My favourite betting chart of 2025 – politicalbetting.com
My favourite betting chart of 2025 – politicalbetting.com
It also serves as a reminder that you shouldn’t bet on the next Pope markets as is the epitome of an insiders’ market, which is what I wrote when JD Vance Liz Trussed Pope France.
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Four million discounted tickets will be available from next Tuesday in an effort to boost domestic tourism during the colder months
The cost of almost four million rail tickets will be slashed for a week as part of a government scheme intended to ease the cost of living crisis.
Discounted tickets will be available to buy from next Tuesday and will apply to off-peak fares for thousands of trips between January 13 and March 25.
Ministers hope that the Rail Sale giveaway will boost domestic tourism during the fallow winter months.
Tickets for the Exeter to London Waterloo service will fall to £10, a 76 per cent reduction on the usual price of £41.70. The cost of a ticket from London St Pancras to Whitstable will be halved to £7.50, while a ticket from Sheffield to London will fall to £25.50.
Nearly every train operating company is taking part, the Department for Transport said, with discounted tickets available on services across the country.
The scheme first ran in 2022 to attract passengers back to the railways after the pandemic. Last year, over one million discounted tickets were sold, bringing in more than £9 million in revenue. Industry figures have suggested that the scheme encouraged about 70,000 adults who had not travelled by train since the pandemic to book a rail journey.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/transport/article/rail-sale-2026-discount-tickets-zr83qs9gc
"One of cinema’s most valuable contributions is helping audiences consider their own lives, look at the complexity of their experiences with new eyes and examine the world as if for the first time., In doing so, they rediscover a portion of the hope that is essential for humanity to live to the fullest. I find comfort in the thought that cinema is not just moving pictures; it sets hope in motion.
(Edit)
"The logic of algorithms tends to repeat what “works,” but art opens up what is possible. Not everything has to be immediate or predictable. Defend slowness when it serves a purpose, silence when it speaks and difference when evocative. Beauty is not just a means of escape; it is, above all, an invocation. When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console but challenges. It articulates the questions that dwell within us and sometimes even provokes tears that we did not know we needed to express."
From: https://deadline.com/2025/11/pope-leo-xiv-cinema-speech-a-list-crowd-read-his-speech-1236618389/
‘Vile twats’ — Luke Littler’s mum blasts darts fans who booed her son
Pumped-up 18-year-old told crowd ‘you pay for my prize money’ after reaching last eight but his mum Lisa had more choice words for his critics
https://www.thetimes.com/sport/darts/article/charlie-manby-world-championship-darts-0fmldvl0t
You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. *That's* the *Chicago* way! And that's how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I'm offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?
Speaking of art, might it be said that there’s a Trump aesthetic sweeping the nations?
https://x.com/caolanreports/status/2006027162130759816?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
And he'll still be a teenager.
And I can't read that quote without hearing his voice.
When do we get the results of the PB predictions contest. I fear that I didn't do too well.
I shall work on some better 2026 predictions.
Welsh, Scottish and English Locals, US Mid Terms, possible leadership changes, any other political bets this year?
I see the Russian Duma is on the list, Zambia and Brazil presidents but not a lot else planned.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elections_in_2026
Breaking news, World Service Radio, and podcasts are still free, I am told.
If we want a global wikipedia of news (an aspiration with which I agree), then we need to fund it properly. We do not because purblind little Englanders are offended, and Mr Starmer pays them too much attention.
At present, the Foreign Office (-25% on headcount), the British Council (withdrawing from ~40 countries), and the BBC World Service (no numbers to hand), are amongst areas of funding which aiui are being gutted, alongside overseas development aid (down to 0.3% of GDP plus billions diverted to asylum hotels etc).
I think this may be one of Mr Starmer's biggest strategic mistakes, and where he should have reversed the previous Government direction - at whatever cost, because this policy will cost more long-term than the alternative.
It was camper than the 3rd World Scout Jamboree, and the innuendos were so blatant it'd have made Eagles blush.
Oh, and who’s “Pope France”?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ge0jlygr2o
Both John and Amy Hunt have been so magnificent in recent times - a real inspiration - despite a terrible overwhelming tragedy.
