The 2024 UK General Election - news, speculation and updates

[Serge Forward]

When I was working I toiled in a New York based private equity company that regualry talked about selling and buying companies, it never occurred to me to pop down the betting shop. I marvel at how petty and greedy you must be to bet on this stuff.

Clearly you never watched Back to the Future.

 

[bemused]

Clearly you never watched Back to the Future.

Missed my chance to be Biff.

 

[Artaxerxes]

When I was working I toiled in a New York based private equity company that regualry talked about selling and buying companies, it never occurred to me to pop down the betting shop. I marvel at how petty and greedy you must be to bet on this stuff.

It’s also illegal to do that

 

[Wilf]

Just imagine, if you back to look at betting patterns around all the mad shit Boris Johnson did in office. Equivalent to footballers booting the ball out for a throw in from the kick off.

 

[tim]

When I was working I toiled in a New York based private equity company that regualry talked about selling and buying companies, it never occurred to me to pop down the betting shop. I marvel at how petty and greedy you must be to bet on this stuff.

I would imagine no greedier than the private equity company you were working for.

Do you think you could have got away with it?

 

[DotCommunist]

when it comes to cheating at betting I care when its sport because it demeans the whole thing and corrupts promising athletes etc. Don't care bout betting company profits. The worst cheating for me is using steroids in combat sports. People die from ordinary fights, if you are adding roids you're not just a cheat you're a fucking menace.

/ot

 

[bemused]

I would imagine no greedier than the private equity company you were working for.

Do you think you could have got away with it?

a) no, you don't want to be convicted of financial crimes in the USA and b) it just isn't worth it, for a few hundred bucks you can ruin your reputation. These people are just mad.

 

[Kaka Tim]

I hope that they gave a bag of cash to some put-open minion and told him to place bets at various bookmakers - but who then thought "fuck that" and placed the lot at the nearest branch of william hill -

 

[cupid_stunt]

I'd love to know the circumstances that led to them including the copper in their betting scam. 'Look, you police chappie! Here's a tip that will make you hundreds. All you have to do is forget that you saw, you know, that little incident'.

I would think he just overheard a conversation, and took advantage of it independently.

 

[Dogsauce]

It's so stupid if you do it online so they know who had placed the bet. If these people had put bets on 3 or 4 dates and gone into actual shops they might have got away with it.

I doubt they live in the sort of place that has five bookies on the high street (with an assortment of fixed odd slot machines etc.).

 

[two sheds]

So other Tories seem to think. Not sure whether by “unity” candidate they mean Mitford.

I’m One Nation, I’m Conservative. I was worried Priti was too extreme, but.

...now I'm just as extreme as she is.

 

[PR1Berske]

 

[Pickman's model]

I doubt they live in the sort of place that has five bookies on the high street (with an assortment of fixed odd slot machines etc.).

If you want to place that sort of bet and not be humiliated in the newspapers then you need to make a modicum of effort

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Seeing quite a few more window posters going up here in Reading Central. A smattering of Labour and (increasingly) a lot of Greens.

That's pretty normal round here...but what's interesting is that Labour delivered leaflets recently with a mini window poster on and a few of those have gone up. The Greens (afaik) haven't delivered any posters and don't appear to be campaigning locally - I guess they're focusing on the target seats.

So, the Green posters must be ones people have held onto from previous local elections...in fact one poster I saw had the candidate's name from last year's locals.

Which implies a kinda spontaneous bottom up "Green surge". The last time I saw something like this was the home printed Labour posters in 2017 when Reading East was an unexpected gain that even caught the new MP out.

Do I think the Greens are gonna win Reading Central? Not a chance, but it might - like 2017 - be an indication of some electoral shift going on 'under the radar' that the politicos haven't yet picked up on

Green Party often puts up 'paper candidates' in wards/constituencies they know they've no hope of winning, but do so to give the electorate the choice.

They're 'paper candidates' in the sense of being on the ballot paper, but it's likely there will be no canvassing or active campaigning because, as you rightly point out, their efforts will be focussed on target seats, so even the 'paper candidates' will often not do any canvassing or campaigning for themselves, but will go and help a fellow candidate in a target seat.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

presume the new reading central constituency is safe enough labour for a green vote not to help the tories? (maybe not this time but maybe in the future if the tories recover a bit?) the old reading east + west seats were fairly marginal.

not had any communications from green / labour / refuck here (wokingham) yet. lib dems using shit in rivers etc as one of their main campaigning points (along with NHS and cost of living) including one of yesterday's 3 leaflets which was printed in green.

