UK Election!

Battered Nissan drops kid in boater and blazer at private school…

so the parents don’t provide the nanny with a car and make her use her own!

Can we just drop the private school thing

Happy to accept the right for choice, same with private healthcare. But not going to let the impression that RGSG is an average school on a normal street in a normal town go unchallenged.

(dropping the private school theme then)

I’ve a lot of respect for Mishal Husein as an interviewer but I don’t think she did a good enough job of shutting Mordaunt and to an extent Rayner down. Even after the LD panellist commented, they still kept just trying to talk over each other – well shout, really, and MH should have cut them off. She looked like she was ‘trying’ from time to time and then stopped, I wondered if she was being earpieced from the gallery to allow them to go on or just lacked the gravitas to do it.

It’ll be interesting to see what Reeves’ pursuit of growth has delivered by 2029.

Single market membership?

MH should have cut them off. She looked like she was ‘trying’ from time to time and then stopped, I wondered if she was being earpieced from the gallery to allow them to go on or just lacked the gravitas to do it.

Thought the same with the ITV debate.

I’ve a lot of respect for Mishal Husein as an interviewer but I don’t think she did a good enough job of shutting Mordaunt and to an extent Rayner down. Even after the LD panellist commented, they still kept just trying to talk over each other – well shout, really, and MH should have cut them off. She looked like she was ‘trying’ from time to time and then stopped, I wondered if she was being earpieced from the gallery to allow them to go on or just lacked the gravitas to do it.

I think the context matters here.

The two main parties battling it out nationally had their representatives right next to each other, no idea if that was deliberate but it was always going to be shouty.

Then you have the fact Mordaunt copied Sunak in both style and content. By content I specifically mean the 2k tax bs. If Rayner had just let the lie be shouted over and over she would have been accused of being weak and the lie gains traction. A gift to the Tories.

The 2k tax fib is big news and Rayner *had* to challenge it, if that meant competing in volume levels then so be it.

Rayner only responded in kind. The Tories aren’t afraid to get into the gutter and Rayner knew she had to go where the fight was. 👍.

That’s on Mordaunt and the advisors that told her to continue lying.

This was always going to be a dirty election campaign and there is a long way to go yet. I have zero problem with Labour not being afraid to get a bit mucky in the fight. There is way too much at stake and Marquess of Queensberry rules aren’t at play here.

Tory guy on Newsnight is now doing it again; yet when the interviewer intervenes goes quiet. I wonder if it is a defined tactic.

(Chris Heaton-Harris and Ellie Reeves)

Since there are no selective state schools in the area, if we want the best education on offer, this is way to get it

In my experience selective schools are not the only ones which can provide excellent education, especially if parents of bright kids are supportive of their local schools That applies in the Godalming area as well as anywhere else. For context I lived in Godalming for fourteen years and worked in the Sixth Form College there and had links with the local schools, both local authority and Independent, including RGSG and Charterhouse.

theotherjonv
Full Member
Tory guy on Newsnight is now doing it again; yet when the interviewer intervenes goes quiet. I wonder if it is a defined tactic.

(Chris Heaton-Harris and Ellie Reeves)

Yeah, just watching that now. I might be a glutton for punishment.😁

I’m almost politiked out for tonight.

Didn’t see any of it as I was out canvassing following an afternoon of delivering leaflets.

Two things…

i) on the doorstep in the Newark constituency there is little love for jenrick; polls are – literally – 50/50 in a seat where the tory majority was 21k in 2019. Reform and other minority parties are eroding the tory vote; strong signs of switching from tory to Labour. Taking down a/the right wing poster boy of the tories would be a real coup.

ii) seven senior politicos shouting over each other is/was, to me, a complete irrelevance; more heat than light so it was nothing more than frothing.

I’ve a lot of respect for Mishal Husein as an interviewer but I don’t think she did a good enough job of shutting Mordaunt and to an extent Rayner down. Even after the LD panellist commented, they still kept just trying to talk over each other – well shout, really, and MH should have cut them off. She looked like she was ‘trying’ from time to time and then stopped, I wondered if she was being earpieced from the gallery to allow them to go on or just lacked the gravitas to do it.

the gallery can presumably shut down or increase/reduce the gain on anyone’s mic if they want to, but:

– a civil intelligent discussion is unlikely to get shared on the socials

– if either party thinks they’ve been “muted” unfairly they’ll be on the phone to Offcom

– is it wrong to let the public see how people (and it’s not just one person) behave when desperate/angry

so there’s little incentive for the gallery to encourage the chair to intervene.   I’m just amazed that neither side learned from the Cameron/Brown/Clegg debate that “I agree with Nick” and a grown up discussion was actually quite well received with the electorate.

I didn’t watch it all but I’m surprised Reeves hasn’t been rehearsing/coached on a way to respond to the Mordaunt line.  She was angry and shouty and the public don’t like that.  It might have been justified, but it won’t be making the country wish she was the leader rather than Starmer.  The Mordaunt fan club probably like the way she behaved because they are all unhinged anyway and want Blue to win at all costs.

'You cannot employ lesser qualified people instead of GPs…the country is not stupid'.

