Anyway.. Lil Rishi is gracing us northern monkeys with his pressence to once again announce alleged investment in our catastophically useless transport network.
Rob Parsons Northern Agenda newsletter is great for keeping up to speed with whats going on in Northern Politics and he's summed it up nicely today...
Northern Powerhouse Partnership chief executive Henri Murison - who probably could have funded a good chunk of HS2 himself if he had a pound for every time he’d commented on Government transport plans - was slightly withering as he gave his verdict on the airwaves this morning.
“I don’t fundamentally understand why on earth the Cabinet is coming (to Yorkshire) to simply announce something that they already told us about and that still is jam tomorrow,” he said. “Most of this money won’t be spent until later in the decade, none of it will be spent before the general election. So I think voters in the North of England will look back at the last 14 years at what hasn’t been delivered and consider that promises of what the Prime Minister might do in the next Parliament are perhaps not the most important.”
Oh I'm well aware of what evils the tories have done over the years. I hate the tories with a passion. I cracked open the champagne when Thatcher died. I would be more than happy to never see another tory government as long as I live. I'd be very content with a broadly left-leaning liberal benign dictatorship to be honest. But the only way to destroy the far right is to get the moderates to denounce them as nutters, and leave them as a squawking minority.
But yes; they all still do vote together as a party though. I am bewildered why Sayeeda Warsi is still in the tory party. She spends all of her time trying to get the rest to not be quite so hateful. At what point would you just think 'sod this for a laugh', and give up and defect?
"I am bewildered why Sayeeda Warsi is still in the tory party"
Me too to an extent - I can only think she is a committed rightwinger
Their voting records often reveal a very different reality to their public personas, Rory Stewart is a prime example of that.
Rory Stewart is a prime example of that.
Which is why he hasn't been a Tory MP since the takeover of the party by Boris Johnson and his motley asssortment of Brexiteer headbangers
I can't think of many other examples other than maybe Dominic Grieve, who Johnson removed the whip from in his clearout of those who weren't completely unhinged.
All 'moderate' voices have been driven out of the Tory party and now its just the swivel-eyed loons that remain
They were not "moderate" voices tho - all those mentioned Warsi, Stewart, Grieve were all happy to support hard right wing policies of concentrating wealth and power in the hands of the wealthy and powerful and in deliberately impoverishing those who are less fortunate.
No tory party member is anything but vile. Just some are more vile than others but every single tory MP and party member supports the decades long impoverishment of the less fortunate even tho this is actually bad for the economy. Its all about spite
There is not a tory I would piss on if they were on fire. I loathe them with every fibre of my being for the blood on their hands
I think MSP's point was that Stewart talks like a 'moderate', but lined up to vote with the swivel-eyed-loons on plenty of issues. Aside from Brexit, all the other sins of the austerity-era Conservatives were quite acceptable.
My MP is the same, seems reasonable on the face of it, but was prepared to be Chief Whip for Theresa May as she tried to force through her terrible version of the Brexit deal, so is either daft enough to believe in that shit, or has a sufficiently-flexible moral compass to make it happen anyway.
MPs frequently vote for stuff they don’t agree with.
Party Politics and all that.
Yes, let us not forget that a certain Labour leader 3 line whipped his party to [s]execute order 66[/s] envoke article 50.
He could have singlehandedly stopped brexit if he wanted to.
The whip system needs to be changed... party leaders can use it to literally blackmail MPs into voting a certain way...'vote for this or have the whip withdrawn, your choice'.
Looks like 50p is refusing to apologise now & doubling down...
50p? That's inflation for you.
execute order 66
I knew Corbyn was behind that youngling massacre.
Looks like 50p is refusing to apologise now & doubling down…
Theres apaprently a large number of Tory backbenchers (and probably cabinet members) who've privately been in touch with him to offer their support and let him know that they agree with him. I suppose in their world this kind of thing is perfectly reasonable and in no way the insane, racist ramblings of a tinfoil-helmetted, far-right headcase
Theres apaprently a large number of Tory backbenchers (and probably cabinet members) who’ve privately been in touch with him to offer their support and let him know that they agree with him.
LOL the spineless morons.... the same "bold" mob who were all bolshy before the Rwanda vote, ending up a whimpering pack of curs with the tails between their legs.
Now we have paul scully describing (parts of) Tower Hamlets and Sparkbroook as being 'no go areas'.
He's tried to 'clarify'; FFS - if it's what you mean, explain abd justify; if an MP is unable to articulate clearly, say nothing.
