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The Prince of Wales of people’s hearts, in people’s hearts, and votes? – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited March 2021 in General
imageThe Prince of Wales of people’s hearts, in people’s hearts, and votes? – politicalbetting.com

How well or badly do you think the following are doing at their jobs? (% of adults in Wales) MARK DRAKEFORD57% well / 34% badly BORIS JOHNSON39% well / 54% badlyhttps://t.co/QkWuB7oO4D pic.twitter.com/b8GkaRDTGH

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Comments

  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 25,164
    First.
  • LindonLightLindonLight Posts: 96
    edited March 2021
    And yet Labour are doing badly in Wales.

    Re. last night's Opinium poll I think we need to be careful that it isn't an outlier as much as the 13% YouGov might have been the other way. It's always tempting to view polls through the prism of one's own desires.

    However, I did suggest we might have hit peak Boris a couple of weeks ago. The vaccine rollout is utterly pointless if civil liberties, including freedom to travel abroad, are not restored. The Government, influenced by a small coterie of scaredy-cat scientists, are forever moving the lockdown goalposts.

    People are tired of it.

    We get jabbed, we get back to life. End of.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    Third, like the lucky time
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    edited March 2021
    Just seen the newspaper headlines; will the Mirror's 'revelations' hurt Boris? Or does 'he's a lad, isn't he; fancy pulling a bird like that' apply?
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Just seen the newspaper headlines; will the Mirror's 'revelations' hurt Boris? Or does 'he's a lad, isn't he; fancy pulling a bird like that' apply?

    It’s in the price. That story has been out there for years
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    Charles said:

    Just seen the newspaper headlines; will the Mirror's 'revelations' hurt Boris? Or does 'he's a lad, isn't he; fancy pulling a bird like that' apply?

    It’s in the price. That story has been out there for years
    Always denied on both sides though!
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    The issue for Labour, which didn’t apply in 2007 and very much came to their rescue when they were polling at similar levels, is there is now one clear party of opposition. The Tories are not merely the second largest party in terms of votes and seats, they are also now starting to pick up significant numbers of votes everywhere, including in the Valleys. They are a truly National party in Wales, the only one apart from Labour and very much for the first time.

    That makes it much more difficult for Labour to get close to a majority as the vote is no longer split three ways.

    I anticipate they will be down to 23/24 seats.

    The Tories could run them very close. 6-1 for them to have most seats looks much too long.

    It will make no difference to who is in government of course but to fail to lead a nationwide election in Wales for the first time since 1918 would definitely be a profound shock to Labour.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    Just seen the newspaper headlines; will the Mirror's 'revelations' hurt Boris? Or does 'he's a lad, isn't he; fancy pulling a bird like that' apply?

    It’s in the price. That story has been out there for years
    Always denied on both sides though!
    For the last 2 years at least she has been dropping more and more hints and desperately trying to flog her story.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Incidentally, unlike at Westminster, I’m not sure leadership ratings are the best guide to polling in Wales. Partly it’s because due to the nature of the beast coalitions have been the norm so there really isn’t a ‘who do you want as FM’ vibe, but also perhaps because we all know it will still be Mark Drakeford whoever people actually vote for it isn’t that important. (RT is no Alex Salmond.)

    Rhodri Morgan was always personally popular but that didn’t save Labour from embarrassment in 2007. Similarly Carwyn Jones’ personal prestige couldn’t help them hang on to their vote in 2016 although the net loss was only one seat.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540
    Not appearing in the NYT anytime soon:

    https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1376050471090188290?s=20
  • Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Good morning, everyone.

    F1: I'll peruse the markets shortly, after checking the grid to see if Mazepin's yello flags cause a reshuffling.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    Morning, happy Passover, or Palm Sunday to those celebrating today. Did everyone put their clocks forward?

    Time standing still for MV Ever Given, despite moving a little last night, she’s still stuck blocking the Suez this morning.

    Lloyds List estimates the trade value of the canal at $9.6bn per day, and it’s been blocked for five days now.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/suez-canal-blockage-is-delaying-an-estimated-400-million-an-hour-in-goods.html

    Bigger tugs are apparently on the way, after the 14 tugs they could muster yesterday didn’t do the job.
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,540
    Not appearing in the NYT anytime soon:

    https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1376050471090188290?s=20

    Recovery is one of the UK’s greatest contributions to world health, all based on the deceptively simple principle of deciding treatment by the flip of a (digital) coin. It has demonstrated what can be achieved through efficient organisation, a national health service, dedicated medical teams and vast numbers of volunteers.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Sandpit said:

    Morning, happy Passover, or Palm Sunday to those celebrating today. Did everyone put their clocks forward?

    Time standing still for MV Ever Given, despite moving a little last night, she’s still stuck blocking the Suez this morning.

    Lloyds List estimates the trade value of the canal at $9.6bn per day, and it’s been blocked for five days now.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/suez-canal-blockage-is-delaying-an-estimated-400-million-an-hour-in-goods.html

    Bigger tugs are apparently on the way, after the 14 tugs they could muster yesterday didn’t do the job.

    It’s starting to look rather problematic, isn’t it?

    Just as you said it would be...
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614

    Good morning, everyone.

    F1: I'll peruse the markets shortly, after checking the grid to see if Mazepin's yello flags cause a reshuffling.

    The only outstanding investigation is for Seb Vettel at turn 1, but he’s almost at the back anyway.

    Four drivers, including Vettel, got a No Further Action for yellows at turn 8.

    I still can’t decide if Max is going to drive off into the distance, of if Mercedes are going to double-team him with pit strategy. The latter is less likely if there’s a safety car and they all box together.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    edited March 2021

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080

    Just seen the newspaper headlines; will the Mirror's 'revelations' hurt Boris? Or does 'he's a lad, isn't he; fancy pulling a bird like that' apply?

