Tuesday 13th February 2018

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refitman
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Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by refitman »

Morning all.
HindleA
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by HindleA »

Morning.

No integration is even possible without consideration of benefits and allowances,both bespoke and particular circumstantial (the much bemoaned "complex",now simplified by removal/change to interest bearing loan plus charges-a targeted death tax coming in in a few weeks.Suffice to say,as has long been the case,the DWP is actively working against/undermining.

"Warming to Mogg?"

:rofl: :rofl: ad infinitum.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by HindleA »

Wollaston/Lamb both legislated for the default eligibility for social care only at the two highest levels (for reasons of portability).An epic stupidity.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by HindleA »

Well,my nickname is Rocket Man on account that of my hair looking like I have been fired out of a cannon,apparently.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by HindleA »

https://leftyinabusinessschool.wordpres ... -credit-3/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Can we see some ID pal? Universal Credit and the farcical ID process
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by tinybgoat »

[youtube]DtVBCG6ThDk[/youtube]
(from Elton & Bernie's Canon)
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adam
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by adam »

The oxfam stuff is horrific and there are serious questions about how the organisation dealt with what they learned (which they are clearly trying now to deal with) but this isn't about how charities or charity workers behave, it's about how men behave - it's a complement to the rest of the gender politics dominating the news on both sides of the atlantic at the moment, not something about a failed third sector. Don't see that in most of the reporting, somehow.
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PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

Trailer for the Boris Valentines speech, from the Groan.
“The great thing about EU regulation is that it is not primarily there for business convenience, it is not primarily there to create opportunities for companies to trade freely across frontiers, it is primarily there to create a united EU.”

The foreign secretary called it a “teleological construction” that was “ends driven”. He said the founding fathers of the common market decided to create a “new sense of political identity by legal means” – but claimed this went against liberal thinking. “[John Stuart] Mill would say that the national group, the group that most associate with each other, govern each other. But this was a new idea to try to transcend that.”
Discuss.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

Good morfternoon.
Teleology or finality is a reason or explanation for something in function of its end, purpose or goal. It is derived from two Greek words: telos (end, goal, purpose) and logos (reason, explanation). A purpose that is imposed by a human use, such as that of a fork, is called extrinsic.
Teleology - Wikipedia
Well, I never knew that. Isn't Boris Johnson an education! Or something.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by HindleA »

Garbology.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by HindleA »

http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/pub ... ing-rates/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;




An unhealthy interest? Debt distress and the consequences of raising rates


Resolution Foundation
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RogerOThornhill
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by RogerOThornhill »

Morning all.

There will be a fair bit of schadenfreude in the university teacher training sector at this news I would imagine.

Exclusive: 'First knowledge-based PGCE' will be discontinued

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/br ... scontinued
It was the first teacher-training course to explicitly align itself with the “neo-traditionalist” education movement that criticises “progressive” teaching styles, which often emphasise transferable skills, group work and hands-on learning.

Its programme director Mr Peal is a history teacher at the West London Free School who was seconded to the Department for Education in 2015-16 to support schools minister Nick Gibb with policy advice and speechwriting.

He told Tes last year that the creation of the PGCE was in response to a “surge of enthusiasm over the past few years for knowledge-based education”.

However, the move drew criticism from some people in the university ITT sector, who branded the claims “arrogant” and expressed concern about BPP’s for-profit status.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by citizenJA »

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Trailer for the Boris Valentines speech, from the Groan.
“The great thing about EU regulation is that it is not primarily there for business convenience, it is not primarily there to create opportunities for companies to trade freely across frontiers, it is primarily there to create a united EU.”

