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Aside from his vaccine approval and voting bounce the weekend’s other Johnson-Starmer ratings look t

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited March 2021 in General
imageAside from his vaccine approval and voting bounce the weekend’s other Johnson-Starmer ratings look troubling for the PM – politicalbetting.com

As well as the widely publicised approval and voting numbers in the Opinium poll at the weekend was the above range of questions on how Johnson and Starmer are perceived over a range of different areas.

Read the full story here

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Comments

  • maaarshmaaarsh Posts: 3,391
    First
  • maaarshmaaarsh Posts: 3,391
    Just to check, is it the same Starmer this guy is talking about...

    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1371445949587918851
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    Your header, Mike, really did bring Life of Brian to mind instantly. "Well, apart from ...., what have the Romans ever done for us?"
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,084
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,247
    fpt on the (deeply ironic) Handelsblatt report

    Germany is averaging 50-150 deaths a day at the moment. This will come down, but more slowly now. Let's say the average through this extra month is 30 deaths a day (conservatively). Adding a month to the vaccine roll-out, thanks to the AZ suspension, therefore means 1000 dead Germans and 5000 in ICU who would not otherwise have died or gone into ICU, and many more with Long Covid. Plus more economic pain

    That is the literal cost of this policy. For a generally non-fatal complication which - if it affects 1 in 200,000 jabbed, and Germany eventually gives, say, 20m AZ jabs, means 100 people with CVST and maybe 10-15 dead


    Simple cost benefit.

    1000 dead and 5000 in hospital.... versus 15 dead and 100 in hospital. And that is IF there really is a causal link, which is far from certain. One of the strangest decisions I have ever seen in an advanced nation.
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,195
    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    I have no idea - and I had no idea what it meant either
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    edited March 2021
    Yes, it's incredibly worrying that in that Opinium poll, under the current PM, the Tories are polling at 43% - the same 40-year record vote share they already won in 2019.

    Constant quaking will ensue over the fact that even in that poll Boris leads Starmer on 'Best PM' by 12% and has overtaken him in net approval too, lol...
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688
    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    I assumed a cowardly lion.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    edited March 2021
    Floater said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    I have no idea - and I had no idea what it meant either
    Interestingly, google translate from Czech yields gibberish, but from Polish yields "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as there is no proven link with thrombosis."

    Alas, no mention of Dorothy or her friends ...

    Edit: the Czech translation was "we do not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no binding of the capsule is justified."
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540
    FPT the data behind the AZ pause:

    As of 9th March – 22 cases of thromboembolic events had been reported among the 3 million people vaccinated with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca in the European Economic Area

    Of those 22 cases there were 2 deaths. In 3 million.

    https://www.dsru.org/pharmacovigilance-evidence-review-thrombosis-following-vaccination-with-covid-19-astrazeneca-vaccine/
  • RogerRoger Posts: 18,891
    edited March 2021
    'You ain't seen nothin' yet!'

    Wait till the full extent of Johnson's malevolence moves centre stage and I can imagine rioting in the streets. Brexit has screwed this country and thanks to covid people have yet to notice
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    TimT said:

    Floater said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    I have no idea - and I had no idea what it meant either
    Interestingly, google translate from Czech yields gibberish, but from Polish yields "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as there is no proven link with thrombosis."

    Alas, no mention of Dorothy or her friends ...

    Edit: the Czech translation was "we do not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no binding of the capsule is justified."
    One of Comedy Dave's suggestions was that the EU should develop its own dialect of English to break free from the dominance of British English. Perhaps "binding the capsule" could be one of their new idioms.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    Omnium said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    I assumed a cowardly lion.
    Not exactly ...
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    Roger said:

    'You ain't seen nothin' yet!'

