Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
I'd vote for Roger to lead the Labour party - I'd even crowdfund 20 p to help him on his way!
As I have said before had Burnham been elected Labour leader not Corbyn in 2015, Labour would likely have won most seats against May's Tories in 2017. Indeed had Burnham been elected Labour leader not Ed Miliband in 2010 he may have denied Cameron a majority in 2015 too and there would thus never have been an EU referendum and no Brexit.
As he correctly said Labour have to look beyond just London to win in England
Good interview from Rebecca Long Bailley on the BBC and now Andy Burnham. The natives are getting restless.
RLB has not spoken to SKS for "a very long time". This seems unwise.
SKS has grossly underestimated Labour's problems.
I think SKS thought the New Labour playbook would be enough -- rid the party of Corbyn (his "Clause 4" moment) and tar the Tories as sleazy (as Alistair Campbell did so sucessfully in 1997) and job done.
Hence, we got these bizarre stories in the press about Matt Hancock's Great Auntie owning shares in a company that bid for contracts in the Welsh NHS, or something. And the wallpaper, don't forget the wallpaper. And the idea that Dyson was a bad guy because he messaged the PM.
Labour's problem are much, much deeper than in the 1990s. I mean, Labour have all the problems of the early 1990s and they have two additional huge problems in Scotland and the Red Wall.
SKS is an inexperienced politician. I think he only became a Labour party member (as opposed to a supporter) before being parachuted into the safe Holborn & St Pancras seat.
SKS is frankly not up to the job.
Putting SKS up against Boris is like putting a mouse into a cage with a wolverine.
So what is going on in the West? It seems to me that rumours of Labour's death are greatly exaggerated
They don't like Brexit much round that way and Bristol has become ever more Labour stronghold. Even the posh bits are packed full of Corbynistas.
Indeed Labour's death is greatly exaggerated. That bit is simple. They hold 200+ seats in parliament and can target lots more. The tricky bit is twofold: how can Labour avoid death as a majority party of government
and secondly - a truly fascinating question for maps and demographers - no-one doubts a realignment happening, with Labour a huge part of the mix. Labour now wins council seats in places like Worthing and Surrey; they hold Enfield Southgate easily etc, while losing Hartlepool. But what does the alignment look like when the music briefly stops. How can they manage the transition from typical non ultra urban working class seats to the new rather posher clientele in such a way as to get to either a working majority, largest party or at least oust the Tories.
If for now Bassetlaw and Hartlepool are not real targets, where do they go instead? And how?
If this question is correct, and it's true that lots of target seats are moving away from them, which seats (it has to be a lot) should they move towards instead?
SKS sounded yesterday like a leader who wasn't sure of the 125 real targets he can get. But he will need to be to survive, and soon.
This sounds like a good one for a provocative header.
Andy Burnham tells Sky News he has no current plans to run for Labour leader, but adds that 'in the distant future, if the party were to need me, they should get in touch'.
Anyone know how to get in touch?
#getintouchwithAndy
Sounds like he wants SKS to suffer one more general election defeat in 2023 and then he'll be ready to serve. By the end of this decade Labour might be back in power with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister IMO.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
I'd vote for Roger to lead the Labour party - I'd even crowdfund 20 p to help him on his way!
Burnham: "I love it. I sound like Kevin Keagan here (laughs). But I do."
A tell. He has his eye on the big job, no question.
And has for a while. If you set out an easy way for him to rise unchallenged to the leadership then he's your man. He'll not run the risks of the path though.
Zero change in Scotland at Holyrood from 2016 for the 2 main parties, BBC projects Sturgeon's SNP will get 63 seats, identical to its 2016 pre Brexit total, Ross' Tories will get 31 seats, exactly the same as Davidson got in 2016
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
It's a balance. Roger makes a good point in an unconventional catchy way. And the point is that Labour need to try and win WWC Leavers back, but not chase that vote to the exclusion of all else, in the process junking the core progressive values which keep their new base of urbane metropolitan Remainers onboard.
Zero change in Scotland at Holyrood from 2016 for the 2 main parties, BBC projects Sturgeon's SNP will get 63 seats, identical to its 2016 pre Brexit total, Ross' Tories will get 31 seats, exactly the same as Davidson got in 2016
Roof Davidson overrated then - shows perhaps Cons should be Cons not Lib Dems..
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
No, SKS dithered and left Corbyn's incompetent northern friend in office for too long.
Whist Corbyns competent friend became King of Wales, more popular than ever, and Corbyns competent friend became King of the West
Starmers incompetent leadership lost 20% of all Labour seats in England and his incompetent friend lost Hartlepool by a landslide thanks to his even more incompetent friend Lord Mandy.
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
It is, however, worth remembering that none of the vaccines used by the UK government appear to lose any effectiveness against symptomatic infections the Indian strain. So, as our vaccination programme continues, we can expect to see 'hotspots' like this diminish.
Plus, the reality of that 'hotspot' is (1) we're doing massive amounts of testing there, so will be picking up asymptomatic cases, and (2) the numbers relative to population are still small - well below levels that should be of concern.