When will they ever learn?
Looks like 50p is refusing to apologise now & doubling down…
I just heard on the radio, 50p has said; "if you are right, you should never apologise".
Hmm... right as in wing, or right as in correct? 😀
Think what you like about Warsi‘s politics (I’ve disagreed with her on nearly everything in the past) but she was spot on with her interview on Channel4news right now. Crystal clear. Nothing that anyone should disagree with, Conservative supporter or not. Good on her. If it gets clipped and shared, someone post the interview here please.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/26/nothing-to-see-here-tories-30p-lee-islamophobia
Amusing take on the conundrum currently facing poor Rishi of how to deal with a thick racist.
Here you go Kelvin. Should play from the start of her segment.
Pretty level headed stuff. refreshing that she's willing to openly criticise her own party. I've always thought that if there was any such thing as a decent Tory, it's probably her. I guess, with a seat in the Lords she doesn't need to worry so much about toeing the party line to keep her seat on the gravy train.
She was on the last leg some time ago and they were pretty much asking her why she was a Tory
She’s absolutely bang on, except for one thing.
She hoped islamophobia and outright racism wasn’t now an electoral strategy
It’s pretty obvious by now that that’s exactly what it is. They’re just courting the far right
It wouldn’t surprise me if this was planned. In the same way that Farage could say what Boris and co, as the official (supposedly respectable) leave campaign couldn’t say during the Brexit referendum.
Now 30p Lee is outside the official fold he can act as an outlier and whip up racial division, while Rishi and Co get to shrug and say ‘nothing to do with us guv’. But the winks and nods mean they all know they’re on the same side
She was on the last leg some time ago and they were pretty much asking her why she was a Tory
My lad met her when she gave a speech at his uni - said she was very straight forward and easy to deal with. Even when he was trying to figure out how to approach miking up a middle aged Muslim baroness....
5Live were reading out a selection of texts on the subject as I was driving home tonight - one went along the lines of "I'm not racist, but he's just saying what we all know is true" and you could hear the frustration in the presenters voice.
I see there are senior Tory’s actually now using that old BNP trope that there are no go areas for whites in this country
So I think we’ve now established that this is indeed a deliberate electoral strategy from Sunak, which means if we’re not yet living in Berlin in 1935, then we’re certainly on the road there.
We now like in a country where the party of government are deliberately stirring up racist hatred for electoral advantage. I suppose this was the inevitable destination from 2016
Point of order:
Should we be calling him 30p Lee, or 50p Lee?
I know inflation has been up and down a bit recently, but it's becoming confusing.
Perhaps "-40% Lee", might be a more accurate and scalable nomenclature?
Jess Phillips is absolutely apoplectic on Peston about her constituency being referred to as a no go area due to Islamic extremists.
Tory sock puppet Mark Harper has been trotted out to defend the indefensible. The way he’s very carefully choosing his words, not actually condemning the latest nonsense, would suggest this is most definitely now an electoral strategy
Tories doing Tory stuff yet again, allowing 30p Lee to scuttle off and spout off about Islamophobia, they’ll see how it polls with their core/racist voters, if it’s favourable then they’ve been given a green light to ramp it up and introduce bans on protesting due to fears of attacks, can’t have all these potential Muslim terrorists rampaging through London shouting free Gaza.
The more I see of this the more angry I get.
Baroness Warsi is spot on - they don't have an answer on the economy, inflation, education, housing, the NHS etc and so they are focusing on racist scapegoating. And there's a significant numberbof people in this country so badly let down by governments that they will latch on to this as they are desperate for any change.
Truly is 1930s Germany. The risks are huge.
She has given the Labour party it's election broadcast material in that interview.
Yep, you have to keep a few people with undesirable traits on your Facebook feed just to keep in touch with is being fed to them.
The latest and greatest image I saw was an ai generated picture of people in burkas and Big Ben with flags on it and oddly big black crows flying around as ai sort of likes to chuck in some freebies.
It honestly didn’t make any sense at all.
There’s just a hatred that needs ‘no truth’ just more mentions of sharia law coming to you etc to stoke it up a little more.
The Tory’s are just capitalising on this, they can’t directly come out but it’s just like the Brexit campaign of letting others make the helpful lies.
I’m glad my parents aren’t on Facebook tbh.
Now we have paul scully describing (parts of) Tower Hamlets and Sparkbroook as being ‘no go areas’.
When Tories describe something as a no-go area, what they mean is "I've never been there"
would suggest this is most definitely now an electoral strategy
TBH it’s all they’ve got left and the whole Brexit leave campaign successfully paved the way.
