In just a month Sunak sees a massive drop in his ratings – politicalbetting.com

londonpubman said:

Penddu2 said:

londonpubman said:

Penddu2 said:

For the record.....

Three games up on Saturday:

ENG v CHI. Chile will run anything they get back at England, but England will be too strong and should win by 20-30

GEO v POR. This will be well matched – with Georgia’s physicality against Portugal’s fluid game. Georgia to eventually win by 10, but it will be close for much of the game. Portugal could even win (potential betting opportunity)

RSA v IRE. This game will be immense. Ireland are very controlled but will meet their match in South Africa, especially when they meet the ‘Bomb Squad’ in the pack. I think RSA will just be too strong for Ireland – South Africa by 6

I think England will be pleased with a solid performance and to win the game. If we win we are virtually through to the QF. A bonus point for 4 tries is unlikely.

You are not - if Samoa beat you then 3 teams will have same win-lose ratio and it will come down to bonus points and then points difference. Same scenario Wales are facing. We will know our fate on Sunday. You have two weeks to sweat....

Samoa certainly won't be easy for us!

Not sure who will win tomorrow, Australia or Wales. Too close to call?

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

AlsoLei said:

boulay said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

Leon said:

isam said:

Leon said:

AlsoLei said:

Leon said:

The young Fred and Rosie West

He is “quite good looking” I guess, in a sort of rough peasanty way. More disturbingly, she is genuinely pretty

Is that Paul McCartney sitting on his knee?

Relatedly, I rewatched that "Classic Album" episode from 2003, last night, describing the making of Dark Side of the Moon. Superb hour of documentary entertainment, full of revelations (it's on Amazon Prime)

David Gilmour was a seriously beautiful young man, Roger Waters was definitely not (borderline ugly): I do wonder how much this fuelled the rivalry between them. Waters got better looking with age, Gilmour went the other way

And the music was so complicated, clever and live. It all had to be performed more-or-less live, even getting the chimes of the clocks in "Time" to coincide exactly with the right chords on piano and guitar. And so much of it was sheer serendipity, eg the incredible vocalist brought in to wail about death in "Great Gig in the Sky" just because she was a friend of the producer and was in the area at the time

Claire Torry. Apparently she thought she'd fucked it up and went back to the studio to apologise, they looked at her like she was mad, and told her it was brilliant

They still didn't pay her properly, tho. She had to sue them in 2004 for totally justified royalities, rather than the £30 session fee she got. They settled out of court, for an "undisclosed sum". I wonder how much she got. Half a million? The record has generated hundreds of millions

Brilliant programme. Waters rendition of ‘Money’ & the story of how he thought it sounded is great - he rejigged it this year and rehearsed it - absolutely terrible beyond belief

The Lyrics to some of the songs on The Final Cut (title track, When the Tigers Broke Free & The Gunners Dream) are very moving about the futility of war

You’re right about the way they’ve aged - Waters was an incredibly ugly young man, and is quite dashing nowadays, whereas Gilmour has outgrown his looks for sure

I thought you were going to say McCartney was on DSOTM - apparently they interviewed him & Linda did the conversations between songs but never used them because they were too scripted

It's a deeply poignant programme because it also illuminates an Absolute Peak Moment of Pop Music, never to be repeated. It's like watching a documentary with an older Michelangelo and an ageing Pope Julius II where they joke and gossip about "how they got the Sistine ceiling painted".

"Do you remember the problem with the scaffolding, Mike?

"hah, yeah, and we ran out of paint that day - and you told Raphael to fuck off"

etc

You watch it realising, This will not happen again, a form of music peaked here, just as Renaissance painting reached a peak with the Sistine Chapel, and then came a long decline, and a new Michelangelo never emerged

Did you listen to the album when it was first released in 1973?

