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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Growing in size Britain’s weirdest voting group: The Kippers w

SystemSystem Posts: 11,014
edited March 2017 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Growing in size Britain’s weirdest voting group: The Kippers who now think leaving the EU is wrong

Over the last few months, as those who follow the site will know, I have been writing posts and tweets about the YouGov Brexit tracker which come which comes out two or three times a month. The actual question is “In hindsight do you think Britain was right or wrong to vote to leave the EU?”

Read the full story here


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Comments

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    Blue_rogBlue_rog Posts: 2,019
    First?
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    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    They just want to rage against the machine.
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    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 49,248
    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:
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    Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    Not that much weirder than 2% of Leave voters still intending to vote LibDem.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,976
    Betting Post
    F1: a long but hopefully interesting article which looks not only at the qualifying/race ahead but also how teams and drivers currently appear to be stacking up. Contains literally two tips:
    http://enormo-haddock.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/australia-pre-qualifying-2017.html
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    It says that some people don't have a clue what the hell box they ticked!
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    TW1R64TW1R64 Posts: 56
    Dream on. We're leaving.
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    geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,143
    "the pattern in the chart, I suggest, says something. I’m not quite sure what."
    Perhaps old Wittgenstein can help you:
    Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
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    Blue_rogBlue_rog Posts: 2,019
    FPT Excellent post

    CD13 Posts: 3,550
    11:20AM edited 11:21AM
    Mr Meeks,

    My belief (although being only on the periphery of things in European meetings) was that 28 separate countries equals 28 different opinions. Gangs had to be formed and a system of swapsie ruled. We'll vote for this if you vote for us on other things.

    Now this is seen was seen as a diplomatic and negotiating coup. It wasn't - it was schoolyard politics and often equally childish. The only way to run a European community which wants a finger in not just trade deals, but all political ideas was to unite as one country. That was and is the aim, and makes political sense. That's why politicians like it.

    The tricky bit was the opinion of the voters in Europe. Hence the softly, softly catchee monkey scheme. You start with trade deals to entice, then you add the other political obligations when you can.

    Some voters have no problem with this, but I've always found it dishonest. But it's seen as progressive and hence time is on their side.

    The EU may cone clean when we leave, but it's a risky tactic. I suspect they'll eventually amalgamate and it will seem to have been a natural progression - which to some extent is true.
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    On topic I don't think this is too surprising, I've said for years we political anoraks pay too much attention to political parties policies compared to ordinary voters. UKIP to many voters is nothing more than "none of the above"/"pox on all your houses" just the same as until 2010 the Lib Dems were. Hence why people who are not eurosceptics can back them.

    I firmly believe the sharp rise in UKIP votes in 2015 and sharp fall in Lib Dem votes was because a lot of ex-Lib Dem "none of the above" voters became UKIP "none of the above" voters. It's not the sole cause of the rise of UKIP or fall of the Lib Dems of course - the collapse of the BNP also helped UKIP, while many Lib Dems went blue or red instead.

    I strongly suspect more 2015 UKIP voters were 2010 Lib Dems than 2010 BNP voters.
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    I think what it says is that Mike voted for Remain.
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    MikeSmithsonMikeSmithson Posts: 7,382

    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:

    Yes. I expect that common courtesy.
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,849
    edited March 2017
    FPT


    Patrick said:

    » show previous quotes
    I agree Malc. You go if you want to. I'm not anti Sindy.

    I know Patrick , but nasty Theresa will not even let us decide. She makes EU look like pussy cats, who would hav ethought she had Mugabe thinking before they crowned her. She will be doing an Erdogan shortly and making herself leader for life.

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    Ishmael_ZIshmael_Z Posts: 8,981
    4% appears to be a fairly constant bonkers response level ("Have you ever been decapitated?" "Yes.") We really need to know what has happened to the UKIP VI numbers in this poll - if support for UKIP is dropping, as you'd expect with Nuttall, perhaps the actual number of bregretters is unchanged but the concentration is rising as more rational respondents drift away?
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    LennonLennon Posts: 1,730
    This is % of "current" UKIP voters right? In which case is it a sign that UKIP are starting to transition away from a 'Brexit' party to a 'something else' party and are thus starting to pick up those voters who agree with them on everything except Brexit? If you were a very socially conservative voter who wanted to stay in the EU you probably voted Tory previously, but it is conceivable that you would now switch UKIP as the Tories are now as Brexity anyway. Maybe. :/
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    FPT
    CD13 said:

    The EU may cone clean when we leave, but it's a risky tactic.

    Come clean? You don't think the preamble to the Treaty of Rome gives it away?

    DETERMINED to lay the foundations of an ever-closer union among the peoples of
    Europe,

    RESOLVED to ensure the economic and social progress of their countries by common
    action to eliminate the barriers which divide Europe
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    isamisam Posts: 40,912

    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:

    Yes. I expect that common courtesy.
    I did invite you!

    As it was originally mooted as an informal meeting of Leavers on A50 day, isn't it fair to say that staunch remainers might have taken an invitation as a troll?

    In any case, Mortimer didn't exactly do it on the sly, he posted on here that he was booking an area in a pub and asked everyone on here if they fancied it
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,849
    edited March 2017
    Lennon said:

    This is % of "current" UKIP voters right? In which case is it a sign that UKIP are starting to transition away from a 'Brexit' party to a 'something else' party and are thus starting to pick up those voters who agree with them on everything except Brexit? If you were a very socially conservative voter who wanted to stay in the EU you probably voted Tory previously, but it is conceivable that you would now switch UKIP as the Tories are now as Brexity anyway. Maybe. :/

    Serious question , what else are they for other than "out of EU".
    PS: asking as Scotland is a UKIP free zone, apart from a few nutters who don't have any policies.
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    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    Kippers4EU, an odd grouping indeed, assuming it’s not just statistical noise. The same thought crossed my mind however to find 20% of LibDems wanted to vote leave. - People are odd, flexible and sometimes inconsistent, it keeps the pollsters on their toes...
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    On topic, I think there are two possibilities:

    - People realising that they were wrong when faced with the reality of what leaving the EU means.
    - People realising that leaving the EU will not destroy it, so think it's better to stay in and continue to undermine it from the inside, like Farage has done over the years.
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    Beverley_CBeverley_C Posts: 6,256
    edited March 2017

    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:

    Yes. I expect that common courtesy.
    What will you do to those who turn up? 24 hourz in zer cooler?

    image

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    malcolmg said:

    FPT


    Patrick said:

    » show previous quotes
    I agree Malc. You go if you want to. I'm not anti Sindy.