2023 here we come! The economy is booming, we've "built back better" and the wheels haven't fallen off (yet)
Thursday 1st June 2023 looks an attractive date for the next general election IMO.
Watch the Queen’s Speech and the spending review for further evidence. He will want some concrete (literally) achievements to show off in his new seats (whether or not they were actually planned years ago - he’s good at taking credit for his predecessor’s work).
Andy Burnham tells Sky News he has no current plans to run for Labour leader, but adds that 'in the distant future, if the party were to need me, they should get in touch'.
Anyone know how to get in touch?
#getintouchwithAndy
Sounds like he wants SKS to suffer one more general election defeat in 2023 and then he'll be ready to serve. By the end of this decade Labour might be back in power with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister IMO.
There's no reason to hold an election in 2023 it wouldn't be in December so it would over a year early.
The Fixed Term Parliaments act is going to be repealed but even so the most likely date of the next General Election is still 2nd of May 2024.
Kirsty Wark really pisses me off. Once more Labour than Labour, utterly partisan, now more SNP than Nicola. No hint of impartiality. No contra points (such as the small detail of the majority having voted against the second referendum) even put. Just agreeing that Cameron didn't have 48% when he made the referendum for Brexit.
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
It is, however, worth remembering that none of the vaccines used by the UK government appear to lose any effectiveness against symptomatic infections the Indian strain. So, as our vaccination programme continues, we can expect to see 'hotspots' like this diminish.
Plus, the reality of that 'hotspot' is (1) we're doing massive amounts of testing there, so will be picking up asymptomatic cases, and (2) the numbers relative to population are still small - well below levels that should be of concern.
Yup, there's really no need to panic. I'm reliably informed that the second half of May will be mega for first doses. I think this is linked to the expected approval of Novavax and increased shipments from Moderna.
Multiple millions of first doses per week until the end of June aiui.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
It's a balance. Roger makes a good point in an unconventional catchy way. And the point is that Labour need to try and win WWC Leavers back, but not chase that vote to the exclusion of all else, in the process junking the core progressive values which keep their new base of urbane metropolitan Remainers onboard.
Edit: urban.
Haha - the mask slipped there 'urbane' - so very, very Roger - not a word you hear often up north eh?
Kirsty Wark really pisses me off. Once more Labour than Labour, utterly partisan, now more SNP than Nicola. No hint of impartiality. No contra points (such as the small detail of the majority having voted against the second referendum) even put. Just agreeing that Cameron didn't have 48% when he made the referendum for Brexit.
The whole media in this country with few exceptions is a simple rewrite of press releases and party talking points. Sometimes not even a rewrite.
Kirsty Wark really pisses me off. Once more Labour than Labour, utterly partisan, now more SNP than Nicola. No hint of impartiality. No contra points (such as the small detail of the majority having voted against the second referendum) even put. Just agreeing that Cameron didn't have 48% when he made the referendum for Brexit.
She's very annoying because she's good when she's not doing her personal prejudices. Her attacks on Salmond I regard as the worst thing I've ever seen from the BBC.
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
No, SKS dithered and left Corbyn's incompetent northern friend in office for too long.
Whist Corbyns competent friend became King of Wales, more popular than ever, and Corbyns competent friend became King of the West
Starmers incompetent leadership lost 20% of all Labour seats in England and his incompetent friend lost Hartlepool by a landslide thanks to his even more incompetent friend Lord Mandy.
Paul Williams won election to Parliament under Corbyn and lost his seat under him as well.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
It's a balance. Roger makes a good point in an unconventional catchy way. And the point is that Labour need to try and win WWC Leavers back, but not chase that vote to the exclusion of all else, in the process junking the core progressive values which keep their new base of urbane metropolitan Remainers onboard.
Edit: urban.
Haha - the mask slipped there 'urbane' - so very, very Roger - not a word you hear often up north eh?
Andy Burnham tells Sky News he has no current plans to run for Labour leader, but adds that 'in the distant future, if the party were to need me, they should get in touch'.
Anyone know how to get in touch?
#getintouchwithAndy
Sounds like he wants SKS to suffer one more general election defeat in 2023 and then he'll be ready to serve. By the end of this decade Labour might be back in power with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister IMO.
There's no reason to hold an election in 2023 it wouldn't be in December so it would over a year early.
The Fixed Term Parliaments act is going to be repealed but even so the most likely date of the next General Election is still 2nd of May 2024.
Boris will want to emulate Thatcher and Blair who both held there elections four years apart rather than five.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
It's a balance. Roger makes a good point in an unconventional catchy way. And the point is that Labour need to try and win WWC Leavers back, but not chase that vote to the exclusion of all else, in the process junking the core progressive values which keep their new base of urbane metropolitan Remainers onboard.
Edit: urban.
I agree it is a tough balancing act. They have a coalition which is falling apart and Brexit accelerated it. But they are not going to win them back by demonising them.
Kirsty Wark really pisses me off. Once more Labour than Labour, utterly partisan, now more SNP than Nicola. No hint of impartiality. No contra points (such as the small detail of the majority having voted against the second referendum) even put. Just agreeing that Cameron didn't have 48% when he made the referendum for Brexit.