    What did happen to the violinist?
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Mr. Sandpit, SC is 1.53 or so to appear.

    Nothing leaping out at me right now.

    On the plus side, my unusual 1.08 on Tsunoda to be the highest scoring rookie this year is looking like a smart tip.

    Just got the other 50 I'll offer this season to worry about ;)
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    Morning, happy Passover, or Palm Sunday to those celebrating today. Did everyone put their clocks forward?

    Time standing still for MV Ever Given, despite moving a little last night, she’s still stuck blocking the Suez this morning.

    Lloyds List estimates the trade value of the canal at $9.6bn per day, and it’s been blocked for five days now.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/suez-canal-blockage-is-delaying-an-estimated-400-million-an-hour-in-goods.html

    Bigger tugs are apparently on the way, after the 14 tugs they could muster yesterday didn’t do the job.

    It’s starting to look rather problematic, isn’t it?

    Just as you said it would be...
    It was always either going to be reasonably quick to refloat her, or a total and utter nightmare.

    Last night’s efforts confirmed what we suspected, that the bow end is totally embedded in the sloping canal bank.

    They’ve got another couple of days of pushing and pulling, before they will have to start unloading containers - there’s a big crane on the way (she’s about 50m above the water at the top of the stack!) as well as a specialist dredger that works like a massive vacuum cleaner, which will carefully try and remove enough of the bank that they can drag her free.

    Wouldn’t want to be working in marine insurance today!
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 12,880
    IanB2 said:

    Just seen the newspaper headlines; will the Mirror's 'revelations' hurt Boris? Or does 'he's a lad, isn't he; fancy pulling a bird like that' apply?

    What did happen to the violinist?
    Stratton looks exactly like Johnson's type.. 6/10 posho. I wouldn't be surprised if his beardsplitter starts to twitch in that direction next.
  • kamskikamski Posts: 4,199
    I wouldn't bank on it making a massive difference if CDU/CSU if they switch to Söder as chancellor candidate.
    When the SPD switched to Schulz last time they got an immediate 10% boost in the opinion polls, but ended up getting exactly the vote share they had been polling before switching chancellor candidate.

    The CDU are being judged for being in government. Switching chancellor candidate might not help much.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    Cat well and truly among the pigeons.

    Have we seen many existing MSPs on the defection list yet, they’re the ones that will shortly have to submit themselves to the people?
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    Sandpit said:

    Morning, happy Passover, or Palm Sunday to those celebrating today. Did everyone put their clocks forward?

    Time standing still for MV Ever Given, despite moving a little last night, she’s still stuck blocking the Suez this morning.

    Lloyds List estimates the trade value of the canal at $9.6bn per day, and it’s been blocked for five days now.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/suez-canal-blockage-is-delaying-an-estimated-400-million-an-hour-in-goods.html

    Bigger tugs are apparently on the way, after the 14 tugs they could muster yesterday didn’t do the job.

    The dog’s had me on summertime for some weeks now. He says the beginning of March is when clocks should change.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    betting Post

    F1: heroically, I've decided to back the man in the fastest car who also starts first for the win. Verstappen, 1.74 on Betfair Exchange.

    https://enormo-haddock.blogspot.com/2021/03/bahrain-pre-race-2021.html
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,054
    IanB2 said:

    Just seen the newspaper headlines; will the Mirror's 'revelations' hurt Boris? Or does 'he's a lad, isn't he; fancy pulling a bird like that' apply?

    What did happen to the violinist?
    How bass of you to mention that!

    This detail of the first date in the Sunday Mirror is very telling. Johnson always expects someone else to pay:

    "Jennifer says Boris finally pinned her down for their first “private drink” – at the swish Tavistock Hotel in London’s Bloomsbury.

    Jennifer says: “He showed up late, dishevelled and chaotic. He was biking – he came in with his helmet. I thought, ‘That’s a great look for the start of this’. He went to the bar and came back within a minute and said, ‘Jennifer can I borrow £3.10?’ I thought, ‘I’m a student buying you a beer, you should be ashamed of yourself’."
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Sandpit said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    Morning, happy Passover, or Palm Sunday to those celebrating today. Did everyone put their clocks forward?

    Time standing still for MV Ever Given, despite moving a little last night, she’s still stuck blocking the Suez this morning.

    Lloyds List estimates the trade value of the canal at $9.6bn per day, and it’s been blocked for five days now.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/suez-canal-blockage-is-delaying-an-estimated-400-million-an-hour-in-goods.html

    Bigger tugs are apparently on the way, after the 14 tugs they could muster yesterday didn’t do the job.

    It’s starting to look rather problematic, isn’t it?

    Just as you said it would be...
    It was always either going to be reasonably quick to refloat her, or a total and utter nightmare.

    Last night’s efforts confirmed what we suspected, that the bow end is totally embedded in the sloping canal bank.

    They’ve got another couple of days of pushing and pulling, before they will have to start unloading containers - there’s a big crane on the way (she’s about 50m above the water at the top of the stack!) as well as a specialist dredger that works like a massive vacuum cleaner, which will carefully try and remove enough of the bank that they can drag her free.

    Wouldn’t want to be working in marine insurance today!
    I imagine there will have to be a fair amount of work on the bank after this as well. I know it’s not like a narrow canal bank but even so...
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    Dura_Ace said:

    IanB2 said:

    Just seen the newspaper headlines; will the Mirror's 'revelations' hurt Boris? Or does 'he's a lad, isn't he; fancy pulling a bird like that' apply?

    What did happen to the violinist?
    Stratton looks exactly like Johnson's type.. 6/10 posho. I wouldn't be surprised if his beardsplitter starts to twitch in that direction next.
    Yet it was Carrie that appointed her.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    edited March 2021

    betting Post

    F1: heroically, I've decided to back the man in the fastest car who also starts first for the win. Verstappen, 1.74 on Betfair Exchange.

    https://enormo-haddock.blogspot.com/2021/03/bahrain-pre-race-2021.html

    I shall lay him, think he’s not quite as quick as the Mercs on race pace and is going to be flying solo after the team messed up with Perez. Also not known for his good starts.