All the lessons learned from this are going to used.
Facts are irrelevant just make stuff up,feed them what they want to hear.
“Telling it like it is” 🙁
When Tories describe something as a no-go area, what they mean is “I’ve never been there”
Its almost like the last 14 years were a dream and they didn’t the power to sort that sort of thing out.
Theres also probably nowhere to park the jet or helicopter 🙂
Should we be calling him 30p Lee, or 50p Lee?
I prefer LeeAnderthal.
Its almost like the last 14 years were a dream and they didn’t the power to sort that sort of thing out.
But of course. Have you noticed in the last few weeks maybe a month or so, that the media are beginning to effectually treat Starmer and Labour as if they are the administration? The Tories are responding to that by beginning to act like an opposition. This is how it's going to be for the next 5 years or more.
"Jess Phillips is absolutely apoplectic on Peston about her constituency being referred to as a no go area due to Islamic extremists."
I had a drive over to Sparkhill last night to have a wander around - guess how many times I was told I couldn't be there?
I'd it was another country's ruling party I'd just be academically interested in how far they can push cognitive dissonance in maintaining a "broad tent".
It's clear they're using their fringe elements, like 30p Lee, Kemi and Cruella, to try and reshape the Overton window at very short notice in a bid to do something in the GE (whenever that is).
Someone in Tufton St has done some strange estimations and seems to think if they can bootstrap together a coalition of Tory 'moderates' and the home county faithful, who lack the imagination to not vote Tory, with outright racists and bigots, and they'll somehow swing the election... But do they have a possible point? Brexit fever and wild promises delivered Boris a lovely big majority in 2019 from a not too different voting composition.
In the constituencies where they need to fight 'Reform' candidates they'll happily present as racist Tories, in the constituencies where that won't work they'll present as the party of business and 'growth'. Just don't look too hard at their colleagues or at their track record.
The problem the Tories now face whether in government or opposition is that this uneasy coalition of Money loving moderates and good old fashioned hate mongers just cannot work together for any sort of 'common good'. They've turned on the last three PMs and Lil' Rishi is barely managing to keep the current incarnation of the party in any sort of order.
Unfortunately if the last decade has taught me anything it's that the voting public are a variety pack of idiots and you can never be too sure what flavour combinations you're going to get.
I also heard Warsi on the radio last night, did she really not know the Party she belong to, or just conveniently chose not to?
I believe it's the latter.
"[Tory on @tjagain’s doorstep while canvassing]
“So we’ll put you down as a maybe, then”?"
After reading TJ's post (which I fully agree with) this proper made me chuckle!
I'm just putting this on here for a bit of a vent and some balance.
Was sat on the train this morning a few seats down from a Leeanderthal who started every sentence with "I'm not racist but..." Spent the 12 minutes of the journey wanting to come out with something pithy remark to shut him down and now regretting not having the balls to do so.
When we got off the train, the platform was full of kids who take the train to the next stop to get to a grammar school, the majority of whom are from non-white heritage.
There was a young white girl and a lad from a south Asian background having one of those awkward teenage "I really like you and you seem to really like me but we're both too nervous to make the first move" type conversations and it gave me a brief flicker of hope for the future.
I also heard Warsi on the radio last night, did she really not know the Party she belong to, or just conveniently chose not to?
The hard working, pull yourselves up by your bootstraps traditional Tory values may have an appeal to the generation of immigrants who did that and prospered, and the Tories have got a lot of minorities represented in the government, so I can see how they might appeal.
She has been campaigning against Islamaphobia for quite a while now, she must have had a rude awakening at some point.
A good article in this mornings Guardian. It looks like this is very much an orchestrated campaign of Islamapohbia by the Tory party in the run up to an election, with their GB News/Torygraph/Richard Littlejohn mates in their usual supporting role.
We now have a name for it
So in the least surprising news ever, 30p Lee is not ruling out joining Reform. Does he honestly think we are daft? It was clearly his plan all along.
He doesn't give a monkeys what party he supposedly represents, he's a grifter who's now got his guarenteed gig on GB News and other right wing media, so its all gravy.
Same as Truss. From the Lib Dems to standing on a platform with Steve Bannon voicing far right conspiracy theories. People go on about her 'poitical journey' but she hasn't had one. She's just another grifter looking more to her bank balance than any ideology, and the far right hate-speech gig pays very nicely. She'd stand there feeding kittens into a paper shredder if it paid well enough
Ker-ching!
