Labour Win In Kingswood And Wellingborough

[Alickadoo]

Labour gained two seats in the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections.

Hardly surprising really, as the Tories are now in their 15th year of power. This is what happens.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-682771...

[JuanCarlosFandango]

So unsurprising in fact that it passed without a mention on here until your post at 7:22 and then without comment until now. I'm sure a few years ago people would have been up at 2am watching the count, commenting and speculating about what it means for the parties.

Maybe the whole business is just becoming irrelevant?

[NerveAgent]

JuanCarlosFandango said:

So unsurprising in fact that it passed without a mention on here until your post at 7:22 and then without comment until now. I'm sure a few years ago people would have been up at 2am watching the count, commenting and speculating about what it means for the parties.

Maybe the whole business is just becoming irrelevant?

It’s been talked about in the Rishi thread since the early hours…

[Bill]

JuanCarlosFandango said:

Maybe the whole business is just becoming irrelevant?

You misspelled inevitable...

[Alickadoo]

JuanCarlosFandango said:

So unsurprising in fact that it passed without a mention on here until your post at 7:22 and then without comment until now. I'm sure a few years ago people would have been up at 2am watching the count, commenting and speculating about what it means for the parties.

Maybe the whole business is just becoming irrelevant?

My best guess is that we will have an October General Election and providing the weather is reasonable, the Labour party will get in.

I think interest in politics in general is waning. I forecast a low turnout.

[ClaphamGT3]

The shark in the water in these results is the Momentum polling. This is what both the main parties should be focusing on; hammering the head-banging far right

[Alickadoo]

ClaphamGT3 said:

The shark in the water in these results is the Momentum polling. This is what both the main parties should be focusing on; hammering the head-banging far right

[Pupp]

Turnout for Wellingbog was 38%; higher than I expected it to be

[Leicester Loyal]

'With Reform UK securing its best ever by-election results, Sunak also warned that a vote "for anyone who isn't the Conservative candidate" will put Starmer in power at the next general election '

This is literally all this idiot and his party have to try and convince you to vote for them.

[king arthur]

Leicester Loyal said:

'With Reform UK securing its best ever by-election results, Sunak also warned that a vote "for anyone who isn't the Conservative candidate" will put Starmer in power at the next general election '

This is literally all this idiot and his party have to try and convince you to vote for them.

I would imagine that ironically, a vote for Reform literally is a vote for "anyone who isn't the Conservative candidate".

[JuanCarlosFandango]

Leicester Loyal said:

'With Reform UK securing its best ever by-election results, Sunak also warned that a vote "for anyone who isn't the Conservative candidate" will put Starmer in power at the next general election '

This is literally all this idiot and his party have to try and convince you to vote for them.

That is the only reason I would consider voting for anyone at the next election - to get the Conservatives out and ideally destroyed. Not because I think Labour are any better as such but the story of the Conservatives over the last 15 years has been to soak up the energy and anger of actual conservatives and piss it away on nonsense while talking vaguely right wing bks.

[MOBB]

Pupp said:

Turnout for Wellingbog was 38%; higher than I expected it to be

I think it showed what people thought of the Conservative replacement candidate and her link with Mr Bone………….

[turbobloke]

In other news, the LibDems were annihilated in Kingswood S Glos.

[Vanden Saab]

king arthur said:

I would imagine that ironically, a vote for Reform literally is a vote for "anyone who isn't the Conservative candidate".

Exactly, Sunak is utterly useless and Starmer is worse. A vote for either will just encourage them. The Lib Dems are not an option apart from the fact they lost both their deposits so Reform is the only option.
There is nothing scary in their manifesto for me. I fact it looks remarkably sane. To use a well worn phrase they cannot be any worse.

[P-Jay]

Bill said:

JuanCarlosFandango said:

Maybe the whole business is just becoming irrelevant?

You misspelled inevitable...

Henry Zeffman at the BBC says the Tories are now experiencing "fatalism" although the Daily Mail are claiming that Sunak 'might' even survive at PM and 'could' win the GE, which translated into English means it's hopeless.

The Tory Chairman is blaming a lower voter turnout which is akin to saying "yeah, those who didn't vote for reform or switch sides to Labour, simply didn't bother to turn up".

Farage said "I think if you asked Tory party members, right now, they'd vote for me to be leader and not Rishi Sunak," is he saying that it's not happy to simply join the Tories and run for a seat, he wants to become Leader, which is a bold statement for someone who failed to become an MP 7 times.

No I don't think people have lost Interest in Politics, it's never very far from the news, Tory voters have lost interest in voting, either because they know how hopeless it is, or how hopeless their party has become.

[James6112]

Vanden Saab said:

king arthur said:

I would imagine that ironically, a vote for Reform literally is a vote for "anyone who isn't the Conservative candidate".

Exactly, Sunak is utterly useless and Starmer is worse. A vote for either will just encourage them. The Lib Dems are not an option apart from the fact they lost both their deposits so Reform is the only option.
There is nothing scary in their manifesto for me. I fact it looks remarkably sane. To use a well worn phrase they cannot be any worse.

Starmer is a grown up. About time there was one in charge. He will be a good PM soon.
The more far Right Tory voters that switch to Reform the better, the gift that keeps giving.

Is Tice a Labour Mole?

[paulrockliffe]

P-Jay said:

The Tory Chairman is blaming a lower voter turnout

Seems a bit optimistic. The result I saw shows that 25,000 conservative voters at the last election did not vote for the Conservatives, most didn't vote at all, so yes there are a lot of missing voters. The results also showed that out of that 25,000 or whatever it was Labour manged to tempt a whopping 107 voters over to their side.

Superficially it's correct, if all those 25,000 voters voted as they did in 2019 things would be absolutely rosy, but I can't think help thinking that perhaps the reason they didn't vote is because they don't want to vote for the Conservatives again. So if they turned out and voted, probably they aren't going to vote for the Conservatives. But what do I know?

[Blue62]

James6112 said:

Starmer is a grown up. About time there was one in charge. He will be a good PM soon.
The more far Right Tory voters that switch to Reform the better, the gift that keeps giving.

Is Tice a Labour Mole?

It's interesting that there's a growing belief among some that Reform is taking votes from the Tories, but the numbers don't add up, they're certainly attracting some Tory votes but nowhere near the numbers being quoted. Though they've done better in these two seats, they still lag behind the old UKIP numbers achieved before the referendum, maybe they will now start to gain momentum but I can't see them having too much bearing on a GE. The turnout is surely evidence that most of us are sceptical and wary of politics in general, not worth the shoe leather as John Curtice stated.

[rdjohn]

Alickadoo said:

Labour gained two seats in the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections.

Hardly surprising really, as the Tories are now in their 15th year of power. This is what happens.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-682771...

They will, more than likely, gain another seat in Rochdale, despite claiming not to have candidate.

However it is Labour Candidate that will get an X on the ballot paper. And probably the independent’s vote in Parliament.

Low turnouts create odd results. Even less surprising given the current government performance on most things.

The big vote at the end of the year is really the only one that counts. Voters will be electing their government then.

Still, it keeps the BBC journalists busy in the interim.

[OutInTheShed]

turbobloke said:

In other news, the LibDems were annihilated in Kingswood S Glos.

This.

The limp dims are cruising to obscurity.