I am sure there will be plenty of Councillors who will blame their defeat on "national factors" and it is unfair sometimes
It is, but on the other hand I've never heard a local councillor say "frankly we've been a bit shit recently but we did ok in the elections because our party is doing so well nationally", so my sympathy for them on that point is limited.
Lol, good point. Good things are the result of my hard work, bad things the result of external misfortune
I would say that it is not impossible that just about the entire existing house of commons MPs will be swept aside when a GE is finally called, judging by these focus group findings.
Also if TIG fails, then thats a crying shame for democracy in this country. The stranglehold of both labour and the tories need to be smashed so new ideas and policies and people can come through.
Well it’s unlikely to come from a party with no new ideas or policies is it?
That does need time. But they can't be a one-policy thing.
Individual policies may need time, but it's clear they have a more fundamental problem of having no coherent political position, ideology, or pitch to the voters. That's something that needed to be known and clearly broadcast from the first instant. As it is, all we've seen is that the challenge of naming themselves seems to have been beyond them.
Also if TIG fails, then thats a crying shame for democracy in this country. The stranglehold of both labour and the tories need to be smashed so new ideas and policies and people can come through.
Well it’s unlikely to come from a party with no new ideas or policies is it?
That does need time. But they can't be a one-policy thing.
Individual policies may need time, but it's clear they have a more fundamental problem of having no coherent political position, ideology, or pitch to the voters. That's something that needed to be known and clearly broadcast from the first instant. As it is, all we've seen is that the challenge of naming themselves seems to have been beyond them.
The name was chosen as something almost no one could object to. It allows each person to project their own imagined future onto it. Rather like Brexit.
It's possible for the Conservative Party to do ok at the Locals if voters decide to vote on local issues and the quality of candidates rather than for tribal reasons.
I've often thought this is the way it should be. You shouldn't vote in the locals on the performance of the Westminster bunch; it makes no sense and encourages poor local government. The practical problem is that it's difficult for the ordinary Joe and Joanna to assess just how well his and her local Council is performing, and which if any of the Councillors are worth supporting regardless of Party.
I will be voting in Tewkesbury's Council Elections for the first time in May. The Council is pretty much solid Tory and my general impression is that it does a decent job. I am intrigued to note that two of the Candidates that stood and won last time as Conservatives are standing as Independents this time round and opposing the official Blue Rosettes.
No, I don't know what the back story is but will do some research. Meanwhile, if anyone here can help.....
I'd expect the locals to be 2012-14 level of bad for the Conservatives , not 1993-96. The Conservatives' ratings are dire, but so too are their opponents'
That's my expectation too for the Locals.
Euros might be different. I honestly cannot think of a reason anyone would vote Conservative for them, other than force of habit. Since the opposition has major problems too, some startling results can be expected.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
It's possible for the Conservative Party to do ok at the Locals if voters decide to vote on local issues and the quality of candidates rather than for tribal reasons.
I've often thought this is the way it should be. You shouldn't vote in the locals on the performance of the Westminster bunch; it makes no sense and encourages poor local government. The practical problem is that it's difficult for the ordinary Joe and Joanna to assess just how well his and her local Council is performing, and which if any of the Councillors are worth supporting regardless of Party.
Come on, seriously? It's the only opportunity voters have between elections to register their view on the progress or otherwise of any Government. Yes it's tough on the local councillors but that's politics and I imagine were the Conservatives 20 points ahead there'd be plenty on here urging people to back the Government.
As to "how well the local Council is performing", everyone has their standards and there's no point comparing your Council with the Council next door because, short of moving house, you can't change the Council that provides your service though you can change its leadership and policy direction.
In any case, Council performance is in the eye of the beholder and what's important to you. Clean streets may matter more to you than adequate care for the elderly or it may not.
I am sure there will be plenty of Councillors who will blame their defeat on "national factors" and it is unfair sometimes but perhaps it's also a question of the divergence of importance between what the local council does and what the national Government does.
Point taken.
I'll do some local research and let you know what I find.
Meanwhile last month's man Beto O'Rourke was last matched at 25.
Anyone care to speculate on who next month's flavour of the month might be?
Time to have a small interest? Is his meh-ness a blip or the true Beto?
