UK Election!

Fareham? Damn – I was rather hoping reform would do for her.

They are doing their bit but could try a little harder. Come on Reform pull your finger out.

Election night drinking game- shot for every cabinet member deposed.

I’m in. :)

And another (far more important) thing while I’ve got your attention… pic.twitter.com/yCahyfINY7

— Clive Tyldesley (@CliveTyldesley) July 2, 2024

Election night drinking game- shot for every cabinet member deposed.

Sadly I have a funeral on Friday. and no, it’s not for the Conservative Party. So will need to drive. And I expect that following that game would preclude morning driving. It may even preclude Saturday driving 🫣

Plans for election night?

Long-standing booking to see Nils Frahm at The Sage (Glasshouse) in Gateshead so…vote, 2.5 hrs drive north, eat, go to gig, check phone for exit poll prediction when I leave, drive 2.5 hrs south; may go to count as CLP member but Newark not due until after 3am so will possibly (probably?) watch/listen to beeb.

We’ve got quite a selection of candidates in Newark – Lab, tory, LD, 2 different flavours of independents, Green, Reform (racist), English Democrat (even more racist), george galloway’s mob.

Disappointing that the Monster Raving Loony party haven’t put up a candidate.

In other news…Kim Wilde backs Count Binface in election thingy.

Election night drinking game- shot for every cabinet member deposed.

Election night drinking game- shot for every chicken hatched.

Long-standing booking to see Nils Frahm at The Sage (Glasshouse) in Gateshead

in a “life of Brian voice” You lucky lucky bastard.

Oh great my Friday is looking fun… not only do I have to drop my son at school at 7am for a school trip as it turns out the bike shed will be locked then

But I’ve now agreed to go into London & meet my mother- in-law off the train at Euston so she can get to Waterloo by bus

But I’ve now agreed to go into London & meet my mother- in-law off the train at Euston so she can get to Waterloo by bus

Bus?!
It’s only 6 stops (10-15 mins) on the Northern line (via Charing Cross branch).

Sorry, off topic.
Bloody Starmer eh?

😉

@somafunk – always loved live music but just got out of the habit so…am now getting back into it – in my usual mad and unstructured way.

In the past 11 days – from home in Newark which is something of a music desert – Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at the Sage/Glasshouse, Mavis Staples at the Union Chapel, Kaiser Chiefs and Gregory Porter both at Lincoln Castle.

Wanted to see Madness at Lincoln Castle but…didn’t happen.

Yes, it’s mad; unsustainable and expensive.

Max Richter is touring later this year so that’s a possibility, Thea Gilmore in Nottingham is a must, David Gilmore at the RAH but ticket prices are £££££.

It’s all eclectic but…my money, my choices.

Are D:ream touring anytime soon?

Are D:ream touring anytime soon?

Nah, i think the Brian Cox reunion was a one off special for Glastonbury

Hania Rani is playing on the 17th see tour dates here , also check out Kessoncoda on the same Gondwana record label/website

Her new album below, if you enjoy nils frahm you’ll love Hania

apologies for hijack, I’m providing an essential musical service

Fareham – really disappointed that Labour & Libdem locally cannot stitch this up. It appears eminently feasible, particularly as Reform have a growing share. Hard to believe there are people who believe Cruella is not nasty enough – but there you go. Depressing to find myself in this constituency- end of road is in Winchester, in which my wife and I once decided last minute to vote for Libdem, Mark Oaten. Him then winning by 2 votes was a really odd feeling.

Just had a look on the tactical voting website, “Not Sure”, West Worcestershire is a tory stronghold. ****!!!

@frankconway I’m Newark too – all the decent gigs seem to be in Nottingham.

Anyway, are you voting tactically to get Robert Jenrick out? I think it’s going to be close, so my Labour vote and my boss’ Reform vote will both help.

My election night plans…

I’ll be in a field in Staffordshire from Thursday at a festival, toasting the Tory downfall with Bob Vylan, Dub Pistols and tons of techno/drum & bass. Seems as good a place as any…I’ll be watching what I can on my phone through the early hours of Friday.

Back to prediction of turnout. 39-40% would be historically lowest in recent times by a big margin, and would feel much less democratic so I hope not.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1050929/voter-turnout-in-the-uk/

I think its likely to be a poor turnout because of the lack of enthusiasm for labour.  Both Tory and Labour voters will stay at home.  But see how well my previous predictions have gone :-)

I’ll be in a field in Staffordshire from Thursday at a festival, toasting the Tory downfall

You’ve done a postal vote though right?

There’s some proper drama queens on here, Labour haven’t even spent a minute in power, let alone won a majority, and folk are going on about their theoretical failures in government already 🤣

+1 and said it pages back

Country wants: genuinely right of centre party to replace fake conservatives.

Country gets: communism….  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/07/02/labour-inheritance-tax-policy-redistribute-family-money-lea/

You’ve done a postal vote though right?

I’ll be at the polling station at 7am, festival site doesn’t open until 2pm…

Country wants: genuinely right of centre party to replace fake conservatives.

Country gets: communism….  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/07/02/labour-inheritance-tax-policy-redistribute-family-money-lea/

Did you accidentally link to the wrong article?

Personally I am in favour of inheritance taxation.  Inheritance is one of the main drivers of inequality.  I say this even tho in my nice cosy middle class family there is a fair bit of money to inherit – simply because we all bought houses when they were affordable.  My nephews are going to be the main benificiaries.

I would use inheritance taxation to provide old age care for everyone

Apparently inheritance tax (which we already have) is communism. So we’ve been living in a communist state since when… 1894? Who knew?

