Many boroughs unthinkable in the last 30 years could fall.
Barnet, Hillingdon, Wandsworth, even Westminster. Tower Hamlets should go back to Labour.
LDs could win Richmond and Kingston & Surbiton.
Barnet is unlikely to go because the Jewish vote is so anti Corbyn and all 3 Barnet seats stayed Tory in June, Uxbridge stayed Tory at the general election as did Cities of London and Westminster. Tower Hamlets would only go back to Labour by replacing a far left faction with a far left faction. Kensington may go to NOC after Grenfell, Wandsworth could go Labour but even there the Tories held Putney and had a good recent council by election result. Most of the swing boroughs in London are already Labour controlled.
The LDs may win back Kingston and Surbiton which they won in June, though the fact Zac Goldsmith won his parliamentary seat back means Richmond Park is not a certain LD gain.
The London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames contains the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park. Aggregating the votes from the General would suggest a LibDem gain, as their 9,800 majority there outweighs the Conservative's 45 vote one in Richmond Park.
However, I have a theory that Zac is a proven vote loser, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Conservatives outperformed their General Election result in the Richmond Park part of the borough.
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
Many boroughs unthinkable in the last 30 years could fall.
Barnet, Hillingdon, Wandsworth, even Westminster. Tower Hamlets should go back to Labour.
LDs could win Richmond and Kingston & Surbiton.
Barnet is unlikely to go because the Jewish vote is so anti Corbyn and all 3 Barnet seats stayed Tory in June, Uxbridge stayed Tory at the general election as did Cities of London and Westminster. Tower Hamlets would only go back to Labour by replacing a far left faction with a far left faction. Kensington may go to NOC after Grenfell, Wandsworth could go Labour but even there the Tories held Putney and had a good recent council by election result. Most of the swing boroughs in London are already Labour controlled.
The LDs may win back Kingston and Surbiton which they won in June, though the fact Zac Goldsmith won his parliamentary seat back means Richmond Park is not a certain LD gain.
The 3 Barnet seats only just stayed Tory and it's likely Conservative-inclined voters are continuing to move out of the borough to places like Hertsmere and Watford.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
Punishing the Tories for Brexit will not stop it, but it may make the Tories stop and think a little more about the damage that they inflict. Just as the LDs are still being punished for the 2010 coalition, the Brexit punishment will carry on.
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
Punishing the Tories for Brexit will not stop it, but it may make the Tories stop and think a little more about the damage that they inflict. Just as the LDs are still being punished for the 2010 coalition, the Brexit punishment will carry on.
Th interesting thing is that even after finding something to rail against again, the LDs are still making no inroads nationally. As far as I can see, they're going backwards with a leader who has never been so quiet...
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
Punishing the Tories for Brexit will not stop it, but it may make the Tories stop and think a little more about the damage that they inflict. Just as the LDs are still being punished for the 2010 coalition, the Brexit punishment will carry on.
Th interesting thing is that even after finding something to rail against again, the LDs are still making no inroads nationally. As far as I can see, they're going backwards with a leader who has never been so quiet...
Cable was the wrong choice, and a coronation was worse.
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
Punishing the Tories for Brexit will not stop it, but it may make the Tories stop and think a little more about the damage that they inflict. Just as the LDs are still being punished for the 2010 coalition, the Brexit punishment will carry on.
Th interesting thing is that even after finding something to rail against again, the LDs are still making no inroads nationally. As far as I can see, they're going backwards with a leader who has never been so quiet...
Cable was the wrong choice, and a coronation was worse.
Do you think it's just the leader?
Locally the LD desire seems to have gone... Do LDs know what they stand for now?
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
Punishing the Tories for Brexit will not stop it, but it may make the Tories stop and think a little more about the damage that they inflict. Just as the LDs are still being punished for the 2010 coalition, the Brexit punishment will carry on.
Th interesting thing is that even after finding something to rail against again, the LDs are still making no inroads nationally. As far as I can see, they're going backwards with a leader who has never been so quiet...
Cable was the wrong choice, and a coronation was worse.
We can't force Jo Swinson to stand, and the rest all looked bad choices tbh.
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
Punishing the Tories for Brexit will not stop it, but it may make the Tories stop and think a little more about the damage that they inflict. Just as the LDs are still being punished for the 2010 coalition, the Brexit punishment will carry on.
