a bacon sandwich. They are expressing surprise that, on a pre-arranged photo-shoot, his minders gave the press an opportunity to photograph him looking like a dork when eating a bacon sandwich.
Would never have happened in Alastair Campbell's day.0 -
Garbage. He has been absolutely consistent right from the start.Richard_Tyndall said:
Yep and that was when he was pushing Eurosceptic agenda. He has changed his tune since then.0 -
It should be confronted, yes, but the point of the Michael Howard ads was to mobilise it - when it looked like being beneficial for Labour. Now it looks unhelpful, so the neutralisation strategy is being wheeled out: have your Jewish leader eat a bacon sandwich. In public.Cyclefree said:
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
It proves to that demographic that he's not that Jewish, and does so at no cost. Anyone whos is frumm enough to tut-tut at Miliband eating a bacon sandwich doesn't think anybody, even including themselves, is properly Jewish anyway.0 -
Ladbrokes' cut out and keep guide to betting on the European Elections.
http://politicalbookie.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/the-ladbrokes-euro-election-betting-guide/
Might be helpful for any betting novices.0 -
The best building in London is of course Kings Cross station - gateway to the North (via a publicly owned train operating company!).peter_from_putney said:
Yes, that's a great photograph and there are more wonderful buildings planned. London is a truly stupendous city!SeanT said:Look at this photo of the Leadenhall Tower, aka the Cheesegrater.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/constructionchest/13464781935/
London has become beautiful. It has beautiful skyscrapers and an exhilarating skyline. And it's all happened in a decade and a half.0 -
Why is Ed Milliband eating bacon sarnies given that;
A. It's processed meat - Cancer RIsk.
B. It's full of salt - Heart Attack and stroke risk
3. It full of fat - Heart attack, stroke and cancer risk.
I thought Ed wanted to ban everything that taste's nice and force us all to eat musli?0 -
Mr. T, I think 'geek' has become significantly devalued as a weakness or term of abuse, given the rise of technology, gaming being bigger than Hollywood and comicbook superheroes dominating the silver screen.
Miliband's problem is not that he seems to be a geek, but seems to possess, shall we say, an excess of intellectual self-confidence.0 -
What is this anti-Semitic vote of which you speak? Why would it be happy to see Miliband eat a bacon sandwich? Isn't it more likely that a bacon sandwich is a pretty normal thing to have for breakfast and Labour wanted Ed to look pretty normal? Though, of course, they failed spectacularly.Bond_James_Bond said:
It should be confronted, yes, but the point of the Michael Howard ads was to mobilise it - when it looked like being beneficial for Labour. Now it looks unhelpful, so the neutralisation strategy is being wheeled out: have your Jewish leader eat a bacon sandwich. In public.Cyclefree said:
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
It proves to that demographic that he's not that Jewish, and does so at no cost. Anyone whos is frumm enough to tut-tut at Miliband eating a bacon sandwich doesn't think anybody, even including themselves, is properly Jewish anyway.
0 -
The fact that Labour are not using Alastair Campbell-style tactics is a plus, in my eyes.Richard_Nabavi said:
But no-one is criticising Ed M for looking like a dork when he eats a bacon sandwich. They are expressing surprise that, on a pre-arranged photo-shoot, his minders gave the press an opportunity to photograph him looking like a dork when eating a bacon sandwich.Cyclefree said:So? There are many sensible reasons for criticising Ed M. The fact that he looks like most of us when eating a sandwich - and no-one looks good when eating - is not one of them.
Would never have happened in Alastair Campbell's day.
0 -
When a man is tired of London .......SandyRentool said:
The best building in London is of course Kings Cross station - gateway to the North (via a publicly owned train operating company!).peter_from_putney said:
Yes, that's a great photograph and there are more wonderful buildings planned. London is a truly stupendous city!SeanT said:Look at this photo of the Leadenhall Tower, aka the Cheesegrater.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/constructionchest/13464781935/
London has become beautiful. It has beautiful skyscrapers and an exhilarating skyline. And it's all happened in a decade and a half.0 -
My recollection is that postal votes account for around a third of votes.
UKIP seems to be the only party with their freepost literature distributed to households prior to the postal vote papers arriving. The polls also showed UKIP peaking at the time the postal votes went out.
