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First Canada, then Australia, now Denmark? – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 12,904
edited 4:43PM in General
First Canada, then Australia, now Denmark? – politicalbetting.com

Mette Frederiksen goes from looking like she was on the way out, to now having recovered much of what was lost. This is in large part due to her new year's speech and the foreign political situation.Link to the poll: https://t.co/CJAlg9HDfR

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Comments

  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 125,823
    First?
  • TazTaz Posts: 24,157

    First?

    Ha, that’s cheating.

    I’m the real first !,
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 60,152

    First?

    I can get you a Peace Prize
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 125,823

    First?

    I can get you a Peace Prize
    I want the Nobel Prizes for Subtlety and Modesty.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 48,830
    edited 5:01PM
    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.
  • I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 57,086
    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014705788799819900

    @SecScottBessent: "I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he's saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo... Being on the national stage is very different than being governor—with no signature achievements... If he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don't know."
  • CookieCookie Posts: 16,627
    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 45,752

    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014705788799819900

    @SecScottBessent: "I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he's saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo... Being on the national stage is very different than being governor—with no signature achievements... If he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don't know."

    another butt licking duffer
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 85,684

    First?

    Not really - I posted that on the previous thread...
  • RattersRatters Posts: 1,737
    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    I think every other election advert (at least for Labour and the Tories) should be a picture of Trump and Farage together with suitable quotes from one or both of them.

    Works better with a 2028 election than a 2029 one, mind. Unless Trump is still in office (de jure or de facto) in May 2029 of course...
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 125,823
    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 41,899

    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    No
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 85,684

    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014705788799819900

    @SecScottBessent: "I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he's saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo... Being on the national stage is very different than being governor—with no signature achievements... If he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don't know."

    That must be a pretty empty barrel you're scraping.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 45,752

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    perhaps pigs will fly
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 41,899
    ICE are now arresting clergy in Minnesota live on TV

    Just the optics the regime was hoping for to bolster support...
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 69,005

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    You keep repeating this but there is no evidence that labour is showing any signs of recovery either in Starmer's ratings or his government

    Indeed the Burnham story will dominate throught to May, and when Scotland and Wales is a likely bloodbath

    Last night labour lost 48.5% of their vote share in Flintshire, and it looks like Plaid will annihilate labour in Wales with reform underperforming

    You are very much a loyal Starmerite, but I just do not see a recovery especially post May when Starmer may well have a real fight on his hands to remain the labour leader and PM
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 36,665

    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014705788799819900

    @SecScottBessent: "I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he's saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo... Being on the national stage is very different than being governor—with no signature achievements... If he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don't know."

    No.
  • occasionalranteroccasionalranter Posts: 696
    edited 5:20PM
    Scott_xP said:

    ICE are now arresting clergy in Minnesota live on TV

    Just the optics the regime was hoping for to bolster support...

    This guy ?


  • CookieCookie Posts: 16,627
    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    Well we don't have a counterfactual. My view is that there is an open goal there for an opposition party which takes a robust line on immigration and woke and which is comfortable with a bit of public spending. Reform nearly took it, but keeps taking maga lines which don't translate to the UK. I reckon if they were less keen to take the Trump line they'd be 20% ahead in the polls by now.
    I appreciate this is an 'if my auntie had balls' argument.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 21,338
    Ratters said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    I think every other election advert (at least for Labour and the Tories) should be a picture of Trump and Farage together with suitable quotes from one or both of them.

    Works better with a 2028 election than a 2029 one, mind. Unless Trump is still in office (de jure or de facto) in May 2029 of course...
    Not sure it even needs any words. Sometimes, all you need is the pictures.

    As for Trump/Trump's ghost not being the President in 2029... How does that work at a practical level? If the current Administration relinquishes power, lots of them are going to prison for quite a long time. The Macbeth 'steeped in blood' line was crossed a while back and they can't all flee to Moscow.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 48,830
    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    I thought that too about the pic. And I think you're right about the corrupting impact of years of Maga habitation. Based on where he spends his time Farage is MP for Donald Trump's colon. That's why he's so rarely spotted in Clacton.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 16,627
    FPT:

    Andy Burnham very popular in the north west

    Starmer needs to be aware of the danger of trying to stop him standing if he wants too

    https://x.com/i/status/2014709065725759984

    I suspect that positive opinion would dwindle quite quickly if he elected to ditch his mayoralty for Westminster.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 62,989

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    It is -of course- entirely possible that Nigel Farage himself created it with AI.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 62,989

    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014705788799819900

    @SecScottBessent: "I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he's saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo... Being on the national stage is very different than being governor—with no signature achievements... If he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don't know."

    Candidate for what?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 57,465
    Leon said:

    Nigelb said:

    .

    Leon said:

    Nigelb said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Nigelb said:

    Just as Trump delivered the election to Carney, it seems he could do the same in Denmark's election this year.
    (Though a lot can happen between now and October.)

    Today's Danish opinion poll from Megafon is beyond crazy. The red bloc regains a majority and the blue bloc loses 9% of the vote since last month:
    🟥 Red Bloc 51.7%, 90 seats
    🟦 Blue Bloc 41.9%, 73 seats
    🟪 M 6.4%, 12 seats
    Danish politics has completely changed in just a month.

    https://x.com/Gust_2319/status/2014570635582652557

    This is the same Red Bloc which has supported dismantling neighbourhoods if the percentage of ethnic minorities gets too high?
    Good attempt at ignoring the effect.
    You’re quite the Rejoiner, I imagine

    How would you vote in a new referendum if, say, Le Pen was running France, Meloni Italy, and a Merz-Afd Coalition in Germany? Plus Orban and all the rest

    Because this is really quite likely. The EU is poised to shift decisively to the hard right in the coming years, perhaps even the far right in some cases. I wonder how Roger will feel about it then
    I think that's a poor prediction, but we will see.
    Orban might be gone in a few months.