    I know Patrick , but nasty Theresa will not even let us decide. She makes EU look like pussy cats, who would hav ethought she had Mugabe thinking before they crowned her. She will be doing an Erdogan shortly and making herself leader for life.
    Flag Quote · Off Topic

    That's not true Malc. She will give you another vote if you scream loudly enough - but not until after Brexit. Otherwise you can't weigh the alternatives. Which is fair. You voted No just recently and she is the PM of the whole UK. Scotland is leaving too. But you'll get the chance to rejoin if you want. Patience young paduan.
    Meanwhile the SNP should get busy sorting Scotland out - keep up the current shite state of things and the SNP political fortress is going to crumble. And without SNP dominance the chances you'll get to leave the UK are zilch.
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    isamisam Posts: 40,912
    malcolmg said:

    Lennon said:

    This is % of "current" UKIP voters right? In which case is it a sign that UKIP are starting to transition away from a 'Brexit' party to a 'something else' party and are thus starting to pick up those voters who agree with them on everything except Brexit? If you were a very socially conservative voter who wanted to stay in the EU you probably voted Tory previously, but it is conceivable that you would now switch UKIP as the Tories are now as Brexity anyway. Maybe. :/

    Serious question , what else are they for other than "out of EU".
    PS: asking as Scotland is a UKIP free zone, apart from a few nutters who don't have any policies.
    We want the government our country votes for to run it free from outside intereference :wink:
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    MikeSmithsonMikeSmithson Posts: 7,382
    isam said:

    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:

    Yes. I expect that common courtesy.
    I did invite you!

    As it was originally mooted as an informal meeting of Leavers on A50 day, isn't it fair to say that staunch remainers might have taken an invitation as a troll?

    In any case, Mortimer didn't exactly do it on the sly, he posted on here that he was booking an area in a pub and asked everyone on here if they fancied it
    If people want to contact me then email is the way to do it. Don't assume I read all the comments.



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    Nowt queer as folks.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,976
    Mr. Smithson, that seems a shade harsh. It would've been wise of Mr. Mortimer to send you a message about it, but he did openly post the invitation on a thread, he never sought to hide it or exclude any group or individual.

    I hope his ban can be lifted swiftly.
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    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,186
    FPT

    In response to @AlistairMeeks, who said this:

    "I did not dismiss the concerns.

    I did, however, note that they are almost invariably expressed by people who make it abundantly clear that they are not genuine concerns, given their complete indifference to related problems, and who if any attempt had in fact been made to address a democratic deficit at an EU level would have been the very first to wet themselves in outrage at the purported assembly of a European superstate.

    ........ The limitation comes from the bad faith. If any attempt had been made by those objectives to suggest improvements rather than demolition of the entire structure, I'd have had more sympathy."

    This is a fair point. It is a point which is covered in some depth and detail in Larry Siedentop's book - Democracy in Europe - written when the proposed EU Constitution was being prepared.

    It seems to me that there were three options to "cure" the democratic deficit: (1) make the EU a unitary state with the EU Parliament as the effective legislature for that state; (2) having a proper Federal structure - similar to the US model; or (3) continue keeping the nation states as the primary political unit with the EU being a mechanism for effective collaboration between member states.

    The real issue has been that Britain has wanted (3) whereas other states and the EU Commission itself have wanted either (1) or (2) or an unhappy mishmash of the two, sometimes with a bit of (3) added in. That has proved an untenable fudge.

    Personally, I have my doubts about whether you can effectively create a (1) by fiat from above let alone trying to create political structures through the back door of economics. But while I'm prepared to accept that some want the destruction of the EU and that this shows an element of bad faith, you should accept that some of those who say that they don't want (1) or don't think it right for Britain do so not because they want to destroy the EU but because they feel that (3) is a better way to go for all the countries concerned, not least because an effective and socially cohesive demos is more likely to succeed in a relatively smaller area, such as in a nation state rather than in something as large as a Continent.

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.
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    CD13CD13 Posts: 6,351
    Mr Glen,

    "Come clean? You don't think the preamble to the Treaty of Rome gives it away?"

    How many voters have read the Treaty of Rome?

    How many times was this fact emphasised in 1975?

    I'd guess the first was restricted to politicians and political nerds, the second was close to zero (I remember it well).
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    GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 20,797
    edited March 2017

    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:

    Yes. I expect that common courtesy.
    LOL ! Why wasn't you invited? It seems a bit odd to have a PB meet up and to not invite Mr PB himself!

    A bit like having a birthday party without the birthday boy... Or a wedding without the bride !
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    Cyclefree said:

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.

    Given the increasing polarisation in the US I'm not sure it's necessarily a good model. Europe should never allow 'fly-over countries' to exist in the heart of the continent.
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,938
    Charles said:

    Charles said:


    That's obviously an exaggeration for comic effect but deliberately missing the point like that doesn't help either.

    There is a democratic deficit in the EU and - among with other things - one that might have been big enough to tip the balance in the referendum. It's not a coincidence that it feels remote to many people when they can't see how they can affect its future direction; when their connection with the parliament is itself looser than it was when the elections were under FPTP and people had a single, local MEP, and when it's unclear how the parliament drives the future of the EU (which it doesn't, or at least, only very indirectly). That lack of connection between citizen and institution is fatal for anything that wields as much power as the EU does, when it does so in a way that has minority support within the electorate.

    I would have more sympathy with that as a line of argument were it not for the fact that the most intense Leavers are also the ones who are most adamant that exactly the most appropriate demos is the one that Britain already has and that on no account must a different arrangement or a break-up of the UK be even contemplated. Their obsession about the appropriate level of connection between citizen and governing body is highly restricted in scope.
    Is that true?

    The most ardent leavers I've come across typically say that they *think* that the UK is a demos, but if the people of Scotland decide that they should leave then clearly they (the Leavers) are wrong, and the UK demos is smaller than they thought,
    I might remind you of that opinion the next time that a Scottish independence thread is in full spate.

    And suggest that London might want to go its own way and they're damming the Thames and cutting off the power supplies.
    I'm not sure if there is a strict definition/agreed set of criteria for what determines a demos. I suppose it would be a shared sense of history, commonly accepted geographic boundaries, clear government structure, etc.
    I think it's also reasonable to point out that there are quite a few countries today that probably don't have coherent demos - Belgium being the most obvious example.