    Wait till the full extent of Johnson's malevolence moves centre stage ad I can imagine rioting in the streets. Brexit has screwed this country and thanks to covid people have yet to notice

    We can spend the next 6 months saving the pub industry.
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 5,997
    MattW said:
    As I think Len Deighton said: attempting to speak Polish is like sticking your tongue into a jar of rusty razor blades. It makes Russian sound easy.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 12,741
    Curious as soon as a thread is started with a pro-Starmer heading, there's an almost Pavlovian response.
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,195
    Omnium said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    I assumed a cowardly lion.
    In my defence that was what I thought they were driving at
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688
    Floater said:

    Omnium said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    I assumed a cowardly lion.
    In my defence that was what I thought they were driving at
    Lion-like though we are here on PB, you're on your own!
  • 'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328

    'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Alas, I think that was just a level of colour added by the translation, rather than being found in the original.
  • maaarsh said:

    Just to check, is it the same Starmer this guy is talking about...

    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1371445949587918851

    I was doing some comparisons earlier on and Starmer's fall in ratings remind me of David Cameron (pbuh) circa the summer and early Autumn of 2007.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688

    'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Your quite right, and unlike many such alleged euphemisms I've actually heard it used (once).

    The EU chap surely meant cowardly lion though didn't he? And I rather like that as a much better use of the phrase.

    So EU bloke, at least in my view, you've nailed your way into the OED.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,247

    FPT the data behind the AZ pause:

    As of 9th March – 22 cases of thromboembolic events had been reported among the 3 million people vaccinated with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca in the European Economic Area

    Of those 22 cases there were 2 deaths. In 3 million.

    https://www.dsru.org/pharmacovigilance-evidence-review-thrombosis-following-vaccination-with-covid-19-astrazeneca-vaccine/

    Right across Europe there must be millions of old/vulnerable people, who can understand science, who were about to get jabbed, who are now enraged and scared

    https://twitter.com/gnuseibeh/status/1371548927770689538?s=20
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    Floater said:
    'I told the toaster what the nurse told me: you may feel a little prick, but it'll all be over soon...'
  • 'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Indeed.

    It appeared in the most recent series of The Crown when the Queen tells Margaret that her priest friend is 'a friend of Dorothy. Famous for it.'

    https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/11/16/friend-of-dorothy-meaning-the-crown-gay-queen-wizard-oz/
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 10,342
    stodge said:

    Curious as soon as a thread is started with a pro-Starmer heading, there's an almost Pavlovian response.

    At the moment the evidence is strong that people would be willing to be critical of the Tories and to vote against them in principle, but not to vote for the Labour party. Their leader is plainly decent, able and in touch. His party is toxic and there is a strong sense that the cabinet level ability Labour needs in force is either hiding or isn't there at all. It is not Pavlovian, for example, to point out the puzzle that such a decent Labour leader, after such a year, is not miles ahead in the polling. Rather than being Pavlovian it is a central question for UK politics in our day. SKS has no greater challenge.

  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,084
    TimT said:

    Floater said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    I have no idea - and I had no idea what it meant either
    Interestingly, google translate from Czech yields gibberish, but from Polish yields "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as there is no proven link with thrombosis."

    Alas, no mention of Dorothy or her friends ...

    Edit: the Czech translation was "we do not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no binding of the capsule is justified."
    It's OH on his 478th Twitter Account...
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540

    'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Indeed.

    It appeared in the most recent series of The Crown when the Queen tells Margaret that her priest friend is 'a friend of Dorothy. Famous for it.'

    https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/11/16/friend-of-dorothy-meaning-the-crown-gay-queen-wizard-oz/
    That was another example of Morgan's ludicrous plotting in the latest series of The Crown - the very notion that Liz would spot a gay chap and Margaret wouldn't. Princess Margaret was the original patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust (an AIDS charity) and was visiting the dying in hospitals long before Princess Diana showed up with the cameras.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    England's remaining three Twenty20 internationals against India in Ahmedabad will be played behind closed doors because of rising coronavirus cases in the state of Gujarat.

    Having 65,000 at the previous two games was genius idea.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917
    edited March 2021
    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    Google Translate gives:

    "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as no link to thrombosis has been proven.."
  • RobDRobD Posts: 58,941
    Roger said:

    'You ain't seen nothin' yet!'

    Wait till the full extent of Johnson's malevolence moves centre stage and I can imagine rioting in the streets. Brexit has screwed this country and thanks to covid people have yet to notice

    What statistics do you think are being suppressed?
  • 'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Indeed.

