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Post by alec on Aug 21, 2023 7:45:47 GMT
Some pretty bizarre messaging from Jason Leitch, Scot Govs leading medical advisor. He told the BBC yesterday that they are "worried" about an autumn rise in covid, while at the same time reassuring Scots that the planned reduction in testing at the end of this month (er, the beginning of autumn...) is fine, "because covid is in a quiet phase". Crazy.
Meanwhile, the understandable angst and outrage at the Letby child killer case continues, seemingly this morning focused on NHS managers keen to protect institutional reputations rather than fix problems. Still no sign of the media outrage at the (literally) tens of thousands of patients killed by poor or absent infection control. When MRSA was filling hundreds of people in hospitals the Daily Mail was all over it and strong action was taken, but with covid, complete silence. Byline Times ran a story yesterday looking at why in early 2020 covid was downgraded such that high quality FFP3 masks were not required. The decision was clearly taken not on medical advice, but for budgetary reasons, which was understandable at that time - we simply didn't have the necessary PPE, so something had to give. However, they quoted an unnamed source who admitted that the decision hasn't been reversed because that would be too embarrassing to those in charge.
s with the Letby case, but worse. Managers and officials know they are killing people, they know the mistake that has been made, but they are too afraid to rectify this and demand better quality PPE to protect staff and patients, because it would be a bit embarrassing for one or two top officials.
And everyone else just contents themselves with nursing their anger over a dozen dead babies, because it's a bit too difficult thinking about the thousands of deaths that are still going on today.
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 7:52:50 GMT
oldnatIf you can put aside your secessionist desires for a moment.nation I think you would agree with me that with the existential threat posed by an aggressive nuclear armed dictatorship to our East, the potential of a fascist nuclear armed dictatorship to our West and the danger of climate change everywhere that there's never been a more important time for democratic Europe to stand united. Once the shower of charlatan, self serving, inept chancers have been dispatched from Westminster it's time for the grown ups to take charge. Despite all flag waving and voter triangulation on the hard of thinking inevitability this will mean a return to the European union in some form or other , either as a united nation or as individual diminished entities.
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 8:00:00 GMT
alecI think something we could both agree on is the intent by the Tories to restrict seasonal free vaccinations for covid to the over 65's is counterproductive. The regime has actually cut the cost it pays to GP's to deliver those still covered by 25% from 1st September at the same time as pfizer and moderna have upped the price of their doses to around £20 a shot. Rip off from pharmaceutical companies aside this is a recipe for inadequate take up and delivery and in common with other similar virus diseases it's the vaccine roll out which adds to acquired immunity that's likely to have most impact.
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 21, 2023 8:04:03 GMT
Otherwise engaged as I was for a lot of yesterday, I only watched glimpses of the World Cup Final. Snatches of the first half in a pub and the last 20 minutes or so on a giant TV screen erected in the large concourse outside the Trinity Road stand at Villa Park. Going on what little I saw, and reading the many match reports afterwards, it would appear Spain were the better side and probably deserved to narrowly win the game and lift the trophy.
I was struck by a number of things, not just from the Final itself but the tournament more generally. Whilst not reaching the hysterical levels of the England men's teams international tournament exploits, which is no bad thing, the level of interest was extraordinary, as was the general enjoyment in the games. I witnessed that yesterday when a predominantly male audience, watching on the giant TV screen, was rapt in the final stages of yesterday's Final. There was genuine sorrow and disappointment at the outcome.
This is genuinely a sea change in male football fans attitudes to the women's game. The people I stood amongst yesterday were what I would call seasoned and hard-bitten followers of men's football. Just the sort of people who would have viewed women's football with disdain, maybe only a few years ago. A change in attitude amongst this demographic has huge implications for how the women's game is more generally viewed. Pockets of male chauvinism will pertain for ever, I suspect, but the walls are tumbling down. This extraordinary tournament has demolished them.
One of great, sometimes unheralded, features of post-Taylor report English football, with the ensuing all seater stadia that has helped to usher in a reduction in hooliganism and violence, has been the increase in women and children watching the game. This increase is part of a virtuous circle that has detoxified the match day experience at most football grounds now. Families attend together in numbers never seen in the dark hooligan infested days of the 70s and 80s. Women love men's football too, it appears, and in surprisingly large numbers. Maybe they always have. Has this love I wonder, one that often never spoken its name in the past, now helped the rise of the women's game? After all, it's the same game.
As for the England team, I'd say being simultaneously European Champions and World Cup runners-up makes them one hell of a football team by anyone's standards. Nothing that happened yesterday belittled them at all.