    And there were many countries that did not have coherent demos when they were formed, and it only developed over time. I think the US would be one example of that, as was the United Kingdom itself.

    Many states without coherent demos lasted some time before breaking up: Yugoslavia or the Austro-Hungarian Empire for example.
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    Carolus_RexCarolus_Rex Posts: 1,414

    Cyclefree said:

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.

    Given the increasing polarisation in the US I'm not sure it's necessarily a good model. Europe should never allow 'fly-over countries' to exist in the heart of the continent.
    The EU doesn't need flyover states. It has Greece and Southern Italy.
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    CD13 said:

    How many times was this fact emphasised in 1975?

    I'd guess the first was restricted to politicians and political nerds, the second was close to zero (I remember it well).

    I've posted this before so apologies for spamming the thread but it really behoves anyone commenting on the 1975 to refresh their memories. This was the marque debate, televised on Saturday night with a huge audience, and it was abundantly clear that the EEC meant a new kind of organisation beyond the nation state.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2jUYryRYII
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    France's far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has called for the lifting of EU sanctions on Russia, during a visit to Moscow.

    The National Front (FN) leader called for closer French-Russian ties at a meeting in Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma.
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    david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,419
    The unasked question here is 'what is UKIP for, now?' - or perhaps, 'what is it against?'. The graph that Mike's posts seems a fairly clear trend but what's attracting these new voters to UKIP (and attracting them now, when they weren't previously so aligned)? I don't honestly know.
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    Tissue_PriceTissue_Price Posts: 9,039

    Mr. Smithson, that seems a shade harsh. It would've been wise of Mr. Mortimer to send you a message about it, but he did openly post the invitation on a thread, he never sought to hide it or exclude any group or individual.

    I hope his ban can be lifted swiftly.

    Seconded - I don't think any offence was remotely intended.
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    SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,921

    On topic, I think there are two possibilities:

    - People realising that they were wrong when faced with the reality of what leaving the EU means.
    - People realising that leaving the EU will not destroy it, so think it's better to stay in and continue to undermine it from the inside, like Farage has done over the years.

    I would not assume anything. My Mum - who is not a stupid woman - thought that the Leave vote meant we were leaving immediately.

    It is just possible, for example, that some UKIPers are very anti-immigration from the countries highlighted so relentlessly by the Leave side during the campaign. Now they realise that remaining in the EU does not mean a surge of migrants from Turkey and the Middle East.

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    The Lib Dems are doing very well in local elections in the South and South West and it would be churlish not to accept that. They have always been the party of local government and with the problems in LA cuts and difficulties in social care it is not surprising, particularly as this coincides with the fall in support for labour, UKIP and the greens. They should do well in May’s locals.

    However, I believe that this change in the landscape in some areas could contribute to Theresa May’s caution on a GE this year. In the first place she has always said a GE before 2020 is ruled out but looking at the landscape now the conservatives would make gains across England, Wales and a small number in Scotland but there is a big risk that in London and the South West a good number of seats could return to the Lib Dems.

    She is about to commence the most complex negotiations we have ever had and I believe her small majority of 17 will keep party discipline better than a larger majority, and in any case she can count on an extra 9 votes from the DUP and UKIP in most circumstances. Of course outside influences could change matters, including the problem with the battle bus expenses, but it is good politics just now to show a steady hand at the tiller.

    As we progress over the next two years the arguments will change and those who want to remain in the EU will need to think about making a case for re-joining the EU which to all intents and purposes is unlikely for at least a decade if not longer.

    Juncker’s ramblings are irrelevant as he will soon be taken out of the equation as the negotiations revert to National Leaders and the interests of their own economies. Does anyone seriously think that TM will even consider dealing with Juncker’s, indeed he should have gone long ago as he is very much a reason for where we are today.

    There have been some good noises coming from Barnier and others that a deal will happen and my firm belief is that TM will strike a deal that satisfies most but not the extreme Brexiteers.

    It is interesting that the EU is seeking information from the UK re the laptop ban as they do not have the intelligence data. The US and UK have the best intelligence in the World and it is informative how much the EU seem to want to share the information and this must be part of our negotiations
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    Eh? Mortimer got banned for not really understanding the etiquette around sorting a drink out?
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited March 2017
    Apparently Adrian elms isn't the terrorists original name either...

    Burly body-building enthusiast Khalid Masood, 52, was born in Dartford in Kent on Christmas Day 1964. His mother Janet Ajao gave birth when she was just 17 years old and brought him up as Adrian Russell Ajao.
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    Cyclefree said:

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.

    Given the increasing polarisation in the US I'm not sure it's necessarily a good model. Europe should never allow 'fly-over countries' to exist in the heart of the continent.
    Flyover states exist in the USA because an establishment that encompasses both Democrats and Republicans is almost wholly coastal and condescending. The little people got shafted by both parties. The only way to avoid political pressure building up and then leading to a rupture of the Brexit / Trump variety is to not ignore the voters in the first place. You need a vital and open democracy which allows for serious change to be voted in. The plebs get to participate. EU federalists cannot allow that as the plebs are fairly likely to vote out the 'dream' of an EU superstate. Like any socialist state it has to be enforced. Even if the EU federasts get everything they want the EU is not going to end well.
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    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976

    Mr. Smithson, that seems a shade harsh. It would've been wise of Mr. Mortimer to send you a message about it, but he did openly post the invitation on a thread, he never sought to hide it or exclude any group or individual.

    I hope his ban can be lifted swiftly.

    Seconded - I don't think any offence was remotely intended.
    :+1:
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,849
    Patrick said:

    malcolmg said:

    FPT


    Patrick said:

    » show previous quotes
    I agree Malc. You go if you want to. I'm not anti Sindy.

    I know Patrick , but nasty Theresa will not even let us decide. She makes EU look like pussy cats, who would hav ethought she had Mugabe thinking before they crowned her. She will be doing an Erdogan shortly and making herself leader for life.
    Flag Quote · Off Topic

    That's not true Malc. She will give you another vote if you scream loudly enough - but not until after Brexit. Otherwise you can't weigh the alternatives. Which is fair. You voted No just recently and she is the PM of the whole UK. Scotland is leaving too. But you'll get the chance to rejoin if you want. Patience young paduan.
    Meanwhile the SNP should get busy sorting Scotland out - keep up the current shite state of things and the SNP political fortress is going to crumble. And without SNP dominance the chances you'll get to leave the UK are zilch.
    Patrick , should be weekly votes till it is YES. On a more serious note the SNP can only tinker around the edges as they have little to no powers that can change anything for the better.
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    These LibDem vegetarian types - they're brutal.
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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961
    Yeah, seems a bit OTT. I assume PBers enjoy the freedom of assembly.?
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited March 2017
    The bbc descrube ajao as a petty criminal. It has now been revealed he has previously stabbed two people. I don't normally think of violent offenders as petty criminals.
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    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,100
    GIN1138 said:

    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:

    Yes. I expect that common courtesy.
    LOL ! Why wasn't you invited? It seems a bit odd to have a PB meet up and to not invite Mr PB himself!

