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No seat is safe: Tory by-election defences – politicalbetting.com

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  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,131
    edited July 2023

    To lose one state visit may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose two makes your country look like a shithole.

    King Charles III's state visit to France has been postponed after a request by President Emmanuel Macron, Downing Street says.

    The president said "we would not be sensible and would lack common sense" to go ahead after unions called a day of pension protests during the visit.

    The trip to Paris and Bordeaux had been due to begin on Sunday.

    But both cities were caught up in violence on Thursday, some of the worst since demonstrations began in January.


    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65064510

    More now on President Macron's cancelled visit to Germany. It was due to be the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 23 years, and was scheduled to last from tomorrow until Tuesday.


    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-66073728

    Didn't Charles previous planned visit get canned because of rioting over pension reforms?
  • eekeek Posts: 29,478
    DougSeal said:

    New Musk wheeze apparently. You have to be logged on in order to see Tweets.
    I'm logged in and can't see anything

    It's well and truely broken at the moment...
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    edited July 2023

    That would be one of the underlying premises.
    Anglo-Canada would seek stronger relations with Europe precisely to avoid over-dependence on the USA.

    (And the UK needs to anyway for basic economic reasons).
    And why not add Australia? Also has English common law, also part of the monarchy, for now?

    It's hardly a new idea, but I heartily agree. CANAUK (NZ are a bit too pathetic and reliant on China for now)

    It would be quite a mighty "nation", with enormous resources, great universities, global influence and presence. We could cycle the parliament betweem London, Ottawa and Canberra

    To be even more radical the four UK nations could join independently, making CANENGNIWASCO, which is a neat and catchy name in itself, and that would balance out the Scottish sense of being constantly outvoted by overdominant England

    In fact I'd add Cornwall as a fifth nation, making CANENGNIWASCOCORN, and maybe make Lostwithiel the ultimate Federal capital of the entire new superpower
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    DougSeal said:

    New Musk wheeze apparently. You have to be logged on in order to see Tweets.
    It;s clever and sensible. In fact it's amazing Twiter haven't done this before
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    No ball...
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 34,109
    Leon said:

    It;s clever and sensible. In fact it's amazing Twiter haven't done this before
    Except it doesn't always seem to apply. Sometimes a link takes you straight to a tweet and you can see it without being logged in. (Well that was a few days ago, they might have changed it since then).
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,904

    A number of twitter accounts that collect Ukrainian war footage have over the past few days been also posting French riot footage ...its often hard to tell one from the other.
    Are they needing some Storm Shadows too?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,131
    edited July 2023
    DavidL said:

    Are they needing some Storm Shadows too?
    Given how heavily armed some of the French rioters are, not out of the question.

    There was footage of one guy in France wandering down the main street with a belt-fed machine gun.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 22,124
    edited July 2023
    Leon said:

    And why not add Australia? Also has English common law, also part of the monarchy, for now?

    It's hardly a new idea, but I heartily agree. CANAUK (NZ are a bit too pathetic and reliant on China for now)

    It would be quite a mighty "nation", with enormous resources, great universities, global influence and oresence. We could cycle the parliament betweem London, Ottawa and Canberra

    To be even more radical the four UK nations could join independently, making CANENGNIWASCO, which is a neat and catchy name in itself, and that would balance out the Scottish sense of being constantly outvoted by overdominant England

    in fact I'd add Cornwall as a fifth nation, making CANENGNIWASCOCORN, and maybe make Lostwithiel the ultimate Federal capital of the entire new superpower
    Because adding Australia lacks a bit of geographic and geopolitical logic.

    UK and Canada are already both in NATO, and there’s only five hours time difference between London and Toronto.

    But Australia etc could be a further leg.
    And you’d expect Anglo-Canada to have a v strong relationship with Australia from the outset.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,131
    dixiedean said:

    No ball...

    Oh Benny Boy what have you done.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    It looks more slippery than Susan Acland-Hood out there.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    dixiedean said:

    No ball...

    Definitely not eunuch event for England.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 34,109

    I quite like this idea. Canada is still one of the most moderately civilised places in the world.

