Month: January 2018

Socialists will probably always be uglier than Tories, research finds

/ Mike Buchanan / 10 Comments

Good-looking people are more likely to hold right-wing views, such as Zac Goldsmith, right, unlike Rik from the Young Ones, who regularly spouted communist slogans

Times caption: Good-looking people are more likely to hold right-wing views, such as Zac Goldsmith, right, unlike Rik from the Young Ones, who regularly spouted communist slogans

A piece by Tom Whipple (Science Editor) on the front page of today’s Times, emphases ours:

There is a school of thought that all militant socialists really need is a bath, a haircut, and to find themselves a nice girlfriend. Now researchers have found that, even if they did scrub up, they would probably still be uglier than Tories.

As unlikely as it might seem to anyone who ever attended a meeting of the Young Conservatives, a study found that attractive people have a tendency to be more right-wing.

Past studies have shown that good-looking candidates have better chances in elections. But few experts have asked whether similar effects come into play among voters. “Attractiveness matters. When we are treated differently we begin to perceive the world differently,” said Rolfe Peterson, of Susquehanna University, who conducted the study with Illinois State University.

Research shows that attractive people tend to do better in life, largely because people interact with them differently. This can leave them with a blind spot when it comes to others’ hardship and result in the good-looking being less likely to back redistributive taxes and more likely to hold Tory views.

To test this idea, for a study in the journal Politics and the Life Sciences, Professor Peterson reviewed the findings of two previous surveys in which people were asked their politics and, separately, rated for attractiveness.

In one, involving more than 2,000 Americans, the interviewer gave respondents a score according to how good-looking he or she thought they were. In the other, involving more than 5,000 Americans, six people rated their high-school yearbook photos. In both cases, attractive people were more likely to be right-wing. This remained true even when correcting for income.

The findings follow a paper last year which found that socialists were more likely to be physically weak. Scientists behind that research argued the effect might be down to our stronger ancestors having had less to gain from sharing.

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BBC pay review will give more men than women rises

/ Mike Buchanan / 12 Comments

A piece by Matthew Moore (Media Correspondent) on the front page of today’s Times, emphases ours:

More men than women will receive salary rises at the BBC after managers carried out a review of presenter pay to address allegations of discrimination from female staff members.

Nearly 200 on-air staff will be entitled to automatic pay boosts as the corporation looks to impose a clear structure for talent salaries for the first time. The broadcaster was forced to take action after dozens of female staff complained that they were earning less than male colleagues.

However, the “fair and transparent” framework announced yesterday will benefit a larger number of men than women. Analysis by the auditors PwC identified 98 male presenters and 90 female presenters who are entitled to a rise because their salaries are below the new pay ranges for their roles.

The prospect of male presenters being awarded larger salaries threatens to inflame tensions within the corporation at a time when many women staff feel that their complaints about pay inequality are not being taken seriously. [J4MB: Women staff “feel” that, do they? Well, then. THINGS MUST BE DONE – HOWEVER STUPID AND DAMAGING – UNTIL THEY “FEEL” HAPPY AGAIN.]

Lord Hall of Birkenhead, the BBC’s director-general, and Sir David Clementi, its chairman, will be questioned today on the proposals by MPs. The development comes after Carrie Gracie resigned this month as China editor, accusing the BBC of illegal gender discrimination and reviving the pay dispute.

The PwC review of 824 presenters’ salaries found that the BBC’s excessive respect for established male stars, combined with a lack of consistency and transparency, was to blame for on-air pay “anomalies”. There was no evidence of unlawful gender bias, however: the 6.8 per cent gender pay gap among presenters was smaller than its overall figure of 9.3 per cent.

The worst disparities occurred in lower-profile presenting roles. Among the top tier of hosts and correspondents, the gender pay gap was 0.4 per cent. Some male stars, including John Humphrys, have agreed to a pay cut. [J4MB: Their alternative option being…?]

You can subscribe to The Times here.

Formula 1: ‘Grid girls’ will not be used at races this season

/ Mike Buchanan / 7 Comments

Grid girls at the Mexican Grand Prix

Our thanks to Nick for this on the BBC. The caption under the picture (above):

60% of respondents to a BBC Sport vote in December said ‘grid girls’ should be part of Formula 1

The start of the piece:

‘Grid girls’ will no longer be used by Formula 1 from the start of the 2018 World Championship season, organisers have announced.

Sean Bratches, managing director of commercial operations, said the change would be made “so as to be more in tune with our vision for this great sport”.

F1 managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn told BBC Radio 5 live in December that the use of female promotional models was “under review”.

The new F1 season begins on 25 March.

“While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula 1 grands prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms,” Bratches added. [J4MB: What a wanker.]

“We don’t believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula 1 and its fans, old and new, across the world.”

Stuart Pringle, managing director of British circuit Silverstone, said: “We wholeheartedly support the decision by F1 to drop the use of grid girls – it is an outdated practice that no longer has a place in sport.” [J4MB: Another wanker, lots of them about.]