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The extraordinary change in Johnson/Starmer leader ratings in just two weeks – politicalbetting.com

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  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 18,621

    Print a label, stick it on the bag. Print another label stick it on the chips. Print another label stick it on the burger. Print another label stick it on the drink. Repeat x4 for a family of 4.
    Fine - just do it. What would you do instead?
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,992

    Tell that to Ben Houchen.

    He's a Northumbria University Law School graduate.
    His school was a former grammar school
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,141

    Reading the tweets of Dominic Cummings today and some of his other pronouncements I realise who he reminds me of.

    He's clearly the smartest guy in the room.

    In fairness, I suspect that he often is. But he is also an iconoclast. A sociopath. An egoist. Just bloody dangerous to be let loose on anything that is going to be around longer than a campaign. Bringing him into Number 10 was brave in the Yes Minister sense.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    Reading the tweets of Dominic Cummings today and some of his other pronouncements I realise who he reminds me of.

    He's clearly the smartest guy in the room.

    Chris(t) are you saying he posts here?
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 121,635
    TOPPING said:

    Who was in charge in the mid-70s?
    Mrs Thatcher for some of that period, she did great as she helped to smash grammar schools, and they haven't recovered since.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,815
    Nigelb said:

    I'm reasonably sure it's not Italy all over again, but it was indeed irresponsible.
    Yeah there's no need to do it, the safety first approach makes the most sense at the moment. Our domestic unlockdown matter the most at the moment. Keeping the border open seems like a really unnecessary risk.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    edited May 2021
    HYUFD said:

    His school was a former grammar school
    Aye, that former grammar school got him into that prestigious university and it's done him no harm at all.

    Also his school changed from a grammar school into a comprehensive 9 years before he was even born.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 121,635
    DavidL said:

    In fairness, I suspect that he often is. But he is also an iconoclast. A sociopath. An egoist. Just bloody dangerous to be let loose on anything that is going to be around longer than a campaign. Bringing him into Number 10 was brave in the Yes Minister sense.
    Speaking as someone who is often the smartest person in the room you all need oodles of modesty to go with it, otherwise you end up looking like a prick.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,702

    Mrs Thatcher for some of that period, she did great as she helped to smash grammar schools, and they haven't recovered since.
    Well specifically wiki tells me from '74 - '79 we had a Labour administration. Which I think covers "mid-70s".
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,727
    kinabalu said:

    OJ's 'demented screeching' = having the cheek to expose the insouciant complacency and rank incompetence that cost £50 billion pounds and 50,000 lives.

    But, yes, on your main point, I agree. As well as the political gifts there's the destiny - aka luck. He's run the tables with it.

    One example of many. The Brexit into Covid sequence. He got the big positive buzz of the former - with the choreographed Christmas Eve deal which Got It Done - and then the pandemic came along to blot out the dreary aftermath.

    Grrr.
    Napoleon would definitely approve of Boris
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,141
    Nigelb said:

    Après Elle le déluge ?
    In all seriousness, if the Royal family is lucky Charles will predecease his mother. William looks a steadier hand, especially with Kate.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 121,635
    TOPPING said:

    Well specifically wiki tells me from '74 - '79 we had a Labour administration. Which I think covers "mid-70s".
    She was still Education Secretary for parts of 1974.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,775
    DavidL said:

    And there was me thinking that you were being realistic about Labour’s predicament.
    But my odds are more bearish (for Lab) than current Betfair!

    You're one of these 'herders', David, are you, giving the GE to the Cons already?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 31,232
    kinabalu said:

    Mexican Pete has advanced a Benny Hill thesis that I think has merit. There's some Tommy Cooper in there too for me. As with both of those 2 titans of titter, it's not what they say, there's precious little wit, it's in the slapstick tomfoolery tradition. Quite a thing for a politician to have.

    Also unique to him, so I don't think Labour should chase it. But, yes, we do need to see some relaxation and humour from Keir Starmer. The rub is, you need confidence for that, and it's hard to be confident when everyone's on your back telling you to shape up. My advice to Keir, should he come to me, would be to chill and start acting like he's miles ahead in the polls not miles behind.
    The mannerisms, particularly the full handed salute is pure Benny Hill. I thought Benny Hill was utter s***e, but wasn't he the most popular celebrity on ITV for most of the 1970s?

