Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Archery would be very much more of a sport if competitors were required to fire at each other, as they once were. That would also have the advantage of making it a sport at which we would be sure to beat the French.
Our team would never survive an encounter with the S Koreans, though.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Archery would be very much more of a sport if competitors were required to fire at each other, as they once were. That would also have the advantage of making it a sport at which we would be sure to beat the French.
This I am afraid is the wrong take on this poll. The main take is surely the SNP collapsing to 12% below their 2021 constituency Holyrood vote with Labour only down 5%, giving a 3.5% swing to Labour since 2021.
Reform also up to 18% on the regional list so slim chance of first unionist majority since 2011 if unionists vote tactically on the constituency vote. Indeed Scotland may have a swing to Labour next year at Holyrood, despite swings from Labour in England and Wales in the local and Senedd elections there which might be enough to save Sir Keir's job
You are right - there has been an SNP collapse electorally. Whilst these polls show a smaller collapse at Holyrood than at Westminster, there is still a big drop in support.
As always the trend is your friend. The question remains what happens next - does it continue or is there swingback of the kind not seen in the Westminster election?
The SNP are banging the independence drum harder than ever. As a party they are penniless and they can hardly run on their record in government, so they have little else left. These polls show the way to another SNP / Green government, but I would be surprised. (1) that didn't work at all well for the SNP last time and (2) Swinney is saying that a vote for an independence party other than the SNP is a vote for the union.
Fun times ahead. I shall join the fight in January...
Not necessarily: doesn't have to be an actual SNP/Green government, of course. Minority admin plus support on specific policies has been the norm [edit} or at least the modal model since 1997.
BTW why aren't the LDs doing better? I'd have expected some flight from the Tories and Labour at the very least, as well as from the SNP givenj their losses.
This I am afraid is the wrong take on this poll. The main take is surely the SNP collapsing to 12% below their 2021 constituency Holyrood vote with Labour only down 5%, giving a 3.5% swing to Labour since 2021.
Reform also up to 18% on the regional list so slim chance of first unionist majority since 2011 if unionists vote tactically on the constituency vote. Indeed Scotland may have a swing to Labour next year at Holyrood, despite swings from Labour in England and Wales in the local and Senedd elections there which might be enough to save Sir Keir's job
You are right - there has been an SNP collapse electorally. Whilst these polls show a smaller collapse at Holyrood than at Westminster, there is still a big drop in support.
As always the trend is your friend. The question remains what happens next - does it continue or is there swingback of the kind not seen in the Westminster election?
The SNP are banging the independence drum harder than ever. As a party they are penniless and they can hardly run on their record in government, so they have little else left. These polls show the way to another SNP / Green government, but I would be surprised. (1) that didn't work at all well for the SNP last time and (2) Swinney is saying that a vote for an independence party other than the SNP is a vote for the union.
Fun times ahead. I shall join the fight in January...
Not necessarily: doesn't have to be an actual SNP/Green government, of course. Minority admin plus support on specific policies has been the norm [edit} or at least the modal model since 1997.
BTW why aren't the LDs doing better? I'd have expected some flight from the Tories and Labour at the very least, as well as from the SNP givenj their losses.
On the first point. Swinney is painting himself into a corner with "SNP majority vote for independence" which he won't get. But a minority government on his own terms is proof that independence isn't supported. So he will have to try and tap up the Greens.
On the second point, we're laser focused on specific areas. As we saw with the Westminster campaign that strategy underreads on support and thus seat predictions...
But that doesn't work for Holyrood under AMS. Indeed, given how the LDs aren't likely to win many constituency seats, it might be a better strategy to go for a much wider focus, at least at a regional level.
How do you win seats on the list? You pick up enough votes to clear the threshold. Campaigning hard in specific places to win those votes is more effective than a general regional campaign which gets missed by people being bombarded by messages from local candidates.
We're also continuing to focus on held and target seats at council level. Again, build support locally as they then tot up regionally.
I'd have thought there were significant diminishing marginal returns to a local focus in a PRish system.
Spending loads of time in Buckie trying to pick up a handful of voters on fish quotas is going to be a waste of time compared with a broad NE Scotland strategy on farming, O&G.
This I am afraid is the wrong take on this poll. The main take is surely the SNP collapsing to 12% below their 2021 constituency Holyrood vote with Labour only down 5%, giving a 3.5% swing to Labour since 2021.
Reform also up to 18% on the regional list so slim chance of first unionist majority since 2011 if unionists vote tactically on the constituency vote. Indeed Scotland may have a swing to Labour next year at Holyrood, despite swings from Labour in England and Wales in the local and Senedd elections there which might be enough to save Sir Keir's job
You are right - there has been an SNP collapse electorally. Whilst these polls show a smaller collapse at Holyrood than at Westminster, there is still a big drop in support.
As always the trend is your friend. The question remains what happens next - does it continue or is there swingback of the kind not seen in the Westminster election?
The SNP are banging the independence drum harder than ever. As a party they are penniless and they can hardly run on their record in government, so they have little else left. These polls show the way to another SNP / Green government, but I would be surprised. (1) that didn't work at all well for the SNP last time and (2) Swinney is saying that a vote for an independence party other than the SNP is a vote for the union.
Fun times ahead. I shall join the fight in January...
Not necessarily: doesn't have to be an actual SNP/Green government, of course. Minority admin plus support on specific policies has been the norm [edit} or at least the modal model since 1997.
BTW why aren't the LDs doing better? I'd have expected some flight from the Tories and Labour at the very least, as well as from the SNP givenj their losses.
On the first point. Swinney is painting himself into a corner with "SNP majority vote for independence" which he won't get. But a minority government on his own terms is proof that independence isn't supported. So he will have to try and tap up the Greens.
On the second point, we're laser focused on specific areas. As we saw with the Westminster campaign that strategy underreads on support and thus seat predictions...
But that doesn't work for Holyrood under AMS. Indeed, given how the LDs aren't likely to win many constituency seats, it might be a better strategy to go for a much wider focus, at least at a regional level.
How do you win seats on the list? You pick up enough votes to clear the threshold. Campaigning hard in specific places to win those votes is more effective than a general regional campaign which gets missed by people being bombarded by messages from local candidates.
We're also continuing to focus on held and target seats at council level. Again, build support locally as they then tot up regionally.
PLus if you've been crap at getting specific constituencies you get more points in the list. (Which of course the LDs ensured in the first place back in 1997 when setting up the voting system, which is still much less shite than FPTP.)
Well, that's it - I can officially announce my disengagement from the world has begun.