    Will look at some other markets later, the race isn’t until 4pm UK time so they might take time to get going.

    Edit: quite like the look of Lewis to lead the first lap at 4 too.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,054

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Yes, there have been some supply issues with Pfizer. Mrs Foxy and her colleagues were cancelled and rebooted last week, and the hospital vaccine hubs paused in Leicester.

    Shouldn't be long though, she was just put back a week.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Mr. Sandpit, have to admit I found it hard to find anything that leapt out at me.

    I think the leading two will leave Bottas behind. You're right about Verstappen's starts, mind.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    Foxy said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Yes, there have been some supply issues with Pfizer. Mrs Foxy and her colleagues were cancelled and rebooted last week, and the hospital vaccine hubs paused in Leicester.

    Shouldn't be long though, she was just put back a week.
    If the number of second appointments falling due exceeds supply, you'd expect the delay to escalate quite quickly
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,054
    IanB2 said:

    Foxy said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Yes, there have been some supply issues with Pfizer. Mrs Foxy and her colleagues were cancelled and rebooted last week, and the hospital vaccine hubs paused in Leicester.

    Shouldn't be long though, she was just put back a week.
    If the number of second appointments falling due exceeds supply, you'd expect the delay to escalate quite quickly
    Might just be lumpy supplies rather than shortages.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,054
    This is quite amusing, not least the bits of Johnsons published work "72 Virgins".

    https://twitter.com/thhamilton/status/1375952561572831236?s=19
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    edited March 2021
    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    Morning, happy Passover, or Palm Sunday to those celebrating today. Did everyone put their clocks forward?

    Time standing still for MV Ever Given, despite moving a little last night, she’s still stuck blocking the Suez this morning.

    Lloyds List estimates the trade value of the canal at $9.6bn per day, and it’s been blocked for five days now.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/suez-canal-blockage-is-delaying-an-estimated-400-million-an-hour-in-goods.html

    Bigger tugs are apparently on the way, after the 14 tugs they could muster yesterday didn’t do the job.

    It’s starting to look rather problematic, isn’t it?

    Just as you said it would be...
    It was always either going to be reasonably quick to refloat her, or a total and utter nightmare.

    Last night’s efforts confirmed what we suspected, that the bow end is totally embedded in the sloping canal bank.

    They’ve got another couple of days of pushing and pulling, before they will have to start unloading containers - there’s a big crane on the way (she’s about 50m above the water at the top of the stack!) as well as a specialist dredger that works like a massive vacuum cleaner, which will carefully try and remove enough of the bank that they can drag her free.

    Wouldn’t want to be working in marine insurance today!
    I imagine there will have to be a fair amount of work on the bank after this as well. I know it’s not like a narrow canal bank but even so...
    I was quite surprised to see how sloped the bank is:
    twitter.com/marcelvandenber/status/1374821546225762308

    If this replay of the ship's path is close to correct, she was all over the place for several miles before she ran aground, but still went into the bank with a speed of 12 knots. It's too early in the morning to do complicated maths and fluid dynamics calculations, but that's an awful lot of momentum she had, there's probably a good chance of the bow section having sustained damage through the impact sequence.
    https://twitter.com/fabioac/status/1375975000507813888
    Still lots of unknowns, including as you suggest damage to the canal structure, which will need an extensive survey before anything else that big goes through.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,451
    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
    Part timer!
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    edited March 2021
    So far it’s been a bit of a case of that vanity party (I forget which one) which effectively appealed to the other parties, ‘give me your racists and your homophobes.’

    I don’t like Ian Blackford, or Nicola Sturgeon, but will he/they really be sorry to lose Neale Hanvey? In fact, they’re probably quite relieved. He shouldn’t even be an MP, ffs, he was elected while suspended.

    And I just don’t see any other member of the SNP, certainly not a high profile one, jumping ship. Joanna Cherry perhaps, but I gather she’s already ruled it out. Sturgeon is still far too popular elsewhere and she has the party sewn up.

    So far, a nuisance rather than a disaster for the Nats. It could change, but there isn’t much evidence it will.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
    Part timer!
    I knew I’d be needled for that comment.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,054
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
    Part timer!
    I knew I’d be needled for that comment.
    He meant no 'arm.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
    Neither am I, but my brain has an irritating habit of filling up with trivia!

    (Although it’s not trivia for him, obviously 🙄)
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    kamski said:

    I wouldn't bank on it making a massive difference if CDU/CSU if they switch to Söder as chancellor candidate.
    When the SPD switched to Schulz last time they got an immediate 10% boost in the opinion polls, but ended up getting exactly the vote share they had been polling before switching chancellor candidate.

    The CDU are being judged for being in government. Switching chancellor candidate might not help much.

    How likely is Söder to get it? I think the party and EU are pulling out all of the stops the prevent him from becoming chancellor at the moment. Laschet just seems so uninspiring, even for chancellor which has historically been boring but competent people.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080
    A warm spell could enable the UK to break its record March temperature of 25.6C (78F) next week.

    Air flowing up from the continent will bring conditions similar to those in southwest France and southern Spain on Monday and Tuesday.

    Temperatures are forecast to get very close to the record figure, set in Mepal, Cambridgeshire, in 1968.

    London is most likely to see such unseasonal March conditions, along with areas just north of the capital.

    The warmth will be relatively widespread, however, with temperatures reaching the early 20s Celsius for many parts of England and Wales.

    And although parts of the North will be wet, temperatures will be higher than average there too. That will especially be the case on Monday for eastern parts of Scotland, where temperatures could locally be up into the upper teens.