    One could imagine Benny Hill caught on a zipwire in a hard had waving two union Flags. Hilarious slapstick comedy for those who like that sort of thing. Cooper, however was far more sophisticated.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,648

    Speaking as someone who is often the smartest person in the room you all need oodles of modesty to go with it, otherwise you end up looking like a prick.
    Quite.
    Absent your legendary modesty, you'd be insufferable.
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362
    MaxPB said:

    Also stupid given how easy they've been going on the both of them. Why antagonise them? They've literally been signal boosting all of their crap for months.
    You guys actually defending something as insane as what the First Amendment has become? That would be pretty clueless about America, because what held it together for so long is putting America at the top of the list above all,else, now the throughly dangerous First Amendment is burning through that putting America first like smouldering brimstone.

    the First Amendment has mutated into free speech idolatry. Free speech has been placed on so high a pedestal that it is almost automatically privileged over privacy, fair trials, equality and public health, even protecting depictions of animal cruelty and violent video games sold to children. At the same time, dissent is unduly stifled and religious minorities are burdened. The First Amendment benefits the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable. By contrast, other Western democracies provide more reasonable accommodations between free speech and other values though their protections of dissent, and religious minorities are also inadequate.

    Harry’s absolutely spot on. I feel embarrassed for the lot of you.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,992
    edited May 2021

    Aye, that former grammar school got him into that prestigious university and it's done him no harm at all.

    Also his school changed from a grammar school into a comprehensive 9 years before he was even born.
    Most of the best comprehensives and academies used to be the grammar schools in their area, they still carry something of the ethos.

    For example the best state school in Epping Forest, the Davenant, was a grammar until 1980 and is now an academy
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,141
    kinabalu said:

    But my odds are more bearish (for Lab) than current Betfair!

    You're one of these 'herders', David, are you, giving the GE to the Cons already?
    I think that its very likely that there will be a Conservative majority given a starting base of 82 (and counting). I think it is possible that we could end up with a hung Parliament. I really struggle to conceive of circumstances where a Labour majority would be possible.

    But I was mainly joking.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,648
    MaxPB said:

    Yeah there's no need to do it, the safety first approach makes the most sense at the moment. Our domestic unlockdown matter the most at the moment. Keeping the border open seems like a really unnecessary risk.
    A small mark of Labour's incompetence was their spokesman on R4 this morning describing it as "catastrophic", without even the qualification 'potentially'.
    They really don't understand how to oppose.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 121,635
    Nigelb said:

    Quite.
    Absent your legendary modesty, you'd be insufferable.
    The biggest mistake really clever people is just that they are brilliant in one field it doesn't mean they are automatically an expert in another field, see Lord Sumption as the perfect example of that.

    One of the better pieces of advice my first boss ever gave me was 'don't try and be an expert in something you're not, don't wing it, pass it on to someone who is.'
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    gealbhan said:

    You guys actually defending something as insane as what the First Amendment has become? That would be pretty clueless about America, because what held it together for so long is putting America at the top of the list above all,else, now the throughly dangerous First Amendment is burning through that putting America first like smouldering brimstone.

    the First Amendment has mutated into free speech idolatry. Free speech has been placed on so high a pedestal that it is almost automatically privileged over privacy, fair trials, equality and public health, even protecting depictions of animal cruelty and violent video games sold to children. At the same time, dissent is unduly stifled and religious minorities are burdened. The First Amendment benefits the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable. By contrast, other Western democracies provide more reasonable accommodations between free speech and other values though their protections of dissent, and religious minorities are also inadequate.

    Harry’s absolutely spot on. I feel embarrassed for the lot of you.
    Thank you for explaining in one paragraph why the First Amendment is a good idea.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    HYUFD said:

    Most of the best comprehensives used to be the grammar schools in their area still
    Right, but what's your point?

    Are you saying that good schools are good schools, regardless of whether they are grammar schools or not? Because it seems like that's what you're saying.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,497

    The biggest mistake really clever people is just that they are brilliant in one field it doesn't mean they are automatically an expert in another field, see Lord Sumption as the perfect example of that.

    One of the better pieces of advice my first boss ever gave me was 'don't try and be an expert in something you're not, don't wing it, pass it on to someone who is.'
    Maybe, although doing something you're not an expert in is how you learn new things.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 39,815
    Nigelb said:

    A small mark of Labour's incompetence was their spokesman on R4 this morning describing it as "catastrophic", without even the qualification 'potentially'.
    They really don't understand how to oppose.
    Agreed. They have got no nuance.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    Right, but what's your point?

