Current Politics in the United Kingdom

[Devius]

Anti-Semitism row: Corbyn has been misinterpreted, says close ally

Labour can resolve its anti-Semitism crisis quickly, John McDonnell has said, insisting Jeremy Corbyn's views on Israel have been "misinterpreted".

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45388447

Brexit deal: Fox refuses to back Hammond's warning

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has refused to back Chancellor Philip Hammond's warning that a "no-deal" Brexit could damage the economy.

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45388557

And while our two main parties continue their respective soul-searching, what pray tell are the Liberal Democrat party up to? Apparently the Lib Dem's current leader Sir Vince Cable is to announce a shake-up of the party's rules, in a move that could see someone who is not an MP become leader of the Lib Dem party, as part of a plan to broaden their appeal.

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45313399

If Sir Vince REALLY wants to broaden the Lib Dem's appeal, please come up with more besides supporting a campaign for a referendum on the final Brexit deal.
The United Kingdom is leaving the EU on 29 March 2019, Period. And that deadline is fast approaching for all concerned.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

I am the one who highlighted the smallness of the poll as compared with the number of people who will be affected by the proposed change. I agree that it is still a very big opinion poll, but I would also point out that it will be a poll of the sort of people who browse the EU website and respond to EU polls - a skewed and biased sample. In the same way, our thread poll shows between 54% and 56% in favour of Leave, remaining in this range consistently as it has grown from 400 to over 600 votes - but it is a population skewed in favour of grumpy old men.

One would be foolish to extrapolate either poll as representative of the overall population.

Two interesting subjects: daylight savings and brexit

The Commission poll is more than big enough to reach a conclusion on daylight savings. That assumes it was representative, which I do -- the Commission is far too professional to waste money on a meaningless poll

If it's of interest, Russia cancelled daylight savings some years ago. Works great!

But you're absolutely right about our VEF brexit poll. It's not just unrepresentative, it even contains ineligible voters, including me

[palo5]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

To be fair, €50 billion is only about a third of the EU's €145 billion annual budget. Chicken feed.

Hahaha!

If you mean the "settlement", the €50 billion will be paid over three or four decades or so, so yes, it will indeed be relatively small beer. Did you really think it was all due at once??

The €8 billion or so annual net contributions will be missed, but with one big client less to accommodate, and with good planning, the overall effect will not be dramatic from an EU perspective

[otokonomidori]

Originally Posted by palo5

If it's of interest, Russia cancelled daylight savings some years ago. Works great!

Russia is such a big place - I imagine it's very different between the far north and the south in terms of how long the daylight lasts , winter and summer

I've read that in Japan they're thinking about introducing daylight saving - when I was there one early summer it was full daylight at 5 AM and dark by 7. 30 PM in the evening. Here in Jockland at midsummer it's clear at 4 am and doesn't get properly dark till 11 pm.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

Two interesting subjects: daylight savings and brexit

The Commission poll is more than big enough to reach a conclusion on daylight savings. That assumes it was representative, which I do -- the Commission is far too professional to waste money on a meaningless poll

If it's of interest, Russia cancelled daylight savings some years ago. Works great!

But you're absolutely right about our VEF brexit poll. It's not just unrepresentative, it even contains ineligible voters, including me

Opinion polls serve a useful purpose and are also interesting, but we shouldn't rely on them uncritically. It makes me smile rather sardonically now to think that Mrs May, having ruled a general election out, called one at a moment's notice mainly because the opinion polls strongly indicated shhe would win a landslide victory and utterly humiliate Jeremy Corbyn. This of course was before she ran on the dementia tax and bringing back fox hunting, when a mere child could have told her that she needed to concentrate on Brexit as the election issue. Then her lack of talent as a campaigner was laid bare; she lied brazenly about her retreat from the dementia tax and looked both shifty and inept; Corbyn was a far more skillful media politician.

The opinion polls changed rapidly and quite soon the Tories were governing in a minority by courtesy of the Democratic Unionists - always steer well away from any entity which includes the word "Democratic" in its name.

The moral of the story? The opinion poll which decides the outcome is the actual vote on election day - unless you are in charge of counting the votes.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

Two interesting subjects: daylight savings and brexit

The Commission poll is more than big enough to reach a conclusion on daylight savings. That assumes it was representative, which I do -- the Commission is far too professional to waste money on a meaningless poll

If it's of interest, Russia cancelled daylight savings some years ago. Works great!

But you're absolutely right about our VEF brexit poll. It's not just unrepresentative, it even contains ineligible voters, including me

Cancelling DST makes more sense than imposing it all year round as Britain did in 1968-71; that's true enough. But I am rather agnostic about how sensible the Commission is - remember the electric kettles?

[palo5]

Originally Posted by otokonomidori

Russia is such a big place - I imagine it's very different between the far north and the south in terms of how long the daylight lasts , winter and summer

There's not much difference in the south. Days are always more or less equally long

But as someone who's spent most of his life in the arctic and sub-arctic, I can tell you it's a complete waste of time here as well. In summer you get no darkness, and in winter you get no light -- no matter what the clock tells you. So why change the time??

[palo5]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

I am rather agnostic about how sensible the Commission is - remember the electric kettles?

I know nothing about the Commission and electric kettles. Did they do anything horrific? Whatever it was, they all will have voted on it, don't forget that

[bloke57]

Originally Posted by palo5

So why change the time??

"Time may change me, but I can't change time" (D. Bowie)

Originally Posted by palo5

I know nothing about the Commission and electric kettles. Did they do anything horrific? Whatever it was, they all will have voted on it, don't forget that

It was something to do with wattage/power ratings for environmental reasons. Of course it was a big deal in Britain as it meant we all had to wait a couple more nanoseconds before we could have tea!

IMHO though, not a reason to ditch our biggest trading partners.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by bloke57

IMHO though, not a reason to ditch our biggest trading partners.

Interestingly, it's said that 50% of UK's sperm donations come from Denmark, and this will be cut off!

But May was in Africa talking trade. Intelligently, she will have secured a good supply of African seed