politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The Mayor of London – the first big electoral test for LAB’

Andy White of ComRes has given his thoughts on the Labour leadership contest:

http://comres.co.uk/pollwatch-labours-anger-is-the-second-stage-of-grief/

"The European Union today appealed to Britain to show 'solidarity' by welcoming in migrants in the wake of the Calais crisis.

European Commission officials said they expected the UK to take its 'share of responsibility' in accepting foreigners even though it has exercised its right not to take part in any EU quota scheme.

Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart yesterday called on the EU to do more to address the 'global migration crisis' that has seen thousands of people try to force their way into the Channel Tunnel in an effort to reach the UK.

But this afternoon in Brussels, the European Commission said the 'deteriorating situation' showed the need for all 28 member states to show 'solidarity and responsibility' in taking in migrants.

The results of a European Commission survey of more than 27,000 citizens released today showed immigration is now seen as the biggest challenge facing the EU"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3184072/Britain-told-EU-solidarity-welcoming-migrants-wake-Calais-crisis.html#ixzz3hlcwARtE
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Danny565 said:

In 2020, will the General Election and mayoral election be held on the same day?

I would doubt it, given the Scottish and Welsh elections have been postponed. I suspect it will be held in 2021 after a five-year term, and every five years by default thereafter.

isam said:

"The European Union today appealed to Britain to show 'solidarity' by welcoming in migrants in the wake of the Calais crisis.

European Commission officials said they expected the UK to take its 'share of responsibility' in accepting foreigners even though it has exercised its right not to take part in any EU quota scheme.

Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart yesterday called on the EU to do more to address the 'global migration crisis' that has seen thousands of people try to force their way into the Channel Tunnel in an effort to reach the UK.

But this afternoon in Brussels, the European Commission said the 'deteriorating situation' showed the need for all 28 member states to show 'solidarity and responsibility' in taking in migrants.

The results of a European Commission survey of more than 27,000 citizens released today showed immigration is now seen as the biggest challenge facing the EU"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3184072/Britain-told-EU-solidarity-welcoming-migrants-wake-Calais-crisis.html#ixzz3hlcwARtE
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

We keep hearing we need a EU wide solution and what is it,take your fare share Britain - pathetic.

Let's get out of this failed idea.

I wonder if the EU realises that the word "solidarity" is hardly ever used in British political discourse.

isam said:

"The European Union today appealed to Britain to show 'solidarity' by welcoming in migrants in the wake of the Calais crisis.

European Commission officials said they expected the UK to take its 'share of responsibility' in accepting foreigners even though it has exercised its right not to take part in any EU quota scheme.

Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart yesterday called on the EU to do more to address the 'global migration crisis' that has seen thousands of people try to force their way into the Channel Tunnel in an effort to reach the UK.

But this afternoon in Brussels, the European Commission said the 'deteriorating situation' showed the need for all 28 member states to show 'solidarity and responsibility' in taking in migrants.

The results of a European Commission survey of more than 27,000 citizens released today showed immigration is now seen as the biggest challenge facing the EU"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3184072/Britain-told-EU-solidarity-welcoming-migrants-wake-Calais-crisis.html#ixzz3hlcwARtE
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

The man who led us into the EU accused of paedophilia while hundreds of migrants from war torn Africa pile through the channel tunnel illegally

Have the odds on a NO vote shortened?

isam said:

The man who led us into the EU accused of paedophilia while hundreds of migrants from war torn Africa pile through the channel tunnel illegally

Have the odds on a NO vote shortened?

I imagine the first will have no impact on the vote, while the second probably will.

isam said:

The man who led us into the EU accused of paedophilia while hundreds of migrants from war torn Africa pile through the channel tunnel illegally

Have the odds on a NO vote shortened?

Whether Sir Edward was a pedophile or not, I doubt it will have much bearing on the way people vote in the EU referendum, to be honest.