    Meloni is running Italy, and that's fine.

    In any event, the rest of that is going to be decided long before any vote to rejoin, so it's a pointless hypothetical.
    Do you actively strive to be boring? If so, well done

    'Cause we were never being boring
    We had too much time to find for ourselves
    And we were never being boring
    We dressed up and fought, then thought, "Make amends"
    And we were never holding back or worried that
    Time would come to an end
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 85,684
    rcs1000 said:

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    It is -of course- entirely possible that Nigel Farage himself created it with AI.
    Or Trump has a wax dummy he occasionally gets out of the closet.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 13,198

    Oh he’s back. I will resign until he has left.

    Maybe in a day, maybe in a year. Who knows?

    Huh?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450
    Nigelb said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    It is -of course- entirely possible that Nigel Farage himself created it with AI.
    Or Trump has a wax dummy he occasionally gets out of the closet.
    At least Trump's weird UK shadow turns up in the places of government. Obama had a weird UK shadow that'd appear randomly at petrol stations I seem to recall.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450
    rcs1000 said:

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    It is -of course- entirely possible that Nigel Farage himself created it with AI.
    Apart from the fact he says he doesn't use computers this is a cracking theory.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 16,627
    FPT
    Taz said:

    Nigelb said:

    Taz said:

    Nigelb said:

    This is disturbingly similar to the French case.

    Former Tory councillor admits drugging and raping wife over 14-year period
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/23/philip-young-former-tory-councillor-pleads-guilty-drugging-raping-wifeA

    Link not working.
    I inadvertently added A at the end of it

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/23/philip-young-former-tory-councillor-pleads-guilty-drugging-raping-wife
    What an appalling story.

    ‘He resigned as the cabinet member for culture, regeneration and economic development on 6 May 2010 to devote more time to his family’

    Too much time it would seem.

    This is quite the story.
    That fella in France was a genuine monster, but so incomprehensible were his actions that it seemed impossible to believe it could be anything but a one off. But of course, he recruited via an online forum - which suggests it isn't as unique as we'd want to think. Horrific.

    Over the course of the year you get stories of councillors of all parties getting involved in some dodgy shit and the impact tends to balance out. But I don't recall any of them doing anything as monstrous as this allegation. The French fella was the world's #1 villain for a time. I'd say that an ex-Tory councillor has done something similar will take a bit of reputational management.
  • TazTaz Posts: 24,157

    Scott_xP said:

    ICE are now arresting clergy in Minnesota live on TV

    Just the optics the regime was hoping for to bolster support...

    This guy ?


    Stanley Unwin ?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 66,191
    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Not gushing at all. I’d prefer Reform to be significantly more right wing on all counts, but they’re the best we got and the most likely to humiliate the Tories and Labour - and that dual humiliation would certainly make me quite excited

    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 62,989
    Omnium said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    It is -of course- entirely possible that Nigel Farage himself created it with AI.
    Apart from the fact he says he doesn't use computers this is a cracking theory.
    Ummm.

    The image was posted to X. He either used a computer or a phone (or -I guess- a tablet). All three of those platforms allow for AI image creation.
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 6,819
    edited 5:35PM
    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    I’d say that would be more like 80% now who hate Trump. Talking of which where is Farage has the so called patriot said anything yet ?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450
    rcs1000 said:

    Omnium said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    It is -of course- entirely possible that Nigel Farage himself created it with AI.
    Apart from the fact he says he doesn't use computers this is a cracking theory.
    Ummm.

    The image was posted to X. He either used a computer or a phone (or -I guess- a tablet). All three of those platforms allow for AI image creation.
    Surely you don't imagine that there might be inconsistencies in the truth as told by Farage?
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 57,086
    rcs1000 said:

    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014705788799819900

    @SecScottBessent: "I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he's saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo... Being on the national stage is very different than being governor—with no signature achievements... If he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don't know."

    Candidate for what?
    Trump-apparent. If he can steer the US economy through this period of AI adoption with continuing strong growth despite mass deportations, he could become a very popular figure.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 18,292
    edited 5:39PM
    nico67 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    I’d say that would be more like 80% now who hate Trump. Talking of which where is Farage has the so called patriot said anything yet ?
    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/2014711550607503525?s=20

    Donald Trump is wrong. For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America's in Afghanistan.

    There's also a video clip which is a bit more mealy-mouthed: Farage calls Trump's comments "not quite fair".
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450

    rcs1000 said:

    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014705788799819900

    @SecScottBessent: "I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he's saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo... Being on the national stage is very different than being governor—with no signature achievements... If he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don't know."

    Candidate for what?
    Trump-apparent. If he can steer the US economy through this period of AI adoption with continuing strong growth despite mass deportations, he could become a very popular figure.
    He's better than Lutnick. Checking carefully though, that's the full list.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 60,152
    edited 5:43PM

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    That image looked dodgy, so I washed it through Quantum AI fourteen times, then through the Interocitor on a R of 13.7 and then through the Krell Cloud.

    I got this, when you view it through the sunglasses from They! Live! -


  • nico67nico67 Posts: 6,819
    edited 5:44PM

    nico67 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    I’d say that would be more like 80% now who hate Trump. Talking of which where is Farage has the so called patriot said anything yet ?
    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/2014711550607503525?s=20

    Donald Trump is wrong. For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America's in Afghanistan.

    There's also a video clip which is a bit more mealy-mouthed: Farage calls Trump's comments "not quite fair".
    Is that it? What a spineless piece of shxt .
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 34,830

    nico67 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    I’d say that would be more like 80% now who hate Trump. Talking of which where is Farage has the so called patriot said anything yet ?
    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/2014711550607503525?s=20

    Donald Trump is wrong. For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America's in Afghanistan.