Possibly. He's not done anything awful, he's just suffered by comparison. He seems very bland though. You also don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
I think he also made a huge error in not running for the Senate again - something which would have had almost universal support from the Democratic party, and benefitted both his chances and those of whoever ended up with the presidential nomination. Had he then won the seat - an eventuality more likely than his winning the current nomination battle - he would have been a prime contender for 2024 or 2028.
(Similar considerations apply to Stacey Abrams, who is said still to be considering a run.)
Impatience for a reason is good politics - as a character trait, less so.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Lib Dem activists are very exercised about the fact that TIG are "centrists" while Lib Dems are "liberals", usually pointing to TIG's Blairite authoritarian streak. Chuka's proposal of a new sort of National Service for 16-year olds is about as un-Lib Dem a policy as you can get.
Whether liberal vs centrist is a useful distinction for getting power in an FPTP system I leave as an exercise to the reader.
(Incidentally, I see we're to be blessed with another Trump visit in June. Was that the outcome of May's walking holiday this Easter? "I know what will really bring the country together and heal the wounds of Brexit - getting Donald Trump over again"? Sigh.)
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
Following on from the death threats to Nikki Morgan It's interesting to hear why SIR bill cash thinks it's appropriate to use the language of war in our relationship with Germany.
(Other barking mad Brexiteers available on other stations)
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
Plus if you want centrism, there is a bigger pool of talent* with a greater chance of coming to power among either the leftier elements of con mps or the rightier of Labour, than among TIG.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
Indeed, and in TIG's case, that comes from a very Labour-tribal point of view.
If you were a Labour MP between 2010 and 2015, like most of TIG, then you spent those years persuading everyone the Lib Dems are traitors, austerity enablers, etc. etc.; and you believe that view was proved correct by their collapse in 2015.
Therefore the last thing you're going to do is join forces with the traitorous/treasonous/etc. Lib Dems.
This is an utterly mistaken and short-sighted belief because, as always, Labour tribalists (which is pretty much all Labour MPs and most supporters) fail to see that most voters aren't tribal Labour, or in fact tribal anything. The Lib Dems do have a serious positioning problem right now, but it's not irreversible and certainly nothing like the pariah status that Labour think they have.
If TIG fails, I wouldn't be surprised to see Allen or Wollaston jump ship to the Lib Dems. I would be amazed to see any of the ex-Labour figures do so.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Lib Dem activists are very exercised about the fact that TIG are "centrists" while Lib Dems are "liberals", usually pointing to TIG's Blairite authoritarian streak. Chuka's proposal of a new sort of National Service for 16-year olds is about as un-Lib Dem a policy as you can get.
Whether liberal vs centrist is a useful distinction for getting power in an FPTP system I leave as an exercise to the reader.
(Incidentally, I see we're to be blessed with another Trump visit in June. Was that the outcome of May's walking holiday this Easter? "I know what will really bring the country together and heal the wounds of Brexit - getting Donald Trump over again"? Sigh.)
And yet both must realise that under our system of politics, a successful party must be a relatively broad coalition if it is to break through. The real lack is a sufficiently persuasive leader to pull the coalition together.
Following on from the death threats to Nikki Morgan It's interesting to hear why SIR bill cash thinks it's appropriate to use the language of war in our relationship with Germany.
(Other barking mad Brexiteers available on other stations)
(Incidentally, I see we're to be blessed with another Trump visit in June. Was that the outcome of May's walking holiday this Easter? "I know what will really bring the country together and heal the wounds of Brexit - getting Donald Trump over again"? Sigh.)
I don't give a damn if it is protocol, we really should have found an excuse for getting out of that.
Essentially it's flatbread with a wide variety of mixed delicacies. If you're a genuine Eritrean you tear off bits of the flatbread and mop up chunks with your hands. But they're tolerant of effete Westerners like me who do it with a knife and fork, and the manager will cheerfully explain everything. I think the flatbread should be warmed, but that's my only criticism.
Essentially it's flatbread with a wide variety of mixed delicacies. If you're a genuine Eritrean you tear off bits of the flatbread and mop up chunks with your hands. But they're tolerant of effete Westerners like me who do it with a knife and fork, and the manager will cheerfully explain everything. I think the flatbread should be warmed, but that's my only criticism.
If that's the stuff they call injera in Ethiopia, it's an acquired taste I never managed to acquire.