    It appeared in the most recent series of The Crown when the Queen tells Margaret that her priest friend is 'a friend of Dorothy. Famous for it.'

    https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/11/16/friend-of-dorothy-meaning-the-crown-gay-queen-wizard-oz/
    That was another example of Morgan's ludicrous plotting in the latest series of The Crown - the very notion that Liz would spot a gay chap and Margaret wouldn't. Princess Margaret was the original patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust (an AIDS charity) and was visiting the dying in hospitals long before Princess Diana showed up with the cameras.
    Actually didn't both daughters get a strong gaydar from the Queen Mother.

    Backstairs Billy was one of many homosexual staff the Queen Mother employed, much to the chagrin of MI5.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688
    Quite scary that we must have basically had her advisors as PM for a while.

    I've long had mixed views about May. At one point she looked like she might sweep the country with a Corbyn-eviscerating scythe - clearly I was all for that.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    Google Translate gives:

    "We will not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no connection with the duster is justified."
    Sunil, see below. That is from Czech. From Polish it gives a good, sensical translation. So, I think the twitter is wrong on nationality of the original source, and has used an extremely loose translation approach.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 10,342

    Floater said:
    'I told the toaster what the nurse told me: you may feel a little prick, but it'll all be over soon...'
    Is the Sport still around. Amazing. And is the double decker bus still on the moon?

  • RobDRobD Posts: 58,941
    stodge said:

    Curious as soon as a thread is started with a pro-Starmer heading, there's an almost Pavlovian response.

    Not really. Or do you think the comments under the line are never related to the thread header?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917

    maaarsh said:

    Just to check, is it the same Starmer this guy is talking about...

    https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1371445949587918851

    I was doing some comparisons earlier on and Starmer's fall in ratings remind me of David Cameron (pbuh) circa the summer and early Autumn of 2007.
    The polls had Dave and Ed neck and neck in the run up to 2015 election :innocent:
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787
    It's quite a good likeness of Priti Patel as statues go.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    Floater said:
    I'm all in favour of Brexit, but what sort of life do you lead where it's the single most important decision in it?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917

    'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Which friend? Lion? Witch? Wardrobe?
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164
    Still, what with the demonstration and thrombosis, at least H&M have been bumped out of the news. I bet QE2 is very pleased.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540

    'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Indeed.

    It appeared in the most recent series of The Crown when the Queen tells Margaret that her priest friend is 'a friend of Dorothy. Famous for it.'

    https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/11/16/friend-of-dorothy-meaning-the-crown-gay-queen-wizard-oz/
    That was another example of Morgan's ludicrous plotting in the latest series of The Crown - the very notion that Liz would spot a gay chap and Margaret wouldn't. Princess Margaret was the original patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust (an AIDS charity) and was visiting the dying in hospitals long before Princess Diana showed up with the cameras.
    Actually didn't both daughters get a strong gaydar from the Queen Mother.

    Backstairs Billy was one of many homosexual staff the Queen Mother employed, much to the chagrin of MI5.
    Possibly, although Margaret was much more into the theatrical set, while Liz's hobby was horses.

    Reportedly there was a rather exasperated phone call from the Queen Mum when downstairs ructions delayed her stiffener "When you old queens have finished bickering, this old queen would like her G&T"
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    edited March 2021
    Once again Keir's numbers are massively flattered by people comparing Net numbers and not comparing the Agree numbers. Boris is a polarising figure in a way that Keir isn't, but that doesn't mean people are agreeing with Keir.

    If you look solely at the two leader's Net Agree figures, then compare them, you get a completely different result.

