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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Could Johnson be tempted to go for an early election – just after the new boundaries come into effect?

Could Johnson be tempted to go for an early election – just after the new boundaries come into effect?

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Or will the memory of TMay’s GE2017 decision have a cautionary effect? In normal circumstances for this Parliament to run its full course means the next general election at the latest should take place in May 2024 – but could Johnson be tempted to go early? Even if he doesn’t get round to repealing the Fixed Term Parliament Act the fact that he has a big majority and the obvious desire of Starmer to have an election as early as…

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The Chancellor’s controversial letter to Chesham and Amersham voters

The Chancellor’s controversial letter to Chesham and Amersham voters

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Rishi seems to threaten that the area will suffer financially if the Tory loses The above is a copy of a letter from Rishi Sunak that has been sent to voters in the Chesham and Amersham by-election and the controversial part is the strapline at the top – “To recover from the pandemic Chesham and Amersham needs an MP who can work with me” It is being argued that Sunak is saying that if the Tories should lose their 29%…

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England’s R rate getting above one casts a shadow over positive holiday news from Spain and France

England’s R rate getting above one casts a shadow over positive holiday news from Spain and France

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Developments on two fronts today – one positive for those looking for a return to normality and one that is very negative. The so called R Rate is up in England to between 1 and 1.2. The R number, of course, is a measure of the average number of people an infected person will go on to infect. When this is going downwards below 1 COVID is in decline but when it goes above, like that announced today, the battle…

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After the Portugal decision the front pages are entirely predictable

After the Portugal decision the front pages are entirely predictable

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The really hard part of all of this for ministers is that the vast majority of adults have now been vaccinated and it becomes hard to make the case for the continuation of strict travel controls. They got the plaudits for the vaccine roll-out and the danger is they could see the opposite over this. What many will find hard to understand is why those who have been fully vaccinated will have to be subject to long airport queues and…

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The holiday hopes of thousands get dashed as Shapps moves Portugal back to the Amber list

The holiday hopes of thousands get dashed as Shapps moves Portugal back to the Amber list

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The government’s move this afternoon to change the status of Portugal is a massive blow to tens of thousands of people who had booked because until today this was the one big tourist area where travel was allowed with no reqirement to self isolate on return. What is causing consternation in the travel industry is that ministers like Shapps are making these announcements without giving the full detail of how decisions are taken. There is a public expectation that the…

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The big dividing line in British politics – retirees who gave Johnson his majority

The big dividing line in British politics – retirees who gave Johnson his majority

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There is some great analysis on voting behaviour in the latest edition of the New Statesman which today publishes the chart above in an article by Ben Walker. As can be seen British Election Study data on what happened in December 2019 finds that if you exclude retirees then LAB was in the lead by a margin of 3.1%. But if you include them the Tories lead by 11%. As well as being pro-Tory a big factor about the old…

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