No, I was a bit too young

I got into it in the late 70s when all my mates were into punk and post-punk (I was actually in a post-punk band) in Hereford. Pink Floyd was my secret pleasure (and Led Zep)

I later learned the piano version of Great Gig in the Sky, the only decent song I've ever mastered, it was my party trick: sitting down and banging it out. Even without the vocals its a haunting, lovely chord sequence, but with those vocals it is one of the greatest songs ever recorded, no wonder she asked for royalties

I went off Pink Floyd for years as my older brother played them to death when I was young. Then one of my best mates, whose dad was in the army and was killed when he was young was told by his mum that “Shine on you crazy diamond” was his favourite song so at the end of a pub session he would always put on “SOYCD” followed by Dire Straits “Brothers in arms” and put a real downer on the night.

Got into them again weirdly after the Scissor Sisters did a great cover of comfortably numb that made me revisit.

I can't say that their mid 70s or later stuff does much for me, but I was recently introduced to their 1972 Pompeii concert which is really quite fucking amazing. Especially this bit of 'Echoes' starting just over 9 mins in: https://youtu.be/fhDfmUnN1vY?si=w756wd6o-MY68dNu&t=558

And, god, yes, Gilmour was delicious.

AlsoLei said:

boulay said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

Leon said:

isam said:

Leon said:

AlsoLei said:

Leon said:

The young Fred and Rosie West

He is “quite good looking” I guess, in a sort of rough peasanty way. More disturbingly, she is genuinely pretty

Is that Paul McCartney sitting on his knee?

Relatedly, I rewatched that "Classic Album" episode from 2003, last night, describing the making of Dark Side of the Moon. Superb hour of documentary entertainment, full of revelations (it's on Amazon Prime)

David Gilmour was a seriously beautiful young man, Roger Waters was definitely not (borderline ugly): I do wonder how much this fuelled the rivalry between them. Waters got better looking with age, Gilmour went the other way

And the music was so complicated, clever and live. It all had to be performed more-or-less live, even getting the chimes of the clocks in "Time" to coincide exactly with the right chords on piano and guitar. And so much of it was sheer serendipity, eg the incredible vocalist brought in to wail about death in "Great Gig in the Sky" just because she was a friend of the producer and was in the area at the time

Claire Torry. Apparently she thought she'd fucked it up and went back to the studio to apologise, they looked at her like she was mad, and told her it was brilliant

They still didn't pay her properly, tho. She had to sue them in 2004 for totally justified royalities, rather than the £30 session fee she got. They settled out of court, for an "undisclosed sum". I wonder how much she got. Half a million? The record has generated hundreds of millions

Brilliant programme. Waters rendition of ‘Money’ & the story of how he thought it sounded is great - he rejigged it this year and rehearsed it - absolutely terrible beyond belief

The Lyrics to some of the songs on The Final Cut (title track, When the Tigers Broke Free & The Gunners Dream) are very moving about the futility of war

You’re right about the way they’ve aged - Waters was an incredibly ugly young man, and is quite dashing nowadays, whereas Gilmour has outgrown his looks for sure

I thought you were going to say McCartney was on DSOTM - apparently they interviewed him & Linda did the conversations between songs but never used them because they were too scripted

It's a deeply poignant programme because it also illuminates an Absolute Peak Moment of Pop Music, never to be repeated. It's like watching a documentary with an older Michelangelo and an ageing Pope Julius II where they joke and gossip about "how they got the Sistine ceiling painted".

"Do you remember the problem with the scaffolding, Mike?

"hah, yeah, and we ran out of paint that day - and you told Raphael to fuck off"

etc

You watch it realising, This will not happen again, a form of music peaked here, just as Renaissance painting reached a peak with the Sistine Chapel, and then came a long decline, and a new Michelangelo never emerged

Did you listen to the album when it was first released in 1973?

