politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The main lesson from the Brecon result: Demonstrating the effectiveness of Remain parties working together
Reflecting on the Brecon outcome the most striking feature which hasn’t really been commented on is that in a seat in Wales that PC felt able to step aside in order to help defeat the pro-Brexit Tories.
Plaid Cymru did stand down; the LibDems did win. How closely those two things were connected is less clear. You can slice and dice close results to reach many different conclusions. The Boris bounce is over; Jo Swinson finding her way to the constituency was key. Of course, many on the blue team will say if only TBP had not stood. Some in Labour as well, as they seemed to be leaking votes to Farage's man.
How many days does Boris have to be in office before he can no longer be the shortest lived premiership?
In terms of total time spent as PM (i.e. all stints), then he needs to serve 119 days to tie George Canning (20 November is that date).
The shortest stint as PM was the second stint of the Duke of Wellington. If Boris makes it to 15 August, he will tie the 22 days for which Wellington was PM on that occasion.
How many days does Boris have to be in office before he can no longer be the shortest lived premiership?
In terms of total time spent as PM (i.e. all stints), then he needs to serve 119 days to tie George Canning (20 November is that date).
The shortest stint as PM was the second stint of the Duke of Wellington. If Boris makes it to 15 August, he will tie the 22 days for which Wellington was PM on that occasion.
Thank you! Let us hope he is out by the 19th November then. That would be Karma!
The timing was perfect for the LibDems. The Saj hasn't opened his war chest - yet.
He will be outbid by all the other parties, and he can't claim fiscal responsibility or austerity.
He has burned the Tory reputation on the altar of Brexit.
Numpty.
Indeed. Spending based on borrowing for an entirely politically driven vanity project, that will result in massive job losses is not a good look for a Conservative Chancellor.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
The Remain Alliance should work together in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
It is a period of civil war. Remainer spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Tory Empire.
During the battle, Remainer spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the BORIS BOUNCER, an armored space station with enough power to knock up an entire parliamentary constituency.
Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Jo races home aboard her battle bus, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the Continent....
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
If Labour ditched Jezza and backed Remain, they would eliminate the LibDems and trounce the Tories.
They will do neither of those things, so the Lib Dems will clean up instead.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I still think they can ride both horses but as a pure electoral calculation, if I had to choose between the centre-left bloc abandoned by Corbyn and the centre-right bloc abandoned by Boris I'd go for the centre-right one. Boris probably still has quite a few voters not fully on board with the Full English Brexit thing but they won't stick with him long if he actually does it.
The timing was perfect for the LibDems. The Saj hasn't opened his war chest - yet.
By "war chest" I assume you mean the taxpayers' cash.
In one sense you are right there will be no limit to the amount of our money that Johnson will spaff on boosting his personal chances of re-election. Hypocrisy from Tories on public spending is truly breathtaking
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Brexit alliance will win as Labour will take part in neither. LD plus Green plus PC plus TIG is very much less than Con plus BXP plus the 4 remaining kippers
The timing was perfect for the LibDems. The Saj hasn't opened his war chest - yet.
Maybe if Davies had resigned and a new candidate stood in his place, the Tories might have held onto the seat?
Except wasn't he reselected because of his personal following in the constituency? If HQ had parachuted in someone else they would have lost some votes. Swings and roundabouts
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
Both men are probably a little intelligent for your taste. Titter!
The timing was perfect for the LibDems. The Saj hasn't opened his war chest - yet.
By "war chest" I assume you mean the taxpayers' cash.
In one sense you are right there will be no limit to the amount of our money that Johnson will spaff on boosting his personal chances of re-election. Hypocrisy from Tories on public spending is truly breathtaking
"There is no such thing as "public money". There is only taxpayers' money." - Maggie Thatcher, 1983.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
Both men are probably a little intelligent for your taste. Titter!
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
If Labour ditched Jezza and backed Remain, they would eliminate the LibDems and trounce the Tories.
They will do neither of those things, so the Lib Dems will clean up instead.
It's a bit late for Jezza, Scott, and probably for the LAbour Party too. Six months ago it might still have worked, but it would lack credibility now.