Has anyone seen what proportion of each parties voters are postal voters?
My experience is that it is Conservatives who have been best at getting their supporters registered as postal votes. If ex Conservatives are where UKIP are drawing 50% of their vote then past Conservative efforts will have helped UKIP sew up the postal vote well before polling day.0 -
You'd have to ask Labour who the anti-Semitic vote is. it would the one they aimed their Michael Howard / flying pig / Fagin posters at.SouthamObserver said:
What is this anti-Semitic vote of which you speak? Why would it be happy to see Miliband eat a bacon sandwich? Isn't it more likely that a bacon sandwich is a pretty normal thing to have for breakfast and Labour wanted Ed to look pretty normal? Though, of course, they failed spectacularly.Bond_James_Bond said:
It should be confronted, yes, but the point of the Michael Howard ads was to mobilise it - when it looked like being beneficial for Labour. Now it looks unhelpful, so the neutralisation strategy is being wheeled out: have your Jewish leader eat a bacon sandwich. In public.Cyclefree said:
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
It proves to that demographic that he's not that Jewish, and does so at no cost. Anyone whos is frumm enough to tut-tut at Miliband eating a bacon sandwich doesn't think anybody, even including themselves, is properly Jewish anyway.0 -
Whilst there is no doubt that a bacon buttie is non kosher, the powers that be have found it much more difficult to pronounce on turbot, the epicurean's favourite fish.Bond_James_Bond said:
It should be confronted, yes, but the point of the Michael Howard ads was to mobilise it - when it looked like being beneficial for Labour. Now it looks unhelpful, so the neutralisation strategy is being wheeled out: have your Jewish leader eat a bacon sandwich. In public.Cyclefree said:
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
It proves to that demographic that he's not that Jewish, and does so at no cost. Anyone whos is frumm enough to tut-tut at Miliband eating a bacon sandwich doesn't think anybody, even including themselves, is properly Jewish anyway.
After much discussion and many long reviews a compromise solution was reached.
Pacific turbots (Pleuronichthys species) and Curlfin turbot or sole (Pleuronichthys decurrens) are ruled kosher. However, European turbot (Scophthalmus maximus or Psetta maximus) is *not* kosher.
It is possible that banning of the European turbot was occasioned by the fact that farmed turbot is a major export of both Bulgaria and Romania.
Not even College would dare be seen in public eating it.0 -
But they are, just not competently. This was supposed to be a man-of-the-people story, complete with a faked-up purchase of flowers for Justine. It didn't quite work out as planned, that is all anyone is saying. Laughing at failed political stunts is a great tradition.Cyclefree said:
The fact that Labour are not using Alastair Campbell-style tactics is a plus, in my eyes.0 -
I stand corrected - the whole thing was a contrived photo op by team Ed.
Odd thing about the shoot is that Ed doesn’t even appear to be enjoying it #baconbuttiegate
0 -
Mr. Putney, he visits Yorkshire, the most delightful place in England and the land which gave the world Constantine the Great and his mother, who discovered the True Cross?0
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Yes - and Labour were disgraceful doing that and just as disgraceful when they had Ken Livingstone mobilising (or appearing to) the anti-Semitic vote. Ed M has - to my regret - been far too quiet about confronting the members of his own party (some of them MPs such as J Corbyn) who have and continue to associate themselves with some very nasty anti-Semitic people, under the guise of reaching out to other minority communities. It is a stain on the Labour leadership that it has been so pusillanimous about confronting the anti-Semitism in its own ranks.Bond_James_Bond said:
It should be confronted, yes, but the point of the Michael Howard ads was to mobilise it - when it looked like being beneficial for Labour. Now it looks unhelpful, so the neutralisation strategy is being wheeled out: have your Jewish leader eat a bacon sandwich. In public.Cyclefree said:
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
It proves to that demographic that he's not that Jewish, and does so at no cost. Anyone whos is frumm enough to tut-tut at Miliband eating a bacon sandwich doesn't think anybody, even including themselves, is properly Jewish anyway.
