trousers

Get in!!!! MORGAN

Pelle side netting!

We've failed to score in the first half in 8 of the last 10 games apparently

12 minutes in and dare I say that this game already has the feel of a 0-0 about it

Population. The more I think about it the more I'm advocating PR, which goes against what I thought was my natural instinct. Tough gig this being a human being malarkey. Makes me think too hard!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3044340/ROBERT-HARDMAN-spent-week-north-border-chilled-voters-blind-determination-elect-party-bungling-neurotic-far-Left-dinosaurs-ll-wreck-booming-economy.html Why doesn't the UK have equal sized constituencies in order to make the FPTP as fair as possible?

Good effort. It's a bit of a trek from Sussex.

I thought that was obvious in this case?

I still maintain that the thing that is currently annoying the SNP most is that it's looking unlikely that the Tories will be back in power. Their most powerful independence-selling grievance is about to disappear (for a while at least)

I agree that the FPTP voting system clouds the logic somewhat. That doesn't detract from the fact that a lot of people, not least the SNP, talk about what the "Scottish people" want when what they really mean is what a minority of Scottish people, i.e. "Scottish Nationalists", want. But, yes, I acknowledge that the voting system skews reality.

You're doing what the SNP do by conflating 'Scotland' with 'The SNP'. The two aren't synonymous given that the SNP don't represent the views of the majority of the Scottish electorate (37% voted for separation. ) There's nothing contradictory about wanting 'Scotland' to be part of the UK and not wanting a UK separatist party having their hands on the levers of power in the very sovereign state that they want to destroy. There are plenty of other Scottish MPs from other parties who are able represent the views of the majority of Scots. Although, given the nature of the FPTP system the SNP are likely to get most seats with less than half of the votes this time around of course... The SNP have been very adept at conflating the two.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32346214

Miliband has publicly ruled out any formal agreement, be it a coalition or a confidence & supply arrangement. (I'm not 100% on the latter but I'm pretty sure I've seen interviews where he's ruled it out when pushed. Of course, he could always 'do a Clegg' and change his mind when blinded by the lights of power...). As I understand it, you don't need a formal arrangement to win the right to form a government, you just need to have a more convincing proposition than your opponents. What I don't understand is who decides what is best for the country if both options on the table look as weak as each other .... HRH ?!

More likely to be a 'vote by vote' scenario than a formal confidence and supply arrangement IMO.

You're forgetting the SaintsWeb Forum political debating rules: if a nasty Tory MP jokes about the economy its a hanging offence whereas if a Labour MP does so its a bit of fun. I've got a copy of the full terms and conditions here if you want one.

Rosie the dog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32338839

Koeman in today's pre-match press conference when asked if JRod will play this season: "I hope he can be part of maybe the last game against Man City. But the focus is for next season. But if he is part of 1 or 2 games this season then it will be great"

Koeman in today's pre-match press conference: "We're still in discussion with the agent of Clyne, to keep Clyney in the club. We know its difficult because what I read in the press there is some interest but nobody really knock on the door of the club to do an offer for Clyne. We know he has one season left of his contract and we like to keep him and we will do everything to keep Clyne in the club"

Djuricic still out injured. Mayuka back in training next week

So, does this mean that Tesco have actually confirmed they are going to open a new store on the site is Robinson going ahead with the construction on a speculative basis? Wouldn't we have seen some kind of fanfare announcement by now if Tesco had indeed given the green light, as that would trigger the release of their massive () 7 figure stadium development fund?

Oh contraire mon ami.... http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/business/local-business/tesco-superstore-by-fratton-park-starts-to-take-shape-1-6689857

I think this best articulates the point I've been trying to put across. People see a headline saying that "1,459,000 more people are now using food banks" and automatically assume that overall 'poverty' has risen proportionally. As an aside, does anyone have any stats on the reasons why people use food banks and for how long they use them for? I know someone who had to use a food bank for a few days a couple of years ago because he lost his job and there was a cock up by his local benefits office which meant that his job seekers allowance was delayed. IIRC it was leading up to a bank holiday weekend so they gave him some food bank vouchers to tide him over until the Tuesday when it was all sorted. So, for him, the food bank served as a means to an end for a few days because he didn't have any savings to dip into and had a temporary gap in income. If food banks hadn't existed then friends or family would have chipped in to help him out but he went down the food bank route because it was convenient to do so at the time. Now, I'm not saying this is a typical case and, of course, there are people out there who are in poverty on a more long term basis, but it would be interesting to understand how much of the "1,500,000" that have used food banks are using them due to a glitch in the benefits system (for example) vs those who are in a more continual state of poverty. (And, no, I'm not trying to justify the existence of poverty itself - I'm simply analysing the current situation and trying to understand it better)

What did people who couldn't afford to eat do before food banks existed? You're using food banks as a direct measure of food poverty. How many people were in 'food poverty' in 1982 compared to today (for example)?