    There's also a video clip which is a bit more mealy-mouthed: Farage calls Trump's comments "not quite fair".
    tbf Farage does run through some details refuting Trump.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 36,665
    DougSeal said:

    Oh he’s back. I will resign until he has left.

    Maybe in a day, maybe in a year. Who knows?

    Huh?
    Elon* I think.
    * Anagram.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 85,684

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    That image looked dodgy, so I washed it through Quantum AI fourteen times, then through the Interocitor on a R of 13.7 and then through the Krell Cloud.

    I got this, when you view it through the sunglasses from They! Live! -


    Finding it hard to tell them apart.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450

    DougSeal said:

    Oh he’s back. I will resign until he has left.

    Maybe in a day, maybe in a year. Who knows?

    Huh?
    Elon* I think.
    * Anagram.
    It's far too early to think of Xmas now.
  • FrankBoothFrankBooth Posts: 10,370
    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Not gushing at all. I’d prefer Reform to be significantly more right wing on all counts, but they’re the best we got and the most likely to humiliate the Tories and Labour - and that dual humiliation would certainly make me quite excited

    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
    Whatever qualities he may have had, not really a democrat was he?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 60,152
    Nigelb said:

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    That image looked dodgy, so I washed it through Quantum AI fourteen times, then through the Interocitor on a R of 13.7 and then through the Krell Cloud.

    I got this, when you view it through the sunglasses from They! Live! -


    Finding it hard to tell them apart.
    "Always two, there are. No more. No less. A Master and an Apprentice."
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 34,830
    edited 5:52PM
    @rcs1000 – there is a stale certificate lurking on the non-vf site.



    $ openssl s_client -connect politicalbetting.com:443 < /dev/null | openssl x509 -text
    depth=2 C = US, ST = New Jersey, L = Jersey City, O = The USERTRUST Network, CN = USERTrust RSA Certification Authority
    verify return:1
    depth=1 C = GB, ST = Greater Manchester, L = Salford, O = Sectigo Limited, CN = Sectigo RSA Domain Validation Secure Server CA
    verify return:1
    depth=0 CN = *.politicalbetting.com
    verify error:num=10:certificate has expired
    notAfter=Mar 3 23:59:59 2025 GMT
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 24,253
    Prince Harry giving Trump a good kicking.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 48,830

    nico67 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    I’d say that would be more like 80% now who hate Trump. Talking of which where is Farage has the so called patriot said anything yet ?
    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/2014711550607503525?s=20

    Donald Trump is wrong. For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America's in Afghanistan.

    There's also a video clip which is a bit more mealy-mouthed: Farage calls Trump's comments "not quite fair".
    I wonder if he means wrong as in 'mistaken' (mild but correct) or wrong as in 'an ignorant morally bankrupt oaf' (stronger and even more correct)?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450

    Prince Harry giving Trump a good kicking.

    Proper ginger?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 57,465

    @rcs1000 – there is a stale certificate lurking on the non-vf site.



    $ openssl s_client -connect politicalbetting.com:443 < /dev/null | openssl x509 -text
    depth=2 C = US, ST = New Jersey, L = Jersey City, O = The USERTRUST Network, CN = USERTrust RSA Certification Authority
    verify return:1
    depth=1 C = GB, ST = Greater Manchester, L = Salford, O = Sectigo Limited, CN = Sectigo RSA Domain Validation Secure Server CA
    verify return:1
    depth=0 CN = *.politicalbetting.com
    verify error:num=10:certificate has expired
    notAfter=Mar 3 23:59:59 2025 GMT

    My copy seems OK.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 62,989

    @rcs1000 – there is a stale certificate lurking on the non-vf site.



    $ openssl s_client -connect politicalbetting.com:443 < /dev/null | openssl x509 -text
    depth=2 C = US, ST = New Jersey, L = Jersey City, O = The USERTRUST Network, CN = USERTrust RSA Certification Authority
    verify return:1
    depth=1 C = GB, ST = Greater Manchester, L = Salford, O = Sectigo Limited, CN = Sectigo RSA Domain Validation Secure Server CA
    verify return:1
    depth=0 CN = *.politicalbetting.com
    verify error:num=10:certificate has expired
    notAfter=Mar 3 23:59:59 2025 GMT

    I'm away from my desk but will sort later
  • BurgessianBurgessian Posts: 3,467

    Could Scott Bessent be a possible candidate next time?

    https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014705788799819900

    @SecScottBessent: "I think Gavin Newsom may be cracking up with some of these things he's saying. I think he may be in over his hairdo... Being on the national stage is very different than being governor—with no signature achievements... If he brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting with Alex Soros, I don't know."

    It shouldn't really matter, but we are talking MAGA here, and they will decide who the candidate is.

    From Wiki:

    "He married John Freeman, a former New York City prosecutor, in 2011. They have two children, born through surrogacy."

    So, the answer is NO.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 16,390

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    Agree. The next election, as I read the runes, will be Tory v Labour for who shall lead the government; or just possibly but unlikely Reform v Labour.

    In the first case either could win. In the second case Labour would win.

    which is why Reform will come second or third in votes and seats.

    (The laws of politics don't allow Reform v Tory to be the top contest for government!)
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 48,830

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Not gushing at all. I’d prefer Reform to be significantly more right wing on all counts, but they’re the best we got and the most likely to humiliate the Tories and Labour - and that dual humiliation would certainly make me quite excited

    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
    Whatever qualities he may have had, not really a democrat was he?
    Tbf to Leon I suppose we do face very similar challenges to a city state breaking away from the Malaysian Federation in 1965.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 100,597
    kinabalu said:

    nico67 said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    I’d say that would be more like 80% now who hate Trump. Talking of which where is Farage has the so called patriot said anything yet ?
    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/2014711550607503525?s=20

    Donald Trump is wrong. For 20 years our armed forces fought bravely alongside America's in Afghanistan.