    The only amendation I would make is that i'd still like us to have close relations with our European neighbours, at the same time.
    I've visited Canada twice. In the summer of 1997 and in the autumn of 2015. In 1997 it seemed like the best place in the world, a futuristic, optimistic place where no-one was ever in a bad mood. In 2015 it had become slightly more like everywhere else, which was a bit disappointing.
  • pigeonpigeon Posts: 5,173
    pm215 said:

    So what's the mechanism you think that causes an in-power Labour government to drift right, rather than back to the left? The "bloc of new MPs who want to get reelected and drag the party in their direction" is a possibility. But it didn't work for all those Red Wall Tory MPs, who only got levelling up to the extent it happened to match Johnson's instincts when he was PM, and in general this government has drifted back towards its comfort zone, not towards the centre. So I'm sceptical that Labour in power is likely to be different. (I do think they're likely to show sides of the party that we've seen in the past, like authoritarian and centralising aspects. But those aren't conservatism.)

    1. Money talks, and wealthier voters want right-leaning economic policy
    2. Labour will take the young and the poor for granted, on the basis that they assume they've got nowhere else to go
    3. The economy is so bent towards property speculation, and that has been the case for such a long time, that any kind of radical reform plan (the centrepiece of which must necessarily be a massive campaign of both private and social housebuilding, along with a large hike in the taxation of asset wealth,) will quickly end up in the dustbin marked "too difficult"

    In essence, I'm concerned that they'll be too scared to do anything significantly different, and will slip into the comfort zone of trying to manage decline better than the other lot.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,904

    Given how heavily armed some of the French rioters are, not out of the question.

    There was footage of one guy in France wandering down the main street with a belt-fed machine gun.
    The French are indeed revolting.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 54,425

    Given how heavily armed some of the French rioters are, not out of the question.

    There was footage of one guy in France wandering down the main street with a belt-fed machine gun.
    This is one thing that distinguishes these riots from previous ones and makes it look more like an incipient low-level civil war.
  • Sandpit said:

    Saturday night’s alright for fighting?
    In Paris, every night's alright for fighting!
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049

    Didn't Charles previous planned visit get canned because of rioting over pension reforms?
    Must be considered a bad example by the unions. I mean, getting a promotion at 74 while bed blocking a much younger and more suitable candidate.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274

    Because adding Australia lacks a bit of geographic and geopolitical logic.

    UK and Canada are already both in NATO, and there’s only five hours time difference between London and Toronto.

    But Australia etc could be a further leg.
    And you’d expect Anglo-Canada to have a v strong relationship with Australia from the outset.
    To be serious, I do like this idea - always have done - but I disagree on Australianot being a good fit. Oz is a Pacific power, so is Canada - just different sides of the Pacific. And Australia is alrrady in AUKUS, an embryonic global NATO

    And yes a big liberal English speaking power, able to balance the lunacies of the USA, would be excellent for the West - and the world
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 34,109
    Looks like Nathan Lyon is going to bat despite being injured.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,904
    edited July 2023
    Did that look like Lyon with his pads on?

    It was.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 29,811
    Leon said:

    It;s clever and sensible. In fact it's amazing Twiter haven't done this before
    Requiring accounts is clever if you want to boost the number of accounts, making the platform more attractive to advertisers. But it could backfire if it simply reduces the number of people who use Twitter from outside, thus making it less attractive to advertisers (and political spin doctors).
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    DavidL said:

    Did that look like Lyon with his pads on?

    It was.

    He's hobbling down the steps early.
    Needs to to avoid being Timed Out.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    dixiedean said:

    He's hobbling down the steps early.
    Needs to to avoid being Timed Out.
    Why on earth are they exposing him? England have no more chance of chasing 354 than I have of getting a lucid reply out of the DfE.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,904
    Andy_JS said:

    Looks like Nathan Lyon is going to bat despite being injured.