Plato said:

I've seen loads of them and I never get tired of the parade of horrors/cringing/egos on stilts. I'm amazed someone hasn't punched some of the biggest knob-ends.

LA seems like a horror of a place to date if her show is any yardstick. Everything is so OTT. She did a run in NY too and that was even worse.

The_Apocalypse said:

Plato said:

@The_Apocalypse Patti can be brutal and tackless

I've no idea why those millionaires appear on the show. Apparently they get free membership - I think it's about £10k otherwise. £10k not to be humiliated seems like a bargain to me.

I'm shocked that millionaires even need a match-maker. You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.

I love how Patti was like 'no sex on the first date.' One of the guys looked in pain when she said that

Yeah, LA seems like a nightmare. I'm surprised about NY though. I didn't think NY would be that bad.

On egos, well vain women and millionaires is always a combo that can lead to huge egos on TV - and most probably egos clashing!

Khan has been prominent with London Labour in the last few years and presumably has been able to build up some useful contacts in that time. His talk of rent caps,quotas etc. may be more appealing to Labour members and he'll also have the left wing/Ken Livingstone wing behind him.

kle4 said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

rcs1000 said:

Re accusations of child abuse and political affiliation.

If the lists I have seen are anywhere near correct, there are people from across the political spectrum that will stand accused of pretty horrible crimes. The number of possible offenders is staggering. Worse: people who should have known better, seem to have been (implicitly or explicitly) guilty of an enormous cover-up, particularly in the mid 1980s.

Funny how loony conspiracy theories all seem to be coming true isn't it?

A hundred conspiracy theories could be proven true tomorrow, and the vast majority would still be nonsense, there are that many of them.

And the number of apologies from conspiracy-deniers to the people they called tin-foil hat wearers for believing them would be zero.

On airport expansion:

Heathrow suffers from major externality issues to locals, and has aircraft climb out and finish descent over one of the largest conurbations in the world (due to the prevailing East-West winds). Against that, transport infrastructure is good and it's on the right side of London for the majority of non-Londoners.

Gatwick is on the wrong side of London and not at capacity.

Boris Island, as well as being extremely expensive, is really only on the right side of London for fish in the North Sea. And has the same issues on climb-out/final descent.

From maps, a location near King's Langley looks good (just outside the M25) - minimises noise issues at lowest levels (there are inevitably some people affected, but it looks like the minimum plausible number for a near-London location, climb out etc is north of the capital, it's on the side of London best for most of the population (those further round are well served by Stansted to the north-east and Gatwick to the south), close to transport infrastructure (can even have an HS2 stop) for rail and motorways - and existing Heathrow workers could probably commute.

There would be some infrastructure builds and re-routing necessary, but you wouldn't actually have to build the dry land beneath. The Chilterns could be an issue, but height and distance-wise I think it'd be okay, especially if radio beacons are put up there.

Could all be shot down by something I haven't considered, of course, but on the face of it, looks like the best location to me.

Plato said:

I'm beginning to miss @Tapestry ...

Luckyguy1983 said:

kle4 said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

rcs1000 said:

Re accusations of child abuse and political affiliation.

If the lists I have seen are anywhere near correct, there are people from across the political spectrum that will stand accused of pretty horrible crimes. The number of possible offenders is staggering. Worse: people who should have known better, seem to have been (implicitly or explicitly) guilty of an enormous cover-up, particularly in the mid 1980s.

Funny how loony conspiracy theories all seem to be coming true isn't it?

A hundred conspiracy theories could be proven true tomorrow, and the vast majority would still be nonsense, there are that many of them.

And the number of apologies from conspiracy-deniers to the people they called tin-foil hat wearers for believing them would be zero.

Me too, I think diversity of views is healthy, don't you?

Luckyguy1983 said:

RobD said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

isam said:

The man who led us into the EU accused of paedophilia while hundreds of migrants from war torn Africa pile through the channel tunnel illegally

Have the odds on a NO vote shortened?

Not the first pro-EU politician to be accused either. Something of an emerging trend.