Following on from the death threats to Nikki Morgan It's interesting to hear why SIR bill cash thinks it's appropriate to use the language of war in our relationship with Germany.
(Other barking mad Brexiteers available on other stations)
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
And we come back to the problem of the LDs and Tiggers abusing the term Centrist.
There are plenty of Centrist voters, but they aren’t politically where they think they are. If anything Centrists skew slightly Conservative vs Liberal. The trouble is the whole point is they are swingy between the different poles, rather than interested in a political pole itself such as Liberalism.
Both LDs and Tiggers are more globalist and liberal than Centrists so ultimately their gene pool is a little shallow.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Lib Dem activists are very exercised about the fact that TIG are "centrists" while Lib Dems are "liberals", usually pointing to TIG's Blairite authoritarian streak. Chuka's proposal of a new sort of National Service for 16-year olds is about as un-Lib Dem a policy as you can get.
Whether liberal vs centrist is a useful distinction for getting power in an FPTP system I leave as an exercise to the reader.
(Incidentally, I see we're to be blessed with another Trump visit in June. Was that the outcome of May's walking holiday this Easter? "I know what will really bring the country together and heal the wounds of Brexit - getting Donald Trump over again"? Sigh.)
Yes, this is a good point. I think most voters don't care about the lib dems' liberalism, but many of their activists and members do
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
And we come back to the problem of the LDs and Tiggers abusing the term Centrist.
There are plenty of Centrist voters, but they aren’t politically where they think they are. If anything Centrists skew slightly Conservative vs Liberal. The trouble is the whole point is they are swingy between the different poles, rather than interested in a political pole itself such as Liberalism.
Both LDs and Tiggers are more globalist and liberal than Centrists so ultimately their gene pool is a little shallow.
On the other hand if you poll on policies like rail renationalisation you'd conclude that Corbyn is the centre
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Clinging to their old identities. Lib Dem activists are very exercised about the fact that TIG are "centrists" while Lib Dems are "liberals", usually pointing to TIG's Blairite authoritarian streak. Chuka's proposal of a new sort of National Service for 16-year olds is about as un-Lib Dem a policy as you can get.
Whether liberal vs centrist is a useful distinction for getting power in an FPTP system I leave as an exercise to the reader.
(Incidentally, I see we're to be blessed with another Trump visit in June. Was that the outcome of May's walking holiday this Easter? "I know what will really bring the country together and heal the wounds of Brexit - getting Donald Trump over again"? Sigh.)
The Trump visit will be a huge annoyance mostly because it will be surrounded by either his few British cheerleaders, or people virtue signalling how much they hate him and overblown talk about how bad it is that we have him here, ignoring that he has had state visits to other places like France.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
And we come back to the problem of the LDs and Tiggers abusing the term Centrist.
There are plenty of Centrist voters, but they aren’t politically where they think they are. If anything Centrists skew slightly Conservative vs Liberal. The trouble is the whole point is they are swingy between the different poles, rather than interested in a political pole itself such as Liberalism.
Both LDs and Tiggers are more globalist and liberal than Centrists so ultimately their gene pool is a little shallow.
On the other hand if you poll on policies like rail renationalisation you'd conclude that Corbyn is the centre
It seems to me that people like to use the term "Centrist" to describe themselves (an awful habit in my opinion) because it casts anyone they disagree with as extremists of some sort. Pretty transparent really,
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
And we come back to the problem of the LDs and Tiggers abusing the term Centrist.
There are plenty of Centrist voters, but they aren’t politically where they think they are. If anything Centrists skew slightly Conservative vs Liberal. The trouble is the whole point is they are swingy between the different poles, rather than interested in a political pole itself such as Liberalism.
Both LDs and Tiggers are more globalist and liberal than Centrists so ultimately their gene pool is a little shallow.
Agree. the centre gap is in a place popular with ordinary people but not with journalists, BBC, Westminster types: pragmatic, patriotic, supports many aspects of old 1950s Labour, supports flag, family and armed forces. Free market with heavy government intervention. Social housing. Anti benefits culture. A coalition of Lord Heseltine, Frank Field, Jess Phillips and Ken Clarke?
Thank fuck, one hopes this means that her almost daily slots on R4 will be curtailed. Doubtless they'll feel obliged to breathlessly report her proselytising on the stump though.
