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LAB is going to be a lot harder to demonise next time without Corbyn – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 12,220
edited August 2021 in General
imageLAB is going to be a lot harder to demonise next time without Corbyn – politicalbetting.com

Before I head off for my Lake District holiday some thoughts on the big picture – the next UK general election.

Read the full story here

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Comments

  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362
    We are probably one media friendly conference speech from Starmer away from you winning your Labour lead in one poll before end of year bet, Mike.
  • NerysHughesNerysHughes Posts: 3,375
    https://news.sky.com/story/uk-weather-this-summer-on-course-to-be-one-of-the-warmest-on-record-met-office-says-12391738

    As a horse racing follower when throughout the summer the going has been heavy and numerous meetings have been called off I am surprised by the comment "overall 2021's summer "is certainly looking drier and warmer than average".
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,259
    FPT:

    Can anyone advise what we need to divide 756,900 by to get an indication of daily infection rates?

    7?
    10?
    14?
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,223

    https://news.sky.com/story/uk-weather-this-summer-on-course-to-be-one-of-the-warmest-on-record-met-office-says-12391738

    As a horse racing follower when throughout the summer the going has been heavy and numerous meetings have been called off I am surprised by the comment "overall 2021's summer "is certainly looking drier and warmer than average".

    It does say that it's driven by Scotland and Northern Ireland, but I think this summer has been pretty rubbish. Not 2007 rubbish, but it's certainly no 2018.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 124,051
    edited August 2021
    Starmer does not have the passionate supporters Corbyn does and I doubt he will match the 40% Corbyn got in 2017.

    However Starmer is not feared like Corbyn is by middle class voters, so I doubt he will fall as low as Corbyn did in 2019 seats wise either and he may be able to pick up more LD tactical voters
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,481
    tlg86 said:

    https://news.sky.com/story/uk-weather-this-summer-on-course-to-be-one-of-the-warmest-on-record-met-office-says-12391738

    As a horse racing follower when throughout the summer the going has been heavy and numerous meetings have been called off I am surprised by the comment "overall 2021's summer "is certainly looking drier and warmer than average".

    It does say that it's driven by Scotland and Northern Ireland, but I think this summer has been pretty rubbish. Not 2007 rubbish, but it's certainly no 2018.
    It also says the SE has been very wet. We certainly haven't had a wet summer up here in the NE. Quite the opposite.
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362
    edited August 2021
    My take on the GE polling,

    1. the Tory worm is showing a decline over the last three months, whilst the Labour worm is flatlining, they are not benefiting from that decline.

    2. Meanwhile the Tory polling remains resolutely over 40. However, during the election campaign the Tories were absolute genius to steal and own the Brexit party voters - and during that campaign you totalled remain parties polling together and the Tories plus smither of Brexit numbers together, the best remain did was close to even, normally a smaller total. That’s completely changed now - Lab, libdem and green added together is by far the bigger total now. That could indicate there’s a key shift going on as we move into post Brexit politics.

    3. Because it was a December election, I’m not sure this is so far after the vote to be mid term, besides which, the Tory success on jabbing and getting us back to normal, and the fact COVID has hampered Starmer’s attempts to raise his profile, I’m not sure it’s going to be a normal mid term. It’s not vital IMO for Labour to be miles ahead mid term anyway, in other countries voters don’t know for sure who the candidate is going to be until months to go to the campaign, it don’t seem to do them any harm.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,977
    Mr. Dean, in Yorkshire, until the last few weeks, it's been a mix of very wet and very sunny, leading to more rapid growth of nettles and the like than I can remember happening before.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,972
    Those 10 extra seats from the boundary review could be very useful for the Tories.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,468
    edited August 2021

    FPT:

    Can anyone advise what we need to divide 756,900 by to get an indication of daily infection rates?

    7?
    10?
    14?

    Aren't they posted on the HMG COVID dashboard?

    Lower limit, I'd say, is 14, upper 21.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,259
    TimT said:

    FPT:

    Can anyone advise what we need to divide 756,900 by to get an indication of daily infection rates?

    7?
    10?
    14?

    Aren't they posted on the HMG COVID dashboard?

    Lower limit, I'd say, is 14, upper 21.
    The dashboard gives those who have tested positive. What I'm trying to determine is the total positives, whether tested or not.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,468

    TimT said:

    FPT:

    Can anyone advise what we need to divide 756,900 by to get an indication of daily infection rates?

    7?
    10?
    14?

    Aren't they posted on the HMG COVID dashboard?

    Lower limit, I'd say, is 14, upper 21.
    The dashboard gives those who have tested positive. What I'm trying to determine is the total positives, whether tested or not.
    Well, COVID for most people lasts 14-28 days. If you divide by 21, that would get you a ballpark figure.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,040
    Andy_JS said:

    Those 10 extra seats from the boundary review could be very useful for the Tories.

    Taking this into account for me it looks as likely that the Tories will increase their majority at the next election as decrease it. It could go either way but I certainly expect a very comfortable majority. We have an opposition who simply cannot establish a poll lead mid term. They have shown very poor tactical awareness and have really struggled to make much of the various errors, incompetence and scandals that have hit the government. As the Tories know to their cost when being thrashed by Blair oppositions who do not achieve significant leads midterm lose. Those that remain behind lose bigly.

    The economy is about to grow faster than it has since the Barber boom of the early 70s, employment will be at record highs again by the end of the year and we just might see the deficit fall faster than we expect. A lot of that growth and new jobs will come in the north of England. Inflation is going to be a minor issue but given our debt mountain range (1 mountain no longer covers it) even that is not an unmixed blessing. Considering what we have been through this will be a really strong record and even now SKS is struggling to explain what he would do differently.

    I am very conscious of a particular newspaper article when writing this but I think that I have a lot more reason to be confident than Sion Simon ever did.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,259
    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    FPT:

    Can anyone advise what we need to divide 756,900 by to get an indication of daily infection rates?

    7?
    10?
    14?

    Aren't they posted on the HMG COVID dashboard?

    Lower limit, I'd say, is 14, upper 21.
    The dashboard gives those who have tested positive. What I'm trying to determine is the total positives, whether tested or not.
    Well, COVID for most people lasts 14-28 days. If you divide by 21, that would get you a ballpark figure.
    That seems to big a number to divide by, as we just end up with a figure little different from the number of positive tests.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome
  • Labour poll lead by the end of the year, winnings incoming!
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,141
    edited August 2021
    I agree with Mike's main point that Starmer will be harder to demonise than Corbyn. Although of course he probably won't have so many fanatical young footsoldiers either.

    Nobody can make robust predictions about the next election (other than the obvious such as "everything depends on how many seat losses") until a few months before said election. As we are two or three years away, I think we'd do as well to read the results in bird guts.
  • NorthofStokeNorthofStoke Posts: 1,758
    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Is that another flight of black swans in the distance?
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670

    TimT said:

    FPT:

    Can anyone advise what we need to divide 756,900 by to get an indication of daily infection rates?

    7?
    10?
    14?

