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This doesn’t look good for the SNP at the general election – politicalbetting.com
This doesn’t look good for the SNP at the general election – politicalbetting.com
The three previous losses were21 Sept, Girvan & S Carrick to C6 July, E Kilbride W to Lab15 June, Bellshill to Lab
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Oh and first apparently.
So long as the job market is strong, it means the Fed will keep interest rates high. And that means that a lot of people may be employed, but they're still struggling with rising mortgage payments as their ARMs reset.
I predict they will win:
Edinburgh West
Fife North East - this adds a chunk of SNP-Labour battleground Glenrothes
Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross - this seat gains half of the old Ross, Skye seat held by the SNP
Orkney & Shetland
Mid Dunbartonshire - which is mostly Jo Swinson's old seat
Between Rishi Rich and Useless Yousaf, could Keir Starmer be any more of a lucky general? With opponents like those, who needs coalition partners?
It's showing some signs of doing exactly this. Collapsing Chinese raw material demand in the next few years isn't out of the question. Could have the same impact on inflation and capacity in the economy (and global carbon emissions) as the collapse of communist industry in the 1990s.
Not such good news for China mind. Or Germany.
The Scottish National Party leads Labour by just two points in the first poll published after its heavy by-election loss in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.
Support for the SNP fell by a point to put the party on 34 per cent, according to research carried out by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
This puts the SNP two points ahead of Labour, who are down by three points on 32 per cent, while the Conservatives in Scotland are up by six points to 21 per cent.
Data from the same pollster also reveals that only 19 per cent of voters consider Scottish independence and the union one of their top three priorities for the next election.
Philip van Scheltinga, research director at Redfield & Wilton, said: “Our polling quite clearly shows that Scottish voters have other priorities than independence. The SNP’s argument that the next General Election should be seen in Scotland as a referendum on independence has therefore fallen flat.”"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/10/06/rutherglen-hamilton-west-by-election-latest-results-live/
"Nonlinearity: Could Ozempic cause a deflation in the price of food?
A mere 1% drop in demand can cause a significant overload."
https://x.com/nntaleb/status/1710307490292736471?s=20
Sadly, it is entirely possible that Mr DJT will arrive in power just in time for interest rates to drop.
As a recent analysis in The Economist pointed out, given the historical relationship between economic fundamentals and sentiment, you would have expected Americans to be feeling pretty good about the economy right now. Instead, they’re feeling very gloomy — or at least telling pollsters that they feel gloomy. The Economist, not mincing words, says that “Americans’ opinions about the state of the economy have diverged from reality.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/opinion/will-voters-send-in-the-clowns.html
AND support for independence is much stronger now than in 2011
Impressive. Far better than Qatar the other way
Under Sturgeon in 2011 they offered independence. Today . . . ?
Doesn't even seem to be a priority anymore.
migrants?
Yet they’re meant to be happy just cause GDP per cap is ostensibly rising and there’s full employment. “Diverging from reality”. Pff
Then the drugs epidemic, the homeless problem, the crime, etc etc etc.
Big thing about the drugs epidemic is that it isn't just contained to say San Francisco, loads of rural places who already went through pain pills explosion, now seeing all the effects of this.
Not a Scotch fish expert obvs.
Maybe they should take their vaccines and not ingest other drugs instead.
If you take the more comfortable option on the way there, you start the holiday more relaxed, your holiday has started earlier in a way. You come back economy and it’s more grim but then your holiday is over and it’s a stark reminder that the holiday is over and normality will resume.
If you do it the other way round you have a more uncomfortable journey there but it doesn’t matter because you get to your destination and luxuriate so the journey didn’t matter and the return in first/club softens the blow of the end of your holiday and just extends that feeling of relaxation to the last moment.
https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/06/rishi-sunak-britney-spears-peloton-19617725/
For any PBers who missed the PM's appearance on This Morning (available on ITVx).
For this reason, I would much prefer the business option on the way back.
Indeed Trump is the one politician of any hue who has an idea to solve the drugs problem. Wade into Mexico and treat the cartels like a mortal and military enemy. That might actually work. I can’t think of anything else at this late extreme stage
Hmm. I'll just leave that there for a bit.
Biden approves new section of border wall as Mexico crossings rise....
In 2020, Mr Biden promised he would not build another foot of wall if elected.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67015137
He was supporting BS alternative medicine to real medicine. Horse tranquilisers and injecting bleach as treatment don't boost life expectancy.