    Met Office forecaster, Greg Dewhurst, said: "Into next week, large swathes of southern England and Wales will be dry with warmer temperatures than expected for this time of year, the average for March being 11C (51.8F) to 12C (53F). "The mercury could reach a high of around 18C (64.4F) on Monday, with Tuesday seeing highs of 24C (75.2F).
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362
    MattW said:

    Prediction Game.

    How will Comical Dave react to the story of spare UK vaccines potentially going to the ROI?

    I know how I would react. I’ve been posting on here for months Boris shares our vaccine with EU country before Easter Monday, and taking all sorts of abuse for saying the “impossible”.

    Not politically impossible if packaged as poke in the eye for EU though 🙂.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,451
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
    Part timer!
    I knew I’d be needled for that comment.
    Most of us az put in a lot of time building our poster vaccination tracking spreadsheets and use a modern regression testing technique to see how it correlates to their Brexit vote.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
    Part timer!
    I knew I’d be needled for that comment.
    Don’t get the hump!

    (Oblique reference to last night’s thread)
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
    Part timer!
    I knew I’d be needled for that comment.
    Don’t get the hump!

    (Oblique reference to last night’s thread)
    Roger that.
  • philiphphiliph Posts: 4,704
    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    ydoethur said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    You sure? I make 1st Jan - today = 87 days and 12 weeks is 84 days.
    I was doing a very rough estimate as it was 7.30 am!

    Yes it was getting close.. but I think @OldKingCole was later in January not the 1st?
    I don’t know. I’m not keeping count of who’s had what jab when!
    Part timer!
    I knew I’d be needled for that comment.
    Don’t get the hump!

    (Oblique reference to last night’s thread)
    I couldn't tell the date of my first jab, just that it was more than 3 weeks ago. I can tell you my second jab is 5th May.
    Selected trivia for me.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Sunday Times suggesting Reeves favourite to replace Dodds, although also hinting Nandy may be moved sideways.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    ydoethur said:

    Sunday Times suggesting Reeves favourite to replace Dodds, although also hinting Nandy may be moved sideways.

    He really goes need to get a heavyweight in that position though, someone close to Sunak's intellectual equal who can talk analytically rather than in Twitter-sized soundbites.

    Not sure that Reeves nor Nandy fall into that category, but Dodds has been totally invisible in the role for almost a year now.
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 4,920
    ydoethur said:

    Sunday Times suggesting Reeves favourite to replace Dodds, although also hinting Nandy may be moved sideways.

    Reeves on for Dodds is a no-brainer. I heard Nandy interviewed on China the other day, and thought she was very good. I’d leave her there for now.
  • ydoethur said:

    Incidentally, unlike at Westminster, I’m not sure leadership ratings are the best guide to polling in Wales. Partly it’s because due to the nature of the beast coalitions have been the norm so there really isn’t a ‘who do you want as FM’ vibe, but also perhaps because we all know it will still be Mark Drakeford whoever people actually vote for it isn’t that important. (RT is no Alex Salmond.)

    Rhodri Morgan was always personally popular but that didn’t save Labour from embarrassment in 2007. Similarly Carwyn Jones’ personal prestige couldn’t help them hang on to their vote in 2016 although the net loss was only one seat.

    In 2011 in North Britain Iain Gray's leader ratings were a pointer that it was going to be a very bad night for SLAB.

    Leader ratings can be useful in the devolved assemblies.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    Sandpit said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sunday Times suggesting Reeves favourite to replace Dodds, although also hinting Nandy may be moved sideways.

    He really goes need to get a heavyweight in that position though, someone close to Sunak's intellectual equal who can talk analytically rather than in Twitter-sized soundbites.

    Not sure that Reeves nor Nandy fall into that category, but Dodds has been totally invisible in the role for almost a year now.
    Ed Balls. Get someone in a safe London seat to resign and put Ed Balls in.
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 4,920
    P.s. Perhaps offer Dodds some behind the scenes strategising role, which might make it look a little less brutal.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,722
    Thought the thread had been written by BigG
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 4,920
    MaxPB said:

    Sandpit said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sunday Times suggesting Reeves favourite to replace Dodds, although also hinting Nandy may be moved sideways.

    He really goes need to get a heavyweight in that position though, someone close to Sunak's intellectual equal who can talk analytically rather than in Twitter-sized soundbites.

    Not sure that Reeves nor Nandy fall into that category, but Dodds has been totally invisible in the role for almost a year now.
    Ed Balls. Get someone in a safe London seat to resign and put Ed Balls in.
    Yes, that would happen if there was the slightest indication he wanted to return - but I don’t think he does.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958
    IanB2 said:

    A warm spell could enable the UK to break its record March temperature of 25.6C (78F) next week.

    Air flowing up from the continent will bring conditions similar to those in southwest France and southern Spain on Monday and Tuesday.

    Temperatures are forecast to get very close to the record figure, set in Mepal, Cambridgeshire, in 1968.

    London is most likely to see such unseasonal March conditions, along with areas just north of the capital.

    The warmth will be relatively widespread, however, with temperatures reaching the early 20s Celsius for many parts of England and Wales.

    And although parts of the North will be wet, temperatures will be higher than average there too. That will especially be the case on Monday for eastern parts of Scotland, where temperatures could locally be up into the upper teens.

    Met Office forecaster, Greg Dewhurst, said: "Into next week, large swathes of southern England and Wales will be dry with warmer temperatures than expected for this time of year, the average for March being 11C (51.8F) to 12C (53F). "The mercury could reach a high of around 18C (64.4F) on Monday, with Tuesday seeing highs of 24C (75.2F).

    Very nice for the groups of six/two households to be meeting again from Monday.

    Expect a three point Tory bounce as the feelgood factor kicks in.....
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    IanB2 said:

    A warm spell could enable the UK to break its record March temperature of 25.6C (78F) next week.