The first thing I read this morning is some nonsense about Calibri being considered a "woke" font while Times New Roman is a "manly authoritarian" font apparently. Seriously? The "Culture Wars" have crossed from stupidity to something else I can't define - when people complained about ads at Waterloo Station it was all good fun but now...well, who knows?
Then we get the list of SPOTY contenders - I've heard of McIlroy and Norris but that's about it. I don't watch women's football for the same reason I don't watch men's football anymore - I'd rather watch some other sport. Presumably they don't want anyone with "an issue" these days - they once had Frankie Dettori and he enjoyed some recreational drug taking so presumably Oisin Murphy's alcohol issues rule hime out but what about William Buick? He's just a nice chap - excellent backstory and a very good rider as he showed in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
It also seems the Monroe Doctrine is back - the precursor to the Brezhnev Doctrine. "Spheres of influence" - like footballs and rugby balls, I presume.
On that last point, I can't believe that the winner of the prestigious FIFA Peace Prize is talking like this.
I think 'doctrine' imbues a rather unwarranted gravitas to what is essentially just 'suck up to Russia, posture about China, collaborate with Israel, ignore or bully everyone else'.
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
This I am afraid is the wrong take on this poll. The main take is surely the SNP collapsing to 12% below their 2021 constituency Holyrood vote with Labour only down 5%, giving a 3.5% swing to Labour since 2021.
Reform also up to 18% on the regional list so slim chance of first unionist majority since 2011 if unionists vote tactically on the constituency vote. Indeed Scotland may have a swing to Labour next year at Holyrood, despite swings from Labour in England and Wales in the local and Senedd elections there which might be enough to save Sir Keir's job
You are right - there has been an SNP collapse electorally. Whilst these polls show a smaller collapse at Holyrood than at Westminster, there is still a big drop in support.
As always the trend is your friend. The question remains what happens next - does it continue or is there swingback of the kind not seen in the Westminster election?
The SNP are banging the independence drum harder than ever. As a party they are penniless and they can hardly run on their record in government, so they have little else left. These polls show the way to another SNP / Green government, but I would be surprised. (1) that didn't work at all well for the SNP last time and (2) Swinney is saying that a vote for an independence party other than the SNP is a vote for the union.
Fun times ahead. I shall join the fight in January...
Not necessarily: doesn't have to be an actual SNP/Green government, of course. Minority admin plus support on specific policies has been the norm [edit} or at least the modal model since 1997.
BTW why aren't the LDs doing better? I'd have expected some flight from the Tories and Labour at the very least, as well as from the SNP givenj their losses.
Have you seen who is leading them?
Mr C-H? His concerns did seem at one time to be for the Edinburgh driver of Morningside Gelaendepersonenkraftwagens. Not seen much of him in the news lately though he was going on [edit] some months back about how he was going to be Deputy FM in a coalition with Labour, presumably reprising the Dewar/Wallace dual act of the late 1990s. Not sure how that works in the voters' minds these days?
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Archery would be very much more of a sport if competitors were required to fire at each other, as they once were. That would also have the advantage of making it a sport at which we would be sure to beat the French.
I went to see the archery at London12. It was at Lords near to our place, The South Koreans dominated (esp the women) and what I most recall were their fans. A massive enthusiastic turnout all of them dressed supersmart in Burberry.
Looks like all those people suggesting asylum seekers should be housed on military camps will have to rapidly delete their previous tweets on the matter, now that local people are protesting against such plans advanced by the government to house asylum seekers somewhere other than in hotels.
The reason they are in hotels is that a series of legal challenges were used to block all the other options.
It was considered that block booking a hotel doesn’t change use - so no planning requirement and no legal challenge possible. Subsequently, of course, legal challenges to the use of hotels like this were made.
I can't see US immihration being bothered to look at this stuff manually. It will all be via AI and largely a way for Palantir to farm information. Why else would they want all the details of your next of kin?
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Reform may be able to pile up a few votes in less posh West Coast working class seats with a high white population, but I've seen enough from by elections so far to suggest taking the next step and winning Hamilton is beyond them. I keep repeating this, but they still don't have any candidates yet - down here, where they are fighting the Tories, theres been an active step up in campaigning, the Tories have been chapping doors for months.
Reforms best chance of taking a constituency may be Ayrshire, yougov MRP had them taking Carrick but its a stretch to see that happening.
No value in the odds posted right now, wait for constituency and SNP majority bets
I dont think there is a vast amount of love for the SNP in some areas, but given the alternatives and lot of Scots will stick with what they've got
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Name any of the English branch office parties that can run on record in government, at least SNP are a Scottish party. The others have no redeeming features at all and only interested in orders from London masters. We have been there before.
Possible Scotland's footie boys could get the team award?
Was in Porto Airport this year when some of the younger squads were passing through. The Scots were almost all under 6' and the Italians were almost all over 6'2''. However it was the Italians that were queuing at Burger King - which might explain the height difference.
Looks like all those people suggesting asylum seekers should be housed on military camps will have to rapidly delete their previous tweets on the matter, now that local people are protesting against such plans advanced by the government to house asylum seekers somewhere other than in hotels.
The reason they are in hotels is that a series of legal challenges were used to block all the other options.
It was considered that block booking a hotel doesn’t change use - so no planning requirement and no legal challenge possible. Subsequently, of course, legal challenges to the use of hotels like this were made.
Guy on LBC had a good idea today, put all teh homeless up in the hotels and give the illegals a tent and have them as the homeless.
This I am afraid is the wrong take on this poll. The main take is surely the SNP collapsing to 12% below their 2021 constituency Holyrood vote with Labour only down 5%, giving a 3.5% swing to Labour since 2021.
Reform also up to 18% on the regional list so slim chance of first unionist majority since 2011 if unionists vote tactically on the constituency vote. Indeed Scotland may have a swing to Labour next year at Holyrood, despite swings from Labour in England and Wales in the local and Senedd elections there which might be enough to save Sir Keir's job
You are right - there has been an SNP collapse electorally. Whilst these polls show a smaller collapse at Holyrood than at Westminster, there is still a big drop in support.
As always the trend is your friend. The question remains what happens next - does it continue or is there swingback of the kind not seen in the Westminster election?
The SNP are banging the independence drum harder than ever. As a party they are penniless and they can hardly run on their record in government, so they have little else left. These polls show the way to another SNP / Green government, but I would be surprised. (1) that didn't work at all well for the SNP last time and (2) Swinney is saying that a vote for an independence party other than the SNP is a vote for the union.
Fun times ahead. I shall join the fight in January...
Not necessarily: doesn't have to be an actual SNP/Green government, of course. Minority admin plus support on specific policies has been the norm [edit} or at least the modal model since 1997.