Sadly in the North East (where I'm originally from) people like 30p Lee are the majority, not the minority.
"Thikkkk as **** n' proud of it" is the general motto. Education's for fannies did you know?
30p lee bounce
https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1762411416135356748?t=K-wlI6fzgT3XUEvUilxvbg&s=19
youd think after watching Labour implode over antisemitism that the Tories might have wondered whether they should get their own shit together
but no
https://twitter.com/alexwickham/status/1762231160279548320?t=Qob24wICNomkuc7nQ5SPew&s=19
https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1762389691494519184?t=oe-H-wKzg6Wuq94GM6LF2A&s=19
https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1762381781259403675?t=l-bSMiQbuhqzYCe0M0mFmg&s=19
not ruling out joining Reform. Does he honestly think we are daft? It was clearly his plan all along.
So not part of the Tory election strategy then?
New YouGov poll gives Sadiq Khan a 25-point lead in the London mayoral race
THE ISLAMISTS HAVE TAKEN OVER LONDON!
So not part of the Tory election strategy then?
He's a useful idiot who serves their present agenda and has done since 2019. Theres no longer a fag paper between the Tory Party and Reform/Brexit/Whatever Farages Vehicle is Called This Week anyway. They're essentially the same thing.
Imagine pre-2016, listening to senior Tories coming out with what we've heard over the last week? Remember when Home Secretary Theresa May's posters on vans seemed like a bit much? They seem rather quaint nowadays, don't they? Almost welcoming. Another world.
Thats how much this country has been dragged to the right since then and theres only been one party in power.
Racism was weaponised by UKIP during the referendum campaign and served Boris Johnson very well in 2019, so the Tories are presently reaaching for the same playbook, then upping the ante. Its pretty desperate stuff but it resonates with a certain type of voter. Hopefully it repulses more.
Theres no longer a fag paper between the Tory Party and Reform/Brexit/Whatever Farages Vehicle is Called This Week anyway. They’re essentially the same thing.
I'm on the tram in Nottingham (northern end of the line very near Lee Anderson's constituency) and I've just overheard a conversation between two guys slagging off "wishy washy liberals" (plus various other stuff about woke...), hoping that Anderson defects to Reform and gets re-elected. 😳
Their razor sharp political analysis reckoned he wouldn't get re-elected if he stayed Tory (the Tories are apparently also just liberals now) but that he'd stand a good chance in Reform.
I need to go and wash my ears out after hearing their drivel. They walk amongst us. 🙄
He’s a useful idiot
The difference between Labour getting a working majority and winning a huge landslide at the next general election seems to be very much down to how well or badly Reform UK does.
So right now Rishi Sunak's number one priority has to be not to hemorrhage too much Tory support to Reform UK.
A former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party defecting to Reform UK is not going to be particularly useful in achieving that.
Which is why 30p Lee is milking the situation for all its worth, playing footsie with them both
"Which of you gangs of closet fascists would like me to help attract the racist moron vote you're presently courting?"
Remember he's presently suspended from the Tory party, not expelled. Rishi has already said that if he only apologised then the door's open for a Suella style return
Government ministers seem to be now taking interviews techniques from Holt...
[ EDIT: sorry, missed that Kimbers has already included that in his big X post... twitterbroken earlier ]
THE ISLAMISTS HAVE TAKEN OVER LONDON!
I thought it had been taken over by the "woke".
Is there a timeshare agreement?
It really does show the weakness of Rishi, and his appalling political skills - not forgetting his dumpster world view. Sending out ministers en-masse to equivocate over 'tactical racism', largely to try and keep 30p and people in the Tory party that agree with him, vaguely on-side. It's another shameful spectacle.
I also hope that this doesn't wash with more voters than it does wash with. It's only a hope. My birthday is early May, could I please have a new (non-Tory/Reform) government with a large majority?
I've just had another piece of election bumph through the door from our tiny-majoritied, mekon-headed Tory MP. Its 50/50 split between the local council candidate (who looks as much like Tory Boy as its possible to be) and national stuff with old Tefal-head and Rishi 'delivering on their promises'
But the general election isn't until October, right? Definitely not in May when the local elections are on?
Oh yes, it's not happening in May, it's just a desperate plea of mine. I think Rishi has made the wrong choice about delaying the election in the hope of something coming along, because what is coming along is the Reform party and more infighting chaos to put voters off voting tory. Prolonging the pain for everyone...
"The hard working, pull yourselves up by your bootstraps traditional Tory values may have an appeal to the generation of immigrants who did that and prospered, and the Tories have got a lot of minorities represented in the government, so I can see how they might appeal."