    Air flowing up from the continent will bring conditions similar to those in southwest France and southern Spain on Monday and Tuesday.

    Temperatures are forecast to get very close to the record figure, set in Mepal, Cambridgeshire, in 1968.

    London is most likely to see such unseasonal March conditions, along with areas just north of the capital.

    The warmth will be relatively widespread, however, with temperatures reaching the early 20s Celsius for many parts of England and Wales.

    And although parts of the North will be wet, temperatures will be higher than average there too. That will especially be the case on Monday for eastern parts of Scotland, where temperatures could locally be up into the upper teens.

    Met Office forecaster, Greg Dewhurst, said: "Into next week, large swathes of southern England and Wales will be dry with warmer temperatures than expected for this time of year, the average for March being 11C (51.8F) to 12C (53F). "The mercury could reach a high of around 18C (64.4F) on Monday, with Tuesday seeing highs of 24C (75.2F).

    Very nice for the groups of six/two households to be meeting again from Monday.

    Expect a three point Tory bounce as the feelgood factor kicks in.....
    Beer gardens reopening is the big one. That's when this country will start to feel a bit more normal.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    MaxPB said:

    kamski said:

    I wouldn't bank on it making a massive difference if CDU/CSU if they switch to Söder as chancellor candidate.
    When the SPD switched to Schulz last time they got an immediate 10% boost in the opinion polls, but ended up getting exactly the vote share they had been polling before switching chancellor candidate.

    The CDU are being judged for being in government. Switching chancellor candidate might not help much.

    How likely is Söder to get it? I think the party and EU are pulling out all of the stops the prevent him from becoming chancellor at the moment. Laschet just seems so uninspiring, even for chancellor which has historically been boring but competent people.
    Historically the Chancellor role from time to time has gone beyond attracting boring but competent people.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    Jonathan said:

    MaxPB said:

    kamski said:

    I wouldn't bank on it making a massive difference if CDU/CSU if they switch to Söder as chancellor candidate.
    When the SPD switched to Schulz last time they got an immediate 10% boost in the opinion polls, but ended up getting exactly the vote share they had been polling before switching chancellor candidate.

    The CDU are being judged for being in government. Switching chancellor candidate might not help much.

    How likely is Söder to get it? I think the party and EU are pulling out all of the stops the prevent him from becoming chancellor at the moment. Laschet just seems so uninspiring, even for chancellor which has historically been boring but competent people.
    Historically the Chancellor role from time to time has gone beyond attracting boring but competent people.
    Indeed, but I mean recent history, of course, or at least anything past 1945!
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    edited March 2021
    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sunday Times suggesting Reeves favourite to replace Dodds, although also hinting Nandy may be moved sideways.

    He really goes need to get a heavyweight in that position though, someone close to Sunak's intellectual equal who can talk analytically rather than in Twitter-sized soundbites.

    Not sure that Reeves nor Nandy fall into that category, but Dodds has been totally invisible in the role for almost a year now.
    Dodds is undoubtedly very able. At least Sunak’s intellectual equal.

    However, she is a shite communicator - at least, I presume she is, although I’ve heard so little from her it’s hard to judge - and that is something of a drawback in a politician, particularly in Opposition.

    There is a reason why Butler was preferred to Lyttelton as Chancellor in 1951. Just as there is a reason why the one real intellectual to lead a British political party suffered what remains the greatest ever net loss of seats at a single election (246). Communication skills matter more than intelligence quotient.

    Right now Labour don’t need somebody who understands post neo classical endogenous growth theory, they need somebody who understands how to get voters to listen to them.

    And whatever her other qualities, that wasn’t Dodds.
    Iain Duncan Smith didn’t lose 246 seats did he?

    😆
  • Plans to get sports fans back in stadiums and music fans back at festivals this summer will fail because the government is insisting they go to NHS testing centres for a Covid-19 test first, rather than use a home test like schoolchildren.

    Lawrence Dallaglio, the former England rugby captain, raised the alarm last night after holding talks with Whitehall officials over plans to allow fans into Wembley and the World Snooker Championship.

    He said the government was “in a mess of its own making” for putting in place a “crazy” system of testing that would “put off” fans and overload the NHS. Dallaglio has offered to help ministers set up a system in which fans can get a test at home, validated by a credited laboratory, with the results recorded on a phone app that would be used to access the event.

    He said: “I want to get fans and supporters safely back into events by the summer, but I fail to see what’s being proposed can achieve that. A system that involves using already overstretched NHS resources to test a few hundred fans here and there just won’t do. It has got failure written all over it.

    “The government won’t allow fans to rapid flow test themselves at home on game day and digitally verify their negative test before going to the event in safety.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/plan-to-get-fans-in-stadiums-has-failure-written-all-over-it-gntqb0vrl
  • CiceroCicero Posts: 2,179
    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    In the separate UK propaganda space, the right wing press did not report that the government had decided to take a calculated risk and vaccinate as many as possible with at least one jag and worry about the second dose later. The problem is now that if the second doses do not turn up then a) many are not fully protected and b) the UK is risking the emergence of a vaccine resistant strain. What was not reported in the UK amid the early vaccine triumphalism, was that most EU governments were not prepared to take the risk of a vaccine resistant strain.

    If reckless Boris has gambled and lost, the UK will be in a very dark place indeed. He may get away with it, if the outbreak over all can be controlled, but if it can´t then it will not just be the UK, but the whole planet that will be at risk. So it will be in the interests of all humanity that the UK second doses are delivered, but the anger at the UK on this side of the Channel is genuine and deep felt.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080

    IanB2 said:

    A warm spell could enable the UK to break its record March temperature of 25.6C (78F) next week.

    Air flowing up from the continent will bring conditions similar to those in southwest France and southern Spain on Monday and Tuesday.

    Temperatures are forecast to get very close to the record figure, set in Mepal, Cambridgeshire, in 1968.