BTW why aren't the LDs doing better? I'd have expected some flight from the Tories and Labour at the very least, as well as from the SNP givenj their losses.
Have you seen who is leading them?
Mr C-H? His concerns did seem at one time to be for the Edinburgh driver of Morningside Gelaendepersonenkraftwagens. Not seen much of him in the news lately though he was going on [edit] some months back about how he was going to be Deputy FM in a coalition with Labour, presumably reprising the Dewar/Wallace dual act of the late 1990s. Not sure how that works in the voters' minds these days?
Luckily he has gone underground for some time now and we are spared listening to the witterings of the twat.
Well, that's it - I can officially announce my disengagement from the world has begun.
The first thing I read this morning is some nonsense about Calibri being considered a "woke" font while Times New Roman is a "manly authoritarian" font apparently. Seriously? The "Culture Wars" have crossed from stupidity to something else I can't define - when people complained about ads at Waterloo Station it was all good fun but now...well, who knows?
Then we get the list of SPOTY contenders - I've heard of McIlroy and Norris but that's about it. I don't watch women's football for the same reason I don't watch men's football anymore - I'd rather watch some other sport. Presumably they don't want anyone with "an issue" these days - they once had Frankie Dettori and he enjoyed some recreational drug taking so presumably Oisin Murphy's alcohol issues rule hime out but what about William Buick? He's just a nice chap - excellent backstory and a very good rider as he showed in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
It also seems the Monroe Doctrine is back - the precursor to the Brezhnev Doctrine. "Spheres of influence" - like footballs and rugby balls, I presume.
Yes the "Monroe Doctrine" isn't really very different to the Putin doctrine. Nearby countries do not get full sovereignty, they have to bend to the will of their big neighbour.
Apparently Calibri is easier for visually impaired people to read than TNR, hence it is "Woke".
Looks like all those people suggesting asylum seekers should be housed on military camps will have to rapidly delete their previous tweets on the matter, now that local people are protesting against such plans advanced by the government to house asylum seekers somewhere other than in hotels.
The reason they are in hotels is that a series of legal challenges were used to block all the other options.
It was considered that block booking a hotel doesn’t change use - so no planning requirement and no legal challenge possible. Subsequently, of course, legal challenges to the use of hotels like this were made.
Guy on LBC had a good idea today, put all teh homeless up in the hotels and give the illegals a tent and have them as the homeless.
I believe France does the asylum seekers in tents thing at least (dunno what they're homelessness policy is), large tent cities in Paris. Not sure if it's an improvement.
Looks like all those people suggesting asylum seekers should be housed on military camps will have to rapidly delete their previous tweets on the matter, now that local people are protesting against such plans advanced by the government to house asylum seekers somewhere other than in hotels.
The reason they are in hotels is that a series of legal challenges were used to block all the other options.
It was considered that block booking a hotel doesn’t change use - so no planning requirement and no legal challenge possible. Subsequently, of course, legal challenges to the use of hotels like this were made.
Guy on LBC had a good idea today, put all teh homeless up in the hotels and give the illegals a tent and have them as the homeless.
A bit hard to keep tabs on them if the asylum seekers are made homeless.
(For the billionth time: it isn't illegal to enter the country without papers for the purpose of seeking asylum)
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Name any of the English branch office parties that can run on record in government, at least SNP are a Scottish party. The others have no redeeming features at all and only interested in orders from London masters. We have been there before.
Happily this isn't about me and thee. "English branch office" has zero traction outside YES obsessives and I've seen anti-English arguments actively turn people against the SNP. They tried that last year. FOR SCOTLAND. And got scunnered.
This is about Scotland, you're absolutely right. And things are shit right now. The people suffering aren't heartened that although shit at least its a little more shit in England. They just want things to get better. So whilst I entirely agree that the established parties of government are doing a shite job with no redeeming features, that *includes the SNP*.
This I am afraid is the wrong take on this poll. The main take is surely the SNP collapsing to 12% below their 2021 constituency Holyrood vote with Labour only down 5%, giving a 3.5% swing to Labour since 2021.
Reform also up to 18% on the regional list so slim chance of first unionist majority since 2011 if unionists vote tactically on the constituency vote. Indeed Scotland may have a swing to Labour next year at Holyrood, despite swings from Labour in England and Wales in the local and Senedd elections there which might be enough to save Sir Keir's job
You are right - there has been an SNP collapse electorally. Whilst these polls show a smaller collapse at Holyrood than at Westminster, there is still a big drop in support.
As always the trend is your friend. The question remains what happens next - does it continue or is there swingback of the kind not seen in the Westminster election?
The SNP are banging the independence drum harder than ever. As a party they are penniless and they can hardly run on their record in government, so they have little else left. These polls show the way to another SNP / Green government, but I would be surprised. (1) that didn't work at all well for the SNP last time and (2) Swinney is saying that a vote for an independence party other than the SNP is a vote for the union.
Fun times ahead. I shall join the fight in January...
Not necessarily: doesn't have to be an actual SNP/Green government, of course. Minority admin plus support on specific policies has been the norm [edit} or at least the modal model since 1997.
BTW why aren't the LDs doing better? I'd have expected some flight from the Tories and Labour at the very least, as well as from the SNP givenj their losses.
On the first point. Swinney is painting himself into a corner with "SNP majority vote for independence" which he won't get. But a minority government on his own terms is proof that independence isn't supported. So he will have to try and tap up the Greens.
On the second point, we're laser focused on specific areas. As we saw with the Westminster campaign that strategy underreads on support and thus seat predictions...
But that doesn't work for Holyrood under AMS. Indeed, given how the LDs aren't likely to win many constituency seats, it might be a better strategy to go for a much wider focus, at least at a regional level.
How do you win seats on the list? You pick up enough votes to clear the threshold. Campaigning hard in specific places to win those votes is more effective than a general regional campaign which gets missed by people being bombarded by messages from local candidates.
We're also continuing to focus on held and target seats at council level. Again, build support locally as they then tot up regionally.
It's the old Liberal/LD strategy when starting out - you're better doing a proper campaign in one polling district, and nothing in the rest, if that's all you can manage, than trying to fight the whole ward. Three leaflets in one polling district pulls in more votes than one leaflet for the whole ward, and the same with wards in relation to constituencies.
Former Tory MP Ben Bradley has now defected to Reform. They really are taking all the worst people from the Boris era.
All roads seem to be leading, eventually, to something like the Canadian experience repeating. A meiosis and then re-fusion of the various DNA strands of the right.
