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Author: TSE

Why lockdown scepticism doesn’t resonate much with the voters

Why lockdown scepticism doesn’t resonate much with the voters

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Turns out it isn’t the economy, stupid. Ever since the beginning of the first lockdown one of the things I’ve noticed is pieces and comments along the lines of that the pandemic has ‘led to an extraordinary expansion of government power‘ but as a keen studier of history I know this sort of thing happens when there’s a genuine problem facing the country. For example the Emergency Powers Acts at the start of world war two or even the Thatcher…

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The slavish devotion of Republicans to one person is damaging to the country

The slavish devotion of Republicans to one person is damaging to the country

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This poll is part of a continuing series of polling which shows the GOP proving that they can sink lower than before. You would have thought if the January 6th insurrection really was the fault of Joe Biden and the Dems then they wouldn’t want to move on from it and keep on banging on about it. This polling does have betting implication, the changes since January means the mood is moving back to Donald Trump which should help his…

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The Butler did it?

The Butler did it?

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The Sunday Telegraph are reporting that Dawn Butler, a prominent Jeremy Corbyn ally, denied on Saturday she was preparing to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, amid claims of a hard-Left plot to replace the Labour leader after the Batley and Spen by-election. Ms Butler, who was a frontbencher under Mr Corbyn, was seen in the West Yorkshire constituency with a camera crew last week, leading to speculation that she was putting together material for a leadership bid. Labour…

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The man who refused to be a sub to Dom is back in the cabinet

The man who refused to be a sub to Dom is back in the cabinet

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Because Matt Hancock wasn’t lying when he said he was hard at work we now have a new Health Secretary, I think this is a good appointment even before the self confessed liar Dominic Cummings denounced the appointment (after all Javid wasn’t fired by the PM, he resigned, but as usual facts are inapposite in Cummings world.) My expectation is that being Health Secretary is going be even more of a challenge than in a pre pandemic world with an…

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Rishi Sunak looks like a homunculus. This may stymie his leadership ambitions

Rishi Sunak looks like a homunculus. This may stymie his leadership ambitions

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The picture above isn’t a photoshop but from the official MOD twitter account, see here. Whilst I don’t want to turn this article into an episode of Father Ted it is clear from past evidence that Rishi Sunak is shorter than most politicians, something which he tries to hide which leads to weird photos. Appearances matter in politics, this is why it has been discussed being bald is bad for party leaders. Back in 2001 one newspaper ‘suggested that a…

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Something to watch over the next few weeks?

Something to watch over the next few weeks?

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One of my earliest memories of Scottish independence was back in 1992 when, the then Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party, Jim Sillars lost his seat in the general election and ranted about ’90 minute patriots’ aka part time SNP voters aka how long a football match lasts. Ever since then in my mind the Scottish football team and Scottish independence have been inextricably linked. Now this really hasn’t been much of an issue since the ‘killing Scottish nationalism…

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This is why Friday was National Fish and Chips Day

This is why Friday was National Fish and Chips Day

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I love fish & chips so I celebrated on Friday with the God Tier dish that reflects well on my fellow Brits. This YouGov poll from 2019 does invite the following observations though 1) That a chicken tikka masala is considered a classic British food is a shocking case of cultural appropriation or excellent integration of immigrants in this country depending on your viewpoint. 2) The foods we consider God tier is why the French laugh at us and say…

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A reminder that the polling mode can impact the result

A reminder that the polling mode can impact the result

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Pew Research have highlighted this difference between American online and phone polls when it comes to the death penalty. The death penalty, alongside abortion, is one of the more controversial subjects and I can understand why some Americans may wish to avoid disclosing their true opinion to strangers. I suspect this polling difference may get worse in the future with things like, and I really wish I was making this up, at least one state in America is refurbishing its…

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