The foreign secretary called it a “teleological construction” that was “ends driven”. He said the founding fathers of the common market decided to create a “new sense of political identity by legal means” – but claimed this went against liberal thinking. “[John Stuart] Mill would say that the national group, the group that most associate with each other, govern each other. But this was a new idea to try to transcend that.”
Discuss.
Johnson's incoherent poppycock made no sense yesterday and the morning doesn't improve it
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by citizenJA »

PorFavor wrote:Good morfternoon.
Teleology or finality is a reason or explanation for something in function of its end, purpose or goal. It is derived from two Greek words: telos (end, goal, purpose) and logos (reason, explanation). A purpose that is imposed by a human use, such as that of a fork, is called extrinsic.
Teleology - Wikipedia
Well, I never knew that. Isn't Boris Johnson an education! Or something.
Johnson's longing to use the words 'teleological construct' overwhelmed him, his goal achieved.
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citizenJA
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by citizenJA »

HindleA wrote:Garbology.
Concise and accurate

Good-morning, everyone
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

Allegoric clout contest is rearranged to feature in Boris Johnson speech (10,9).
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Willow904
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Willow904 »

RogerOThornhill wrote:Morning all.

There will be a fair bit of schadenfreude in the university teacher training sector at this news I would imagine.

Exclusive: 'First knowledge-based PGCE' will be discontinued

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/br ... scontinued
It was the first teacher-training course to explicitly align itself with the “neo-traditionalist” education movement that criticises “progressive” teaching styles, which often emphasise transferable skills, group work and hands-on learning.

Its programme director Mr Peal is a history teacher at the West London Free School who was seconded to the Department for Education in 2015-16 to support schools minister Nick Gibb with policy advice and speechwriting.

He told Tes last year that the creation of the PGCE was in response to a “surge of enthusiasm over the past few years for knowledge-based education”.

However, the move drew criticism from some people in the university ITT sector, who branded the claims “arrogant” and expressed concern about BPP’s for-profit status.
Having studied history at university I can confirm (as I'm sure Dr RoT doesn't need explaining ;) ) that the subject isn't about rote learning what someone else tells you about it (knowledge) it's about having the ability to infer new things from source materials for yourself (transferable skills). Our knowledge of history is changing all the time, there's even a term for it - "the historical debate". GCSE's were brilliant for history, at least they were when I took them the year they were introduced, as they introduced the use of source materials, an important skill for historians and something I was using throughout my degree. I don't know what history GCSE's are like currently, but children learn about history throughout primary and key stage 3 so there's plenty of time to map out a basic framework of events, a knowledge base, before they get to GCSE level, so I really don't see why you wouldn't want to start introducing the skills needed to be an historian, rather than just know about history, at GCSE level. I'm sure the early start helped me get a better degree and it certainly helped me get a lot more out of studying history than I might have otherwise.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by gilsey »

adam wrote:The oxfam stuff is horrific and there are serious questions about how the organisation dealt with what they learned (which they are clearly trying now to deal with) but this isn't about how charities or charity workers behave, it's about how men behave - it's a complement to the rest of the gender politics dominating the news on both sides of the atlantic at the moment, not something about a failed third sector. Don't see that in most of the reporting, somehow.
See also this from Helen Evans, who was on C4 news last night.
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

Henry McDonald

After the departure of Theresa May and her Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, from Northern Ireland last night, the talking resumes today at Stormont aimed at securing a power sharing restoration deal that the two premiers thought might be achievable on Monday.

But sources from inside the Democratic Unionist Party indicate that there are now serious difficulties ahead for its leadership to sell any package that could be perceived as containing a stand-alone Irish Language Act.

One DUP source said there was “internal uproar” overnight regarding the outline of a deal. (Politics Live, Guardian)

Edited - typo
Last edited by PorFavor on Tue 13 Feb, 2018 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

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https://www.byline.com/column/67/article/2049" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
KREMLIN SOCIAL NETWORK BACKING JACOB REES-MOGG
He's a nobody, a backbencher. Only been an MP since 2010 and has never held a cabinet position, just sat on a couple of committees. The idea he could be PM over far more experienced and proven Tory ministers is ludicrous, yet his possibility of being PM has mysteriously come to be unquestionably accepted and even pushed by mainstream media. Why? Even if you're not totally convinced by the whole Russian bot stuff, you've got to admit there is something very off about the rise of Rees-Mogg. Even that UWE scuffle was a bit rum, what with Breitbart being there with cameras. Why is Breitbart following a backbencher around? Because he's pals with Steve Bannon?
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PorFavor
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

Yes, I got "Guardian" wrong. Again.
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Willow904
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Willow904 »

gilsey wrote:
adam wrote:The oxfam stuff is horrific and there are serious questions about how the organisation dealt with what they learned (which they are clearly trying now to deal with) but this isn't about how charities or charity workers behave, it's about how men behave - it's a complement to the rest of the gender politics dominating the news on both sides of the atlantic at the moment, not something about a failed third sector. Don't see that in most of the reporting, somehow.
See also this from Helen Evans, who was on C4 news last night.
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Well that's very revealing, isn't it? The Charity Commission and the government failed to look into the concerns she raised in 2015. Yet the minute the Times decides to write about it.....

