O/T:- ⚠️Impressed with the leadership [The UK Party Politics Thread]

[Elite_Pie]

I'm not a politics expert far from it but is Sunak not waiting for another year to call a general election because that would be his most realistic chance of winning.

Yes that's just what he's doing. He's desperately hoping that a few bits of positive news will wipe away the last 13 years. That and a few sweeteners before the election are his only faint hope.

[BanjoPie]

Yes that's just what he's doing. He's desperately hoping that a few bits of positive news will wipe away the last 13 years. That and a few sweeteners before the election are his only faint hope.

I think his ship is floundering in the waves and about to go under - "abandon ship everybody"

[OchPie]

Mid-Beds Labour actually got fewer votes than in 2019. Don't know about Tamworth, can't be bothered to look!

Seems to me that they didn't want to vote Conservative after how Dorries treated them, but they weren't willing to switch in big numbers to Labour.

The LDs and the Greens increased their vote in Mid-Beds. That will (or at least, should) worry the Tories more than Labour.

Labour did increase its vote in Tamworth.

These aren't seats Labour should expect to win in a "decent" result. They are seats Labour would win in a "Conservative wipe-out" scenario. Yes, lots of voters probably stayed at home, many of them Conservatives, but just expecting them to come back in a GE is grasping at quite a lot of straws.

[OP67]

I do love how Labour see this a crushing victory Turnout was the lowest ever at Tamworth at around 33%, it was 75% at the last general election. People vote different at local elections as we all know and the Torys were always going to fall short on these two. I can still see the Conservatives winning the next election though but it'll be tight.
Labour need to hope the Lib Dems don't play their joker of another referendum to re-join the EU which I can see them doing as that'll split the Labour vote for sure.

[Elite_Pie]

I do love how Labour see this a crushing victory .

I love it more how some Tories are pretending they weren't crushing victories!!!

Impressive how you managed to type with your head buried in the sand.

[BanjoPie]

I do love how Labour see this a crushing victory Turnout was the lowest ever at Tamworth at around 33%, it was 75% at the last general election. People vote different at local elections as we all know and the Torys were always going to fall short on these two. I can still see the Conservatives winning the next election though but it'll be tight.
Labour need to hope the Lib Dems don't play their joker of another referendum to re-join the EU which I can see them doing as that'll split the Labour vote for sure.

Not a crushing victory however, No way will the Tories win the next General Election, even steadfast Conservative voters I that I know say “at least Starmer & his cronies might be honest”

[OP67]

at least Starmer & his cronies might be honest”

It'll have to be one hell of a swing for Labour to win a majority, one never seen before. I'm traditionally a Labour voter but they offer nothing other than promises. A recent interview Starmer claiming he can sort the economy in a few months is pure fantasy land stuff

[OP67]

Impressive how you managed to type with your head buried in the sand.

I'm neither Tory or Labour these days, was Labour but they're utter useless. Starmer has been useless at being the oppostion, I'm surprised he's still leader. I don't think in all my years we've had all 3 political parties being completely unelectable!!

[Elite_Pie]

I'm neither Tory or Labour these days, was Labour but they're utter useless. Starmer has been useless at being the oppostion, I'm surprised he's still leader. I don't think in all my years we've had all 3 political parties being completely unelectable!!

Labour will win a majority at the next election not because they or Starmer are good, they'll win it because the Tories are so bad.

Labour might turn out to be corrupt and incompetent, but the Tories have proved they are corrupt and incompetent beyond all doubt.

[Magpies1959]

Under Labour, I can't wait to go to prison for using the wrong pro nouns, or using hurty words 🤣

[OP67]

Labour will win a majority at the next election not because they or Starmer are good, they'll win it because the Tories are so bad.

Labour might turn out to be corrupt and incompetent, but the Tories have proved they are corrupt and incompetent beyond all doubt.

God help the working class then as they'll be taxed even higher than they already are. You only have to look at Labour run councils to see corruption and bad financing, NCC is just one of many.

They're all as bad as each other fella.

[BigFatPie]

I'm neither Tory or Labour these days, was Labour but they're utter useless. Starmer has been useless at being the oppostion, I'm surprised he's still leader. I don't think in all my years we've had all 3 political parties being completely unelectable!!

I hear / read stuff like this a lot almost always from those who’ve previously voted for stupid people and stupid things. The only measure by which you calibrate the ‘usefulness’ of an opposition leader is how they’re doing in opinion polls and real life elections and in those Starmer is doing very well.

I’ve really no idea how he’ll get on in government, but given the abysmal actual performance of the alternative, I think most people are willing to give him a go.

[Elite_Pie]

They're all as bad as each other fella.

A lot of people say that, but I don't believe it. We've never had a government as corrupt as this one, particularly since Boris Johnson became PM.

For that reason alone they need kicking out.

[sidders]

God help the working class then as they'll be taxed even higher than they already are. You only have to look at Labour run councils to see corruption and bad financing, NCC is just one of many.

They're all as bad as each other fella.

OP67, What a meaningless generalisation your post is here. Have you researched your statements? Which councils have you looked at in depth? Have you done a comparison with Tory-led councils? So do you really think that Labour will hit the working classes (whoever they are) more than the Tories will? On what do you base this unfounded idea? Thought not.
El Sid (an undecided voter at this stage)

[Newish Pie]

OP67, What a meaningless generalisation your post is here. Have you researched your statements? Which councils have you looked at in depth? Have you done a comparison with Tory-led councils? So do you really think that Labour will hit the working classes (whoever they are) more than the Tories will? On what do you base this unfounded idea? Thought not.
El Sid (an undecided voter at this stage)

I'm not sure comparisons between the performance of local councils can tell us very much about the national level competence. Labour controlled councils tend to be urban, Tory councils rural. Councils with high levels of depravation and poverty and unemployment are far more likely to be Labour run. Add to this, you've got the fact that the Tories have disproportionally cut funding for the kinds of councils that tend to be Labour - Sunak openly boasted about this during his leadership campaign.

Think also that local authorities don't actually have a great deal of freedom. We're an extremely centralised country, with relatively few local powers. Councils are forever having to bid for central government for various pots of money for various purposes - bus route improvement, road improvement, levelling-up... and fingers have been pointed about the fairness of how that money is allocated, especially around levelling up. Things might be starting to change with more regional authorities and mayors, but let's see.

And... there's nothing inherently left wing or right wing about basic administrative competence.

My worry about local authorities is when they essentially become one party states, when one party basically runs the place with little democratic opposition. Of course, it's the voter's decision, but I don't think it's good for any party of any colour to get too comfortable or complacent. I guess the other link between local councils and parliament is the role for local councils as a training ground for future MPs, both in terms of the politics of it, but also being given portfolios to run or committees to chair. Parties without much track record in local authorities will struggle to produce experienced candidates. That's not to say that it's the only way that someone can gain useful experience, but it's certainly one.