No, I was a bit too young

I got into it in the late 70s when all my mates were into punk and post-punk (I was actually in a post-punk band) in Hereford. Pink Floyd was my secret pleasure (and Led Zep)

I later learned the piano version of Great Gig in the Sky, the only decent song I've ever mastered, it was my party trick: sitting down and banging it out. Even without the vocals its a haunting, lovely chord sequence, but with those vocals it is one of the greatest songs ever recorded, no wonder she asked for royalties

I went off Pink Floyd for years as my older brother played them to death when I was young. Then one of my best mates, whose dad was in the army and was killed when he was young was told by his mum that “Shine on you crazy diamond” was his favourite song so at the end of a pub session he would always put on “SOYCD” followed by Dire Straits “Brothers in arms” and put a real downer on the night.

Got into them again weirdly after the Scissor Sisters did a great cover of comfortably numb that made me revisit.

I can't say that their mid 70s or later stuff does much for me, but I was recently introduced to their 1972 Pompeii concert which is really quite fucking amazing. Especially this bit of 'Echoes' starting just over 9 mins in: https://youtu.be/fhDfmUnN1vY?si=w756wd6o-MY68dNu&t=558

And, god, yes, Gilmour was delicious.

Luckyguy1983 said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

Perhaps they can be persuaded to keep him.

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

There is still a strong monarchist minority in France.

JosiasJessop said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

There is still a strong monarchist minority in France.

I saw a lovely video this morning of some mountain bikers who come across a lone King Charles in the mountains, and who chat to him for a few minutes.

4 mins 30 secs in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QABiQFWwXHg

Leon said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

There is still a strong monarchist minority in France.

He also speaks rather good French (in a plummy accent), that always wins the Frogs over

RobD said:

JosiasJessop said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

There is still a strong monarchist minority in France.

I saw a lovely video this morning of some mountain bikers who come across a lone King Charles in the mountains, and who chat to him for a few minutes.

4 mins 30 secs in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QABiQFWwXHg

What was surprising about that there was no protection officer to be seen.

ydoethur said:

RobD said:

JosiasJessop said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

There is still a strong monarchist minority in France.

I saw a lovely video this morning of some mountain bikers who come across a lone King Charles in the mountains, and who chat to him for a few minutes.

4 mins 30 secs in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QABiQFWwXHg

What was surprising about that there was no protection officer to be seen.

What did you think all those Land Rovers casing the route were carrying?

Andy_JS said:

The odds are currently Ireland 9/1 to win against England at Trent Bridge.

https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/en/cricket/one-day-internationals/england-v-ireland-betting-32650774

IanB2 said:

Leon said:

MarqueeMark said:

Gardenwalker said:

According to that chart, Sunak is still considered more favourably than the Tories themselves.

Perhaps in the same way that Rosemary probably gets marginally more sympathy than Fred West.

Rose gets less sympathy than Fred for not doing the decent thing and topping herself. I would have thought.

My then-wife once made the chilling observation that “actually, the young Fred West was quite good looking”

Which tells us more than maybe you intended….

RobD said:

JosiasJessop said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

There is still a strong monarchist minority in France.

I saw a lovely video this morning of some mountain bikers who come across a lone King Charles in the mountains, and who chat to him for a few minutes.

4 mins 30 secs in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QABiQFWwXHg

What was surprising about that there was no protection officer to be seen.

JosiasJessop said:

I wonder whether this sudden sort-of announcement that the US may supply ATACMS long-range weapons to Ukraine might have a little to do with Storm Shadow/SCALP 's successes in the war, including the Black Sea extravaganza yesterday?

There comes a time when reticence might start harming arms sales, you know...

malcolmg said:

Leon said:

MarqueeMark said:

Gardenwalker said:

According to that chart, Sunak is still considered more favourably than the Tories themselves.

Perhaps in the same way that Rosemary probably gets marginally more sympathy than Fred West.

Rose gets less sympathy than Fred for not doing the decent thing and topping herself. I would have thought.

My then-wife once made the chilling observation that “actually, the young Fred West was quite good looking”

Holy crap , needed Specsavers for sure.

Big_G_NorthWales said:

I know this triggers some but our son called round and said that he has not met anyone, either at work or socially, that is supportive of the new 20mph zone and even Plaid supporters he works with are angry

The petition administered by the Senedd is now at an astonishing 403,000 votes and continues to grow

There will be some who are trying to debase the petition, but this has become the major story in Wales and hopefully common sense reviews by LA'S will take place

JosiasJessop said:

RobD said:

JosiasJessop said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

There is still a strong monarchist minority in France.