    Aren't they posted on the HMG COVID dashboard?

    Lower limit, I'd say, is 14, upper 21.
    The dashboard gives those who have tested positive. What I'm trying to determine is the total positives, whether tested or not.
    The ONS number gives you "how many people were currently infected over the last week".

    You cant trivially get from that to "new infections per day"
  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 5,039
    FPT:

    Boris Johnson and other cabinet ministers want to start vaccinating schoolchildren aged 12-15 amid mounting frustration in Govt with JCVI

    ‘The JCVI is like a black box, nobody knows what’s going on in there.

    ‘One small organisation is hindering entire vaccination programme. We’re at risk of losing the gains we’ve made’

    https://twitter.com/Steven_Swinford/status/1431160839608930304?s=20
    https://twitter.com/Steven_Swinford/status/1431161175681781761?s=20

    Do you want these children to get these vaccines for their protection, or yours?

    Because for them, the chances of dying of covid are less than being struck by lightning.
    These children might just want to get the vaccine to ensue that older members of their family don't catch it from them and die?
    How can that happen? older members of their family have been doubled jabbed, and will soon be jabbed again. They are protected.

    I find your lack of faith in the vaccines disconcerting to be honest.
    You seem to have a rather binary view of vaccine efficacy. Either 100% or 0% - they either protect everyone perfectly or they do not and thus if you do not believe they protect everyone perfectly, you don't believe in the vaccines.

    Is this really the case?

    In reality, all vaccines - by training up your immune system - provide a measurable increase in your ability to fight off a virus. From any symptoms at all (Ve versus symptomatic infection), from severe illness (Ve against severe illness) and death (Ve against death).

    If Ve against death is about 95% (which is what it seems to be), then the risk of death to an average 75-year-old drops from about 5% to about 0.25%.

    Which means that one in four hundred 75-year-olds would still die.
    It may well be that you're willing to deliberately take a one-in-four-hundred risk of unintentionally causing a 75-year-old relatives death (and, of course, if you have four such relatives, it's up to a one-in-a-hundred chance that you'd cause one of them to die in what is, to be fair, a very unpleasant and frightening way); others may not like that chance. Because, after all, out of every thousand such youngsters, ten would end up living with having seen their relative die in just such a way.

    And yes, the vaccines work, which is why it's ten rather than two hundred of the thousand youngsters. Ten is a much smaller number than two hundred and thus is a considerably better outcome. Not having your relatives die in such an unpleasant avoidable way is better still.
  • NerysHughesNerysHughes Posts: 3,375
    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    After the first pupil of the term at the start of the week we now have first staff member of term covid positive at school.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,468
    edited August 2021
    You'd have to compare that number against the median number of infections over the last 21 days. My suspicion is that is in the high 20ks, vs 36k implied by dividing by 21

    So it implies the testing is capturing 67-75% of infections. Have no feel for whether that is realistic.

    But I don't see how you can justify a lower divisor given the fact that most people are infected for 14-28 days. Unless you argue a massive skew towards the 14 days.

    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    FPT:

    Can anyone advise what we need to divide 756,900 by to get an indication of daily infection rates?

    7?
    10?
    14?

    Aren't they posted on the HMG COVID dashboard?

    Lower limit, I'd say, is 14, upper 21.
    The dashboard gives those who have tested positive. What I'm trying to determine is the total positives, whether tested or not.
    Well, COVID for most people lasts 14-28 days. If you divide by 21, that would get you a ballpark figure.
    That seems to big a number to divide by, as we just end up with a figure little different from the number of positive tests.
  • isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    Were there polls at that time with only a 3 point lead?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,040
    Fishing said:

    I agree with Mike's main point that Starmer will be harder to demonise than Corbyn. Although of course he probably won't have so many fanatical young footsoldiers either.

    Nobody can make robust predictions about the next election (other than the obvious such as "everything depends on how many seat losses") until a few months before said election. As we are two or three years away, I think we'd do as well to read the results in bird guts.

    For the record I agree with Mike on this point too. SKS is a decent, intelligent, reasonable bore. He is not voter repellent in the way Corbyn was, he's just dull. Whilst that may well attract some Lib Dems to vote tactically I think enthusiasm levels on the Labour side will be low.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,259
    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Don't the betting odds give them <50% chance of retaining their majority?
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,049
    edited August 2021

    Boris Johnson and other cabinet ministers want to start vaccinating schoolchildren aged 12-15 amid mounting frustration in Govt with JCVI

    ‘The JCVI is like a black box, nobody knows what’s going on in there.

    ‘One small organisation is hindering entire vaccination programme. We’re at risk of losing the gains we’ve made’

    https://twitter.com/Steven_Swinford/status/1431160839608930304?s=20
    https://twitter.com/Steven_Swinford/status/1431161175681781761?s=20

    Do you want these children to get these vaccines for their protection, or yours?

    Because for them, the chances of dying of covid are less than being struck by lightning.
    These children might just want to get the vaccine to ensue that older members of their family don't catch it from them and die?
    How can that happen? older members of their family have been doubled jabbed, and will soon be jabbed again. They are protected.

    I find your lack of faith in the vaccines disconcerting to be honest.
    You seem to have a rather binary view of vaccine efficacy. Either 100% or 0% - they either protect everyone perfectly or they do not and thus if you do not believe they protect everyone perfectly, you don't believe in the vaccines.

    Is this really the case?

    In reality, all vaccines - by training up your immune system - provide a measurable increase in your ability to fight off a virus. From any symptoms at all (Ve versus symptomatic infection), from severe illness (Ve against severe illness) and death (Ve against death).

    If Ve against death is about 95% (which is what it seems to be), then the risk of death to an average 75-year-old drops from about 5% to about 0.25%.

    Which means that one in four hundred 75-year-olds would still die.
    It may well be that you're willing to deliberately take a one-in-four-hundred risk of unintentionally causing a 75-year-old relatives death (and, of course, if you have four such relatives, it's up to a one-in-a-hundred chance that you'd cause one of them to die in what is, to be fair, a very unpleasant and frightening way); others may not like that chance. Because, after all, out of every thousand such youngsters, ten would end up living with having seen their relative die in just such a way.

    And yes, the vaccines work, which is why it's ten rather than two hundred of the thousand youngsters. Ten is a much smaller number than two hundred and thus is a considerably better outcome. Not having your relatives die in such an unpleasant avoidable way is better still.
    Fine. In which case it is up to the parents to tell the 12-yr olds to have the jab. But ffs don't put it directly to a 12-yr old and lay it on their shoulders.
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,822
    TimT said:

    [snip]
    So it implies the testing is capturing 67-75% of infections. Have no feel for whether that is realistic.
    [snip]

    That sounds realistic to me, for the UK which does a lot of tests and where the tests are easily available.
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 4,042
    edited August 2021

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.



    (Image from UKPollingReport)
  • Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,259
    TimT said:

    You'd have to compare that number against the median number of infections over the last 21 days. My suspicion is that is in the high 20ks, vs 36k implied by dividing by 21

    So it implies the testing is capturing 67-75% of infections. Have no feel for whether that is realistic.