The point though isn't just to praise them, deserved though it is, but a reminder the issue of violence against women is very real and actual and should be where Government concentrates its efforts (along with child poverty and homelessness) rather than the froth of other issues.
Total MPs in the Commons by Party at the end of the Year, US mid-terms Senate and House as you say, and something suitable about the Lords.
COVID Protective Gear prosecutions, or is it too soon?
I've also put tiny sums just now on Sainz and Albon, each boosted to 81 each way (third odds top 2) for Australia. If Williams do make a great leap forward this will be value, although, again, still very much an outside shot.
Russell's too short to lock up money on the title race. I may yet back Alonso (each way) but that market isn't up yet.
Numerically, we're richer than previous generations of Britons. We're richer overall than this time last year, not that anyone says that out loud. Yet we don't feel rich, and we keep concluding that we can only keep warm is by chucking another but of furniture on the fire. See all the soft power cuts you mention, then continue from there.
And yes, a lot of that is because we're increasingly a pension system with a country attached, and those pensions should have been paid for decades ago but weren't. But that can't be the entire story... can it?
One theory doing the rounds is that 2026 might be the season that shows Lance Stroll is Luca Badoer/Nikita Mazepin with a rich dad and things could very badly at Aston Martin behind the scenes.
"Would you mind holding my muff?"
"Ooh! I do enjoy a gentleman's finger!"
Alonso's a decent shout. If the each way market isn't up pre-first test I might back him anyway. We shall see.
I think live events are increasingly valued in a digital world. One heartening thing about 2025 is that we seem to be past peak Social Media in 2022:
https://influence.digital/posts/have-we-passed-peak-social-media
Perhaps parents still imagine that their little darlings are little darlings. Twas ever thus.
It's a debate unfortunately dominated by shouting
Are labour finally waking up to the threat of the Zack attack ?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/31/zack-polanski-offering-voters-unicorns-and-fantasy-solutions-says-head-of-fabian-society
At least my daughter enjoyed it.
Of course, it's very BBC. They simply can't resist crowbarring in kitsch and lopsided points on feminism, patriarchy and parallels to immigrants today, all of which they expect you to imbibe, but if you can see beyond that it's rather interesting.
https://x.com/scotnational/status/2006284621944586340?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
I wish Dennis Potter was still around to put the boot in to the ghastly little grifter among other targets.
The problem is not so much economic, albeit tha economy is rather sluggish, but more a crisis of confidence in wider civic society. This is common to much of the developed world, rather than being UK specific of course.
Is the future to be one of digital hermits being fed narrowcasting by shadowy billionaires or are we going to engage with our neighbours? This is why I found the Primrose Hill closure depressing. Spontaneous, free and chaotic inter-reactions are deplored.
I was eavesdropping on couple of our Gen Z staff in the coffee room the other day. There are fewer and fewer random introductions via friends in the dating world now, and the Apps are increasingly awful, being dominated by men using the Boomhauer technique. No wonder the TFR is dropping faster than Starmers ratings.
Thoughtful economic commentators have been writing about this for decades, but mostly the politicians have managed to kick the can just far enough down the road to avoid a reckoning. Perhaps Britain is finding that there's a great big wall at the end of the road, and it's not too far away now.
To turn the country around for the long-term you need to first, stop spending beyond your means and then, second, create enough headroom to be able to invest so that the means expand in the future.
That is going to be painful, so obviously no-one has done it.
“AI-generated videos promoting Poland's exit from the European Union have appeared on Polish-language social media, featuring non-existent, attractive young women advocating for "Polexit".
“One TikTok account called "Prawilne Polki" published content showing women dressed in T-shirts bearing Polish flags and patriotic symbols, European analytics collective Res Futura said. The content targeted audiences aged 15 to 25.”
We can agree that the money would be better spent on the World Service, than on light entertainment and sports coverage which would be provided by the market.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/bulletins/publicsectorfinances/november2025
It’s true that most of the West is up to their neck in debt, but that doesn’t make it a good thing!
And Good Morning everyone.
https://liberalengland.blogspot.com/2025/12/guest-post-local-councillors-changing.html
I still think this subject can tell us more about local Party morale than, say, council by elections.
We are doing nothing about it, and are going to bankrupt ourselves.