Are you suggesting that these types of people are predisposed to be more pro-EU, or the other way round. Ridiculous, either way.

No, I'm suggesting that these types of people are more likely to be blackmailable, and are therefore more likely to be persuaded by powerful people to mislead the British public and legislate in a way that is not conducive to the public good. And before you say this is in any way wacky, we know that Heath kept a 'dirty book' on all his Ministers for precisely this reason. It's just never been widely speculated upon that he might be part of the chain.

LOL. We entered the EU because of blackmail?

GIN1138 said:

isam said:

The man who led us into the EU accused of paedophilia while hundreds of migrants from war torn Africa pile through the channel tunnel illegally

Have the odds on a NO vote shortened?

Whether Sir Edward was a pedophile or not, I doubt it will have much bearing on the way people vote in the EU referendum, to be honest.

I don't know.. as someone who thought of standing for UKIP I am well aware that associations with politicians long since deceased can be used to smear

I cant imagine the man who conned us into joining the EEC in the first place being found (if it is found) to be a paedo would help the IN side much

Andy_Cooke1 said:

On airport expansion:

Heathrow suffers from major externality issues to locals, and has aircraft climb out and finish descent over one of the largest conurbations in the world (due to the prevailing East-West winds). Against that, transport infrastructure is good and it's on the right side of London for the majority of non-Londoners.

Gatwick is on the wrong side of London and not at capacity.

Boris Island, as well as being extremely expensive, is really only on the right side of London for fish in the North Sea. And has the same issues on climb-out/final descent.

From maps, a location near King's Langley looks good (just outside the M25) - minimises noise issues at lowest levels (there are inevitably some people affected, but it looks like the minimum plausible number for a near-London location, climb out etc is north of the capital, it's on the side of London best for most of the population (those further round are well served by Stansted to the north-east and Gatwick to the south), close to transport infrastructure (can even have an HS2 stop) for rail and motorways - and existing Heathrow workers could probably commute.

There would be some infrastructure builds and re-routing necessary, but you wouldn't actually have to build the dry land beneath. The Chilterns could be an issue, but height and distance-wise I think it'd be okay, especially if radio beacons are put up there.

Could all be shot down by something I haven't considered, of course, but on the face of it, looks like the best location to me.

Build a whole new multi-runway airport in Hertfordshire. Ten out of ten for logical thinking but minus several million for practicality.

'I cant imagine the man who conned us into joining the EEC in the first place being found (if it is found) to be a paedo would help the IN side much'.

Come off it. Heath was aided and abetted by a legion of other politicians who gradually gave up sovereignty without consultation. Heath couldn't have predicted they would do that.

RobD said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

RobD said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

isam said:

The man who led us into the EU accused of paedophilia while hundreds of migrants from war torn Africa pile through the channel tunnel illegally

Have the odds on a NO vote shortened?

Not the first pro-EU politician to be accused either. Something of an emerging trend.

Are you suggesting that these types of people are predisposed to be more pro-EU, or the other way round. Ridiculous, either way.

No, I'm suggesting that these types of people are more likely to be blackmailable, and are therefore more likely to be persuaded by powerful people to mislead the British public and legislate in a way that is not conducive to the public good. And before you say this is in any way wacky, we know that Heath kept a 'dirty book' on all his Ministers for precisely this reason. It's just never been widely speculated upon that he might be part of the chain.

LOL. We entered the EU because of blackmail?

At the risk of repeating myself, it is known from the mouths of Heath's whips that he ran his Government by blackmail. It's not something that I have in any way to prove to you. Sorry that I answered your question in a clear fashion so you had to respond with infantile text speak and a straw man argument - it must be very upsetting for you.

On the Calais crisis - my mum's just been back from shopping, and has told me that our local Asda have a number of goods which look they haven't been delivered at all. If this is connected with the Calais crisis (she thinks so) this issue could be much more trouble for the government than anyone thought....