    London is most likely to see such unseasonal March conditions, along with areas just north of the capital.

    The warmth will be relatively widespread, however, with temperatures reaching the early 20s Celsius for many parts of England and Wales.

    And although parts of the North will be wet, temperatures will be higher than average there too. That will especially be the case on Monday for eastern parts of Scotland, where temperatures could locally be up into the upper teens.

    Met Office forecaster, Greg Dewhurst, said: "Into next week, large swathes of southern England and Wales will be dry with warmer temperatures than expected for this time of year, the average for March being 11C (51.8F) to 12C (53F). "The mercury could reach a high of around 18C (64.4F) on Monday, with Tuesday seeing highs of 24C (75.2F).

    Very nice for the groups of six/two households to be meeting again from Monday.

    Expect a three point Tory bounce as the feelgood factor kicks in.....
    Don't get carried away!

    Temperatures will be back to normal by the end of the week.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958
    MaxPB said:

    IanB2 said:

    A warm spell could enable the UK to break its record March temperature of 25.6C (78F) next week.

    Air flowing up from the continent will bring conditions similar to those in southwest France and southern Spain on Monday and Tuesday.

    Temperatures are forecast to get very close to the record figure, set in Mepal, Cambridgeshire, in 1968.

    London is most likely to see such unseasonal March conditions, along with areas just north of the capital.

    The warmth will be relatively widespread, however, with temperatures reaching the early 20s Celsius for many parts of England and Wales.

    And although parts of the North will be wet, temperatures will be higher than average there too. That will especially be the case on Monday for eastern parts of Scotland, where temperatures could locally be up into the upper teens.

    Met Office forecaster, Greg Dewhurst, said: "Into next week, large swathes of southern England and Wales will be dry with warmer temperatures than expected for this time of year, the average for March being 11C (51.8F) to 12C (53F). "The mercury could reach a high of around 18C (64.4F) on Monday, with Tuesday seeing highs of 24C (75.2F).

    Very nice for the groups of six/two households to be meeting again from Monday.

    Expect a three point Tory bounce as the feelgood factor kicks in.....
    Beer gardens reopening is the big one. That's when this country will start to feel a bit more normal.
    Whatever the numbers, that easing up was never going to be before Easter. That Easter break is one of those final worry points - that it could all go tits up with packed beaches and everyone giving up on the restrictions a bit too early.

    After a lovely midweek, the weather over next weekend looks to be sunny intervals but a cool northerly breeze that should keep all but the hardiest hiding behind their wind breaks.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,080

    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sunday Times suggesting Reeves favourite to replace Dodds, although also hinting Nandy may be moved sideways.

    He really goes need to get a heavyweight in that position though, someone close to Sunak's intellectual equal who can talk analytically rather than in Twitter-sized soundbites.

    Not sure that Reeves nor Nandy fall into that category, but Dodds has been totally invisible in the role for almost a year now.
    Dodds is undoubtedly very able. At least Sunak’s intellectual equal.

    However, she is a shite communicator - at least, I presume she is, although I’ve heard so little from her it’s hard to judge - and that is something of a drawback in a politician, particularly in Opposition.

    There is a reason why Butler was preferred to Lyttelton as Chancellor in 1951. Just as there is a reason why the one real intellectual to lead a British political party suffered what remains the greatest ever net loss of seats at a single election (246). Communication skills matter more than intelligence quotient.

    Right now Labour don’t need somebody who understands post neo classical endogenous growth theory, they need somebody who understands how to get voters to listen to them.

    And whatever her other qualities, that wasn’t Dodds.
    Iain Duncan Smith didn’t lose 246 seats did he?

    😆
    Very sensibly he was despatched before he got the chance
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,722
    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    edited March 2021

    ydoethur said:

    Sandpit said:

    ydoethur said:

    Sunday Times suggesting Reeves favourite to replace Dodds, although also hinting Nandy may be moved sideways.

    He really goes need to get a heavyweight in that position though, someone close to Sunak's intellectual equal who can talk analytically rather than in Twitter-sized soundbites.

    Not sure that Reeves nor Nandy fall into that category, but Dodds has been totally invisible in the role for almost a year now.
    Dodds is undoubtedly very able. At least Sunak’s intellectual equal.

    However, she is a shite communicator - at least, I presume she is, although I’ve heard so little from her it’s hard to judge - and that is something of a drawback in a politician, particularly in Opposition.

    There is a reason why Butler was preferred to Lyttelton as Chancellor in 1951. Just as there is a reason why the one real intellectual to lead a British political party suffered what remains the greatest ever net loss of seats at a single election (246). Communication skills matter more than intelligence quotient.

    Right now Labour don’t need somebody who understands post neo classical endogenous growth theory, they need somebody who understands how to get voters to listen to them.

    And whatever her other qualities, that wasn’t Dodds.
    Iain Duncan Smith didn’t lose 246 seats did he?

    😆
    He was the most electorally successful Tory leader in years, the first since the Marquess of Granby not to lose a single seat. He would have been the greatest Prime Minister since the Earl of Bath, who famously ran ‘the most wise and honest of all administrations, the minister having ... never transacted one rash thing; and, what is more marvellous, left as much money in the Treasury as he found in it.’
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,722

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614

    Plans to get sports fans back in stadiums and music fans back at festivals this summer will fail because the government is insisting they go to NHS testing centres for a Covid-19 test first, rather than use a home test like schoolchildren.

    Lawrence Dallaglio, the former England rugby captain, raised the alarm last night after holding talks with Whitehall officials over plans to allow fans into Wembley and the World Snooker Championship.

    He said the government was “in a mess of its own making” for putting in place a “crazy” system of testing that would “put off” fans and overload the NHS. Dallaglio has offered to help ministers set up a system in which fans can get a test at home, validated by a credited laboratory, with the results recorded on a phone app that would be used to access the event.

