UK politics general discussion

[GaryH]

It is absolutely shocking at the moment. The country is in crisis and yet they are all off on holiday for a month. I was spoiling at Richi’s multi milllion house with tennis courts and pool being built on the news this morning. These people don’t really care nor or worried about what is happening they have enough money to see themselves through it.

Can’t believe our possible candidates are Richi and Truss. Personally I’d rather have Boris remain in post than either of those two.

 

[rob666]

Now I know you are crazy!

 

[Alsty]

Funny how the Bank of England puts up interest rates to curb spending and control inflation, then Liz Truss plans to cut taxes to ... erm... increase spending?

 

[Matt.GC]

Funny how the Bank of England puts up interest rates to curb spending and control inflation, then Liz Truss plans to cut taxes to ... erm... increase spending?

She's a despicable woman who is playing up to typical Tory members. Bashing asylum seekers, tax cuts (translation for normal people = take less money off the rich), slagging off onshore wind, bigging up profits and heaping praise on evil Thatcher. All stuff Tory members lap up. She's a Pound Shop Thatcher herself. When that evil bitch "fixed" our economy in the 80's, poor people died. These aren't Tory mistakes, they're all part of the plan.

I don't like Sunak, but even his eyes are watering at these plans and I think, in the absence of a credible opposition, he's played a blinder in painting himself as the candidate most likely to win the next election. Tories now face a choice between a millionaire who pretends he cares (very little) about us normal people for electoral reasons and someone who is truly viscous and nasty. Mind you, the turkey's repeatedly voted for Christmas in the 80's and the past decade has given us plenty of examples of how this country likes to put a gun to it's own head and pull the trigger.

The bank of England is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They're charged with keeping inflation down but don't have the tools to do it, allowing elected government incompetence to be excused. The current inflation problems are not demand fueled so raising interest rates will do little other than make borrowers even poorer. Truss knows this, she just doesn't care. Making the rich even richer and leaving the rest of us at the mercy of energy price rises will make the problem worse for most of the population.

We should see Labour coming in wearing shining armour right now. But we don't. Starmer seems to have inherited the worse behaviours of the Corbyn era in that his party is incompetent, and the worst of the Blair era in that it is too scared of loosing elections and thus worried about making bold policy decisions that deviate from the right wing plan.

 

[Rick]

It's a fairly incredible reveal as to the bat shit crazy stuff the Tory membership are perceived to want to hear.

Awful.

 

[Matt.GC]

It's a fairly incredible reveal as to the bat shit crazy stuff the Tory membership are perceived to want to hear.

Awful.

I've never had a high opinion of Tory members, but even I was surprised about the topics brought up in the first hustings. With the crisis facing the country I thought there would be tonnes of questions about energy prices, the country baking at the mercy of climate change, inflation and the economy going down the toilet.

Although these were brought up, it didn't take long for questions to emerge about Greyhound racing, asylum seekers, a smaller state, abolishing inheritance tax and how poor old Boris had been "stabbed in the back". These things all clearly weighing on their minds.

These are the people who are electing our new Prime Minister and these are their priorities.

 

[Jonathan]

I've never had a high opinion of Tory members, but even I was surprised about the topics brought up in the first hustings. With the crisis facing the country I thought there would be tonnes of questions about energy prices, the country baking at the mercy of climate change, inflation and the economy going down the toilet.

Although these were brought up, it didn't take long for questions to emerge about Greyhound racing, asylum seekers, a smaller state, abolishing inheritance tax and how poor old Boris had been "stabbed in the back". These things all clearly weighing on their minds.

These are the people who are electing our new Prime Minister and these are their priorities.

I'm sure it was either posted in here, or in an article I saw somewhere online, that some party members have said they want the leader who stands the best chance of them winning the next election. Says to me that they don't really care about the country - their main priority is power. Which seems dreadfully symptomatic of the parliamentary party itself.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

I'm sure it was either posted in here, or in an article I saw somewhere online, that some party members have said they want the leader who stands the best chance of them winning the next election. Says to me that they don't really care about the country - their main priority is power. Which seems dreadfully symptomatic of the parliamentary party itself.

I mean do they seriously think they have any chance of winning an election with the state the country's in?!

 

[JAperson]

I mean do they seriously think they have any chance of winning an election with the state the country's in?!

Yes because people keep peddling this idea that Starmer isn't a good enough opposition. I don't actually know what people expect an opposition to do, they are not in government and can't make changes.

 

[Benzin]

I mean do they seriously think they have any chance of winning an election with the state the country's in?!

The country had repeatedly voted like turkeys and Christmas recently so yes.

The tribalism and "we won you lost" rhetoric has ruined our politics. People performing the most impressive mental gymnastics to defend their side when majority of people would at least concede some negative thoughts.

Most of the party still want Boris as leader. Which tells you all you need to know about what Tories care about.

 

[BarryZola]

You'll probably find that a lot of people voted Tory to get Brexit over the line, but especially after the last couple of years of incompetence and (arguably) corruption have absolutely no intention of voting for them next time. I'm speaking from personal experience and people that I know.

 

[JAperson]

You'll probably find that a lot of people voted Tory to get Brexit over the line, but especially after the last couple of years of incompetence and (arguably) corruption have absolutely no intention of voting for them next time. I'm speaking from personal experience and people that I know.