    A bit like having a birthday party without the birthday boy... Or a wedding without the bride !
    As I understood it, this was a CELEBRATION of serving Article 50 and leaving the EU. Invited or not, I doubt OGH would have enjoyed it. There's a reasonable expectation he would just have sat there like the Incredible Sulk. Best not to antagonize with an invite. Same goes for Mr Meeks.

    I never saw it as a formal PB meet, just a gathering for those who read the blog. Official PB Meets invariably get their own thread. So banning is a considerable over-reaction in my opinion. In a couple of years time - when readers actually meet to celebrate LEAVING - I'd suggest any such gathering will have to be arranged under a front organisation: perhaps a meeting of "Those Who Own a Comb" *wink*..... pulling said comb out of your top pocket half an inch will be sufficient to gain admittance.....
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    Tissue_PriceTissue_Price Posts: 9,039
    Patrick said:

    These LibDem vegetarian types - they're brutal.

    Tbf, they have always been quick to knife those suspected of enjoying a drink.
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,849
    isam said:

    malcolmg said:

    Lennon said:

    This is % of "current" UKIP voters right? In which case is it a sign that UKIP are starting to transition away from a 'Brexit' party to a 'something else' party and are thus starting to pick up those voters who agree with them on everything except Brexit? If you were a very socially conservative voter who wanted to stay in the EU you probably voted Tory previously, but it is conceivable that you would now switch UKIP as the Tories are now as Brexity anyway. Maybe. :/

    Serious question , what else are they for other than "out of EU".
    PS: asking as Scotland is a UKIP free zone, apart from a few nutters who don't have any policies.
    We want the government our country votes for to run it free from outside intereference :wink:
    Isam, get that one, ie out of EU. Just interested what else there was from inference in previous post that people were agreeing on everything else. I really have only heard "out of EU" as a policy in regard to UKIP.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited March 2017
    malcolmg said:

    Patrick said:

    malcolmg said:

    FPT


    Patrick said:

    » show previous quotes
    I agree Malc. You go if you want to. I'm not anti Sindy.

    I know Patrick , but nasty Theresa will not even let us decide. She makes EU look like pussy cats, who would hav ethought she had Mugabe thinking before they crowned her. She will be doing an Erdogan shortly and making herself leader for life.
    Flag Quote · Off Topic

    That's not true Malc. She will give you another vote if you scream loudly enough - but not until after Brexit. Otherwise you can't weigh the alternatives. Which is fair. You voted No just recently and she is the PM of the whole UK. Scotland is leaving too. But you'll get the chance to rejoin if you want. Patience young paduan.
    Meanwhile the SNP should get busy sorting Scotland out - keep up the current shite state of things and the SNP political fortress is going to crumble. And without SNP dominance the chances you'll get to leave the UK are zilch.
    Patrick , should be weekly votes till it is YES. On a more serious note the SNP can only tinker around the edges as they have little to no powers that can change anything for the better.
    So the Scottish Government has full control over health, education, policing, transport, etc but the shite state of these is the Tories' fault. Hmmm....not finding it hard to distinguish you from a ray of sunshine here Malc.
    Clue: They're socialists. They'll fuck up your country all the faster the more power you give 'em.
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    The bbc descrube ajao as a petty criminal. It has now been revealed he has previously stabbed two people. I don't normally think of violent offenders as petty criminals.

    A guy I used to work with got convicted of stabbing someone last year.
    He is no doing an 8 stretch.
    Described by police as a 'frenzied attack'
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    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,849

    Eh? Mortimer got banned for not really understanding the etiquette around sorting a drink out?

    Quite bizarre TFS.
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    Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 12,985

    Eh? Mortimer got banned for not really understanding the etiquette around sorting a drink out?

    For fuck's sake nobody mention the secret PB Remainers' Heroin and Cheese party on A50 day.
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    Tissue_PriceTissue_Price Posts: 9,039

    I never saw it as a formal PB meet, just a gathering for those who read the blog. Official PB Meets invariably get their own thread. So banning is a considerable over-reaction in my opinion. In a couple of years time - when readers actually meet to celebrate LEAVING - I'd suggest any such gathering will have to be arranged under a front organisation: perhaps a meeting of "Those Who Own a Comb" *wink*..... pulling said comb out of your top pocket half an inch will be sufficient to gain admittance.....

    As a man thinning in the wrong place, I now see the benefits of Article 50's 2-year timeframe. In 10 years time I fear a comb will be but a fond memory.
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    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,100
    Patrick said:

    These LibDem vegetarian types - they're brutal.

    Not liberal....not democratic....
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961
    Dura_Ace said:

    Eh? Mortimer got banned for not really understanding the etiquette around sorting a drink out?

    For fuck's sake nobody mention the secret PB Remainers' Heroin and Cheese party on A50 day.
    :o... Mortimer has to up the ante! We demand drugs at cheeses at the Brexiteer event.
  • Options

    I never saw it as a formal PB meet, just a gathering for those who read the blog. Official PB Meets invariably get their own thread. So banning is a considerable over-reaction in my opinion. In a couple of years time - when readers actually meet to celebrate LEAVING - I'd suggest any such gathering will have to be arranged under a front organisation: perhaps a meeting of "Those Who Own a Comb" *wink*..... pulling said comb out of your top pocket half an inch will be sufficient to gain admittance.....

    As a man thinning in the wrong place, I now see the benefits of Article 50's 2-year timeframe. In 10 years time I fear a comb will be but a fond memory.
    Been a memory for me for the last 15 years or so :-(

  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,983
    edited March 2017
    New Opinionway Le Pen 25% Macron 24% Fillon 19% Melenchon 14% Hamon 11%
    http://presicote.factoviz.com/index/more/id/qoo_lew_1
  • Options
    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,100

    The unasked question here is 'what is UKIP for, now?' - or perhaps, 'what is it against?'. The graph that Mike's posts seems a fairly clear trend but what's attracting these new voters to UKIP (and attracting them now, when they weren't previously so aligned)? I don't honestly know.

