Quite a few. Not uncommon for big swings in by-elections. Even in general elections. In 2015 Glasgow NE –

I think you’re proving my point – talking about the biggest swings that have occurred demonstrates that the result is an outlier.

hmmm IDS constituency voted remain by 18%

https://libdems.secure.force.com/LiberalDemocrats/NewMemberRegistration

IDS is going mental after an EU negociator commented on the Richmond vote.

Are the Brexiters starting to realise it is not all going to plan?

Even amongst this shower, IDS always manages to stand out as a particularly vile little turd

Labour’s candidate did well;

Dominic Rabb next please – he really is a ….
I also agree about IDS
Can’t wait for the tantrums from the take back control brigade when this whole shambles unravels

Labour is dead ….. and will remain that way unless some fresh young blood energises it and appeals to the next generation of voters

dominic raab 23% remain 😉

mashiehood – Member
Labour is dead ….. and will remain that way unless some fresh young blood energises it and appeals to the next generation of voters

Kier Starmer for PM? 😉

Yep and I live in his constituency- my wife has gone for him in a big way and he’s just a slimy c#n7.

Come on. Labour is not dead, some of what Corbyn is talking about has an appeal to many. Next election is 2020 plenty of time for Labour to get themselves organised with the right message (populist event). Also there is plenty of time for the Conservatives to make many mistakes (and they will).

Labour’s candidate did well;

I’m surprised anyone’s surprised. When did they ever have a strong showing in this constituency? Evidence that their local supporters voted tactically.

No, their mistake was to not support the Lib Dems.

Come on. Labour is not dead, some of what Corbyn is talking about has an appeal to many.

Is that why they’re presently polling 16 points behind the Tories?

Corbyns labour party is going to be absolutely decimated at the next election. I fully expect to see seats that have been labour since the dawn of time go to UKIP

I am sure you constantly attacking him as cult of personality liberal metropolitan elite and part of the Islington set who are out of touch with normal working class northern folk is in no way helping that scenario occur

Could not agree more.
Labour do not represent opposition anymore.
They need to get a grip and quickly.

Corbyns labour party is going to be absolutely decimated at the next election.

Yet no-one seems able to find a better candidate. I suggest Labour members should put up, or shut up and get behind their leader.

binners – Member
Come on. Labour is not dead, some of what Corbyn is talking about has an appeal to many.
Is that why they’re presently polling 16 points behind the Tories?

pollsters had zac down to win

Well, I have the benefit of being a constituent.

(1) Zac’s result in 2015 was also an extraordinary swing as well as he benefitted from a backlash against the LibDems for the coalition. This has been replaced by a blacklash against Brexit. Richmond Park was a Lib Dem marginal in 2010.

(2) The LibDems had far more troops on the ground. We were inundated with leaflets from them, three a week at least, including a fake weekly newspaper, which hid its real purpose in very small print. They had a lot of activists on the ground, 1,000 were bussed in one weekend. By contrast, Zac had many Tory activists who remained loyal to him, but greatly missed the National apparatus that was available to the Lib Dems.

(3) He has been a very good local MP and is a decent bloke who has kept his word, an example more MPs should follow. He has certainly been by far the most visible MP representing me.

pollsters had zac down to win

Well they obviously didn’t either ask the right people or believed what they were told.
Surely after the last 2 years anything that pollsters report must be taken with a bucket of salt. I had a briefing before the 2015 GE by a very well respected pollster who was completely and utterly wrong about the result and was taken aback by the result to the point where he was going to reassess his methods.

pollsters had zac down to win

Only initially, his lead was ebbing away thoughout the campaign.

For me Tony Blair’s worst mistake was not to push hard for PR when he had the post-landslide opportunity to do so.

Generally speaking, people winning landslide victories under first-past-the-post haven’t been overly keen on PR for some strange reason.

I may be corrected, but I’m pretty sure no party has won an outright majority of the popular vote in modern (say, post 1945) general elections in the UK.

(3) He has been a very good local MP and is a decent bloke who has kept his word, an example more MPs should follow. He has certainly been by far the most visible MP representing me.

Alternatively, he’s a racist who ignored the wishes of the people who elected him.

I’m all for tactical voting but would really struggle to put my cross on Lib Dem/Green when there’s a Labour candidate on the the ballot

Out of interest, why? If the Lib Dems have policies you believe in and a candidate you trust then why not?

I’ve voted for Tory, Labour and Lib-Dem (not in that order) in the last 3 general elections as, at each time I felt they were the best option. People need to vote on policy and not on party.

He has been a very good local MP and is a decent bloke who has kept his word, an example more MPs should follow. He has certainly been by far the most visible MP representing me.

didnt stop heathrow expansion- the single issue he was elected on
tried to sod off at the 1st opportunity and win the mayoral using some nasty, ,even for a Tory, tactics and of course campaigned to leave the EU, very much against the wishes and best interests of his constituents…….
sounds like a great MP

still hes pipped cameron for being biggest loser of 2016?, maybe not

the racially tinged mayoral election and his cynically staged heathrow hissy fit tell me that we have very different definitions of what decent means

If the Lib Dems have policies you believe in and a candidate you trust then why not?