Th interesting thing is that even after finding something to rail against again, the LDs are still making no inroads nationally. As far as I can see, they're going backwards with a leader who has never been so quiet...
Cable was the wrong choice, and a coronation was worse.
We can't force Jo Swinson to stand, and the rest all looked bad choices tbh.
I think Tim should have stayed on, at least he has energy.
Ideally I wanted Lamb, who has a broader and more thoughtful Liberalism, and has a more nuanced response to Brexit.
Many boroughs unthinkable in the last 30 years could fall.
Barnet, Hillingdon, Wandsworth, even Westminster. Tower Hamlets should go back to Labour.
LDs could win Richmond and Kingston & Surbiton.
Barnet is unlikely to go because the Jewish vote is so anti Corbyn and all 3 Barnet seats stayed Tory in June, Uxbridge stayed Tory at the general election as did Cities of London and Westminster. Tower Hamlets would only go back to Labour by replacing a far left faction with a far left faction. Kensington may go to NOC after Grenfell, Wandsworth could go Labour but even there the Tories held Putney and had a good recent council by election result. Most of the swing boroughs in London are already Labour controlled.
The LDs may win back Kingston and Surbiton which they won in June, though the fact Zac Goldsmith won his parliamentary seat back means Richmond Park is not a certain LD gain.
The 3 Barnet seats only just stayed Tory and it's likely Conservative-inclined voters are continuing to move out of the borough to places like Hertsmere and Watford.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
You can't recover if most of your voters move somewhere else.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
Make George Osborne Tory leader.
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
He knows how to get booed by Londoners....
And three years later the Tories made gains in London.
Not true, the Tories lost 4 seats to Labour in London with no gains from Ed Miliband's party in the capital at the 2015 general election even if they gained a net 24 seats in the UK overall.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
Make George Osborne Tory leader.
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
He knows how to get booed by Londoners....
And three years later the Tories made gains in London.
Not true, the Tories lost 4 seats to Labour in London at the 2015 general election even if they gained a net 24 overall.
Are you telling me Twickenham and Surbiton aren't in London?
They gained neither from Labour and even including those seats they won from the LDs in the capital still does not change the fact the Tories made a net loss of 1 seat in London at the 2015 general election.
Russell Simmons, the music mogul who co-founded Def Jam Records, has stepped down from his companies after being accused of sexual misconduct.
There's one famous British business person whose name I keep expecting to see. I suspect it is only a matter of time.
What about a famous rock star. Group, indeed, who may at some point have boasted of any number of sexual conquests, and for whom the idea of worrying about age was as foreign as I'm sure some of their groupies' nationalities?
I could be wrong, but I suspect that most rock stars have to actively fight off the attentions of fans.
It's one of the things that led me to a different career.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
Make George Osborne Tory leader.
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
He knows how to get booed by Londoners....
And three years later the Tories made gains in London.
Not true, the Tories lost 4 seats to Labour in London at the 2015 general election even if they gained a net 24 overall.
Are you telling me Twickenham and Surbiton aren't in London?
They gained neither from Labour and even including those seats still does not change the fact the Tories made a net loss of 2 seats in London at the 2015 general election.
Wrong, the Tories did not make a net loss of 2 seats in London in 2015.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
Make George Osborne Tory leader.
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
He knows how to get booed by Londoners....
And three years later the Tories made gains in London.
Not true, the Tories lost 4 seats to Labour in London at the 2015 general election even if they gained a net 24 overall.
Are you telling me Twickenham and Surbiton aren't in London?
They gained neither from Labour and even including those seats still does not change the fact the Tories made a net loss of 2 seats in London at the 2015 general election.
Wrong, the Tories did not make a net loss of 2 seats in London in 2015.
Even looking beyond the 4 seats they lost to Labour and including the 3 seats they gained from the LDs in London the Tories still made a net loss of 1 seat in London.
So the Tories did not make net gains in London in 2015, they made a net loss.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
Make George Osborne Tory leader.
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
He knows how to get booed by Londoners....
And three years later the Tories made gains in London.
Not true, the Tories lost 4 seats to Labour in London at the 2015 general election even if they gained a net 24 overall.