    Decisive: -3 (as opposed to -21)
    In touch with ordinary people: -10 (as opposed to -30)
    Represents what most people think +1 (as opposed to -8)
    Has views similar to my own: 0 (as opposed to -11)
    Has the nation's best interests at heart: +1 (as opposed to -13)
    Strong leader: +4 (as opposed to -6)
    Able to get things done: +13 (as opposed to +5)
    Stand up for Britain's interests abroad: +13 (as opposed to +7)
    Sticks to principles: -1 (as opposed to -15)
    Trustworthy: -3 (as opposed to -20)
    Brave: +8 (as opposed to -4)
    Can be trusted to take big decisions: +5 (as opposed to -9, missing off OGH's chart)
    Competent: -5 (as opposed to -23)
    Likeable: +6 (as opposed to -2)

    By looking at the agree figures Boris leads on 8, there's 1 neutral and 5 for Keir.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,065
    Roger said:

    'You ain't seen nothin' yet!'

    Wait till the full extent of Johnson's malevolence moves centre stage and I can imagine rioting in the streets. Brexit has screwed this country and thanks to covid people have yet to notice

    That would be why he wants the police to arrest protesters then.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 58,941
    tlg86 said:

    Still, what with the demonstration and thrombosis, at least H&M have been bumped out of the news. I bet QE2 is very pleased.

    You don't think she had a quiet word with the AZN CEO, do you?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917
    edited March 2021
    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    Google Translate gives:

    "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as no link to thrombosis has been proven.."
    Sunil, see below. That is from Czech. From Polish it gives a good, sensical translation. So, I think the twitter is wrong on nationality of the original source, and has used an extremely loose translation approach.
    I translated from Polish!

    Czech gives this:

    "We will not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no connection with the duster is justified."
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,247
    edited March 2021
    rcs1000 said:

    Floater said:
    I'm all in favour of Brexit, but what sort of life do you lead where it's the single most important decision in it?
    If Dan H had said - of if he meant - political decision, then he's right.

    Clearly deciding to have babies, get married, move to Greenland, change gender AGAIN will be more important to any person, on a human, emotional level.

    But for a Brit, voting for Leave would have been the biggest, most important political choice they have made, and will ever make. And it happened. So it's not that ridiculous a statement
  • RobDRobD Posts: 58,941

    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    Google Translate gives:

    "We will not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no connection with the duster is justified."
    Sunil, see below. That is from Czech. From Polish it gives a good, sensical translation. So, I think the twitter is wrong on nationality of the original source, and has used an extremely loose translation approach.
    I translated from Polish!

    Czech gives this:

    "We will not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no connection with the duster is justified."
    From Polish it is:
    "Czech Republic Minister of Health: We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as no link to thrombosis has been proven."
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,750

    Floater said:
    'I told the toaster what the nurse told me: you may feel a little prick, but it'll all be over soon...'
    And then it popped up unexpectedly.

    Ah, my coat...
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    There have been a number of deaths (plus anaphylaxis) linked to Moderna and Pfizer, but almost no coverage in the US.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,750
    Nigelb said:
    I think they mean, ‘the last surviving member.’

    If he’s dead, he’s by definition not the last living member.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328

    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    Google Translate gives:

    "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as no link to thrombosis has been proven.."
    Sunil, see below. That is from Czech. From Polish it gives a good, sensical translation. So, I think the twitter is wrong on nationality of the original source, and has used an extremely loose translation approach.
    I translated from Polish!

    Czech gives this:

    "We will not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no connection with the duster is justified."
    Something strange happened then. Look up in this thread right here, and you'll see that this version of your post to which I responded has the Czech, not Polish, translation. Did you edit?
  • RobDRobD Posts: 58,941
    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:
    I think they mean, ‘the last surviving member.’

    If he’s dead, he’s by definition not the last living member.
    He also has children, so how is he the last?
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    Google Translate gives:

    "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as no link to thrombosis has been proven.."
    Sunil, see below. That is from Czech. From Polish it gives a good, sensical translation. So, I think the twitter is wrong on nationality of the original source, and has used an extremely loose translation approach.
    I translated from Polish!

    Czech gives this:

    "We will not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no connection with the duster is justified."
    Something strange happened then. Look up in this thread right here, and you'll see that this version of your post to which I responded has the Czech, not Polish, translation. Did you edit?
    And now it has corrected in this thread too ...
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    Sunil, look at the complete thread set in your posting of 4:15/10:15
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917
    edited March 2021
    RobD said:

    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    Google Translate gives:

    "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as no link to thrombosis has been proven.."
    Sunil, see below. That is from Czech. From Polish it gives a good, sensical translation. So, I think the twitter is wrong on nationality of the original source, and has used an extremely loose translation approach.
    I translated from Polish!

