r/nottheonion • u/ichakas • 3d ago
Tory MP candidate 'bet £8,000 he would lose seat'
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxw2lm2mm14o57
u/GrumpyOik 3d ago
Maybe he is looking at a form of reverse psychology - hoping people vote for him so he loses the £8K
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u/emptheassiate 3d ago
Well that's just hedging your bets, then you have something to look forward to no matter what - either the day after the elections, you're several thousand pounds richer (not quite £8,000 as the odds would not pay out 1:1), or you bought a seat for £8,000 - that's a great deal!
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u/chrisni66 3d ago
He can also deliberately try to lose, effectively fixing the outcome.
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u/emptheassiate 3d ago
Then he can just bet on all his corruption trials, and say he'll get found guilty!
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u/flyingscotsman12 3d ago
If he were doing that he would have bet a lot more.
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u/chrisni66 3d ago
The intentions are irrelevant. There is a reason why people are banned from betting on themselves (eg. Boxing), and he violated those rules.
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u/ichakas 3d ago
Yeah agreed. And now that he got caught, his bet is sure to win!
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u/emptheassiate 3d ago
He can even hedge his bet further - he can bet if he'll go to prison or not (presuming this is considered corruption), and say he will. Then he'll just say he will, and if he doesn't, he just bought himself a super cheap Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card!
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u/Archarchery 3d ago
And it didn’t occur to him that this was a major ethics violation?
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u/Sxualhrssmntpanda 2d ago
It becomes a lot simpler when you consider the possibility that many people dont give a shit about ethics and only care about self gain.
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u/Archarchery 2d ago
I meant more in a "Do you not realize your job is toast if this leaks out?" sort of way.
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u/Shabingly 2d ago
Haha hahahaha! Look him up, I'd be surprised if he didn't think ethics was a county where everyone has a lisp.
His voting record is a serious mixed bag tbh, but some of the shite that's come out of his mouth (and where he's spouted it) is bonkers.
He's my MP, cannot wait to be rid of the twat.
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u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ 3d ago
There was also a Labour candidate that did the same.
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u/day2013 3d ago
Which one?
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u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ 3d ago
Ex-Labour candidate admits 'stupid error' over seat bet https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clmmy8e12vyo
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u/ewanatoratorator 2d ago
Funny that, he defected from the tories.
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u/_Dannyboy_ 2d ago
It was the MP who previously held the seat who defected from the Tories, not the candidate who bet against himself.
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u/cocobisoil 3d ago
Labour aren't in charge of calling the elections lol
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u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ 3d ago
This isn’t about betting on when the election would be.
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u/cocobisoil 3d ago
Aye I get you but that's why his actions are being highlighted eh anything to make the story run I mean it isn't hard to see which way the wind is blowing and he likes a gamble it's hardly PPE levels of corruption
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u/_Dannyboy_ 2d ago
Not sure why you're being downvoted, you are entirely correct. It is however important to note that the Labour candidate was (rightly) suspended immediately.
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u/StockerRumbles 3d ago
Why not bet on a sure thing?
Of all the things the Tories have done, this is very tame