0 -
Absolutely consistent?Richard_Nabavi said:
Garbage. He has been absolutely consistent right from the start.Richard_Tyndall said:
Yep and that was when he was pushing Eurosceptic agenda. He has changed his tune since then.
http://youtu.be/kVTIOQ0xJow
0 -
Yes, the bunch of flowers was the give-away.Richard_Nabavi said:
Actually he was doing neither. He was doing a photo-shoot.Cyclefree said:EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
0 -
I lasted 4 years!peter_from_putney said:
When a man is tired of London .......SandyRentool said:
The best building in London is of course Kings Cross station - gateway to the North (via a publicly owned train operating company!).peter_from_putney said:
Yes, that's a great photograph and there are more wonderful buildings planned. London is a truly stupendous city!SeanT said:Look at this photo of the Leadenhall Tower, aka the Cheesegrater.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/constructionchest/13464781935/
London has become beautiful. It has beautiful skyscrapers and an exhilarating skyline. And it's all happened in a decade and a half.0 -
If they don't believe that he represents the party as a whole they can replace him.Richard_Tyndall said:
Yep and that was when he was pushing Eurosceptic agenda. He has changed his tune since then.Charles said:
A majority of the membership voted for Cameron.Richard_Tyndall said:
many of us would consider that is exactly what is happening now. A small band of Cameroons holding the rest of the party to ransom over the EU question. It is clear that the majority of the party membership do not hold the pro-EU views of the leadership and yet they are being held to ransom with the threat of a Labour government if they do not support the leadership's minority position.DavidL said:
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.
Of course there is also the fact that Tory party membership has almost halved since that vote.
There is no 'holding to ransom' in the Conservative party. It's very easy to trigger a ballot on Cameron's leadership.0 -
I'd revise the history a bit. Through the 70s and 80s there was a shift by both parties to the outer wings leaving a large gap between them. That was what triggered and allowed the sudden rise of the Alliance into that gap picking up ~25% of voters.Patrick said:UK elections are pretty much always won on the centre ground. The 1970s lefties lost the plot and Maggie was the sensible alternative. In 1997 the Tories looked tired and sleazy and Blair looked (and sounded) like a sensible alternative. In 2010 Labour was bankrupt (literally and policy-wise) and Dave looked like the sensible alternative.
And 2015? Labour have, unimaginably, decided to go all hard-lefty, utterly abandoning the middle ground. And UKIP whose tanks were mustering at the edge of the middle ground have got a bit of a monstering lately and gone all nasty and extremist (whether true or not it's the perceptions that count). There is, I think, also a yellow party that nobody votes for but I forgot their name.
Dave has the entire middle ground to himself.
Since the 90s, the presence of the alliance/Lib Dems as competitors on the inside flank of each party brought them close back together to protect that inside flank. And ever since we've had elections fought in the centre.0 -
If you're going to be photoed eating a sandwich in public:
1) Stand up. Hunching forward is not a good look, and makes you look very beta.
2) Chomp don't nibble.
Boris would have got this right instinctively.0 -
So it was a crummy photo-shoot. Big deal.Richard_Nabavi said:
But they are, just not competently. This was supposed to be a man-of-the-people story, complete with a faked-up purchase of flowers for Justine. It didn't quite work out as planned, that is all anyone is saying. Laughing at failed political stunts is a great tradition.Cyclefree said:
The fact that Labour are not using Alastair Campbell-style tactics is a plus, in my eyes.
0 -
The Guinness photo that Tim always linked to was a classic, no denying that. Who'd be a politician?SouthamObserver said:
To be fair, Dave has already give us Guinness-gate and Bass-gate. I don't know why any of them bother. They always end up looking ridiculous. The only one who doesn't is Farage, because it is clear he really does like going to the pub and having the odd fag.BobaFett said:Bacon-gate is a new low in the papers' election coverage. Is this what passes for news nowadays??
Tomorrow David Cameron 'caught' eating chips. Nick Clegg snatched munching crisps. Nigel Farage spotted with glass of wine.
0 -
Yes, and he realises London's not that bad after all.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Putney, he visits Yorkshire, the most delightful place in England and the land which gave the world Constantine the Great and his mother, who discovered the True Cross?
0 -
Yep, for example this speech from 2005 which was what won him the leadership contest:anotherDave said:Absolutely consistent?