It is what it is. I could say the same about Sophie Ridge, Sam Coates, Rachel Burden, Nicky Campbell, Andrew Neil, Fiona Bruce. At least Labour/Tory/SNP have their cheerleaders.......
Owen Jones Rose @OwenJones84 · 1h Labour figures are now saying that “tackling injustice and inequality” is the party’s mission. But that’s an abstraction to most voters: you need to talk about concrete things that matter to people’s lives - like housing, jobs, pay, services - and what you’ll do about them
Blimey, Jones has said something that is a correct analysis.
Labour should ban the words 'social justice', 'injustice', 'inequality' etc. from use by the party.
I doubt many voters have a clue what the party means by them, but many will have a suspicion it involves loads of bonkers pc stuff and/or giving free money to people they think are undeserving.
Labour should ban words like "inequality" and "injustice" because voters don't have a clue what they mean? I doubt voters really are that thick.
But if they are, what do you suggest we talk to them about instead - their favourite shampoo?
Owen Jones gave some non-shampoo examples. As I posted yesterday they should talk about pay and conditions - specifically the gig economy stuff, lack of security and so on.
"You'll no longer be one pay cheque away from destitution and losing the roof over your head" is far more direct and promising than "we will tackle inequality wherever we see it & fight for social justice for all."
And stop banging on about how it is terrible that some people are rich. My experience of voters is they don't really care and just want to know whether their own lives will steadily improve rather than go backwards and especially whether their kids will be alright. Most don't sit around in spasms of jealously and angst that there are rich people in London.
As a related aside, Philip Gould always used to say one of Labour's problems was it never talked about people's aspirations.
So did Ken Livingstone.
Owen' central point is correct, but he is still cherrypicking.
If Corbyn is to blame, why did Hartlepool’s citizens vote Labour twice under his leadership and in higher numbers than in 2015? What does it tell us, comparing 2017 to this year’s election, that Tories won only 1,210 more votes while Labour has lost more than 13,000?
Jones is ignoring that Corbyn lost half of those votes in 2019.
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
It is, however, worth remembering that none of the vaccines used by the UK government appear to lose any effectiveness against symptomatic infections the Indian strain. So, as our vaccination programme continues, we can expect to see 'hotspots' like this diminish.
Plus, the reality of that 'hotspot' is (1) we're doing massive amounts of testing there, so will be picking up asymptomatic cases, and (2) the numbers relative to population are still small - well below levels that should be of concern.
Yup, there's really no need to panic. I'm reliably informed that the second half of May will be mega for first doses. I think this is linked to the expected approval of Novavax and increased shipments from Moderna.
Multiple millions of first doses per week until the end of June aiui.
Yes. Plus...
(1) We'll be vaccinating older kids before you know it (2) Vaccine hesitancy is likely to be lower in the UK than almost anywhere else
So, my gut is that we'll be at negligible levels of infection by the end of next month.
Two opinion polls in a row put the Conservatives in the lead in Spain just a week after the socialists were troinced in Madrid and PM Sanchez announced toll charges for all the motorways.
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
No, SKS dithered and left Corbyn's incompetent northern friend in office for too long.
Whist Corbyns competent friend became King of Wales, more popular than ever, and Corbyns competent friend became King of the West
Starmers incompetent leadership lost 20% of all Labour seats in England and his incompetent friend lost Hartlepool by a landslide thanks to his even more incompetent friend Lord Mandy.
Paul Williams won election to Parliament under Corbyn and lost his seat under him as well.
And lost for a very good reason that he was an ultra remoaner in a leave Constituency
Only a brain dead leader would think it a good idea to impose said ultra remoaner in an even more leave By Election area.
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
It is, however, worth remembering that none of the vaccines used by the UK government appear to lose any effectiveness against symptomatic infections the Indian strain. So, as our vaccination programme continues, we can expect to see 'hotspots' like this diminish.
Plus, the reality of that 'hotspot' is (1) we're doing massive amounts of testing there, so will be picking up asymptomatic cases, and (2) the numbers relative to population are still small - well below levels that should be of concern.
Yup, there's really no need to panic. I'm reliably informed that the second half of May will be mega for first doses. I think this is linked to the expected approval of Novavax and increased shipments from Moderna.
Multiple millions of first doses per week until the end of June aiui.
Yes. Plus...
(1) We'll be vaccinating older kids before you know it (2) Vaccine hesitancy is likely to be lower in the UK than almost anywhere else
So, my gut is that we'll be at negligible levels of infection by the end of next month.
Yes, it's probably time to ramp down the testing regime soon. It's an unnecessary expense at this point.
Kirsty Wark really pisses me off. Once more Labour than Labour, utterly partisan, now more SNP than Nicola. No hint of impartiality. No contra points (such as the small detail of the majority having voted against the second referendum) even put. Just agreeing that Cameron didn't have 48% when he made the referendum for Brexit.
She's very annoying because she's good when she's not doing her personal prejudices. Her attacks on Salmond I regard as the worst thing I've ever seen from the BBC.
