It seems to me that Iran fulfils nearly all of those. Other contenders are North Korea and Russia. THAT is the far right. Not Nigel bleedin' Farage
Flags, eh? Good start.
Have you ever been abroad? There are national flags everywhere.
Got a bit of a shock driving through Birmingham, it seems to be flaggier than the Brexity parts of Essex - its as reliable a sign of voting as a Gails for the LDs.
Abroad - it varies a lot, some flaggier than here, others less flaggy.
Anyway, Leon's chosen list suggests Reform are meeting many of the characteristics of the far right. Flags, human rights, enemies, national security, disdain for intellectuals, academia, obsession with crime, suppression of unions, cronyism and corruption all unambiguously ticked.
Depends what part of Brum,
When I was down there for a Blues game it was very flaggy there too. But those were Palestine flags.
Kingstanding is flag central. Lots of flags in Mere Green too, but Sutton has (so far) stayed Tory.
Is the "Reform aren't right wing" debate an updated version of the "Nazis were actually socialists" claim that got much airing on here?
You are misquoting the debate. The issue is whether or not they are 'Far Right' not just 'Right'.
I don't think it's yet very clear what Reform are.
They are certainly the party of protest/change on the right, and their support is heavily skewed towards those who voted for Brexit and/or are deeply concerned about immigration. But other than their positions on those two things, it's not at all clear to me what they stand for.
Biggest cheers at the count in Brum have been from the Greens, but Lib Dems hanging on in there. We took both seats in Small Heath, which was good news
Fewer PB Centrist Dads claiming that Farage is a total and perpetual loser, I note
When you step back, what he has done - AGAIN - is quite astonishing
Reform will be running a lot of councils after today.
The exposure will begin.
You've spelt ruining wrong.
I remember all this hysteria after the locals last year. I have now lived in a Ref County Council area for a year. It's difficult to identify any obvious improvements, but it's also difficult to identify any change at-all. I've certainly not noticed anything negative either.
They've managed to increase council tax by less than the national average, which is a small win I suppose.
All the doom and gloom that everything will fall apart in weeks has been complete bunkum. The biggest local government "scandal" in my area involves the Labour run District Council (which will almost certainly go Reform if any more elections occur before it is abolished), where they are trying with unseamly haste and with no particularly convincing reasoning to sell off the Town Hall rather cheaply to a property developer who one suspects has been very "friendly" towards a number of the councillors.
One of the common features of the Reform Councils (judging by my local 2 or 3, and accounts of others) is a rabbit-in-the-headlights freeze for 6 or 9 months, and a fair amount of running around in circles, because there are a lot of unjustified assumptions, little experience, less preparation, followed by the legal requirements eventually hitting like a freight train when the budget process comes around.
It will be interesting to see if this pattern is repeated.
To be fair, that's not unique to Reform takeovers. And in the meantime, the officers run the show according to the law. (One of the problems Havering Residents' Associations had was that, even four years in, they relied on officers filling the gaps where their ideas should have been.)
Reform councils have a couple of extra challenges. One is that so many of their newly-elected are so new to this; you really ought to be able to find your way around the Town Hall building before being appointed to Cabient. The other is that a lot of their appeal has been saying to voters 'you don't have to choose between these two shitty outcomes; our way is a better way'. They are about to have a lot of officer briefings saying that the Reform way breaks either the laws of the land or those of arithmetic, and asking which of the shitty outcomes would they prefer?
Wakefield has seen an overall turnout of 36.6% - the highest in 10 years. From what I've been told, it sounds like many people who have avoiding voting for many years and first-time voters made the decision to get to the polls yesterday. As it’s an 'all-out' election with every seat up for grabs, people feel their vote really matters and can influence the look of the entire local authority...
That's really poor.
It is, but at least it has risen! 30-50% is about what you get in locals, though the lowest I've seen is around 18%.
Well, yes. But if you're talking about "many people who have avoided voting for years" turning out, then 36% is pretty poor.
In nearby Calderdale (where Reform are taking a lot of seats), turnout was 45%.
Is the "Reform aren't right wing" debate an updated version of the "Nazis were actually socialists" claim that got much airing on here?
You are misquoting the debate. The issue is whether or not they are 'Far Right' not just 'Right'.
I don't think it's yet very clear what Reform are.
They are certainly the party of protest/change on the right, and their support is heavily skewed towards those who voted for Brexit and/or are deeply concerned about immigration. But other than their positions on those two things, it's not at all clear to me what they stand for.
They are at the open to suggestions stage, assuming one has enough crypto.
@lukeakehurst · 9h A useful benchmark for London is that in 2006 Labour only held control of 7 London boroughs. So far we have already held Merton, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham.
LOL You can literally smell the desperation from one term wanker Luke
Looking at the LD gains from Labour in Camden, they're sometimes because the LD vote has remained static, but Lab votes have gone to the Greens.
Labour remain in control of the council, but with a much reduced majority. I think the final tally is 11 Grn to 10 LD, so Green become the official opposition...
... but there's a twist. It looks like one of the winning Greens is ineligible, so by-election time.
Comments
Currently:
Reform 20
Lib Dem 19
Green 18
Independent 3
So Labour avoid being pushed into fourth but still end up on single digits for seats. An incredible collapse in their heartland.
NEW THREAD
They are certainly the party of protest/change on the right, and their support is heavily skewed towards those who voted for Brexit and/or are deeply concerned about immigration. But other than their positions on those two things, it's not at all clear to me what they stand for.
Reform councils have a couple of extra challenges. One is that so many of their newly-elected are so new to this; you really ought to be able to find your way around the Town Hall building before being appointed to Cabient. The other is that a lot of their appeal has been saying to voters 'you don't have to choose between these two shitty outcomes; our way is a better way'. They are about to have a lot of officer briefings saying that the Reform way breaks either the laws of the land or those of arithmetic, and asking which of the shitty outcomes would they prefer?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfWj_BVE0Kg
(1 Green gain)
PC win most seats but will need Labour support to pass legislation
PC 43, Reform 34, Labour 9, Conservatives 7, Green 2, LDs 1
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news#election-wales
In nearby Calderdale (where Reform are taking a lot of seats), turnout was 45%.
Reform 34
Labour 9
Conservatives 7
Greens 2
Lib dems 1
Final result for Senedd
Labour on 9 - just take that in
Reform 1079, Labour 685, LDs 681, Conservatives 612, Greens 343
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news#election-england
Labour only have 9 seats
Plaid will not want to be associated with labour
Plaid have always said they will act as a minority government
- Plaid Cymru 43 seats (20 seats gained)
- Reform UK 34 seats (34 seats gained)
- Labour 9 seats (35 seats lost)
- Conservative 7 seats (22 seats lost)
- Green 2 seats (2 seats gained)
- Liberal Democrat 1 seat (1 seat gained?)
Total 96https://www.bbc.co.uk/#election-wales
Labour has lost control of Brent, which wasn't even considered to be at risk
There's been a Green/ Lib Dem surge and Labour has lost 21 seats.
It's looking very bad for Labour in London
@lukeakehurst
·
9h
A useful benchmark for London is that in 2006 Labour only held control of 7 London boroughs. So far we have already held Merton, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham.
LOL You can literally smell the desperation from one term wanker Luke
Labour remain in control of the council, but with a much reduced majority. I think the final tally is 11 Grn to 10 LD, so Green become the official opposition...
... but there's a twist. It looks like one of the winning Greens is ineligible, so by-election time.