Thank fuck, one hopes this means that her almost daily slots on R4 will be curtailed. Doubtless they'll feel obliged to breathlessly report her proselytising on the stump though.
I do hope one of the other parties takes the broadcasters to court/electoral commission when/if they breech the guidelines during election periods. Brexit Party has no record in previous elections.
Prompted by my surprise ladt week that there is still an SDP, I looked them up in their current iteration on Wikipedia. They strike me as pretty centrist.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
And we come back to the problem of the LDs and Tiggers abusing the term Centrist.
There are plenty of Centrist voters, but they aren’t politically where they think they are. If anything Centrists skew slightly Conservative vs Liberal. The trouble is the whole point is they are swingy between the different poles, rather than interested in a political pole itself such as Liberalism.
Both LDs and Tiggers are more globalist and liberal than Centrists so ultimately their gene pool is a little shallow.
On the other hand if you poll on policies like rail renationalisation you'd conclude that Corbyn is the centre
That’s not how it works, anyone can come up with a dualistic policy that forces a split on the left vs. right economic axis. That doesn’t mean that Corbyn is a centrist, the policy itself would be more accurately described as leftwing populist. in fact in total he is very far left on the spectrum, unsurprisingly. Very very very few voters hold a worldview in totality like his.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
And we come back to the problem of the LDs and Tiggers abusing the term Centrist.
There are plenty of Centrist voters, but they aren’t politically where they think they are. If anything Centrists skew slightly Conservative vs Liberal. The trouble is the whole point is they are swingy between the different poles, rather than interested in a political pole itself such as Liberalism.
Both LDs and Tiggers are more globalist and liberal than Centrists so ultimately their gene pool is a little shallow.
On the other hand if you poll on policies like rail renationalisation you'd conclude that Corbyn is the centre
That’s not how it works, anyone can come up with a dualistic policy that forces a split on the left vs. right economic axis. That doesn’t mean that Corbyn is a centrist, the policy itself would be more accurately described as leftwing populist. in fact in total he is very far left on the spectrum, unsurprisingly. Very very very few voters hold a worldview in totality like his.
I think it is a bit of both.
it is certainly true that we need not assume that the median voter is a centrist on a policy-by-policy basis.
But at the level of worldview, it is unhelpful to describe yourself as a "centrist" if your views are neither in the centre nor particularly popular.
I suspect pride is going to come before a fall for TIG.
It's good to see that incompetence and division are not restricted to my own side.
No, but you are the acknowledged market leaders
Change UK and the Lib Dems should have been working on joint candidates as soon as the split occurred.
Why didn’t they just join the Lib Dems anyway?
Many centrists believe there's a big gap in the centre of British politics waiting to be filled, because the alternative is that there's just not much support for their political position, which they'd rather not believe. But to believe that, they have to have a reason that the Lib Dems aren't doing well, which has generally been that they're unredeemably tainted by coalition/tuition fees/Vince
And we come back to the problem of the LDs and Tiggers abusing the term Centrist.
There are plenty of Centrist voters, but they aren’t politically where they think they are. If anything Centrists skew slightly Conservative vs Liberal. The trouble is the whole point is they are swingy between the different poles, rather than interested in a political pole itself such as Liberalism.
Both LDs and Tiggers are more globalist and liberal than Centrists so ultimately their gene pool is a little shallow.
On the other hand if you poll on policies like rail renationalisation you'd conclude that Corbyn is the centre
It seems to me that people like to use the term "Centrist" to describe themselves (an awful habit in my opinion) because it casts anyone they disagree with as extremists of some sort. Pretty transparent really,
I was going to ask how soon we thought it would be before one of these candidates had to step aside because of something untoward on social media but I may already be too late to that party.
When the Independent Group/TIGers/CUK seem to have an issue with name recognition, was it wise for Heidi to chuck this into the mix as well?
"Change UK interim leader Heidi Allen said the party - and its 70 candidates across the country - would be the "natural home" for Remain voters.
Ahead of the launch in Bristol, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the candidate list was made up of former members of the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens - as well as some non-political individuals - and people were starting to call them "the Remain Alliance".
When the Independent Group/TIGers/CUK seem to have an issue with name recognition, was it wise for Heidi to chuck this into the mix as well?
