[Closed] Is May about to call an election?

Breaking my rule of not posting on politics threads any more - May is dying on her arse on BBC right now. She's like a haunted robot.

She's like a haunted robot.

"Haunted Robot" - good name for my new band...

May is dying on her arse on BBC right now.

That's no surprise though given her atrocious record in previous positions, [url= https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/18/what-does-theresa-mays-record-as-home-secretary-tell-us ]such as Home Secretary[/url]

I imagine she's wearing her steel toe capped shoes to give her aides and advisors a kick in the nads/chuff afterwards

And May was being touted by the right wingers as some sort of great leader....

Andrew Neil was going easy on her too

No wonder she womt debate with Corbyn

Answer the man.

"Haunted Robot" - good name for my new band...

They've already done a Peel Session in 1987

In used to think that Dave looked tetchy whenever the common peasantry had the audacity to question him, but Kim Jong May looks like she is genuinely compiling lists for post-election death squads

Meanwhile [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-40002800/man-arrested-after-protesting-against-fox-hunting-at-theresa-may-event ]Earlier in Wrexham[/url] rounding up the dangerous subversives.

How she can have any credibility whilst Boris is still FS is a real measure,
after the cheating this weekend he should be out of a job.
It may be all a jolly laugh to some but integrity is paramount in that job
and he is a disgrace to his office and the UK.

I get the impression that honeymoon time with the media has finished for TM. One always felt she was not good at communicating, now it's obvious. I wonder, if I'm right, what was the trigger.

I also thought Andrew Neil was going a bit easy on her.

Watching the Andrew Neil thing and I kindof feel sorry for her, she's performing pretty well at appearing to be confident whilst clearly having a shocker...

I'm wondering how she ended up being PM, was it misjudged overambition or has she been pushed into it because Leadsom wasn't favoured and everyone else was hiding in the corner, cos who'd be daft enough to try and navigate us through the tragedy that is Brexit.
All her u-turns, her control freakery and use of a tight team of trusted advisers and her pro remain speech last year suggest to me she's been forced into being PM cos she wasn't smart enough to get out of the way during the leadership election...
Question is, who will be gone first, her or Trump?

pennine - Member
I also thought Andrew Neil was going a bit easy on her.

It was like he pitied her

shes bricking it
https://twitter.com/crookedfiction/status/857676144937758721

She stuck in there as Home Sec* for so long. It was always a possible poisoned chalice, though not as bad as Min Health. I'd thought she was a stalking horse, ie expendable, but no-one else stood subsequently. As you say.

So we're stuck with her.

*In case you aren't aware, to the disgust of front-line cops, see her reception at the Police Fed. Conf.

Trump, by a whisker, I feel.

I'm wondering how she ended up being PM, was it misjudged overambition or has she been pushed into it

PM Gove or Boris anyone?

I'm wondering how she ended up being PM, was it misjudged overambition

She's appointed people to help her who are not the sharpest knives in the block: Boris Johnson, David Davis, Dr Liam Fox, Jeremy Hunt. That seemed smart at the time, but perhaps it will come back to bite her.

I'm sure the Conservatives will still win though.

Kimbers...

Craig Murray analyses her on his blog...

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2017/05/the-art-of-negotiation/

... he thinks it bodes ill for negotiating. If she last that long.

Just watched that, she was patchy but probably did enough.

Far too much made up stuff about the other parties though. Is it about time can we had a yellow and red card system in these things like sport?

i know its politics and and you get spin, straw men, the odd miss spoke, tricks of language, etc. etc. but can somebody not be totting up the half truths or lies about other parties policies and once its reached a certain level issue a card 2 half truths = yellow and final warning, next one you're off? outright lie straight red?

it pees me off and its all political parties who do it.

Hilarious interview.

"We propose to deal with this now because we have to deal with it now because reasons."

So no clue then T...

Swap 'who threw that stone?' for 'who wants to be PM right now?' and I can picture how May became our PM...

Was talking to a customer last week, an investment manager for a fairly big company in Wakefield. He made a very off hand comment that "we're all set for when Labour win". I pulled him up on it, basically saying I thought The Tories were all set to walk it, not according to him they're not. He's a Tory voter but is absolutely adamant that Labour will win, said that all the investment firms in the area and people in his network think the same, reckons the London bias of the media has vastly underestimated how well Labour are doing at the moment.

The financial world and the hedge funds are hot for big data nerds as well at the moment, sometimes I think you hear about these things through the financial grapevine before you start seeing it in the publicly available polls.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if there was an analytics team somewhere sitting on a ****ing bombshell.

A shitty studio in London is just big enough to get out of a single bed and put clothes on. 13m2 would be a bijou open plan apartment.

You mean a bedsit - a shower and a microwave. Yours for 900-950 without bills in Zone 1.