I saw a lovely video this morning of some mountain bikers who come across a lone King Charles in the mountains, and who chat to him for a few minutes.

4 mins 30 secs in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QABiQFWwXHg

What was surprising about that there was no protection officer to be seen.

As they say on the video, the snipers will be in the hills around him. And they said they passed security down the track before meeting him.

I've heard several stories amongst Scottish hillwalkers of meeting Chuckles alone on the hills, and of him being very friendly. It's good to see it's actually true, even when he is king.

Big_G_NorthWales said:

OldKingCole said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

I know this triggers some but our son called round and said that he has not met anyone, either at work or socially, that is supportive of the new 20mph zone and even Plaid supporters he works with are angry

The petition administered by the Senedd is now at an astonishing 403,000 votes and continues to grow

There will be some who are trying to debase the petition, but this has become the major story in Wales and hopefully common sense reviews by LA'S will take place

Brother-in-law, who has a holiday place on Anglesey, and was there this week, said everything seemed fine. Bit difficult in places but he and his wife, who does the driving, had no complaints.

I am not surprised as he would have used the A55 which is unchanged

OldKingCole said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

OldKingCole said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

I know this triggers some but our son called round and said that he has not met anyone, either at work or socially, that is supportive of the new 20mph zone and even Plaid supporters he works with are angry

The petition administered by the Senedd is now at an astonishing 403,000 votes and continues to grow

There will be some who are trying to debase the petition, but this has become the major story in Wales and hopefully common sense reviews by LA'S will take place

Brother-in-law, who has a holiday place on Anglesey, and was there this week, said everything seemed fine. Bit difficult in places but he and his wife, who does the driving, had no complaints.

I am not surprised as he would have used the A55 which is unchanged

They drive about Anglesey quite a lot.

OldKingCole said:

JosiasJessop said:

RobD said:

JosiasJessop said:

Casino_Royale said:

Leon said:

For a king who was meant to be a disaster, and stoke the fires of republicanism, King Charles seems to be awful popular in France

Vive le Roi! Vive le Roi!

https://x.com/MacronardsFM/status/1704511252284756111?s=20

There is still a strong monarchist minority in France.

I saw a lovely video this morning of some mountain bikers who come across a lone King Charles in the mountains, and who chat to him for a few minutes.

4 mins 30 secs in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QABiQFWwXHg

What was surprising about that there was no protection officer to be seen.

As they say on the video, the snipers will be in the hills around him. And they said they passed security down the track before meeting him.

I've heard several stories amongst Scottish hillwalkers of meeting Chuckles alone on the hills, and of him being very friendly. It's good to see it's actually true, even when he is king.

Chuckles? Isn’t his alter ego Brian? Or am I reading too much Private Eye?

boulay said:

JosiasJessop said:

boulay said:

…

JosiasJessop said:

I wonder whether this sudden sort-of announcement that the US may supply ATACMS long-range weapons to Ukraine might have a little to do with Storm Shadow/SCALP 's successes in the war, including the Black Sea extravaganza yesterday?

There comes a time when reticence might start harming arms sales, you know...

I would imagine the US military might want to see how they perform in real life which is a good reason to push for sending them. It’s a good deterrent if potential enemies actually have real evidence that your systems are very effective. Think of all the talk pre war about how good Russian kit was and then how it’s performed.

Yep, but the Europeans (at least France/UK) have won the headlines so far with yesterday's event, caught rather well on camera. The US will be playing catch-up.

And there's the risk that ATACMS doesn't get the same spectaculars. Although they are different systems (air launched versus ground launched), they are both long-range, and have the same purpose of reaching out and touching someone.

And I see CID have today been campaigning at RAF Lakenheath over nuclear weapons that *may* be there. The shits are not campaigning outside the Russian embassy, I see...