Plato said:

IIRC he told his date he'd lost all his money due to a gambling addiction just to make the deceit even worse. He was a magician in LVegas and acted like he was David Copperfield.

The_Apocalypse said:

Plato said:

Have you seen the one where the guy brought his entire family to choose his prospective wife candidate? That was really cute/traditional. They were very religious and he honestly didn't have a chance of picking anyone remotely 'unsuitable'.

The gold-digging problem seems to pop up a lot in the show though hardly ever explicitly raised. There's a great one with a guy who's some European prince, he didn't tell the ladies until they'd chosen each other. Another one was a complete arse and pretended to be broke to *test* his dates. Unsurprisingly, they didn't like being judged in advance and I think Patti told him to eff off on camera.

The_Apocalypse said:

taffys said:

''You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.''

That's the curse of being a rich person though.....is it me or the money?

Do a lot of them really care? I think the likes of Bernie Ecclestone know full well women wouldn't be checking for them if they didn't earn the millions, but I think they just want a hot woman.

Yeah, I think the one where the guy brought his family was in today's ep. His mum clearly wanted a very traditional, conservative lady whereas he wanted someone sexy.

I don't know why the guy had to pretend he was broke. He could have just not told them he's a millionaire!

A gambling addiction....FGS!

How on earth did he think that would endear her to him?

The_Apocalypse said:

On the Calais crisis - my mum's just been back from shopping, and has told me that our local Asda have a number of goods which look they haven't been delivered at all. If this is connected with the Calais crisis (she thinks so) this issue could be much more trouble for the government than anyone thought....

Plato said:

IIRC he told his date he'd lost all his money due to a gambling addiction just to make the deceit even worse. He was a magician in LVegas and acted like he was David Copperfield.

The_Apocalypse said:

Plato said:

Have you seen the one where the guy brought his entire family to choose his prospective wife candidate? That was really cute/traditional. They were very religious and he honestly didn't have a chance of picking anyone remotely 'unsuitable'.

The gold-digging problem seems to pop up a lot in the show though hardly ever explicitly raised. There's a great one with a guy who's some European prince, he didn't tell the ladies until they'd chosen each other. Another one was a complete arse and pretended to be broke to *test* his dates. Unsurprisingly, they didn't like being judged in advance and I think Patti told him to eff off on camera.

The_Apocalypse said:

taffys said:

''You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.''

That's the curse of being a rich person though.....is it me or the money?

Do a lot of them really care? I think the likes of Bernie Ecclestone know full well women wouldn't be checking for them if they didn't earn the millions, but I think they just want a hot woman.

Yeah, I think the one where the guy brought his family was in today's ep. His mum clearly wanted a very traditional, conservative lady whereas he wanted someone sexy.

I don't know why the guy had to pretend he was broke. He could have just not told them he's a millionaire!

A gambling addiction....FGS!

How on earth did he think that would endear her to him?

I read that as "A gambling addiction... first goal scorer!"

Which might say something about me

TheWhiteRabbit said:

The_Apocalypse said:

On the Calais crisis - my mum's just been back from shopping, and has told me that our local Asda have a number of goods which look they haven't been delivered at all. If this is connected with the Calais crisis (she thinks so) this issue could be much more trouble for the government than anyone thought....

Plato said:

IIRC he told his date he'd lost all his money due to a gambling addiction just to make the deceit even worse. He was a magician in LVegas and acted like he was David Copperfield.

The_Apocalypse said:

Plato said:

Have you seen the one where the guy brought his entire family to choose his prospective wife candidate? That was really cute/traditional. They were very religious and he honestly didn't have a chance of picking anyone remotely 'unsuitable'.

The gold-digging problem seems to pop up a lot in the show though hardly ever explicitly raised. There's a great one with a guy who's some European prince, he didn't tell the ladies until they'd chosen each other. Another one was a complete arse and pretended to be broke to *test* his dates. Unsurprisingly, they didn't like being judged in advance and I think Patti told him to eff off on camera.