She's not stupid and she is articulate but she is partial. Andrew Neill is clearly of the right (not necessarily a Tory) but he uses his skills to give everyone a hard time. Wark just cheers on those she agrees with, its disgraceful. Agree about the Salmond interview.
The former mill town of Bolton has been revealed as the UK hotspot for the new Covid 19 strain detected in India which has been escalated to a 'variant of concern'. Urgent measures to contain the variant are in the works in the town including surge testing and a strengthened vaccination campaign urging people to get the jab.
It is, however, worth remembering that none of the vaccines used by the UK government appear to lose any effectiveness against symptomatic infections the Indian strain. So, as our vaccination programme continues, we can expect to see 'hotspots' like this diminish.
Plus, the reality of that 'hotspot' is (1) we're doing massive amounts of testing there, so will be picking up asymptomatic cases, and (2) the numbers relative to population are still small - well below levels that should be of concern.
Yup, there's really no need to panic. I'm reliably informed that the second half of May will be mega for first doses. I think this is linked to the expected approval of Novavax and increased shipments from Moderna.
Multiple millions of first doses per week until the end of June aiui.
Yes. Plus...
(1) We'll be vaccinating older kids before you know it (2) Vaccine hesitancy is likely to be lower in the UK than almost anywhere else
So, my gut is that we'll be at negligible levels of infection by the end of next month.
We’re at negligible levels now. The key is keeping them there.
Kirsty Wark really pisses me off. Once more Labour than Labour, utterly partisan, now more SNP than Nicola. No hint of impartiality. No contra points (such as the small detail of the majority having voted against the second referendum) even put. Just agreeing that Cameron didn't have 48% when he made the referendum for Brexit.
The Tories and UKIP combined got 50% of the UK vote in 2015 on an EUref platform, the SNP and Greens combined currently only have 48% of the Scottish vote on an indyref2 platform
Andy Burnham tells Sky News he has no current plans to run for Labour leader, but adds that 'in the distant future, if the party were to need me, they should get in touch'.
Anyone know how to get in touch?
#getintouchwithAndy
Sounds like he wants SKS to suffer one more general election defeat in 2023 and then he'll be ready to serve. By the end of this decade Labour might be back in power with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister IMO.
There's no reason to hold an election in 2023 it wouldn't be in December so it would over a year early.
The Fixed Term Parliaments act is going to be repealed but even so the most likely date of the next General Election is still 2nd of May 2024.
Boris will want to emulate Thatcher and Blair who both held there elections four years apart rather than five.
Boris will go for it in 2023.
But those elections were held after 4 complete years and when their parties were well ahead in the polls.
If Boris is ahead in the polls two years from now, how does he justify calling an election 19 months early? it will look like unashamed opportunism, he will remember what happened to Mrs May.
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
No, SKS dithered and left Corbyn's incompetent northern friend in office for too long.
Whist Corbyns competent friend became King of Wales, more popular than ever, and Corbyns competent friend became King of the West
Starmers incompetent leadership lost 20% of all Labour seats in England and his incompetent friend lost Hartlepool by a landslide thanks to his even more incompetent friend Lord Mandy.
Paul Williams won election to Parliament under Corbyn and lost his seat under him as well.
And lost for a very good reason that he was an ultra remoaner in a leave Constituency
Only a brain dead leader would think it a good idea to impose said ultra remoaner in an even more leave By Election area.
Schoolboy stuff from Dullard Starmer
So just to be clear - you’re saying that Corbyn was a brain dead moron?
James Palmer (CON) ahead on 1st round. Leading so far on 2nd round about 53% to 47% but Peterborough, Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Council seconds still to come in..
Conservative James Palmer 93,942 40.5% Labour Nik Johnson 76,106 32.8% Liberal Democrats Aidan Van der Weyer 61,885 26.7%
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor Election looks extremely close to me.
EDIT: might come down to less than 1,000 votes.
Cambridge transfers will be heavy for Labour - they should win it now.
They will, but I think it's South Cambridge District Council that's critical now given it was the LD that was eliminated and they have twice as many seconds in play there.
Good interview from Rebecca Long Bailley on the BBC and now Andy Burnham. The natives are getting restless.
RLB has not spoken to SKS for "a very long time". This seems unwise.
She’s still sore at being called out for unthinking racism?
She fell in with a really bad crowd.
I think when we are judging Starmer for Labour’s dismal performance, we should just pause and remember when he became leader, Labour had just become the second legal political organisation in this country to be investigated for systematic anti-semitism.
Happening whilst he, the former DPP, sat in the Shadow Cabinet of the Leader of the Opposition who was allowing it to go on unchecked.
Just to get the top job so he could, er, root out antisemitism.
Zero change in Scotland at Holyrood from 2016 for the 2 main parties, BBC projects Sturgeon's SNP will get 63 seats, identical to its 2016 pre Brexit total, Ross' Tories will get 31 seats, exactly the same as Davidson got in 2016
Yes, its a better performance than I expected in all honesty although the loss of another 2 constituencies is disappointing. The Tory vote in Scotland is solid but small, high 20s. The priority for Unionists is to work together to bring the SNP government down. It can be done but it requires a bit more flexibility on the part of Sarwar and Rennie than we have seen to date.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor Election looks extremely close to me.
