Labour in this Parliament have strongly resembled the Labour party in the 1951-55 Parliament, where they lost narrowly and firmly expected to be back in power in the near future without having to do very much. They were wrong then and the strategy hasn't looked brilliant up to this point, despite all the electoral advantages that Labour currently possess.
Being a tad too young to remember the lead up to 1992 in much detail, I'd be curious to know what the Labour mood was then?
Documentaries seem to portray that they were confident of victory leading up to the '92 election. Is that true or just narrative that's developed since?
From what I remember of the campaign (my first serious one as an activist), apart from it being cold, was that no-one had a good idea of what was likely to happen and that both Tories and Labour were hopeful rather than confident.
My recollection was different - I had Pink Champagne on ice to toast (ironically) the arrival of a brave new Socialist dawn - and after a valedictory night at the opera settled down with some friends to smoked salmon and scrambled egg supper to steel ourselves for the oncoming carnage.....and then the first reports came in - 'hung parliament' - and the night steadily improved after that.....
I've a friend with one for possession and he got 3 months in clink for it - he lied to everyone that he was working in Sweden on contract to explain his MIA status.
Another got a similar sentence for a nonsense road rage - maybe I've a lot of dodgy friends - or the law is criminalising otherwise tax-paying/good professional sorts for trivial stuff.
Portugal decriminalised the personal possession of all drugs in 2001. This means that, while it is no longer a criminal offence to possess drugs for personal use, it is still an administrative violation, punishable by penalties such as fines or community service. The specific penalty to be applied is decided by ‘Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction’, which are regional panels made up of legal, health and social work professionals. In reality, the vast majority of those referred to the commissions by the police have their cases ‘suspended’, effectively meaning they receive no penalty.1 People who are dependent on drugs are encouraged to seek treatment, but are rarely sanctioned if they choose not to – the commissions’ aim is for people to enter treatment voluntarily; they do not attempt to force them to do so"
I have a criminal record for possession of cannabis; in Portugal I wouldn't. That's a big difference to me.
Britain Elects @britainelects · 33s 33 seconds ago Current vote share w/ Rotherham and Barnsley left to declare (South Yorks PCC): LAB - 52.7% UKIP - 28.5% CON - 13.0% EDEM - 5.7%
Britain Elects @britainelects 41s42 seconds ago Current vote share w/ Rotherham and Barnsley left to declare (South Yorks PCC): LAB - 52.7% UKIP - 28.5% CON - 13.0% EDEM - 5.7%
Plato seems to me to be somewhat misanthropic. Last night he declared he liked to blow raspberries in the face of people who don't share his misanthropic humour. Today he says the poor are thick. I can only presume .....
Looks promising with the huge Sheffield win and any win in Doncaster. I still think UKIP will flatter to deceive in the north next May - loads of second places, possibly no seats.
I told you all this is the finest city in the Universe.
My daughter is at Uni there. I wonder if she got a vote? In any case this should help keep EdM in a job for a while longer and soon there will not be enough time left to replace him unless he resigns and a coronation occurs.
I do wonder what the effect of a leader change this close to GE2015 would have been?
---
Edit: I almost forgot to add the obligatory "Ed is cr*p". Sorry about that.
Ha! If only I'd known you when I blew £500 on a three-legged horse as recommended by @Peter_the_Punter - golly seeing it romp home last a lot was so worthwhile.
That it was sycophantically called Mr Smithson just added to the fun.
Your racing tips seem to be rather good. I know nothing about horses since about 1980.
I’m replying to a couple of eaerlier comments; sadly to reply direcdtly takes the post over the word limit. Mr Felix’ comment about “millions of new jobs” doesn’t take into account that that headline figure obscures the fact that too many of these jobs are low-wage or zero-hours contracts, or, worse, both. It is to be hoped that the Government will do something about ZHC’s but time is running out before the election.
Mr Financier, that raises an interesting question for our Kipper friends. How are they going to square that circle? Clearly the current policy of insisting that claimants have a good reason for turning down jobs isn’t working, in your locality at least. Why not?