    I wonder whether the ultra-hard-core Kippers see the risk of the eventual deal being a watered down version of poking the EU in the eye and jumping up and down on their throat - so perhaps wish the whole bloody Referendum thing hadn't happened until that was the sole possibility?
  • Options
    Carolus_RexCarolus_Rex Posts: 1,414
    Is there actually a list of things that can get you banned? Or is it a bit like the Captain's Cloak and Cover-all:

    All other crimes not capital committed by any person or persons in the fleet, which are not mentioned in this act, or for which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be punished by the laws and customs in such cases used at sea.
  • Options
    malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 41,849
    Patrick said:

    malcolmg said:

    Patrick said:

    malcolmg said:

    FPT


    Patrick said:

    » show previous quotes
    I agree Malc. You go if you want to. I'm not anti Sindy.

    I know Patrick , but nasty Theresa will not even let us decide. She makes EU look like pussy cats, who would hav ethought she had Mugabe thinking before they crowned her. She will be doing an Erdogan shortly and making herself leader for life.
    Flag Quote · Off Topic

    That's not true Malc. She will give you another vote if you scream loudly enough - but not until after Brexit. Otherwise you can't weigh the alternatives. Which is fair. You voted No just recently and she is the PM of the whole UK. Scotland is leaving too. But you'll get the chance to rejoin if you want. Patience young paduan.
    Meanwhile the SNP should get busy sorting Scotland out - keep up the current shite state of things and the SNP political fortress is going to crumble. And without SNP dominance the chances you'll get to leave the UK are zilch.
    Patrick , should be weekly votes till it is YES. On a more serious note the SNP can only tinker around the edges as they have little to no powers that can change anything for the better.
    So the Scottish Government has full control over health, education, policing, transport, etc but the shite state of these is the Tories' fault. Hmmm....not finding it hard to distinguish you from a ray of sunshine here Malc.
    Clue: They're socialists. They'll fuck up your country all the faster the more powetr you give 'em.
    Most of them are not bad Patrick you must be confusing them re England. SNP are doing fairly well, far from perfect mind you. Your "full control" is a moot point given they get the meagre amount of cash for that from Westminster, seems a bit of an exageration on your part re how someone can control something when they get told how much to spend. I presume you have never used the education, health service , transport or police in Scotland but get your views from Tories in Westminster or right wing London rags bumping their gums on topics they have no clue about.
    From the stuff I read you seem to be describing England and the Tories, apart from substituting socialists with right wing dictators.
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    isamisam Posts: 40,912
    malcolmg said:

    isam said:

    malcolmg said:

    Lennon said:

    This is % of "current" UKIP voters right? In which case is it a sign that UKIP are starting to transition away from a 'Brexit' party to a 'something else' party and are thus starting to pick up those voters who agree with them on everything except Brexit? If you were a very socially conservative voter who wanted to stay in the EU you probably voted Tory previously, but it is conceivable that you would now switch UKIP as the Tories are now as Brexity anyway. Maybe. :/

    Serious question , what else are they for other than "out of EU".
    PS: asking as Scotland is a UKIP free zone, apart from a few nutters who don't have any policies.
    We want the government our country votes for to run it free from outside intereference :wink:
    Isam, get that one, ie out of EU. Just interested what else there was from inference in previous post that people were agreeing on everything else. I really have only heard "out of EU" as a policy in regard to UKIP.
    Beats me, maybe it's people answering mischeviously
  • Options
    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,100

    I never saw it as a formal PB meet, just a gathering for those who read the blog. Official PB Meets invariably get their own thread. So banning is a considerable over-reaction in my opinion. In a couple of years time - when readers actually meet to celebrate LEAVING - I'd suggest any such gathering will have to be arranged under a front organisation: perhaps a meeting of "Those Who Own a Comb" *wink*..... pulling said comb out of your top pocket half an inch will be sufficient to gain admittance.....

    As a man thinning in the wrong place....
    Alopecia of the pubes???

  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,709
    So 7% of those still supporting UKIP regret leaving.
    One should also add those who used to support UKIP and now no longer do.
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    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,015
    Patrick said:

    malcolmg said:

    FPT


    Patrick said:

    » show previous quotes
    I agree Malc. You go if you want to. I'm not anti Sindy.

    I know Patrick , but nasty Theresa will not even let us decide. She makes EU look like pussy cats, who would hav ethought she had Mugabe thinking before they crowned her. She will be doing an Erdogan shortly and making herself leader for life.
    Flag Quote · Off Topic

    That's not true Malc. She will give you another vote if you scream loudly enough - but not until after Brexit. Otherwise you can't weigh the alternatives. Which is fair. You voted No just recently and she is the PM of the whole UK. Scotland is leaving too. But you'll get the chance to rejoin if you want. Patience young paduan.
    Meanwhile the SNP should get busy sorting Scotland out - keep up the current shite state of things and the SNP political fortress is going to crumble. And without SNP dominance the chances you'll get to leave the UK are zilch.
    Just imagine the squealing if this was the proposition 2 years ago..

    The EU will give you a vote if you scream loudly enough - but not until they decide. Otherwise you can't weigh the alternatives. Which is fair.
    Meanwhile Westminster should get busy sorting the UK out - keep up the current shite state of things and the UK is going to crumble.

    https://twitter.com/callum_mccaig/status/842378134632710144
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    SimonStClareSimonStClare Posts: 7,976
    PC Keith Palmer donations tops £1/2million.

    https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Keith-palmer
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,983
    edited March 2017
    About 10% of SNP 2015 voters oppose Scottish independence according to the latest polls so the UKIP figure is not that unusual
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:

    Yes. I expect that common courtesy.
    That's a bit harsh, Mike. It isn't a formal meet up - just a suggestion that a few of us grab a drink
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Charles said:

    So Mike banned Mortimer for not informing him about the PB meet? :lol:

    Yes. I expect that common courtesy.
    That's a bit harsh, Mike. It isn't a formal meet up - just a suggestion that a few of us grab a drink
    It had organically evolved in the chat too. It is OGH's site and he can do as he pleases but surely a word could have sufficed here?
  • Options
    MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 50,100

    Is there actually a list of things that can get you banned? Or is it a bit like the Captain's Cloak and Cover-all:

    All other crimes not capital committed by any person or persons in the fleet, which are not mentioned in this act, or for which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be punished by the laws and customs in such cases used at sea.