    There's also a video clip which is a bit more mealy-mouthed: Farage calls Trump's comments "not quite fair".
    I wonder if he means wrong as in 'mistaken' (mild but correct) or wrong as in 'an ignorant morally bankrupt oaf' (stronger and even more correct)?
    I think we can be pretty sure it is just the former. Which is still something for him, it must have hurt to do.
  • Nigelb said:

    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    Genuine, from last September

    https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1963425300068315392
    That image looked dodgy, so I washed it through Quantum AI fourteen times, then through the Interocitor on a R of 13.7 and then through the Krell Cloud.

    I got this, when you view it through the sunglasses from They! Live! -


    Finding it hard to tell them apart.
    A secret source in the White House sent me the original non-AI version.


  • kle4kle4 Posts: 100,597
    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
    Doesn't sound very Reformy, aren't Reform all about breaking things down, not building them up?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 100,597
    viewcode said:

    DougSeal said:

    Oh he’s back. I will resign until he has left.

    Maybe in a day, maybe in a year. Who knows?

    Huh?
    The Horses prefers not to be on the same forum as the Leons. Since the latter's banned periods are not predictable, they sometime coincide and one leaves for a bit. It's a bit like the Montagues and the Capulets, only with creaking knees. Presumably the daughter of one will tup with the son of the other, and then there will be a royal argument, swordfights, possibly a dramatic faint. Just an ordinary day at PB.
    Who's Mercutio?
  • RogerRoger Posts: 21,877
    edited 6:11PM

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    He's certainly learning on the job. If not Labour I can't think who but its 3 years away. He has it in his hands and the more gross Trumps behaviour the better his chances
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450
    Roger said:

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    He's certainly learning on the job. If not Labour I can't think who but its 3 years away. He has it in his hands and the more gross Trumps behaviour the better his chances
    You do realise there's no Mr Labour?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 22,144
    Cookie said:

    FPT

    Taz said:

    Nigelb said:

    Taz said:

    Nigelb said:

    This is disturbingly similar to the French case.

    Former Tory councillor admits drugging and raping wife over 14-year period
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/23/philip-young-former-tory-councillor-pleads-guilty-drugging-raping-wifeA

    Link not working.
    I inadvertently added A at the end of it

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/23/philip-young-former-tory-councillor-pleads-guilty-drugging-raping-wife
    What an appalling story.

    ‘He resigned as the cabinet member for culture, regeneration and economic development on 6 May 2010 to devote more time to his family’

    Too much time it would seem.

    This is quite the story.
    That fella in France was a genuine monster, but so incomprehensible were his actions that it seemed impossible to believe it could be anything but a one off. But of course, he recruited via an online forum - which suggests it isn't as unique as we'd want to think. Horrific.

    Over the course of the year you get stories of councillors of all parties getting involved in some dodgy shit and the impact tends to balance out. But I don't recall any of them doing anything as monstrous as this allegation. The French fella was the world's #1 villain for a time. I'd say that an ex-Tory councillor has done something similar will take a bit of reputational management.
    I doubt it.

    Most unfortunately I expect that this crime will be widespread enough that there will be perpetrators in every party, and so it would be exceptionally unwise for anyone to attempt to derive any partisan advantage from it. (The Guardian have put the party affiliation in the headline for the clicks.)
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 36,665

    Prince Harry giving Trump a good kicking.

    Remind me. Where does Harry Live?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450

    Prince Harry giving Trump a good kicking.

    Remind me. Where does Harry Live?
    Venezuela it seems.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 57,403
    kle4 said:

    viewcode said:

    DougSeal said:

    Oh he’s back. I will resign until he has left.

    Maybe in a day, maybe in a year. Who knows?

    Huh?
    The Horses prefers not to be on the same forum as the Leons. Since the latter's banned periods are not predictable, they sometime coincide and one leaves for a bit. It's a bit like the Montagues and the Capulets, only with creaking knees. Presumably the daughter of one will tup with the son of the other, and then there will be a royal argument, swordfights, possibly a dramatic faint. Just an ordinary day at PB.
    Who's Mercutio?
    Mercutio's dead, baby, Mercutio's dead....
  • LeonLeon Posts: 66,191

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Not gushing at all. I’d prefer Reform to be significantly more right wing on all counts, but they’re the best we got and the most likely to humiliate the Tories and Labour - and that dual humiliation would certainly make me quite excited

    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
    Whatever qualities he may have had, not really a democrat was he?
    Democracy is doomed anyway. It was a grand experiment that is now failing and will soon be consigned

    https://spectator.com/article/are-we-too-stupid-for-democracy/
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 69,005
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 36,665
    Roger said:

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    He's certainly learning on the job. If not Labour I can't think who but its 3 years away. He has it in his hands and the more gross Trumps behaviour the better his chances
    But on FoN Reform/ Farage/ Britain Trump has gone up by a whopping 4 points in the last week and Labour are stuck on low, low teens.
  • stodgestodge Posts: 15,929
    Evening all :)

    On topic, the Megafon poll is fascinating on a number of levels.

    Context - Denmark is run by a governing coalition of three parties - the Social Democrats, Venstre (meaning "Left" in English, translates to "Liberal" but is actually a Centre-Right Party as distinct from the Danish Conservative Party) and the Moderates. It's not a million miles away from a Lab-Con-LD coalition here.

    The coalition parties won about 50% of the vote at the last election which marked a break from the traditional "Red" vs "Blue" blocks of governments - the Social Democrats led the "red" bloc while Venstre led the "blue".