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 8:07:37 GMT
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neilj
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Post by neilj on Aug 21, 2023 8:17:31 GMT
Love this letter
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 21, 2023 8:27:52 GMT
Nice to be reminded of Richard Williams too. Don't hear much from him these days, or I don't anyway, but he's a wonderful writer on sport and music. I used to love reading him on both subjects. I was always more of a Melody Maker than NME man back in the 70s. Richard Williams over Charles Shaar Murray for me!! |
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Post by johntel on Aug 21, 2023 8:34:13 GMT
Otherwise engaged as I was for a lot of yesterday, I only watched glimpses of the World Cup Final. Snatches of the first half in a pub and the last 20 minutes or so on a giant TV screen erected in the large concourse outside the Trinity Road stand at Villa Park. Going on what little I saw, and reading the many match reports afterwards, it would appear Spain were the better side and probably deserved to narrowly win the game and lift the trophy. I was struck by a number of things, not just from the Final itself but the tournament more generally. Whilst not reaching the hysterical levels of the England men's teams international tournament exploits, which is no bad thing, the level of interest was extraordinary, as was the general enjoyment in the games. I witnessed that yesterday when a predominantly male audience, watching on the giant TV screen, was rapt in the final stages of yesterday's Final. There was genuine sorrow and disappointment at the outcome. This is genuinely a sea change in male football fans attitudes to the women's game. The people I stood amongst yesterday were what I would call seasoned and hard-bitten followers of men's football. Just the sort of people who would have viewed women's football with disdain, maybe only a few years ago. A change in attitude amongst this demographic has huge implications for how the women's game is more generally viewed. Pockets of male chauvinism will pertain for ever, I suspect, but the walls are tumbling down. This extraordinary tournament has demolished them. One of great, sometimes unheralded, features of post-Taylor report English football, with the ensuing all seater stadia that has helped to usher in a reduction in hooliganism and violence, has been the increase in women and children watching the game. This increase is part of a virtuous circle that has detoxified the match day experience at most football grounds now. Families attend together in numbers never seen in the dark hooligan infested days of the 70s and 80s. Women love men's football too, it appears, and in surprisingly large numbers. Maybe they always have. Has this love I wonder, one that often never spoken its name in the past, now helped the rise of the women's game? After all, it's the same game. As for the England team, I'd say being simultaneously European Champions and World Cup runners-up makes them one hell of a football team by anyone's standards. Nothing that happened yesterday belittled them at all. I take it you haven't sat in the family enclosure at the Den recently Batty - the most toxic place in English football, to rival anything from the seventies. Elsewhere I agree with you - though I still wouldn't recommend celebrating your team's goal when sitting with the home supporters as I did at Selhurst Park on the last day of last season. |
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Post by bardin1 on Aug 21, 2023 8:43:50 GMT
Otherwise engaged as I was for a lot of yesterday, I only watched glimpses of the World Cup Final. Snatches of the first half in a pub and the last 20 minutes or so on a giant TV screen erected in the large concourse outside the Trinity Road stand at Villa Park. Going on what little I saw, and reading the many match reports afterwards, it would appear Spain were the better side and probably deserved to narrowly win the game and lift the trophy. I was struck by a number of things, not just from the Final itself but the tournament more generally. Whilst not reaching the hysterical levels of the England men's teams international tournament exploits, which is no bad thing, the level of interest was extraordinary, as was the general enjoyment in the games. I witnessed that yesterday when a predominantly male audience, watching on the giant TV screen, was rapt in the final stages of yesterday's Final. There was genuine sorrow and disappointment at the outcome. This is genuinely a sea change in male football fans attitudes to the women's game. The people I stood amongst yesterday were what I would call seasoned and hard-bitten followers of men's football. Just the sort of people who would have viewed women's football with disdain, maybe only a few years ago. A change in attitude amongst this demographic has huge implications for how the women's game is more generally viewed. Pockets of male chauvinism will pertain for ever, I suspect, but the walls are tumbling down. This extraordinary tournament has demolished them. One of great, sometimes unheralded, features of post-Taylor report English football, with the ensuing all seater stadia that has helped to usher in a reduction in hooliganism and violence, has been the increase in women and children watching the game. This increase is part of a virtuous circle that has detoxified the match day experience at most football grounds now. Families attend together in numbers never seen in the dark hooligan infested days of the 70s and 80s. Women love men's football too, it appears, and in surprisingly large numbers. Maybe they always have. Has this love I wonder, one that often never spoken its name in the past, now helped the rise of the women's game? After all, it's the same game. As for the England team, I'd say being simultaneously European Champions and World Cup runners-up makes them one hell of a football team by anyone's standards. Nothing that happened yesterday belittled them at all. Never mind all that nicey nicey stuff, I'm not speaking to you any more if you don't stuff Hibs on Wednesday |
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 8:48:32 GMT
Apparently all of the public aren't quite as thick as the Tory brexitanians would want us to be.