    He said: “I want to get fans and supporters safely back into events by the summer, but I fail to see what’s being proposed can achieve that. A system that involves using already overstretched NHS resources to test a few hundred fans here and there just won’t do. It has got failure written all over it.

    “The government won’t allow fans to rapid flow test themselves at home on game day and digitally verify their negative test before going to the event in safety.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/plan-to-get-fans-in-stadiums-has-failure-written-all-over-it-gntqb0vrl

    Why is it that everyone disagreeing with the government’s way forward, is proposing one phone app or another?

    How does any system deal with, for example, me, who got vaccinated elsewhere; and my wife, who isn’t known to the NHS at all?

    Millions of people who don’t fall into neatly defined boxes don’t want to be banned from having a life, nor beholden to a battery-powered device spying on them.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Cicero said:

    Charles said:

    Morning all. Early start this morning ...... and it's not a good one for that ...... as Mrs C has her second AZN vaccine early today, about 15 min drive away.
    Haven't had my second yet; apparently there's a shortage of Pfizer. Which as I had my first back in January is a bit concerning.
    First time for ages I've set an alarm to wake up in the morning!

    Surely Old King Cole it's a wonderful thing to have an early start for?

    Where did you hear that 'apparently' from? All the reports today are stating that there will be no shortages of the vaccines for 2nd doses, whether AZN or Pfizer.
    Not a good one because the clocks have sprung forward so it's easy to oversleep.

    'Shortage of Pfizer' is as advised by GP; they rang my wife the other day for her second. I asked where mine was, as IMHO I'm overdue and was told they hadn't any Pfizer, at least at the moment, didn't know when they were getting out 'but would tell me as soon as'.
    A neighbour is getting worried about her 91 year father and I get the impression is starting to camp on the surgery's phone!
    Policy for Pfizer is 12 weeks. Even if you got your first on Jan 1 you are not overdue.

    “In my opinion I’m overdue” doesn’t cut it for a statement “there are a shortage of vaccines”
    In the separate UK propaganda space, the right wing press did not report that the government had decided to take a calculated risk and vaccinate as many as possible with at least one jag and worry about the second dose later. The problem is now that if the second doses do not turn up then a) many are not fully protected and b) the UK is risking the emergence of a vaccine resistant strain. What was not reported in the UK amid the early vaccine triumphalism, was that most EU governments were not prepared to take the risk of a vaccine resistant strain.

    If reckless Boris has gambled and lost, the UK will be in a very dark place indeed. He may get away with it, if the outbreak over all can be controlled, but if it can´t then it will not just be the UK, but the whole planet that will be at risk. So it will be in the interests of all humanity that the UK second doses are delivered, but the anger at the UK on this side of the Channel is genuine and deep felt.
    Actually, they did report that. And they noted it was a considerable gamble. It’s just that so far the gamble has come off.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    On both counts a vast improvement on their predecessors.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    What has Dursley Operatic and Dramatic Society got to do with this?
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958
    IanB2 said:

    IanB2 said:

    A warm spell could enable the UK to break its record March temperature of 25.6C (78F) next week.

    Air flowing up from the continent will bring conditions similar to those in southwest France and southern Spain on Monday and Tuesday.

    Temperatures are forecast to get very close to the record figure, set in Mepal, Cambridgeshire, in 1968.

    London is most likely to see such unseasonal March conditions, along with areas just north of the capital.

    The warmth will be relatively widespread, however, with temperatures reaching the early 20s Celsius for many parts of England and Wales.

    And although parts of the North will be wet, temperatures will be higher than average there too. That will especially be the case on Monday for eastern parts of Scotland, where temperatures could locally be up into the upper teens.

    Met Office forecaster, Greg Dewhurst, said: "Into next week, large swathes of southern England and Wales will be dry with warmer temperatures than expected for this time of year, the average for March being 11C (51.8F) to 12C (53F). "The mercury could reach a high of around 18C (64.4F) on Monday, with Tuesday seeing highs of 24C (75.2F).

    Very nice for the groups of six/two households to be meeting again from Monday.

    Expect a three point Tory bounce as the feelgood factor kicks in.....
    Don't get carried away!

    Temperatures will be back to normal by the end of the week.
    After a December through March of endless, lonely shitiness, we'll take a few days with chums in sunshine, for now. As a down-payment on the return of something much, much better.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    MaxPB said:

    Plans to get sports fans back in stadiums and music fans back at festivals this summer will fail because the government is insisting they go to NHS testing centres for a Covid-19 test first, rather than use a home test like schoolchildren.

    Lawrence Dallaglio, the former England rugby captain, raised the alarm last night after holding talks with Whitehall officials over plans to allow fans into Wembley and the World Snooker Championship.

    He said the government was “in a mess of its own making” for putting in place a “crazy” system of testing that would “put off” fans and overload the NHS. Dallaglio has offered to help ministers set up a system in which fans can get a test at home, validated by a credited laboratory, with the results recorded on a phone app that would be used to access the event.

    He said: “I want to get fans and supporters safely back into events by the summer, but I fail to see what’s being proposed can achieve that. A system that involves using already overstretched NHS resources to test a few hundred fans here and there just won’t do. It has got failure written all over it.

    “The government won’t allow fans to rapid flow test themselves at home on game day and digitally verify their negative test before going to the event in safety.”


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/plan-to-get-fans-in-stadiums-has-failure-written-all-over-it-gntqb0vrl

    They just need to do away with the testing requirement once everyone has been vaccinated, especially in July when we're highly likely to have double dosed 90-95% of all adults. It just seems completely pointless at that stage to continue COVID safe measures indefinitely.
    Nobody will pay attention to them anyway. Trying to enforce them would simply bring the law into disrepute, and that never ends well.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,722
    Jonathan said:

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    On both counts a vast improvement on their predecessors.
    As communicators.

    Seriously.