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/oct/04/conservatives2005.conservatives3
Or this one when he became leader:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4504722.stm
The idea (which Richard T seems to believe) that Cameron posed as an extreme Eurosceptic or hid his centre-right, one-nation, Macmillan-style brand of Conservatism to win the Conservative leadership is completely barmy, another example of UKIP craziness. He was elected leader precisely because he promised to modernise the party and widen its appeal to the centre ground and to younger, socially liberal voters.
0 -
Why don't you move there then?peter_from_putney said:
Yes, that's a great photograph and there are more wonderful buildings planned. London is a truly stupendous city!SeanT said:Look at this photo of the Leadenhall Tower, aka the Cheesegrater.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/constructionchest/13464781935/
London has become beautiful. It has beautiful skyscrapers and an exhilarating skyline. And it's all happened in a decade and a half.
(sorry: little dig at Putney, where my mother grew up once they sold up in Herstmonceux)0 -
Why is someone doing a marginals poll whilst the country is gripped with Euro election 'fever'? By fever I don't of course mean excitement, more a confused state of not knowing quite where you are. I'm amazed by the number of people who think Ukip are on the verge of running the country. I understand Ashcroft's polling was done a while ago but what is ComRes up to? Perhaps ITV were looking for a story and the odd polls during the Euro campaign should provide one.
I counted 7% for others in the ComRes poll. Seems a bit high - were these exclusively English marginals? Must be one or two in Wales with a small Plaid vote.
It would be quite incredible for Labour to be 5% up nationally and 2% down in the marginals. Where are they putting on the votes? Reduced turnout? Unlikely given the rise of Ukip. In Tory heartlands? Sounds absurd. In their own heartlands? Possibly and it's not appreciated enough (or wasn't pre-Ukip) how disillusioned Labour heartlands were under Blair/Brown. But with so many Labour voters dissatisfied with Ed's performance are they really going to pile up huge majorities in places they'll win anyway? The nightmare scenario is a big swing to Labour in Tory/Lib Dem marginals where they are on a very low base at the moment. Previous polling has suggested this unlikely but the longer the coalition goes on the more likely those Lib Dem tactical voters are to break. Are there really enough of them though?
All in all ComRes's marginals poll looks incompatible with their national polling. Their national polling has Labour at a similar level to most other pollsters' findings. The marginals poll look wrong.0 -
Yes, and how many years ago was that? 9, I believe. Not only that, but most of those who voted have left the Tory party.Charles said:
A majority of the membership voted for Cameron.Richard_Tyndall said:
many of us would consider that is exactly what is happening now. A small band of Cameroons holding the rest of the party to ransom over the EU question. It is clear that the majority of the party membership do not hold the pro-EU views of the leadership and yet they are being held to ransom with the threat of a Labour government if they do not support the leadership's minority position.DavidL said:
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.
0 -
Morris - I love Yorkshire too, that's why I have a home there ...... see you at Ilkley in July!Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Putney, he visits Yorkshire, the most delightful place in England and the land which gave the world Constantine the Great and his mother, who discovered the True Cross?
0 -
Corrected it for youSandyRentool said:
The best building in London is of course St Pancras stationpeter_from_putney said:
Yes, that's a great photograph and there are more wonderful buildings planned. London is a truly stupendous city!SeanT said:Look at this photo of the Leadenhall Tower, aka the Cheesegrater.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/constructionchest/13464781935/
London has become beautiful. It has beautiful skyscrapers and an exhilarating skyline. And it's all happened in a decade and a half.
0 -
It was a crummy photo-shoot after a very bad media day yesterday - a decent press team would not have allowed this to happen.Cyclefree said:
So it was a crummy photo-shoot. Big deal.0 -
Boris looks as if he's eaten the whole pig, not just a sandwich. And he'd have probably spilt fat down his clothes.antifrank said:If you're going to be photoed eating a sandwich in public:
1) Stand up. Hunching forward is not a good look, and makes you look very beta.
2) Chomp don't nibble.
Boris would have got this right instinctively.
Am off now. All this intense political theorising is making my brain ache.
