UK Election!

 Why would you agree/volunteer to sit behind or anywhere near the arsehole and not swear at him or heckle?

There seems to have been two types of people involved.

The imported tory councillors etc and then some real staff.

First set is self explanatory and as for the second. I think that can be answered by the boss saying "chances are Sunak will lost his main job in six weeks. Do you want to beat him to the jobcentre?"

If I knew he was coming the week before I would definitely be buying some lottery tickets but when they didnt give me retirement money would zip my mouth.

Day 1...

https://twitter.com/UKLabour/status/1793717817734218238?t=93szKcMrzt-AME-8MUgV4A&s=19

To be fair, since the collapse of the BNP, a lot of the locals round Ilson have become Tory voters.

Day 1…

I thought that was a bit purile really. They have to be very careful with this kind of stuff.

I thought that was a bit purile really. They have to be very careful with this kind of stuff.

Yeah, sure.

Edit: oh for ****s sake it's a picture of Ed Miliband eating a bacon buttie. Ffs it's 2024 and the one thing that worked now doesn't.

Yeah can't say that I was blown away by that Labour vid.  Then again I wasn't too chuffed when they let in Elphicke either!

The body language of the Tory who drew the short straw and is on QT  tonight says ‘please good,  just let’s get this over with’

Channel 4 news reporting earlier that on Rishi’s visit to some factory or other today, where he did his nauseating head boy routine, the people who asked the questions were plants. They were local Tory councillors given hi viz vests to make it look like they worked there and ask pre-prepared questions

He really is a pathetic little worm!

Then again I wasn’t too chuffed when they let in Elphicke either!

are they under any obligation to select her as a candidate?

Really? No-one's mentioned the councillors asking questions...

I can’t help but wonder if there will be some seats with no tory standing.  If you have no hope,  why would you waste the time?

You have to serve a couple of hopeless elections in unwinnable seats before you get picked for a viable one. At least, that was it traditionally - maybe the rules are different now.

If you were purely interested in seeking power, you'd join the Tories now, serve loyally at an election, lose, and then exploit the bloodletting and open posts in the next parliament to claw your way up.

There’s no way they can vet these people properly

They can't even properly vet their own MPs.

You have to serve a couple of hopeless elections in unwinnable seats before you get picked for a viable one. At least, that was it traditionally – maybe the rules are different now.

The first seat which Rishi Sunak contested for the Tories was a safe Tory seat in the 2015 GE.

Similarly the first seat Keir Starmer contested for Labour was a safe Labour seat in the 2015 GE.

Enthusiastic self-serving political careerists can be catapulted straight to the top in modern UK politics. They don't really need any experience these days, not even a stint as a local councillor.

You have to serve a couple of hopeless elections in unwinnable seats before you get picked for a viable one. At least, that was it traditionally – maybe the rules are different now

The bell ends they sent out to bat in the red wall seats in 2019 were never expected to win but, you know… Jeremy Corbyn. So hey ho… here we are.

So we get Gullis and Lee Anderson and my * of an MP James Daly. They’ll all be gone as quickly as they came but we’ve all had to endure these utter *-wits for 5 years and just look at the damage they’ve done

politecameraaction
Free Member

Really? No-one’s mentioned the councillors asking questions…

It ought to be a big deal but that's just an indication of how far things have gone wrong. People just aren't shocked or even really disappointed about it, it's just another sigh. Not good.

Very skeptical that people will turn to smaller parties when FPTP still exists, especially in our world of polarised politics, where if you dont vote for one of the 2 main parties you are helping the other one,

far more people simply wont vote than vote for either reform, green or the lib dems

Chippenham has been Conservative for decades, and the town council has been largely Conservative as well, but with new boundaries from 2023, the seat could change. In 2019 the results were:

Con - 54.6%

Lib - 31.3%

Lab - 12.3%

Green - 1.9%

Conservative majority of 23.2%

Now the situation regarding chance of winning:

Con - 30%

Lib - 56%

Lab - 14%

Green - 0%

Reform - 0%

The only people canvassing during the last council election were Liberals, I had a couple of Conservative leaflets stuffed through my letterbox, which went straight into my recycling, and I can’t remember when I last saw a poster for a Labour candidate.

@jam-bo They’ve already selected someone else but in any case she’s not standing.

ernielynch

Full Member

I have an irrational and yet intense dislike for Gyles Brandreth. I don’t know why.

Deviation. Intense dislike for Giles Brandreth is perfectly rational

Yep, not liking a smug tory **** is pretty natural.

The thing is I can't remember the last time Brandreth made a comment which could be described as political, so it can't be that.

And yet I do intensely dislike him. I guess it's probably that he extrudes "needy attention seeker" every time he's on the telly.

Keir Starmer

Angela Rayner

Rachel Reeves

Richard Burgon

Annelise Dodds

Sadiq Khan

Andy Burnham

Yvette Cooper

Wes Streeting

Ed Miliband

David Lammy

Pat McFadden

Shabana Mahmood

Louise Haigh

Thangnam Debbonaire

Emily Thornberry

Lisa Nandy

God help us. If you can, emigrate.

Yeah, I know right, It's been the dream team up until now.

I have an irrational and yet intense dislike for Gyles Brandreth. I don’t know why.

Have you seen the video of him and Gary Glitter chatting on the sofa on TVAM?  It's, erm, yewtree-worthy...

https://twitter.com/TheWrongtom/status/1663117200243187712

It ought to be a big deal but that’s just an indication of how far things have gone wrong. People just aren’t shocked or even really disappointed about it, it’s just another sigh. Not good.