LDs will certainly clean up, but to what extent? Brecon was a good result but hardly a whitewash.
Brexit alliance will win as Labour will take part in neither. LD plus Green plus PC plus TIG is very much less than Con plus BXP plus the 4 remaining kippers
If so then Labour will continue its role as the principal obstacle to decent non-conservative government in this country
But a BXP no deal tainted Tory Party wont carry all the Tory vote
I'm not sure that Mike is right in his interpretation of this result. Yes, the 'Remain coalition' might have helped the LibDems to an extent, but it's not obvious that it was very important, especially since they didn't campaign on Brexit particularly. In addition, the circumstances of the by-election were extremely unusual, and national politics is in turmoil, and this is a very atypical constituency.
All in all, it probably doesn't tell us very much at all.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
Both men are probably a little intelligent for your taste. Titter!
They are certainly too snobbish for my taste.
Ah, chippyness is your reasoning, fair enough! Well, I guess you prefer the Eton educated buffoon type as an example of non-snobbishness. Or perhaps the Dulwich College educated Mr Farridge, with his leaked photos of him in CCF uniform? Brexit madness does cause some very confused logic.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
And washed down by a pint of alcohol free Kingfisher.
Brexit alliance will win as Labour will take part in neither. LD plus Green plus PC plus TIG is very much less than Con plus BXP plus the 4 remaining kippers
If so then Labour will continue its role as the principal obstacle to decent non-conservative government in this country
No, the remainers for Corbyn 17 arent coming back. Labour is done.
By "war chest" I assume you mean the taxpayers' cash.
In one sense you are right there will be no limit to the amount of our money that Johnson will spaff on boosting his personal chances of re-election. Hypocrisy from Tories on public spending is truly breathtaking
Can someone explain to me why it appears to be assumed that a Boris/Farage pact would mean simply adding the Tory and Brexit votes together? Surely there is a substantial minority of Tory voters for whom this will be the final straw and a similar proportion of Brexit party voters for whom voting Tory is an anathema?
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
And washed down by a pint of alcohol free Kingfisher.
Ugh. Just ugh at the thought of Cooper and Benn anywhere near power. Sanctimonious twits.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
And washed down by a pint of alcohol free Kingfisher.
As opposed to a meal of Boris, Pritti, Rees-Snob and Gove that promises so much in flavour, but burns your mouth out, gives you the screaming shits almost immediately and causes you to be off work for months recovering from a very bad decision
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
Can someone explain to me why it appears to be assumed that a Boris/Farage pact would mean simply adding the Tory and Brexit votes together? Surely there is a substantial minority of Tory voters for whom this will be the final straw and a similar proportion of Brexit party voters for whom voting Tory is an anathema?
It doesn't, however there is polling and electoral evidence of over 40% wanting to finish and do Brexit and only two parties offering that if we exclude the 2 remaining kippers. It will win a handsome majority versus labour and the remain alliance split 25/25 or thereabouts. Remain cannot win as its split between too many factions under FPTP
Can someone explain to me why it appears to be assumed that a Boris/Farage pact would mean simply adding the Tory and Brexit votes together? Surely there is a substantial minority of Tory voters for whom this will be the final straw and a similar proportion of Brexit party voters for whom voting Tory is an anathema?
Indeed.
Bozo is already losing moderate Tories as any PB reader knows
An an alliance between the two mini-Trumps would galvanize remain voters into tactical voting if not the parties into a coupon election
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
Can someone explain to me why it appears to be assumed that a Boris/Farage pact would mean simply adding the Tory and Brexit votes together? Surely there is a substantial minority of Tory voters for whom this will be the final straw and a similar proportion of Brexit party voters for whom voting Tory is an anathema?
Absolutely. Nigel would be insane to form a pact with the Tories - it would kill his carefully crafted man-of-the-people, outsider-whom-the-establishment-fears persona stone dead.
The Remain Alliance should work together in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
It is a period of civil war. Remainer spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Tory Empire.
During the battle, Remainer spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the BORIS BOUNCER, an armored space station with enough power to knock up an entire parliamentary constituency.
Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Jo races home aboard her battle bus, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the Continent....
Like Ukip as now - in a GE they cannot achieve polling levels because they don't have the candidates.