EDIT: might come down to less than 1,000 votes.
Cambridge transfers will be heavy for Labour - they should win it now.
They will, but I think it's South Cambridge District Council that's critical now given it was the LD that was eliminated and they have twice as many seconds in play there.
- Johnson (Labour & Co-Operative Party): 14,933 - Palmer (The Conservative Party): 5,359 Votes reallocated from Van De Weyer (Lib Dem) second preference.
Andy Burnham tells Sky News he has no current plans to run for Labour leader, but adds that 'in the distant future, if the party were to need me, they should get in touch'.
Anyone know how to get in touch?
#getintouchwithAndy
Sounds like he wants SKS to suffer one more general election defeat in 2023 and then he'll be ready to serve. By the end of this decade Labour might be back in power with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister IMO.
There's no reason to hold an election in 2023 it wouldn't be in December so it would over a year early.
The Fixed Term Parliaments act is going to be repealed but even so the most likely date of the next General Election is still 2nd of May 2024.
Boris will want to emulate Thatcher and Blair who both held there elections four years apart rather than five.
Boris will go for it in 2023.
But those elections were held after 4 complete years and when their parties were well ahead in the polls.
If Boris is ahead in the polls two years from now, how does he justify calling an election 19 months early? it will look like unashamed opportunism, he will remember what happened to Mrs May.
"I personally think the government needs to renew it's mandate with the British public every four years. I could have waited to exactly four years but I don't want the British people voting on a cold and dark December day ever again so we'll have a summer election just short of four years. Oh and by the way just look at these tax cuts I've got lined up for the blue/red wall"
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
It's a balance. Roger makes a good point in an unconventional catchy way. And the point is that Labour need to try and win WWC Leavers back, but not chase that vote to the exclusion of all else, in the process junking the core progressive values which keep their new base of urbane metropolitan Remainers onboard.
Edit: urban.
Haha - the mask slipped there 'urbane' - so very, very Roger - not a word you hear often up north eh?
I like a chuckle with you, Felix, you know that. But I'm not looking for laughs on this one, I'm interpreting Roger for you - serious work - and it's a serious point being made. So if you can just for a second replace woolly bonnet with thinking cap. Just this once please. Point is, there's a risk of chasing hardcore Leavers so hard that we piss off Remainers, yes? - Yes.
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
No, SKS dithered and left Corbyn's incompetent northern friend in office for too long.
Whist Corbyns competent friend became King of Wales, more popular than ever, and Corbyns competent friend became King of the West
Starmers incompetent leadership lost 20% of all Labour seats in England and his incompetent friend lost Hartlepool by a landslide thanks to his even more incompetent friend Lord Mandy.
Paul Williams won election to Parliament under Corbyn and lost his seat under him as well.
And lost for a very good reason that he was an ultra remoaner in a leave Constituency
Only a brain dead leader would think it a good idea to impose said ultra remoaner in an even more leave By Election area.
Schoolboy stuff from Dullard Starmer
So just to be clear - you’re saying that Corbyn was a brain dead moron?
For allowing a GE in Dec 2019 yes very much so
But Compared to the useless bugger in charge now he was a master strategist
James Palmer (CON) ahead on 1st round. Leading so far on 2nd round about 53% to 47% but Peterborough, Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Council seconds still to come in..
Conservative James Palmer 93,942 40.5% Labour Nik Johnson 76,106 32.8% Liberal Democrats Aidan Van der Weyer 61,885 26.7%
Zero change in Scotland at Holyrood from 2016 for the 2 main parties, BBC projects Sturgeon's SNP will get 63 seats, identical to its 2016 pre Brexit total, Ross' Tories will get 31 seats, exactly the same as Davidson got in 2016
Yes, its a better performance than I expected in all honesty although the loss of another 2 constituencies is disappointing. The Tory vote in Scotland is solid but small, high 20s. The priority for Unionists is to work together to bring the SNP government down. It can be done but it requires a bit more flexibility on the part of Sarwar and Rennie than we have seen to date.
Still too fastidious about gaming the system obvs. I'm sure they can be worked upon!
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
No, SKS dithered and left Corbyn's incompetent northern friend in office for too long.
Whist Corbyns competent friend became King of Wales, more popular than ever, and Corbyns competent friend became King of the West
Starmers incompetent leadership lost 20% of all Labour seats in England and his incompetent friend lost Hartlepool by a landslide thanks to his even more incompetent friend Lord Mandy.
Paul Williams won election to Parliament under Corbyn and lost his seat under him as well.
And lost for a very good reason that he was an ultra remoaner in a leave Constituency
Only a brain dead leader would think it a good idea to impose said ultra remoaner in an even more leave By Election area.
Schoolboy stuff from Dullard Starmer
So just to be clear - you’re saying that Corbyn was a brain dead moron?
I thought everyone knew that, unless they were also of similar capacity.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
It's a balance. Roger makes a good point in an unconventional catchy way. And the point is that Labour need to try and win WWC Leavers back, but not chase that vote to the exclusion of all else, in the process junking the core progressive values which keep their new base of urbane metropolitan Remainers onboard.
