That the English electorate are a liability and we need self-determination as a matter of urgency.
So the Tories held Uxbridge, whilst Labour took Selby and the Lib Dems took Somerton.
Can we take anything from this set of results?
That the English electorate are a liability and we need self-determination as a matter of urgency.
The Tories only held Boris's old seat (in Londonshire) because the vast majority of voters were really voting in protest against the London mayor(labour) plans to expand the ULEZ across the whole of London - it became the number one issue in that constituency rather than the imbecile that was their former MP.
The other two results were pretty much what were expected in a by-election. Lib-Dems will hold their new seat in the next GE, Labour will be doing well to hold theirs in the next GE.
Hmmm, a 29% swing from Tory to LD in one and a 24% swing from Tory to Labour in another and only a quirky reason that prevented another similar swing in the third - not sure the voters did much wrong last night to be honest. Any sort of similar repeat in a years time and the Tories will be annihilated in the GE.
Are you sure the reason was that quirky?
I would say it was just the normal reason not to vote Labour.
The tories would do well to cast the " red wall" MPs adrift and concentrate on their heartlands.
The north of England is a lost cause anyway, they only voted tory because they didn't like foreigners more than they didn't like southerners.
Last edited by donsdaft; 21-07-2023 at 10:28 AM.
I do think that the ULEZ played a big part in Labour not getting a big enough swing to win the seat. Even the labour candidate changed his tune part way through the campaign to come out against Khan's proposal once he saw the way the wind was blowing. I would imagine Labour will lean on Khan to modify his plan before the GE as Londonshire is crucial to them winning the GE.
I would imagine that the Tories will concentrate their resources on winnable seats only to try to prevent a Labour majority so yes that almost certainly means abandoning the vast majority of the red wall seats
The turnouts were poor, so I wouldn't read too much into the results. In England, there is no party offering any sort of alternative to the past 14 years of tory rule.
I still expect the guffs to vote Tory again next year. I suspect some sort of tax cut will be announced soon.
Tax cuts will help them but a turnaround in the economy may be enough*.
Don't let Labour ruin all the good work etc.
* not enough to win, but enough to avert disaster.