  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737

    Jonathan said:

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    On both counts a vast improvement on their predecessors.
    As communicators.

    Seriously.

    The problem with Corbyn and McDonnell is that they were present, but not involved.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,722
    ydoethur said:

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    What has Dursley Operatic and Dramatic Society got to do with this?
    SKS and AD wouldn't even be anything but bit players even in that TBF

    More working on scenery and costumes
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901

    Jonathan said:

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    On both counts a vast improvement on their predecessors.
    As communicators.

    Seriously.

    Yup, by the end they managed to confuse radical socialism with cheaper broadband.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958
    IanB2 said:

    IanB2 said:

    A warm spell could enable the UK to break its record March temperature of 25.6C (78F) next week.

    Air flowing up from the continent will bring conditions similar to those in southwest France and southern Spain on Monday and Tuesday.

    Temperatures are forecast to get very close to the record figure, set in Mepal, Cambridgeshire, in 1968.

    London is most likely to see such unseasonal March conditions, along with areas just north of the capital.

    The warmth will be relatively widespread, however, with temperatures reaching the early 20s Celsius for many parts of England and Wales.

    And although parts of the North will be wet, temperatures will be higher than average there too. That will especially be the case on Monday for eastern parts of Scotland, where temperatures could locally be up into the upper teens.

    Met Office forecaster, Greg Dewhurst, said: "Into next week, large swathes of southern England and Wales will be dry with warmer temperatures than expected for this time of year, the average for March being 11C (51.8F) to 12C (53F). "The mercury could reach a high of around 18C (64.4F) on Monday, with Tuesday seeing highs of 24C (75.2F).

    Very nice for the groups of six/two households to be meeting again from Monday.

    Expect a three point Tory bounce as the feelgood factor kicks in.....
    Don't get carried away!

    Temperatures will be back to normal by the end of the week.
    Luckily for Boris....
  • Sandpit said:

    Cat well and truly among the pigeons.

    Have we seen many existing MSPs on the defection list yet, they’re the ones that will shortly have to submit themselves to the people?
    If you were standing as constituency MSP, wouldn't you get elected, then defect?
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,722
    ydoethur said:

    Jonathan said:

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    On both counts a vast improvement on their predecessors.
    As communicators.

    Seriously.

    The problem with Corbyn and McDonnell is that they were present, but not involved.
    They did have the advantage that 90% of the audience were not asleep half way through their first sentence 🙄
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 49,958

    Sandpit said:

    Cat well and truly among the pigeons.

    Have we seen many existing MSPs on the defection list yet, they’re the ones that will shortly have to submit themselves to the people?
    If you were standing as constituency MSP, wouldn't you get elected, then defect?
    There's going to be a heightened sense of paranoia within the SNP on that front.....
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737

    ydoethur said:

    Jonathan said:

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    On both counts a vast improvement on their predecessors.
    As communicators.

    Seriously.

    The problem with Corbyn and McDonnell is that they were present, but not involved.
    They did have the advantage that 90% of the audience were not asleep half way through their first sentence 🙄
    Well, true. If there are only seven people listening it’s difficult to get a 90% rate.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,080
    edited March 2021
    gealbhan said:

    MattW said:

    Prediction Game.

    How will Comical Dave react to the story of spare UK vaccines potentially going to the ROI?

    I know how I would react. I’ve been posting on here for months Boris shares our vaccine with EU country before Easter Monday, and taking all sorts of abuse for saying the “impossible”.

    Not politically impossible if packaged as poke in the eye for EU though 🙂.
    This was friend Dave at 3am last night, which I still have in my browser. Comparing ROI to Oliver Twist "can I have some more." Some way beyond the line of acceptability in the context of ROI imo.

    Now deleted fortunately. If it was still there the Politico editor would have an email suggesting a move to a beat where he is not so personally committed. This reporting is something that will need a gentle eye kept on it if UK/EU relations are to improve eventually.



  • Sandpit said:

    Cat well and truly among the pigeons.

    Have we seen many existing MSPs on the defection list yet, they’re the ones that will shortly have to submit themselves to the people?
    If you were standing as constituency MSP, wouldn't you get elected, then defect?
    There's going to be a heightened sense of paranoia within the SNP on that front.....
    I think that's why La Sturge is on all news outlets looking and sounding fairly rattled.

    If you thought this had no momentum, other than a few people you'd want to get rid of anyway defecting, you'd be far less bothered.

    There's a post election scenario where she wins a small majority, or is the largest party by some distance, then 10+ MSPs immediately defect to Alba.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,614
    edited March 2021

    Sandpit said:

    Cat well and truly among the pigeons.

    Have we seen many existing MSPs on the defection list yet, they’re the ones that will shortly have to submit themselves to the people?
    If you were standing as constituency MSP, wouldn't you get elected, then defect?
    Is there really no honour among thieves? Would anyone dare to be that brazen, standing for election under a party banner but defecting immediately?

    The thought of it would put the fear of God into the SNP though, which is probably Salmond’s intention. They’re all going to be looking at each other with extreme suspicion for the next six weeks...
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,722

    Jonathan said:

    Is Dorset a worse communicator than SKS. Seem on a par to me TBH

    Dods that should say
    On both counts a vast improvement on their predecessors.
    As communicators.

    Seriously.

    Not being photographed laying a wreath at the graves of Palestinian terrorists has been a distinctly positive improvement on the communications front.
    Is that even an example of SKS communication skills.

    Is that all SKS fans have.

  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,737
    Sandpit said:

    Sandpit said:

    Cat well and truly among the pigeons.

    Have we seen many existing MSPs on the defection list yet, they’re the ones that will shortly have to submit themselves to the people?
    If you were standing as constituency MSP, wouldn't you get elected, then defect?
    Is there really no honour among thieves? Would anyone dare to be that brazen, standing for election under a party banner but defecting immediately?
    No, and yes.
This discussion has been closed.