Did the LibDem leaflet have any of their hilariously inaccurate bar charts? I do love a good LibDem bar chart.

 

[Pickman's model]

Did the LibDem leaflet have any of their hilariously inaccurate bar charts? I do love a good LibDem bar chart.

That's because they're composed in the bar

 

[bemused]

Green Party often puts up 'paper candidates' in wards/constituencies they know they've no hope of winning, but do so to give the electorate the choice.

I've been offered one of these for local elections.

 

[TopCat]

I'd love to know the circumstances that led to them including the copper in their betting scam. 'Look, you police chappie! Here's a tip that will make you hundreds. All you have to do is forget that you saw, you know, that little incident'.

Probably just overheard and saw their excitement and thought yeah.

 

[Silas Loom]

Whatever the reason, the fact that the MPS suspended him ASAP, without waiting for the Gambling Commission to investigate, is enormously helpful in putting pressure on Sunak to do likewise with Tory candidates.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

They were already doomed before this started, but it's going to continue to dominate the news and make it impossible for any positive campaigning to turn things around.

I also think this issue will cut through with voters much more than Sunak leaving the D-Day Day out a bit early.

I think the voters whose votes are likely to be swayed by the D-Day debacle are probably more likely to switch to Reform than Labour, so the impact will be to split the right-wing vote, rather than lead people to vote Labour or other left or centre parties.

 

[Wilf]

Probably just overheard and saw their excitement and thought yeah.

Yeah, Tories, pretty much h see the staff as underlings. Completely out of sight.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Tbh the Tories were finished with no hope of revival as soon as the election was announced. The gaffes and Reform have though introduced a comic element to it.

I work with a Conservative voter who seemed to think they were doing all right. Admittedly, that was before D-Day debacle and this gambling scandal. But still.

 

[kebabking]

I was in the south Shropshire constituency yesterday, oot 'naboot, bit of picnic, bit of paddling, bit of cake....

I saw two Tory roadside posters - 10ft sq? - and that was it. One Labour poster in Church Stretton, one in Cleobury Mortimer, and two in Ludlow, and loads of Lib Dem posters in houses and gardens, as well as roadside banners the whole way through. Drove about 60miles, passed through 4 towns and a couple of villages.

Probably 80+ LD posters for every one for Tory.

I also had a pie.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Whatever the reason, the fact that the MPS suspended him ASAP, without waiting for the Gambling Commission to investigate, is enormously helpful in putting pressure on Sunak to do likewise with Tory candidates.

With the filth any sniff of dishonesty is what does for you, kill some proles is fine with an honestly held belief, but dishonesty is the thing.

Seems Sunak feels dishonestly is not such a big deal with prospective Tory MPs.

 

[PR1Berske]

That looks like a decent pie kebabking

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Whatever the reason, the fact that the MPS suspended him ASAP, without waiting for the Gambling Commission to investigate, is enormously helpful in putting pressure on Sunak to do likewise with Tory candidates.

I wonder which way it will go down? Whether the involvement of a police officer and their being suspended (while the Conservative politicians/officials haven't been) will make cops think 'If I'm going down, I'm taking these politicos down with me' or if it will all go away, because the police would rather let the politicos off the hook than take down one of their own?

I mean, generally speaking, politicians and police officers do tend to close ranks and politicians protect one another just like police officers protect one another, so are they likely to extend the courtesy to one another?

 

[newbie]

I see there's going to be an arms race for peerages.

Labour to add dozens of peers to back its policies and improve gender balance

Exclusive: Party has pledged to abolish House of Lords but plans initial appointments to bolster its benches

www.theguardian.com

Starmer, with his normal political nouse, announces this in advance, so Sunak can appoint a zillion ex MPs in his resignation list.
Time for a bet on the price of stoats.

 

[Wilf]

Been down to Wiltshire being a hippy last couple of days. Saw my first Tory posters there and they were on the edge of farmer's land. Not seen a single one elsewhere.

 

[Rob Ray]

With the number of people they're shoving in the House of Lords these days it's a wonder none of them have fainted from peer pressure.

I'l get me coat.

 

[brogdale]

About to get even juicier?