The_Apocalypse said:

taffys said:

''You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.''

That's the curse of being a rich person though.....is it me or the money?

Do a lot of them really care? I think the likes of Bernie Ecclestone know full well women wouldn't be checking for them if they didn't earn the millions, but I think they just want a hot woman.

Yeah, I think the one where the guy brought his family was in today's ep. His mum clearly wanted a very traditional, conservative lady whereas he wanted someone sexy.

I don't know why the guy had to pretend he was broke. He could have just not told them he's a millionaire!

A gambling addiction....FGS!

How on earth did he think that would endear her to him?

I read that as "A gambling addiction... first goal scorer!"

Which might say something about me

It means for god's sake, btw

MikeSmithson said:

taffys said:

'I cant imagine the man who conned us into joining the EEC in the first place being found (if it is found) to be a paedo would help the IN side much'.

Come off it. Heath was aided and abetted by a legion of other politicians who gradually gave up sovereignty without consultation. Heath couldn't have predicted they would do that.

Heath was a great man and pulled off an achievement that no other leader in modern times has managed. He led is party to a workable overall majority replacing LAB which also had a workable overall majority. Neither Maggie nor Tony Blair did that.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-33755726

''Heath was a great man''

In his prime he was undoubtedly a very formidable politician.

The_Apocalypse said:

taffys said:

''You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.''

That's the curse of being a rich person though.....is it me or the money?

Do a lot of them really care? I think the likes of Bernie Ecclestone know full well women wouldn't be checking for them if they didn't earn the millions, but I think they just want a hot woman.

To be honest, regarding Bernie Ecclestone I'm surprised that they check for him even with the billions.

Robin Cook was the most bewildering though - he wasn't even rich, as SFS was hardly powerful, and we can be fairly sure it wasn't his dazzling good looks or remarkable quality of personality and intellect that attracted the ladies. So WHAT WAS IT?

Plato said:

And he was Olympic standard in sulking.

taffys said:

''Heath was a great man''

In his prime he was undoubtedly a very formidable politician.

Didn't he hold the WR for sailing from England to Jersey?

The_Apocalypse said:

Plato said:

@The_Apocalypse Patti can be brutal and tackless

I've no idea why those millionaires appear on the show. Apparently they get free membership - I think it's about £10k otherwise. £10k not to be humiliated seems like a bargain to me.

I'm shocked that millionaires even need a match-maker. You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.

You clearly think highly of other women!

Charles said:

Barnesian said:

rcs1000 said:

Bob__Sykes said:

I think Zak could win. Especially if it's Khan. Floating, casual or "not that bothered really" voters will weigh it up based on their superficial impressions of the two main candidates, as they did on May 7th in the GE. Surely Zak will outshine all of them, particularly once he becomes more well known and appears on the box more often?

The big issue he has is Heathrow, particularly if the Government decides - as it surely must - before May 2016 that Heathrow expansion is the only tenable game in town.

Either Heathrow expansion or The Boris Island are sensible answers. Adding another runway at Gatwick is not. And the Boris Island is too expensive, which leaves Heathrow as the only logical answer. With Cross Rail finished, and the whole airport hanging off the M25, it makes perfect sense.

The issue is that there are marginal Conservative constituencies in South West London. And I think that makes it an overtly political, rather than economic, decision.

As a Londoner, I sincerely hope we get Heathrow Expansion, but I fear that the can will be kicked down the road, to the detriment of all.

Either Gatwick expansion or The Boris Island are sensible answers. Adding another runway at Heathrow is not. And the Boris Island is too expensive, which leaves Gatwick as the only logical answer. With the whole airport hanging off the M23, it makes perfect sense.

Same level of logical reasoning and supporting evidence.

Works perfectly for people living in Barnes (less airport noise and easy access to the expanded airport).

Other people, living elsewhere. Meh.