    But I don't see how you can justify a lower divisor given the fact that most people are infected for 14-28 days. Unless you argue a massive skew towards the 14 days.

    TimT said:

    TimT said:

    FPT:

    Can anyone advise what we need to divide 756,900 by to get an indication of daily infection rates?

    7?
    10?
    14?

    Aren't they posted on the HMG COVID dashboard?

    Lower limit, I'd say, is 14, upper 21.
    The dashboard gives those who have tested positive. What I'm trying to determine is the total positives, whether tested or not.
    Well, COVID for most people lasts 14-28 days. If you divide by 21, that would get you a ballpark figure.
    That seems to big a number to divide by, as we just end up with a figure little different from the number of positive tests.
    Thanks.

    I think we can conclude that we have not yet reached 100,000 cases per day by any measure.

    I was thinking that if it is appropriate to divide by 7 then we had.
  • NerysHughesNerysHughes Posts: 3,375
    Quincel said:

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.



    (Image from UKPollingReport)
    Labour were 2 years in, the Tories are 12 years in, look at Labour after 9 years and compare. I was not suggesting that Hague ever got close i was just using it as an example for the lack of logic being applied here.

    Labour should be ahead all the time now if they are going to prevent a Tory Majority, not 3-10 points behind.

  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,943
    edited August 2021
    DavidL said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Those 10 extra seats from the boundary review could be very useful for the Tories.

    Taking this into account for me it looks as likely that the Tories will increase their majority at the next election as decrease it. It could go either way but I certainly expect a very comfortable majority. We have an opposition who simply cannot establish a poll lead mid term. They have shown very poor tactical awareness and have really struggled to make much of the various errors, incompetence and scandals that have hit the government. As the Tories know to their cost when being thrashed by Blair oppositions who do not achieve significant leads midterm lose. Those that remain behind lose bigly.

    The economy is about to grow faster than it has since the Barber boom of the early 70s, employment will be at record highs again by the end of the year and we just might see the deficit fall faster than we expect. A lot of that growth and new jobs will come in the north of England. Inflation is going to be a minor issue but given our debt mountain range (1 mountain no longer covers it) even that is not an unmixed blessing. Considering what we have been through this will be a really strong record and even now SKS is struggling to explain what he would do differently.

    I am very conscious of a particular newspaper article when writing this but I think that I have a lot more reason to be confident than Sion Simon ever did.
    The Labour Party may be fundamentally evil and the Conservatives righteous. (Labour jabber, Conservatives jab). Boris Johnson may be a genius and the Messiah and Starmer a rather foolish Satan, however I cannot see the multi-year post Brexit, post Covid boom that you see. A rather short one yes.

    I do not see inflation as the benefit and the quickest way to run down the debt the Boris boys on here do either. Inflation reminds me of increased mortgage rates and the repossessions and negative equity of the early 1990s.
  • Tina Tchen, the head of anti-sexual harassment campaign group Time's Up, has resigned over its ties to scandal-hit New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

    BBC News - Time's Up: Boss quits over ties to scandal-hit governor Andrew Cuomo
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-58354600
  • NorthofStokeNorthofStoke Posts: 1,758
    DavidL said:

    Fishing said:

    I agree with Mike's main point that Starmer will be harder to demonise than Corbyn. Although of course he probably won't have so many fanatical young footsoldiers either.

    Nobody can make robust predictions about the next election (other than the obvious such as "everything depends on how many seat losses") until a few months before said election. As we are two or three years away, I think we'd do as well to read the results in bird guts.

    For the record I agree with Mike on this point too. SKS is a decent, intelligent, reasonable bore. He is not voter repellent in the way Corbyn was, he's just dull. Whilst that may well attract some Lib Dems to vote tactically I think enthusiasm levels on the Labour side will be low.
    Negative enthusiasm to get Johnstone out may be high. Then again, the Tories may manage a partial rebrand with a new leader.
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,822

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    It's not strong IMO, but at the moment there's no plausible alternative, and no sign that Labour is going to become that plausible alternative in time.

    If there were a plausible alternative government-in-waiting, I think the figures would be drastically different.
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 4,042
    Quincel said:

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.

    (Image from UKPollingReport)
    On topic, I agree with OGH although how significant it will be is unknown at this point. I also think the LDs will benefit a bit, as OGH does, from the Cameroonian Tory vote which they are targeting having less to be scared of by voting for a Lib Dem and perhaps 'Letting Labour in'.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Is that another flight of black swans in the distance?
    I would have thought, in normal circumstances, a worldwide pandemic that resulted in 150,000 deaths the government are being blamed for by their critics, and the disaster of Afghanistan, that Labour are blaming the govt for, would be considered black swans - but as they haven't managed to get Labour where they should be if they were going challenge at the next GE (well ahead in the polls both VI and Leader Ratings) they are not considered black enough swans it seems
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,049

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    There are a lot of wandering Cons looking for a home. Look at how many there are on here - zillions, relatively. With Big G coming in and going out and coming in and going out of the group.

    But where should we go!?

    At present, there are too many policies and personnel in Lab that I simply couldn't vote for. Does Lab want to change that? Probably not otherwise what are they. I could live with strong Union links as long as, as per Sharon's statement, the focus is on empowering workers not running the country along Marxist-Leninist lines. Then there is the anti-semitism thing, then there is the hate the rich thing.

    So prob quite a gulf between me and a Lab vote.

    So the Cons vote you are right might not be that strong but we atm ain't going to Lab.
  • NorthofStokeNorthofStoke Posts: 1,758
    A critical factor is going to be how swing voter friendly the Labour manifesto is and that depends on internal battles yet to take place.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,943
    edited August 2021

    Quincel said:

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.



    (Image from UKPollingReport)
    Labour were 2 years in, the Tories are 12 years in, look at Labour after 9 years and compare. I was not suggesting that Hague ever got close i was just using it as an example for the lack of logic being applied here.

    Labour should be ahead all the time now if they are going to prevent a Tory Majority, not 3-10 points behind.

    If only the world was a simple as you make it out to be. As we stand, Conservative majority. Ina little under 3 years, who knows?
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    edited August 2021
    ..........

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Don't the betting odds give them <50% chance of retaining their majority? </p>
    Yes, which is why I think its one of the all time great bets
  • LAB is going to be a lot harder to demonise next time

    This is a recurring claim.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,040

    DavidL said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Those 10 extra seats from the boundary review could be very useful for the Tories.

    Taking this into account for me it looks as likely that the Tories will increase their majority at the next election as decrease it. It could go either way but I certainly expect a very comfortable majority. We have an opposition who simply cannot establish a poll lead mid term. They have shown very poor tactical awareness and have really struggled to make much of the various errors, incompetence and scandals that have hit the government. As the Tories know to their cost when being thrashed by Blair oppositions who do not achieve significant leads midterm lose. Those that remain behind lose bigly.