If Farage continues the Brexit party after we leave he is a fool - he will be managing decline. He avoided that with the Kippers - will he dodge the bullet again - I suspect so.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
OTOH It wouldn't give you the shits.
But what a night!
No dealers have headed to the Indian, ordered the carolina reaper phaal and by god they will have the carolina reaper Phaal.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
OTOH It wouldn't give you the shits.
But what a night!
No dealers have headed to the Indian, ordered the carolina reaper phaal and by god they will have the carolina reaper Phaal.
The point highlighted in the header is a striking takeaway from Brecon and Peterborough. Where Labour were best placed, they won. Where LibDem were best placed, they won. Con/BXP, with healthy aggregate support, nil return.
It's not exactly fair but them's the rules. That's FPTP.
That Remainers are (i) more likely than Leavers to vote in a GE, and (ii) are more likely than Leavers to vote tactically, means that Boris Johnson has very little chance of winning a majority in a snap election. He will therefore avoid one.
We have to differentiate between dawn, false dawn and resurgent dawn.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
I think the opportunity for the LDs is to not replace Labour on the left, but be a broad church centrist party that is an alliance of centre left and One Nation Conservative. Dominic Grieve and Hillary Benn have more in common with each other than they have in common with Rees-Mogg and Corbyn respectively
Yes I'd imagine a party of Grieve and Benn at a GE would sweep the board.
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
A top 4 of Grieve, Benn, Cooper and Allen. The blandest government in history. Like going to the Indian and ordering 4 poppadoms without pickles
And washed down by a pint of alcohol free Kingfisher.
Ugh. Just ugh at the thought of Cooper and Benn anywhere near power. Sanctimonious twits.
I refer to my previous answer. To many Leavers being clever is clearly an anathema. For a politician to support Brexit they either have to be either thick (eg. IDS, Grayling, Francois, Corbyn, etc.) or disingenuous liars that are prepared to fuck the country to further their ambitions (Bozo, Patel, Javed).
Wonder how many of these seats the Tories would still win in a GE now? Will obviously need to be compensated elsewhere (and then some) to get a meaningful majority.
Plus, on top of this, you have seats like Guildford and others around London, not on the list, which have v strong remain votes and have also flirted with the LDs in the past so, in a Cons supporting "no deal" scenario, are clearly also potentially in play.
Sounds therefore instinctively very hard for Boris to win a majority and change the game here - the only thing that makes it possible is the uselessness of Corbyn, which is clearly not an insignificant factor....case of who is least bad, rather than who is best?!
Can someone explain to me why it appears to be assumed that a Boris/Farage pact would mean simply adding the Tory and Brexit votes together? Surely there is a substantial minority of Tory voters for whom this will be the final straw and a similar proportion of Brexit party voters for whom voting Tory is an anathema?
My guess would be yes as to the minority of Tories quitting (I am one of them), less sure about Brexit party voters, who I would have thought would hold their noses and cast a once in a lifetime tory vote, if it looked like the best chance of a brexit and if Nige told them to.
Can someone explain to me why it appears to be assumed that a Boris/Farage pact would mean simply adding the Tory and Brexit votes together? Surely there is a substantial minority of Tory voters for whom this will be the final straw and a similar proportion of Brexit party voters for whom voting Tory is an anathema?
It doesn't, however there is polling and electoral evidence of over 40% wanting to finish and do Brexit and only two parties offering that if we exclude the 2 remaining kippers. It will win a handsome majority versus labour and the remain alliance split 25/25 or thereabouts. Remain cannot win as its split between too many factions under FPTP
And also -- as the Guardian article a few days ago makes clear -- Jane Dodds did ***not*** campaign in B&R to Remain.
That Remainers are (i) more likely than Leavers to vote in a GE,
Is that true when an outcome of the election could be a "revoke alliance" ?
Suggest remainers are falling into a very big elephant trap.
Team Boris isn't working to avoid an election - they are working to frame the election...
Of course Cummings has already told everyone this in his blogs...
The interesting thing about Cummings is that he has been unable to resist boasting about his methodologies. Like with all self appointed media "gurus" sometimes methods that worked 3 years ago, don't work again.
