Farage goes to Holyrood – politicalbetting.com
Farage goes to Holyrood – politicalbetting.com
New Scottish Parliament poll, More in Common ?? Aug/Sep (vs 2021 Election (first MIC Holyrood)):List:SNP ~ 32% (-8)Lab ~ 16% (-2)RUK ~ 16% (+16)LD ~ 14% (+9)Con ~ 12% (-11)Grn ~ 8% (nc)Constituency:SNP ~ 37% (-11)Lab ~ 17% (-5)RUK ~ 16% (+16)LD ~ 12% (+5)Con ~ 12% (-10)Grn ~ 5% (+4)
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I wasn't loitering by the gates, honest.
"Norway heads to the polls in highly polarised ‘Maga-fication’ election"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/08/norway-heads-to-the-polls-in-highly-polarised-maga-fication-election
If I remember correctly, in such a scenario one is all that you can score
Hoo-yah.
Observations
- rules out running for deputy leader
- says UK will suspend visas for counties that don’t do return deals
- spells out long standing support for ID cards
- says will go further than Yvette Copper on boats
- styles herself the “whatever it takes” Home Secretary
https://x.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1965006144427966678
"I'm sure that will reassure the PLP," the source says.
https://x.com/KevinASchofield/status/1964938752880472212
Small world.
Have we mentioned this, from the Guardian. Apologies if already covered.
Appeals court upholds defamation lawsuit, ordering Trump to pay more than $80m
A federal appeals court in New York has upheld the defamation lawsuit filed by writer E Jean Carroll, and the $83.3m award, after Trump denied her claim that he raped her.
The panel of judges also rejected the administration’s argument that the president is protected by the supreme court’s immunity ruling last year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdr0ZwcnkW8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempted_(Squeeze_song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZic9ZHU_40
Not my favourite Squeeze song, and quite early 80s, but a bit of an earworm.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25449610.blow-russell-findlay-scottish-tories-see-frontbench-resignation/
☕️☀️MORNING SCOOP: At a private dinner attended by dozens of admin officials & Trump allies last week, Treasury Sec Scott Bessent threatened to punch housing finance official Bill Pulte "in the f--ing face."😯
THE SCENE: The evening was supposed to be one of celebration: Trump World’s most influential, gathering for the much-awaited inaugural dinner at Washington D.C.’s, newest, exclusive club for MAGA’s uberrich, the Executive Branch.
A long table for 30 was set with top-of-the-line crystal and dishware. The guestlist was an eye-popping “who’s-who” of Trump’s Cabinet and inner circle. Sean Duffy. Brooke Rollins. Howard Lutnick. Tulsi Gabbard. Kelly Loeffler. Mehmet Oz. Doug Burgum. David Sacks. “All In” podcast host Chamath Palihapitiya, celebrating his birthday.
But amid the din of attendees mingling during the cocktail hour, Bessent lashed out at Pulte in an expletive-laden diatribe. The Treasury secretary had heard from several people that Pulte had been badmouthing him to Trump, a person close to him said. He wasn’t about to engage in chit-chat as if nothing was amiss.
“Why the fuck are you talking to the president about me? Fuck you,” Bessent told Pulte. “I’m gonna punch you in your fucking face.”
Pulte appeared stunned, and the tense encounter prompted club co-owner and financier Omeed Malik to intervene, according to the three people. But Bessent wasn’t having it — he sought to get him kicked out, the eyewitness said.
“It’s either me or him,” Bessent said to Malik. “You tell me who’s getting the fuck out of here.”
“Or,” he added, “we could go outside.”
“To do what?” asked Pulte. “To talk?”
“No,” Bessent replied. “I’m going to fucking beat your ass.”
Malik separated the men, walking Bessent to another part of the club to calm down. During the seated dinner, Bessent and Pulte were placed on opposite ends of the table, and the party went off without further episode.
And... END SCENE
https://x.com/rachaelmbade/status/1965018730024296757
Unlike 2019 there’s not a Boris-Cummings poised to “get x done”. Which makes it also rather similar to deadlocked US budget showdowns.
I went past there many a time to visit the 2/hand bookshops in the area or have a dim sum lunch. Much changed now - I'm not even sure how many of the bookshops are left.
God it's long!
Any party promising to limit feature films to 90 minutes will have my vote in 2029.
You could have got 5/1 for Lab to win most seats a couple of weeks ago - that's now out to 7/1. It's a big ask for them to recover and lead in Scottish polling given the approval ratings
The 25/1 on the Tories is a likely loser, but an excellent value bet given the closeness of the polls, stranger things have happened. I agree there's no value backing SNP most seats at 1/12
No. 124 - any person showing a motion picture over one and a half hours long shall provide an intermission. Cocktails of good quality must be served.