    The economy is about to grow faster than it has since the Barber boom of the early 70s, employment will be at record highs again by the end of the year and we just might see the deficit fall faster than we expect. A lot of that growth and new jobs will come in the north of England. Inflation is going to be a minor issue but given our debt mountain range (1 mountain no longer covers it) even that is not an unmixed blessing. Considering what we have been through this will be a really strong record and even now SKS is struggling to explain what he would do differently.

    I am very conscious of a particular newspaper article when writing this but I think that I have a lot more reason to be confident than Sion Simon ever did.
    The Labour Party may be fundamentally evil and the Conservatives righteous. (Labour jabber, Conservatives jab). Boris Johnson may be a genius and the Messiah and Starmer a rather foolish Satan, however I cannot see the multi-year post Brrxit, post Covid boom that you see. A rather short one yes.

    I do not see inflation as the benefit and the quickest way to run down the debt the Boris boys on here do either. Inflation reminds me of increased mortgage rates and the repossessions and negative equity of the early 1990s.
    Labour under Starmer are definitely not fundamentally evil nor are the Tories overly righteous. But the OECD are forecasting UK growth at 5.5% next year and they are usually pessimistic.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 52,323
    Quincel said:

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.



    (Image from UKPollingReport)
    They only turned it around when they chose a leader who wanted to stop banging on about Europe. :)
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 4,042

    Quincel said:

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.



    (Image from UKPollingReport)
    Labour were 2 years in, the Tories are 12 years in, look at Labour after 9 years and compare. I was not suggesting that Hague ever got close i was just using it as an example for the lack of logic being applied here.

    Labour should be ahead all the time now if they are going to prevent a Tory Majority, not 3-10 points behind.

    So I half agree with you, in that I agree the Tories are likely to win another majority and their position is strong. Indeed, I wrote an article making exactly that point (link below to massage my ego). On the other hand, the Tories won their current majority with a vote share lead of 11.5%, so it is plausible that they lose it while still winning the popular vote by 3-5%. And given the strange circumstances we find ourselves in with COVID and so on making politics weird for 18 months I don't think we can assume that swingback is a given.

    https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2021/03/22/it-looks-like-theres-major-mispricing-in-the-majority-market/
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    LAB is going to be a lot harder to demonise next time

    This is a recurring claim.

    Plenty of Corbyn Labour voters hate Sir Keir as much as Centrists hated Jezza. They wont be voting Labour, yet are never considered in the analysis
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,533
    edited August 2021
    38,046 cases...100 deaths.

    England cases still flat....for the moment.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,943
    .
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Those 10 extra seats from the boundary review could be very useful for the Tories.

    Taking this into account for me it looks as likely that the Tories will increase their majority at the next election as decrease it. It could go either way but I certainly expect a very comfortable majority. We have an opposition who simply cannot establish a poll lead mid term. They have shown very poor tactical awareness and have really struggled to make much of the various errors, incompetence and scandals that have hit the government. As the Tories know to their cost when being thrashed by Blair oppositions who do not achieve significant leads midterm lose. Those that remain behind lose bigly.

    The economy is about to grow faster than it has since the Barber boom of the early 70s, employment will be at record highs again by the end of the year and we just might see the deficit fall faster than we expect. A lot of that growth and new jobs will come in the north of England. Inflation is going to be a minor issue but given our debt mountain range (1 mountain no longer covers it) even that is not an unmixed blessing. Considering what we have been through this will be a really strong record and even now SKS is struggling to explain what he would do differently.

    I am very conscious of a particular newspaper article when writing this but I think that I have a lot more reason to be confident than Sion Simon ever did.
    The Labour Party may be fundamentally evil and the Conservatives righteous. (Labour jabber, Conservatives jab). Boris Johnson may be a genius and the Messiah and Starmer a rather foolish Satan, however I cannot see the multi-year post Brrxit, post Covid boom that you see. A rather short one yes.

    I do not see inflation as the benefit and the quickest way to run down the debt the Boris boys on here do either. Inflation reminds me of increased mortgage rates and the repossessions and negative equity of the early 1990s.
    Labour under Starmer are definitely not fundamentally evil nor are the Tories overly righteous. But the OECD are forecasting UK growth at 5.5% next year and they are usually pessimistic.
    Is that 5.5% over 2019 stats?
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    Although there's new panic about rising #COVID19 cases in Scotland related to schools, probably worth noting that 25/32 regions didn't reopen them until August 17th

    Cases were rising in young people (and everyone) well before that, and it takes ~1w for new cases to get detected


    https://twitter.com/apsmunro/status/1431261610715267074?s=20
  • TOPPING said:

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    There are a lot of wandering Cons looking for a home. Look at how many there are on here - zillions, relatively. With Big G coming in and going out and coming in and going out of the group.

    But where should we go!?

    At present, there are too many policies and personnel in Lab that I simply couldn't vote for. Does Lab want to change that? Probably not otherwise what are they. I could live with strong Union links as long as, as per Sharon's statement, the focus is on empowering workers not running the country along Marxist-Leninist lines. Then there is the anti-semitism thing, then there is the hate the rich thing.

    So prob quite a gulf between me and a Lab vote.

    So the Cons vote you are right might not be that strong but we atm ain't going to Lab.
    As you know friend, I consider you one of the best sources on such things on this site, so thank you for posting your thoughts.

    For what it is worth, as a Labour member myself I really do think the party is moving back to the centre and the people that you refer to are leaving (albeit slowly).

    Starmer has a short window between now and this time next year to really build something different, then it's time for him to go if he can not.
  • I do think Starmer should be given huge credit for getting a handle on anti-Semitism, he seems to have handled that extremely well.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,728

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    It's not strong IMO, but at the moment there's no plausible alternative, and no sign that Labour is going to become that plausible alternative in time.

    If there were a plausible alternative government-in-waiting, I think the figures would be drastically different.
    Yes, I think that's right. Tory support is a mile wide but an inch deep.

    When there's a plausible alternative - and by plausible I don't mean just economically sensible but able to block out people's fears of the radical Left on social and cultural issues - the numbers will change quickly and a lot.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,533
    edited August 2021
    One thing being overlooked, the Tories can demonise Starmer in a different way to Jezza. They can play the Starmer tried to stop Brexit, do you trust him not to try and reverse it. I think that will play well in the red wall.

    They don't need to do this nationally, rather targetted in the way Jezza the terrorist sympathizing anti-British danger to national security was deployed in certain places.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,943

    38,046 cases...100 deaths.

    England cases still flat....for the moment.

    Wales is looking horrific, particularly Swansea and Neath, Port Talbot.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,049

    TOPPING said:

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    There are a lot of wandering Cons looking for a home. Look at how many there are on here - zillions, relatively. With Big G coming in and going out and coming in and going out of the group.

    But where should we go!?

    At present, there are too many policies and personnel in Lab that I simply couldn't vote for. Does Lab want to change that? Probably not otherwise what are they. I could live with strong Union links as long as, as per Sharon's statement, the focus is on empowering workers not running the country along Marxist-Leninist lines. Then there is the anti-semitism thing, then there is the hate the rich thing.