The bit about the charity commission insisting that Oxfam's DBS checking was fine in response to her inside information that it wasn't was revealing. Children volunteering in shops don't require protecting?Unbelievable.The value of DBS checking has been persistently undermined and downplayed since the Coalition government came in. As far as I'm concerned the culture of complacency has come from the top. It's good this has come out. It's really bad this didn't come out in 2015 when Helen Evans first tried to make it public, but only when the Times decides it would like to make it a a story.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

adam wrote:The oxfam stuff is horrific and there are serious questions about how the organisation dealt with what they learned (which they are clearly trying now to deal with) but this isn't about how charities or charity workers behave, it's about how men behave - it's a complement to the rest of the gender politics dominating the news on both sides of the atlantic at the moment, not something about a failed third sector. Don't see that in most of the reporting, somehow.
Given the Daily Mail front page this morning, a close look at what goes on there (and at the other right wing rags) would be highly interesting I think?
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

I know we've already covered Northamptonshire Council, but I don't think we've had this (from Sunday). Apologies if we have. And sorry for the lengthy quote.
The irony is not lost on some observers that the first local authority to go bust under austerity is not the profligate Labour municipality of media caricature, but a Tory-run council in the heart of middle England.

Penny Smith, the council’s Unison branch secretary, said: “Can you just imagine if this was a Labour authority? They’d be saying ‘Typical Labour, can’t run anything’.”

Furthermore, it has crashed after rigid adherence to the Tory ideological rulebook for local government. Northamptonshire embarked on a “next generation” reform plan in 2014. Services would be outsourced or turned into profit-making companies. The council would drastically shrink in size and be run like a business. “The old model of local government no longer works,” it declared.

The grand plan failed at a cost, say critics, of more than £50m on consultants and rebranding. Expected efficiency savings did not materialise, some privatised services have since been hauled back in-house and the scheme’s political architects, including the then council leader Jim Harker and the then chief executive Paul Blantern, have departed. After years of freezing council tax bills on principle, the authority has raised them by 6% from April. (Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ories-cuts
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Not the first time this much touted by some on the right "outsourcing model" for local government has fallen flat (see Suffolk CC for another good example)
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Willow904 »

And Somerset County Council. They had to bring outsourced back office work back in-house because the costs were so much higher than predicted. Cost them a bit to buy themselves out of the contract with IBM as well (£5.5m).

Details here:

https://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politic ... g-failures" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Nine spectacular council outsourcing failures
Note the date on the article - 2013.

No excuses for Northamptonshire County Council. They must have known there was a very high risk outsourcing wouldn't save any money and could very well end up costing them a lot more.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

RogerOThornhill wrote:Morning all.

There will be a fair bit of schadenfreude in the university teacher training sector at this news I would imagine.

Exclusive: 'First knowledge-based PGCE' will be discontinued

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/br ... scontinued
It was the first teacher-training course to explicitly align itself with the “neo-traditionalist” education movement that criticises “progressive” teaching styles, which often emphasise transferable skills, group work and hands-on learning.

Its programme director Mr Peal is a history teacher at the West London Free School who was seconded to the Department for Education in 2015-16 to support schools minister Nick Gibb with policy advice and speechwriting.

He told Tes last year that the creation of the PGCE was in response to a “surge of enthusiasm over the past few years for knowledge-based education”.

However, the move drew criticism from some people in the university ITT sector, who branded the claims “arrogant” and expressed concern about BPP’s for-profit status.
Well spotted. I've tried to interest Political Scrapbook in it.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Not the first time this much touted by some on the right "outsourcing model" for local government has fallen flat (see Suffolk CC for another good example)
Barnet was another one.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Willow904 »

I have successfully induction cooked pancakes!