I think the difference in journey difficulty from, say, Kensington High Street to Gatwick as against Heathrow is pretty damn marginal. Surely it just a case of changing trains at a different station (Victoria rather than Gloucester Road). Granted driving is a more straightforward but given how many times the A4 fouls up, not necessarily that much quicker.

calum said:

Interesting chart - not sure of time period:

https://twitter.com/paul1kirby/status/627928157862109185

And how many so called economic migrants have Britain taken this year or last year compared to other EU countries ?

And when the so called asylum seekers were at record levels some years back,what were the number going to the other countries,we have done our fare share over the years,just pathetic that chart for a excuse for more illegal migrants to this country.

Plato said:

I've seen loads of them and I never get tired of the parade of horrors/cringing/egos on stilts. I'm amazed someone hasn't punched some of the biggest knob-ends.

LA seems like a horror of a place to date if her show is any yardstick. Everything is so OTT. She did a run in NY too and that was even worse.

The_Apocalypse said:

Plato said:

@The_Apocalypse Patti can be brutal and tackless

I've no idea why those millionaires appear on the show. Apparently they get free membership - I think it's about £10k otherwise. £10k not to be humiliated seems like a bargain to me.

I'm shocked that millionaires even need a match-maker. You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.

I love how Patti was like 'no sex on the first date.' One of the guys looked in pain when she said that

LA isn't nearly as bad as Patti makes out. There are some parts of it that are ineffably tedious and faux-glitzy, so I tend to spend my time in Socal instead these days.

But I managed to persuade a lovely Californian lass to put up with me. Apparently flying from New York to LA to take her for dinner did the job (although I still haven't admitted that I didn't realise they were 5 hours flight time apart!)

foxinsoxuk said:

Plato said:

Oh, no idea - his yacht was called Morning Cloud - that's the sum total of my knowledge here.

isam said:

Plato said:

And he was Olympic standard in sulking.

taffys said:

''Heath was a great man''

In his prime he was undoubtedly a very formidable politician.

Didn't he hold the WR for sailing from England to Jersey?

He had 4 boats called Morning Cloud, and once won the Sydney to Hobart race. His boats were serious racing yachts not gin palaces.

Whatever his private life involved, he was a very capable politician, sailor and musician.

"Come in Morning Cloud, your time is up" was a slogan used by Labour in the 74 elections, I think. That's the first GE I have memories of.

MikeSmithson said:

taffys said:

'I cant imagine the man who conned us into joining the EEC in the first place being found (if it is found) to be a paedo would help the IN side much'.

Come off it. Heath was aided and abetted by a legion of other politicians who gradually gave up sovereignty without consultation. Heath couldn't have predicted they would do that.

Heath was a great man and pulled off an achievement that no other leader in modern times has managed. He led is party to a workable overall majority replacing LAB which also had a workable overall majority. Neither Maggie nor Tony Blair did that.

Certainly that was an achievement as was taking us into the EEC - whether you agree or not. But he also lost 3 out of the 4 elections he stood for as party leader - and his petty and prolonged sulking post 1975 did him no credit whatsoever.

ydoethur said:

Charles said:

rcs1000 said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Mr. 1000, so they're not responsible for the security of their own trains either?

In any event, we agree on altering the law to discourage migration and penalise those who employ illegal labour. And, I suspect, that the current response from the government is nowhere near good enough.

Eurotunnel owns the tunnel and is responsible for its security.

Eurostar runs the passenger services between London and Paris (and Brussels). I don't think any migrants are jumping on the Eurostar trains as they're probably doing 120 miles an hour when they enter the tunnel!

Bollocks. They slow down before entering. Probably going about 30.

(but I doubt anyone is jumping on the trains)

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/587215/Migrant-crisis-Eurostar-UK-immigration-migrant-killed-Paris-London

And he wins the Darwin Award.