    So prob quite a gulf between me and a Lab vote.

    So the Cons vote you are right might not be that strong but we atm ain't going to Lab.
    As you know friend, I consider you one of the best sources on such things on this site, so thank you for posting your thoughts.

    For what it is worth, as a Labour member myself I really do think the party is moving back to the centre and the people that you refer to are leaving (albeit slowly).

    Starmer has a short window between now and this time next year to really build something different, then it's time for him to go if he can not.
    Looking very closely at his progress. My vote is up for grabs.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,141

    Quincel said:

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.



    (Image from UKPollingReport)
    They only turned it around when they chose a leader who wanted to stop banging on about Europe. :)
    No they only turned it round when Labour replaced a political genius (albeit past his prime) with a total dud. And even then, and after a collapse in the economy, Cameron failed to get an overall majority.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,943

    TOPPING said:

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    There are a lot of wandering Cons looking for a home. Look at how many there are on here - zillions, relatively. With Big G coming in and going out and coming in and going out of the group.

    But where should we go!?

    At present, there are too many policies and personnel in Lab that I simply couldn't vote for. Does Lab want to change that? Probably not otherwise what are they. I could live with strong Union links as long as, as per Sharon's statement, the focus is on empowering workers not running the country along Marxist-Leninist lines. Then there is the anti-semitism thing, then there is the hate the rich thing.

    So prob quite a gulf between me and a Lab vote.

    So the Cons vote you are right might not be that strong but we atm ain't going to Lab.
    As you know friend, I consider you one of the best sources on such things on this site, so thank you for posting your thoughts.

    For what it is worth, as a Labour member myself I really do think the party is moving back to the centre and the people that you refer to are leaving (albeit slowly).

    Starmer has a short window between now and this time next year to really build something different, then it's time for him to go if he can not.
    It's the economy.

    If the economy booms as the PB Tories believe, Johnson wins a handsome majority. If it tanks they might not.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,728

    Quincel said:

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.



    (Image from UKPollingReport)
    They only turned it around when they chose a leader who wanted to stop banging on about Europe. :)
    I think at the height of his powers, definitely 1998-1999 and quite possibly 2001-2, Blair could have won a referendum to take us into the Euro.
  • QuincelQuincel Posts: 4,042

    One thing being overlooked, the Tories can demonise Starmer in a different way to Jezza. They can play the Starmer tried to stop Brexit, do you trust him not to try and reverse it. I think that will play well in the red wall.

    Maybe, though there is a risk with that strategy that it is too backwards looking. If Starmer just shrugs it off and talks about what he would do differently on other issues I can imagine the government looking like they have no new ideas so are flogging a dead horse.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    "We have had an interesting few months with three totally diverse Westminster by-elections. Hartlepool showed the strength of the Tories in so-called red wall areas, Batley & Spen showed Labour’s ability to defend while Chesham & Amersham was a signal of the sort of seat where the LDs can be strong."

    Labour got their worst ever vote share in all three. Am I the only one who thinks that is bad for an opposition in by elections?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,533
    edited August 2021

    38,046 cases...100 deaths.

    England cases still flat....for the moment.

    Wales is looking horrific, particularly Swansea and Neath, Port Talbot.
    Do we have any ideas why?
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,541
    Enjoy it while it lasts - reported C19 cases down 7% in England compared to last week. It’s all going to pot when the schools go back though.
  • CorrectHorseBatteryCorrectHorseBattery Posts: 21,436
    edited August 2021
    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    There are a lot of wandering Cons looking for a home. Look at how many there are on here - zillions, relatively. With Big G coming in and going out and coming in and going out of the group.

    But where should we go!?

    At present, there are too many policies and personnel in Lab that I simply couldn't vote for. Does Lab want to change that? Probably not otherwise what are they. I could live with strong Union links as long as, as per Sharon's statement, the focus is on empowering workers not running the country along Marxist-Leninist lines. Then there is the anti-semitism thing, then there is the hate the rich thing.

    So prob quite a gulf between me and a Lab vote.

    So the Cons vote you are right might not be that strong but we atm ain't going to Lab.
    As you know friend, I consider you one of the best sources on such things on this site, so thank you for posting your thoughts.

    For what it is worth, as a Labour member myself I really do think the party is moving back to the centre and the people that you refer to are leaving (albeit slowly).

    Starmer has a short window between now and this time next year to really build something different, then it's time for him to go if he can not.
    Looking very closely at his progress. My vote is up for grabs.
    And I really hope we can get you onto our team :) We must work hard to do so and understand what you want Labour to be. My fear with Starmer is that we have not seen enough of that yet.

    I do believe Labour is now headed in the right direction and for me I perceive it to be going back towards proper social democracy, which is what my ideology leans into. The 2019 manifesto was too left wing for me.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 124,051

    TOPPING said:

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    There are a lot of wandering Cons looking for a home. Look at how many there are on here - zillions, relatively. With Big G coming in and going out and coming in and going out of the group.

    But where should we go!?

    At present, there are too many policies and personnel in Lab that I simply couldn't vote for. Does Lab want to change that? Probably not otherwise what are they. I could live with strong Union links as long as, as per Sharon's statement, the focus is on empowering workers not running the country along Marxist-Leninist lines. Then there is the anti-semitism thing, then there is the hate the rich thing.

    So prob quite a gulf between me and a Lab vote.

    So the Cons vote you are right might not be that strong but we atm ain't going to Lab.
    As you know friend, I consider you one of the best sources on such things on this site, so thank you for posting your thoughts.

    For what it is worth, as a Labour member myself I really do think the party is moving back to the centre and the people that you refer to are leaving (albeit slowly).

    Starmer has a short window between now and this time next year to really build something different, then it's time for him to go if he can not.
    There is no alternative Labour leader in Parliament who would do better than Starmer and most would do worse.

    Burnham or David Miliband might do better but neither are currently MPs
  • PJHPJH Posts: 699

    Quincel said:

    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Absolutely, its like having a thread header in 1999 that William Hague was going to prevent a Labour Majority.

    Logical and intelligent people on here seem to letting their heart rule their head.

    We are mid term in the 12th year of a Tory Government and every poll has them leading (and has done for months) with some pointing to a huge majority, yet peoples readings from this is that Labour will be making huge gains.

    Now they may end up being right but based on the current evidence there is no way you can conclude that.
    In fairness, the situation isn't nearly as bad for Labour as it was for the Tories in 1999. People forget just how dominant Blair was, Labour's polling average only fell below 50% in 2000! Barring the fuel protests it never fell below 40%, and was mostly above 45%, until the 2001 election.



    (Image from UKPollingReport)
    Labour were 2 years in, the Tories are 12 years in, look at Labour after 9 years and compare. I was not suggesting that Hague ever got close i was just using it as an example for the lack of logic being applied here.

    Labour should be ahead all the time now if they are going to prevent a Tory Majority, not 3-10 points behind.

    But we should also compare the current leaders with Blair and Hague.

