Politics at Westminster | BREAKING: UKIP

Think this might be Nuttalls done for the foreseeable.
 
Think this might be Nuttalls done for the foreseeable.

Between him and Banks you'd hope it's a massive, massive dent in UKIP in general. How in the utter feck do they think they'll win over votes in the North by trying to nakedly use Hillsborough for their own political gain? Absurd.
 
Given that these claims are said to have been on the website since 2011, it doesn't look good for Nuttell whatever way you look at it. Either he has been very aloof/lazy about the management of his PR, or it was a calculated move on his part.

On the other hand...the Labour rival has also felt it necessary to issue an apologies during the campaign, so who knows if it makes a difference at this late stage.
 
Heard that too many times on recent Election Days...

Where's the optimism coming from?
Canvassing, Tories not putting any effort in there, and Nuttall's meltdown occurring on the day postal ballots were sent out. I mean, there's no way in hell it should be under threat anyway, but as you say you never can tell these days.
 
I remember the good old days when Labour dropping into the high 20s was seen as a big warning sign. Mid twenties now standard.
 
Were you bemoaning such in the summer of 2005, or in the case of those Scotland's nationalists? Eventually, the electorate will fancy a change though.
Politics was the last thing on my mind then. I just became a teenager. But is shouldn't matter. I am left leaning and I can't see anything but a Tory majority govt for the foreseeable future. That's depressing.
 
Politics was the last thing on my mind then. I just became a teenager. But is shouldn't matter. I am left leaning and I can't see anything but a Tory majority govt for the foreseeable future. That's depressing.
David Cameron's conservative party was also a laughing stock before the 2008 crash - so much so that Brown would have won an election if he called it right after becoming PM. And the way things are there'll be another crash in a near future and the pendulum will swing back.
 
Politics was the last thing on my mind then. I just became a teenager. But is shouldn't matter. I am left leaning and I can't see anything but a Tory majority govt for the foreseeable future. That's depressing.

Depends what Labor bring to the party. Like it or not most voters are pretty centre ground, the battle for the centre will decide the winner.
 
Labour had about a 3 month period after Brown becoming PM when they led the Tories, with only a handful of them being greater than 10 points. This is more like the IDS era.
 
Labour had about a 3 month period after Brown becoming PM when they led the Tories, with only a handful of them being greater than 10 points. This is more like the IDS era.

Indeed. The Tories were ahead in the polls for about 18 months before Brown took over.

Sad to say though, Labour's polling is far worse than the IDS era. Its as bad now as for the Tories in 1997 and for Labour in 1983. In both cases it took over a decade to recover.
 
Indeed. The Tories were ahead in the polls for about 18 months before Brown took over.

Sad to say though, Labour's polling is far worse than the IDS era. Its as bad now as for the Tories in 1997 and for Labour in 1983. In both cases it took over a decade to recover.
It doesn't look quite as bad as it was for the Tories immediately following '97, when Labour were getting 25 point leads as standard, but looks kind of like the build up to the 2001 landslide. Though that was also with Blair in his prime, and this is just Theresa May 7 years into Tory government.
 
It doesn't look quite as bad as it was for the Tories immediately following '97, when Labour were getting 25 point leads as standard, but looks kind of like the build up to the 2001 landslide. Though that was also with Blair in his prime, and this is just Theresa May 7 years into Tory government.

Sure, but it depends what you're looking at. The gap was biggest circa 97-99, when Labour were getting silly poll scores of 55 to 60%. But in terms of actual scores, the Tories in the 97 to 2001 Parliament were about where Labour are now, in the mid to high 20s kind of range (save for the first few months). IDS on the other hand scored a pretty flat 32 to 34% in the polls, which Labour would be delighted to have right now.

Either way, debates about exactly which kind of historically awful results Labour are pulling now probably tells its own story.
 
Sure, but it depends what you're looking at. The gap was biggest circa 97-99, when Labour were getting silly poll scores of 55 to 60%. But in terms of actual scores, the Tories in the 97 to 2001 Parliament were about where Labour are now, in the mid to high 20s kind of range (save for the first few months). IDS on the other hand scored a pretty flat 32 to 34% in the polls, which Labour would be delighted to have right now.

Either way, debates about exactly which kind of historically awful results Labour are pulling now probably tells its own story.
The only real question is will Corbyn do worse than foot did (if he even lasts till the election)
 
Not all that long ago there would be periodic discussions about reform or changes to local taxation, and i'm wondering if we could be nearing one of those times again (in light of expected council tax rises this year).

What are your feelings on the introduction of a local sales tax instead of the present system?
 



Very difficult in a world of online shopping

Unless most people are actively concealing their location, websites should be able to determine which tax zone they are present in. But yes, the trend toward online shopping is far greater today than when last the matter arose. I'm just have my doubts about council tax i guess.
 





Unless most people are actively concealing their location, websites should be able to determine which tax zone they are present in. But yes, the trend toward online shopping is far greater today than when last the matter arose. I'm just have my doubts about council tax i guess.

I like Heidi Allen.
 
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/feb/23/ppe-oxford-university-degree-that-rules-britain?

Probably relevant to this thread, found it an interesting read. Must say whilst we're all aware that most politicians come out of oxbridge i hadnt realised so many were from a particular course.

Higher education does shape you even a single lecturer can have influence that sticks with you. Its perhaps this generalism that leads our cabinets to be run by people who have no idea about their own departments and bullshit their way through questioning.
 
Wonder whether Corbyn will do the right thing and resign if Labour lose in Copeland. It looks like its going to be tight there.