A YouGov poll for the Times found that only 8% of voters credited government policy for the fall in inflation, which dropped to 6.8% last month, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics last week.
More people, 17%, believe the Bank of England is responsible despite criticism of its response to high inflation. In June Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, blamed flaws in the Bank’s economic forecasting after it failed to get a grip on runaway inflation.
The polling suggests that the most commonly believed reason for the fall in inflation is external factors such as global oil and gas prices. Thirty-eight per cent cited external factors, but 31% said they did not know what was responsible for the easing of price rises.
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Post by wb61 on Aug 21, 2023 8:56:49 GMT
Two sentences from the end of Nesrine Malik's article in the Guardian that sum up the paucity of ambition amongst our current Parliamentary masters to change the direction of the UK's politics away from despair towards hope:
"Both party leaders agree that people’s expectations must be tempered, horizons narrowed. It speaks volumes about the direction of British politics that, as a general election looms, their job is finding more ways to promise nothing."
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Mr Poppy
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Post by Mr Poppy on Aug 21, 2023 9:00:01 GMT
Yes, but the changed nickname didnt catch on at the time. Its peculiar how it has been resurrected now. Well Trevor has and he speaks a bizarre language all of his own Oh great, another would-be troll - just what this site needs. If you have trouble with speaka da English then I can't help you - try google translate. If you need something I've said 'translated' then simply ask*. However you understood what Prescott being sometimes known as 'two jabs' meant. The nickname resurfaced during the Covid era but perhaps a bit like the Rejoin campaign it failed to catch on outside of the twitterverse? * As mentioned many times, I'm not wasting my time with time wasters. Strike one. |
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 21, 2023 9:01:48 GMT
johntel
Yes, I agree, watching football can still have its eventful moments depending on where you go. Fewer and further between than in the old days, but not totally gone. I'd certainly watch my back if I had to venture to St Andrews for a Blues v Villa game again. My front too, probably.
I'm sorry you came across nickp at Selhurst Park on your visit there!
bardini1
Looking forward to the Hibs encounters and I hope we can do you Jam Tarts fans a favour. That said, Hibs produced three of my favourite all time Villa players. Willie Hamilton (who played for both Edinburgh clubs), Alex Cropley and John McGinn.
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 9:10:13 GMT
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 9:13:42 GMT
Trevor "Oh great, another would-be troll - just what this site needs." I think you're managing that fine on your own. Have you got a problem with a 63 year old man defending himself when attacked by a young thug? I mean I'm the same age and if someone came up to me and smashed an egg directly into my face I'd probably punch their lights out. youtu.be/4Kyi6G9l_CU |
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 21, 2023 9:30:59 GMT
Trevor "Oh great, another would-be troll - just what this site needs." I think you're managing that fine on your own. Have you got a problem with a 63 year old man defending himself when attacked by a young thug? I mean I'm the same age and if someone came up to me and smashed an egg directly into my face I'd probably punch their lights out. The Right detested Prescott with a passion. I could never quite understand the intensity of the loathing either. That picture of him paying croquet at Chequers, which I particularly loved, riled them to their core. A mixture of snobbery and political fear at play, I think. A working class man at the top table. Soames, thinking he was funny, used to shout "mine's a G&T", when Prescott got up to speak in the Commons. Do we get the joke? Prescott used to be a steward in the Merchant Navy, you see. Ah, I get it now. This said far more about Soames than Prescott. A fellow doing a real job in the real world? How dare he? They mocked him owning some interesting cars too. Champagne socialist. The bile never stopped flowing. Tory voters, some from working class backgrounds themselves, seemed to reserve their bile for Prescott too. As for the incident of him chinning that fellow who threw an egg at him, I found widespread sympathy for his actions from non-partisan voters. The general public, in other words. I'd take John Prescott over a hundred Nicholas Soames and Robert Jenricks any day of the week. |
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neilj
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Post by neilj on Aug 21, 2023 9:31:03 GMT
Trevor "Oh great, another would-be troll - just what this site needs." I think you're managing that fine on your own. Have you got a problem with a 63 year old man defending himself when attacked by a young thug? I mean I'm the same age and if someone came up to me and smashed an egg directly into my face I'd probably punch their lights out. youtu.be/4Kyi6G9l_CUAgree, attacked by a big young thug at very close distance a then 63 year old Prescott instinctively defended himself (it was also one jab not two) Remember at the time he had a lot of sympathy as he was a victim of a violent assault at close range The CPS concluded he acted in self defence |