CID? Christ the British police are worse than I thought.

Up there with Bristol Uni student Union.

Stark_Dawning said:

England are making it a tedious try-fest. How can rugby attract new followers without the attrition, grit and endurance that make the game so enthralling?

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunak's ratings are still better than Truss' and no other Tory leader would be polling much better.

Rather than have yet another pointless leadership election after they removed election winner Boris, the Conservatives should get behind the reduction of inflation and hence interest rates and restoration of economic growth Sunak and Hunt are focused on

There haven't been any Tory poll leads since December 6th, 2021. Seven months BEFORE Boris resigned.

The Labour lead when Boris left was half what it is now and when Truss was leader Labour were up to 30% ahead

Leon said:

boulay said:

Leon said:

Looks like Dupont is out of the whole tournament, a terrible blow for France, and a damn shame

But it does open up the World Cup even further

There’s also the chance of injuries or red cards to Ireland or the Boks tonight which will level things out for France in the long run.

Yes. Massive game tonight

OldKingCole said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

OldKingCole said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

OldKingCole said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

I know this triggers some but our son called round and said that he has not met anyone, either at work or socially, that is supportive of the new 20mph zone and even Plaid supporters he works with are angry

The petition administered by the Senedd is now at an astonishing 403,000 votes and continues to grow

There will be some who are trying to debase the petition, but this has become the major story in Wales and hopefully common sense reviews by LA'S will take place

Brother-in-law, who has a holiday place on Anglesey, and was there this week, said everything seemed fine. Bit difficult in places but he and his wife, who does the driving, had no complaints.

I am not surprised as he would have used the A55 which is unchanged

They drive about Anglesey quite a lot.

Anglesey is rural and compared to a lot of North Wales does not have the population density and is not comparable and indeed has approx half the signatures of our area, Wrexham and South Wales

I asked them about it on our weekly phone call earlier today and they said it all seemed OK, and indeed sensible.
That’s all I’m saying.
User’s experiences.
I accept what you say about the rurality of the area, as opposed to, say, the Wrexham area.

Stark_Dawning said:

England are making it a tedious try-fest. How can rugby attract new followers without the attrition, grit and endurance that make the game so enthralling?

isam said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunak's ratings are still better than Truss' and no other Tory leader would be polling much better.

Rather than have yet another pointless leadership election after they removed election winner Boris, the Conservatives should get behind the reduction of inflation and hence interest rates and restoration of economic growth Sunak and Hunt are focused on

There haven't been any Tory poll leads since December 6th, 2021. Seven months BEFORE Boris resigned.

The Labour lead when Boris
resigned was half what it is now and when Truss was leader Labour were up to 30% ahead

I wonder when his critics will admit that getting rid of Boris was a catastrophic error. I know people like to look to challenge the obvious, but ousting a charismatic incumbent who is a proven winner (you can add Cameron to Mayor Livingstone & Corbyn) only to see a humongous slide in the VI polls while both replacements personal ratings
tank, is a ricket of biblical proportions

OldKingCole said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

I know this triggers some but our son called round and said that he has not met anyone, either at work or socially, that is supportive of the new 20mph zone and even Plaid supporters he works with are angry

The petition administered by the Senedd is now at an astonishing 403,000 votes and continues to grow

There will be some who are trying to debase the petition, but this has become the major story in Wales and hopefully common sense reviews by LA'S will take place

Brother-in-law, who has a holiday place on Anglesey, and was there this week, said everything seemed fine. Bit difficult in places but he and his wife, who does the driving, had no complaints.

isam said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunak's ratings are still better than Truss' and no other Tory leader would be polling much better.

Rather than have yet another pointless leadership election after they removed election winner Boris, the Conservatives should get behind the reduction of inflation and hence interest rates and restoration of economic growth Sunak and Hunt are focused on

There haven't been any Tory poll leads since December 6th, 2021. Seven months BEFORE Boris resigned.

