Freedom for Tooting! And other similar nutty fringe communities

[blandy]

1 hour ago, bickster said:

Their Twitter account reads like a parody

Oh yeah, definitely. Then again. so did the UKIPs and so on.

To quote Hawkwind, it's the spirit of the age, though.

[chrisp65]

 

Worth pointing out that as well as SNP having a stand alone 11 seat majority, it’s also the case that the Greens would side with an Indy referendum, so there would be (in this projection) a 20 seat majority for a referendum.

 

[snowychap]

Perhaps of interest to the Welsh Independence campaign:

Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 receives Royal Assent,

 

[chrisp65]

Yep.

...and it’s also been revealed by prospective candidates for the tory party in next year’s Senedd elections they were all asked as part of the selection process if they would support scrapping the Senedd.

The game appears to be on.

 

 

[HanoiVillan]

Interestingly (or not) @chrisp65, Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff South are actually *too large* according to the new rules, so unlike the vast majority of Wales you will actually be getting a smaller constituency, losing a ward or two.

Since almost no Welsh seats actually have anything close to the (narrow) prescribed electorates, the entire map is going to have to be redrawn, though the Cardiff seats look the ones that will see least disruption.

[chrisp65]

18 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

Interestingly (or not) @chrisp65, Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff South are actually *too large* according to the new rules, so unlike the vast majority of Wales you will actually be getting a smaller constituency, losing a ward or two.

Since almost no Welsh seats actually have anything close to the (narrow) prescribed electorates, the entire map is going to have to be redrawn, though the Cardiff seats look the ones that will see least disruption.

It’s a little while since I checked, but last version I saw, VoG got physically smaller, but actually gained a few thousand constituents. But I’ve not seen the final final version.

We were always one of the largest at about 70,000 but I think the plan is to try and make them all 73,000. So we lose the west end to Bridgend but gain a bit eastward towards Cardiff. Although we gain a piece of a Labour seat, the bit we gain is the ‘posh’ bit. So I think it would probably cement our tory MP in to a safe seat for life is my guess.

It’s always been a docks town surrounded by toffs, I think this has probably magnified that description.

But hey, by the time of the next election, who the hell knows what the world will look like or whether Labour will bother to contest what used to be a swing seat. They literally haven’t bothered in the last two elections.

 

[HanoiVillan]

2 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

It’s a little while since I checked, but last version I saw, VoG got physically smaller, but actually gained a few thousand constituents. But I’ve not seen the final final version.

We were always one of the largest at about 70,000 but I think the plan is to try and make them all 73,000. So we lose the west end to Bridgend but gain a bit eastward towards Cardiff. Although we gain a piece of a Labour seat, the bit we gain is the ‘posh’ bit. So I think it would probably cement our tory MP in to a safe seat for life is my guess.

It’s always been a docks town surrounded by toffs, I think this has probably magnified that description.

But hey, by the time of the next election, who the hell knows what the world will look like or whether Labour will bother to contest what used to be a swing seat. They literally haven’t bothered in the last two elections.

 

The seats will have to have an electorate between 68,981 and 76,253. The new boundaries will be decided with the post-2019 registration data (this is actually a big win for non-Conservative parties), and post-2019 VoG came in slightly over the limit at 76,998. Cardiff South is even bigger at 79,534, so your prediction of gaining a bit from the east but losing more to the west looks plausible to me.

(The dataset is here for anyone interested (2019 data - tab called 'Table 2'): https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/elections/electoralregistration/datasets/electoralstatisticsforuk)

[chrisp65]

 

Work to do here, and I’m not convinced that the Internal Market Bill, was the work that was needed if the intention was to steady the union.

Hopefully some day soon Johnson will step in to take personal charge of this.

[chrisp65]

Lord Ashcroft

Quote

In my poll, 45% said they would vote to stay in the UK, and 46% said they would choose to leave and join the Republic of Ireland – a lead of 51% to 49% for unification when we exclude don’t knows and those who say they would not vote. 