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Mr Poppy
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Post by Mr Poppy on Aug 21, 2023 9:37:16 GMT
Trevor "Oh great, another would-be troll - just what this site needs." I think you're managing that fine on your own. Have you got a problem with a 63 year old man defending himself when attacked by a young thug? I mean I'm the same age and if someone came up to me and smashed an egg directly into my face I'd probably punch their lights out. youtu.be/4Kyi6G9l_CUAgree, attacked by a big young thug at very close distance a then 63 year old Prescott instinctively defended himself (it was also one jab not two) Remember at the time he had a lot of sympathy as he was a victim of a violent assault at close range The CPS concluded he acted in self defence I approved of Prescott's actions (not sure that counts as sympathy as Prescott seemed pretty chuffed with himself and IIRC was called a 'hero' at the time). The kick in the actions taken below was a bit unnecessary as the 'jabs' had done the trick but it does show that people have again had enough of 'thugs' disrupting lives with their self-defeating protests: PS and yes, Prescott only needed 'one jab'. I didn't come up with the nickname. 'Two jabs' was a tweak to his previous/better know nickname of 'two jags'. A bit like Sir Keir Starmer having nicknames such as Sir Keith Stalin and Sir Kid Starver then nicknames aren't always perfectly accurate - they are supposed to be amusing (although perhaps some people take them a bit too seriously and are offended on behalf of others - or hope to offend someone?!?) Did my original mention of 'two jabs' in reference to Prescott really need a translation and more wasted time. If someone doesn't get a small part of a post but is still capable of comprehending the main points then do we really need copious more posts to explain one minor jovial point? Hopefully it's clear why I ignore a lot of people for 'time wasting' |
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 9:37:44 GMT
It took nearly 300,000 years for the human population to reach 1 billion, for 95% of that time it was under 1 milion and just 200 years to reach 8 billion. youtu.be/vJ5p3pZlBi4 |
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Post by alec on Aug 21, 2023 9:39:58 GMT
steve - yes, we can agree on this. I'm also puzzled by the UK's total focus on the mRNA jabs, despite evidence that other jabs have higher efficacy for significantly lower side effects (although this is v complex and seems to be variant mediated, so some work best for certain variants or infection/vaccine combinations). I am aware of a growing number of people who are declining to be vaccinated anymore because of a combination of side effects and the mixed messaging that covid is both harmless yet essential to be boosted against. Another aspect of the downgrading of the health emergency is that many of the pandemic measures that aren't seen directly by the public fall away, alongside the visible protections. So in the US, they cannot get their new bivalent vaccines before October because the emergency licensing procedure is no longer legally available, and in the UK, the ability to manage pricing has been undermined. I've no idea where we're going next with this virus, but I'm pretty confident it won't be simple. I could be wrong, but I'm not expecting to see a big wave now, as we're likely to see the effect of the back to school rhinovirus wave suppressing covid for a while, as it has done in the last three years. (Speculation that rhinoviruses spark the innate immune response which works to counter many different infections, but the effect doesn't last long). I think it's later into the autumn when things may get hairy again, but it's worth noting that excess deaths continue to show substantially elevated deaths, at a time when after every other pandemic where we've had good quality data, we should be in negative deaths territory. And all the while, the virus mutates, getting closer and closer to the predictions from 2020 of divergent serotypes, antigenic sin and antibody dependent enhancement.
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 9:42:43 GMT
As Trevor doesn't seem to grasp the difference.
Being attacked and having reasonable cause to believe you might suffer further injury allows you to defend yourself with an appropriate ( reasonable and proportionate level of force).
Kicking someone in the head as a continuation of an unprovoked assault isn't " a bit unnecessary " it's an arrestable offence.
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Post by alec on Aug 21, 2023 9:45:44 GMT
steve - "It took nearly 300,000 years for the human population to reach 1 billion, for 95% of that time it was under 1 milion and just 200 years to reach 8 billion." That's the nub of what I've been saying. Much of the reason why we saw this pattern of population growth was because of disease; the idea that a pathogen pops up, we catch it a few times, and then it becomes like a harmless common cold, is just wrong, as is the idea that we need infections to 'exercise' our immune system. The big growth in population came only once we controlled infectious diseases, mainly through physically engineering the environment, more latterly backed up by vaccines and pharmaceuticals. If the idea that repeat infections are good for us was true, people would have been incredibly health in previous eras, but it's so obviously a completely nonsensical idea, because we have the evidence of population growth to sense check such daft thinking.