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Reform may be able to pile up a few votes in less posh West Coast working class seats with a high white population, but I've seen enough from by elections so far to suggest taking the next step and winning Hamilton is beyond them. I keep repeating this, but they still don't have any candidates yet - down here, where they are fighting the Tories, theres been an active step up in campaigning, the Tories have been chapping doors for months.
Reforms best chance of taking a constituency may be Ayrshire, yougov MRP had them taking Carrick but its a stretch to see that happening.
No value in the odds posted right now, wait for constituency and SNP majority bets
I dont think there is a vast amount of love for the SNP in some areas, but given the alternatives and lot of Scots will stick with what they've got
Perhaps they will. But they didn't last year and once you break a voting habit its very hard to put it back into place.
As for candidates so many of the Reform candidates are shit. Hence so many resigning once elected or being outed as racist or otherwise expelled and expunged. The quality of the candidate doesn't seem to be a barrier in England, so unless Scottish voters are significantly more engaged politically its a hard argument to make that "no candidate yet" means no chance of victory.
Just as the UK can't use its own missiles on the F35.
"The US government has once again refused a request from the German defence ministry to integrate the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) rockets Berlin purchased from Washington with European rocket launchers, Euractiv has learned." https://x.com/shashj/status/1998910567608889418
No point buying advanced military kit from the US if you're uncertain whether you'll be allowed to use it, or its functions are intentionally crippled.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Archery would be very much more of a sport if competitors were required to fire at each other, as they once were. That would also have the advantage of making it a sport at which we would be sure to beat the French.
Biggest joke of a sport is Perv Beach Volleyball
That was Brazil’s idea. To be fair they’re quite good at it, and for the Olympics the athletes don’t dress too differently from track runners.
Those playing casually on Copacobana Beach in bikinis, on the other hand…
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
So, let me get this right, the former leader of Notts County Council has joined Reform in order to work on cutting costs at... Notts County Council.
Why didn't he do it when he actually had the power to?
Because as there are no real cuts that can be made - as demonstrated in Kent.
In Durham I think the only saving they have so far found requires changing council tax discounts so they can operate on a one assessment per person per year basis. And that means a lot of the poorest reform voters are going to have to find £200 from their budges to pay 10%.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Archery would be very much more of a sport if competitors were required to fire at each other, as they once were. That would also have the advantage of making it a sport at which we would be sure to beat the French.
Biggest joke of a sport is Perv Beach Volleyball
That was Brazil’s idea. To be fair they’re quite good at it, and for the Olympics the athletes don’t dress too differently from track runners.
Those playing casually on Copacobana Beach in bikinis, on the other hand…
You're forgetting the huge row in the last Olympics about the, er, dress. Or the lack of it.
Just as the UK can't use its own missiles on the F35.
"The US government has once again refused a request from the German defence ministry to integrate the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) rockets Berlin purchased from Washington with European rocket launchers, Euractiv has learned." https://x.com/shashj/status/1998910567608889418
No point buying advanced military kit from the US if you're uncertain whether you'll be allowed to use it, or its functions are intentionally crippled.
He's cutting off his hard power to match his soft power !
But he'll be 6 feet under or in a secure mental hospital by the time the consequences arrive, so it is not on the (Usonian) radar.
Just as the UK can't use its own missiles on the F35.
"The US government has once again refused a request from the German defence ministry to integrate the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) rockets Berlin purchased from Washington with European rocket launchers, Euractiv has learned." https://x.com/shashj/status/1998910567608889418
No point buying advanced military kit from the US if you're uncertain whether you'll be allowed to use it, or its functions are intentionally crippled.
A seismic period we're embarking on. Europe (inc the UK unless we've totally lost our mojo) has to unite and beef up on military capability if it wants to detach from the US without jeopardising its security. Given it's a necessity I imagine it will happen. Massive challenge for the continent's political leadership though. It's not just about hosing money into defence budgets.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
There's no clear defining line, but rather a range from the more pure end (athletics) to the peculiar (breakdancing). Olympic sport introduces a further refinement in that it suggests some connection with the ancient games. This brings dressage safely within the fold because equestrianism generally was such a big part of the games back then, even though many today scoff at horses dancing. Many other sports however that we accept at normal would have puzzled the ancient Greeks. Syncronised swimming puzzles me, by any criterion.
Looks like all those people suggesting asylum seekers should be housed on military camps will have to rapidly delete their previous tweets on the matter, now that local people are protesting against such plans advanced by the government to house asylum seekers somewhere other than in hotels.
The reason they are in hotels is that a series of legal challenges were used to block all the other options.
It was considered that block booking a hotel doesn’t change use - so no planning requirement and no legal challenge possible. Subsequently, of course, legal challenges to the use of hotels like this were made.
Guy on LBC had a good idea today, put all teh homeless up in the hotels and give the illegals a tent and have them as the homeless.
I believe France does the asylum seekers in tents thing at least (dunno what they're homelessness policy is), large tent cities in Paris. Not sure if it's an improvement.
Tud, It is the absurdity that they struggle/don't help indigenous homeless yet they roll out red carpet for illegal entrants with no expense spared, it is madness.
So, let me get this right, the former leader of Notts County Council has joined Reform in order to work on cutting costs at... Notts County Council.
Why didn't he do it when he actually had the power to?
Because as there are no real cuts that can be made - as demonstrated in Kent.
In Durham I think the only saving they have so far found requires changing council tax discounts so they can operate on a one assessment per person per year basis. And that means a lot of the poorest reform voters are going to have to find £200 from their budges to pay 10%.
They could have saved £75k by not putting up all those fvcking flags.
ben Bradley is still quite young (36) and needs a career. He's fishing for a District Council seat next year, and a likely-safe constituency for 2029, via the East Midlands (ie Notts, Derbys) Mayoral Election in 2028.
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Reform may be able to pile up a few votes in less posh West Coast working class seats with a high white population, but I've seen enough from by elections so far to suggest taking the next step and winning Hamilton is beyond them. I keep repeating this, but they still don't have any candidates yet - down here, where they are fighting the Tories, theres been an active step up in campaigning, the Tories have been chapping doors for months.
Reforms best chance of taking a constituency may be Ayrshire, yougov MRP had them taking Carrick but its a stretch to see that happening.
No value in the odds posted right now, wait for constituency and SNP majority bets
I dont think there is a vast amount of love for the SNP in some areas, but given the alternatives and lot of Scots will stick with what they've got
Perhaps they will. But they didn't last year and once you break a voting habit its very hard to put it back into place.