    Until Christmas, the coalition parties were running at 30% with the opposition parties at 70% and the blue bloc was leading the red roughly 50-47 so the next election looked like Venstre, the Conservatives and their allies were going to take over.

    No longer, if Megafon is correct and to be fair the weekly Voxmeter has shown something similar yet it's not all good news for the coalition - the Social Democrats and Moderates are well up (5 and 4 respectively) but Venstre is down 2.5 points and the Conservatives down 2 so the red bloc now leads the blue 51-42 with the Moderates on 6.

    Mette Frederiksen continuing as PM with the Moderates and some other allied centre-left groups now looks much more likely and it's probably down to Trump's antics on Greenland.
  • solarflaresolarflare Posts: 4,411
    Cookie said:

    Is that an actual photo? Farage looks so wooden it kooks photoshopped. That is an awful image of him. It screams 'lackey'. What on earth happened to Farage's political antennae? Whatever you think of his politics, he was shrewd about how he appeared. My guess is that after 2016 he spent so much time in the magasphere that quite a lot of views became normalised which don't really land in the UK, even among Reform voters and the Reform adjacent - such as that association with Trump might look good.

    And Jesus H. Christ that "grin" from Trump is terrifying somehow.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 100,597
    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    On topic, the Megafon poll is fascinating on a number of levels.

    Context - Denmark is run by a governing coalition of three parties - the Social Democrats, Venstre (meaning "Left" in English, translates to "Liberal" but is actually a Centre-Right Party as distinct from the Danish Conservative Party) and the Moderates. It's not a million miles away from a Lab-Con-LD coalition here.

    The coalition parties won about 50% of the vote at the last election which marked a break from the traditional "Red" vs "Blue" blocks of governments - the Social Democrats led the "red" bloc while Venstre led the "blue".

    Until Christmas, the coalition parties were running at 30% with the opposition parties at 70% and the blue bloc was leading the red roughly 50-47 so the next election looked like Venstre, the Conservatives and their allies were going to take over.

    No longer, if Megafon is correct and to be fair the weekly Voxmeter has shown something similar yet it's not all good news for the coalition - the Social Democrats and Moderates are well up (5 and 4 respectively) but Venstre is down 2.5 points and the Conservatives down 2 so the red bloc now leads the blue 51-42 with the Moderates on 6.

    Mette Frederiksen continuing as PM with the Moderates and some other allied centre-left groups now looks much more likely and it's probably down to Trump's antics on Greenland.

    It's called the Pollievre trap apparently. Where Trump sinks your chances even if you personally do not seek to align with him.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 69,005
    Trump seems to have galvanised anger over his unacceptable comments on Afghanistan and Starmer needs to announce the cancelation of the King's visit as head of our armed forces in April as the best way to protest

    Enough fawning
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450
    edited 6:40PM

    Trump seems to have galvanised anger over his unacceptable comments on Afghanistan and Starmer needs to announce the cancelation of the King's visit as head of our armed forces in April as the best way to protest

    Enough fawning

    Starmer should do nothing of the kind. The King can decline. (Edit: If he wants to)
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 31,189
    kle4 said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    On topic, the Megafon poll is fascinating on a number of levels.

    Context - Denmark is run by a governing coalition of three parties - the Social Democrats, Venstre (meaning "Left" in English, translates to "Liberal" but is actually a Centre-Right Party as distinct from the Danish Conservative Party) and the Moderates. It's not a million miles away from a Lab-Con-LD coalition here.

    The coalition parties won about 50% of the vote at the last election which marked a break from the traditional "Red" vs "Blue" blocks of governments - the Social Democrats led the "red" bloc while Venstre led the "blue".

    Until Christmas, the coalition parties were running at 30% with the opposition parties at 70% and the blue bloc was leading the red roughly 50-47 so the next election looked like Venstre, the Conservatives and their allies were going to take over.

    No longer, if Megafon is correct and to be fair the weekly Voxmeter has shown something similar yet it's not all good news for the coalition - the Social Democrats and Moderates are well up (5 and 4 respectively) but Venstre is down 2.5 points and the Conservatives down 2 so the red bloc now leads the blue 51-42 with the Moderates on 6.

    Mette Frederiksen continuing as PM with the Moderates and some other allied centre-left groups now looks much more likely and it's probably down to Trump's antics on Greenland.

    It's called the Pollievre trap apparently. Where Trump sinks your chances even if you personally do not seek to align with him.
    But Pollievre did align with Trump. So many Conservative candidates were proudly photographed in MAGA hats.
    That only changed when the Don decided he wanted Canada.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 16,390

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    You keep repeating this but there is no evidence that labour is showing any signs of recovery either in Starmer's ratings or his government

    Indeed the Burnham story will dominate throught to May, and when Scotland and Wales is a likely bloodbath

    Last night labour lost 48.5% of their vote share in Flintshire, and it looks like Plaid will annihilate labour in Wales with reform underperforming

    You are very much a loyal Starmerite, but I just do not see a recovery especially post May when Starmer may well have a real fight on his hands to remain the labour leader and PM
    Predictions about the politically remote future (over 3 years in this case) have to be based on beliefs and intuitions about what will happen in the future gap, and cannot possibly be based on the snap shot of today or the last few months. Yes, it is informed and thoughtful guesswork. The belief (which I share) is that there are reasons for thinking there will be a recovery for Labour. Personally I do not think I know who will lead the next government. Except that it won't be Reform. If it is led from the left of centre, it will be Labour. And it might.

  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 57,403
    dixiedean said:

    kle4 said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    On topic, the Megafon poll is fascinating on a number of levels.

    Context - Denmark is run by a governing coalition of three parties - the Social Democrats, Venstre (meaning "Left" in English, translates to "Liberal" but is actually a Centre-Right Party as distinct from the Danish Conservative Party) and the Moderates. It's not a million miles away from a Lab-Con-LD coalition here.

