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Yes, I know.
I guess the alternative is to admit that their party and policies have screwed the country and then change those policies.
What is happening with the torygraph ownership? Are the Barclays still hanging on.
Is this the one ernie?
the headline is barking
Heath is completely batshit, some of his takes are remarkable he's not slow in blaming the civil service/ remoaner elites/ wokerati/BBC etc etc for the failures of everything from brexit to trussonomics to his toast being burnt
some brilliant stuff.............. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/21/six-wasted-years-liz-truss-deliver-brexit-actually-works/
whats scary is that the Telegraph is supposed to be the grown up right wing paper!
Also scary that its seems to be so influential within the Tory party, its was Telegraph heavyweight Charles Moore who convinced Johnson to change the rules for Owen Patterson- the scandal that really precipitated Johnson's downfall.
ernielynch
Full Member
I have just read a Daily Telegraph article about pro-Palestinian protesters and it was far worse than anything that I might expect to read in the Daily Mail so I thought who wrote this shite?It turns out that Alister Heath is the Sunday Telegraph editor and that he previously wrote this little beauty:
Just read his piece on the budget from the link you posted.
I think they guy is in a drug fueled parallel universe. Utterly exposed as having the political and economical understanding of a dog turd.
whats scary is that the Telegraph is supposed to be the grown up right wing paper!
It used to be but it started dropping when the Barclays twins took over and has gone into a complete deathspiral over the last few years.
I thought a Middle-Eastern sovereign wealth fund was trying to buy out the Barclays, and the Tories were getting all hissy and threatening new laws because they didn't want one of 'their' papers to be out of their control. You know things are bad when you are actually weighing up whether a UK paper run by a repressive middle east dictatorship is a healthier proposition than one run by right-wing free market loons out of a tax haven.
So much winning.
The UK economy will see the slowest growth of the largest developed nations next year, according to forecasts.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq5n2d8en8wo
Is this the one ernie?
No it was this one:
The factual inaccuracies is to be expected but what particularly struck me is that the entire article appears to be dripping with pretty intense hatred.
Which I guess betrays a high level of desperation, so that at least is encouraging.
What happened to the notion that the one thing the press hate is a loser? The right wing rags turned on Major because they knew their credibility would be shot if they continued to back the Tories in the mid 90s.
Has the culture war narrative now become so entrenched that there is no going back for the likes of the Torygraph?
Do they know something we don't about how much of an impact targeted social media stuff is having?
Many people made predictions that the RW press would drop the Tories like a hot brick if they started to look too unpopular. If this isn't too unpopular to remain credible in defending them, I don't know what is.
Many people made predictions that the RW press would drop the Tories like a hot brick if they started to look too unpopular
I dont think many people made that prediction.
Murdochs rags would although only if they thought the alternative was close enough to his desires.
The Telegraph, express and mail not so much. They might give some support to ukip v2 but since they are less popular than the tories (currently anyway) they really have to stick with the tories.
Just saw a poll for the new North Yorkshire mayor which has the Labour candidate streets ahead of the Tory. I had assumed he had zero chance in this area, which is about as blue as you can get for the north of England.
That really would be stunning! It would be huge for NYFRS too, which would be good for me (and everyone else who needs the Fire Service). Cast my vote and the people at the polling station didn't seem overly bothered about ID. They said it had been steady but not quiet.
You now have to ask what is in the interest of the owners of the Telegraph, Mail and Express. Is it
a) to carry on propping up the Tory Party as it heads for defeat?
b) to deal the final blow in its complete disemboweling, implosion and takeover post-election by Farage Ltd?
Will we see a major newspaper wield the knife and come out for Reform?
these numbers are nuts for the Tories
Im pretty sure the locals wont be this bad for them- not least because theres not refm candidates in all the locals
still funny tho
https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1785928719128744206
He needs a big result though, or Project Penny will get underway, and then he'll have to call the election next week.
I can't see any paper coming out for Reform before the General Election... BUT, if the LibDems really could form the official opposition after the election... then all bets are off from there on.
I can’t see any paper coming out for Reform before the General Election
It's true, they won't win any seats, but if you make the calculation that Lord Farage will be running the Tories from 2025 onwards, might you try to hedge your bets by at least not backing Rishi? 'We need a return to TRUE CONSERVATISM' kind of thing, with a comment piece by Ben Habib on page 5. Sort of thing I can see the Express considering
I'm to young to have been paying attention at the end of the Major govt. Was it this bad?