Oh, that old trope.
Next you'll be telling us the Tories are "good with the economy", or "implement low taxes".
Are there still people who still believe?
“The hard working, pull yourselves up by your bootstraps traditional Tory values may have an appeal to the generation of immigrants who did that and prospered, and the Tories have got a lot of minorities represented in the government, so I can see how they might appeal.”
Oh, that old trope.
Next you’ll be telling us the Tories are “good with the economy”, or “implement low taxes”.
Are there still people who still believe?
It's far from a 'trope'. Many UK Asians vote tory for this exact reason. Many Ugandan and Kenyan Asians became tory voters once they settled in the UK, as such values appealed to them a lot. They'd lost everything, so were understandably particularly resentful. I grew up with kids from such families, as did my wife, and I was surprised at just how sympathetic they were towards the tories, especially during the Thatcher era. Those people tended to be predominantly Hindu, which as a culture is very segregational and hierarchical, and mainly from the Vaishya caste, which sees itself as being 'above' the lower labouring castes. So already pretty conservative in their outlook. Muslims were less likely to be tory voters, largely because they tended to settle in poorer, Labour run areas, and because Islam is perhaps more inclusive and 'socialist' in its philosophy. But you get tory voting Muslims; often those who have been lucky enough to succeed economically, so would automatically find such tory values as appealing. Interestingly, such Muslims do tend to be more secular and less aligned to traditional values than others, in my experience. So far more willing to embrace British cultural values, and be 'accepted' into British society. Hence Baroness Warsi and others.
because what is coming along is the Reform party and more infighting chaos to put voters off voting tory.
Yup, Reform UK have already about doubled their level of support in the last six months - there is no evidence that it will be falling in the next 6 months.
The very latest opinion poll is interesting:
https://twitter.com/DeltapollUK/status/1762121206205927596
I never cease to be surprised at how support for the LibDems is still only half of what it was when Nick Clegg took the disastrous decision to enable a Tory government and wholeheartedly supported austerity.
They say that the electorate has a short memory but Clegg gave them something to never forget.
Was sat on the train this morning a few seats down from a Leeanderthal who started every sentence with “I’m not racist but…” Spent the 12 minutes of the journey wanting to come out with something pithy remark to shut him down and now regretting not having the balls to do so.
If you do get the opportunity again, please do harangue him. The more 'ordinary members of the public' that are seen to stand up to such racists, the better. Particularly if they are white. Right now is a time for solidarity; When I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, one group which stood out for helping defend minorities locally, were Jewish left wing activists. They were the ones who helped distribute leaflets and formed pickets, and were at the forefront of anti-racist demonstrations. Many also stood toe to toe with neo-Nazis, as their predecessors had done against Moseley's blackshirts in Cable St. For this, I will always offer my solidarity to Jewish people. As I will with all who stand up against fascism. Solidarity is the key.
Re: Lib Dems, I don't know how the polls account for this in their models, or if it's covered in the framing of the survey question, but surely there is some extra support for them hidden in the Labour and Tory %s where people vote tactically..?
I know folk who were real lib dem activists. They will no longer even vote lib dem because of the coalition, the idiot posturing of Swinson that helped wreck any chance of stopping brexit and the realisation that every vote for the lib dems helps the tories
If you do get the opportunity again, please do harangue him. The more ‘ordinary members of the public’ that are seen to stand up to such racists, the better
Yes, I know I should have. The ignorance of his arguments needed calling out because it was that which tipped his views to racism.
The lib dems ruined themselves in the coalition and I both think and hope that they never see the light of day as a serious contender again.
Whilst I think its fair to say that the conservatives were fundamentally behind many of the unpopular polices the lib dems take flak for, the fact remains they allowed their desire to remain in a semblance of power to derail their pre-coalition red lines. Most importantly for me was their voting for the tripling of tuition fees so I'll see a nice reminder in every paycheck until 2048 of what their decision cost me there.
I also think that they're the most impacted by the current voting system where every lib dem vote is effectively a tory vote in the majority of constituencies.
Does he actually even truly believe that Islamic extremists have 'taken over' London? How is he evidencing this claim? As I said previously, I believe such extremism is on the wane in London at least; I'm not seeing quite the number of shouty preachers around these days. Perhaps they're all in Guantanamo Bay.
