Thursday 12th March 2015

[rearofthestore]

Who in the world on the Guardian could have produced such a lazy, irrelevant story.

Kitchen sink drama for Miliband as homely photo backfires

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... bbc-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Why I must be..
Nicholas Watt!!

[howsillyofme1]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education ... 377410.ece

Another private school nationalized.

Went to the Ophney as a Junior - bloody awful place full of rich thick twats....

There were some forces kids there and also orphans (started as orphanage in the 1850s) so explains why Eric Idle went there - he hated it as well by all accounts

[TechnicalEphemera]

Miliband was pretty impressive when faced with a bunch of stroppy student types. Can't really see Cameron being brave enough to do this stuff.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Oh dear. Survation disown the Lib Dem polling.

In reference to polls conducted for the Liberal Democrats, which have been described in the Guardian, New Statesman and others as “private polling conducted by Survation”, we would like to clarify that the role of Survation in these polls was that of “field and tab” only.

Survation were not responsible for drafting the questionnaires used, sampling design discussions or analysis of the results. These polls should therefore not properly be described as “Survation polls”. As a consequence, Survation is not responsible for the publication of these polls under BPC rules. Any member of the public with queries regarding the detail or further information about the mentioned polling work should be directed to the Liberal Democrats

[TechnicalEphemera]

Oh dear. Survation disown the Lib Dem polling.

In reference to polls conducted for the Liberal Democrats, which have been described in the Guardian, New Statesman and others as “private polling conducted by Survation”, we would like to clarify that the role of Survation in these polls was that of “field and tab” only.

Survation were not responsible for drafting the questionnaires used, sampling design discussions or analysis of the results. These polls should therefore not properly be described as “Survation polls”. As a consequence, Survation is not responsible for the publication of these polls under BPC rules. Any member of the public with queries regarding the detail or further information about the mentioned polling work should be directed to the Liberal Democrats

Reading between the lines - the whole thing is an embarrassing sham, please don't do us for breach of professional conduct.

I believe the Lib Dems may well be required to publish the results as they have talked about them.

[LadyCentauria]

Fabulous photo of a wheelchair-swing in Parksville, um I think it's in British Columbia, Canada, taken by my friend Don Little:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10800760140 ... 5252501446

I want one!

[Tubby Isaacs]

Still no dignity.

Durham Free School ‏@DurhamFreeSch 11 hrs11 hours ago
@SchoolsImprove significantly different treatment here from ministers to the way @NickyMorgan01 handled @DurhamFreeSch s 'inadequate' report

The significantly different treatment is studying the report.

[gilsey]

Miliband was pretty impressive when faced with a bunch of stroppy student types. Can't really see Cameron being brave enough to do this stuff.

That's exactly what I was going to say, but broadband problems interfered.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Oh dear. Survation disown the Lib Dem polling.

In reference to polls conducted for the Liberal Democrats, which have been described in the Guardian, New Statesman and others as “private polling conducted by Survation”, we would like to clarify that the role of Survation in these polls was that of “field and tab” only.

Survation were not responsible for drafting the questionnaires used, sampling design discussions or analysis of the results. These polls should therefore not properly be described as “Survation polls”. As a consequence, Survation is not responsible for the publication of these polls under BPC rules. Any member of the public with queries regarding the detail or further information about the mentioned polling work should be directed to the Liberal Democrats

Reading between the lines - the whole thing is an embarrassing sham, please don't do us for breach of professional conduct.

I believe the Lib Dems may well be required to publish the results as they have talked about them.

Dan Hodges never had to publish the private polling he talked up.

[TechnicalEphemera]

Oh dear. Survation disown the Lib Dem polling.

Reading between the lines - the whole thing is an embarrassing sham, please don't do us for breach of professional conduct.

I believe the Lib Dems may well be required to publish the results as they have talked about them.

Dan Hodges never had to publish the private polling he talked up.

I don't think he did the polling. He was referring to a private poll he claimed to have seen. When pushed the organisation sort of admitted it wasn't real.

[LadyCentauria]

I've been away from all forms of media this afternoon and I've just got back to hear the shock news that Terry Pratchett has died. I'm genuinely upset, not only because of the loss of one of my favourite authors but also because my Mum has the same illness. I'm going to have to give her an extra big hug this weekend.

RIP Terry.

I'm sorry to hear that. My dad was diagnosed with dementia last year. It's pretty tough. Wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Me too. My mother has Alzheimer's. It's a cruel disease. Deeply saddened by the loss of Terry Pratchett, he'll be much missed.

[AngryAsWell]

I've seen supportive (and admiring) EdM tweets from tory supporters (checked their profile so know they are) and one from a Green/SNP proclaiming love for him! One tory tweeted "no wonder Dave's worried"
Think he's made a mark tonight.

[diGriz]

Who in the world on the Guardian could have produced such a lazy, irrelevant story.

Kitchen sink drama for Miliband as homely photo backfires

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... bbc-labour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Why I must be..
Nicholas Watt!!