Didn’t actually didn’t mind  that labour vid pointing it out.

I’m more worried about people not voting,reform standing down and him sliding back in.

I can’t see it happening but strange times.

Deviation. Intense dislike for Giles Brandreth is perfectly rational

But no hesitation, to be fair.

That tactical vote site seems to be using the data from the 2019 election, so it's not really helpful, my constituency had a massive tory majority with LibDem a long way back and Labour even further behind, so it suggests a LibDem tactical vote. All the more recent polls I can find now show all 3 parties are now pretty close at about 30% of the votes each, which would mean you should just vote for which ever opposition party you fancy...

God help us. If you can, emigrate

missing you already..

Yep, another benefit of Labour getting in is that some utter ****ers may emigrate.  Problem is they say they will but never actually do it.

grimep

Free Member

Keir Starmer

Angela Rayner

Rachel Reeves

Richard Burgon

Annelise Dodds

Sadiq Khan

Andy Burnham

Yvette Cooper

Wes Streeting

Ed Miliband

David Lammy

Pat McFadden

Shabana Mahmood

Louise Haigh

Thangnam Debbonaire

Emily Thornberry

Lisa Nandy

God help us. If you can, emigrate.

In the time it took you to type that out, you could have made yourself a nice cup of chamomile tea

In that time they could have listed their house and booked the tickets to somewhere that might have them....... maybe rwanda?

You appear to be totally convinced that the Tories won't win the general election on July 4th grimep, why?

What have the Tories done which convinces you that they stand no chance of winning?

I thought Rishi Sunak sounded quite buoyant yesterday.

I thought Rishi Sunak sounded quite buoyant yesterday.

Considering what we have to float on in the country, that would include nearly everything

grimep Free Member

...Thangnam Debbonaire...

You're not fond of government Thangnam-style?

If you can, emigrate.

Not so easy these days.

What have the Tories done which convinces you that they stand no chance of winning?

Hi!

The left has shown repeatedly that it will hold its nose and support a centrist candidate.

There is one fairly large exception to that...

Corbyn expected to stand as independent candidate https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c033z38m849o

I’m more worried about people not voting,reform standing down and him sliding back in.

I can’t see it happening but strange times.

I'm still worried about this, TBH.

That would be a massive shock wouldn't it but then I was shocked when I woke up the morning after the Brexit vote so know how stupid people allowed to vote can be.

There is one fairly large exception to that…

Corbyn expected to stand as independent candidate

It's an exception, but one of 650 constituencies is hardly a large one.

reform standing down

There is zero chance of Reform UK pulling out of the general election because frankly it would be of zero advantage to them.

The Tories are going to lose the general election whether Reform UK stand or not - the arithmetic makes that clear.

All that Reform UK not standing would achieve is that the Tories might not lose by quite as much.

The worse the Tories do on July 4th the better it is for Reform UK, who very obviously want to be seen as the right-wing alternative to the Tories.

Reform UK are very clearly not going to help the Tories get a respectable result.

2019 was quite different because Corbyn had committed Labour to a second referendum, so the Brexit Party were willing to help defeat Labour.

This time Starmer has committed Labour to accepting Brexit plus there is no reasonable possibility of Labour losing the election.

And let's face it, Starmer as prime minister isn't going to scare them as much as Corbyn being prime minister. Prime minister Corbyn must have been the stuff of nightmares for them - a leftie woke foreigner-loving cyclist?!?!

I thought Rishi Sunak sounded quite buoyant yesterday.

was that another rain pun?

The remaining tories after the election will essentially be reform in all but name

are they under any obligation to select her as a candidate?

Excellent question, shouldn't it be the local constituency labour party that decides if they want another Elphicke for Dover?

Or was she standing down anyway? Her crossing the floor was supposed to be sticking the knife in to Rishi, but she's already become a liability for Labour.

Elphicke already said she wasnt going to stand at the GE

There is zero chance of Reform UK pulling out of the general election because frankly it would be of zero advantage to them.

Completely agree. This is their opportunity to get as much money out of their gullible followers until the next election. There is no chance of them not taking full advantage of this sales period.

this feels like it will bite sunak in the arse

he lied to her face, knowing in that just a few hours he'd be announcing an election and the law would never get through

https://twitter.com/alexwickham/status/1793944909893792085

Lib-Dems announcing that they want to give patients the right to see a GP within 7 days, which is fine, I guess. How're you going to achieve that Ed?

Put GPs in glass offices and allow folk to come and see them work through the windows. Solved it.

How’re you going to achieve that Ed?

I don't think he posts on here so let me help you:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy66901gz3po

Lib-Dems announcing that they want to give patients the right to see a GP within 7 days,

7 days!

Pretty low bar to set.

From Ernie's BBC link

Half of the 8,000 extra GPs would come from boosting recruitment, while the rest would be secured by retaining more experienced GPs, the Lib Dems said.

So the "extra" 8000 is 4000 new and 4000 existing that didn't leave, most likely because they moved into partnership / managerial GP areas which means they see less patients... This is just like the Tory "new" hospitals.

I’m genuinely shocked that of the laws they pushed through today won’t include the renters reform bill to put a stop no fault evictions

Who saw that coming?

7 days!

Pretty low bar to set.

If you’ve tried to actually get a GP’s appointment recently, you’ll know that’s actually a pretty ambitious target from where we presently are.

In our local surgery you’ll be looking at a month, minimum