Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards 08:04 - May 5 with 5324 views | homer_123 | the Labour Party or excitement for their agenda." Evidence: Lab +117 vs Con -217 |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:19 - May 5 with 3015 views | Guthrum | Also bearing in mind the Conservatives had a lot fewer seats to lose following significant damage in previous years. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:22 - May 5 with 3004 views | Swansea_Blue |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:19 - May 5 by Guthrum | Also bearing in mind the Conservatives had a lot fewer seats to lose following significant damage in previous years. |
Yep. 1,300 lost under May and it looks like they could be on their way to losing even more yesterday. Such a shame. Locals don’t always translate into GEs, but I’m optimistic that these results plus the general sentiment we see across the country points to a battering for them next year. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:27 - May 5 with 2962 views | WeWereZombies |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:22 - May 5 by Swansea_Blue | Yep. 1,300 lost under May and it looks like they could be on their way to losing even more yesterday. Such a shame. Locals don’t always translate into GEs, but I’m optimistic that these results plus the general sentiment we see across the country points to a battering for them next year. |
A battering ? I was hoping that they are brown breaded in the water... |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:28 - May 5 with 2957 views | homer_123 |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:22 - May 5 by Swansea_Blue | Yep. 1,300 lost under May and it looks like they could be on their way to losing even more yesterday. Such a shame. Locals don’t always translate into GEs, but I’m optimistic that these results plus the general sentiment we see across the country points to a battering for them next year. |
As Guthers posted the other day (I think?), whether you are a natural Labour voter or not, right now, they are the 'only' party that can oust the Tories. So, if we really do want to change, then strategic voting is required. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:29 - May 5 with 2948 views | Samuelowen88 | It begs the question though, with lots of people still voting Conservative, what would they have to do to stop those people voting for them? Sunak literally sh*tting on their doorstep? Labour giving out free money? |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:31 - May 5 with 2936 views | Swansea_Blue |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:27 - May 5 by WeWereZombies | A battering ? I was hoping that they are brown breaded in the water... |
That would be nice. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:34 - May 5 with 2902 views | Swansea_Blue |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:28 - May 5 by homer_123 | As Guthers posted the other day (I think?), whether you are a natural Labour voter or not, right now, they are the 'only' party that can oust the Tories. So, if we really do want to change, then strategic voting is required. |
Yep. I understand all the other stuff about people within Labour not agreeing with the direction of travel. But if it’s a 2 horse race and one of those horses has a tendency to throw you off and trample you, I’d pick the other one even if it sometimes tried to bite me. I’d prefer to vote FOR an ideal, but given the state of things sometimes you have to vote against an evil. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:35 - May 5 with 2902 views | WeWereZombies |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:28 - May 5 by homer_123 | As Guthers posted the other day (I think?), whether you are a natural Labour voter or not, right now, they are the 'only' party that can oust the Tories. So, if we really do want to change, then strategic voting is required. |
Although, for me, there is a disappointing aspect of these local election results in that the Liberal Democrats are doing quite well, and that may be at the expense of Labour. There is still a sizeable chunk of the electorate who seem to have forgotten, or are not concerned, that it was the LibDems who went into coalition with the Conservatives thirteen years ago and ushered in this sorry mess of pandering to an austerity mindset. And it was Nick Clegg who become the figurehead for the surge in tuition fees and resulting burden of student loans that so many still suffer. Labour still have a hostile media to get past to win a General Election. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:36 - May 5 with 2896 views | GlasgowBlue |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:28 - May 5 by homer_123 | As Guthers posted the other day (I think?), whether you are a natural Labour voter or not, right now, they are the 'only' party that can oust the Tories. So, if we really do want to change, then strategic voting is required. |
Labour are the only realistic alternative. Which is why the infighting needs to stop. Corbyn’s wife now resting that Starmer has mental health issues that make him a compulsive liar. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:39 - May 5 with 2871 views | Swansea_Blue |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:36 - May 5 by GlasgowBlue | Labour are the only realistic alternative. Which is why the infighting needs to stop. Corbyn’s wife now resting that Starmer has mental health issues that make him a compulsive liar. |
That’s nice! On the point about tuition fees though, as I mentioned yesterday Labour are writing the Tory attack lines for them. They need to do better. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:50 - May 5 with 2699 views | homer_123 |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:34 - May 5 by Swansea_Blue | Yep. I understand all the other stuff about people within Labour not agreeing with the direction of travel. But if it’s a 2 horse race and one of those horses has a tendency to throw you off and trample you, I’d pick the other one even if it sometimes tried to bite me. I’d prefer to vote FOR an ideal, but given the state of things sometimes you have to vote against an evil. |