The Labour lead when Boris
resigned was half what it is now and when Truss was leader Labour were up to 30% ahead

I wonder when his critics will admit that getting rid of Boris was a catastrophic error. I know people like to look to challenge the obvious, but ousting a charismatic incumbent who is a proven winner (you can add Cameron to Mayor Livingstone & Corbyn) only to see a humongous slide in the VI polls while both replacements personal ratings
tank, is a ricket of biblical proportions

boulay said:

TimS said:

Stark_Dawning said:

England are making it a tedious try-fest. How can rugby attract new followers without the attrition, grit and endurance that make the game so enthralling?

Rugby (union) is the sport most like war. Here’s an example: a rout, like Desert Storm or the Arab-Israeli 6 day war. Other matches - usually involving England - are more like Bakhmut or Verdun. Yet others, though all too rare and often involving France, are open and rapid yet ebb and flow, like the Korean War or Yom Kippur war.

There was an old saw that aligned the difference between American football v football/rugby with how the US v British looked at war.

In American football you use extreme power and plays to take ground and gradually inch forward, you use that huge power to ensure you keep making ten yards until you can spring the killer pass, whereas in rugby or football you needed to probe one way then go backwards and around until you find the gap you need.

The rugby analogy has probably become less pertinent now with huge forwards but I could see why such a basic comparison existed after WW2.

Stuartinromford said:

OldKingCole said:

isam said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunak's ratings are still better than Truss' and no other Tory leader would be polling much better.

Rather than have yet another pointless leadership election after they removed election winner Boris, the Conservatives should get behind the reduction of inflation and hence interest rates and restoration of economic growth Sunak and Hunt are focused on

There haven't been any Tory poll leads since December 6th, 2021. Seven months BEFORE Boris resigned.

The Labour lead when Boris
resigned was half what it is now and when Truss was leader Labour were up to 30% ahead

I wonder when his critics will admit that getting rid of Boris was a catastrophic error. I know people like to look to challenge the obvious, but ousting a charismatic incumbent who is a proven winner (you can add Cameron to Mayor Livingstone & Corbyn) only to see a humongous slide in the VI polls while both replacements personal ratings
tank, is a ricket of biblical proportions

You really can’t have a Prime Minister who is suspended from the Commons.

I enjoy trying to game out what would happen in absurd political scenarios, but I don't know where to begin with this one.

Would the committee have been leant on to not report?

Would the Conservatives have backed their man, despite all the evidence? All of them?

Would they have kept him a bit longer before dumping him anyway?

Yes, the Good Fairy gave baby Boris many talents. The right sort of brains, charisma, ambition. But the Bad Fairy gave him the ability to lie without shame.

The combination of the two giftings got him to the top, and then knocked him off it.

kinabalu said:

isam said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunak's ratings are still better than Truss' and no other Tory leader would be polling much better.

Rather than have yet another pointless leadership election after they removed election winner Boris, the Conservatives should get behind the reduction of inflation and hence interest rates and restoration of economic growth Sunak and Hunt are focused on

There haven't been any Tory poll leads since December 6th, 2021. Seven months BEFORE Boris resigned.

The Labour lead when Boris
resigned was half what it is now and when Truss was leader Labour were up to 30% ahead

I wonder when his critics will admit that getting rid of Boris was a catastrophic error. I know people like to look to challenge the obvious, but ousting a charismatic incumbent who is a proven winner (you can add Cameron to Mayor Livingstone & Corbyn) only to see a humongous slide in the VI polls while both replacements personal ratings
tank, is a ricket of biblical proportions

Are you doing anything specific to keep a bit of Boris in your life? Because memories fade. You think they won't but they do.

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Farooq said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

I know this triggers some but our son called round and said that he has not met anyone, either at work or socially, that is supportive of the new 20mph zone and even Plaid supporters he works with are angry

The petition administered by the Senedd is now at an astonishing 403,000 votes and continues to grow

There will be some who are trying to debase the petition, but this has become the major story in Wales and hopefully common sense reviews by LA'S will take place

Wasn't there a header on PB recently showing there was more support than opposition.