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Post by lululemonmustdobetter on Aug 21, 2023 9:53:21 GMT
Hope everyone is well this morning. In terms of the next GE, while it is rare these days to find someone who doesn't think Labour will win the next GE, it seems equally so in regards to finding people who think a Labour govt will be able to change things for the better. My own anecdotal experience, from talking to friends and family, is that there is nowhere near the level of anticipation and positive expectation that was present prior to the '97 victory. This lack of enthusiasm and relative pessimism appears to be present across all ages.
My personal view is that we are likely to see one of the lowest turnouts ever at the GE, the net beneficiary being Labour. While Lab leaning voters are motivated by a desire to get the Tories out, I think there is evidence to indicate than many Con '19 VI may sit on their hands come election day. Combined with some '17 Lab VI who switched to Con in '19 returning to Lab and a greater degree of ABT voting, this will give Starmer his victory. Whether he is able to secure a 2nd GE victory, only time will tell; however, I genuinely believe our relative economic decline can realistically only be mitigated by re-joining the EU, which isn't going to happen anytime soon. Blair was blessed with a positive economic outlook for most of his premiership - Starmer will be faced with the reverse.
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Mr Poppy
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Post by Mr Poppy on Aug 21, 2023 10:08:53 GMT
I mentioned Starmer-LAB no longer needing Unite's ££ t'tother day (but being very happy to continue to take the ££*). Credit where credit is due, the idea was from Mandy (Aug'22)
Peter Mandelson calls on Labour to ‘redouble’ its private donation effortswww.cityam.com/peter-mandelson-calls-on-labour-to-redouble-its-private-donation-efforts/and whilst I'm not going to mention some of Mandy's 'friends' (eg Jeffrey Epstein) then the Far-Left wing of the twitterverse will plumb darker depths in their attacks on Starmer-LAB and the return of 'New' LAB (aka Tory Plan B) * It's normally ££ in return for 'influence' but no Tory party is going turn down ££, especially when the donor has no influence but still gives the ££. Well played Starmer, well played. 👏 👏 |
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 10:23:15 GMT
Trevor
" The Agitator " is of course yet another Corbyn fan club with a long history of saying anyone who doesn't agree with them is a tory.
It inhabits a political zone somewhat to the left of " the canary" or "the Morning Star" The morning star is a pretty good newspaper btw.
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Post by James E on Aug 21, 2023 10:26:42 GMT
@lululemonmustdobetter I keep an eye on the YouGov 'lilelyhood to vote' tables, and these support the idea of a low turnout. Overall, around 53% of respondents say that they are "certain to vote", compared to 58% in Summer 2018 - which is the nearest I can get to the middle of the 2017-19 Parliament*. So on that basis, we might expect turnout to be about 5 points down on 2019. Across age and social class cross-breaks, the fall in self-reported likelyhood to vote is fairly even. However, there are wide gaps (10-15%) between 2016 Remainers and Leavers, and also between 2019 Con and 2019 Lab (57% to 73% per the most recent YG). Comparing to summer 2018, Remainers say they are just as 'certain' now as then to vote (c70%), while Leavers are around 8-10% less 'certain to vote'. docs.cdn.yougov.com/nqg0mhiemd/TheTimes_VI_NetZero_230803_W.pdf*Self-reported likelyhood to vote rises when an election is imminent, so it's not yet appropriate to compare current polls to those near to GE2019. |
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 10:26:45 GMT
lululemonmustdobetterI agree on low turnout but I think that will primarily be because Tories stay home. If vanilla extract Brexit Labour also suffer low turn out ( which I doubt) that's good news for my party who as far as I can see are up for the election the sooner the better.
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Post by crossbat11 on Aug 21, 2023 10:26:51 GMT
Steve/Neil
It's just occurred to me that we're getting dragged down a Trevor dug sewer in discussing Prescott here.
We mustn't encourage the tedious tedious bore by engaging with his endless drivel.
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steve
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Post by steve on Aug 21, 2023 10:31:06 GMT
crossbat11I don't exactly engage but I do quite like the opportunity of pointing out where this particular contributor chooses to source his information because it's always such a load of shit and deserves to be identified as such.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2023 10:33:28 GMT
crossbat11Totally agree with your England wimmins footy eulogy having followed it for some years. I like the way their pony tails bob about, on the occasions that they run, most. 👧
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