    I once saw a clause in a contract which said the law to be applied to the contract was that of "all right thinking nations".

    Knock yourselves out with that one, lawyers....
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,186

    Cyclefree said:

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.

    Given the increasing polarisation in the US I'm not sure it's necessarily a good model. Europe should never allow 'fly-over countries' to exist in the heart of the continent.
    I think the US Constitution is a marvel. The Founding Fathers understood well the concept of the balance of powers, of creating a structure which tried hard to limit the tendency to autocracy and which made the people the source of political power. And it has stood the test of time remarkably well. Sure there are faults in the US model and in many aspects of US politics but there is something self-defeatingly stupid about the way the EU has refused to learn the best that can be learnt from how the US Constitution was created and the debates leading up to it.

    The EU is rather de haut en bas in its political approach. The US is not. I prefer the latter and I think the EU would have done better if over the last 60 years it had put the people first rather than give - on occasion - the impression that it sees the people as a tiresome nuisance to be herded, chivvied and on occasion deceived into doing what the politicians think best for them, regardless of their own wishes.

  • Options
    Carolus_RexCarolus_Rex Posts: 1,414

    Is there actually a list of things that can get you banned? Or is it a bit like the Captain's Cloak and Cover-all:

    All other crimes not capital committed by any person or persons in the fleet, which are not mentioned in this act, or for which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be punished by the laws and customs in such cases used at sea.

    I once saw a clause in a contract which said the law to be applied to the contract was that of "all right thinking nations".

    Knock yourselves out with that one, lawyers....
    Her Majesty is the conflicts expert in our household, I'll ask her what she makes of that!
  • Options
    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,976
    Mr. Divvie, you do remember there was a referendum about two and a half years ago?

    And that Sturgeon was transparently playing silly buggers by wanting one in the middle of the negotiations for the UK to leave the EU?
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    rcs1000 said:

    Charles said:



    I'm not sure if there is a strict definition/agreed set of criteria for what determines a demos. I suppose it would be a shared sense of history, commonly accepted geographic boundaries, clear government structure, etc.

    I think it's also reasonable to point out that there are quite a few countries today that probably don't have coherent demos - Belgium being the most obvious example.

    And there were many countries that did not have coherent demos when they were formed, and it only developed over time. I think the US would be one example of that, as was the United Kingdom itself.

    Many states without coherent demos lasted some time before breaking up: Yugoslavia or the Austro-Hungarian Empire for example.
    Strictly speaking, the Austro-Hungarian Empire wasn't a unitary state - it was a collection of assets owned by one family
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,961

    Mr. Divvie, you do remember there was a referendum about two and a half years ago?

    And that Sturgeon was transparently playing silly buggers by wanting one in the middle of the negotiations for the UK to leave the EU?

    To be fair to the SNP, they didn't call a referendum when Cameron changed his usual cup of tea from one lumps to two, so not all material changes in circumstances count... :smiley:
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.

    Given the increasing polarisation in the US I'm not sure it's necessarily a good model. Europe should never allow 'fly-over countries' to exist in the heart of the continent.
    I think the US Constitution is a marvel. The Founding Fathers understood well the concept of the balance of powers, of creating a structure which tried hard to limit the tendency to autocracy and which made the people the source of political power. And it has stood the test of time remarkably well. Sure there are faults in the US model and in many aspects of US politics but there is something self-defeatingly stupid about the way the EU has refused to learn the best that can be learnt from how the US Constitution was created and the debates leading up to it.

    The EU is rather de haut en bas in its political approach. The US is not. I prefer the latter and I think the EU would have done better if over the last 60 years it had put the people first rather than give - on occasion - the impression that it sees the people as a tiresome nuisance to be herded, chivvied and on occasion deceived into doing what the politicians think best for them, regardless of their own wishes.

    However it should be said that the Founding Fathers were not designing a continental system. It only became so after the fact, so why pick the US over any other federal system as a model? In fact what the EU is doing has no real precedent so it's only right that the approach and solutions it comes up with are unique.
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    Ishmael_ZIshmael_Z Posts: 8,981

    So 7% of those still supporting UKIP regret leaving.
    One should also add those who used to support UKIP and now no longer do.

    One shouldn't, actually, in the absence of any evidence of their existence, and numbers. And as Mike and I have pointed out, about 2-4% of the 7% is pure noise.

    You have form from the previous thread for not being able to put fairly straightforward statistics into their proper context. Perhaps the words "logical" in your name and "facts" in your picture thingy are a bit over-optimistic?
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,983
    6 out of 10 EU voters say it is on the wrong track
    https://mobile.twitter.com/IpsosMORI/status/845243597385580544
  • Options
    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 49,248
    Ishmael_Z said:

    So 7% of those still supporting UKIP regret leaving.
    One should also add those who used to support UKIP and now no longer do.

    One shouldn't, actually, in the absence of any evidence of their existence, and numbers. And as Mike and I have pointed out, about 2-4% of the 7% is pure noise.

    You have form from the previous thread for not being able to put fairly straightforward statistics into their proper context. Perhaps the words "logical" in your name and "facts" in your picture thingy are a bit over-optimistic?
    Illogical_dirge? :lol:
  • Options
    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.

    Given the increasing polarisation in the US I'm not sure it's necessarily a good model. Europe should never allow 'fly-over countries' to exist in the heart of the continent.
    I think the US Constitution is a marvel. The Founding Fathers understood well the concept of the balance of powers, of creating a structure which tried hard to limit the tendency to autocracy and which made the people the source of political power. And it has stood the test of time remarkably well. Sure there are faults in the US model and in many aspects of US politics but there is something self-defeatingly stupid about the way the EU has refused to learn the best that can be learnt from how the US Constitution was created and the debates leading up to it.

    The EU is rather de haut en bas in its political approach. The US is not. I prefer the latter and I think the EU would have done better if over the last 60 years it had put the people first rather than give - on occasion - the impression that it sees the people as a tiresome nuisance to be herded, chivvied and on occasion deceived into doing what the politicians think best for them, regardless of their own wishes.

    The US constitution didn't prevent a very bloody civil war. I believe that it is still the case that more Americans died in battle in the civil war than in every other war that the US fought put together, up to and including the Korean War.