Are you telling me Twickenham and Surbiton aren't in London?
They gained neither from Labour and even including those seats still does not change the fact the Tories made a net loss of 2 seats in London at the 2015 general election.
Wrong, the Tories did not make a net loss of 2 seats in London in 2015.
Even looking beyond the 4 seats they lost to Labour and including the 3 seats they gained from the LDs in London the Tories still made a net loss of 1 seat in London.
So the Tories did not make net gains in London in 2015, they made a net loss.
Did I say they made net gains? I just said gains after Osborne was booed.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
Make George Osborne Tory leader.
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
He knows how to get booed by Londoners....
And three years later the Tories made gains in London.
Not true, the Tories lost 4 seats to Labour in London at the 2015 general election even if they gained a net 24 overall.
Are you telling me Twickenham and Surbiton aren't in London?
They gained neither from Labour and even including those seats still does not change the fact the Tories made a net loss of 2 seats in London at the 2015 general election.
Wrong, the Tories did not make a net loss of 2 seats in London in 2015.
Even looking beyond the 4 seats they lost to Labour and including the 3 seats they gained from the LDs in London the Tories still made a net loss of 1 seat in London.
So the Tories did not make net gains in London in 2015, they made a net loss.
Did I say they made net gains? I just said gains after Osborne was booed.
They made a net loss in London 3 years after Osborne was booed there, if you really what to spin 3 gains from the LDs as a triumph in the capital while losing 4 to Labour in the city, be my guest
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
Make George Osborne Tory leader.
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
He knows how to get booed by Londoners....
And three years later the Tories made gains in London.
Not true, the Tories lost 4 seats to Labour in London at the 2015 general election even if they gained a net 24 overall.
Are you telling me Twickenham and Surbiton aren't in London?
They gained neither from Labour and even including those seats still does not change the fact the Tories made a net loss of 2 seats in London at the 2015 general election.
Wrong, the Tories did not make a net loss of 2 seats in London in 2015.
Even looking beyond the 4 seats they lost to Labour and including the 3 seats they gained from the LDs in London the Tories still made a net loss of 1 seat in London.
So the Tories did not make net gains in London in 2015, they made a net loss.
Did I say they made net gains? I just said gains after Osborne was booed.
They made a net loss in London 3 years after Osborne was booed there, if you really what to spin 3 gains from the LDs as a triumph in the capital while losing 4 to Labour in the city, be my guest
You're the guy who spins a 13 seat net loss as a triumph for Theresa May.
It's very hard to see how the Tories can recover in London.
Make George Osborne Tory leader.
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
He knows how to get booed by Londoners....
And three years later the Tories made gains in London.
Not true, the Tories lost 4 seats to Labour in London at the 2015 general election even if they gained a net 24 overall.
Are you telling me Twickenham and Surbiton aren't in London?
They gained neither from Labour and even including those seats still does not change the fact the Tories made a net loss of 2 seats in London at the 2015 general election.
Wrong, the Tories did not make a net loss of 2 seats in London in 2015.
Even looking beyond the 4 seats they lost to Labour and including the 3 seats they gained from the LDs in London the Tories still made a net loss of 1 seat in London.
So the Tories did not make net gains in London in 2015, they made a net loss.
Did I say they made net gains? I just said gains after Osborne was booed.
They made a net loss in London 3 years after Osborne was booed there, if you really what to spin 3 gains from the LDs as a triumph in the capital while losing 4 to Labour in the city, be my guest
You're the guy who spins a 13 seat net loss as a triumph for Theresa May.
When have I ever said it was a triumph? I have said she won the second highest number of seats by any Tory leader in 25 years, which is correct.
Care for a small wager £20 from me says JL comes bottom of Momentum slate. You get 1st and no bet if he is 2nd on slate?
I have voted for all 3 BTW
No, I think you're probably right - have seen some other straws in the wind on similar lines. But I think the Progress slate will be further back this time, for the reasons nielh gives.
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
Punishing the Tories for Brexit will not stop it, but it may make the Tories stop and think a little more about the damage that they inflict. Just as the LDs are still being punished for the 2010 coalition, the Brexit punishment will carry on.