This poll was September 2019, it would be interesting to run another one in a few weeks time when the shelves are all looking a little thin.

Food as a political weapon.

 

 

[ml1dch]

Well, I supposed we had a good 400 year run.

 

[HanoiVillan]

I know it's not the main point you're making, but . . . looking at those predicted seat totals, and having seen a few national polls recently where the Greens lead the Lib Dems . . . seems like there might be a bit of an under-the-radar crisis in the Lib Dems tbh.

Edited January 15, 2021 by HanoiVillan

[ml1dch]

9 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

I know it's not the main point you're making, but . . . looking at those predicted seat totals, and having seen a few national polls recently where the Greens lead the Lib Dems . . . seems like there might be a bit of an under-the-radar crisis in the Lib Dems tbh.

A neat political paradox. The fact that it's under the radar that there is a crisis, is itself the best evidence of said crisis.

[snowychap]

Huff Post:

Quote

Scotland will hold a referendum on Scottish independence if the SNP wins the Holyrood elections, regardless of whether Boris Johnson agrees to a new vote. 

First minister Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC on Sunday she would first seek a “legal referendum” if, as the polls predict, her party is re-elected with a majority in May.

But an 11-point plan set out by the party last week says that, should Westminster refuse to back a second vote, an SNP-led Scottish Government would hold an advisory referendum. 

...more

 

[ml1dch]

 

Can't even keep the Union unit together, let alone the actual Union.

Bunch of jokers.

[chrisp65]

I don’t know if anyone remembers that ‘northern’ Independence Party we had a chat about a few months back? It mostly centred around whether it was real or a joke, and whether their lines around Northumberland were accurate.

 

They’re standing a candidate in Hartlepool. So it’ll be a chance to see if they’re at the Count Binface end of the spectrum, or if they actually have something constructive to say. I appreciate that might be slightly harsh on Count Binface.

 

[chrisp65]

She speaks for 9 seconds, saying happy St Patrick’s Day.

This country has descended into a sick joke.

 

 

[Davkaus]

I don't see the problem with being expected to speak a language that other members understand.

[chrisp65]

6 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

I don't see the problem with being expected to speak a language that other members understand.

Could you really complain about 9 **** seconds

of speaking languages native to these islands?

cos if you can

one presumes 

english only should be taught in schools and

nobody decent wants that

 

 

[Davkaus]

19 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

Could you really complain about 9 **** seconds

of speaking languages native to these islands?

cos if you can

one presumes 

english only should be taught in schools and

nobody decent wants that

 

 

I think there's a huge gaping chasm between "when you're speaking to a large audience, it's reasonable to speak in the most widely spoken language", and "nobody should speak these filthy heathen tongues and they should be banned in the education system".

He probably could have both given her a bit more time to see what she was saying next, I genuinely don't think he realised she'd just started speaking in English. He also could have been less aggressive about it, I don't care for this new speaker at all. I jkust don't think it'sd a "sick joke" that we expect parliamentarians to talk in a language that people understand. 

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by Davkaus

[chrisp65]

10 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

I think there's a huge gaping chasm between "when you're speaking to a large audience, it's reasonable to speak in the most widely spoken language", and "nobody should speak these filthy heathen tongues and they should be banned in the education system".

He probably could have both given her a bit more time to see what she was saying next, I genuinely don't think he realised she'd just started speaking in English. He also could have been less aggressive about it, I don't care for this new speaker at all. I jkust don't think it'sd a "sick joke" that we expect parliamentarians to talk in a language that people understand. 

 

It’s a **** disgrace, genuinely. A real insult.

Let’s see him jump up and close down the next poncey tory prick that utters a few seconds of Latin.

Yes he ‘probably’ could let her speak a language native to this place, the first language of some of her constituents and the first language taught in some schools in her constituency. How very graceful and kind that would be.