Anthony Wells
@anthonyjwells
Global Head of Politics at YouGov. Dartfordian. Hates agree-disagree statements.
Wasn't a cliff edge, just a general upwards trend from 2001ish to 2012ish. It's fascinating just how much it does go up and down over time (and that we were both born at the absolute nadir of it)
Oh it's so much older that that - it started in 1987, when a previous incarnation stood against Thatcher. Here goes - Buckethead there on the far left at the Finchley count
No one ever got this? Photo is Bank of England, but it's taken from inside Grind coffee shop - the reflection in the window is this sign on their wall -
I assume the landlord knew this and felt it gave him enough plausible deniability. Or was very, very unobservant. Booze, uh, finds a way.
Rabbit hole accepted! Slightly to my surprise looking at ONS live births by decile does show a clear difference - there's a clear decline in poorer areas, but birth numbers in the least deprived areas have NOT fallen (caveats about ecological fallacy and all that, but still)
They've changed it. It originally said it was voting intention and had that in the subheading (The Guardian normally flag at the bottom of the story when they've corrected stuff like this!)
They are massively "man who wears a certain type of hat" (most perfectly described below) But it does depend what book you started with. The first two are, frankly, a bit rubbish, so if you started there skip on a couple. If you've already done that, just pass - you aren't going to get on with them
Not sure what people have got against him. This seems like a perfectly sensible take.
Sam's missed out the crucial header! Everywhere said salt & vinegar. The map is what came next highest after that
Got it and, as as expected, you are entirely correct. It was getting people to guess the number from multiple choice. So it doesn't show ignorance of the slave trade or Britain's role in it, just ignorance of the specific number.
It's obviously in clients interests too, because it's really bad publicity to have your pollster come out and correct your claims (and we are obliged to under the MRS Code of Conduct)
Have you ever been up to see the old Victorian sewage pumping station in Erith. It looks absolutely magnificent -
This could be a challenger for the current reigning champion from the News of the World...
The mystery field is part of Welney parish (so March deanery?). No idea of the answer. On the 19th C tithe map that field is just marked with a big WELNEY, so the mystery enclave has at least been there for a very long time.
Waiting for you to finish the thread I was looking for spoilers in the newspaper archive... and in 1864 there are loads of newspaper reports that Thomas Williams later made a death bed confession... And another newspaper report pointing out that this was actually completely untrue.
Our mystery commentator does appear to get increasingly irate over the years