    The coalition parties won about 50% of the vote at the last election which marked a break from the traditional "Red" vs "Blue" blocks of governments - the Social Democrats led the "red" bloc while Venstre led the "blue".

    Until Christmas, the coalition parties were running at 30% with the opposition parties at 70% and the blue bloc was leading the red roughly 50-47 so the next election looked like Venstre, the Conservatives and their allies were going to take over.

    No longer, if Megafon is correct and to be fair the weekly Voxmeter has shown something similar yet it's not all good news for the coalition - the Social Democrats and Moderates are well up (5 and 4 respectively) but Venstre is down 2.5 points and the Conservatives down 2 so the red bloc now leads the blue 51-42 with the Moderates on 6.

    Mette Frederiksen continuing as PM with the Moderates and some other allied centre-left groups now looks much more likely and it's probably down to Trump's antics on Greenland.

    It's called the Pollievre trap apparently. Where Trump sinks your chances even if you personally do not seek to align with him.
    But Pollievre did align with Trump. So many Conservative candidates were proudly photographed in MAGA hats.
    That only changed when the Don decided he wanted Canada.
    So many great politicians tripped up by their headwear....

    https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1021552946686004&set=a.639407038233932
  • BurgessianBurgessian Posts: 3,467
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Not gushing at all. I’d prefer Reform to be significantly more right wing on all counts, but they’re the best we got and the most likely to humiliate the Tories and Labour - and that dual humiliation would certainly make me quite excited

    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
    Whatever qualities he may have had, not really a democrat was he?
    Democracy is doomed anyway. It was a grand experiment that is now failing and will soon be consigned

    https://spectator.com/article/are-we-too-stupid-for-democracy/
    "Look at the entire Labour cabinet, which used to feature genuine intellectuals but now resembles the staff room of a middling comprehensive"

    Tbf, a good line.

    And, certainly, it does seem a long time ago since the likes of Crosland, Healey, Jenkins, even Benn, populated the higher echelons of Labour.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 69,005
    Omnium said:

    Trump seems to have galvanised anger over his unacceptable comments on Afghanistan and Starmer needs to announce the cancelation of the King's visit as head of our armed forces in April as the best way to protest

    Enough fawning

    Starmer should do nothing of the kind. The King can decline. (Edit: If he wants to)
    The Kings visit is impossible to justify now

    The King is head of our armed forces and will follow government advice

    We have been far too accommodating to Trump and he has gone too far on this

    A stand is needed
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 100,597
    edited 6:47PM
    dixiedean said:

    kle4 said:

    stodge said:

    Evening all :)

    On topic, the Megafon poll is fascinating on a number of levels.

    Context - Denmark is run by a governing coalition of three parties - the Social Democrats, Venstre (meaning "Left" in English, translates to "Liberal" but is actually a Centre-Right Party as distinct from the Danish Conservative Party) and the Moderates. It's not a million miles away from a Lab-Con-LD coalition here.

    The coalition parties won about 50% of the vote at the last election which marked a break from the traditional "Red" vs "Blue" blocks of governments - the Social Democrats led the "red" bloc while Venstre led the "blue".

    Until Christmas, the coalition parties were running at 30% with the opposition parties at 70% and the blue bloc was leading the red roughly 50-47 so the next election looked like Venstre, the Conservatives and their allies were going to take over.

    No longer, if Megafon is correct and to be fair the weekly Voxmeter has shown something similar yet it's not all good news for the coalition - the Social Democrats and Moderates are well up (5 and 4 respectively) but Venstre is down 2.5 points and the Conservatives down 2 so the red bloc now leads the blue 51-42 with the Moderates on 6.

    Mette Frederiksen continuing as PM with the Moderates and some other allied centre-left groups now looks much more likely and it's probably down to Trump's antics on Greenland.

    It's called the Pollievre trap apparently. Where Trump sinks your chances even if you personally do not seek to align with him.
    But Pollievre did align with Trump. So many Conservative candidates were proudly photographed in MAGA hats.
    That only changed when the Don decided he wanted Canada.
    He didn't want to align with him during the election itself (and some even tried to say Trump would prefer Carney), and previous Trump comparisons had not harmed his polling, but Don coming back actually made it land.

    He still seems to be struggling with some number of his party being big Trump fans no matter what, which will always lead to awkward moments.
  • BurgessianBurgessian Posts: 3,467

    Prince Harry giving Trump a good kicking.

    Will likely get ICED before too long. And deported to Sandringham.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 69,005
    algarkirk said:

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    You keep repeating this but there is no evidence that labour is showing any signs of recovery either in Starmer's ratings or his government

    Indeed the Burnham story will dominate throught to May, and when Scotland and Wales is a likely bloodbath

    Last night labour lost 48.5% of their vote share in Flintshire, and it looks like Plaid will annihilate labour in Wales with reform underperforming

    You are very much a loyal Starmerite, but I just do not see a recovery especially post May when Starmer may well have a real fight on his hands to remain the labour leader and PM
    Predictions about the politically remote future (over 3 years in this case) have to be based on beliefs and intuitions about what will happen in the future gap, and cannot possibly be based on the snap shot of today or the last few months. Yes, it is informed and thoughtful guesswork. The belief (which I share) is that there are reasons for thinking there will be a recovery for Labour. Personally I do not think I know who will lead the next government. Except that it won't be Reform. If it is led from the left of centre, it will be Labour. And it might.

    After May they are likely to be in a terrible position having lost Scotland and Wales and loads of council seats, let alone the potential chaos of the by election in Greater Manchester

    Of course 3 years is a long time but I cannot see a recovery under Starmer that would put labour back in government

  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 65,263
    I think Trump, at heart, has some serious personality disorder where he hates himself and is angry about it and therefore takes action that ensures he will be hated to justify that anger. It's possible that deep deep within himself he realises at some level he was poorly brought up and advised as a young man, which is the root source of that anger.