Th interesting thing is that even after finding something to rail against again, the LDs are still making no inroads nationally. As far as I can see, they're going backwards with a leader who has never been so quiet...
Cable was the wrong choice, and a coronation was worse.
Do you think it's just the leader?
Locally the LD desire seems to have gone... Do LDs know what they stand for now?
Labour might well replace them in many areas as the non tory option as the former are so much more organised and passionate.
An impressive night for the LibDems. Not to be overdramatic (!) I wonder if tonight signals the beginning of Britain's path towards rejoining the EU - before we've even left it.
An impressive night for the LibDems. Not to be overdramatic (!) I wonder if tonight signals the beginning of Britain's path towards rejoining the EU - before we've even left it.
An impressive night for the LibDems. Not to be overdramatic (!) I wonder if tonight signals the beginning of Britain's path towards rejoining the EU - before we've even left it.
#notthepartyofbrexit
No, it signals that the Lib Dems can still get worked up for second-tier local by-elections on a cold, dark, wet November night.
The Lib Dems had a very good by-election record in the first four months of this year. Fat lot of good it did them when it mattered either in May or June.
An impressive night for the LibDems. Not to be overdramatic (!) I wonder if tonight signals the beginning of Britain's path towards rejoining the EU - before we've even left it.
#notthepartyofbrexit
They need to win parliamentary seats for that, not votes won off the back of NIMBYISM and opposing local plans
I have correctly called the direction and magnitude of LibDem seat changes three elections in a row (and been counter-consensus in each case).
My personal view is that the LDs have historically prospered by:
(a) Exploiting a strongly felt minority view (opposing the Iraq war, for instance) (b) Being seen as "better than the other lot" (tactical votes) (c) Being vague on policies (all things to all people)
In 2015, they lost all of these. In 2017, they got a bit of tactical vote support, and did well where their minority view (EUphilia) was strong. I think they would have done even better had Conservative voters not been so fearful of Corbyn, and Labour voters loathed May less. It is no coincidence, to me, that the LibDems made the most progress when the two main parties were actually closest in political outlook - fear of your opponent is a great motivator for keeping people on side.
It is entirely possible that the stars align again, and cause a LibDem revival. It is also entirely possible they do not. I suspect that any long-term LibDem revival will be preceded by improved local election performances (and it's notable that although they lost seats in the local elections in 2017, it was actually on a pretty big increase in their vote).
Council by-elections are unlikely to tell us anything about national support for the LibDems. What they do tell us, however, is the extent to which the party machine (knocking on doors, delivering leaflets, etc.) is working.
I will be intrigued to see how the LDs do in the 2018 local elections. I suspect, without any real evidence, that they'll do well in Remainia, and I think they should be looking for 70-100 gains across the country. This would, of course, be the best performance for the LDs - in terms of gains - for a decade. But it would still leave them a long, long way from their high watermark.
The other factor is that there are a lot of EU nationals in Richmond Park who were not allowed to vote in the General but who can vote in the Local. This is their last chance to make their voice heard. That's what I'm saying on the doorstep.
Great. Stop Brexit by, er, getting your potholes fixed.....
LibDems taking the Council will help in the General - and it makes people feel better that they are doing something to protest against Brexit, even if it is a bit remote. What else do they have but their vote?
Punishing the Tories for Brexit will not stop it, but it may make the Tories stop and think a little more about the damage that they inflict. Just as the LDs are still being punished for the 2010 coalition, the Brexit punishment will carry on.
Th interesting thing is that even after finding something to rail against again, the LDs are still making no inroads nationally. As far as I can see, they're going backwards with a leader who has never been so quiet...
Cable was the wrong choice, and a coronation was worse.
Do you think it's just the leader?
Locally the LD desire seems to have gone... Do LDs know what they stand for now?
Labour might well replace them in many areas as the non tory option as the former are so much more organised and passionate.
LDs will do well in locals, as per tonight. It is on the national stage that we are not able to get a ttention.
That Boulton chap on #bbcqt is not going to revive the kippers.
Today I had to spend three hours dealing with four different mobile phone companies to:-
1. Cancel a contract - 02 2. Set up a new contract for daughter’s phone - Three 3. Find out details of contract - Carphone Warehouse 4. Return phone for repair under warranty - Vodafone 5. Return another repaired phone because the repair had caused another problem which was not there before - Vodafone.