There are always good reasons why someone might not meet people who admit to certain views. Could be there aren't many people with that view, or maybe the person is overbearing and people just don't want the argument. Or they only mix with people with certain views. Or they might just be lying.

Look to the polling. Or at least tell us your son's methodology.

https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/09/20/an-rw-welsh-poll-finds-backing-for-the-20mph-speed-limit/

On that poll it is qualified by where cars mix with pedestrians and cyclists

I hope you are not inferring my son is misleading me but he works in IT in education and not one of his colleagues has a good word to say about the implementation, furthermore his friends and social contacts are the same

Ironically my son in law has just phoned and said he is not finding anyone in favour and remarked that one of the 20mph zones was 60mph not long ago

Over 400,000 signature on a Senedd petition is unprecedented and it will result in some changes to the new speed limits

Andy_JS said:

"Hundreds of XL Bully owners mount angry protest against plan to ban their pets (after deciding to leave their dogs at home) after spate of attacks on children and passers-by sparked outrage"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12552529/XL-Bully-owners-protest-London-against-Rishi-Sunaks-ban-beloved-pets-series-vicious-attacks-leave-dogs-home.html

TimS said:

Stuartinromford said:

OldKingCole said:

isam said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunak's ratings are still better than Truss' and no other Tory leader would be polling much better.

Rather than have yet another pointless leadership election after they removed election winner Boris, the Conservatives should get behind the reduction of inflation and hence interest rates and restoration of economic growth Sunak and Hunt are focused on

There haven't been any Tory poll leads since December 6th, 2021. Seven months BEFORE Boris resigned.

The Labour lead when Boris
resigned was half what it is now and when Truss was leader Labour were up to 30% ahead

I wonder when his critics will admit that getting rid of Boris was a catastrophic error. I know people like to look to challenge the obvious, but ousting a charismatic incumbent who is a proven winner (you can add Cameron to Mayor Livingstone & Corbyn) only to see a humongous slide in the VI polls while both replacements personal ratings
tank, is a ricket of biblical proportions

You really can’t have a Prime Minister who is suspended from the Commons.

I enjoy trying to game out what would happen in absurd political scenarios, but I don't know where to begin with this one.

Would the committee have been leant on to not report?

Would the Conservatives have backed their man, despite all the evidence? All of them?

Would they have kept him a bit longer before dumping him anyway?

Yes, the Good Fairy gave baby Boris many talents. The right sort of brains, charisma, ambition. But the Bad Fairy gave him the ability to lie without shame.

The combination of the two giftings got him to the top, and then knocked him off it.

He’d have kept cocking up too. Partygate wouldn’t have been the end of it. He was already deeply unpopular with voters when he left. The Tories would almost certainly be on similar VI now under Boris. Rather like Maggie, his absence has probably helped
him.

darkage said:

AlsoLei said:

darkage said:

BartholomewRoberts said:

I see that amongst the reforms Sunak has dropped, less publicised, has been the requirement for landlords to ensure their properties are C rated for energy efficiency at least.

This is absurd.

If you want to be a landlord your property should be of a decent standard and habitable. Expecting tenants to pay through the nose for energy because landlords can't be bothered to make homes habitable is utterly insane.

Shame on Sunak.

The 'EPC rating' has nothing to do with the quality of accommodation. It is a rating system for energy efficiency. The incoming requirement to achieve a set 'level' to let out properties out has been a major contributory factor in private landlords exiting the market. This has, in combination with other things, pushed up rents by hundreds of pounds a month across the entirety of UK because of a shortage of supply. The energy savings from the measures come at great cost (ie double glazing) and hassle, and probably save a few quid a month to tenants. Instead they are replacing it with what seems like a better system, incentivising the upgrades through grants.

The savings are more than a few quid. My current place has an EPC score of 87 (a high 'B'), and my gas + electric bill is about £65/month. The unrefurbished but otherwise-identical flat next door has a score of 67 (so a 'D' rating), and has a projected primary energy use that's just over 2.1x mine. The only comparable E-rated place on my street uses 4.6x more energy per sq metre. That's a lot.