    Crazy, my guess is Australia have got 100 more than they need already.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    dixiedean said:

    He's hobbling down the steps early.
    Needs to to avoid being Timed Out.
    What if he head butts a bouncer?
    He could get concussion and they could bring on a spinner.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    DavidL said:

    Crazy, my guess is Australia have got 100 more than they need already.
    Maybe they just want to rub it in about *that* declaration?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274

    Requiring accounts is clever if you want to boost the number of accounts, making the platform more attractive to advertisers. But it could backfire if it simply reduces the number of people who use Twitter from outside, thus making it less attractive to advertisers (and political spin doctors).
    Yes, it's a calculated gamble - but justified, to my mind

    Despite many attempts, no one has come up with a rival platform to Twitter. It is still THE global/western forum for politicians and journalists etc. You can't function in those worlds without access to Twitter. This will force peope who loathe Musk (or simply dislike Twitter) to get accounts, or miss out on the vital conversation
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    Crikey. This is small town France, not Paris or Marseille

    "France is looking like a war torn country. Pharmacy collapsed after being set on fire. 70 stores in the city center of this small town were ravaged or looted 🚨🚨🚨"

    https://twitter.com/Based_Ninja_San/status/1675141044499800067?s=20
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    DavidL said:

    Crazy, my guess is Australia have got 100 more than they need already.
    It shows that they are genuinely scared of Bazball. Which is a compliment to Stokes and Co
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 34,109
    Ridiculous that they banned runners in test matches, because it was alleged that certain teams were using them when they didn't really need to. But you could get round that problem with medical examinations.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    Andy_JS said:

    Ridiculous that they banned runners in test matches, because it was alleged that certain teams were using them when they didn't really need to. But you could get round that problem with medical examinations.

    Also runs* the risk of aggravating injuries, which makes it even sillier.

    *No pun intended, for once.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,934
    edited July 2023
    Talking of Australia, I was just about to post that they seem to be ahead of the rest of the world in discovering the potential benefits of carefully moderated psychedelic medicine !

    https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/30/health/australia-mdma-psilocybin-psychedelics-medicine-wellness/index.html

    Australia is set to become the first country in the world to legalize clinical prescribing of MDMA, better known as ecstasy, and psilocybin — the main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms — for certain mental health disorders.

    Starting July 1, authorized psychiatrists will be able to prescribe MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, according to a February news release. Both drugs are otherwise illegal in Australia. “Psilocybin and MDMA are relatively safe when used in a medically controlled setting under the supervision of appropriately trained healthcare professionals and in the dosages that have been studied in clinical trials,” said Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, or TGA, when announcing the move.

  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    Leon said:

    It shows that they are genuinely scared of Bazball. Which is a compliment to Stokes and Co
    Well yes.
    350 to win is nigh impossible when it takes surviving 120 overs.
    It's a different calculus when it's less than 70.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    It's Starc that now needs concussion testing.

    If Lyon coming out to bat leads to Starc's injury as well, that was a poor decision by Oz.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    edited July 2023
    Talking of concussion, Mas looks out of the Tour already.
    Carapaz not in good shape either with his knee.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    OK that's fucking stupid. Get Lyon off. Enuff
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    This is genuine fucking stupidity. Declare already Cummins.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    What's the point of this?
    Need a boundary for a run.
    Edit.
    Apparently not.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    Magnificent save of six by Ahmed though.

    Could easily have injured himself though.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    ydoethur said:

    This is genuine fucking stupidity. Declare already Cummins.

    All the med websites say you must NEVER exert a bad calf strain because it can be permanently damaging. This could jeopardise his entire career
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,651
    There are some strange people on the internet
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 43,110
    Leon said:

    Crikey. This is small town France, not Paris or Marseille

    "France is looking like a war torn country. Pharmacy collapsed after being set on fire. 70 stores in the city center of this small town were ravaged or looted 🚨🚨🚨"

    https://twitter.com/Based_Ninja_San/status/1675141044499800067?s=20

    Based_Ninja_San eh, it’s like Robert Capa and Martha Gellhorn got together and had a baby.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 24,000
    ydoethur said:

    This is genuine fucking stupidity. Declare already Cummins.