    LOTOs - In retrospect Hague was better than he appeared at the time, but he came across as inexperienced and a bit ridiculous - a bit like Ed Miliband, perhaps. Starmer is more experienced in life at least, and comes across as more capable, if a bit dull. Personally I would rate him as a better candidate than either Miliband or Hague. And maybe by 2024 dull will be in fashion again.

    PMs - Blair on the other hand (in 2001) was running a competent government and personally had more ability in his little finger than the useless dolt in charge now. And I say this as someone with no great love for either. Although I would agree they are probably of equal charisma, in their own way.

    So overall I think we have a slightly stronger LOTO up against a very much weaker PM, and once politics returns to normal by next summer I think Johnson will be in trouble unless things go well. And for that reason I think he will be disposed of so the Tories can reinvent themselves again before the next election, and win again.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,541

    38,046 cases...100 deaths.

    England cases still flat....for the moment.

    Actually a 7% decline from last Friday in England.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,040

    .

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Those 10 extra seats from the boundary review could be very useful for the Tories.

    Taking this into account for me it looks as likely that the Tories will increase their majority at the next election as decrease it. It could go either way but I certainly expect a very comfortable majority. We have an opposition who simply cannot establish a poll lead mid term. They have shown very poor tactical awareness and have really struggled to make much of the various errors, incompetence and scandals that have hit the government. As the Tories know to their cost when being thrashed by Blair oppositions who do not achieve significant leads midterm lose. Those that remain behind lose bigly.

    The economy is about to grow faster than it has since the Barber boom of the early 70s, employment will be at record highs again by the end of the year and we just might see the deficit fall faster than we expect. A lot of that growth and new jobs will come in the north of England. Inflation is going to be a minor issue but given our debt mountain range (1 mountain no longer covers it) even that is not an unmixed blessing. Considering what we have been through this will be a really strong record and even now SKS is struggling to explain what he would do differently.

    I am very conscious of a particular newspaper article when writing this but I think that I have a lot more reason to be confident than Sion Simon ever did.
    The Labour Party may be fundamentally evil and the Conservatives righteous. (Labour jabber, Conservatives jab). Boris Johnson may be a genius and the Messiah and Starmer a rather foolish Satan, however I cannot see the multi-year post Brrxit, post Covid boom that you see. A rather short one yes.

    I do not see inflation as the benefit and the quickest way to run down the debt the Boris boys on here do either. Inflation reminds me of increased mortgage rates and the repossessions and negative equity of the early 1990s.
    Labour under Starmer are definitely not fundamentally evil nor are the Tories overly righteous. But the OECD are forecasting UK growth at 5.5% next year and they are usually pessimistic.
    Is that 5.5% over 2019 stats?
    It's 5.5% over 2021 but by the end of 2021 we will be very close to the 2019 pre-Covid peak so not far off that.
  • We're told by Farage and co that we're fed up of politicians that are born to rule, never had a proper job etc.

    Starmer has, he really should lean into that.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,706
    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,533
    edited August 2021
    Quincel said:

    One thing being overlooked, the Tories can demonise Starmer in a different way to Jezza. They can play the Starmer tried to stop Brexit, do you trust him not to try and reverse it. I think that will play well in the red wall.

    Maybe, though there is a risk with that strategy that it is too backwards looking. If Starmer just shrugs it off and talks about what he would do differently on other issues I can imagine the government looking like they have no new ideas so are flogging a dead horse.
    There is loads of ammunition they can deploy on this, same as Jezza can say he isn't a terrorist sympathizer anymore, that was all years ago taken out of context.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,533
    edited August 2021
    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    Labour never do this? I thinks its more honest to say they both do.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,728
    FPT - very long way to go yet, and Canadian voters are notoriously fickle, but I hope Trudeau gets his arse handed to him on a plate.

    I doubt Erin O'Toole has what it takes though, so I expect another Lib minority sadly.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,040

    One thing being overlooked, the Tories can demonise Starmer in a different way to Jezza. They can play the Starmer tried to stop Brexit, do you trust him not to try and reverse it. I think that will play well in the red wall.

    They don't need to do this nationally, rather targetted in the way Jezza the terrorist sympathizing anti-British danger to national security was deployed in certain places.

    They will no doubt try that but my guess is that with the UK clearly growing faster than the EU, with the stories of post brexit recessions, mass unemployment and disruption being rightly ridiculed, there won't be a lot of traction in it. Brexit will have ceased to be a contentious issue.
  • TOPPING said:

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    There are a lot of wandering Cons looking for a home. Look at how many there are on here - zillions, relatively. With Big G coming in and going out and coming in and going out of the group.

    But where should we go!?

    At present, there are too many policies and personnel in Lab that I simply couldn't vote for. Does Lab want to change that? Probably not otherwise what are they. I could live with strong Union links as long as, as per Sharon's statement, the focus is on empowering workers not running the country along Marxist-Leninist lines. Then there is the anti-semitism thing, then there is the hate the rich thing.

    So prob quite a gulf between me and a Lab vote.

    So the Cons vote you are right might not be that strong but we atm ain't going to Lab.
    As you know friend, I consider you one of the best sources on such things on this site, so thank you for posting your thoughts.

    For what it is worth, as a Labour member myself I really do think the party is moving back to the centre and the people that you refer to are leaving (albeit slowly).

    Starmer has a short window between now and this time next year to really build something different, then it's time for him to go if he can not.
    It's the economy.

    If the economy booms as the PB Tories believe, Johnson wins a handsome majority. If it tanks they might not.
    I think the idea we are going to sail easily into 2024 seems absurd. We've just had Afghanistan appear which few would have predicted even six months ago.

    Johnson is now constantly unpopular and has been for some time (net approval is very much in the red). The issue is that Starmer is at best as unpopular, at worst more unpopular - he needs to do something about that.

    I can't understand how Starmer is so unpopular to be honest, he doesn't seem to have done much notable publicly at all - but perhaps others who are less biased than me can explain that.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,943
    isam said:

    "We have had an interesting few months with three totally diverse Westminster by-elections. Hartlepool showed the strength of the Tories in so-called red wall areas, Batley & Spen showed Labour’s ability to defend while Chesham & Amersham was a signal of the sort of seat where the LDs can be strong."

    Labour got their worst ever vote share in all three. Am I the only one who thinks that is bad for an opposition in by elections?

    Never in my life time has an incumbent Government been hosing the voters with free, no-strings-,attached money and for so long. When that stops maybe they might not be so much fun. Strange times.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,223
    isam said:

    "We have had an interesting few months with three totally diverse Westminster by-elections. Hartlepool showed the strength of the Tories in so-called red wall areas, Batley & Spen showed Labour’s ability to defend while Chesham & Amersham was a signal of the sort of seat where the LDs can be strong."

    Labour got their worst ever vote share in all three. Am I the only one who thinks that is bad for an opposition in by elections?

    This was not good for IDS...