:dance:
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by HindleA »

Flippin' ell.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

I'd very much like to see, as Simon Wren-Lewis said, a decent review of public service provision. Obviously, you don't want reviews to go on forever, but I'd like to see somebody look at which sort of body should be providing the services. Do we need more unitary councils? I think a decent sized organization can both oversee and provide services better.

Unitaries often get opposed by district councils that are being wound up, and by voters who reckon the resulting unitary will be a safe council for the other side. Could PR be an option for these?
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Not the first time this much touted by some on the right "outsourcing model" for local government has fallen flat (see Suffolk CC for another good example)
Barnet was another one.
Yes - I was having a trawl round, earler, for old news articles on Barnet but couldn't find much. I'll have another go.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Allegoric clout contest is rearranged to feature in Boris Johnson speech (10,9).

You'll have to tell me . . .

(Please)
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Willow904 »

The problem with Twitter is that is just introduces you to more things to worry about. Now I have to be concerned about the dangers of genetically engineered, freeze resistant eucalyptus trees on top of everything else:

https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/petit ... 411-2005-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Stop genetically engineered trees!
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Not the first time this much touted by some on the right "outsourcing model" for local government has fallen flat (see Suffolk CC for another good example)
Barnet was another one.
Tory majority of one seat going into this May's elections - unfortunately, Labour's current problems with Jewish voters give them a non-negligible chance of holding on :(
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

May and Varadkar's Stormont visits 'a distraction' - DUP leader

Some interesting comments from the leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster, who says the presence of the prime minister, Theresa May, and the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, proved “bit of a distraction” at Stormont yesterday.

While they were welcome, Foster says the arrivals of Varadkar and May, whose Westminster government the DUP props up, interrupted negotiations.

The decision for them both to travel to Northern Ireland was seen as an indication the two leaders believed that, after more than year, a deal to set up a power-sharing government was close.

But Foster says both governments were told in advance that “the deal wasn’t done”. Speaking to the Press Association, Foster says:

I am hopeful that we will move toward devolution again.

Whether it’s this week, whether it’s in a couple of weeks or whether it’s in a couple of months what I must ensure is that we have an accommodation that everybody feels content with.

Her comments will cause some embarrassment for May, who had urged “one final push” and apparently believed she would be able to announce a deal yesterday. Politics Live, Guardian)
They don't make fairy dust like they used to (as Theresa May is discovering).
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

AnatolyKasparov wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Not the first time this much touted by some on the right "outsourcing model" for local government has fallen flat (see Suffolk CC for another good example)
Barnet was another one.
Tory majority of one seat going into this May's elections - unfortunately, Labour's current problems with lots of Jewish voters give them a non-negligible chance of holding on :(
Chipping Barnet was the best Labour performance in a seat with Jewish voters, so they might be OK.
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by Tubby Isaacs »

Political Scrapbook have run with the Education story Roger found!

https://politicalscrapbook.net/2018/02/ ... more-70491" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Seven local council byelections last week:

Eden DC - Tory hold, which means they maintain a majority on this rural authority. This ward was an unopposed Tory return at every election between 1999 and 2011, when electoral competition finally arrived here in 2015 they saw off an Independent candidate by a bit over 55-45. This time round the Tory share was slightly down on then, but the Independent saw a double figure drop as a Green intervention netted them a respectable 17% plus. There was again no Labour candidate, despite them unexpectedly picking up the Cumbria CC division containing this area last year.

South Staffs DC/Staffordshire CC - this "double header" saw two very safe Tory holds in what is true heartland territory for them. The district seat was uncontested in the most recent 2015 elections, and though that doesn't always equate to super safeness it did in this case as they won with a share approaching 80%, up around 15 points since the most recent contest in 2011 when UKIP took a clear second place (as they also did, interestingly, back in 2007 - 2003 again saw 2 unopposed Con returns) Labour took a very distant second in this contest, ahead of the Greens on 8%. The county division was also an easy Tory win with over two thirds of the vote, though this was down on the 75% share they got last year when the Tories again took advantage of UKIP's absence in a seat where they had taken second in both 2013 and 2009. However the main beneficiary of this modest Tory slippage were the Greens who advanced 7 points to take second place, ahead of Labour who were barely changed on last year.