    Czech gives this:

    "We will not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no connection with the duster is justified."
    From Polish it is:
    "Czech Republic Minister of Health: We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as no link to thrombosis has been proven."
    I changed it to the Polish soon after typing my comment! See upthread! :)
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,748

    'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Indeed.

    It appeared in the most recent series of The Crown when the Queen tells Margaret that her priest friend is 'a friend of Dorothy. Famous for it.'

    https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/11/16/friend-of-dorothy-meaning-the-crown-gay-queen-wizard-oz/
    That was another example of Morgan's ludicrous plotting in the latest series of The Crown - the very notion that Liz would spot a gay chap and Margaret wouldn't. Princess Margaret was the original patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust (an AIDS charity) and was visiting the dying in hospitals long before Princess Diana showed up with the cameras.
    Actually didn't both daughters get a strong gaydar from the Queen Mother.

    Backstairs Billy was one of many homosexual staff the Queen Mother employed, much to the chagrin of MI5.
    I had a passing acquaintance with a Shand Kydd in the 80s who provided some entertaining scuttlebut for a naive* young lad from the provinces. The nickname Lord Mountbottom was one I remember, and a story about HMQ calling to below stairs ‘Come on you old queens, this old queen would like some supper.’

    *not that naive tbf
  • stodgestodge Posts: 12,741
    edited March 2021
    algarkirk said:

    stodge said:

    Curious as soon as a thread is started with a pro-Starmer heading, there's an almost Pavlovian response.

    At the moment the evidence is strong that people would be willing to be critical of the Tories and to vote against them in principle, but not to vote for the Labour party. Their leader is plainly decent, able and in touch. His party is toxic and there is a strong sense that the cabinet level ability Labour needs in force is either hiding or isn't there at all. It is not Pavlovian, for example, to point out the puzzle that such a decent Labour leader, after such a year, is not miles ahead in the polling. Rather than being Pavlovian it is a central question for UK politics in our day. SKS has no greater challenge.

    Fair enough - it was simply curious how rapidly the anti-Starmer and anti-Labour responses came out rather than anything supporting the general premise of the thread.

    As to your comment, I agree Starmer is a decent man and is an example of a politician who might well be a better Prime Minister than LOTO (there are those for whom the reverse applies of course).

    Now, we're back to this notion Labour is "toxic" - is it? To some degree and a lot of what happened in the Corbyn years was unacceptable but the solutions to toxicity are generally time (as happened with the Conservatives who needed nearly a decade after leaving office) or an immediate confronting of those seemingly part of the problem (this was the Kinnock response to Militant).

    Had Starmer thrown Corbyn out of the Labour Party and several MPs/councillors/activists followed, would this have been detoxification in extremis? It probably would have been good politics but in the midst of a global pandemic, would anyone have noticed?

    Sometimes a page has to be seen to be turned rather than just being turned. That is Starmer's problem - Covid has stopped him turning the page publicly and effectively. He has to do that as part of the journey to convincing the wider electorate his Labour Party has something different to say.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,084
    edited March 2021
    Omnium said:

    'A friend of Dorothy' is a euphemism for a gay person.

    Just saying.

    Your quite right, and unlike many such alleged euphemisms I've actually heard it used (once).

    The EU chap surely meant cowardly lion though didn't he? And I rather like that as a much better use of the phrase.

    So EU bloke, at least in my view, you've nailed your way into the OED.
    It's OH remanufacturing the expletive. Google gets it right.

    (For anybody still confused, Old Holborn started tweeting back when demonstrations within one mile of Parliament were being banned. He organised a "walk near Parliament" in masks. He's a traditional troll.)

    https://thebackbencher.co.uk/old-holborn-behind-the-mask/

  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556

    stodge said:

    Curious as soon as a thread is started with a pro-Starmer heading, there's an almost Pavlovian response.

