Interesting Links for 21-09-2013

[andrewducker]

• Who uses Twitter in the UK?
  (tags: twitter uk demographics )
• The _real_ reason people queue up for an iPhone
  (tags: advertising money iphone )
• Ukip conference: Controversial MEP Godfrey Bloom calls room full of women 'sluts' before branding news reporter 'racist' and hitting him over the head with brochure
  (tags: politics ukip )
• CBT: No better

Comments

[gonzo21]

I appreciate I should take no joy from UKIP's fairly spectacular self destruction, because they probably gained more voters than the lost by calling women 'sluts', and that's just depressing. But it was a truly impressive hitting of the self destruct button.

[danieldwilliam]

I think you're right.

I think quite a few voters will see this as another example of UKIP’s refreshing attitude to politics.

I reckon anyone who thinks it is problematic to call a roomful of women sluts and talk about cutting aid to Bongo Bongo land are already not going to be voting for UKIP.

And the guy’s had the whip removed so Farage can say that whilst UKIP might be a little rough round the edges there are lines beyond which even a personal friend of Farage’s can’t go.

And the coverage they got was blanket.

I’d say UKIP 2 Not UKIP 1 on this.

[gonzo21]

Plus in a sense it totally removed the media attention away from what their policies might be. Which might be a good thing as far as they are concerned. The UK voter has come out of the whole UKIP conference with the impression that they are a bunch of racist sexist arseholes who want to put women and lefty journalists in their place, and NO MORE IMMIGRANTS!

All of which would be likely to see them secure a pretty hefty chunk of the Tory vote if the average Tory voter wasn't concerned about splitting their vote and letting Labour in.

I can't see many Lib Dem voters switching to UKIP. Although I suppose the problem for Lib Dem voters is who else could they possibly vote for anyway.

[danieldwilliam]

I am not so sure that the average Tory voter is that concerned about splitting their vote. I'm not sure it's occured to them that it is a possibility.

Their senior leadership are very worried about it but ordinary voters on the right have never come across a vote splitting situation.

[gonzo21]

Good point. And despite all the noise UKIP have attracted, I do half suspect when push comes to shove most people will still vote Tory anyway.

Heck, looking at the recent polling data, Labour are in trouble, the Tories might win a majority anyway. George bloody Osbourne is something like 33 points ahead of Balls in the who do you trust to run the economy stakes.

... always thought it was a massive mistake keeping Balls around in such a central place.

I digress.

[danieldwilliam]

I think it’s very difficult to predict the result of a close election when it is using single member plurality voting. The thing is a crap shoot with two parties. With 3 or 4 or 5 it very non linear. Unless you have very fine grained polling information very very hard to predict the outcome. Labour could poll relatively well and still not win or poll badly in the popular vote and still come out with a small majority

[gonzo21]

Saddest thing about Labour I feel is that I felt genuinely hopeful about Ed, but maybe that was just because at the time he was the best of a bad bunch.

Not that I think it really makes much difference anymore, Tory or Labour, I'm fairly certain they've all now been bought off by the special interest groups, and government is now run for the benefit of the elites.

But yes, I agree, I think it will probably be a hung parliament again too. Unless Scotland goes Independent, in which case the Tories will win a majority.