It seemed pretty bad at the time with almost daily sleaze scandals and infighting but to be honest they were rank amateurs compared to this lot.
No
it was chaotic and all the corruption came out into the open but nothing like this scale of incompetence and nothing like as hard right wing
No it was this one:
😲 crikey. The Telegraph? That piece wouldn't have looked out of place in an edition of Breitbart or the Right Stuff, or maybe even the Daily Stormer. I knew the Telegraph had moved to the right somewhat recently, I didn't realise it had moved quite that far [right]
Yeah sleaze was the major issue (pun not intended) but also that the Tories had been in government for so long. People wanted change.
Was it this bad?
Yes. Unlike TJ I remember it being chaotic, corrupt and incompetent. It wasn't as very right wing as this one though, he's right about that.
Went to vote. Quite quiet.
Did have someone kicking off about why pencils instead of pens and blah blah. Staff gave him a pen so he went away happy that he had prevented vote rigging.
I was tempted to suggest that if bad guys were getting their hands on the ballot papers then its game over anyway.
Rubbing takes time and normally leaves a mark. Far easier to have a replacement ballot and a secure disposal option at which point it doesnt matter whether pen or pencil.
I’m to young to have been paying attention at the end of the Major govt. Was it this bad?
In some ways, yes, in others, definitely not. That government was still clinging onto the kind of 'one nation Tory' version of the party which is now gone forever, and while it was, as usual, highly cynical, there was probably still a line it wouldn't cross in terms of pandering to the far right at that point. Major himself had no majority to speak of for much of his tenure, could get nothing done except window-dressing, which led to the impression of weakness. And he was instrumental in bringing in a Truss-like currency policy which caused a collapse in the value of the pound.
But he was still the fag-end of a decade and a half of divisive Tory rule, the party was worn out, and out of ideas, so Labour in 1997 was inevitable.
Everyone has different memories. I remember the Major government as privatising the things that Thatcher hadn't got round to privatising. He was after all personally endorsed by Thatcher herself to succeed her for a reason.
He was also responsible for the collapse of the housing market which resulted in the greatest repossession of homes in UK history and left people prisoners of negative equity and unable to move for literally years. But because it wasn't a Labour government which was responsible for that unprecedented crisis you are unlikely to ever hear it mentioned.
John Major was every bit as right-wing and neoliberal as Thatcher, he certainly wasn't anymore left-wing than the present shower.
it was chaotic and all the corruption came out into the open but nothing like this scale of incompetence and nothing like as hard right wing
It was full of a sort of ‘Carry On’ style scandal. Mellor boffing a call girl in his Chelsea kit. That type of thing. Then there was Aitkin and his slush funds and ‘Sword of Justice’
It all seems rather quaint by todays completely morally bankrupt standards
He was also responsible for the collapse of the housing market which resulted in the greatest repossession of homes in UK history and left people prisoners of negative equity and unable to move for literally years. But because it wasn’t a Labour government which was responsible for that unprecedented crisis you are unlikely to ever hear it mentioned.
Mainly the aforementioned ERM issue that caused that massive spike in interest rates. Tell the young people today that you were paying 16% on yer mortgage and they'll never believe you. But at least he never had an idea as bad as Brexit, I guess, so it's all relative.
Perhaps he would have got around to Rwanda deportations etc if he'd hung around a bit longer, but I'm not sure. Still, we'll always have the Cones Hotline.*
*TIL They've renamed it, but IT. STILL. EXISTS. In a fairer world, this would be his legacy, not boffing Edwina Currie.
It probably tells you everything you need to know about the Major years that him boffing Edwina Currie was the most eventful thing that happened.
The polar opposite of the present rolling shitshow, where it’s been one long car crash after another, on what seems like a daily basis, for well over a decade now
Major left the place in a better state than it’s in now, but I remember how long it felt before he finally went.
That dead man went for a very long walk… just like now
In my mind, it was all a bit smaller scale than the current stuff - back then there was a scandal over 'cash for questions'. These days, it is perfectly routine for an MP to be on the board of a gambling company, receiving £50,000/yr for 1 hour's work per month, who then asks pertinent questions in the house. There's a weary story on that sort of thing in pretty much every issue of Private Eye.
But, this is quite a good roundup of the scandals, and there really is quite a lot! Especially in 1994 for some reason.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_Basics_(campaign)
Mellor boffing a call girl in his Chelsea kit.
Which never happened! The football top detail which everyone remembers was made up by sex offender Max Clifford. Mellor also took a month long holiday from the daughter of the PLO's finance director...