WHOOOO! Progress guys!

At least people have iPhones though and a tinder account to masturbate to whilst choking down tinnies of stella between 14 hour shifts. Right? Am I right guys?!

I'd rather run the risk of getting flattened by a Tsunami living in a shanty town near a beach in the Philippines.

Getting the vibe that Labour might win at the moment- has been a tight campaign so far, aside from a few pre-manifesto mess-ups. Also, people are bored with Brexit and want to move on but The Tories talk about nothing else.

If may wins she'll metamorph into her true form.

reckons the London bias of the media has vastly underestimated how well Labour are doing at the moment.

I struggle with this though - you look at our day to day culture in the UK now and it's not in the slightest way Socialist - we're grabbing everything we can in fear of losing it - look at the housing crisis and how no-one really wants it solved for e.g.

There's pockets of people who want a more caring society and one focussed on contributing to our community rather than grabbing what we want for ourselves but I don't see it in the broader national character at all. I've moved from London to Middle England a year ago and the grabbiness and outright prejudice towards minorities is really shocking me... London's a friendly paradise in comparison!

UK seems far more Right than Left as far as I can see. Obviously I only have my own perspective but I divide my time between London and Middle England and speak to friends in the North regularly and I don't see any real shift leftwards - my London friends don't want to vote for any current party, we want a proper, strong Centrist party - where Liberals are in political terms, but aren't strong enough...

you look at our day to day culture in the UK now and it's not in the slightest way Socialist

Not sure this is completely the case. Ask people if they think we should tax rich bankers or fat cat businessmen more - you'll probably get an overwhelmingly affirmative response.

Nationalising railways is also popular. Two of Labour's policies.

if Maybot doesnt get her landslide or if she really bolloxes it up looses her majority

the knives will be out

Michael Gove saw tonight's interview- hes sitting in a dark room with a goblet of wine [s]Lady MacBeth[/s] Sarah Vine whispering in his ear ......

Ask people if they think we should tax rich bankers or fat cat businessmen more - you'll probably get an overwhelmingly affirmative response.

I agree that;s; what people say but look at what happens when we get offered cheap debt to buy shiny things like cars - we go nuts for it. I don't see people so keen to spend a bit less on themselves and give some cash to charity instead...

I've learnt to my cost that if I point out that houses are far too expensive and we need to give up the idea of a free money tree which is coming at the massive expense of the younger generation, then I become deeply disliked very quickly.

So I agree that people like to scapegoat bankers etc but I don't see a genuine desire to help the worse off by those of us who're ok actually giving up anything ourselves... Not the sign of a happy, healthy society really

Doesn't really matter who gets in, can't really see good PM potential in any of them.

As for policies, can see a few i like and a few I don't from all sides, but the one thing they all seem to have forgotten is we have a huge(and growing) debt, and are probably only 10years and 1 crisis(which may or may not be brexit) away from being Greece.

my London friends don't want to vote for any current party, we want a proper, strong Centrist party - where Liberals are in political terms, but aren't strong enough...

debt, and are probably only 10years and 1 crisis(which may or may not be brexit) away from being Greece.

weve got a long way to go to reach greece levels of tax evasion/avoidance that was endemic at all levels

will be interesting to see how Corbyn handles Andrew Neil- you canbet he wont be so gentle with corbs

at the moment corbs is looking a much safer bet to be negotiating with europe than Weak & Wobbly Thereas May..........
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brooess - Member

UK seems far more Right than Left as far as I can see. Obviously I only have my own perspective but I divide my time between London and Middle England and speak to friends in the North regularly and I don't see any real shift leftwards - my London friends don't want to vote for any current party, we want a proper, strong Centrist party - where Liberals are in political terms, but aren't strong enough...

Where exactly do you expect them to get this strength from unless you start putting some support behind them. It may not seem like it most of the time but politics is a 2 way street.

[quote=molgrips ]Not sure this is completely the case. Ask people if they think we should tax rich bankers or fat cat businessmen more - you'll probably get an overwhelmingly affirmative response.

That's not socialism - that's getting somebody else to pay. You'll find plenty of hardcore capitalists in favour of taxing people who aren't them. Try asking them if they should pay more tax.

An interesting one I saw on one of the BBC mini documentaries about young people in the North not knowing who Thatcher was and being prepared to vote Tory - one chap said "I'll vote for what's best for me". That sounds more like the sort of thing I'd expect to hear from 80s Essex man (who did vote for Thatcher) than a socialist.

fifeandy - Member

Doesn't really matter who gets in, can't really see good PM potential in any of them.

In that case, let's vote for the one that's not an awful ****.