Plato seems to me to be somewhat misanthropic. Last night he declared he liked to blow raspberries in the face of people who don't share his misanthropic humour. Today he says the poor are thick. I can only presume he is rich and employed in a wonderfully well paid job, and deserves every penny. What job do you have Plato?
I'm sure you're really gregarious after a few fish fingers :-)
Portugal decriminalised the personal possession of all drugs in 2001. This means that, while it is no longer a criminal offence to possess drugs for personal use, it is still an administrative violation, punishable by penalties such as fines or community service. The specific penalty to be applied is decided by ‘Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction’, which are regional panels made up of legal, health and social work professionals. In reality, the vast majority of those referred to the commissions by the police have their cases ‘suspended’, effectively meaning they receive no penalty.1 People who are dependent on drugs are encouraged to seek treatment, but are rarely sanctioned if they choose not to – the commissions’ aim is for people to enter treatment voluntarily; they do not attempt to force them to do so"
I have a criminal record for possession of cannabis; in Portugal I wouldn't. That's a big difference to me.
Didn't think the police bothered to prosecute that ! Only thought they'd bother if you have lots of cash and lots of dope together.
I had no cash and one small joint i'd forgotten about in my jacket pocket. I went to the police station to report that I'd been pickpocketed. They insisted I'd lost my wallet, so they wouldn't have to record it, I argued with them which they didn't like, and they arrested me and found the joint.
Very pleased with themselves too; they got a solved crime rather than an unsolved one.
Taking into account that it was only a small joint, of the kind almost anybody might be carrying around, they should clearly have let you off.
@hallamfmnews: Labour's Alan Billings got 32867 votes in #Sheffield second is UKIP's Jack Clarkson with 14666 #sypcc
Lab win nailed on now.
I blame TSE!
What?
I didn't vote Labour
I'm so happy that Sheffield has rejected UKIP.
But you're stuck with Labour...
Yep. Vote Tory get Labour. That is the new reality now.
Several PB Tories have made clear that they prefer Labour a Labour win to a UKIP win, although I doubt if that's true of Conservative voters as a whole.
South Yorkshire is one of the biggest Labour strongholds in the country. They've won all but one of the seats in every general election since 1964, Hallam which was Con until 1997 and LD since.
Looks promising with the huge Sheffield win and any win in Doncaster. I still think UKIP will flatter to deceive in the north next May - loads of second places, possibly no seats.
Looks like Ed 's pretty safe now - clear run to a big win next May:)
@hallamfmnews: Labour's Alan Billings got 32867 votes in #Sheffield second is UKIP's Jack Clarkson with 14666 #sypcc
Lab win nailed on now.
I blame TSE!
What?
I didn't vote Labour
I'm so happy that Sheffield has rejected UKIP.
But you're stuck with Labour...
I know. But I have Nick Clegg as my MP.
So that's a bonus.
If that's bonus, I'd hate to see your idea of a curse!
Living in Essex.
Essex, home to Depeche Mode?
Depends where one is in Essex. I lived and worked in SE Essex much of my life, but now I'm in the N of the county and it's totally different. Even the accents.
Oh yes, and I'm happy and indeed proud to say I'm from Essex.
So Labour's postal vote 'operation' is as efficient as ever...
I thought that voting was all part of the scandal? I cannot believe that the Tories missed such an obvious easy win as banning postal voting except for medical reasons?
I’m replying to a couple of eaerlier comments; sadly to reply direcdtly takes the post over the word limit. Mr Felix’ comment about “millions of new jobs” doesn’t take into account that that headline figure obscures the fact that too many of these jobs are low-wage or zero-hours contracts, or, worse, both. It is to be hoped that the Government will do something about ZHC’s but time is running out before the election.
Mr Financier, that raises an interesting question for our Kipper friends. How are they going to square that circle? Clearly the current policy of insisting that claimants have a good reason for turning down jobs isn’t working, in your locality at least. Why not?
Plato seems to me to be somewhat misanthropic. Last night he declared he liked to blow raspberries in the face of people who don't share his misanthropic humour. Today he says the poor are thick. I can only presume he is rich and employed in a wonderfully well paid job, and deserves every penny. What job do you have Plato?