"Change UK interim leader Heidi Allen said the party - and its 70 candidates across the country - would be the "natural home" for Remain voters.
Ahead of the launch in Bristol, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the candidate list was made up of former members of the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens - as well as some non-political individuals - and people were starting to call them "the Remain Alliance".
Whatever the result of the next General Election, it will be a pleasure to see these self-loving antidemocrats ejected from the Commons.
Rubbish name, rubbish logo, rubbish colours. I realise it wouldn't have been their top priority, but surely there are some die-hard Remainer branding and marketing people out there who could have helped CUK-TIG?
Whatever the result of the next General Election, it will be a pleasure to see these self-loving antidemocrats ejected from the Commons.
Rubbish name, rubbish logo, rubbish colours. I realise it wouldn't have been their top priority, but surely there are some die-hard Remainer branding and marketing people out there who could have helped CUK-TIG?
It should have been one of their top priorities. An appalling launch of a party which should be able to get a lot of traction with a some solid PR.
I took it to mean it was when the most people voted for the winner
It also depends what you mean by 'democratic exercise'.
The Tories won a majority of 20 seats in 1992 despite 58% of voters voting for other parties. So it doesn't pass the test anyway - like almost all our general elections - as the majority clearly didn't get a result they wanted. I am sure the Tories agree!
The 2016 referendum was a democratic exercise as the winning side got more than 50%.
In the end we are talking about a difference of about 60,000 in turnout anyway!
Whatever the result of the next General Election, it will be a pleasure to see these self-loving antidemocrats ejected from the Commons.
Rubbish name, rubbish logo, rubbish colours. I realise it wouldn't have been their top priority, but surely there are some die-hard Remainer branding and marketing people out there who could have helped CUK-TIG?
Back to the drawing board Nige......why don't you start again and call yourselves UKIP...
A claim which Fox denies - if he had read the next sentence on her wikipedia page. The article doesn't of course source the exact quote she is supposed to have made or date reference when she is supposed to have said it.
Fox is of course a left wing libertarian and supporter of free speech - which the Guardian isn't quite so keen on these days. Sky News and the BBC have been employing her as a commentator for years and she is an effective communicator - so they clearly haven't had any issues with her views.
Whatever the result of the next General Election, it will be a pleasure to see these self-loving antidemocrats ejected from the Commons.
Rubbish name, rubbish logo, rubbish colours. I realise it wouldn't have been their top priority, but surely there are some die-hard Remainer branding and marketing people out there who could have helped CUK-TIG?
They obviously consulted a blanding expert by mistake.
She joined the Lib Dems just before the 2017 GE and Tim Farron expressed support for her to become their London Mayoral candidate in 2020. Siobhan Benita got there ahead of her.
Why she hasn't stuck with the LDs is odd - as she has more chance of becoming an MEP on their list.
Of course it will be interesting where all these people are placed on the ChuK list (and also for the other parties) - how many of these 'celebs' are in effect paper candidates (i.e. not top of the list in their region so unlikely to get elected) and are just there for the 5 week campaign/ego trip and how many actually want to be an MEP for 5 years?
She joined the Lib Dems just before the 2017 GE and expressed an aspiration to be their London Mayoral candidate next year. Siobhan Benita got there ahead of her.
In fairness ChUK appears to have beaten the Brexit Party on pure name recognition if nothing else. The smoked-salmon man might be well know within his own field, but I can't see the man on the street being bowled over.
Comments
Euros might be different. I honestly cannot think of a reason anyone would vote Conservative for them, other than force of habit. Since the opposition has major problems too, some startling results can be expected.
I'll do some local research and let you know what I find.
Had he then won the seat - an eventuality more likely than his winning the current nomination battle - he would have been a prime contender for 2024 or 2028.
(Similar considerations apply to Stacey Abrams, who is said still to be considering a run.)
Impatience for a reason is good politics - as a character trait, less so.
Whether liberal vs centrist is a useful distinction for getting power in an FPTP system I leave as an exercise to the reader.
(Incidentally, I see we're to be blessed with another Trump visit in June. Was that the outcome of May's walking holiday this Easter? "I know what will really bring the country together and heal the wounds of Brexit - getting Donald Trump over again"? Sigh.)