I guess another approach would be to look at a range of economic forecasts for each of those four scenarios, and decide on that basis instead of narrow advantage in purely hypothetical polls.
Can someone explain to me why it appears to be assumed that a Boris/Farage pact would mean simply adding the Tory and Brexit votes together? Surely there is a substantial minority of Tory voters for whom this will be the final straw and a similar proportion of Brexit party voters for whom voting Tory is an anathema?
It doesn't, however there is polling and electoral evidence of over 40% wanting to finish and do Brexit and only two parties offering that if we exclude the 2 remaining kippers. It will win a handsome majority versus labour and the remain alliance split 25/25 or thereabouts. Remain cannot win as its split between too many factions under FPTP
And also -- as the Guardian article a few days ago makes clear -- Jane Dodds did ***not*** campaign in B&R to Remain.
She campaigned against a No Deal Brexit.
Swinson is trying to spin it as a win for Remain but when challenged:
Swinson also rejected the idea that Dodds had deliberately not talked much about Brexit during the campaign.
She said: “I absolutely heard her talking about stopping a no-deal Brexit. Farmers in this area talked to her about their concerns when we’re looking at 40% tariffs on lamb exports.”
Plaid Cymru did stand down; the LibDems did win. How closely those two things were connected is less clear. You can slice and dice close results to reach many different conclusions. The Boris bounce is over; Jo Swinson finding her way to the constituency was key. Of course, many on the blue team will say if only TBP had not stood. Some in Labour as well, as they seemed to be leaking votes to Farage's man.
I agree with this. Any Plaid voters willing to vote for the Liberal Democrats would have done so in 2017. The tiny handful left probably account for the depressed turnout.
What boosted the Liberal Democrats appears to have been significant switching from Labour and the Tories. That might be due to remain, or Johnson and Corbyn, or Davies' conviction, or even just a desire to shake things up.
@SouthamObserver - this hasn't been a safe seat for anybody since Brynmawr was removed in the 1970s. It is always marginal. Whatever the headline result the voters will change things around, sometimes very unexpectedly as in 1992 and 2015. So it is not 'a good result for the Liberal Democrats in a safe Tory seat.' That said, it was a good result.
Swinson Of course I am appreciative of Plaid and the Greens taking the step they did.” Asked if this “remain alliance” would continue, she said: “Absolutely. In most constituencies across the country it will be the Liberal Democrats that are the strongest party of remain but we recognise the value in co-operating with others for that wider national goal to protect our country’s future. I think this may well be a feature of future elections. We need to be grown up about that. Grown up co-operation across parties with the national interest will continue.”
That Remainers are (i) more likely than Leavers to vote in a GE, and (ii) are more likely than Leavers to vote tactically, means that Boris Johnson has very little chance of winning a majority in a snap election. He will therefore avoid one.
An extension into 2020 beckons.
Doubt it. It is far better to have an election (provided it is not an extinction event).
If it leads to a minority Labour Government (with LibDems + Others), then it will be interesting to see what they actually do.
Remember Pierre Trudeau's government fell in 1979, as he lost the election and there was a minority Conservative + Allies Government. It lasted a year, and Trudeau was back in power for another lengthy term in 1980.
Boris does not have to "win" an election. He merely has to make sure that whoever "wins" is hamstrung.
The point highlighted in the header is a striking takeaway from Brecon and Peterborough. Where Labour were best placed, they won. Where LibDem were best placed, they won. Con/BXP, with healthy aggregate support, nil return.
It's not exactly fair but them's the rules. That's FPTP.
That Remainers are (i) more likely than Leavers to vote in a GE, and (ii) are more likely than Leavers to vote tactically, means that Boris Johnson has very little chance of winning a majority in a snap election. He will therefore avoid one.
An extension into 2020 beckons.
Do not draw national lessons from this seat! It is an eccentric one. The likelihood of this having been about Brexit is low.
The key lesson, as I have said, is that Labour is haemorrhaging voters who would 15 years ago not even have considered voting for anyone else. That could be a serious matter for them. The last thing Corbyn needs is for Wales to go the way of Scotland, but helped enormously by the uselessness of Drakeford that is where matters seem to be headed.