PM Rishi Sunak is challenged on the NHS by a member of the public during a campaigning event in Wiltshire. https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3

? Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/a0h9wux8Y7

— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 7, 2024

In fairness Rayner came second only to Farage in the poll they conducted afterwards.

Given how well Farage is usually met in campaign mode such as this, I think that’s a good reflection on her, it might indicate they might even like her scrappy nature with Mordaunt. At the least, it didn’t seem to impact her negatively.

I, like most, would love less anger in politics but like I said, Labour need to commit to going to going where the Tories lead if they are truly intent on combating their narrative.

Just my take on things anyway.

@poly

I didn’t watch it all but I’m surprised Reeves hasn’t been rehearsing/coached on a way to respond to the Mordaunt line.

Rayner, not Reeves.

@Klunk

Id not seen the last part of that where he is actually laughing out loud as one of his cronies heckled the doctor about going away on holiday too much. 😡

If anyone needs to see why labour  have to get into the gutter to fight these ***** then this is a good start.

Terrible political instinct to laugh at a GP raising those concerns too, he’s just very bad at this.

Single market membership?

That would be the sensible, logical thing to do. Put the country first.

Shame he’s a politician.

They’re incompetent

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crggxy2pe1eo

Hey Frank, if you didn’t see it you can’t say it was irrelevant, and you can’t say that….seven senior politicos shouting over each other is/was more heat than light…

…appreciate that you are very engaged w canvassing for your Labour candidate, and kudos for that, but you sound a touch dismissive of a bigger picture here?

The Plaid, SNP, Green and LD cases presented were very persuasive that there are other very valid concerns and solutions.

Yes there is only one goal ultimately and fully support #GTTO. But Labour risk being seen as arrogant and presumptive/dismissive if they don’t allow any nuance. Had a Labour canvasser on my doorstep this evening, and we had a really good chat, and she was very reflective that Gaza, Diane Abbot (she mentioned that one not me), PR, Brexit are areas that are causing some questions on the doorstep, but enough for them to want to talk about it. Maybe it’s cos we are a Tory seat where LD have been the challenger, and not yet clear if Labour can challenge as the tactical option – hence she was open to discussion.

I guess your experience is different, but I feel that Labour might win some friends if it is more open to some of the nuances.

Wishing you luck in your local campaign!

To be fair, Frank said it’s an irrelevance to him.

Ian Dunts appraisal of Lil Rishi’s week is absolutely brutal, but bang on!

D-Day for Sunak – His campaign has done for election strategy what Suez did for military intervention.

“We’ve surely never seen a man **** up this badly. We’ve never seen someone **** up so regularly, at such a high level. We’ve never witnessed someone manage it with this degree of sustained commitment: a morning-to-sundown performance, across the full range of political activities, at every point in the qualitative spectrum, with due consideration for both superficial blunder and substantive misjudgement. No matter what the issue, Rishi Sunak will find a way to cock it up. It’s who he is. It’s what he does. And woe-betide anyone who stands in his way”

In fairness Rayner came second only to Farage in the poll they conducted afterwards.

That is good to see.  She also does non political stuff very well  (i.e. appearing on a vacuous show such as This Morning) because she actually seems genuine and a bit more relatable and like ‘normal’ people.

Ian Dunts appraisal of Lil Rishi’s week is absolutely brutal, but bang on!

I follow Dunt because he’s occasionally funny. But he’s got a track record of bigging the wrong people up (Sunak et al)  at the start of their run and then condemning when he gets it totally wrong.

Without any self reflection.

Single market membership?

Can’t see that one – shift to right to keep power is only going to get worse.

I wouldn’t bet on it.

That’s the direction that has been indicated.

That Sky / Drs question, imagine laughing out loud on TV to such a piss poor bone headed comment, utterly spinless. Pissed off and I’ve barely had breakfast, can’t wait for it to end.

She also does non political stuff very well  (i.e. appearing on a vacuous show such as This Morning) because she actually seems genuine and a bit more relatable and like ‘normal’ people.

I know we aren’t doing stereotypes, and certainly not condoning violence but I suspect given her upbringing and past jobs Rayner might have shut up mouthy people with some commentary and language that would definitely have had the gallery scrambling for the mute button. And for the violence bit, she looked ready to lump Mordaunt a couple of times. On that, you have to admire Penny’s chutzpah when she claimed Portsmouth was a better city than Manchester, I thought that might tip Angela over the edge! Maybe Penny was packing a foldable sword in her hair as insurance?

Mark Harper going big on Plan for Drivers bullshit this morning.

Link to the above

ULEZ And LTNs To Be Scrapped Should Tories Win U.K. Election https://t.co/VjRr5m6UNt

— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) June 7, 2024

I can’t see how the War on Non-Drivers is going to save them, tbh.

It’s got to be a bet in the policy office by now hasn’t it. Who can come up with the most (not sure if allowed to say*) policy that we can get a Minister to trot(t) out on live media?

*prize, lifetime supply of apple sauce and as many pairs of red trousers as you can put on in a minute.

I’d love to see the costings for ULEZ.

