btb

It's also the term for the residue from smoking opium, I have included an old photo of Douglas with some fellow young Conservatives.

We'll know more about LTs shelflife by this by this time next week, if she's still in office I reckon she'll see it out till the GE. As I've said elsewhere I reckon the Tories know they've already lost the next GE, fear an absolute tanking and will be happier with Truss as a figurehead rather than damaging Sunak's image - in this case she'll be in office but not in power.

I reckon this'll be enough to save Truss if only because the Tories won't want Sunak tainted with being in charge when the Tories lose the next GE.

It was in 2012 but the Greens (unsure why) chose not to support the SNP when the other three parties ganged up to get it repealed in 2018.

.....not even a jaggy one?

Hurting all the way to the after dinner speech circuit......

Hunt being touted for chancellor.....

Only 83 more days to get off the bottom spot! 55 George Canning 119 days 1 Tory (Canningite) 1827 56 Liz Truss 37 days (incumbent) 1 Conservative 2022

But who will replace her & KK? I saw Sunak/Mordaunt being touted as PM/Chancellor earlier today but would they currently want it - a tanking at the GE would make it hard for them to continue, more likely IMO would be either Gove or Hunt being brought in to carry the can for an expected defeat in exchange for generous helpings from the trough afterwards. On troughing it, I note BJ has skipped the three month waiting period before sticking your nose in but as the rule appears to be merely advisory no punishment is likely.

There will never be a "good time" for the folks that use this argument.

I sense English Tories are conflicted on whether it would be good for them for Scotland to gain independence, they see us as more trouble than we're worth but at the same time cannot bear to see us hived off and their status as a world power diminished.

1. My argument is that the issue has been there or thereabouts in the news since 2014 and that there aren't many undecideds or soft YES/NO voters to move the needle very far, although I accept that the margin is so fine that nothing could be guaranteed. 2. If you look at the IndyRef2 thread it only got 4/5 pages in the year between when it was launched and Brexit - if NO won IndyRef2 it would need something as seismic as Brexit to create interest in IndyRef3.

As I've said previously the YES vote has never polled over 50% consistently, never mind the consistent 60% that was the prerequisite back in the day, IIRC, peoples views are settled on the issue. It'll take a long time for demographics to swing the needle to YES. Labour especially would be smart to sanction a second referendum after the next GE.

Yeah call me Mr. Paranoid but could any of the scare stories be coming from pension fund managers looking for a "free bet"?

With the pound falling on this news, there are now hints that gilt buying will be extended - 10 hours is an eternity on the VirtualVegas that is the Stock Exchange.

I find your interpretations bizarre and note that accusations of skullduggery go both ways in this battle.

It's a further endorsement of the view down south that to win a GE Labour must follow each lurch rightwards by the Tories with one of their own - can the current Starmer iteration of the party even be considered left-of-centre? Such a gamble with two years to go till the next GE (prob'ly), the right wing press will have those two years to print an agenda which blames our woes on EU intransigence over Brexit, Covid and the Ukraine War and mid-term poll leads can melt away.

As far as I'm aware the SNP position is still that a second referendum is required, my point is that after 3 years of BJs antics followed by Truss's disastrous start the polls have not shown any transfer from the Cons/Lab/Lib-Dem camp to the SNP/Greens merely a change in the breakdown of the Unionist vote. Scottish Voting Intention: Tories see worst performance since October 2014 | YouGov There was no figure for Independance but for Westminster the figure for SNP/Green was 48% against 50% for the Unionist alliance and Holyrood marginally in the other direction with 51% vs 47%, - existing voter's views on Independance are set in stone and it'll take a long time for demographic change to make any difference. ***************************** My thoughts on the shift from ScotCons to ScotLab shown in the above polling is that ScotCons voters are very unlikely to go pro-Indy so will move to ScotLab or maybe the Scottish Lib-Dems in the fringe constituencies where they still poll well whereas ScotLab voters who might be more inclined to go pro-Indy prefer to take the view that Labour can win a Westminster GE so are sticking for the present.

I note Sam Tarry who was sacked from the Shadow Cabinet after attending an RMT picket line in July has been deselected as Labour candidate for Ilford South.

The main problem for the SNP is that it can't breach the 50% barrier and it is worrying that even after the mess Truss has made this still seems to be the case - that Independence is the big issue in Scotland and that dissatisfaction with the Tories has merely led to a rearrangement of chairs on the Unionist side. If these figures were repeated at elections I would still expect the SNP to get a landslide in terms of MPs at Westminster and in and around the overall majority at Holyrood but still short of a majority in an Independence referendum - depressing thoughts for a Nationalist like me.

Maybe Cleese is now Fawlty.

Which one Truss, Thatcher, Ayn Rand - surely if the neoliberals were so sure of their beliefs on individuals rising to the top on merit alone they would advocate comprehensive schooling, the NHS and limit the amount of inherited wealth that could be passed on or are they just self-centred grifters.

Erm, have I imagined the many snowflaky whinging comments you have made about people criticising you - Janus!

Not sure if it's genuinely political and I suppose some of JCs recent comments have kinda signposted this but FFS From the Life of Brian "Blessed are the poor that go out and find better paid employment".

Won't often say this but I was glad to see Hearts get a last minute equalizer yesterday especially after DundeeUtd. winning on Saturday - as someone said earlier in the thread anyone from the bottom10 could find themselves struggling and for all the online mood over Saints prospects has lightened of late none of the underlying problems have been shown to be solved - if we score first we look capable of sitting on the lead, but if we concede first....