As for candidates so many of the Reform candidates are shit. Hence so many resigning once elected or being outed as racist or otherwise expelled and expunged. The quality of the candidate doesn't seem to be a barrier in England, so unless Scottish voters are significantly more engaged politically its a hard argument to make that "no candidate yet" means no chance of victory.
Another issue here is that the SNP is broke post-Operation Branchform and a collapse in donations.
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Name any of the English branch office parties that can run on record in government, at least SNP are a Scottish party. The others have no redeeming features at all and only interested in orders from London masters. We have been there before.
Happily this isn't about me and thee. "English branch office" has zero traction outside YES obsessives and I've seen anti-English arguments actively turn people against the SNP. They tried that last year. FOR SCOTLAND. And got scunnered.
This is about Scotland, you're absolutely right. And things are shit right now. The people suffering aren't heartened that although shit at least its a little more shit in England. They just want things to get better. So whilst I entirely agree that the established parties of government are doing a shite job with no redeeming features, that *includes the SNP*.
I agree re SNP being dire , but as I said at least their strings are not pulled by London. We have that with Westminster and they do zilch to suit Scotland or meet it's needs. If any of the regional branch parties get back in then it will be even worse, we remember Labour , McConnell sending money back to London as we did not need it as an example. Nothing against English, it is English governments and English political parties not being masters of their own destinies and jsut following London HQ orders that is my beef. We need rid of the whole bunch and get more real Scottish parties and so we can then be rid of the SNP as well.
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Name any of the English branch office parties that can run on record in government, at least SNP are a Scottish party. The others have no redeeming features at all and only interested in orders from London masters. We have been there before.
Happily this isn't about me and thee. "English branch office" has zero traction outside YES obsessives and I've seen anti-English arguments actively turn people against the SNP. They tried that last year. FOR SCOTLAND. And got scunnered.
This is about Scotland, you're absolutely right. And things are shit right now. The people suffering aren't heartened that although shit at least its a little more shit in England. They just want things to get better. So whilst I entirely agree that the established parties of government are doing a shite job with no redeeming features, that *includes the SNP*.
I agree re SNP being dire , but as I said at least their strings are not pulled by London. We have that with Westminster and they do zilch to suit Scotland or meet it's needs. If any of the regional branch parties get back in then it will be even worse, we remember Labour , McConnell sending money back to London as we did not need it as an example. Nothing against English, it is English governments and English political parties not being masters of their own destinies and jsut following London HQ orders that is my beef. We need rid of the whole bunch and get more real Scottish parties and so we can then be rid of the SNP as well.
The latter is a point that baffles me. There are several pro-independence parties to choose from, but they struggle for traction and get dismissed by the SNP.
Have you considered that the reason why the majority of votes go to "English branch office" parties is that your obsession with it isn't what most people are bothered by? Your points about Labour and McConnell being a prime example. If punters cared about that why did they elect far more Labour MPs last year than SNP ones?
Considering the (at best lacklustre) performance and scandals involving recent SNP governments over the years it really is a little surprising that they are cruising to victory.
Then you look at the alternatives and see why.
They aren't, the SNP vote has collapsed at Holyrood since 2021
Yes but it hasn't collapsed completely. Reforms vote will be scattered throughout, whereas Tory will be more rural and Labour urban. The net result will be that the SNP hang on to their urban constituencies, Labour are in no place to challenge.
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Indeed, and as I said on my earlier reply to HY the trend is your friend.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Reform may be able to pile up a few votes in less posh West Coast working class seats with a high white population, but I've seen enough from by elections so far to suggest taking the next step and winning Hamilton is beyond them. I keep repeating this, but they still don't have any candidates yet - down here, where they are fighting the Tories, theres been an active step up in campaigning, the Tories have been chapping doors for months.
Reforms best chance of taking a constituency may be Ayrshire, yougov MRP had them taking Carrick but its a stretch to see that happening.
No value in the odds posted right now, wait for constituency and SNP majority bets
I dont think there is a vast amount of love for the SNP in some areas, but given the alternatives and lot of Scots will stick with what they've got
Perhaps they will. But they didn't last year and once you break a voting habit its very hard to put it back into place.
As for candidates so many of the Reform candidates are shit. Hence so many resigning once elected or being outed as racist or otherwise expelled and expunged. The quality of the candidate doesn't seem to be a barrier in England, so unless Scottish voters are significantly more engaged politically its a hard argument to make that "no candidate yet" means no chance of victory.
Another issue here is that the SNP is broke post-Operation Branchform and a collapse in donations.
Absolutely threadbare. Reportedly reliant on their Westminster monies despite that being massively cut following their collapse last year.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Archery would be very much more of a sport if competitors were required to fire at each other, as they once were. That would also have the advantage of making it a sport at which we would be sure to beat the French.
Biggest joke of a sport is Perv Beach Volleyball
That was Brazil’s idea. To be fair they’re quite good at it, and for the Olympics the athletes don’t dress too differently from track runners.
Those playing casually on Copacobana Beach in bikinis, on the other hand…
Wasn't it the case that in the Ancient Games athletes competed naked? Women were not allowed to compete and the nakedness rule was, I believe, partly designed to help impose this rule.
Is it true that the fare was £2 before Labour capped it at £3? I can’t believe he would draw attention to it if it were the case, but that’s what Tories are saying. Were they due to go up under them as well?
Catching the bus shouldn’t cost the earth.
That’s why we are capping bus fares at £3 and investing in new buses and stops.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Archery would be very much more of a sport if competitors were required to fire at each other, as they once were. That would also have the advantage of making it a sport at which we would be sure to beat the French.
Biggest joke of a sport is Perv Beach Volleyball
That was Brazil’s idea. To be fair they’re quite good at it, and for the Olympics the athletes don’t dress too differently from track runners.
Those playing casually on Copacobana Beach in bikinis, on the other hand…
Wasn't it the case that in the Ancient Games athletes competed naked? Women were not allowed to compete and the nakedness rule was, I believe, partly designed to help impose this rule.
There were actually various competitions for females,and not just the Spartan maidens (the Spartans as usual doing things differently), but possibly for sequestered women-only festivals (IANAE). Athletics was in any case part of Greek religion (and I don't mean in the UKk footie fan sense).
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
Ah, but is it a sport? The Olympics Committee seems to think not. Shameful decision imo, but .....
Given some of the crap they have as Olympic sports it should be well up there
I've never forgiven them for synchronised swimming. Sport? My arse, it is,
See also horse dancing/prancing.
Anything judged by a panel should be excluded. We could have an arty-farty olympics for all those not-really-sports sports.
Boxing would be out then, which would probably please the IOC which has long had problems with the mafia organisations that run the sport.
