I’ll come back to you in 2 years then and see how it’s going…meanwhile robbing ****s like Mone will be living the dream while pensioners live off a pittance
I'd like to see her banged up, but justice must take its course. If we have a Labour govt or Lab/Lib coalition in power, they will no doubt continue the pursuit, subject to legal advice
Just catching up on the results. If I were a Tory strategist I'd be pretty unhappy today. Not at the Lab gains - those were predictable, but the size of the LD gains in the 'blue wall' is the really interesting story today in my view. Tories were always going to be doing well to hold even half of their red wall gains in the '24 election, but looks like they'll have a real challenge with the LDs gaining 20+ seats along the southern stretch from London out to Cornwall ('blue wall'). Also makes it hard for them to work out how to pitch their national election campaign - a 'blue collar' / brexit / red wall pitch might help hold up the votes in the north, but will exacerbate the damage the Lib Dems will do. Ditto a more liberal message will help hold those LD seats, but damage them in the red wall. Glad it's not my job to try and hold that particular electoral coalition together.
A curse on all their houses, but the Lib Dems won my local district council, Stratford upon Avon, from the Tories. Tories lost 14 seats, LDs won 12 and independents 2. Labour stayed flat on zero seats. This is tactical voting central, with added anti Zahawi corruption spice for the local MP, who must also be at risk. I registered but didn’t vote, for my usual reasons. Cemented this time by not only not a single one of the 4 candidates in my ward (Tory, LD, Lab and Green) exerting an iota of effort in asking what I thought about things, they also couldn’t be bothered to tell me their own policies, platforms etc. Not a single piece of electoral material received from any of them, no notices of public meetings, nothing. Representative democracy at its finest.
Yeah, looks like the Lib Dems may have put the tuition fees betrayal behind them finally. Have to say that, as long as I can remember, the Lib Dems and Liberals before them have usually done well at local elections. This is always followed by them trumpeting that they're on the march. Then, in the General Election, they disappear again. Do you think it may be different this time? I said before Boris went that both he and the government deserved to go and I stand by that. I also stand by my assertion that this is the worst generation of politicians I can ever remember there being. I can't see me voting for anyone unless an independent catches my eye. If Labour do win, as they should, or at least go into coalition, I'll be genuinely interested to see how they get on.
Know what you mean. They used to win locals all the time but stuck around c.50 MPs. Two reasons I think it could be different this time: 1. They're starting from a very low point. I'm not thinking they'll win 100s. 30 or so to them back to just below their 'natural' level pre-2015. 2. They're second place to a lot of Tories in the blue wall. So they're not up against Lab, and people are getting better at tactical voting.
Well my ward, Wetherby voted out a Tory for the first time in 47 years and my neighbour got in for Greens. In spite of us voting for her. Can't remember the last time I voted in a winner. Scanning through the local Leeds results it's all Labour win and Labour hold apart from a couple of Greens getting in and one new Tory councillor who ousted the incumbent Green. Bring back Boris. Then they will well and truly be consigned to oblivion throughout the country except for the South East. If he fails to get in as I think he will he can no doubt try the Trump gambit of getting his voters out on the streets to take back the election win wot woz stealed from him. And then promptly disown them when called to account for his actions.
Problem for the Lib Dems is that, in Ed Whatsisname, they have the most inconsequential, colourless leader in Parliament.
Do you remember taking the Christmas edition of the Radio Times and filling in all the coupons in the ads section as a kid because it made you feel grown up and important? Well, Lib Dems are people that still do that.
More importantly would be interesting to know of those who had a poll: how many of us actually voted, how many of us voted by post how many were turned away for lack of mugshot; and how many were turned away because the babe in the photo looked like the daughter of the person actually standing before the official- her name being taken and sent to the Police for investigation of possible electoral fraud. For the record I now am permanently registered for postal votes as I could never guarantee to be in the constituency on polling day
Fantastic news that in my ward, the 3 candidates I voted for got in (2 independent, 1 Liberal) Glad to get rid of the Tories
They may win a few seats in Scotland too....they are a good alternative to the SNP at the moment, as well as labour
Yep. Everything opening up for Lab - some moderate gains to be made in Scotland, red wall vote was quite personal for Boris and they've seen through him anyway, LDs taking seats in the blue wall. Long way to go though, and Tories will go for it at the next budget.
The analysts are saying that Labour's result, with 35% of the vote, isn't quite good enough to signify a majority at a GE. I don't quite get this, though. The collapse of the SNP should see Labour winning a good few seats in Scotland, plus there seems to have been a lot of tactical voting against the Tories, which will be even greater in a GE with the alternatives more obvious.