Most of the rest are climbing onto or into lorries

HurstLlama said:

Charles said:

Barnesian said:

rcs1000 said:

Bob__Sykes said:

I think Zak could win. Especially if it's Khan. Floating, casual or "not that bothered really" voters will weigh it up based on their superficial impressions of the two main candidates, as they did on May 7th in the GE. Surely Zak will outshine all of them, particularly once he becomes more well known and appears on the box more often?

The big issue he has is Heathrow, particularly if the Government decides - as it surely must - before May 2016 that Heathrow expansion is the only tenable game in town.

Either Heathrow expansion or The Boris Island are sensible answers. Adding another runway at Gatwick is not. And the Boris Island is too expensive, which leaves Heathrow as the only logical answer. With Cross Rail finished, and the whole airport hanging off the M25, it makes perfect sense.

The issue is that there are marginal Conservative constituencies in South West London. And I think that makes it an overtly political, rather than economic, decision.

As a Londoner, I sincerely hope we get Heathrow Expansion, but I fear that the can will be kicked down the road, to the detriment of all.

Either Gatwick expansion or The Boris Island are sensible answers. Adding another runway at Heathrow is not. And the Boris Island is too expensive, which leaves Gatwick as the only logical answer. With the whole airport hanging off the M23, it makes perfect sense.

Same level of logical reasoning and supporting evidence.

Works perfectly for people living in Barnes (less airport noise and easy access to the expanded airport).

Other people, living elsewhere. Meh.

I think the difference in journey difficulty from, say, Kensington High Street to Gatwick as against Heathrow is pretty damn marginal. Surely it just a case of changing trains at a different station (Victoria rather than Gloucester Road). Granted driving is a more straightforward but given how many times the A4 fouls up, not necessarily that much quicker.

Gatwick's a nightmare.

In the morning I can get from my flat to Heathrow in 30 mins down the Great West Road, or during the day I take the tube to Paddington and get the Express.

The Gatwick Express is slow and painful, and Victoria's probably 25 minutes journey on the dinky toy train

Plato said:

Oh the Robin Cook thing was quite urgh. Apparently he was a serial philander too... as @ydoethur notes, it's beyond rational thought.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-467835/The-day-Alistair-Campbell-killed-marriage-Robin-Cook.html

The_Apocalypse said:

ydoethur said:

The_Apocalypse said:

taffys said:

''You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.''

That's the curse of being a rich person though.....is it me or the money?

Do a lot of them really care? I think the likes of Bernie Ecclestone know full well women wouldn't be checking for them if they didn't earn the millions, but I think they just want a hot woman.

To be honest, regarding Bernie Ecclestone I'm surprised that they check for him even with the billions.

Robin Cook was the most bewildering though - he wasn't even rich, as SFS was hardly powerful, and we can be fairly sure it wasn't his dazzling good looks or remarkable quality of personality and intellect that attracted the ladies. So WHAT WAS IT?

Ecclestone's third wife IIRC is in her 40s, so he hasn't got a twenty-something. What's more stranger, is that she is a wealthy woman in her own right.

I know that Robin Cook had an affair with his secretary - not much else though. I find that John Prescott managed to attract someone pretty shocking! He's not the nicest guy!

@Charles IMO, there are some women who are 'golddiggers' so to speak. But not all, or even the vast majority.

I don't know why men like Cook get married. May as well stay single. It's hardly a big deal for male politicians, anyway.

Charles said:

HurstLlama said:

Charles said:

Barnesian said:

rcs1000 said:

Bob__Sykes said:

I think Zak could win. Especially if it's Khan. Floating, casual or "not that bothered really" voters will weigh it up based on their superficial impressions of the two main candidates, as they did on May 7th in the GE. Surely Zak will outshine all of them, particularly once he becomes more well known and appears on the box more often?

The big issue he has is Heathrow, particularly if the Government decides - as it surely must - before May 2016 that Heathrow expansion is the only tenable game in town.