Agreed. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:51 - May 5 with 2706 views | DJR | The most significant result for me is in Medway in Kent, because my experience of canvassing both there and in other traditionally working class areas in Kent in the last 15 years or so is that the Labour message just wasn't cutting through. Indeed, one constituency in the areas, Rochester and Strood, was won by UKIP in a by-election in 2014. If Labour is to form the next government, it needs to equal the five of so MPs in Kent that it elected between 1997 and 2005. Of course, it may not be that the Labour message is cutting through as such, just that the Tories are just very unpopular in areas such as that which are not especially prosperous and will be feeling the brunt of the cost of living crisis. [Post edited 5 May 2023 8:57]
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:51 - May 5 with 2691 views | Pinewoodblue |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:39 - May 5 by Swansea_Blue | That’s nice! On the point about tuition fees though, as I mentioned yesterday Labour are writing the Tory attack lines for them. They need to do better. |
A Scottish friend describes Labour as Red Tories, he has a point. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:53 - May 5 with 2674 views | pointofblue |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:28 - May 5 by homer_123 | As Guthers posted the other day (I think?), whether you are a natural Labour voter or not, right now, they are the 'only' party that can oust the Tories. So, if we really do want to change, then strategic voting is required. |
I know some will think I’m morphing into Darth but what change do Labour really offer? It’s nothing radical, nothing inspiring, nothing fresh. When Blair took over in 1997 it felt like a new era. Now it feels like Starmer’s government is more likely to be more of the same, just without being dragged down by 13-14 years of power. It’s like whether you want to get shot in the foot or in the chest. You can keep going for longer being shot in the foot, but the end result without treatment will eventually be the same. The only hope will be Labour slow the bleed to an extent to give time for a proper alternative to appear. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:53 - May 5 with 2674 views | itfcjoe |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:22 - May 5 by Swansea_Blue | Yep. 1,300 lost under May and it looks like they could be on their way to losing even more yesterday. Such a shame. Locals don’t always translate into GEs, but I’m optimistic that these results plus the general sentiment we see across the country points to a battering for them next year. |
They lost so many under May last time that she ended up going as PM a few weeks later, but yet they try and claim to set the narrative that if they only lose another 500 it's a decent result |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:55 - May 5 with 2659 views | DJR |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:51 - May 5 by Pinewoodblue | A Scottish friend describes Labour as Red Tories, he has a point. |
The SNP has implemented a whole range of very progressive policies, and I am not so sure a Labour-led Scottish government would have done the same. |  | |  |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:58 - May 5 with 2633 views | WeWereZombies |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:53 - May 5 by pointofblue | I know some will think I’m morphing into Darth but what change do Labour really offer? It’s nothing radical, nothing inspiring, nothing fresh. When Blair took over in 1997 it felt like a new era. Now it feels like Starmer’s government is more likely to be more of the same, just without being dragged down by 13-14 years of power. It’s like whether you want to get shot in the foot or in the chest. You can keep going for longer being shot in the foot, but the end result without treatment will eventually be the same. The only hope will be Labour slow the bleed to an extent to give time for a proper alternative to appear. |
Maybe Starmer arriving at Number Ten with low expectations is better than Blair's arrival with high ones (that first hundred days in which he was supposed to do so much he p1ssed away with the bill on fox hunting and that was long before the Iraq dossier.) I am hoping that Starmer is merely the leader who sets up the next one to get a decent chance of bringing about real change. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:06 - May 5 with 2598 views | Churchman |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:29 - May 5 by Samuelowen88 | It begs the question though, with lots of people still voting Conservative, what would they have to do to stop those people voting for them? Sunak literally sh*tting on their doorstep? Labour giving out free money? |
At least four chums of mine will never vote anything but Conservative. All brexiteers oddly, but that’s really not the point. The key drivers for them are fear of what Labour will do, fear of the Unions, Militant, the Corbyn mob, weak on crime, hatred of England, immigration, Tony Benn, Dianne Abbott, Karl Marx, Groucho Marx, Marx n Spencer. Fear. They feel safe with the tories. One of them is a staunch Trade Unionist. Work that one out. Yes, I know this is all weird, but I’ve given up arguing unless I’m in a particularly provocative mood. Regardless, Sunak and the tories are finished for a generation and the only question is how much more damage they can do in the next two years. |  | |  |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:16 - May 5 with 2556 views | DJR |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:51 - May 5 by DJR | The most significant result for me is in Medway in Kent, because my experience of canvassing both there and in other traditionally working class areas in Kent in the last 15 years or so is that the Labour message just wasn't cutting through. Indeed, one constituency in the areas, Rochester and Strood, was won by UKIP in a by-election in 2014. If Labour is to form the next government, it needs to equal the five of so MPs in Kent that it elected between 1997 and 2005. Of course, it may not be that the Labour message is cutting through as such, just that the Tories are just very unpopular in areas such as that which are not especially prosperous and will be feeling the brunt of the cost of living crisis. [Post edited 5 May 2023 8:57]
