TellYouGov

TYG snapshot: fourth week of January

Here is a selection of tygs from the last week…

The Big Issue

“This and Private Eye are the only decent reads out there”

“I must admit that I have never read it, or seen anyone reading it, or seen it left on the Tube, does it self-destruct after purchase?”

The Queen

“Great respect for her, has devoted her whole life to our country”

“I’m born and bred in Britain, but the queen is no part of my identity or tradition”

“Has done a good job, better than most of us would do in the same position”

“The monarchy should be abolished, along with all other feudal relics such as the Lords”

OAP Bus Passes

“Excellent. Public transport should be free. It would ease congestion, create jobs and improve the environment”

“Why are pensioners grateful for it, it is not free, they paid for it!”

Tesco

“It’s what people asked for… Give me everything under one roof. Too late to complain now.”

“They may have asked for ‘everything under one roof’. But they didn’t ask to be ripped off and given bad service. Also, it’s never too late to complain, it’s a right”

And finally, a late entry onto the TYG leaderboard…

Andy Murray, who lost in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Friday.

“Pretty good but just not good enough”

“Brave fight Andy. It is getting closer”

“Choker”

Week 2 - What have you been saying?

One of the week’s big stories was the government’s approval for the new HS2 rail link…

…HS2

I like it, its Tories stealing Labours plans to spend our way out of economic distress – Plan B has arrived.

All our history points to this and similar big projects to come as being in the long term interests of the people. We owe it to our children to make these things happen. The alternative is the Brown Blair era of socialist borrowing, waste and failure.

Save the cash and build the Severn barrage instead. At least we would have the electricity to run our trains then.

A waste of taxpayer money! Better invested on NHS or elderly/disabled or education (instead of charging students £12000).

There was also a culinary theme to the TYG leaderboard this week, on the back of TV chef Anthony Worrall Thompson’s shop-lifting confessions…

…Anthony Worrall Thompson

Must be feeling cheesed off!

No excuse.

Must be ill in some way, surely?

This was accompanied by a steady stream of mostly positive commentary on an old favourite TYG topic…

…Sunday Roast

Just one of many great British traditions

I’m vegetarian but love it, especially Yorkshire puddings

The Royals have also been garnering quite a bit of attention this week on TYG. In particular…

…Prince Philip

I love Pip the Greek and more to the point so does Her Maj – show some respect instead of your ignorance – we’re all human beings under the trappings you know!

Ridiculously outdated views – needs to catch up with modern times

…Kate Middleton

Have no interest in what she’s shown up to, what she was wearing, and how friendly she was. Let’s focus on more interesting people and issues.

Splendid role model for young independent women everywhere

Happy New Year!

To welcome in the New Year, here is a selection of tygs from the first week of 2012…

…Breast Enlargement

-Those who have them should’ve thought of the risks and that included the recent issues.

-Should only be done privately.

…Prince Phillip

-Has done a good job over the years supporting the monarch

-I think he’s great. I love his honesty. And he’s amazing for his age.

-Applauded for walking to church instead of being driven by his lackeys! Whatever next?

…Diane Abbott

-Should have been sacked, nobody else would have been excused what she said.

-Utter disgrace she should resign

-She was referring to 19th century colonialism

…Morecambe and Wise

-Perfect timing. Loved the new drama & the 1972 interview. They hit all the right notes in the right order.

-I don’t know how many times I have said Oh no! not again, then laughed all the way through their shows, ”Classic!”

-Ten years past their sell-by date!

Why not join the debate? Post your tygs by text, email, twitter, tellyougov.com or iPhone app!

Best wishes

Tell YouGov team

Technical Difficulties

Unfortunately we are currently experiencing technical difficulties with the site. This is preventing a lot of users from posting comments and has also affected the leader board. We apologise for this inconvenience and hope to have the site up and running very soon.

Best Wishes

Tell YouGov Support

A week of Riots

There has been much discussion about the recent riots in London and other English cities this week, with Tyggers commenting on many different topics related to the violence. Unsurprisingly, ‘Police’ and ‘Gangs’ have shot up the Tell YouGov leader board, to the second and third most discussed topics this week.

The majority of comments surrounding the police have been positive, with one Tygger stating, “They are doing a tough job” and another saying, “Give the police the right tools and manpower to do the job”. Some Tyggers have commented negatively about the police, but their score at time of writing remains positive at +88.

 The volume of comments about David Cameron has risen this week with many Tyggers commenting on his role in tackling the riots. There has been an increase in negative comments, leading to a significant fall in his score to -510 at time of writing. Some comments include:

“He’s cutting the police, cutting youth services. I fear this will lead to more riots etc.”

 “There is no way “we are all in it together” he has no idea about how most of us live. No idea whatsoever”

“He’s showing strong leadership since returning from holiday. Hopefully these riots end soon…”

In our recent Poll with The Sun, 2534 people were asked how well David Cameron was doing in dealing with the riots. These results echo the comments made by Tyggers, with 57% of people feeling he is doing badly, compared to just 28% of people thinking he is doing well. Those surveyed were more positive about the police’s role, with 52% of people thinking they are doing well, compared to 43% who think they are doing badly. See the full results here.