It was a teeth-clenching nightmare. Mobile phone companies have customer service which is utterly shite. It makes banks look competent.
None of them - for all their logos and brand colours and shiny shops - have the first clue as to what the customer experience is like. None of them seem to have any idea that a customer wants to speak to a helpful intelligent human being with good clear English not jab at buttons trying to find the right option and have some robot go “Did you mean X?” When you clearly said “Y”. None of them seem to realise that you do not want to listen to some tinny music for 20 minutes or be in a shop with music blaring while you try to make sense of what someone is telling you. None of them seem to realise that being asked the same sodding question 5 times in the same call is going to lead to the customer feeling a bit stressed and that being told she is sounding stressed does not help one little bit.
At this precise moment I would happily vote for Corbyn to nationalise the lot and we go back to black phones in the hall.
Today I had to spend three hours dealing with four different mobile phone companies to:-
1. Cancel a contract - 02 2. Set up a new contract for daughter’s phone - Three 3. Find out details of contract - Carphone Warehouse 4. Return phone for repair under warranty - Vodafone 5. Return another repaired phone because the repair had caused another problem which was not there before - Vodafone.
It was a teeth-clenching nightmare. Mobile phone companies have customer service which is utterly shite. It makes banks look competent.
None of them - for all their logos and brand colours and shiny shops - have the first clue as to what the customer experience is like. None of them seem to have any idea that a customer wants to speak to a helpful intelligent human being with good clear English not jab at buttons trying to find the right option and have some robot go “Did you mean X?” When you clearly said “Y”. None of them seem to realise that you do not want to listen to some tinny music for 20 minutes or be in a shop with music blaring while you try to make sense of what someone is telling you. None of them seem to realise that being asked the same sodding question 5 times in the same call is going to lead to the customer feeling a bit stressed and that being told she is sounding stressed does not help one little bit.
At this precise moment I would happily vote for Corbyn to nationalise the lot and we go back to black phones in the hall.
Grrr.......
I'm old enough to remember my parents dealing with the GPO for their telephone. I'm not convinced the customer experience was any less frustrating.
An impressive night for the LibDems. Not to be overdramatic (!) I wonder if tonight signals the beginning of Britain's path towards rejoining the EU - before we've even left it.
Today I had to spend three hours dealing with four different mobile phone companies to:-
1. Cancel a contract - 02 2. Set up a new contract for daughter’s phone - Three 3. Find out details of contract - Carphone Warehouse 4. Return phone for repair under warranty - Vodafone 5. Return another repaired phone because the repair had caused another problem which was not there before - Vodafone.
It was a teeth-clenching nightmare. Mobile phone companies have customer service which is utterly shite. It makes banks look competent.
None of them - for all their logos and brand colours and shiny shops - have the first clue as to what the customer experience is like. None of them seem to have any idea that a customer wants to speak to a helpful intelligent human being with good clear English not jab at buttons trying to find the right option and have some robot go “Did you mean X?” When you clearly said “Y”. None of them seem to realise that you do not want to listen to some tinny music for 20 minutes or be in a shop with music blaring while you try to make sense of what someone is telling you. None of them seem to realise that being asked the same sodding question 5 times in the same call is going to lead to the customer feeling a bit stressed and that being told she is sounding stressed does not help one little bit.
At this precise moment I would happily vote for Corbyn to nationalise the lot and we go back to black phones in the hall.
Grrr.......
I wish Twitter, Facebook and smartphones had never been invented. Life was far better before they existed. Talking to people on the phone in a house used to be a nice experience most of the time.
An impressive night for the LibDems. Not to be overdramatic (!) I wonder if tonight signals the beginning of Britain's path towards rejoining the EU - before we've even left it. #notthepartyofbrexit
No - or they would have done better in June.
Yes - the scales are falling from peoples eyes since the last election. The public can see the Tory party is rent from top to bottom and unfit to govern and there is no Brexit deal that will put us in a good place. We have been lied to by those in power.
Today I had to spend three hours dealing with four different mobile phone companies to:-
1. Cancel a contract - 02 2. Set up a new contract for daughter’s phone - Three 3. Find out details of contract - Carphone Warehouse 4. Return phone for repair under warranty - Vodafone 5. Return another repaired phone because the repair had caused another problem which was not there before - Vodafone.