Treating drugs as a medical/educational concern rather than a law and order/racism one would be a big step forward to.
I know PB hates hearing this but I can see why Americans vote for him
Yes yes I’m a fascist etc
Pretty sure I criticised the SNP a while back for being scaredy cats over this, subsequent events suggest they should have been a lot firmer.
https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20 Fentanyl Flow in the United States_0.pdf
Ignoring your Sturgeon 2011 faux pas (as pointed out by Theuniondivvie), there is unlikely to be much worry in Scotland at Holyrood 2026 that the Tories are going to be the largest party, so there will be a comparison made with Labour run Wales, which will not flatter Labour, especially as they have been in power there since 1999.
In spite of comments by some to the contrary, the SNP do want independence , and the blocking of a referendum by a Labour Westminster government will progressively irritate the electorate.
Those who suggest that independence will fade away are liable to be presented with the Lord George Robertson award for political naivety (devolution will kill the SNP stone dead or some such nonsense was his foolish claim)
Photo taken June 2022.
I am now off to get some genuine Parmesan from Wisconsin for my tea....
The only cabin staff I ever see sharing a joke with passengers rather than each other are BA.
Would it be unfair for the gainfully employed and mortgaged to pay a little more if it means a lower employment rate? You'd presume that the lower the rate the higher their bargaining power too.
Why is vanilla now making images so small? It’s a shame. It reduces the pleasure of them if you have to squint. I like the interplay of images and words - it makes PB more interesting and vivid
There's no sign of much progress on these core social issues ; the billionaire-funded thinktanks like the Kochs; still promote them, the Magaites still love them, and the Democrats are still stopped in too much of a holdingf position of Starmer-like timidity, as well as Congressional stalemate, on these issues, to fix any of them enough.
Is it just the reduction in bargaining power/natural rate of employment stuff or is there any more to it?
Orkney & Shetland is the LibDem's longest standing constituency, they (or the Liberals) have held it since 1950, and although the SNP has made some progress there in recent years, I don't think it's going to be hard for the LDs to hold on.
North East Fife . This was the LDs sole Scottish gain in 2019. The constituency adds 14% of Glenrothes, where the SNP got 51% of the vote, and it therefore becomes notionally SNP. However... that's only about 6,000 votes in total, of which we'd expect the SNP to probably pick up 2,500. The LDs have to be mild favourites here, simply because (a) they will be able to position themselves as the challenger in the new parts of the constituency, and (b) the SNP will be down in 2024. I'd reckon they are 65-66% likely to win this seat.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Now it gets trickier for the LDs. They barely won in 2019, holding on by just 200 votes. The constituency grabs half of Ross, Skye and Lochaber which went 48% SNP, 25% LD at the last election. If you assume the SNP is going to drop around 6-7% in 2024 (which sounds reasonable), then this will be a very tough fight. But you know, there's a pretty decent Conservative vote to squeeze. If you offered me better than 3-to-2 on the LDs, I'd probably take it.
Finally, there's Mid Dunbartonshire, which is East Dunbartonshire plus a bit. The LDs are the challengers here. They won't be disadvantaged by having Ms Swinson running a national campaign. And the SNP are down. Now, maybe the SNP should be favourites, but they certainly shouldn't be big favourites. I'd reckon similar odds to Caithness would be in order.
Mid Bedfordshire?
Bring it!
I can sense the tension across PB
Mirror pond at the Korean National Museum, btw.
Can we have the old images back please. They were fun. I promise to post zero AI images and only one shot of food/drink per day, max
I am now on the Heathrow express. Exactly 1 hour gone. I could do it!
They received just £4,000 in total donations for the most recently reported three month period.
Hardly enough to keep a camper van on the road. No wonder it was parked up.”
https://x.com/glasgowmurphy/status/1710314460370399459?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
£4k? Ouch
(I have no evidence for this whatsoever. But I do think the Prime Minister's reputation is now so dismal that about 62 percent of the population would believe it.)
Bargain-bin service with high-end prices.
I am happy to go to the station without planning if I want to get to Terminals 2/3, but I have to plan if I want to go to 5. That's a pretty major difference.
Note that Mr Murphy, a former Slab leader, doesn't give a source or date.
Indeed on the swing last night it is not impossible Sarwar could replace Yousaf as FM by the end of 2026
(Here all week folks! Have you tried the chicken?)
https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-surge/#more-139909