Anthony Wells

I wouldn't bet against you.

It does make me ponder what impact selective schools have on social mobility *by ethnicity*, rather than class.

Yes, but it's possible to do. Kids in the selective areas probably have higher baseline SAT scores than non-selective areas at age 10 because they are in more affluent areas.

The comparison though is "how do kids *with same level in SATs* at age 10 do by 18 in selective/non-selective areas"

Bucks, Lincolnshire and Kent are the wholly selective counties. Other bits are scattered.

While it's not quite as simple as this, very crudely it's "councils that were so Tory the Tories retained control throughout the whole period of comprehensivisation and dug their heels in.

He'd be fantastic. You've sold it to me now, that would be gold. Not even Bay could mess that up.

The nanoviolin will not be enough, a new picoviolin will be needed.

The one I am waiting for is the inevitable sob story that will some point appear, one assumes in the Telegraph, of someone who has been clobbered by a UK income tax bill because their flights to Dubai were cancelled and they spent one day too much in the UK.

Queering the pitch: should gay roles only be played by gay actors? | Alexander Larman | The Critic Magazine Russell T Davies, the hugely talented writer behind such dramas as Queer as Folk, Years and Years and the successful relaunch of Doctor Who, is no stranger to controversy. Throughout his career…

Yep - About a Boy - it refers to him missing out on the role here - thecritic.co.uk/queering-the...

Don't tell me that. You'll curse them to a terrible fate.

They do seem to have missed out "lob over fence into unpleasant racist neighbour's back garden" off the instructions.

6, I think (depends if I've got 6 right or not)

Jim's work really is stupendous. It is an absolute example of what journalism can and should be.

Yay! Congratulations

Mrs W regularly does this as a way of making cold callers bugger off. I just hate it when they don't take the hint and DO call back. It was just a polite go away, dammit!

I actually always had a lot of sympathy for Seb. He's a nice guy, he'd be a lot better an MP than some people who are Conservative MPs. But the "does Seb have a safe seat yet" stuff was, alas, also very funny.

How far out do Salford pizza takeouts deliver? Do they reach Cheshire? He may be fine - I delivered a marinara there once, I'm a local boy!

Those cats could if they made the damn effort. Lazy bastards

If that was the case, the correct process is to issue a tendered ballot paper.

They give the voter a ballot paper, but it is then put aside rather than placed in the ballot box and the returning officer is informed.

The Awful truth about agree disagree statements is now too monstrous to hide

Not sure what people have got against him. This seems like a perfectly sensible take.

Probably behind his defection to the Phoenix party. Disappointment can do that sort of thing.

Short answer is yes. @stewartlewis3.bsky.social is on here, though he hasn't posted for months.

I think Opinium also had someone in their back office or one of @adamdrummond.bsky.social's old school teachers or something who they had nominated as their regular "fake person"

I think you'll find Andrew Farmer is the leader of the Phoenix Party (or if Ipsos are asking, Stewart Lewis)

An *excellent* choice of county for all their printing needs ;)

Mentions? They'll be fighting on your doorstep Chris. Wrestling each others hands away from your doorbell

I can only assume his nan was a "one careful owner who drove it one mile a year since forever". I think he kept it going for several years.

One of my oldest friends had an Allegro as his first car, inherited from his nan, when he passed his test in the mid 90s. We recall it fondly

Playing "guess who gave which quote" in that article is great fun.

(Also, unappreciated benefit of BlueSky over X - you can safely use the words Peter and Hitchens without summoning him forth like the Candyman)

Crikey, haven't had to use the "mute anyone using the Peter Hitchens poll meme unironically" rule for AGES, and up it pops.