    He really needs to stand down, and see a psychologist.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 12,450

    Omnium said:

    Trump seems to have galvanised anger over his unacceptable comments on Afghanistan and Starmer needs to announce the cancelation of the King's visit as head of our armed forces in April as the best way to protest

    Enough fawning

    Starmer should do nothing of the kind. The King can decline. (Edit: If he wants to)
    The Kings visit is impossible to justify now

    The King is head of our armed forces and will follow government advice

    We have been far too accommodating to Trump and he has gone too far on this

    A stand is needed
    The King is not some chess piece to be moved around. I'm not even a monarchist, but as things stand he can't be treated as such.

    I entirely agree that we've been too accommodating to the US. However reassure yourself - we actually have most of their family secrets in our records offices.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 65,263
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Not gushing at all. I’d prefer Reform to be significantly more right wing on all counts, but they’re the best we got and the most likely to humiliate the Tories and Labour - and that dual humiliation would certainly make me quite excited

    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
    Whatever qualities he may have had, not really a democrat was he?
    Democracy is doomed anyway. It was a grand experiment that is now failing and will soon be consigned

    https://spectator.com/article/are-we-too-stupid-for-democracy/
    Don't go off the deep end and go full Fash, @Leon

    We all know how that story ends.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 69,005
    edited 6:57PM
    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    Trump seems to have galvanised anger over his unacceptable comments on Afghanistan and Starmer needs to announce the cancelation of the King's visit as head of our armed forces in April as the best way to protest

    Enough fawning

    Starmer should do nothing of the kind. The King can decline. (Edit: If he wants to)
    The Kings visit is impossible to justify now

    The King is head of our armed forces and will follow government advice

    We have been far too accommodating to Trump and he has gone too far on this

    A stand is needed
    The King is not some chess piece to be moved around. I'm not even a monarchist, but as things stand he can't be treated as such.

    I entirely agree that we've been too accommodating to the US. However reassure yourself - we actually have most of their family secrets in our records offices.
    'The King is not some chess piece to be moved around'

    He was used in the first meeting with Trump with that infamous invitation for a state visit and on subsequent occasions

    Of course his state visit in April can be cancelled
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 69,708
    Politics UK
    @PolitlcsUK

    🚨 IN FULL: The list of those who will decide whether Andy Burnham can stand to be an MP

    - Keir Starmer
    - Shabana Mahmood
    - Lucy Powell - Deputy Leader
    - Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General
    - Keiran O'Neil - GMB
    - Tom Williams - USDAW
    - Peter Wheeler - Merseyside councillor
    - Mike Payne - Nottinghamshire MP
    - Abdi Duale - Starmer ally
    - Gurdiner Singh Josan - Birmingham MP
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 69,005

    Politics UK
    @PolitlcsUK

    🚨 IN FULL: The list of those who will decide whether Andy Burnham can stand to be an MP

    - Keir Starmer
    - Shabana Mahmood
    - Lucy Powell - Deputy Leader
    - Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General
    - Keiran O'Neil - GMB
    - Tom Williams - USDAW
    - Peter Wheeler - Merseyside councillor
    - Mike Payne - Nottinghamshire MP
    - Abdi Duale - Starmer ally
    - Gurdiner Singh Josan - Birmingham MP

    That should be fun
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 36,665

    Omnium said:

    Trump seems to have galvanised anger over his unacceptable comments on Afghanistan and Starmer needs to announce the cancelation of the King's visit as head of our armed forces in April as the best way to protest

    Enough fawning

    Starmer should do nothing of the kind. The King can decline. (Edit: If he wants to)
    The Kings visit is impossible to justify now

    The King is head of our armed forces and will follow government advice

    We have been far too accommodating to Trump and he has gone too far on this

    A stand is needed
    I agree with you that some can explain this by Starmer's evil treason and Kemi is our Queen of Hearts, but on the other hand if in retaliation Trump does something to compromise Ukraine, Starmer is a double traitor.

    Have a listen to Jeremy Hunt on WATO, the latter narrative is his concern. He's very good.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 21,338

    algarkirk said:

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    You keep repeating this but there is no evidence that labour is showing any signs of recovery either in Starmer's ratings or his government

    Indeed the Burnham story will dominate throught to May, and when Scotland and Wales is a likely bloodbath

    Last night labour lost 48.5% of their vote share in Flintshire, and it looks like Plaid will annihilate labour in Wales with reform underperforming

    You are very much a loyal Starmerite, but I just do not see a recovery especially post May when Starmer may well have a real fight on his hands to remain the labour leader and PM
    Predictions about the politically remote future (over 3 years in this case) have to be based on beliefs and intuitions about what will happen in the future gap, and cannot possibly be based on the snap shot of today or the last few months. Yes, it is informed and thoughtful guesswork. The belief (which I share) is that there are reasons for thinking there will be a recovery for Labour. Personally I do not think I know who will lead the next government. Except that it won't be Reform. If it is led from the left of centre, it will be Labour. And it might.

    After May they are likely to be in a terrible position having lost Scotland and Wales and loads of council seats, let alone the potential chaos of the by election in Greater Manchester

    Of course 3 years is a long time but I cannot see a recovery under Starmer that would put labour back in government

    In the olden times, an opposition that built up a lead in the low teens mid-term was doing OK but not well enough to win on the big day. Hence EICWNPM. Until the Trusstershambles, that was what Starmer was on track to do; a decent silver medal, but second place all the same.