UK seems far more Right than Left as far as I can see. Obviously I only have my own perspective but I divide my time between London and Middle England

From my perspective amongst those who I socialise with (30 to 50 age group with the vast majority of a certain social persuasion who grew up throughout the dance music scene) in Dumfries & Galloway we are exactly the opposite, I feel I speak for everyone I know and would consider us all vehemently anti conservative in our viewpoint, all of us vote and some of us have even been elected to local councils but once in such a position it soon becomes apparent how little power/influence a genuinely independant councillor holds. We need a massive change to our current method of electing those who govern over us, I fear that will never come but until then I'll continue to be an antagonist little ****er to anyone who crosses my path whom I consider to be a dick.

I feel I speak for everyone I know and would consider us all vehemently anti conservative in our viewpoint

But most people naturally gravitate towards others of a similar mind set. And so all you get is reinforcement of your own opinions. Step outside your own peer group and its a whole different world.

They do, the social media echo chamber doesn't help either side. The other major UK based issue is that it really depends who and where are swinging 10% could mean everything or nothing depending on who they are and which seats they live in.

@Northwind, being a nice bloke sadly doesn't redeem him wanting to borrow an extra £250bn in my eyes.

Leaning towards LD as 'least bad' option despite their anti brexit agenda (i voted remain, but don't agree with resisting the result).

@Northwind, being a nice bloke sadly doesn't redeem him wanting to borrow an extra £250bn in my eyes.

Doesn't really matter who gets in

One candidate cares about the disadvantaged, one doesn't. That matters quite a lot to me.

Leaning towards LD as 'least bad' option despite their anti brexit agenda (i voted remain, but don't agree with resisting the result).

Democracy is all about peaceful resistance.

[img] [/img]

I'd love to vote Labour however where I live the Labour controlled council are frantically trying to destroy the countryside (hate the phrase "greenbelt") for the sake of warehousing and distribution depots. A vote for Labour will be seen as a vindication of all that's bad about St. Helens council.

The council elections were last month

Democracy is all about peaceful resistance

By direct activism

@greentricky reminds me of the Indy Ref in Scotland, it's in the newspaper's interest to generate the sense its going to be close. It's not,

It's in May's interests to suggest it's close in order to keep the Tory faithful in line and get them down the polling station.

If they don't this election is weird enough to be anyone's.

PS - no idea if it's close. Opinion polls might help, but round here, on the ground, we have a throughly nasty Tory incumbent with a decent majority - but he's a Brexy and York is more outward looking than that - 55% remain in York Outer, more in York Central. Who knows. There is a lot of grass roots anti-Sturdy work going on.

I obviously missed the memo that yougov now report what May and the media want in the polls

Greentricky - agreed. I was merely pondering who benefits from polls appearing to close. Also beware polls have error margins and I think historically yougov tend to score Labour higher than the actual result.

Must be about time to start asking the Tories questions on their self destruction topic of Europe again.

Not sure I'm too comfortable discussing it but the Manchester attack will have a major effect on the election. I'm not going to speculate how. Guess it depends on how the various parties respond to it. Hopefully they'll be sensible and stick to policy in a spirit of cooperation rather than make it personal or partisan. UKIP idiots have already crossed that line, lets hope they're the only ones.

Lifer - Member

The council elections were last month

The Scottish council elections were bizarrely fought almost entirely on independence, by the unionist parties at least, so why not fight the westminster election on council matters?

UKIP as usual are putting themselves in the Tories ain't tough enough for me camp. Now brexit is gone for them they just need to get on with restoration of the empire and may well take a fee votes back there (if your considering voting UKIP I doubt you understand tactical voting)

Much is made of the very vocal minority who happen to be in the Murdoch press etc. They may be demanding lots of huge action but the silent majority may be much more content and reassured by some stable measured reactions.

dazh - given May was in the chair when security cuts were made and when the bomber was reported as an extremist (if I've got the dates right) someone is bound to ask her certain questions (and UKIP already have) - but would a different Home Secretary over those years have made a difference? To be fair we will never know, but I'm not entirely convinced.

but would a different Home Secretary over those years have made a difference?

a home secretary from a different party whose objective was not to cut money from public services would possibly have made a difference yes.

@greentricky reminds me of the Indy Ref in Scotland, it's in the newspaper's interest to generate the sense its going to be close. It's not,

But which yardstick are you using?

igm - Member

but would a different Home Secretary over those years have made a difference? To be fair we will never know, but I'm not entirely convinced.

I saw Charles Clarke the other night saying "shouldn't have cancelled ID cards"- as if it'd have made the slightest bit of difference here. Never trust a Home Secretary.