0 -
No they cannot. There is no mechanism for the party membership to launch a leadership challenge. That can only be done by the Parliamentary party.Charles said:
If they don't believe that he represents the party as a whole they can replace him.Richard_Tyndall said:
Yep and that was when he was pushing Eurosceptic agenda. He has changed his tune since then.Charles said:
A majority of the membership voted for Cameron.Richard_Tyndall said:
many of us would consider that is exactly what is happening now. A small band of Cameroons holding the rest of the party to ransom over the EU question. It is clear that the majority of the party membership do not hold the pro-EU views of the leadership and yet they are being held to ransom with the threat of a Labour government if they do not support the leadership's minority position.DavidL said:
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.
Of course there is also the fact that Tory party membership has almost halved since that vote.
There is no 'holding to ransom' in the Conservative party. It's very easy to trigger a ballot on Cameron's leadership.
0 -
Have to profess bemusement over pigbuttygate. The accusation appears to be "he looks like a geek" because he is a geek. That's like saying "Farage looks angry" or Thatcher looked like a woman".
Milliband is a geek. So the question is would people rather have a well meaning geek or a smarmy liar? I'd have thought after Blair then Cameron and Clegg people were sick of smug liars with punchable faces - they want "normal" which apparently is Farage. Isn't it ultimately going to come down to policy? The triumph of Thatcher is that most people are now self centered ignorant cretins only interested in I me mine. so it's going to be about policy after all.0 -
It's a bit of a leap in my view to believe that Miliband eating a bacon sandwich is a pitch for the anti-Semitic vote. But we'll have to agree to disagree, I guess. Just as we'll have to agree to disagree that those 2005 posters were a deliberate pitch for the anti-Semitic vote.Bond_James_Bond said:
You'd have to ask Labour who the anti-Semitic vote is. it would the one they aimed their Michael Howard / flying pig / Fagin posters at.SouthamObserver said:
What is this anti-Semitic vote of which you speak? Why would it be happy to see Miliband eat a bacon sandwich? Isn't it more likely that a bacon sandwich is a pretty normal thing to have for breakfast and Labour wanted Ed to look pretty normal? Though, of course, they failed spectacularly.Bond_James_Bond said:
It should be confronted, yes, but the point of the Michael Howard ads was to mobilise it - when it looked like being beneficial for Labour. Now it looks unhelpful, so the neutralisation strategy is being wheeled out: have your Jewish leader eat a bacon sandwich. In public.Cyclefree said:
The anti-Semitic vote should neither be accepted nor neutralised. It should be confronted. If we're going to criticise UKIP for demonising immigrants then we should be equally critical of parties seeking to appeal to anti-Semites.Bond_James_Bond said:
It's not just meat, it's bacon. This is not an accident. There's a significant anti-Semitic vote out there that Labour is happy to accept or at the very least feels it needs to neutralise; remember the Michael Howard ads.antifrank said:If the newspapers are reduced to printing "man eats sandwich" gaffes, it's hardly surprising that they're losing money hand over fist.
EdM was eating a bacon sandwich and buying flowers for his wife. Hardly a gaffe. Rather endearing in fact. Newspapers are being silly.
It proves to that demographic that he's not that Jewish, and does so at no cost. Anyone whos is frumm enough to tut-tut at Miliband eating a bacon sandwich doesn't think anybody, even including themselves, is properly Jewish anyway.
0 -
Isn''t museli full of bad sugar?GIN1138 said:Why is Ed Milliband eating bacon sarnies given that;
A. It's processed meat - Cancer RIsk.
B. It's full of salt - Heart Attack and stroke risk
3. It full of fat - Heart attack, stroke and cancer risk.
I thought Ed wanted to ban everything that taste's nice and force us all to eat musli?
0 -
That must be why your membership has halved then. Cameron was and is a fraud. The sooner he is gone the better for the Tory party and the country.Richard_Nabavi said:
Yep, for example this speech from 2005 which was what won him the leadership contest:anotherDave said:Absolutely consistent?
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/oct/04/conservatives2005.conservatives3
Or this one when he became leader:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4504722.stm
The idea (which Richard T seems to believe) that Cameron posed as an extreme Eurosceptic or hid his centre-right, one-nation, Macmillan-style brand of Conservatism to win the Conservative leadership is completely barmy, another example of UKIP craziness. He was elected leader precisely because he promised to modernise the party and widen its appeal to the centre ground and to younger, socially liberal voters.0 -
Mr. Corporeal, blasphemy!