    Are you saying that good schools are good schools, regardless of whether they are grammar schools or not? Because it seems like that's what you're saying.
    Now they select by ability to pay [house prices] instead of exams at 11.
  • What an annoying day.

    The DCMS has just published its performing arts guidance for stage 3 of the covid restrictions in England.

    The restrictions on non-professional groups were expected to be the same as last autumn - rehearsals ok provided everyone socially distanced.

    Whilst this guidance remains in general, for singing there is now a specific limit of 6 people indoors (30 outdoors). It is therefore impractical for most amateur choirs to recommence rehearsals in person.

    We will now have to cancel tomorrow's rehearsal.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163

    The biggest mistake really clever people is just that they are brilliant in one field it doesn't mean they are automatically an expert in another field, see Lord Sumption as the perfect example of that.

    One of the better pieces of advice my first boss ever gave me was 'don't try and be an expert in something you're not, don't wing it, pass it on to someone who is.'
    What if you're not an expert in anything?
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,775

    The answer being no if your parent's initials are BJ
    He's on his uppers! Which just plays into the persona, I'm afraid to say. With every mishap the legend grows. I'm at a loss right now tbh. We just have to wait it out until his pants fall down in a way that can't be construed as funny. Maybe you guys can do it for us. Lull him into a Sindy ref next year, or the year after, and hand him his gilded girthy ass.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,727

    Thank you for explaining in one paragraph why the First Amendment is a good idea.
    Free Speech as described in the First Amendment is a great idea. If only America pursued it. Given that you get fired and cancelled in America for stating mere scientific truths, let alone opinions, it is sadly not the case that they protect free speech. Not any more
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,141

    Speaking as someone who is often the smartest person in the room you all need oodles of modesty to go with it, otherwise you end up looking like a prick.
    My favourite Judge, the late and great Lord Macfadyen, who died far too young, had a lovely phrase. He would think for a moment and then turn to you and say, "Perhaps its me, but...." and then completely demolish your argument with courtesy and charm.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,992
    edited May 2021

    Right, but what's your point?

    Are you saying that good schools are good schools, regardless of whether they are grammar schools or not? Because it seems like that's what you're saying.
    I am saying the best state schools in non selective areas still tend to carry something of the grammar school ethos and reputation they had before eg the best state school in Epping Forest, the Davenant, is a Church of England academy but was a grammar school until 1980
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    edited May 2021
    Leon said:

    Free Speech as described in the First Amendment is a great idea. If only America pursued it. Given that you get fired and cancelled in America for stating mere scientific truths, let alone opinions, it is sadly not the case that they protect free speech. Not any more
    The First Amendment protects free speech in law, not the societal consequences of free speech, no?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 54,177
    edited May 2021

    What if you're not an expert in anything?
    Then you're the President of the EU.

    Actually that's not correct - the current EU President is an expert on screwing up in senior governmental jobs. With a proven rack record.

    Hmmmm. OFSTED inspector, maybe?
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 13,996
    HYUFD said:

    To win a majority Labour need a huge swing of 10.52%, however they can deprive the Tories of their majority and get a hung parliament with a swing of just 3.84% yes and this time the DUP may refuse to support the Tories until the Irish Sea border is removed, especially with Poots now in charge
    This situation is of extreme interest. The position is that no-one at all (even the DUP) can be relied on to play nicely with the Tories; and that everyone else (leave aside DUP and SF) is some sort of centre left, where you could not say it is impossible they will play nicely, but cannot say it is certain. The LDs hate being in power and have burned their fingers; the SNP have a shared centrist progressive agenda with Labour but part company on the one overriding issue. But, as with Millwall, they all hate the Tories.

    Which means there is a huge area of possible result which the electorate traditionally don't much like: the zone of uncertainty - anything from a UNS (!!) of about 3.3-10 points - exactly the area you would expect a result probably to be.

    Which plays, I think, to the advantage of the Tories, who can play every sort of 'better the devil you know' than 'the devil you can't even work out what shape it could be, or if it can run a country at all or get the numbers or find a mandate'.