*she
Yesterdays comment on something like the temptations of Lesbianism may have been a small clue
Would someone pretending not to know, in order to perpetuate a lie that they don't have other identities on here, perplex you for quite so long?
Looks like a clear Labour win. Alan Billings was a very good candidate and I think Ed should be grateful to him.
UKIP also overplayed their hand.
Take a look at their MEP and Rotherham candidate Twitter feed from last night.
They managed to alienate the people they needed with their nasty campaign.
Yes, that's right. I just think Billings came across as much more reasonable.
The whole tone was if you don't vote UKIP you're a paedo enabler.
As one of the parents of abused child said the other day. People forget that Rotherham hasn't exploded in race riots following recent events because people know it was a small minority.
Some in UKIP would have you believe all Pakis are paedos.
Britain Elects @britainelects · 33s 33 seconds ago Current vote share w/ Rotherham and Barnsley left to declare (South Yorks PCC): LAB - 52.7% UKIP - 28.5% CON - 13.0% EDEM - 5.7%
All over..
You're kidding me...they've voted Labour in again?!
What do Labour have to do to not get voted in up there exactly?
Labour nailed on to win in 2015 after this, no doubt about it.
@hallamfmnews: Labour's Alan Billings got 32867 votes in #Sheffield second is UKIP's Jack Clarkson with 14666 #sypcc
Lab win nailed on now.
I blame TSE!
What?
I didn't vote Labour
I'm so happy that Sheffield has rejected UKIP.
But you're stuck with Labour...
I know. But I have Nick Clegg as my MP.
So that's a bonus.
If that's bonus, I'd hate to see your idea of a curse!
Living in Essex.
Essex, home to Depeche Mode?
Depends where one is in Essex. I lived and worked in SE Essex much of my life, but now I'm in the N of the county and it's totally different. Even the accents.
Oh yes, and I'm happy and indeed proud to say I'm from Essex.
I was born in India, but moved to Colchester when I was a few months old, lived there for a couple of years before moving to Ilford, where I've been (on an off) for over 35 years...
Looks promising with the huge Sheffield win and any win in Doncaster. I still think UKIP will flatter to deceive in the north next May - loads of second places, possibly no seats.
Isnt a resounding Sheffield win for Labour in part due to no Lib Dem candidate?
Looks like a clear Labour win. Alan Billings was a very good candidate and I think Ed should be grateful to him.
UKIP also overplayed their hand.
Take a look at their MEP and Rotherham candidate Twitter feed from last night.
They managed to alienate the people they needed with their nasty campaign.
Yes, that's right. I just think Billings came across as much more reasonable.
The whole tone was if you don't vote UKIP you're a paedo enabler.
As one of the parents of abused child said the other day. People forget that Rotherham hasn't exploded in race riots following recent events because people know it was a small minority.
Some in UKIP would have you believe all Pakis are paedos.
"Some in UKIP would have you believe all Pakis are paedos."
Stephen Fisher shows the Tories slightly increasing their lead over Labour in his latest GE Seats projection based on average polling figures of Con 32%, Lab 33%, LibDem 7%, Others 28%. Last week's comparisons are shown in brackets:
With N.I. allocated 18 of the 31 "Other" parties' seats, Prof. Fisher doesn't at this stage appear to be expecting any sort of surge by either UKIP or the SNP.
Looks like a clear Labour win. Alan Billings was a very good candidate and I think Ed should be grateful to him.
UKIP also overplayed their hand.
Take a look at their MEP and Rotherham candidate Twitter feed from last night.
They managed to alienate the people they needed with their nasty campaign.
Rotherham was the biggest turnout, and hasn't declared yet so, although you may be right, you are jumping the gun I think until we see the Rotherham reults
South Yorkshire is one of the biggest Labour strongholds in the country. They've won all but one of the seats in every general election since 1964, Hallam which was Con until 1997 and LD since.
Hence the epithet "People's Republic of South Yorkshire"!
So Labour's postal vote 'operation' is as efficient as ever...