I would never vote for somebody who had a bad kitchen. Nor two kitchens. They must have just one good kitchen, presentable but not ostentatious, that would get my vote. Obviously.

[ohsocynical]

Lydia Cawthorne-Luff ‏@lydiacl 24 mins24 minutes ago
@BBCFreeSpeech @Ed_Miliband

The media often presents him as uncharismatic and weak; my family all changed their minds tonight.

I like!!!!!

[ohsocynical]

Martyn Peters ‏@MartynPmusic 1 hr1 hour ago
@BBCFreeSpeech @Ed_Miliband

i was very impressed, up until tonight i was unsure on his leadership qualities, but he'll now get my vote

[ohsocynical]

Paul Waugh ‏@paulwaugh 2 hrs2 hours ago

Love him, loathe him. One overriding conclusion from #AskMiliband: Live TV political debates are a obviously a good thing.

[RogerOThornhill]

I noticed that someone called Emily Hill has written a gushing "Gosh, isn't Gove wonderful!" piece for The Spectator and quotes a "very left wing" teacher called Kevin Rooney who agrees that Gove was indeed wonderful.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/946 ... hael-gove/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So why do I smell a rat?

http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/au ... ily%20Hill" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

OK, so she writes for Spiked - the old Revolutionary Communist Party/Living Marxism crowd who quietly turned into liberatarian anti-environmental right wingers. They also run the Institute of Ideas and the annual Battle of IDeas

And the teacher she quotes - Kevin Rooney?

Kevin teaches politics and is head of social science at Queen’s School, near Watford. He is a member of the IoI Education Forum and the Battle of Ideas committee.

http://www.battleofideas.org.uk/2014/speaker_detail/371

Well, I never...didn't have to go very far to get an obliging teacher to back her up...

Edit - and he writes for Spiked too by the look of it.

[adam]

I'd like to see him gone from Top Gear, to be replaced by someone fiercely left wing who's actually into cars. Suggestions?

Were you pointing at yourself and coughing as you said this?

On Clarkson, I would refer back again to the Stewart Lee video I posted last night.

[Hobiejoe]

I'd like to see him gone from Top Gear, to be replaced by someone fiercely left wing who's actually into cars. Suggestions?

Were you pointing at yourself and coughing as you said this?

On Clarkson, I would refer back again to the Stewart Lee video I posted last night.

A masterful deconstruction of reactionary hypocrisy. My daughter has picked up on the dichotomy that a lot of people feel about people that run the gamut of reasonable bloke to school bully making a show that has some entertaining interludes.

The challenge for me is to rework that deconstruction for an 11 and 8 year old, although I think Sprog 1 is there already. Yikes/proud

[GetYou]

I've been away from all forms of media this afternoon and I've just got back to hear the shock news that Terry Pratchett has died. I'm genuinely upset, not only because of the loss of one of my favourite authors but also because my Mum has the same illness. I'm going to have to give her an extra big hug this weekend.

RIP Terry.

My favourite author, I had the pleasure to meet him. He did at talk at my uni, was telling us how he used to Dungeon Master D&D for dinner ladies, who turned out to be some of the most vicious D&D players he'd ever reffed. I'm very sad tonight.

[Hobiejoe]

Just catching up on the Miliband prog on BBC3.

Crikey, "Alex", the second questioner, in his corduroy jacket swore blind that he was from "a long line of Labour voters in his family" I paraphrase, but not by much. Got hit out the park by Ed. I rather suspect CCHQ will be less than pleased with Operative Alex's performance tonight.

[Hobiejoe]

And the chair. Why the sodding hell was Ed parked in a chair that had his knees up around his ears?

Despite all that crap, and a bunch of Ruperts and a mad Kosovan, or indeed because of them, a very good performance.

[GetYou]

Thanks for the links to the Ed thing all. He impressed me.

[LadyCentauria]

I wondered about the chair, too., @Hobiejoe – he must have been really glad to get up out of it at the end. He did really well in the debate, I thought. The second episode is on Tuesday (with a repeat on Wednesday) and is called The Kingmakers. It will have the leaders of the Green Party, SNP, and Plaid Cymru. They haven't yet announced who will be in the chair/chairs for the final two episodes.

Have just catching up on This Week and Mrs. Michael Vine* was on it. First, a video thing she'd done talking about how tough it is for the wives (it's usually wives, still) and families of politicians what with all the press interest and nastiness that goes on. Then, in the studio, she complained it was unfair that she should be taken to task in any way, by Alan Johnson and Andrew Neil, for writing a bitchy piece about Justine Miliband and her kitchen – and how it wasn't in the slightest bit two-faced because life is tough for politicians' wives and that's just how it is and it's not just the Daily Mail who publish that sort of thing all the papers do it and anyway the Daily Mail is a very popular newspaper.

I call her that because 1) that's who she is and 2) I can't be bothered to waste my energy in remembering what her first name is except it begins with an S.