Mr. Putney, I knew you were a wise fellow.0 -
The fact that Ed looks faintly ridiculous in this photo opportunity trying to pose as a man of the people is of no real moment whatsoever.
The fact that our media are now always on the lookout for the next "gaff" (serious or not) must be a major concern to the Labour leadership. It is very, very hard to run a campaign in such an atmosphere. Ask President Romney (sorry Southam).0 -
Sure. And if they wanted to replace him 47 (?) MPs just have to write a letter to the chairman of the '22 and it can be tested. Simples.MikeK said:
Yes, and how many years ago was that? 9, I believe. Not only that, but most of those who voted have left the Tory party.Charles said:
A majority of the membership voted for Cameron.Richard_Tyndall said:
many of us would consider that is exactly what is happening now. A small band of Cameroons holding the rest of the party to ransom over the EU question. It is clear that the majority of the party membership do not hold the pro-EU views of the leadership and yet they are being held to ransom with the threat of a Labour government if they do not support the leadership's minority position.DavidL said:
My concern, being blunt about it, is that the Conservative party has on many occasions in the recent past been held to ransom by a small collection of sad obsessives who have contaminated the brand and made too large a section of the population think they were odd at best and downright unpleasant at worst.JamesM said:@SouthamObserver
Thanks, yes an interesting example there regarding airlines.
Ultimately I think what I have taken from your posts is that in political positioning at least UKIP's rise could help the Conservatives. As I note, where I think I will disagree with you is that I don't think this must or indeed should mean the Conservatives become less of a Conservative Party. I think they need to recognise and deal with the anti-establishment and liberal elite challenge facing all parties and reconnect more with the country as a whole. The UKIP rise may actually help them to do this more effectively though, which would be a good thing.
If some of these moved off that would be a good thing.0 -
I quite fancy a bacon sandwich now.
Is anyone keeping track of how much he's spent this week, that'd surely eat in to his £70 a week allowance....0 -
Any one know which companies are doing an exit poll tomorrow on the Euro vote?0
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Just because he doesn't share your extreme views, that doesn't make him a fraud. Maybe he's wrong, certainly some voters would prefer a more right-wing approach, but, as I have demonstrated by linking to two speeches from 2005, he has been 100% consistent in his political positioning. No-one in the Conservative Party can possibly claim to have been misled about the direction he was going to take the party in: it is all there in back and white.Richard_Tyndall said:That must be why your membership has halved then. Cameron was and is a fraud. The sooner he is gone the better for the Tory party and the country.
As for membership falling, it fell at a similar rate under Maggie, Hague, IDS and Howard. The reasons are more to do with changes in society than anything else.0 -
How long before this gets described as a photo shoot opportunity?SeanT said:Intriguing/disturbing story in Guido.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/21/ukip-candidate-stabbed-by-labour-supporters/
Who knows if it is true?
What's undeniable is that the way UKIP are being smeared is going to end with UKIPers being beaten/knifed etc.0 -
Mr. T, that's immensely disturbing, and worth mentioning others (I think including yourself) first raised the issue of a very odd air about the attacks on UKIP yesterday.
This is deeply unhealthy.
I must admit, I've veered wildly in recent days and seriously considered backing another party at the Euros (Pirates, probably), but the level of abuse hurled at UKIP has firmed up my intentions.0 -
Never work with children, animals but never, ever try to eat a bacon butty or hamburger for the cameras.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/21/video-eds-battle-of-the-bacon-butty/
Another Wtf moment from labour's media interns.0 -
I don't believe this is true. His cheek bone doesn't look broken and the fact the attackers are Muslim just seems too convenient.peter_from_putney said:
How long before this gets described as a photo shoot opportunity?SeanT said:Intriguing/disturbing story in Guido.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/21/ukip-candidate-stabbed-by-labour-supporters/
Who knows if it is true?