I thought that voting was all part of the scandal? I cannot believe that the Tories missed such an obvious easy win as banning postal voting except for medical reasons?
Do you have any numbers to show that would be helpful to the Tories rather than harmful?
Looks like a clear Labour win. Alan Billings was a very good candidate and I think Ed should be grateful to him.
UKIP also overplayed their hand.
Take a look at their MEP and Rotherham candidate Twitter feed from last night.
They managed to alienate the people they needed with their nasty campaign.
Yes, that's right. I just think Billings came across as much more reasonable.
The whole tone was if you don't vote UKIP you're a paedo enabler.
As one of the parents of abused child said the other day. People forget that Rotherham hasn't exploded in race riots following recent events because people know it was a small minority.
Some in UKIP would have you believe all Pakis are paedos.
"Some in UKIP would have you believe all Pakis are paedos."
Who exactly? Time to name names.
Check out some Twitter feeds or the comment sections under the telegraph or the mail.
Looks like a clear Labour win. Alan Billings was a very good candidate and I think Ed should be grateful to him.
UKIP also overplayed their hand.
Take a look at their MEP and Rotherham candidate Twitter feed from last night.
They managed to alienate the people they needed with their nasty campaign.
Rotherham was the biggest turnout, and hasn't declared yet so, although you may be right, you are jumping the gun I think until we see the Rotherham reults
Britain Elects @britainelects 19s20 seconds ago Current vote share w/ Rotherham left to declare (South Yorks PCC): LAB - 52.3% UKIP - 28.9% CON - 12.9% EDEM - 5.8%
South Yorkshire is one of the biggest Labour strongholds in the country. They've won all but one of the seats in every general election since 1964, Hallam which was Con until 1997 and LD since.
I did some research in advance of my piece this evening on the off-chance that UKIP won.
As far as I'm aware (and I stand to be corrected on this), Labour has won every county-wide election in S Yorks since and including 1935. the series may go back further still depending on how you count the votes in 1931, and which constituencies you include (as the county only came into being in the 1970s).
If you include the Liberals as a left-of-centre party, it's quite possible that the last time any right-of-centre party won there was 1874:
Even if they lose, I imagine UKIP will be pleased to have polled 25% of first preferences in the fifth biggest city in England.
The absolute number of votes that UKIP tallied across the whole of Sheffield would not have been sufficient for them to win any of the individual seats in Sheffield in 2010.
South Yorkshire is one of the biggest Labour strongholds in the country. They've won all but one of the seats in every general election since 1964, Hallam which was Con until 1997 and LD since.
I did some research in advance of my piece this evening on the off-chance that UKIP won.
As far as I'm aware (and I stand to be corrected on this), Labour has won every county-wide election in S Yorks since and including 1935. the series may go back further still depending on how you count the votes in 1931, and which constituencies you include (as the county only came into being in the 1970s).
If you include the Liberals as a left-of-centre party, it's quite possible that the last time any right-of-centre party won there was 1874:
Paul Waugh @paulwaugh 1m1 minute ago Excellent number crunch RT @220_d_92_20: UKIP need to lead Labour by 5,240 votes in Rotherham or else @AlanBillingsPCC wins on first count
Comments
Analysis of the 2nd preferences of the Con voters will be interesting though.
Also I assume candidates are eliminted based on their share across all polling area? In other words we'll have to wait for all first round Results?
Shocking, just shocking.
However, this is a small turnout for a PCC. They're still in deep trouble when it comes to MPs.
Possibly, but turnout is so low that analysis of the voting behaviour of the die-hards is of little use.
I didn't vote Labour
I'm so happy that Sheffield has rejected UKIP.
I told you all this is the finest city in the Universe.
Sheffield vote result (South Yorks. PCC):
LAB - 32867
UKIP - 14686
CON - 7198
EDEM - 2937
Another got a similar sentence for a nonsense road rage - maybe I've a lot of dodgy friends - or the law is criminalising otherwise tax-paying/good professional sorts for trivial stuff.
Current vote share w/ Rotherham and Barnsley left to declare (South Yorks PCC):
LAB - 52.7%
UKIP - 28.5%
CON - 13.0%
EDEM - 5.7%
All over..