The bright spot is that there is no one Party placed to exploit that, but if Plaid and the Liberal Democrats carve up the Valleys and the Tories the English speaking areas of Clwyd, Powys, Pembroke and Gower, that will be the coldest of cold comfort.
Swinson Of course I am appreciative of Plaid and the Greens taking the step they did.” Asked if this “remain alliance” would continue, she said: “Absolutely. In most constituencies across the country it will be the Liberal Democrats that are the strongest party of remain but we recognise the value in co-operating with others for that wider national goal to protect our country’s future. I think this may well be a feature of future elections. We need to be grown up about that. Grown up co-operation across parties with the national interest will continue.”
Doubt it. It is far better to have an election (provided it is not an extinction event).
If it leads to a minority Labour Government (with LibDems + Others), then it will be interesting to see what they actually do.
Remember Pierre Trudeau's government fell in 1979, as he lost the election and there was a minority Conservative + Allies Government. It lasted a year, and Trudeau was back in power for another lengthy term in 1980.
Boris does not have to "win" an election. He merely has to make sure that whoever "wins" is hamstrung.
But if BoZo loses the election, how long does he stay Leader?
The Tories only picked him because he was a "winner"...
Comments
The shortest stint as PM was the second stint of the Duke of Wellington. If Boris makes it to 15 August, he will tie the 22 days for which Wellington was PM on that occasion.
The timing was perfect for the LibDems. The Saj hasn't opened his war chest - yet.
He has burned the Tory reputation on the altar of Brexit.
Numpty.
Lawbreakers can't be Lawmakers...
Are they even a thing anymore ?
Will the Brexit Party field a candidate? Not at all obvious.
If we took Brexit away and held this election with a full slate of candidates how we would predict the result to come out at this stage in the political and parliamentary cycle?
There are so many political resurgent moments and new dawns. Most of them (for example TIG, Cleggasm, Brexit Ltd) have a habit of dwindling into fond memories for the enthusiasts before they take root and become established.
This political fact is a truism, based on the existence of 2 major parties.
The real opportunity for the LibDems is to replace Labour as a party of the sensible left. If they focus solely on the Brexit dimension there is a real risk that they will throw away the second (and possibly last) excellent opportunity they have had in recent years (the other was to own the positives out of the Coalition years).
Remainer spaceships, striking
from a hidden base, have won
their first victory against
the evil Tory Empire.
During the battle, Remainer
spies managed to steal secret
plans to the Empire's
ultimate weapon, the BORIS
BOUNCER, an armored space
station with enough power to
knock up an entire parliamentary
constituency.
Pursued by the Empire's
sinister agents, Princess
Jo races home aboard her
battle bus, custodian of the
stolen plans that can save
her people and restore
freedom to the Continent....
They will do neither of those things, so the Lib Dems will clean up instead.
In one sense you are right there will be no limit to the amount of our money that Johnson will spaff on boosting his personal chances of re-election. Hypocrisy from Tories on public spending is truly breathtaking
https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7979
Except wasn't he reselected because of his personal following in the constituency? If HQ had parachuted in someone else they would have lost some votes. Swings and roundabouts
Titter.
All sounds a bit analogue in a digital age.
- Maggie Thatcher, 1983.
LDs will certainly clean up, but to what extent? Brecon was a good result but hardly a whitewash.
But a BXP no deal tainted Tory Party wont carry all the Tory vote
All in all, it probably doesn't tell us very much at all.
If Jezza just quit, maybe. If he was challenged and beaten, maybe not.
https://twitter.com/JoeTwyman/status/1157225084660146177
https://twitter.com/JoeTwyman/status/1157225086753169409
https://twitter.com/JoeTwyman/status/1157225089357746177
https://twitter.com/JoeTwyman/status/1157225091782119424
what tory reputation ? Fiscal responsibility died with Cameron and Osborne
Presumably nothing less than concentration camps for foreigners and rebuilding bomber command to flatten German cities will satisfy them!
If even No Deal wouldn't get them voting Tory then nothing else will!
Remain cannot win as its split between too many factions under FPTP
Bozo is already losing moderate Tories as any PB reader knows
An an alliance between the two mini-Trumps would galvanize remain voters into tactical voting if not the parties into a coupon election
But somehow wonderful.