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Brent_East_by-election

    But it's only Chesham and Amersham...
  • FPT:

    Boris Johnson and other cabinet ministers want to start vaccinating schoolchildren aged 12-15 amid mounting frustration in Govt with JCVI

    ‘The JCVI is like a black box, nobody knows what’s going on in there.

    ‘One small organisation is hindering entire vaccination programme. We’re at risk of losing the gains we’ve made’

    https://twitter.com/Steven_Swinford/status/1431160839608930304?s=20
    https://twitter.com/Steven_Swinford/status/1431161175681781761?s=20

    Do you want these children to get these vaccines for their protection, or yours?

    Because for them, the chances of dying of covid are less than being struck by lightning.
    These children might just want to get the vaccine to ensue that older members of their family don't catch it from them and die?
    How can that happen? older members of their family have been doubled jabbed, and will soon be jabbed again. They are protected.

    I find your lack of faith in the vaccines disconcerting to be honest.
    You seem to have a rather binary view of vaccine efficacy. Either 100% or 0% - they either protect everyone perfectly or they do not and thus if you do not believe they protect everyone perfectly, you don't believe in the vaccines.

    Is this really the case?

    In reality, all vaccines - by training up your immune system - provide a measurable increase in your ability to fight off a virus. From any symptoms at all (Ve versus symptomatic infection), from severe illness (Ve against severe illness) and death (Ve against death).

    If Ve against death is about 95% (which is what it seems to be), then the risk of death to an average 75-year-old drops from about 5% to about 0.25%.

    Which means that one in four hundred 75-year-olds would still die.
    It may well be that you're willing to deliberately take a one-in-four-hundred risk of unintentionally causing a 75-year-old relatives death (and, of course, if you have four such relatives, it's up to a one-in-a-hundred chance that you'd cause one of them to die in what is, to be fair, a very unpleasant and frightening way); others may not like that chance. Because, after all, out of every thousand such youngsters, ten would end up living with having seen their relative die in just such a way.

    And yes, the vaccines work, which is why it's ten rather than two hundred of the thousand youngsters. Ten is a much smaller number than two hundred and thus is a considerably better outcome. Not having your relatives die in such an unpleasant avoidable way is better still.
    Andy, are you talking about the conditional or unconditional death risk for a 75-year old?

    One of the things which slightly concerns me is that the conditional reduction in death risk is probably nearer 75% than 95%. And there's a huge difference between vaccination giving (say) 80% of people 100% protection against infection versus it giving 100% of people 80% less chance of infection on each opportunity, or somewhere in between. These are largely indistinguishable with the data we currently have. Yet in the latter case there are still going to be, over time, a lot more COVID deaths to come.

    --AS
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    We're told by Farage and co that we're fed up of politicians that are born to rule, never had a proper job etc.

    Starmer has, he really should lean into that.

    A Human Rights lawyer. I wouldn't if I were him
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 43,049

    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Really depends how strong you think the Tory voteshare is - and I think it's not as strong as it appears

    There are a lot of wandering Cons looking for a home. Look at how many there are on here - zillions, relatively. With Big G coming in and going out and coming in and going out of the group.

    But where should we go!?

    At present, there are too many policies and personnel in Lab that I simply couldn't vote for. Does Lab want to change that? Probably not otherwise what are they. I could live with strong Union links as long as, as per Sharon's statement, the focus is on empowering workers not running the country along Marxist-Leninist lines. Then there is the anti-semitism thing, then there is the hate the rich thing.

    So prob quite a gulf between me and a Lab vote.

    So the Cons vote you are right might not be that strong but we atm ain't going to Lab.
    As you know friend, I consider you one of the best sources on such things on this site, so thank you for posting your thoughts.

    For what it is worth, as a Labour member myself I really do think the party is moving back to the centre and the people that you refer to are leaving (albeit slowly).

    Starmer has a short window between now and this time next year to really build something different, then it's time for him to go if he can not.
    Looking very closely at his progress. My vote is up for grabs.
    And I really hope we can get you onto our team :) We must work hard to do so and understand what you want Labour to be. My fear with Starmer is that we have not seen enough of that yet.

    I do believe Labour is now headed in the right direction and for me I perceive it to be going back towards proper social democracy, which is what my ideology leans into. The 2019 manifesto was too left wing for me.
    As several posters on here point out there is a danger of listening to what "the enemy" want your side to be. Cons posters saying XYZ would be a great Lab leader, etc when there is no real intention to vote Lab by them.

    But we really are in a place where there are a lot of disaffected Cons ex-voters and ex-party members out there so developments will be vitally important.

    If you could save me from having to vote for a party run by Boris Johnson then that would be fantastic.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    Tone wants to let the others in on the secret!
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670

    38,046 cases...100 deaths.

    England cases still flat....for the moment.

    Wales is looking horrific, particularly Swansea and Neath, Port Talbot.
    ?

    They aren't close to their Winter peaks unless I am reading the data wrong.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,706
    edited August 2021

    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    Labour never do this? I thinks its more honest to say they both do.
    Labour leaders do seem to get extra special treatment. Whatever their politics Labour leaders get labelled as communists, crypto-communists or related to communists. When that isn't on, Tories compare them to the devil.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,533
    edited August 2021
    DavidL said:

    One thing being overlooked, the Tories can demonise Starmer in a different way to Jezza. They can play the Starmer tried to stop Brexit, do you trust him not to try and reverse it. I think that will play well in the red wall.

    They don't need to do this nationally, rather targetted in the way Jezza the terrorist sympathizing anti-British danger to national security was deployed in certain places.

    They will no doubt try that but my guess is that with the UK clearly growing faster than the EU, with the stories of post brexit recessions, mass unemployment and disruption being rightly ridiculed, there won't be a lot of traction in it. Brexit will have ceased to be a contentious issue.
    Isn't that an even stronger message... don't risk it giving this up, its going ok.

    If Brexit is a total shitshow, all bets are off.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,728
    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    But the demonisation works because it's based in fact.

    Labour Governments have been fantastic at wrecking the public finances and throwing open the borders to all and sundry.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,141
    edited August 2021

    isam said:

    "We have had an interesting few months with three totally diverse Westminster by-elections. Hartlepool showed the strength of the Tories in so-called red wall areas, Batley & Spen showed Labour’s ability to defend while Chesham & Amersham was a signal of the sort of seat where the LDs can be strong."

    Labour got their worst ever vote share in all three. Am I the only one who thinks that is bad for an opposition in by elections?

    Never in my life time has an incumbent Government been hosing the voters with free, no-strings-,attached money and for so long. When that stops maybe they might not be so much fun. Strange times.
    If Johnson stops, it'll be because there's no free money left to hose people with.

    And then what's Labour's selling point?
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,706
    edited August 2021

    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    But the demonisation works because it's based in fact.