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This from the Guardian suggests the situation in the north of England is less good than in Medway. It certainly does strike me as incredible that Labour have not won Bolton (a council they held between 2011 and 2019), with the entire council up for election. "It is a mixed picture for Labour across the north of England so far. The party will have been disappointed not to wrest back control of Hull from the Liberal Democrats, who tightened their grip on Humberside thanks to policies including “making bus lanes peak time only”. Will the city of John Prescott turn yellow in a general election? Hard to tell, though Hull’s three Labour MPs will not be too cheerful this morning. Elsewhere, Labour are making solid but not sensational gains, winning enough seats from the Conservatives to become the largest party in Hartlepool and Bolton, both of which remain in no overall control. Keir Starmer’s crew in the north-east are cock-a-hoop after ousting Middlebrough’s independent millionaire mayor, Andy Preston, on a near 20% swing." |  | |  |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:20 - May 5 with 2513 views | Guthrum |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:53 - May 5 by pointofblue | I know some will think I’m morphing into Darth but what change do Labour really offer? It’s nothing radical, nothing inspiring, nothing fresh. When Blair took over in 1997 it felt like a new era. Now it feels like Starmer’s government is more likely to be more of the same, just without being dragged down by 13-14 years of power. It’s like whether you want to get shot in the foot or in the chest. You can keep going for longer being shot in the foot, but the end result without treatment will eventually be the same. The only hope will be Labour slow the bleed to an extent to give time for a proper alternative to appear. |
But then the UK public do not have the stomach to vote for anything truly radical. Most people have fairly comfortable lives - even the cost of living crisis means they are only contemplating not having the same holidays or going out so often, rather than starving in the streets. For decades they have been told that progressive change will lead to a reduction in their personal standards of living, so that's what they believe. In order to get into power, a prospective government has to pander to that, otherwise they fail like Corbyn (who wasn't all that radical really) or remain small like the LibDems and Greens. Labour's current primary selling point is around claiming at least a modicum of competence and less open grift. Which may be an improvement. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:30 - May 5 with 2446 views | Guthrum |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:35 - May 5 by WeWereZombies | Although, for me, there is a disappointing aspect of these local election results in that the Liberal Democrats are doing quite well, and that may be at the expense of Labour. There is still a sizeable chunk of the electorate who seem to have forgotten, or are not concerned, that it was the LibDems who went into coalition with the Conservatives thirteen years ago and ushered in this sorry mess of pandering to an austerity mindset. And it was Nick Clegg who become the figurehead for the surge in tuition fees and resulting burden of student loans that so many still suffer. Labour still have a hostile media to get past to win a General Election. |
The LibDems are a local party. Do well in council elections but not nationally. However, there are a number of seats, particularly here in the South West, where the LibDems are the only party who could oust the Conservatives (barring a truly miraculous swing). Thus contributing to an overall Labour victory. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:32 - May 5 with 2443 views | mylittletown |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:06 - May 5 by Churchman | At least four chums of mine will never vote anything but Conservative. All brexiteers oddly, but that’s really not the point. The key drivers for them are fear of what Labour will do, fear of the Unions, Militant, the Corbyn mob, weak on crime, hatred of England, immigration, Tony Benn, Dianne Abbott, Karl Marx, Groucho Marx, Marx n Spencer. Fear. They feel safe with the tories. One of them is a staunch Trade Unionist. Work that one out. Yes, I know this is all weird, but I’ve given up arguing unless I’m in a particularly provocative mood. Regardless, Sunak and the tories are finished for a generation and the only question is how much more damage they can do in the next two years. |
How on earth people can feel safe with the party which has, almost systematically, bug*ered the economy for the last 13 years is beyond me. (And I also can't stand Corbyn, Benn, Abbott, and many of the Union leaders.) |  | |  |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:34 - May 5 with 2425 views | J2BLUE | The spin is already driving me insane. Every Tory saying the same thing, mentioning the same places. Party politics is so tedious. |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:40 - May 5 with 2393 views | BanksterDebtSlave |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:51 - May 5 by DJR | The most significant result for me is in Medway in Kent, because my experience of canvassing both there and in other traditionally working class areas in Kent in the last 15 years or so is that the Labour message just wasn't cutting through. Indeed, one constituency in the areas, Rochester and Strood, was won by UKIP in a by-election in 2014. If Labour is to form the next government, it needs to equal the five of so MPs in Kent that it elected between 1997 and 2005. Of course, it may not be that the Labour message is cutting through as such, just that the Tories are just very unpopular in areas such as that which are not especially prosperous and will be feeling the brunt of the cost of living crisis. [Post edited 5 May 2023 8:57]
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Is there any indication of turn out yet? |  |
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Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 09:41 - May 5 with 2382 views | Darth_Koont |
Sunak: "I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards on 08:53 - May 5 by pointofblue | I know some will think I’m morphing into Darth but what change do Labour really offer? It’s nothing radical, nothing inspiring, nothing fresh. When Blair took over in 1997 it felt like a new era. Now it feels like Starmer’s government is more likely to be more of the same, just without being dragged down by 13-14 years of power. It’s like whether you want to get shot in the foot or in the chest. You can keep going for longer being shot in the foot, but the end result without treatment will eventually be the same. The only hope will be Labour slow the bleed to an extent to give time for a proper alternative to appear. |
Nothing wrong with that. 😀 And you’re spot on with the analogy. |  |
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