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Post by greenchristian on Apr 17, 2020 18:34:16 GMT
For the sake of consistency the term "city" really should be a purely technical one, i.e. a settlement with a population above a certain threshold (say, 75,000-100,000), and not because it happens have a certain ecclesiastical structure within its boundaries I’ve been here before, and as far as I am concerned a city is simply a continuous urban area with a population of more than 250,000. Anything between 100,000 and 250,000 is a large town. It’s irritating and stupid to refer to small towns as cities. Who cares whether they have a cathedral or a charter. Why do people think that having an Anglican cathedral grants city status? Chelmsford gained its cathedral in 1914, but didn't become a city until around a century afterwards.
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Post by johnloony on Apr 17, 2020 19:48:44 GMT
Why do people think that having an Anglican cathedral grants city status? Because they are unbelievably stupid and have been hallucinating for 34,000 years.
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Post by johnloony on Apr 17, 2020 19:51:59 GMT
The fact that the King of the Belgians is called the King of the Belgians is not relevant, because Lord Twaddleford is not claiming to be the King of the Belgians; he is claiming (inaccurately, as far as I can tell) to be the King of Belgium. I am very sensitive to words; their weight, body, euphony and general baggage. I have a long list of words and names that I like and another for those I dislike. On yet a third list are words that appear to be 'wrong' for some reason. Belgium is on that latter list. It looks, sounds and feels 'wrong'. It always looks incorrectly spelled (note I prefer the regular formation because spelt has a meaning as a noun) and it sounds odd. Belgian is a perfectly good word however. About a decade ago there was a character on "Neighbours" who used "Belgium" as a swear-word
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Post by finsobruce on Apr 17, 2020 19:54:16 GMT
I am very sensitive to words; their weight, body, euphony and general baggage. I have a long list of words and names that I like and another for those I dislike. On yet a third list are words that appear to be 'wrong' for some reason. Belgium is on that latter list. It looks, sounds and feels 'wrong'. It always looks incorrectly spelled (note I prefer the regular formation because spelt has a meaning as a noun) and it sounds odd. Belgian is a perfectly good word however. About a decade ago there was a character on "Neighbours" who used "Belgium" as a swear-word This may well be an in joke reference to its use in "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" many years previously, when Ford Prefect tells Arthur Dent that it is the rudest word in the universe.
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Foggy
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Post by Foggy on Apr 18, 2020 20:09:10 GMT
The correct title for the head of state of Belgium is the King of the Belgians. And St Asaph is of course a city. The fact that the King of the Belgians is called the King of the Belgians is not relevant, because Lord Twaddleford is not claiming to be the King of the Belgians; he is claiming (inaccurately, as far as I can tell) to be the King of Belgium. Yes, I was aware of that, and thought about phrasing the post in such a way that acknowledged that fact, but then I remembered I'm lazy. Lord Twaddleford is of course free to claim the title King of Belgium, as it is not currently in use. [This does also bring to mind – or at least, to my mind – the time the term was incorrectly used by David Tennant, via the bad writing of Mark Gatiss, in the Doctor Who episode The Idiot's Lantern.]
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Post by Andrew_S on Apr 21, 2020 1:23:55 GMT
If my count is correct 60 current Labour MPs have sat on the government benches: elected before the 2010 general election in other words. This is the list which doesn't include Lindsay Hoyle.