Instead they tried to cover it up.
Ex-sergeant major admits sexually assaulting soldier who took her own life
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgqzxq0z55o
France's prime minister has failed in a last-minute bid to save his job, with the country's National Assembly ousting him in a confidence vote.
Francois Bayrou - who entered office just nine months ago - is required to submit the resignation of his minority government after losing Monday afternoon's vote.
What happens when someone follows a "come on" headlight flash, and then they have a coming-together:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YvkR_15DRA4
Like Rhonda Pickering, but what happens when the driver who cuts the corner (ie drives on the wrong side of the road) does not have a gobby passenger:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5jTIMQM1bnE
I can't decide how I rate this channel - but his commentary explaining liability is very good, so useful education, and deserves to be out there and eclipse the mad dashcammers.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou has lost the vote of confidence he called in his government.
France's National Assembly has voted by 364 votes to 194 to eject him from office and bring down his minority government. Another 25 MPs abstained.
I don't think a single one of these parties is worthy of support. The question is what is the least worse? And the answer is not straightforward. I think it depends on where you live and what the realistic options are there. I cannot recall a time in my adult life where I approach this assessment with so little enthusiasm.
Glad to see this poll getting an airing - as always the trend in your friend, and whilst the SNP have been out trumpeting this as signs that everyone backs them, its a poll showing them losing almost 25% of their support vs last time out.
Their strategy now is: VOTE FOR INDEPENDENCE. That's it. They keep mentioning bits of policy achievement but the sole reasongiven so far to vote for them is VOTE FOR INDEPENDENCE.
Based on talking to people in the GE last year there's an awful lot of pissed off voters more concerned by the state of things than the jam tomorrow promise of independence.
At the GE they lost 40% of their vote. So 25% in this poll may be just the start of their losses. DYOR...
@kyledcheney
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2h
JUST IN: Federal appeals court upholds E. Jean Carroll's $83.3 million judgment against Donald Trump, rejecting his claim that presidential immunity should have shielded him from liability.
This is a really interesting election despite the foregone winner
Ratcliffe’s energy empire abandons UK investment over North Sea tax
Ineos will divert its spending to the United States because of Britain’s ‘unstable fiscal regime’
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said that Britain’s high energy prices has made it hard for plants to run profitably
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s energy empire has pulled all investment in Britain to focus on its United States operations as it hit out at Labour’s tax raid on North Sea oil and gas production.
Brian Gilvary, the chief executive of Ineos’s energy division, said the company would now divert all spending to the US, where it plans to invest £3bn.
Ineos was forced to shut down the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland this year after 100 years of operation.
The company has also warned that its adjacent Olefins and Polymers (O&P) plant, which manufactures products used by hundreds of UK plastic companies, is also under threat because of high taxes and energy prices.
Sir Jim, the billionaire industrialist who also owns Manchester United, has warned that Britain’s high energy prices, mostly caused by green levies, are making such plants impossible to run profitably.
Mr Gilvary said: “We have stopped investing in Britain. Our future investment will not be [in] the UK. There’s no question of that.
“The problem is that the UK has become one of the most unstable fiscal regimes in the world from a perspective of natural resources and energy.
“It means we cannot invest with any certainty because we can’t be sure what future tax rates will be.”
It comes after the boss of Octopus Energy backed calls for the UK to restart drilling for oil and gas, adding to pressure on Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, who halted all new exploration licences within days of taking office.
Greg Jackson, the chief executive of Octopus, said exploiting North Sea resources was more environmentally friendly than relying on costly foreign imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which generate more emissions than domestically produced energy.
This 19th-Century Novel Is a Playbook for Surviving Autocracy
Stendhal’s “The Charterhouse of Parma” lays out thousands of rules and stratagems for elites trying to stay in the good graces of a powerful and capricious ruler
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/books/review/stendhal-charterhouse-of-parma-machiavelli-the-prince-autocracy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.kE8.zJOs.C8bPcss6ed4p&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Stendhal’s playbook for elites under absolute rule
1. Never criticize the prince in word or deed, or voice any disloyal thought. It will get back to him.
2. Make the prince see you as indispensable, without making him resent your skills and influence.
3. Radiate prestige and prosperity at court to bolster your status and enhance the prince’s self-regard.
4. Adopt the fashions of the court, even if they are ridiculous, to show social and political orthodoxy.
5. Never appear independent-minded, virtuous or enthusiastic; it fosters suspicion.
6. Track court gossip at all times; be alert to calumnies against you and to changing princely priorities.
7. Cultivate allies among the prince’s family and intimate circle.
8. Cultivate powerful allies outside the prince’s circle.
9. Recognize that your allies may be unable to help you, or may betray you. Have backup plans.
10. Study the motives and aims of allies, rivals and foes alike, so you know how best to manipulate them...
..18. Make yourself popular with the common people as a hedge against smears.