It was a teeth-clenching nightmare. Mobile phone companies have customer service which is utterly shite. It makes banks look competent.
None of them - for all their logos and brand colours and shiny shops - have the first clue as to what the customer experience is like. None of them seem to have any idea that a customer wants to speak to a helpful intelligent human being with good clear English not jab at buttons trying to find the right option and have some robot go “Did you mean X?” When you clearly said “Y”. None of them seem to realise that you do not want to listen to some tinny music for 20 minutes or be in a shop with music blaring while you try to make sense of what someone is telling you. None of them seem to realise that being asked the same sodding question 5 times in the same call is going to lead to the customer feeling a bit stressed and that being told she is sounding stressed does not help one little bit.
At this precise moment I would happily vote for Corbyn to nationalise the lot and we go back to black phones in the hall.
Grrr.......
I wish Twitter, Facebook and smartphones had never been invented. Life was far better before they existed. Talking to people on the phone in a house used to be a nice experience most of the time.
An impressive night for the LibDems. Not to be overdramatic (!) I wonder if tonight signals the beginning of Britain's path towards rejoining the EU - before we've even left it.
#notthepartyofbrexit
They need to win parliamentary seats for that, not votes won off the back of NIMBYISM and opposing local plans
Today I had to spend three hours dealing with four different mobile phone companies to:-
1. Cancel a contract - 02 2. Set up a new contract for daughter’s phone - Three 3. Find out details of contract - Carphone Warehouse 4. Return phone for repair under warranty - Vodafone 5. Return another repaired phone because the repair had caused another problem which was not there before - Vodafone.
It was a teeth-clenching nightmare. Mobile phone companies have customer service which is utterly shite. It makes banks look competent.
None of them - for all their logos and brand colours and shiny shops - have the first clue as to what the customer experience is like. None of them seem to have any idea that a customer wants to speak to a helpful intelligent human being with good clear English not jab at buttons trying to find the right option and have some robot go “Did you mean X?” When you clearly said “Y”. None of them seem to realise that you do not want to listen to some tinny music for 20 minutes or be in a shop with music blaring while you try to make sense of what someone is telling you. None of them seem to realise that being asked the same sodding question 5 times in the same call is going to lead to the customer feeling a bit stressed and that being told she is sounding stressed does not help one little bit.
At this precise moment I would happily vote for Corbyn to nationalise the lot and we go back to black phones in the hall.
Grrr.......
I wish Twitter, Facebook and smartphones had never been invented. Life was far better before they existed. Talking to people on the phone in a house used to be a nice experience most of the time.
As was going to some far flung part of the world and finding your way about with a map and by talking to local people. And feeling a long way from home, unable to remain in 24/7 (or indeed barely any) contact with anyone at home.
Also being out of the office at a meeting or event that finished unexpectedly early, and having no chance of being rumbled or disturbed by any prospect of contact from work,
Never been a LD candidate there before. Latent vote?
It won't be "never", as once upon a time the liberals were very strong in Gosport, going back some years now. It all fell apart due to divisions in the local party. It appears they have got their act together again, at least in this ward.
Comments
He knows and understands Londoners.
Con Gain Islington North if George Osborne CH is Tory leader.
Good for her. After a good PMQ s last week she has had her best week for a long time.
Locally the LD desire seems to have gone... Do LDs know what they stand for now?
Oh well takes allsorts
Ideally I wanted Lamb, who has a broader and more thoughtful Liberalism, and has a more nuanced response to Brexit.
Edit: Sutton & Cheam either?
Not realising that the fact his side was outwitted by it says an awful lot about the lack of positive reasons for staying....
So the Tories did not make net gains in London in 2015, they made a net loss.
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/29/politics/jared-kushner-special-counsel/index.html
Main asset - a database of hundreds of thousands of Labour members and supporters, controlled entirely by Mr Lansman, who is answerable to nobody.
And that’s why Momentum Ltd will soon control all Labour member seats on the NEC.