    Well, we have had recent thread headers on "Why the forthcoming boundary review is bad news for the Tories?"

    And "Why the catastrophic demise of Scottish Labour is bad news for the Tories?"

    And "Why the vaccination program is bad news for the Tories?"

    They were all from the Vanished Meeks.

    OGH can't quite muster the same levels of cognitive dissonance as Meeks, but I still liked his header on "Why big poll leads are bad news for the Tories?"

    Given the recent effectiveness of the opposition, I expect I'll be reading on May 7th

    "Why overwhelming local election victories are bad news for the Tories?"
    Nicely put :lol:
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:
    I think they mean, ‘the last surviving member.’

    If he’s dead, he’s by definition not the last living member.
    nor is he surviving. Simply the last ...
  • Black_RookBlack_Rook Posts: 8,905

    Yes, it's incredibly worrying that in that Opinium poll, under the current PM, the Tories are polling at 43% - the same 40-year record vote share they already won in 2019.

    Constant quaking will ensue over the fact that even in that poll Boris leads Starmer on 'Best PM' by 12% and has overtaken him in net approval too, lol...

    It's interesting though (insofar as polls several years out from an election, which are therefore pretty meaningless, can be.) All those positive leads on specific characteristics for Starmer, yet Johnson gets the nod for best PM.

    It's almost as if being shackled to a party that most people over the age of 35 regard as toxic waste is bad for your street cred.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Floater said:
    I'm all in favour of Brexit, but what sort of life do you lead where it's the single most important decision in it?
    If Dan H had said - of if he meant - political decision, then he's right.

    Clearly deciding to have babies, get married, move to Greenland, change gender AGAIN will be more important to any person, on a human, emotional level.

    But for a Brit, voting for Leave would have been the biggest, most important political choice they have made, and will ever make. And it happened. So it's not that ridiculous a statement
    Yes, yes, yes.

    I wanted to make a cheap jibe and you can't stop me.

    Indeed, unless you want your posts edited to suggest you are sleeping with Juncker, I'd advise you keep your hands away from the keyboard.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,750
    edited March 2021
    RobD said:

    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:
    I think they mean, ‘the last surviving member.’

    If he’s dead, he’s by definition not the last living member.
    He also has children, so how is he the last?
    Apparently they literally mean ‘the last man.’ All other surviving members (including his children) are female.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    TimT said:

    Your header, Mike, really did bring Life of Brian to mind instantly. "Well, apart from ...., what have the Romans ever done for us?"

    In a PM “able to get things done” and “sticking up for Britain’s interests abroad” trump “likeable”

    He’s a shit. But he’s *our* shit
  • stodge said:

    Curious as soon as a thread is started with a pro-Starmer heading, there's an almost Pavlovian response.

    Well, we have had recent thread headers on "Why the forthcoming boundary review is bad news for the Tories?"

    And "Why the catastrophic demise of Scottish Labour is bad news for the Tories?"

    And "Why the vaccination program is bad news for the Tories?"

    They were all from the Vanished Meeks.

    OGH can't quite muster the same levels of cognitive dissonance as Meeks, but I still liked his header on "Why big poll leads are bad news for the Tories?"

    Given the recent effectiveness of the opposition, I expect I'll be reading on May 7th

    "Why overwhelming local election victories are bad news for the Tories?"
    Can you link to the pieces with those exact headlines please?
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    RobD said:

    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:
    I think they mean, ‘the last surviving member.’

    If he’s dead, he’s by definition not the last living member.
    He also has children, so how is he the last?
    He only has daughters?
  • RobDRobD Posts: 58,941
    edited March 2021
    ydoethur said:

    RobD said:

    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:
    I think they mean, ‘the last surviving member.’

    If he’s dead, he’s by definition not the last living member.
    He also has children, so how is he the last?
    Apparently they literally mean ‘the last man.’ All other surviving members (including his children) are female.
    The NY Times believes in agnatic primogeniture? Not very woke.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    edited March 2021
    Totally off topic, I went skiing in Tahoe at the weekend. The flights there and back were both full, and Squaw Valley was packed on Saturday.