The regulations as they currently stand are about setting a reasonable floor, not enforcing best practice. They're intended to ratchet up at a steady pace (one grade every 8 years, is it?) that roughly fits with normal landlord refurbishment schedules.

When the grade E floor came in, it had a cost cap of £3,500 - if the necessary improvements cost more than that, then an exemption would be granted. And there were local authority grants and government-supported finance options available to fund it. Presumably something similar would have applied to the future steps of the ratchet.

I realise that EPCs are fairly crude with a number of potential edge cases like yours. But a more accurate system would likely cost much more to run, with much more intrusive inspections needed.

If the government is now proposing to incentivise improvements purely by providing grants, how are they going to be measuring the effect of the money they'll be spending? Presumably they'll still be using EPCs? Or are they proposing to just blindly piss money up the wall in the hope that some of it will flow somewhere useful?

Really, it's almost like they haven't thought this through at all.

It is hard to express how stupid these rules are for period properties.

The recommendations for my property are
1. internal or external wall insulation.
Comment. This would either destroy the appearance of the outside of the building or alternatively wreck all of its internal period features, ie the architraves and mouldings. notwithstanding the cost (£4000-£14000), for an estimated saving of £460 per year. (so about a third of the total heating bill... which I am highly sceptical of).

2. Double glazing
Comment. The property has handmade timber windows that date back to when it was built. There are a total of over 70 individual windows. The EPC recommends ripping all these out and replacing it with double glazing, ie factory made plastic windows which can only be regarded as an act of architectural vandalism. The 'typical yearly saving' of this would be, wait for it.... £41.

IanB2 said:

TimS said:

Stuartinromford said:

OldKingCole said:

isam said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunak's ratings are still better than Truss' and no other Tory leader would be polling much better.

Rather than have yet another pointless leadership election after they removed election winner Boris, the Conservatives should get behind the reduction of inflation and hence interest rates and restoration of economic growth Sunak and Hunt are focused on

There haven't been any Tory poll leads since December 6th, 2021. Seven months BEFORE Boris resigned.

The Labour lead when Boris
resigned was half what it is now and when Truss was leader Labour were up to 30% ahead

I wonder when his critics will admit that getting rid of Boris was a catastrophic error. I know people like to look to challenge the obvious, but ousting a charismatic incumbent who is a proven winner (you can add Cameron to Mayor Livingstone & Corbyn) only to see a humongous slide in the VI polls while both replacements personal ratings
tank, is a ricket of biblical proportions

You really can’t have a Prime Minister who is suspended from the Commons.

I enjoy trying to game out what would happen in absurd political scenarios, but I don't know where to begin with this one.

Would the committee have been leant on to not report?

Would the Conservatives have backed their man, despite all the evidence? All of them?

Would they have kept him a bit longer before dumping him anyway?

Yes, the Good Fairy gave baby Boris many talents. The right sort of brains, charisma, ambition. But the Bad Fairy gave him the ability to lie without shame.

The combination of the two giftings got him to the top, and then knocked him off it.

He’d have kept cocking up too. Partygate wouldn’t have been the end of it. He was already deeply unpopular with voters when he left. The Tories would almost certainly be on similar VI now under Boris. Rather like Maggie, his absence has probably helped
him.

+1

With the lying clown, the next scandal was always just around the corner.

His was essentially a con act - he could get away with it while a significant proportion of the population was willing to be fooled, but once people saw that he had no clothes, there was no returning to imagining him fully dressed.

RobD said:

Andy_JS said:

"Hundreds of XL Bully owners mount angry protest against plan to ban their pets (after deciding to leave their dogs at home) after spate of attacks on children and passers-by sparked outrage"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12552529/XL-Bully-owners-protest-London-against-Rishi-Sunaks-ban-beloved-pets-series-vicious-attacks-leave-dogs-home.html

Hundreds?