    BTW Mr Poots (a character from Dickens, Trollope, Grossman, Jerome K Jerome and Edmund Gosse all rolled into one) will be keen to tell what he doesn't want. Will be be any keener than his predecessors to propose a workable solution? Thought not.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    HYUFD said:

    I am saying the best state schools in non selective areas still tend to carry something of the grammar school ethos and reputation they had before eg the best state school in Epping Forest, the Davenant, is a Church of England academy but was a grammar school until 1980
    Great — so we agree grammar school status is not required to be a good school. Cool.
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,331
    edited May 2021
    TOPPING said:

    Yep and Universities that they might have thought twice about previously such as Newcastle and Leeds. Very rah those now.
    Newcastle has always been popular with them: party city!

    Recall that Henderson Hall used to be known as Hooray Henderson Hall because of the number of old Etonians who were resident.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163

    Then you're the President of the EU.

    Actually that's not correct - the current EU President is an expert on screwing up in senior governmental jobs. With a proven rack record.

    Hmmmm. OFSTED inspector, maybe?
    Damn
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,992
    edited May 2021

    Great — so we agree grammar school status is not required to be a good school. Cool.
    No, the best state schools overall with the best exam results are still grammar schools and the best state schools with the best exam results in non selective areas still tend to be ex grammar schools.

    Even if you do not have a wholesale return to selection, the uniforms, discipline, house systems, emphasis on excellence of grammars still produces results
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    edited May 2021

    Newcastle has always been popular with them: party city!
    Newcastle, more specifically Castle Leazes, was full of rahs, including one Princess Eugenie who was a student there at the same time as me, the first time round.

    I could have bumped into her in the Sinners trebles bar and never known it.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,287
    Regarding that Red Wall polling from YouGov. I think it’s strange that they are comparing all Red Wall voters with the rest of the country, rather than Lab>Tory switchers with current Labour voters, but one thing I misread on first viewing was the question on whether they think tensions are building between different ethnicities in the UK

    43-30 (59-41) Rest of country said they were

    48-27 (64-36) of Red Wallers said so

    I first thought the majority were saying different ethnic groups generally get on well, but that is apparently the minority view.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,648
    Fishing said:

    Maybe, although doing something you're not an expert in is how you learn new things.
    The problem is rather assuming you're an expert in something you're not, which the "wing it" part of TSE's advice captured.
    Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, and his interventions on the pandemic, is a case in point.

    No problem if you're prepared to start from scratch and put in the hard yards.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    edited May 2021
    HYUFD said:

    No, the best state schools overall with the best exam results are still grammar schools and the best state schools with the best exam results in non selective areas still tend to be ex grammar schools.

    Even if you do not have a wholesale return to selection, the uniforms, discipline, house systems, emphasis on excellence of grammars still produces results
    Exactly — ex grammar schools. I.e. haven't been grammar schools for over 40 years.

    Also "houses" are not unique to grammar schools. All my comprehensive schools had houses. And uniforms. And discipline.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,304

    What if you're not an expert in anything?
    In that case there will always be a place on the PB board of Scotch experts, no knowledge or qualification necessary.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,287
    kinabalu said:

    He's on his uppers! Which just plays into the persona, I'm afraid to say. With every mishap the legend grows. I'm at a loss right now tbh. We just have to wait it out until his pants fall down in a way that can't be construed as funny. Maybe you guys can do it for us. Lull him into a Sindy ref next year, or the year after, and hand him his gilded girthy ass.
    His initials aren’t even BJ! The eternal Shapeshifter
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,992
    edited May 2021

    Exactly — ex grammar schools. I.e. haven't been grammar schools for over 40 years.

    Also "houses" are not unique to grammar schools. All my comprehensive schools had houses. And uniforms. And discipline.
    Which is closer to the grammar school model than the model preferred by the left, selection or not
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    HYUFD said:

    Which is closer to the grammar school model than the model preferred by the left
    You don't have a coherent point here.

    Surely the "grammar school model" is just selection. Otherwise there's no difference from the comprehensive model.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,497
    Nigelb said:

    The problem is rather assuming you're an expert in something you're not, which the "wing it" part of TSE's advice captured.
    Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, and his interventions on the pandemic, is a case in point.

    No problem if you're prepared to start from scratch and put in the hard yards.
    Yes, definitely. The problem isn't ignorance, it's ignorance combined with arrogance.

    I see that a lot on here (and online generally) when people comment on my area of expertise.

    And I'm sure other people see it when I comment on theirs. But I always try to accept corrections from people who know more about whatever it is than I do.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,992
    edited May 2021

    You don't have a coherent point here.