Edit: urban.
I agree it is a tough balancing act. They have a coalition which is falling apart and Brexit accelerated it. But they are not going to win them back by demonising them.
Tories 57 +7 Labour 4 -6 Independent 1 -1 (although actually both independents lost their seats, but a different one won Stone from the Tories)
Continuing the trend since a brutal pounding in 2009 (where they lost 29 of their 32 seats and an OM) that this is not a happy hunting ground for Labour.
Good interview from Rebecca Long Bailley on the BBC and now Andy Burnham. The natives are getting restless.
RLB has not spoken to SKS for "a very long time". This seems unwise.
She’s still sore at being called out for unthinking racism?
She fell in with a really bad crowd.
I think when we are judging Starmer for Labour’s dismal performance, we should just pause and remember when he became leader, Labour had just become the second legal political organisation in this country to be investigated for systematic anti-semitism.
Happening whilst he, the former DPP, sat in the Shadow Cabinet of the Leader of the Opposition who was allowing it to go on unchecked.
Just to get the top job so he could, er, root out antisemitism.
I have no time for the man.
Burnham, who has been touted as some form of messiah stood for the leadership twice iirc in 2010 and 2015. I don't recall much about 2010 but in 2015 he was hard noticeable and lost badly. Yvette was touted, same applies.. Labour need someone with real charisma. None of them have it and none of them can out Boris...Boris... their only hope is to force Boris to resign...
Disappointing for Sarwar. Its a great pity that SLAB dithered and did not replace their totally incompetent and useless leader last year. Sarwar needed more time than he got.
Did Labour take one for the team north of the border?
No, SKS dithered and left Corbyn's incompetent northern friend in office for too long.
Whist Corbyns competent friend became King of Wales, more popular than ever, and Corbyns competent friend became King of the West
Starmers incompetent leadership lost 20% of all Labour seats in England and his incompetent friend lost Hartlepool by a landslide thanks to his even more incompetent friend Lord Mandy.
Paul Williams won election to Parliament under Corbyn and lost his seat under him as well.
And lost for a very good reason that he was an ultra remoaner in a leave Constituency
Only a brain dead leader would think it a good idea to impose said ultra remoaner in an even more leave By Election area.
Schoolboy stuff from Dullard Starmer
So just to be clear - you’re saying that Corbyn was a brain dead moron?
I thought everyone knew that, unless they were also of similar capacity.
Yes, but I’m surprised I got a Corbynista to finally admit it.
Andy Burnham tells Sky News he has no current plans to run for Labour leader, but adds that 'in the distant future, if the party were to need me, they should get in touch'.
Anyone know how to get in touch?
#getintouchwithAndy
Sounds like he wants SKS to suffer one more general election defeat in 2023 and then he'll be ready to serve. By the end of this decade Labour might be back in power with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister IMO.
There's no reason to hold an election in 2023 it wouldn't be in December so it would over a year early.
The Fixed Term Parliaments act is going to be repealed but even so the most likely date of the next General Election is still 2nd of May 2024.
Boris will want to emulate Thatcher and Blair who both held there elections four years apart rather than five.
Boris will go for it in 2023.
Spring 2024 is four and a half years. That sounds more likely to me.
On average only 80% of LDs have given a second preference for either CON or LAB so far.
Then, applying that to the outsanding areas and assuming the following splits:
Cambridge City 20% (CON) 80% (LAB) South Cam DC 37% (CON) 63% (LAB) Peterborough 44% (CON) 54% (LAB)
Palmer wins 50.02% to 49.98% ... by 92 votes.
However, he might only get 30% in South Cams, totally bomb in Cambridge City and disappoint in Peterborough, in which case Johnson wins 51% to 49% and by 4,500 votes.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor Election looks extremely close to me.
EDIT: might come down to less than 1,000 votes.
Cambridge transfers will be heavy for Labour - they should win it now.
They will, but I think it's South Cambridge District Council that's critical now given it was the LD that was eliminated and they have twice as many seconds in play there.
- Johnson (Labour & Co-Operative Party): 14,933 - Palmer (The Conservative Party): 5,359 Votes reallocated from Van De Weyer (Lib Dem) second preference.
Do people seriously think less of Starmer because Hartlepudlians and their ilk voted Tory?
I remember when Labour Wolverhampton came out in their droves to support Enoch Powell followed by the dockers and porters who marched through London. There are some very illiberal people who vote Labour and if they prefer Tory/UKIP so be it
Starmer shouldn't be 'listening'. We know the sound of the 'Little Englanders' He should set out a vision of liberal inclusiveness and if Labour's traditional supporters don't like it then go for constituencies that do. Johnson's welcome to the his 'Red Wall'. They deserve each other.
Labour probably can't win an election without the votes of people like those in Hartlepool and similar areas.
That’s the thing. They want the votes of these people and these seats but they don’t want anything to do with them or to listen to what their issues are as they clash with the labour worldview.
It's a balance. Roger makes a good point in an unconventional catchy way. And the point is that Labour need to try and win WWC Leavers back, but not chase that vote to the exclusion of all else, in the process junking the core progressive values which keep their new base of urbane metropolitan Remainers onboard.