Country gets: communism….

Do you know what communism is? Or are you just exaggerating? I would try and stay away from that level of hyperbole, it is the reason you get mocked on here and why you have no credibility.

Vox Pops piece from Tamworth on R4 just now…..

We debate and discuss here using actual words, links to articles – sometimes the odd fact. You listen to podcasts of passionate, informed and cognisant debate.  Then you hear a vox pops like that and you appreciate that for the overwhelming majority, regardless of which way they might vote, their thought processes and reasoning are so banal and their knowledge and understanding is at such a simplistic level it’s all for nothing. One man talking about how it’s time to get rid of the clowns in charge in London – and his reason – the rubbish on the path he was stood on whilst getting interviewed. A woman interviewed who wasn’t sure which way to vote, but then she’d come across some facebook advert from the local tory candidate – so he must care more about the community that the rest of them so she was going to vote for him. A woman interviewed who said she couldn’t vote for Labour because she didn’t like Starmer because….”he was clearly after power”. No shit.

The best thing about democracy is we all get a say. The worst thing about democracy is we all get a say – and half of us are below average intelligence.

Heard that. One of them voting Tory because none of the other parties would really change anything. “They’re all the same”. I mean, fine, but how does voting Tory get you whatever change you’re seeking?

I would try and stay away from that level of hyperbole,

Not good advice for someone who is trolling though is it.  Have you not noticed they never, ever follow up on any of the shit they post and post stuff that is obviously going to get the stw audience going.  Most manage to ignore them for what they are though.

So I reckon the Tories are gonna get 150 seats

no it’s gonna be 95 seats

Yeah no, I’ve got no idea 😂🤦🏻‍♂️

I’m gonna stay up Thursday as long as I can, bloody meeting on Fridays though, fortunately it’s on zoom 👍

That Tamworth vox pop was just a huge facepalm moment.

I bemoan campaign strategists of all stripes for three word slogans, dumbing down and outright obvious lies – then things like that make me realise the mean average they are playing to.

Whoever posted a few pages back about NHS patient info being dumbed down to the reading age of a 7/8 year old (“your tummy”) had it right.

Election night plans – packing the van for a two week holiday and ferry in the morning…but I may need to stay up as late as I dare, or even early and get up for the news…

I am genuinely bemused by Reform looking like 20% of UK electorate will vote for them.

I am bemused by 16% predicted to vote for the random candidate thrown forward by Reform in our area of Scotland. At least he is local I suppose.

https://www.pollingreport.uk/seats/S14000105

🤷‍♂️

I see Cruella has emerged from her self-imposed 6 week exile and fired the starting pistol on her leadership bid. From the Guardian this morning..,

Braverman blames the situation on a fracture within the Conservative Party resulting from a rise in Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

It is notable that Labour’s vote share has not markedly increased in recent weeks, but our vote is evaporating from both Left and Right.

The critics will cite Boris [Johnson], Liz [Truss], Rwanda, and, I can immodestly predict, even me as all being fatal to our ‘centrist’ vote.

The reality is rather different: we are haemorrhaging votes largely to Reform. Why? Because we failed to cut immigration or tax or deal with the net zero and woke policies we have presided over for 14 years.

We may lose hundreds of excellent MPs because of our abject inability to have foreseen this inevitability months ago: that our failure to unite the Right would destroy us.”

There you go folks. It’s all because the Tories were too ‘woke’. Yes Sue Ellen, that’s the only reasonable conclusion anyone could reach

One of them voting Tory because none of the other parties would really change anything. “They’re all the same”. I mean, fine, but how does voting Tory get you whatever change you’re seeking?

I think a lot of it is people who are actually Tories but don’t want to admit it.

I know of someone who will say he doesn’t like the Tories, but then voted for them in 2005, 2010 and 2015 because he ‘couldn’t vote for Labour because of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan’*.

So surely he voted for a Labour party with a firmly anti-war leader in 2017 and 2019? Heavens no! Tory again.  He ‘can’t stand the Tories’, but has voted for them 5 times in a row, over 14 years. With enemies like that, who needs friends?

* He was in a combat role in the UK military at the time! I don’t know what he thought he would be doing when he signed up!

I see electoral calculus are sticking to their guns.  They predict a 310 seat majority with lab getting 470 seats and the libs as official opposition in 71, ten seats ahead of the tories.

If that is what we wake up to in Friday I’ll be gob smacked.  Would be nice though.

If that is what we wake up to in Friday I’ll be gob smacked.  Would be nice though.

Indeed. I just don’t see it happening mind.

The true irony if it did happen would be the libdems, who have campaigned all my life for PR, getting a lift PR would never afford them. And the tories being shafted by FPTP.

I’ll be waking up on Crete on Friday morning having travelled there on Thursday (postal votes are sent although it was close given how late they arrived). Im hoping for a good Friday, sun, sand, sangria and Starmer.

PS fully agree with TJ on inheritance tax, also as someone who stands to inherit (can see it skipping a generation and going straight to my kids) it is a massive cause of wealth inequality given current house prices. I’d also happily see all assets get used for care, why should someone inherit if the older person needs care they are unwilling to provide?

what are peoples plans on election night?

I’m at a Burger Festival with a really good English/Spanish Band :-)

Wow that Video about the labour Taxs – by the people who sat back and watched the energy prices rocket and pretty much did nothing, then they did something so their leech owning mates got paid.

Wow the intelli-sense on that one for ‘leccy’ was actually spot on :-)