    Surely the "grammar school model" is just selection. Otherwise there's no difference from the comprehensive model.
    No, the left oppose uniforms, oppose setting and oppose house systems and are less keen on strict discipline too
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    HYUFD said:

    No, the left oppose uniforms and oppose house systems and are less keen on strict discipline too
    No they don't lol. What a ridiculous statement.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 26,600
    kinabalu said:

    I suppose Q1 on the paper is "Can your parents afford the fees?"
    That would be Q1a.

    Q1b would be "how can we help?"

    Harrow help 20% of pupils with costs. Scholarships to 25% or Bursaries to 100%.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    No they don't lol. What a ridiculous statement.
    Many do.

    Not all, but he's by no means a master of nuance.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,794
    Leon said:

    Free Speech as described in the First Amendment is a great idea. If only America pursued it. Given that you get fired and cancelled in America for stating mere scientific truths, let alone opinions, it is sadly not the case that they protect free speech. Not any more
    Which is still a damn sight better than the proposed "Online Safety Bill" that the Tories want to put through.
    See here for a blog post about it.....sites like this should be scared

    https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/online-abuse-why-management-liability-isnt-the-answer/
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163

    Many do.

    Not all, but he's by no means a master of nuance.
    Well I was educated under Blair's Labour and I had houses, uniforms, discipline, and sets.

    Just because Twitter hates some of those things doesn't mean the majority of voters do, as you say, even on the "left".
  • CookieCookie Posts: 14,789

    You don't have a coherent point here.

    Surely the "grammar school model" is just selection. Otherwise there's no difference from the comprehensive model.
    I do see the point here.
    In the 1980s, many schools consciously rejected anything which might smack of elitism (uniform, houses, discipline, actually expecting and aspiring towards something good from its pupils, etc.) These schools, were, by and large, shit.
    Most grammar schools stuck with the traditional approach. And remained good schools.
    There are examples all over the country of schools which offer a 'grammar-school style' education (see above) without actually being selective, and they tend to be very popular. Some even retain the name 'grammar school'.

    I think everyone supports schools which demand a certain level of academic rigour - at least as an option, if not universally (such a school would be right for my oldest, but not necessarily for my second oldest). Whether these schools should select by academic ability is a slightly separate point. The latter are, as you rightly point out, technically 'grammar schools' in a way which the former are not necessarily - we perhaps need another label for the former (or even for the latter).

  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,746

    Exactly — ex grammar schools. I.e. haven't been grammar schools for over 40 years.

    Also "houses" are not unique to grammar schools. All my comprehensive schools had houses. And uniforms. And discipline.
    My grammar school didn’t have houses when I was there although my nephew goes there now and I understand they have been (re)introduced
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 65,018
    edited May 2021
    Looks as if Angela Rayner has had a car crash in the HOC

    Told off twice by the speaker and taken apart by Penny Mordaunt



    https://twitter.com/GuidoFawkes/status/1394648066804887563?s=19
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,775
    Leon said:

    Napoleon would definitely approve of Boris
    He would.

    Weather tomorrow looking ok btw. Just a few drops in the afternoon.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 31,232
    HYUFD said:

    No, the left oppose uniforms, oppose setting and oppose house systems and are less keen on strict discipline too
    Oops sorry! Seeing that sweeping leftwing stereotype, I must have accidentally logged onto ConHome.
  • MrEdMrEd Posts: 5,578
    Cookie said:

    In Trafford, where we have selection, historically, our non-Grammars have been better than the comprehensives in the other boroughs, even after allowing for demographic differences (Trafford being rather more affluent than the average GM Borough).
    The explanation for which was that Trafford's selective status was a result of it giving a shit about education, which wasn't the case elsewhere in GM where rather more 1980s practices had taken hold. That is now starting to unwind as other districts also now tend to give a shit about education.

    Point being, selection or otherwise not as important as whether the authority believes education is important.
    Question Cookie - when I lived in Manchester, Trafford local elections were all about Grammar Schools. Assuming that has changed a lot given Grammars are still going but Labour is in comfortable control.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    Cookie said:

    I do see the point here.
    In the 1980s, many schools consciously rejected anything which might smack of elitism (uniform, houses, discipline, actually expecting and aspiring towards something good from its pupils, etc.) These schools, were, by and large, shit.
    Most grammar schools stuck with the traditional approach. And remained good schools.
    There are examples all over the country of schools which offer a 'grammar-school style' education (see above) without actually being selective, and they tend to be very popular. Some even retain the name 'grammar school'.