Much as I don’t really want to know any of the details of David Mellors nocturnal liaisons, I don’t think the Chelsea kit was the main issue.
The main problem was the fact that Major and Mellor were both part of an administration that was loftily lecturing people about morality. Turns out that one was having a long term affair with a colleague and the other was shagging call girls.
I shall be waiting the result of the York & North Yorkshire mayor.
As the Guardian posted at the weekend, a good stuffing for Tories in Richi's back yard will make for a happy day.
Anyway, I've done my bit of subtle family campaigning to get 4/4 votes in for Labour. Kids might have gone for the greens, wife was thinking indy, but have been persuaded there's a greater cause to fight for this time.
nice one Steve
satire is dead
https://twitter.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1786102426958713009?t=KeDcCi78tkFhFssMPgyNAA&s=19
Everything we've come to expect from Spaffer. I do hope he tried the 'do you know who I am?' line...
“Not a details man”… was just exclaimed over my shoulder.
I hear a politician got turned away, had no idea it BJ! Hilarious!😁
I'll be staying up a bit to see some of the results come in but I don't think they are all in till Monday?
On the ending of the Major years, my main takeaway for the current situation is how naïve I was to believe that the level of incompetence and corruption on show would sink the Tories for generations to come…
I hear a politician got turned away, had no idea it BJ! Hilarious!😁
Cynical me reckons it was probably a stage managed "get his name in the news again" stunt.
Oh Boris! Haha, what a card! Oh the hilarity!
That'll be the news story now - it'll all be a bit of a dead cat, a foil from stories of elderly folk getting turned away or any dirty tricks campaigning.
Never mind all that scandal, Boris forgot his ID!
Don't look over there where we stopped a bus load of pensioners from voting...
Whilst it is amusing that Shagger forgot his ID, I'd much rather inhabit a world where I could simply forget him. Or he'd never been born at all. Either would do.
If in doubt, blame the covid vaccine! This is one of the more bizarre excuses being trotted out already.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper is among the first senior Conservatives to speak since the polls closed, with the party expected to suffer losses.
He concedes the evening may be "difficult" but points to the "vaccine bounce" that Boris Johnson was experiencing the last time many of the seats up for grabs tonight were contested, which led to the party's "best set of local elections since 2008".
rumours, expectation management etc
but theres a lot of people saying its very close for Kahn
https://twitter.com/theousherwood/status/1786147033314717907?t=khbItqJxm4Wu8r35A3AgNw&s=19
But there aren't enough Tories to carry out enough exit polls in enough places to be confident about anything like that. Especially when EVERY opinion poll in the run up has her trailing by a huge amount.
If a majority of Londonderry elect Hall, they frankly get what they deserve, she is patently not up to the task, not to mention a genuinely and demonstrably nasty human being.
I hate my mobile.
I wont edit it, I'll leave it there. 😉
CCHQ apparently chipper tonight, I’m told.
As the polls close, they’re “utterly convinced” Susan Hall has won London
I suspect that one will soon come back and bite them on the arse
Clutching at straws more like
”Hey, we’ve found some polling that isn’t quite as catastrophic as we expected!”
Anyway, back to where I live…
I’m loving Stan Chows work tonight
We should permanently remove the edit function so that daft typos and predictive text are preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. 🙂
Anyhow, I've just found out they are not even counting the London mayoral votes until Saturday, so I'm off to bed!
But before that, here's the customary weekly clip of a clueless Tory MP having their arse handed to them by a Nobel Prize-winning economist on Question Time.
https://twitter.com/Zero_4/status/1786152092136006074
Especially when EVERY opinion poll in the run up has her trailing by a huge amount.
Not the final Survation poll which I think was yesterday - it gave Khan a ten point lead over Hall. And Survation have a good record.
It could of course work against him as it convinced me, and undoubtedly many others, that it was safe to vote for the Green candidate Garbett.
I am not a big fan of Khan and a narrow victory would be the best result imo as it would keep the Tories out whilst also increase the likelihood that he won't stand again for a fourth term.
First results in from Sunderland and the Tories are down by 17% to virtually nothing and reform are up 17% taking all their previous voters
The result: A massive majority for Labour
A nice, comfortable bit of reading for the little fella
^^ Tories hemorrhaging votes to Reform too.
Good.
If you’re going to waste a vote
It's not a wasted vote - the Green Party is both a serious party and a growing force in London.