Either Heathrow expansion or The Boris Island are sensible answers. Adding another runway at Gatwick is not. And the Boris Island is too expensive, which leaves Heathrow as the only logical answer. With Cross Rail finished, and the whole airport hanging off the M25, it makes perfect sense.

The issue is that there are marginal Conservative constituencies in South West London. And I think that makes it an overtly political, rather than economic, decision.

As a Londoner, I sincerely hope we get Heathrow Expansion, but I fear that the can will be kicked down the road, to the detriment of all.

Either Gatwick expansion or The Boris Island are sensible answers. Adding another runway at Heathrow is not. And the Boris Island is too expensive, which leaves Gatwick as the only logical answer. With the whole airport hanging off the M23, it makes perfect sense.

Same level of logical reasoning and supporting evidence.

Works perfectly for people living in Barnes (less airport noise and easy access to the expanded airport).

Other people, living elsewhere. Meh.

I think the difference in journey difficulty from, say, Kensington High Street to Gatwick as against Heathrow is pretty damn marginal. Surely it just a case of changing trains at a different station (Victoria rather than Gloucester Road). Granted driving is a more straightforward but given how many times the A4 fouls up, not necessarily that much quicker.

Gatwick's a nightmare.

In the morning I can get from my flat to Heathrow in 30 mins down the Great West Road, or during the day I take the tube to Paddington and get the Express.

The Gatwick Express is slow and painful, and Victoria's probably 25 minutes journey on the dinky toy train

Gatwick from anywhere north and west of London is much more of a pain than Heathrow; especially if the M25 is playing up, as it has been known to do.

Plato said:

Oh, now that's Prince Charming quality wooing

:impressed face:

Charles said:

Plato said:

I've seen loads of them and I never get tired of the parade of horrors/cringing/egos on stilts. I'm amazed someone hasn't punched some of the biggest knob-ends.

LA seems like a horror of a place to date if her show is any yardstick. Everything is so OTT. She did a run in NY too and that was even worse.

The_Apocalypse said:

Plato said:

@The_Apocalypse Patti can be brutal and tackless

I've no idea why those millionaires appear on the show. Apparently they get free membership - I think it's about £10k otherwise. £10k not to be humiliated seems like a bargain to me.

I'm shocked that millionaires even need a match-maker. You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.

I love how Patti was like 'no sex on the first date.' One of the guys looked in pain when she said that

LA isn't nearly as bad as Patti makes out. There are some parts of it that are ineffably tedious and faux-glitzy, so I tend to spend my time in Socal instead these days.

But I managed to persuade a lovely Californian lass to put up with me. Apparently flying from New York to LA to take her for dinner did the job (although I still haven't admitted that I didn't realise they were 5 hours flight time apart!)

Because she's worth it

F1: mid-season review, including a very exciting graph, is up here:
http://enormo-haddock.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/2015-mid-season-review.html

Intrigued to see if the Spa starts are business as usual or entertainingly unpredictable.

ydoethur said:

SouthamObserver said:

ydoethur said:

The_Apocalypse said:

taffys said:

''You'd think they'd be able to get women easily as a virtue of being a millionaire.''

That's the curse of being a rich person though.....is it me or the money?

Do a lot of them really care? I think the likes of Bernie Ecclestone know full well women wouldn't be checking for them if they didn't earn the millions, but I think they just want a hot woman.

To be honest, regarding Bernie Ecclestone I'm surprised that they check for him even with the billions.

Robin Cook was the most bewildering though - he wasn't even rich, as SFS was hardly powerful, and we can be fairly sure it wasn't his dazzling good looks or remarkable quality of personality and intellect that attracted the ladies. So WHAT WAS IT?

He was formidably intelligent. And great on the spoons.

A lot of blokes of all shapes and sizes end up having affairs with their female PAs. It's the proximity, I guess; and there must be some kind of power angle.

Not quite convinced by the first claim. Must admit I don't know what the second one means. Is it some kind of euphemism?

I think he means some blokes get some kind of power trip over having sex with someone in a technically subordinate position.