All I can say to that is, let's hope so. We can't struggle through any more of this governments scandalous time in office. We've probably got two more years, they need to be voted out at the earliest opportunity.

 

[WillPS]

You'll probably find that a lot of people voted Tory to get Brexit over the line, but especially after the last couple of years of incompetence and (arguably) corruption have absolutely no intention of voting for them next time. I'm speaking from personal experience and people that I know.

I think there is certainly a contingent of that. There's also a lot of the vote which drifted away from Labour in the 00s and found its way to the Tories via not voting, protest voting, voting UKIP etc - those I would suggest will be the more 'sticky' of the new-for-2019 Tory voters. Very little sign from the people I know in that demographic that they'd vote for Labour.

(Not saying this gleefully, I want a Labour government!)

 

[Tibble]

I think we are heading for a hung parliament next general election. The tories will struggle to keep people who lent them a vote, especially with the candidates they have going for the top job.

I like Labour, but they dont seem to be putting out all the stops by any stretch of the imagination, Starmer needs to go after the votes of the working class and it appears he isnt. And with the Lib dems on some sort of resurgence after the failings of the coalition and (what I think will be) a green party which can steal a few seats.

I can envision the conservatives deciding to push ahead with a minority government

 

[JAperson]

I think we are heading for a hung parliament next general election. The tories will struggle to keep people who lent them a vote, especially with the candidates they have going for the top job.

I like Labour, but they dont seem to be putting out all the stops by any stretch of the imagination, Starmer needs to go after the votes of the working class and it appears he isnt. And with the Lib dems on some sort of resurgence after the failings of the coalition and (what I think will be) a green party which can steal a few seats.

I think I agree with most of this, I don't actually support either Labour or Lib Dems (I don't have a particular political party) however I think it's very likely a hung parliament is the outcome.

I can envision the conservatives deciding to push ahead with a minority government

This is the tricky bit, they might not be able too or it might not be clear who has the right to govern. If the conservatives and Labour get a similar number of seats and neither get a coalition partner it will be unclear. If for example Labour make a coalition with the LibDems and possibly the greens that might well permit them to govern however I still don't think that's likely to be a majority, although it could well be a small one.

 

[Alsty]

If Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have got any sense they would work out who is most likely to win in each constituency and stand other candidates aside. With the First Past The Post system you basically need whoever is most likely to win who isn't the Conservative candidate.

Some sort of proportional representation is something they should look to implement as part of an alliance too.

 

[Funcone]

I can see the arguments for an electoral pact, but it would have to be very 'public spirited' of the Greens, because that would mean almost all of their candidates standing aside. Unless it did lead to proportional representation, which would clearly benefit them in the long term.

 

[JAperson]

If Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have got any sense they would work out who is most likely to win in each constituency and stand other candidates aside. With the First Past The Post system you basically need whoever is most likely to win who isn't the Conservative candidate.

Some sort of proportional representation is something they should look to implement as part of an alliance too.

I agree however Im not sure it would go down well with lots of general voters. Peoples views of coalitions in this country is poor, mainly due to the only Coalition in real living memory being dreadful. The tories could simply advertise what the other parties are doing is creating a system that automatically puts unstable coalition governments in power.
In terms of proportional Representation, I agree we need a far more proportional voting system however I think a system that still keeps local MPs would be beneficial and I would prefer a system that did both.

 

[WillPS]

as part of an alliance too.

You mean a 'coalition of chaos'?

I can see the arguments for an electoral pact, but it would have to be very 'public spirited' of the Greens, because that would mean almost all of their candidates standing aside. Unless it did lead to proportional representation, which would clearly benefit them in the long term.

The Greens would probably have 100% or 200% more MPs as a result of such an alliance, so they'd actually do very well both immediately and longer term,

 

[Matt.GC]

It's still too early to predict but I'd go for a small Tory majority at worst, small Labour minority at best with the Tories loosing all their seats in Scotland.

The Lib Dem's won't, and shouldn't form an electoral pact with Labour at this point, as much I would like to see it eventually. The Lib Dem recovery hinges on them regaining their own identity once more as a Liberal party. Apart from 5 seats (all 4 Bristol seats and Weymouth), the entire southwest of the country, the Lib Dems former stronghold, is a Labour desert. The LD vote collapsed there after the ConDem coalition as they were seen basically as the Diet Tories. Meanwhile, in 97, 01 and 05, the LD seats (some of them became considered safe seats over time) basically gifted Labour part of their majorities by holding back so many Tory seats.

The real problem for Labour is Scotland and they're right to rule any deals out with Nationalists.

Since the Tories seem to be destroying their electoral chances themselves, I think Labour strategy should be based on building a positive and bold alternative programme of government to the Tories and then shouting from the rooftops about it, leaving many of the attacks on the tories to the Lib Dems. Labour should be focusing their sights on the SNP more attack wise.

Win back the red wall, gain a few seats in Scotland, let the LD's beat 10 bells out of the Tories in the SW, sign a coalition deal with the LD's after the election and jobs a good 'un.

What we're seeing instead from Labour however, is procrastination over policies in a fast changing crisis (and when they do come out, it's a little weak like their new energy policy) due to fears over the under surface splits that still exist within the party resurfacing. Their sights are set on the Tories as it's low hanging fruit and unites the party but without very bold alternative policies behind them, they come across to voters as just stating the obvious. There's no strategy for dealing with the SNP at all as far as I can see which is just silly for a unionist party.