If there was a chance of Hall winning I would have voted for Khan. All the polls have been showing a comfortable win for Khan well within the margin of error. I really didn't totally decide until today, I doubt many people waited until the last minute to decide, certainly not enough to change a double digit lead. Although I do know of Muslims who were still in a dilemma today of how they should vote - being the official Labour candidate did Khan no favours.
For the record I voted Green-Communist-Green.
The Tory on BBC, he was on QT I noticed, what a smug pos. Lol
Yeah the general election will be a whole different ballgame. There really appears to be the possibility that the Tories will suffer their worse defeat in 200 years, that would be a massive step forward imo. In contrast a small Labour majority would be a disaster as it would very likely signal another Tory government in about five years time.
Maximising the Labour vote at the general election should be the priority imo. Although many will argue that Labour under Starmer does not deserve that level of support.
I'm certainly worried the Tories could serve only one term in opposition. It's entirely possible with the huge problems Labour face of they win the GE. It won't be turned around in 5 years. I just hope that there is enough positive momentum for voters to keep the faith.
I'm not entirely convinced people have a long enough memory to punish the Tories for a generation, though they absolutely should be.
I'm interested and a bit scared of what the Tory party will morph into after a large election defeat. I can't see much change really, I think they will head ever rightward in the continuing attempt to out Reform, Reform. The trouble with that is they will return to government in this even more extreme state at some point.
It’s not a wasted vote – the Green Party is both a serious party and a growing force in Londo
Not the wasted vote twaddle again.
Imagine voting for a party that doesn't align itself with the Conservative values. Who'd have thought it.
There's a very possibility come the general election that Labour will only serve one term for obvious reasons. It will be well deserved if it happens.
And every Guardian luvvie will be wondering why.
Cynical me reckons it was probably a stage managed “get his name in the news again” stunt.
On the other hand I would've paid money to have been that volunteer who got to tell him that without proper ID he'd wouldn't be able to vote, y'know, because of his own legislation.
The result: A massive majority for Labour
A nice, comfortable bit of reading for the little fella
A little niche, but at our age do what works for you
It’s entirely possible with the huge problems Labour face of they win the GE. It won’t be turned around in 5 years. I just hope that there is enough positive momentum for voters to keep the faith.
This is why Labour need to be offering a big sweeping "generational" vision for the country and not just offering being a bit less shit for 5 years.
30p Lee on R4 now is precious...
Assuming Tories vote numbers dropping through the floor. I'm not as comfortable with celebrations as some. There will be a lot of Tories who haven't voted and will jackboot down the road at a general election because they don't want a repeat. They will go from not voting because of some irksome reasons to voting to stop a Tories loss.
Hopefully still lose massively but they'll be galvanized into action.
So This pretty much maps with nationwide polls (+ a labour boost coz Benton was a tool), reform did well but only just beating the old ukip vote
https://twitter.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1786241810211147867?t=o92ninoGhu7xTfhH2j_qFw&s=19
This is why Labour need to be offering a big sweeping “generational” vision for the country and not just offering being a bit less shit for 5 years.
Indeed, but some honesty will be needed they're not going to undo a decade and a half of Tory terrorism in a single parliament. Their first term will be tough and I wouldn't expect seismic changes immediately.
I do also think people should just temper their GE expectations a little too, these are local elections only, where loyal Tory voters might register their displeasure with a protest vote for a Reform councillor but a fair proportion of those headbangers will stay blue for a GE recognising the impact to their gang if they fully abandon them.
There might be Reform MP's after the next GE, the Tories should be much diminished, but let's not take anything for granted...
There will be a lot of Tories who haven’t voted and will jackboot down the road at a general election because they don’t want a repeat. They will go from not voting because of some irksome reasons to voting to stop a Tories loss.
I was thinking the same. A lot of Reform votes may jump back to Tory for the same reason too
I was thinking the same. A lot of Reform votes may jump back to Tory for the same reason too
And these are the people Labour are running scared of who must be appeased at all costs.
What a time to be alive.
Speaking of ****s, Tory knuckle-dragger Gullis being interviewed and trying to make out this was all fine and part of Rishi’s masterplan was pretty priceless 😂
His masterplan is to become a Silicon Valley tech-bro and make lots of money so his father-in-law won't keep looking at him likes he's a drain on family resources and a waste of space.
So, maybe everything is going according to plan?
Gullis is my hometown MP. I'm going to go and watch the results in person and give him the wave off he deserves when he loses. Genuinely can't wait!
Who's the current no mark on Radio4? Clearly thinks that the Rwanda deportations is the silver bullet that will stop Labour. Like others last night, keeps repeating the "Labour amnesty" line as well.