You could of course reintroduce the concept of fighting to the death, but I suppose even then you need a panel to confirm your opponent is no more. Nothing arty-farty about it though.
Looks like all those people suggesting asylum seekers should be housed on military camps will have to rapidly delete their previous tweets on the matter, now that local people are protesting against such plans advanced by the government to house asylum seekers somewhere other than in hotels.
The reason they are in hotels is that a series of legal challenges were used to block all the other options.
It was considered that block booking a hotel doesn’t change use - so no planning requirement and no legal challenge possible. Subsequently, of course, legal challenges to the use of hotels like this were made.
Guy on LBC had a good idea today, put all teh homeless up in the hotels and give the illegals a tent and have them as the homeless.
A bit hard to keep tabs on them if the asylum seekers are made homeless.
(For the billionth time: it isn't illegal to enter the country without papers for the purpose of seeking asylum)
You are grossly exaggerating @Foxy. It is, at most the 54,300th time. And when you strip out all of the posts relating to cricket and dodgy puns you might be down to a few thousand!
It is frankly appalling how dishonest all of our politicians of all stripes are about "illegal immigrants" and how compliant our press and media are in going along with it.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
There's no clear defining line, but rather a range from the more pure end (athletics) to the peculiar (breakdancing). Olympic sport introduces a further refinement in that it suggests some connection with the ancient games. This brings dressage safely within the fold because equestrianism generally was such a big part of the games back then, even though many today scoff at horses dancing. Many other sports however that we accept at normal would have puzzled the ancient Greeks. Syncronised swimming puzzles me, by any criterion.
Just wondering how popular the pankration* and the chariot racing** would be.
*their form of MMA **IIRC it was the *owner* who got the prize?
Is it true that the fare was £2 before Labour capped it at £3? I can’t believe he would draw attention to it if it were the case, but that’s what Tories are saying. Were they due to go up under them as well?
Catching the bus shouldn’t cost the earth.
That’s why we are capping bus fares at £3 and investing in new buses and stops.
In his pre-budget speech on Monday 28 October 2024, the Prime Minister confirmed that single bus fares will be limited at £3 until the end of 2025, as part of more than £1 billion to be invested in buses.
The current £2 cap on single bus fares had been due to come to an end on 31 December 2024. Under the plans of the previous administration, funding for the current cap on bus fares had been due to expire at the end of 2024.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
There's no clear defining line, but rather a range from the more pure end (athletics) to the peculiar (breakdancing). Olympic sport introduces a further refinement in that it suggests some connection with the ancient games. This brings dressage safely within the fold because equestrianism generally was such a big part of the games back then, even though many today scoff at horses dancing. Many other sports however that we accept at normal would have puzzled the ancient Greeks. Syncronised swimming puzzles me, by any criterion.
Just wondering how popular the pankration* and the chariot racing** would be.
*their form of MMA **IIRC it was the *owner* who got the prize?
Chariot racing was an Olympic sport that was open to women, in the ancient world.
Other than that, womens' sports and gladiatorial contests were considered a form of porn.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
There's no clear defining line, but rather a range from the more pure end (athletics) to the peculiar (breakdancing). Olympic sport introduces a further refinement in that it suggests some connection with the ancient games. This brings dressage safely within the fold because equestrianism generally was such a big part of the games back then, even though many today scoff at horses dancing. Many other sports however that we accept at normal would have puzzled the ancient Greeks. Syncronised swimming puzzles me, by any criterion.
Just wondering how popular the pankration* and the chariot racing** would be.
*their form of MMA **IIRC it was the *owner* who got the prize?
Same with horseracing today. The owner gets the prize, and pays a slice to the jockey and trainer.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
There's no clear defining line, but rather a range from the more pure end (athletics) to the peculiar (breakdancing). Olympic sport introduces a further refinement in that it suggests some connection with the ancient games. This brings dressage safely within the fold because equestrianism generally was such a big part of the games back then, even though many today scoff at horses dancing. Many other sports however that we accept at normal would have puzzled the ancient Greeks. Syncronised swimming puzzles me, by any criterion.
Just wondering how popular the pankration* and the chariot racing** would be.
*their form of MMA **IIRC it was the *owner* who got the prize?
Chariot racing was an Olympic sport that was open to women, in the ancient world.
Other than that, womens' sports and gladiatorial contests were considered a form of porn.
Sean, you're a classics whizz. Save me the bother of looking it up. Wasn't it the success of a female charioteer that caused the introduction of a men only rule?
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
There's no clear defining line, but rather a range from the more pure end (athletics) to the peculiar (breakdancing). Olympic sport introduces a further refinement in that it suggests some connection with the ancient games. This brings dressage safely within the fold because equestrianism generally was such a big part of the games back then, even though many today scoff at horses dancing. Many other sports however that we accept at normal would have puzzled the ancient Greeks. Syncronised swimming puzzles me, by any criterion.
Just wondering how popular the pankration* and the chariot racing** would be.
*their form of MMA **IIRC it was the *owner* who got the prize?
"Legit" is not a word to use in connection with Trump. It's a real scheme, and plenty of people have put money into Trump's schemes. I would not want to be one of them.
And I'm not sure how much longer he'll be around. The brain is going.
"Legit" is not a word to use in connection with Trump. It's a real scheme, and plenty of people have put money into Trump's schemes. I would not want to be one of them.
And I'm not sure how much longer he'll be around. The brain is going.
"Legit" is not a word to use in connection with Trump. It's a real scheme, and plenty of people have put money into Trump's schemes. I would not want to be one of them.
And I'm not sure how much longer he'll be around. The brain is going.
As we are doing food this was my sourdough last week
Pretty pleased
My starter is about five years old too.
Which party do you support? I know true Tories eat babies, but a 5 year old as a starter is a new gourmet option to me. I would love to know the political affiliation of these juvenile consuming aficionados.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
There's no clear defining line, but rather a range from the more pure end (athletics) to the peculiar (breakdancing). Olympic sport introduces a further refinement in that it suggests some connection with the ancient games. This brings dressage safely within the fold because equestrianism generally was such a big part of the games back then, even though many today scoff at horses dancing. Many other sports however that we accept at normal would have puzzled the ancient Greeks. Syncronised swimming puzzles me, by any criterion.
Just wondering how popular the pankration* and the chariot racing** would be.
*their form of MMA **IIRC it was the *owner* who got the prize?
Chariot racing was an Olympic sport that was open to women, in the ancient world.
Other than that, womens' sports and gladiatorial contests were considered a form of porn.
Sean, you're a classics whizz. Save me the bother of looking it up. Wasn't it the success of a female charioteer that caused the introduction of a men only rule?