How well do you think the riots have been dealt with? What are your views?  Join the debate!

All the best

The Tell YouGov Team

Carnival Riots?

The past 24 hours have seen an increase in volume of the topic ‘Notting hill Carnival’. This has occurred in the wake of the ‘rioting’ that has taken place over the last three days in areas of London including Tottenham, Hackney and Croydon. The unrest has also begun to spread to areas outside of London such as Birmingham, Leeds and Bristol.

Tyggers have been commenting in anticipation of the event, which will take place over the bank holiday weekend, at the end of this month. The topic is currently sitting in 17^th place on the TellYouGov leaderboard. The sentiment is overwhelmingly negative.

Before yesterday, the 8^th of August, the last tyg on this topic was posted on the 4^th of September 2010, one week after last years’ carnival. The vast majority of tyggers are calling for the carnival to be cancelled, with most people expecting it to be a target for rioters.

One tygger warns, ‘be prepared for further trouble over that weekend…’ Another tygger notes that ‘it’s too soon after this unrest and you don’t need a crystal ball to predict what will happen over those two days’. Our last commenter argues that ‘the rioters don’t need another excuse and the police need a break’.

What do you think? Is the carnival a likely target or will the unrest have died down by the end of the month? Join in the conversation.

All the best,

The TellYouGov Team

Tygging Etiquette

Dear Tyggers,

Recently, a few users have been using TellYouGov to reply to each others’ posts, often in a very unfriendly tone.

Using TellYouGov to comment on each others’ posts distorts the score and volume for topics, as well as creating an unpleasant environment for other users. Please be aware that any offensive posts directed at other users will be removed by our moderators.

Plus or minus comments should always reflect the topic under discussion (e.g. Cycling, Fox Hunting, Jurassic Park), rather than your feelings about what a previous commenter has said. If you like something, give it the thumbs up - if you dislike something, give it the thumbs down. This allows TellYouGov to function in the way it was designed to, and truly reflect what is important to you.

All the best,

The TellYouGov team

The Beeb’s Alright

In light of the publication of its annual report, the BBC is sitting pretty in fifth place on our leaderboard, with a score of +81. The report shows that the BBC has cut overall spending on presenters, journalists and musicians, and is on target to reduce senior management pay by 25% by the end of 2011 (the figure currently stands at 18.3%).

Tygs include…

“+…we must protect this great institution”

“+ £40 a month for Sky? No thanks, I’ll have my BBC for £145 a year ta!”

“-…it was far better [in the past]”.

As part of our wider Sunday Times poll, YouGov spoke to 2,741 British adults on their opinions of the annual licence fee and the standard of television programmes on BBC channels. Your views are broadly in line with those of our nationally representative sample.

The majority of respondents (54%) believe that the standard of television programmes on BBC channels has worsened. This is compared to 19% who think that standards have improved. The majority of respondents in the North think that standards have worsened- 60% think this, compared to 45% of Londoners. Perhaps the move to the North of England will be good for the BBC.

We asked which, if any, television and radio channels should be closed in order to save money. BBC Radio 6 came top, with 37% of respondents thinking that it should be closed. The channel was followed by BBC 4 (29%), BBC Radio 3 (18%), BBC 3 (18%), BBC Radio 5 Live (16%), BBC Radio 4 (16%), CBeebies (13%), CBBC Channel (13%), BBC News 24 (12%), BBC Radio 1 (8%) and BBC Radio 2 (7%).

Interestingly, our results show that almost a third of the British public (31%) do not want the BBC to close any of these channels. So although 65% of British adults think that the licence fee is not good value for money, they are still rooting for it.  Judging by your tygs, so are you.

Keep tygging!

All the best,

The TellYouGov team

Login Problems

Hi Tyggers,

We understand that many of you are having trouble logging onto TellYouGov. We are terribly sorry for any inconvenience caused as a result of this technical issue - we have e-mailed our IT support team, and hope that the issue will be fixed very soon.

All the best,

The TellYouGov team

No more news (of the world).

It comes as no surprise that the News of the World (NOTW) is trending at the very top of our leaderboard. This comes at the end of a momentous week in news culminating in the paper being closed down. Find out more about the allegations and the fallout here.

One of the very few positive tygs on the subject compares the NOTW to Wikileaks, arguing that they both bring news to the public. A second positive tyg points out that the NOTW “…lives and breathes what the readership wants”.

The vast majority of tyggers are happy that the paper will no longer be in circulation after this weekend but some are questioning the motives behind the move. One tygger called the move a cynical and strategic attempt to save the reputation of News International. Another argues that the move by Murdoch took away the public’s right to protest, and so the public must make sure to exercise their rights by “…boycotting all other News International newspapers.” These include The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times.

What do you think about the news that the paper is to be no more after 168 years in circulation? Join in the conversation!

All the best,

The TellYouGov team