The last time I placed a bet in a betting shop (or elsewhere) was 18 July 1986, over 31 years ago. The next day there was a much-heralded fight between Britain’s Frank Bruno and the American Tim Witherspoon. It seemed to me that the odds were heavily influenced by British sentiment, so I placed a small sum on Tim Witherspoon to win, which he duly did, with a technical KO in the 11th of 15 scheduled rounds. I recall feeling uncomfortable collecting my winnings, and haven’t been into a betting shop since.
Until an hour ago, that is. I placed a bet of £10.00, at odds of 6/1, on Jacob Rees-Mogg becoming the next Conservative party leader. The slip is here. I look forward to collecting my winnings in due course, and small-c conservatism starting its long-overdue return to British politics.
I asked the young man at the desk about other favourites for the Conservative party leadership. David Davis is currently #1, The Mogg #2. We then had the following exchange:
Me: What are the odds on Philip Davies becoming the next leader? He’s a Tory MP.
He: Sorry, we only give odds for future leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties.
I blame the feminised education system…
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