I think it was Cynisca, the sister of King Agesilaos of Sparta, who won a load of prizes for chariot racing, as owner and trainer, in the 390's. But, no woman was allowed to drive a chariot, at the contest. The fact that elite Spartan women took part in their own athletic contests, naked, was a source of fascination to the Greeks.
As we are doing food this was my sourdough last week
Pretty pleased
My starter is about five years old too.
Which party do you support? I know true Tories eat babies, but a 5 year old as a starter is a new gourmet option to me. I would love to know the political affiliation of these juvenile consuming aficionados.
Labour but I’m disinclined to vote
There are older starters out there. The San Francisco one goes back over 150 years !!
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. ...
When Cleggy the Slayer stakes you, you're dead for good.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
The inability of LD to capitalise on the present chaos is the dog that didn't bark
Then excellent and senior Labour MP Liam Byrne says this today in the HoC:
The language of the US national security strategy was deeply regrettable and, frankly, it was not hard to see the rhymes with some extreme rightwing tropes that date back to the 1930s.
Is this is signal from government of what it actually thinks but of course can't, at the moment, say?
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
The LibDems have a fairly recent history of being in government. With the crashing of Labour, they don't escape the notion of support rising for None of the Above that has floated the Reform and Green boats on such a high tide.
Possible Scotland's footie boys could get the team award?
Was in Porto Airport this year when some of the younger squads were passing through. The Scots were almost all under 6' and the Italians were almost all over 6'2''. However it was the Italians that were queuing at Burger King - which might explain the height difference.
Scotland needs to introduce the Full Fat Tunnock. Wrapped around with lard. Deep-fried optional, but to be encouraged.
Littler is the only person there who turned his sport upside down by his talent.
It’s a pub game, so not a real sport.
Can't see that it requires any less hand-eye co-ordination than say archery or golf?
Darts is more of a sport than F1 is.
One of the criteria citied often of whether something is a sport or not is 'Can you play it in a pub'.
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
Bosanquet (who invented the googly) drew a distinction between games where the ball is still (golf, billiards) and where it is in motion (cricket, football). Extrapolating from that would place darts and archery in the still camp.
There's no clear defining line, but rather a range from the more pure end (athletics) to the peculiar (breakdancing). Olympic sport introduces a further refinement in that it suggests some connection with the ancient games. This brings dressage safely within the fold because equestrianism generally was such a big part of the games back then, even though many today scoff at horses dancing. Many other sports however that we accept at normal would have puzzled the ancient Greeks. Syncronised swimming puzzles me, by any criterion.
Just wondering how popular the pankration* and the chariot racing** would be.
*their form of MMA **IIRC it was the *owner* who got the prize?
Chariot racing was an Olympic sport that was open to women, in the ancient world.
Other than that, womens' sports and gladiatorial contests were considered a form of porn.
Sean, you're a classics whizz. Save me the bother of looking it up. Wasn't it the success of a female charioteer that caused the introduction of a men only rule?
I think it was Cynisca, the sister of King Agesilaos of Sparta, who won a load of prizes for chariot racing, as owner and trainer, in the 390's. But, no woman was allowed to drive a chariot, at the contest. The fact that elite Spartan women took part in their own athletic contests, naked, was a source of fascination to the Greeks.
Thank you, Sean. You are so much better than AI.
I wonder that Robert Smithson has not tried to market you.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
The inability of LD to capitalise on the present chaos is the dog that didn't bark
Lib Dems used to harvest the "plague on all your houses" votes that are now going to Reform. This is of course a signal that a lot of the Reform support is probably of the soft mid-term protest vote variety.
Then excellent and senior Labour MP Liam Byrne says this today in the HoC:
The language of the US national security strategy was deeply regrettable and, frankly, it was not hard to see the rhymes with some extreme rightwing tropes that date back to the 1930s.
Is this is signal from government of what it actually thinks but of course can't, at the moment, say?
Liam Byrne is not in the government or anywhere near it so any similarity is purely coincidental.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
The inability of LD to capitalise on the present chaos is the dog that didn't bark
Lib Dems used to harvest the "plague on all your houses" votes that are now going to Reform. This is of course a signal that a lot of the Reform support is probably of the soft mid-term protest vote variety.
They still do, except their houses are a bit posher.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
The inability of LD to capitalise on the present chaos is the dog that didn't bark
Lib Dems used to harvest the "plague on all your houses" votes that are now going to Reform. This is of course a signal that a lot of the Reform support is probably of the soft mid-term protest vote variety.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
The inability of LD to capitalise on the present chaos is the dog that didn't bark
Seventy two seats, and regular pick ups in council by elections, Viewcode. How loud does your dog bark?
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
The inability of LD to capitalise on the present chaos is the dog that didn't bark
Seventy two seats, and regular pick ups in council by elections, Viewcode. How loud does your dog bark?
Two big parties are at historic lows simultaneously, yet the Lib Dems are utterly unable to seize this golden opportunity.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 1h I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
Yes, weird. Among the weirdnesses is that the LDs show no sign at all of spreading their support in winnable ways beyond the territory - 100 seats max - they occupy. This is a fairly long term phenomenon. Leaving only the Greens on the left to clean up. Which they won't. There is a ceiling on Greens as a government because of human nature.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
The inability of LD to capitalise on the present chaos is the dog that didn't bark
Seventy two seats, and regular pick ups in council by elections, Viewcode. How loud does your dog bark?
72 MPs on the back of half a million fewer votes than Reform got for their four or five. You will be astonished to hear LibDems' commitment to proportional representation does not extend even as far as requesting guaranteed PMQs for Reform.
Which they should do even if only to embarrass the Hon Member for Clacton into turning up for work.
Comments
The SNP may lose some seats in the north and Highlands but the rating for Labour are dire. It's only a case of how close the SNP get to a majority, right now I'd expect them to get mid to high 50s in seats
Spending loads of time in Buckie trying to pick up a handful of voters on fish quotas is going to be a waste of time compared with a broad NE Scotland strategy on farming, O&G.
With Labour in such a mess dahn sarf they need to work very hard to persuade people north of the wall to switch their votes to them. Still possible - some better economic news as we move into the spring as an example.
If Labour do badly then logically that gives two possibilities in the urban seats: people vote back in the SNP despite the mess, or go "ah fuck it" and vote for Reform.
The big big question is simple: are unhappy poor voters in Scotland going to vote for the status quo which is making them unhappy? In England the polls and council election results demonstrate that people are willing to take a punt on the Turquoise Tories. Up here? We will see.