    I think everyone supports schools which demand a certain level of academic rigour - at least as an option, if not universally (such a school would be right for my oldest, but not necessarily for my second oldest). Whether these schools should select by academic ability is a slightly separate point. The latter are, as you rightly point out, technically 'grammar schools' in a way which the former are not necessarily - we perhaps need another label for the former (or even for the latter).

    I agree. I think really the label is simply "good schools" and "bad schools". I think obsession with "grammars" really clouds the issue. The fact that good comprehensives exist show that there's nothing wrong with that model per se, it's just bad schools are bad schools.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    edited May 2021
    By the way the "house" system added pretty much nothing to my school or schooling, other than a few people being able to put "house captain" on their CV.

    PS I was "Vice Captain", naturally. I was Nick Clegg.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,648
    Fishing said:

    Yes, definitely. The problem isn't ignorance, it's ignorance combined with arrogance.

    I see that a lot on here (and online generally) when people comment on my area of expertise.

    And I'm sure other people see it when I comment on theirs. But I always try to accept corrections from people who know more about whatever it is than I do.
    Just to be clear, I'm not an expert in anything. :smile:
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 31,232
    HYUFD said:

    No, the left oppose uniforms, oppose setting and oppose house systems and are less keen on strict discipline too
    All the 5th form smokers queuing up in their full uniform waiting to be caned in my comp circa 1975/6 would doubtless disagree. I was in Langdale house by the way. Two of the others were Snowdon and Lomond, I can't remember the fourth, only it was yellow.
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 9,246
    edited May 2021

    The biggest mistake really clever people is just that they are brilliant in one field it doesn't mean they are automatically an expert in another field, see Lord Sumption as the perfect example of that.

    One of the better pieces of advice my first boss ever gave me was 'don't try and be an expert in something you're not, don't wing it, pass it on to someone who is.'
    The more experienced/older I get, the more I find I'm telling people "I don't know much about that". Not entirely sure where the explanation lies between:
    - being confident enough to say it (not feeling the need to 'prove' myself)
    - understanding 'that' well enough to know that what I do know about 'that' is not much
    - being asked for advice more often and on a wider range of things because people start to think I might actually know things
    - losing my faculties and actually knowing less and less

    I like to think it's a combination of the first three, but I can't rule out number 4!
  • Time_to_LeaveTime_to_Leave Posts: 2,547
    HYUFD said:

    No, the left oppose uniforms, oppose setting and oppose house systems and are less keen on strict discipline too
    Citation needed. “The left” don’t oppose those things.
  • SelebianSelebian Posts: 9,246
    Nigelb said:

    Just to be clear, I'm not an expert in anything. :smile:
    Good, we've had enough of experts :wink:
  • CookieCookie Posts: 14,789
    MrEd said:

    Question Cookie - when I lived in Manchester, Trafford local elections were all about Grammar Schools. Assuming that has changed a lot given Grammars are still going but Labour is in comfortable control.
    Grammar schools are almost never mentioned at election time - I don't think it's a can of worms anyone wants to open. Greater Manchester Labour tends to be pretty pragmatic these days - very different from the ferocious class warriors of the 80s.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,304

    By the way the "house" system added pretty much nothing to my school or schooling, other than a few people being able to put "house captain" on their CV.

    PS I was "Vice Captain", naturally. I was Nick Clegg.

    I hope you at least contributed something on the vice front
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 59,352
    HYUFD said:

    No, the left oppose uniforms, oppose setting and oppose house systems and are less keen on strict discipline too
    Interestingly, school uniforms are extremely unusual in the US, even though it is a significantly more right wing country than the UK.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,141
    Selebian said:

    The more experienced/older I get, the more I find I'm telling people "I don't know much about that". Not entirely sure where the explanation lies between:
    - being confident enough to say it (not feeling the need to 'prove' myself)
    - understanding 'that' well enough to know that what I do know about 'that' is not much
    - being asked for advice more often and on a wider range of things because people start to think I might actually know things
    - losing my faculties and actually knowing less and less

    I like to think it's a combination of the first three, but I can't rule out number 4!
    When I started off as a solicitor one of the things I learned was the key was not to think you know the answer or to guess but to be able to tell the client that you didn't know the answer but would find out with enough confidence that he or she retained faith in you. Once you could sell not actually knowing you had it made.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163

    I hope you at least contributed something on the vice front
    Unfortunately not.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 18,337
    HYUFD said:

    Most of the best comprehensives and academies used to be the grammar schools in their area, they still carry something of the ethos.