Because i dont trust them to deliver the policies they believe in

Whilst this is true of all parties to some degree the lib dems is a more random rolling of the dice as they may enable the tories to be tories and that i s not really the point of my tactical protest vote

I always vote for the party most likely to beat the tories. I am not sure i could vote lib dem tbh though it is no tan option locally anyway so I have not given it lots of thought

He has certainly been by far the most visible MP representing me

you might get another right wing loon who plays the race card soon…..it’s easy to write inflammatory posts that deliberately miss the point but allow you to do a cheap dig 😉

I’m assuming he’d vote for a monkey with a red rosette 😉

A vote for Labour would be a totally wasted vote here – I’m going to vote Lib Dem next time (there, I’ve said it) even if the candidate they put up is as useless and despicable as the ones they’ve landed us with the last couple of times (I found myself unable to vote for either of them mainly for that reason) as they’re the only party with a hope of beating the Tories here. Though my constituency voted for Brexit in just about the same proportions as the national result, so I don’t hold much hope of anything earth shattering.

BTW I’m far more happy to announce that I’ll be voting Lib Dem in the local elections as I have for the last several elections – voting for the incumbents both of whom I know on a first name basis, and both of whom are truly excellent (though I also know the Tory candidates from last time on a first name basis!)

The parties like to ignore mid-term protest votes. But this morning I wonder if the Tories have any concerns about the health of any of their older back-benchers.

I can’t see Labour making a recovery until they throw Tony to the wolves.

I always vote for the party most likely to beat the tories.

I promise this is no dig at you Junky, but I find this mindset very alien. I vote the for the person/party whose policies I feel best represent me and my community’s/country’s needs, does that make me odd?

I vote the for the person/party whose policies I feel best represent me and my community’s/country’s needs

In an ideal world our electoral system would reflect this sort of sentiment. But the FPTP system encourages people to abandon idealism and vote tactically. There’s no point voting labour if you’re in a safe tory seat, similarly voting tory in somewhere like Manchester Central is a waste of time.

didnt stop heathrow expansion- the single issue he was elected on

Nope, Susan Kramer was just as much against it.

tried to sod off at the 1st opportunity and win the mayoral

Having held a poll to ensure that his consituents were happy for him to run.

of course campaigned to leave the EU, very much against the wishes and best interests of his constituents.

His vote in the referendum counted no more than mine, why should I expect him to represent my views.

his cynically staged heathrow hissy fit

aka keeping his word

we have very different definitions of what decent means

I base mine on the efforts he has made on behalf of community organisations etc. Unlike some, he didn’t see them only as a photo op.

As an aside, I wouldn’t read too much into the Labour result. At the general election they had a charismatic Asian guy who had a bit of a bromance with Zac, whereas the Lib Dem was awful, so that did their numbers a lot of good.

I see Zac s brother is just as ‘decent’ a fellow as he is

He has since deleted the tweet

I see Zac s brother is just as ‘decent’ a fellow as he is

Is he really saying that the voting majority preferred a drab candidate over Zac? Which makes him…? 😆

I promise this is no dig at you Junky, but I find this mindset very alien. I vote the for the person/party whose policies I feel best represent me and my community’s/country’s needs, does that make me odd?

Are you naive or principled I dont know but each person is free to make their own choice in the ballot box.
Were we to have PR and every vote really count then i would do as you do
Not taken as dig BTW

As above there was not a snowballs chance Blair would have opted for PR as to so would guaranty there would never be another majority Labour government. I don’t recall any pressure from Labour or the Tories fornPR from 1997-2010.

@mefty interesting local perspective, as you say 2010 result was pretty close too.

Has Corbyn said anything ?

Maybe she could be less drab if she spiced things up with a bit of dog whistle racism?

I don’t recall any pressure from Labour or the Tories fornPR from 1997-2010.

you forgotten the Labour Jenkins commision then with the 2001 manifesto pledge to look at PR and the 2010 Constitutional Reform Bill to do it after the election which was again a manifesto pledge from labour. “winning” the coalition the tories then whipped their MPS to deliver this vote -though they did this to pay off the lib dems [ choosing the worst version] in order to get power

No idea why you forgot all of this.

“Well, I have the benefit of being a constituent.
(1) Zac’s result in 2015 was also an extraordinary swing as well as he benefitted from a backlash against the LibDems for the coalition. This has been replaced by a blacklash against Brexit. Richmond Park was a Lib Dem marginal in 2010.
(2) The LibDems had far more troops on the ground. We were inundated with leaflets from them, three a week at least, including a fake weekly newspaper, which hid its real purpose in very small print. They had a lot of activists on the ground, 1,000 were bussed in one weekend. By contrast, Zac had many Tory activists who remained loyal to him, but greatly missed the National apparatus that was available to the Lib Dems.
(3) He has been a very good local MP and is a decent bloke who has kept his word, an example more MPs should follow. He has certainly been by far the most visible MP representing me.”

Thanks for that insight, especially 1) which hasn’t been widely reported in the news.

That Ben Goldsmith would fit right on here. Insult first think later.