Edit: urban.
Haha - the mask slipped there 'urbane' - so very, very Roger - not a word you hear often up north eh?
I like a chuckle with you, Felix, you know that. But I'm not looking for laughs on this one, I'm interpreting Roger for you - serious work - and it's a serious point being made. So if you can just for a second replace woolly bonnet with thinking cap. Just this once please. Point is, there's a risk of chasing hardcore Leavers so hard that we piss off Remainers, yes? - Yes.
You shouldn't be 'interpreting' him you should be calling him out for his utter, unpleasant nastiness about ordinary voters in the north of England. All this crap about 'hardcore leavers' is just that. There was a vote. We all had a choice. I voted Remain. I lost. I moved on. I haven't spent the last 6 years despising and demonising those who took a different view.
Personally, I don't see it, not because he is Black but because, for the current GOP, (1) Scott is seen as a little bit too pro-compromise and (2) I think a Governor will be in the best position for the nomination given they will have a track record to show. So I would still be very much DeSantis as the favourite as things stand now but I could definitely see Scott as the VP pick in 2024.
Binface holding steady at 1% in all still counting boroughs - will be close around the 20K Jackpot threshold but I am going to call it for him with errrmm 21,076 votes
The Binface operation has beaten Corbyn and Peter Gammons. Other parties will be poring over it, inevitably.
Has any other party made an election song like Binface ? (70K views on youtube)
Screaming Lord Sutch, in his heyday, was a 1960s psychedelic musician, but I don't know if he made any songs specifically for elections.
Not sure IF this was for election broadcast, but believe it was a critique of the Macmillan-Hume administration?
There's great footage (from BBC election night coverage) of Screaming Lord Sutch and Harold Wilson on same state in Huyton in 1966 when His Lordship ran against the PM as candidate for the National Teenage Party (at the age of 26) and received 585.
This was Sutch's first general election; he first stood for MP at the 1963 Stratford-on-Avon byelection triggered by resignation of . . . wait for it . . . John Profumo, where he garnered 208 votes.
Or was it 209? Wiki says both!
Sutch was a bit of an underrated cultural phenomenon himself. You can trace his career to the beginning of the end of the age of deference, but his whole persona carried a certain amount of vaudevillian old world into 1960's British psychedelia, at the same time. At the beginning, the Rolling Stones and Sutch's bands swapped a few members, and Mick Jagger definitely borrowed something from him with his top hats and "black majesty" persona.
By the 1990s he was sometimes seen as a throwback, but in the 1960s he was part of the fabric of the change in the culture of things, and he left something unique on the culture of British elections permanently - hence Binface.
Comments
https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1391060146466525186
As he correctly said Labour have to look beyond just London to win in England
I think SKS thought the New Labour playbook would be enough -- rid the party of Corbyn (his "Clause 4" moment) and tar the Tories as sleazy (as Alistair Campbell did so sucessfully in 1997) and job done.
Hence, we got these bizarre stories in the press about Matt Hancock's Great Auntie owning shares in a company that bid for contracts in the Welsh NHS, or something. And the wallpaper, don't forget the wallpaper. And the idea that Dyson was a bad guy because he messaged the PM.
Labour's problem are much, much deeper than in the 1990s. I mean, Labour have all the problems of the early 1990s and they have two additional huge problems in Scotland and the Red Wall.
SKS is an inexperienced politician. I think he only became a Labour party member (as opposed to a supporter) before being parachuted into the safe Holborn & St Pancras seat.
SKS is frankly not up to the job.
Putting SKS up against Boris is like putting a mouse into a cage with a wolverine.
My own brief analysis of what went wrong for Alba.
With very little mainstream media coverage, and that viciously hostile, we relied very heavily on social media.
There, we alienated many people by apparent identification with an obsessive and irrational hatred of trans people.
https://twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1390994237643165701?s=20
A stopped clock is right more often....
He has been on of the few impressive labour performers on the national scale during the last 12 months.
He’s an asset and it would be better for labour to make more of him. He’s also not tainted by the left v right Corbyn schism in labour.
Keycap digit oneBen Houchen (73%)
Keycap digit twoAndy Burnham (67%)
Keycap digit threeSteve Rotherham (58%)
Keycap digit fourAndy Street (49%)
Keycap digit fiveNicola Sturgeon (48% so far)
Keycap digit sixSadiq Khan (40% so far)
Keycap digit sevenMark Drakeford (39.9%)
Edit: urban.
Starmers incompetent leadership lost 20% of all Labour seats in England and his incompetent friend lost Hartlepool by a landslide thanks to his even more incompetent friend Lord Mandy.
I mean, grr, super powerful mainstream media.
Plus, the reality of that 'hotspot' is (1) we're doing massive amounts of testing there, so will be picking up asymptomatic cases, and (2) the numbers relative to population are still small - well below levels that should be of concern.
The Fixed Term Parliaments act is going to be repealed but even so the most likely date of the next General Election is still 2nd of May 2024.
Can someone explain to me what that means?