    For example the best state school in Epping Forest, the Davenant, was a grammar until 1980 and is now an academy
    A much better use of former grammar schools was a sixth form colleges, as happened in a lot of Hampshire. That way you can get the critical mass of academic staff and students in one place without the insane entrance criteria.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,497

    Oops sorry! Seeing that sweeping leftwing stereotype, I must have accidentally logged onto ConHome.
    I think uniforms and house systems are ridiculous, certainly for teenagers, and I'm not remotely left wing.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 14,789

    I agree. I think really the label is simply "good schools" and "bad schools". I think obsession with "grammars" really clouds the issue. The fact that good comprehensives exist show that there's nothing wrong with that model per se, it's just bad schools are bad schools.
    Pretty much, yes. Although there is also definitely a place for schools without quite so academic a focus as grammar schools have, especially in the cities where there is the realistic prospect of a choice. These needn't be 'bad' schools but won't be so recognisably modelled on the old-fashioned model from the 60s and before.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,775
    edited May 2021
    DavidL said:

    I think that its very likely that there will be a Conservative majority given a starting base of 82 (and counting). I think it is possible that we could end up with a hung Parliament. I really struggle to conceive of circumstances where a Labour majority would be possible.

    But I was mainly joking.
    Yes, Lab majority needs a black swan. But they're ten a penny these days. Can't move for them.

    When I want to cheer myself up about next GE prospects I imagine getting 15 random English voters in a room. With how it is right now there'll be 6 Tories, 5 Labour, a Lib Dem and a Green, plus a couple of ditzy types who don't know what time it is and don't care to find out.

    When you consider it this way - as opposed to 10 pt Con leads in opinion polls - a Labour win doesn't seem such a crazy outcome. Especially since the vote is still ages away.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,727

    Newcastle, more specifically Castle Leazes, was full of rahs, including one Princess Eugenie who was a student there at the same time as me, the first time round.

    I could have bumped into her in the Sinners trebles bar and never known it.
    When he was a student at Exeter, Peter Philips - Princess Anne’s son - tried to seduce my then girlfriend (also a student). He failed. Or so she told me

    Ironically, when I look back at old photos I realise that she was a dead ringer for Meghan Markle, except paler and more wistful. An absolute stunner

    Sigh
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 121,635

    What if you're not an expert in anything?
    You don't need a degree or a masters to be a degree in something, sometimes it can be from life experiences.

    It can be a minor discipline, but you can learn more based on your previous experiences.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 121,635
    DavidL said:

    My favourite Judge, the late and great Lord Macfadyen, who died far too young, had a lovely phrase. He would think for a moment and then turn to you and say, "Perhaps its me, but...." and then completely demolish your argument with courtesy and charm.
    I knew an eminent counsel who first meeting on a case would go like this

    'I've only briefly looked at/skim read this case so my initial thoughts are why this case won't succeed are...'

    Then spent the next 20 mins finding a hundred reasons for finding why the defence side was rubbish.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,304
    edited May 2021
    Leon said:

    When he was a student at Exeter, Peter Philips - Princess Anne’s son - tried to seduce my then girlfriend (also a student). He failed. Or so she told me

    Ironically, when I look back at old photos I realise that she was a dead ringer for Meghan Markle, except paler and more wistful. An absolute stunner

    Sigh
    Getting a bit of a 'did a search for her on FB' vibe tbh
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,992
    rcs1000 said:

    Interestingly, school uniforms are extremely unusual in the US, even though it is a significantly more right wing country than the UK.
    They are normal at some of the prestigious private schools on the East coast still and of course the setting and discipline argument is also still an issue in the US too.

    In any case it is strict disciplinarian Singapore which tops the PISA rankings, not the USA
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,727

    Getting a bit of a 'did a search for her on FB' vibe tbh
    Yes, that’s exactly what I did
  • nico679nico679 Posts: 6,277
    So the government is considering using force majeure as a means to not implement the NI protocol . So basically an act of God ! More disgraceful behaviour from this cesspit administration. And in other news the U.K. can’t align its food standards to help solve many border issues because it wants to lower them when it decides to throw farmers under a bus when it makes a trade deal with Australia.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163

    Getting a bit of a 'did a search for her on FB' vibe tbh
    Corfu 06
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,304
    Leon said:

    Yes, that’s exactly what I did
    It comes to us all.
    Sob.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 126,992
    nico679 said:

    So the government is considering using force majeure as a means to not implement the NI protocol . So basically an act of God ! More disgraceful behaviour from this cesspit administration. And in other news the U.K. can’t align its food standards to help solve many border issues because it wants to lower them when it decides to throw farmers under a bus when it makes a trade deal with Australia.