*gets coat*
A proud Labour man, he worked all his life despite chronic illness. He died at 47, before I was born.
https://advisa.se/en/research/brexit-bus/
LDEM: 53.5% (+17.5)
CON: 26.5% (-2.5)
LAB: 13.1% (-2.8)
UKIP: 6.9% (-12.2)
Liberal Democrat HOLD.
Liberal Democrat GAIN North (Maidstone) from Conservative.
Bridgemary North (Gosport) result:
LDEM: 57.9% (+57.9)
LAB: 22.9% (-49.0)
CON: 19.2% (-8.9)
Liberal Democrat GAIN from Labour.
http://twitter.com/britainelects/status/936378273302564864
One to go. Clean sweep?
LDEM: 60.2% (+60.2)
IND: 15.5% (+15.5)
CON: 13.6% (-6.0)
GRN: 6.5% (-15.9)
UKIP: 4.2% (-16.8)
Liberal Democrat GAIN from UKIP.
No (other) Ind (-24.6) and Lab (-12.4) as prev.
Clean sweep!
Winning here!
LDEM: 51.4% (+20.0)
CON: 26.0% (-6.0)
LAB: 19.3% (+8.0)
GRN: 3.4% (-2.1)
Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative.
No UKIP (-19.9) as prev.
A good night for LD's...
#notthepartyofbrexit
The Lib Dems had a very good by-election record in the first four months of this year. Fat lot of good it did them when it mattered either in May or June.
https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/936177718642823168
My personal view is that the LDs have historically prospered by:
(a) Exploiting a strongly felt minority view (opposing the Iraq war, for instance)
(b) Being seen as "better than the other lot" (tactical votes)
(c) Being vague on policies (all things to all people)
In 2015, they lost all of these. In 2017, they got a bit of tactical vote support, and did well where their minority view (EUphilia) was strong. I think they would have done even better had Conservative voters not been so fearful of Corbyn, and Labour voters loathed May less. It is no coincidence, to me, that the LibDems made the most progress when the two main parties were actually closest in political outlook - fear of your opponent is a great motivator for keeping people on side.
It is entirely possible that the stars align again, and cause a LibDem revival. It is also entirely possible they do not. I suspect that any long-term LibDem revival will be preceded by improved local election performances (and it's notable that although they lost seats in the local elections in 2017, it was actually on a pretty big increase in their vote).
Council by-elections are unlikely to tell us anything about national support for the LibDems. What they do tell us, however, is the extent to which the party machine (knocking on doors, delivering leaflets, etc.) is working.
I will be intrigued to see how the LDs do in the 2018 local elections. I suspect, without any real evidence, that they'll do well in Remainia, and I think they should be looking for 70-100 gains across the country. This would, of course, be the best performance for the LDs - in terms of gains - for a decade. But it would still leave them a long, long way from their high watermark.
ttention.
That Boulton chap on #bbcqt is not going to revive the kippers.
1. Cancel a contract - 02
2. Set up a new contract for daughter’s phone - Three
3. Find out details of contract - Carphone Warehouse
4. Return phone for repair under warranty - Vodafone
5. Return another repaired phone because the repair had caused another problem which was not there before - Vodafone.
It was a teeth-clenching nightmare. Mobile phone companies have customer service which is utterly shite. It makes banks look competent.
None of them - for all their logos and brand colours and shiny shops - have the first clue as to what the customer experience is like. None of them seem to have any idea that a customer wants to speak to a helpful intelligent human being with good clear English not jab at buttons trying to find the right option and have some robot go “Did you mean X?” When you clearly said “Y”. None of them seem to realise that you do not want to listen to some tinny music for 20 minutes or be in a shop with music blaring while you try to make sense of what someone is telling you. None of them seem to realise that being asked the same sodding question 5 times in the same call is going to lead to the customer feeling a bit stressed and that being told she is sounding stressed does not help one little bit.
At this precise moment I would happily vote for Corbyn to nationalise the lot and we go back to black phones in the hall.
Grrr.......
And the rate of change was glacial.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09g0j1d/turning-points-unscripted-reflections-by-steve-richards-6-2017-election
It's interesting by virtue of the subject matter, but the extempore delivery doesn't really work and it's a bit shallow.
Also being out of the office at a meeting or event that finished unexpectedly early, and having no chance of being rumbled or disturbed by any prospect of contact from work,
New Thread
about revolting Northern Ireland