I saw Charles Clarke the other night saying "shouldn't have cancelled ID cards"- as if it'd have made the slightest bit of difference here. Never trust a Home Secretary.

reminds me of US immigration forms where you have to tick a box saying if you're a terrorst or not....

given May was in the chair when security cuts were made and when the bomber was reported as an extremist (if I've got the dates right) someone is bound to ask her certain questions (and UKIP already have) - but would a different Home Secretary over those years have made a difference? To be fair we will never know, but I'm not entirely convinced.

The facts seem to speak for themselves. We've had successful terrorist attacks in the periods when resources were higher and lower - and more attempted attacks have been foiled since the cuts were made than before (albeit this is because the frequency of attempted attacks has risen).

The funding for "security services" has actually risen 30% in the last 2 years. The reduction in police headcount / conflation between 1,000 fewer armed officers and the "successful" attack this week seems to ignore:

- a significant number of officers have chosen to give up armed duties because the protracted investigations / trial by public they face in the event they have to discharge their weapons. This process can last for years and places a wholly unacceptable burden on the officers and their families. We as the public are part of the reason so many police don't want to carry guns i.e. we don't give them enough support when they have to use them (which is very infrequently compared to pretty much every other country)

- calling the army / SAS out is actually a sensible use of specialist resources. If we haven't needed 1,000 armed police for the last few years it makes no sense to maintain them when the army are arguably better trained and there already.

- the "community knowledge" and link to intelligence gathering seems to be massively over stated. In the recent attack the local police had been informed about the attacker's mindset / behaviour but don't appear to have been able to do much by way of follow up. Most of the 18 or so major attacks foiled have reportedly been as a result of intercepts and feedback via Prevent - Lord Carlile (former Lib Democrat peer and independent reviewer of terrorism legislation) has concurred with the current Home Secretary on this.

As an aside, Lord Carlile was interviewed on R4 this morning and pretty much said that he resigned from the Lib Dems because of their behaviour on Control Orders - he suggested the combination of Lib Dem policy and constant actions by human rights groups had forced the government into using T-PIMs which have been completely useless, not least because they allow suspects to continue using mobile phones and the internet.

The Scottish council elections were bizarrely fought almost entirely on independence, by the unionist parties at least, so why not fight the westminster election on council matters?

Much as I dislike May, cutting back the police so you need to use the army in exceptional one off events is not, per se, such a bad idea. If the current police numbers can cope with the current crime level and you only need the army very occasionally, that would seem a sensible resource level.

Yes the council elections were indeed last month. However if the local Labour MP wins the seat then the council takes that as a signal that everyone is behind them. After the wanton destruction of green space by the Labour party near me I will never vote for them again.

- the "community knowledge" and link to intelligence gathering seems to be massively over stated. In the recent attack the local police had been informed about the attacker's mindset / behaviour but don't appear to have been able to do much by way of follow up. Most of the 18 or so major attacks foiled have reportedly been as a result of intercepts and feedback via Prevent - Lord Carlile (former Lib Democrat peer and independent reviewer of terrorism legislation) has concurred with the current Home Secretary on this.

surely thats a huge problem then

and corrborrates exactly what videos of police at annual federation conferences repeatedly telling May and now Rudd that leaving them under resourced (10,s000s less backroom staff to handle things like tip off etc & officers )

was endangering the public

Was Fallon making it up as he went along?

She really doesn't look well. Turning into a bag of bones.
Weak and wobbly.

I'm looking forward to seeing Boris, the third most punchable man in politics, symbolically mugging for the cameras after riots.

Ok Gove obviously. Who's the other one?

Seb coe, obviously.

As much as polls are to be taken with a pinch of salt, in this instance it seems the only meaningful way to resolve it.

Torries up 2 to 7 point lead in latest poll, post Manchester bombing

I think they'll ditch the strong and Stable guff as it's obvious that weak and wobbly May isn't as good at running election campaigns as the old guy from the allotment. 😉

More focus on what he didn't say in his terrorism speech ala Rudd and Farron,( regardless of their? hypocrisy.)

The last week of campaign is going to be even more personal

May will still win but it will be in spite of her efforts not because of them

@ Kimbers - Yeah probably with the working class vote subverted/divided. But who has the most punchable face? The sort you could never get tired of smashing, all day you know, stamp on, grind to dust then burn.

But who has the most punchable face?

After watching that clip of Fallon I am now punching my head. What a complete and flagrant KLAXXON he is. Rampantly despicable.

Was Fallon making it up as he went along?

😆

Channel 4 news debate that's on at the moment is both hilarious and horrific at the same time

BoardinBob - Member
Channel 4 news debate that's on at the moment is both hilarious and horrific at the same time

I have to stop watching it to switch to Great British Menu because they really don't have anything new in their views at all ... apart from Channel 4 reporters earning their keep.

😆

Ok, so Corbyn is doing tonight's debate.

I foresee a lot of comments about May being too busy or too scared to turn up and talk to people.

I think she already has.