1. Geraint Davies 2. Mark Hendrick 3. Meg Hillier 4. Barry Sheerman 5. Gareth Thomas 6. Diane Abbott 7. Margaret Beckett 8. Hilary Benn 9. Clive Betts 10.Ben Bradshaw 11.Kevin Brennan 12.Lyn Brown 13.Nick Brown 14.Chris Bryant 15.Karen Buck 16.Dawn Butler 17.Liam Byrne 18.Alan Campbell 19.Rosie Cooper 20.Yvette Cooper 21.Jeremy Corbyn 22.Jon Cruddas 23.John Cryer 24.Wayne David 25.Angela Eagle 26.Maria Eagle 27.Clive Efford 28.Barry Gardiner 29.Nia Griffith 30.Andrew Gwynne 31.Fabian Hamilton 32.Harriet Harman 33.John Healey 34.Margaret Hodge 35.Sharon Hodgson 36.George Howarth 37.Diana Johnson 38.Kevan Jones 39.Barbara Keeley 40.David Lammy 41.Tony Lloyd 42.Khalid Mahmood 43.Steve McCabe 44.Kerry McCarthy 45.Siobhain McDonagh 46.John McDonnell 47.Pat McFadden 48.Ed Miliband 49.Jessica Morden 50.Virendra Sharma 51.Andy Slaughter 52.John Spellar 53.Graham Stringer 54.Mark Tami 55.Emily Thornberry 56.Stephen Timms 57.Jon Trickett 58.Derek Twigg 59.Alan Whitehead 60.Rosie Winterton
When was the last time the Labour Party had so few MPs who'd been in the Commons when the party was in government?
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Post by hullenedge on Apr 21, 2020 8:48:14 GMT
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Apr 21, 2020 9:10:31 GMT
At the end of the 1992 Parliament, of 273 Labour MPs (including Deputy Speaker), 69 had served when Labour had been in government. 70 had served as a government MP.
At the end of the 1959 Parliament, of 258 Labour MPs, 164 had served when Labour had been in government.
At the beginning of the 1945 Parliament, of 393 Labour MPs, 82 had served when Labour had been in government in 1924 and 1929-31.
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Post by Daft H'a'porth A'peth A'pith on Apr 21, 2020 9:17:55 GMT
After the 1931 General Election Labour only had 52 seats so the total who were on governement benches has to less than now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2020 12:37:08 GMT
Labour now hold only four of the 20 seats with the highest UKIP votes in 2015.
2015: LAB 10 CON 9 UKIP 1 2017: CON 11 LAB 9 2020: CON 16 LAB 4
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pl
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Post by pl on Apr 24, 2020 12:38:59 GMT
Labour now hold only four of the 20 seats with the highest UKIP votes in 2015. 2015: LAB 10 CON 9 UKIP 1 2017: CON 11 LAB 9 2020: CON 16 LAB 4 UKIP - the gateway drug of choice for new Conservative voters!
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Post by Daft H'a'porth A'peth A'pith on Apr 24, 2020 15:20:09 GMT
Labour now hold only four of the 20 seats with the highest UKIP votes in 2015. 2015: LAB 10 CON 9 UKIP 1 2017: CON 11 LAB 9 2020: CON 16 LAB 4
And they are?
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Apr 24, 2020 15:26:31 GMT
Rotherham, Dagenham & Rainham, Hartlepool, Wentworth & Dearne
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Post by hullenedge on Apr 24, 2020 19:41:34 GMT
Seat flow 1997/2019:-
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Post by hullenedge on May 3, 2020 9:16:54 GMT
Seat flow since 1979 (same boundaries projected back, some best guess):-
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Post by timrollpickering on May 3, 2020 12:13:36 GMT
Seat flow since 1979 (same boundaries projected back, some best guess):-] I thought Plaid had two seats in 1979? Or do the notionals (is there anywhere worse for them than that part of Wales?) take one away?
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Post by hullenedge on May 3, 2020 12:21:30 GMT
Seat flow since 1979 (same boundaries projected back, some best guess):-] I thought Plaid had two seats in 1979? Or do the notionals (is there anywhere worse for them than that part of Wales?) take one away? Guessed that Arfon would have voted Labour in 1979. Perhaps not?
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Post by Pete Whitehead on May 3, 2020 12:22:04 GMT
Their two seats are now effectively one. Presumably Arfon is reckoned to have been Labour, which does seem likely given how weak Plaid were in Conway
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pl
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Post by pl on May 4, 2020 0:57:07 GMT
Seat flow 1997/2019:- Which is the 1997C (notional) seat which was won by Labour in 2019? I've been wracking my brain, and I know i'll feel stupid when you tell me.
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spqr
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Post by spqr on May 4, 2020 1:00:39 GMT
Seat flow 1997/2019:- Which is the 1997C (notional) seat which was won by Labour in 2019? I've been wracking my brain, and I know i'll feel stupid when you tell me. Canterbury is my guess.
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