What's undeniable is that the way UKIP are being smeared is going to end with UKIPers being beaten/knifed etc.0 -
We also had many many many posts from tim about how one example of Cameron using a supermarket was going to lose Cameron the GE and turn water into wine etc etc.Charles said:
None of that BobaFett dismissiveness.BobaFett said:Bacon-gate is a new low in the papers' election coverage. Is this what passes for news nowadays??
Tomorrow David Cameron 'caught' eating chips. Nick Clegg snatched munching crisps. Nigel Farage spotted with glass of wine.
I remember tim et al being very excited about Osborne eat a burger
So, it is refreshing to read from BobaFett that such appearances are of little consequence and if tim returns we can look forward to BobaFett undermine tim's pronouncements as well as us all seeing proof of father xmas and the tooth fairy.
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But is that incident political or religious?SeanT said:Intriguing/disturbing story in Guido.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/21/ukip-candidate-stabbed-by-labour-supporters/
Who knows if it is true?
What's undeniable is that the way UKIP are being smeared is going to end with UKIPers being beaten/knifed etc.0 -
I love the way that when you are losing the argument you revert to calling a view held by close to half the population 'extreme'. It just highlights everything that is wrong with you and the Tory party when it comes to your disdain for the public.Richard_Nabavi said:
Just because he doesn't share your extreme views, that doesn't make him a fraud. Maybe he's wrong, certainly some voters would prefer a more right-wing approach, but, as I have demonstrated by linking to two speeches from 2005, he has been 100% consistent in his political positioning. No-one in the Conservative Party can possibly claim to have been misled about the direction he was going to take the party in: it is all there in back and white.Richard_Tyndall said:That must be why your membership has halved then. Cameron was and is a fraud. The sooner he is gone the better for the Tory party and the country.
As for membership falling, it fell at a similar rate under Maggie, Hague, IDS and Howard. The reasons are more to do with changes in society than anything else.0 -
I make that all of 3 minutes!Socrates said:
I don't believe this is true. His cheek bone doesn't look broken and the fact the attackers are Muslim just seems too convenient.peter_from_putney said:
How long before this gets described as a photo shoot opportunity?SeanT said:Intriguing/disturbing story in Guido.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/21/ukip-candidate-stabbed-by-labour-supporters/
Who knows if it is true?
What's undeniable is that the way UKIP are being smeared is going to end with UKIPers being beaten/knifed etc.0 -
Or neighbours falling out?TheWatcher said:
But is that incident political or religious?SeanT said:Intriguing/disturbing story in Guido.
http://order-order.com/2014/05/21/ukip-candidate-stabbed-by-labour-supporters/
Who knows if it is true?
What's undeniable is that the way UKIP are being smeared is going to end with UKIPers being beaten/knifed etc.
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I don't see why moderate centre-rightness needs to mean Europhile. He definitely did advertise the fact he was on the eurosceptic side of the argument. Now he's leaking stories to the Guardian to smear actual eurosceptics as racists.Richard_Nabavi said:
Yep, for example this speech from 2005 which was what won him the leadership contest:anotherDave said:Absolutely consistent?
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/oct/04/conservatives2005.conservatives3
Or this one when he became leader:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4504722.stm
The idea (which Richard T seems to believe) that Cameron posed as an extreme Eurosceptic or hid his centre-right, one-nation, Macmillan-style brand of Conservatism to win the Conservative leadership is completely barmy, another example of UKIP craziness. He was elected leader precisely because he promised to modernise the party and widen its appeal to the centre ground and to younger, socially liberal voters.
And he did lie about being a liberal too. No liberal believes the security services should grab the content of millions of private communications without any warrant or probable cause.0 -
I think I want a close result with Labour just pipping it, but I'm not sure now tbh.Tissue_Price said:Pulpstar/TSE/isam, talk me through the result you are hoping for. Though this polling may help, I just can't see it at all (though I appreciate you don't need to see much at 100/1). I was one of those thinking the price should have been 1000/1 [prior to this polling].
On this polling and at the current time the value looks like a Conservative Minority @ 13/2 (or take "Other" with WH @ 5/1). However I am increasingly throwing my lot in with Hodges and have reduced my liability on a Tory maj (I have been solidly backing NOM).
http://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/next-uk-general-election/next-government
Anyway I've sent you a message, maybe you can work out what I want !0
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