An omen for tactical anti UKIP voting next year?
Current vote share w/ Rotherham and Barnsley left to declare (South Yorks PCC):
LAB - 52.7%
UKIP - 28.5%
CON - 13.0%
EDEM - 5.7%
So that's a bonus.
So many assumptions. All wrong. Do you plan to apologise?
They'd take that next year.
Barnsley: 11.9%
Doncaster: 15.2%
Rotherham: 18.0%
Sheffield: 14.5%
Rotherham turnout up from 16%.
I do wonder what the effect of a leader change this close to GE2015 would have been?
---
Edit: I almost forgot to add the obligatory "Ed is cr*p". Sorry about that.
That it was sycophantically called Mr Smithson just added to the fun.
Your racing tips seem to be rather good. I know nothing about horses since about 1980.
Take a look at their MEP and Rotherham candidate Twitter feed from last night.
They managed to alienate the people they needed with their nasty campaign.
LabourList @LabourList 9m9 minutes ago
80% of the votes in the #pccbyelection were postal votes http://labli.st/1paHkxy
80% of the votes in the #pccbyelection were postal votes http://labli.st/1paHkxy
So Labour's postal vote 'operation' is as efficient as ever...
Even the accents.
Oh yes, and I'm happy and indeed proud to say I'm from Essex.
http://survation.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Rochester-Strood-TTIP-tables.pdf
:-O
That's so sad. Like lying about farming.
As one of the parents of abused child said the other day. People forget that Rotherham hasn't exploded in race riots following recent events because people know it was a small minority.
Some in UKIP would have you believe all Pakis are paedos.
What do Labour have to do to not get voted in up there exactly?
Labour nailed on to win in 2015 after this, no doubt about it.
http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/sections/councilanddemocracy/votingelectionsanddemocracy/ElectionResults/Results/Police_and_Crime_Commissioner_Elections_October_2014.aspx
Who exactly? Time to name names.
But I reside mostly in Sheffield.
Con ............. 302 (+4 seats)
Lab .............. 291 (-4 seats)
LibDems ........ 26 (-2 sears)
Others ........... 31 (+2 seats)
Total ........... 650 seats
With N.I. allocated 18 of the 31 "Other" parties' seats, Prof. Fisher doesn't at this stage appear to be expecting any sort of surge by either UKIP or the SNP.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=People's_Republic_of_South_Yorkshire
LAB - 50.7%
UKIP - 30.8%
CON - 12.5%
EDEM - 6.0%
Barnsley vote result (South Yorks. PCC):
LAB - 10877
UKIP - 6609
CON - 2672
EDEM - 1288
Barnsley vote result (South Yorks. PCC):
LAB - 10877
UKIP - 6609
CON - 2672
EDEM - 1288
Lab just over 50%.
LAB - 50.7%
UKIP - 30.8%
CON - 12.5%
EDEM - 6.0%
Barnsley result (South Yorks. PCC):
LAB - 50.7%
UKIP - 30.8%
CON - 12.5%
EDEM - 6.0%
QTWTAIN
(only kidding!)
Current vote share w/ Rotherham left to declare (South Yorks PCC):
LAB - 52.3%
UKIP - 28.9%
CON - 12.9%
EDEM - 5.8%
I'm struggling to comprehend this result.
As far as I'm aware (and I stand to be corrected on this), Labour has won every county-wide election in S Yorks since and including 1935. the series may go back further still depending on how you count the votes in 1931, and which constituencies you include (as the county only came into being in the 1970s).
If you include the Liberals as a left-of-centre party, it's quite possible that the last time any right-of-centre party won there was 1874:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_West_Riding_of_Yorkshire_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
Lab 59,054 (52.3%)
UKIP 32,675 (28.9%)
C 14,600 (12.9%)
ED 6,539 (5.8%)
From Orgreave which still antagonises people.
Also Hillsborough doesn't put them in a good light.
Excellent number crunch RT @220_d_92_20: UKIP need to lead Labour by 5,240 votes in Rotherham or else @AlanBillingsPCC wins on first count