It's a big project, and significantly imo it needs to start from the edges, and the fringes.
And in various ways that can't be said out loud, the theory of Reveesonomics kind of makes sense. We probably need a shift from consumption spending to investment spending- pretty much the opposite of what Osborne did. Similarly, we probably want to get rid of low value-added jobs, especially if they can only be filled by immigration. Neither of them looks good on the front page of the Mail, and even if we had a communication genius anywhere in Downing Street, they would still be a tough sell.
Monthly Borrowing Figures
2009-10 Financial Year (Nominal Values)
April 2009: £4.2 billion
May 2009: £6.4 billion
June 2009: £10.3 billion
July 2009: £9.3 billion
August 2009: £6.5 billion
September 2009: £14.5 billion
October 2009: £7.9 billion
November 2009: £4.3 billion
December 2009: £9.4 billion
January 2010: £5.4 billion
February 2010: £1.7 billion
March 2010: £5.1 billion
Total Borrowing for 2009-10: £175.1 billion
2025-26 Financial Year (Nominal Values to Date)
April 2025: £12.8 billion
May 2025: £10.3 billion
June 2025: £15.2 billion
July 2025: £20.8 billion
August 2025: £13.1 billion
September 2025: £20.2 billion
October 2025: £10.6 billion
November 2025: £11.7 billion
Total Borrowing for 2025-26 (to November): £132.3 billion
Adjusted Monthly Borrowing Figures
April 2009: £5.46 billion
May 2009: £8.32 billion
June 2009: £13.39 billion
July 2009: £12.09 billion
August 2009: £8.45 billion
September 2009: £18.85 billion
October 2009: £10.27 billion
November 2009: £5.59 billion
December 2009: £12.22 billion
January 2010: £7.02 billion
February 2010: £2.21 billion
March 2010: £6.63 billion
This adjustment provides insight into how borrowing levels compare, accounting for inflation.
Lots of figures are the highest on record if you don’t adjust for inflation.
https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/brief-guides-and-explainers/public-finances/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9wxjykj5e4o
(Copper prices are high again...)
I just need to pull out my finger and work out 12 questions to ask you all.
It's a whole economy problem and it has been for decades, and it requires a whole economy solution - government cutting welfare spending to balance the books isn't going to be enough, because it does nothing about the dysfunction in the private sector.
Which movie will @Sunil_Prasannan quote most often?
How many different epithets will be used for Max Verstappen?
Which team will Wales lose to in the rugby this year?
What crazy thing will Nigel Farage do?
How many times will OGH Jr mention Radiohead?
What month will JD Vance be caught having an affair with Erika Kirk?
How many times will Donald Trump mention sharks?
There's a few to get you started.
Isiah Whitlock Jr., actor who starred in The Wire, dies aged 71
https://news.sky.com/story/isiah-whitlock-jr-actor-who-starred-in-the-wire-dies-aged-71-13488960
The Wire has a bit Kennedy-esque curse for early deaths of their star actors.
Yes the rest of us need to stop buying new cars on the never-never and much less cheap Chinese tat, and regulation of utilities in particular has been woeful in the last decade.
To woeful things...
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nZv_UkMh0FA
In terms of in person interactions, sports clubs are a decent bet. They have a good social side away from the running track/pitch too.
I think you are right on the digital hermit stuff, society is creating more recluses by peddling rubbish online, be it from Trump or other sources
I think HH will be re-elected as the economy is doing well despite the 2024 drought. Electricity remains an issue as 70% is hydroelectric and the reservoirs are still low.
How many points will Williams score?
What will Labour's council seat change be in May?
Will there be a truce between Ukraine and Russia?
At which round will each host nation be eliminated at during the 2026 FIFA mens world cup?
How many names/titles will Andrew Mountbatten Windsor have left by Hogmanay 2026?
Will a non old firm team win the Scottish Premier league in 2026?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JoXbQbMdPA
In Leon's continued absence, someone has to watch these right wing social media pundits.
A couple of thought-provoking hypotheses: first, that MAGA's extreme isolationism is caused by guilt over being gung-ho for the Iraq War; secondly that the flip side of American optimism is susceptibility to conspiracy theories – if all ambitions are achievable then anything is possible. I'm not convinced on either count but it is interesting.