(Other barking mad Brexiteers available on other stations)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0004f19 (Starts at 2hrs 50)
*I know, but it's relative, innit?
If you were a Labour MP between 2010 and 2015, like most of TIG, then you spent those years persuading everyone the Lib Dems are traitors, austerity enablers, etc. etc.; and you believe that view was proved correct by their collapse in 2015.
Therefore the last thing you're going to do is join forces with the traitorous/treasonous/etc. Lib Dems.
This is an utterly mistaken and short-sighted belief because, as always, Labour tribalists (which is pretty much all Labour MPs and most supporters) fail to see that most voters aren't tribal Labour, or in fact tribal anything. The Lib Dems do have a serious positioning problem right now, but it's not irreversible and certainly nothing like the pariah status that Labour think they have.
If TIG fails, I wouldn't be surprised to see Allen or Wollaston jump ship to the Lib Dems. I would be amazed to see any of the ex-Labour figures do so.
The real lack is a sufficiently persuasive leader to pull the coalition together.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/440129-harris-i-believe-that-congress-should-take-the-steps-towards-the
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d10028267-Reviews-Bisha_Eritrean-London_England.html
Essentially it's flatbread with a wide variety of mixed delicacies. If you're a genuine Eritrean you tear off bits of the flatbread and mop up chunks with your hands. But they're tolerant of effete Westerners like me who do it with a knife and fork, and the manager will cheerfully explain everything. I think the flatbread should be warmed, but that's my only criticism.
There are plenty of Centrist voters, but they aren’t politically where they think they are. If anything Centrists skew slightly Conservative vs Liberal. The trouble is the whole point is they are swingy between the different poles, rather than interested in a political pole itself such as Liberalism.
Both LDs and Tiggers are more globalist and liberal than Centrists so ultimately their gene pool is a little shallow.
https://order-order.com/2019/04/23/lib-dem-by-election-candidate-likes-his-brexit-hard/
Gove 43% Hunt 29%
https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2019/04/next-tory-leader-play-offs-2-gove-43-per-cent-hunt-29-per-cent.html
https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2019/04/next-tory-leader-play-offs-1-javid-36-per-cent-hunt-35-per-cent.html
https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/04/22/if-you-believe-in-democracy-then-vote-for-the-brexit-party/
Doubtless they'll feel obliged to breathlessly report her proselytising on the stump though.
https://twitter.com/Otto_English/status/1120576465857327105
(Or am I thinking of Katie Price?)
it is certainly true that we need not assume that the median voter is a centrist on a policy-by-policy basis.
But at the level of worldview, it is unhelpful to describe yourself as a "centrist" if your views are neither in the centre nor particularly popular.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1120630405831569408
Whatever the result of the next General Election, it will be a pleasure to see these self-loving antidemocrats ejected from the Commons.
https://twitter.com/LanceForman/status/1105214619419901952
"Change UK interim leader Heidi Allen said the party - and its 70 candidates across the country - would be the "natural home" for Remain voters.
Ahead of the launch in Bristol, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the candidate list was made up of former members of the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens - as well as some non-political individuals - and people were starting to call them "the Remain Alliance".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48021730
Nigel figured this out a long long time ago.
Could it be more metro-elite?
The Tories won a majority of 20 seats in 1992 despite 58% of voters voting for other parties. So it doesn't pass the test anyway - like almost all our general elections - as the majority clearly didn't get a result they wanted. I am sure the Tories agree!
The 2016 referendum was a democratic exercise as the winning side got more than 50%.
In the end we are talking about a difference of about 60,000 in turnout anyway!
Fox is of course a left wing libertarian and supporter of free speech - which the Guardian isn't quite so keen on these days. Sky News and the BBC have been employing her as a commentator for years and she is an effective communicator - so they clearly haven't had any issues with her views.
Pretty much. I've been to courses like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxDLuQxS1Ok
Why she hasn't stuck with the LDs is odd - as she has more chance of becoming an MEP on their list.
Of course it will be interesting where all these people are placed on the ChuK list (and also for the other parties) - how many of these 'celebs' are in effect paper candidates (i.e. not top of the list in their region so unlikely to get elected) and are just there for the 5 week campaign/ego trip and how many actually want to be an MEP for 5 years?
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rachel-johnson-liberal-democrats-mayor-2020-boris-johnson-brexit-a7710601.html