Lets be clear - the SNP can *only* go on independence. They can't run on their record in government. All that is left is the politics of division, blame and othering. Which is why I think Reform are under-priced for some urban seat wins - they also only speak the politics of division, blame and othering. Aside from the flag being shagged what is the difference between Reform and the SNP? And don't say "values"...
Looking forward to next year's race in the Dog and Duck.
It was considered that block booking a hotel doesn’t change use - so no planning requirement and no legal challenge possible. Subsequently, of course, legal challenges to the use of hotels like this were made.
Reforms best chance of taking a constituency may be Ayrshire, yougov MRP had them taking Carrick but its a stretch to see that happening.
No value in the odds posted right now, wait for constituency and SNP majority bets
I dont think there is a vast amount of love for the SNP in some areas, but given the alternatives and lot of Scots will stick with what they've got
Apparently Calibri is easier for visually impaired people to read than TNR, hence it is "Woke".
(For the billionth time: it isn't illegal to enter the country without papers for the purpose of seeking asylum)
Former Tory MP Ben Bradley has now defected to Reform. They really are taking all the worst people from the Boris era.
This is about Scotland, you're absolutely right. And things are shit right now. The people suffering aren't heartened that although shit at least its a little more shit in England. They just want things to get better. So whilst I entirely agree that the established parties of government are doing a shite job with no redeeming features, that *includes the SNP*.
As for candidates so many of the Reform candidates are shit. Hence so many resigning once elected or being outed as racist or otherwise expelled and expunged. The quality of the candidate doesn't seem to be a barrier in England, so unless Scottish voters are significantly more engaged politically its a hard argument to make that "no candidate yet" means no chance of victory.
https://trumpcard.gov/
Fed up with intrusive questions about social media posts? Take the shortcut to life in the land of the
freemillion dollars.Trump Gold card – $1 million buys US residency.
Trump Platinum card – $5 million buys the right to 270 days in America and no tax on foreign income.
Actually that might be a solution to our non-dom conundrum.
To be fair to The Donald, there are some other countries that sell citizenship. Oh, and it's not satire: check the URL (and the date).
You pay in TrumpCoin.
"The US government has once again refused a request from the German defence ministry to integrate the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) rockets Berlin purchased from Washington with European rocket launchers, Euractiv has learned."
https://x.com/shashj/status/1998910567608889418
No point buying advanced military kit from the US if you're uncertain whether you'll be allowed to use it, or its functions are intentionally crippled.
https://x.com/ukraine_map/status/1999046026146336871
Andrew Lilico
@andrew_lilico
·
1h
I don't believe the Greens alone can be the main Left party. Too weird. Low 20s% max. YourParty's destroyed itself. So if Labour continues to collapse, what options are there for being the main Left party other than the Tories or the Lib Dems? Some new Green-Labour merged entity?
https://x.com/andrew_lilico/status/1999053468427038956
Those playing casually on Copacobana Beach in bikinis, on the other hand…
Why didn't he do it when he actually had the power to?
Reform leading the polls all year = too weird
Lab & Cons constantly in the teens = too weird
Greens jostling for second place in polls = too weird
We’re in a world of weird.
In Durham I think the only saving they have so far found requires changing council tax discounts so they can operate on a one assessment per person per year basis. And that means a lot of the poorest reform voters are going to have to find £200 from their budges to pay 10%.
But he'll be 6 feet under or in a secure mental hospital by the time the consequences arrive, so it is not on the (Usonian) radar.
ben Bradley is still quite young (36) and needs a career. He's fishing for a District Council seat next year, and a likely-safe constituency for 2029, via the East Midlands (ie Notts, Derbys) Mayoral Election in 2028.
https://andrewspreviews.substack.com/p/previewing-the-nine-council-by-elections-af1
Nothing against English, it is English governments and English political parties not being masters of their own destinies and jsut following London HQ orders that is my beef.
We need rid of the whole bunch and get more real Scottish parties and so we can then be rid of the SNP as well.
Have you considered that the reason why the majority of votes go to "English branch office" parties is that your obsession with it isn't what most people are bothered by? Your points about Labour and McConnell being a prime example. If punters cared about that why did they elect far more Labour MPs last year than SNP ones?
There's no reason the Greens couldn't get into the 25-30% bracket, IMHO.
With such a divided field they could harvest a very decent crop of seats in a GE.
Haven’t heard of Hannah Hampton Wick
Could make a case for Chloe Kelly
The others, 🤷♂️
Pretty pleased
My starter is about five years old too.
Some mistake, surely?
Catching the bus shouldn’t cost the earth.
That’s why we are capping bus fares at £3 and investing in new buses and stops.
https://x.com/keir_starmer/status/1999026391606772019?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
Anything judged by a panel should be excluded. We could have an arty-farty olympics for all those not-really-sports 'sports'.
The fun for me is the process and the making, rather than the end result. Although this was bang on.
I am making ciabatta today and have labelled up some chutnies I made as Xmas gifts.
You could of course reintroduce the concept of fighting to the death, but I suppose even then you need a panel to confirm your opponent is no more. Nothing arty-farty about it though.
It is frankly appalling how dishonest all of our politicians of all stripes are about "illegal immigrants" and how compliant our press and media are in going along with it.
*their form of MMA
**IIRC it was the *owner* who got the prize?
The current £2 cap on single bus fares had been due to come to an end on 31 December 2024. Under the plans of the previous administration, funding for the current cap on bus fares had been due to expire at the end of 2024.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/national-bus-fare-cap
Other than that, womens' sports and gladiatorial contests were considered a form of porn.
It's a real scheme, and plenty of people have put money into Trump's schemes. I would not want to be one of them.
And I'm not sure how much longer he'll be around.
The brain is going.
This is not a man known to have a lifelong stutter.
https://x.com/Acyn/status/1998853214842794438
Trump: We have deadhead fed hair
I know true Tories eat babies, but a 5 year old as a starter is a new gourmet option to me. I would love to know the political affiliation of these juvenile consuming aficionados.
Which, applying Sherlock's doctrine about improbabilities, means there is a high chance that Labour will not, in the medium to long run, collapse.
I think the best policy for Lab and Con for now is to be content with places somewhere between second and fourth, and wait for fallers at the Foinavon fence.
There are older starters out there. The San Francisco one goes back over 150 years !!
The language of the US national security strategy was deeply regrettable and, frankly, it was not hard to see the rhymes with some extreme rightwing tropes that date back to the 1930s.
Is this is signal from government of what it actually thinks but of course can't, at the moment, say?
I wonder that Robert Smithson has not tried to market you.
Which they should do even if only to embarrass the Hon Member for Clacton into turning up for work.