    It's much better written than the EU constitution. But fine words don't necessarily produce fine results.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,983
    UKIP's biggest donor and former Cameron adviser in.plot to oust 100 Remain MPs
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/24/ukips-biggest-donor-david-camerons-former-strategist-plot-oust/
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    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 40,015

    Mr. Divvie, you do remember there was a referendum about two and a half years ago?

    And that Sturgeon was transparently playing silly buggers by wanting one in the middle of the negotiations for the UK to leave the EU?

    Perhaps you should remember that whether Scotland has another referendum or not isn't really* your decision?

    *isn't at all.
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,709
    Ishmael_Z said:

    So 7% of those still supporting UKIP regret leaving.
    One should also add those who used to support UKIP and now no longer do.

    One shouldn't, actually, in the absence of any evidence of their existence, and numbers. And as Mike and I have pointed out, about 2-4% of the 7% is pure noise.

    You have form from the previous thread for not being able to put fairly straightforward statistics into their proper context. Perhaps the words "logical" in your name and "facts" in your picture thingy are a bit over-optimistic?
    Could you explain my 'form'. I do try to put statistics 'in their correct context'.
    If there are fewer people identifying themselves as UKIP (and there are) then it makes sense that there would be fewer supporting their main policy - doesn't it?
  • Options
    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,326
    Some UKIP supporters don't have strong feelings about the EU - they want Britain to be put first, immigrants to be discouraged, or a number of other general attitudes which aren't necessarily tied to what organisations Britain belongs to. There's a default UKIP-voter assumption that leaving the EU would be helpful for most of these, but it's perfectly possible to be against having more immigrants but to have doubts about leaving the EU, especially if it's non-European immigrants that bother you.
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    david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,419

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.

    Given the increasing polarisation in the US I'm not sure it's necessarily a good model. Europe should never allow 'fly-over countries' to exist in the heart of the continent.
    I think the US Constitution is a marvel. The Founding Fathers understood well the concept of the balance of powers, of creating a structure which tried hard to limit the tendency to autocracy and which made the people the source of political power. And it has stood the test of time remarkably well. Sure there are faults in the US model and in many aspects of US politics but there is something self-defeatingly stupid about the way the EU has refused to learn the best that can be learnt from how the US Constitution was created and the debates leading up to it.

    The EU is rather de haut en bas in its political approach. The US is not. I prefer the latter and I think the EU would have done better if over the last 60 years it had put the people first rather than give - on occasion - the impression that it sees the people as a tiresome nuisance to be herded, chivvied and on occasion deceived into doing what the politicians think best for them, regardless of their own wishes.

    However it should be said that the Founding Fathers were not designing a continental system. It only became so after the fact, so why pick the US over any other federal system as a model? In fact what the EU is doing has no real precedent so it's only right that the approach and solutions it comes up with are unique.
    Some were. Alexander Hamilton for one was fully aware of the United States' potential as a continent-spanning superpower and was keen that its political structures should reflect that.

    The EU is of course unique but it should learn and should have learned from relevant parallels, while developing its own course too.
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,983
    The SNP still have some use for Westminster it seems, apparently SNP MPs scoffed all the emergency chocolate and sandwiches provided to MPs when they were locked in on Wednesday
    https://mobile.twitter.com/patrick_kidd/status/845214309642878976
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    Carolus_RexCarolus_Rex Posts: 1,414

    Ishmael_Z said:

    So 7% of those still supporting UKIP regret leaving.
    One should also add those who used to support UKIP and now no longer do.

    One shouldn't, actually, in the absence of any evidence of their existence, and numbers. And as Mike and I have pointed out, about 2-4% of the 7% is pure noise.

    You have form from the previous thread for not being able to put fairly straightforward statistics into their proper context. Perhaps the words "logical" in your name and "facts" in your picture thingy are a bit over-optimistic?
    Could you explain my 'form'. I do try to put statistics 'in their correct context'.
    If there are fewer people identifying themselves as UKIP (and there are) then it makes sense that there would be fewer supporting their main policy - doesn't it?
    No, it doesn't. If people supported UKIP because they supported their main policy and that policy objective had been achieved, they'd have no reason to support them any more.
  • Options
    Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,297
    HYUFD said:

    UKIP's biggest donor and former Cameron adviser in.plot to oust 100 Remain MPs
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/24/ukips-biggest-donor-david-camerons-former-strategist-plot-oust/

    Ha, ha! Steve Hilton was the hard Right's personification of all that was wrong with politics when he was a Cameroon. Funny to see them spin on a sixpence and now proclaim him a messiah.
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,709
    HYUFD said:

    About 10% of SNP 2015 voters oppose Scottish independence according to the latest polls so the UKIP figure is not that unusual

    The SNP is a party of government, so one could support their other policies whilst not supporting independence. That's not the case with UKIP.
  • Options
    MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034
    edited March 2017

    On topic I don't think this is too surprising, I've said for years we political anoraks pay too much attention to political parties policies compared to ordinary voters. UKIP to many voters is nothing more than "none of the above"/"pox on all your houses" just the same as until 2010 the Lib Dems were. Hence why people who are not eurosceptics can back them..

    A variant of this is that UKIP is whatever its voters project it to be. Having no other home, they vote UKIP and then associate the party retrospectively with their own policy-preferences regardless of what UKIP's actual policies are.

    The fact that UKIP often seems unclear, or changing, on its policies probably facilitates this.
  • Options
    HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098

    Is there actually a list of things that can get you banned? Or is it a bit like the Captain's Cloak and Cover-all:

    All other crimes not capital committed by any person or persons in the fleet, which are not mentioned in this act, or for which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be punished by the laws and customs in such cases used at sea.

    Ah the good old Captain's Cloak from the Articles of War at the time of Nelson's Navy. Not something one expects to see mentioned outside specialist publication and web sites. Naval discipline and associated punishments might look a bit barbaric from today's perspective but at the time was relatively benign, especially compared to the criminal law that applied to civilians. For example a civilian thief could be hanged or transported for life but a sailor found to have stolen from his shipmates would suffer a punishment that undoubtedly would hurt but was more about humiliation than physical pain and which would leave him it for duty soon after.

    Not that the scale of punishments were necessarily set because of the kindness of their Lordship's hearts but because the navy needed every man it could get its hands on and needed them working as effective teams. You can't flog a man to fight for you, but you can have a system of service justice that included flogging that was accepted by the whole crew. As with the case of midshipmen our view of Naval Justice has been much clouded by Victorian sentimentality.