As for Tower Hamlets becoming a 'no go zone'; does he mean that the hipsters have taken over there? Because there seems to be a proliferation of trendy coffee shops etc appearing there right now. You can't move for outfits bought on Vinted, in Bethnal Green these days. It's all so achingly cool. So understandably no place for a frothing enraged tumescence like Leeanderthal.
Does he actually even truly believe that Islamic extremists have ‘taken over’London? How is he evidencing this claim?
hes just appealing to a certain audience- see crazy legs' story
the fact remains they allowed their desire to remain in a semblance of power to derail their pre-coalition red lines
Its more simple than that. The libdem mps didnt agree with many of the pre-coalition red lines. They were dominated by the orange book brigade who were pretty similar to the tories in economic plans but just differed on the social.
Most importantly for me was their voting for the tripling of tuition fees so I’ll see a nice reminder in every paycheck until 2048 of what their decision cost me there.
Which is the perfect example of the above. Clegg is on the record as being in favour of fees but lost out at the libdem conference where the party membership was opposed to them. So does anyone really think it would have been a subject he would have fought the tories on vs going ooops had to give way?
Oddly enough one of the main funders, Paul Marshall for the orange book brigade has now gone full tory and is a financer of gbeebies amongst other things.
Does he actually even truly believe that Islamic extremists have ‘taken over’London? How is he evidencing this claim?
When have they ever provided any evidence of anything they claim? Not since the 'we've had enough of experts' referendum campaign
I honestly don't think that at this point these grifters believe in anything other than keeping the gravy train rolling.
Lee knows he's done at the next election, so this is all about continuing his GB News gig and maybe getting a Daily Mail weekly column. I'm sure the idiots over the Atlantic presently being exposed to Truss would absolutely lap this shit up from Lee.
Ker-ching!
Oddly enough one of the main funders, Paul Marshall for the orange book brigade has now gone full tory and is a financer of gbeebies amongst other things.
The Lib Dems seem to be the nursery for prospective tories
Does he actually even truly believe that Islamic extremists have ‘taken over’ London? How is he evidencing this claim?
I believe that Anderson is talking about people like me once a fortnight demonstrating in London calling for a Free Palestine and an end to the slaughter of innocent civilians.
Apparently they are "Islamist demos". And former Home Secretary Suella Braverman agrees with him.
How does it feel to be running London Ernesto?
I hope you're not getting drunk on this new found power of yours
Meanwhile, while everyone is talking about 30p Lee...
It looks like Jeremy Hunt is planning on going 'Full Truss' at the budget next week and announce billions in unfunded tax cuts despite being warned by the IMF, amongst others, that this will have exactly the same effect as last time in 'spooking the markets'
God help us if binners and ernie go into coalition….
I can be the Mussolini to his Hitler 😀
maybe i should sell my bonds...........
It looks like Jeremy Hunt is planning on going ‘Full Truss’ at the budget next week and announce billions in unfunded tax cuts despite being warned by the IMF, amongst others, that this will have exactly the same effect as last time in ‘spooking the markets’
Or "plans to **** the economy so badly that Labour have no chance of improving anything"
Re: Lib Dems, I don’t know how the polls account for this in their models, or if it’s covered in the framing of the survey question, but surely there is some extra support for them hidden in the Labour and Tory %s where people vote tactically..?
What is hidden from the poll results is how despite the LibDems polling at about the same as they did at the last general election, or often even lower, all the seat predictions predict that they will double or even treble their MPs at the next general election.
I am not completely sure the reasons for this but I very strongly suspect that Reform UK standing in all marginal seats plays an important part.
The Brexit Party not standing in Tory marginals didn't just help them to defeat Labour but it presumably also helped the Tories to defeat the LibDems.
Most importantly for me was their voting for the tripling of tuition fees so I’ll see a nice reminder in every paycheck until 2048 of what their decision cost me there.
I've guffed on about this elsewhere, but I really do think this is a hugely underappreciated point among the over-40's (ish). Much of the media treated it as any other story - it's a big event, everyone gets angry, then people move on. But any graduates under about 30, except the top earners, will pay an extra 9% tax for much of their working lives. It's going to have a huge, permanent effect on housing, pensions, the wider economy. But for many in the media and politics, it's either forgotten or just shrugged off. It'll come back to bite us in the arse, I'm sure of it
@doris5000 - As someone with one daughter at Uni and another about to start, I'm more than aware that the governemnt are now treating students as potential future cash cows and I agree with you completely. Its going to have an enormous knock on effect on all sorts of areas of the economy.
More short-sighted, ill-thought-through economic madness that none of the cosseted offspring of this lot will need to concern themselves with