If Farage continues the Brexit party after we leave he is a fool - he will be managing decline. He avoided that with the Kippers - will he dodge the bullet again - I suspect so.
But it wont. They have to be stopped by brave MPs in September.
It's not exactly fair but them's the rules. That's FPTP.
That Remainers are (i) more likely than Leavers to vote in a GE, and (ii) are more likely than Leavers to vote tactically, means that Boris Johnson has very little chance of winning a majority in a snap election. He will therefore avoid one.
An extension into 2020 beckons.
Truly sad. We used to be seen as the sane, pragmatic one.
What a shocking low state our country has been reduced to by these liars and snake oil salesmen.
Plus, on top of this, you have seats like Guildford and others around London, not on the list, which have v strong remain votes and have also flirted with the LDs in the past so, in a Cons supporting "no deal" scenario, are clearly also potentially in play.
Sounds therefore instinctively very hard for Boris to win a majority and change the game here - the only thing that makes it possible is the uselessness of Corbyn, which is clearly not an insignificant factor....case of who is least bad, rather than who is best?!
Suggest remainers are falling into a very big elephant trap.
Team Boris isn't working to avoid an election - they are working to frame the election...
Of course Cummings has already told everyone this in his blogs...
She campaigned against a No Deal Brexit.
It's too simplistic even now to state that Cons + BXP = Leave
It seems things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.
I am genuinely terrified for the near-term future of Britain.
So he must be stopped. VoNC on 4th September.
Oh, but I forgot... Boris is Boris.
and yet you probably didnt think that in 2005 when Blair fked the place up with about 23% of the vote
Swinson also rejected the idea that Dodds had deliberately not talked much about Brexit during the campaign.
She said: “I absolutely heard her talking about stopping a no-deal Brexit. Farmers in this area talked to her about their concerns when we’re looking at 40% tariffs on lamb exports.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/aug/02/brecon-and-radnorshire-byelection-result-lib-dems-no-deal-brexit-boris-johnson-majority-live
What boosted the Liberal Democrats appears to have been significant switching from Labour and the Tories. That might be due to remain, or Johnson and Corbyn, or Davies' conviction, or even just a desire to shake things up.
@SouthamObserver - this hasn't been a safe seat for anybody since Brynmawr was removed in the 1970s. It is always marginal. Whatever the headline result the voters will change things around, sometimes very unexpectedly as in 1992 and 2015. So it is not 'a good result for the Liberal Democrats in a safe Tory seat.' That said, it was a good result.
It will be hard for the people responsible to win it however
Asked if this “remain alliance” would continue, she said: “Absolutely. In most constituencies across the country it will be the Liberal Democrats that are the strongest party of remain but we recognise the value in co-operating with others for that wider national goal to protect our country’s future. I think this may well be a feature of future elections. We need to be grown up about that. Grown up co-operation across parties with the national interest will continue.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/aug/02/brecon-and-radnorshire-byelection-result-lib-dems-no-deal-brexit-boris-johnson-majority-live
Yeah, that’ll work.....
If it leads to a minority Labour Government (with LibDems + Others), then it will be interesting to see what they actually do.
Remember Pierre Trudeau's government fell in 1979, as he lost the election and there was a minority Conservative + Allies Government. It lasted a year, and Trudeau was back in power for another lengthy term in 1980.
Boris does not have to "win" an election. He merely has to make sure that whoever "wins" is hamstrung.
If I'd been in that seat I'd have voted Lib-Dem as the best chance of getting a convicted criminal out of Westminster.
The key lesson, as I have said, is that Labour is haemorrhaging voters who would 15 years ago not even have considered voting for anyone else. That could be a serious matter for them. The last thing Corbyn needs is for Wales to go the way of Scotland, but helped enormously by the uselessness of Drakeford that is where matters seem to be headed.
The bright spot is that there is no one Party placed to exploit that, but if Plaid and the Liberal Democrats carve up the Valleys and the Tories the English speaking areas of Clwyd, Powys, Pembroke and Gower, that will be the coldest of cold comfort.
The Tories only picked him because he was a "winner"...