    British farmers would also get tariff free access to the Australian market and I am sure Unionists would be very happy if Boris removes the Irish Sea border whatever means he uses to do so
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 38,078
    nico679 said:

    So the government is considering using force majeure as a means to not implement the NI protocol . So basically an act of God ! More disgraceful behaviour from this cesspit administration. And in other news the U.K. can’t align its food standards to help solve many border issues because it wants to lower them when it decides to throw farmers under a bus when it makes a trade deal with Australia.

    It is remarkable, though not surprising, that in this era of "food miles" and in a country that can't currently feed itself without imports, the Insane Clown posse are prepared to destroy local sheep farming in favour of importing them from the farthest point on the planet.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,727

    Getting a bit of a 'did a search for her on FB' vibe tbh
    She was also the first girl to send me a nude selfie. So it must have happened around the advent of mobile phone cameras, in the early Noughties

    I was sitting in a soho club when it pinged, unheralded, onto my phone. It was a huge, sudden jolt of eroticism. Like a minor heart attack

    I’ve still got this primordial image stored on my latest phone. Very poor resolution ofc
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 38,078
    1922 chairman Sir Graham Brady speaking to me earlier on @SkyNews clear he does not want the government to reverse yesterday’s reopening and must stick to June 21 plan

    Transcript: https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1394660228965322755/photo/1
  • eekeek Posts: 29,712
    edited May 2021

    Newcastle, more specifically Castle Leazes, was full of rahs, including one Princess Eugenie who was a student there at the same time as me, the first time round.

    I could have bumped into her in the Sinners trebles bar and never known it.
    When I was there (and met my wife) Castle Sleazes wasn't rah city - that was Henderson followed by Osbourne Road, Jesmond.

    It is now though which is why twin A is looking elsewhere when she heads to Newcastle in September (3rd generation at Kings College, Durham).
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,727
    I wonder if I actually possess The World’s First Nude Selfie

    I could auction it off. Get Elon Musk bidding against Bill Gates

  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,304
    Leon said:

    She was also the first girl to send me a nude selfie. So it must have happened around the advent of mobile phone cameras, in the early Noughties

    I was sitting in a soho club when it pinged, unheralded, onto my phone. It was a huge, sudden jolt of eroticism. Like a minor heart attack

    I’ve still got this primordial image stored on my latest phone. Very poor resolution ofc
    I still have some life drawings of my first serious girlfriend.
    Unfortunately melancholy tends to overwhelm the erotic charge.
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    eek said:

    When I was there (and met my wife) Castle Sleazes wasn't rah city - that was Henderson followed by Osbourne Road, Jesmond.

    It is now though which is why twin A is looking elsewhere when she heads to Newcastle in September (3rd generation at Kings College, Durham).
    Henderson Hall has been demolished now, you'll be happy to know, other than the Old Hall bit. That's where I was in 1st year! Although in the scummy part.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,727

    I still have some life drawings of my first serious girlfriend.
    Unfortunately melancholy tends to overwhelm the erotic charge.
    Facebook tells me my iconically beautiful, sultry, poetic, Meghan-a-like girlfriend is now a serious mother in her 40s, with a daughter of 12 and her own business and she’s very very different. I empathize with your melancholia
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,775

    Who could refuse you at least an ovatio and myrtle crown for that post?
    Thank you. It was a task I felt had to be tackled, rather than something I enjoyed, so I'll accept with good grace as my due. :smile:

    In a nutshell. People of all stripes talk about this politician with fondness as if they know him well. That's electoral gold.

    Essential (for sanity) caveat: Things can change and change can be quick.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Scott_xP said:

    It is remarkable, though not surprising, that in this era of "food miles" and in a country that can't currently feed itself without imports, the Insane Clown posse are prepared to destroy local sheep farming in favour of importing them from the farthest point on the planet.
    It is fantastic news yes and it's unsurprising that your fervent support of free trade with your beloved EU becomes rampant protectionism and terror the moment we talk about anyone else.

    Hypocrite.
This discussion has been closed.