    Labour Governments have been fantastic at wrecking the public finances and throwing open the borders to all and sundry.
    Pot Kettle. Look at the books. Boris is in a league of his own. We were AAA under Labour.
  • Johnson seems to be rather unpopular in the Blue Wall, I guess that is what happens when you abandon lifelong voters
  • Fishing said:

    isam said:

    "We have had an interesting few months with three totally diverse Westminster by-elections. Hartlepool showed the strength of the Tories in so-called red wall areas, Batley & Spen showed Labour’s ability to defend while Chesham & Amersham was a signal of the sort of seat where the LDs can be strong."

    Labour got their worst ever vote share in all three. Am I the only one who thinks that is bad for an opposition in by elections?

    Never in my life time has an incumbent Government been hosing the voters with free, no-strings-,attached money and for so long. When that stops maybe they might not be so much fun. Strange times.
    If Johnson stops, it'll be because there's no free money left to hose people with.

    And then what's Labour's selling point?
    Well this is why I think Labour will try to go on economic competence, which might be laughed at.

    My understanding from those in the know - and this is just friends of friends who know Starmer, so I wouldn't take much from it - is that Starmer won't promise to spend a lot of money outside of a few very key areas.
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,484
    edited August 2021
    Quincel said:

    One thing being overlooked, the Tories can demonise Starmer in a different way to Jezza. They can play the Starmer tried to stop Brexit, do you trust him not to try and reverse it. I think that will play well in the red wall.

    Maybe, though there is a risk with that strategy that it is too backwards looking. If Starmer just shrugs it off and talks about what he would do differently on other issues I can imagine the government looking like they have no new ideas so are flogging a dead horse.
    Yes. I think you're right. Starmer has shown a grim determination to avoid the B word at all costs. If the Tories over do it at the next election, Labour can legitimately enquire why they keep "banging on about Brexit", seven or eight years after the referendum.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 54,040

    DavidL said:

    One thing being overlooked, the Tories can demonise Starmer in a different way to Jezza. They can play the Starmer tried to stop Brexit, do you trust him not to try and reverse it. I think that will play well in the red wall.

    They don't need to do this nationally, rather targetted in the way Jezza the terrorist sympathizing anti-British danger to national security was deployed in certain places.

    They will no doubt try that but my guess is that with the UK clearly growing faster than the EU, with the stories of post brexit recessions, mass unemployment and disruption being rightly ridiculed, there won't be a lot of traction in it. Brexit will have ceased to be a contentious issue.
    Isn't that an even stronger message... don't risk it giving this up, its going ok.

    If Brexit is a total shitshow, all bets are off.
    I just don't think anyone will want to hear about it any more. Well, apart from @Scott_xP , obviously.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,706

    Quincel said:

    One thing being overlooked, the Tories can demonise Starmer in a different way to Jezza. They can play the Starmer tried to stop Brexit, do you trust him not to try and reverse it. I think that will play well in the red wall.

    Maybe, though there is a risk with that strategy that it is too backwards looking. If Starmer just shrugs it off and talks about what he would do differently on other issues I can imagine the government looking like they have no new ideas so are flogging a dead horse.
    Yes. I think you're right. Starmer has shown a grim determination to avoid the B word at all costs. If the Tories over do it at the next election, Labour can legitimately enquire why they keep "banging on about Brexit".
    It is a dead cert that the Tories will do their best to make Brexit a thing at the next election.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,728
    Jonathan said:

    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    But the demonisation works because it's based in fact.

    Labour Governments have been fantastic at wrecking the public finances and throwing open the borders to all and sundry.
    Pot Kettle. Look at the books. Boris is in a league of his own. We were AAA under Labour.
    Boris is a twat and barely competent but he doesn't threaten me, my family or this country like Labour do.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,722
    isam said:

    The worst polls for the Tories have them as the largest party, but probably no majority, the best polls for them see them with an 80 seat majority.

    Mid term, with lots of bad headlines in the papers, but with a leader that is more well liked and charismatic than the LotO I can't see how any reasoned analysis can see past a Con maj as by far the most likely outcome

    Sorry but I have to completely and utterly agree with you. My scores on the doors for the 3 contenders right now are -

    Celebrate Good Times C'Mon 5%
    Stuck In the Middle With You 35%
    Desolation Row 60%

    So that last one is the value bet at current odds.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,706

    Jonathan said:

    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    But the demonisation works because it's based in fact.

    Labour Governments have been fantastic at wrecking the public finances and throwing open the borders to all and sundry.
    Pot Kettle. Look at the books. Boris is in a league of his own. We were AAA under Labour.
    Boris is a twat and barely competent but he doesn't threaten me, my family or this country like Labour do.
    Nah. He's the real deal. True blue chaos.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,533
    edited August 2021
    Jonathan said:

    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    Labour never do this? I thinks its more honest to say they both do.
    Labour leaders do seem to get extra special treatment. Whatever their politics Labour leaders get labelled as communists, crypto-communists or related to communists. When that isn't on, Tories compare them to the devil.
    I think your personal bias are showing.

    Tories always get labelled as racist, baby eating, hate the poor, etc. When Boris ran for London Mayor there was a huge push to scare people that he was going to be ethnically clensing the city as he is such a massive racist.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,684
    DavidL said:

    Fishing said:

    I agree with Mike's main point that Starmer will be harder to demonise than Corbyn. Although of course he probably won't have so many fanatical young footsoldiers either.

    Nobody can make robust predictions about the next election (other than the obvious such as "everything depends on how many seat losses") until a few months before said election. As we are two or three years away, I think we'd do as well to read the results in bird guts.

    For the record I agree with Mike on this point too. SKS is a decent, intelligent, reasonable bore. He is not voter repellent in the way Corbyn was, he's just dull. Whilst that may well attract some Lib Dems to vote tactically I think enthusiasm levels on the Labour side will be low.
    Conversely, I think it makes it easier for soft Tories to vote LibDem, because they aren't concerned about letting Corbyn in.

    My rough guess for 2024 (or even 2023) is that the Conservatives are north of 40%, but still probably down 2-3 percentage points. I also assume there is a mild increase in tactical voting, as memory of the coalition fades in Labour memories.

    Under this scenario (and adding the ten seats that come through the boundary changes), Labour probably picks up 10 to 15 seats from the Conservatives, while the LibDems gain 4 to 6. It's not clear, given Scotland loses seats, that the SNP will actually end up with greater Westminster representation next time around.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,706

    Jonathan said:

    Jonathan said:

    The Tories always try to demonise the Labour leader. It's what they do. All Labour leaders get this. The trick is to win anyway.

    Labour never do this? I thinks its more honest to say they both do.
    Labour leaders do seem to get extra special treatment. Whatever their politics Labour leaders get labelled as communists, crypto-communists or related to communists. When that isn't on, Tories compare them to the devil.
    I think your personal bias are showing.

    Tories always get labelled as racist, baby eating, hate the poor, etc.
    How Tories talk about each other is none of my business.
  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,845

    Johnson seems to be rather unpopular in the Blue Wall, I guess that is what happens when you abandon lifelong voters

    Nonsense. Blue wall voters have not been abandoned as you put it. There are some v unpopular decisions esp over housing and triple lock, but abandonent is a ludocrous hyperbole.
This discussion has been closed.