    With a name like that youd have thought he would have sent Lyon to test his fitness at Barnard Castle first.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    edited July 2023
    Oh God. Stop. Get Lyon off
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    Now his other leg's taking a pounding. FFS.
  • pigeonpigeon Posts: 5,173
    DougSeal said:

    There are some strange people on the internet

    How would you know? You're a seal.
  • londonpubmanlondonpubman Posts: 3,641
    Really not sensible for Lyon to be out there.

    Declare now Cummins!
  • pigeon said:

    How would you know? You're a seal.
    I suppose it takes a pigeon to know this,
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    Broad should aim at the stumps. Finish it
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    The only thing I can think of is, he knows it's his last tour of England and he just wants a bat at Lord's.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,651
    pigeon said:

    How would you know? You're a seal.
    Ah! But an internet using seal! There are some weird seals as well TBF.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 29,811
    Leon said:

    Yes, it's a calculated gamble - but justified, to my mind

    Despite many attempts, no one has come up with a rival platform to Twitter. It is still THE global/western forum for politicians and journalists etc. You can't function in those worlds without access to Twitter. This will force peope who loathe Musk (or simply dislike Twitter) to get accounts, or miss out on the vital conversation
    Twitter seems to be having some sort of technical problem at the moment. #TwitterDown is trending and reports of "rate limit exceeded". Maybe some of those laid off workers were important, though as you imply, Twitter is a necessary tool for so many people that the occasional outage probably does not matter.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    Chris said:

    Not quite sure what you're going on about. I already pointed out that the American War of Independence wasn't "English". I'm sure if you want to you can increase the count of "English civil wars", but trying to include Scottish wars scarcely makes sense!
    Eh? you wanted to increase the count in the first place of "English civil wars", when including the pre-1707 ones doesn't make any more sense than including the pre-1707 Scottish ones.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 18,157
    Leon said:

    Oh God. Stop. Get Lyon off

    Autralian cricketer or French riot place?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    DougSeal said:

    Ah! But an internet using seal! There are some weird seals as well TBF.
    That is the mane problem with them.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 56,022
    I know it’s heresy, but that was a good sprint thingy. Just add rain!

    More fun than watching an injured bowler try to bat.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 34,109
    There are some real dunces in the Lords crowd, booing when a man who can hardly walk doesn't take a single.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    Sandpit said:

    I know it’s heresy, but that was a good sprint thingy. Just add rain!

    More fun than watching an injured bowler try to bat.

    Actually this is quite fun cricket, albeit cruel. Like gladiatorial combat

    And every minute that passes means a minute more cricket tomorrow...
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    Yorker desperately needed now.
  • MiklosvarMiklosvar Posts: 1,855
    Andy_JS said:

    There are some real dunces in the Lords crowd, booing when a man who can hardly walk doesn't take a single.

    Perhaps they are booing the morons who sent him out there. Quite right.
  • Pagan2Pagan2 Posts: 10,656

    Perhaps a 4 day week should be accompanied by an equivalent reduction in council tax.
    I think the objection is to the trial for tax payers that working hours were cut by 20% but wages are still at 100%, so basically a 20% pay rise for all those workers
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    dixiedean said:

    Yorker desperately needed now.

    Yes. Surely. Aim at the stumps. That's it
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 58,989
    Andy_JS said:

    I've visited Canada twice. In the summer of 1997 and in the autumn of 2015. In 1997 it seemed like the best place in the world, a futuristic, optimistic place where no-one was ever in a bad mood. In 2015 it had become slightly more like everywhere else, which was a bit disappointing.
    What I like about Canada is that it contains bits like Texas (Alberta), bits like Chicago (Toronto), and bits like Blackpool (newfoundland).

    Plus it has Victoria Island. Banff. Vancouver.

  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    AIM AT THE STUMPS
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    This is colosally stupid bowling
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 19,126

    Didn't Charles previous planned visit get canned because of rioting over pension reforms?
    Yes it did. So much for the attempt to schmooze Britain's second-nearest neighbour.
  • boulayboulay Posts: 6,039
    Leon said:

    Yes. Surely. Aim at the stumps. That's it
    Or spin at him so he has to keep moving around.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    Leon said:

    This is colosally stupid bowling

    The bowling's shorter than Sarkozy. Ridiculous.
  • eekeek Posts: 29,478
    edited July 2023
    Pagan2 said:

    I think the objection is to the trial for tax payers that working hours were cut by 20% but wages are still at 100%, so basically a 20% pay rise for all those workers
    Yep but if productivity is the same as before and customer satisfaction is equal or better what exactly is the problem?