    At the moment, Labour haven't quite conceded that big a consistent lead in polls that we understand. So there's hope for them there. More importantly, there is plenty of time for Starmer to hang on for a bit, absorb a bit more toxin and then hand over to a fresh face from the next generation in 2028 or so.

    Extremely dull for rolling news addicts, I'm sure. But that's the timeframe.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 33,786
    Cookie said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    Well we don't have a counterfactual. My view is that there is an open goal there for an opposition party which takes a robust line on immigration and woke and which is comfortable with a bit of public spending. Reform nearly took it, but keeps taking maga lines which don't translate to the UK. I reckon if they were less keen to take the Trump line they'd be 20% ahead in the polls by now.
    I appreciate this is an 'if my auntie had balls' argument.
    Tactically you may be right, but for me, strategically it would be a huge error for Reform to censor their right-wingness. The rules of what are right and acceptable opinions in society are set by the left, and they are used as are a weapon against speech that the left doesn't like.

    According to David Starkey, this began as a deliberate policy by Communist Russia after the War, when the UN was in its infancy, who found the idea of free speech unacceptable, and therefore started to caveat it with notions of 'fascist speech' being unacceptable - which their ideological descendents still peddle today.

    I don't want Reform politicians to be vulgar, or deliberately unkind, but it is important that they, and other right wingers, realise that it doesn't matter a jot how much you use the language of the left and play by its rules, you will not be accepted, and in the end your non-compliance with their world view will itself be deemed offensive.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 54,877

    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    Trump seems to have galvanised anger over his unacceptable comments on Afghanistan and Starmer needs to announce the cancelation of the King's visit as head of our armed forces in April as the best way to protest

    Enough fawning

    Starmer should do nothing of the kind. The King can decline. (Edit: If he wants to)
    The Kings visit is impossible to justify now

    The King is head of our armed forces and will follow government advice

    We have been far too accommodating to Trump and he has gone too far on this

    A stand is needed
    The King is not some chess piece to be moved around. I'm not even a monarchist, but as things stand he can't be treated as such.

    I entirely agree that we've been too accommodating to the US. However reassure yourself - we actually have most of their family secrets in our records offices.
    'The King is not some chess piece to be moved around'

    He was used in the first meeting with Trump with that infamous invitation for a state visit and on subsequent occasions

    Of course his state visit in April can be cancelled
    I don't think that is either wise or protocol.
  • TazTaz Posts: 24,157
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Not gushing at all. I’d prefer Reform to be significantly more right wing on all counts, but they’re the best we got and the most likely to humiliate the Tories and Labour - and that dual humiliation would certainly make me quite excited

    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
    Whatever qualities he may have had, not really a democrat was he?
    Democracy is doomed anyway. It was a grand experiment that is now failing and will soon be consigned

    https://spectator.com/article/are-we-too-stupid-for-democracy/
    Democracy is safe. It’s not like we’re banning elections…….
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 21,338

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    kinabalu said:

    I'd hope Farage's gushing fandom of Trump would lose him support - but unless I've missed something in the polls we await evidence of that.

    It gives him the gushing support of @Leon, and 15% of the electorate. It doesn't harm him with another 15%.

    And then there's 65% of the electorate who really aren't big Trump fans at all.

    I don't think it affects the headline polling for Reform much, but I do think it impacts the likelihood of people voting tactically against them.
    Not gushing at all. I’d prefer Reform to be significantly more right wing on all counts, but they’re the best we got and the most likely to humiliate the Tories and Labour - and that dual humiliation would certainly make me quite excited

    Basically, I’d like a young Lee Kuan Yew to take over the UK
    Whatever qualities he may have had, not really a democrat was he?
    Democracy is doomed anyway. It was a grand experiment that is now failing and will soon be consigned

    https://spectator.com/article/are-we-too-stupid-for-democracy/
    Don't go off the deep end and go full Fash, @Leon

    We all know how that story ends.
    For some of our friends, it may be too late.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 36,665

    algarkirk said:

    I really think Labour has a good chance of being re-elected.

    You keep repeating this but there is no evidence that labour is showing any signs of recovery either in Starmer's ratings or his government

    Indeed the Burnham story will dominate throught to May, and when Scotland and Wales is a likely bloodbath

    Last night labour lost 48.5% of their vote share in Flintshire, and it looks like Plaid will annihilate labour in Wales with reform underperforming

    You are very much a loyal Starmerite, but I just do not see a recovery especially post May when Starmer may well have a real fight on his hands to remain the labour leader and PM
    Predictions about the politically remote future (over 3 years in this case) have to be based on beliefs and intuitions about what will happen in the future gap, and cannot possibly be based on the snap shot of today or the last few months. Yes, it is informed and thoughtful guesswork. The belief (which I share) is that there are reasons for thinking there will be a recovery for Labour. Personally I do not think I know who will lead the next government. Except that it won't be Reform. If it is led from the left of centre, it will be Labour. And it might.

    After May they are likely to be in a terrible position having lost Scotland and Wales and loads of council seats, let alone the potential chaos of the by election in Greater Manchester

    Of course 3 years is a long time but I cannot see a recovery under Starmer that would put labour back in government

    In the olden times, an opposition that built up a lead in the low teens mid-term was doing OK but not well enough to win on the big day. Hence EICWNPM. Until the Trusstershambles, that was what Starmer was on track to do; a decent silver medal, but second place all the same.

    At the moment, Labour haven't quite conceded that big a consistent lead in polls that we understand. So there's hope for them there. More importantly, there is plenty of time for Starmer to hang on for a bit, absorb a bit more toxin and then hand over to a fresh face from the next generation in 2028 or so.

    Extremely dull for rolling news addicts, I'm sure. But that's the timeframe.
    If Starmer reacts appropriately to some World ending Trump madness he could survive. On the other hand if he drops that ball we might need Boris Churchill back in No 10.
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