    @YBarddCwsc would have hated it.
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556

    Once again Keir's numbers are massively flattered by people comparing Net numbers and not comparing the Agree numbers. Boris is a polarising figure in a way that Keir isn't, but that doesn't mean people are agreeing with Keir.

    If you look solely at the two leader's Net Agree figures, then compare them, you get a completely different result.

    Decisive: -3 (as opposed to -21)
    In touch with ordinary people: -10 (as opposed to -30)
    Represents what most people think +1 (as opposed to -8)
    Has views similar to my own: 0 (as opposed to -11)
    Has the nation's best interests at heart: +1 (as opposed to -13)
    Strong leader: +4 (as opposed to -6)
    Able to get things done: +13 (as opposed to +5)
    Stand up for Britain's interests abroad: +13 (as opposed to +7)
    Sticks to principles: -1 (as opposed to -15)
    Trustworthy: -3 (as opposed to -20)
    Brave: +8 (as opposed to -4)
    Can be trusted to take big decisions: +5 (as opposed to -9, missing off OGH's chart)
    Competent: -5 (as opposed to -23)
    Likeable: +6 (as opposed to -2)

    By looking at the agree figures Boris leads on 8, there's 1 neutral and 5 for Keir.

    Thanks for collating those. We'll know in due course, but those figures make considerably better sense of the headline VI and Best PM figures than if people really thought that Boris was in a deep deficit across most leadership characteristics.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917
    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    Floater said:
    I had to google what a Friend of Dorothy is. Is that an accurate translation?
    Google Translate gives:

    "We will not suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca as no link to thrombosis has been proven.."
    Sunil, see below. That is from Czech. From Polish it gives a good, sensical translation. So, I think the twitter is wrong on nationality of the original source, and has used an extremely loose translation approach.
    I translated from Polish!

    Czech gives this:

    "We will not cover the glaze with AstraZeneca, as no connection with the duster is justified."
    Something strange happened then. Look up in this thread right here, and you'll see that this version of your post to which I responded has the Czech, not Polish, translation. Did you edit?
    Yes! A few seconds really! 20:09 UTC
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,081
    edited March 2021
    Bill W has more friends than Dorothy on this site.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917
    TimT said:

    Sunil, look at the complete thread set in your posting of 4:15/10:15

    I had edited by 20:09 UTC comment.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688
    rcs1000 said:

    Totally off topic, I went skiing in Tahoe at the weekend. The flights there and back were both full, and Squaw Valley was packed on Saturday.

    @YBarddCwsc would have hated it.

    I guess you suffered a little because of some of the local restrictions.
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    edited March 2021
    rcs1000 said:

    Totally off topic, I went skiing in Tahoe at the weekend. The flights there and back were both full, and Squaw Valley was packed on Saturday.

    @YBarddCwsc would have hated it.

    Very nice indeed. Skiing is probably the only sport I've truly loved in my entire life, and I started out when I was 3.

    But then I voted Remain :wink:
  • isamisam Posts: 40,730
    Oh dear.

    The madness of using net rather than Gross Positives will make Starmer supporters feel good, and end in massive disappointment for them, I think

  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917
    Sorry, I is confused: which character in The Wizard of Oz was gay?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688

    Sorry, I is confused: which character in The Wizard of Oz was gay?

    The fool.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    Omnium said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Totally off topic, I went skiing in Tahoe at the weekend. The flights there and back were both full, and Squaw Valley was packed on Saturday.

    @YBarddCwsc would have hated it.

    I guess you suffered a little because of some of the local restrictions.
    The biggest issue was that there were limits on lift capacity that meant lots of people were crowded together at the bottom not moving. Rather than being on an open air chair travelling at high speed.

    I'm struggling to see how it was safer to have people in a big group, but what do I know?
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    This dragged out Ides of March stabbing of vaccinations in the back . . .

    Et tu, Portugal?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,917
    Quiet! All of you!

    Fawlty Towers is on BBC1 right now...
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    Leon said:
    I'll give it 12 hours.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    Leon said:
    Some countries are going to come out looking rather smarter than others.
This discussion has been closed.