    And from what I've read both of the above seem to be true - and other places have shown similar results..
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 50,732

    Twitter seems to be having some sort of technical problem at the moment. #TwitterDown is trending and reports of "rate limit exceeded". Maybe some of those laid off workers were important, though as you imply, Twitter is a necessary tool for so many people that the occasional outage probably does not matter.
    Yes, it isn't loading at all at the moment, logged in or not.

    An "unscheduled rapid disassembly"?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    Finally, but what a waste of time.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    Thank F for that!
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,131
    1-2 for the Yates twins.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    One-two for the Yates' in TDF.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    edited July 2023
    England *could* do this. Highly unlikely. But that's better than the total oblivion they faced yesterday
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 56,022
    371 the target then, roughly par for the time remaining. @Leon should have a good day out tomorrow.

    Dare I say it, but that last partnership might well make the difference.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,866
    Leon said:

    England *could* do this. Highly unlikely. But that's better than the total oblivion they faced yesterday

    Yes. It's been a super fightback from 123-1 to 279.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 58,989
    Leon said:

    To be serious, I do like this idea - always have done - but I disagree on Australianot being a good fit. Oz is a Pacific power, so is Canada - just different sides of the Pacific. And Australia is alrrady in AUKUS, an embryonic global NATO

    And yes a big liberal English speaking power, able to balance the lunacies of the USA, would be excellent for the West - and the world
    Australia, like New Zealand, has very much turned towards the Pacific. Australian universities are absolutely full of Chinese students.

  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 34,109
    edited July 2023
    ydoethur said:

    Finally, but what a waste of time.

    I thought it was fantastic. From Australia, obviously.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,131
    Leon said:

    England *could* do this. Highly unlikely. But that's better than the total oblivion they faced yesterday

    And Winviz says...29% chance of England win.
  • pigeonpigeon Posts: 5,173

    I suppose it takes a pigeon to know this,
    Pigeons are a special case.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 79,060
    Sandpit said:

    371 the target then, roughly par for the time remaining. @Leon should have a good day out tomorrow.

    Dare I say it, but that last partnership might well make the difference.

    Pulpstar said:

    I think England will be chasing 370, and get them for 8 wickets

    1 off in terms of the runs needed prediction.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 65,011

    N. Parish Flannery
    @NathanielParish
    ·
    Jun 30
    "War with Mexico? It’s on the 2024 ballot, at least if you believe the campaign rhetoric of more and more Republican candidates," argues
    @davidfrum
    for The Atlantic.

    Lindsey Graham said, "🇲🇽They are at war with us. We need to be at war with them.”

    https://twitter.com/davidfrum
  • londonpubmanlondonpubman Posts: 3,641

    And Winviz says...29% chance of England win.
    It's more like 2.9%.

    But I think we will give it a go! If we can get to close today no more than 2 wickets down then who knows!

    👍
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    Andy_JS said:

    I thought it was fantastic. From Australia, obviously.
    TBF I didn't realise Lyon is so old. 35. He's very near the end of his career anyway so he probably thought it was worth the risk, for that bit of glory at Lord's in the Ashes: the ultimate venue. I imagine it was his personal choice
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,934
    edited July 2023
    rcs1000 said:

    Australia, like New Zealand, has very much turned towards the Pacific. Australian universities are absolutely full of Chinese students.

    Although I personally think we still have more a bit more in common with New Zealand, for reasons discussed on previous threads.

    The overall idea of a bit of British-Canada integration, with Britain also with one foot in our continental neighbour's union too, maybe via at least the single market at least, is a good one, I think.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 9,940
    Pagan2 said:

    I think the objection is to the trial for tax payers that working hours were cut by 20% but wages are still at 100%, so basically a 20% pay rise for all those workers
    If their output over those hours was the same as before then surely it doesn't matter? It just reflects an increase in productivity (output per hour). That's what the studies keep finding.