Brighton and Hove - Labour hold with over two thirds of the vote, up close to 20 points since the last regular elections here in 2015 and more modestly (but still significantly) since a previous 2016 byelection in this ward. This has long been one of Labour's safest areas locally returning three councillors for them without fail, though the Tories were relatively close in 2003 and 2007 before the Greens took over runners up spot come their 2011 high point locally (still some way behind though) Tories retook second in yet another byelection in 2012 and have retained it since, but Labour were well entrenched by then and this performance was their strongest yet. Tories best of the rest on 17%, ahead of the Greens who at least held onto their share in the most recent by-election. LibDems last on 4%, halved from the last scheduled polls here.

East Staffordshire DC - Tory hold, though they were run quite close by an Independent candidate who took second place in a previous by-election only last autumn - the Tory share dropped to the low forties in a ward that has safely returned three councillors for them at every election since 2003. The swing from the last by-election was over 5% towards the Independent candidate as they approached 35% of the vote - Labour remained third little changed on either then or the last regular elections in 2015. UKIP came second then, but crashed at the last byelection and now dropped to under 3%. That was still ahead of the LibDems, who polled all of 14 votes - or 0.8%.

Weymouth and Portland DC - two contests here in neighbouring wards, and somewhat contrasting outcomes even if the winning party was the same. The first was in a ward which returned three Independents in the 2004 all-out elections and has been won by them ever since; though quite often narrowly - notably over the Tories on GE day in 2010 and over UKIP come their high point in 2014, the only recent occasion before now that the Tories did not finish second here. This time around the Independents absented the field entirely (nobody seems quite sure why) and given the previous history the result - a Tory gain with a 17 point increase, might not seem massively surprising, maybe more so is that Labour finished just eight votes behind after an even bigger jump in their share for a 4% swing in their favour overall. Greens had the only other candidate, who finished on 7% which was clearly down on last year. This performance would have won the other vacancy for Labour, a ward which has evenly split its allegiances in recent years - after an early strong showing by Independents in 2004 and 2006 the Tories won every election from 2007 to 2011 before Labour started to dominate, wins in 2012 2014 and 2016 (beating the Tories by 60-40 in a straight fight) only interspersed by a Tory hold on GE day in 2015, and it was this seat that was up for grabs now. In the event the Tories won easily with over half the vote, a swing of 7% since their more recent win here (and of course, even bigger compared to more recent years) Greens again the only other ones to stand, their 8% plus slightly up on their previous showing 3 years ago.

Next week is a positive bonanza - 14 (!!) contests. Got my work cut out there, no question - but I will do my best :D
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

PorFavor wrote:
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Allegoric clout contest is rearranged to feature in Boris Johnson speech (10,9).

You'll have to tell me . . .

(Please)
Allegoric clout contest is an anagram of "teleological construct" (I think).
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
PorFavor wrote:
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Allegoric clout contest is rearranged to feature in Boris Johnson speech (10,9).

You'll have to tell me . . .

(Please)
Allegoric clout contest is an anagram of "teleological construct" (I think).
Thanks. I can't marry up the (9,10) bit - but numbers aren't my strong suit so it's probably me!
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PorFavor »

(10,9) - I typed it the wrong way round.

See what I mean about numbers not being my strong suit?
PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

PorFavor wrote:
PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
PorFavor wrote:[


You'll have to tell me . . .

(Please)
Allegoric clout contest is an anagram of "teleological construct" (I think).
Thanks. I can't marry up the (9,10) bit - but numbers aren't my strong suit so it's probably me!
Sorry it should have been (12,9) :lol:
PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

For clarity that was a typo rather than a counting fail on my part :oops:
PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

Seeing as I'm not on a roll. How about

"Pining shogun resembles regular FTN contributor" (8, 4)
PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

"Little known Forum administrator is a confused irksome flop. Hurray!" (4,4,9)


* edited to change spelling of hooray to hurray
PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

"Angry client transforms into diminutive forum poster." (4,7)
PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

asleep
PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

runt
PaulfromYorkshire
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Re: Tuesday 13th February 2018

Post by PaulfromYorkshire »

rove
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