19. Avoid becoming so popular with the common people that the prince feels threatened.
20. Be prepared to defend yourself effectively but respectfully when rivals denounce you to the prince.
21. Do not expect the law to protect you; the judiciary is surrendered to the will of the prince.
22. If your influence wanes, invent a conspiracy against the prince; punish its members to impress him.
23. If you are threatened with incarceration in domestic or foreign prisons, leave the country at once...
Trump: "I think we may have learned something, because when [immigrants] come here and there's nobody who can do what they're supposed to be doing and they bring people, those people could teach our people...Something very interesting could come out of that."
https://x.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1964844127981637721
The penalties for littering from a car will be…. Interesting.
That's what he was subsequently sued for denying, repeatedly, and further libelling Carroll. Repeatedly.
You're right, it was an extraordinary case. Most defendants who lose in court, and lose again in subsequent appeals, sent try to behave as though it didn't happen.
Won’t harm Reform I think
They can't really run on their record now, so they're back to "WE WANT INDEPENDENCE THE ENGLISH WON'T LET US"
I’d guess there’s plenty of stopping places.
The Supreme Court just ruled that racial profiling is acceptable, and constitutional.
It is not hyperbole to say that thanks to today's decision, every Latino citizen in Los Angeles should consider carrying their passport or birth certificate with them at all time. The Supreme Court has now essentially greenlit Trump's DHS demanding their papers at any point.
https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1965090112502661462
I cannot see this being good for US industry.
Also quite a straw in the wind as to how much support there is for Starmer in the PLP.
I've an event next Saturday, and since it is about a decade since I did anything semi-serious, I'd like a steer on minimal setup.
Do I need more than my Pixel 7 phone and a selfie stick for an OK result - general views, photos and vox-pop?
Thanks for any comment.
BREAKING: Heathrow Airport terminal evacuated as emergency services respond to incident
It appears the most likely outcome is Macron trying to appoint a new government. But I really can’t see how this doesn’t end in new elections at some point.
He's reaching for "Presidential Immunity", when at no relevant point was he President.
The biggest piles of litter are always by laybys.
But of course that particular turkey would never vote for Christmas.
So he'll try to appoint another government which will solve nothing in the vain attempt to stave off new legislative elections, which will solve nothing.
Putin is probably exhibit #1 against Presidential systems, and Trump may be #2, but Macron is catching up fast as #3.
?June or September anyway for the nicest flora/birds/fewer midges.
Could be a false alarm, as they are usually, but a lot of annoyed travellers and disrupted journeys.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/articles/2025/bbc-says-goodbye-to-premium-phone-voting
Something to bear in mind if betting on Strictly or SPotY.
Compensation, counselling, retention?
It was difficult enough after 9/11, but at least people wrongly targeted were denied entry at immigration and flown back.
EXC: A Scottish Labour MP has branded Douglas Alexander a "wee p***k" after Ian Murray was sacked.
The MP said: “If I had a pound for everyone who liked Douglas, I would have 50p.”
https://x.com/paulhutcheon/status/1965113173020643568
But a warm humid calm evening lowland by a river through peat bogs in August ...
edit: get some of the smidge stuff, or Avon Skin so soft, or whatever is recommended nopw.
https://www.smidgeup.com/midge-forecast/
https://www.wildernessscotland.com/blog/midges-in-scotland/
https://www.visitscotland.com/travel-planning/midges-ticks-scotland
The longer term impact on cycling will be interesting:
This morning, Lime says there was a 58% increase in the number of trips taken between 07:00 and 11:00 compared to last Monday.
For the other green (and blue) bikes, Forest, there was a 122% increase on the usual number of riders between the hours of 07:00 and 08:00.
And, as we mentioned earlier, Santander saw a 61% increase compared with last week.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/czew3z331dxt
Staying in Venice last week I was besieged by them. Same when I was in an Airbnb in Soller in July.
Thanks for the links too 👍
We know what comes next
#IDS
That's where folk eat and shit. So all the litter is dumped in one place.
Of course, the ones who eat on the way and eject the litter smear it evenly all along the roadside, by comparison. Very noticeable that the roadside out of our town is often covered in litter from the local fast food places, some a few miles further back.
Met a bloke from Kinlochbervie a little while back. He was spitting feathers about the impact of NC500 for residents. Much of the road - in the northern stretch - is single-track with passing places and there is insufficient accommodation for the huge influx of visitors that NC 500 has generated. Durness is a disaster area at the height of the season. As ever, the promotion has run far ahead of the infrastructure.
TBH, I'm a bit sorry at the way it's been overrun. Though, no doubt, it has brought in the cash.
Oh, and I later found Avon Skin So Soft does appear to work.