    Which brings me back to the the proper punishment for offences. I have over the years met several PB denizens for drinkies and sometimes a meal. Indeed I am planning to do so again in May. It never occurred to me that I should send Mr. Smithson an email informing him of the fact. Perhaps I too should be banned.
  • Options

    Mr. Divvie, you do remember there was a referendum about two and a half years ago?

    And that Sturgeon was transparently playing silly buggers by wanting one in the middle of the negotiations for the UK to leave the EU?

    Perhaps you should remember that whether Scotland has another referendum or not isn't really* your decision?

    *isn't at all.
    I don't think it unreasonable for May to say that it really isn't the right time to hold one during the Brexit negotiations , but just refusing isn't a viable option. I expect something will be worked out, and both the SNP and the UK government will claim victory.
  • Options
    logical_songlogical_song Posts: 9,709

    Ishmael_Z said:

    So 7% of those still supporting UKIP regret leaving.
    One should also add those who used to support UKIP and now no longer do.

    One shouldn't, actually, in the absence of any evidence of their existence, and numbers. And as Mike and I have pointed out, about 2-4% of the 7% is pure noise.

    You have form from the previous thread for not being able to put fairly straightforward statistics into their proper context. Perhaps the words "logical" in your name and "facts" in your picture thingy are a bit over-optimistic?
    Could you explain my 'form'. I do try to put statistics 'in their correct context'.
    If there are fewer people identifying themselves as UKIP (and there are) then it makes sense that there would be fewer supporting their main policy - doesn't it?
    No, it doesn't. If people supported UKIP because they supported their main policy and that policy objective had been achieved, they'd have no reason to support them any more.
    ... and that's why their polling figures have gone down.
  • Options
    TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 41,280
    Morning all

    Wow.

    Fantastic evening last night really enjoyed meeting all of you, finally.

    Great nibbles I though the wagyu steak was done to perfection and whoever thought of the Petrus '61 was inspired.

    Hope to do it all again soon.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,302

    Mr. Smithson, that seems a shade harsh. It would've been wise of Mr. Mortimer to send you a message about it, but he did openly post the invitation on a thread, he never sought to hide it or exclude any group or individual.

    I hope his ban can be lifted swiftly.

    Seconded - I don't think any offence was remotely intended.
    Thirded - Mortimer is a good guy who was taking the initiative and doing all of us a favour
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,186

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:


    However it should be said that the Founding Fathers were not designing a continental system. It only became so after the fact, so why pick the US over any other federal system as a model? In fact what the EU is doing has no real precedent so it's only right that the approach and solutions it comes up with are unique.
    I think that if you are trying to create a constitution for a collection of nation states in a union it would make sense to think intelligently about such things as separation of powers, the role of the legislative, the executive, the judiciary, what the Supreme Court should be about, whether there should be a President and, if so, what their role and powers should be, the relationship between national legislatures and the central legislature etc etc. And if you were a bit more intelligent you might think it sensible to look at successful examples around the world where such matters had been debated and created and seek to learn from them.

    The US is one such model. It is probably one of the most successful models for a political structure encompassing a Continent in the Western world and it is, IMO, pretty bloody silly and arrogant of people like Giscard d'Estaing to loftily disdain the idea of learning anything from the US model. The EU has French political structure in its DNA and, frankly, French political structures have hardly been a success over the years, let alone over the two centuries since the US was founded.

    The US model does not need to be copied in toto. But the reason the EU Constitution got into such a mess - remember, it was rejected by both the Dutch and the French - should perhaps have given the EU Poo-Bahs pause for some serious thought and reflection on these topics.

    There wasn't - or not enough - and that is one reason why, 60 years after it was founded - its second largest member has decided to leave. Whatever the many successes of the EU over those 60 years, this is one very very significant failure and it would be good for the rest of the EU and its member states if someone somewhere in that organization had a bit of self-reflection on why that happened and what it might mean for them and how they are conducting themselves.

  • Options
    MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034

    Cyclefree said:

    Cyclefree said:

    If the EU wanted a Continental model, it had one in the US. But what has been striking about the EU's political development is how determinedly it has turned its back on learning anything from the US model.

    Given the increasing polarisation in the US I'm not sure it's necessarily a good model. Europe should never allow 'fly-over countries' to exist in the heart of the continent.
    I think the US Constitution is a marvel. The Founding Fathers understood well the concept of the balance of powers, of creating a structure which tried hard to limit the tendency to autocracy and which made the people the source of political power. And it has stood the test of time remarkably well. Sure there are faults in the US model and in many aspects of US politics but there is something self-defeatingly stupid about the way the EU has refused to learn the best that can be learnt from how the US Constitution was created and the debates leading up to it.

    The EU is rather de haut en bas in its political approach. The US is not. I prefer the latter and I think the EU would have done better if over the last 60 years it had put the people first rather than give - on occasion - the impression that it sees the people as a tiresome nuisance to be herded, chivvied and on occasion deceived into doing what the politicians think best for them, regardless of their own wishes.

    The US constitution didn't prevent a very bloody civil war. I believe that it is still the case that more Americans died in battle in the civil war than in every other war that the US fought put together, up to and including the Korean War.

    It's much better written than the EU constitution. But fine words don't necessarily produce fine results.
    I'll guess we'll know in another 200 years or so whether the EU's foundational documents have been as successful on that basis.

    Frankly, however, I think it is a stupid basis on which to judge the US constitution. Could any document have defused such a fundamental difference? Highly unlikely.
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,052
    One nice side-effect of Scottish independence is that Anglosphere countries around the world will gain a new distinct 'parent' nation. It's bad news for Empire 2.0 of course, but them's the breaks.
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    Carolus_RexCarolus_Rex Posts: 1,414

    Ishmael_Z said:

    So 7% of those still supporting UKIP regret leaving.
    One should also add those who used to support UKIP and now no longer do.

    One shouldn't, actually, in the absence of any evidence of their existence, and numbers. And as Mike and I have pointed out, about 2-4% of the 7% is pure noise.

    You have form from the previous thread for not being able to put fairly straightforward statistics into their proper context. Perhaps the words "logical" in your name and "facts" in your picture thingy are a bit over-optimistic?
    Could you explain my 'form'. I do try to put statistics 'in their correct context'.
    If there are fewer people identifying themselves as UKIP (and there are) then it makes sense that there would be fewer supporting their main policy - doesn't it?
    No, it doesn't. If people supported UKIP because they supported their main policy and that policy objective had been achieved, they'd have no reason to support them any more.
    ... and that's why their polling figures have gone down.
    Er... yes... that was my point exactly.
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