    Indeed, historically a large chunk of productivity gains didin't manifest as increased economic output but as reduced working hours and participation rates. Off the top of my head, I think productivity growth during the 20th century was 2%, but hours per week dropped by 0.5% per annum.

    This is a good thing. The target economy sees us all having a great time and doing very little work.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274

    And Winviz says...29% chance of England win.
    Which is ridiculous. It's more like 10%? But yesterday it was about 2%
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 83,131

    It's more like 2.9%.

    But I think we will give it a go! If we can get to close today no more than 2 wickets down then who knows!

    👍
    You jinxed it now.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617


    N. Parish Flannery
    @NathanielParish
    ·
    Jun 30
    "War with Mexico? It’s on the 2024 ballot, at least if you believe the campaign rhetoric of more and more Republican candidates," argues
    @davidfrum
    for The Atlantic.

    Lindsey Graham said, "🇲🇽They are at war with us. We need to be at war with them.”

    https://twitter.com/davidfrum

    Never mind the Mexicans, I feel for the Castilians:

    *SPOILER: more ifs and maybes and hypotheticals than a PB poster proving that the Tories will win the next election*

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12242997/How-Spain-DESTROY-Gibraltars-economy-far-right-Vox-party-carry-threats.html
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049

    It's more like 2.9%.

    But I think we will give it a go! If we can get to close today no more than 2 wickets down then who knows!

    👍
    Well, yes, I suppose 0 is more like 2.9% than 29%.

    We will give it a go because in the absence of Sibley and Foakes we have no batsmen who know how to block. But we will still lose.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 18,157
    rcs1000 said:

    Australia, like New Zealand, has very much turned towards the Pacific. Australian universities are absolutely full of Chinese students.

    I can see what is in this sort of arrangement for the UK, especially for those who lament the loss of the dominions.

    But what's in it for Canada (pop 37 million), Australia (25 million) or New Zealand (5 million) (all bloody miles away) to hitch their wagons to ours? Didn't they choose to Take Back Control?
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 44,617
    edited July 2023

    Advocates of the idea have claimed that people are more motivated and productive working a four-day week. If they're right then you'd get more output for the same pay, even if people were technically working for fewer hours.

    The council in this trial claimed to have saved a lot of money because the offer a four-day week has helped them to recruit permanent staff in place of the expensive agency staff they previously relied upon.

    But, obviously, it looks like skiving, so who cares whether it's actually a good idea? Maybe everyone should be forced back to a six day week with no increase in pay?
    Or, equally logically, 7 days, with church/mosque/chapel/synagogue parade for those with official documentation?

    The Tories hate it because their organ grinders are yanking the chain at the thought of 20% fewer Daily Mails sold on the commuter train, etc. etc .
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049

    Advocates of the idea have claimed that people are more motivated and productive working a four-day week. If they're right then you'd get more output for the same pay, even if people were technically working for fewer hours.

    The council in this trial claimed to have saved a lot of money because the offer a four-day week has helped them to recruit permanent staff in place of the expensive agency staff they previously relied upon.

    But, obviously, it looks like skiving, so who cares whether it's actually a good idea? Maybe everyone should be forced back to a six day week with no increase in pay?
    We should be forced to work eight days a week, with no lunch break, and get up 'alf an hour afore we go to bed, like in good old days.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    ydoethur said:

    Well, yes, I suppose 0 is more like 2.9% than 29%.

    We will give it a go because in the absence of Sibley and Foakes we have no batsmen who know how to block. But we will still lose.
    But, more importantly, I should get at least one full session tomorrow
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 62,360
    Good afternoon, everyone.

    Mr. Sandpit, the sprint race remains a stupid format. It was entertaining on this occasion, though.

    If Hulkenberg had a car that didn't eat tyres he'd have kept 2nd.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,049
    Leon said:

    But, more importantly, I should get at least one full session tomorrow
    I do see your point.

    But I'm not terribly optimistic for you.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 59,274
    ydoethur said:

    I do see your point.

    But I'm not terribly optimistic for you.
    You don't think England will last until lunch? That's overly pessimistic
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