Its also daft because these are devolved issues and the various devolved bodies / people were elected on manifestos including these measures.  so its also a direct attack on devolution

I can’t see how the War on Non-Drivers is going to save them, tbh

Since Sunak became leader, the news for them has been relentlessly and unremittingly grim, tanking in the polls and losing by-election after by-election

The one chink of light he has to hang on to is one specific by-election where he turned an enormous majority into a minuscule one but didn’t actually lose

Its a sign of their now flailing desperation that they want to take a policy that was very specific to that particular constituency and roll it out nationally

Theyre going to get quite a shock when they find out the entire country isn’t exclusively populated by self-serving Range Rover drivers

You can now almost taste the desperation. Throwing up half-baked policy ideas like Alan Partridge dreaming up new programme formats

Monkey Tennis!

When speaking to the Tory voting people I know about the upcoming Labour government their absolute top concern is how much it’ll hit them in their pockets, when discussing the concept that the additional funding will be used to support failing national infrastructure and give those less fortunate a helping hand it seems like some totally bizarre left field concept, heaven forbid we should live in a country where everyone is a fraction better off, even if that’s having to wait an hour less for an ambulance.

The small minded selfishness of this country is dumbfounding.

What an absolute farce. It’s claimed #RishiSunak ‘surprised local diners’ but everyone in this picture is either a #Tory Councillor in #Harrow or #Brent or a Staffer (as far as I am aware).#Sunak & the #Tories are at it again.

What an absolute joke! pic.twitter.com/pvkWlFG1ax

— Professor Kishan Devani BEM (@Kishan_Devani) May 26, 2024

also using the Mrs in your campaigning, doesn’t that make her tax evading nondom fair game ?

When speaking to the Tory voting people I know about the upcoming Labour government their absolute top concern is how much it’ll hit them in their pockets

Understandable really when you consider how much the Torys have already hit them hard in the pocket.

It’s a double edged sword isn’t it, tax take (thanks to the Torys) is highest it’s been in a long time and services (thanks to the Torys) are at a serious low. People with money are abandoning the state and paying for the services the state should provide out of their own pocket (services they should get for free and have already paid for through taxation but often can’t even access), not surprising they don’t want to fork out even more. It’s left Labour with a difficult path to tread, they need to improve public services fast to win back trust in government but they need the extra cash to do it.

Don’t blame the people on better incomes who have also seen their standards of living drop fas well or not wanting to fork out more for the greater good, blame the current shower in government for breaking the the basic covenant of government with the people to provide reasonable and accessible services. The yeah but they can afford it arguments really don’t cut it, most people on higher incomes work pretty hard for that money (people on less than £100k), it might be a lot to others but those earning that generally do actual graft to earn it. Get above the £100k mark and the reward vs input seems widen exponentially.

Just for clarity I am in the bracket that will undoubtedly get clobbered by Labour for a disproportionate increase in taxation but I’m still voting for them as I have done for the last 15 years.

I’m in a similar bracket Stumpy but I still realise what’s gone on over the last 14yrs and I’m prepared to take the hit to start to put that right – rather than just stick my fingers in my ears and blame a new Labour Government costing me more even though they have to raise taxes out of absolute nessicity.

Everyone will moan but they’ll also moan when they’re waiting 6 months for a Cancer referral, which would you rather.

Referecing Stumpyjon, this is the exact position in Barbados many years ago – a government pilfering the taxes voted out by a massive majority, taxes and other costs e.g. tourist taxes then rising to be invested into decaying infrastructure and has been as promised by Mia Mottley.   Its worth reading the “Political Career” bit of that < Wiki page because is highlight the startling familiarity of this paragraph with the UK.

And its working, I could see the difference last year, but the difference is although the locals grumble about increased taxes and the tourist grumble about “exit taxes” the locals recognise “their island” and thats where the money goes and accept it for the good of nation.   They’ve much sharper memories and less dumb acceptance of the prior government who have not pretty much exiled themselves in large homes in foreign countries.

Sound familiar Mr Sunak? Its pretty much how this’ll play out.

When speaking to the Tory voting people I know about the upcoming Labour government their absolute top concern is how much it’ll hit them in their pockets

Yep I get the same, I am surrounded by them where I work.  They genuinely believe Labour will hammer their pensions, increase their taxes etc, for some reason.

When I ask if that is what happened under Blair they say no and then they can’t answer why they think Starmer would be any different.  They really are brainwashed.

I do agree with Stumpy Labour have a very difficult job to do, I can’t see taxes not rising in some way, the positioning of that will be critical in coming years, but from my point of view if you pay little you get little – labour really have to show good evidence people are getting VFM further down the line. Even then it’ll be absolute battleground.

TBH when the crunch comes you want to be able get an ambulance when you call one,be able to see a doctor when your are sick and  not have to wait x amount of years for any surgery you may need,let alone not be able to get a dentist.

The new norm seems to be poor and expect very little in services, may as well pay a little more tax and  be poorer but healthier :-(

It’s not just health though, transportation, social mobility, policing, overall although you’re financially a fraction worse off, from a quality of life point of view you should feel all around improvements if implemented well.