If he was leader the Tories would be worried
Multiple millions of first doses per week until the end of June aiui.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVuJLiuo5zc&list=TLPQMDgwNTIwMjGR48ppXmKgaw&index=2
and despised is not quite true either.
Not quite sure why you're supportive of SKS he is a useless leader and a total Loser
Boris will go for it in 2023.
But if he can't connect with voters or tell a bold narrative or paint a picture of a better Britain then that test is irrelevant.
If Corbyn is to blame, why did Hartlepool’s citizens vote Labour twice under his leadership and in higher numbers than in 2015? What does it tell us, comparing 2017 to this year’s election, that Tories won only 1,210 more votes while Labour has lost more than 13,000?
Jones is ignoring that Corbyn lost half of those votes in 2019.
The Lab vote numbers were:
2015 - 14076
2017 - 21969
2019 - 15464
2021 - 8589
(1) We'll be vaccinating older kids before you know it
(2) Vaccine hesitancy is likely to be lower in the UK than almost anywhere else
So, my gut is that we'll be at negligible levels of infection by the end of next month.
EDIT: might come down to less than 1,000 votes.
Two opinion polls in a row put the Conservatives in the lead in Spain just a week after the socialists were troinced in Madrid and PM Sanchez announced toll charges for all the motorways.
Shadow Home Sec is his role.
Only a brain dead leader would think it a good idea to impose said ultra remoaner in an even more leave By Election area.
Schoolboy stuff from Dullard Starmer
Can Burnham run as a non-MP?
Say he wins as a non-MP. Quick by-election engineered?
If Boris is ahead in the polls two years from now, how does he justify calling an election 19 months early? it will look like unashamed opportunism, he will remember what happened to Mrs May.
I very much agree.
Conservative James Palmer 93,942 40.5%
Labour Nik Johnson 76,106 32.8%
Liberal Democrats Aidan Van der Weyer 61,885 26.7%
https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/elections-voting/cambridgeshire-and-peterborough-mayor-election-2021-live-results
Starmer is there until 2023.
Labour lost 1 in 5 of all its Council Seats in England
List MSPs elected
3 Con
Stephen Kerr
Graham Simpson MSP
Meghan Gallagher
3 Lab
Richard Leonard MSP
Monica Lennon MSP
Mark Griffin
1 Green
Gillian MacKay
1 Green gain
1 Labour loss
Just to get the top job so he could, er, root out antisemitism.
I have no time for the man.
@SouthCambs
· 5m
Second Round @chooseyourmayor at South Cambridgeshire:
- Johnson (Labour & Co-Operative Party): 14,933
- Palmer (The Conservative Party): 5,359
Votes reallocated from Van De Weyer (Lib Dem) second preference.
Looks all over now - Lab GAIN coming..
Something like that I should imagine...
But Compared to the useless bugger in charge now he was a master strategist
https://twitter.com/BallotBoxScot/status/1391069430592024580?s=20
https://twitter.com/PhilRodgers/status/1391069745319981057?s=19
LABOUR GAIN!!!!
A bright spot amongst the gloom.
constituency votes for SNP + Green: 1,274,977
for Tories + Labour + LDs: 1,326,149
Very, very close (and let's see what list vote shows) but anti-referendum parties have won more support than pro.
https://twitter.com/HugoGye/status/1391067937814061061?s=20
"Now is not the time"
Worked last time.
4 Conservatives
Douglas Ross
Edward Mountain MSP
Donald Cameron MSP
Jamie Halcro Johnston MSP
1 Greens
Ariane Burgess
1 Labour
Rhoda Grant MSP
1 SNP
Emma Roddick
Con +1
Lab -1
Tories 57 +7
Labour 4 -6
Independent 1 -1 (although actually both independents lost their seats, but a different one won Stone from the Tories)
Continuing the trend since a brutal pounding in 2009 (where they lost 29 of their 32 seats and an OM) that this is not a happy hunting ground for Labour.
Street: 50787
Byrne: 21040
Up shy of 20k on 2017.
As for Gloucestershire winning four of their first five matches (and drawing the other) I’m thinking nobody saw that coming!
Then, applying that to the outsanding areas and assuming the following splits:
Cambridge City 20% (CON) 80% (LAB)
South Cam DC 37% (CON) 63% (LAB)
Peterborough 44% (CON) 54% (LAB)
Palmer wins 50.02% to 49.98% ... by 92 votes.
However, he might only get 30% in South Cams, totally bomb in Cambridge City and disappoint in Peterborough, in which case Johnson wins 51% to 49% and by 4,500 votes.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/snp-msp-says-not-the-end-of-world-if-referendum-takes-another-decade-3229522
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/05/tim-scott-front-runner-for-2024/
Personally, I don't see it, not because he is Black but because, for the current GOP, (1) Scott is seen as a little bit too pro-compromise and (2) I think a Governor will be in the best position for the nomination given they will have a track record to show. So I would still be very much DeSantis as the favourite as things stand now but I could definitely see Scott as the VP pick in 2024.
By the 1990s he was sometimes seen as a throwback, but in the 1960s he was part of the fabric of the change in the culture of things, and he left something unique on the culture of British elections permanently - hence Binface.